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Planning for Success: Track Your Family’s Favorite Meals – Day 17

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Planning for success - Day 17

Photograph Credit: iStockphoto

Knowing that a successful year will not materialize on its own, we must plan and prepare for a prosperous 2013.

Throughout the 31 days of January, I will choose one topic each day to prepare or schedule for this year.

Without preparation, I know I will forget, miss, or overlook certain items. If you desire an organized year, then join me in this adventure of Planning for Success for a prosperous 2013.

To receive a daily e-mail around 11:00 a.m. with the new posts of each day, subscribe to my free daily newsletter. In case you miss a post in this series, I will provide the link to each day as the month progresses. 🙂

Day 17: Track Your Family’s Favorite Meals

During busy seasons, my creative inspiration in the kitchen lacks momentum. As my mind processes other issues, I want my time in the kitchen as efficient as possible. In creating menus and feeding my family, I work to keep variety, healthy choices, and multiple colors on the table at each meal.

From year to year, our family’s taste changes, so what I planned last year may not work this year. Keeping up with who likes peas, but not broccoli vs. the one who likes rice over pasta could consume my time. But in using time wisely, I track my family’s favorite meals by observing, marking, and asking.

Observing my Family

When my family’s plates return to the kitchen filled with food, then I can assume that they did not care for this meal. Sometimes the results are due to changing an existing recipe, trying something new, or failing to make the meal correctly. Whatever the reason, I won’t repeat, on purpose, that exact meal again.

On the other hand, if I notice that a meal results in mostly empty plates, I investigate further to determine if that meal is a keeper.

Marking my Menu Planner

If I find that our family enjoyed this meal and would like to have it again, then I mark it on my menu planner. By placing an (*) next to the meal, I can track my family’s favorite meals. When I need inspiration, I can review our prior menu planners for (*) and ideas.

Asking my Family

Periodically, I ask my family for their favorite meals. Though my children do not agree, I get a variety of options. At the end of the session, I have a list of at least 20 meals that the majority of our family really likes.

The following meals are included in my family’s current Top 20 favorite dinner meals’ list:

Crock Pot Dinners:

1. Chili, pigs in a blanket, corn bread, and vegetables/fruits

2. Pork chops served on toasted hamburger buns with vegetables/fruit

3. Roast beef, rice, gravy, and vegetables/fruit

Stove Top Dinners:

4. Broccoli and cheese soup with sour dough bread

5. French toast, sausage, and fruit

6. Hamburgers and homemade French fries

7. Mexican dip, tortilla chips, and vegetables/fruit

Oven Dinners:

8. Baked chicken (dipped in egg and then in crushed French fried onions), chicken or cornbread stuffing (made and then baked for 20 minutes for a little crunch), and vegetables/fruit

9. Mini meatloaves (baked in a mini muffin pan topped with shredded cheese), mashed potatoes, and vegetables/fruit

10. Papa Murphy’s Chicago-style stuffed pizza

Keeping this list updated, I can adjust my stockpile. Knowing what meals my family likes, I can watch the sales and stock up when these items are at rock bottom prices. In doing so, I feed my family, buy what we will eat, and save at the store.

In planning for success in 2013, track your family’s favorite meals by observing, marking, and asking. With a list of go-to meals, you can adjust your menu plan, watch the sales, and feed your family.

Your top 20 list will provide creative inspiration as you plan your meals, save money by stocking up at rock bottom prices, and feed your family. Continue planning for success while using time wisely. Happy tracking!

Question: What are your family’s favorite meals? 

Comments

  1. jollyjillys says

    Wow I am so impressed how you are planning I think I will try to follow your ideas. I love a crock pot meal its so easy lol
    Thanks for sharing I will be back

    • Tracy says

      Welcome! I look forward to hearing your point of view as you look around. I’m tracking my water intake and exercise on Facebook each night. Come join me, and get a free gift. 🙂

      Crock pot meals are a love-hate relationship with me. I love how easy it is to start and cook, but those meals also seem to have the most cleanup. Not necessarily from the crock pot itself, but from making the gravy, the bread, and the sides.

      Another reason it may seem like lots of cleanup is due to choosing my crock pot on busy days. If the day was long and tiresome, then cleanup will seem so as well. In using time wisely, I find my crock pot beneficial, especially is someone else cleans up. 🙂

      Looking forward to your interaction. Thanks for sharing!

  2. C. Lee Reed says

    My family loves mixed steamed veggies over different flavored rices. I just signed up for your newsletter, love the premise and look forward to receiving your tips each day. While I didn’t officially make meal planning a goal for 2013, I secretly held in my mind that I was going to get a better handle on this mom task. I am so blessed that I’ve found your site. You may not know it but you’ve become my “saving grace”! Thanks and Bon appétit.

    • Tracy says

      Welcome. I’m so grateful for your sweet comment. As a mother of 3, I must operate with a plan. If you need a place to start, I wrote a 6-part Start Saving from Scratch series where I got off track and started over. Though my plan works for me, you may need to adjust my system to work for you. Remember failure is just another option that did not work. Keep trying since every family is different. Glad to have your input. 🙂

    • Tracy says

      You’re a woman after my own heart! I love baked macaroni and cheese and breakfast casserole. Unfortunately, my kids don’t care for “crunchy” mac and cheese or sausage with their eggs. I know strange. Paul and I like baked mac and cheese. I love breakfast casserole, but Paul cannot eat eggs. Sometimes I make a modified breakfast casserole without the peppers, onions, and sausage.

      Thanks for sharing your links, Jennifer. As moms, we need all the ideas we can get. 🙂

    • Tracy says

      Great goal, Dominique! Prepare yourself for tough weeks when the plan just didn’t materialize. With some go-to meals for those unexpected later-than-normal nights, you can still get your family fed without breaking the bank. Cheering you on! 🙂

  7. Felicia says

    This is a great idea for helping to plan meal, Tracy! I love making crock pot meals especially since they last a bit longer than some of the “regular” meals that I would make. The problem with my family is that we never really stay on a schedule of what we’re eating throughout the week. It’s generally whatever we feel like eating, we eat. Maybe there is some pattern in there that I haven’t noticed as of yet. Something to think about surely.

    • Tracy says

      Felicia, thanks for sharing. I understand about seeing the menu and changing your mind. For me, that is the joy of the menu plan. With a week of meals planned, I can adjust, move them around, or change them completely. In being flexible (except for crock pot meals), I find the process freeing as I don’t have to come up with something for dinner. Hang in there. It’s a process that is constantly changing. 🙂

  8. Nikki says

    Wow, you’ve really mapped out a pretty complete plan for success here! I’m impressed. You even have battery purchases here. I definitely plan to go through all the posts and learn a few tips. I need to get my life organized. I am such a chaotic person in general, all over the place most days. I have anxiety disorder, though, and being chaotic definitely doesn’t help!

    • Tracy says

      Bless your heart, Nikki! Start where you are and plan as much as you can. The more I have written down (so I won’t forget), the less anxious I feel since I know I won’t forget it. Hang in there! 🙂

  9. Nickida says

    I really like the idea of planning my meals. I however need to get much more organized with this. I say I am but I end up never doing it. I will take some of your tips into consideration and use them as tools to get the task done.

  10. Sara says

    What a great idea for a challenge – bookmarking to come back next month when I have time to really dive into your series.
    I like the idea of planning the meals around your family’s likes and dislikes. What is the use of using a meal plan if you feed meals that are not consumed?
    I like the mindfulness of your meal planning – you observe in the background but you also ask directly what your family desires and then act on these findings. 🙂 Great mom.

    • Tracy says

      Thanks, Sara! Being a mom is a work in progress. Just as my kids go through phases, so do I. We are in the school of life together.

      You made a great point about the use of a meal plan if the food gets tossed. If we need to eat and we need to spend money on food, then we need to mesh the two together. It doesn’t always work, but we make progress.

      Thanks for the comment, Sara. I look forward to seeing more of your point of view. 🙂

  11. Jean says

    I plan my menus and usually grocery shop weekly. It is just what works best around here. I always try to ask for suggestions for meals prior to my planning for the upcoming week. The answers tend to be pretty standard so I know what to put on the menu even if I forget. Tacos, pork chops, roast, and chicken are the standards around here. We do breakfast for dinner quite a bit as well. I love your idea of reviewing the menu planner to find quick favorites!

  12. Yona says

    Nice post. I never thought about tracking favorite meals, but it would come in really handy when you have no idea what to cook or you can gauge if a new recipe will do well in the household. I also like Day 9 – Keeping Track of Subscriptions. I have a habit of making a note in my digital calendar when I order a magazine or service so that I can get automatic alerts on the computer. There is nothing worse that wasting money on a renewal you didn’t plan on continuing.

    Funny that you mention crockpot meals…because I am making my first meal ever (Cabbage Fiesta Soup) as we speak. It won’t be ready until 10:30 – 11pm but it’s an experiment just for me (because I didn’t have all the ingredients and did substitutions) so I can wait.

    • Tracy says

      Thanks, Yona, for the comment. I’m curious to find out if your first crock pot meal is a success. Though I don’t make many meals in the crock pot, I use mine at least once a week – usually on a busy day.

      If you want more crock pot recipes, I love Stephanie O’Dea’s blog – A Year of Slow Cooking. She used her crock pot every day for one year and documented her recipes and evaluation.

      Enjoy your crock pot, and I hope your dinner turns out great! 🙂

  13. Michelle says

    Love your way of organizing your posts for the month! Menu-planning is not my strong point at all! Thanks for these great suggestions! Utilizing ideas from my family is a great idea and my crockpot is a lifesaver!

    • Tracy says

      Thanks for your honest comment, Michelle. We can’t all be good at everything. You’ve found the value of your crock pot, and you’re on your way. 🙂

  14. Kim (babyw8) says

    My family’s favorite meals are pasta with meat sauce. I have started using an app on my IPAD called MealBoard it helps with the meal planning

  15. Carrie Wood says

    This is a great resource. My husband does all the cooking so I am definitely passing it on to him!

  16. Kecia says

    I try to create meal plans to make time in the kitchen more efficient. I didn’t think about tracking meals in this way. It would definitely keep me from making the same recipe twice when my family doesn’t really like it. Thanks for the tips!

  17. Jenni Allen says

    I have read a lot about this subject, but I have never heard anyone describe it using the * system. I think this is a great idea. I am going to have to try this. Thanks for sharing. I am sharing this post to fb

    • Tracy says

      Thanks, Jenni. I love hearing tips from others who menu plan and save on their grocery bill. Please come share what you have learned from what not to do to what you must try. I appreciate your comment and share.

  18. Erin @ My Mommy World says

    What great tips! I also keep a running list of the foods my family likes to make meal planning easier on me. I do like to try out new recipes every so often, however, but I try to find things that use ingredients that I keep on hand (there’s nothing I hate worse than having to buy special ingredients that I will only use once or twice!). Tonight I’m making a pork shoulder that I can turn into 3 or more meals.

    • Tracy says

      Erin, I would love to make multiple meals from one chunk of meat. In general, my family does not care for leftovers or casseroles. I’m always looking for ways to use my time more wisely, and cooking once to eat three times is the way to go. Please share your tips, and let me know if you want to guest post. 🙂

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