Self-Reliance Tip of the Week - Partyin' with the Meal Plan

Yep, we're havin' a party! Arrrrrribbba!

What are we celebrating? Our food storage meal plan. We are gonna make it so easy, you can't believe its not butter!

First you have to ask yourself a few questions? What meals do you like to eat? What meals will your kids NOT touch? I once jokingly suggested that a friend have enough spaghetti ingredients to have it every night for three months. Her husband said, he'd rather die. Okay...neggie on the spaghetti! This is because you can get food fatigue by eating the same thing over and over and over, where you just don't want to eat and that can be a bad thing.

So, we're gonna break this puppy down and get this party started. Dinners seem to take the most ingredients to make (in my life anyway) - so, I will tackle this first.

#1 Choose 14 of your favorite dinners.

These are simple dinner meals my family eats on a regular basis:

• Tacos (Arrrrrriba!)
• Taco salad with beans (we call them Pepper Bellies - I dunno...its a tradition)
• Spaghetti (yes, we do spaghetti - my #2 son chooses it EVERY time it is his turn to make dinner :) )
• Chicken Enchiladas (Arrrriba!)
• Chicken Ala King
• Chinese Fried Rice (with Egg Drop Soup - yummo)
• Nauvoo Potatoes (aka Funeral Potatoes)
• Quinoa and Black Beans (sounds weird...but think of Taco Bell's Black Bean Salad - a brand new favorite)
• Chicken Pasta Salad
• Chicken Casserole
• Ham and Potato Casserole
• Lasagna
• Mozzarella Pasta
• Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Some of these aren't FSR meals (food storage ready) - but there is nothin' too crazy that I can't tweak just a little to easily make it that way. For instance, if I need chicken for Chicken Pasta Salad, I substitute a pint of chicken I've canned for the fresh chicken I might normally use. Things like lettuce for the Taco Salad would need to be either grown by me, or traded out for kale (also would need to be grown by me). If it just isn't something you can easily store or grow, it might be best to find a different recipe. After all, we are ALL about making this easy. Try to keep chicken meals or potato meals evenly spaced to avoid food fatigue - 'cause fatigue is NOT welcome at this party!

#2 - Take those dinners and place them in a table similar to this.

Week 1	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
B
L
D	Chicken Enchiladas	Quinoa and Black Beans	Spaghetti	Tacos	Chicken Ala King	Nauvoo Potatoes	Lasagna
Week 2	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
B
L
D	Chinese Fried Rice	Chicken Pasta Salad	Taco Salad	Mozzarella Pasta	Ham and Potato Casserole	Black Bean and Corn Salsa	Chicken Casserole

#3 - Next fill in lunches (my hubby does NOT do soup, so I have to dust off my creativity hat, because most lunch suggestions are...soup) I am just fine with eating the same lunch every week - so I'll just make lunch for week 1 and 2 the same. While we are all about variety, keeping it simple, makes it easy.

Week 1	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
B
L	Ham and Beans	Real Macaroni and cheese	PB& J or grilled cheese Sandwiches	Macaroni salad	Scones	Chili Macaroni	Chicken Salad with crackers
D	Chicken Enchiladas	Quinoa and Black Beans	Spaghetti	Tacos	Chicken Ala King	Nauvoo Potatoes	Lasagna
Week 2	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
B
L	Ham and Beans	Real Macaroni and cheese	PB&J or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches	Macaroni salad	Scones	Chili Macaroni	Chicken Salad with Crackers
D	Chinese Fried Rice	Chicken Pasta Salad	Taco Salad	Mozzarella Pasta	Ham and Potato Casserole	Black Bean and Corn Salsa	Chicken Casserole

#4 - Plan your breakfasts ( What about elevensies? ) Hang in there! You're almost done! I will do the same thing for breakfast that I did for lunch and have 7 choices that I rotate through.

Week 1	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
B	Biscuits and Gravy	Pancakes	Applesauce breakfast cake	Oatmeal and fruit	Strawberry Crepes	Cracked Wheat	Breakfast Burritos
L	Ham and Beans	Real Macaroni and cheese	PB& J or grilled cheese Sandwiches	Macaroni salad	Scones	Chili Macaroni	Chicken Salad with crackers
D	Chicken Enchiladas	Quinoa and Black Beans	Spaghetti	Tacos	Chicken Ala King	Nauvoo Potatoes	Lasagna
Week 2	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
B	Biscuits and Gravy	Pancakes	Applesauce breakfast cake	Oatmeal and fruit	Strawberry Crepes	Cracked Wheat	Breakfast Burritos
L	Ham and Beans	Real Macaroni and cheese	PB&J or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches	Macaroni salad	Scones	Chili Macaroni	Chicken Salad with Crackers
D	Chinese Fried Rice	Chicken Pasta Salad	Taco Salad	Mozzarella Pasta	Ham and Potato Casserole	Black Bean and Corn Salsa	Chicken Casserole

#5 - Go through your recipes and make a list of ingredients for one month. After you purchase these items, then acquire that list again, and one more time you have a 90 supply in no time. Food is expensive, so where you can buy stuff in bulk, "can" it yourself, or grow it. Where a recipe calls for "cream of chicken soup", you can also cut costs if you learn to make it yourself. It is better for you (especially if you save your own broth from a chicken you cooked), and it won't have all the hidden chemicals the store bought brands do.

CHALLENGE

For those in the Safford 1st Ward, if you make a menu and a list of ingredients, a bar of hand-made soap is waiting for you. I currently have Lemon scented and Peppermint and Lavender (all natural - even the colorants), so what are you waiting for? Get crackin'!

Even though it takes time to make a menu and then the list your ingredients for your trip to the store, it helps to ensure that you will be putting your money where it counts, which is a big deal. It might seem tedious, but it is so worth it. After you get a 90 day supply, keep going! Then it will be a real reason to PARTAY - because the stress of gathering necessary food will be taken in baby steps and oh so easy!