Cooking Schedule and Themes

Anyone who knows me well knows I just HATE cooking!  There are so many things I would rather be doing than making a meal and cleaning up after it.  But food is necessary to sustain life (darn it:-) so it's got to be done.  I realized the hardest thing for me about cooking is coming up with the idea of WHAT to make.  So I came up with 12 dinner themes.  By repeating two themes, I have two-weeks worth of themed food nights, making it easier to come up with a menu (and helping us get out of a dinner rut).  I schedule these on the calendar and pick a meal for each theme.  What saves money is knowing before 5:00 what I'll be making for dinner so we don't fall back on "Let's just pick something up."  Another money saving tip is to create your menu specifically on what you have on hand or what is on sale that week.

For those of you who are interested, here's our Themes:
Italian
Mexican
Asian
Soup/Salad
From the Oven
Something New (to encourage me to branch out from our usual staples)
Family Favorites
Crockpot
Pizza (homemade)
Meatless
Simple (mac n cheese from a box, Ramen, grilled cheese, etc.)...twice
CORN (Clean Out Refrigerator Night)...twice

My husband has appreciated the better meals (and not having to wait so much when he gets home) and I've loved the anxiety-free feeling I have of knowing what we're having for dinner.  So, get your calendars and pencils ready and start planning your menus!  Who knows, you might actually start enjoying cooking every once in a while!-)