I have written previously about how I try to get the children’s input into the family menu planning process, but I have not yet mentioned Mr Infrastructure’s contributions to this.
To be honest I actually hardly ever ask him what he would like to see on the menu plan. I think this may have something to do with the fact that if I do, he has a repertoire of about three meals he will roll off: Tacos, Fried Rice and Sausage and Vegetables and generally the kids have already asked for that so there is nothing new to add!
These meals also fall into the category of the five meals that he can cook. Mr Infrastructure does help out around the house and I will be the first to admit that he does more ironing than I do (I would also like to add though, I think the fact that he can do this and watch sport on the TV has something to do with this!!!), but he is not exactly a whiz in the kitchen.
I have worked hard with him, so that he has at least some meals that have nutritional value, which he can cook by himself. Mr Infrastructure developed his own process for me teaching him to cook. I would cook the meal and he would watch and take his own notes and then I would assist him when he first cooked the recipe. The photo above is of Mr Infrastructure’s personal cookbook.
This process worked quite well and although he can’t cook many meals, what he can cook, he does well. Mr Infrastructure’s hand written instructions have had another benefit recently as well. I have been trying to get the recipes I cook most frequently out of my head and onto the computer. (I am in the process of finding a way to best share them on the blog – more about that another day.) I have been able to quickly type up the meals in his cookbook without having to think too much about how I cook them.
The instructions Mr Infrastructure wrote down are far more comprehensive that my own would have been. Check out the recipe for Chicken Lasagne below and let me know what you think, it was one of his.
Monday: Chicken Korma
Baking: ANZAC Biscuits (Recipe Attached)
Tuesday: Chicken Lasagne (Recipe Attached)
Wednesday: Sausage and Vegetables
Thursday: Lamb Chops and Steamed Vegetables
Friday: Tacos
Saturday: Tomato and Basil Gnocchi
Sunday: Roast Chicken and Vegetables
SHOPPING LIST FILES
Again, I have included the shopping list for this week’s menu plan as an excel file. The below paragraphs explain what is in the attached excel file below.
Menu Plan Shopping List 080421
It contains three separate spreadsheets. The first is named “Complete Grocery’ and it lists by supermarket aisle all the ingredients that are needed to cook the family meals for this week.
The second spreadsheet is named “Ingredient By Meal’ and it lists the ingredients that are required for the family by each individual meal this week. I have also left on the aisle and aisle subsection in this spreadsheet for reference, but if you want to print that out you will need to alter the print area.
The third spreadsheet is named “Menu Plan” and is a modified version of the menu plan that I print and place on the fridge. I have a notes section, that I like to populate with any activities that are likely to impact the evening meal routine.
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