I know that we’ve entered 2016, but I did not get a chance to share my family’s winter menu last month when we began using it.
I’ve detailed my menu planning process previously. In short, at the start of each season I develop a menu that contains four weeks’ worth of meals. We use each of these menus for the three months of its respective season.
I only include dinners on our menus because we typically eat leftovers with a side of fruit for lunch. I try to include at least one meatless entrée each week in order to save us a bit of money on groceries. For breakfasts, I often make a few items on the weekends and freeze them for easy preparation on busy weekday mornings.
Here are the yummy dinners we’ll be eating this winter.
Week 1
- Curry tortellini soup, rolls
- Cheesy chicken and broccoli orzo
- Ham slices, hash brown potatoes, green beans
- Easy Mexican lasagna, corn
- Shredded BBQ turkey sandwiches, green beans
- Chicken noodle casserole, carrots
- Pepperoni pizza, green beans
Week 2
- Sloppy Joe macaroni and cheese, carrots
- Hamburgers, baked potatoes, corn
- Grilled chicken, Italian seasoned orzo, carrots
- Spaghetti and meat marinara, green beans
- Easy cheesy beef stroganoff, carrots
- Creamy tomato penne with broccoli
- Open
Week 3
- Chicken cordon bleu pasta skillet, carrots
- Baked ricotta spaghetti, green beans
- Baked chicken, roasted root vegetables
- Sloppy Joe pasta, corn
- Nacho soup with tortilla chips
- Honey pepper chicken over rice, green beans
- Chicken tetrazzini, carrots
Week 4
- Spicy lemon chicken over rice, carrots
- Chicken and noodles, side salad
- Pizzadillas, green beans
- Creamy turkey mushroom spaghetti, rolls
- Tortellini tomato soup, cheesy bread
- Cheeseburger macaroni, carrots
- Open
Over the next few weeks I’ll post recipes for some of the dishes on this menu.
What will you be eating this winter? What new dishes are you eager to try?
Shared at the following link parties:
Tuesdays with a Twist, Blog Fair, Making Your Home Sing, Weekend Wind Down and Inspiration Spotlight.
Lexie Robinson says
Mmmm sloppy joe pasta looks delicious! Thanks for sharing.
You can linkup on my blog at http://www.thegenesisfeminist.com
Lexie Robinson
Shannon says
That’s one of our favorites!
Thanks for sharing about the link-up, Lexie!
Antionette Blake says
I think I’ll try the chicken and rice dish as that is what we normally have during the winter months. #WWDP
Shannon says
Hi Antionette,
Chicken and rice dishes are always great options!
AnneMarie says
That’s a cool idea to rotate a cycle of 4 weeks over 3 months! I used to plan a month at a time, but then started slacking off-now I only plan a week or 2 at a time, so this is giving me good inspiration to get my meal-planning back to what it was! I plan out for 2-3 meat meals a week, the rest of them meatless, and it’s amazing how much money gets saved by cutting down meat consumption a little bit, like you point out! (plus, I read somewhere that it’s actually healthier to not eat tons of meat all the time)
Shannon says
Hi AnneMarie,
I wouldn’t say that you are slacking. Different approaches work for different families, so you have to do whatever works for you guys.
AnneMarie says
Thanks for that vote of confidence, Shannon! The whole “different strokes for different folks” thing is so true, though I do want to get more on top of things anyways 🙂
Karen says
So many great recipes here! I’m going to have to keep this post handy! What a great idea to have a menu plan for each season, too! Thanks so much for sharing with the Blog Fair.
Shannon says
Hi Karen,
I was pleased to share it. Perhaps you’ll get to try a recipe!