What's for Dinner?

Jan here, with that age-old question...

Have you seen the meme going around social media that says something like: "No one told me that being an adult meant that I had to decide what to fix for supper every day for the rest of my life!"

Because the struggle is real!

When I was a young mom, many afternoons would find me and my two neighbors (also young moms) sitting on our front steps while our children played on the sidewalk that ran in front of our houses. Each of us would be armed with a cookbook or two, and the conversation would go something like this:

Mom #1: "What are you fixing tonight?" 

Mom #2: "Something with chicken. Do you have any good ideas?"

Mom #3: "There's always Shake and Bake."

These conversations would happen between 3:00 and 4:00 - and suppertime was our deadline!

*sigh*

Do you have that problem?

These days life is different. Recipes and eating habits have changed (that happens when your toddlers and preschoolers turn into adults and move away!) I'm cooking for two instead of six. And I'm more disciplined about writing out my menu and following it!

I see your eyes glazing over! I have a few friends who just can't be tied down to a menu and you might be one of them. I get it!

But before you stop reading altogether, I have a suggestion.

Make a list of five dishes your family enjoys, and then add two more recipes that you keep saying you want to try "someday."

Write down the ingredients you need to buy for each recipe and head to the grocery store.

Now when you can't figure out what to have for supper tonight, just look at that list. What looks good? Lasagna? Great! You know you already have everything you need to make it because you went to the grocery store and bought all the ingredients already!

Wasn't that easy?

Since we've moved out to the country, trips to the store are biweekly rather than weekly events. So when I make my menu, I write it out for two weeks ahead. When I wrote out my last menu, I gave myself the challenge of using my pantry for every meal. :-)

So, what are we having this week? One night we're having Egg Roll in a Bowl (you can find my recipe here, or Mindy's here, or Ruthy's here - it's a favorite!) 

Another night we're having Butter Chicken on Rice. This dish is so delicious, and the garam masala is key! You can find the recipe here.

I'm trying a new recipe later in the week: One Pot Beef Stroganoff Soup. Will it be tasty? If it is, I'll share the recipe next week.

It feels so good to have this chore all planned out. Nearly as good as a full pantry! And it saves so much time. Instead of spending thirty minutes to an hour searching for a recipe midway through the afternoon, I just have to look at the menu I posted on the refrigerator.

What do I do with all that extra time?

Well, writing and marketing books takes up a lot of my day. I have two books coming out next week!

On Tuesday, October 20th, the third book in my Amish of Weaver's Creek series will release!

You can order "Softly Blows the Bugle" here!

On the SAME DAY (unless the dates change again...) An Amish Christmas Recipe Box will be available. This is last year's Christmas novella released as stand-alone in e-book form. You can order it here!

But even with all the writerly stuff going on, we make sure we head out into the Hills whenever possible. The other day, we took Jack and Sam out to one of our favorite trails in the National Forest.

They really are best friends. :-)

Jan Drexler has always been a "book girl" who still loves to spend time within the pages of her favorite books. She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her dear husband of many years and their active, crazy dogs, Jack and Sam. You can learn more about Jan and her books on her website, www.JanDrexler.com.