Weekly Menu from Mom - the beginning

What to make for dinner?  It's an age-old question that pops up in every family.  My grandmother must have had the same question, because she saved menu suggestions from her local grocery store published in 1932-34 and I found them with her cookbooks 60 years later.  Times sure have changed.  A family of four could be fed for $11-13 per week back then!

But one thing hasn't changed.  When you have a meal plan for the week to rely upon, it takes most of the stress out of preparing meals for yourself and your family.  And who wouldn't appreciate that!  So, when the grocery ads arrive it's time to plan ahead for the weekly dinners and weekly grocery shopping.  Check what is on sale and in season to incorporate some of those items into your meal plans.  Use those coupons on items you regularly use!

The menu suggestions in this blog are fairly open to interpretation.  For example, if the menu is 'chicken' you are free to prepare it using any of your favorite methods.  What works for you?  Whether it is baked, pan fried, prepared in the slow cooker, or grilled doesn't make any difference.  Don't like asparagus? Substitute another vegetable.  Mix it up.  Make your dinners as fancy or plain as you wish.

And just because it says 'Monday' doesn't mean you can't use that menu on a different day instead.  If you have leftovers from a previous day to use up - go for it!   Heading out to dinner? Lucky you!

Don't know how to make something?    If you leave a comment below the weekly post asking about a recipe, I'll be glad to add a follow-up post with the recipe I use.  There are so many resources available to cooks now!  I love old cookbooks, but also tend to use Taste of Home - where I've never found a recipe that wasn't excellent.

Have fun, eat healthy and enjoy cooking - for yourself, your family and your friends!

Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.