Weekly Menu Board

This is the post I have looked forward to for weeks! The idea of a menu board was 100% Pinterest inspired. But I wasn't able to find one that fit the space I had. So I sort of combined a few ideas into this board. I cannot wait to plan out our meals for next week this Sunday as I coupon!!!!!

It has taken me weeks to complete it, but don't get scared away, I didn't just work on this board. If I had, it probably would have taken me 2 days. So here is the step-by-step process.









First, I took the chalkboard I already had. (Plain and ugly...I know.)

Next I took stickers to make out the words "Menu" and "Shopping" and sealed them with Mod Podge. This way I can wipe the board clean with a wet rag since it is in my kitchen.  I also painted the trim a green color.

As the painted trim was drying, I took 5 wooden clothes pins and painted them with nail polishes.

As those dried, I took an empty bandaid box and trimmed it to the size I wanted.

I then covered the bandaid box.

After the clothes pins were dry, I used my hotglue gun and attached the pins where I wanted them. I only used 5, because we usually end up eating out 1 day on the weekend and eat at my in-laws the other day of the weekend. So I tend to not plan on cooking on weekends.

Next, I decided to print up the most common meals in our house with all of the ingredients need to make the meal on the back of the card. This way, when I make out my shopping list I will know all the ingredients I need to buy.
After they printed, I lamenated them so I would be able to wipe off anything that would get on them.

Finally, I assembled my board with the menu card holder, a pad of paper, and a sharpie holder (made out of ribbon). I used velcro to attach the pad of paper and card holder, and hot glue to attach the pen holder.

And my menu board was complete!

Lemon Cubes

This was so easy I'm not sure why I haven't done it sooner!

I love drinking water with lemon. However, I hate warm water. Soooo....genius idea here.....

1. Take a muffin pan and add a slice of lemon (however thick you want it) in the bottom of each muffin spot.
2. Pour water over each slice to the top of the muffin spot.
3. Freeze
4. Add cube to drinking glass
5. Ta-da! 

Freezer Meals

So, for my very 1st post, I thought I'd share one of my absolute favorite time-savers...FREEZER MEALS! Why have I not found this sooner?! I got the idea from Pinterest, but after spending some time on Google, I was blown away at all the recipes available. AND...you can even do this with some of your own favorites! It does take some time (about 2 hours) to assemble (I did 4 meals) but it's completely worth it when you know you have a hectic day, or you hate cooking after a long day at work. The link to the recipes will be at the end of this post.

Here is what my counter looked like after a trip to the grocery store...

All bags are 2-4 servings, so you will want to adjust ingredients to increase or decrease serving sizes.

¶    Before you add any ingredients to your bag, you will want to label them with the current date, the meal name, and instructions for the day you make it. (If one of the meals need broth, water, sauce, etc added you will want to make a note of that.)

¶    Dump everything into a one gallon freezer bag, seal it, shake it, and put in the freezer.

¶    The night before take the bag out of the freezer to thaw so you can easily dump it into the crock pot or if baking/cooking it a different way, it's ready.

What you’ll need:
¶    Gallon freezer bags
¶    Permanent marker
¶    Food chopper and cutting board
¶    Ingredients for meals
(I used http://mamaandbabylove.com and http://melissafallistestkitchen.blogspot.com for my recipes but again, I am quickly learning that you can make-ahead any meal.)

 

 

Click Here to get the recipes I have tried.