Thanks everyone! We've just returned from our Chinatown excursion. It was a long but fun day. We ate a lot of Chinese baked buns: cocktail buns, pineapple buns, BBQ pork buns, and hotdog buns! Little man and I joked about our fun buns lunch! LOL We went to the Chinese Cultural Center but things were not quite set up. Seemed like they were not going to be ready until this weekend. So we went to visit a few Chinese grocery stores. OMG, it was like a zoo everywhere. People were shopping like crazy. No surprise though, two more days of shopping before the big day. We bought a pack of Chinese New Year treat called Cows Ears, some deep fried cookies, for the occasion. But we were out for so long that we ended up eating the whole bag before making it home! LOL Image of Cows Ears: Then I bought these gorgeous Chinese kumquat (like mini oranges). They are small but sweet in a strange way. Hard to explain. I did save some for the Tray of Togetherness. Image of kumquats: We are going to the zoo all day tomorrow so I will make the shrimp dumplings tonight. Will start the chicken congee in the slow cooker before we leave tomorrow morning. By the time we get home we will just heat up the shrimp dumplings and eat them with the chicken congee. Should be another fun day for us. By the way, hubby and little man just ate two of the Lo Mai Gai and they LOVED it. So it's worth the time making them. :-) Al

This is the meal plan I've followed for years and perhaps it and the others I've posted will help you out a bit to build one for yourself. I like it because I can switch days or leave them out completely if necessary. Many of the basic foods are prepared in advance and portioned in the freezer in serving sizes (2 people for us). That would include spaghetti sauce, freezer mashed potatoes, soup/stew/chili, taco meat, etc. You could easily rearrange the choices to work best for you. I don't like to work out a "perfect" menu, but I like the guidelines I've set out for myself. I know if I have a few simple ingredients on hand - shredded cheese, lettuce and other fresh veggies, and a well-stocked freezer, no meal is very far away. MONDAY: Big Meal Includes a large cut of meat that will also serve as leftovers, possibly sandwich meat, base for stir fry; and served with all the "normal" side dishes that go along with that type of meat. Usually there is enough leftover to freeze a portion to use later. Baked chicken or roast beef also get used to make soup. Occasionally when I don't have time to make the whole meal from scratch I'll use whatever has been waiting the freezer (leftover roast turkey or beef, etc.) TUESDAY: Leftovers It may take on a completely different look than what was served on Monday - your choice. If you don't like leftovers the next day, use them on Wednesday instead. WEDNESDAY: Stir-fry If you prepared vegetables on Monday or Tuesday that can be prepared in advance to include in this meal you'll save time by chopping enough on the previous days. Use a combination of fresh and frozen veggies. Almost any kind of meat can be used for stir-fry - both raw or pre-cooked. Serve with a side of rice and fresh fruit for dessert. I might take a large amount of meat (chicken or steak for instance) and cook it and portion it for the freezer and used later for more stir-fry meals, or used as the meat topping on a dinner salad, or used in a wrap on sandwich day. THURSDAY: International Usually something Italian or Mexican using spaghetti sauce and some kind of pasta or taco meat (which are already portioned in the freezer). Both meat bases can be used in a plethora of things. FRIDAY: Vegetarian A great way to save on our most expensive food item - meat. If you don't have time for a traditional breakfast, it could be a good time for pancakes or crepes. Something egg, cheese or bean based. SATURDAY: Soup and/or Sandwich We're always busy on Saturday, so instead of eating out, having the freezer stocked with homemade soup and fixings for sandwiches on hand (as well as wraps and other sandwich-type things) saves time and money. SUNDAY: Homemade Pizza or a Dinner Salad Homemade pizza is a good way to use up small amounts of leftover meat and clean the vegetable bin. When the weather is too hot for baking pizza, or the garden is in full swing, those same meat and vegetable ingredients make a great dinner salad. All meals include nature's "FAST FOOD" which are fresh vegetables of some kind and fresh or canned fruit for dessert. The freezer is stocked with homemade tortillas, homemade burger and hot dog buns, homemade dinner rolls, cornbread (all wrapped in foil in servings for one or two) ready to reheat. ------------------------------------------------------ Here's another eating plan I jotted down from a book I read years ago: -Meat on Sunday and Wednesday -Casseroles/Leftovers Monday and Thursday -Pasta - Tuesday -Fish, eggs, cheese - Friday -Soup and or Sandwich - Saturday -------------------------------------------- This one I read on-line: Monday - Pasta Tuesday - Soup, salad, and/or sandwiches Wednesday - Stir-fry Thursday - Crock-pot Friday - Pizza Saturday - Something new Sunday - Something easy -Grainlady

I follow weight watchers and I find that if I plan out our weekly menu it's easier, I eat healthier and it's much less expensive, though I will admit there were weeks (especially while house hunting) where everything got messed up. It's difficult to be dedicated to this, but when we don't (I mean, when I don't) plan we either eat out or eat pasta. I have a huge list of food blogs that I go to for ideas. We also eat very little meat during the week because we do not support factory farms and cannot really afford the meat otherwise. We have DH daughter on weekends, so we save the meat meals for then, otherwise it's just the 2 of us. I do the planning and buy the groceries, DH cooks, but I do get his OK on the chosen meals. So, here is what I do. Sometime during the weekend I check out what we have left that needs to be used up and write that down. Then I ask DSD and DH if they have any requests for the next weekend. Then I start searching/reading my food blogs and weight watchers cook books. I find recipes or whatever for dinners Sunday - Saturday night, and either more for lunches, or plan the dinners to be bigger to accommodate extra portions. Then I get "approval" from DH. I write up 2 lists (I like to write things down). 1 is each recipe's ingredients. The other is all the items we need from the store. This way if I get to the store and need to eliminate one of the recipes or make some other change, I can check all the recipes and see if that will cause changes anywhere else. We do the shopping Sunday. I try to plan for an easy meal for Sunday night cuz who wants to do all that work after shopping? Otherwise, each meal does not have a set day. It seems like a lot of work, but honestly, our grocery bill has dropped dramatically, and it's so much easier to come home and check the list for dinner then to come home tired at the end of the day to a bunch of random groceries and say "hm, what can we make out of this", which is when we end up eating out, not cost effective. Life does get in the way, he does get too tired to cook, but I do try to plan some simple meals for the worst days. Grilled veggie burgers is one of them. He wants to make up a spreadsheet of meals we've tried and rate them for easy picking when I don't have time to plan. This week is bad because my back is very injured and I've been in a lot of pain since Saturday. I don't think it even occurred to him to plan or go shopping :( But my appetite is pretty much gone, so we can have pasta all week if he wants LOL I'd like to eventually get to the once or twice a month cooking, but that's a very long term goal! I hope this ramble helped someone!!!

Since refrigeration space is an issue, I'd look at ordering irradiated milk. One thing we used to take camping, was those specialty dry Italian sausages. They are great for mini-charcuterie boards for snack times/lunches, but can also be thrown into omelettes, pizzas, etc. Also, our favourite specialty cheeses come completely wrapped in a wax outer cover and keep forever. Do take things like garlic, shallots, ginger that don't need refrigeration, but are essential if fish is caught. However, don't count on fish being caught. I'm addicted to sailing vlogs and it seems that sometimes there are not as many fish waiting to take a hook as you might think. Very jealous. As I said, I'm addicted to sailing vlogs and I'm trying to convince the rest of my family to come on a charter with me in Panama next winter. So far they are unconvinced, but I've got a whole year to work on them.