February Menu Plan
Goodness me, can you believe it’s time for the February Menu Plan already?!? A lot of my friends have been complaining about how January just dragged on, but I’ll be brutally honest, it absolutely flew by for me. Isn’t it weird how things “feel” different for us sometimes? Anyway, on with the menu plan for this brand new month that we are going to make the best of!
February Menu Planning Tips:
- Be flexible. Having a menu plan doesn’t mean our meals are absolutely set in stone. There are many times that I deviate from the plan (basically my whole life) and you’re allowed to do it too! Give yourself some grace if you are tired or pulled in a hundred different directions. Keep ingredients for some easy meals** on hand and don’t beat yourself up if you have to grab dinner out or whip something up in a hurry. My situation may be different from most–one child who sleeps here but is rarely home enough to eat with us, one who is mostly just here on weekends and during college breaks, and one who only comes home for special occasions! It’s generally just me and my husband here, but I remember all too well the days of juggling sports, band, choir, academic team, church, work, and/or a spouse who was away from home a lot. If you manage to get everyone fed, pat yourself on the back!
- Do that kitchen inventory we’ve talked about before. Ideally, we all should’ve done one in January, but I am a procrastinator by nature. Plus, with my health issues, I don’t push myself the way I used to. I’m working on mine now though and I can tell you from experience that a kitchen inventory makes it so much easier to plan your meals. It also cuts down on waste and this is not the time to be wasting if we don’t have to!
- Freeze those leftovers! We eat our leftovers for lunch and we have Leftover Night almost every Thursday, but sometimes there is a bit extra. Those extras get frozen and pulled out later for a quick meal. It’s also a good idea to freeze fresh veggies that are about to go bad (carrots, celery, etc.) and use them for stir-fry and soup.
**Quick and Easy Meal Ideas**
- Grilled Cheese and Canned Soup (Tomato or Vegetable Beef pair great!)
- Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, and Toast
- Pasta, Spaghetti Sauce (jar), Beef (browned), and Garlic Toast
- Hot Dogs, Macaroni & Cheese
February Menu
Wednesday/1: Fiery Cajun Shrimp, Baked Potato, French Bread, Salad. I’ve been craving shrimp lately and I love this one because of the amazing sauce I get to sop up with my bread!! I’m fairly certain I’ve shared the link before, but it’s a Paula Deen recipe if you need to look it up. We don’t do seafood when our daughter is home because she’s allergic, so I always consider it a treat. Plus, I bought it on sale and it’s been in the freezer for a couple of weeks. Win-win for me!
Thursday/2: Leftover Night
Friday/3: Angel Chicken with Couscous, Zucchini, Squash, and Onion. My mom used to grill this awesome chicken, zucchini, and yellow squash recipe and then serve it over couscous. Her ingredients were very simple, but the Angel Chicken recipe is a family favorite, so I’m trying it instead. I’ll let you know how this turns out!
Saturday/4: Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes, Onion Straws, Slaw. The other day I started making a list of favorite restaurant dishes that I wanted to copycat. When I asked my daughter (super picky eater) what she wanted me to try, onion straws were at the top of the list. She loves Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes (although she won’t eat any other Sloppy Joe’s…did I mention she is picky?) and she’ll be home for the weekend, so this one is for her. Also, I rarely make cole slaw, because the stuff from my local IGA deli is just better!
Sunday/5: Family Dinner
Monday/6: Egg Roll Bowl. This is probably one of the healthiest meals on our menu this month! Even though I love a good crispy egg roll, just making a bowl out of the filling is still delicious. And it’s much lower in carbs that way.
Tuesday/7: Salmon Tacos, Black Bean Fritters with Cilantro Sauce. One of our local, farm-to-table restaurants has these awesome salmon tacos on the menu. Truthfully, I love their food, but the restaurant is so stinking loud most of the time that I can’t stand to dine in and I haven’t gotten a good carryout order anywhere since 2019, so I avoid that as much as possible. My favorite part about their tacos is the sriracha aioli, so I’m going to try my own version. Their salmon is marinated in bourbon and spices, so it won’t quite be the same. It will be fun to try though!
Wednesday/8: Breakfast Pizza, Almond Breakfast Pastry. Have you ever had breakfast pizza? It’s seriously so easy. It’s also yummy. Try it out and let me know what you think!
Thursday/9: Leftover Night
Friday/10: Crispy Parmesan Chicken and Lemon Garlic Pasta, Homemade Bread, Herb Oil, Antipasti Skewers. Sometimes it’s a struggle coming up with variety when you have a picky eater. Pinterest is so helpful!
Saturday/11: BBQ Cornbread Stacks. This is something we’ve had at another family-owned restaurant and decided to recreate. We made some for friends who came to visit and told them it was Hillbilly Hog Slop. Haha…it’s a catchy name, but it doesn’t sound very appetizing, so I decided to go with BBQ Cornbread Stacks. It’s basically just fried cornbread topped with BBQ pulled pork, cole slaw, and beans. The beans can be served on the side if you too have picky eaters in the family!
Sunday/12: Super Bowl Party – Caprese Chicken Dip, Wingers Sticky Chicken and Ranch, Potato Skins. We’ve been invited to a party!! I honestly don’t care about professional sports (it’s just not my thing), but I do love a good party when it’s with people I love who I also know are good cooks. I’m really just going for the company, the food, and the pleasure of watching Chris Stapleton perform. He’s amazing and he’s a Kentucky boy!
Monday/13: Sauer Kraut and Wieners, Pinto Beans, Cornbread, and Chow Chow. Sometimes I just crave the food of my childhood. I’ve been thinking about chow chow a lot here lately. If you’ve never heard of it, chow chow is a relish made from various fresh vegetables from the garden. I’ll never have another one as good as my Mammaw’s, but I’ve found a couple of brands that aren’t half bad. I have her recipes. I should really make some this year. Or maybe I’ll talk my husband into it. : )
Tuesday/14: Happy Valentine’s Day! Jalapeno Popper Cheese Fondue, Chopped Salad (minus the chicken), Mojo Broth Fondue, and Candy Bar Fondue. I’m going for a whole Melting Pot vibe for Valentine’s Day. (Are you sensing a restaurant theme for this whole month? I just realized it!) If you’ve never heard of it, Melting Pot is this awesome fondue restaurant where you cook most everything at your table. It’s a whole experience, but it’s pricey and I’d rather sit at home in my comfy clothes while we fondue. My husband isn’t all that excited about this, despite the variety of dippers I have planned for the fondue. However, it’s Valentine’s Day and he’s not taking me out so I’ll do what I want!
Wednesday/15: Grilled Lemon Herb Mediterranean Salad. I figure we need something healthy after all that cheese and chocolate.
Thursday/16: Leftover Night
Friday/17: Tikka Masala, Jasmine Rice, and Naan. Spoiler Alert: Aldi and Kroger both have a Tikka Masala sauce that is really, really good. While not everything from Indian cuisine can be replicated with a bottled sauce, this dish can. At least, it tastes like the Tikka I’ve had from various Indian restaurants. I’d really love to have some Saag Paneer to go with it, so I should learn to make that. I feel like that would not be good to buy at the grocery store.
Saturday/18: Pizza Night. I’m honestly not sure what kind of pizza we are going to have, other than I know it will be homemade. I thought I’d let my family help me choose (I’m nice that way sometimes) and go from there. I’d really like a Taco Pizza or the cold Roast Beef Pizza that I make in the summertime. I know my daughter will want Ham and Pineapple and my husband will want something with lots of meat. Sometimes it’s fun to just grab a bunch of ingredients and see what you come up with!
Sunday/19: Family Dinner
Monday/20: Bang Bang Chicken & Shrimp Cheesecake Factory Copycat. This is my favorite dish from Cheesecake Factory and I finally found some copycat recipes. I make a pretty good peanut sauce that I think tastes very much like the dish, so I’m probably going to use that as well.
Tuesday/21: Dijon Pork Tenderloin, Roasted Root Vegetables. Does anyone else have trouble finding rutabagas locally? I love them so much and we’ve not been able to successfully grow them yet. They used to carry them at all the local grocery stores, but now I have to go almost as hour away to get them. I guess since the cashiers were constantly asking me what they are and how to cook them, I was the only one buying them!.
Wednesday/22: Tupelo Honey Spicy Cauliflower Bites and Hot Honey Chicken, Side Salad. Tupelo Honey is one of my favorite restaurants, even though I’m pretty sure I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been there. The Spicy Cauliflower Bites are what dreams are made of and I’m going to cook some pieces of fried chicken with it and drizzle it with some hot honey sauce. So good it will make your tongue slap your forehead!
Thursday/23: Leftover Night.
Friday/24: Hot & Sour Soup, Pork Dumplings, Orange Chicken and Fried Rice. Orange Chicken was another dish on the list of restaurant recipes to recreate. I make Hot and Sour Soup from a mix and substitute beef broth for the water and add vegetables. Pork dumplings will come from the freezer section at Aldi, because “work smarter, not harder”!!!
Saturday/25: Super Trooper’s Special Day Dinner: Apple Butter Brown Sugar Ribs, Cheese Grits, Green Beans, Cole Slaw, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Cobbler. I like to do nice things for the people I love, but the Super Trooper is hard to pin down. If you ask him what he wants, he’ll generally say “it doesn’t matter” or “whatever is fine.” It’s a little exhausting trying to remember what everybody likes. Anyway, these are foods I know he likes (minus the green beans, but we need green vegetables in our lives), so this is what he’s getting! The rib recipe is actually a chicken wing recipe, but I’m substituting because that’s what we have in the freezer.
Sunday/26: Family Dinner
Monday/27: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes with Turnips and Rutabaga, Peas, Biscuits. I just really love meatloaf. That is all.
Tuesday/28: Black Bean and Chorizo Soup, Chicken Chalupas Taco Bell Copycat. I also love soup and I have developed an obsession with the chalupa bread (I guess it’s just a flatbread?) from Taco Bell. Chalupas would probably be really good to dip in White Bean Chicken Chili too. Definitely need to try that out!
That’s it for February’s Menu Plan. We don’t really have plans to eat dinner out this month, but luckily, February isn’t as long as other months. As much as I love to cook, I also appreciate having a shorter menu plan!
Check out my recipes for more menu plan ideas. And don’t forget to sign up for That One Mom emails to get access to the Subscriber Library and the February Menu Plan printable.
