Menu makeover: Planning ahead takes the desperation out of dinner

It's nearing 5 p.m. ... What's for dinner?

You've got a few ideas, but after scrambling through the cupboard and fridge, you find that once again, you're missing key ingredients.

Should you rush to the store? Borrow from a neighbor? Come up with something else to cook? Give up?

Once again, meal time ends up being a fast-food drive-through or pizza delivery.

Or, maybe you come home from grocery shopping and realize that none of the things you bought can be combined into a meal.

It's time for a menu makeover, so you'll never have to wonder what's for dinner, and you'll always have the ingredients on hand to make it.

"Menu planning" may sound like a complicated chore better left to home-ec teachers or professional chefs.

"But really, it's just thinking of what you want to eat," said Penny Ramey, who taught a menu-planning class for Salt Lake County's Utah State University Extension.

First, write a list of what you'd like to eat for the week. It doesn't have to be elaborate, restaurant-quality or detailed — something like "Tacos, green beans and pudding" will suffice.

Then make a grocery list so you can stock your kitchen with the necessary ingredients.

"After looking at what you love to eat, look in the supermarkets' ads to see if what's on sale this week will fit into these meals," said Ramey. "Then make up a shopping list of the ingredients you need to buy."

Or you can do it the other way round: Look at the supermarket ads before writing your menu, so that you're taking full advantage of any sales.

The idea is to make sure you have food on hand to make the dishes you want to eat.

"So when you're in a hurry or hungry, you know there's food waiting at home," said Ramey. "It keeps you from pulling into that fast-food drive-through."

Planning

Jotting down a meal plan for the week helps you strategize with quick-and-easy dishes for busy nights, or to put something in the crock pot early in the day.

It helps to have the week's menu plan posted on the fridge. When you're frazzled, you don't have to think — just follow the plan. And if family members can see what's for dinner, they can jump in and help.

"Menu planning" doesn't mean you have to spend an hour or two cooking a five-course meal every day.