He who fails to plan, plans to fail.

I've been cooking from Woman's Day magazine's Month of Menus! for most of my adult life. I can't even remember exactly when I started, but I can remember hanging them on the fridge in my first apartment on Cedar Lane.

It is such second nature at this point that I really doubt I could plan a menu for longer than a few days with much creativity. Most of the food I post to this blog is deviant food. There are a few recipes that are so tempting I find a place to stick them into the menu. I only have a few cookbooks at home. I use The Joy of Cooking if I have a technique issue to solve. I also have a few "picnic & potluck" books for family reunions and work parties.

There are also days that the menu just doesn't do it for us, like April 5th. "Planned leftovers Roast leg of lamb (save 2 cups, cubed, for Tues) orzo with peas. Saute 1⁄2 cup chopped onion and 1 tsp minced garlic in a little butter. Add 2 cups frozen peas; cook 3 minutes. Toss with cooked orzo." Blech. None of us like lamb and we sure don't want two meals worth of it.

We have dinner at home almost every night. Going out to eat is a big deal for my family. Dennis and I alternate cooking. I did it last night, so he's got to do it tonight. We grocery shop every Sunday. I can't imagine what it would be like to not have a menu plan. We'd probably eat cereal three nights a week.