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Recipes & Menu-Planning

I have a big scrapbook-type book that houses the majority of my recipes, copied from other people, clipped from magazines, etc. Tonight I spent half an hour pulling out recipes I never make anymore, or that flopped the first time, or that contain ingredients we don't use now, and replacing them with the ever-accumulating stack cut from magazines.  It's a project I love doing.  I love looking for new recipes, asking Isaac if a particular one appeals to him as I think it might, tossing anything that no longer suits my fancy.  It's very cathartic.

I've noticed lately, though, in the many blogs I follow that post weekly menu plans, that "the pros" (as in, the people who write blogs that contain menu plans) seem to have a collection of 15-20ish recipes that they make regularly.  I'm sure that cuts down on a lot of wondering, a lot of flopped dinners, a lot of purchasing one-time-use ingredients.

I'll be honest: it sounds horribly boring to me.  The number of recipes that I repeat is growing, as I concentrate more and more on my grocery budget and using fewer processed foods, but even still, I can't stand the thought of cycling through the same 2-3 dozen meals.  I'm worried, however, that it might be practical to do so, particularly more so as we add more children to our family.  [Note: that is NOT an announcement.  I'm simply looking at my two growing boys now, and trying to fathom how much food they'll be eating in a decade.]

So I'm curious.  What do you do?  Trusty stand-bys, creative endeavors, or a combination??
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  1. Katey June 14, 2011 at 2:24 PM

    For the whole first year of our marriage I didn't cook the same recipe twice. Now, I mostly use old standbys but throw in one or two experimental recipes a week.

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