Laura Tonkyn, Journal staff

What's for dinner? Good times or bad, it's a question that comes up 365 days a year. And too often, looking for an answer means racing through the grocery store aisles at 5 p.m. hoping inspiration strikes or lining the family up at a fast-food restaurant, with twinges of guilt fighting it out with pangs of hunger.

What's the solution? It's all in the planning, according to two local moms, Angela Hemstock and Mandy Hall. Both have made a habit of menu planning - and it needn't be complicated or take a lot of time.

Hall and her husband, Rob, have always been organized, she said. The couple, who have two young children, have been married for 12 years. As married students living in a small college housing unit, the couple learned the importance of planning their daily routine, Hall said.

Today, they continues to work together

organizing their family meals and activities. For meals, "we kind of talk about it during the week or the weekend," said Hall, who usually shops every two weeks. "We look at the schedule. Are we going out of town? What meals do we need? Is Rob going to be home?"

Both are "big list writers," according to Hall. "We keep lots of lists, including a running grocery list." Hall, who is a stay-at-home mom, finds her husband a big help, and she encourages him to tell her what he would like to have. "Tell me what you want to eat, and I'll cook it. If he says what he wants, that works."

The family often shops together on the weekends, although Hall sometimes goes alone. "I usually write my list in order of the store. Milk is at the top and produce is at the bottom." That way, Hall can quickly complete her shopping, even though she is buying supplies for two weeks. Having young children can make shopping a challenge to get to the store, so keeping her swings through the grocery store to a minimum is a big plus.

Too many store trips are what caused Hemstock to begin making a menu plan. "I got sick of going to the grocery store two or three times a week to pick up a quick meal," Hemstock, a stay-at-home mother of three, said. "I also wanted to have more variety in our meals."

Hemstock realized she needed to pick a day during the week to do all the grocery shopping. For her, that meant scheduling Friday mornings as her shopping day.

On Thursday evenings, Hemstock opens up her cookbook for ideas and to get recipes for the whole week. After checking out supplies in her pantry and perhaps getting some meal suggestions from her husband, Loren, she prepares a list with entrees and side dishes for each day. Then she is ready for a morning of pleasant shopping in an uncrowded store.

Saving money is another big advantage to having a menu plan, according to both Hall and Hemstock. Although neither woman uses many store coupons, going to the store with a list means impulse buying is seldom a problem.

"We're not putting stuff randomly into the cart that we are never going to eat," Hall said. Even if Hall sees something that looks good or is priced well, she tries to resist temptation. "It doesn't do any good to buy something I have no plans for."

A meal plan also means a more efficient use of leftovers for both cooks. "Most of the time, we use leftovers for our lunches," Hemstock said. Hall tries to cook enough so that the next day's lunches are taken care of, plus some Saturdays are "leftover" days where items in the refrigerator are set out for meals. "We do not throw much food away," Hall said.

Both women pick recipes that are uncomplicated and quick to fix. Hall generally begins meal preparation a half an hour before serving dinner, while Hemstead says her kitchen work seldom takes more than an hour.

As a dedicated list writer, Hall keeps a notebook to jot down what recipes the family particularly likes. If she sees something on TV that looks good or the family is impressed with a restaurant meal, Hall tries to find a similar recipe online. Cooking shows on TV and cooking magazines are good sources of ideas for both Hall and Hemstead. Hall keeps a big notebook with a list of dishes so she and her husband can go over it and make their choices.

Hall's pantry is also a model of organization. Her walk-in pantry includes a dry-erase board with the days of the week listed. "After we have decided the menu, I see what I have and write down what I don't have," she said.

Both moms say their young children also see the benefit of organized meal times. The family is able to sit down together and enjoy dinner in a relaxed atmosphere. Plus, planning means more opportunities for children to try new dishes and learn about different foods.

For both families, there is no downside to menu planning. "We don't devote much time to it," Hall said. "It is such a good routine for us."

Contact Laura Tonkyn at 394-8405 or laura.tonkyn@rapidcityjournal.com.

Good planning and organization go a long way to making mealtime a breeze for the Hall and Hemstock families. But easy recipes that satisfy everyone's appetite are also important. Here are a few simple and delicious recipes the two moms say their families often enjoy.

Barbecue Chicken Quesadillas

From Mandy Hall

Bag of 10 tortillas

Can of chicken

2 cups of Colby/Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1/2 of a red pepper, diced (or one small pepper)

1/2 can of black beans, approximate

1/2 cup barbecue sauce (or to taste)

Dashes of taco seasoning

1/2 onion (optional)

Heat up chicken in a saucepan. Add barbecue sauce and taco seasoning. Spoon chicken mix on tortilla; add about a tablespoon of black beans, along with portions of pepper and onion, add cheese on top. Put a second tortilla on top. Put in a tortilla maker and bake, or put in the oven on a cookie sheet until melted.

Serve with tortilla chips or Spanish rice if desired.

French Dip with a Diced Potato Side

From Mandy Hall

One Hormel beef roast, heated according to directions in the microwave

Break up the roast with a fork and put on your favorite roll. Ladle the extra juice into a container and use as au jus; or make extra dipping sauce with a packet of au jus.

Add chopped green pepper, onion, mushrooms or other vegetables as you wish. Top the sandwich with your favorite cheese.

An easy and tasty side dish is this baked potato recipe: Microwave four whole potatoes for 8 minutes on high, or until mostly cooked. Dice them into small pieces. Put in a skillet; add olive oil, salt, pepper and a steak seasoning. Heat through until browned and serve.

Pace Macaroni

From Angela Hemstock

1 can (10-3/4 ounce) cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup Pace Picante Sauce

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

3 cups hot, cooked elbow macaroni

½ cup crumbled tortilla chips

In 1-1/2 quart casserole, mix soup, picante sauce, 1-1/2 cups cheese and macaroni. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until hot. Stir, and sprinkle the remaining cheese and the crumbled tortilla chips on top. Bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Serves 4.

Bacon Potato Chowder

From Angela Hemstock

8 slices bacon, cut up

1 cup chopped onion

2 cups potatoes, cubed

1 cup water

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

1-1/3 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

Dash of pepper

2 tablespoons parsley

Dash of tabasco sauce

Fry bacon until crisp in a 3-quart pot. Add onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Pour off fat. Add potatoes and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are done. Stir in soup and sour cream. Gradually add milk. Add salt, pepper, parsley and tabasco sauce. Heat to serving temperature. Do not boil.

By Laura Tonkyn

Journal staff

It's hard to argue that menu planning isn't a worthwhile endeavor. Yet for many of us, it's something that has a permanent place on our "to do" list - with an occasional appearance on our "I'll get around to it tomorrow" list.

Yet menu planning is a great time saver and money saver and pays dividends in family enjoyment, according to LaDonna McKnight, a 4-H Extension educator for Custer County.

A good place to start is with the sale ads in your local newspaper, McNight said. "Plan your menu for the week around the ads. See what you have on hand, and make sure you are using what you have on hand." Your goal is to rough out a simple menu plan that allows you to shop efficiently to get what you need for a week of meals, while minimizing cost, cooking time and cleaning chores.

It's a good idea to build a family shopping list on your computer, listing all the foods and sundries your family uses regularly. Print and post a copy for each week, so that family members can jot down items they need or would like to have. A list can help you discover your particular family routine and allow for flexibility as children grow and tastes change.

A shopping list helps keep you from making impulse purchases, McKnight said. With a list, you only have to shop the aisles that have the food you are looking for - saving you time and keeping temptation at bay. If you have storage available, you can buy items that are on sale in bulk, another good way to save money.

A menu plan can improve nutrition and is a good way to try new things, McKnight said. You can keep a file and make notes about what dishes worked and what your family liked or disliked. "Try one new dish or menu a week," McKnight said. "Eventually, you should have 30 days or 60 days of menus, so you don't do the same thing week after week."

With several weeks worth of menu plans, you can begin to recycle them - enabling you to save even more time and energy.

In addition, McKnight said, menu planning gives you a better opportunity to use food efficiently - providing inexpensive, ready to go leftovers for workday lunches.

Contact Laura Tonkyn at 394-8405 or laura.tonkyn@rapidcityjournal.com.