Menu Planning with Hospitality in Mind {Menu Plan Monday}

I’m a huge fan of hospitality. (Not entertaining… There’s a big difference! Click here to read my post about hospitality vs. entertaining.) I want to be the kind of person who calls up friends and invites them over for an impromptu dinner party. I’ve gotten over the hurdle of expecting my house to be perfect and my food to be gourmet. I’m good with things just being real.

The biggest problem I run into now with inviting people over for dinner is my menu plan. I know that my menu plan helps us know what’s for dinner each night. It also keeps our grocery bill under control, because I know what we need when I go shopping. But I plan for three people. That certainly doesn’t make it very easy to invite two more people (or more!) over for dinner. In fact, it usually requires an extra trip to the grocery store to pick up a little more chicken or whatever ingredients were going into that night’s dinner.

I’ve started doing one little thing that seems to be combating this problem. Each week, I’ve tried to include a ‘maybe for company’ meal. It’s not gourmet. It’s our regular food. The only difference is how much it makes. Each week’s ‘maybe for company’ meal makes enough for us to eat twice OR for us to have company.

Now that the weather is cooling off (yay!!!), it’s soup season. Soup is a VERY easy ‘maybe for company’ meal. I can put it in the Crock Pot and have it ready just as easily as cooking for just our family. If it’s just us, we have lunch for the next day too. If we want to have people over, we have enough to share. Either way it’s a win!

Here’s what’s on our menu plan for this week (including a ‘maybe for company’ meal).

:: Breakfasts ::

Brown sugar & cinnamon oatmeal, fresh fruit
Apple cinnamon baked oatmeal
Eggs, sausage, and fruit
Fruit smoothies, scrambled eggs
Homemade granola

:: Lunches ::

Leftovers
Egg Salad with Tomatoes
Homemade pizza
Munchy lunch (popcorn, celery & peanut butter, fresh fruit)
Grilled chicken salads
Sandwiches, veggie tray

:: Dinners ::

Taco Night
Mini-meatloaves, baked sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli
*Stuffed pepper soup (My mom sent a Crock Pot full home with us! YUM!)
Chicken fried rice
Italian Chicken, Potato & Green Beans Bake

* This is this week’s ‘maybe for company’ meal.

If you’re looking for some general menu planning inspiration, stop by Menu Plan Monday hosted by I’m an Organizing Junkie.