An Apology to Blogger...You did, indeed, save my post...

One of my goals before going back to school this fall, is to have a regular menu of easy, healthy, quick-to-make meals so that I can have my pantry and fridge stocked and ready to make meals during the week. I had version 1.0 and it worked out pretty well. It was organized based on Amy Karol aka Angry Chicken's "cheat sheets" and it was delightful. Then my husband requested that we reduce the number of casseroles that require "one can of cream of mushroom soup" or "one cup of sour cream" or "8 oz cream cheese"...for obvious reasons.

So, for version 2.0, I turned to Tasty Kitchen, the new food child of Ree Drummond, aka Pioneer Woman, aka my hero. It has GREAT recipes and they are categorized nicely. Once you join, you can create your own recipe box by adding your own recipes by submitting them to the community, or by adding recipes added by other members. There's a lot of great stuff out there and Ree has great taste! I searched for easy, weeded out the seemingly unhealthy and created a perfectly respectable recipe box to start with.



While in the middle of version 2.0, I was turned on to a good ol' but forgotten fave, Kraft Foods. My family has been getting the Food and Family magazine they send out for ever, and I've used their website to find recipes on occasion. But it wasn't until tonight when I was sitting on the couch with my sister-in-law discussing menus and food planning that I learned the real secret this site holds: a shopping list! Not only can you create a recipe box with your own or community/Kraft recipes, but you can click their magical "add to list" shopping list link and they will create...for you...a magical personalized grocery list! Not only do they make the list for you, but they CATEGORIZE it! Yes, this means that while in the "dairy" section of your grocery store, you can look at the "dairy" section of your grocery list and throw everything you need in your basket and press on. It's pure magic, I tell you. You just print and go!

So now, I have my task laid out before me. I'm going for the magical "10". A top ten list of easy, healthy main dishes taken from various sources and fed into my shopping list machine, all to make my life easier. Thank you, Ree. And thanks for the amazing, tip, Lisa. And God bless you, Kraftfoods.com!