When iTunes took over the planet, all of a sudden there were millions of songs at our fingertips. It was exciting and overwhelming, to say the least. Many of us (of a certain generation) freaked out and refused to embrace the technology. Then someone ingeniously decided to help us out with playlists. Suddenly, the world of music wasn’t so vast. We just needed someone to tell us what we wanted to hear.

I believe cooking is heading down a similar road. Despite the jillion recipes out there, I often have no idea what to make for dinner. Even with shelves of cookbooks and bulging recipe files, it is still a daily challenge to come up with menus that are nourishing, satisfying, and exciting. What we need is a playlist to tell us what to make and when to make it.

So I decided to come up with my own playlist. I jotted down a week’s worth of recipes. I stocked up the kitchen with staples from my Farmgirl Shopping List And then I planned the menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Monday through Sunday.

I ended up making only three trips to the store that week, mainly for the fresh fish. There were plenty of leftovers, which I could freeze and then reheat to cover several meals into the next week. And I did allow a couple meals out, giving me a welcome break from the kitchen (and allowing my kids a brief escape from the food dictator).

Knowing the menus of the day took most of the stress out of cooking. My playlist allowed me to shop and cook with a purpose. My husband and children gathered around the table more often. For week at least, life was a little less hectic. And that was music to my ears.