Menu Plan Monday

After getting back from a long week of traveling and visiting, the fridge is bare and I need to go shopping.  The goal is to spend as little as possible to make up for all the cash we spent having a good time last week. 

Monday:  Pizza-I've been craving good pizza all week, and determined if we didn't get it while visiting, I was ordering it myself!

Tuesday:  Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, salad (have to buy salad stuff)

Wednesday:  Tuna melt, cut up veggies (have to buy veggies)

Thursday:  scalloped potatoes with leftover frozen Thanksgiving ham and broccoli (have to buy potatoes and veggie)

Friday: Crock Pot French Dips, some pantry side, salad (need roast, mushrooms, rolls, veggies)

Saturday:  Beef Tacos, pintos, Mexican rice (lettuce/tomatoes)

Sunday:  BBQ pork sandwiches and whatever

So all I really need to get is a beef roast, some sandwich buns, and a bunch of produce...not a bad pantry/freezer menu!

Menu Plan Monday

Well, I've been slacking on the menu plans and it shows in my budget.  I've been over my alloted funds in the grocery department for the last 2 months.  Now, part of that is that I never allowed more money after we had the baby, so buying expensive formula is taking its toll. But also, a lot is because I'm making random runs to the store for random things.  My organization went out the window and it has to stop!

For example, I would have been okay (just 35) over budget for October, except that this weekend, I spent 25 on batteries at CVS and 40 at Publix (for random things I wanted, not needed).

So I'm NOT going to the grocery store (or Sam's, or the drug store) until this weekend, unless our milk runs out, and this is what I'm going to make from the freezer/pantry to make that happen.


Monday:  Ravioli with red sauce, garlic bread
Tuesday: baked Italian chicken, Asian broccoli slaw, baked potato
Wednesday: left overs or something boring like a can of soup
Thursday:  Chicken, Black beans and rice
Friday: Black bean tostadas (need to buy 1 tomato and lettuce), leftover rice
Saturday: Baked potato soup (will need milk)
Sunday: Some big hunk of meat on sale this week (chicken, beef roast or pork roast)
             with mashed potatoes and gravy and a green veggie on sale. (will buy meat
             and veggie)

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: leftover tiropete casserole, spinach salad
Tuesday: buffalo stuffed chicken, roasted potatoes, tomatoes
Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: grilled pizza (using fresh pesto and roasted veggies)
Friday: beef stew, yeast rolls, cut up veggies
Saturday: BBQ from our church festival
Sunday: Tortellini with fresh pesto, bruscetta

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Cheesy Manicotti, Homemade bread, salad
Tuesday: chicken burritos with black bean salsa
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Falafel sandwhich &greek salad
Friday: blue cheese stuffed chicken breasts,  roasted potatoes, another veggie
Saturday: Go out for dinner
Sunday: Tortalinni with fresh pesto, bruscetta

Menu Plan Monday

I really stuck to it last week, yay for me!  The only thing I didn't make was the flank steak because 2 of the 3 ingredients were unavailable at my grocery store.  I'll keep a look out, but until then, I guess I won't be able to try that fabulous recipe!  Instead, I got to have sushi for the first time in forever.  My husband is so sweet, he knew how much I craved it when I was pregnant and couldn't have any, so on Friday, he let me order for both of us.  It was delicious.

But here's what I'm planning on cooking this week.  Today is the first day of school, so I'll try to have something good ready for hubby when he gets home.

Monday: Cuban black bean tostadas, Mexican rice
Tuesday:Dijon chicken pasta salad, fried okra, fresh tomatoes
Wednesday: I work late so leftovers or something boring like PB&J
Thursday: Chicken chili, popovers
Friday: hummus, pita chips, olive tapinade, Greek salad
Saturday: go out
Sunday: TBA-let's wait and see what's on sale this week.

Menu Plan Monday

Well, last week I  "sort of" stuck to my meal plan.  I was able to feed our family for a week with minimal grocery shopping trips though.  I bought mainly veggies and spent around $20...not bad! 

I'm going to try the same sort of thing this week.  We have a lot of food in the freezer and pantry, so it shouldn't be too hard. 

Monday: Zucchini Pancakes, grilled chicken, cottage cheese, broccoli slaw
              (The chicken is from the freezer, cottage cheese (with chives) and slaw are
               leftover, so only the zucchini needs attention!

Tuesday: Pork chops with mushroom soup, mashed potatoes, broccoli
               The pork is from the freezer, I've got potatoes, broccoli and soup, so this
               meal is "free"

Wednesday: I'll work this evening so we'll graze or do leftovers

Thursday: shrimp and cheese grits, salad
               I'll need the shrimp and bacon and salad fixings

Friday: fake rumaki, stuffed mushrooms, homemade crustini with cheese spread
           Marinate chicken pieces and wrap with a water chestnut in bacon, secure with a
           toothpick.  Cover with BBQ sauce and flip occasionally in 350 degree oven,    
           about an hour. For this meal, I'll need water chestnuts & mushrooms
          
Saturday: Italian Flank Steak Pinwheels, whatever sides we have lying around!    
              This will be a new recipe for me.  I'll need to buy the steak, asiago cheese,  
              and spinach, so I may bump this recipe if I can't get a good deal on at least  
              one of these ingredients!

Sunday: go out or leftovers



To buy:  1 lb flank steak
              6 oz asiago
              fresh spinach
              1/2 lb shrimp
              bacon
              can of water chestnuts, whole
              large stuffing mushrooms
              salad stuff
              *milk, bread, cheese slices, lunch meat, fruit,
              *I'll also have to replenish the chicken breasts in the freezer if there's a deal

Menu Plan Monday

Well, it has been quite a week.  We had a ton of people at the house which means we had a ton of food.  I'm now hoping to have a week where we eat good (so we're not tempted to go out) and we don't spend much money (to make up for the ridiculous amount of money I spent on food last month).  I shouldn't have to go to the grocery store for much, except maybe the best deals!

Monday: Taco Salad,  southwest egg rolls
Tuesday: Chicken salad sandwich,  chips, veggies cut up
Wednesday: Potluck at work, I'm bringing potato salad
Thursday: Bruschetta (home made bread), grilled chicken kabobs
Friday: egg rolls, stir fry, rice
Saturday:  Pasta, garlic bread, salad
Sunday: leftovers


All I should really need to buy is whatever produce I need.  Right now, I've got tons of tomatoes and other salad stuff, but it won't last the week.  I'll probably have to hit the produce stand before I make egg rolls and stir fry on Friday.

Pasta and stir fry are two great ways to use a lot of produce.  You can use whatever you like/have lying around, and it tastes great.

Company Menu Plan

We're having some major company this week, and with a newborn in the house and 9 mouths to feed, I feel like organization is the key.

Dinners:
Saturday: Chicken brats, potato salad, chips, watermelon
Sunday: Meatball subs, cottage cheese, leftover potato salad, cut up cucumber/tomato
Monday: Grilled Pork Chops, pineapple salsa, lemony cous-cous, grilled asparagus
Tuesday: Low Country Boil, homemade bread, veggies and dip
Wednesday: BBQ Brisket, devilled eggs, rolls, Cole slaw

Thursday: we'll go out to eat at least once for dinner

Breakfasts: I won't go out every day for breakfast, but we'll cook 3 "big" ones.
Sausage Breakfast Casserole, Quiche (already made and frozen), BLTs, muffins (in the freezer), cereal, fruit, yogurt,

Lunches: I'll get a big tub of chicken salad from Sam's, taco salad and southwest eggrolls, tomato/cheese on an English muffin,

Desserts: Sliced apples and the worlds greatest apple dip
                Key Lime Cake (my recipe is very similar to this one and delicious)
                Cookies: I made apricot shortbread, cowboy cookies, and butter royales
                             (they're already in the freezer!)

Menu Planning Monday

Well, last weeks' menu was only about 60% accurate, so I'll try again this week.  It may take me a few weeks to get back in the swing of following a menu.   We're expecting company for a week starting Saturday, so I'll leave the company menu plan for another day.  We'll have 7 adults and 3 little ones in the house, so I'll need to be organized and creative!

Monday: BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, cucumber salad
Tuesday: Taco Salad
Wednesday: Grilled Italian chicken, pasta-roni, veggie
Thursday: Cheese, crackers, pepperoni, fruit
Friday: Buffalo Chicken Wraps, fruit or a veggie

Menu Planning Monday

It's been forever since I blogged.  I found out I was pregnant and somehow instantly lost interest in everything but that.  Now my sweet baby is 2 weeks old, and I'd like to start back in with my blogging.  So today, I'm starting off with something easy...a weekly menu plan.

Before I had the baby, I stocked the freezer with lots of easy meals.  So this whole week menu is a no shopping trip needed menu (except some produce and chips for Thursday and whatever happens on Sunday).  It seems like we've made a ton of trips to the store this month already, and the grocery budget will be strapped if I don't get control of it!

Monday: Tostatas & Mexican rice
Tuesday: Italian marinated chicken on the grill, potatoes, cucumber salad
Wednesday: tuna melts, butternut squash soup
Thursday: Chicken Enchiladas, homemade salsa, guacamole
Friday: Spaghetti with meat sauce, salad, garlic bread
Saturday: leftovers or go out
Sunday: a big hunk of meat (whatever's on sale) with mashed potatoes and gravy and a fresh veggie side

Menu Plan Monday

My goodness!  What a week it's been in our house.  I'm sure it mirrors a lot of your weeks as well.  We had a TON of food, snacks, sweets in the house and a few extra mouths to help us eat it.  Now the holiday is over, the leftovers have passed their 3-4 day rule, and it's time to start fresh. 

Monday:  Eggplant parm, broccoli
Tuesday: grilled chicken salad
Wednesday: Turkey soup (from freezer), garlic toast, salad
Thursday: leftovers or something boring like a can of soup
Friday: buffalo stuffed chicken, cauliflower, rice
Saturday: bacon/blue burgers, potatoes, veggie
Sunday: I'll leave this blank in case we go out or something.

Thanksgiving Menu

Well, here's my plan for Thanksgiving.  We'll have 5 adults in the house, and probably enough food to feed 10! I've linked to quite a few recipes, and I want you to know that I have tried and follow each of these to the tee (except the muffins, but I'm assuming they'll be good cause they're from the Fairhope Foodie).  They are all wonderful!




Breakfast: Snickerdoodle Muffins, fruit, bacon


I'm planning on having "dinner" about 3:30 or 4:00, so for lunch, I'm just going to set out snacks for everyone to graze on.  So when dinner comes, we'll be ready to eat.

Snacks: Veggie tray, Liver Pate/Pub Cheese/Garlic toasts and crackers, Chips and dip, relish tray (olives, pickled beets, pickles, roasted red peppers), pigs in a blanket (you gotta love crescent rolls and Lil smokies)


Dinner: Roasted Turkey (I use a herb butter under the skin to give it an awesome flavor), stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn casserole, asparagus with holandaise sauce, cranberry orange relish, Waldorf salad (minus the celery and raisins), rolls, apple pie with a dutch topping, Georgia peach cobbler


I'm also planning on making Bacardi Rum Cake to have around the house...it is incredible and easy if you're looking for a rum cake!

And either Thursday or Friday I'll make my famous turkey soup with parsley dumplings.  I discovered this recipe about 5 years ago and LOVE IT!

Menu Plan Monday

Well this week is obviously different than most weeks.  We'll have more mouths to feed (yay) and of course a ton of food in the house (double yay).  I'm all over the Thanksgiving Menu planning, and I'll post that tomorrow.  But I still wanted to put out a menu for everything planned before and after the holiday.

Monday:  Buffalo stuffed chicken, something else!

Tuesday:  I'll be cooking and cleaning all day today, so we'll probably eat cereal, sandwiches, and pizza (in this order)

Wednesday: Snickerdoodle Muffins, sausage, fruit (breakfast)
                    Cesar Salad, Mushroom soup (lunch)
                    Dinner out-I bought a $50/$100 Q at Restaurant.com when it was 80% off

Thursday: see menu tomorrow

Friday: Quiche, fruit (breakfast)
            leftovers (lunch)
            Bacon and blue cheese burgers, roasted cauliflower (dinner)

Saturday: Omelet, fruit, hashbrowns (breakfast)
               leftovers (lunch)
               Either Italian or Mexican: I've got most of the ingredients for either, so we'll
               take a vote!

Sunday: I'm pretty sure hubby and I will be alone this day, so we'll probably just graze
             on the leftovers.  I'll also have made a big pot of my famous turkey soup that I
             make every year (the secret is the dumplings) so we'll have that around as well.

Menu Plan Monday

My husband is the sweetest.  I suggested that he make me something for dinner last Thursday because I would be home late and he really is a good cook when I let him in "my" kitchen.  He defrosted some perch and made a foil packet with pineapple chunks and some citrus/current jam which he cooked on the grill.  He also made mashed sweet potato puree and cut up veggies to go with it.  Never in a million years would I have cooked my fish with pineapple and currant jam...but it was delicious!  So notice who's cooking this Thursday again!!

Monday: fish fillets, roasted veggie cous cous
Tuesday: Grilled chicken, cottage cheese, broccoli

Wednesday: left overs
Thursday: Husband's Choice!!
Friday: Tomato/Basil burgers, home fries
-I'm also feeling like I NEVER stick to my menu Sat/Sun so instead, I'm going to tell you what I made LAST weekend!

Saturday: Feta stuffed chicken with a balsamic glaze, wild rice, cut up cucumber
Sunday: Grilled Porkchops, roasted potatoes/carrots/onions/b. squash/cauliflower (notice the leftover veggies in the cous cous "tomorrow")

Menu Plan Monday

I totally blew the menu plan last week.  After I had made it, I realized I missed a few important details of the week.  I forgot that school was out for election day, so my husband had the day off.  So we went out for lunch instead of having leftovers, which meant that I did not make a meal for dinner.  I also forgot that my husband was going to be out of town on Thursday and Friday, so those two meals were scratched.  I have a history of getting a Domino's Philly cheese Steak pizza when he's gone (I love it/he hates it) but this time, I just had some leftover soup and Doritos.  So, you'll see a lot of repeats from last week!

Monday:  turkey/gravy, Roasted cauliflower/carrots/onions/butternut squash
Tuesday: veggie soup with meatballs, rolls

Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: grilled cheese cut up veggies
Friday: tacos, beans, rice
Saturday: taco salad
Sunday: fish, veggie, rice

Menu Plan Monday

It's a new month and I'm heading in to it with a new perspective!  I'm dedicated to having a stress free holiday, and that starts with me planning now.  I'm trying to add 5-10 items I need for Thanksgiving to each weeks shopping list (watching the sales of course) so I'll try not to make too many dinner items that need a lot of things I don't already have on hand.

Monday: Taco Pie, sausage cheese dip/tortilla chips
Tuesday: Grilled Pork chops, roasted cauliflower, cous cous
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Vegetable soup with meatballs, homemade rolls
Friday: Shrimp red Thai curry, rice
Saturday: Tomato/Basil Burgers, pasta salad with lots of veggies, corn on the cob
Sunday:  Lemon/mushroom chicken, roasted potatoes, broccoli salad

I have pretty much everything on hand to make everything, except the curry which I'll have to buy pretty much everything!  I've been craving red curry like mad...so I can't help but dream.  If something gets bumped, it will be that, and I may just get some take out for myself for lunch to feed the craving.

Menu Plan Monday

I'm doing a small chicken freezer session tomorrow, so this weeks menu will feature a few of those recipes. I'm also trying to spend very little this week so that the grocery money doesn't run out, so some of the recipes are a little redundant.

Monday: Chicken Packets, roasted potatoes, crudites
Tuesday: Lemon Mushroom Chicken (recipe to come), onion flatbread,
Wednesday: left over spaghetti
Thursday: leftovers/something boring like canned soup or PB&J
Friday: eat out
Saturday: Old-Fashioned Chicken and Rice with a veggie
Sunday: Fish Fillets, baked potato, veggie

Here's what's on the list of things to make and freeze tomorrow:

Old-Fashioned Chicken and Rice (3 2-serving meals worth)
Lemon Mushroom Chicken (2 2-serving meals worth)
Chicken Packets (1 2-serving meals worth)

*update: I made 6 meals in under 1 hour Sunday:
             it took a little longer to clean everything up though!

Menu Plan Monday

Well, I got cocky and dropped by grocery budget from $400 to $300 this month to funnel the money somewhere else.  So the month is half over and I'm 2/3 of the way through the money...it's another week of living out of the freezer/pantry. 

Monday: grilled pork chops, pasta salad, steamed carrots
Tuesday: Annie's Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips, grilled cheese, salad
Wednesday: something boring like leftovers or a can of soup or something
Thursday: tacos
Friday: feta cheese rolls, Greek salad
Saturday: Cuban black beans and rice
Sunday: tilapia, roasted potatoes, steamed carrots

shopping list: frozen raspberries, 2 kiwis, tomato, green pepper, cucumber, chili powder (coffee, allergy meds)

Menu Plan Monday

I'm doing some baking this weekend, so we'll have lots of banana pancakes and pumpkin muffins for breakfast.  I'm also making fall sugar cookies for the church bake sale, so we'll have an assortment of cookies to munch on as snacks.  Also, I just got back from the Bi-Lo and got 6 pouches of tuna for free, so lunch will be a tuna sandwich, tuna melt, tuna on crackers or tuna salad at least 2 or 3 days.

Here's what's on the agenda for dinner:

Monday: leftover eggplant parmesan, garlic bread, salad
Tuesday:  Chili, cornbread, salad
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: pork chops with mushroom soup, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Friday: half price apps and dollar beers for us at chief's
Saturday: french onion soup and tuna melts
Sunday: flounder, roasted potatoes, cauliflower

Menu Plan Monday

I'm trying to eat out of the pantry/freezer again this week.  I've been doing pretty good, and it's showing in our grocery budget.  Sometimes I get so excited about a deal that I over buy, and then we never eat the stuff!  I'm trying hard to get out of that habit.  So here's the plan.

Monday: creamed salmon with cheesy pinwheel bake, veggie
Tuesday:  Chicken Tacos, pinto beans, Mexican rice
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: fruit and veggies with dip, crab meat muffins
Friday: going out for our 4th anniversary-mmm Thai
Saturday: Mexican Pizza
Sunday: Spicy Coconut Shrimp over noodles, eggrolls

To Buy:  can of salmon, everything for Thursday (it's our actual anniversary so we want to do apps), 1 lb shrimp, one can coconut milk, fresh ginger