I love thinking about what I am going to make for dinner. I love cooking, and I love eating.
"Confessions from a fat girl."
Anyway, each month I peruse my freezer, fridge, cupboards and pantry (don't envision an actual pantry, envision a hall closet that is supposed to be for coats that I converted to a "pantry." Coats now hang on over-the-door hooks in the hallway). I have ideas in my head of recipes I want to try, or meals we love, and see what I have the ingredients for and what I still need to get. Then I make a list, and each week on Sunday evening I plug in meals for the week. I have been planning around 20 meals, bc we have leftovers and go out to eat sometimes.
MARCH
1 Pizza and salad (DiGiornos tonight for family game night)
2 Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread
3 Chili and cornbread muffins (ew but Kevin likes them)
4 Chili mac (one night is the soup, a few days later I add cooked macaroni to the leftovers)
5 Ham and Potato Soup (I have a hambone in the freezer I need to use up), grapes
6 Chicken, veggie, rice casserole and homemade applesauce
7 Veggie beef soup, cheese and crackers
8 Breakfast for dinner - egg casserole and taters
9 Breakfast for dinner - pancakes and turkey bacon
10 Chicken marsala, noodles, green beans
11 Turkey breast (I am going to crock-pot it and then use the meat for soup, pot pie and turkey salad for Kevin's lunch)
12 Grilled italian sausage, onion and peppers sammies, fruit salad
13 Pork chops, herb rice, peas
14 Taco salad
15 Grilled cheese and tomato soup
16 Chicken cutlets, fettucini, broccoli
17 London broil, oven potatoes, salad
18 Ravioli, salad
19 BBQ pulled pork, cole slaw
20 Macaroni and cheese, applesauce
Now I am hungry.
Showing posts with label menu plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label menu plan. Show all posts
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Sales Saturday - cheap menu ideas/May menu plan
Last week I was pleased to spend less than $40 at ShopRite, saving $40-something. I always like saving more than I spend. This bill included lunchmeats, yogurt, produce, laundry detergent, foil, and a dessert for my girls-night-in. Also last week I spent around $13 at the drugstore, which included 2 gallons of milk, 4 tooth spinbrushes, toothpaste, huge sticker letters and a trifold board for Bailey's school art project. So I was about $3 over what I wanted to spend, but I'm including Bailey's stuff in there, which was about $7.
This week I want to spend around $50 also. There are not many drugstore sales that I want, so may pass them up. I need to go to Acme, not a store I usually like, but they are having a sale on General Mills/Yoplait products where if you buy 5 products - they're $2.50 each product - you get free milk. You can buy whatever kind of milk you want, it take's up to $4.50 off your bill. We need some cereal so this is a good deal for me with coupons making the $2.50 each, less. I also need our weekly produce, etc but I think that I am going to hit up our local farmers market. I even have a $5 off coupon to use there - a rare find!
I have made up a meal plan menu for May (20 days worth, leaving room for going out, family fun nights at church, leftovers and when I just don't feel like it!) and I am pleased that I have all the ingredients already for all of these meals, minus a few fresh ingredients. Here is my menu -
*Baked chicken legs, corn, stuffing, salad
*Stuffed shells, salad, bread
*Ground turkey and refried bean burritos, yellow rice
*Clam Chowder, bread or crackers, fruit salad
*Spicy chicken strips salad
*Sloppy joes, baked red potato slices
*Ham, macaroni and cheese bake, applesauce
*Roast turkey, rice, peas
*Creamy chicken noodles, salad
*Turkey pot pie, fruit cups
*Crockpot roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans
*Chicken veggie rice casserole, applesauce
*Roast beef sammies, mashed tater pancakes
*Ravioli w meat sauce, salad, bread
*Make-your-own calzones
*Ground turkey swedish mtbls, noodles, salad
*Breaded chicken cutlets, broccoli casserole, applesauce
*Beef and veggie stir fry, rice
*Breaded chicken cutlet sandwiches, macaroni salad, fruit cups
*Turkey noodle soup, bread or crackers, carrots and dip
These are really frugal meals and not because I use trashy food ingredients. I use a lot of fresh herbs, brown rice, real potatoes - not boxed or frozen. But because I buy things on sale, I have a full freezer of meat, cheese and veggies, a full pantry of pastas, sauces, rice. The turkey I got for free with the Easter promotion (spend $300 - a price that is BEFORE coupons so I estimate I spent 1/2 that if not less!) and the bread I get for free as Panera Bread donates to MOPS biweekly and I freeze it. Think about substitutions for your favorite meals. For instance, I have never made swedish meatballs with ground turkey but I don't have any ground beef as it hasn't been on sale in FOREVER. My stock up price for that is $1.99/lb for 93% lean. Why by the 80% when after you cook it you have tons of fat? Then you have less meat - so it's pointless in my book. Anyway, I am craving them soon, so I am going to try a ground turkey swedish meatball recipe I found. We'll see how it turns out!
Anyone have any frugal meals they want to share?
This week I want to spend around $50 also. There are not many drugstore sales that I want, so may pass them up. I need to go to Acme, not a store I usually like, but they are having a sale on General Mills/Yoplait products where if you buy 5 products - they're $2.50 each product - you get free milk. You can buy whatever kind of milk you want, it take's up to $4.50 off your bill. We need some cereal so this is a good deal for me with coupons making the $2.50 each, less. I also need our weekly produce, etc but I think that I am going to hit up our local farmers market. I even have a $5 off coupon to use there - a rare find!
I have made up a meal plan menu for May (20 days worth, leaving room for going out, family fun nights at church, leftovers and when I just don't feel like it!) and I am pleased that I have all the ingredients already for all of these meals, minus a few fresh ingredients. Here is my menu -
*Baked chicken legs, corn, stuffing, salad
*Stuffed shells, salad, bread
*Ground turkey and refried bean burritos, yellow rice
*Clam Chowder, bread or crackers, fruit salad
*Spicy chicken strips salad
*Sloppy joes, baked red potato slices
*Ham, macaroni and cheese bake, applesauce
*Roast turkey, rice, peas
*Creamy chicken noodles, salad
*Turkey pot pie, fruit cups
*Crockpot roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans
*Chicken veggie rice casserole, applesauce
*Roast beef sammies, mashed tater pancakes
*Ravioli w meat sauce, salad, bread
*Make-your-own calzones
*Ground turkey swedish mtbls, noodles, salad
*Breaded chicken cutlets, broccoli casserole, applesauce
*Beef and veggie stir fry, rice
*Breaded chicken cutlet sandwiches, macaroni salad, fruit cups
*Turkey noodle soup, bread or crackers, carrots and dip
These are really frugal meals and not because I use trashy food ingredients. I use a lot of fresh herbs, brown rice, real potatoes - not boxed or frozen. But because I buy things on sale, I have a full freezer of meat, cheese and veggies, a full pantry of pastas, sauces, rice. The turkey I got for free with the Easter promotion (spend $300 - a price that is BEFORE coupons so I estimate I spent 1/2 that if not less!) and the bread I get for free as Panera Bread donates to MOPS biweekly and I freeze it. Think about substitutions for your favorite meals. For instance, I have never made swedish meatballs with ground turkey but I don't have any ground beef as it hasn't been on sale in FOREVER. My stock up price for that is $1.99/lb for 93% lean. Why by the 80% when after you cook it you have tons of fat? Then you have less meat - so it's pointless in my book. Anyway, I am craving them soon, so I am going to try a ground turkey swedish meatball recipe I found. We'll see how it turns out!
Anyone have any frugal meals they want to share?
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