Menu Plan Monday

Well, we did do better last week, though deviating a bit from the plan. I also think we’re in a bit of a food rut (though having homework most nights, and with myself not eating dinner,  doesn’t exactly help!) so I hope to go through some cookbooks, recent (free) magazines, and come up with some cheap eats that fit with a grocery shopping trip this week!

Monday: Grilled Steaks with Scalloped Potatoes & Corn
Tuesday: At Class (Crockpot Chicken/Rice/Broccoli/Cheddar)*
Wednesday: Bible Study (eat out)
Thursday: Chicken Carbonara with Salads
Friday: Shepherd’s Pie
Saturday: Sauerbrauten Roast
Sunday: Leftovers

See more Menu Plan Monday here.

*This is one of my top 3 crockpot dishes:

Add to crockpot:
2-3 seasoned chicken breasts cut into strips
1 cup of rice
1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup
Scant 1 cup of chicken broth (or water)
As much shredded cheddar cheese as seems good to you!
Sliced or Diced Onions, Celery, or other vegetables are optional

Cook on low 6-8 hours, and about 20 minutes before serving, add frozen broccoli.

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Menu Plan Monday

Ok, Ok, we were, shall we say, not good last week. Even being on spring break somehow wasn’t enough to get me past some serious exhaustion–I think my body used it as an excuse to get some much needed rest, instead of a chance to get ahead, which hey, if that’s what I need, who am I to argue? As an example, I fell asleep at 8 PM FRIDAY night. FRIDAY, the start of the glorious weekend, the jump-start day. And while I woke up very refreshed at 9 the next morning, it’s um, highly unusual for me to sleep 13 hours. 😉 I can’t ever remember that happening when I wasn’t sick anyways!

So, let’s start again, shall we?

Monday: Chicken Caesar Salad

Tuesday: No Class (Evacuation Day): St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef dinner!

Wednesday: Bible Study (eat out)

Thursday: Crock-pot chicken, rice, cheese, and broccoli

Friday: Homemade Lasagna with Italian Salad

Saturday: Celebrating my sister’s 16th birthday

Sunday: husband’s amazing, best-steak you’ll ever eat grill-day from our $4.99 Stop & Shop steak stash!

See more Menu Plan Monday here.

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Menu Plan Monday

I severely fell off the making-food-and-thus-eating-cheap bandwagon last week. I had a ton of schoolwork, we were running low on groceries, and…yeah, just excuses. It would have been better to make a 10 minute stop at Traders. *Sigh* There will be shopping this week.

So, I’ll draw up a formal list tomorrow, but I think this will be pretty accurate:

Monday: Leftover Meatloaf with Baked Potatoes

Tuesday: Chicken Curry with Rice

Wednesday: Corned Beef Dinner

Thursday: Homemade Pizza

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Grilled Steak ($4.99 @ Stop & Shop this week!) with Corn and Pasta-Roni

Sunday: Lasagna with Garden Salad & Pillsbury Rolls

See more Menu Plan Monday here.

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Menu Plan Monday

Last week we actually did pretty well staying on menu-track…the only thing we didn’t have was the pork chops (and I forget why…more leftovers?). So for this week:

Monday: Spaghetti with meatballs
Tuesday: I’m at class (leftovers/Trader Joes)
Wednesday: Bible Study (eat out)
Thursday: Chicken Caesar Salad
Friday: Let’s try those rosemary grilled pork chops with stuffing and corn again.
Saturday: Taco Night!
Sunday: Meatloaf with baked potatoes*

*I’m glad I tried to post the recipe…I can’t find it anywhere! I love, love, love our family’s version (no ketchup!) and have a hard time eating most other kinds. Looks like an email to mom is in order!

See more Menu Plan Monday here.

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Menu Monday

We’re nicely stocked up with groceries this week, since I did a pretty big shop at Market Basket this past Saturday. It was the first time in a while I shopped for a menu, rather than the sales, and I was pretty happy with what I got for the price…even if it wasn’t the MOST frugal trip in the world. But when we have guests, we want to celebrate!

You can also see how we wanted to take advantage of the February Thaw to do a lot of grilling. 😉

Monday: Leftover Grilled Chicken with chelow and maast-o-khiar and pita bread.
Tuesday: I’m at class (leftover grilled steak with Caesar Salad and roasted herbed potatoes)
Wednesday: Bible Study (eat out)
Thursday: TGI Friday’s Frozen Fajita Skillet Meal with Tortillas.
Friday: Rosemary Grilled Pork Chops with stuffing and corn.
Saturday: Coconut-Lime Chicken (I modify by adding green peppers, and some Indian spices, and cooking it all on the stove top); with naan.
Sunday: Leftovers.

See more Menu Monday here.

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Menu Plan Monday

We’ve been eating up the remainder of our Superbowl feast *ahem* which made for a lot of frozen dinners last week! With 2 classes that take up most of my time though, I really sort of appreciate the convenience and breathing room these times provide–but I’m ready to get back into the swing of it this week, especially since we’ll only be home 4 days. Really, now, it shouldn’t be that hard. 😉

I also want to clean out the remaining portions of stuff we have sitting around–I feel like all those little bits need to get eaten before I run out and buy more…for space and frugal reasons!

Monday: Chicken & Rice & Mixed Veggies
Tuesday: I’m at Class (Trader Joe’s Frozen Food Saves the Day Again!)
Wednesday: Bible Study (eat out)
Thursday:Stuffed Baked Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese
Friday: Breakfast at Night: Irish Eggs Benedict
Saturday: Guests over: Still deciding!
Sunday: We’re at a friends’ house.

See more Menu Plan Monday here.

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Menu Monday

Last week actually went pretty well–I did switch things up quite a bit, but at least my husband ate in each night he was home (I don’t eat dinner…I save my portions for lunch the next day)! Picked up a few meats at Market Basket today, and I’m hoping for a relatively big grocery shop later week, since we (A) stayed well within budget, and (B) are hosting the Superbowl Party for my family this upcoming Sunday!

Monday: Crockpot Beef Stew
Tuesday: I’m at Class (Trader Joe’s Shu Mai)
Wednesday: Bible Study (eat out)
Thursday:  Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken with rice & broccoli
Friday: Shepherd’s Pie
Saturday: Broiled Turkey & Havarti Sandwiches with Cape Cod chips
Sunday: Superbowl Night! It’s our family tradition to have tons of appetizers: Mozzarella Sticks, Buffalo Wings, Chicken Tenders, Toasted French Bread with Trader Joe’s Bruschetta…mmm…

More Menu Plan Monday here.

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Menu Plan Monday

My classes start up this Tuesday (Inauguration night, of all nights!), and that has traditionally heralded the beginning of not-great-menu-upkeep; my primary sore spot of finding the time to make meals, thus keeping our food costs down.

Now, with working full time (plus often overtime), taking two classes (one online, one in the classroom),  and with church on Sunday/Bible Study all Wed. night, I don’t exactly hold myself to high standards in this season of life. But, I have found that keeping and preparing a menu goes a long way in ensuring that I can budget in time and prepare myself mentally. I often don’t plan meals with one class or less, just because we’re more likely to be spontaneous, thereby throwing all plans off. But with a more scheduled life, comes more scheduled meals.

Monday: Crockpot chicken breasts with stuffing, corn, and canned cranberry
Tuesday: I’m at class & my husband is at an Inauguration Party
Wednesday:  Frozen Samosas from Trader Joe’s
Thursday: Grilled Cheese with Soup
Friday: Chicken Curry over rice
Saturday: Enchiladas
Sunday: Sauerbraten Roast with mashed potatoes and green beans

More Menu Plan Monday here.

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The Round-Up

It’s odd how much easier it was to look up all the deals, post them, then go right out and buy them. All the information’s still fresh, you remember what coupons you need…strenuous, but nice. For groceries to last us until the rest of the month (except for perishables like milk) I spent $123.45 total, hitting Shaws, Market Basket and Trader Joes. It’s still more than I’d like to be spending for two weeks of food, and I hope to get it down even lower; but in the meantime, it’s better than the $500/month runs we used to spend!

I hit only a few snags; this was the second time now that a catalina didn’t print for me at Shaws; the first time I was supposed to get a 3$ coupon for my next order, this time I was supposed to get one for free milk. Back to customer service…

The second snag was an extraordinarily brain-dead, embarrassing moment when I picked up the Sunday paper at CVS, scanned my card for the coupons, and promptly left. Without paying. I realized it when I got home, turned around after a detour, and shamefacedly paid. The teen cashier didn’t seem all that upset though, and its amazing that it didn’t seem like anyone at all noticed. *sigh*

So, with my goodies, here’s my menu for the next two weeks for the two of us:

Breakfast:

Leftover Post cereal & General Mills Cereal from today
Banana-Cherry Cake (What? If it’s got fruit, its for breakfast)
Egg, Cheese & Bacon sandwiches on English Muffins
Scrambled Eggs & Hash with toast
Eggos
Cinnamon Toast with Chocolate Milk

Lunches:

We mostly eat leftovers since I don’t eat dinner, and will cook extra portions accordingly.
Turkey & Cheese Sandwiches (for husband)
Trader’s Chile Verde Burritos (for husband)
Trader’s Real-Meat Chicken Nuggets (for husband)
Tuna Rolls
Rice with Cheese & Broccoli & soy sauce
Macaroni & Cheese
Salads

Dinners (not in order):

Chicken breasts with Sweet Potato Fries and Broccoli
Steak with cous-cous and corn on the cob
Hot Dogs with Broccoli
Annie’s Organic Macaroni & Cheese with Kielbasa
Chicken Caesar Salad (DH literally requests this nearly every night, so this will be at least once a week, if not more)
Trader Joe’s Orange Mandarin Chicken with rice and broccoli
Tacos
Spaghetti & Meatballs with Pillsbury rolls
Homemade vegetable soup with homemade bread
Shephards Pie
Steak with roasted potatoes and corn on the cob
Homemade deep dish pizza

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