Category Archives: Menu Planning

Menu Planning Monday

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8 days of work is all I have left. This will be my last menu plan for the summer.  Next week, Kendall and Zach are headed to church camp. Lily, Matt and I will be eating for ourselves. This summer, I am planning to stock the freezer and eat not on a schedule. I am going to be a little freer with what I cook each day and include lots of pasta salads, regular salad and veggies hopefully from the garden.   I may share a couple of ideas along with what I am cooking but I am not planning.

Breakfast- Saturday- Pancakes and bacon. Sunday-left-overs   Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday- find it oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, waffles, French toast sticks, bagels, sausage English muffins and I also have breakfast burritos, breakfast hot pockets.

Lunch- Saturday-Sliders.  Sunday East Coast Wings, Monday-pasta salad  Tuesday- salad    Wednesday-pasta salad Thursday – salad   Friday- eat out.

Dinner- Saturday-Dominos Pizza, Sunday-left-overs Monday-sloppy joe sliders  Tuesday-Fish Tacos Wednesday- Peanut Chicken Thursday- spaghetti   Friday- Cheese Quesadillas and Mexican Rice

Menu Planning Monday

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12 days are all that I have left in this school year!  I am excited and ready for a break. Today was just a taste of how I want my summer to be. This week brings another change for us. We are starting swim team.  I think that all school related activities except for graduation are complete!  We are going to be on a different schedule for the next several weeks with dinner time moving between 4:30 and 5:30 in addition to a eat as you can method as well.  Today, Memorial Day, we spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen preparing for the week. We were able to get all meals for tomorrow ready and most of the meals for the week will be minimal preparation.

Breakfast- Saturday- Sausage cream cheese crescent rolls. Sunday-French toast leftovers.   Monday- Breakfast bowls with fresh sausage, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday- find it oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, waffles, French toast sticks, bagels, sausage English muffins and I also have breakfast burritos, breakfast hot pockets.

Lunch- Saturday-Roasterie chicken from Costco and AU Grant potatoes.  Sunday Christos, Monday-left-overs or milk shakes Tuesday- salad    Wednesday-pasta salad Thursday – salad   Friday- eat out.

Dinner- Saturday-loose meat philly sandwiches, Sunday-Chicken and rice Monday-hamburgers and French fries   Tuesday- Stuffed green peppers (just need to be heated) Wednesday- gyros Thursday- fish tacos   Friday- Grilled chicken salad.

Only one more week of meal planning!

Saving On Saturday

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The weather in North Carolina is rainy and chilly.  I am so glad that we are caught up with outside tasks.  Even better is the rain barrel that we put together last week (see the details) is currently filling and we can dump to make sure all the window cleaner is out of it before we use any water on the garden.

Today was spent trying to save money around food.  If you read even 3 or 4 post on this blog, you probably know that groceries are our third highest expense behind the mortgage and Tahoe payment.  I have been working on using up excess food for most of this year. One of the things I wanted to be able to do was condense our freezer food down.  This morning we were able to move around some meat and turn off our oldest freezer.  This will give the old freezer a chance to defrost and also save a small amount on our electric cost at least for the next month until I will restart it to store items from the garden and stock with easy to prepare meals for next school year!  While rearranging we found 4 packs of bacon, a unopened bag of frozen biscuits, an unopened bag of meatball as well as a coconut cake which was desert at dinner.    I spent some extra time this morning checking and making a Costco list. I am going to call it a success as spent $465 at Costco which included 2 prepared meals and a snack for Matt and Kendall.  We enjoyed the rotisserie chicken for lunch, I pulled enough meal off the bones for a chicken and rice soup for tomorrow’s dinner along with a couple of sandwiches as well. The crockpot is going with chicken broth that I will tomorrow.

I was also able to move some food around and now have all but the cereal in the kitchn area instead of spread all over the house!

I also already have a plan for both dinners and lunches next week with two days to continue preparing so that will make tomorrow much easier all the way around!

 

Monday Menu Plan

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I have seen where some people are comparing the month of May to December regarding things that need to be done. I absolutely agree. This week we have a baseball tournament, chorus concert, talent show and athletic banquet.  I am very proud of myself because I was very close to running to the store on Sunday to buy a couple of items to make meal prep easier for the week. I had even justified the expense because we are running under budget and I have a $5 credit. But I decided to try and stick it out and use the item we already had!  I have been changing things around the last couple of weeks but I am hoping this weeks plan works out!

Breakfast- Saturday- pancakes with strawberries and whip cream with bacon,
Sunday-biscuits   Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday- find it oatmeal,
omelets cereal and milk,waffles, French toast sticks, bagels, and I also have breakfast burritos, breakfast hot pockets. We currently have an abundance of eggs so that should make most breakfast a no brainer!

Lunch- Saturday-Sandwiches  Sunday Local Pizza place  Monday- salad  Tuesday-left-overs  Wednesday- salad  Thursday-  leftovers   Friday- eat out..

Dinner- Saturday-Bacon Cheddar Burgers     Sunday-left-overs    Monday-CornDogs and French fries   Tuesday-KFC bowls using already prepared mashed potatoes.  Wednesday- broiled fish and green beans  Thursday-  Baked Ziti.  Friday-Chicken Cheesy Pasta.

Three weeks until the kids are out of school.  Which means less menu planning and more meal preparations!

Monday Menu Planning

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Summer is so close I can taste it!  We even survived what should be our busiest week of the school year last week!  We did not stick to the plan but we did manage to only eat out once!  I am continuing to work on clearing out space in our freezer, using things that are over a year old and preparing to fill the freezer over the summer.

Breakfast- Saturday- French toast with strawberries and whip cream with bacon,
Sunday-omelets   Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday- find it oatmeal,
omelets cereal and milk, waffles, French toast sticks, bagels, and I also have breakfast burritos, breakfast hot pockets. We currently have an abundance of eggs so that should make most breakfast a no brainer!

Lunch- Saturday-French toast uncrustables  or ham and turkey sliders. Sunday hamburgers and a bag of chips, Monday-left-overs Tuesday-eat out   Wednesday- – leftovers   Friday- eat out.

Dinner- Saturday-Grilled chicken salad    Sunday-local Seafood place     Monday-Arby’s   Tuesday- Chicken casserole (new recipe) Wednesday- egg rolls and potstickers Thursday- Spaghetti and meatballs.  Friday- taco pasta using last frozen bag of taco meat and left-over queso.

Monday Menu Planning

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In the department of food/groceries, I am currently in survival mode. I need to survive the insane next two weeks followed by four additional weeks until Summer break starts.  I know that grocery spending will be high this summer as my goal is to restock the freezers so that I can stay in survival mood for the entire school year!  This week we have only two ball games!  I am also continuing to try and use food in the freezers in order to organize and make additional space as needed.

 

Breakfast- Saturday- eggs,grits, sausage, bacon and toast.
Sunday-Left-overs   Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday- find it oatmeal,
omelets cereal and milk,waffles, French toast sticks, bagels, and I also have breakfast burritos, breakfast hot pockets, sausage mcmuffins and sausage egg and cheese mcmuffins in the freezer. I may attempt homemade bagels to use up greek yogurt but we shall see.

Lunch- Saturday-left-overs Sunday East Coast Wings , Monday-
turkey roll ups  Tuesday- taco soup Wednesday- salad  Thursday-  left-overs of some form.  Friday- out to eat.

Dinner- Saturday-Left-overs   Sunday-more left-overs  Monday-tomato soup and grilled cheese Sandwiches Tuesday- Tortellini Alfredo and garlic bread.
Wednesday- Corn dogs and French Fries  Thursday- salisbury steak with mashed potatoes. Friday-Cheese quesadillas and mexican rice

Saving on Saturday

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The chicken coop needed to clean out and new bedding added. I am allergic to both hay and straw so I have been purchasing shaving to use. Although it is not extremely expensive, every little bit counts so we are cleaning out at work and have an abundance of paper.  I bought home some of the paper and shredded it using my shredder. Today, we clean the chicken coop of the shaving and filled the coop with shredded paper bits.  We re-used the bedding and chicken poop by adding it to our tomato beds to help with growing.  Total spent for new chicken bedding was $0.

Last week, I had meal planned but that plan went out the window. This meant that I had 2 cups of chicken left in the fridge. I had also planned to do a fried rice with brown rice and a cup of black beans.  These items needed to be used.  I ended up making chicken enchiladas with enough leftovers for 2 lunches.  and Lily used the brown rice, black beans and added a can of chicken to make herself a rice bowl for lunch. This actually made enough for 4 meals for her!

So far this month we have spent $215 on groceries. This includes $144 Amazon subscribe and save. This has become a huge money saver for me as it allows me to stay stocked up without buying everything at once. This month I have also used rewards from a couple of credit cards as well. I am hoping to keep the grocery spending under $350 for the month.  The kids have been bagging up snacks for school at night was we have used most of the individual bags but have plenty of larger bags. They also have been “digging” in the freezer for treats such as popsicles and “Hot Pockets” I know the Hot Pockets were purchased in August of last year and forgotten about.  Money spent on food this weekend $0!

We have started 34 tomato plants and 24 pepper plants from seed this year. Today we moved all these plants to the greenhouse. I was so excited to find that my “mosquito” plants have all survived the winter in the greenhouse. The goal is to keep as many plants as possible alive so we can transplant the first of May!

We did use a bit of sweat equity today but we also saved alot of money!

Monday Menu Planning

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This week we are starting to see holes in our pantry and freezers. This is actually a good thing and allows me to really see what food we need.  I also have added a couple of new recipes to help brighten up the food!  The count down to Disney is on so at least I see a light at the end of the food tunnel!

Breakfast- Saturday- Pancakes and  bacon, . Sunday- German pancakes   Monday- bagels  Tuesday Wednesday and Friday-find it :  oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, bagels, Thursday- zucchini bread (I was able to find several more packs of zucchini in the freezer and would like to completely clear it out before May.
Lunch- Saturday-left-overs Sunday Gregg’s  This week I have 2 days of salad, a day of soup, and a sandwich for Thursday.  Matt has made 2 hamburger patties and two days of buffalo chicken nuggets.

Dinner- Saturday-Philly Cheesesteak casserole Sunday-Cheeseburger soup (used up all the Velveeta cheese) Monday- Left-overs and or ballgame food.  Tuesday-  Breakfast bowls Wednesday- Chicken Enchilada Thursday- we will like eat out as we have hair cuts and baseball Friday-Pork Fried Rice.

We can do this

Monday Menu Planning

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To be quite honest, I am done.  I am tired of cooking food, tired of planning to cook food and maybe a little bit bored with the food we have.  But I know in my brain we can do this. I can keep the grocery budget low for the rest of the month and then enjoy Disney with all it’s wonderful food that I am not responsible for planning, preparing or cleaning up from.   So for the time being I have to figure out how to make this work.  This week, I wanted to use up food that is already in the fridge. I did have enough time on Saturday to do some preparing ahead. I hope this makes lunch this week much easier.  I am also very hopeful that I can stick to the plan!

Breakfast- Saturday- Big Breakfast including sausage, bacon, eggs and a hashbrown casserole. Sunday-Biscuit and Gravy casserole Monday- Left-over biscuit and gravy casserole. Tuesday Wednesday and Friday- find it:  oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, bagels, Thursday- zucchini bread (I was able to find several more packs of zucchini in the freezer and would like to completely clear it out before May.
Lunch- Saturday-left-overs Sunday Mexican at Don Juan’s. This week I fried up 3 days’ worth of beef liver and onions, I will add some left-over veggies to make this a complete meal.  Matt has made 3 hamburger patties to use up the 3 hamburger buns that are on the table.  The kids can either take leftovers or sandwiches or grab and go.

Dinner- Saturday-leftovers um yum chicken (not a repeat) and squash casserole. Sunday-My Dad’s chicken stew (this leaves only 1 additional soup in the main freezer).  Monday- Left-overs (I will encourage either left-over breakfast or soups, but we will see how this goes). Tuesday- Baked Ziti (one more in the freezer) Wednesday- More Left-overs (We have most of a tater tot casserole to eat) Thursday-Cheesy Chicken Pasta (This was a hit a couple of weeks ago). Friday-Hamburger Helper Stroganoff (These are the last two boxes on the shelf).

My overall thought is that if I can make it through this week, it will get easier and we will be ready for some easy repeating food.

Menu Planning

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The menu plan last week was just that: a meal plan. It really did not happen at all. We were given a meal on Tuesday, made Breakfast for dinner on Wednesday and squeezed in some leftovers. But we have two very big positive take-aways. One is that we did not eat out at all and two we manage to use up most of the leftovers from Junk Food Sunday.  This week we are making a plan once again which uses some of the same items.   We did have a large Costco grocery purchase in February, but we are also continuing to try to eat what we have with some supplements of diary and vegetables.  Next week we will start repeating meals that have been successful. The idea is to get us through the end of March on a limited budget.

Breakfast- Saturday-Gravy Biscuits (3 containers of gravy where frozen to use with breakfast bowls and burritos.) Sunday-Cinnamon roll waffles Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday- find it oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, bagels, I am also encouraging hot sandwiches for breakfast to use up bread and protein.  and. Thursday- zucchini bread. Or homemade bagels or baked oatmeal.

Lunch- Saturday-Hawaiian slider burgers Sunday Applebee’s , Monday- leftovers Tuesday- leftovers, Wednesday- salad Thursday- soup of some kind Friday- out to eat.

Dinner- Saturday-leftovers Sunday-Hot Sandwiches Monday-Pork Fried Rice and Chicken fried rice (the purpose and goal of this meal was to use up a lot of left-over veggies and make enough for lunch for several people several days.  Tuesday- Broiled Fish, green beans and salad. Wednesday- New chicken pasta recipe Thursday-Hamburger Help Beef Stroganoff, Friday-Spaghetti and garlic bread.