Category Archives: Menu Planning

Monday Menu Plan

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We discovered last week that a menu plan is even more important than when we are out of the house. We were able to stick to the plan last week except for Wednesday when we ate left-overs. I am very proud to say that we have significantly reduced the amount of left-overs in the refrigerator to a normal amount! I also have been cleaning out some expired food and trying to make sure that we don’t waste. Matt and I both are working from home so lunches are left-overs or sandwiches for us. In an effort to try and develop and stay on a schedule sort of I spent several hours in the kitchen on Sunday. I was able to shred the chicken from Costco, make hamburger patties one set for dinner and froze the rest for quick lunches. Made roll ups for lunch. Hopefully we can stay home and stay on track.

Breakfast– Saturday bacon, eggs and toast. Sunday- Waffles (with an entire batch froze)  Monday, Tuesday,  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday-choice of bagels, breakfast bowls or burritos, breakfast muffins, eggs, sausage, pancakes,  cereal or grits. – Or what ever the school sends. IF I get ambitious this week I may do a baked oatmeal for one morning.

Lunch-  Saturday- Pasta salad with chicken, tomato and cucumber added, Sunday- Left-over from Fridge. Last week the kids had a pizza pocket, hamburger, uncrustable, chicken sandwich and egg roll. Each day they also get at least one vegetable so that adds in. I made pinwheels for myself one day and will eat left-overs or salad. Matt is on his own this week.

Dinner-  Saturday- Left-overs , Sunday- Sandwhich Monday- Hamburgers and tator tots Tuesday-Dorito Chicken ( this is a new recipe) and fried apples. Wednesday- Mandurian Orange chicken and egg rolls, Thursday- Steaks and twice baked potato. Friday-Pizza rolls.

Monday Menu Planning

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Last week was mostly a success but this week brings even more uncertainty as I am suppose to return to work on Thursday but I may be given a work from home opportunity but that is still the unknow. Our school district is delivering lunch and breakfast for the following days. On Friday, the kids got a chicken sandwich, carrots and a banana for lunch. Breakfast was a donut and banana. We will definitely be adding to the breakfast as a doughnut is desert not a meal! Two things, you will notice are different this week. First, on Sunday, I did not cook. I was tired and we need to use up left-overs! We also are trying to continue to support local restaurants when it makes senses. Amanda brought over several meals that would not get eaten at her house so currently we have no more room in the refrigerator.

I was able to spend some time taking inventory in both of my freezers this week. We currently have a list of approximately forty-five dinner meals that are available to us. This does not include any meals of left-overs or meals from our panty. My current plan is to start emptying out the freezers and also stashing back some extra money for meat. I am debating on purchasing a entire cow or just simply restocking at the local butcher shop. I definitely want to wait several weeks till people stop hoarding because I don’t want to pay the inflated price.

Breakfast– Saturday sausage biscuits and hash browns. Sunday- find your own. Mom is not cooking.   Monday- cereal for the kids and I ate left-over quiche. Tuesday,  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday-choice of bagels, breakfast bowls or burritos, breakfast muffins, eggs, sausage, pancakes,  cereal or grits. – Or what ever the school sends.

Lunch-  Saturday- Left overs , Sunday- Left-over from Fridge. Matt has packed 2 hamburgers and 2 brat meals for the week. I will be eating left-overs or soup. The kids have school meals. My kids are really excited for this because they are not allowed to eat at school so I am not sure what they will get or if they will eat it. I plan to report next week on the items they received and what we ended up doing with them.

Dinner-  Saturday- Low country boil with hushpuppies(purchased from local resturant) , Sunday-Boneless buffalo wings (purchased from a local restaurant for $20) Monday- left- overs Tuesday- Sloppy Joes and French fries. Wednesday- Mandurian Orange chicken and egg rolls, Thursday- Baked Ziti Friday-Chicken apple and sweet potato crock pot meal (new recipe).

Monday Menu Planning

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As we start this week with lots of uncertainty and confusion, due to the Cornoavirus. I have three goals. First to try and get the kitchen back together quickly, and second to again develop a good list of what food/meals we actually have. Finally to start to slowly restock the freezer on quick and easy meal. You will also notice that we do not have a kitchen for the weekend due to the new floor being installed. Lots of eating out.

Breakfast– Saturday gravy biscuit from Biscuit King   Sunday- McDonalds   Monday, Tuesday,  Wednesday-choice of bagels, breakfast bowls or burritos, breakfast muffins, eggs, sausage, pancakes,  cereal or grits. Thursday- Spinach and Bacon Quiche Friday-  Cinnamon Roll waffles

Lunch-  Saturday- Left over Pizza  , Sunday- Left-over from Fridge. Monday- Kids- mac and cheese from box, Tuesday- eating out of Matt and I. Girls had soup. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday- left-overs from the fridge. My plan is to make lunch the one meal that I do not cook or at least cook the least. I also want the kids to get use to heating something up if I am required to return to work.

Dinner-  Saturday- Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings , Sunday-Applebees Monday- Spaghetti and meatballs. Tuesday- Steak Fatijis Wednesday- Grilled Chicken, Thursday- Choice of baked potato or baked sweet potato Friday- BBQ pork Roast.

Menu Planning Monday

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Things seem to be getting back to normal which means a busy schedule but no sickness. We do have big plans for this week as we are going to install the new flooring next weekend. I am going to try and stay ahead of the game so that it will go smoothly. You will notice three things first starting on Thursday, we will not have a functioning kitchen so we will be eating out. Second-We did not eat out on Sunday this week! Third- I am slowly seeing the freezers start to empty out. This is not a shock and we are planning to restock completely this summer.

Breakfast– Special treat-gravy biscuit from Biscuit King and Red’s Donut shop.  Sunday-left-overs from Saturday dinner.   Monday, Tuesday,  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday- choice of bagels, breakfast bowls or burritos, breakfast muffins, eggs, sausage, pancakes,  cereal or grits. 

Lunch-  Saturday- Turkey cresant rolls  , Sunday- Potato Soup or Turkey taco soup.  Matt has 2 burgers and 2 days of brats.  The kids have soup, sandwiches  and grab and go days. Lily and I had Chinese on Monday, I will take left-overs the rest of the week.

Dinner-  Saturday- left-overs , Sunday- Squash casserole with other left-over veggies. Monday-Orange Chicken, rice and egg rolls Tuesday- Breakfast casserole Wednesday- Crock-pot chicken and dumplings, Thursday- fifty cent corn dogs from Sonic . Friday- Pizza.

Monday Menu Planning

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This week we have a dual focus, quick and use what we have already. I mentioned last week that we have already spent our grocery budget for the month of February and I really want to control spending for the last two weeks of the month. I did spend $10 this week between lunch vegetables and CVS,  I have again picked up additional work during the evenings in fact, I am working 4 nights this week. We have an orthodontist appointment, an oral surgeon appointment and a hair coloring appointment in addition to work and regular activities. 

Breakfast– Special treat-gravy biscuit from Biscuit King.  Sunday-left-overs from Saturday dinner.   Monday- baked oatmeal  Tuesday,  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday- choice of eggs, sausage, french toast or pancakes,  cereal or grits. 

Lunch-  Saturday- Left-overs and mozzarella sticks   , Sunday- Potato Soup or Turkey taco soup.  Matt has 2 salads, sandwiches  and a soup,  The kids have soup, sandwiches  and grab and go days. I have soup and left-overs and one salad. 

Dinner-  Saturday-Breakfast items including egg/sausage muffins and sausage crescent rolls, Sunday- boxed mac and cheese,  orooddles of noddles Monday-baked potatoes (Amanda decided to share ribs and fried chicken to add to this meal). , Tuesday- Mini Tacos  Wednesday- KFC bowls that did  not happen last week, Thursday- pizza bites and mozzarella sticks . Friday- cheese tortellini.

Menu Planning Monday

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I will be the first to admit that the possibility of jury duty this week has me super stressed. I decided to stick to quick and simple most days in order to add in the flexibility that we may  need. Good news is that we were able to do some simple prep on Sunday including making mashed potatoes and assembling the casserole for Monday. 

Breakfast– Special treat-gravy biscuit from Biscuit King. Matt and I shared our lunch money for this treat. Sunday- eggs, sausage and hashbrowns  Monday, Tuesday,  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday- choice of toast, eggs, sausage, bagels, cereal or grits.  I may add in a baked oatmeal for one day but still not sure. 

Lunch-  Saturday- Chicken and cheese quesadillas and taco fries  , Sunday- Time Square pizza (local place) Matt has 4 salads and a soup,  The kids have soup, uncrustables and grab and go days. I have soup and left-overs and no plan for Wednesday or Thursday. 

Dinner-  Saturday-Instapot Potato Soup, Sunday- left-overs  Monday-Alfredo Chicken casserole (new recipe), Tuesday- Hamburger Helper  Wednesday- Pizza, Thursday- KFC bowls . Friday- Taco Turkey Soup from the freezer. 

Saving on Saturday

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Time for a confession, we have already spent out entire grocery budget for the month of February, well actually we spent it all by last Sunday aka “Junk Food Sunday.” I actually do know where all of it went and I am ok with it. But I definitely need to make sure that we use up all the food we have so that I am not wasting and going out to buy more. This week I have really been focused on not have any food waste. Monday, everyone took left-overs for lunch. Kendall ended up taking 3 separate days of left-over from the veggie tray to dip. On Tuesday, I made sliders to use the Hawaiian Rolls and cheese from the cheese tray. Wednesday was a pick your own left-over. Thursday, I took the rest of the broccoli and cauliflower covered with cheese slices and baked. I also used the rest of the baby carrot to cook as a side dish.

For lunch on Saturday (today) I cut up the rest of the chicken from Costco last week and made chicken and cheese quesadillas with Taco Fries. I used up the rest of the Taco dip by placing on top of French fries! This was an awesome treat at lunch! Everyone liked the fries! I am also going to count our Taco fries as a new recipe this week! We still have about 2 cups of chicken that is cut up.

I found this morning a new recipe to try in the crockpot. It calls for 3 cooked chicken breast. Instead of cooking chicken breast, I am going to use the rest of the chicken from Costco and also throw in a couple of sticks of teriyaki chicken that is left-overs from Chinese on Friday! I made 16 cups of chicken broth from the bones and skin of the chicken so I am positive that we have gotten our monies worth from that chicken.

Another way I am saving this week is by using gift card earned via Swagbucks. We hit Walmart last night and purchased some needed personal hygiene items, filters for our heating and air system and even water flavor packets using a gift card!

I am also keeping an eye on the cost of flights for our August trip to Disney. It would appear that I may be able to get round trip flights for less than $200 each!

Breakfast Casserole

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Breakfast is one of our favorite meal around here! Over Christmas I tried a several breakfast casserole recipes. Most ended up tasting the same or being more of a time consuming effort than I cared to repeat. So I was not expecting much when I tried this particular one. I am not sure where I found it and I tried to goggle with no success.

6 slices of bread ( this cause for crust removed but I left mine one)
Butter
1lb of bacon or other breakfast meat ( I used sausage)
1/2 cup of shredded cheese (increased to 1 heaping cup)
6 eggs ( I used 8 as that was what was left in the carton)
2 cups of milk
salt and pepper to taste

Butter the bread and the dish place the bread butter side up.
Top with meat
Sprinkle over cheese
Mix together egg, milk, salt and pepper
Pour over bread and meat.
Let sit for 8 hours or overnight
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes

I left the casserole in the oven overnight but the instructions say to allow to come to room temperature before heating.

A recipe winner and repeat!

Menu Planning Monday

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Junk Food Sunday is officially in the books. The goal this week is to use up the left-overs and stay sane. This is actually one of the slower weeks for us as far as activities go. I am only working two nights! Sadly, I don’t have a new recipe on the plan but I need to get motivated with posting about the last one.

Breakfast– Saturday- Bacon, eggs, grits and biscuits.Sunday- left-overs for me and the girls. Boys had men’s breakfast. Monday- muffins, Tuesday- bagels , Wednesday, Thursday, Friday- choice of toast, eggs, sausage, bagels, cereal or grits. 

Lunch-  Saturday- left-overs, Sunday-Mexican at a Resturant with friends., Matt has 3 salads, I have 2 salads and the kids have a combination of salads chicken nuggets and sandwiches. , Everyone is taking left-overs for Monday so it works out well 

Dinner-  Saturday- Rotiserie Chicken from Costco, green beans and corn (left-overs) and stuffing., Sunday- Junk FOOD Monday- vegtable tray and fruit tray with cheese tortellini , Tuesday- Han and cheese sliders and potato chips(yes all left-overs), Wednesday- Pick your own left-overs, Thursday- Salisbury steak and rice Friday- Pizza 

Menu Planning on Tuesday

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I am posting this menu a day late this week but I have a good reason, the crud. I actually started feeling sick last Thursday. I managed to stay in the game and work all day Friday. Saturday-I crashed and ended up staying in bed all day. Luckily that did the trick as I returned to normal and even worked on Sunday night.  One thing we have been thankful for especially with me being sick is simple meal or things that we can heat and eat.  

The evening are starting to get busier and I have increased my working time so things are busy,hectic and on some days down right crazy.  Pizza is becoming a go to easy meal for us and I am still using gift cards earned last year to cover the expense so another win win for the present. 

Breakfast– Special treat-gravy biscuit from Biscuit King. Matt and I shared our lunch money for this treat. Sunday- Breakfast casserole (new recipe) Monday- bagels, Tuesday- eggs, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday- choice of toast, eggs, sausage, bagels, cereal or grits. 

Lunch-  Saturday- left-overs, Sunday-KFC, Matt has 3 salads, I have 2 salads and the kids have a combination of salad, sandwich and grab and go. 

Dinner-  Saturday- Orange chicken and egg rolls, Sunday- Church pot luck- I sent cowboy beans and cornbread casserole. Monday- Shake and bake home version pork chops, scalloped potatoes and pears, Tuesday- Mini Taco, Wednesday- Pizza, Thursday- Crockpot chicken and dumplings. Friday- Spaghetti and Meatballs.