Matt is slowly convincing me to switch to a monthly menu plan. I like knowing what we are eating and what food we actually have in the house to eat but I also miss changing things up a little each week. On the positive side of that is that we are having a bigger variety simply because I know what is coming and don’t want to repeat.  I am also using the weekends for two things, first to eat up leftovers and second to try some new dishes to put in the rotation. This is definitely a different week for us because the kids are out of school for 3 days but most of the evening activities are continuing as scheduled.

Breakfast–  Saturday- Gravy biscuits (leftovers were froze and labeled for the beach), Sunday- Sausage balls and pancakes. We purchased some premade croissants at Costco last week so we will use these up one school morning. Leftovers included baked oatmeal, pancakes,muffins and French toast. Pop-tarts, grits and cereal are also some choices.

Lunch-I will be taking leftovers and using up the can soup I have at work. The kids will be eating tomato soup one day, grilled cheese sandwiches and leftovers as well.

Dinner-  Saturday- Lunch- leftovers and broccoli cornbread .   Dinner- Sweet potato soup– not sure we will have again but not a complete fail.
Sunday- Lunch-  5 ingredient Burrito casserole– this is a hit definitely going on February menu.    Dinner- Leftovers.
Monday- Rice Creole
Tuesday-Grilled chicken, carrots and fruit.
Wednesday-Pork Chops, green beans, left over stuffing and fruit.
Thursday- Country style steak, rice and fruit
Friday- Spaghetti and meatballs.

These are my exact feeling about today. This is the first week since prior to Thanksgiving that we are back to a “normal” schedule. I will be honest and say that I have really enjoyed this past weekend. Being able to stay home and organize most of it. But all good things must come to an end so back to normal we go. The good news is that I have really focused on getting thing prepared for this first full week so that hopefully, I can still fit in all the things I need to. Menu planning is extremely important as I have slashed our grocery budget for the month of January and would really like to maintain a lower budget of around $500 for the first 4-5 months. I know these are lofty goals but I am going stay positive and attack one month at a time.  I realized that I had not posted a plan since mid November so for an update,we have really been focusing on eating good meals and making use of the leftovers that keep occurring. This weekend , we are eating one meal of leftovers a day. So far we are doing excellent with no food being thrown away due to spoiling. This week we have a trip to the Metrolina Eye on Thursday along with a cheerleading competition on Saturday.

Here is the plan :

Breakfast–  Breakfast burrito on Saturday (leftovers for the week), Baked oatmeal on Monday (leftovers for the week)muffins and French toast are in the freezer along with our staples of eggs, grits, poptarts, cereal and toast.

Lunch-The kids are really enjoying homemade “chicken dunks” for lunches so these are packed for 3 days with a sandwich and a grab n go day finishing up the week. I am finishing up lettuce in a salad on Monday and will be eating left overs for the rest.

Dinner-  No new meals this week as we are in survival mood at least for the first couple of weeks.
Saturday- Lunch- leftovers.   Dinner- Stuffed green pepper soup.
Sunday- Lunch-  baked sweet potatoes.    Dinner- Leftovers.
Monday- Salisbury steak, packet of mashed potatoes  and fruit cocktail.
Tuesday-Chicken pot pie.
Wednesday-Pork Chops, green beans, left over stuffing and fruit.
Thursday-Leftovers, soup or may be a meal out depending on time
Friday- Hamburger helper.