Category Archives: Menu Planning

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. 

Menu Planning Monday

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For some strange reason, my brain was saying that because the kids were out of school a couple of days this week, things should be less hectic. Of course, my brain was wrong. In fact, we have multiple things going on every night this week. The positive- no extra eating out this week. Pizza is free with gift card.

Breakfast- Saturday- fried steak biscuits. Sunday,-bacon and eggs Monday- Peanut butter and chocolate baked oatmeal,Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday– Choice of fried bologna, omelet, pop tarts, cereal, bagels or toast. 

Lunch–Saturday- chicken stew , Sunday-Gregg’s(local restaurant). Friday both Matt and I will eat out, Monday-kids had mac and cheese, Tuesday- chicken salad plate for me. Wednesday-ramen noodles, Thursday- something left-over. Matt has four salads this week. Kids have grab and go and sandwich on the days they go to school.

Dinner – Saturday- left-overs.  Sunday–Broccoli-cheese casserole Monday-Burrito Soup Tuesday– Sweet meatballs Wednesday-Pizza Thursday– Ham Bone soup Friday- Hamburger Helper.

Saturday Activities

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Today has been a really awesome day, the reason why because I am still in my pajamas and have no plan to leave the house all day! Lily and Kendall are on a youth retreat. Zach is at a birthday party for a friend. Another parent offered to pick him up and drop him off so of course I could not refuse.

I have managed to wash both the sheets on our bed and Zach’s bed. I was not able to hang out to dry but instead ran the dryer during the day to add some heat in the house. The weather is cold with a high of 40* another good reason for me to stay inside.

I made a stop by the grocery store last night. I found whole chicken on sale for $0.99 a pound which is a good price for my area. I prefer to get the already roasted chicken at Costco but we don’t have a trip planned to Costco in the near future. So this morning, I placed the chicken in the instapot. When it finished cooking, I removed the meat and shredded it. I made a huge batch of chicken stew. I have already froze one meal. It will probably work for at least one other full meal. The second half of the chicken, I am going to use in a new recipe this week called Burrito Bowl Soup. Look for a post about it on Monday hopefully.

This coming week is a lot different as everyone is out of school on Monday. Kendall and Zach only go to school on Thursday and Friday. I went ahead and put up the schedule for the week along with meals. I actually went ahead and prepared everything thing I could so that it will be a heat and eat week.


Menu Planning Monday

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Things are starting to get a little bit hectic around here, cheerleading started last week, Zach has both sign language club and student council meeting, Lily will start rehearsal for her spring play next week. We also are trying to fit in some doctor appointments. Matt is no longer working a second job but I have working at least Sunday and Wednesday night.

Breakfast- Pimento Cheese and Bacon biscuits. Sunday,-Lucky Charms cereal. Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday– Choice of breakfast burrito, omelet, pop tarts, cereal, bagels or toast.  I may make a baked oatmeal for one morning just not sure yet. (Did not happen last week so it may this week.)

Lunch–Saturday- out to eat at The Classic in Denton, , Sunday-Panda Panda Chinese. Friday both Matt and I will eat out, Kids have a mix of salads, soups and sandwiches. Matt and I both has two days of salads, He will have homemade chill the other days and I have a snack tray planned and a left-over soup.

Dinner – Saturday- Salads and crackers.  Sunday–Left-overs Monday-Tator Tot Taco(new recipe) Tuesday– Find your own Wednesday–Chicken Diva Thursday– Pork Chops, scallop potatoes and green beans, Friday- probably a meal out as the girls are going skiing with the youth group.

Monday Menu Planning

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We are back to a regular routine this week. The kids all have school and I am working both jobs. You may notice that several easy to fix dinners are showing up. I am also committed to trying one new recipe a week. The biggest accomplishment of the week is no planned eating out!

Breakfast- Saturday ,Eggs, bacon and toast. Sunday,-Frozen Waffles. Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday– Choice of breakfast burrito, omelet , pop tarts, cereal, bagels or toast.  I may make a baked oatmeal for one morning just not sure yet.

Lunch–Saturday-Sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls, , Sunday-Cranberry Chicken Friday both Matt and I will eat out, Kids have a mix of salads, soups and sandwiches. Matt and I both has two days of salads, He will have homemade chill the other days and I will find the best left-overs.

Dinner – Saturday- twice baked potatoes (from freezer).  Sunday–Broccoli and cheese soup Monday-Sloppy joes and French fries Tuesday– Taco pasta Wednesday–crockpot cubed steak. Thursday– Chicken enchiladas, Friday- Kielbasa and rice.

Creative Left-overs

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I cooked a huge meal for Christmas lunch, knowing that I would be able to stretch it for several more days. The day after Christmas we shared left-overs with our friends and ended up with about 1/4 of a spiral ham and even more unexpected was the left-over BBQ pork from my family gathering. So far, I would consider our use of left overs a success! We been eating up the left-overs for 7 days now but I have been able to use things in different ways and actually freeze several easy to prepare meals to use in the next couple of months.

The first creative left-over was ham bone soup. I cut most of the remaining ham off the bone and threw the bone in crockpot with an additional 2 cups of chopped ham, added a bag of navy beans, chopped up cooked carrots, a couple of stalks of celery that were not used, 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt and 6 cups of turkey stock. We ate this for a dinner meal and I froze a container to use as a quick soup meal.

I pulled out my food processor to make ham salad. This is an awesome snack or lunch.

Yesterday, I chopped up some of the ham and mixed with remaining mac and cheese. Kendall, who is not a left-over person loved this and requested that I make it again! Today at lunch, we finished up the ham by making ham and cheese quesadillas.

Left-over BBQ was eaten as several meals of sandwiches, next I made two containers of Pork Fried Rice. We ate one for dinner and finished as a lunch. The second container was frozen again for a easy meal in the future.

Turkey is an easy sandwich of course. But I have also made a pot of Turkey taco soup, simply chop up the cooked turkey instead of ground beef. This also made two meals with one in the freezer to use later on.

Can you share a creative left-over that I have not thought of?