Menu Plan Monday - Oct 20th

Another week, another menu plan! I'm starting to measure the passage of time based on what's crossing the dinner table :) We're working on finishing our Halloween costumes, I actually scored a huge bit of burlap from the pumpkin patch farm for the Boy Wonder's costume..hooray! We had fun bouncing through the pumpkin field, but it was a very blustery day - and if you've ever dealt with a fall/winter wind in New England, you understand quickly why Yanks are called "hardy". Makes me miss the Colorado winters I grew up with!

Last week's menu went OK, but I ended up switching a bunch of nights around, and I never got around to making the squash and apple casserole. I am going to give it another try this week, and I think I'm going to do it in the crockpot instead of the oven - we'll see how that comes out! Everything else went over very well, though I'd definitely do more cheese in the Broccoli cheese soup next time. Hubby's coworkers have been very jealous of all the good leftovers he brings for lunch :)

This week we only have two nights where everyone will be home for dinner (can you tell which ones?), most other nights the hubby is working so he'll have to enjoy the previous night's dinner on his meal breaks! I had a couple of recipes that I really wanted to try, which made me overshoot my budget by about 10 bucks...next week I have to aim to spend as little as possible and work out of my stockpile. I made a batch of carrot-applesauce muffins that came out AWESOME, so a double batch of those will serve as breakfast and snack options.

Don't forget to visit Laura over at I'm an Organizing Junkie and check out the 300-plus other MPM participants!

monday - Crockpot Vegetable Curry with coconut rice ($7.06 for 8 servings)

tuesday - Leftover veggie soup with leftover chicken and rice added ($0.23 - it's mostly leftovers!)

wednesday - I'm working a 16 hour shift so the boys will be making good on all the leftovers in the fridge!

thursday - Homemade cheese pizza ($1.99 for 6-8 servings)

friday - Oven Baked Country Ribs, Baked squash and apple casserole, cornbread ($7.82 for 6 servings)

saturday - Chipotle Ranch Chicken Fingers, Green Giant broccoli cheese & rice Steamers that I got on sale for 88 cents! ($5.67 for 4-6 servings)

sunday - Leftover baked ziti from nephew's b'day party (froze a bunch of it!) - FREE!





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Menu Plan Monday - Oct 13th

We managed to survive last week *mostly* intact - even with the extra hours at work we stayed on plan as far as the menu goes, though since we did end up over my in-laws on Sunday I will probably do the soup and sandwiches for dinner tonight...I haven't decided yet :)

The Sausage Oven Omelette turned out SOOOO good and made six healthy portions, so that will definitely go on the regular rotation...it'd be easy to double too, which will make it great for family brunches and pot lucks! I was also impressed with how far we stretched the Mexican chicken - two good sized chix breasts made enough shredded meat for 4 quesadillas, a burrito and chicken on my salad! Imagine what I could do with 2 pounds instead of 1...hehehe..

I did NO baking last week, so this week I have to hit the flour jar hard. I'm just about out of muffins so I'm going to do a batch of carrot muffins, some applesauce bread, and some dinner rolls and hoagie-sized rolls from this dough recipe (this one gets a LOT of mileage in my house!) If there are any leftovers from the squash and apple casserole I will probably see about baking that into muffins too!

I'm trying out a new soup recipe this week, it's one of those things I want to build in my repertoire because soup is relatively cheap for a LOT of servings, and it stores well. I like having things on hand that I can just pull out of the freezer and have on the table without a lot of extra effort :)

I had a really good shopping week but I'll post about that separately - in the meantime check out this week's MPM participants over at I'm an Organizing Junkie! And Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all the Canucks :)

monday - either veggie soup and grilled cheese sandwiches (carryover), or pasta with veggies ($3.15/$2.50)

tuesday - Mimi's Sticky Chicken, baked squash & apple casserole, homemade rolls ($8.65 - it's a pretty big chicken. I'll be making stock too!)

wednesday - Crockpot Thai chicken thighs, rice, steamed zukes ($7.70)

thursday - Homemade Hawaiian pizza - I do mine with pineapple and bacon ($2.94)

friday - Creamy broccoli cheese soup, leftover rolls from earlier in the week ($6.60)

saturday - Turkey meatball subs ($5.20)

sunday - taking our annual trip to the pumkin patch, then we have Uncle Bubba's birthday party...free eats!

**You'll notice my per-meal cost is a little high this week - I've been debating whether it's easier to break meals down to the number of servings we'll have or just do the whole cost and count leftovers as freebies. This week is the cost of the whole recipe, most serve 6-8 but some (like the chicken and the soup) serve almost twice that. If you have preferences of what you'd like to see, leave a comment and let me know!





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Menu Plan Monday - Sept 22nd

There are so many things I have grown to love about Menu Plans Mondays! I have been introduced to some wonderful blogs (and the wonderful ladies behind them!), found a storehouse of great recipe and menu ideas, and linked in with a means to motivate me every weekend! If you have been afraid to try it for yourself, don't be....I never planned a week before I started this, and now I wonder how I did without it. THIS WEEK is Family Favorites week - everyone will be posting their own personal "Standby" dishes, so I will definitely be filling the recipe binder :)

This week is definitely a pantry-raiding week. Hubby got a new job (hooray!) but he starts on Monday with a pretty rigorous schedule, and I had already picked up a few shifts at work so we're going to be baby-swapping and running around like headless chickens for the week. The upside is that there are 3 nights when we will be either dining at a relatives house or working (which means leftovers in the lunchbox!), the downside that we won't see much of each other until Sunday. Our car insurance had to be renewed too, and since DH has been out of work for a few weeks we didn't really have the cushion to make that deposit any less painful.

The good news - weekly shopping this week came to a grand total of $22, I got 4 pounds of bananas, 4 pounds of zukes, 3 pounds of apples, bread, milk ,eggs, flour, diet soda, cheese and frozen veggies. I plan on shredding and freezing half of the zucchini for future use in bread and muffins and I made a huge pot of veggie soup for the freezer. We should be pretty well set for at least 2 weeks if I play things right!

Here's what I came up with for this week, and don't forget to check out I'm an Organizing Junkie and see what everyone else is having for dinner!

monday: Hubby and I are both working the night shift, so we'll be having leftovers and the boy wonder will be dining at his Grammie's.

tuesday: Lloyds BBQ pork on homemade buns, corn, Cheesy zucchini strips ($3.85)

wednesday: Bee Rocks from the freezer, Vegetable soup ($3.03 for three servings) **Family favorite!

thursday: Baked Macaroni and Cheese **Another Family Favorite!

friday: dinner at the in-law's, they're keeping the boy overnight and hubby's comedy group is having a grand opening of their performance space! Woo!

saturday: Autumn Chicken, leftover rolls from Tuesday, and mixed veggies ($4.11)

sunday: Heading to the Cape for my nephew's birthday party (more free dinner, more cake!)

What's on YOUR menu?






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Menu Planning Monday - August 18th

Well I did manage to get some shopping done after vacation, and I hit upon a couple of really good deals! The tubs of Lloyds BBQ chicken, pork and beef were BOGO and I had FIVE $1 off coupons...so I got all of them for 2 bucks a piece (normally 6 bucks). And I had a couple of dollar off coupons for the sandwich size Thomas' muffins, so I got 2 packages for $2 each. Found Minute Maid lemonade on sale for $1 and I had a $1 off 2 coupon, so I picked up two for a buck. Overall it was a big stockup week, but I have plenty of ammunition for the next few weeks :)

Here's how the week's menu is shaping up...cost is total for the meal including any leftovers:

Monday: English muffin pizzas (with the large muffins) and mango & peach fruit salad ($4.00)

Tuesday: Chickpea Stew with rice ($3.44)

Wednesday: Baked Chicken drumsticks, mixed veggies, baked potato ($4.50)

Thursday: Lloyds BBQ pork on bulkie rolls, corn on the cob, steamed broccoli ($4.00)

Friday: Italian Chicken Skillet over rotini pasta ($4.35)

Saturday: Steak seasoned with hot sauce (Black and blue sauce from http://www.bandanabillsblazing.com/ - it's blackberry and blueberry...very cool!), veggies and easy cheese biscuits (see recipe below) ($7.75...splurge night!)

Sunday: Baked Ziti and leftover cheese biscuits with homemade garlic butter ($5.50)


Don't forget to head on over to OrgJunkie.com to check out hers and other monday menus!

Easy Cheese Biscuits
This recipe is one listed in The Best of Cooking with 3 Ingredients by Ruthie Wornall. I add more milk until the consistency is a little stickier because that's how I like them :)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups baking mix
2/3 cup milk (I use closer to 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients until soft dough forms. Beat for 30 seconds. If dough is too sticky, add more baking mix. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.






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Chickpea Stew

This is one of my favorite recipes, it's good for nights when you don't want to do ANOTHER chicken dish or just want something with a lot of veggies for a change. I have served this alone as a main or side dish, or had it over rice to make it more filling and stretch it further. It also reheats VERY well! Plus this is a SUPER cheap recipe - just over $3 for the whole thing - so if you want to add extra of any of the ingredients it won't break the bank!

CHICKPEA STEW
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic (or more, if you're a garlic fan like me!)
1/2 tsp basil -or- italian seasoning mix (depending on your taste)
1 can chickpeas, drained
2 med zucchini, quartered lengthwise and then cut into bite size pieces
1 med onion, diced
1 large tomato, diced (you can also use canned stewed or diced tomato)
2-3 cups chopped fresh spinach
2-3 cups cooked rice
Parmesan cheese

1. In a large saute pan, heat oil - add garlic and herbs/seasoning, let it sizzle for just under a minute or until the garlic is slightly browned.
2. Add chickpeas and zucchini, stir to coat with oil and garlic. reduce heat slightly, cover and let cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add onions, stir to mix, re-cover and let cook for about 3 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.
4. Add tomato, stir to mix, re-cover and let cook for about 2 minutes.
5. Add spinach, stir to mix, re-cover and let cook for about 4 minutes. Remove cover and cook an additional 4-5 minutes, or until the spinach is cooked.
6. If desired, serve over 3/4 cup of rice, add parmesan cheese to taste.

Makes 4-6 servings

Total cost:
Chickpeas - 0.59
Zucchini - appx 0.75
Tomato - appx 0.60
Onion - appx 0.20
Spinach - appx 0.80
Rice - appx 0.50

Total cost for a meal plus leftovers: $3.44!!!!!


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