Menu Monday

Going to try and get back to blogging...it seems I have my act together a little more and get more done if I plan on blogging about it!


Menu Plan Monday

here's our menu for the wk:
tonight: baked ziti I sub cottage cheese for sour cream and omitted provolone since I didn't have it on hand. I don't really layer...just mix it all up together. (this is great for make-ahead--I will freeze half for another day.)
tomorrow: chicken and rice (new favorite recipe)
wednesday: white chicken chili
thursday: quiche lorraine (I add swiss)
friday: leftovers, or some corn chowder from the freezer.

Week 6: Monday Menus

I've been slacking on my menu planning and our food bill shows it.

Monday
pizza
We went to Houston for Sunday and Monday and Black Sarah was waiting for us with homemade pizza dough when we got back to Temple!

Tuesday
burgers at the French Quarter

Wednesday
Spaghetti

Thursday
White Chicken Chili

Friday
We're headed to Schlitterbahn with our free tickets from HEB and then I'm staying for the Living Proof Live conference in San Antonio.

Week 5: Monday Menus

better late than never, right?

Last night we had beef soft tacos with queso, salsa, and Spanish rice.

Tuesday:
burgers, oven fries, and Zummo links

Wednesday:
Burritos (stuffed with leftover taco meat and rice) topped with Ranchero Sauce

Thursday:
Chicken and Rice. Can I say I LOVE Uncle Ben's?

Friday:
Orzo Risotto with Buttery Shrimp. Melissa lent me 2 binders full of great recipes she's clipped from magazines and I want to try almost all of them!

Eating on a budget

I know my menus lately haven't been super budget-friendly, but they are improving! Believe it or not last year I was spending about $225 per week at the grocery store and I have that down to about $125 now. My vbf encouraged me to share some of my cheap eats. Last month we paid Audrey's annual preschool tuition bill so we were, how do you say?--tightening our belt. Here's what worked for us...

• Menu planning. This is the number one thing that helped immensely in keeping costs lower. It helped in making sure we use what's already in the freezer and pantry, plus also prevents that 6 pm panic that causes last-minute runs for take-out.
• Strategic use of leftovers. Monday night's roasted chicken turns into Tuesday night's chicken pot pie. Wednesday's taco filling turns into Thursday's taco soup.
• Double up. I pretty much don't make anything that I don't make a double recipe of and immediately stick half in the freezer. It's great for stretching dishes because sauces and pastas can really make things go further.
• Eggs, eggs, eggs. My favorite cheap source of protein. Quiches, fritattas, or good old "breakfast for dinner" is great. Who doesn't love pancakes? Oh, right, me.
• Go meatless. Twice a week try black bean quesadillas or briami.
• No leftovers for lunches. I got this idea from my major-mom-crush Kim R. It's much cheaper to prepare lunches (sandwiches, soups, salads, etc) than it is dinner, so the rule in their house is dinner leftovers are for dinner. So she typically cooks for two or three nights, and then has a fend-for-yourself night where everyone scavenges leftovers.
• Save fresh produce for a special treat. Frozen fruit and vegetables are excellent quality and usually are a better buy.

Any other tips?

Week 4: Monday Menus

Last week we pretty much stuck to the menu...though we did Chick-fil-A instead of red beans and rice. The roast chicken with bread salad I posted was awesome. So so good...try it! The recipe looks a little daunting (four pages long!) but it's very simple, she just explains the procedure very well.

The theme is this week is no oven again. Also a tiny bit healthy. (I have to fit into this dress this weekend!) Black Sarah will be here so grilled cheese and cereal won't do.

Here goes.

Monday

Seared Chicken with White Wine Sauce
This is basically just pan seared chicken with some white wine, butter, and chicken broth used to deglaze the pan drippings.

Tuesday

Steaks with Herbed Butter

Wednesday

Grilled Tilapia

Thursday
Red Beans and Rice

Friday
Sandwiches (chicken salad and roast beef)

Week 3: Monday Menus

Here's what's on for this week--trying not to use the oven much since it's been so SO hot.

Monday

Beef stroganoff

Yep, it's been on schedule for three weeks in a row but never actually happens. We'll try again today!

Tuesday

Roasted Chicken with Bread Salad

Wednesday

Cantonese Pork Tenderloin

Thursday

Paninis with leftover pork and chicken

Friday

Shrimp tacos

I add crumbled bacon to these to make them like the ones at our favorite taqueria.

Monday Menus

Here goes week two! We stuck to last week's menu pretty well with the exception of Chuy's for Josh's birthday instead of stroganoff. So stroganoff will get moved to this week. Still nothing too healthy...

Monday
Mazzio's $6.99 large one-topping pizza
We have taken advantage of this Monday night special several times over the summer--though sometimes they try and change the price to $7.50.

Tuesday
roast, rice and gravy with homemade bread

Wednesday
Schoepf's barbecue

Thursday
beef stroganoff

Friday
red beans and rice

Monday menus

I'm trying to be a little more pro-active in menu planning so we can eat a little healthier and little cheaper. So here's what on the menu for this week.

Monday

chicken stuffed with crawfish jambalaya

These are so good--my mom has brought me a couple the last couple of times she has come to visit. She gets them at Woody's Smokehouse in Centerville (they also have great beef jerky, according to Josh).

Tuesday

BBQ shrimp

Wednesday

pizza

Thursday

beef stroganoff

This is Josh's birthday and even though we just had it last week for my birthday he wants it again.

Friday

quiche lorraine

Audrey is kind of obsessed lately with "egg pizza" as she calls it.