Sunday, August 3, 2008

Menu Plan Monday Aug. 4 - Aug. 9

(check out Organizing Junkie for more great menu ideas!)
I have been saying for weeks now that "this week I'm trying to spend less on groceries." Every week except one I have failed miserably. Partly this is because I'm weak and when I see a sale I am driven to stock up - we have canned black, white and chili beans coming out our ears, we have spaghetti sauce to feed an army, and I found a killer deal on cereal and had to stock up. The other reason I have spent so much is that prices are going up! Last week I really did just buy what we needed and I spent $81.00! Ouch!

This week, I really am going to go cheap. I have planned menus that can be made almost exclusively out of my Crazyville Food Shoppe. I will need milk and some fresh fruit, period. The only glitch in my plan is that it is supposed to be really, really hot here. I hate baking when it is hot and I had planned baked stuffed for snacks/breakfasts. I'm not sure if I'll switch my plan or not. I figure for breakfast it won't be hot yet (but the oven will heat up my house, sigh). I'll just see how it goes, but for now, this is my menu.


Breakfasts
Lunches
  • wagon wheel chili (boil wagon wheel pasta, drain, add one can of your favorite chili and one can of tomato sauce, mix well and top with shredded cheese)
  • Easy Bean and Cheese Rounds (double the recipe)
  • Peanut butter and jelly
  • Mac and cheese
  • leftovers
Dinners
  • Frito Salad (regular tossed salad with a can of "Ranch Style Beans" added, some shredded cheese and some Fritos, Toss with Catalina dressing)
  • Chicken Crockpot Thing (we never know what to call this but it is boneless skinless chicken breasts, can of cheddar broccoli soup, a soup can of milk - cook in crockpot until chicken is cooked and starts to fall apart. Shred the chicken, return to crockpot, add some cooked broccoli if desired and serve over rice.)
  • Spanish Tortilla (this link is for a recipe which is similar to the one I make except we leave out the sausage)
  • Spaghetti Carbonara (the link is for a recipe which is similar to the one I make except we of course make much, much more! We also use bacon instead of pancetta - I'm sure the pancetta is much more authentic but it is also much more expensive! And I have bacon in my freezer!)
  • Quesadillas/Burritos - set out tortillas, refried beans (homemade probably, cause it's cheaper), shredded cheese, salsa, rice, sour cream and let everyone make their own.
Like I said, hopefully, I'll just have to buy milk and fruit. Wish me luck. I'll need it!

Jill

6 comments:

Sandra said...

Your menu looks great :)

My Menu Plan

valley view farm said...

Good luck, Im sure you can do it! I like your Wagon Wheel chili, think I'll make that in the future, thank you for sharing!

Traci @ The Bakery said...

You can send the extra spaghetti sauce to my house.....I can't believe I'm completely out!!! I've been using my pantry stuff too and it is working....except I hate the feeling of looking in there and not seeing much.

Lisa Knight said...

Good luck staying out of the store! I've been keeping our spending down too. It's just easier with a full pantry sometimes!

The Frugal Momma

Sonshine said...

your grocery habits sound like mine!! I can't believe how much I have spent in recent weeks on groceries. I have enough groceries other than milk and fresh produce to last us all week and even into next week BUT there are great deals this week at the store! LOL!

Your menu sounds great this week!

That creamy chicken and broccoli dish sounds yummy and oh soooo easy! :)

Jill said...

Sonshine - the chicken dish is delish! And it is so easy I think of it as a "cheating" meal - I didn't actually have to cook I just tossed stuff in and hours later I served!

Thanks all of you for your encouragement! I'm really going to stick to the budget this week. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!!

Jill