I hate meal planning. I feel like I'm always doing the same thing over and over. I don't meal plan every week, but I did this week and here it is. I also went grocery shopping today to institute the meal plan. I'll link the recipes if available. For things like "ranch dressing mix" or "taco seasoning" I substitute my own homemade version. The same goes for "cream of" soups.
I use this more as a spring board than a strict menu. These are the items I have ingredients for so we might not ACTUALLY have the meal on the designated night, but now I have a starting point.
Monday 12/7
Beans and Rice. We were
inspired to do this last October and have done it every Monday since, with few exceptions. This is our weekly reminder of how fortunate we are to have full pantries and refrigerators + it's our reminder to pray for others around the world who are food insecure. I cook black beans in the crock pot and we have just plain rice. The kids will put taco sauce on their beans.
Tuesday 12/8
One Pan Ranch Pork Chops. I have regular potatoes on hand so I will use those instead of red potatoes. In all honesty, when I saw the pin on Pinterest I didn't pay attention to the veggies, just the main dish. I happened to buy green beans & russet potatoes today so we'll do these. I love red potatoes and they were on sale (just not as cheap as the russets) so if I'd been paying attn. I might've bought those. Oh well. (If I use parsley it'll be dried and not fresh). We've never had this exact recipe, but we've had similar ones that I've baked in oven using chicken so I'm sure this will be fine with the family.
Wednesday 12/9Ginger Beef Mushroom Kale Stir Fry. My husband and kids react to kale much like the blogger's dad, but they still loved this the 1st time I made it. I'm using just baby portobello mushrooms instead of the combination of portobellos & shiitake.
Thursday 12/10
Shepherd's Pie. I kind of make my own up as I go, but it's similar to
this one from Rachael Ray. I'll put this in two 8x8 pans. I'll bake one pan Thursday night and then stick other in the freezer so I can defrost and put it in the oven another night when I don't have time to cook, or just don't want to.
Friday 12/11Sausage Potato Spinach Soup. I'll use regular sausage instead of spicy, because that's what I have. I'll also be using russet potatoes again. We've never had this, so time will tell if the family will eat it or not. Here's hoping!
Saturday 12/12
Cilantro Lime Chicken. My family LOVES this. I won't use onions, because onions don't go over well with tummies around here, but this is a huge hit. Saturday night we'll use some meat to make burritos with cheese, sour cream and beans. I'll save the rest of the meat for Tuesday 12/15's meal.
Sunday 12/13
I don't know, yet. Probably leftovers.
Monday 12/14
Beans & Rice
Tuesday 12/15
Sour Cream Enchilladas. I'll probably make tweaks (and may even search for a new recipe), but it's a starting point. I will use the rest of the cilantro lime chicken from Saturday night.
Wednesday 12/16
My husband and son will be eating at a Cub Scouts Court of Honor ceremony so . . . Mom's not cooking. My daughter and I will probably just figure something out, or may even go to Chick Fil A. We'll see. No matter what I won't be cooking :D
Thursday 12/17
Crock Pot Zuppa Toscana. I've never made this before so we'll see how it goes . . .
Friday 12/18
Hamburger Stroganoff.
Similar to this recipe I'll make a healthier version of Hamburger Helper Beef Stroganoff
Saturday 12/18 & Sunday 12/19
I don't know. Saturday will be a crock pot meal since we attend a Saturday night service at church.
Here's what I bought at the grocery store today. I went to 2 stores. I bought a lot of meat to stock the freezer. I already have ground beef in the freezer to use for the meals above, and it wasn't on sale this week, so I didn't buy it. I buy meat when it's on sale and stock up. My freezer and my FoodSaver are my best friends.
Sprouts
5 lb box of Cuties $3.88 (-$.50 coupon)
1.29lbs green beans @ $1.48/lb $1.91
Organic Beef Boullion $4.99
Organic Beef Broth 6 @$1.99 $11.94
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts $19.21
(On sale for $1.77/lb. I bought 4 packages. This is the total for all 4 packages)
-$ .15 for bringing my own bags ($.05 per bags)
Tax $ .69
Total $41.97
Bashas ("regular" grocery store)
2 gallons of 1% milk @ $1.99 ea $3.98
Boneless Half Pork Loin $9.31
(this was $2.17/lb. I asked the butcher to cut it into
chops for me)
24oz store brand sour cream $1.47
3 pkgs of baby portobello mushrooms $5.97 ($1.99 ea)
10oz pkg of baby spinach $3.99
2 cucumbers @$.99 each $1.98
10 8oz cans of tomato sauce $3.90 ($.39 ea)
10 lb pag of russet potatoes $1.99
8 can oj concentrate (generic) $17.52 ($2.19 ea)
1 qt Heavy cream from local dairy $9.99
(including $2 deposit for glass bottle. First time I've seen that in 20 years!)2 8oz pkgs of hummus $1.00
(on sale for $2.50 ea + these had "manager's specials" coupons attached making them $.50 each! They weren't on the list but couldn't pass up that price!) 1 whole pork loin $14.16
(on sale for $1.77lb, This was the last one otherwise I would've had a large one like this cut into chops instead of paying $2.17/lb for the half loin that I had cut into chops. I had the butcher grind all of this. I will use it to make sausage. I won't use maple syrup and I'll freeze in 1lb portions to use later in things like egg muffins, biscuits & gravy, or other recipes that call for sausage, like the soup in the meal plan)Margarita mix $6.99/gallon (local mix using real sugar & no artificial colors)
1 bunch of kale $1.69
3 16oz pkgs of egg noodles $5.97 ($1.99 ea)
3 16oz pkgs of elbow macaroni $2.97 ($.99 ea)
2 16oz pkgs of ditalini pasta $1.98 ($.99 ea)
2 24oz cans crushed tomoatoes $2.98 ($1.49 ea)
1 bunch cilantro $.99
8 Limes $2.00 ($.25 ea)
Tax: $1.63
Total: $102.46
These prices are the price after sales. I used 1 $.50 coupon at Sprouts on the clementines. I also used an in store coupon on the sour cream that was on sale at the grocery store.
