Weekly Menu Plan for Feb. 5-11, 2011

This week's menu is simply made from things that we already have. We are trying to stay out of the grocery store as much as possible.

Saturday - Grilled pork chops, pasta salad, green beans

Sunday lunch - Chicken strips, macaroni and cheese, speckled butter beans
Sunday (Superbowl) dinner - Steaks, potato salad - then later we had spinach dip with Hawaiian bread, boiled peanuts, chip and queso dip

Monday - out to eat

Tuesday - Hot wings, leftover potato salad, leftover beans

Wednesday - Hamburger Helper Lasagna, salad, rolls

Thursday - BBQ chicken, baby lima beans, cream corn

For some awesome meal ideas for this week, visit Organized Junkie for Menu Plan Monday here.

Weekly Menu Plan for Jan 16-22, 2011

We did really well last week with the new grocery strategy. I only made one trip to the store. Wasn't real sure how that was going to turn out, but it actually turned out great. We saved quite a bit of money by only going to the store once. It really did make a much greater difference than I thought it would.

Anyway, here's our menu for this week. I got started on posting it a little late and we did make a change today. It reflects what we have already had and intend to have in the upcoming days.

Sunday lunch: Zaxby's (had to get some spray paint for a bedroom project)
Sunday pm: Grilled hamburgers, assorted chips (bags that were already opened)

Monday: Fish, french fries, cheese grits, fresh bread

Tuesday: Cheeseburger macaroni (hamburger helper), green beans, raw carrots with dressing

Wednesday: Tuna cakes, cole slaw, pasta salad, pickles

Thursday: Spinach chicken alfredo, cucumber salad

Friday: Boston butt, creamed corn, butter beans, potatoes au gratin (boiled potatoes for husband since he doesn't like au gratin - calls them all rotten potatoes - LOL!)

Saturday lunch: Meat loaf, macaroni and cheese, cabbage
Saturday pm: Ginger chicken, steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots), mashed potatoes

If you'd like other ideas for this week's meals, visit Organized Junkie here.

Weekly Menu Plan for Jan. 9-15, 2011

Here is our weekly menu plan for this week. We are trying to only visit the grocery store once this week as a new strategy to saving money at the grocery store. See my earlier post today about that.

Sunday lunch: Grilled hamburgers, chips
Sunday dinner: Fried pork chops, oven baked sweet potatoes and onions, stuffing, corn muffins

Monday: Pizza and salad

Tuesday: Taco soup, corn chips

Wednesday: Spaghetti with meat sauce, corn, pineapple chunks

Thursday: Chicken with peppers and onions, speckled butter beans, oven fried potatoes

Friday: Beef stew with potatoes and tomatoes, raw carrots with dressing

Saturday: Fish, cheese grits, slaw

For more menu ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday for this week.

New Year's Resolutions - Not Here!

I know it's a new year and everyone has started (and probably failed already) some of those new year's resolutions. I decided this year to not make any resolutions - instead I am going to simply DO.

I have been reading a book entitled "Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America's Cheapest Family." I have it on loan from our local library. It is by Steve and Annette Economides. I haven't read enough yet to decide if I will purchase the book, but it does have some outstanding ideas. I will continue to read it and let you know if I intend to purchase it.

Right now, I am following one simple rule or strategy: visit the grocery store once a week. We went this morning and I don't intend to stop in there again this week. I am the world's worst about going multiple times a week: forgot something, didn't take anything out for dinner, didn't we have enough milk yesterday, what do you mean we don't have any chili seasoning for the chili. These are just a few of the thoughts (and sometimes words) that seem to travel around me during the week. So I have planned a menu and made sure that everything that we needed is going to be available without trips to the store.

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I think this is going to be a hard one!!

Weekly Menu Plan for December 12-18, 2010

I have got to get back to weekly planning - been spending too much lately with Christmas around the corner. Here's what I intend to feed the family this week:

Sunday evening: Grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, baked potatoes
Monday: Spaghetti, green beans, salad
Tuesday: Potato soup, sandwiches (or leftover hot dogs)
Wednesday: Chicken and dumplings
Thursday: Tacos or nachos
Friday: Beef tips with peppers and onions, rice
Saturday: Cubed pork chops, macaroni and cheese, macaroni and tomatoes (since my husband doesn't like mac/cheese), sliced fruit, Indian bread

Breakfasts:
Frozen waffles, stuffed french toast, ham biscuits, scrambled eggs/toast

Lunches:
Sandwiches, leftovers, soup, cup of noodles (something warm)

Weekly Menu Plan for October 24-30

It seems that I am posting when I have gone to the grocery store and spent too much money. I guess $80 is the spark, because I spent that again yesterday and now I feel as though I need a plan so we get the most use of the food that we bought. Two $40 visits don't seem to bother me, but that one $80 sets me to planning.

So here is what I intend to fix:

Sunday:
Cubed pork chops, speckled butter beans, steamed cabbage, macaroni and cheese, fried okra, rolls

Monday:
Grilled hamburgers, pork burgers and hot dogs, salad, corn on cob

Tuesday:
Chicken and rice, leftover butter beans, pickles and crackers

Wednesday:
Meat loaf, baked sweet potatoes and onions, pumpkin muffins

Thursday:
Catalina cranberry chicken (p 15 in Holiday 09 Food and Family), stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans

Friday:
eat at Halloween party

Saturday:

Sandwiches for lunch

Roast, potatoes, and carrots in crockpot (before trick-or-treating)

For more meal ideas, check out Organized Junkie this week.

Weekly Menu Plan for Sept. 12 - 18

$80 at the grocery store and I still don't know what we're going to eat next week? Didn't make a plan! Didn't make a list! I so know better than that. But the money is already spent, so now I need to backtrack and make a weekly plan. We sure don't need to be back in the store again tomorrow, because we have "nothing to eat."

I have been cleaning up in my kitchen this week and going through some Taste of Home, Quick Cooking and Kraft Food and Family magazines. I've gotten several good ideas floating around in my head, so I'm going to take the opportunity now to put it down. This will help me remember. Plus, I love putting this information on my blog, because I can access it anywhere I have internet access and be reminded what we'll be eating.

Sunday lunch:
Grilled hamburgers with french fries (maybe) or chips

Sunday dinner:
Fried cubed pork chops, butter beans, fresh cream corn, steamed cabbage (needs to be used), hoe cakes

Monday dinner:
Lasagna, green beans

Tuesday dinner:
Catalina cranberry chicken (p 15 in Holiday 09 Food and Family), stuffing (from the box, of course), cranberry sauce (my little one thinks this is a side dish rather than a condiment), macaroni and tomatoes (because my husband won't eat stuffing), biscuits (found packs of 12 frozen biscuits for 59 cents)

Wednesday dinner:
Meatball subs, Italian marinated vegetable salad (p 31 in Holiday 08 Food and Family or layered salad (p 40 in Summer 08 Food and Family)

Thursday dinner:
Garden frittata, sausage, cantelope

Friday dinner:
Beef taco skillet (Campbell's recipe), frozen grapes (see below)

Saturday lunch:
Meatloaf, leftover sides, mashed potatoes or noodles

Saturday dinner:
Shrimp pasta salad, peach crisp (in crockpot) - I love this site. She has such awesome food ideas.

If you haven't had frozen grapes, you are in for a treat. Buy grapes when they are on sale, wash them, drain, place in zipper style bag and pop in the freezer. When ready to eat, just pop one in your mouth and enjoy a cool, summer treat. Everyone that we have introduced these to love them. We do prefer the green grapes to the red ones (of course, we also choose the seedless ones).

Check out other menu plans at Organized Junkie.