Friday, January 4, 2013

Menu Plan for 1/4-1/10

I'm currently trying to use up the food I have in my house to make meals this week.  This means some creativity and simpleness are in order!  We have a variety of meats in our freezer that I can use.  I'm really just trying not to spend any money ;)  I have said it before, but I truly believe that menu planning is the BEST way to save money on food WITHOUT using coupons.  It really helps you think about what you already have that you can use, and about what is on sale that you can incorporate into your meals.  Here's my menu for the next week, using all stuff I have on hand:

Friday:
Bean and Cheese Burritos.  I am making homemade refried beans in my crock pot.  I am defrosting some small corn & wheat tortillas from my freezer, and will be shredding some cheddar cheese that I have in my fridge already.  I have sour cream, salsa, and hot sauce to add, too.  

Saturday:
Taco Soup. My family loves this recipe.  I will be using whatever beans I have on hand (I soak, cook, and freeze all my own beans to save money), diced tomatoes from my freezer (I buy 10 pound cans of tomatoes at Costco for around $3 and freeze in 2 cup portions), canned corn from my pantry (I stock up on canned corn at Smith's case lot sales), and ground turkey from my freezer.  

Sunday:
Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese.  I will be using diced tomatoes from my freezer (again, from 10# cans I get at Costco & freeze) and chicken broth from my freezer (I make my own broth in the crockpot with leftover chicken bones).  I will be making my own bread using one of our favorite recipes from Artisan bread in 5 Minutes a Day, and cheeses from our fridge.

Monday
Tacos with Black Bean and Salsa Chicken.  I have a small package of chicken thighs in my freezer that I'll use for this, salsa in my fridge, and I'll cook up some black beans in my crock pot on Sunday to use. I'll use the leftover tortillas, sour cream, hot sauce, corn, and chopped lettuce to add to the tacos.

Tuesday
Whole Chicken with Herbs in Crock Pot.  Again, I have one of these frozen.  I have a large sweet potato and carrots in my fridge that I will chop, season with olive oil, italian seasoning, and some cinnamon and mix all together.  I bake these veggies in the oven at 425 until soft.

Wednesday
Spaghetti.  The spaghetti will be meatless and made with my homemade sauce, and it will be served with steamed carrots and homemade french bread.

Thursday
We have dinner with our church on Thursdays.

We should be able to avoid shopping for the next week, with the exception of some fresh produce along the way.  I have food for breakfasts and lunches in the house, too.  My family doesn't seem to mind simple meals, and with three young kids, simple is usually best anyway!  It will be good to use up the food we already have, and will help us save some money!  What are you planning on your menu this week?  Trying any new meals?  Share yours in the comments below!

5 comments:

  1. I accept your cooking from your pantry challenge! :)

    1. pork chops and swiss chard (I did buy the pork chops today though)
    2. pumpkin butter pancakes from oh she glows
    3. cauliflower and feta fritters from smitten kitchen
    4. broccoli and cheese soup from pioneer woman (left overs)
    5. bison and zucchini lasagna (left overs)
    6. baby bok choy from epicurious and honey lemon rosemary chicken from 2 peas and their pod
    7. tomato soup from mothering with creativity :) and tomato, pesto, mozzarella panini..if I smash it down with a spatula, I can call it a fancy name, right? :)
    8. salmon from 6 sisters stuff with either quinoa or bulgur wheat

    Happy cooking!! Really I should say Happy Pantry Cleaning!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Dude. Your relatives have CRAZY stuff in their pantries. I will look at mine and see what I can muster.

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  3. Ha ha!! Now that I am looking at my menu, it does have some unusual ingredients. :) I am making split pea soup now though and that's not too crazy, right? :) But, I did buy edible lavender at the store yesterday for cookies, so yes, yes I do have CRAZY things in my pantry! :)

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  4. Good job on planning your whole week! I have the problem of wanting to make whatever "sounds good" that day : S Newest follower!
    http://thebees3.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  5. Haha Shontell- I told Jenny, too, that I was quite impressed with the amazing ingredients in her pantry! Jenny, it doesn't surprise me at all that you have all those ingredients on hand, though, you seem to try so many different recipes! I stick to a handful of meals that everyone enjoys and are pretty simple (ahem, boring).
    BeaumontGirl-thanks for stopping by! I sometimes have that issue, too! I always allow myself to mix the meal days around. But, if I don't plan ahead, it's usually bad news for my family!

    ReplyDelete

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