Tentative menu for week of 7/20

I think I have some ideas for a menu for this week. It's a little up in the air, but it's a particularly low-budget menu, so I'll use up the extra cash to go out with some moms from a local homeschooling group tonight, and to stock up on chicken which is 50% off at Acme this week!

Breakfasts: cereal, oatmeal, maybe some homemade bagels if I'm feeling ambitious

Lunches: Sandwiches, soup from the stash and freezer, and cut veggies

Dinners:
Monday: Hot dogs, pasta salad, and fresh cukes from the garden for DH and kids (I'm going to Cheesburger in Paradise!)
Tuesday: Salads with grilled pork and homemade ranch dressing (I'm so craving this right now! And I'll substitute whatever meat fits in the budget if need be)
Wednesday: Homemade pizzas with sausage and spinach (for the grown-ups) and plain cheese (for the kids). Dessert night: Chocolate cake
Thursday: Leftover night (most likely salads - and cake, of course!)
Friday: Baked ziti with tomatoes (this is ridiculously easy, which is good because I'm babysitting until 8pm)
Saturday: Finish up whatever salad stuff is left and have some more pasta
Sunday: Grilled or baked chicken, potatoes and veggies with homemade salsa (have to use up some garden hot peppers!)


One of my goals this week was to start using the sweet italian sausage I have in the freezer. I love to eat it on sandwiches with peppers and onions, but no one else in my house does! So this week I'll try it on pizza. How would you use up that kind of sausage?

Week 1 of All You grocery challenge

This is week 1 of the All You Grocery Challenge from All You magazine!

I took care to plan ahead this week and try to get my spending as slim as possible. I left room for milk and bread runs later in the week, and other ingredients I might find I'm lacking (such as yeast and flour).

I've been grocery shopping once this week to my local Weis Markets and my total was: $47.18

I'll comment on my planning and challenges in a later post, but for now, here is my menu plan:

Breakfasts this week:

• cereal
• bagels or english muffins
• eggs (have some in fridge to use up)
• bacon (taken out of freezer to use in soup, so now I have to use up the rest)
  

Lunches:

• sandwiches
• soup
• salads

Dinners (I'll link in any recipes I used where possible):

• Monday: soup (homemade Ham and Bean), salad and bread
  
• Tuesday: salad, stuffed squash, and probably sandwiches for the kids
• Wednesday: grilled chicken, peas and beans from the garden, rice
• Thursday: turkey meatloaf, roast carrots and potatoes
• Friday: leftover night
• Saturday: soup and salad
• Sunday: penne ala "not"-ka

Planning shopping for week of 5/31

Some thoughts on planning for the upcoming week:

• My hub and kids don't need to slim down at all, but I do need to shed some pounds and that's a major struggle in my planning. My son and I watched a few episodes of "Cook Yourself Thin" on Lifetime on-demand this week and a few recipes caught his eye: Stuffed French Toast Sundaes (probably too pricey for this week), Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (thinking about making a big batch of these to take for vacation breakfasts), and Spaghetti and Meatballs (have a stockpile of spaghetti).
  
• I made some homemade English Muffins this week and they were a hit! I would also try to make some bagels, again as something we can take along on a mini-vacation we're planning. So I need to restock flour, and possibly yeast.
  
• Whole chickens are BOGO at our local Acme this week, so perhaps I can work that in somehow. I have a great recipe for high-temp roasted chicken that involves using potatoes to soak up some of the drippings. Not calorie-friendly, but potatoes are also on sale, so it may be a good week for that.
  
• A few things to work around this week: Monday is our wedding anniversary (aww) but we probably won't go out, so maybe I could make something special at home; I do babysitting for a friend, and on those days when there's an extra toddler in the house, dinner prep is tough so need to make-ahead or make it super-easy; my Bible study group meets on Tuesday so I will eat with them, but still need to have something ready for hub and kids.

I'll do my grocery shopping tonight or tomorrow and come back with my receipt and meal plan!