Meal Plan Monday

Now that things have started to settle down, I am going to try and get back in my old routine of planning my meals a week in advance. So, here is my menu plan for this week:

Monday - Banana Foster French Toast (it is left over from brunch yesterday).
Tuesday - Pork Chops with dirty rice (my old roommate is coming over to hang out)
Wednesday - Leftover pork chops and dirty rice
Thursday - Noodles and Tomato Juice
Friday and Saturday - going out of town with three girl friends. Eating out (coming out of my travel fund).
Sunday - Noodles and Tomato Juice

Meal Plan Monday

I know it has been a couple of Monday since I have posted a meal plan. Believe me when I tell you, I definitely spend more money without a set plan on what's for dinner during the week. I don't always follow a strict schedule, but going shopping and buying exactly what you need for at least five meals for the week helps out tremendously. It has gotten so out of hand, I cannot even begin to estimate the amount of money I have spent on food lately. With that being said, I am going to try and go back to Meal Plan Mondays. Up for this week:

Monday - Mozzarella Chicken with Spanish Rice
Tuesday - Chicken Piccata over Angel Hair Pasta
Wednesday - Pork Tenderloin with Veggies
Thursday - Tacos with chips and Salsa
Friday - Pizza

This weekend is up in the air.

Menu Plan Monday

This week's menu is a little harder to put together. We have several evening obligations to attend.

Monday night one of the bf's best friend's from high school and her husband are in from San Diego and we are supposed to be going to dinner with them.

Tuesday - Spaghetti with toast. (This has been on the menu for weeks, but we have yet to eat it.)

Wednesday - Totinos - Cheap and easy. I have gone way over budget this month in food.

Thursday - The bf has another set of friends coming into town from Charlotte, NC. He is supposed to be having dinner with them. I am unable to make it because I am driving home Thursday night to get my hair cut on Friday morning and then heading straight back for our weekend in Memphis.

Friday - Rendezvous in Memphis.

Saturday - Unsure - we are heading to the Dave Matthews Concert.

Menu Plan Monday

Well, it is a start to a new week and a new menu! Here is what is on the list this week:

Monday - Spaghetti w/ toast or Meatloaf with oven roasted potatoes. (Haven't decided which one we will be having. We have turkey meat that needs to be eaten tonight. )
Tuesday - Blackened Chicken with Fettuccine
Wednesday - Pizza
Thursday - Baked BBQ Chicken, green beans, and rice
Friday - Tacos (I swear the bf loves Tacos and requests them every week.)
Saturday - Chicken Fajitas

Menu Plan Monday

It is the start of a new week and a new menu. This week I will be eating:

Monday - Lasagna, bread and salad
Tuesday - Hot dogs with chips
Wednesday - Dirty Rice
Thursday - Tacos
Friday - Spaghetti with Marinara Bread sticks
Saturday - I have yet to decide what we are having. We invited the neighbors that live across the street from the bf to come over and have dinner. So, we have to make something yummy.
Sunday - Leftovers

Menu Plan Monday

I must confess. . . every week while planning my menu I never stick with the particular days that I have down to make a certain meal. The menu plan is more of a guide to know what needs to be bought for the week so that I can survive with the food in the house. Because I had a rather expensive weekend and plan to have another in two weekends, I am hoping to make meals out of food already at the house. With that being said, here is my week's menu:

Monday - Chicken Piccata. I have had this on my menu every week for the past three weeks and have yet to make it. That means, I have all the necessary ingredients. So, I will definitely be eating this tonight.
Tuesday - Lemon Basil Pasta with Shrimp
Wednesday - Tacos with Salsa and Chips
Thursday - Baked Chicken, Rice, and Veggies
Friday - Spaghetti

I am unsure of what I have in the house to make for Saturday and Sunday. I know that I have a couple more packages of chicken and maybe one more package of hamburger meat. I will let you know what I have once it has been decided. I am pretty happy with this week's menu and hope that it saves me some money. I sure need it to. I don't know whether it is because it is summer time and I have more time after work to shop, but I have been spending money as fast as I make it. Not good :(

Menu Monday

This is a short week. Fourth of July is this Friday and the bf and I both have the day off. We are headed to Destin for a long weekend. I only have to plan meals through Wednesday evening. Hooray! Up this week is:

Monday - Leftover Pork Tenderloin, Twice Baked Potatoes, and Spaghetti Squash
Tuesday - Spaghetti, Marinara Bread sticks
Wednesday - Baked Chicken, Rice, Veggies

As you can tell over the past several Monday's post, we eat a lot of the same meals and always either have hamburger meat, chicken, or shrimp. I am looking to expand my recipe collection and try some new things. What are some easy recipes that you all cook?

Menu Monday

This week the bf and I are going to try really hard to eat what we already have at the house and spend less than $30 total at the grocery store. This week's menu consist of:

Monday - Hot dogs and french fries
Tuesday - Chicken Piccata
Wednesday - Tilipia with garlic butter sauce, rice and veggies
Thursday - Tacos
Friday - Chicken Fajitas

Saturday we are going to an engagement party out of town.

It looks like we will only need a few items to make our meals complete. We need hamburger buns for bbq sandwiches for lunch along with chips, sour cream for the tacos, and tortilla shells for the fajitas. Other than those few items, we have everything else.

Grocery Shopping

The bf and I had a rather inexpensive stop at the grocery store last night. This week I worked really hard at planning our weekly menu with items that were on sale at Kroger. My portion of the grocery bill for the week was $25.30. We bought:

green onions - 50 cents a bunch
strawberries - $2.50
grapes - $1.29 a pound
chicken - $1.79 a pound
Ragu - 3/$5
Fettuccine noodles
frozen french fries
grated Parmesan cheese - $4.99 (a little more expensive than I would have liked)
light cream cheese spread
premium beef hot dogs - 2/$5
wheat hot dog buns - $1.89
pickles
4 cheese rolls - $3.49
chicken broth - .69 cents
Tilipia - $6.99 a pound
instant grits
lemon juice - $1
bacon
chili sauce

That gives us enough chicken for six meals, tilipia, and hot dogs. We bought enough hamburger meat last week to make five meals. So the next few trips to the grocery store should be even less than the $50/$25 a person we have been trying to stay under. So far, so good, for this month. Too bad it isn't always this easy.

This Weeks Menu

On the menu this week is:

Monday - Easy Shrimp Dinner
Tuesday - Spaghetti with 4 cheese Texas toast
Wednesday - Hot dogs and french fries
Thursday - Fettuccine Alfredo
Friday - Southern Shrimp and Grits
Saturday - Going over to old roommates new house for dinner

I am really trying to plan out my weekly meals and go to the grocery store once a week. I am hoping this helps my budget. My usual routine was to just go to the grocery store and try to put together enough stuff to last at least two weeks if not the whole month. Not only did I waste a lot of food this way, but I tended to buy things that I still have yet to used in an actual meal. And I had to make several trips to the grocery store every week to pick up items that I had forgotten. My new plan is to make a weekly menu and only buy what is necessary for that menu. This plan has worked much better over the past few weeks. I am actually eating everything in my fridge and not over-spending.

This Weeks Menu

I went to the grocery store yesterday for the first time this month and dropped $74.70. This is food for the bf and I throughout the week for breakfast/lunch/and dinner. For breakfast we will be having:

bagels with cream cheese, cereal with organic milk, strawberries and peaches.

For lunch we will be eating - smart ones (I know that a lot of you stay away from processed foods. And I wish that we could. Smart ones always just seem like our best option unless we have enough leftovers for lunch.)

And for dinner we will be eating:

Tuesday- Zatarain's dirty rice with Jimmy Dean's sausage and bell peppers
Wednesday- Baked chicken, yellow rice, and veggies
Thursday- Shrimp pasta with zucchini, squash, and feta cheese

I only made a menu through Thursday because my parents will be coming in town this weekend and we will be eating out with them. However, I did buy 5 packages of hamburger meat for the remainder of the month.

Boston Butt

It's Monday and everyone knows what that means, it is time to decide what to pack all week long for lunches. My game plan this week is Boston Butt. A lady at my work was selling Boston Butt's for a fund raiser at her child's school. And you guessed it, I bought one. The Boston Butt was cooked, hot, and ready to go. The bf pulled it all apart and put in in several ziplock bags. Half went into the freezer and half we are eating on all week for lunches. It is delicious and super easy. Hey, you can't beat that!

Not to mention, that our monthly food budget is running low and we still have almost two weeks left in March. When the month is coming to an end and you are running low on money, what are some the things that you do to make it through?