Meal Plans - time to get more organized!
Whew! It's been too long between blog posts! I need to do better. I'm sure I'll be posting more as I have many new ideas of things I want to try. Plus, for the first time I am planning on planting a fall garden. I plan on starting just as soon as this 100 degree weather subsides. :D
The kids all go to school on Monday. That combined with needing to save more money to pay for orthodontics for one of my children has me back to meal planning. Yay!!
My friend tipped me of to a GREAT sale on pork chops this weekend, so I went and loaded up on those, london broil and beef roasts. I've been sticking to a strict $80 per week grocery budget (we are a family of 5 and that includes ALL household items) so yummy meat isn't always on the menu. The pork chops were .99 per pound, london broil and beef roast were 1.99 per pound. My cut off for meat is usually 2.00 per pound so this worked out great! I also have on hand a few pounds of ground beef, 3 whole chickens and I always have boneless chicken breasts on hand.
Since we are working with a new schedule with all the kids in school now, I decided to just have 12 meals I could choose from. That way I can use whichever one is best for each night. Here is what I came up with: (btw these will probably last me a lot longer than 2 weeks, since we don't have to eat like this every night)
crockpot chicken with potatoes X 2
beef roast with mashed potatoes
beef roast with rice
london broil with rice X 2
hamburgers
ghoulash
pork chops with mashed potatoes
pork chops with rice X 2
grilled chicken with rice
Vegetables on hand to add to above meals:
green beans for grilling, sauteing or roasting
broccoli and cheese
carrots and dip
salad
Breakfast items:
bran muffins
whole wheat pancakes (homemade then frozen for quick use)
waffle (homemade then frozen ) we like to make sandwiches with cream cheese
yogurt
scrambled eggs
toast
Lunch items: Husband takes leftovers for lunch every day.
for kids:
pb/jelly sandwiches (made on homemade bread)
ham/cheese sandwiches (made on homemade bread)
tortilla/ham/cream cheese wrap ups
for me:
ham sandwiches
leftovers
fried rice
Snacks and side items:
clementines
apples
applesauce
carrots with dip
salad
grapes
snack bars
pb/cheese snack crackers
teddy grahams
graham crackers with cream cheese
I am also doing a lot of experimenting with wheat lately. Having a lot of fun and am learning that wheat is pretty amazing and very versatile. Today I played around with cracked wheat. I cracked it a little at a time in my blender. We added it to our hamburger patties and it added a nice flavor and substance. We also cooked it up like a hot cereal. My husband tried that since he's more of a hot cereal kind of person. He actually liked it a lot. We added brown sugar and a dash of milk and he said it tasted kinda like sunflowers which was interesting. He also said it was very filling.
One other thing I've been challenging myself to do is not to let any food go to waste. A cantlalope got lost back in my fridge from last week. I found it today and it was still ok to eat but not really in perfect condition. I decided to make a smoothie with it. I always keep old bananas in my freezer, so I pulled out and cut that up with the cantalope, added some vanilla yogurt, water, powdered milk, apple juice and ice. It was pretty tastey! :D
What do you like to make with your wheat? Teach me! :)
The kids all go to school on Monday. That combined with needing to save more money to pay for orthodontics for one of my children has me back to meal planning. Yay!!
My friend tipped me of to a GREAT sale on pork chops this weekend, so I went and loaded up on those, london broil and beef roasts. I've been sticking to a strict $80 per week grocery budget (we are a family of 5 and that includes ALL household items) so yummy meat isn't always on the menu. The pork chops were .99 per pound, london broil and beef roast were 1.99 per pound. My cut off for meat is usually 2.00 per pound so this worked out great! I also have on hand a few pounds of ground beef, 3 whole chickens and I always have boneless chicken breasts on hand.
Since we are working with a new schedule with all the kids in school now, I decided to just have 12 meals I could choose from. That way I can use whichever one is best for each night. Here is what I came up with: (btw these will probably last me a lot longer than 2 weeks, since we don't have to eat like this every night)
crockpot chicken with potatoes X 2
beef roast with mashed potatoes
beef roast with rice
london broil with rice X 2
hamburgers
ghoulash
pork chops with mashed potatoes
pork chops with rice X 2
grilled chicken with rice
Vegetables on hand to add to above meals:
green beans for grilling, sauteing or roasting
broccoli and cheese
carrots and dip
salad
Breakfast items:
bran muffins
whole wheat pancakes (homemade then frozen for quick use)
waffle (homemade then frozen ) we like to make sandwiches with cream cheese
yogurt
scrambled eggs
toast
Lunch items: Husband takes leftovers for lunch every day.
for kids:
pb/jelly sandwiches (made on homemade bread)
ham/cheese sandwiches (made on homemade bread)
tortilla/ham/cream cheese wrap ups
for me:
ham sandwiches
leftovers
fried rice
Snacks and side items:
clementines
apples
applesauce
carrots with dip
salad
grapes
snack bars
pb/cheese snack crackers
teddy grahams
graham crackers with cream cheese
I am also doing a lot of experimenting with wheat lately. Having a lot of fun and am learning that wheat is pretty amazing and very versatile. Today I played around with cracked wheat. I cracked it a little at a time in my blender. We added it to our hamburger patties and it added a nice flavor and substance. We also cooked it up like a hot cereal. My husband tried that since he's more of a hot cereal kind of person. He actually liked it a lot. We added brown sugar and a dash of milk and he said it tasted kinda like sunflowers which was interesting. He also said it was very filling.
One other thing I've been challenging myself to do is not to let any food go to waste. A cantlalope got lost back in my fridge from last week. I found it today and it was still ok to eat but not really in perfect condition. I decided to make a smoothie with it. I always keep old bananas in my freezer, so I pulled out and cut that up with the cantalope, added some vanilla yogurt, water, powdered milk, apple juice and ice. It was pretty tastey! :D
What do you like to make with your wheat? Teach me! :)
Yummm! I really need to just get over my mental block about menus and make one. I can see the value; financially it makes sense, time wise it makes sense and organizationally wise it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI don't have much to add to the wheat conversation. When I bake something I usually half the flour with whole wheat. Other than that, I make hot cereal all the time and when I do it, I like to add eggs to the porridge for additional protein but it doesn't change the flavor.