Meal Plan for January 2013, Week 3

Our meal plan this week will depend heavily on crockpot meals and meals that I've prepared ahead.  We did a family grocery shopping trip to last us for 2 weeks.  It's sometimes frustrating to shop with the kids and the husband, but it is also good for them to know the cost of what they eat and how to get the most bang for your buck.  I use some coupons and have a list that gives an estimate of what I will spend.  Then I keep track of what I'm putting in the cart by jotting down the price.  This shopping trip I wrote down the prices and was just $3 over my estimate (which means I probably missed something that went in the cart.)  This is so helpful because I don't like to be surprised at the checkstand!  Nothing worse than thinking you've stayed in budget then checking out $25 or more over! 

We found some sales on meat, including some pork shoulder roast on sale for $1.64/lb that I prepped for stew and for the colorado burritos (instead of beef) and boneless skinless chicken breast for $1.78/lb. that I came home and prepped for soft tacos for tonight and Cajun Chicken Pasta for later.  We bought 4 whole chickens, then I cut up 3 and threw the backs straight into the stock pot with some water to cover to make some chicken stock.  So I had 5 meals and the chicken stock prepping all at once!  And I'm not even a multi-tasker!  

The three chickens that I cut up I used for oven "fried" chicken that we served to the missionaries Saturday night.  The 3 birds were cut into 6 pieces each.  Usually there would be 8 pieces, but I kept the leg quarters whole since they were pretty small.  The breasts were huge, though, and I ended up splitting one with the hubs.  We made enough chicken so that we could send some home with the sweet missionary boys for lunch the next day.  I also made twice-baked potatoes for dinner while I peeled and cut up potatoes for the stew for this week.

It was a little bit hectic in the kitchen that afternoon, but I feel like I got a good jump on the week's dinners.  

Our menu this week will be:

Homemade Minestrone with polenta added for mock farinata.

Chicken Soft Tacos with rice and pintos on the side.

Tortellini Vegetable Soup from Two Peas and their Pod with some of this incredible and incredibly easy bread.  If you love a good, crusty, slightly sourdough bread you've got to try it!

My Crusty Bread in the cast iron Lodge pot.

I'm going to try this Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta.  I love Cajun seasoning!  It is one of the most used seasoning in our home.  I sprinkle it on pork chops or chicken or vegetables.  It is even yummy sprinkled on garlic bread for a little kick!

Broccoli Cheese and Rice Casserole is meatless but has cheese, and sounds yummy and filling.  I might even add some curry to mine..

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup 

Colorado Burritos in the Crockpot

Breakfast For Dinner was requested with pancakes, eggs, and sausage on the menu.


I'm sharing here:

Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie

Susie QT pies mentioned last week's Baked Tacos that got a thumbs up from the peeps here. I made them ahead of time, stood them up in a 9x13 pan, wrapped with foil and froze.  Then I baked from frozen until they were heated through.  

Meal plan for January 2013, Week 2

I'm loving my pinterest "All Things Food" board, and I'm constantly pinning new recipes.  Check out my 485 (and counting) pins, and follow my board if you'd like!

Chicken Ragout
New recipe to try, but it looked yummy.  I'm going to use chicken leg quarters with this.

Baked Tacos
These I made on the same day as the lasagna and baked penne, along with some burritos that I put in the freezer, too.  Making some meals ahead is actually a strategy I use to keep the kids from eating all of the groceries right after I make a shopping trip, especially since I like to shop for a couple of weeks at a time.  I stuffed and froze these in a 9x13 pan, and then I'll heat them up for dinner.

Baked Penne
I used the sauce from the lasagna last week, made some penne, and layered it with spinach and cheese to make a mock lasagna, then froze it to take out this week.

BBQ Pork Riblets in Crock Pot with Mashed Potatoes
I buy riblets at the grocery store.  They are the small, top bones of pork ribs, and are good thrown in the crock pot with some BBQ sauce and served with mashed potatoes and veggies.

Slow Cooker Enchiladas
I'm using a homemade enchilada sauce instead of canned.  So much cheaper!  I'm not sure why enchilada sauce is over $2/can at the store.

Tri-Tip and Mashed Potatoes 
The tri-tip is leftovers from the freezer and I'm making a double batch of mashed potatoes on the BBQ pork riblet day. 

I'm also working on a master grocery list for at least a month's worth of dinners, so I'll post it on the blog when that is done.  These first 2 weeks of the year I've been cooking for 7 since my niece is here visiting, so I'm more of a large quantity cook.

I'm sharing here:

Meal Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Susie QT Pies

Couponing and Cooking

Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Meal plan for January 2013, Week 1

A new year means new goals, which of course include getting organized.  Organization with meals is something I'm always working toward, especially since everyone wants to eat!  Every day!  

Since I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll have to cook dinner every night, I've got the first couple weeks of menus made up, and even did some cooking for the freezer.  I also found this month's worth of menu and tips  on Smithlive.blogspot.com that has some recipes I may try later in the month.  

Crock Pot Northern Beans and Ham

A cheap and tasty meal to warm the tummies on these cold winter nights.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos
A new recipe I found on pinterest! 

Homemade Tamales with Beans and Rice
My kids, niece and I made homemade tamales the Saturday before Christmas and I took some to a Christmas party.  They were our first try, and they were really good!  They took some prep time and some tips from an authentic tamale maker, and I used this recipe for the masa.  We cooked a pork roast in the oven, diced it finely, and added a sauce I made with some of the chilies from our garden.  I made up another batch of the meat filling so we can eat these on New Year's Eve and freeze the rest for another meal.

Homemade Pizza

Scroll down that post to the recipe on Friday's menu for pizza dough.

Beans, Cilantro Lime Rice, Homemade Tortillas and Salad

These really are the best tortillas.  Easy to make; I use my electric griddle and cook two at a time.

Mexican Tortilla Roll-ups, Chips and Salsa
Another pinterest find!  I'm going to use

Buffalo Chicken in the Crock Pot

Sounds so good!  

Simple Turkey One Pot

Serving this with rice or potatoes.

Ooey Gooey Rocky Road Cookies
The name says it all!  A good way to use up one of the several open bags of marshmallows.


I'm linking up here:

Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunki.com

Menu Planning Monday at SusieQTPies

Mealtime Monday at Couping and Cooking

What's for Dinner, March Week 2

Monday:
Snacking for Dinner
Macaroni Salad
Green Salad

Tuesday:
Hillbilly Ribs
Baked Potatoes
Spinach Salad

Wednesday:
Spicy Kale Lasagna
Green Salad

Thursday:
Ranch Chicken using this 3 ingredient recipe
Potatoes cubed and wrapped in foil and put in the crockpot on top of the chicken, so they cook separately.

Friday:
Corned Beef, Cabbage, Carrots, and Potatoes! Yay!

Saturday:
Relief Society Dinner for adults, Pizza for kids

Sunday:
Leftovers Soup and Bread in the bread machine

Linking Up Here:  Menu Plan Monday

What's for Dinner, March Week 1

Monday:
Roasted Chicken, brown rice pilaf, green beans, salad
* I'm roasting two chickens and will assemble the enchiladas for Wednesday when making dinner tonight.
Busy night, softball meeting and Jr. Class parent meeting, but prepping ahead of time really saves time in the long run!

Tuesday:  
Homemade Pizza, maybe taco or BBQ chicken pizza.
* I'm making the crust ahead of time on Monday because Tuesday is extra busy.

Wednesday:
Chicken Echiladas, corn, refried beans

Thursday:
Hamburgers and macaroni salad, green salad

Friday:
Taco Soup in the Crock Pot:  Here's a basic recipe

Saturday:
BLT's with turkey bacon, chips, and fruit

Sunday:
Salmon in the Crock Pot: I made this for last week's menu, but wanted to try it out before I posted how I made it.  Don't want to steer anyone wrong.  The salmon came out moist and flaky.

Salmon has been very inexpensive lately.  It's $3.99/lb for farm raised, and although I'd rather eat wild caught salmon, I figure a small amount of farm raised is better than nothing.


Salmon Packets in the Crock Pot
Prep a sheet of foil for each fillet by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.

Place salmon in middle of foil and drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Fold the foil around the salmon making a packet and stack them in the crock pot.

Cook on low for 4 hours.

Variations:  Sprinkle with any seasoning that sounds good; I'm going to try my favorite, Creole seasoning on this and serve with homemade spanish style rice and corn and black beans.

I'm linking up here:  Menu Plan Monday ,  Tasty Tuesdays

What's for Dinner, February Weeks 4

Monday:  Salmon, Risotto, Roasted Asparagus-Orange Salad
*The trick to frugally feeding a large family some fish is to make the portions small, keeping the cost low, and serve with something filling, in this case the risotto.

Tuesday:  Bean and Cheese Burritos made from homemade whole wheat tortillas and these pinto beans in the crockpot from the beginning of the month.  I froze them in 3 1/2 cup containers and labeled with masking tape.  I spooned out some regular pinto beans before mashing and cooking the remaining beans into "refried".
This recipe actually made 5 of these containers (I used one up for chili last week) which was over 15 cups of pinto beans for CHEAP!

Wednesday:  Fried rice made with leftover brown rice/wild rice/shiitake mushroom and carrot medley from last week that I froze with some leftover peas.  Eggs are an inexpensive protein, so making a large batch of fried rice and adding some egg rolls is something a little different than our usual dinners.

Thursday:  Gone All Day Stew, made like this Hamburger Stew, but using some roast instead of hamburger, and bread from the bread machine.  We have basketball and meetings tonight, so having something to eat that is ready when we are lessens the stress.

Friday:  Pizza.  Keeping it easy.  Might try these Mini Pizzas if there's time.

Saturday:  Apple Pie Pork Chops, salad and potatoes.   We do love our pork chops with apples.

And for a treat -- Chocolate Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting.  Instead of the chocolate ganache that is used in the recipe, I made a peanut butter frosting using two ingredients:

1 cup of Peanut Butter and 1 cup of Marshmallow Cream
Beat together until combined and spread on the cake.

Now the cake can officially be called a Monkey cake.  This recipe was quick to put together and made a moist, chocolatey and not too banana-y cake.  Thumbs up from all of the tasters.

I'm linking here:  Menu Plan Monday,  Tasty Tuesdays

What's for Dinner, February Week 1

This week I decided to try some pinto beans in the crock pot based on this video by The Greenbacks Gal.  (If you're not following me on pinterest, you can find me here.) 

Here is the recipe.  I found that they needed quite a bit of salt after they were cooked.  Don't add salt while cooking or the beans will stay hard.


Pinto Beans in the Crock Pot
2 pounds dried pinto beans
2 onions
1 large green pepper
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

Soak picked through and rinsed beans overnight in bowl with enough water to cover by several inches.  The next morning drain them and put into a large crockpot.  Put peeled and quartered onions in the food processor with a blade attachment and dump in with beans.  Do the same with the green pepper.  Then add the diced tomatoes and stir it all together.  Cover with water and cook for 12 hours on low.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

*I tried cooking just for the 8 hours, but my beans needed a full 12 hours to cook.  These were tasty, but the beans that I made just using water and chopped onion and some cumin and garlic were tasty, too. So the jury is out...if I want the extra step of the food processor, these will be fine, but if I just want to toss everything in the crockpot and walk away without the extra dishes, I'll make my usual beans.

Monday:
Leftovers Buffet- We have hot wings, homemade pizza, homemade pinto beans with tortillas, and Thai beef cabbage rolls in the fridge, and I'll make some veggies to go with.

Tuesday:
Apple Pie Pork Chops, roasted red potatoes and carrots

Wednesday:
Pasta with pesto, bread sticks, salad, veggies

Thursday:
Chicken and dumplings to use up extra veggies and the chicken from last week that's in the freezer

Friday:
Pizza?  Middle school dance and basketball game, so maybe even hot dogs at the game for the boys.

Saturday:
I'm thinking about going scrapbooking.  :)  Something easy, like eggs and toast is called for.

Our compute spontaneously combusted yesterday, so if no one hears from me from a while don't send out the search party.  Hopefully I'm being very productive instead of sitting on pinterest all day.  :)

Linking here: 

Menu Plan Monday

Tasty Tuesday

What's for dinner, January Week 5

Monday:

Vegetarian Divan~Just made this recipe pictured above, without the chicken, used just broccoli (filled the pan) spooned the sauce over and topped with cheese.  It was still yummy!

Tuesday:

Chicken Cordon Bleu Florentine Casserole
I'm going to trade out ham with turkey bacon and leave out the Gorgonzola cheese, since it's not something I keep in the fridge. :)

Wednesday:

Brian's Birthday!  He wants Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas, we'll have chips and salsa and salad, too.

Thursday:

Crock Pot night, trying out a new recipe~Mexican Lasagna using Morningstar crumbles instead of the chicken

Friday:  

Thai Beef Cabbage Rolls and Brown Rice

Saturday:

Birthday dinner for Brian and Mario

Sunday:

Super Bowl Sunday, so we'll have some Hot Wings, Layered Dip (maybe these individual cups?) and some fruit and veggies.

I couldn't find a BAKED recipe for the Hot Wings, so here is the loose-y goose-y way I make them.

Dump the wings into a 9x13 pan or two and bake in a 400 degree oven until halfway done.  Coat with 1 cup or so of hot wing sauce, like Franks, and bake until done.  We like ours more on the chewy side, less on the gooey side, so we bake for an hour or so total for fresh wings, longer if you're using frozen drumettes.

I'm linking here:  Menu Plan Monday

What's for Dinner, January Week 4

I know I usually do a dinner menu, and this is titled "What's for Dinner", but I thought I would throw in a breakfast that we've had lately.

Last Saturday we were at home for breakfast, and the older 2 kids were gone.  Joe requested crepes, which sounded fine to me once I realized I wouldn't be standing over the pan all morning since 2 out of the 6 of us were missing.  I love crepes (which Monkey calls "craps") and they are simple to mix up and really don't take long to cook, but with only one small pan they can only be made one at a time.

Quick and Easy Crepes

3 cups milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
2 Tablespoons oil or melted butter

Put all ingredients into a blender pitcher and blend for 30 seconds, scrape sides, and blend again.  This will make a nice smooth batter.

Heat and lightly grease (or spray) a 6-inch skillet on medium heat.  Pour in 1/4 cup of batter and lift and tilt the skillet to spread the batter.  Brown only on one side.  Crepe will usually slide right out of the pan when done.   Repeat with all remaining batter, re-greasing the pan as needed.  Will make 20-24 crepes.

Serve with whipped cream and strawberries, or even with plain maple syrup, or apple pie filling, or almost anything you please.

Dinner Menu:
 
Monday:
Creamy White Chili made with the turkey meat from last week's menu
Homemade bread in the bread machine

Tuesday:
Leftover Creamy White Chili and Cornbread, or clean out the fridge night!

Wednesday:
Pork chops baked with apples, red potatoes and sweet potatoes

Thursday:  This is a night filled with basketball, meetings and singing practice.  I'm leaving it open to sandwiches or picking up something on the go.

Friday:
Taco bar

Saturday:

Mario's birthday dinner, and he's requested homemade pizza.

Sunday:
Leftover Soup in the crockpot


Linking to:  Menu Plan Monday @ orgjunkie.com

What's for Dinner, January Week 3

I skipped week 2.  Just like that.  I was a little busy working on other projects and we flew by the seat of our pants as far as dinners went.  One of those projects was cleaning out the freezers and inventorying what was left. I made a list of what is in there and moved items I wouldn't be using up in the next few weeks into the larger extra freezer.  While I was at it, I prepped some things to make cooking a bit easier:

1. All of the bread crusts that were stashed were put in the food processor with some Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese and then put it in a mason jar and popped it back into the freezer.  
2. Boneless/skinless chicken breasts: 1/2 were baked in the oven for a future meal and the other half I cut into 1/2 inch cubes and cooked in a pan on the stove then added taco seasoning.
3. Black beans were cooked, half of them made into refried beans, then frozen for burritos along with the chicken with taco seasoning.
4. Leftovers were consolidated and put into labeled containers for Crock Pot Leftover Stew.
5. Vegetable stock was made in the crock pot and frozen in quart sized bags.

My plan is to cook mainly from my pantry and freezer the rest of this month.  I'll have to shop for produce and dairy, but I've got meat/grains/pasta/canned covered.  This will be a great budget saver!  I'm even using the bread machine for bread, and I used up some open cereal and marshmallows to make some homemade cereal bars.  Mine were made using Kashi cereals and regular Cheerios with dried cranberries.

And here is what I threw together with a small piece of roast hidden in my freezer.

Easy Beef Stew in the Crock Pot

1 pound beef cut into 1/2-1 inch pieces

1/2 package onion soup mix 

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

 

2-3 tomato cans of water

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 large potatoes, or 4 smaller potatoes, peeled and diced

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Put all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 -10 hours.  That's it!

Menu Plan for January, Week 3

Monday:  Tuna Casserole, Green Salad and Sweet Potato Fries
(I have peas, milk, and sweet potatoes to use up)

Tuesday:  Pasta, Broccoli, Salad, and Breadsticks
(Frozen pasta dish already stashed in the freezer.  Add cheese to the top and bake it with the breadsticks.)

Wednesday:  Roasted Turkey, Potatoes, Stuffing, Brussels Sprouts and Salad
(Yep, we've got a couple of turkeys in the freezer and bags of stuffing to use up)

Thursday:  Crock pot stew with homemade bread
(Natalia has back-to-back basketball games tonight so something easy that can be eaten when we're ready instead of when it's ready)

Friday:  Pizza!

Saturday:  Polenta and Stew with Salad
(Stew is in the freezer, polenta in the pantry)

I'm linking here:  Menu Plan Monday

Tasty Tuesday 

What's for Dinner, January Week 1

Wow, the first week of a new year, and it's back to the grind of thinking about what to feed these people, especially the boys with the hollow legs, and trying to keep everyone happy with the "healthy" food we'll be having since I'm working on my 6 week goal.

Monday:  Leftovers from the weekend-chili, pasta, baked potatoes, veggies.

Tuesday:  Turkey and Black Bean Tacos

Wednesday:  Curried Quinoa, Green Salad, Roasted Carrots

Thursday:  Sandwiches, Chips, Fruit and Veggie Sticks

Friday:  Dinner out because of basketball tournament

Saturday:  Homemade pizza, Salad

Sunday:  Roasted Chicken, Broccoli, Spinach Salad, Whole Wheat Rolls or Breadsticks

Linking Here:  Menu Plan Monday

What's for Dinner, December Week 2

So, I called this "week 2", but technically I didn't post a "week 1".  This week is full of comfort foods, just perfect for the cooler weather we are now getting.  I'm trying to double cook a couple of the meals like the lasagna and polenta with stew so I have some meals on hand for next week.  I've already frozen some leftover spaghetti with sauce from lunch yesterday.

Monday:  BBQ chicken in the crockpot, Broccoli salad, roasted veggies.

Tuesday:  Almost Payday Lasagna, green salad, leftover broccoli salad

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Sweet Potato and Chicken Curry, brown rice

Source

Thursday:  Church Christmas Party...Yay, no cooking!  Just making toffee for dessert table.

Friday:  Homemade Pizza

Saturday:  Polenta with chicken stew, mozzarella cheese, green salad, french bread


Linking up here:  Menu Plan Monday  Check out the link, she has FREE Holiday Menu Planning and Baking printables.

What's for Dinner, November Week 3

So I skipped November's week 2.  It feels like I really have skipped week 2, since I'm not really sure where it went!

This week is a clean out the pantry and freezer week.  There are too many things that are open or have been hanging around for a while and I don't want them to go to waste

Monday:

Pork Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Green Salad, Roasted Carrots

Tuesday:

Taco Soup Tuesday (a fall twist on Taco Salad Tuesday)
There are so many different ways to make taco soup!  I change it up depending on what I have on hand.  I'm making it with hamburger, pinto beans, corn, tomatoes, and with the toppings.  Easy and satisfying.

Wednesday:

Carnitas with leftover pork, pinto beans and rice, tortillas, and homemade salsa.

Thursday:

Food Storage Clam Chowder based on this recipe, only I'm substituting powdered or canned milk for the whipping cream and milk, and freeze dried Thrive celery and carrots. 
Bread Sticks

Friday:

Leftovers or breakfast for dinner

Saturday:

Pizza for the kids, Date night for Mom and Dad!

Sunday:
Roasted Chicken, Horseradish Scalloped Potatoes in the Crockpot, Green Salad

I'm linking up here:

Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie

What's for Dinner, November Week 1

Monday:

Costco Pizza and lots of CANDY!

Tuesday:

BBQ Chicken (drumsticks baked in the oven and covered in BBQ sauce for the last 10 minutes)
Twice Baked Potatoes
Roasted Carrots

Wednesday:

Talapia
Risotto
Green Salad
Corn on the Cob

Thursday:

Chili
Pumpkin Bread

Friday:

Leftovers

Saturday:

Taco Soup in Crockpot

I'm linking here:

What's for Dinner, October Week 4

Looking at my menu this week it seems like it's time for fall and comfort-style cooking.  Yum!

Monday:
This is the best of both worlds; the ultimate comfort food of chicken and dumplings with an Italian twist!
Nonni-Inspired Italian Style Chicken and Dumplings
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts or 6-8 boneless/skinless thighs
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2  15 oz. cans tomato sauce
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning or dried basil

Brown chicken (breasts can be cut in half) in large pan and add the onion and carrots to soften.  Add the minced garlic for the last couple of minutes, then pour in the remaining ingredients and stir.  Cook over medium/low heat until the chicken is almost cooked through and top with the dumplings, cover, and cook the 10-15 minutes until the dumplings are done.

Dumplings:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons dried basil or Italian seasoning
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

In a bowl mix flour, parmesan cheese, basil or Italian seasoning, and baking powder.  (I don't use salt because of the parmesan cheese)  Mix milk and oil together and pour into the flour mixture.  Stir with a fork until combined and drop the mixture from a tablespoon to make 10-12 mounds on top of the chicken mixture.  Cover and simmer without lifting the cover for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Note:  Serve with green salad and more parmesan cheese!  Bone-in chicken works fine, or you could use a whole, cut up chicken, too.  Sorry about the photo, I snapped the one and the camera went dead, so I had to live with it. 


Tuesday:
Leftovers and snacking for dinner. We have too much in and out. Brian has a swim dinner, Natalia Young Women's meeting for church, and Mario is in a play for school.  Three different directions!



Wednesday:
Gone All Day Stew I don't brown the beef before hand, and I'm throwing everything in the crockpot on low all day.
Bread Sticks
Green Salad
Frog's Eye Salad



Thursday:

Lasagna Soup  I'm going to try this in the crockpot, too.
French Bread


Friday
Out for dinner, something cheap!


I'm linking here:

What's For Dinner, October Week 3,

Monday

BBQ'ed Tri-Tip, Baked Potatoes, Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Tuesday

Carried over from last week
Tortilla Chips
Chicken and Corn Soup
6 cups water
4 teaspoons chicken bouillon
½ cup dried carrots*
1 tablespoon dried onions
1 tablespoon dried celery (or one stalk fresh celery, diced)
½ teaspoon dried minced garlic
1 can (15 ounces) corn, undrained
2 tablespoon parsley
1 cup uncooked pasta, any shape
1 can (10-12 ounces) chicken chunks undrained and broken up
½ teaspoon sugar (if no sugar in canned corn)
pepper to taste
In a pot, heat water while adding all ingredients except last four. Simmer, covered 15 minutes. Add pasta and simmer 10 minutes more. Stir in chicken. Heat through. Season to taste and serve. Serves 4-5.

Wednesday
Turkey meatloaf with roasted veggies
Jo-Jo Potatoes 

Thursday

Linguini with Red Clam Sauce
Bread Sticks
Green Salad


Friday
Turkey Tacos

Saturday
Leftovers!  (or Leftover Soup made from leftovers in the fridge and freezer)


Candy Corn Popcorn

I'm linking here: 

What's for Dinner, October Week 2, Cooking with Food Storage

This week I am doing something a little bit different with our dinner menu.  I'm planning it all using shelf-stable food storage.  Not the stuff from the fridge or freezer, but only things from the pantry and that I have stored for longer term.  One reason I'm doing this is to rotate and use up some beans, rice, and polenta that I have open already.  Another reason is to see what variety I can come up with!

We're trying not to eat a lot of refined carbs, so that really restricts the recipes.  I gave up and am making a pasta and chicken casserole on Wednesday.  And I'm already cheating because we have some fresh trout to cook so I'm making that Monday.  But other than the trout, everything else is from our food storage!  I'm also going to try to make breakfasts and lunches that are mostly shelf-stable.  This morning breakfast was oatmeal, lunches had a sandwich, granola bar, chips, and a piece of fruit, and Brian also took a cup of soup.

Monday

Fresh Caught Trout
Potatoes (may use dried, not sure yet...)
3 Bean Salad made from canned kidney beans, green beans, garbanzo beans and peas, oil and vinegar
Basic Peanut Butter Balls for Family Home Evening Treat

Tuesday

Pinto Beans using The Cowboy's Wife's Cowboy Husband's recipe
Homemade Tortillas
Home-canned Salsa (recipe below, and can be used fresh or refrigerated in a small batch if you're not out of tomatoes.  Our tomato season was late here, and there are still some on the vine.  We eat TONS of salsa!)
   






















Chunky Homemade Salsa  
(recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Americas All*time Favorite Canning and Preserving Recipes)
7 pounds tomatoes (about 20)
10 Anaheim chili peppers
3 jalapeno peppers
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
1/2 cup snipped fresh cilantro
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup vinegar
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

1. Wash tomatoes. remove peels.  Coarsely chop tomatoes and measure 14 cups.  Place in a large colander and let drain 30 minutes.  Place drained tomatoes in an 8-quart Dutch oven.  Bring to boiling.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 45-50 minutes or until thickened to desire consistency, stirring frequently.

2. Seed and chop the Anaheim peppers and measure 3 cups.  (Be careful and wear gloves when doing this.  Don't touch your eyes or nose, either!)  Seed and chop jalapenos and measure 1/3 cup.  Add the chili peppers, onion, cilantro, garlic, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper to tomatoes.  Return mixture to boiling and then remove from heat.

3. If canning, ladle salsa into hot, clean pint canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Wipe jar rims and adjust lids.  Process in a boiling water canner for 35 minutes.  Remove jars from canner and cool on racks.  Makes 4 pints, or 112 one-tablespoon servings.  (or in our family, 28 four-tablespoon servings.)

Wednesday

Tarragon Chicken Casserole
2 cans low fat cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 cups reconstituted powdered milk
4 teaspoons tarragon
Pepper to taste
1 13oz box bowtie pasta, cooked
2 10oz cans chicken, drained
1 14 oz can peas, drained
paprika
parmesan cheese

Mix soups and milk together.  Add tarragon and pepper.  Mix pasta with chicken and peas.  Pour soup mixture over pasta mixture.  Mix well.  Place in casserole dish.  Sprinkle paprika and parmesan over top.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Thursday

Caribbean Black Beans and Rice
2¾ cups water
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
1¾ cup soaked and cooked dry black beans or 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
½-1 can (4 ounce) diced green chiles
¼ cup dried onions
¼ cup dried green peppers (or ½ cup diced fresh peppers)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1½ teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt
¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf

In a pot, heat water while adding all ingredients. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve. Serves 4-5.

— Recipe from "Emergency Food Storage in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition" by Leslie Probert and Lisa Harkness

Friday

Baked Polenta  made with parmesan cheese
Bread Sticks with parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning
Fruit Salad from home-canned fruits

Saturday
Tortilla Chips

Chicken and Corn Soup
6 cups water
4 teaspoons chicken bouillon
½ cup dried carrots*
1 tablespoon dried onions
1 tablespoon dried celery (or one stalk fresh celery, diced)
½ teaspoon dried minced garlic
1 can (15 ounces) corn, undrained
2 tablespoon parsley
1 cup uncooked pasta, any shape
1 can (10-12 ounces) chicken chunks undrained and broken up
½ teaspoon sugar (if no sugar in canned corn)
pepper to taste
In a pot, heat water while adding all ingredients except last four. Simmer, covered 15 minutes. Add pasta and simmer 10 minutes more. Stir in chicken. Heat through. Season to taste and serve. Serves 4-5.

— Recipe from "Emergency Food Storage in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition" by Leslie Probert and Lisa Harkness

I'm linking here:

What's for Dinner, October Week 1

Well, I'm back to canning again, this time some super delish pears I bought for 29 cents a pound.  That will keep me busy today.  Thank goodness the temps. around here are only going to be in the 70's.  Having the stove on and the canner going all morning really heats the house up.

Menu Plan for this week:

Monday:

Beef Stroganoff made with leftover pot roast from yesterday's dinner Cost: $3.50
Smashed Potatoes from the roasted potatoes from last night  Cost: 75 cents
Brussels Sprouts with bacon  Cost: $3.00
Total Cost to feed a family of 6:  $8.25

Tuesday:

Sausage and Lentil Soup carried over from last week since it is supposed to rain today.
Bread Sticks
Total Cost to feed a family of 6: $6.05

Wednesday:

Sloppy Joes and buns  Cost:  $4.00
Roasted Carrots  Cost 50 cents
Green Salad  Cost:  $1.00
Total cost to feed a family of 6:  $5.50

Thursday:

Pasta with Homemade Pesto  Cost:  $2.00
Bread Sticks  Cost:  $1.00
Spinach Salad with Mandarins and Dried Cranberries  Cost:  $3.00
Total cost to feed a family of 6:  $6.00

Friday:

Frozen Pizza  Cost: $5.66 (for 2 Tombstone Pizzas.  I'm taking it easy tonight!)
Veggies and Ranch  Cost:  $2.50
Total cost to feed a family of 6:  $8.16

Saturday:

Chili Dogs (Dogs, buns and small batch of homemade chili*)  Cost: $5.00 
Jo-Jo Potatoes (Homemade, seasoned, oven roasted potato wedges)  Cost:  $1.50
Total cost to feed a family of 6:  $6.50
*I'll make a big batch of chili and save some for a dinner next week!

Sunday: 

Hooray for Leftovers

So that's just under $41.00 for dinners for the week, and I'm a Woman with a Plan.

Come back later for my next installment of 31 Days of Creating with Meaning, Day 3!  It's all about HOPE.

I'm linking here:  

What's for Dinner This Week?

This week's menu was a bit of an experiment to figure out exactly how much our dinners actually cost.  I try to make tasty, not too complicated, and thrifty meals.  I cook most everything from scratch because that is usually the cheapest way to cook, and I can control what my family eats; less salt, no MSG, etc. 

I spent a few days with my Aunt when I was back in Missouri the beginning of September, and she wanted more info on how I keep my grocery bill so low...I told her I can feed the family for $100 a week.  Now I have to put my money (and menu!) where my mouth is.

One way I keep my food budget in control is buying my staples in bulk and by alternating weeks for certain purchases.  This takes some organization, of which I'm a bit hit-and-miss in.  I've broken these dinners down by cost.  Most of the prices are what I would buy if it is on sale.  But, a little disclaimer here, I usually spend even less than this per meal because I use coupons and plan my menu with the sale ads, my coupons and other deals.

Monday

Roasted Chicken (Costco has whole fryers in a two-pack for 99cents a pound, average price is $8-$10 per 2-pack) Cost of one Chicken: $4-$5
Spinach & Pear Salad Cost of Spinach: $1.00, Cost of 2 pears: 25 cents, Homemade Vinaigrette:  25 cents
Rice with Mushrooms Cost of 3 cups of rice: 30cents, 5 mushrooms: $1.00

Total Cost for Monday's Dinner:  $6.80 to $7.80 to feed a family of 6 (depending on cost of chicken)

Tuesday

Taco Salad Tuesday (This is actually one of my more expensive meals because of the meat and dairy, but sometimes I make it meatless.)

Cost of Taco Salad: 1 lb. Hamburger: $2.00 (Bought in bulk and cooked in bulk) Taco seasoning:  25 cents, Lettuce:  75 cents, 1 cup shredded cheese: $1.00, 1 can corn: 50 cents, 1 can beans: 65 cents, 2 tomatoes: 50 cents, 1/2 onion: 25 cents, salsa: 50 cents, Sour cream:  75 cents, Chips:  $1.00, Ranch Dressing:  50 cents

Total Cost for Tuesday's Dinner:  $8.65 to feed a family of 6

Wednesday

Sausage and Lentil Soup (CrockPot)
Adapted from Sausage and Lentil Soup recipe from Rachael Ray's October 2011 Magazine
1 package Jenny-O Smoked Turkey Sausage (or similar brand) $2.00
1 onion, diced  50 cents
2 large carrots, diced  10 cents
2 cloves garlic, minced  10 cents
1 pound yellow lentils, rinsed  75 cents
4 cups homemade chicken stock (made from the roasted chicken on Monday!)  50 cents
2 tsp. dried rosemary  10 cents
10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed $1.00
Salt and pepper to taste  Freebie
4 cups water  Freebie

Rinse the lentils and put in crockpot.  Add the diced onion and carrot, minced garlic and rosemary.  Add the water and chicken stock.  Slice the sausage in half lengthwise to make a half circle, then slice into 1/2 inch pieces and add into crockpot.  Stir in the spinach, salt and pepper.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Bread Sticks with dough made in the Bread Machine  $1.00

Total Cost for Wednesday's Dinner:  $6.05 to feed a family of 6

Thursday

Chicken Tetrazzini
 Adapted from Turkey Tetrazzini recipe from Rachael Ray's October 2011 Magazine
1 lb. linguine 75 cents
1 lb. chicken  99 cents
4 T. Butter  50 cents
1/2 lb. mushrooms $1.25
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning  10 cents
3 T. flour  5 cents
2 c. milk  40 cents
1 1/2 c. chicken stock  25 cents
1 c. parmesan cheese $1.50

2 c. frozen peas and carrots  50 cents

Spray a 9x13 inch pan and preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente.  
While past is cooking, cut chicken into bite sized chunks and season, (or use leftover chicken) and cook in a large skillet until browned.  Remove and put in the 9x13 pan.  Dice or quarter mushrooms and cook in skillet with 1 Tablespoon of butter for 3-4 minutes and add into turkey.  
Melt the remaining 3 Tablespoons butter in the skillet.  Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Whisk in the milk and chicken stock then bring to a boil and simmer for 2 or three minutes until thickened.  Stir in 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper.  
Add the pasta and peas and carrots to the chicken and mushrooms in the 9x13 pan and pour on the sauce, tossing to combine.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup parmesan on top and bake until the top starts browning and the sauce is bubbling, 12-15 minutes.

Serve with Green Salad Cost: $1.50


Total Cost for Thursday's Dinner:  $7.80 to feed a family of 6

Friday

Homemade Pizza  I haven't figured out the cost for this yet, but will be working on it! With homemade crust and sauce, the big ticket items are the cheese and meat since the veggies aren't all that expensive.  I think I can keep it to my usual $6-$7 for the meal.


Saturday
Hamburger Stew (CrockPot)
1 lb. hamburger  $2.00
5 carrots, diced 25 cents
5 mushrooms, diced 75 cents
2 stalks celery, diced 10 cents
1/2 large onion, diced  25 cents
1 lb. potatoes, diced 40 cents
1 can condensed tomato soup, 60 cents
3 soup cans of water (or more if it looks too thick)  Freebie
3 Tablespoons flour  5 cents
2 beef boullion cubes 10 cents
1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning  10 cents
Salt and Pepper to taste  Freebie

The bluriness is steam because it's so hot!!!

Brown hamburger (can be done in the crockpot in bulk ahead of time and then use some for other meals) and add into the crockpot along with the diced vegetables.  Empty the soup into a medium sized bowl and whisk in the water, flour, boullion, Italian seasoning and a teaspoon of pepper.  Pour over the meat and veggies in the crockpot and stir.  Cook on low for 8 hours.



With Bread Sticks or Bread,
Total Cost for Friday's Dinner:  $5.60 to feed a family of 6



Grand Total Cost for 5 days worth of dinners to feed a family of 6: $34.90 (Pizza night isn't included)


I left out Sunday, because we usually have leftovers on one day and shift the menu accordingly.  I'll also add a dessert or treat one or two nights a week, so that will up the ante a smidge.  And I did not spend that $34.90 this week.  Most of what I used was in the pantry or the freezer, so weekly grocery cost for the dinners was basically spent on the perishables like fresh produce, the whole fryers, and the dairy.  Then when the meat and frozen foods are on sale for a great price I'll put some more in the freezer, and stock up on canned foods as I find them.   

I'm linking here: Gooseberry Patch Recipe Roundup

Dining With Debbie

What's for Dinner, Week who knows what...

Monday

Turkey and Rice Casserole in the Crock Pot
Green Salad and Cantaloupe

Tuesday

Taco Salad with corn tortillas
Tuesdays have been Taco Salad Tuesdays, but everyone (except for me!) is getting tired of it, so we'll have a tortilla option tonight.  We're also going meatless tonight, just beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, corn, and toppings.

Wednesday

Tortilla Chicken Chili in the Crock Pot
This will use up the partially eaten and now neglected tortilla chip bags in the cupboard. Plus, Bubs has a swim meet in the afternoon and Cub Scouts at night, so dinner will be done and waiting when we need it.

Thursday

Pasta
Just good old pasta and salad for dinner tonight.  Meetings and practices.

Friday

Russian Beans-one of my mom's recipes, passed down from her mom:
1/2 lb. hamburger
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced 
1 large can diced tomatoes including juice(or whole and chopped up)
1/2 cup raw rice
1 can kidney beans, undrained
1 Tbls. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Brown the hamburger, onion and green pepper and drain.  Add the tomatoes and juice, rice, beans and spices.  Heat and stir, then bake in a 325 oven for 1 1/2 hours.

I'm going to try this in the crock-pot and hope it works out.  I think it might need additional liquid.

Saturday

Homemade Pizza with a crust recipe here.