Eat at home 2!

[mombrontrent]

Want to start out the New Year with better meal planning. My mom always jokes that we are ready for the apocalypse here with the amount of food in out pantry and feezer We have ALOT! It's all variety though, not a lot of any one thing. I really want to start using what we have and spending less money.

Seeing how low some people's budgets are boggles my mind. We are a family of 5. We don't buy meat/dairy and still spend $1000/month on food I'd guess. We make a coupe trips to Coscto a month and spend about $300-400 each time and than another $100/wk or so at the grocery store. I shop sales and stock up on great deals. We do eat a lot of organic and TONS of produce (more than $100/wk is spent on produce) but tofu and dried beans (even when organic) are cheaper than meat so I don't get it

Anyways I need to head to the store/Costco this weekend for produce (only having 1 jalapeno, 1 onion and a handful of oranges is an emergency for a family of vegans) but I need to turn those veggies into meals using the stuff in my pantry/freezer.

 

[Deffenm]

Looking forward to seeing what everyone prepares in 2014. I love this thread as I get tired of fixing the same old stuff each week. I am also glad holidays and birthdays are over with so we can save money by eating at home.

Sunday: had family dinner out
Monday: dinner out for Son's birthday
Tuesday: Homemade pizza
Wednesday: Chicken and rice
Thursday: Beef Strognoff, green beans, applesauce
Friday: Jambalya, corn bread, corn
Saturday: Tacos, beans, leftover cornbread/corn

 

[queenofthehive]

Saturday - Swedish meatballs over egg noodles, peas
Sunday - Skillet penne with chicken and broccoli
Monday - Chili over baked potatoes and topped with cheese
Tuesday - London broil, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts
Wednesday - Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup
Thursday - Chicken and peppers over rice
Friday - Pizza

 

[figment3258]

We are snowed in! Ugh it's not too bad here but all the roads are a mess.
Yesterday we had sloppy joes
Tonight we are having skillet cornbread and chicken noodle soup
Dd is also making yummy sugar cookies for us
Tomorrow we will have waffles ( must use up heavy cream)
Sunday will be pork loin
Monday maybe hot dogs
Tuesday american chop souy

 

[stayhomemom77]

Caught a cold the day before yesterday and am soooo not in the mood to make lasagna. DH doesn't mind cooking tonight but he can't spare the time to make such a complicated dish so we will either do hamburger helper tonight to use up the ground beef I took out, or just toss in a frozen pizza and save the beef for our taco night on Monday. I'm leaning towards the pizza, but ultimately it's up to the chef!

**I threw in a pizza and we just had carrots, celery and cuke with it!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

What a whirlwind holiday season!!! I am eager for life to get back to a normal pace now for sure! Next week's menu...

Saturday:
Sausage and Peppers Pasta (http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/07/sausage-pepper-pasta/)
Cheesy Garlic Toast

Sunday:
BBQ Meatballs (http://www.5dollardinners.com/bbq-meatball-sliders/)
Smashed Potatoes
Sautee'd Whole Green Beans

Meatless Monday:
Black Bean Soup
Cheese Quesadillas

Tuesday:
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Zucchini Fritters

Wednesday:
Crockpot Mexican Shredded Roast (http://www.5dollardinners.com/connies-crock-pot-mexican-shredded-roast/)
Buttered Noodles
Steamed Broccoli

Thursday:
Salmon Croquettes
Mac and Cheese
Green Peas

Friday:
Pizza or use an already purchased Groupon for a local BBQ restaurant

 

[charming23]

Tonight we had chicken stir fry with rice

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

Want to start out the New Year with better meal planning. My mom always jokes that we are ready for the apocalypse here with the amount of food in out pantry and feezer We have ALOT! It's all variety though, not a lot of any one thing. I really want to start using what we have and spending less money.

Seeing how low some people's budgets are boggles my mind. We are a family of 5. We don't buy meat/dairy and still spend $1000/month on food I'd guess. We make a coupe trips to Coscto a month and spend about $300-400 each time and than another $100/wk or so at the grocery store. I shop sales and stock up on great deals. We do eat a lot of organic and TONS of produce (more than $100/wk is spent on produce) but tofu and dried beans (even when organic) are cheaper than meat so I don't get it

Anyways I need to head to the store/Costco this weekend for produce (only having 1 jalapeno, 1 onion and a handful of oranges is an emergency for a family of vegans) but I need to turn those veggies into meals using the stuff in my pantry/freezer.

We spend a lot too because we don't eat things w artificial ingredients, preservatives, or processed foods. So many coupons do not work for us. I do use Whole Foods coupons and we also shop at Costco and Trader Joes. Giant is down the street but a big rip off for organic and more natural items so it doesn't help to shop there.

What kind of pantry items do you have on hand? Maybe just get veggies over the next couple weeks and see what you can put together.

 

[charming23]

My plan for the week

Tonight - Roast beef with roasted potatoes, carrots, and salad.
Sunday - Crock pot balsamic roast beef with noodles
Monday - Pork stir fry with rice
Tuesday - Leftover balsamic beef french dip sandwiches with fruit and chips
Wednesday - Ham and hash brown casserole with salad
Thursday - Ground beef and noodles with salad
Friday - French toast bake with sausage and fruit
Saturday - Vegetable beef soup with biscuits

 

[MAJPLO]

Totally unmotivated to plan a menu. Maybe because I go back to work Monday. Help!! Any suggestion are appreciated. Here is some of what we have.
Ground turkey
Ground beef
Tri tip roast
Salmon (planned already for Thursday)
Chicken breast
Chicken thighs
Pork chops
Italian sausage

Rice, pasta, potatoes, zucchini, green bell peppers, oranges, lemons, onion, garlic, blah blah blah blah blah

I need something fast and easy for Tuesday night when we will have to eat early and then head to Cub Scouts. Maybe a chicken thigh crock pot something or other?

 

[LilyWDW]

We spend a lot too because we don't eat things w artificial ingredients, preservatives, or processed foods. So many coupons do not work for us. I do use Whole Foods coupons and we also shop at Costco and Trader Joes. Giant is down the street but a big rip off for organic and more natural items so it doesn't help to shop there.

What kind of pantry items do you have on hand? Maybe just get veggies over the next couple weeks and see what you can put together.

I am sort of in the same boat though I do eat processed foods as long as I know what exactly is in them. But I can't have many preservatives and have to be super careful with ingredients. No soy for example. And this isn't all choice, but an actual medical issue so I can't just change it because I want to save money. The pain is not worth the savings!

Today I spent about $108 for the week. That is $8 over what I had budgeted, but it is actually about $42 less then I was spending a week. I did not have to buy any meat this week which helped, but I have to get better at making my shopping list and sticking to it! Right now budget is more important that stocking up since I will be moving come spring. So I want to use as much up before then!

 

[KBW]

Totally unmotivated to plan a menu. Maybe because I go back to work Monday. Help!! Any suggestion are appreciated. Here is some of what we have. Ground turkey Ground beef Tri tip roast Salmon (planned already for Thursday) Chicken breast Chicken thighs Pork chops Italian sausage Rice, pasta, potatoes, zucchini, green bell peppers, oranges, lemons, onion, garlic, blah blah blah blah blah I need something fast and easy for Tuesday night when we will have to eat early and then head to Cub Scouts. Maybe a chicken thigh crock pot something or other?

My family really likes this chicken tikka masala:

http://www.realsimple.com/food-reci...tikka-masala-recipe-00100000072578/index.html

 

[Stefecatzz]

Totally unmotivated to plan a menu. Maybe because I go back to work Monday. Help!! Any suggestion are appreciated. Here is some of what we have.
Ground turkey
Ground beef
Tri tip roast
Salmon (planned already for Thursday)
Chicken breast
Chicken thighs
Pork chops
Italian sausage

Rice, pasta, potatoes, zucchini, green bell peppers, oranges, lemons, onion, garlic, blah blah blah blah blah

I need something fast and easy for Tuesday night when we will have to eat early and then head to Cub Scouts. Maybe a chicken thigh crock pot something or other?

I'm all about making chili for something fairly quick & simple. I always experiment w/mine by adding whatever I have on hand (chopped baby carrots, celery, chopped baby spinach, any type of beans, corn, etc). I really don't have a recipe, I just treat it like a gumbo & start throwing things in the pot after browning the ground meat w/spices. I did find one quick & easy recipe to follow for turkey chili, though I'm sure you could use any ground meat you choose & omit the beer..

http://http://www.foodnetwork.com/search/delegate.do?fnSearchString=chili&fnSearchType=site

Another thing to make would be tacos or nachos w/the ground beef or turkey, or spaghetti w/meatballs & garlic bread.

 

[mombrontrent]

We spend a lot too because we don't eat things w artificial ingredients, preservatives, or processed foods. So many coupons do not work for us. I do use Whole Foods coupons and we also shop at Costco and Trader Joes. Giant is down the street but a big rip off for organic and more natural items so it doesn't help to shop there.

What kind of pantry items do you have on hand? Maybe just get veggies over the next couple weeks and see what you can put together.

So me and DH went shopping today. We had not bought any groceries since before Christmas so we really needed to re-stock on fruits and veggies. Went to Costco first -$325, $250 which was food and half of that about $125 was on fruits and veggies (although that is including frozen corn, peas and mixed veggies and fruit and applesauce cups for school lunches). Than went to the grocery store and spent another $200 ($40 of it was fruits/veggies). They had great deals at both Costco and the grocery store which I just couldn't pass up on. One great score was the family sized boxes of Christmas Rice Krispies for $1.94. My kids all love Rice Krispies so I bought 6 boxes.

Obviously a lot of the stuff will last me more than a week or two but I didn't do well in the "empty out my pantry and spend less" that I was hoping for. My pantry is always filled with tons of canned tomatoes (sauce, diced, paste ect.) Different kinds of rice (wild, basmati, jasmine, long-grain ect.), grains (barley, quinoa, bulgar, pastas in all shapes and sizes) different kinds of dried beans and lentils, flours, sugars, dried fruit, every spice you could imagine, different kinds of nuts (almonds, peanuts, cashews, pecans) nut butters, cereals, different oils and vinegars. My freezer is stuffed with veggies, frozen fruits, bread products, homemade goodies, beans that I've cooked and frozen ect.

Basically I can pretty much make any type of meal with the stuff on hand. I just need to add the fresh produce. I love cooking and cook everyday, I just need to start using what I have and stop buying more. I could spend a lot less but buying a lot of organic and fair trade is important to me. That fair trade organic coffee is double/triple the price of the normal stuff but I just can't budge on that

 

[TwoMisfits]

Sunday - a spin on Rachel Ray's shepard's pie stuffed baked potatoes, apple slices
Monday - (Bought) Rotisserie chicken, Stove Top stuffing, green salad
Tuesday - Homemade chicken alfredo (with leftover chicken), roasted broccoli
Wednesday - BBQ pork and cheese quesadillas, fruit salad
Thursday - Roasted pork with garlic and pepper, roasted cabbage, pear slices
Friday - Lunch meat sandwiches, chips, and fruit - something easy and light, since we have an afternoon party event and dinner will be an afterthought
Saturday - Out

Kristy

 

[100AcreWood]

I forget to post my menu (I enjoy reading yours more!)
But I started a new thread about eating out of the freezer/pantry and not buying many groceries (just perishables) during the month of Jan. I coupon and stockpile and my pantry has gotten out of hand. I'd love to cut my grocery bill in half this month and use up what we have. I started doing this a few years ago when one of the budget bloggers challenged people to eat out of the freezer/pantry for a month. Join us if you're interested!


Monday: Meatballs, Hawaiian Bread Rolls with Green Beans
Tuesday: Lasagna and Corn (leftovers for lunches)
Wednesday: Mahi with Rice
Thursday: Cuban Picadillo with Rice
Friday: Hamburger Soup
Saturday: Turkey Sriacha Meatballs

 

[IMALOVNDISNEY]

Been away for awhile....now I need to get back on track.
This weeks menu
S: Crockpot Mac & Cheese with baked chicken tenders
M: Crockpot Pork loin, veggies and baked sweet potatoes
T: Leftovers..Mac and Cheese w/broccoli and the rest of the pork loin
W: Homemade pizza w/garden salad
Th: Meatloaf, rice, and veggies
F: Fish and Chips, veggies and cole slaw
St: Mystery Dinner...Clean out the fridge night.

 

[tinkmom2]

This is what I made for "Special Breakfast Day" today: http://tinkmomfoodie-foodobsession.blogspot.com/2014/01/salsa-chilaquiles-special-breakfast-day.html

The first day back to school has been cancelled tomorrow due to the extreme cold here in WI. I think I will be making some chili. I spent $60.00 at the grocery store today. I plan on making comfort foods all week like my hubby's favorite arroz con pollo. A homemade pizza is in our future too this week. Also I scored a box of a dozen crossiants on clearance and will make curried chicken salad sammies. (all of which can be found on my blog above)

 

[Liberty Belle]

Starting over- went way off course

S5- Ham and Mac n cheese casserole, peas

M6- Kielbasa, pinto beans, cornbread, and tossed salad

T7- Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, Lima beans

W8- lemon pepper chicken, rice, asparagus

R9- Tuna melts, corn, cauliflower

F10- French bread pizzas, tossed salad

S11- hamburgers, fries, green beans

 

[lolobug]

Sun- chicken chili
Monday- tacos
Tuesday- Sausage peppers, pasta
Wednesday- hubby cooks!
Thursday- leftovers
Friday- BLTs
Saturday- mac and cheese