Eat at Home 3!

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Ugh...need to figure this out. Want to eat down the pantry/freezer but need to get a few groceries plus snacks for our road trip because we are driving to Florida a week from tomorrow to visit my in laws for Christmas. Shifting days at my parents' house to accommodate my work party Christmas lunch so for now the loose plan is:

Friday: Probably l/o chicken cutlet on a sandwich for DH and the last of the frozen homemade buffalo chicken pizza for me
Saturday: Friends invited us over for a Christmas party
Sunday: Something with potatoes because we need to use them up before we leave
Monday (at parents): Ravioli with sauce (dad's request) -ingredients on hand already
Tuesday (at parents): Garlic brown sugar chicken over rice (mom's request)- ingredients on hand already
Wednesday: work lunch for our Christmas party (DH and I work together) so just snacking around for dinner
Thursday: Something quick and easy since we will be finishing packing, sorting out the cats, etc. Trying to avoid take out though.
Friday morning: leave for Florida

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Went to the store today since it's payday. I spent $154. Of course, that was for everything from laundry detergent to toothpaste to food. So not all on food. I might break down my receipt tomorrow and see exactly how much we spent on food. But got a mini meal plan in place.

Saturday - homemade enchiladas;
Sunday - leftover enchiladas;
Monday - homemade pizza;
Tuesday - sausage wraps;
Wednesday-Thursday - TBD because we have choir practice Wednesday, and our friend's football teams made the state championships and they play Thursday night. So probably not cooking those nights.

 

[DanceDisney23]

Today: ramen for DD, stir fry with ramen noodles and leftover veggies for me, DH is at work
Sunday: turkey cottage pie
Monday: lentil stew with franks
Tuesday: homemade pizza
Wednesday: takeout or fast food since DH is at work and it’s a late dance night

I haven’t planned any farther than this. Will do more grocery shopping on Wednesday

 

[bigpinkdaisy]

Sunday - Tuscan Soup, homemade Italian bread
Monday - Vodka Penne, salad and garlic bread (made with second loaf of homemade bread)
Tuesday - Tacos/Queso & Chips
Wednesday - Fried Chicken Sandwiches with fries
Thursday - Garlic butter steak bites with twice baked potatoes
Friday - Homemade pizza (type determined by college boy's preference that day )

 

[barkley]

I was just counting out the days till Christmas Eve and looking through the freezer to try to see if I have enough pre-made food/leftovers so I don't have to plan any real cooking-i think I can do it!

gyros (thank you Costco for selling bags of the meat you use in the kits you sell)

Marie Callendar chicken pot pies

pulled pork

Korean Beef (thank you again Costco)

rotissery chicken (yup, Costco again)-quesadillas

moussaka

variety of Asian foods (several bags of different dishes/we can do our own version of Panda Express )

and finally the 23rd-i've got 3 large frozen pizzas.


this sets me up with no major cooking and the added benefit of plenty of open space in the freezer for the inevitable holiday leftovers.

 

[Turn the Page]

ooh I want to join!!!

I have meal planned fairly successfully for several years now. My best friend is just baffled by it. She doesn't know how I can make a menu and stick to it like I do. It's not set in stone, adjustments can be made and such. But I find it is so much easier on a day to day basis if I know I have things for a few specific meals on hand. It's so much less stressful for me than trying to figure out every afternoon what to feed everybody that night.

I also try to do one big grocery run a week......I'm far less successful with that. This week has been bad because I keep running out of baking supplies so have to go replenish.

However, these are the meals I have planned for this week:
Tonight was supposed to be steak and wheat bulgur pilaf with veggies but I didn't pull the steak out of the freezer earlier enough so we are pushing that to tomorrow and digging around for leftovers tonight. DS6 may have chicken nuggets but otherwise the rest of us will do just fine on odds and ends from the fridge and that will actually not be a bad thing.

Wednesday: Steak and wheat bulgur pilaf.
Thursday: Leftovers or pizza for the kids. DH and I are going to a Holiday dinner at our favorite restaurant.
Friday: Pork gyros in the crock pot.
Saturday: Korean lettuce wraps.
Sunday: Leftovers.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

I've got nothing planned until we go to my parent's for second Christmas on Sunday (we will stay through Wednesday morning and then we head back to work that morning)

Sunday - Pizza take out (SIL is 6 months pregnant and no one feels like making another big holiday dinner so this works out because we can order when we feel like it)
Monday- Chicken parm with pasta and italian bread
Tuesday- Roast beef, mashed potatoes with gravy (dad's request)

 

[barkley]

just this morning I was looking at the 'invantory' (binder paper) on my freezer door and thinking how I need to grab the leftover items in the fridge freezer in the house and list them, eyeball what's already in there and update. I have a good handle on the raw meat, double batches of stuff I made and of course leftover thanksgiving turkey but it's the odds and ends I know I can build entire meals around I need to get listed. I'm kind of setting a goal to see how empty I can get that freezer (and resist even the best sales).

 

[tinkeryarn]

Hi, I've been reading for years but I've decided I need to really get organized with food prep . New Year's resolution is to eat out less and cook at home. I've found good inspiration here before so I'm joining in.
Tonight= crockpot chicken, just olive oil and seasoning with side of White cheddar Mac n cheese from Aldi (box)
Friday. Leftover pizza from earlier this week
Saturday= Turkey, green beans, rolls, delayed family get together
Sunday leftovers
Monday pork chops with ( side dish of something lol)

Long ago here I saw someone post about "snack of the week" or dessert of the week.
This will help us I think focus on one snack/ dessert treat for a few days then move on to another After! It's finished. I have to get better about eating up all leftovers,
Happy New year!

 

[tampabrat22]

Like most of us I'm sure, the holiday's threw all meal planning for a loop. We spent most weekends at Disney or at holiday parties and a trip to Gatlinburg for New Years so I was not following any plan in the month of Dec, so it's time to get back on track.

This past week's menu-
Sunday - Roast pork, rice & beans
Monday - My version of Hamburger Helper (ground beef, noodles and sour cream)
Tuesday - leftovers
Wednesday - Hamburgers & Mac and cheese
Thursday - chicken & dumplings'
Friday - Bean and cheese enchiladas with Mexican rice
Saturday- Buffalo Chicken Sliders, charcuterie, banana pudding (game night with fam for Husbands bday)

Working on next week's menu now.

 

[Turn the Page]

New week so we have a new menu.

Sunday: Breaded baked pork chops with green beans and farro pilaf
Monday: pork and mushroom orzo
Tuesday: leftovers since we're night skiing
Wednesday:lasagna
Thursday:beef and broccoli stir fry
Friday will likely be leftovers again

 

[barkley]

did the freezer/pantry invantory and as a result realized I could cut back quite a bit on groceries this month (and likely next). I did fail already on resisting a good sale but DANG! when there's 90/10 ground beef at $3.99 a pound it's HARD to pass up (that's over $2 less per pound than the nast uber-fat stuff) so I bought 24 pounds. ended up air sealing it into 6-2 pound bags, 4-1 pound, 1-4 pound package left intact (meatloaf anyone????) and a single gallon ziplock with (net) about 3 3/4 pounds of cooked ground beef (quick to grab and reheat for sloppy joes/tacos/hamburger helper...).

tonight's menu is Rogan Josh (chix breast/veg in simmer sauce) on rice w/naan

grocery shopping is tomorrow so likely it will be leftovers (I always make enough for a few full meals).

 

[Bellex917]

This week is very simple. We have 2-3 things after work every single day, so with the exception of dinner tonight, everything else is very low cooking/low time:

Tonight- french toast casserole, bacon, fruit
Tomorrow: orange chicken, rice, green beans (all TJs stuff)
Tues- spicy bowtie pasta, salad, breadsticks
Wed- hot dogs, baked beans, tater tots, salad
Thur- penne vodka, salad
Fri- kids have friends sleeping over, they'll get fast food and I have a post-holiday party

 

[tampabrat22]

did the freezer/pantry invantory and as a result realized I could cut back quite a bit on groceries this month (and likely next). I did fail already on resisting a good sale but DANG! when there's 90/10 ground beef at $3.99 a pound it's HARD to pass up (that's over $2 less per pound than the nast uber-fat stuff) so I bought 24 pounds. ended up air sealing it into 6-2 pound bags, 4-1 pound, 1-4 pound package left intact (meatloaf anyone????) and a single gallon ziplock with (net) about 3 3/4 pounds of cooked ground beef (quick to grab and reheat for sloppy joes/tacos/hamburger helper...).

tonight's menu is Rogan Josh (chix breast/veg in simmer sauce) on rice w/naan

grocery shopping is tomorrow so likely it will be leftovers (I always make enough for a few full meals).

Great deal on the ground beef. A store near me, GFS, is having a beef sale so I will be grabbing some for meatloaf too.

 

[Bellex917]

did the freezer/pantry invantory and as a result realized I could cut back quite a bit on groceries this month (and likely next). I did fail already on resisting a good sale but DANG! when there's 90/10 ground beef at $3.99 a pound it's HARD to pass up (that's over $2 less per pound than the nast uber-fat stuff) so I bought 24 pounds. ended up air sealing it into 6-2 pound bags, 4-1 pound, 1-4 pound package left intact (meatloaf anyone????) and a single gallon ziplock with (net) about 3 3/4 pounds of cooked ground beef (quick to grab and reheat for sloppy joes/tacos/hamburger helper...).

tonight's menu is Rogan Josh (chix breast/veg in simmer sauce) on rice w/naan

grocery shopping is tomorrow so likely it will be leftovers (I always make enough for a few full meals).

Even when I'm eating down my pantry/freezer (I've been doing that since Thanksgiving and I have officially reached near the bottom in mid January!!!) I will still grab really good deals if I can't pass them up. Some are too good to pass up.

 

[tampabrat22]

This week's menu after perusing my freezers and pantry....

Sunday - Spiral sliced Ham (1/2 price from ALDI), mashed potatoes & squash
Monday - Pork Steaks, rice & veggies
Tuesday - Creamy Sausage & Tortellini Soup in crock pot
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Turkey, mashed sweet potatoes & veggies
Friday - leftovers (probably turkey sandwiches)
Saturday- turkey tetrazzini, more leftovers

 

[tampabrat22]

Even when I'm eating down my pantry/freezer (I've been doing that since Thanksgiving and I have officially reached near the bottom in mid January!!!) I will still grab really good deals if I can't pass them up. Some are too good to pass up.

I have to do a pantry and freezer clean out, I keep trying but keep getting side tracked. I really want to empty everything out and start fresh.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Tonight: Burgers @ halftime (watching the eagles game)
Monday: Garlic brown sugar chicken over rice
Tuesday: Marinated london broil with fries (or maybe baked potatoes if I pick up a couple)
Wednesday: Grilled cheese and soup
Thursday & Friday- @ my parents'...dad is having a rough weekend so I'm not pushing for choices right now (they prefer to pick/have some input so i don't like to just tell them what we are having)
Saturday- still at parents'....DH is staying with my dad while mom and I attend a baby shower. DH will just order pizza as keeping an eye on my dad is enough. Mom and I will eat at the shower and then likely just eat something small later
Sunday- Can't even think about it

 

[first*toright]

Made it through the holidays and crazy work crunch. I meal planned the first couple of weeks of this month around me not being home much/lots of activities and it worked out pretty well.

Great deal on the ground beef. A store near me, GFS, is having a beef sale so I will be grabbing some for meatloaf too.

I found a good sale on chicken breast - the ultimate quick meal starter! I bought a couple of huge packages and broke them down into useable portions (even used my vaacum sealer to repackage them for the freezer). Hopefully DH remembered to put some in the fridge to thaw like I asked so that I'll be ready to put together a super quick dinner tonight before bringing my kiddo to a class.

This week:
Su - Baked cod, Rice, Asparagus (cooked by DH, but he forgot to thaw the frozen Costco cod we had, and bought fresh instead)
M- Noodles, peanut sauce, chicken, quick pickled veg
Tu- Chicken Salad Sandwiches (to go - DH and kiddo will eat between going to the gym and a music lesson)
W- Tortellini Soup
Th- Breakfast Sandwiches
F- Takeout
Sa- Homemade Pizza

I feel like I'm in a dinner rut, so I appreciate all of y'alls menus to give me fresh ideas!

 

[LilyWDW]

I have to do a pantry and freezer clean out, I keep trying but keep getting side tracked. I really want to empty everything out and start fresh.

I went through my freezer and pantry this past weekend. Had to toss a couple things, but now I have a much better idea of WHAT I have on hand. So meals will be based around that for awhile.

Tonight: Spaghetti with marinara and steamed broccoli

Tomorrow and Wednesday: Greek chicken bowls with rice, chicken, cucumber, quick pickled red onion (which I need to make today), cherry tomatoes, greens, feta, and tzatziki.

Thursday and Friday: Crab cakes, mashed potatoes, and steamed green beans

Currently working on next weeks menu. I do know I am doing pot roast because I got a chuck roast on sale. That will be 3-4 meals easily.