Eat at Home 3!

[TwoMisfits]

Sorry to be late - the whole family got the flu and we're just starting to recover...it has meant all evening plans and outings were canceled, making for a cheap Easter and start to this week...
Sun (Easter) - Sandwiches, Apple Slices (and candy for dessert for the healthy)
Mon - I made a green onion and baby sorrel bread (farm box use ups) today that I really didn't love as sliced bread, so I broke it up and used it as semi-soft croutons on a chicken, green leaf lettuce, tomato, and cuke salad - turned out amazing there, so there is hope for cooking screwups...gonna have this for lunch tomorrow
Tues - Baby sorrel pesto/sauce over roasted yellow squash and the rest of chicken (baby sorrel is REALLY lemony - should work...
Wed - Cheeseburgers, Onion Rings, Tomato Salad (if we're feeling better) - more chicken if we're not
Thurs - Canneloni in Tomato Sauce, Meatballs, Roasted Carrots
Fri - Leftovers or Pizza with leftover fruits/vegs from the week
Sat - Makeup Easter dinner - we may treat ourselves out b/c we had to refund our date night play tickets and other events last weekend - I have a Groupon to use up, and we may finally be able to enjoy it!

 

[Sydney2977]

This is such a cool thread, how did I not find it until now?! I've just looked back through the last few weeks worth of posts and enjoyed seeing what everyone is eating...I tend to get into a rut, making the same dozen meals over and over again out of habit, so it is awesome to see what everyone else is planning as it gives me so many good ideas for me to veganize.

That said, my husband & I are vegan, is it OK to share our planned dinners too? We're on a pretty tight budget due to my doctors not letting me work due to health issues (heart failure) & my husband being a college student (studying to be a registered dietitian) who can only work so many hours while he's in school, so we plan stuff out a lot to take advantage of sales & pantry items bought when on sale, produce from our garden, etc.


Here are our planned dinners for this week:

Monday: sweet & sour tofu with pineapple chunks (large portion for my husband, small for me along with some lower sodium cucumber, basil & avocado gazpacho--I love it when both pineapples & avocados are on sale)

Tuesday: bread & cabbage soup (homemade whole wheat bread slice on bottom of bowl, delicious tomato based cabbage soup using up last of last week's sale cabbage ladled on top)

Wednesday: vegan Welsh rarebit and the last of the cucumber, basil & avocado gazpacho leftovers

Thursday: Mexican night...black refried bean burritos & tortilla chips (husband) & zucchini slices (me) with homemade guacamole and mango salsa (yay, mango season=on sale mangos!)

Friday: sweet potato curry (sweet potato, canned coconut milk, garbanzo beans, onion, a little fresh ginger & garlic, also some delicious spices) & mashed potatoes

Saturday: pasta e fagioli (homemade tomato sauce from canned tomatoes, cannellini beans & shell pasta), homemade rolls

Sunday: vegan mac & cheese and steamed dill carrots

Leftovers from all meals usually serve as our lunches next day.

~Meg

I just discovered this too and am liking the great ideas as well. Definitely post your menus! Others like myself can be inspired and change your ideas to include meat if we want, or see than you can eat things without meat and still have tasty filling meals! Sounds like you're pretty creative in the kitchen so I'm sure you can take other people's ideas and make them work for your family too.

 

[pigletto]

We are at the 31 day mark for our Disney trip. All meals will be eaten at home this month, except for 2 or 3. I like to use up things from the freezer/cupboards as much as I can before a trip to save some money and have a fresh start when we come home. The meals out will be for a basketball tournament. We have to spend one night at a hotel for that, so if I bring some breakfast/snack items, we might get away with just two meals out this month. Vacation eating is always more fun when you've been cooking at home leading up to it!

So for this week..

Sunday - Veggie lasagna at my mom's

Monday- Pasta Bolognese

Tuesday- Pork and veggie stir fry over brown rice, salad

Wednesday- BBQ chicken, green beans, roasted potato

Thursday- Breakfast for dinner (English muffins, eggs, peameal bacon, fruit smoothies)

Friday- Homemade pizzas

Saturday- Whole wheat wraps, ground chicken, taco seasoning, veggies

 

[GlitteryOtters]

I just discovered this too and am liking the great ideas as well. Definitely post your menus! Others like myself can be inspired and change your ideas to include meat if we want, or see than you can eat things without meat and still have tasty filling meals! Sounds like you're pretty creative in the kitchen so I'm sure you can take other people's ideas and make them work for your family too.

Yes, I am getting a lot of good ideas for next week! It's been a few months since I made pizza or lasagna, so they totally fell off my radar of foods I could make from scratch, but then I see posts on here mentioning them and I remember that (duh!) we love both of these things & thanks to recent sales I'm actually, if anything, overstocked on most of the ingredients, so I'm thinking one or both might be in next week's menu.

We are only 31 days out from our trip out to visit family/friends in CA & visit Disneyland (of course!), so the goal right now is that, for the next month, absolutely all of our meals will be homemade, preferably using mostly ingredients we have in stock already so I can squeeze a little money from the grocery budget for eating when we're in California. I'm off to dig through past posts, notepad at hand, so I can jot down some ideas for dinners for the next few weeks!

~Meg

 

[stayhomemom77]

Whew...meant to get over here yesterday but it was a busy one!

Yesterday-grilled cheese sammies, veggies and dip, nachos and cheese
Tonight-pizza, apple slices, Easter candy (DS's birthday and his choice of meal)
Wed-turkey pot pie
Thurs-pork chops and twice baked potatoes, frozen veg of some kind
Fri-leftovers
Sat-pasta, salad, garlic toast
Sun-breakfast for dinner (bacon, eggs, pancakes, fruit)

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

Yesterday was sausage links, cinnamon rolls, fruit and Easter eggs.

Today is pasta with marinara and roasted green beans.

Tomorrow is baked chicken, rice pilaf and romaine with grape tomatoes and cucumbers.

That's all I have. A trip to the grocery will be required Thursday after work.

I'm working on a menu right now. I have pineapple fried rice and baked egg rolls so far.

 

[charming23]

We have been doing really great at eating at home. I have been working a ton of hours but have found prepping things on my day off and sticking to a meal plan has helped a bunch. We only have eaten out once in the past two weeks and that was a planned lunch out. Let's hope I can keep this up.

Last night we had leftovers from Easter dinner
Tonight I have a bit of a cold so I made a big pot of chicken soup that we will eat on all day. Plus there is stuff for sandwiches.

The rest of the week I have planned
Chicken enchiladas
Roast turkey with sweet potatoes and Brussel sprouts
Spaghetti with turkey meatballs and salad
Chicken stir fry
Patty melts with chips and fruit

 

[LilyWDW]

This is such a cool thread, how did I not find it until now?! I've just looked back through the last few weeks worth of posts and enjoyed seeing what everyone is eating...I tend to get into a rut, making the same dozen meals over and over again out of habit, so it is awesome to see what everyone else is planning as it gives me so many good ideas for me to veganize.

That said, my husband & I are vegan, is it OK to share our planned dinners too? We're on a pretty tight budget due to my doctors not letting me work due to health issues (heart failure) & my husband being a college student (studying to be a registered dietitian) who can only work so many hours while he's in school, so we plan stuff out a lot to take advantage of sales & pantry items bought when on sale, produce from our garden, etc.

Friday: sweet potato curry (sweet potato, canned coconut milk, garbanzo beans, onion, a little fresh ginger & garlic, also some delicious spices) & mashed potatoes

~Meg

PLEASE post! I'm far from Vegan (or even Vegetarian) but I do enjoy a Veggie meal every so often. So I love seeing and getting ideas from those who eat that way all the time. I figure they have a good grasp on awesome recipes! Like the curry! That looks amazing. What sort of spices do you use for it? Do you have a recipe that you can share in general? I want some now hehe.

I'm working on my plan today. Aldi and Market District have released their ads (also going to look at Kroger's since they are so close (though their ad isn't online yet grrr)) and I have my schedule for the next two weeks so time to get started. Plus, I am pretty much staying in bed until I have to work tonight as I am sick again. Blarg.

This is also the second attempt at a budget of $100 for two weeks of all food, OTC meds, and other household items. Going to be a lot of those this trip (need toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, kleenex, kitty litter, and some meds) but a lot of that stuff is on sale or I have digital coupons. All I know for sure food wise is that I will be getting some Pork Spare Ribs for $2.99/lb to make some slow cooker asian ribs that will last me 4 or so meals and that the second week I will be making a bit pot of lentil or split pea soup. I want to balance using what I have with taking advantage of sales so I don't then have a week where I need to buy ALL the meat. If need be, I have a bit left over from the past budget (about $20) that I can use to cover some of the extra stuff to make sure I stay stocked.

 

[ashmarie06]

Yesterday: Pizza Burgers, Fries, and Corn
Today: Date Night out since Dfi works all weekend
Thursday: Meatloaf, Veggies
Friday: Grilled Chicken, Rice
Saturday: Girls Night out with Mom
Sunday: White Chicken Chili

 

[Shmily1]

This is such a cool thread, how did I not find it until now?! I've just looked back through the last few weeks worth of posts and enjoyed seeing what everyone is eating...I tend to get into a rut, making the same dozen meals over and over again out of habit, so it is awesome to see what everyone else is planning as it gives me so many good ideas for me to veganize.

That said, my husband & I are vegan, is it OK to share our planned dinners too? We're on a pretty tight budget due to my doctors not letting me work due to health issues (heart failure) & my husband being a college student (studying to be a registered dietitian) who can only work so many hours while he's in school, so we plan stuff out a lot to take advantage of sales & pantry items bought when on sale, produce from our garden, etc.


Here are our planned dinners for this week:

Monday: sweet & sour tofu with pineapple chunks (large portion for my husband, small for me along with some lower sodium cucumber, basil & avocado gazpacho--I love it when both pineapples & avocados are on sale)

Tuesday: bread & cabbage soup (homemade whole wheat bread slice on bottom of bowl, delicious tomato based cabbage soup using up last of last week's sale cabbage ladled on top)

Wednesday: vegan Welsh rarebit and the last of the cucumber, basil & avocado gazpacho leftovers

Thursday: Mexican night...black refried bean burritos & tortilla chips (husband) & zucchini slices (me) with homemade guacamole and mango salsa (yay, mango season=on sale mangos!)

Friday: sweet potato curry (sweet potato, canned coconut milk, garbanzo beans, onion, a little fresh ginger & garlic, also some delicious spices) & mashed potatoes

Saturday: pasta e fagioli (homemade tomato sauce from canned tomatoes, cannellini beans & shell pasta), homemade rolls

Sunday: vegan mac & cheese and steamed dill carrots

Leftovers from all meals usually serve as our lunches next day.

~Meg

Absolutely!! You never know where you might get your next great idea of something to fix. I can totally see some of your meals there that I would love to try.

 

[GlitteryOtters]

PLEASE post! I'm far from Vegan (or even Vegetarian) but I do enjoy a Veggie meal every so often. So I love seeing and getting ideas from those who eat that way all the time. I figure they have a good grasp on awesome recipes! Like the curry! That looks amazing. What sort of spices do you use for it? Do you have a recipe that you can share in general? I want some now hehe.

Yeah, I tend to like to look at all sorts of meal plans, I get a lot of good ideas from all sorts of diets. For example, yesterday I went back through posts on this thread over the past year & got a ton of great ideas, like chili mac (which I often get when I eat out at our local vegan restaurant), but I wasn't even thinking about it as an option for meals! Since I am making a big batch of made from scratch stovetop vegan mac & cheese on Sunday, I'm totally making chili mac for dinner on Monday!


I do a fair amount of batch cooking & have a well stocked freezer, so all I have to do is thaw & reheat my vegan chili along with the Mac and cheese leftovers & I get a great dinner with minimal kitchen work (and then I can use some of the remaining thawed chili with baked potatoes on Tuesday, so it's like I get 2 days off from cooking. Perfect!).

For the curry, I didn't get it from a recipe, I have always just sort of winged it, but I was just thinking last week that I should write it out into my favorite recipes notebook so I don't have to keep reinventing the wheel every time I make it. Here's the recipe (with a lighter, lower fat/calorie variation at the end)...times might be a little off & spice measurements are approximate:

Sweet Potato Chickpea Curry

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed (approx 1/2" cubes)
1 can chickpeas
1 red onion, chopped
1 can coconut milk (see variation below)
1/4 cup water, more if needed
Fresh ginger, finely grated to taste (a teaspoon or two?)
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 tablespoons canola or coconut oil
1 tablespoon(?) curry powder (seems like I use a lot...!)
Heaping 1/2 teaspoon Garam masala
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Salt & pepper to taste
1-2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves to garnish (optional)
1 jalapeño, seeded & minced (optional)
1/2 cup canned, diced tomatoes (optional)
1/2 cup frozen peas (optional)

Heat oil in non-stick pan, add garlic & onion, stir fry until onion becomes translucent.

Add sweet potatoes, ginger & spices, mix them & sauté for 2-3 minutes over medium heat.

Add water & coconut milk & bring to a boil. Cover with lid, reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, until sweet potatoes become soft & sauce thickens (approx. 8 to 10 minutes?). Stir in between occasionally to prevent sticking.

Turn off heat & let curry stand 5 minutes so spices will meld. Serve over rice, garnish with cilantro leaves.

Variation: I usually make it without the jalapeño, tomato or peas during winter, but in warmer months the dish is too heavy for me to eat that way, so I usually reduce the coconut milk to half a can, add a little more water & include the optional veggies. This makes a lighter dish. The other half can of coconut milk I usually use to make mango sticky rice which i usually eat as a delicious cold dessert during hot weather!


(Editing to add: if using them, I usually add the optional veggies after I cook the sweet potato long enough to get soft & for the sauce to thicken...then I cook everything together on low for about 4 minutes, just long enough to heat up the veggies, but I don't want to reduce the tomatoes and peas too much, so only until they are warmed & well incorporated. I still let the dish sit 5 minutes for flavors to meld.)

I hope you are feeling better soon, being sick is no fun. Good luck on the tight budget eating. We've been doing that a lot lately, so I know how tough that can be, especially when you're feeling under the weather & just want convenient comfort foods.

~Meg

 

[Kellars]

This is such a cool thread, how did I not find it until now?! I've just looked back through the last few weeks worth of posts and enjoyed seeing what everyone is eating...I tend to get into a rut, making the same dozen meals over and over again out of habit, so it is awesome to see what everyone else is planning as it gives me so many good ideas for me to veganize.

That said, my husband & I are vegan, is it OK to share our planned dinners too? We're on a pretty tight budget due to my doctors not letting me work due to health issues (heart failure) & my husband being a college student (studying to be a registered dietitian) who can only work so many hours while he's in school, so we plan stuff out a lot to take advantage of sales & pantry items bought when on sale, produce from our garden, etc.


Here are our planned dinners for this week:

Monday: sweet & sour tofu with pineapple chunks (large portion for my husband, small for me along with some lower sodium cucumber, basil & avocado gazpacho--I love it when both pineapples & avocados are on sale)

Tuesday: bread & cabbage soup (homemade whole wheat bread slice on bottom of bowl, delicious tomato based cabbage soup using up last of last week's sale cabbage ladled on top)

Wednesday: vegan Welsh rarebit and the last of the cucumber, basil & avocado gazpacho leftovers

Thursday: Mexican night...black refried bean burritos & tortilla chips (husband) & zucchini slices (me) with homemade guacamole and mango salsa (yay, mango season=on sale mangos!)

Friday: sweet potato curry (sweet potato, canned coconut milk, garbanzo beans, onion, a little fresh ginger & garlic, also some delicious spices) & mashed potatoes

Saturday: pasta e fagioli (homemade tomato sauce from canned tomatoes, cannellini beans & shell pasta), homemade rolls

Sunday: vegan mac & cheese and steamed dill carrots

Leftovers from all meals usually serve as our lunches next day.

~Meg

We are not vegan but I appreciate having a few meatless days in the mix. Please feel free to share your menus, I may ask for help/recipes! I like many of your ideas!

 

[stayhomemom77]

DH has decided not to low carb in April with the proviso that if he finds it's not working for him he can go back to low carb.

Cue the angels singing...music to my ears and he told me in plenty of time to organize my shopping plans!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Whew...meant to get over here yesterday but it was a busy one!

Yesterday-grilled cheese sammies, veggies and dip, nachos and cheese
Tonight-pizza, apple slices, Easter candy (DS's birthday and his choice of meal)
Wed-turkey pot pie
Thurs-pork chops and twice baked potatoes, frozen veg of some kind
Fri-leftovers
Sat-pasta, salad, garlic toast
Sun-breakfast for dinner (bacon, eggs, pancakes, fruit)

DH has decided not to low carb in April with the proviso that if he finds it's not working for him he can go back to low carb.

Cue the angels singing...music to my ears and he told me in plenty of time to organize my shopping plans!

Now that DH is eating normally...he'll likely be taking leftovers for his lunches on a regular basis. To that end, in future we will not plan on a leftover night regularly.

Quick edit for this week then:

Fri-taco night
Sat-alfredo lasagna, salad (found one in the freezer I had forgotten about)
Sun-breakfast for dinner

 

[LilyWDW]

Kroger finally released their ad this morning so now my planning is finished. They had Pork Spare Ribs for even cheaper then Market District so going to add Kroger as a third stop. It's just down the road so easy enough to do! Also, Aldi has chicken breasts at 1.49/lb and Kroger has wings and boneless thighs for 1.99/lb)

So here is my plan! Dinners are listed by the days and then breakfast/lunch below that. OH means "on hand" and sale items noted.

Sunday: Taking my nephew to the zoo
Monday: Chicken (OH) stir fry (with mushrooms, broccoli(OH), and squash), rice (OH)
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Braised pork ribs (1.77/lb Kroger), rice (OH), and stir fried cabbage (.99 Aldi)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Chicken (OH) burrito bowls (rice (OH), black beans, grilled peppers and onions, avocado (.69 MD), cheese, and sour cream)
Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Pan fried fish (OH), roasted asparagus (.99 Aldi)
Tuesday: Pancakes and sausage (OH)
Wednesday: Split pea, bacon, and potato soup (.99 5lb bag Aldi), bread (OH made in bread machine)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Rigatoni with roasted red peppers sauce (OH), vegetable (whatever I have left fresh or something from the freezer)
Saturday: Beef (OH) stroganoff

Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Eggs (OH), fried potatoes (.99 5lb bag Aldi) with zucchini and peppers

Breakfasts: Bananas, oatmeal, yogurt with granola and fruit
Lunch: Bagels, leftovers

 

[Epcotgal8]

Kroger finally released their ad this morning so now my planning is finished. They had Pork Spare Ribs for even cheaper then Market District so going to add Kroger as a third stop. It's just down the road so easy enough to do! Also, Aldi has chicken breasts at 1.49/lb and Kroger has wings and boneless thighs for 1.99/lb)

So here is my plan! Dinners are listed by the days and then breakfast/lunch below that. OH means "on hand" and sale items noted.

Sunday: Taking my nephew to the zoo
Monday: Chicken (OH) stir fry (with mushrooms, broccoli(OH), and squash), rice (OH)
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Braised pork ribs (1.77/lb Kroger), rice (OH), and stir fried cabbage (.99 Aldi)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Chicken (OH) burrito bowls (rice (OH), black beans, grilled peppers and onions, avocado (.69 MD), cheese, and sour cream)
Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Pan fried fish (OH), roasted asparagus (.99 Aldi)
Tuesday: Pancakes and sausage (OH)
Wednesday: Split pea, bacon, and potato soup (.99 5lb bag Aldi), bread (OH made in bread machine)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Rigatoni with roasted red peppers sauce (OH), vegetable (whatever I have left fresh or something from the freezer)
Saturday: Beef (OH) stroganoff

Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Eggs (OH), fried potatoes (.99 5lb bag Aldi) with zucchini and peppers

Breakfasts: Bananas, oatmeal, yogurt with granola and fruit
Lunch: Bagels, leftovers

 

[Epcotgal8]

I just found this thread and I love it!

Sunday - Traditional Easter ham dinner
Monday - Breakfast for dinner - Omelets w/ leftover ham, hash browns and french toast
Tuesday - Chicken salad sandwiches
Wednesday - Goulash (or American Chop Suey as we called it growing up. Anyone else heard of that? LOL)
Thursday - Chicken and sausage jambalaya
Friday - Shepherd's Pie
Saturday - Fajitas

My electric pressure cooker broke and I've been lost without it! I ordered a new one yesterday. I can't wait for it to get here. I use it all the time!

 

[GlitteryOtters]

Wednesday: Split pea, bacon, and potato soup (.99 5lb bag Aldi), bread (OH made in bread machine)

Aren't bread machines wonderful?! I use mine all the time...we make bread, fancy breads (like cherry chocolate or or green "monster" bread made with spinach & garlic or confetti bread made with zucchini, red bell peppers & carrots--it's amazing with cream cheese as a savory snack), we use it to make pizza dough, etc. I think it is my most used appliance that isn't my stove, fridge or freezer!


~Meg

 

[bigsis1970]

Hi Gang.. it's almost the weekend so i'll just post next weeks menu.. It'll be just the Hubs and I

Sunday - Easter dinner at my In Laws
Monday - Kielbasa and cabbage
Tuesday - Pizza night
Wednesday - Hello Fresh box - our first one - Jamie Oliver's Grilled Chicken and warm green bean salad
Thursday - Hello Fresh meal #2 Dijon pork chops with potato cake and Asparagus
Friday - Hello Fresh meal #3 Juicy Lucy burgers with Gem lettuce salad
Saturday ??
Sunday left overs

Ok meal one from the Hello Fresh box.. Jamie Oliver's Grilled Chicken and warm GB salad.. ended up to be Rosemary and lemon grilled Chicken (I decided I do not like rosemary it taste like a Christmas tree) warm green beans with mustard seed, lemon and olive oil (left out the tomatoes - we don't like cooked toms) and pasta sides for my hubs and salad for me using the toms..


up tonight is Juicy Lucy Burgers and Gem salad.. Hubs turn to cook

 

[GlitteryOtters]

My electric pressure cooker broke and I've been lost without it! I ordered a new one yesterday. I can't wait for it to get here. I use it all the time!

May I ask you (or any other DISer who uses one) a question about pressure cookers? I know a lot of people here in Michigan who talk about using theirs a lot to cook meat, but that's I am curious, do you use yours for other things? Like, make soup? Cook vegetables or beans? Anything else? We don't eat meat, so a pressure cooker wouldn't help us there, but if I could use one to reduce cooking times (and help keep our house from overheating in the summer--we don't have central A/C), I might consider investing in one, especially since we make a lot of stuff from scratch to save $.


It seems, theoretically, like they could be useful for non meat eaters too, but I'm having a hard time finding good info. Every time I try to Google them, I come up with tons of stuff talking about meat dishes, but it seems like it could be useful with other things too, it's just hard finding good info when 19 out of every 20 pages I find are talking exclusively about meat.

~Meg