Eat at Home 3!

[first*toright]

This week, my local grocer had boneless English roast for $6/lb. With one 3.5lb higher, they threw in: 1lb carrots, 3lbs russet potatoes, and 1.5lb yellow onions. (They also included a cook-in-bag spice packet, which I threw away. No Thank You.)

I took 2lb of the roast plus the carrots, half the potatoes, and 2/3 of the onions, plus some good quality beef stock and a bundle of fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, and sage) a little bit of flour, and made a great batch of stew in the slow cooker.

Sounds amazing! It has been so cold, stew is the perfect thing.

We were away for a long weekend, so I'm behind on planning for this week. Trying to use up stuff in the freezer first:

W- Fish & tater tots, cabbage salad
Th- Chef Salad
F- Homemade Pizza
Sa- Onion Soup, appetizers
Su- Fish Chowder

 

[tampabrat22]

Last weeks menu...
Sunday - Chicken Flautas & black beans
Monday - Hamburgers, mac & cheese
Tuesday - Tilapia, veggies, rice
Wednesday - leftovers
Thursday - sirloin steaks, garlic butter potatoes
Friday - dinner at a friends house
Saturday- Chinese takeout


This week's menu...
Sunday- Cuban sandwiches & plantains
Monday - Frozen pizza
Tuesday - Clam Chowder & cheddar biscuits
Wednesday - Manicotti & Greek salad
Thursday - Slow Cooker Ranch Chicken & potatoes
Friday - leftovers
Saturday- meatball sliders, salad

 

[tampabrat22]

We ended up getting take out Sunday, I normally always cook on Sundays but I was exhausted. Just booked a couple of nights at Pop for my Daughters bday next month so I need to tighten up. I am going to make a few large dinners to eat twice because I have a busy week between my 3 jobs.

Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - pork roast with potatoes and carrots
Wednesday - leftovers
Thursday - Birria & street corn
Friday - quesadillas (with leftover Birria)
Saturday- soup & grilled cheese

 

[first*toright]

We like to celebrate allllll the holidays in my house, so here is my week's menu:

Thursday - Baked Ziti - already prepped and ready to go in the oven
Friday - Pi Day! Homemade pizza and strawberry rhubarb pie (I need to make pie crust tonight!) Its also Holi, so I'm trying to think of some way to make my pizza and pie extra colorful. Maybe do an Indian-spiced pizza (I always do one cheese and one non-traditional) and paint the top of the pie with luster-dust colors.
Saturday- something quick at home, or maybe out. Taking my kid to see friends in a play
Sunday - Thanksgiving meatballs, mashed potatoes
Monday- St. Patrick's Day - Chicken Pesto Pasta (going for green rather than Irish), some kind of green dessert?
Tuesday - Fish, tater tots, lima beans
Wednesday - Taco Salad
Thursday - every man for himself
Friday- takeout

 

[Maxnesta]

Sounds like a great thread for meal planning! This week, I’m keeping it simple:

🍽 Monday: Chicken stir-fry with rice
🍽 Tuesday: Tacos with homemade guac
🍽 Wednesday: Pasta with roasted veggies
🍽 Thursday: Slow cooker chili
🍽 Friday: Homemade pizza night

Looking forward to seeing everyone’s ideas!

 

[ariel1025]

Let's see if I can make meal planning a habit the rest of the year...

Tonight: Fish tacos & cilantro lime rice
Saturday: Boys - basketball game / Girls - spaghetti & meat sauce, breadsticks

Hoping to find time to sort out the freezers tomorrow and make next week's meal plan after that

 

[LilyWDW]

Tonight and tomorrow: Grilled chicken breast, sweet carrots, and stuffing
Wednesday and Thursday: Crockpot beef stroganoff (with extra mushrooms) and broccoli
Friday: Clean out the fridge/any leftovers/frozen meal if none

 

[ariel1025]

Got off track Saturday, so moved the spaghetti and meat sauce to last night.

Defrosting the meat to make egg rolls in a bowl with rice for dinner tonight.

Don't have a specific meal plan going forward but did clean out the fridge and glance through the freezers/pantry and made a list of all the things that could be made. $60 left in the budget until 3/28 for dairy, fresh produce and stellar clearance deals

* Garlic lemon butter shrimp
* Crockpot carne asada
* Sloppy Joes
* Lemon butter salmon
* Sesame noodles and potstickers
* Beef and bean burritos or chimichangas
* Homemade pizzas and smoked wings
* Steak and sweet pepper kababs
* Homemade Taco Bell Mexican pizzas
* Chili Mac
* Stroganoff
* Cacio e pepe
* pork chops
* chicken drumsticks
* meatloaf
* pot roast
* dragon noodles
* beans and red chili
* seared scallops

Have several variations of rice, couscous, quinoa, frozen vegetables and a few fresh fruits and vegetables to round out the meals.

 

[first*toright]

Got off track Saturday, so moved the spaghetti and meat sauce to last night.

Defrosting the meat to make egg rolls in a bowl with rice for dinner tonight.

Don't have a specific meal plan going forward but did clean out the fridge and glance through the freezers/pantry and made a list of all the things that could be made. $60 left in the budget until 3/28 for dairy, fresh produce and stellar clearance deals

* Garlic lemon butter shrimp
* Crockpot carne asada
* Sloppy Joes
* Lemon butter salmon
* Sesame noodles and potstickers
* Beef and bean burritos or chimichangas
* Homemade pizzas and smoked wings
* Steak and sweet pepper kababs
* Homemade Taco Bell Mexican pizzas
* Chili Mac
* Stroganoff
* Cacio e pepe
* pork chops
* chicken drumsticks
* meatloaf
* pot roast
* dragon noodles
* beans and red chili
* seared scallops

Have several variations of rice, couscous, quinoa, frozen vegetables and a few fresh fruits and vegetables to round out the meals.

Seems like you're in good shape to get through the rest of the month!

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

No eating at home for us this week. As I posted in the Budget Board section, our fridge started making a loud noise on Friday. Sounded like a helicopter flying over our house. Turned out to be the fan motor going out on our 2-year-old fridge. We fixed it Tuesday night, but we had to throw everything in our freezer and fridge out. So we'll be going to Walmart Saturday to restock it all.

 

[ariel1025]

Fell hard into our old takeout habits last week. Deleted the DoorDash app off of our phones and spending today doing all the things to set us up for a successful week of meals at home.

Yesterday we had bacon, eggs and toast for breakfast. Grabbed random leftovers/frozen foods for lunch. Steak, coconut shrimp, rice and broccoli for dinner.

This morning we had biscuits, gravy and sausage for breakfast. Everybody is doing a snack plate lunch while watching basketball/hanging out with friends. Having beef nachos for dinner. Made the salsa for it last night while the steaks were on the grill.

Doing random grocery runs, as items are needed, instead of one big large one. I know it goes against most people's "rules" as it can be dangerous territory for constantly adding things that aren't needed to the cart. We've learned it actually works better for us as it avoids loading up on too many fresh items and things going bad before we get to it. Also using it as a chance to alternate taking my two oldest with me and teaching them how to shop effectively on a budget. They have definitely learned from our bad habits so I'm working to reverse that now.

Our budget for this payroll is $340 (groceries and household items) which breaks down to roughly $24.29/day. As of today we've spent $52.09. So we are under budget by ~$20 so far.

 

[tampabrat22]

The past few weeks have been hectic but we are still trying to use up what we have and finish all leftovers. We got takeout a few times but we took advantage of some great deals so I don't feel guilty.

Last weeks menu...
Sunday - Tuscan pasta and garlic bread
Monday - Enchiladas
Tuesday - Beef Stroganoff
Wednesday -leftovers
Thursday - Orange Chicken & fried rice
Friday - Mexican take out
Saturday- leftovers from the previous two night

This week's menu...
Sunday- tuna patties, veggies and roasted potatoes
Monday - Meatloaf and mac & cheese
Tuesday - Little Caesars Pizza puffs (BOGO deal)
Wednesday - Hamburgers and bacon cheddar ranch fries
Thursday - Chicken Shawarma and roasted veggies
Friday - leftovers
Saturday- ?

 

[ariel1025]

Monday we had crockpot shredded beef tacos. Tuesday we caved to the craziness and had takeout. Last night was spaghetti & meatballs, garlic bread and salad. Tonight we had a crockpot roast. We're still on budget for food, even with the takeout night, so hoping to keep the momentum going. Tomorrow is a planned pizza night after my daughter's play but should be all meals at home for the weekend/next week.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Finally got our fridge fixed last week. So we've slowly started buying stuff to restock it. Just a little at a time as we need it for recipes we're wanting to make. So here's the last couple of nights.

Monday - yard work for me, wife had bible study, so I ate a PB&J sandwich;
Tuesday - I had bible study, so I ate a PB&J sandwich;
Wednesday - we had choir and prayer meeting. So I ate, you guessed it, PB&J sandwhich;
Thursday - homemade enchiladas and rice;
Friday - not sure as wife is going to the movies with ladies at the church for the second installment of The Chosen, I may go grab dinner out since I haven't eaten out this week.
Saturday - homemade hamburgers, chips or fries
Sunday - my office outing at the baseball game, so whatever they feed us there

 

[Turn the Page]

We were at Ground Zero for the massive ice storm that hit Michigan last week. We were without power at our house for about 5 days. Thankfully, we are very blessed to have family in the local area and were able to stay with my brother for a few days until we got power back.

DH got a little over excited pulling meat out of the freezer to take over there and now I am furiously trying to cook off 30 pounds of meat to refreeze it.

We are going to have burgers, pork chops, and shrimp and grits this week to use some of it up before I have to toss it.

Fun times.

 

[cheryl.UK]

Because of where we live, a pizza delivery can take up to an hour. Instead, I let the bread maker make the dough and then, whilst it's rising, I get a can of pasta and reduce it on the hob with a few herbs, We then just argue about what to put on top!

 

[ariel1025]

Was out running errands from sun up until dinner yesterday. Husband called me to pick up dinner since we forgot to pull out meat to defrost. Was driving right by the grocery store, so even though takeout was the more tempting option, I ran in and picked up a fajita kit (seasoned chicken, bell peppers, pack of tortillas) for $10 and a small tub of sour cream for $1.50. Already had shredded cheese and everything to make a quick batch of pico at home. Even though it wasn't $11.50 that was in the meal plan, it was far less than the minimum $50 buying takeout for 6 of us would've cost and much tastier too!

 

[first*toright]

Finally got our fridge fixed last week. So we've slowly started buying stuff to restock it. Just a little at a time as we need it for recipes we're wanting to make. So here's the last couple of nights.

Monday - yard work for me, wife had bible study, so I ate a PB&J sandwich;
Tuesday - I had bible study, so I ate a PB&J sandwich;
Wednesday - we had choir and prayer meeting. So I ate, you guessed it, PB&J sandwhich;

That's a lot of PB&J . Leaves lots of budget for nice meals when you aren't so busy!

DH got a little over excited pulling meat out of the freezer to take over there and now I am furiously trying to cook off 30 pounds of meat to refreeze it.

We are going to have burgers, pork chops, and shrimp and grits this week to use some of it up before I have to toss it.

Fun times.

Such a pain - but good you were able to salvage most of it! Nice to have the freezer stocked with easy meals for a bit!

Because of where we live, a pizza delivery can take up to an hour. Instead, I let the bread maker make the dough and then, whilst it's rising, I get a can of pasta and reduce it on the hob with a few herbs, We then just argue about what to put on top!

We have lots of delivery options where I am, but homemade pizza is easy (and my kids like my pizza!) I have started just draining jarred pasta sauce in a fine-mesh sieve rather than reducing it on the stove. Makes it a bit thicker, but keeps it fresher tasting.

Was out running errands from sun up until dinner yesterday. Husband called me to pick up dinner since we forgot to pull out meat to defrost. Was driving right by the grocery store, so even though takeout was the more tempting option, I ran in and picked up a fajita kit (seasoned chicken, bell peppers, pack of tortillas) for $10 and a small tub of sour cream for $1.50. Already had shredded cheese and everything to make a quick batch of pico at home. Even though it wasn't $11.50 that was in the meal plan, it was far less than the minimum $50 buying takeout for 6 of us would've cost and much tastier too!

Good job! Sometimes its totally worth it to pay a little more for convenience foods to save the day rather than doing takeout.

I skipped grocery shopping last weekend, because we were away, and DH just picked up milk/fruit instead of doing a real shop. So I did a BIG shop this weekend, which should keep us going for a while (I hope!) This week:

Su - Steak salads, homemade pretzel rolls
M- BBQ Chicken, cornbread, asparagus (this was take 2 - I cooked up some pork I had in the freezer, then realized there wasn't enough for 2 meals, so I prepped some chicken thighs, which was more than enough for 2 meals, so the BBQ pork is now in the freezer!)
Tu- BBQ Chicken on pretzel rolls, crudite
W- Potato and ham frittata
Th- Leftovers
F- Homemade Pizza (usually a Saturday thing, but my kid is going away with the grandparents. It has been so busy we haven't had a family pizza night in weeks, so this was a request for before the trip happens!)
Sa- Kid will be away, maybe dinner out?