Eat at home

[figment3258]

Ugh I must get back on track. Yesterday I ran away with my girls to north Conway to do story land and stayed at the red jacket Hoyle. It was great! After the week we had with seeing a family member having a heart attack, the tornados on Wednesday (thank god we are ok ) and then yesterday my kitchen celling started to leak and fall down ugh I had enough! We had a wonderful time in the mountains it was refreshing but now I must get back on track I am challenging myself to a 2 week no eat out challenge. Starting Monday.

 

[minandmick]

I am so subscribing to this thread. I'm new to budgeting and when I did a quick add-up of the money we spent eating out for month of May I almost passed out.

Over $477 !!!!!

I told my husband, "do you know how much DVC we could have for that price every month?!?

Tonight we are eating frozen pizza and salad at HOME!

 

[ilovejack02]

Ugh I must get back on track. Yesterday I ran away with my girls to north Conway to do story land and stayed at the red jacket Hoyle. It was great! After the week we had with seeing a family member having a heart attack, the tornados on Wednesday (thank god we are ok ) and then yesterday my kitchen celling started to leak and fall down ugh I had enough! We had a wonderful time in the mountains it was refreshing but now I must get back on track I am challenging myself to a 2 week no eat out challenge. Starting Monday.

Since I havent been on here in weeks lol that means I have fallen off the wagon too ; ) !! We were on vacation for two weeks and the week before that was end of school activities .

I did cook tonight,

Roast , rice, gravy , pea salad and green beans. It was sooo good LOL. I was mighty proud of myself as chuck roast is not something I ever mastered. Hubby was pretty pleased too, though he skipped the pea salad lol. He hates it , it was all for me .

Tomorrow is Tuna melts on english muffins and sweet potato fries .
Monday .. shrimp casserole , salad, asparagus and some sort of special dessert as it is my best friends bday and she is over for dinner.
Must think about the rest of week now.

 

[jjsmom]

Minandmick, you have to think of food budgeting as "empowerment". It means YOU are in control of your finances. I love to eat out; but; I think of 1)gas spent just getting to the restaurant 2) menu prices sometimes are deceiving, you must include the cost of tax and tip 3)what exactly ARE you eating? Most restaurants do not make money on time consuming, expensive dishes with exotic ingredients. Of course there are exceptions such as Victoria and Alberts in WDW. These types of restaurants should be considered special occasion, an event. 4) are you really saving time? You drove there. You waited for your server. You waited for the dishes to be cleared and the check delivered. You had to drive home. Even fast food-you still had to drive there and wait in line and drive home.

As someone who has waited tables, I can say this, you are better off eating at home! Most restaurants are supplied by food service distributors! Buy your own adult libations, put together a simple salad and make a meal.

One 1/2 hour a week with menu planning will save most families a small fortune. Use the internet to search main dishes based on sale meats at most grocers. Good luck to all. I've learned the hard way!

 

[minandmick]

Minandmick, you have to think of food budgeting as "empowerment". It means YOU are in control of your finances. I love to eat out; but; I think of 1)gas spent just getting to the restaurant 2) menu prices sometimes are deceiving, you must include the cost of tax and tip 3)what exactly ARE you eating? Most restaurants do not make money on time consuming, expensive dishes with exotic ingredients. Of course there are exceptions such as Victoria and Alberts in WDW. These types of restaurants should be considered special occasion, an event. 4) are you really saving time? You drove there. You waited for your server. You waited for the dishes to be cleared and the check delivered. You had to drive home. Even fast food-you still had to drive there and wait in line and drive home.

As someone who has waited tables, I can say this, you are better off eating at home! Most restaurants are supplied by food service distributors! Buy your own adult libations, put together a simple salad and make a meal.

One 1/2 hour a week with menu planning will save most families a small fortune. Use the internet to search main dishes based on sale meats at most grocers. Good luck to all. I've learned the hard way!

These are such good points! Thank you so much!

btw, our frozen pizza from ALDI's was better than take out!

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Ok, I'm joining! We do spend a lot on take out, mostly due to my health. But I made an awesome dish the other day and the recipe was on the back of the bag.

http://www.letsmakeknorr.com/Recipes/12154/1/Fajita-Chili-Con-Carne.aspx

I had purchased a bag of Knorr rice, they have a new flavor, Fajita. I thought that would make a good side dish. But then I could never figure out what to serve with it. I just happened to look on the back, and there was the recipe for the Chili Con Carne. There were not many ingredients required and it was so easy to prepare.

All I needed, besides the rice was 1lb ground beef, chopped onion, can of diced tomatoes and a can of kidney beans. The cheese and sour cream are optional toppings, but I bought those, too. My whole family loved this. So it's going into the recipe rotation!

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Another one i love to make is Chicken Bruschetta.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bruschetta-Chicken-Bake-2/Detail.aspx

It's SO good. And just stuffing, cubed chicken, diced tomatoes and mozerella. It says to use Italian seasoning, but i usually just grab a spice out of the spice rack that sound like it may be Italian! Very east to make. It's in the rotation.

 

[Tree]

Another one i love to make is Chicken Bruschetta.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bruschetta-Chicken-Bake-2/Detail.aspx

It's SO good. And just stuffing, cubed chicken, diced tomatoes and mozerella. It says to use Italian seasoning, but i usually just grab a spice out of the spice rack that sound like it may be Italian! Very east to make. It's in the rotation.

I love this recipe we have it usually once a month -it doesn;t give me enough to use for a second night unless we I add pasta to it!
http://www.familyzip.com/t6452/easy-chicken-bruschetta-bake

 

[annsteere]

After being in such an emotional slump yesterday, I decided to do something for ME last night. My children are with Grandparents this week and DH had a meeting last night, so I spent the evening alone. I picked up an Iced Caramel Mocha, went shopping at my favorite book and gift store (think slow, relaxed browsing), and took my cicada encrusted car through the car wash. I did all of this with no husband and no children...it was so therapeutic and wonderful.

Good for you! Sounds like excellent self care.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

This weeks menu is

Frozen pizza and salad

Chocolate Chip pancakes

Meatloaf, mash potato, greenbeans

Salad with diced grilled chicken, sliced strawberries, mandrin oranges, slivered almonds

Meatload leftovers

Loyds BBQ chicken served on toast with corn on the cob

Eat out at a restaraunt that we have a coupon from the entertainment book to use. So dinner will be bogo.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

BBQ chicken,
Drunken chicken AKA cooked with a can of beer just google it to find the directions.

Time for me to find some recipes for cooked chicken.
I just got back from the grocery store with 3 Perdue Oven Stuffer Roaster Chickens marked down to between $2.50 and $3 each. One has been cleaned and is currently in my slow cooker.

 

[java]

I have not gone food shopping in a week and a half. So the pickings are slim

But what I have on hand and will make

Sun- Terriyaki Chicken legs, Pork Fried rice *leftover pork and rice needs to be used up, And dumplings if I get to the store to buy some ground pork. (maybe costco?)

Mon. Eggplant Parm. with pasta, salad and garlic bread

Tues. Hot dogs, hamburgers and fries or chips depending what I have on hand.

Wed. This is where it starts getting tough. Maybe meatloaf? with mashed potatoes?

Thursday. hmmmm Breakfast for dinner? Pancakes and bacon?

Friday Pizza

Woohoo I did it and I don't have to do a big shopping to get through the week.

 

[minandmick]

Usually we go out for a relatively expensive ($50 range) dinner after Sunday service...not today!

Today we had

Breaded fish (from ALDI It was sooooooooooo good! We were pleasantly surprised!)
Shells and cheese
lemon pepper green beans
soda
Ice cream.

It was so good and relaxing. I am definitely getting used to this eating at home stuff!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Minandmick: I am an ALDI shopper too, LOVE that store! Check out e-mealz.com for a great meal plan website that is just $5 a month, 7 meals a week planned out for you and the grocery list for ALDI to go with it!!! Below is my e-mealz menu for the week.

Saturday-
Terryaki Pork Tenderloin
Pasta Salad
Glazed Carrots
*Ice Cream Sundaes with fresh Strawberries

Sunday-
Mexican Meatloaf
Mashed Potatoes
Pan Fried Corn

Monday-
Chicken and Rice Bake
Apple Romaine Salad
*Lime Jello with Cool Whip

Tuesday-
Pasta Carbonara
Caesar Salad
Garlic Toast

Wednesday-
Sausage Fajitas
Black Beans
Spanish Rice

Thursday-
Tator Tot Casserole
Green Beans
*Homemade Chocolate Milkshakes

Friday-
Raspberry Chicken Salad
Biscuits with Butter and Honey

 

[minandmick]

OoopsiDaisy, That sounds very interesting! I'll have to look into it, thanks!

 

[crabbygal902]

Hi!

I just found this thread and I've borrowed (ahem, stolen) some of the great ideas for simple, quick meals that won't break the bank.

Here's how my week is shaping up so far:

Grilled Ribeye steaks (I love Montreal Steak Seasoning!), grilled onions, baked fries, watermelon. I only bought ribeye steaks because they were on a fantastic sale.

Roasted Pork Loin (another great sale), Wild Rice, Squash from the garden boiled with Onions til tender, Pineapple

Peel & Eat Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce, Oven Roasted Red Potatoes, Sauteed Zucchini from the garden

...this is the last week of school and a family birthday party, so there are several evening events where dinner will be served.

 

[ariamac]

I'll join in.... I need to, we eat out way too often!

Today: Curry chicken with potatoes and chick peas
Tomorrow: Hamburgers and coleslaw
Tuesday: Steak, potatoes and veggies
Wednesday: Tacos
Thursday: undecided.... but I have an extra long weekend this week so I'll have more than enough time to figure it out then

 

[java]

Speaking of Aldi
You need to try the cookies that they have I think they are by a company named Bennett? Or something with a B
They come in a little box- they were right near the front door in my store. TRY the key lime cookies.mmmmm I am going back just to buy more of those cookeis.

 

[LilyWDW]

Here's this weeks menu:

Tue 6/7
BBQ Chicken, Rolls, Potato/Carrot/Onion Packets

Wed 6/8
Going out to dinner. Boyfriend has been promising me Carrabba's for weeks now. Calamari... YUM!

Fri 6/10
Pot Roast, Potatoes and Potato Rolls, Carrots and Onions

Sat 6/11
Honey Mustard Salmon, Roasted Asparagus

Mon 6/13
Spaghetti and Meatballs, Garlic bread

 

[Mom_Rides]

Here is our menu for most of this week. I have a couple of re-do's from last week. DSS's came later then expected for the week.

Sunday: Spaghetti, garlic toast

Monday: Tacos

Tuesday: Smoked sausage, shells & cheese

Wednesday & Thursday: We're going to Kings Island so we'll be eating out of the cooler for lunches and having dinner out

Friday: Heading home and we have a grad party in the evening

Saturday: Probably hot dogs on the grill with baked beans