Meal planning questions

[NHdisneylover]

Staple at our house:

on Thursday nights (our busy night and by then we have several small containers of left over bits and pieces) we have make your own pasta bar. I boil a basic pasta and heat and set out whatever we have a bit of left over (diced chicken, meatballs, olives, sauteed pepperrs, etc.) plus cheese and a variety og canned or botteld sauces and olive oil. Everyone assembles what htey want in a bowl and we sautee it for a minute or so (DS always has only butter and cheese on his on up to DH who puts nearly everything and tend to load it with tabasco ). We got the idea from the lucnh time pasta bar on the Disney Cruise. We mix it up and do a rice bar with more asian sauce once in a while.

Winter staples:

LOTS of meals based around fresh breads (we are NOT Atkins people!) We start the breads in the morning and let them rise all day while we are gone.

Chicken Enchiladas (they freeze really well so I always make a double batch and freeze some for a busy week).

Cheese soup with pretzles and salad.

Roasted Roots (potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, onions and garlic tossed in olive oil and raosted about 45 minutes--you can put them in the pven in the morning and have them go on time bake) with salad and pizza bread.

Huevos Rancheros (Mexican Eggs)

Baked beans with cornbread.

Homemade pizza.

Grilled cheese, grilled turkey, tuna melt, etc.

Summer staples (we grill a LOT in the summer):

Beer can chicken (on the grill)

Kabobs (chicken, pineapple, onions, etc.)

Brawts

fajitas

chicken salad pitas

Nachos (with the works--chicken or beef, beans, salsa, onions, etc.--great for a night when you need something quick)

Tilapia (dreged in bread crumbs and pan fry of broil--great with fesh fruit and italian bread, or rice)

Honey apricot glazed chiken (pan fry chicken tenders coated in flour mixed with ginger in some olive oil. Add apricot jelly and honey to the pan and simmer on low for a while--coat with sesame seeds and serve over rice)

 

[Iott Family]

I do a 4 week meal plan and shop accordingly. We do mexican, american,italian, soup/sand. night, etc. every week. So one week we might do chicken tacos, panini's and soup, spaghetti and coney dogs, the next week we do taco salad, grilled cheese w/ homemade veggie soup, chicen parmesan, grilled pork chops. I make jello with fruit, pasta salad, fruit salad, etc. in batches as our sides. One side that tastes more like a dessert is frozen fruit salad. I havent made that in awhile but I think I might do it this weekend as we are supposed to have super hot temps rolling in on friday!

Frozen Fruit Salad

dissolve 1 cup of splenda or sugar into one cup of water, mix in a can of frozen OJ then add in chopped marachino cherries, pineapple tidbits, mandarin oranges, peaches diced or any fruit combo you like. We have even sliced up banana and its good frozen but slimy if you let it thaw too much.

Anyways, DH is diabetic so we use splenda in place of sugars in our diet and we try to adhere to a heart healthy diet because its often lower in sodium, bad fats/cholestrol, and sugars/carbs. We all need fat, carbs and a modicum of salt in our diets but too much is bad for you so I find thi smeal planning helps keep us organized and on track. It also helps our grocery budget.

 

[mamacatnv]

In the past week or so:

BBQ pork chops w/light salt and pepper, safron rice and bbq'd zucchini and yellow squash (w/applesauce).

Tri Tip marinated in Soy sauce, sesame oil and green onions with roasted red potatos (potatos w/onion soup mix and baked) and salad.

Scrambled hamburger (just browned and seasoned) with white rice and peas.

Boneless chicken thighs cut up and browned with soy sauce and sesame seeds, fried rice and green beans.

Hot dogs, frozen french fries and salad

BBQ boneless chicken thighs, tortellini and salad

We are big meat eaters, and usually have fruit in the evenings as "dessert" DH is fussy about veggies and despite my best efforts is very limited in what he will eat.

 

[RIDISNEYLOVERS]

Try savingdinner.com or.net

Gives the weekly recipes, grocery list and the recipe with nutritional information. There are a few to choose from heart healthy, low carb, general, etc...

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

I really enjoyed reading this and you guys gave me some great ideas!

I think we all get in a menu slump. I also have to work around DH's schedule. He has the WORST commute and sometimes he doesn't get home til late. I like making meals ahead of time when I can.

beckmrk04- sorry about the confusion, I always say both and here everyone "just knows" what it is. Also don't be afarid of the fishies. Start with talapia whcih is a pretty easy mild tasting fish, Just like NHdisneylover does dredge it in some cornmeal and fry or oven bake. Then dip into a sauce you like. I like it with guacamole but that's left over from my pregnant days, I dipped everything in guacamole!

 

[beckmrk04]

beckmrk04- sorry about the confusion, I always say both and here everyone "just knows" what it is. Also don't be afarid of the fishies. Start with talapia whcih is a pretty easy mild tasting fish, Just like NHdisneylover does dredge it in some cornmeal and fry or oven bake. Then dip into a sauce you like. I like it with guacamole but that's left over from my pregnant days, I dipped everything in guacamole!

don't apologize- it was just funny! I think it must be a regional thing, because I have never heard anyone else say "gravy" when referring to sauce. It cracked me up, in a good way!

I'm going to try making tilapia- I do like it when I order it at restaurants.

I just hate that it's expensive, too.

Of course, everything is expensive lately.

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

Well - that's what I mean about the whole Rachel Ray thing -

If I bought all the crap she uses in her recipes for the week - my food bill would be $400 And then my husband would kill me- bet that's not regional!

 

[Kirby]

Here's how I get my grocery list together:

First, I check the bathroom's for items we're low on, then the utility room. Next is under the kitchen sink for any cleaning items. The pantry and fridge are last.

Then I pull out my recipe box and choose recipes or items to cook for the next week, about seven/eight meals. My recipe box just doesn't have recipes in it, a card may say "steak" or "grilled chicken". That way I don't have to think real hard. As I choose my recipe cards, I write down what I need to put together a meal for that chosen night if I don't already have it. Then I pull out my local Kroger ad to see what specials they might be having especially in the fresh vegetable and meat area. I'll add those items, if any, to my list if it's not too big. Last, I go through my coupons to take those with me that I can use.

I don't buy items not on my list unless they are a really good deal. And I budget a certain amount for groceries each week and pay in cash. That way I'm not tempted to buy something I really don't need. You would be amazed at how much cash you have left over. I had $40 left last week. And all that extra cash is put aside in our trip fund. I have saved over $800 since January by not putting the leftover money back into my wallet.

 

[beckmrk04]

I don't buy items not on my list unless they are a really good deal. And I budget a certain amount for groceries each week and pay in cash. That way I'm not tempted to buy something I really don't need. You would be amazed at how much cash you have left over. I had $40 left last week. And all that extra cash is put aside in our trip fund. I have saved over $800 since January by not putting the leftover money back into my wallet.

Kirby, I think you win!! Paying in cash to make sure you don't overspend then adding extra money to the trip fund is just brilliant!!! That would be two good ways to keep me under budget- fear of not having enough cash AND excitement about putting money away for WDW!

THANK YOU! What a great tip!

 

[RUDisney]

Once you figure out your 'typical' meals you can just keep the freezer and pantry stocked. As soon as I use something it goes on the grocery list so when I want it again I have it.

I stocked my pantry and freezer over time. It didn't hurt when I was buying my spices, etc., because I didn't buy them all at once. It doesn't hurt to restock them, because the rest of the pantry is well stocked. I buy meats when they are on sale and freeze them.

My typical meal is determined by opening my freezer and selecting something to defrost for dinner. I haven't gone to the freezer yet to select tonight's meal. I think we'll have steaks and I'll make fresh pesto with basil from my yard.

Oh, and once you get into the groove of cooking every night, you'll find your mojo and won't need to be looking at recipes anymore, unless you choose to do that.

We don't grill out, mostly because it's been a well known fact that I shouldn't play with fire

Oh, tag fairy... are you listening?

 

[Kirby]

Kirby, I think you win!! Paying in cash to make sure you don't overspend then adding extra money to the trip fund is just brilliant!!! That would be two good ways to keep me under budget- fear of not having enough cash AND excitement about putting money away for WDW!

THANK YOU! What a great tip!

Upon reflection, I have to admit that a little percentage of that $800 is coins from my purse (I empty my wallet out each week) but the majority is leftover grocery money. In fact, I guess you can say the coins are grocery money too because I wasn't even thinking about them, just the bills, when I was speaking about leftover money.