Stone Soup for Five: Menu Plan Monday--May 9th

Menu Plan Monday--May 9th



This week I'm doing a 2 week menu plan, and I'm TRYING to do it for under $90 for my family of 5.

That means I'll be doing A LOT of baking (which I really REALLY don't enjoy).

And a LOT of cooking from scratch.
And squeezing in some meatless meals.

AND reminding myself that if I'm busy making ends meet here, PLUG THE HOLES elsewhere, 
or it's all really an exercise in futility!

And I don't want this hard budgeting and baking to be futile!

So...
Here's the plan.

1- pre prep as much as possible, to avoid the "I really don't feel like cooking tonight" or the even more popular "ACK! I ran out of time to cook dinner!"

2- write my meals out (including breakfast and lunch) and follow the list--with flexibility of switching around if I feel like it.

3- eat all lunches at home.  Man, I REALLY struggle with lunches. I don't want to cook, but I cannot continue to eat garbage or run out to grab something from the $1. menu.  Those add up to one huge hole very quickly.  Does anyone else struggle with the lunch problem?


WEEK ONE:  
Breakfasts
-Homemade McGriddles
-homemade lazy granola and yogurt
-muffins and eggs
-waffles, eggs, fruit
-breakfast burritos
-monkey toes, eggs
-cereal or granola

Lunches
-salad
-sandwiches (regular or grilled)
-chicken (pre prep chicken by grilling with BBQ sauce) with rice or on salad
-pasta with sauce (precook pasta and store in fridge) serve with cheese sauce or marinara

Dinners
-alphabet soup and bread (meatless)
-Japanese Mum's Chicken, rice, broccoli
-creamy clam chowder, bread (meatless, and I use 1 can of clams)
-tacos (or taco salad)
-home made pepperoni pizza with veggie tray
-Simple crockpot beef stroganoff (pre prep by slicing meat and mixing with sauce)
-nacho bake (pre-prep: assemble and refrigerate or freeze)

WEEK TWO:
Breakfasts:
-McMom's sandwiches
-eggs and bacon with fruit
-breakfast quesadilla with yogurt or smoothie
-granola and yogurt
-pancakes and eggs
-French toast
-cereal

Lunches:
-salad 
-sandwiches
-homemade pizza
-soup
-homemade mac and cheese 
-egg rolls and rice
-tacos or frozen bean burritos  (these freeze fabulously)

Dinners:
-spaghetti (meatless)
-baked chicken and rice
-Broiled Steak Bites and baked potatoes (fancy dinner for our anniversary! 15 yrs!)
-tater tot casserole or tuna casserole --depending on my mood
-Homemade pizza
-tacos or bean burritos
-crockpot sloppy joes, home fries

So far I have all the ingredients I need (plus the items I had on hand) and spent $77.04 today.  I will need to buy more milk next week ($10) and probably a few more things.

BUT I have most of it for now, and am feeling pretty good!  I'm going to go preprep and make some freezer PBJ's and sandwiches for grab n go lunches.

I'm linking my plan up to Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie.

Ready..... BREAK!

8 comments:

  1. I love your blog and your writing voice :) I am a new follower! Frances @ www.workingonthesimplelife.blogspot.com

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  2. I've started doing a weekly menu too. I am shocked at how hard I find planning lunches is. I tend to eat leftovers.. or random bits of bread. I never made that much attention before...

    Something about planning and lunches will not come together for me.

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  3. Kari, you rock for spending only $77.04!!

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  4. thanks Frances! I'm honored!

    @Sinead, Lunch will always be something I will struggle with, I'm afraid.

    Jill, that's after WAAAAY overspending at Costco last week... and walking away from the ice cream and pre sliced cheese. -sigh- I HAVE to bake!

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  5. I pulled a menu plan out of my notebook today. Its from ez-meals. Scratched off 3 of them that just didn't appeal to us. I'll slip in something else for those or we might have left overs from the other 4 meals. I'm headed out to the grocery store shortly. I have a number in my head of what I would like to spend and we will see if I can keep it to that (well I actually need to keep it to that to stay on budget).

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  6. Japanese Mum's Chicken is the BEST! I'm going to have to go put that on my next menu plan...

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  7. Proud of myself - stayed on budget at the store even with my little talkative helper along. You are an inspiration to so many Kari!!!

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  8. AWESOME Kim! I don't know about being an inspiration, but I do know it is HARD work to stay on budget in the store so GREAT job! :o)

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