Sunday, October 28, 2007

Menu Plan Monday

Yes, i am an entire day early, but i wanted to make sure i could do this!!!! This is my FIRST Menu Plan Monday that i am a part of. I love reading others and was introduced to it through my friend Candi and i am just sorta kinda figuring out this blogging stuff ;)

I almost always plan menus, otherwise i am a basket case trying to figure out what to feed my family. i NEED my lists ;) With my busy schedule with three kids in soccer, church functions, my husband and oldest daughter hunting (yes, it is archery and muzzleloading season), i have to be organized or my household falls apart and none of us are happy campers. On top of all those reasons, if i don't menu plan, my grocery budget goes through the roof! and we can't have that! Here is what i have planned. i was trying to stay very frugal this week and i only had to buy two items of meat!!! How cool is that?! I bought one cutup chicken and one pound of hamburger and that should do me for 7 meals! Here is my menu in no particular order as to the day of the week we will eat it:
  • Wild Rice Chicken Soup (with lots of veggies and barley, Homemade Old Fashioned Oatmeal Bread.

  • Pinto beans with green chilis over rice topped with diced tomatoes and cheese, a recipe of Katie's.

  • Spaghetti, homemade french bread with garlic butter, meat sauce and salad (if i go and pick up the fixin's for salad - i never buy salad stuff until the day i need it, otherwise it may go rotten in my fridge because i don't use it fast enough).

  • Chicken Casserole, steamed broccoli, corn on the cob, fried cabbage

  • Poppyseed Chicken, broccoli and cheese, buttered carrots

  • Marlboro Man Sandwiches from here, sour cream potato casserole. I will let you know how the sandwiches are. they sure look good!!!

  • Lentil-Spinach soup from Katie again. I am willing to give it a try. Don't know how well my family will like it though :). I will make this along with some homemade french bread with some good butter.
I try to plan my menus around stuff i already have in the pantry or what is on sale, etc. I have a master list of my "cheapest" meals on my computer and when i need inspiration, i go check that. Then, i make up a list of seven meals, plan three things for breakfast to be rotated and after school snacks. I then underneath each dinner meal, i list the ingredients needed to make that meal, including spices, seasonings, etc. Then, i enlist the help of my girls and, while i sit and eat bon-bons on the couch (yeah right! in my dream world!!!), they go searching through the pantry and spice cabinet and icebox when i call off items i am not sure if we have. i mark through the items i do have and then create my shopping list off of the items that are not marked through. I usually use 2-3 sheets of paper when i make my shopping list. I am sure there are other computer guru's who can do all of this on the computer, but frankly, i am stuck in my ways, LOL.... sorta like how you can't really grocery shop if YOU aren't the one pushing the cart.....it just doesn't "feel" right, LOL.

9 comments:

Laura said...

Awesome menu! Please be sure to link up to this Monday's mpm post since your menu is for this week. I usually get them up Sunday evening.

Thanks for joining us!!

Laura

Candi said...

Yummy!! I'm so glad you are joining in. I love MPM!!

Laura said...

Yeah you did it! I apologize for not getting a chance to email you back.

Welcome to MPM!!

Laura

Sandi said...

Looks yummy! Poppyseed Chicken is a favorite of ours. Lentils never SOUND good to me, but I always really like them when I make them! Maybe you'll be surprised!

Welcome to MPM!

Dimple Queen said...

Welcome! This is only my second menu to post. Last week I just got too overwhelmed with other "stuff". I like this, it helps me keep to what is in the fridge and pantry!

Jules said...

Just wanted to let you know, those sandwiches are AWESOME!!! My hubby LOVES them!!! We hunt too so glad to find someone else who does. Hope to get some dear meat in the freezer this year! :o)

Have a great week!

Julie

abby - the geek girl said...

Ooo Poppyseed Chicken!! Welcome to MPM!!

Anonymous said...

Sounds great. Welcome to MPM. Do you have a recipe for the Homemade Old Fashioned Oatmeal Bread? It sounds amazing.

Jasmine's Journey said...

I found that Pioneer woman website the other day too and am going to make steak sandwiches this month as well. Yum!!!

~ Jasmine31 from ph