My Menu Plan

I have gotten many requests to post what my menu plan is for the week.  So, I intend to start doing a weekly post about my menu plan and participating in Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday. The way I plan my menus is based on what I already have on hand and what I find are the best deals in the weekly grocery ads.  I usually limit my budget to $40/week and my menu is for 2 adults and 1 toddler.  My menu plan is below.

Breakfast: Unfortunately in this house there are not many options.  

Frozen pancakes (made from scratch and then frozen) and fruit (whatever I bought for the wee

Oatmeal with fruit

Cold cereal (if you coupon long enough you will never run out of cereal!)

Lunch:

Leftovers

Meat and cheese sandwhich 

Grilled cheese sandwhich

PB & J sandwhich

All lunches are usually served with raw veggies (whatever was on sale for the week), fruit, and crackers/chips (again whatever is on sale/in the house)

Dinner:

Sunday: biscuits and gravy/fruit

Monday: Beef and Potato casserole/bread/steamed broccoli (frozen)

Tuesday: Sloppy Joes/ baked beans/roasted potatoes with peas on the grill (slice up some potatoes and put them on some foil.  Add about 2-3 tablespoons of butter/margarine on top with some frozen peas, cover with foil to make a packet and throw on the grill at medium heat for about 30-40 minutes or in the oven at 350 degrees for same amount time.)

Wednesday: Cheesy chicken and rice casserole/bread/fruit

Thursday:  Steak fajitas/chips and salsa/corn

Friday: Always homeade pizza!  This week it will probably be sausage

Saturday:  I never plan for Saturday because this is usually the night we do something with friends/family.  And let's face it... even when you are frugal you figure out a "frugal way" to eat out!

You will notice my menus for this week don't necessarily correspond with what I bought in my weekly shopping trip.   This is due to the fact that our week was a little crazy and we didn't eat at home much.  Not that we ate out, but we had dinner at a friend's house, we were out of town, had our anniversary- 3 years, and ate dinner at my parent's house.  So the menu plan from last week became the one for this week.  

If you want a specific recipe I mentioned above let me know, but for now I am going to give a list of what goes into the meals I mentioned.  I intend to post some of our favorite recipes at a later time.

Beef potato casserole: 1 lb. ground beef, 2 pounds of potatoes, sour-cream, cream of mush soup, shredded cheese

Chicken and Rice casserole: 2 chicken breasts (cubed and cooked), 2 c. rice, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, shredded cheese, bag of frozen veggies.

Sloppy Joes: 1 lb. ground beef and 1 can of Manwich

Steak Fajitas: 1 package of flank stank grilled/broiled and sliced, cooked and sliced peppers an onions, salsa, sour cream and tortillas.

Pizza:  That is an easy one!  I do make a homemade crust and then make a 1 topping pizza. This usually makes 8 slices.

One last note:  We tend to only drink water or milk, unless I get juice or soda for a good deal.