04 January 2010

Meal Plan Monday



Happy Monday! I can't believe all the holiday "breaks" are over & we're getting back to our regularly scheduled lives. Honestly, I'm a little worried how my Little Man is going to do now that it's just us again & I won't be giving him the same amount of 1-on-1 attention that he's received from family over the last couple of weeks. Oh well...we'll get through it & hopefully with few tears from both of us.

Just a reminder that I'm participating in the "Eat from the Pantry Challenge" over at Life as Mom, so my meals for this month will be mostly coming from our freezer & pantry. This may be tough since I did this most of December, but I'm giving it a shot!

I did get a boost of grocery confidence from my MIL today who told me that if I came over to clean out, organize, & inventory her freezer(s) while she played with Little Man that I could take whatever I wanted. Free food & I get to organize (my nerdy passion & probably your's too if you're checking in from I'm an Organizing Junkie). Um, OKAY! I'll report back with what I score from her freezer.

So, here's what we're eating this week:

Monday: Shepherd's Pie from this awesome book
Tuesday: Stuffed Shells w/ Cesar Salad & Garlic Bread
Wednesday: Honey Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry w/ Rice, Pineapple, & Roasted Red Peppers
Thursday: Pork Chops w/ Green Beans & Mashed Potatoes
Friday: Homemade Pizza night using this pizza dough recipe...last time I tried to make my own dough it was a DISASTER, so I'm hoping a new recipe will do the trick.
Saturday: Cheesy Broccoli, Chicken, & Rice Casserole
Sunday: Tex-Mex Chili in the Crockpot (for the hubs to enjoy while I'm playing Bunco with the ladies!)

"Supplemental" groceries for this week were:
Romaine Lettuce
Cesar Dressing
Croutons (putting a ban on the bag salads for this less expensive & possibly healthier option)
Ground Beef (3lbs of 93/7)
Ricotta Cheese (2-15oz containers)
32-oz Blocks of Cheese: Seriously Sharp, Colby, & Mozzarella (We LOVE cheese! I grate all my own in lieu of buying the pre-shredded because it tastes so much better this way. Hopefully this will last us a few weeks.)
Grated Parmesan (yes, the kind in the green can - it's my BFF)
Fruit (oranges & bananas were on sale and I even had a coupon for the oranges which Little Man LOVES!)
Total: $51.17

This wasn't too bad, but I'm hoping to do better over the rest of the month.

Does anyone have any money-saving tips to share with me? The hubby has set a really strict grocery budget for 2010: $400/month for ALL food including eating out. Then today he told me this also includes household & health/beauty items! Needless to say, I'm looking for all the help I can get!

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