Menu Plan and Recap

At the beginning of the month (actually I think it was the last week in July) I set myself a grocery budget which was to last til August 22nd (one of Jason’s pay days). It was a pretty ‘small’ budget of just $200 for food for us 3, I also drew out an extra $100 for wine and beer because we like to keep that in for when we hang out with the neighbors, and yes I like to have a glass of wine after dinner each night.

$300 total - I thought I could easily keep within that budget because I had a lot of meat in the freezer and a lot of food (like pasta and canned goods) in storage. I didn’t do it! This week I used the last of my money and still bought about $18 worth of food that I put on the credit card. I still think I did good (some of that budget included buying a birthday gift for a friend because I didn’t use my CC for it, AND I bought about $30 worth of veggies and dip etc to make up two veggie trays to take to the party. I tallied all my receipts up and the total for food at the grocery store was about $235, still a little over, but that’s much better than the $600 or so that I think I spent last month. Jason gets paid this Friday and it’s amazing how different I feel about that, now knowing that it’s kind of ‘pay day’ for me :-) I will allow myself $250 for groceries this month because we need things like toilet roll and some personal items too. I’ll also be able to get in to a routine with my weekly shop because school will be back in.

So, using what I have (remember my new mantra!) here’s what I put on the menu this week . . . .

MONDAY: Tandoori Chicken, lime cilantro rice, corn – canned fruit for dessert.

I made this last night and took a picture. I just made up a recipe for my rice, simply boiled basmati rice, then I sauted some onion in olive oil and a little butter, threw in some cilantro and a little lime juice then mixed it in with the rice – very tasty!

TUESDAY: Sloppy Joe Sandwiches (we’ll be at horse riding til 6.45pm, so I like something quick when we get back, and we didn’t have these last Friday)

WEDNESDAY: Bean and cheese burritos (I made a crockpot full of pinto beans last week) I also have some taco meat in the freezer, I’ll use this too (Jason always has to have some meat with his meals!)

THURSDAY: Spaghetti and Meatballs (a great standby when I have meatballs in the freezer and a can of sauce on the shelf)

FRIDAY: Leftovers (we had a lot of leftovers in the fridge last week so I imagine this might be the case every Friday. If we don’t have leftovers, I’ll make Breakfast for Dinner) :-)

SATURDAY: Hot dogs, potato salad and bbq beans (we didn’t have these last week either, so I’ve put them on this weeks menu)

SUNDAY: Champagne Brunch! I’m having the neighbors over for a celebratory ‘back to school’ brunch. Bacon, eggs, pancakes, muffins, fruit AND. . . . Mimosas for the ladies :-)

I hope this post isn’t getting too long for you! I wanted to show you some of the things I made from last weeks menu. Mainly from the rotisserie chicken we had. I love rotisserie chicken, and I always try to get 2 or 3 meals out of it, usually it’s just two meals and I toss the carcass away. This time, I made the bbq chicken pizza the second night. . .

Using Pilsbury pizza dough I did a ‘half and half! One side is bbq chicken, and the other is just cheese and pepperoni for Kristen.

This was a big hit, Jason and I enjoyed both sides;-)

The carcass went in to a pot with some carrots, celery and onion and chicken bouillon (for my uk readers, that's like an oxo cube)! Me and Kristen have enjoyed this for lunch a few times this past week.

So, there you have it… a very long post about food! Let me know if you’re planning a menu this week. And head over to Orgjunkie for some other great menus. I love to surf and see what other people are having.