Menu Planning and Budget Update

A regular and ordinary week ahead. DD2 doesn't have her work schedule yet, but other than that, I have a free calendar each evening. While I was gone last week, DH and DD2 went out for dinner one night and he picked up deli food another. I don't know for sure how much he also may have spent on groceries, so I'm just going to count whatever under the entertainment budget. We went out for brunch last Sunday, and I took DD1 out to the Brewery the Friday after the 4th, but otherwise, we haven't gone out this month because of the holiday gatherings and parties. around the 4th. I spent $44 on groceries and another $7 on personal care items Friday, roughly bringing July to $352, with 10 full days left in the month. I'm just going to consider July one of the peak H&G months and not worry about my self imposed challenges. An unfortunate thing is with this pricey month, I didn't really buy any stock-up items to carry into next month. August though will be interesting. DD2 is gone for 6 days, then we are all gone for 15. I don't want to leave anything in the refrigerator, except perhaps a few condiments or salad dressings. 

Typically the end of July is the epitome of summer in Minnesota. It calls for eating fresh form the produce stand and food cooked on the grill. I'm going to try and plan options that both use up stuff we have on hand while bingeing on all the fresh produce I can get my hands on. I'm iffy on getting sweet corn yet. Nothing against Iowa farmers, but I like to have my first bite from local growers, but it has already been mighty tempting to pull over and buy a few ears. Not getting too far ahead of myself, but I also am tasting in my mind corn chowder this fall.  Here are my sort of menu's for the week.

• Turkey burgers, salad of tomato and cucumber, maybe corn on the cob
• Spaghetti and meat sauce with fresh vegetables on the side
• Tacos/burritos with corn (maybe leftover fresh?), refried beans, cheese, lettuce
• Tuna hotdish with steamed carrots
• Homemade veggie pizza, using leftover spaghetti sauce, and any vegetables we have in the fridge
• Pork chops, ribs, or pork loin, mashed potatoes, seasonal veg
• Grilled chicken and vegetable kabobs, rice pilaf (grill extra veg)
• Veggie fried rice with scrambled egg, cabbage salad or coleslaw

For lunches, there will be plenty of cucumber, tomato, and hummus sandwiches, even some vegetable soups perhaps if I grill enough extras to throw in some broth with noodles and beans. It's chilly in my office so soup in the summer is fine and DD2 likes soup anytime as well. We can't all be good gardeners-I give it a whirl every few years and am always disappointed. However, I rarely am disappointed when I prepare dinner using fresh produce I picked up on route home, sold from a roadside stand or back of a pick-up truck. What are you eating seasonally right now?