I don't want to go totally off the rails, and not meal plan again, but this post will mostly be recapping last week and then just a list of things we might eat this week. I know perfectly well on any given day, we may just get take out, or pick something up out and about. DH is still on a regular work week, no vacation hours for him, so I need to be mindful to have some meals he can eat when he gets home. Here was the plan.
Sunday: We didn't need supper after such a nice lunch. I think DH made himself a sandwich later on the leftover buns. I had potato chips while watching TV.
Monday: Chicken noodle soup, with lots of vegetables (using up the odds and ends, plus some frozen I have), with a couple of the thighs. Crescent rolls.
Tuesday: Chicken, cheese, rice and broccoli hodish
Wednesday: Leftovers with any remaining chicken
Thursday: Chili, with grilled cheese sandwiches
Friday: Beef enchiladas or enchilada hotdish with rice (DD2 supposed to be home later or early afternoon)
Saturday: Wild Rice Soup and French bread or rolls
...and what we really ate:
Sunday: We didn't make supper after such a nice lunch. I think DH made himself a sandwich later on the leftover buns. I had potato chips while watching TV.
Monday: Chicken noodle soup, with lots of vegetables, with a couple of the thighs. Crescent rolls.
Tuesday: Chicken, cheese, rice hotdish with broccoli on the side and broccoli
Wednesday: Chili, with grilled cheese sandwich for DH
Thursday: Frozen pizza-just couldn't be bothered
Friday: Beef enchilada hotdish with rice (DD2 supposed to be home later or early afternoon)
Saturday: Wild Rice Soup and French bread or rolls.
For the week ahead, here's some possible meals I may cook for lunch or supper depending on the plans for the day. Any should yield a hearty leftover portion for DH to eat when he gets home. Several are DD2's top of list requests, as was the wild rice soup from last night.
Spaghetti or another pasta, sauce, and meatballs
Chicken lo mein
Vegetable curry, rice and naan
Homestyle mac and cheese
Tuna hotdish
Chicken and fruit salsa lettuce wraps
Gyros and homemade fries or wedges
Homemade flat bread pizza
I'll need a few things for meals, plus we are running low on several household items. We've spent $411 on H&G/H&B for March and that includes Girl Scout Cookies and the Easter Ham.While not a challenge month, since we will be spending so much on Take out/entertainment this week, added to what was already spent, it would be nice to stay well under the paper budget of $500 in these categories combined. Shall I say, challenge myself to stay under $450? I hope you have a good week ahead and if you meal plan, weigh in on your strategy for the week.
I don’t even know what we ate last week. I definitely went off the rails with the weather so warm I hated to put the oven on and ended up making summer-y dishes. Leftovers today, crockpot lasagna, a cream cheese and chicken dish also using the crockpot, meatloaf that I keep pushing from week to week, maybe tuna noodle, maybe a “sampler” night with fries, chicken strips, cheese sticks, etc. Takeout fish fry on Friday, I’ll probably make our ham on Saturday. Temps range from 71 to 35 this week so I plan accordingly for oven usage to help warm the house. Your gyros sound yummy though! JoAnn
ReplyDeleteGyros will be of Aldi has a kit! We've cleared out leftovers and now have more after opting for papa Murphy's last night.
DeleteSounds good Sam! I am just a little over $200 for this month, but this will be a bit more of an expensive week. We have only done take out for holidays over this past year, our Easter family get together will be from our favorite Italian place and also doing a seafood board for my husband and I for our anniversary. I'm keeping the rest of the week's meals very inexpensive. Here's to a delicious week! :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good plan. We'll get take out fish fry this week.
DeleteEaster and two birthdays in April, so my strategy is going to be to build lighter meals around those events. Easter dinner will be a roast turkey breast from the freezer. One birthday will be either roast chicken or steak, based on the weather, and Youngest has asked to go to Buffalo Wild Wings for his birthday dinner. Fortunately, I have gift cards purchased with promotions, (can't remember if they were Rite Aid Bonus Cash, or supermarket fuel points.)
ReplyDeleteThis week's plan (so far) is meatloaf and mashed potatoes tonight, with no idea going forward. Much of it will depend on the weather, because our activities during the day will depend on the weather. In any case, the pantry/freezer challenge continues!
Meatloaf sounds good-it's been a few weeks or more since that's been on my menu. I'll likely do cheesy potatoes, asparagus, and spinach salad for easter mid day dinner with the ham.
DeleteWow I had not even thought that this week is Easter week. I guess I need to plan accordingly.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a wonderful time with your daughter(s) and will not worry about the extra money too much. Times with our adult kids get rarer and rarer and deserve a little something special.
I figure having no care spending weeks is part of the purpose of challenge weeks.
DeleteEaster seems to have crept up. I haven't even thought about food for Easter weekend. Fortunately, we had leftover shepherd's pie from yesterday to have for dinner today. My vaccination has knocked me for six so it was good not to think about food... I feel achy, wobbly legged, tired and hot and cold. I'm going to take it as a good sign that the vaccine and my body are doing the right things!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy having DD2 home with you!
Daughter might be making the Easter dinner if I'm in rough shape after my first vaccine Saturday. I'll look at it that way, doing its job, if I feel lousy.
DeleteI'm leveraging the crock pot this week. Tonight I have a pork loin in the crockpot to make tacos el pastor, which has has a really interesting sauce with a pureed (full) pineapple, jalapenos (I subbed for chiles), a beer, and some spices. Hopefully it will be good.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow we'll have Mississippi Pot Roast, with colelsaw. We had eggroll in a bowl yesterday, & it was great as usual. I shredded all of the coleslaw fixings at the same time, so it would be easy to put together. Other than that, there will be leftovers & maybe the last of the gyro meat, if we need another option.
Both crockpot meals are delicious options. I am curious if the sauce so will wait to hear verdict.
DeleteI am shocked it is Easter week! I have kept asking Tommy because it does not seem it should be this next week. I have plenty here and will cook breasts, thighs, and legs, so something incorporating those most of the week and probably on Easter, too. We go tomorrow to get vaccines if my scheduling really happened.
ReplyDeleteI hope there was no error and you can get the shot.
DeleteEaster week has really crept up on me this time round, I think probably because I have April 12th on my mind as that's when I will hopefully be returning to work.
ReplyDeleteFor the past little while I've been roasting whatever's in the fridge, dumping some salad on a plate and being happy with that, I think this approach will continue for a little while yet, easier on the brain!
If you were fed, that works too. Easter is about the right remembered weekend, but the time since Christmas has sped by.
DeleteI am all for curry dishes
ReplyDeleteThis week's menu/budget is blown as Brother is coming in and it is not clear what we will be doing.