Meal Plan: First Full Week of September

 

     It is my first effort to get on top of the September challenges by doing a bit of meal planning and doing so in a way that uses up any leftovers or odd ingredients. I have today off technically, though I'm going to tuck in this morning and get about 3-4 hours of my paid job in. DH needs to mow the lawn, weed whack, and a few other outside bits. When he's done, I intend to give the porch railing, floor and siding a good sweep, then tackle the dirt with soap and water. The porch is small and I still do not have my desired seating, but it's an awfully nice place to relax with a book or with, a beer, glass of wine or a morning coffee on a fall  day. Work and the porch are the two main things I want to get done, but there are a lot of other things that need attention. It is a day for labor, right? 

     A bit about my September challenge, well challenges. I'm aiming to  keep the grocery spending at $300, using a variety of strategies like humble meals, using all leftovers and avoiding waste, and using up lingerers in cupboards and freezer drawers. I'm also trying to whittle the eating out/entertainment budget by $50-and am off to a rocky start on that one after this weekend. Money aside, I don't want the month to be all rice and beans (though they are tasty), and I want balanced, healthy meals, aiming for enough calories from nutrition dense foods, not fillers, and getting our five fruits and vegetables a day in. Last week, I covered Friday-Friday. Here's how I did: Black is plan, red with changes. 

• Friday: Mushroom stroganoff penne pasta, apple cinnamon quick bread from a packet. 
• Saturday-Frozen Lottsa Mozza Supreme pizza movie night.
• Sunday- Cinnamon rolls and fruit before heading to the lake Italian pasta salad, ham and cheese roll ups, sweet corn plus, we stopped for Cheddar brats on buns (forgot leftover brats and they were cooked dup by family members with other food on Friday of the week so did not go to waste)
• Monday- Chicken Kiev, rice, mixed vegetables.
• Tuesday- Birthday dinner at family members.
• Wednesday- Red bag chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, green bean casserole, Take and bake bread from freezer
• Thursday- Macaroni and cheese, muffins, green beans.casserole leftovers
• Friday-None of the plan happened, as we ate leftovers, plus a spinach artichoke dip from the freezer. Pasta bake with mozzarella, garlic drop biscuits or bread if I'm ambitious.
• Saturday, We ate out with several of my siblings as it was such a gorgeous evening my sister really wanted to be outside. We decided to just go up to the the lake on Sunday instead of for the night. Both DH and I had huge taco salads.

Now for the week ahead:

Sunday- I made another pasta salad-this one loaded with farmers market vegetables, meatballs in BBQ sauce, tortilla chips and corn and black bean salsa. There were other salads and pulled chicken for sandwiches as well as my meatballs and we ate a large family meal around 2:00 as we all were getting end of summer stuff done. DH picked up Jimmy Johns (that darn budget category is inflating fast) as we weren't hungry when we left, but got hungry about 8:00. I brought home leftover salad for lunch today, salsa, and about 1/4 of the meatballs, which I tossed in the freezer. If not called out, assume each meal has a vegetable or two. We'll both have at least two servings of fruit in the day. 

• Monday: Marinated grilled chicken, roasted red potatoes(need using up), stuffed red pepper with cous cous (partial box in pantry irritating me) and cheese, garlic bread (This is a lot of food but I'm trying to use up a few things that need using today and we will get a couple lunches with leftovers)
• Tuesday: Taco Tuesday, with refried beans and Spanish rice
• Wednesday: Vegetarian chili, using the remaining black bean and corn salsa, crackers or a grilled cheese on the side
• Thursday: Chicken and pasta bake, with tomato and cucumber salad
• Friday: Sloppy Joes, sweet potato wedges
• Saturday: Homemade pepperoni pizza

     When I start to think of next week, Ill keep in mind the $57 or less average to spend if I want to meet the $300 grocery challenge. Mainly, that will go towards fresh food. I'm looking forward to these meals and the leftovers I will likely be eating for my lunches.