Weekly Menu: November 6 – 12

This week has a lot in store: Volunteering at both Kindergarten and Preschool, a half day blogger event in Kansas City, Parent-Teacher conferences, Photography Class, SuperGirl’s gymnastics, a retirement party for one of the partners at SuperDad’s firm and all while preparing for a working weekend getaway with 3 of my blogging buddies.

I figured if there was ever a time to get back on the wagon with menu planning … this would be the week to do it. Today I planned out my menus (breakfast, lunch and dinner), grocery shopped and prepared the majority of the week’s meals along with a few extras for a friend in need of some freezer love.

It has also occurred to me that I need to get on the stick and post a bunch of these recipes….there are a lot of good ol’ standbys here this week … ridiculous that I don’t have them posted somewhere …

Weekly Menu

Sunday

• Breakfast:  Cereal
• Lunch: Chicken Nuggets, carrots, grapes
• Dinner: Homemade pizza (pepperoni, mushrooms, black olives)

Monday

• Breakfast:  Pumpkin Pancakes/ Cinnamon Syrup
• Lunch:  Left over Pizza, applesauce, raw green beans (my kids are weird)
• Dinner: Out!  Bowling/Burgers

Tuesday

• Breakfast: Sausage/Egg Casserole, Raspberry muffins
• Lunch: Taquitos (Refried beans, taco meat, goat cheese, corn tortillas), grapes, corn
• Dinner: Vegetarian Chili, Cornbread Muffins

Wednesday

• Breakfast: Oatmeal
• Lunch: Quesadillas (Turkey, ham, cheese), apple slices,
• Dinner: Chicken and Rice Casserole (New recipe Dairy/GF)

Thursday

• Breakast: Sausage/Egg casserole, toast
• Lunch: Mini Muffin Corndogs, leftover veggies, pineapple chunks
• Dinner: Pasta Yum, Broccoli

Friday

• Breakfast: Baked peanut butter oatmeal
• Lunch: Dirty Beans and Rice, Carrots/Ranch, pear slices
• Dinner: Shepherd’s Pie, green beans, homemade biscuits (reg and GF)

Saturday

• Breakfast: Cereal/leftover baked oatmeal
• Lunch: Grilled Turkey/Cheese, celery/peanut butter, grapes
• Dinner: Leftovers or grilled venison (Dad’s in charge)

 

 

Weekly Menu: February 20-26, 2011

Planning out menus for my family is one of the simplest ways I’ve found to save money at the grocery store.  Looking at what I have available and planning my menus based on that, I can shop the sales and stock up on products that are a great deal.  This also cuts down on my stress level throughout the week.  I don’t have to wonder what I’m going to do about dinner when late afternoon roles around and MAYBE …just MAYBE I’ll be organized enough to even get dinner put together in the morning if I know what I have planned.

Posting my menus here has held me accountable to getting it done every most weeks.  It also helps to prove that planning and stock piling DOES work…and you can feed your family healthy, diverse food while using coupons.  I also hope that maybe by looking at we’ve got planned…. you will be inspired to try something new with your family…and by sharing…maybe I’ll find something new for mine!!

The SuperFamily is on the move!! We signed a contract on our house this week AND we signed a contract to buy the new house that we’ve been pining over!  So exciting….and stressful all at the same time.  We will be moving in roughly three weeks so I’m on a mission to use up a lot of items that have been hiding in my cabinets for a while.

Sunday: Pasta, Bean and Herb Soup

• This is a recipe I got out of a Better Homes and Gardens Vegetarian Cook Book I’ve had forever… it is a tried and true recipe and EASY… since the SuperKids looooove mushrooms and tomatoes …I’ve convinced them they love this soup, too so they eat it up!  Mushrooms, a small amount of mini pasta shells, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, onions and garlic.  If they start to make noise about carbs I’ll throw together some cornbread.

Monday: Salisbury Steak, AuGratin Potatoes, Broccoli

• This is a recipe from my friend Sarah at RealLifeBlog.  One of her “Use what’s in your pantry” type of recipes…which is what I’m doing!  Super Easy and I can start it in the afternoon, set it in the fridge and finish it up at dinner time.  The Au Gratin potatoes are from Cooking Light Magazine.  We LOVE them, SuperDad says he thinks they are good as the “NON” Cooking Light version.  For a side dish, I exclude the ham and cut the recipe in half.  This is where my Pampered Chef Mandolin comes in very, very handy.

Tuesday: Grilled cheese and/or turkey sandwiches, tomato soup, carrot coins

• Tuesday nights are a little hectic here so we need a quick and easy meal.  We keep all of these things on hand; in the fridge and the pantry.  I will need to pick up more lunch meat when I shop this week. By cutting the carrot sticks into circles and calling them “coins” …my kids eat them with enthusiasm….as opposed to those gross and nasty carrot “sticks”.

Wednesday: Macaroni and Cheese with Hotdogs

• That’s right.  I don’t want to hear any opposition to the hot dog factor!!   Last summer I bought up eight zillion packages of Nitrate Free Hot Dogs from Oscar Mayer when they went on sale and I could get them for about $0.25/package.  I need to be using them up.  I make homemade mac and cheese …which will use up yet ANOTHER open package of noodles I found in the depths of my pantry.  I have loads and loads of frozen shredded cheese…with a simple white sauce this makes a perfect mac and cheese dish.  There will be plenty here to have some leftovers for lunch one day.  Hoping for some leftover broccoli from Tuesday night….it is the Super Kids’ favorite veggie so if there isn’t any left… I’m going to have to round up another.
  

Thursday: Spaghetti and meatballs, Green Peas, Italian Breadsticks

• I found a plethora of half used boxes of spaghetti noodles in my cupboard so I’m going to use them up.  Spaghetti sauce I have in the pantry and I make meatballs with venison, Stove Top and a little water.  I bought Target out of purchased  a lot of Stove Top when it was on sale at Target this fall so that is also on hand already.  Last week Green Giant frozen vegetables were on sale at Target; we can’t seem to get enough of these so I loaded up the freezer. (I thought they’d be fun to move)  There is a recipe for Italian Breadsticks in my $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook that I’ve been meaning to try so I’ll give it a go tonight.

Friday: Chicken and Biscuits

• I thought I’d get this favorite family comfort food in again one more time while I can.  This is my solution to chicken pot pie.  Anyway you twist it, pie crust is high in fat and calories.  By baking the filling and serving it with biscuits we can have a lot more control over our caloric intake.  I’ve been buying up Gold N’ Plump chicken at Target whenever I find it with a store coupon to match my manufacturer’s coupons so I have some in the freezer.  I have potato soup and mixed veggies on hand to make the chicken … and biscuits, well, I’m never without ingredients for those and I can make them in my sleep.

Saturday: Brinner and Family Game Night!

• This was on the menu a couple of weeks ago but never came to fruition due to some rather negative behavior on the part of the SuperKids…so we’ll give it another go this week.  Recently Dillon’s had Farmland sausage links on sale $10/10 and they double the $0.55/1 coupons that were in the paper…FREE SAUSAGE.  I have two open bags of pancake mix so I’ll need to use at least one of those up.  I’ve got pancake syrup on hand (I make my own) and plenty of eggs.  My friends at In the Kitchen with Audrey did a post recently about cooking scrambled eggs in a muffin cup, in the microwave; an easy way for the kids to get involved… I think we’ll do this.  I’ll pick up some fresh fruit to make a fruit salad for this night as well.

Shopping List

My list this week will primarily consist of produce and perishables like milk and …. milk….oh, and some milk. This should leave me lots of room in the budget to stock up on a couple of sales or buy some items that we don’t always keep on hand.

• Lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Broccoli (?)
• Oranges
• Apples
• Bananas
• Strawberries (?)
• Deli Meat
• Milk (1%, Whole and Rice)
• Juice

What is on your menu for this week?  Have a blog? Write it down!! Then come here and link it up!

Weekly Menus: February 6 – 12, 2011

Sunday – Off to a SuperBowl Party in Kansas City so no cookin’ for this mama!

Monday – Grilled Turkey, Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, carrot coins, apples and chips

• These are all things I have on hand and SuperDad will be away at the KU-Mizzou game.  Kids and I will play down dinner …. so we can play up the rest of our evening

Tuesday – Chicken Enchiladas, Green Salad, Spanish Rice

• This recipe makes a “double” batch for our family so each time I make it, I freeze half of the filling for another day.  Tuesday’s in our house are pressed for time in the evening so this is a great family meal that won’t require a lot of prep or clean up.  I’ve got the filling in the freezer and I picked up tortillas on sale a couple of weeks ago.  I’ve got leftover salad fixings in the fridge and a Zataran’s Spanish Rice mix in the pantry.

Wednesday – Some kind of Crockpot Lasagna … recipe yet to be determined.

• I’m hoping to involve spinach.  Maybe some chicken.  Staying away from the traditional red meat.

Thursday – Meatloaf, Potatoes (either mashed or au gratin), Corn

• This was on last week’s menu…but it got shoved aside for something else…and I can’t even remember what at this point…

• As always, I’ll pull some venison out of the freezer for the meatloaf.  I went crazy on a Stove Top sale at Target a couple of months back so I’ll just pull one of those puppies out of the cabinet.  I’ve got potatoes that need to be used, I haven’t decided yet if I will whip them up or make au gratin potatoes.  I found a great recipe from Cooking Light that we really like and I’m a big fan of the cut in calories and fat over the original recipe (I make it without meat…just potatoes).  I’ve got cheese on hand if I decide to do this…and the au gratin potatoes are a definite “make ahead” dish because they take so long to cook.  I can make them in the morning and reheat for dinner.  Corn is among the many frozen veggies in my freezer right now.

Friday – Fall Soup, Biscuits

• This is a vegetable beef soup my mom used to make all the time.  I have to dig out the recipe or find one that is similar…. sounds good to me right now with the cold weather coming in.  I’ll use venison and maybe splurge on some fresh veggies in lieu of frozen since our grocery list will be small this week.  And of course, I’ll whip up some biscuits…the ingredients that I ALWAYS have on hand.

Saturday – Pizza Night!

• It has been AT LEAST two weeks since we’ve had pizza on the menu and my family is starting to have withdrawl.  Time for another pizza night!  I love making this crust from scratch and then letting the kids pile on the toppings.  We normally do pepperoni because the SuperKids are SuperFreaks about it (I use turkey pepperoni…what do they know)…but frankly I’m getting a little sick of the red stuff.  I’m thinking about cooking up some chicken…maybe some canadian bacon (they don’t know its just ham!!)…pineapple… anything to toss this thing up a bit!

Weekly Menus: January 31 – February 5, 2011 The “Snowmageddon” Edition

The weather predictions say “The WORST snowstorm in YEARS”….”ICE”….”DOWNED POWER LINE” (ours are underground)….”INCHES UPON INCHES OF SNOW” …. all of these forecasts have no doubt doomed us to a few measly inches and maybe a pretty little drizzling of ice.

None the less… I’m ready. Just in case. We made it to the grocery store tonight; kids were asleep in the car so SuperDad circled the parking lot while I did a mad dash shop to make sure I wouldn’t have to worry about it later this week.

Sunday: Skillet Ziti with Chicken and Broccoli

• An “oldie but goodie” recipe in our house.  I first discovered this on Amy’s blog a couple of year’s ago and we all love it.  I use penne instead of ziti because that is what I have around.  I bought up 3 or 4 jars of roasted red peppers almost a year ago on sale for around $1/each…a GREAT find for this rather expensive culinary “treat”.  Chicken breasts I got at Target with my Gold N Plump mailer coupons and a rather expensive head of broccoli because “Due to Weather Conditions around the country….” BAH.  We all love it and it was gobbled up in a flash.  Just enough left for SuperDad to take to work tomorrow.

Monday:  Vegetarian Chili, Great Grandma’s Cornbread

• This recipe was a staple when I tried out the South Beach Diet yeeeears ago; before the beginning of SuperBoy.  I recently made it for the family, instead of just myself and the kids snarffed it up.  They actually asked for it again!  I figure the middle of this “alleged” snow storm will be the perfect time to make it again.  I couldn’t bring myself to spend $4+ on veggie crumbles…even with a coupon… when I have a freezer full of ground venison; but I’m trying to cut out some of the meat we eat SO… I may make it without any ground anything…. we shall see.  I have beans, tomato sauce and spices all on hand.  I had to pick up a couple of peppers which I will be sharing with a breakfast recipe.

Tuesday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Salad (and if they are lucky…some biscuits)

• I make my meatloaf loosely based on a recipe I got from my friend Julie.  I use a box of StoveTop and 1cup of water mixed with a pound and a half of venison.  That.Is.It.  Bake it in the oven for about an hour and we are DONE.  I bought eight thousand boxes of StoveTop during a sale at Target a few months back (okay…not eight thousand…but a lot.  So much that when we were getting our house ready to put on the market I actually had to pack up my StoveTop.  And my cereal.) We have potatoes on hand so I will make the mashed potatoes from scratch and I bought a bag of “Manager’s Special” romaine lettuce this week for half price!

Wednesday: Tacos and Mini-Taco Cups

• The “mini” part of this menu is my “What’s New For Dinner” for the week.  I found the recipe over at Hoosier Homemade. *WARNING: Do NOT visit this website unless you can safely lose yourself for hours on end.  This is a ridiculously wonderful site!!*  I have the venison and taco seasoning.  I have leftover sour cream from last week and I always have salsa on hand.  I picked up refried beans and tortilla “scoops” at the store as well as some Roma tomatoes which I can split between the salad on Tuesday and these tacos.  I also have soft and hard shells on hand in case SuperDad doesn’t fancy the idea of eating a million little taco cups to satiate himself   Look for my post on Thursday to see how this new recipe idea turned out!

Thursday: Leftovers

• Either we will have been snowed in for a couple of days and I will be recovering, cleaning house and doing laundry from our slovenly retreat…. or we will have no more room in the fridge again from all of the cooking we’ve been doing.  If all else fails…we have sandwich meat and bread.

Friday: Tilapia, Butter Noodles and Green Beans

• I buy the best frozen fish Kansas can provide from Aldi (I might be exaggerating a bit).  But seriously; I used to purchase fish from Schwann’s…when I broke up with my Schwann’s man cut Schwann’s out of our budget a couple of years ago I discovered that the frozen seafood at Aldi was right on par and MUCH less expensive.  I can buy a package of 5-6 individually frozen Tilapia or Wild Caught Salmon for $3.99 at Aldi.  My kids have grown up eating fish and they all love it.  Baked in a pan sprinkled with dill is our favorite way to fix tilapia.  I picked up two packages of Knorr Noodles for $0.50/each (I know, I know… this is a heavily processed week) and we have a bag of frozen green beans on hand.

Saturday: Brinner!!!

• Brinner has been a long time coming.  Usually we rotate this into our menus as often as pizza (which gets an every other week billing) ….but it has been a loooong time since we had a good brinner.  Pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, fresh fruit salad and yogurt is our standard fare.  If SuperDad is feeling adventurous he will whip us up some hashbrown potatoes as well.

In addition I’ve got the fixin’s for some homemade macaroni and cheese when we have friends over for lunch on Thursday (if we aren’t suffering a new ice age); ingredients to make us a warm apple crisp one night; and I’m looking to bake a few goodies to keep on hand for the kids (granola bars, etc).

Do you have a weekly menu posted?  Sharing is a great idea for us all to find simple, new ways to keep our family dinner table a more interesting place to be!

Weekly Menus: January 9 – 15, 2011

Another busy week for the SuperFamily this week…. We are starting off the year with a bang (and a couple of thuds, oomphs and groans)!

This week I am traveling to San Francisco on Tuesday and will be speaking at the American Heart Association / Nintendo of America Summit “The Power of Play: Innovations in Getting Active” on Wednesday.  I won’t be home to my family until Thursday night.  What will they ever do without me??  I’m sure they will survive

Here is our menu for the week:

Sunday: Ravioli Lasagna , broccoli and rolls

My splurge for the week.  I buy frozen cheese raviolis and they are nearly $5/bag … I’ve never seen them on sale!!  Spinach and cheese are in my freezer buried somewhere deep below the venison and I have a can of spaghetti sauce in my pantry.  This throws together very quickly, the kids can help put it together and it is ooey and gooey … perfect for the winter weather ahead. I confess…this week we are going to be using frozen dinner rolls…

Monday: Slow Cooker Southwest Chicken Chili

This is my “What’s New For Dinner” meal… not only have I never made (or eaten) chicken chili… but I’m sort of loosely following the recipe.  I’m a total by the book gal when it comes to recipes so this is tricky for me.  I’ve got some chicken breasts in the freezer and I will pick up a can of kidney beans…. The rest is going to be based on what I have in the pantry.  Wish us luck!

Tuesday: Shepherd’s Pie, Corn, leftover dinner rolls

I can’t believe I’m giving up this meal when I’m not home…it is one of my favorites!  A Weight Watcher’s recipe I found a couple of years ago we have made it again and again.  I made it up and stuck it in the fridge so all SuperDad has to do is toss it in the oven.  Using venison in our freezer and veggies already in the fridge I whipped it up and they can enjoy.  I will pick up some frozen veggies at the store this week to cover some of our vegetable needs outside of cooking.

Wednesday:  Leftovers

I’m certain there will be a variety of leftovers available for the family to survive on this ONE night that I am gone!

Thursday: Venison Steak and Home Grown HotDogs

SuperDad is going to grill up some steaks (if he can find the grill under the snow) and dogs for dinner.  The venison he procured for us and the dogs were a gift from my cousin and her husband…beef they raised on their farm.  We can use the leftover dogs (if there are any) can be used for lunch with some croissant rolls for pigs…. (or cows??) in a blanket.

Friday: Eating Out!  … I think….

In preparation for putting our house on the market we hare having new carpets installed in our bedrooms.  This is happening Friday.  We are taking the kids to see Sesame Street Live! Elmo’s Healthy Hero’s at the Sprint Center Friday night and then they are going to spend the weekend at their Grandparents’ house so SuperDad and I can deep clean before the house starts showing.  I think going out to eat is in order

Saturday: Stuffed Tilapia

This is a favorite treat of mine sold at Target. SuperDad and I really like it, and while it is a bit pricey I can sometimes find it on sale … a “Use It or Lose It” sale …then I stick it in the freezer.  Since the kids are gone and we will be working hard this is perfect…easy to throw in the oven and toss a salad…very few dishes and a nice meal to reward our hard work!

Weekly Menus: January 2 – 8, 2011

My first set of menus for the New Year!!  I feel like they should be momentus…  astonishing… heck, even exciting would do.  Unfortunately, life prevails and here at SuperFamily Headquarters we are in crunch time for some exciting new changes….which means boring ol’ dinners this week….EXCEPT for Tuesday night which will be my “What’s New For Dinner” night!!  Yeah! 

Without further ado…. the first set of menus for 2011!

Sunday: Pizza Night! 

 My favorite pizza crust recipe takes just a few minutes to make with the KitchenAid and is delicious every time.  Throw on some turkey pepperoni, deerburger, mushrooms, black olives, cheese and seasonings and you have three Super Happy Super Kids.  This meal is a 5 star on the “Kids Like it So Much They Are Quiet” meter….a winner in my book!

Monday: Hamburgers and French Fries, Carrot Coins and Fruit (to be determined by the whims of preschoolers)

I will be out of town, leaving the kids and SuperDad to fend for themselves tonight….this seems like an easy dinner solution.

We have an entire freezer full of venison this year (I kid you not, 4 deer have filled my entire freezer to the brim…and we are in search of an additional upright to serve our other frozen needs) I’m so happy to have it on hand…completely and totally provided by SuperDad.  I had a great deal on OreIda fries a while back so there are some in the freezer (under the mounds of meat) and carrot coins are my newest trick for getting the kids to eat their veggies.  Apparently, they taste better round than in sticks.

Tuesday: What’s New For Dinner? I’m glad you asked!….Tuscan Chicken with Artichokes

Sounds fancy, doesn’t it?  It is a slow cooker recipe I pulled from a Parents.com weekly email last week.  This uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs which are usually a little pricey…but I got a great deal this past weekend at Target.  Frozen artichokes, fresh zucchini, grape tomatoes and some whole wheat couscous…one dish dinner in the slow cooker!  We’ll see how the fam digs it….post to come.

Wednesday: Roast, Potatoes and Carrots (probably in “coins”)

The best recipe I’ve found for roast, venison or otherwise, was a Weight Watchers recipe that uses basalmic vinegar and onion soup mix….yumma.  I’m interested to see how much of a roast my family puts away this year with the inclusion of SuperBaby in the eating foray; that kid would pick red meat over mac and cheese, chicken, pb&j … he can see it coming a mile away and all other food becomes obsolete.  Should I be worried?  Generally we have enough for sandwiches later in the week…but I’m not making those plans just yet.

When the roast and veggies are done I’ll add a salad and my Homemade Biscuits.

Thursday: Leftovers (Mama’s Day of Rest)

We have some activities Thursday night and I don’t want the kitchen messed up too much so leftovers it is.  There should be enough to put something together

Friday: Salmon, Green Beans, Wild Rice and Dinner Rolls

Here in the middle of Kansas, seafood isn’t exactly “fresh”…so I go with frozen…which seems like the best choice to me.  I always buy our frozen fish at Aldi…it is hands down the best product and the best price, I can get a bag of 5-6 fillets, individually wrapped for $3.88.  No lie.  I think it is comprable to the fish I used to buy from Schwan’s. 

Saturday: Spicy Black Beans and Rice, Chicken Breasts and Salad. 

A standby recipe for me this one is super low in points if you are a Weight Watchers fan….and very full of flavor and filling, too!  If they are lucky….I’ll throw in an additional night of biscuits this week here too

A Small Disclaimer about My Menus:

 I only post my dinner menus here.  I tried posting everything a couple of times but frankly, some people are just rude….I’m not a fan of being graded on my meal plans or berated for my food choices…SO…in the spirit it is intended…my dinner menus serve to 1)Keep me organized and on top of my game during the week,  2)Inspire and re-envigorate your family dinners and 3)Give a little insight into how a frugal budget and using coupons still allows you to provide healthy and homemade meals for your family!  Enjoy!!