Week 20 Meal Plan

We still have family in town. Wow, life is crazy! I'm running to the store today for a few quick items, and I know Maceys is having a great sale on all the fixings for hamburgers. There are also a lot of great sales on fruit at Sunflower Farmers Market.

Don't give up on me yet! I'll be back next week in full blogging style. All the old photos sitting on my memory card will be on their way for your viewing pleasure, and I even have a theoretical post up my sleeve. Until then, here's my plan:

Wednesday
Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Homemade Fries- my pork roast is still in the freezer from last week

Thursday
Grilled Chicken Salad with Seasonal Fruit from AllRecipes.com

Friday
Hamburgers

Saturday
Go out.

Sunday
Spaghetti, Broccoli, Cauliflower

Monday
Baked Potatoes or Potato Soup

Tuesday
Leftovers or something easy from the food storage.



My grocery list looks something like this:
2 pkgs hamburger buns
3 heads lettuce
strawberries
raspberries
pickles
onions
broccoli
cauliflower
2 lb block Gossner cheese
10 lb bag potatoes
fruits and veggies for everyone

Week 19 Meal Plan

Another week has come and gone, so I guess that means it's time for a new meal plan. We've been extremely distracted and busy lately with some big life changes, and now this week we are lucky to have family in town! With all the crazy busy fun, I have no idea when I will be cooking for a crowd, eating at someone's house, or going out with the group. I'm just getting on the computer long enough to make a quick meal plan, but I really don't know if we'll be able to follow much of it at all. I'll run to the store today for a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, dairy products, and a pork roast.

Wednesday
BreAnne's White Chicken Chili (We didn't have time to try this two weeks ago!)

Thursday
Teriyaki Chicken and Rice

Friday
Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Saturday
Go out, eat leftovers or grill some chicken for a barbecue.

Sunday
Cafe Rio Salads

Monday
Breakfast Burritos, Hash Browns, Fruit

Tuesday
Salmon Patties

Does anyone have a great recipe you're using with sale items from this week? Would you like to share your meal plan with us? I'm sure we'd all love more ideas, so comment away!

Week 18 Meal Plan

It was so fun to try your recipes last week! I still have a few more to try, so I'll keep adding them into weekly meal plans as I go. Thanks for all your tasty recipes!

After a few experiences with deep frying last week, I'm feeling a need to lighten up this week. We've got a couple light chicken dishes, a soup packed with veggies, and a couple meatless dinners coming up this week. Mmm!

Wednesday
Pesto Chicken and Cheese Toasts, Cabbage Salad, Carrot Sticks

Thursday
Brenna's Teriyaki Burritos, Broccoli, Cauliflower

Friday
Jennifer's "I Want Seconds" Italian Sausage Soup, Green Salad

Saturday
Go out

Sunday
Palamino Pasta, Green Salad, Peas

Monday- Breakfast for Dinner!
French Toast, Hash Browns, Fruit

Tuesday
Leftovers

Check out the grocery list here.

Week 18 Grocery List- with Prices!

This week I will be shopping at Maceys, with a quick run to Sunflower Farmers Market for some produce.

Ingredients for Week 18 Dinners
I will be purchasing:
1 lb loaf of interesting bread (sourdough $2.69)
1 jalapeno ($.05)
1 tomato ($.52)
1 avocado ($.89)
1 bunch cilantro ($.50)
2 limes (SF $.50)
2 onions ($1.08)
1 (10 oz) bag shredded carrots ($1.29)
baby carrots (1 lb $.99)
1 red bell pepper ($.79)
1 head lettuce (SF $.88)
broccoli ($.60)
cauliflower ($.52)
1 small head cabbage ($.57)
fruit (SF blackberries $.88)
basil pesto (8 oz jar $4.99)
eggs (1 dozen $.79)
milk (1 gallon $1.97)
Colby Monterey Jack cheese (2 lbs- this will last awhile! $5.99)
mozzarella cheese (2 lbs- I will freeze most of this $4.98)
optional: sour cream
optional: cream
1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans ($.79)

In total, I spent $32.17 on this week's dinners. But keep in mind that over $10 of that was for cheese, which will last me a long, long time.
Here is the approximate breakdown:

Pesto Chicken and Cheese Toasts, Cabbage Salad, Carrot Sticks $10.28
Brenna's Teriyaki Burritos, Broccoli, Cauliflower $6.02
Jennifer's "I Want Seconds" Italian Sausage Soup, Green Salad $3.06
Palamino Pasta, Green Salad, Peas $4.26
French Toast, Hash Browns, Fruit $3.64

I will be using from my pantry:
3-4 chicken breasts
1 lb ground bulk sweet Italian sausage
garlic cloves
rice
bread
flour tortillas
22 oz bowtie pasta
frozen hash browns
frozen peas
3 (14 oz) cans beef or chicken broth
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic
1 (14 oz) can great northern beans
optional: 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
soy sauce
spaghetti sauce
peanut butter or maple syrup
vanilla
butter
flour
sugar
salt
garlic salt
basil
cinnamon

I also stocked up on:
4 Mini Wheats ($3.08 each plus a $6/4 store coupon and a $1.50/3 manufacturer coupon = $4.82)
2 boxes Cheese Nips ($.98 plus a $1/2 coupon= $.96)
TJ Farms frozen potatoes
6 Maceys Cottage wheat bread ($.88 each = $5.28)
3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts ($1.88/lb =$5.64)

Also on a good sale sale were Don Julio tortillas, DaVinci pasta, and Hunts spaghetti sauce (each just $.88), but I've got plenty of that stuff in my freezer and storage room.

Pesto Chicken and Cheese Toasts, Cabbage Salad, Carrot Sticks

These little toasts come from the creative minds at My Creative Stirrings. You can find the original post here. I'll be serving these toasts with carrot sticks and a cabbage salad loosely based on this recipe (without the chicken, of course).

Here is the recipe, copied from the Creative Stirrings blog:

15- 1" slices of bread (from 1 pound loaf)

2 cups chopped and cooked chicken

1 cup shredded Colby Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup pesto basil

1 teaspoon mashed jalapenos

3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Preheat oven to broil. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Lay the slices of bread on top of the foil lined pan; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the chicken, cheese, pesto, jalapenos, and garlic salt*. Spread in equal portions on top of each slice of bread. Broil 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the bread is lightly toasted.

*Optional topping:

3/4 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies, drained (*for additional flavor drain the juice into the chicken mixture)

Combine the sour cream and chilies and serve on top of the cooked toasts.

*I never intended to post this recipe. I was simply trying to get rid of ingredients I have been storing. However, after making it a couple times I have had a few recipe requests. Here it is, Enjoy! Some prefer the toasts without the topping and some liked it with. I think it is good both ways.

Brenna's Teriyaki Burritos, Broccoli, Cauliflower

This interesting recipe comes from LMPD reader Brenna, who got it from her coworker Katie. I can't wait to try such an interesting combination! I'll be serving these burritos with broccoli and cauliflower.

Here is Brenna's recipe:

Teriyaki Burritos

Marinate chicken in the following:

1/2 C. sugar
1/3 C. soy sauce
1/4 C. water

Cook and serve burrito style with:

flour tortillas

tomatoes
diced avocado
cilantro (or for those who don't like cilantro, shredded lettuce)
fresh limes (microwave for 10 seconds if they're not juicy)
shredded mozzarella cheese
cooked rice

*I loved this flavor combination! My only addition to the recipe would be my own instructions for cooking the chicken:

Mix together soy sauce, sugar, and water. Refrigerate half the mixture in the fridge as sauce. Combine the remaining half with 3 chicken breasts cut into strips. Marinate in the fridge for an hour or overnight. Heat a pan over medium-high heat with cooking spray. Discard marinade. Saute chicken pieces until cooked through. Add reserved sauce and bring to a boil. Stir together 1 T cornstarch and a splash of water. Add to the pan, and cook a few minutes more until sauce thickens.

Jennifer's "I Want Seconds!" Italian Sausage Soup, Green Salad

This Italian sausage soup recipe comes from Let Me Plan Dinner reader Jennifer, who blogs at 3 Little Chicks. I'll be serving this soup with a green salad and maybe some kind of bread.


Here is Jennifer's recipe as she wrote it. Thanks for sharing!

1 pound ground Bulk sweet Italian sausage
1 yellow onion, chopped
10 oz. bag of shredded carrot
3 (14oz) cans of beef or chicken broth. (I used the lower sodium kind)
2 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic. (I used the no salt added kind)
1 (16oz) can red kidney beans-drained
1 (16oz) can of great northern beans- drained
6 oz (1/2 a box) Bowtie pasta

In a large pot, cook the sausage, onion and carrots together until sausage is browned and crumbles. Stir in the broth, tomatoes and beans. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to med/low and simmer for 20 min. Add the pasta: simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Stir and serve immediately.

*Mmm! Thanks, Jennifer. I really did want seconds! This recipe was a delicious and easy soup. I will probably use half the sausage next time just to save on money and calories. This was a hit at our house.

Palamino Pasta, Green Salad, Peas

The palamino pasta recipe is from my mom. She got it years ago in a magazine or newspaper article. My family loved pasta, so this was a favorite growing up!

1 T butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 T flour
3/4 c milk
1/2 c cream (I may just use milk; we'll see)
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 c spaghetti sauce
16 oz bowtie pasta
1/4 c Parmesan cheese (or try 1/2 c mozzarella if you have it)
1/4 c fresh basil, sliced (or try 1 1/2 T dry basil)

green salad

frozen peas


In a large skillet, saute onion, bell pepper and garlic in butter until tender. Add flour and cook 1 minute. Stir in milk, cream, and salt. Bring to a boil at medium-high heat. Stir in spaghetti sauce. (If using dry basil in place of fresh, add that now.) Boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions; drain. Return pasta to pot. Add cooked sauce and toss to coat. Top with Parmesan/mozzarella cheese and fresh basil, if using.

Prepare green salad.

Microwave frozen peas. Season with salt and pepper.

French Toast, Hash Browns, Fruit

8 slices bread
3-4 eggs
2 T milk
1 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
peanut butter or maple syrup
1 banana, sliced (optional)

frozen hash browns

fruit of your choice


Spray a skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium high heat. In a shallow dish, lightly beat eggs and milk. Mix in vanilla and cinnamon. Dip bread in egg mixture and place on skillet. Cook, flipping halfway through, until both sides are cooked. Serve French toast with peanut butter or with maple syrup, and top with banana slices if desired.

Meanwhile, cook hash browns according to package directions.