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Sunday, December 14, 2008

Menu Plan Monday (early)



I did most of last week's menu, except for breakfast for dinner night. I had a client party for work, so hubby fed the boys fishsticks and fries, and I made quickie quesadillas and corn for the two of us after I got home and put the boys to bed. I also flipped Saturday and Sunday's meals, and I'm starting with the Sunday meal here so I can include the recipe for the beans. These are already done for tonight and they are YUM YUM YUM. I'm also doing some prep work ahead for this week's meals to make life a little easier. I have made notes throughout where applicable.
Overnight last night I cooked a bag of black beans in the slowcooker. The bag was .88 and I divided it into ziploc bags to approximate a can of beans. I used the method suggest by the Crockpot Lady here and they turned out GREAT!!! Plus, not all the sodium you get with canned beans. I am going to definitely do this more often.


The week's dinners rounds out at about $30.


12/14 Sunday
chipotle lime baked chicken (chicken marinaded in lime, chipotle sauce, then breaded in crushed tortilla chips and baked at 375 for 30 minutes or until cooked through) $3.00
(saving one breast for Friday’s dinner- I cooked in the marinade on stove top. Then shred, add 2T salsa, sprinkle of cumin, chili powder, garlic, 1 cup beans and freeze)
smoky black beans with bacon $.50
corn .40
$3.90

12/15 Monday
roast beef hash (using leftover roast from Saturday, potatoes and onion- cube potatoes and onion, sauté in olive oil until browned, add cubed roast beef, heat through until warm, season with salt and pepper to taste, serve with ketchup- top with cheese if desired) .75
mashed butternut squash, with butter and cinnamon (in freezer from last week)
spinach, blue cheese and pear salad with balsamic vinaigrette 1.50
$2.25

12/16 Tuesday
cub scout night
cheese ravioli with marinara and parmesan (leftover frozen marinara and last 1/2 package of ravioli I bought at Aldi for 2.99) $2.50
salad w/ leftover artichoke hearts 1.50
breadsticks (last of my free stash from the bakery tour we took)
$4.00

12/17 Wednesday
chili dogs (beef hot dogs $1.20, buns .40, canned turkey chili $.85, chopped onion and cheese .55 for about 2/3 cup shredded cheese) $3.00
cheesy tots $2.00
$5.00

12/18 Thursday
Aunt Jenny’s Slow Cooker Meatballs w/ egg noodles $5.00
steamed carrots $.50
$5.50

12/19 Friday
southwestern chicken and bean meat pies $2.00
with filling made and frozen on Sunday, cheese (using pre-made pie crust rolled out and cut into squares I was able to get a 2-pack of these for 1.15- Place 2T filling, sprinkle of cheese in the center of each square, fold, cinch ends with fork and bake at 350 until golden)
corn .40
mandarin oranges .65
$3.05

12/20 Saturday
cheesy pasta bake (penne layered with cottage/mozzarella cheese mixture and spaghetti sauce with mushrooms, topped with mozzarella, baked until bubby) (already have sauce in freezer from a leftover meal) $2.50
tossed salad w/ w/ homemade Italian dressing 1.00
garlic toast .50
$4.00

12/21 Sunday
turkey and white bean chili (using leftover frozen chopped turkey-will post recipe later this week)$1.50
salad $1.00
tortilla chips $.40
$2.90
Get more meal plans and dinner ideas just like this over at http://orgjunkie.com

5 comments:

n*stitches said...

Excellent menu! I am always looking for ways to keep my grocery bill down!

Dara said...

I love making meatballs in my crock pot, too. Great menu!

Anonymous said...

Those crockpot meatballs sure look good.

Anonymous said...

I cook my beans this way too. It's so easy to just grab a bag out of the freezer!

mom_of2boys said...

Your menu looks great. The chipotle lime baked chicken sounds really good. I might have to give that a try next week.

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