Menu Plan Week of 11/8

Wow. Thanksgiving is just over 2 weeks away. I truly cannot believe how quickly the weeks have been flying by recently. That means just over 2 weeks until I have to figure out what to do with all the turkey leftovers. :)

I wasn't really inspired to follow the menu plan all week. I moved a few things and changed a couple meals based on grocery sales, and just because I ended up with a taste for something else, I guess. I have moved some of those meals to this week, so pardon the repeats. :)

I did have some fun this week in the kitchen, though! I prepped and froze a whole lot of fresh asparagus and fresh broccoli I'd gotten for bargain prices this week. I also got creative. Check out this beautiful tray of lasagna I prepped. And no noodles. I used zucchini and summer squash slices as the "noodles". The whole family enjoyed it! Check back later this week for the recipe. It was really easy!

I also got a whim to try a gluten free cake. I'm not quite confident yet to do something of that scale from scratch, so I tried a mix.

Add my homemade buttercream frosting and again, a treat the entire family has been enjoying- including me! I will post my buttercream recipe this week as well. This was the first time I made the frosting in my Kitchenaid stand mixer, and I have to say it was the best batch ever because I was just able to let it go. My arm always got too tired before!

Okay, enough about last week...on to this week's menu plan! I feed 2 adults and 2 children.

Monday-

mini meatloaves $3.00

steamed asparagus spears $1.00

baked sweet potatoes $1.00

$5.00

Tuesday-

boys will have sandwiches before Dad takes them to swim practice. I have an event to attend so I'll have to eat later in the evening. I will be making this tomato and roasted red pepper soup tonight to stash in the fridge for tomorrow. I will top with some blue cheese and serve with a salad. Yum!

Wednesday-

spaghetti and meatballs $4.00

green beans .40

salad .75

$5.15

Thursday-

chicken and rice casserole $4.00

baked acorn squash $5.00

Friday-

tacos $3.00

corn .50

guacamole (got avocados for .29 each at aldi this week!) $1.00

$4.00

Saturday-

Lemon Shrimp over Angel Hair- $5.00

salad- .75

broccoli- .75

$6.50

Sunday-

italian beef sandwiches (lettuce wraps for me!) $4.00

coleslaw $1.00

hand cut baked steak fries- $1.00

$6.00

My trip for GF items today...

The grocery ads hit on Wednesdays here, so I stopped at Hy-Vee on the way in to work this morning to pick up some things. I was lucky enough to find some coupons in the aisles of the Health Food area that saved me even more. $19.50 for everything in this picture. Not too bad, especially the gluten free baking mixes. With coupons I got those for $2.25 each.

I like to have things like that on hand, but the key to eating my healthiest, and to keep the weekly grocery costs down, is by making those treats, not meal staples. In fact, the Larabars made me feel like a "wild child"...but they were 4/$5, are a good source of Potassium and fiber, have a full serving of fruit, and are nice to keep at work for those moments when I'm starving but don't have an apple or something on hand.

By the way...please note the "extravagance" of the boxed stock. I am the poster child for making my own, but with my schedule, there are times that I'm out of my freezer stash and need stock. These are organic, have no junk in them, and I was able to get them for under $2 each with coupons. I am finding homemade soup to be a staple of my GF diet, so these will be nice to have on hand.

At least they found a way to use up the old Easter candy....

One last Halloween photo to share. This is what happens when Hubby and the boys decide to carve pumpkins while Mom is away from the house. The trick-or-treaters loved it, though hehehe.

Ask and you shall receive....

Not a close up, but you get what you get, right? At least that's what I always tell the boys :)

Perhaps...

...our family spends too much time on the Wii??? :) It was an entire family theme, as I was Princess Peach, complete with long blonde wig. Mom 2 took a picture of the 4 of us, but it's on hubby's camera, so I'll post it after I get it from him. The highlight of the evening was when we had a gaggle of teenage girls run up to us and ask if we would pose with them for a photo. LOL!

Please note that the boys are sporting inflatable bellies. Hubby's is au naturel ;P