Weekly Meal Plan #3 + Printable Shopping Lists and Recipes

 Happy Monday all! So this week we went to two stores. I had forgotten to get milk whenever I did my once a month stock up day. Don't you just hate when that happens? Luckily Hubby took the kids and went and got it for me. It was seriously such a great hour, home alone in the house. I blasted my music and got caught up on some cleaning. It was an hour well spent. I also got to pick up a basket of fresh fruits and veggies, from Bountiful Baskets and then went to Winco on Saturday. Below I have a breakdown of the costs. I am loving sharing all my shopping trips with you. It is not only great in keeping me accountable for everything I am spending, but I hope it is helping you all as well. I know once a month shopping can be hard for those with either not enough space to store food, or it may not work with the your pay days, etc. My weekly meals, recipes, shopping lists, and tips are all to help you guys and gals save more this year. I have so enjoyed the emails I have been receiving from so many of you. You guys email me, comment, or send me messages on facebook about how you are changing your lives and saving this year. I am so proud of all of you and know you can do it. Keep up the great work!!

Now onto the shopping loot.....Well I am a tad lame and totally forgot to take pictures of my basket and such Saturday morning. Since I forgot to take a picture, I decided to give you a quick glimpse into my fridge. This is exactly how it looks right now. I have leftovers in tubs, loads of fresh fruits and veggies, and our new found love...soy milk. All of these items will be used in this weeks menu. We will also be heating up leftovers for lunches and using the fruits and veggies for snacks and smoothies. Remember using what you already have on hand will save you time and money at the grocery store.



1 Bountiful Basket Fruit and Veggies - $15

Costco

Almond Milk - 3 pk - $7.89
Silk Milk - $6.99
Firm Tofu - $2.29

Winco

Granola - $5.85
Whole Wheat Hot Cereal x3 - $5.91
Whole Wheat Bagels - $1.78
Honey - $6.83
Whole Wheat Flour x 2- $7.38
Kool Aide Jammers - $3.50
2 lbs Sweet Peppers - $2.98
Straws - $1.58
Strawberry Yogurt X2 - $3.32
Green onions X2 - $ .32
Mushrooms - $1.68
2 Green Bell Peppers  - $ .96
Reddi Whip Cream - $3.48
Plastic Cups - $2.48
Cantaloupe - $1.35

Total Purchases - $81.57

Total This Month: $272.19

I still have a bit of my budget left, which will be used to purchase fresh produce during the month. I will also be using some of that money to pay for Miss Priss's birthday party this month. I have already purchased the cups, straws, and drinks for the party (kool-aide jammers above). I already have plates in my pantry. Now I just need to purchase the pizza and make the cake. Planning ahead has helped me to save money. I will be posting later this month on how to save while planning family functions.


If you are new to meal planning, start HERE.
I have great tips for just starting out with meal planning.

Homestyle Pot Pie

Hot Ham Deli Sandwiches

Southwestern Chicken Sandwiches

Crockpot Stew

Pasta Primavera with Whole Wheat Bread Sticks and Salad

Pizza Fries

Nacho Pasta with Grilled Chicken

Nacho Pasta with Grilled Chicken

When making grilled chicken, I like to generously season my chicken with my family's favorite seasonings. We usually do pepper, Lawry's, and minced onions. We cook our chicken either outside on a BBQ, on the griddle, or on our foreman grill. You can even use a frying pan to grill your chicken. Get creative with your seasonings and grill something yummy for dinner.

Nacho Pasta

1 can (11 ounces) condensed Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup

½ cup milk

4 cups corkscrew pasta (rotini), cooked and drained

Heat the soup and milk in a 2-qt sauce pan over medium heat. Cook until hot and bubbling. Stir in pasta. Cook and stir until hot. Serve with fresh veggies and your grilled chicken.

Home-style Chicken Pot Pie

4-6 chicken breasts

2 tbl butter, divided

½ tsp salt

½ tsp dried thyme

1 (16 ounce) package frozen vegetables, thawed and drained.

1 (10 ¾ ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 pie crust (buy or make yourself)

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Preheat oven to 425'. Melt 1 tbl butter in an oven proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken; sprinkle with thyme. Cook and stir 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium low. Stir in vegetables, undiluted soup. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

While soup mixture is simmering, unwrap 1 pie crust (or roll out 1 homemade pie crust). Using a small cookie cutter, make several decorative cutouts from pastry to allow steam to escape (or cut slits into the pie crust). Remove chicken mixture from heat. Top with the pie crust. Melt remaining 1 tbl butter. Brush pie crust with 2 teaspoons of butter. Arrange cutouts over crust, if desired. Brush cutouts with remaining 1 tsp of butter.

Bake pie for 12 minutes or until crust is a golden brown and chicken mixture is bubbly. Serve immediately.

Pasta Primavera with Whole Wheat Bread sticks and Salad

3 cups uncooked corkscrew pasta (rotini)

1 bag (16 ounces) frozen vegetable combination

(broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)

1 jar (1 pound 10 ounces) Pasta Sauce

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Prepare pasta according to package directions in a 4 qt sauce pan. Add the vegetables during the last 5 minutes of the cooking time. Drain the pasta and vegetables in a colander and return them to the saucepan.

Stir in the pasta sauce. Heat, stirring occasionally, until hot and bubbling. Top with cheese.

Bread sticks

2 ¼ tsp yeast

1tsp sugar

¾ cup water

1 ¾ cups flour

½ tsp salt

2 tbl butter

2 tsp garlic

(I used already minced garlic in a jar)

1 tsp Parmesan cheese

Combine yeast, sugar, and water in a bowl. Mix until combined and yeast starts to bubble around the edge of the mixture. Allow to sit for 8 minutes. Yeast mixture will be bubbly after the 8 minutes. Next add flour and salt. Mix until a ball of dough forms. Knead for about 5 minutes. Allow to rest for a few minutes. Next roll out dough into an 8 x 8 rectangle. Take a pizza cutter or knife and cut strips of dough. Place on a grease baking sheet.

Ina small bowl mix melted butter, Parmesan cheese, and garlic. Brush onto bread sticks. Cook for 8-12 minutes at 500'. Serve with pasta and enjoy!

Pizza Fries

1 bag of frozen French fries

1 cup of pasta sauce

1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese

½ cup diced pepperoni

Prepare the fries according to the package directions. Remove from the oven. Pour the sauce over the fries. Top with cheese and pepperoni. Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with fresh veggies and fruit for yummy healthy side dishes. This meal serves 8

Hot Ham Deli Sandwiches

3 pound of thinly sliced deli ham

2 cups apple juice

2/3 cup brown sugar

½ cup sweet pickle relish (optional)

2 tsp prepared mustard (we use spicy brown mustard)

1 tsp paprika

12 kaiser rolls (or make your own)

Place separate ham slices in the crock-pot. In a bowl combine all the remaining ingredients (except rolls) and pour over the ham. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. Serve on rolls.

I always have a lot of leftovers with this meal. You can easily serve a family of 6 with this recipe...maybe more. Depends on how many sandwiches those boys in your family eat :>

Southern Western Chicken

If you have leftover chicken from your grilled chicken night, use it in this recipe.

Leftover shredded chicken

3 tbl lime juice

2 tsp chili powder

1 can (15 ounces) black beans

1 cup corn

2 green onions (sliced thinly)

1 small handful of cilantro (chopped)

mayo to mix chicken salad together

rolls or make them

Combine chicken and mayo. Mix until combined well. Next add lime juice, chili powder, cilantro, green onions, black beans, and corn. Combine well. Serve on rolls.

Crock Pot Stew with Rolls

1 10-ounce package frozen vegetables

1 4-oz can sliced mushrooms (or use fresh)

2 1/2 lb stew meat

1 pkg. Onion soup mix

water to cover

Combine all ingredients in crock-pot, adding water to cover. Cover with lid and cook for 8 to 10 hours on low setting or 4-5 hours on high setting. Once cooked through, serve with rolls and a fresh salad or fresh veggies.

Basic Dinner Rolls Recipe

3/4 cup water

2 extra-large eggs

3 tbl butter

3 tbl sugar

1 tsp salt

3 1/2 cups flour

2 1/4 tsp yeast

Put all ingredients in your bread machine, according to your manufactures directions. Mine go in the exact order listed above.

Select the dough setting. Mine lasts 1 hr 30 mins.

Once your dough cycle is finished, punch down dough.

Let dough rest 5 minutes.

Then pull apart small sections to make balls. A little bigger than a golf ball.

It really depends on the size of roll you want. 

Just remember they will rise again.

Place them on a lined baking sheet, sprayed with Pam cooking spray.

I generously put a pad of butter on each roll.

Let rise for about 10-15 minutes.

They will rise a little, but won't necessarily double in size.

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. I check mine often.

Once they are light brown on top I 

pull them out and let them cool on the pan.

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The ingredients for the pasta sauce are not listed in the shopping list. I have included this recipe, from last meal plan. This is included for you to use in place of the pasta sauce that is called for in the recipes this week. Be sure to add these ingredients to your shopping list if you plan on making your own pasta sauce this week.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

1 tbl dried basil

1 tbl oregano

1 tbl dried rosemary

1 tbl extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan add crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer sauce for 15 minutes, to allow herbs and flavors to get "happy". This sauce can be stored for a week in the fridge, 6 months in the freezer, and indefinitely if canned.

Purchase a large glass jar of yeast instead of the packets for a lower "unit" price on yeast. I purchase my yeast from Costco and store it in an air tight container in the fridge.

 
You can print this weeks menu plan +
 the shopping list and all the recipes HERE


Have a Fabulous Day Lovelies!

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