MPM: Continuing on

I think I can, I think I can.....


Monday: Chicken Sandwiches and Macaroni and Cheese
Tuesday: Leftover enchiladas from Mothers' Day
Wednesday: Pasta casserole... something soft so Mike can eat it (he's having cavity work done in the afternoon). Jello for dessert.
Thursday: Possible movie night with a "snacky" dinner... popcorn chicken, dips & veggies, etc.
Friday: Pizza night!
Saturday: Leftovers or stirfry.
Sunday: Concert day! We probably won't need to eat dinner after we have a filling reception, but I will have to make a dessert to bring.

MPM: Back on the bandwagon

Oops! I haven't formally menu planned since March! No wonder I have no idea what is in the freezer and I can't remember what we ate last week. This is not a great trend to start, so this is me trying to jump back on the bandwagon....


A lot of activities this week to plan around, so let's see what I can come up with.

Monday: We have some place to be at 6:30, so a quick dinner of hamburgers or chicken patty sandwiches will work. I've got some rice in the freezer to heat up for a quick and easy side dish.

Tuesday: Another quick dinner night. I need to be at a meeting at 7 and Mike doesn't get home from work until 6:30! Something's gotta give. An easy-peasy meal that can be easily reheated? Ravioli with meat sauce or meatballs I'll decide when I'm making it since I've got both ready to go.

Wednesday: Happy Cinco De Mayo! We'll have Pulled Pork "Carnitas" which I will make in the crockpot. I'll be using a variation of this recipe (no beer), so I have to add a few things to my grocery list!

Thursday: Going to my parents' house for dinner since my grandparents & aunt are in town.

Friday: It's pizza night! Hopefully I can make one and freeze the other (as we are getting ready for a big pizza party in a few weeks). A salad is a nice compliment to pizza.

Saturday: My sister's graduation! If there are any meals at home, they will be leftovers.

Sunday: Mothers' Day! I've invited my family over for dinner, and we'll be having enchiladas (chicken, re-fried beans and possibly leftover pork will serve as the filling) which I will put together on Friday or Saturday and have Mike put in the oven while we are at church.

MPM: Ides of March

I actually did menu planning 2 weeks in a row! Wow. I forgot to post last week, though, so this is a retrospective as well as our menu for this coming week.


Last week -
Monday: Hamburgers with Uncle Ben's rice pouch
Tuesday: Baked Ziti
Wednesday: Lenten supper @ church
Thursday: Tacos
Friday: Pizza (my own recipe! Will work on perfecting it before posting)
Saturday: Whole Wheat Crepes
Sunday: Stir fry with rice.


This week -
Monday: Chicken, Rice, and broccoli with cheese sauce
Tuesday: Ravioli with meat sauce
Wednesday: Lenten supper @ church (I'm making chili to bring this week)
Thursday: Pizza (moved from Friday so we can have meat on it!)
Friday: No-meat Enchiladas

Menu Plan Monday

This is feeling more, and more necessary!



Monday: Chicken & brocolli/cheese frozen meal "fresh steamer" thing.
Tuesday: Leftover mexican (chili / enchillada filling)
Wednesday: Leftover ziti
Thursday: Wanchai Ferry bagged meal with frozen veggies added
Friday: Homemade soup & bread

No pizza this week? I think this might fall on the weekend.

Menu Plan Monday

I seem to be getting into the swing of things with this whole menu planning thing! I am enjoying the knowledge that I don't have to come up with something for dinner at 4:30, and also the freedom of mixing nights around and using the "plan" as more of a "guideline" when our stomachs guide us to something else. The key with the "something else"s is that they don't involve an extra shopping trip.



Monday: *Grilled Ham & Cheese Sandwiches, soup (gotta use up the ones from last year's sales!)
Tuesday: *Hamburgers & French Fries
Wednesday: Stir-fry, rice (one of these recipes, or something similar)
Thursday: Leftover chili & enchilada mix in either taco or burrito form
Friday: Pizza day

*The man of the house is cooking! I love this, since it was his idea.

Having someone else cooking on Monday & Tuesday also frees up some of my time for processing the pumpkins I bought last week with my mom's food processor which I borrowed over the weekend.

Menu Plan Monday

I'm feeling a bit of the crazy-time-creep. Things that are normally under control are becoming uncontrollable. And writing this menu plan out will make the week feel a little less hectic.


Monday: Tonight will be leftovers from last week: Baked Ziti. I might pull out a frozen veggie, too. Probably green beans. And garlic toast, or course. yum. Then off to choir rehearsal.

Tuesday: I'm going to leave the cooking to the man of the house. Hamburgers and french fries. Then we will watch the premiere of V!

Wednesday: Pumpkin Penne Pasta with some cooked chicken thrown in for good measure. Also, bread in the bread machine and creamed spinach. My family is coming over for dinner, so hopefully they'll like it!

Thursday: Enchiladas again. I really liked the filling for these and the sauce is really good. Now if I only had a moment to make my own tortillas....

Friday: Now I can't remember if Mike is working late or not, but if not, I'll be making pizza, calzones, or stromboli with this recipe.

Saturday/Sunday: I have had a hankering for chili for a while now and with the sales on canned tomatoes, I have to use up my stash from last year. So, I'll definitely make a huge pot of chili over the weekend. We'll be able to use the leftovers in different forms over the next week. (Tacos, taco salad, chili mac & cheese, and whatever I think of!) I'll be using dried beans, so I'll probably start them soaking on Friday or Saturday morning.


Ahhh.. now I feel just a little more organized.

Karns Shopping Trip

I thought I was going on a relatively simple shopping trip to our local chain, Karns, but when I discovered a catalina deal being advertised in the aisle, I stood around figuring out the best way to do it with my coupons. And I ended up getting $4 extra dollars back and some free Pillsbury products!

(just ignore the wine bottle in the background, it's more of a center piece)

Fortunately the store was not very busy, so doing 3 transactions didn't take up anyone else's time.

Transaction #1:
4 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls @ $1.67 each (4 $1 off coupons)

Subtotal: $6.68
Total after coupons: $2.68
Savings: $4
Result: $2 catalina coupon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Transaction #2:
2 Grands Biscuits @ $1 each ($1/2 coupon)
2 Grands Cinnamon Biscuits @ $1 each ($1/2 coupon)
Used $2 catalina coupon from Transaction #1

Subtotal: $4
Total after coupons: $0.00 (!!!!)
Savings: $4
Result: $2 catalina coupon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Transaction #3 (my actual groceries):
4 Quaker Oats @ 1.17 each (2 $1.25/2 coupons)
2 Hormel Pepperoni @ $3.09 each (2 $0.55 coupons, doubled to $1)
1 Sara Lee Ham @ $4.69 ($3 coupon)
2 Breyers Yogurts @ $0.50 each ($1/2 coupon)
2 Malt-o-meal "Frosted Flakes" @ $2.59 each (2 $0.50 coupons, doubled to $1)
1 Turkey Hill Ice Cream @ $2 ($1 coupon)
1 packaged dried apples @ $3.40
1 coffee mate @ $1.89
1 Onion @ $0.96
4 Peppers @ $1.92
Used $2 catalina coupon from Transaction #2

Subtotal: $31.90
Total after coupons: $18.40
Savings: $13.50


Total Out Of Pocket (OOP): $21.08
Total Savings: $21.50