September menus

[gaggleofseven]

I'm working to reduce my grocery budget, so I need to carefully plan my menus. Here's my first week:

1st - smoked sausage and potatoes, hubby's b-day cupcakes and ice cream
2nd - pizza, green beans, and hubby's leftover b-day cupcakes
3rd - waffles, fruit
4th - bowtie chicken & pasta
5th - tilapia, rice, vegetable
6th - taco salad
7th - sloppy joes, tater tots, fruit

Looking forward to reading others' menus for inspiration!

Have a blessed day,
Jennie

[Cheryl]

I am working on mine today and will post it when I finish.

[Cheryl]

September 5 - 11

Hamburgers, potato chips
Raspberry vinaigrette marinated grilled chicken, green beans
Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread
BLT sandwiches
Homemade white pizza
Taco salad with guacamole
Pinto beans, cornbread, and slaw

[MissMandy]

Whoops!  Missed posting last week's menu.  Here's this week:

M: Chili w/ Sweet Potato
T: Breakfast
W: Chicken w/ Pasta & Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
R: Black Bean Burgers
F: Crescent Dogs
Sa: Leftovers
Su: Steak & Egg over Noodles

Mandy

[Cheryl]

This week's menu -

M - orange chicken over noodles
T - taco soup
W - vegetable dinner and/or leftovers
Th - barbecue sandwiches
F - pizza
Sa -fajitas with homemade chorizo
Su-smoked whole chicken, corn on the cob, roasted cauliflower

[Proudmama]

Here is what I have so far.  Some we have already had and others are still to be made:

Ravioli with pesto cream sauce, salad and garlic bread
Hot dogs and baked beans, applesauce
Buffalo shrimp, fries, cucumber salad
Kielbasa and sauerkraut
Waffles, sausage and fruit
Shrimp, rice, oven roasted asparagus
Sloppy joes, cole slaw, honey glazed carrots
Quiche, home fries, fruit
BBQ chicken, baked potatoes, Brussels sprouts
Pizza, salad or veggies and dip
Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, veggie
Peanut noodles, dumplings
Crab cakes, potatoes, veggie
Fried flounder, orzo, veggie

Denise

[MissMandy]

This week:

M: Kielbasa & Brussels Sprouts
T: Buffalo Chicken Lasagna
W: Leftovers
R: Meatball Subs
F: Breakfast
Sa: Baked Tacos
Su: Homemade Pizza

Mandy

[Cheryl]

Plan for this week -

M- ham & cheese paninis
T-  chicken enchiladas
W- sweet & sour meatballs
Th- hashbrown soup
Fr-  pizza
Sa- tacos
Su- chicken broccoli casserole

[Alice]

My menus are just crazy these days. With all the kids gone we are really struggling to eat the food we have. My freezer is full and yet we just don't eat a ton and if there are leftovers, they stay as leftovers for days as we try to get through it! I have got to really cut down the meals but we have fluctuated so much over the last 4 to 5 months with kids home, kids gone, kids home, etc. that I just can't regulate the meals.

So I have to really re-evaluate how I do things. I really can't do a huge roast anymore or we'll be eating for days and days. I can't buy a big bag of potatoes or they go bad...Can't buy a jug of OJ or it will go bad before we can get through it. Same with a gallon of milk.

I do not need to do a huge grocery haul anymore so I only get the bare necessities in small quantities. OJ is a frozen can using only half at a time. Meat is small pieces that I might cook in a skillet with onions, garlic and wine. I even skip potatoes or rice or pasta. One butternut squash is enough for about a week for the two of us.

I probably have to do more skillet meals so that we don't have so much leftover unless it is a really good meal that can be frozen well. We probably can't do cakes or anything like that since it would make way more than we can consume.

I let my kids shop out of my freezer to take with them to their apartments. It has been fun watching them pick and choose things that they could use. I made a ton of eggrolls and each kid took a nice amount of those. I had some ravioli I found at discounted price that I froze and they each took a package. Frozen green beans from Granpa's garden was a big hit. Frozen chicken breast and a few other things were taken as well. I'm glad I can help them as they try to cook healthy meals for themselves.

I suppose it's a good problem to have but having done cooking for a family of 5 (hearty eaters!) for so many years, I am really finding this hard.

Alice

[pamgonzo]

Alice: I totally get where you are coming from! I too have gone from a family of 5 (me, and basically 4 grown men for a few years now), to just me and hubby.  It is a challenge to adjust to a new way of cooking. 

I look for recipes that make 4 servings that will cut in half easily, or I try to find recipes for 2 on the internet.  If you google "cooking for 2" on line, you will get a lot of results to look through.

On my docket today is menu planning for this week. We have been gone so much, and eating out, that I am desperate to get control of our eating and shed the few pounds that have been dogging me this month!

Here's to good eats!!
Pam