December Menus

[greyhoundgirl]

Sat down and did this this afternoon.  Lots to do this week to prepare for the company we invited for Thanksgiving spur-of-the-moment last night.    And then it will be payday, so I want to get the shopping done and just enjoy the month of December without shopping in a crowded store.  I may change the order of a few things.  Also, may have turkey for Christmas, but right now I have down ham...we will see the price of ham and what is sounding best closer to time if I do get one.  I'm not planning lunches for specific days this time.  I haven't been sticking to the days I put down last time.  But I did make a general list of lunch ideas for when there are no leftovers to have.  I'm really trying to stretch our existing meat through January, buying as little as possible, and of course to also keep the budget under $300.

1  Roast with mashed potatoes, gravy, and veggie
2  Spicy Slow-cooked Carrot, Ginger, and Lentil Soup, homemade bread
3  Turkey Potpie (made with TG leftovers)
4  Wed--Earl has class and kids eat at church
5  Hamburger gravy, homemade rolls, peas
6  Turkey Croquettes w/ homemade cream of chicken as gravy, quinoa, mixed cauli, broccoli, carrots
7  Zuppa Toscana Soup (sp?), homemade sourdough
8  Simple Spinach and Sweet Potato Soup (slowcooker, also uses lentils)
9  Chicken and dumplings, broccoli
10  Meatloaf, cheesy potatoes, veggie to be determined, possibly cabbage
11  Wed*
12  Taco ring made with homemade roll dough, carrots and celery with homemade Ranch
13  Italian Wedding Soup, homemade sourdough
14  Dinner at church before Christmas play (need to find out if I am supposed to bring something)
15  Brisket, au gratin potatoes, veggie
16  Indian Style Lentil Stew, some kind of bread
17  Baked potatoe, topped with leftover brisket from Sunday, butter, cheese, Ranch for those who like it, and served with broccoli
18  Wed*
19  Salmon patties, sweet potato fries
20  Homemade pizza night
21  Butternut squash soup, sourdough, salad
22  Pot roast with potatoes, carrots, and onions
23  Baked chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, veggie
24  My b-day, hoping to eat out, maybe Mexican...if that doesn't work out cost-wise I will think of something to make
25  Ham, au gratin potatoes,  veggie OR may have turkey but not with as many sides as at TG
26  Baked ziti, green beans
27  White bean soups with ham bone, cornbread
28  Egg Roll in a Bowl
29  Chicken Potpie
30  Chili, Cornbread
31  Appetizers:  L'il Smokies made into pigs in a blanket, Chicken packets, veggies and ranch, apples and dip, a dessert

Lunch ideas-not an exhaustive list but some ideas to be used in addition to leftovers or sandwiches
Roast beef hash (using leftover beef from roast)
Vegetable Beef ABC Soup (from Heavenly Homemakers)
Refried beans in the crockpot for burritos or bowls
Leftover refried beans spread on corn chips and baked with cheese on top for nachos
Homemade mac and cheese
Potato soup
Tuna melts
Quesadillas
White beans and ham cooked specifically for lunch (kids love this for some reason)
Potato pancakes with applesauce

Breakfast-not assigning days here either
Potato bowls
Muffins (pumpkin, cappuccino, banana nut, blueberry)
Scones
Waffles and meat
Scrambled eggs with toast
Apple fritters
Crepes with assorted fillings
Muffin in a Mug (more for mom)
Protein shake
Oatmeal (with or without protein shake)
Apple cinnamon oatmeal
Yogurt
Toast (with or without PB)


Snacks-pretty much same as this month
Apples with or without nut or sunflower butters
Cheese sticks cut from block of cheese
Yogurt (with or without frozen berries mixed in)
Other fruits as purchased
Homemade granola bars or other baked goods
Toast with PB or cheese
Raisins or prunes
Crackers and laughing cow cheese
carrots and Ranch

[Proudmama]

Looks good!  I have to work on mine.

Denise

[Cathie]

I'm eating at Cath's 

I need to sit down and do this but honestly - if I can sit and figure out what we are eating this week I will be happy - with 2 birthdays and Thanksgiving this week my brain honestly can't handle thinking past that 

I do love your menu Cath - lots of yummy things

[Proudmama]

Here is what I have so far:

 1 - I have no idea.  I think Doug and I have to drive Zac back to school even though he told us he had a ride.  It is too late to get him a bus ticket so we have to make the 11 hour round trip.  Neither of us is happy about this!

 2 - Eggs, potatoes and fruit

 3 - Black bean and sweet potato chili, cornbread

 4 - Pasta, salad, bread

 5 - Tuna paninis (sp), oven potatoes, veggies and dip

 6 - Nachos

 7 - Peanut noodles

 8 - Minestrone, bread

 9 - Pancakes, sausage, fruit

10 - Chickpea piccata, mashed potatoes, carrots

11 - Quesadillas, bean salad

12 - Baked chicken, potatoes, veggie

13 - Burgers, oven fries, veggie

I will work on the rest next week.

Denise

[gaggleofseven]

Catherine, how do you make potato bowls?

Denise, do you have a recipe for black bean and sweet potato chili?

Thanks!
Jennie

[Proudmama]

Jennie - I found my recipe on allrecipes.com.  It is really easy.  You oven roast the sweet potatoes first.  The recipes says to peel the potatoes but I do not.  I just leave the skin on and toss them with olive oil, cinnamon, brown sugar and chili powder.  I think I generally follow the rest of the recipe but can't remember.  I almost never follow a recipe as written!  The recipe should be fairly easy to find on their website.

Denise

[greyhoundgirl]

Catherine, how do you make potato bowls?

Denise, do you have a recipe for black bean and sweet potato chili?

Thanks!
Jennie

We fry diced potatoes, preferably in a little bacon grease , then layer them with cheese, scrambled eggs, and bacon in a bowl.  I've taken to sprinkling bacon bits in with the potatoes after they are cooked to keep the cost down as opposed to frying up the bacon and crumbling it as we used to do.  We use less that way, too.  It's also good if you cook the potatoes with some onion, though they don't crisp as well that way.  Or put some salsa on top.   IHOP had something like this a few years back as a special, and once it was gone we decided to recreate it at home...now it's one of our favorite weekend breakfasts.

[Proudmama]

So I changed my entire menu because of a few things but mostly because of Molly's stomach issue.  Here is what I have now:

Dec 1 - Minestrone, leftover rolls from Thanksgiving - my MIL drove Zac back to school because my car needs work before it can make a drive that long and it isn't getting fixed until tomorrow

Dec 2 - eggs, potatoes, applesauce and/or leftover cranberry sauce

Dec 3 - BBQ turkey quesadillas, succotash, cole slaw - my in-laws gave us Thanksgiving leftovers so this used up the last of them.  Molly ate at a friend's house so I didn't have to worry about the cheese.

Dec 4 - pasta, salad, garlic bread

Dec 5 - tuna hoagies, oven fries, fried apples

Dec 6 - peanut noodles with onions, carrots and cabbage

Dec 7 - hamburgers, potatoes, salad or other veggie

Dec 8 - black bean and sweet potato chili, corn muffins

Dec 9 - chickpea piccata, mashed potatoes, carrots

Dec 10 - leftover chili with tortilla chips

Dec 11 - pancakes, sausage, fruit

Dec 12 - baked chicken breasts, mashed, peas

Dec 13 - ?  We are driving up to bring Zac home for winter break and the girls are spending the day with my in-laws.  We may have takeout this day because it will be a long day in the car.

Dec 14 - holiday party at my SIL's

Dec 15 - party leftovers??  Hopefully!

I will work on my menu for the end of December soon.  Doug has off from December 20 until January 6 and I know he wants to have meatballs and turkey during those two weeks.  The butcher where we buy our meat sells amazing meatballs that they make in house so I will buy a bag of those soon.  I also have sausage in the freezer so I should be able to get at least three dinners and a few lunches from the combination of those two.  I think I will need to grab one more meat package so we have enough meat while the boys are home but I hope to spend less than $100 on meat to last us until the end of January.

Denise

[Cathie]

why can't I make a menu

I am literally staring at this stupid piece of paper with Fridays filled in with pizza and a big friggin blank on the rest

ohhhhhhhhhhhh goodness I think I need more coffee

[mooremama]

Cathie,

It helps me to have certain nights for certain types of food.  Monday night is always breakfast foods, Tuesday is a "fast food" of some type, Wednesday is soup, Thursday is beans, Friday is pizza or quesadillas, Saturday is spaghetti and Sunday is a "family meal" ie: stew beef, cubed steak, fried chicken, etc.  It really helps me decide what to have when I know that it's breakfast night...eggs? pancakes? gravy/biscuits?.  For me it cuts down on the feeling of being sooo overwhelmed. 

Here's my menu for the next 2 weeks starting Friday Dec. 6

Fri.  Pizza
Sat. Family Christmas gathering (No cooking!!!)
Sun. cubed steak
Mon. Gravy/biscuits
Tues. Dirty Rice
Wed. Pasta e Fagoli soup
Thurs. Pintos
Fri.   Quesadillas
Sat. spaghetti
Sun. chicken pot pie
Mon. biscuits and gravy
Tues. hot dogs
Wed. Veggie Beef soup
Thurs. Beans

Now to make a grocery list. 

Beth

[Cathie]

Cathie,

It helps me to have certain nights for certain types of food.  Monday night is always breakfast foods, Tuesday is a "fast food" of some type, Wednesday is soup, Thursday is beans, Friday is pizza or quesadillas, Saturday is spaghetti and Sunday is a "family meal" ie: stew beef, cubed steak, fried chicken, etc.  It really helps me decide what to have when I know that it's breakfast night...eggs? pancakes? gravy/biscuits?.  For me it cuts down on the feeling of being sooo overwhelmed. 

Beth

thanks Beth - that should help me 

[Proudmama]

Here is what I have for the rest of December:

16 - vegetable beef soup, bread

17 - eggs, potatoes, fruit

18 - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, veggie

19 - tuna cakes, rice, veggie

20 - pizza, salad

21 - cheesesteaks, fries

22 - sausage sandwiches, veggie or salad

23 - pancakes, sausage, fruit*

24 - Christmas Eve - at my SIL's

25 - Christmas - SIL's

26 - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, veggie

27 - tacos

28 - meatballs, potato salad, salad

29 - turkey tetrazzini, salad

30 - pork chops, twice baked potatoes, veggie

31 - NYE - probably party food of some kind

I also have a menu for the first 10 days of January.  I will have to plan until the 15th of January.  I am pretty sure Doug will get paid on the 16th so I will be able to food shop that day.  I have most of what I need except for the meatballs, the meat for the cheesesteaks and a few odds and ends like rolls for the various sandwiches and the fresh produce.

Denise

*ETA - I just found a recipe for gingerbread waffles and I think I will make those instead of the pancakes.  I haven't decided yet.

[Proudmama]

I thought I would share with all of you, especially Cathie, the challenges I face when I menu plan.

 1.  I do not eat meat but will eat seafood on occasion.  I am easy to please though and while this isn't a real challenge, I do try to plan at least a few meals a week where I don't worry about having to make two entrees or where I only eat the sides.

 2.  Madelyn doesn't eat beef or pork but does eat chicken, turkey and fish.  I think she does this just to make my life difficult!  Ha!  This gives me the same challenge as myself but I am usually not comfortable with her only eating sides since she is still young and doesn't always eat the best lunch either.  On the nights the rest of the family has beef or pork, I often have to make another entree for her and I - many times mostly for her.

 3.  Corey is VERY picky.  He doesn't like most vegetables, casseroles, soups or anything with mayo.  This makes menu planning when he is home particularly difficult because tuna sandwiches or melts are cheap and easy especially when we are busy or I just don't feel like a hassle for dinner.  Tuna is easier than deli meat sandwiches as well.  I generally just make whatever veggie, etc. but I do try to make sure that he has at least a few meals per week that he doesn't totally hate!

 4.  Molly isn't too picky generally BUT her tummy is!  When I plan my menus, I need to make sure that the whole week balances out for her.  I can't have too much cheese or rich soups on my menu.  I can't have two tomato based dishes too close together.  For example, I can't have spaghetti and chili too close together or her stomach will bother her.  I also couldn't have spaghetti one night and then quesadillas the next night because the tomato sauce and the cheese both bother her if she eats too much so she has to have a day or two in between them.  For right now, she doesn't really want to eat cheese or creamy foods at all so quesadillas, macaroni and cheese and cream based soups pretty much are off the menu other than occasionally.  She hasn't said whether she thinks she can eat pizza or not.  I think I could make my corn chowder once during the month but I think the rest is gone for the near future at least.

Doug and Zac are both pretty easy.  They eat nearly anything and even eat things they don't really like without any complaint especially Doug.

Is it any wonder I often feel like asking everyone why they need me to make dinner tonight when I just fed them last night!

Denise

[mooremama]

I would probably pull my hair out Denise.   

And then fix PB&J's and call it good. 

Beth

[Proudmama]

Beth - I have considered it!  But I couldn't do that to Doug.  I should do it to the rest of them, though!

Denise