Today as I sat down to make a list from the grocery ads I received yesterday, I realized that I probably didn't need to be buying groceries this week due to having enough in our larder and the sales not being that good this week. (Except for a pumpkin since they are $2.68 this week and I promised my kiddos I would buy one and probably some milk and eggs.)
So I thought I would blog about it, just in case some of you were lacking inspiration from your current pantry/freezer this week or were maybe just dreading the grocery store!
I have accumulated three frozen, whole raw chickens in the freezer. Also, I precooked 5 lbs of venison last week and only needed one (freezing the rest), so I will use that burger in this week's bbq burger pockets and chili. Also potatoes were on sale the week before last, enticing me to buy 15 lbs, which I will use for diced rosemary potatoes and loaded baked potatoes. Therefore, I decided to do a meal plan where our dinners center on those this week. (And yes, I realize that today is Wednesday and we are technically halfway through the week, but I like to have our week run Thursday to Wednesday for menus since Wednesday is when the new sales start in my town.) The rest of the produce was either on sale the week before last as well, or I had it in the freezer. (I chose not to shop last week as well due to the vast amount of produce deals I found 2 weeks ago.)
So here is what our dinners will look like this week:
Today: (Last things left from our menu from last week)
BBQ Burger Pockets, Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Day 1: Baked Chicken, Diced Rosemary Potatoes, Dessert
Days 2/3/4: Chicken Tacos w/ Homemade Refried Beans
Chicken and Stuffing Casserole, Green Beans
BBQ Chicken Pizza, Corn
Day 5: Chicken Soup and Homemade Crusty Bread
Day 6: Chili, Crackers, Carrots
Day 7: Loaded Baked Potatoes topped with Chili, Baked Brussels Sprouts
Now, normally we have a less regimented week. I like to be able to pick and choose what to eat either the night before or the morning of. But, for the sake of budgeting, I am working with meals this week that build on our leftovers to make new things and keep everyone interested. For days 2/3/4, we will have whatever sounds best, but for the rest of the week, we will have to stay pretty on schedule. Also, this week I will let the kids each choose a meal to be responsible for instead of letting them plan a meal themselves. Usually it's the other way around, but I wanted to "shop" entirely from our reserves instead of the store. Additionally, while I like to let my kiddos eat until they are full, you will notice I planned dessert for the night that chicken is the main course. That is because I have noticed that they eat less chicken if they are "saving room" for dessert. They will still eat plenty dinner, but they won't gorge on it, just because it tastes good that way and I will have more chicken left for dinners the rest of the week.
For breakfasts/snacks I will have these options available for the kids to grab and go:
Oatmeal
Yogurt
Fresh Fruit (I keep this pre-portioned in sandwich bags in the fridge)
Homemade Granola (For topping yogurt or eating as cereal)
Cranberry Bran Muffins (Baked tonight and portioned 2 per sandwich bag)
Dried Fruit
Peeled Carrots cut into sticks
Bell Pepper Slices
Hardboiled Eggs
Frozen grapes and berries
You may have noticed that I didn't mark a day for eating leftovers. Lately I have been trying to have us eat dinner leftovers at lunch, rather than having a night where we eat leftovers for dinner.
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