Meal Plan Monday

My first week of Meal Planning is over and I must say it went well. I stuck to it mostly except I did switch up a couple of days. I only had to go to the store once and only spent $20! This week will be a little different because we seem to be out of everything. I had to break out the old cookbook for ideas and I think I've got a good plan.







*I had a sudden inspiration on Friday to make little baked apple pies. I guess I was channeling my Grandmother! I had some frozen apples I made a filling out of it with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract. They were good but I think they needed more sugar.







Sunday-



Lunch- Left over Stew (It's too HOT* to cook! Our air went out on Friday night and it took all day Saturday to cool down the house. Ethan and I went to the movies to stay cool while poor Eli had to stay in the hot house to wait on the guy to come fix it. Thank goodness I made the stew for Saturday on Friday or we would have been eating out!)



Dinner- Whataburger (See above* )







Monday-



Chicken and Pasta Primavera (I just happened to have all the ingredients):
1 T marg or butter
3/4lb of chicken, cut into thin strips
2 cloves of garlic chopped (you know I like my garlic!)
1 1/2 c water
1 package KNORR Veg soup mix
1/2 t pepper
8oz linguine, cooked and drained
Parmesan cheese


Cook chicken in marg (I might use olive oil, better for you) and garlic. Stir in water, soup mix and pepper. Bring to boil over high, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer 5 mins or until chicken is cooked. Toss with linguine and cheese.


Tuesday-
Broccoli, Chicken and Rice (again, had all the stuff)
1 box Uncle Ben's Broccoli Rice Au Gratin Supreme
2 c boiling water
4 chicken
1/4 t garlic powder
2 c frozen broccoli
1 c reduced-fat cheddar cheese (I'm going to use Velveeta)

Oven at 450. In 13X9 in pan combine rice and seasoning packet, boiling water and mix well. Add chicken; sprinkle with garlic powder. Cover and bake 30 minutes.

Add broccoli and cheese; continue to bake covered, 8-10 mins or until chicken is done.


*I might cook the chicken first. I always like to know the chicken is well done before mixing it with anything else. This seems like a good one to mix together in the afternoon when Ethan is happy. Then I can toss it in before Eli gets home from work.




Wednesday-



Spaghetti with homemade sauce

HOMEMADE ITALIAN SPAGHETTI SAUCE

1 lg. can tomato sauce
1 med. can tomato
1 med. can stewed tomatoes
1/2 tbsp. oregano
1/2 tbsp. basil
1 tbsp. parsley
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
3 cloves garlic
1/4 c. oil
1 sm. can tomato paste
In a large pot brown garlic in oil. Add tomatoes, paste, sauce and puree. Add all other ingredients. Bring to boil. Then simmer for 1-4 hours. Serve over pasta of your choice

I think I'll add some bell pepper to the mix. If I had a can of mushrooms I would add that too.





Thursday-



Turkey Smoked Sausage w/onions and bell peppers







*Sometimes I buy bell peppers at Sam's club. They come in a pack of 6 (2 green, 2 red, 2 orange) for a little under $7. We do a good job of eating them but never seem to eat them all before they start to go bad. Last week we had 2 1/2 left and they were starting to show signs of softening. So I cut them into strips and froze them on a cookie sheet. Once they were frozen I moved them to a freezer bag. They look so good! I can take them out and cook with them and they taste just like they were freshly cut. We won't be able to use them on salad but I can put them in so many other things. I never knew they would freeze so well or I would have been doing it all along.

Friday UPDATE-
Chicken Parmesan or something like it! (leftover tomato sauce from Weds)

Saturday-Happy 4th of July!!!
Hamburgers, Homemade Potato salad, corn on the cob (I got another great deal on corn this week! Target has it 10/$1 max is 20. I got 20 today and will go back tomorrow for 20 more! We are up to our "ears" in corn. LOL Eli will grill it like last time and I will freeze it.