A Month of Meals - Menu Plans for Februrary

I menu plan a month at a time. Most foods are only served once a month, but a few like eggs are served several times (because they are free from our chickens). Monthly meal planning is really not that difficult. We are very limited in foods that we can eat by our food allergies.

I apologize that I didn't do a price breakdown. Most of our meals feed 3 adults and 2 kids and are around $5, including side dishes. The meals would be even cheaper if you didn't have to buy special foods for allergies.

So here's what I have.

1. salmon patties


2. chili soup


3. baked chicken


4. potato soup


5. burgers & fries


6. eggs & fried taters


7. homemade hamber or chicken helper


8. veggie soup


9. sloppy joes


10. chicken rice stir fry


11. tacos


12. meatloaf


13. round steak & mashed potatoes


14. soup beans


15. pizza


16. chicken & rice casserole


17. pork chops


18. roast


19. homemade chicken nuggets


20. salisbury steaks


21. chicken quesadillas


22. spaghetti & meatballs


23. eggs & fried taters


24. hot dogs


25. spanish rice & porcupine balls


26. bbq beef & baked beans


27. salmon patties & lentils


28. chicken noodle soup

Am I missing something? What's on your dinner table?

For more ideas, visit Organizing Junkie for Meal Planning Monday.

Menu Plans Week of January 18 - 24, 2009

I've missed posting several weeks here. But I have still had a plan. If I could just seem to organize my time, like I have organized our meals. . . LOL!

I'm just realizing that I use one or both of my crockpots almost daily. My little crocks are one of my biggest time savers. I start dinner in the morning before homeschooling. At lunch, I work on dinner some more, and at 3 pm, when homeschooling is complete, dinner is about ready for the table at 5pm.

Sunday: Hot dogs, homemade french fries, leftover lima beans, cabbage, and salad. Approx. cost $5.00 (The cost is so high because two of us require GF hot dogs at a cost of $5.29 a pack)
*Note to self: Soak beans in crockpot

Monday: tacos with homemade refried beans (from dried pintos - I will make extra to freeze for bean burritos)salad, canned pineapple - Approx cost $5.00. Crockpot meal 1

Tuesday: homemade chicken noodle soup, GF biscuits/grilled cheese on homemade bread, pickles - Approx cost $5.00. Crockpot meal 2

Wednesday: Round steak and mashed potatoes, salad or coleslaw, biscuits - Approx cost $7.00 Crockpot meal 3

Thursday: Homemade chicken nuggets, french fries, green beans, salad or coleslaw - Approx cost $7.00

Friday: egg sandwiches, Green Beans and Potatoes, biscuits - approx cost $2.00 (we have green beans canned from our garden and chickens for the eggs) Crockpot meal 4

Saturday: Salisbury steaks (can use ground turkey), mashed potatoes, kids veggie choice, salad or coleslaw - Approx cost $5.50 Crockpot meal 5

Total weekly spend for dinner for 5 and lunches for 3: $36.50

Not one of my more frugal weeks, but oh well. Still cheaper and healthier than take-out!

So, what's on your plate this week? Find more menu plans at Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plans for November 23 - 29, 2008

Recently I sat down and scoured websites and cookbooks trying to find something new and different for dinner.

Looking at all the different recipes, I quickly became discouraged. I used to cook fabulous meals. Now, I have to cook most everything from scratch. Because most all recipes call for processed foods which contain milk in the form of cheese.

We have to avoid many foods because of severe food allergies in myself and youngest daughter. We have to avoid corn, milk, wheat/gluten, soy, cinnamon, avocado, and strawberry. We can have some sugar, but it has to be in the form of organic. It has changed my cooking in the past five years or so. Morgan loves to get school lunches for her daily junkfood "fix" because we don't eat like that at home!

I have to say there were some recipes without cheese that I thought I may try, but I knew my hubby and daughter #2 would put their noses up at them. I guess we're mostly a meat and potatoes family.

There is a happy ending to the story. I decided to count my blessings and made a list of all the main dishes I can fix for dinner. I quickly came up with a list of 35 dinners. Hey, that's over a month's worth. I'm sure there's more, but this is just what I came up with quickly.

Here's my thinking...if I rotate these things, I will feed my family a different dinner every day and we will only have to eat the same thing 12 times per year (once a month).

So...here's what I came up with for this week:

Sunday:
rice cakes with peanut butter & jelly or bananas/cereal
leftovers
soup beans, homemade breads made into grilled ham and/or cheese sandwiches, finger veggies
jello

Monday:
Quick bread muffins/oatmeal
leftovers
meatloaf, boxed potatoes/crockpot baked potatoes, peas, homemade breads
Juice pops

Tuesday:
eggs & toast/rice cake
leftovers
potato soup, homemade bread into grilled ham and/or cheese sandwiches, pickles
cereal bars/granola bars

Wednesday:
Chicken Gravy & biscuits
leftovers
hot dogs, french fries, finger veggies
cookies

Thursday:
Happy Thanksgiving! Traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, salad, breads/biscuits
cookies

Friday:
leftovers
leftovers
leftovers
*You thought I'd say leftovers! I'm not that mean! Cookies!!!!

Saturday:
bacon & eggs (Saturday morning tradition)
leftovers
hamburgers & french fries, salad & finger veggies (Since I know no one will want to look at any type of fowl for some time!)

What's on your plate? Go to organizing junkie for more dinner plans.

Menu Plans for October 27 - November 1, 2008

I awoke this morning to our deck covered with snow. It's still coming down pretty good. I just hung laundry outside yesterday! Shayla is going to wake up wanting to play in it!


It feels so good to be back home and somewhat back to normal.


Whatever normal may be.


Football season ended with a win for our team! Woo-hoo! Daughter 2 is now done with cheerleading and marching band. A bigger, louder, WOO-HOO!


My oldest daughter is now married, as of this past weekend. She is lounging on the beaches of Hawaii for the next week. It's official I'm now old. I am a mother-in-law!

I spent yesterday de-cluttering. Yes, me, the self-proclaimed packrat. It was starting to be a bit too much, even for me. I think I like it. Sshh...don't tell anyone!

So please be patient with me, I may not be blogging much, until I get back into my normal routine.


Another thing about me...I am totally burnt out on bargain shopping this week. I don't plan on stepping foot in a store, except Rite Aid this week, so we'll be using from our immense stockpile!


Sunday: Leftover chili, biscuits, salad, carrot and celery sticks.
Monday: frozen pizzas, salad
Tuesday: frozen fish sticks for hubby, dd 2, & grandma (they actually like them)tilapia nuggets (similar to chicken nuggets) for dd 3 and I, oven baked potato wedges, peas
Wednesday: spaghetti & meatballs, biscuits/breadsticks, salad
Thursday: clean the freezer of homemade soup night. I have small containers of chicken noodle, veggie soup, and who knows what other kinds are lurking in there. It's time to make room for turkey!
Friday: Eat out!
Saturday: crockpot chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, biscuits


Sorry no ground shaking meals this week! I think I made a campaign promise to have a changed menu this week - complete with breakfasts, snacks and costs.

Maybe next week!

Menu Plans for Oct 19 - 25, 2008

If you are looking for some awesome, new foods to try. Sorry, this is not the place! In fact, I believe I need to post a disclaimer with this post:

Meals subject to change!

There, now that that has been said...

Sunday: Leftover baked chicken, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies (Hurray for leftovers!)

Monday: Homemade chicken helper, baked potatoes, biscuits, steamed cabbage & onions, salad, snack: apple slices

Tuesday: Fried potatoes & onions cooked in leftover gf bacon grease, green beans (canned from our garden), biscuits/bread, salad, snack: homemade pamela's cookies/no bake cookies

Wednesday: salmon patties, chicken rice (using frozen broth from Saturday's baked chicken), leftover green beans, cole slaw, snack: tortilla chips & salsa

Thursday: Steaks, homemade onion rings, some kind of veggies, salad

snack: apple slices

Friday: chili soup, biscuits/bread, celery & carrot sticks with peanut butter

snack: cookies

Saturday: Eat out!

This week we are eating what is in the house. I will not have time to do much shopping. I need to focus on homeschooling and posting her progress, cleaning the house without my vacuum (that's a whole other post), being a helper to my husband's many projects, and keeping my anxiety level under control because my first daughter is getting married this weekend.

On a separate note here, has anyone with a cow's milk allergy had good experiences with goat's milk? Myself and daughter #3 are on a strict gf/cf diet. We bought some goat's milk from Whole foods this past weekend ($6 per 1/2 gal. - Ouch). I think I'll freeze it until after daughter's wedding because it may cause a gut reaction or relapse in fatigue. Don't need that!

Please stay tuned...next week I'm planning on trying some new things!

Menu Plans for Oct 12 - Oct 18, 2008

Ugh, the beginning of the week again. Time to answer the question, what am I going to make for dinner again. I guess we've got to eat, so having a plan makes things go smoothly.

Again, nothing spectacular. We don't have many casseroles or variances from menus from week to week because of our food allergies. Several members of my family also have this thing with combined foods. You know, something is touching something else. Like the carrots in the meat. Kind of like how their personalities are. I'm sure you've all heard it before,

"Mom, she's touching me."

Mom says, "Keep your hands to yourself, please."

"Mom, she's just looking at me, like she's going to touch me!"

"Ugh!"

Sunday:

leftover pancakes, peanut butter & jelly rice cakes, toaster strudels, juice

roast, biscuits, steamed cabbage & onions, salad

Monday:

peanut butter & jelly rice cakes, juice

Beef & noodles over mashed potatoes, biscuits, steamed broccoli, salad

no bake cookies/pamela's cookie mix

Tuesday:

Eggs & rice cakes or toast, sausage, egg & cheese biscuits, juice

tacos & refried beans, beef rice (made with broth from roast)leftover veggies or frozen mixed veggies, salad

apple slices

Wednesday:

berry muffins (frozen from berry picking this summer, Yum!), leftover sausage

clean out the fridge night!, fried potatoes & onions, green beans, biscuits, salad

pears

Thursday:

cream of rice/oatmeal, juice

leftover chili soup (frozen from last week), biscuits, salad

frozen peaches

Friday:

Eggs & rice cake or toast, juice

homemade chicken nuggets, french fries, baby carrots, salad

rice/ice cream

Hopefully next week I can not be the procrastinator that I am, and have a well thought out menu plan. I'd like to be able to put some thought into it and try to include a breakdown of the costs and explain how I am able to do this. This is especially for my oldest daughter who is still learning about budgeting in the menu!

For more ideas, check out everyone else's menus at organizing junkie.

Menu Plans for Sept. 21 - 27, 2008

Most everything we eat is family favorites because I don't consider it a savings if it's not eaten!

Monday: Soup Beans with Homemade Bread and/or GF Biscuits, lunchmeat and/or grilled cheese sandwiches, salad, and finger veggies (broccoli, baby carrots, pickles etc), bananas

(This is a very easy favorite. Just soak navy beans in water overnight. Dump off the water in the morning, add new water and just a little baking soda (to prevent the farts). Add salt, pepper and a little Mrs. Dash. Turn crockpot on high and enjoy the aroma all day!)

Tuesday: Ground Turkey Burgers, Potato Wedges, frozen mixed veggies, salad, apple slices

(This is a new recipe. Make "hamburger patties" from ground turkey. Coat with rice flour and fry. Potato Wedges are a favorite. I peel and cube potatoes and put in a large baggie. Add 2 TBS olive oil and 1 tsp salt. You can also use seasoned salt, if not allergic. Bake on cookie sheet for about 45 minutes.)

Wednesday: Spaghetti & Meatballs, GF Biscuits/Homemade Breadsticks, salad, applesauce

(Make meatballs and sauce in crockpot 1. Start beef roast in crockpot 2. Use broth for rice dishes.)

Thursday: Roast, Bread/Biscuits, beef rice, salad, leftover veggies.

Friday: Chicken nuggets,(or fish nuggets) french fries, frozen mixed veggies, salad, pineapple
(This is a Friday tradition at our house. I wash boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into nuggets, then coat with 1/2 c. rice flour and 1 tsp salt. I cook homemade french fries and nuggets in olive oil.)

Saturday: Tacos, refried beans, frozen mixed veggies, salad, pineapple

Menu Plan Week of 8/24 - 8/30, 2008

Scroll down if you just want menu plans, but I included some important wisdom I gained this week. Wisdom I gained the hard way!

Last week was a rough week! My teenage daughter managed to get our computer infected with 7 viruses. We do have virus protection, but these were nasty little boogers, in that, I couldn't clean, quarantine, or delete them.

After 12 hours of trying everything I could possibly think of, the computer kept getting worse and doing more bizarre things. When I was at my breaking point, my prince charming called the computer repair man.

I learned many things from the computer guy. Viruses, trojans, and spyware are things to beware of. Viruses destroy your computer and files. Trojans try to get information and speed from your computer to help the host computer operate. Sometimes up to 1000 computers are linked to the host computer. And spyware is used to get your personal information.

Now, what does this have to do with menu planning? I'm getting to that.

I know many of my readers are avid coupon shoppers and die-hard CVSers. The computer guy said he noticed that I had the coupon bar and several other coupon sites software on my hard drive. He said that coupon sites are notorious for spyware. He had a case the prior week of a family that had gotten their identities stolen from a computer virus.

So, the companies give you a free coupon, but at what cost to you? Are they also going to get your bank account numbers, credit card numbers, etc?

After a few days of praying, we got our computer back. Luckily, the guy was able to remove the junk from our computer. Looks like we got lucky this time.

The second thing I learned this week is that it actually does take rocket science to be a homemaker. Let me explain.

The past month or so, I noticed I was throwing away more food than usual. And the fridge didn't seem very cold. I thought it was the high temperatures and the kids being in there more often. Didn't give it much thought. Then my husband commented that several things that were only a day old were tasting, well, fermented. I agreed.

Long story short, we got in touch with a local repairman from Whirlpool warranty center. He came to our home around 6pm on a Saturday evening! Within a half hour of getting in touch with! Is that service or what!

Anyway, I had overstuffed the freezer and fridge. I had recently overfilled with free pizza rolls, waffles, and bags of frozen veggies. After all free or pennies is good, right. The problem is, I blocked the vents that circulate the air back and forth in a side by side. When the vents become blocked with food, they ice up and don't cool anymore.

Almost 24 hours later, I'm happy to report that our fridge is again working as it should! Once again those deals could cost you!

Sunday: Chicken & rice with fresh and frozen stir fry veggies in tortilla shell with salad dressing on top, potato pancakes from leftover mashed potatoes, salad and garden veggies. Snack: apple slices

Approx. Cost $2.50

Monday: Sausage links, hashbrown potatoes, mac & cheese, garden green beans, bread/biscuits. Snack: Homemade juice popsicles

Approx. Cost $4.00

Tuesday: Chili Soup, carrot & celery slices with peanut butter, bread/biscuits. Snack: Fruit cocktail

Approx cost $2.50

Wednesday: Chili dogs, baked beans, french fries, carrot & celery slices. Snack: rice/ice cream

Approx cost: $6.00 (This is high because gf hot dogs are $5.29/pk - we use 3-4 gf & regular hot dogs for others and rice cream is $1.70/serving)

Thursday: Homemade gf hamburger helper, oven fried potato wedges, garden green beans or peas. Snack: Kids choice

Approx cost: $3.50

Friday: Chicken nuggets & fries, garden salad or leftover veggies. Snack: birthday cupcakes & rice/ice cream (This is not a frugal meal, but it's a favorite and we're celebrating 3 family birthdays!) Approx cost $9.00

Saturday: Spaghetti & meatballs, garden salad, biscuits/breadsticks. Snack: Kids choice

Approx cost: $4.25

Total cost for dinners & lunches and 1 snack $31.75.

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 8/18 - 8/23

This week is going to be so extremely busy. I guess they all will be from this point on, so I better get used to it.

We started homeschooling yesterday. Yes, we do weekend schooling! My daughter loves to play "school." I guess that's how you know you're doing it right! LOL! Anyway, I have to work around her and her dad's schedule. She follows him around on his days off.

Morgan still has band and cheer camp everyday this week. Two days a week she is at the school from 9:30am-6:45 pm. Then fall football games start Friday. She plays in the marching band and cheers on Fridays, and cheers again for the jv team games on Saturday mornings.

Cassandra is celebrating a birthday this week. A special one. THE BIG 21. Let's not discuss how old I must be to have a 21 year-old. Since we won't be seeing her, we'll enjoy a piece of cake without her.

To top all of this off, I'm canning green beans and tomato juice this week. Like today, if I get this done.

So here's our menu plans for another action packed week. (Nothing noteworthy, just good & cheap!)

Monday: homemade veggie soup, lunchmeat &/or grilled cheese sandwiches made from homemade bread &/or gf biscuits, salad with tomato & cucumber & fried peppers, onions, & zucchini (gotta use those garden veggies, too!) snacks: apple slices & jello Cost $6.00 for 5 people - 2 meals (or more)

Tuesdays: Mackeral fish patties, tater tots &/or potato wedges, corn &/or asparagus, garden salad. Snacks: peaches & fudge Cost $3.50 for 5 people - 2 meals

Wednesday: Crockpot roast, homemade bread &/or gf biscuits, garden salad and shredded cabbage with sliced veggies. Snack: homemade juice popsicles Cost $5.50 for 5 people - 2 meals (or more)

Thursday: Cookout! Grilled burgers & homemade french fries, baby carrots, garden salad. Snack: Cookies

Cost $4.50 for 5 people.

Friday: Hot dogs, baked beans, bread, salad. Snack: kids choice?!?

Cost $4.00 for 5 people - 2 meals

Total weekly cost $23.50 (lunch & dinner) Breakfasts are usually something quick - everybody choosing different things - around $6.00 week to feed 4.

About $30 to feed the masses this week. Not bad, again!

What's on your plate for the week? Check out other menu plans here.