Menu Plan Monday: January 11-17

Okay, this is really keeping me accountable and making me think through my grocery shopping more! I do have to admit, I am feeling a bit overwhealmed with some of the commitments I made, but I am going to do it!!! This I know I can do.

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People always ask me “How do you meal plan?”, well I will give you a rundown on how I do it.

I would love to hear your advice to making it easier, link to your blog below or leave a comment…

1. Food ideas – I keep a little post-it note of meal ideas that come to me throughout the week. When I am looking in the freezer and in sale ads, I’ll determine if they go on the plan that week if I can make them affordably.
2. Check Freezer for meat – I go to my outside freezer first and get an idea of what meat I have on hand.
3. Check pantry – I’ll check it to see what sides or staples I have that might go with the meat and/or meal ideas I have written down.
4. Check ads – Lastly, I will go through the sale ads to see what fresh produce can round out the meals.
5. Check my calendar – This is important, because it tells me just how many and what kinds of meals I need to prepare for the week. For instance, if I am teaching a class one night, I know that I need a really easy cleanup meal that night, so a crockpot meal or freezer meal would work nicely. This way my husband doesn’t have to watch the kids after I leave him and clean up a big mess I made! Or, if we are having people over one night (the meal needs to be larger), or possibly a commitment out of the house.

My Meal Plan for this week:
I will update last weeks plan each week if it affects the new week b/c I like to use what I have and that way you guys can see a “real” meal plan in action. I don’t think anyone can plan perfectly! I found some clearanced meat and my hubby loves steak, so I surprised him last night!

I know this plan has A LOT of chicken, so there is a big possibility I will change it up a bit. I might make one of these and freeze to make another 2 meals, while I am already cooking something else. Or, some things could change depending on what I find this week at Publix or Kroger. I should probably do my grocery first, but it doesn’t always work that way! My post here on this weeks Publix deals will probably end up being my grocery list with some produce and milk added.

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Update from last week :
I had to change my Sat meal of Chicken Enchiladas and Salsa Verde around, b/c our plans changed. So, I will make it this week instead. Here is what we had…

Saturday : Chuck-eye (cheaper cut of ribeye, on clearance at Kroger yesterday) marinated in Stubb’s Steak Marinade (wonderful!) , broccoli cheese rice w/ steamed broccoli, Green Giant Steamed Veggie medly (potatoes, red peppers and snap peas), and Pillsbury frozen whole wheat rolls

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Sunday: **I roast two chickens at a time with some veggies and use in meals throughout the week. Normally I don’t do a real big lunch on Sunday, but my son is sick so I will be home and have lots of time in the morning!
(lunch) Oven-Roasted Sticky Chicken , Ore-Ida Steam-n-Mash, salad with pecans and cranraisins(salad bag BOGOF at Kroger on Fri) and sweet dressing (2T olive oil, 1t red/whiteor rice wine vinegar, squirt dijon mustard, squirt of honey, salt & pepper; then wisk)
(dinner) ?? Not sure yet, we might just wing it!!

Monday: Red Beans n Rice (Zatarains pre cooked pouch) and Turkey Smoked Sausage, not sure on veggie, probably pull one of my Green Giant frozen ones out that sounds good that night

Tuesday: BBQ Chicken Quesadillas (leftover chicken from Sun), bbq sauce, roasted onions (roasted w/ chicken), monterey jack cheese, fresh fruit (cantelope/grapes) – I need an easy cleanup, I have a book group.

Wednesday: Creamy Poppy Seed Chicken (leftover chicken from Sun-recipe below), steamed broccoli, egg noodles, homemade bread, roasted red peppers w/ balsamic vinegar *I will probably make two of these 8×8’s to use for later, b/c I will have lots of chicken from Sunday.

Thursday: Cheese Ravioli (frozen – on sale a few weeks ago for about $.50/bag!) with pureed butternut squash sauce ( I just use the sauce here, but I also love this recipe) -sometimes I add shrimp to this, yum!!, salad and homemade bread.

Friday: Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde (chicken from Sun), Black Beans and Spanish Rice (we are having company)

Saturday: Gen Tsaos Chicken (precooked/sauced Purdue frozen package), brown rice, stirfry mix (frozen) and Gen Tsao’s sauce

Creamy PoppySeed Chicken

• 4 cups shredded chicken
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 8 oz sour cream
• 2-3 T poppyseeds (optional)
• half sleeve crumbled ritz crackers (optional)
• 1/2 stick melted butter, or butter spray (optional)
• cooked, buttered egg noodles or rice

1. Mix chicken, soup and sour cream in a bowl. Use either one 9×13 pan or 2-8×8 pans, pour mixture into pan.
2. Sprinkle poppyseeds on top (or you can sprinkle them in with the cooked, buttered noodles that this mixture will be served over).
3. Sprinkle crumbled crackers over top and pour or spray butter to cover crackers.
4. Cook on 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until bubbly. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

** Note: I save this meal for after I have made a batch of precooked chicken, like boiled or roasted.

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What meals are you planning this week? Any tips on how to easily meal plan? Whether or not you posted your meal plan for the week, please take a moment to post about your ideas for this week. Then, come back here and leave your link below. If you don’t have a blog or would rather share anonymously, feel free to leave your ideas in a comment. Let’s help each other out in sticking to our budgets!