Menu Monday-Food Friday. Everyday Edibles...Whatever!

This week, as usual, didn't go as planned.  We had some extra expense relating to animals and bees and thus my menu and grocery list had to change a bit too.  

Last Saturday we did go strawberry picking.  I got the pie made. Used mom's recipe, but next time I will use butter, not Crisco...what was I thinking!  It was fine, but I just prefer to stay away from that when I can.  I  froze 4 quarts of sweetened berries.  I did not make the 
not make jam or a cake.  I have my reasons!  It was one of THOSE kitchen days.  I dropped everything, including the Sam's size cornstarch. Not too good.  We do have some fresh, sweetened berries in the fridge to eat too. 

  

I got the trail mix made and bagged, hubby's oats made and bagged.  Pancakes made and put in the freezer.

I did not freeze any biscuits or some of the other things that I had planned, but let's not dwell on the negative...

Anyway I hope you have a productive, healthy week.

Food Friday 4/21/17

Time to get back to menu planning!  I am finding that the animals are eating better than we are.  Why is that?  We have all done it and I am slipping back into it.  Create a menu, buy a menu, however you get your menu, you have it.  You buy all the things to make the menu.  Then, by Tuesday, the menu isn't appealing or you have missed something and have to make something else.  I can honestly say when I was home full-time, this wasn't as big of a problem.  Having a full-time job outside of the home, this is harder for me.  I do NOT want to get back in the car and get something.  I do NOT want to try and cook a huge meal or "homemade" meal that takes more than 30 minutes-and that seems extreme!  I will send the boy to get something unhealthy, or call hubby to pick something up on the way home, or we have an incomplete meal.  Just meat and potatoes, just meat, just salad, sandwich.  Who knows!  As I said a couple of years ago.  I get sales ads on Wednesday and Aldi starts sales on Sunday.  I have notebooks full of various menus, frugal, busy, clean eating, vegetarian, and let's not even talk about the cookbooks, pinterest recipes, etc.!  I am a little angry at myself for falling off the wagon on this. Yes, I can't, well, I won't,  make a glorious homemade meal every night with fresh baked bread, grass-fed meats and slow-roasted veggies with a fresh salad out of the garden.  But, I can do this once in a while with planning, can't I?  
So, what is going on this coming week? 
Well, I let my son pick out a menu...bless him. *sigh* It is an old "Frugal Mom" menu from Menus4moms website a few years ago.  I will do it though. So, what is planned? 

Saturday-STRAWBERRY PICKING DAY
       Lunch-vegetable soup using up any of the veggies that are getting a little old, as well as opened boxes of broth.
       Supper-Swedish meatballs, green beans
      Considering strawberry pie as hubby wants and strawberry cake maybe

Sunday-
       Brunch-pancakes, bacon, milk.  Freeze some extra pancakes
       Supper-Orange and Chili pork, long grain and wild rice, peas (new recipe)
       IF time and inclination, I would like to make a pizza to take for lunches tomorrow, as well as make some biscuits to freeze for later in the week.

Monday-
       Lunch-hopefully pizza from last night
       Supper-Baked ravioli, broccoli
Sounds like a heartburn kinda night, doesn't it? 

Tuesday-
       Lunch-leftover ravioli and broccoli
       Supper-Creamed beef over biscuits, fruit of choice (fresh strawberries are in season right now and hopefully have some picked from Saturday, organic apples are on sale, so it might be a bit impulsive fruit choic)

Wednesday-
       Lunch-frozen PB&J, bananas, trail mix
       Supper-Crockpot Orange chicken, rice, stir-fry vegetables

Thursday-
       Lunch-Leftover orange chicken or another PB&J sandwich 
       Supper-Sloppy joes that I have canned, cottage cheese, salad

Friday-
      To Be Determined.  I will try to get back into the swing of things and have it covered next week!

My To-Do List for the menu
1. Cook and freeze extra pancakes
2. Make biscuits to freeze
3. Make pizza dough if none in freezer
4. U-pick berry patch Saturday! 
5. Freeze 2 bread loaves worth of PB&J; consider getting sliced turkey breast for frozen turkey sandwiches too.
6. Make and bag trail mix
7. Make hubby's morning oats and bag. 

Grocery List:
sour cream     cheese ravioli (refrigerated section)     frozen o.j.     frozen peas
ribs                 frozen stir-fry veggies                           dried beef?   egg noodles
grn pepper     long grain/wild rice mix                         chili sauce    balasamic vinegar
flour               bananas                                                oatmeal        pepperoni
buttermilk      cottage cheese                                      romaine        salad ingredients
jelly                peanut butter                                         bread           

I think that may be all.  I will see what it adds up to and let you know.  I have gone over Publix sales ad and found a few things that I want from there.  Particularly because of the $10 off a $50 gas card if I spend $50 on groceries.  For example, frozen family entrees are $3 off and those come in handy on those I CANT COOK TONIGHT days.  Kiwi for hubby, organic gala or pink lady apples, 8 cans of tuna for $3.83, baked beans for quick side dishes when we grill, Wishbone dressings are BOGO, Kerrygold grass-fed butter is on sale, Hunt's tomatoes are BOGO, there is a good deal on papertowels.  AND yes, I am even considering things that are horrible!!! even besides the papertowels, Klondike Ice Cream (it would keep me from eating a whole pint of Ben&Jerry's and then eating whoever hasn't finished theirs by the morrow!, and BOGO Eggo waffles for either easy supper sandwiches or lazy breakfast days.  I haven't got these things yet, maybe I will meet my $50 minimum with just the organic fruit and tuna...but I have a contingency plan, as horrible as it may be.  

I will post some pics, if only for the accountability of it!  

Food Friday 8/14/15

We have had some unexpected expenses in our budget and so the food budget is a bit less than normal for this payday.  Hopefully, I have done enough preparation and bulk shopping in the past few weeks to sustain us, although more preparation is to be done. 

This past week I have:

Made trail mix using a variety of ingredients.

Daughter and I made more PB&J sandwiches for the freezer.

I cooked up some extra chicken and made chicken salad.

I put said chicken salad in jars for grab and go lunches for the guys (and girl).










And I made strawberry flavored vinegar with leftover strawberry stems to make fruity salad dressing with.

It is time to inventory and get a new menu and list together for the next month, but with a very limited budget this time.  

Food Friday 7/31/15

I know, I know.  I still have not done my menu for the next month.  There is just still so much in my freezers.  And I have tried very hard over the past few weeks to change my mindset regarding the NEED to go grocery shop every week.  And it has pretty much worked.  I still see so much food to be used that I can't imagine without writing it down what I actually NEED.  I did do an inventory of freezer and pantry and it filled a sheet of paper. 

We are going to the Big Town today for Daughter's Orientation and other college to-do's.  So we are heading to the bee supply shop for a smoker and Sam's for strawberries, so I am going to try and get a decent list together for efficiency. 

I will let you know...

No strawberries.  I picked up some produce, including fresh greens and spinach, cherry tomatoes (as mine are completely gone now), green peppers, apples, cantaloupe, organic green grapes, frozen banana berry and frozen blueberries, as, again, mine have been used up in muffins, parfaits and just eating, and some pinto beans, cottage cheese, and canned peaches. 

I have jarred up some salad (greek, house and chef); I have peaches and cottage cheese to jar up as well as parfaits (greek yogurt, oats, blueberries, honey, and either apples, melon or other fruit as a top layer) for breakfast or lunch or even dessert.  I also made some spaghetti sauce in the crock pot for a couple of uses.

Frozen marinara, ground beef and canned mushrooms in the crockpot

Blueberry oat apple parfait

Salad in a jar for a quick lunch or supper;
I add flax oil and red wine vinegar, apple
cider vinegar or good old lemon juice

I didn't purchase any meat yet.  I still have quite a bit of everything: pork loin and bacon for the family ( I am going to avoid this myself), chicken, both ours and some breasts I bought, hamburger still divided for meatloaf, meatballs and whatever else we need it for, I still have the turkey that I need to cook (Thanksgiving dinner does not appeal to me in 115 degree heat index-call me crazy!), still have some deer burger and some beef chuck for a roast and strips for a salad or whatever.  So we are set for at least a week or more! 

Food Friday 7/17/15

I am excited to report that week one of the monthly menu has gone wonderfully.  I am very pleased with the amount of food that I bought for the money and that I was able to thoughtfully divide and store several items that I think will be very helpful throughout the next three weeks.  There are still a few items, specifically for lunch, that I have not bought yet and looks like I may not even need. 

Bonus nacho casserole with leftovers

I did not go in order on the menu, but instead I am just marking through the meals that have been eaten.  For example, I opened the large can of crushed tomatoes for the ravioli casserole, instead of having to store several jars of left over tomato, and with a jar of cooked vegetables that was a few days old, I decided to make the pot roast the next day, and then the vegetable soup after that to use up the rest of the sauce and vegetables, so that I did not have a whole shelf of tomato sauce in the refrigerator for two more weeks and no vegetables were wasted, probably to the chagrin of the chickens.

Rice crispy candy

Having this whole month to choose from still gives me the variety I like, at least in the first couple of weeks, so that I don't feel restricted in what we have to eat.  Again, this may change as the month end nears, but hopefully by then my checkbook will reflect the difference and make the change not so hard to swallow.

I got the rice crispy candy made (20 bars) for lunches and today I am going to make the PB&J sandwiches to freeze before the bread gets stale

I am also going to bake up the pizza pockets since I finally got my cheese from Sam's for the month.  I hope these workout.  I am not really using a recipe, just the pizza dough that I always make doubled.  I am opening a big can of tomato sauce and plan to use this for my pizza pockets, as well as make some crockpot marinara to freeze up, again, so I don't have a shelf of tomato sauce to store in the fridge. 



Addendum:  I didn't cut the pizza pockets big enough so I only made 8.  The innards were squeezing through; I will work on that next time round.   Instead, I decided to make mini / individual pizzas and freeze.  I did prebake the dough and then added toppings, flash froze, put in plastic freezer bags and they are being stored in freezer until someone has a hankering.

Friday Food 7/3/15

Sit down. Are you sitting?  It's true, I actually got some pictures this past week of a few meals.  Crazy, right?  But they are a jumbled mess.  One step at a time-ha!

This weeks menu  of healthy AND not-so healthy included:

Dinner:

Alfredo Mac, broccoli, homemade bread
Beans and franks, cooked carrots, cottage cheese, broc salad

Kielbasa, potatoes, carrots (crockpot), biscuits

BBQ pork, potato salad, coleslaw, lemonade

Rotel beans and rice, salad

Finger tray (bologna, crackers, cheese, grapes, bananas, apples)

Tuna casserole, salad

Lunches:  

Leftover BBQ sandwiches, coleslaw

Bologna sandwiches, chips, grapes

PB&J sandwiches, apples

Pimento cheese sandwiches, bananas, cookies

Leftover tuna casserole, salad

Salmon patties, mac/cheese, peas

Bologna sandwiches, chips, bananas

Dessert:

Pineapple upside down cake

No bake cookies

Snacks:

Popcorn

Cheez-Its

My grocery list I approximated at $215.00, which is a month's worth, but I actually spent just over $140.  I went to Aldi, Publix, Sam's, BI-LO and Ingles.  I used a few coupons and also decided to make a few things from scratch and buy smaller quantities than originally figured.  I was pleased with my grocery haul.   

cheese snack cracker dough

Baked cheese crackers

I have 4 smoothie bags in the freezer, ready for a quick breakfast or even lunch.  I bagged up cheese crackers, carrots, celery, peppers, grapes and put those in the snack box in the fridge. 

I need to boil some eggs for the potato salad, as well as quick breakfasts when I run behind on the morning chores and still feel hungry. 

No bake cookies

salmon patties, shells and cheese
peas and garden tomato

I mentioned in my to do list that I had purchased 50# of potatoes and will be finding ways to store and preserve them.  I want to get that done this week.  I also mentioned that I am back to working on my price book and figuring out the best deals for my family. 

My goal for next week is eating out of pantry, fridge and freezer.  I want to purchase as little as possible because of the astronomical amount I spent this week-nothing is the goal, but I am becoming more of a realist as I get older, even as a Pisces...




 





Food Friday 5/22/15

Well, I still can't do my monthly menu like I want because of the budget.  Patience is a virtue, right?  I do have my meal plan and grocery list ready.  Hope I don't lose it before I can use it.  So, until I save up enough to do a big bulk haul, per week it is...

What's on sale this week? 
BL/SL chicken breast $1.98.  Ugh.  I know chicken is supposed to be so versatile, but I really am tired of seeing it on sale and in my freezer.  I think I need to pull out my old fashion cookbooks and try a couple of new recipes.  Yes, online recipe sites are nice, but nothing beats peeling back pages that have mixer splatter gluing them together, and not to mention I feel like one of those NAILED IT! pictures on Pinterest.  Those are hilarious until you see them on YOUR dinner table. I digress...
Hamburger/ground beef.  Sale, well if $3.48 is on sale.  Remember the days of $.99 per pound hamburger meat.
Bacon -probably 12 oz-for $1.98.
Hot dogs are on sale from under $1 to $3, depending on your tastes and budget.  Brats as well.
Whip cream on sale? Sounds like freezer fodder. 
Red potatoes.  Corn on the cob.  Vidalia onions.  Cucumbers (mine are growing nicely!).  Condiments. Pudding.  Fish sticks.  Berries. 

Okay, so what to fix.  Most recipes are coming from Taste of Home 1994.

Saturday lunch- FFY (fend for yourself) peanut butter, bologna, left overs, maybe fish sticks.  I have prom things to do for daughter so, whatever!
Saturday supper-chicken macaroni casserole, simple potato salad, baked beans (new recipe to try), peanut butter pie. (This may be overzealous for prom day too-we shall see.)

Sunday-pancake and pizza day.

Monday-Memorial Day-hot dogs, burger, chips, tea, left over potato salad and beans, coleslaw.

Tuesday-broccoli soup, egg salad sandwiches on homemade honey wheat bread.

Wednesday-western beef and cornmeal pie, tangy fruit salad

Thursday-Hot Legs, celery, carrots and ranch or blue cheese-seriously, legs are cheaper than wings and have more meat, right?

Friday lunch-spaghetti, garden salad, breadsticks
Friday supper-one pot patties, left over bread

LUNCHES:  Leftovers, bologna, fish sticks, pimento cheese. 

SNACKS: Rice crispy bars, trail mix, pudding (homemade).
Recipes:
Chicken Mac Casserole (Taste of Home 1994)
Cook 3 c. cubed chicken, set aside. Cook 14-16 oz box of macaroni, set aside. Melt 2 Tbs. butter in large pan, add 1/4 c. flour. Combine. Add 2 c. half&half and 1 1/2 c. chicken broth at once.  Once blended smooth, cook and stir until thickened. Cook 2 minutes and remove from heat.  Add 1/2 -3/4 pounds of Velveeta cubed. Stir in chicken, macaroni, 2 oz of pimentos, salt and pepper to taste. Add additional broth if needed (1/2 c. or so), pour into a 3-qt baking dish and bake uncovered at 350 for 40-45 minutes.  Top with some garden fresh parsley if you want.

Western Beef and Cornmeal Pie
Brown 1lb. ground beef and drain.  Stir in a can of Mexi-corn, 6 oz tomato paste, 1 c cheddar cheese, 3/4 c. BBQ sauce, salt and chili powder.  Set aside. In a large bowl, mix 1 c. flour, 1/2 c. cornmeal, 1/2 c. milk, 1 egg, 2 Tbs sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 c. cheddar cheese.  Spread on bottom and sides of greased 2 1/2 qt baking dish or 10" skillet.  Pour the beef filling in and sprinkle with 1/2 c. cheese.  Bake uncovered at 400 for 25-30 mins.

Tangy Fruit Salad
Drain 20oz can of pineapple chunks, reserve juice.  In a small bowl mix juice and instant vanilla pudding mix and 1/4. c of Tang or other orange instant drink.  In a large bowl mix pineapple, can of mandarin oranges, can of fruit cocktail, 2 sliced bananas (slightly firm), 2 apples cut into bite-sized chunks (or pears), 1 c. sliced strawberries. Fold juice mix into fruit.  Refrigerate for a while before serving.