Friday, December 28, 2012

Monday Food Spending/Meal Planning on Friday...Who Cares!?


 
 
Time to get back to the mundane tasks of my life, like food spending and meal planning.
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And here is what actually got served last week.... 

Sunday--Burger King Whoppers(BOGO 55cents Deal), Broccoli
Monday--Beef Pie leftovers
Tuesday--Salmon(Crab Cakes for #2 son),Green Beans
Wednesday--Stuffed Shells, Tossed Salad
Thursday--Hot Dogs, Beans, Potato Salad
Friday--Leftovers or Fend for Yourself Night
Saturday--Hubs bought take-out Pizza
 
I don't recall the Potato Salad happening tho.

Between the Bread/Bakery Outlet load up and 3 small trips to the local grocery stores, the food spending last week(through the 22nd)came in at $92.37 for 8 days.  The big honking rib roast trip will be on this coming Monday's post.
As of the 22nd, food spending for December was at $328.41, leaving $71.59 of my $400 food budget for the month.
As of 12/24, I am $11.66 over for December.

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Here is what got/is getting served this week.....
Sunday--Chicken Enchiladas
Monday--Christmas Eve dinner at Chinese Restaurant
Tuesday--Ravioli w/Marinara Sauce, Standing Rib Roast, Roasted Vegetables, Green Beans, Rolls, Pies
Wednesday--Leftovers
Thursday--Pork Chops, homemade Mac and Cheese, Broccoli
Friday--Pizza, a green veggie from the freezer
Saturday--Kielbasa on Rolls, Caramelized Onions, Beets

I had made up Sunday through Tuesday's meals beforehand. Add in that the day after Christmas is always Leftover Day here, so I was good through Wednesday.  The one item that didn't get mostly consumed on Christmas was a bowl of green beans, so I took the leftovers of that and made a green bean casserole on Wed. and we now have no more green beans. lol

#1 Son wanted Thursday's meal that was served and I was able to cobble the ingredients together from items I already had here.  I used a bunch of partial blocks, shredded bags of cheese that were opened for the mac and cheese and an opened can of evaporated milk from making pies got thrown in with the fresh milk too.  After making the mac/cheese I have a container of cheese/bechamel sauce extra for the freezer. That sauce will make a dinner for two of more mac/cheese, or pasta alfredo or carbonara style noodles.
I also boiled down the carcass/skin on Sunday when I made chicken filling for the Enchiladas and have 2 containers of chicken stock in the freezer ready for Chicken and Dumplings or Chicken Soup sometime this Winter.

I've spent $83.25 to get this menu pulled together, though not all of that spending was used for this menu.  There were some seasonal stock-ups included.  I've got a $5 voucher to spend before Jan 1 at the local market so I'll pick up a few things before the month is out like eggs, pineapple, milk.

#1 son left this morning so the food cooking/spending should return to the humdrum, boring stuff soon.

January will be belt-tightening time(like everyone else I see online!)so we will be cleaning out and using up stuff lurking in the dark corners of the pantry and freezer that have been hanging around much too long.
I'll also be re-evaluating, in the coming weeks, my food budget and what and how much I've been cooking(or not)this past year.

Is 2013 going to be the year you start planning your meals out ahead?  How about food budgeting.....are you going to put one into place and try to stick to the plan?

Sluggy

6 comments:

  1. I have a meal plan. It is called I eat whatever Hubby cooks. That's the plan and I am sticking to it. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frances, THAT'S the best plan! Wish I had that option. lol

      Delete
  2. I am trying to spend the least I can on food. I garden and raise meat, so I am able to by minimal amounts at the store, spent about 100. this payday and I am going to make it last two weeks along with whats in the freezer and pantry. I don't usually make a menu as I try to use what I have bought on sale and what I have stockpiled. Love your blog!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for commenting FW!
      You do the same as me actually, by cooking meals from what you get on sale and what you have already.
      My menu comes from both places. About everything I cooked/will cook this week(except for the rib roast)was bought on sale/stockpiled in the weeks/months before.
      So you CAN meal plan. My plan is loose in that those meals don't have to happen on those days. You can use parts from one meal with parts from another meal too.
      I also will change things up if I have a leftover I can incorporate and make something else.
      $100 for 2 weeks is great! How about sharing what you buy and how you use it/what meals you make on your blog? We'd all love to see your work! 8-)

      Delete
  3. You always do a great job. Your Whopper + broccoli meal gave me a chuckle. Love the mix of fast food & a super food. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well I try to make even the not great choices better. The broccoli negates the bad of the fast food, right? lol

      Delete

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