Meal Plan Monday.....August 24th Edition....Eating From the Freezer Week

Last Week's Menu Post Mortum......

The Tuesday's Chicken became Fish, then Thursday's Shrimp & Grits and Friday's Tacos didn't happen. Kids went off doing other things around dinnertime, so we polished off leftovers instead of fixing more food.
Shrimp & Grits and the Italian Chicken have been moved to this week's menu.
The Dinner out was moved to this week, since we had a Cook Out last Sunday. I had an additional item last week on my grocery list--hot dog rolls for the Cook Out--and I bought 4lbs. of cherries.

Here's what our family of 5 will be eating this Week...

MONDAY--Bacon wrapped Meatloaf using bacon, turkey & ground beef(freezer), Kraft Mac & Cheese(stockpile), Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower(freezer)
TUESDAY--Shrimp(freezer) & Grits(stockpile), Grilled Squash & Peppers(garden)
WEDNESDAY--Italian marinated Chicken(freezer), Macaroni Salad(leftover from Sunday), New Pickles(made from garden cukes)
THURSDAY--Bon Voyage Dinner out for #1 son
FRIDAY--Leftover Buffet
SATURDAY--Pizza(freezer), Salad(garden)
SUNDAY--Breakfast for Dinner(Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes, Sausage, Fresh Fruit)
Dessert--Cherry Pie(use up cherries), Cantaloupe(have), Brownies, Rice Krispy Treats(leftovers)

I love the Paula Deen Shrimp & Grits recipe HERE. It's a cheesy Shrimp & Grits from one of her Cookbooks. There are a lot of PD Shrimp & Grits recipes but this one is among the simplest and easiest.

My shopping list for this week's meals consists of....ricotta & fresh fruit. My regular grocery shopping last week was at Acme and Price Chopper(see previous posts for those 2 trips.) I might attempt a watermelon this week since all the kids are home and here to eat on it. Not much room for leftover melon in the fridge.lol
I already have the chicken and shrimp, bought for last week's meals and not used and there is pizza in the freezer.

Food Waste Report.....2 cups of rigatoni noodles that went bad in the fridge. Lots of veggie scraps into the compost pile. We've been doing fairly well with the food waste the last 2 months I think.

Check out Organizing Junkie's Website Here to see what other Home Cooks are serving this week!


Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday.....August 17th Edition...Garden Explosion

I've been asked a couple of times, how do I meal plan?
When it's the height of the summer growing season and you have a garden with an abundant harvest, meal planning is pretty easy. You plan your menus around what is ripe in your garden. Once you have your vegetables set for the meal, then you go to your freezer/fridge and see what you have on hand for your protein(meat/beans/cheeses).

Here's my thought process.....
This week I have 2 kinds of Summer Squash, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Salad Greens, Green Bell Peppers & a handfull of Purple String Beans.
I have Ground Beef in the freezer and leftover London Broil in the fridge.
I see that Shrimp & Chicken Breast is on sale at my local market.

Using these items and stockpile/pantry items here's what I'll plan on....

MONDAY-Tonight I'll be picking up some mushrooms(store) and I'll make Beef Stroganoff from the leftover London Broil(fridge) in the crockpot. Add rice instead of noodles(in pantry) and grill squash(garden) outside and Monday's meal is complete.
TUESDAY-Marinate Chicken Breast(store-on sale this week)in Italian Dressing(from stockpile)& grill outside, Salad with greens & cukes(garden), baked biscuits from tube(fridge)on grill too
WEDNESDAY-Squash & Bell Peppers(garden) stuffed with Seasoned Ground Beef(freezer)using onions & crushed tomatoes(stockpile), Kraft Mac&Cheese(stockpile)
THURSDAY-Shrimp(store-on sale)& Grits(stockpile)using bacon & butter(freezer), Stir-fried green beans(garden)with a bag of mixed veggies(freezer)
FRIDAY-Tacos(beef from freezer or leftover chicken as well as cheese from freezer, shells from stockpile & lettuce from garden) I may purchase REAL tomatoes from farm for this dish.
SATURDAY-Chicken Parmesan(using breaded chicken cutlets & mozzarella cheese from freezer, sauce from stockpile), whatever veggies we have fresh from the garden(probably more squash-sauteed or in fritters)
SUNDAY-Dinner out or Cook-Out with the family...To be determined


My shopping list for this week's meals consists of....chicken, mushrooms, shrimp and some fruit. I also need onions and those green beans I want to freeze so I need to get to the farm too. Since it's on sale, I'll buy double the shrimp & chicken I need and put half in the freezer for later meals. I'll buy the in season cheaper fruit and the type of mushrooms that are the least expensive. The only items I might stock up on at the local grocery store are Fruit Chillers($1 after sale & $1/1 coupon) & BC Fruit Snacks, since with coupons & $2.50 Catalina OYNO Coupon the store will be paying me $1.70 for every 4 boxes I take home.lol

Food Waste Report.....I had to dump a container of leftover cabbage & potatoes this past week. It had "turned" and had corned beef bits so I couldn't compost it....oh well.

Before I go, here is a great recipe for Summer Yellow Squash HERE. I promised to post this on my last week's Meal Plan Monday. I've linked it to there as well as on this post. I hope someone can try it and enjoy it.

Check out Organizing Junkie's Website Here to see what other Home Cooks are serving this week!


Sluggy

My Family's Favorite Summer Squash Recipe

So what do you cook for dinner when you have 10 pounds of Squash sitting on your kitchen table?

You get creative and come up with Squash Recipes of course!
We've had Squash deep fried slices, fritters, grilled & sauteed with onions so far. Next on the list is Summer Squash Casserole. This is a family favorite. If you have an abundance of squash and a family member who doesn't like squash, but they love cheese, this is the recipe to make to get them to eat their squash.

First you will need squash(about a lb., sliced into rounds-about 3cups worth) & 1 onion(any type-I just happened to have a red onion)

Then you need to gather these items....
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/2 cup Mayo
1 cup grated Cheese(I use various Cheddars)
Salt
Pepper
Bread Crumbs or Cracker Crumbs(optional)*not pictured*
Butter/Margarine(optional)*not pictured*

Put your squash slices and chopped onion in a sauce pan with a small amount of water. Boil until soft.(about 20-30 min.)
**You can do this step in a crockpot if you work and won't be home until right before dinner time. Just fill and turn on your crockpot in the morning on low. It should be ready to finish preparing when you are ready to start dinner.**

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Get out a casserole baking dish. A 2 quart dish or a brownie pan would work. I've also used a glass pie pan in a pinch. Glass or Corningware is best.


Crack your egg into the baking dish. Beat it a bit.

Add your Mayo.


Then the Sugar.
Then Pepper & Salt. I use about 1/4 teaspoon of each.
Stir.
Be Careful with the salt, as the Cheese has salt in it too. You can always add salt to taste when it's on your plate and not add any salt into the dish before baking.


Then grate your cheese and add 1/2 cup of it to the mixture and stir.


Add the squash/onion to the mixture.


Stir it up and it should look like this. Doesn't look very yummy yet.....just wait!


Take the rest of your grated cheese and spread it on top of the mixture.


If you like a cracker/breading crust crumble up some Ritz type crackers or spread some bread crumbs on top.
Dot with butter/margarine.
**Sometimes I put the cracker crumbs on top if I am feeling the need for more carbs. I never dot with butter/margarine however. The Ritz type crackers are buttery enough for me.


Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and browning on top. (Approximately 30 mins.)
And it should look like this.....
Without the big chunk taken out of course! I never get finished dishes pictures before the family attacks the food.lol

You can also double or triple this recipe, just use a bigger baking dish. I'll double it often and we have it as the main dish for a No Meat Meal. It is hardy and filling.
One of these days I'll get around to trying Zucchini in this Casserole too.

If you try this, let me know what you think and how it comes out.

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday....July 27th Edition

Well, last week's Meal Plan went well until Tuesday. If you are a regular reader you know that my 4 yr. old glass top range decided to spontaneously CRACK while I was reheating the leftover Pork BBQ for Monday night's dinner on one of the burners.
Just cracked.
And it will be A MONTH before the replacement glass will arrive to replace.....meaning no cooking for a month.
And it will cost half what we paid for this range.
Can you tell I am NOT amused?? 8-P

Even with a busted evil stove, I was able to stick to the Meal Plan fairly well. Luckily the only meal affected was the Fish Fry.....obviously can't fry fish without a stove top, right?lol So we worked around having to use the stove top. I made grilled cheese sandwiches one night, using a baking sheet on the gas grill instead. I tried to cook the BBQ Chicken Pizza I made on Thursday on the grill too but alas, my pizza pan was too large to fit, so it went into the oven of the Cursed Stove.

Needless to say, hubby went out and purchased a new range on Saturday after I struck out finding one used locally, on Craigslist or eBay during the week.
So until they deliver the new range(thursday) we are either cooking out on the grill or using some FREE FOOD Coupons/Certificates.

Here's what our family of 3 will be eating this week...

Monday-Sausage Patty Sandwiches(from freezer/local meat), Grilled Onions, Cabbage(leftover from Corned Beef dinner last Sunday)
Tuesday-KFC Free Grilled 2 piece Meals
Wednesday-Grilled Fish, Grilled Squash(from the garden), Cheddar Biscuits(from Bisquick mix)
Thursday-Pizza(frozen), Salad(from the garden)
Friday-Rigatoni with Meat Sauce, Sauted Swiss Chard w/Bacon(from the garden)
Saturday-Ham Slices, Mac & Cheese, Veggie(whatever is ripe from the garden)
Sunday-Eating Out($4 Restaurant.com Certificate)

Desserts-M&M Cookies, Peaches

The cookies will only be made IF the weather isn't too hot. Otherwise, we'll suffer through the week with Ice Cream instead.....poor, poor us.lol
I'll be making my Meat Sauce for the pasta from scratch in the Crockpot. I'll do a play-by-play on Friday on how to make that the low & slow way w/out heating up your kitchen.

My shopping list for this week's meals consists of 1 item-hamburger buns for the sausage patty sandwiches. Hubby is stopping to pick that up so I don't even have to go into a grocery store this week.
Since the garden is starting to produce goodies, I am incorporating garden veggies into our meal plan this week. The money I am NOT spending at the grocery store this week, I'll take to the farm stand later this week to get a big mess of green beans...some for eating now and a lot more to put up for winter.

Food Waste Report.....We cleared out a lot of leftovers this past week. I dug something out of the back of the fridge that went into the trash. It was so old and bad I can't even tell you what it had been in a previous life.lol I also pitched out some old sour cream that had started to grow fuzz on the lid. ick

Check out Organizing Junkie's Website Here to see what other Home Cooks are serving this week!

Sluggy

Cleaning out the Freezer Challenge Jam or Where did I Find my Thrill?

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you might remember last Friday, when I picked up this flat of fresh NJ blueberries at Shop-Rite. They ended up costing me $2.99 total. That's 6 pints!
Blueberries are hubby's most-est favorite fruit.
But what happens when hubby eats 1 pint and you have to do something with the other 5 before they start going bad?
You make BLUEBERRY JAM!
I used this jam making session as an opportunity to "Clean the Freezer" too.
I had an opened/parital bag of frozen Organic Blueberries, as well as what was left from the wild Maine blueberries I had obtained on our summer vacation to Maine last year.

I mixed 2 pints of the new berries with those 2 bags of frozen berries and a bit of sugar. Boiled the whole mix down.....



Voici! Blueberry Jam.
There isn't enough to can so this large batch is headed for the fridge and will adorn many slices of toast, bagels, English muffins or peanut butter sammiches.

Making jam is pretty easy. It's not jelly so you don't have to strain it, just skim off the foam that appears when it first starts boiling.
No special equipment except a pot, and no special cooking skills needed. Just fruit and a little sugar, simple and tasty.

This batch took awhile to boil down....notice all the blue ice crystals from the store bought frozen berries. All that water had to boil off so it took that much longer to cook it down to jam consistency.
Since it's not being canned, you don't need pectin or to water bath process this. You could also put 'fridge jam' into the freezer if you don't think you'll eat it all within a month.

I still had 3 pints of fresh berries to tuck away as is, into the freezer for later.....almost 3 pints. I did have to put a handful aside to mix into my yogurt in the morning. Mmmmm....

Be sure and grab some fresh Blueberries while they are in season & the price is reasonable!

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday.....June 15th Edition

Well if you are a regular reader of my blog,you know already that last week's meal plan was a disaster because, well.....there WAS NO MEAL PLAN!lol

The relatives are all gone finally.
2 of the 3 kids are gone as of this morning too.
I am slowly picking up the pieces today(of laundry, of used glasses and plates, of trash left behind, of dog bedding due to a sick dog who's having a hard time getting outside in time-if you know what I mean!ick, & of shopping bags from shopping I did over the last few days that I haven't had a chance to put away).

So no Meal Plan and I had to wing it last week. Except for shelling out $44+ at the grocery store last Monday morning(for ingredients Sis-in-law needed to make Pasta Salad she wanted to make for the Graduation Cook-Out Lunch)& the $60+ trip to Bob Evans for dinner hubby decided we needed Wed. night, I did ok feeding all the crew on mostly what I had on hand. My brain is so fried though, that I can't recall most of what I made for dinner last week!lol

I do recall the Steak Enchiladas I threw together on Friday.
We invited BIL & the Nephew over for our Mexican Fiesta night since nephew LOVES all Mexican Food.
I had 2 packages of stew beef in the freezer I wanted to use up as part of my Cleaning out the Freezer Challenge. I put that into the crockpot along with a roughly chopped large onion and a baggy full of red bell peper strips I froze last fall from the farm stand. I cooked that until the beef was pretty tender(about 4 hours on high), then I took it out to cool and sliced/tore the stew pieces into smaller pieces for the enchilada filling. Put it back into the crockpot with mexican spices like cumin, garlic, chili powder, paprika, etc.(You could just use a packet of premixed taco or fajita seasoning instead.) I let that simmer while I opened the refried beans(pantry stockpile), grated the jack & cheddar cheeses and thawed out the tortillas(all stockpiled in the freezer). I also made enchilada sauce(from stockpiled tomato puree).
I smeared some refrieds on the tortilla, put on 2 big spoonfuls of the seasoned beef and then a handful of cheese. Roll it up and put into the casserole pan. Cover with Enchilada Sauce and grated Cheeses. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 min. or so. While the Enchiladas baked, I made the Knorr Mexican Rice side dish(also from stockpile)in a pan on the stovetop & heated up the Green Giant Corn(stockpile again).

The FOOD WASTE report....the doggies had nice leftovers added to their kibble almost every night. Just the dribs & drabs of leftovers nobody wanted to eat.
Hubby is the cause of half a watermelon going bad. After it was cut up, we had half left. So I told him to put it into the cooler on the back deck as we had no room in the fridge(we had ice and drinks in there for the Cook-Out). So 2 days later I was looking for the watermelon to serve it.
Nope, not in the cooler. I figured one of the masses of people wandering in and out of the house this past week had eaten it.
On Friday, I happened to open the OTHER COOLER SITTING ON THE DECK THAT WE HADN'T BEEN USING.
Guess what was in there?
Yep.....

So now I have a formerly luscious melon rotting away in my compost pile while I ask myself, "Why would someone put a half a watermelon in a hot cooler with no ice?"
A hubby not thinking and just doing what he's told, that's who.


Back to the Menu....
We are down to 3 people this week, so I am taking it easy & making it simple. Lots of quick stuff and things I can use up from the freezer/stockpile.

Here's what is on the Menu at Sluggy's house this week.

SUNDAY-Steak Quesadilla(from leftover Steak Enchilada filling), Salad

MONDAY-Pizza, Salad

TUESDAY-Hot Dogs, Potato Salad, Applesauce

WEDNESDAY-Tuna w/Noodles in Alfredo Sauce, Peas

THURSDAY-Rigatoni w/Spaghetti Sauce, Salad

FRIDAY-Grilled Fish, Baby Mixed Veggies on Grill w/Mrs. Dash's

SATURDAY-Grilled Italian marinated Chicken, Rice w/Mushrooms, Grilled Summer Veggie Mix

SUNDAY-Dinner Out/Kid to Camp

DESSERTS FOR THE WEEK-Brownies, Fresh Fruit Salad

All I need for this Menu are some Hot Dog Rolls and some fresh veggies(after I see what is still usable from the $44 Pasta Salad trip veggies). Everything else on the list is in the stockpile or freezer.
Hopefully, I can refrain from making too much of anything, since I am not use to feeding ONLY 3 people at a meal.

Organizing Junkie is the home to Menu Plan Monday. Go see what's on her and many other Home Cooks' Menus for the week at Organizing Junkie's Website.

Sluggy

Roasted Seasoned Potatoes a la Stockpile Recipe

The family had a yard work day on Sunday. The weather was nice, a tad cold but nice, so we donned the work clothes and set out to get the garden beds ready to plant. We pulled up weeds, raked up undecomposed leaves and such from the beds & did some weed whacking around the dog run and pool. There was also the end of last year's dirt pile to move so we could level & reseed the now grassless spot where it had sat. We also had a new pile of dirt delivered last week that had to be dumped into various garden beds. The compost also needed work as it had sat unattended all winter.



After a few hours of work, we called it a day and I had the task of feeding the ravaneously hungry crew. Besides the steaks I bought the day before to grill out on Sunday, I had been so busy with the yardwork that I hadn't prepared any other dishes to go with the protein....heck, I didn't even have ANY IDEA of what to serve with the steaks. So I opened the pantry door and peered in to see what stockpiled items would 'speak' to me.



The vegetable dish was easy, as I had some frozen boxed mixtures to choose from. The carbo dish was the hard one....I had some potatoes I needed to use up but baked potatoes would take too long and I didn't want to fry anything since I was on outside grill duty.
A box of Knorr dry soup mix caught my eye and I took it from there, making it up as I went along.



I washed & peeled the potatoes. Then I cubed them, placing them in a big stainless steel bowl.


I poured in about 2 Tablespoons of EVOO=Olive Oil, and tossed them in the bowl to coat.

I sprinked on 1/2 a packet of Knorr Leek Soup dry soup mix, shaking the potatoes so they were coated evenly.

The Knorr Soup Mix was a find from a Big Lots at $1.00.

Then I shook on McCormick's Salad Supreme(a salad topping seasoning mix)& one of their Grill Mates mixtures called "Hamburger". This had salt, pepper, chili flake, garlic, etc. in it. The Salad Supreme has Parmasen Cheese in it, among other things. I sprinkled on each, while tossing the potatoes to coat evenly, using about 1 Tablespoon of each.

Then I lined a cookie sheet with foil and turned the potatoes out on it, spreading them evenly. No need to spray the foil, as the EVOO on the potatoes will keep them from sticking to the foil.

I roasted the potatoes in a 400 degree preheated oven for about 22 mins. or until the chunks were cooked through and they were golden in color. (Smaller pieces will cook quicker-larger pieces will take longer, so YMMV.)

And here they are! My photography isn't the best but even with my skills with a camera, they looked good enough to eat!lol

The family gobbled them up in short order and gave them 2 thumbs up.

The potatoes were inexpensive, as potatoes usually are....about $1.00 for 7 spuds.

The Soup Mix was $1, so the half I used was .50¢.

The McCormick Seasonings were $1 & $.67 a bottle, respectively, on sale and with $1/1 Qs. I used approx. 1/4 a bottle each, so .25¢ & .17¢=.42¢ for both.

EVOO was .13¢ a tablespoon, so cost was .26¢ for 2 TBs.

$2.18 total for 6 generous servings or .36¢ per serving.

I thought this dish was fairly successful. It was tasty without resorting to mashing and tons of Butter & Salt....not that there's anything wrong with Butter & Salt.lol

It's Monday night and I STILL don't have my Menu Plan done for this week!

*sigh*

Maybe a refreshed brain in the morning can deal with this chore. I'm just too beat to think up anything good tonight.

Off to rest my weary bones.....

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday May 4th Edition

The Meal Plan for last week was like trying to nail Jello to the wall.
Since I wasn't feeling well, Hubby helped out a bit on tuesday w/Tacos & wednesday w/the Beef Pie. I slept through most of thursday & friday and I can't for the life of me remember what we ate. I KNOW we ate but WHAT is beyond me.lol
Saturday we grilled steak, squash & red peppers and sunday was brats, dogs & corn as planned. Grilled veggies is turning out to be my favorite way to fix most any vegetable.

The Mac & Cheese with Ham, the Bourbon Bacon Shrimp and the Pizza never happened, so we'll see those items this week.
We have Track Meets and a Band & Chorus Concert this week, so the plan is not very inventive and a few crockpot or easy 'throw-together' meals are included.


As for the FOOD WASTE report for last week. First, let me plead sickness...
I can't be expected to achieve 0% Food Waste while delirious with sinus.lol

We had to throw out a corningware dish full of sweet potato casserole leftover from Easter. This just makes me sick!
I had fixed baked sweet potatoes for Easter dinner but #2 son loves them mashed with all that sugar, cinnamon & marshmallows on them. I gave in and made him a big dish of it. He hardly touched it!
Ugh

So it got pushed to the back of the fridge.
I had plans to either dump it into the brownies I made &/or mix it into the dog's food bowls over the course of a few nights.
Daughter ended up making the brownies without my imput(OR the sweet potatoes)and being sick, I wasn't the one feeding the dogs this past week...so they didn't get the SPs in their bowls.

It seems I am the Lone Keeper of the Leftovers in this house, so when I don't use the leftovers, they go to waste. The kids won't touch them unless I hide them in something else. The only Leftover-eating helpers are hubby and the dogs.

I'm thinking about instituting a Leftover Night one day a week. No new food cooked....just find something in the fridge to eat. Everyone fends for themselves....except hubby. I'll heat up his leftover for him. ;-)
Good idea? Let me know what ya'll think.

The Bargain Meal this week would have to be the Rigatoni. No meat so it's the natural low cost pick. Pasta for $1 box, sauce cheaply made or jarred for $1.50, mixed salad greens(with carrot) for about $2.00, dressing $1.00 small bottle, homemade garlic bread for $1.00 loaf (including garlic & butter)=$6.50 for the meal or $1.08 per serving.

I bought Cabbage & Swiss Chard last saturday so the only items I need for this week's menu is a Pork Shoulder for the BBQ, rolls & the pizza fixings I never bought last week. I'm figuring I'll be able to pick up some pork quite cheap, due to the hysteria over Swine Flu & hogs. I'll be picking up milk, bread, strawberries and some fresh produce this week as well and anything I find for cheap for the freezer stockpile.
Speaking of the freezer....2 Saturdays back I got the coolers out and took a hammer to the ice build-up in the big freezer. It took about 3 hours to finish but after loading up the coolers with what was in the freezer, I was able to turn off the freezer and perform my 'Manual Defrosting/DeIceberging' on it. The freezer went from a jampacked with frozen food glacial landscape to a half-filled 'chill chest' with room for more food items.
I'm not looking to cram it full but I have space if some bargain presents itself this week in my travels.

Here's what is on the Menu at Sluggy's house this week. I'll post a recipe for the Bourbon Bacon Scallops after I make one up on thursday.lol

MONDAY-Pizza, Tossed Salad
TUESDAY-Macaroni & Cheese, Ham or maybe ham chunks mixed into the Mac & Chz, Swiss Chard
WEDNESDAY-Rigatoni & Sauce, Salad, Garlic Bread
THURSDAY-Bourbon Bacon Scallops, Cheese Polenta(grits), Collards
FRIDAY-Pork BBQ Sandwiches, Coleslaw
SATURDAY-Baked Salmon Teriyaki, Stir Fry Veggies, leftover Mac & Chz(if there isn't any, broiled Potatoes & Onions
SUNDAY-The Cook's day off!!! Maybe if they get hungry enough THEY'LL COOK!lol
DESSERTS FOR THE WEEK-Strawberries-fresh or in Strawberry Shortcake

Organizing Junkie is the home to Menu Plan Monday. Go see what's on her and many other Home Cooks' Menus for the week at Organizing Junkie's website.

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday April 27th Edition

The Meal Plan for last week went off without a hitch until we hit Friday.
I didn't feel well for a couple of days so hubby winged it alone. The Cheese Ravioli he could handle aok(and made on Friday instead) and while daughter and I were off smashing up my minivan, he whipped up sandwiches for himself & #2 son instead of the Scallops, so those will be put on this week's menu plan. I hope these Scallops don't turn up to follow in the footsteps of the elusive Crab Cakes! If so, you could be hearing about them for weeks on end...lol

Again, we are eating from the pantry/freezer this week. Shopping list consists of the chicken(I bought on Monday), a bag of salad(also bought on Monday), carrots, grits, some pepperoni and rolls(if I don't feel up to baking them this week with the heat and my sinuses being all goofy).

I am happy to report that we had.....drum roll please......NO FOOD WASTE this week!
Can I get an Amen?

Leftovers got eaten....
Every.
Single.
Bit.

Of course, the puppies did have to consume some "kid flavoured" yogurt.
Not that the yogurt was flavoured like Kids, but it's that yogurt they market toward kids in crazy colors and too much sugar in it. Daughter wanted me to buy it but she decided that the 'orange' ones didn't taste good, so the female beagle volunteered to finish those up. I swear that dog eats anything!

I'll be keeping a watchful eye on the leftover situation in the fridge this week. I hope I feel better in the next couple of days or I'll be saying "screw it" to the meal plan after having collapsed into bed & letting hubby take all the family meals from the Colonel, the King, the Clown & the Bell.

If I can stay vertical, here's what is on the Menu at Sluggy's house this week.

MONDAY-Grilled Marinated Chicken Breast, Mashed Garlic Potatoes or Macaroni Salad(both leftovers), Corn on the Cob
TUESDAY-Tacos...it's going to be too HOT to cook!
WEDNESDAY-Beef Pie
THURSDAY-Bourbon Bacon Scallops, Cheese Polenta(grits), Grilled Squash
FRIDAY-Macaroni & Cheese, Ham, Mixed Veggies
SATURDAY-Pizza, Salad
SUNDAY-Sausage Sandwiches, Potato Salad, Corn
DESSERTS FOR THE WEEK-Strawberries, Carrot Cake, Sherbet

My Bargain Meal this week....could be any one of 3-the Grilled Chicken Meal, the Tacos or the homemade Pizza. With the Grilled Chicken you only have the cost of the chicken(which I got at a reduced price Monday afternoon), seasonings and the corn(great price direct from the farmer of .18¢ an ear that I froze last summer). The Mac. Salad and the Garlic Mashed are both leftovers so no cost on those. Tacos or Pizza are both fairly frugal entrees--a have cheap cheese from a stock-up for both and these two use small amounts of meat, with the pizza using hardly any or none at all if we do a vegetarian pizza.
I just don't feel like picking one and doing the cost analysis this week.
It's my blog and if I don't feel like it, too too bad. ;-P

I also owe ya'll some recipes from last week-the Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zucchini and the different French Toast. Once I get my sinuses shrunk down to normal size, I'll be posting those recipes this week.
Pinky Swear.

Organizing Junkie is the home to Menu Plan Monday. Go see what's on her and many other Home Cooks' Menus for the week at Organizing Junkie's website.

Sluggy

Sluggy's Beef Pie Casserole Recipe

This is a variation of Shepherd's Pie I invented. I found Shepherd's Pie was too 'heavy' with the doughy or the mashed potatoes topping. I like this lighter tasting variation.

SLUGGY'S BEEF PIE CASSEROLE

Ingredients

1lb. Ground Beef
1 med. Onion, chopped
1/2 lb. Carrots, chopped
1/2lb. Green Beans (You can substitute yellow or wax beans or peas as well)
2 cups Water(for boiling veggies)
2 Cans Tomato Soup
1 Beef Bouillion Cube(or Beef Stock-about 1 cup)
2 Boxes Cornbread Mix(Jiffy sized)
2 Eggs
2/3 cup Milk

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.

Brown your Ground Beef. Remove from pan and set aside.

Using some of the grease from the meat, Saute your chopped onion in the same pan.

When done, add your chopped carrots and green beans, water & bouillion cube. (If using beef stock, reduce the water used in half.)
Let this boil until the veggies are cooked, adding more water so it does not boil dry.(If you use frozen carrots and beans you do NOT have to boil the veggies. Just add veggies to the onion and warm them to defrost.)
If there is water in your pan after the carrots & beans are cooked, pour it off.

Add the Tomato Soup & mix in. Do NOT dilute the soup with water.

Add the cooked Ground Beef.

Pour the veggie/beef/tomato soup mixture into a large baking dish.

Prepare the Cornbread mix according to package directions(using the eggs & milk).
Drop spoonfuls of Cornbread mixture onto your beef/veggie mixture, covering it with the cornbread mixture.

Cook in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, until the cornbread is done.

Makes 6 Servings.

*If you don't eat red meat, substitute ground chicken or turkey for the ground beef. (Use a bit of olive oil to brown the chicken or turkey.)
**If you have sodium concerns use beef stock instead of bouillion cubes and reduced salt tomato soup.

Meal Plan Monday April 20th Edition

I'm a day behind blogging here so excuse my tardiness on the Menu.

The Meal Plan for last week went well. Crab Cakes were enjoyed by all FINALLY! The Mystery Meal turned out to be LAMB I marinated and grilled out, leftover asparagus from Easter dinner and Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I picked up the lamb for cheap in an after Easter sale at the grocery store. I never see lamb on sale here, so I jumped on that deal. Sunday we grilled out burgers and dogs since the weather was so nice instead of having Calzones. Calzones will happen Next week....maybe.....if ricotta is on sale.

I'll be posting later in the week about a new treatment for French Toast I made last friday AND my recipe for Lena's Chicken & Zuchinni so check back. My BEEF PIE recipe link is below.

We have very little in the way of leftovers generated from last week's meals....only a tiny bit of chili, beets & a hot dog.

Food Waste this week was about a cup of mixed veggies in a cheese sauce. It was a leftover from 2 weeks ago that got pushed to the back of the shelf in the fridge. This is something I don't feed to the dogs so out it went since the sauce made it not so good for composting.
Speaking of composting....Hubby threw out some veggie scraps instead of composting them. He caught heck from me for that!lol

Still eating mostly from the pantry stockpile/freezer this week, except wednesday's main course is being bought on wed.-frozen pizzas. (It's a sale and the last day for the sale.) Since I have no room in the freezer for those big unwieldy boxes, they will be eaten that night for dinner.lol Outside of some fresh produce I need to pick up, everything is on hand here for the weekly menu.

Here's what is on the Menu at Sluggy's house this week.

MONDAY-Lena's Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuchinni, Rice
TUESDAY-Pot Roast, Carrots, Onions, Beets, Potatoes
WEDNESDAY-Pizza, Salad
THURSDAY-Beef Stroganoff(leftover pot roast), Rice, Tuscan Veggies
FRIDAY-Bourbon Bacon Scallops, Cheese Polenta(grits), Spinach
SATURDAY-Cheese Ravioli, Salad
SUNDAY-Beef Pie

DESSERTS FOR THE WEEK-Brownie, Brownies & more Brownies, Strawberries

My Bargain Meal this week is the Beef Pie. Replace the dough topping with Cornbread. That makes it a 'lighter' twist on the Shepherd's Pie idea. I also don't use potatoes in mine. The cornbread is enough carbohydrate and you get plenty of veggie with the onion, carrot & green beans, so the potatoes aren't needed to balance the dish. I'll be making both beef and turkey versions on Sunday, as daughter is not eating red meat any longer. Go see the recipe HERE


Ingredients....
1lb. Ground Beef...$1.69(gotten on sale)
1/2 lb.Carrots......$.50
1/2 lb.Green Beans....$.75
1 med. Onion.....$.25
2 cans Tomato Soup...$1.08(Target .54 ea.)
2 boxes Cornbread Mix...$1.00(on sale .50 ea. last week)
2 Eggs.....$.00(free eggs last week)
2/3 cup Milk.....$.30
1 bouillion cube...$.08

Ingredients Total...$5.56

Serving Cost....$.93 each for 6 Generous Servings.

Organizing Junkie is the home to Menu Plan Monday. Go see what's on her and many other Home Cooks' Menus for the week at Organizing Junkie's website.

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday April 13th Edition

Last week's menu pretty much held as written last Monday.....except for the CRABCAKES! Seriously, these crabcakes are becoming the running joke around this house. The family is now accusing me of not even having crab in the house! It's all just a cruel joke I am pulling on them, getting their hopes up for yummy crabcakes every week.lolol

I scaled back on Easter Dinner yesterday, having everything except the made from scratch beans, creamed spinach and salad. It was just the right amount of food. I sent 2 plates home with the relatives and we had just a small amount of leftovers....some of which were finished today or tonight.
I cooked Chili on saturday-2 pots of it....1 w/ground turkey for daughter and the other crockpot was regular ground beef chili. Late saturday night I plopped the ham in one of the crockpots and cooked it overnight. The only thing I had to run the oven for was the sweet potatoes, rolls & cake and pie. I should have put the sweet potatoes in the other crockpot when I put the ham on instead. That would have saved energy, as the swt. pots. take a long while to cook. The rolls and cake/pie went into the oven as soon as the swt. pots. came out. Doing all your oven baking at once saves electricity/gas as the oven is hot already, so you save all that preheating energy.

I cooked ahead the boiled eggs(for deviled eggs)and made the macaroni salad on saturday too. The veggies(asparagus & summer squash)were simply grilled outside. I placed a layer of foil on the grill, sprinkled some EVOO and placed the veggies on the foil. The squash got a few shakes of seasoning while grilling and the asparagus got some sea salt sprinkled on after plating.
So simple but so good and refreshing. No drowning of veggies in sauces this year! ;-)
While I grilled, hubby baked the rolls and sliced the ham, putting the pie and cake in when the rolls came out and we sat down to feast.
Oh well.....there is always next time to plan better.

The only Food Waste this week was a small lime. It somehow got hidden under the red leaf lettuce at the bottom of the produce drawer. I found it Sunday morning when I was rummaging around in the fridge for veggies to put in the macaroni salad.

Still eating mostly from the stockpile/freezer this week.
Since I picked up that 10lbs. of chicken unexpectedly last week, the only items needed for this menu that we don't have in the house are Ricotta Cheese, Pepperoni, Salad Greens, Carrot, Cuke, Sour Cream and I might need more flour(have to check that). I'll be baking Bread for the Garlic Bread and French Toast & making the Calzone Dough from scratch on thursday.

Here's what is on the Menu at Sluggy's house this week.

MONDAY-Kielbasa on Rolls, Onions, leftover Corn
TUESDAY-Crab Cakes, Fries, Harvard Beets
WEDNESDAY-Homemade Burritos, leftover Homemade Chili, leftover Grilled Asparagus/Squash
THURSDAY-Homemade Chicken Parmesan, Tossed Salad, Garlic Bread
FRIDAY-Breakfast for Dinner....Capn Crunch French Toast, Veggie Frittata, Sausage
SATURDAY-Mystery Meal (This keeps the family guessing and let's me use something up from deep in the recesses of the freezer.)
SUNDAY-Homemade Calzones-like I use to buy when I worked in Brooklyn

DESSERTS FOR THE WEEK-Brownie, Brownies & more Brownies, Grapes, Mandarin Oranges, Ice Cream

My Bargain Meal this week is the Kielbasa on Rolls w/side dishes.
Ingredients....
2lb. Kielbasa BOGO 2 for $3.99 (Cut into 3 pieces each.)
2 Large Onions sauteed $.50
1 pack of Steak Rolls $1.50
Mustard $.30
2 tablespoons Butter $.06
Corn(leftover) $.00
Macaroni Salad(leftover) $.00
Ingredients Total...$6.35

Serving Cost....$1.06 each for 6 Generous Servings.

Organizing Junkie is the home to Menu Plan Monday.
Go see what's on her and many other Home Cooks' Menus for the week at Organizing Junkie's website.

Sluggy

GREEN & THRIFTY THURSDAY...My Potluck Chili Recipe

As promised, here is my POTLUCK CHILI Recipe.
This 'Recipe' is also my GREEN & THRIFTY THURSDAY Post.
Do ya like the way I snuck that in?lol

If you have an onion, some garlic, spices, a can of some kind of tomato product and some leftover beans and/or meat, you can make chili.

I like to use up whatever protein I have hanging around in the fridge. That's what makes this thrifty.....using up leftovers. Less Food Waste is green too!
Try this with ground(or shredded!)chicken or turkey....or TVP too(for the vegeterians in your life).
Even if you don't cook, if you can chop an onion, you CAN make chili. Just let your own tastebuds be your guide.

Ok, there are the basics....
some kind of tomato product, onions, garlic & spices-cumin or cilantro, chili powder, paprika & cayenne.
The beans &/or meat can change. Use what you have or use what you like or use what you are trying to use up(leftovers).
If I want to make an 'expensive' chili or I have expensive steak or roast leftovers to use up, I'll put small chunks of that meat in.
If I have ground beef leftovers to use up(usually taco beef), I'll put that in. Feel free to mix in whatever meats you have, ground, chunked, shredded, etc.

If I have beans leftover or someone likes bean chili I'll put those in. If you are going to use beans just make sure you have canned beans on hand or if using dried beans, make sure you have soaked and boiled them beforehand to soften them before adding. I have learned the HARD way that once you add an acidic ingredient(like ketchup or any tomato based product)the beans in your chili will NOT soften anymore, no matter how long you cook them. Make sure your beans are as soft as you need them BEFORE adding them to a tomato based chili.

Here are the beginnings of POTLUCK CHILI.

1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Meat(whatever kind you have)
Beans(kidney, pinto or whatever kind you have)
1 Tablespoon cilantro or cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder(optional)
1 Large Can of Crushed or Puree Tomatoes
1 teaspoon beef bouillion(optional)

Chop your onion & garlic.
Pour Olive Oil in saute pan.
Add chopped veggies and saute over medium heat until translucent.
When done, if you want meat, add your meat now to brown. Add as much as you like. 1lb. minimum but feel free to add more or less to taste
When meat is browned, add your spices:cilantro or cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, black pepper, salt, paprika, cayenne powder(if you want it hot)
Heat for 5 minutes.
Add your can of tomatoes.
If you want beans, add your beans now. 1-2 cans to start. Add more if you like beans or are making this vegetarian. Kidney &/or pinto beans are traditional chili add-ins, but you can use any type of bean you like. I like to partially mash(with a potato masher)my beans. The mashed beans help give the chili a creamier, thicker texture. It's the GLUE That holds the chili together, I say.

At this point taste your basic chili. If you like it sweeter, add a little ketchup, bbq sauce or chili sauce. If you like more heat, add tabasco or hot sauce. If you like more spice, add more pepper/cumin/cayenne. If you love garlic, add more of that in. If you like a more pornounced 'meat' taste, add some beef boullion or stock.
Just keep playing with the flavors until you find what YOU like!

Transfer into a crockpot at this point and just let it cook on low all day....or leave on the stove to simmer if you are home and can watch & stir the pot every once in awhile.
After at least 3-4 hours the flavors will have melded enough to serve.

Add shredded cheese, green onions &/or a dollop of sour cream on top of the chili.
Serve with warm cornbread, tortillas, biscuits or whatever bread-like food you prefer.

The picture?
Oh, those are the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
I always forget to take pictures of my food before everyone eats it up. The Chili Pepper boys will have to do in lieu of POTLUCK CHILI photos. Some people think they are pretty HOT too. ;-))

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday April 6th Edition

This week's menu is mostly Eating from the Pantry/Freezer again, except for the Ham I bought Sat. for "Company's Coming Over for Easter" Sunday's meal(though I will slice & freeze some of that for use later) and the Graham Cracker Pie Shell for the Key Lime Pie. I am out of fresh produce after using the last of the carrots today w/the roast chicken.
Oh, I do have a bunch of celery left and a few potatoes to make fries later in the week, but I need fresh produce this week (for raw or grilled dishes)so I have put the veggies on the menu that are on sale here this week.....zukes, peppers, lettuces, cabbage, carrots.

We did ok with food waste this week. The only leftover not eaten by humans was some baked fish. The beagles happily offered to help me out finishing that off.
Beagle=canine garbage disposal lolol


Last weeks' menu?
See my previous post about being flexible with the meal plan when 'life happens'.

Here's what is on the Menu at Sluggy's house this week.

MONDAY-Roasted Chicken, Carrots, Onions, Mushrooms, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce
TUESDAY-Crab Cakes, Fries, Harvard Beets
WEDNESDAY-Tacos or Taco Salad, Corn
THURSDAY-Birthday Meal Out-postponed to this day due to illness
FRIDAY-Grilled Salmon, Coleslaw, Grilled Zucchini
SATURDAY-Chili, Cornbread
SUNDAY-Baked Ham, Deviled Eggs, Sweet Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Creamed Spinach, Salad, Boston Baked Beans, Macaroni Salad, Tossed Salad, Crudite Plate
DESSERTS FOR THE WEEK-Easter Parfaits, Key Lime Pie, No Bake Oatmeal/Peanut Butter/Chocolate Cookies

I'll post my Chili Recipe later in the week so check back around Wed/Thurs. for that.


My Bargain Meal this week is the Chili & Cornbread.

Bag of dried Beans....$.99
1lb. of Ground Beef...$1.69
1lb. of Ground Chicken.....$1.99
1 Lg. Can Crushed Tomatoes....$.50
Assorted Spices......$.30
1 small Onion.....$.25
1 Head of Garlic....$.20
2 boxes Cornbread Mix...$.80
2 Eggs....$.16
1 cup Milk....$.19
1/2 cup Veggie Oil...$.13
Hot Sauce....FREE(leftover Taco Bell Packets)

Ingredients Total...$7.20
Serving Cost....$.90 each for 8 Generous Servings

Organizing Junkie is the home to Menu Plan Monday. Go see what's on her and many other Home Cooks' Menus for the week at Organizing Junkie's website.

Sluggy

Flexibility is Good for your Menu Plan & Your Bottom Line

I'm here to report that things did not go as planned last week with the menu.

Here is my lovely plan from last Sunday..... MONDAY-Meatloaf, Potato Salad(leftover), Green & Wax Bean Melange TUESDAY-Quiche & Garden Greens Salad WEDNESDAY-Roasted Chicken w/Veggies, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce THURSDAY-Rigatoni w/Meat Sauce, Spinach Soufle FRIDAY-Crab Cakes, Fries, Harvard Beets SATURDAY-Quesadillas(using leftover roasted chicken), Rice, Corn SUNDAY-Birthday Dinner
Out

Here's what we have actually had for meals this week.

MONDAY-Meatloaf, Potato Salad(leftover), Carrots/Broccoli/Cauliflower Melange I saw that Guy Fieri on the Food Network Diners,Drive-Ins & Dives spotlight a meatloaf wrapped in bacon dish on his show. So I made a latticework with bacon(!!)and changed up my meatloaf recipe a bit, formed a log with it and wrapped it in the bacon & aluminum foil. Cooked it for 40 mins. and then removed the foil & continued to cook the meatloaf for 15 mins or so, to get the bacon to crisp up. The kids have said they FORBID me to make meatloaf any other way from now on. I said in that case, I need to invest in a defibrillator machine for the house.lolol We polished off the Potato Salad leftover Monday also.

TUESDAY-Quesadillas(using leftover chicken from something I made last week) #1 son worked Tuesday evening and daughter had an away Track Meet, leaving hubby, #2 son and I to dine w/out them. #2 son is NOT a big eater(comparatively), so we had the Quesadillas. I had forgotten about some cooked chicken breasts leftover in the fridge from something I made last week. Since there was no Roasted Chicken yet this week(to provide leftover chicken for Quesadillas), this chicken served the purpose just fine. Unfortunately, nobody wanted chicken in their Quesadilla!lol Basically we had "Mexican Grilled Cheese" instead. At least we didn't make any new Leftovers that night.

WEDNESDAY-Quiche & Garden Greens Salad So I still had that leftover chicken to use up. So we bumped Quiche to the front of the menu line. Instead of Quiche Lorraine, we had Quiche Lorraine avec Poulet & a Salad. Bacon AND Chicken....what's not to love? I was able to use up some old carrot shreds in the Salad too.

THURSDAY-Hamburgers, Corn, Baked Beans
I forgot to defrost the Roasting Chicken(and who wants chicken 2 nights in a row?). The weather was so warm and nice, hubby wanted me to cook something on the grill outside. So I needed something fast that I could throw on the grill. I had a small hunk of ground beef that didn't go into the meatloaf(slated for the meat sauce w/the rigatoni) and about 4 nice thick slices of bacon wrapped meatloaf leftover from Monday's meal. This was just enough portions to make hamburgers/meatloaf burgers.(The adventurous got meatloaf, the purists got classic burger patties.) Added some side dishes and voila....it's dinner! Used up some leftovers and made NO new leftovers.

FRIDAY-Only 2 people ate here. I had a can of soup, one of the kids had fast food.
Hubby got sick on Friday so the Crab Cakes got postponed until the following week again!

SATURDAY-Chicken & Dumplings
On Saturday I deboned some chicken breasts I bought on thursday on clearance(an impulse buy-9lbs. of chicken for $10) and put them into the freezer for use at a later date. I boiled up the bones, picking off some remaining meat on them, disgarded the bones and had me a big pot of stock. I made dumplings from scratch. I added leftover carrots from the Corned Beef dinner side dish of the week before and some cornstarch and had 'Milkless' Chicken & Dumplings for Sat. dinner.(No milk because I didn't want to upset Hubby's still sick tummy.)
SUNDAY-Rigatoni, Lasagna, Grilled Summer Squash
Hubby wanted to postpone his Birthday meal out so Sunday we had the Rigatoni in Spaghetti Sauce, leftover Lasagna & I grilled some summer squash brushed with olive oil and sea salt.At this point, we put Roasted Chicken back into the pot of potential dinners for next week.

I was able to use up leftover Coconut Rice and the Bacon drippings(from the famous meatloaf) by adding these into the dogs' food over 2 nights of feedings. I wonder why these dogs love me so....ok, I KNOW why they love me.
The only food waste I couldn't avoid was about 1 cup of fresh spinach. It went to slime before I noticed it was still in the produce drawer.....bleh.
The thing I have discovered is having a meal plan/menu is a great tool to save you money when grocery shopping BUT.....you have to be flexible enough to change things up when life throws you a curveball. And believe me, life is all about the curveballs!

If you are rigid and can't change when faced with your families eating patterns, you will end up with more leftovers in your fridge/freezer and potentially more food waste.

I so detest food waste! It's like taking your money and throwing it directly into the garbage. That's what you're doing every time you have to throw food out that doesn't get eaten.

And figuring out what to buy and how much to prepare will NEVER stay the same in your career as your family's domestic manager! When my kids were little, their likes and dislikes changed almost hourly sometimes. One day green food was cool and was all they would eat. The next day a piece of broccoli on their plate would send them into hysterics. One day they ate like miniature Professional Eaters-In-Training.....the next, they subsisted on Cheerios and watered down juice.

As my kids have aged, I have had to adjust the size of portions upwards. When #1 son got into wrestling & was 'in season', I had to bulk up how much I cooked even more & adjust the types of food I prepared.
Now that #1 son will be heading off to a summer job across the state & then to college AND daughter has decided to stop eating red meat, I'll be adjusting the amount and what foods I cook for the family again.

All I can tell you is that getting the food shopping & menu plan accurate for your family is consistently variable.
You will always struggle with the leftovers/food waste issue if you cook for your family. And if you don't, I'm sure I can find you some mighty fine slime,.....er, leftovers in my fridge.

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday March 30th Edition

Last week's menu went as planned except for the CrabCakes. Those poor crabcakes....seems like they will NEVER get made! We ended up last week having leftovers 2 nights but #1 son worked alot and daughter had play rehearsal until 9 every night, so we still have some leftovers. I'll do my best to eat for lunch what I can, but the doggies will have to help me out this week so we can avoid the dreaded FOOD WASTE! Somehow I don't think the dogs will mind having to eat leftovers.lolol
Sunday is Hubby's birthday so I don't have to cook that day.
I've linked to the Crab Cake recipe I use. Being from Virginia Beach originally, I loves me some seafood. I like a light hand when making crab cake batter/filler. You don't want to spend all that money on crab and then not be able to taste it. This recipe is one of the best.

Again this week's menu is mostly Eating from the Pantry/Freezer. Last week, I only needed to buy 3 items to make that menu. This week I only need 4 items for the menu(salad greens, fresh mushrooms, cubed stuffing/breading & eggs).

Here's what is on the Menu at Sluggy's house this week.

MONDAY-Meatloaf, Potato Salad(leftover), Green & Wax Bean Melange
TUESDAY-Quiche & Garden Greens Salad
WEDNESDAY-Roasted Chicken w/Veggies, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce
THURSDAY-Rigatoni w/Meat Sauce, Spinach Soufle
FRIDAY-Crab Cakes, Fries, Harvard Beets
SATURDAY-Quesadillas(using leftover roasted chicken), Rice, Corn
SUNDAY-Birthday Dinner Out
Desserts for the Week-Apple Pie, Brownies,

My Bargain Meal this week is the Rigatoni w/Sauce & Spinach Souffle.

Rigatoni.... .50¢ box
Sauce....leftover from last week's Lasagna meal $1.50
Meat in Sauce....used 1/3lb. from ground beef chunk for Monday's Meatloaf .56¢
Salad Greens.....$1.99
Dressing.....$1.00
Croutons.... .25¢
Spinach Souffle.... $4.00
$9.80 OR $1.64 a serving(6 Generous Servings)

The largest expenses are the Salad Greens and the Spinach Souffles(2 boxes of Stouffer's side dish). I can't wait until I can plant my own salad greens and not have to pay through the nose for those until next winter! I also have a dilemna on the Spinah Souffles. I was down to ONE STORE locally that carries this particular Stouffer's item. We like this item and it's sooo convenient to buy already made up....but now that 1 store has stopped carrying it. I have made spinach souffle before from scratch(it isn't that difficult) so I'll have to start making it again. I hate not having the option to buy it instead but at the price it had risen too, every frugal bone in my body has been screaming at me to MAKE IT and NOT SPEND THAT MONEY ON CONVENIENCE! Now I have to listen to my frugal bones....lol

Organizing Junkie is the home to Menu Plan Monday. Go see what's on her and many other Home Cooks' Menus for the week at Organizing Junkie's website.

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday March 23rd Edition

Last week's meal went as planned except for Friday. We ended up not having the Fish & Coconut Rice. And Sat.'s leftovers plan was thwarted as we barely had any leftovers last week! The eating machines, er....teens ate nearly EVERY SCRAP OF FOOD I cooked! That's gratifying, except when you plan on having leftovers for 1 night's meal.

Here's what is on the Menu at Sluggy's house this week.

MONDAY-Chicken, Rice & Broccoli Casserole

TUESDAY-Pretzel Dogs, Corn-On-The-Cob, Potato Salad

WEDNESDAY-Lasagna, Salad

THURSDAY-Pork Chops, Mixed Beans, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Applesauce

FRIDAY-Pizza

SATURDAY-Leftovers or Club Sandwiches

SUNDAY-Crabcakes, Harvard Beets, Leftover Potato Salad

Desserts for the Week-Grapes, Cantaloupe, Carrot Cake

My shopping list for this week's menu(besides milk & bread)is 3 items long.....salad greens & ricotta cheese(for Wed. meal) & 1 tomato(for the club sandwiches). Everything else is on hand.

I'll be posting a recipe for my Chicken, Rice & Broccoli Casserole, later today or Tuesday, so check back. This dish is a homemade cheaper version of a Schwan's Readymade Dinner-Chicken & Broccoli with Cheesy Rice Meal Kit. I use to buy this, back when I wasn't as careful with my money. My family loved it! 1 bag of it wasn't enough for our 5 mouths, so I had to buy 2 bags at a time, at a cost of $10.50 a bag, so $21 for 1 meal! (This same item is now up to $11.49 a bag!) My cost analysis for the homemade version(using my actual costs for the ingredients that go into this batch of the recipe) is $10.08 for 8 generous servings or $1.26 a serving. That's less than 1/2 what the Schwan's item cost, is very easy to make AND it tastes just as good, if not better!

Organizing Junkie is the home to Menu Plan Monday. Go see what's on her and many other Home Cooks' Menus for the week at Organizing Junkie's website.

Sluggy

Boston Baked Beans Recipe

Finally, here is the Boston Baked Beans recipe. I have made this in the traditional way, in the oven, and in a crockpot, with equal success. I have an older crockpot, so I use the high setting. Your crockpot temp. may work for this on a lower setting.
If preparing in a crockpot, I find you don't need as much of the reserved bean water poured over the beans before baking/simmering either, as the oven dries out food & a crockpot doesn't.
This recipe is great as a side dish or can stand alone as a main dish, especially on those cold, cold days of winter. Serve with fresh homemade bread, biscuits or rolls.

Boston Baked Beans

Ingredients
2 cups navy beans(can use other similar type beans-navy, great northern)
1/2 lb. bacon
1 onion, diced
3 Tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions
*Soak beans overnight in cold water. Simmer beans in the same water until tender, approx. 1-2 hrs. Drain and reserve the liquid. (For a shortcut, you can use canned beans too. If doing so, skip this soaking & simmering step but still reserve the "juice" from the cans for later.)
*Preheat overn the 325 degrees F.
*Brown bacon. Remove from pan. Add diced onions to the bacon grease & cook about 3 min., until soft.
*Arrange the beans in a 2 Quart bean pot/casserole/dutch oven(or crockpot if using a crockpot)by placing a portion of the beans in the bottom of dish, and layering them with bacon and onion.(I cut or tear the bacon into 1 inch pieces.)
*In a saucepan, combine molasses, salt, pepper, dry mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce & brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and pour over the beans.
*Pour in just enough of the reserved bean water to cover the beans.(If using a crockpot, pour about 1/2 cup of that water in.) Cover the dish/pot with a lid(or aluminum foil if it has no lid).
*Bake for 3-4 hours in the oven, until beans are tender(the crockpot may take longer). Remove the lid about halfway through cooking & add more liquid if necessary to prevent the beans from getting too dry.
*Serve & enjoy. Makes 6 generous main dish portions. This dish can be doubled.

Utilizing Sales, Your Pantry & Leftovers AND a Trip to Target

This past week, the regional chain grocery store in my teeny tiny town had Ground Beef for $1.69 lb. That is the rock bottom price here for GB. So like any self-respecting couponing stockpiler, I stocked up of course!

Now what to do with all that Meat....
I repacked about half of the 12 lbs. of it into 1.5lbs. portions in foil and froze it. That is enough to make most any recipe I have that calls for ground beef, or in some cases a double batch of a recipe. These packs will be used for Tacos, Sloppy Joes, Chilli, Meat Spaghetti Sauce, etc.

Some more of it was used to make last night's dinner, Beef Pie. Beef Pie is my version of Shepherd's Pie. You substitute Cornbread topping for Mashed Potatoes.

I made 4 packages of precooked Meatballs for the freezer with 2 portions of the meat, so hubby or the kids can just make up a quick Spaghetti & Meatballs fare when I can't be here to cook dinner.

I debated with myself what to do with the last portion of meat. I looked around the kitchen pantry/fridge to see what I had that needed to be used up soon. You have to keep an eye out for Food Waste, don't you?
There was some leftover spanish rice and tortillas from last friday's Chicken Enchildas.
Bingo!
Use these 3 ingredients plus a can of refried beans(purchased on sale for 99 cents)to make Burritos for the freezer.

We love us some burritos in this house, usually buying the El Monterey brand, as it's the only brand available in the store here.
They hardly go on sale anymore, so that's $4.49 per bag we have to pay. The burritos also seem to have gotten smaller AND they have shrunk the number of burritos in the bag from 10 to 8! Of course, they didn't shrink the price you pay accordingly. grrrrrr

I just cook the ground beef up with garlic, onions, cumin, taco spices and some tomato paste. Take your tortilla, put some rice, some beans, some cheese(jack &/or cheddar, queso) & some beef in the middle and fold it up. I wrap each one in a piece of foil so it stays together until it hardens in the freezer.

I got to use up leftovers & make something I KNOW will be eaten by the kids, from ingredients that I bought inexpensively.

The cost analysis on this dish...
$4.53 for the ingredients
Made 8 large Burritos
So that comes out to $.56 per serving.
Basically, it cost me about the same to make these 8 Large Burritos as to buy the bag of El Monterey's, so in essence, mine cost half the price of the store bought ones.
That works for me!

I hurt my foot on wednesday trying to reach for those boxes of Green Giant veggies I bought for 50 cents a box.
I haven't been able to drive since then, as driving aggravates the foot. I spent Friday at the dr. office, getting x-rays and getting medicine. Luckily DH was home and could drive me around. He drove me to Target for the meds and I was able to pick up a few things for real cheap while there. ;-)

At TARGET I got...
4 x Mott's Applesauce for $.09 a package (reg. $1.66 -Target Q $1+IP Q $.55=$.09)
4 x The Good Life Cat Food for $.99 package (sale price $3.99 - MQ $3=$.99)
2 x Huggies Wipe Refill for $.99 (reg. $5.99 - IP Q $5=$.99)
1 x Glucerna Cereal for -$.51 (reg. $4.49-IP Q $5= -$.51)
2 x Deerfield Shredded Mozz. Cheese for $1.25 ea. (sale price $1.75-Target Q $1.00/2=$1.25 ea.)

Total cost OOP=$6.43
Value of Items with tax=$43.72
Savings of $37.29 or OVER 84%!

Then we bought 2 new printer cartridges. All this coupon printing just sucks up the printer ink, doesn't it? There went all my great coupon savings.lolol

Sluggy