I suppose I really should have started this blog at the beginning of a month, rather than in the middle. Something about "day one" and starting fresh, ya know? The month of March is about using up what we have. Its a smart thing to do, though it is hard on me to fix and eat what is available rather than what I am hungry for!
I found a great menu planning sheet online. I am not organized enough yet to have a Household Notebook, but if you think that's the way to go for your house, check out the other printable pages available here: Organized Home. There are many sites that offer free printables. I recommend doing a search and checking them out. For the cost of the paper and ink I did a great Household Tips and Tricks bridal gift for my daughter.
I like the menu planning page with the shopping list, because I can keep everything in one place. Also it is handy for reminders (i.e. fix 2 extra for tomorrow night or to start something in the crock pot with enough time for it to cook BEFORE its time to eat it, LOL). One caution though: Unless you are organized to a fault, don't write in ink on your menu! I cant tell you how many times I have had to remove items, swap meals, change the plan, etc.
One of the good things about writing all of the meals out is that I am very aware of how much less food we actually NEED to purchase. Man we ate a LOT before and frequently threw away left overs. Now I see that I was overdoing it with all the extras (chips, and various other junk).
I do occasionally mourn the loss of the quickie meal. The one where you don't really have to plan ahead to get a decent meal together. Or one that zaps up quickly in the microwave. Because actually cooking the dinner is cheaper than buying it and reheating I am doing a lot more cooking. Some time I am going to do a cost analysis on the all in one box meals. I mean, $3 for a box that has everything you need for chicken fried rice, pizza bake, or chicken and dumplings just doesn't sound all that extravagant to me.
Back to the planning sheet... I try to tie in one dessert bake and one lunch menu bake a week. For example, in my Angelfood box this month I got a frozen lasagna. Personally I have come to realize I just don't like tomato sauce all that well, but my daughter and husband are fine with it. So, on Sunday night I baked up the tray of lasagna, let it cool and divided it up into containers for their lunches. It worked out so well that when I did my grocery shopping I checked out a different flavor and brought it home for this week. Because I purchased 2 regular AF boxes they will have lasagna again next week. With some salad and a little dessert thats a nice lunch.
This week I made dessert bars (chocolate cake mix, caramels, and oatmeal). They were pretty good, with a nod to healthy by including 2 cups of oatmeal, and they worked well in lunches. Unfortunately I didnt plan well for after school snacks, and as a result they are gone but the week is not quite finished! I guess the dessert for tomorrow will be sugar free pudding. I will make it tonight so it has a chance to set up and be cold in the lunch boxes.
I also am using my bread machine. Currently I am on a quest to find the perfect sandwich bread recipe. So far I have tried one white bread and one potato bread. Both were perfectly fine bread, but neither are quite what I have in mind. When I find my favorite I will post it.
I have been in my cook books, and sites online looking for innovative things to do with ordinary ingredients. Most of them work out well, some not so much. I tried the breakfast ice cream on The Sneaky Chef. I think it didnt work for me because I have a blender and it calls for a food processor. This site has some wonderful ways to get veggies into your family without them knowing about it. I have only seen the commercials and checked out the site, so I can't speak to the taste, but I love the idea. We don't have a lot of picky eaters here so I don't have to sneak nutrition in usually. Still, the results of the breakfast ice cream were put into the freezer and were eaten the next day by my daughter. She said it would be nice if the bananas were better broken up (thus the need for the food processor) but it was pretty tasty.
Starting on Monday I will put the menu up for the week. I will also be shopping on Monday night, and as it is the 15th of the month, I will start listing the items and their cost. Who knows what was spent before, but for the rest of the month the goal is at or less than $100. I think we can do it easily since there are still plenty of things here in the cabinets.
Todays dinner menu: ribeye steaks (AF), roasted potatoes (AF), and a bag of California mixed vegetables.
Breakfast for tomorrow: cheese tortillas (shredded cheese melted on tortillas in the microwave)
Lunch to go: ham or turkey sandwiches, individual bags of chips, and pudding
Lunch at home: chef salad and Italian dressing
Dinner: oven fried chicken breasts (AF), green beans (from last years garden) and mashed potatoes (AF)
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