Weekly Menu Plan

Wow what a resounding round of votes to keep the menu plans coming!  Thank you all for letting me know how much you enjoy this feature.  I'll definitely keep it up.  It helps me, too, because when I'm stumped about what to make I dig out the cookbooks and look up ideas for meals.  I stumble upon new ideas and old ideas I'd forgotten all about. 

Last week was just an easy week overall.  There was no outdoors work as we've had loads of rain.  I've focused on the indoors and it's looking pretty good.  I'm very restless to start a new project.  I have one nearly completed that I hope to finish up this week.  And I had one completed but might tweak it a bit more.

I want to shop carefully this coming week.  We've a few holes in the pantry stock, full freezers and a plentiful supply of produce.  That's a lovely thing.  It means I can focus on replenishing and not have to worry about the day to day needs so much.  It also means I should be able to stick HARD to my grocery allowance this month, even with the meat purchases we made last pay period.

Chicken Tenders, sliced Tomatoes, Squash Casserole, Fried Okra, Pound Cake
I was inspired by Rhonda to make the fried okra.  I have a huge bag of the stuff in the freezer and it's just the crispy texture I want to set this meal off.

Corn Chowder, Hot Dogs, Peaches over Ice Cream
I bought yellow corn at Aldi to use as a side dish and nearly forgot it with all the fresh produce.  This meal is truly a bunch of leftovers!  I cooked all four ears of corn to use as a side dish then held back two.  I cut the corn from cob and set aside to make a pot of fresh corn chowder.  Leftover hot dogs from last weekend (frozen and heated in buns) will heft up the meal a bit for John's appetite.

Taco Pizza
This is really a sort of one dish meal and I'm counting it as a meatless meal as well, due to the low amount of meat.  I'll mix a bit of pico de gallo that was left from last week with the half can of chili left from two weekends ago and frozen.  I'll also add some black beans and a half a can of corn from the freezer.  All of these go on a cornmeal pizza crust with Monterrey Jack cheese  topping.  I'll pile on finely shredded lettuce and tomato when it comes from the oven.  A drizzle of ranch dressing and we'll have pizza and salad all in one.

Cubed Steak with Pan Gravy, Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Tossed Salad
If I'm feeling really ambitious I'll add biscuits, save extras for the next morning's breakfast. 

BBQ chicken, Rice, Coleslaw with peaches and jalapenos
I'll make an extra chicken breast and rice, cut extra cabbage for a further meal.  The idea of adding in fruit and jalapenos to my slaw just occurred to me.  In my mind it should be a nice contrast between crispy bland cabbage, sweet juicy peaches and the spicy bite of a mild-ish jalapeno.  I'll let you know if it's a winner or a failure!


Fried Rice, Sliced Cucumbers and Tomatoes, Ranger Cookies
Here's the extra rice, chicken breast, and cabbage, as well as a bit of carrot, onions, peas.  This is one of the meat stretcher meals that pleases my husband.  We generally get four servings from our fried rice dinner so there will be leftovers for another meal.  The cookies call for cereal.  John's decided the corn flakes we have on hand are not his favorite.  I'll add  to the cookie dough in place of the whole wheat cereal the recipe calls for.  This makes a crisp, sweet cookie with a bit of additional texture.  They are really good cookies. I'll split the dough and put some in the freezer.

Spaghetti with Vegetable Sauce, Salad, Bread sticks
A perfect meal to come home to from synagogue.  I'll make Friday and then leave on warm in the crock pot, have cooked pasta ready to 'steam' hot once more.  The bread sticks will be made when I make the pizza dough earlier in the week and set aside.