weekly menus

[Tiam]

It's easier to be frugal by planning meals. But I feel like I'm in a rut. Anyone up to the challenge of posting a weeks menus? Meat or veggie?

[Kestra]

I do once a week cooking, so today I'm making boiled potatos, stir-fry, cabbage curry, and parsnips. Kind of a random combination, I know. I still have rice, veggie soup and lentil soup in the freezer from previous weeks. That's what we'll eat for most of the week. DH adds meat to his, and sometimes he just has a can of soup instead.

[Azure]

Here is this weeks menu plan for us:

BBQ chicken pizza
Salad w/chicken, red onions, cranberries, toasted walnuts & blue cheese w/raspberry vinaigrette, muffins
Some kind of pasta (ds request - he likes pasta the day before a track meet)
Pork fried rice, baked applesauce
Chicken w/cranberries, rice, braised & glazed brussel sprouts
Polish sausage, oven fries & ? (some kind of veggie or fruit salad)
Potato soup, artisan bread

[mara61]

I was thinking of requesting this! It can be more frugal when you plan things out, most definetly.

Out today for FIL b'day
Monday pork with buttered apples or glazed pork with pineapple, rice and salad
Tuesday chicken burritos
Wednesday turkey spaghetti with french bread and salad
Thursday curried udon noodles with some chicken (for DH), homemade bread and salad
Friday clean out the fridge!

on Sunday's I normally do baking for the week of snacks (ie..cookies, muffins) and also boil up eggs for DH for during the week.

[Hattie]

Once a week I do a shopping list. I sit down with the flyer from the grocery store, my coupons, my calendar and a couple of cookbooks. Then I make my menu list for the week and my shopping list. Because we live in a semi-remote area, we never go out for dinner and take-out doesn't exist, so I have to cook every night or we don't eat. :) I also need to make sure I have all the necessary ingredients on hand because we can't just "pop out" to a store to pick something up.

This week's menu is:
Sunday - Ham
Monday - Ribs
Tuesday - Baked Salmon
Wednesday - Leftover turkey, stuffing and gravy (I froze from Christmas)
Thursday - Back bacon on buns (we're Canadians and we like our back bacon *S*)
Friday - Spaghetti with my own spaghetti sauce that is in the freezer
Saturday - Thai Chicken linguini
Sunday - Big roast beef (freeze leftovers for Shepherd's Pie another time)

I write each meal on the calendar so I will remember what needs thawing in the fridge the night before. Also, by having the calendar in front of me, I can see if we have meetings or appointments to attend that may mean I want an easier meal for that night. To each meal I add rice or potatoes and a veggie (usually a salad, sliced tomatoes or veggies (sprinkled with olive oil) grilled under the broiler in the oven). For dessert we almost always have a small bowl of preserved fruit from our cold room (I have peaches, pears, raspberries and cherries).

[Stella]

I'm just making a list of seven meals and letting DH pick them. He's temporarily taking over as chef in this house, but I'm still the menu planner.

Meatball sandwiches, salad
White bean and chicken sausage soup with tomatoes and spinach, bread
Turkey burgers, salad
Fettuccine alfredo, green beans
Asian style vegetable soup, pot stickers
Spaghetti w/ meat sauce, salad
Oat pancakes with fruit topping, scrambled eggs

[Anna Hart]

I make a two week menu and then go shopping.
The next two weeks look like this;
Homemade Pizza
Crab cakes - rice - fried green beans
Lasagna - crock pot lasagna
salmon souffle - rice - stir fried peppers
Tuna Tacos - much tastier than they sound
Chicken soup
Omelets
Pizza - every monday we have pizza and a movie
Spaghetti with tofu
Thai noodles
ginger beef & rice
Tacos
Tuna Casserole
Squash Soup & biscuits
* Some of my recipes are on my website www.livingwelllivingsimply.blogspot.com

[earthshepherd]

I have two menus a week -- one for the meat-eaters, and a vegetarian menu for me. Here is what we did last week:
Monday: beef pot roast with potatoes and carrots//tofu stir fry over rice; side of quinoa salad and orange slices.
Tuesday: turkey and stuffing casserole // veggie burger; sweet potato fries for all.
Wednesday: hot ham and cheese sandwiches // curried lentils, wheat berries and barley over rice; salad and the rest of the sweet potato fries
Thursday: hot roast beef sandwiches made with rest of Monday's pot roast // black beans and tomatoes; mashed potatoes and sliced apples
Friday: pizza night (vegetarian)
Saturday: leftovers and soup night
Sunday: lasagna for the meat eaters (I had made several to help feed the extended family of a friend who is gravely ill); pita and hummus for me.

[Bastelmutti]

I do a similar thing to earthshepherd with 3 omnivores (one of whom likes plain, separate foods & raw veg) and 1 vegetarian (who will eat seafood) in the house. However, I usually don't make completely separate meals, just try to do add-ons to either the veg or meat meal.

Sun. - Dinner @ friends' (she provided veg option), brought salad
Mon. - Rice, tofu in a jar of Indian curry sauce, sauteed spinach (nuggets for plain eater)
Tues. - Chicken, spaghetti & jar of sauce (everyone likes something)
Weds. - Black bean tostadas (everyone can/will eat)
Thu. - Red lentils (either soup or baked), pitas, salad
Fri. - Pita pizzas
etc.

That's as far as I've gotten this week, but we always have pasta one day & tacos/burritos/tostadas one day. Another day is usually chicken, and I almost always make one Asian-type dish (stir-fry with rice or noodles, some type of curry).

[Rosemary]

I do the add-on thing, too, for meat, dairy, and some grains as I prefer my food without. Our week:

Sunday - lots of veggies, garbanzo beans, and a little pasta. I think of this as "pasta over veggies" rather than the other way around.
Monday - leftovers from the last few days
Tuesday - a German "Eintopf" - one-pot meal. Kale, potatoes, and some chicken sausage. A salad for DH since he doesn't like cooked greens.
Wednesday - tofu, green bean, and carrot stir fry
Thursday - salmon, rice (will be leftover from stir fry), and cauliflower
Friday - cooking for my neighbor day. Black bean/butternut squash chili and cornbread. Salad.

[Float On]

Sunday - fresh spinach/mushroom lasagna and salad
Monday - left overs/fend for yourself
Tues - breaded chicken breasts and garlic pasta and veggies
Wed - meatloaf and mashed potatoes
Thurs - build a taco
Fri - homemade pizza (one meats and one veggie/pineapple)
Sat - soup and grilled cheese
Sunday - steak&hash

We're kind of heavy on the beef right now because I have a freezer full (christmas gift) and two teenage boys.

[Float On]

Black bean/butternut squash chili and cornbread. Salad. Sounds yummy and colorful!

[Wildflower]

Chili and cornbread
Chicken and Noodles
Tacos - beef, chicken or vegetarian (beans)
Omlettes and Blueberry Muffins (we have a variety of breakfast meals for dinner once a week)
Spaghetti and Meatballs with garlic bread
Homemade Pizza
Meatloaf (made with ground turkey or lean ground beef) and Mashed Potatoes with gravy

I add veggies or fruit to all of the above. Usually one day a week we eat leftovers.

[mira]

We try to stick to a weekly plan as well, although it's all gone a bit off kilter now that my partner works away 3-4 days a week.

Chicken & veggie fajitas with homemade guacamole
Wholemeal spaghetti bolognaise with grated carrot to bulk it up (maybe 2 nights' worth?)
One-pot tomato & cod stew (sounds odd, but it's good! AND it's my partner who makes it, so even better)
Vegetarian haggis and new potatoes
Spanish bean stew with crusty bread (I'll probably have this 2 nights or for lunch too)
Got a £10 discount voucher for a Brasilian restaurant so might go there for a break :)

[Raziela]

I buy groceries for 2 weeks at a time and plan a list of meals for that time. Here's what we have going currently.

Spaghetti night
Chicken with cream sauce and mushrooms + vegetable
Penne with zucchini, corn, and proscuitto
Shells with ham, peas, and cheese sauce
Sweet and sour meatballs over rice
Tater tot casserole - DH request
Mexican Lasagna
Philly Steak and cheese sandwiches
along with mac and cheese and grilled cheese on the nights I work and DH is home alone

I add a vegetable or salad to our meals and a carb of some type if needed (bread, rolls, potatoes, rice). I'll make the recipes with the most perishable items first and work my way toward those made from pantry/freezer items. During the second week, I may have to run for produce or milk, but can get by with shopping every 2 weeks for almost everything else. I think this saves us money, because when it's gone, it's gone for snack items like chips, ice cream, and cookies if we have them.

We have Sunday dinner at my parents' house and we'll eat leftovers other nights.

[Becky33850]

I found a website www.foodonthetable.com

You can enter what you'd like to eat and the stores where you shop and it will help you with planning and sales.

Becky

[Rosemary]

This week -
lemon-mustard baked chicken, roasted potatoes, green beans
kung pao tofu
leftover chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, sugar snap peas
homemade pizza, Romaine salad with vegetables, beans, and fruit
wild rice bratwurst, steamed broccoli/cauliflower/carrots
chicken-barley-vegetable soup, salad

[debi]

I try to cook on weekends for the week. Sometimes that is not possible, but here goes this week:

Saturday - homemade pizza
Sunday - made up beef stir-fry, beef stew (from previous week's roast beef), chili (ate some stir-fry on Sunday)
Monday - ate Chili
Tuesday - beef stew
Wednesday - tonight will be the remaining chili. In the process I am getting chicken breasts ready for the remainder of the week.
For Thursday - it will be oven-fried chicken breasts (using breadcrumbs from bread heels mixed with seasonings)
For Friday - chicken breasts that have been browned lightly on stovetop will be cut into cubes for cheesy chicken enchiladas. I will freeze the remaining browned breasts for a later date.

I also try to make any type of snacks for work lunches or munchies as well --- last week it was oatmeal cookies. The week prior I made pecan bar cookies. Also keep fresh fruit in the house as well as cut up raw vegetables.

[KayLR]

Rosemary, would you mind sharing how you make the squash-black bean chili?

[Rosemary]

KayLRZ - here it is:
http://rosemaryevergreen.blogspot.com/2010/10/black-bean-butternut-squash-chili-with.html

I've also made it without tomatoes and it is equally tasty.
Zucchini is a nice addition if available.