One of the things I love about planning a weekly menu is that we sit down and talk about ideas for meals for the upcoming week together. Then, we are eating meals together as a family which gives us more “together” time and we are saving tons of money because we are not eating out! We only have eaten out once so far this month which is a big change from previous months. Having a plan makes it easier to cook each night because I’m not fumbling around trying to figure out what I’m going to cook at a point where everyone in my house is hungry and cranky already.

Here is my menu for the week. I’ll be relying on a lot of stockpile items for several of these meals:

Sunday – spaghetti (nothing special about that, but I was struggling to come up with ideas for dinner and my husband said it sounded good)

Everything for this meal comes from my stockpile. I got the spaghetti noodles for free when there was a .50/1 Barilla coupon and they were 10/$10 at Kroger awhile back. The coupon doubled and the noodles were free. I got the Prego sauce at Target a few months ago using a combination of Target/manufacturer’s coupons. I can’t remember exactly how much I paid, so I went back through old posts and it was .80/jar. Once every few months, I have my mom pick up ground beef for me in bulk at Sams Club. I pay about $20, but then I divide it in half and cook half and put it in small baggies and freeze and then I divide the other half into small baggies (I LOVE MY FOODSAVER!) and freeze! When I need ground beef for a recipe, I just defrost it and add it – it’s quick and easy! I get at least 10 meals out of the $20 of meat, so that is about $2. I had some frozen garlic bread in the freezer that I got for .70 (it was $1.50 at Kroger and I used a .40 coupon that doubled). I also added some green beans that were .40/can. Total cost for this meal was about $3.90 and it doesn’t even come out of my budget for the week! 🙂

Monday – Tuna casserole
Tuna casserole isn’t the most popular thing, even at my house, but this recipe actually is pretty good and I have all of the items to make it in my stockpile.

Ingredients:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. sour cream
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. mayonnaise
7 oz. can tuna (I will use a tuna pouch)
1 c. grated cheese
2 T parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 T lemon juice
cracker crumbs (Ritz)
3 c. cooked noodles (your choice)

Combine all ingredients and pour into a 2 quart shallow dish. Top with cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Notes: The tuna pouches I have were free at Target a few months ago. The cream of mushroom soup was .50. I got the cheese for $1.50/bag at Target (w/ coupon) and it’s already shredded…I’m only using half the bag. The Ritz crackers were free at Walgreens. The noodles were free at Kroger. My total out of pocket cost for this meal is $1.25. I will serve this with a veggie side (free from Kroger), some crescent rolls (also free from Kroger), and some fruit.

Tuesday – Chicken & Stuffing (slow cooker recipe) – this is super easy and everyone in my family loves it! I usually add a veggie and some mashed potatoes as sides.

Wednesday – Slow cooker chili

I serve this with garlic cheese biscuits – they are SOOO good!

Thursday – Chicken Lickin’ Good Porkchops (slow cooker)

Friday – Smothered Steak (in the slow cooker)

Saturday – Chicken pot pie (I dice and add potatoes to the mixture, which the recipe doesn’t call for, but it gives it a little something extra!)

Notes: The veggies in this recipe were .02 after coupon (Thanks Target!), the cream soup was .50, the entire box of Bisquick was $1.50 and I’m not using anywhere near that much, the potatoes were $3.99 after coupon at Target (and I’m only using 2), the chicken was $6.49/bag at Target and I’m not using an entire bag. Total cost for this meal was about $3.77.

If you have a weekly menu blog, feel free to share the link here!

I posted a lot of information about my family and how we plan meals in this initial post.

Here is my meal plan for this week:

Sunday: Classic Chicken divan (This is a family favorite that my mom used to always make when we were growing up….I made a double batch of this to serve for our extended family dinner)
Ingredients:
2 bunches fresh broccoli (or 2 10 oz packages frozen broccoli)
1/4 c. margarine
1/4 c. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 c. whipping cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
3 chicken breasts, cooked and thinly sliced

Cook broccoli in salted boiling water and then drain. Melt butter and blend in flour. Add chicken broth. Cook and stir until thick. Stir in cream, salt, and a dash of pepper.

Place broccoli crosswise in a 13X9X2 baking dish. Pour half the sauce over broccoli. Top with chicken slices. To remaining sauce, add Parmesan cheese. Pour over chicken. Add bread crumbs to top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until hot through.

*A few of my variations…I cover the chicken slices with some shredded cheese and then put the bread crumbs on top (I make my bread crumbs from real bread by toasting it and then breaking it up and sprinkling parmesan over the top….it is one of the “favorite parts”

Banana pudding

Monday: Swedish meatballs (in the crockpot)

Tuesday: Cream Cheese Chicken (in the crockpot)

Wednesday: Honey Lime enchiladas – I saw this recipe on Marci’s blog and it looked yummy, so I decided to test it out this week! I usually don’t cook non-crockpot meals during the week, but my plan for this is to cook the chicken in the crockpot the night before and then just put it all together that morning so I just have to throw it in the oven when I get home!

Thursday: Creamy potato soup (in the crockpot)

Friday: pizza – There’s nothing fancy about this. I will use a Pillsbury crust that I got for .25 using a coupon, homemade pizza sauce (.33 for the can of tomato sauce), and then pepperoni ($1 w/ coupon), mushrooms (.44 for store brand), and cheese ($1.50/bag with coupon) as toppings. We will have a salad as a side ($2). My total cost for this meal was $5.52.

Saturday: Sweet and sour pork (another family recipe)

Ingredients:
1 t. soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 T cornstarch
dash of salt
1/2 c. pineapple juice or water
3 T cider vinegar
2 T ketchup
Pineapple, onions, green peppers
Chopped ham

Mix ingredients in a pan. Stir constantly over low heat until thickened and translucent. Add pineapple, onion, green pappers, and ham. Serve over rice.

I got my ham free at Target with the $2 off coupon they had awhile back. The green peppers were 2/$1. The canned pineapple was $1.13. I had all of the other ingredients on hand. Total cost for this recipe was around $3.

Since this is my first “Menu Planning Monday” post, I thought I’d clarify a few things. On weekdays, we do quick breakfasts in the morning that usually consist of hot/cold cereal, breakfast bars, Pop Tarts, or waffles. I have a stockpile of several of these items which is why you didn’t see them in my grocery shopping post.

During the week, my son eats lunch at daycare, and I don’t have to provide a lunch for him. My daughter takes a lunch to school a few days a week and it usually consists of a sandwich, fruit, a cheese stick, and a juice box. (Items to make her lunches were included in the weekly grocery post with the exception of the juice box because I have a stockpile right now) She also takes a snack daily. I’m set in that area for awhile now thanks to the Walgreens Nabisco deal and the Target Keebler/Sunshine snacks deal a few weeks ago. When my husband and I take lunch, it’s usually similar to what my daughter takes (I usually take a yogurt, too) or we take leftovers from our dinner meals.

I do a lot of cooking in my crockpot. I work full time and if I didn’t cook in my crock pot, I wouldn’t get dinner on the table a lot of nights. Plus, it helps me to stretch our meat a little further.

I LOVE cookbooks. Here are a few of my favorites (they are also listed in the “I Recommend” post on the left sidebar):

101 Things to Do with a Slow Cooker
101 More Things to do with a Slow Cooker
101 Things to Do with a Casserole
Girlfriends on the Go: A Busy Mom’s Guide to Make-Ahead Meals
Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook: Feasting with Your Slow Cooker
Fix-it And Forget-it 5-ingredient Favorites
Yum-o! The Family Cookbook

I also love recipe-related websites and blogs. Here are a few of my favorites:

On My Menu – tons of great recipes and a weekly menu
A Year of CrockPotting – this woman cooked something in her crockpot EVERY day last year!
Everyday Food Storage – ideas for rotation and using your food storage/stockpile
$5 dinners – a blog with tons of recipes for $5 meals

Here’s our dinner meal plan for this week:

Sunday – Steak Stroganoff (in the crockpot)

Monday – Black bean & chicken burritos (in the crockpot)

Tuesday – Shepherd’s pie (in the crockpot)

Wednesday – Chicken & dumplings (in the crockpot)

Thursday – Cheesy rigatoni bake – this recipe came from this cookbook: Girlfriends on the Go: A Busy Mom’s Guide to Make-Ahead Meals
Ingredients:
1 16 oz pkg rigatoni noodles
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 c. milk
1/4 c. water
4 eggs, beaten
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
2 cups sherdded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and salt until smooth. Gradually add milk and water. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Drain pasta and place in a large bowl. Add beaten eggs. Spoon into a greased 9X13 pan. Top with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Spoon white sauce over top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes

Notes: I got my pasta for free using a .50/1 Barilla coupon during a 10/$10 sale. The tomato sauce was .33/can at Walgreens. The cheese was 2/$4. Total cost for this meal was about $6.

Friday – Peppered steak – this is a family recipe that came from my mother in law
Ingredients:
3 cups hot cooked rice
1 lb lean beef round steak (cut into 1/2 inch thick strips)
1 T Paprika
2 T butter
2 cloves garlic, crusehd
1 1/2 c. beef broth
1 cup sliced green onions
2 green peppers, cut in strips
2T cornstarch
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 lg tomatoes (cut in eighths)

Pound steak to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 1/4 inch wide strips. Sprinkle meat with paprika. Let stand. Brown meat in butter. Add garlic and brother. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in onions and green peppers. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Blend cornstarch, water and soy sauce. Stir into meat mixture. Cook, stirring until clear and thickened, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and stir gently. Serve over beds of fluffy rice. Serves 6.

Notes: The most expensive item in this meal is the steak. It was about $6. I can get a small bag of rice for $1-1.50. Tomatoes were $1.59 for a pound. Green peppers were 2/$1. Beef broth was .50. Total cost for this meal was about $10, so it’s a little on the pricey side if you don’t have items on hand, but we love it! You can get a better deal on the meat if you look for some that is marked down.

Saturday – Lemon chicken saute – this is another family recipe that I got from my mother in law
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (the recipe calls for 6, but we only have 4 in our family)
3 T all purpose flour
No-stick cooking spray
1/3 c. butter or margarine
1/3 cup Teriyaki sauce
3 T lemon juice
1 t minced garlic
1/2 t sugar
cooked rice

Roll chicken in flour to coat. Spray large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Add butter and melt over medium heat. Add chicken breasts and saute until lightly browned on one side. Turn and brown on second side 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove chicken and set aside. Stir teriyaki sauce, lemon juice, garlic, and sugar into skillet. Return chicken to pan and simmer 3 minutes. Turn chicken over and continue cooking until they are tender (2-3 minutes). Serve over cooked rice.

Notes: I got a big bag of chicken breasts at Target for $6.99 (I will not use the whole bag on this recipe). The teriyaki sauce was $1.29. I can get the rice for $1-1.50. Total cost for this meal is between $6-7.