Economical Meal List
No oodles and oodles of pantry and freezer here, but ample. I'll do a moderate shop on Friday, but I'm really trying to stretch out groceries for the month and start getting more in the shop to replenish and loss leader mode rather than a regular weekly shop. To do that, I'm going to start coming up with a master list of main meals with what's in my house as of today.
Some days it's just me for supper because of sons schedule and if there's some thing he can heat up, I'm likely to just make myself a piece of toast with peanut butter. Sometimes the girls are here which leans towards more plant based foods. This is just a supper list as lunches are usually leftovers or a basic sandwich or salad. Breakfast, if eaten is oatmeal, toast, quick bread/ muffins and maybe an egg here and there, fruit and of course coffee.
- Pork loin chops, mashed potatoes and gravy ( tonight), mixed veg
- BBQ Pork loin with Mac and cheese , green beans
- Pulled pork sandwiches with cheesy potatoes ( both in freezer since funeral)
- Pork, bean, rice and cheese burrito bake/ bean rice burrito bake
- Chicken thighs with roasted potatoes and carrots
- Chicken and vegetable stir fry with rice
- Lemon, ricotta and pasta with broccoli
- Mock lasagna with sausage
- Homemade pepperoni pizza
- Risotto with mushrooms, sausage links on the side
- Tuna hotdish with peas
- Sausage and jambalaya
I'm making sloppy Joes for Saturday and Sunday I know I'll just eat leftovers/ light meals as it'll just be me here. With leftovers, there's nearly two weeks I could go without a meal plan type shop. I'd like to aim to use 40% of the food/ HH budget as pantry cupboard. The rest would be combination of the fresh things we use each week ( fruit, veg, eggs, dairy, bread) and some meal focused buying.
Little by little then I'll get to a place where I am only buying fresh items and restocking pantry and freezer. This is to save money but also time while avoiding waste. Funny, this is mostly how I shopped when I had a family to feed every day. I just got out of the habit after my youngest went to college and stopped almost completely after my husband died. With groceries rising and no end in sight, groceries and household buying has to be better managed.
Edit: Just did a bit more shuffling and can add vegan chili, chorizo and black beans rice bowls, hot hoagie sandwiches ( saw ham, salami and turkey in freezer), and turkey toastie dogs ( or any number of things to do with turkey hotdogs.) Even before leftovers there's a lot going on.
Yum. I absolutely hate to cook, but it's a necessity.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying it again. It's the shopping I hate. I think that's why this coming up with lots of items from what's already iny kitchen is a fun challenge.
DeleteI lived on my own for ten years and only ever ate wholemeal bread with olive oil spread. Luckily for me I worked in catering so I ate at work! xxx
ReplyDeleteSounds like my routine of peanut butter toast. Catering would be a good job to score good meals.
DeleteLooks like a delicious list, Sam.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Ended up with the pork loin and tons of leftovers tonight. I'll freeze it- too much, then use for tacos probably at some point.
DeleteI hate the shopping and the cooking LOL. Can you share your mock lasagna recipe?
ReplyDeleteSo, I just make the ricotta ( or cottage cheese if you prefer), egg, seasoning layer and then layer with ground beef, sauce, mozzarella and any kind of cooked pasta and bake or it works great in crockpot. I just don't always have lasagna noodles on hand nor do I always want a huge pan.
DeleteThe list sounds wonderful
ReplyDeleteThanks Cheryl.
DeleteYour plan looks great. I am slowly getting back on track . Burritos last night, Peruvian chicken tonight. I managed a batch of cookies yesterday, and have a lemon cake planned for the weekend. Not sure the meal, but I have been craving a roast beef!
ReplyDelete-Meg B.
I love burritos- what are your favorite fillings? There was roast beef at my brother's funeral...almost all that was eaten.
DeleteMy favorite is steak strips, but rarely do I use steak for burritos. Typically I make two pans: For one I brown ground beef and onions, add salsa, black beans, sour cream, grated cheese, cilantro and seasoning. The other pan has refried beans, sour cream, salsa and grated cheese. They get wrapped in tortillas, put in greased a pan with enchilada sauce in the bottom, enchilada sauce drizzled on top, sprinkled with grated cheese, and baked, covered for about 35 minutes. In some of the beef burritos I add some of the refried bean mixture. I typically make my own enchilada sauce (true enchilada sauce doesn’t have tomatoes.) They aren’t authentic by any stretch of the imagination but they are adapted for ingredients I can readily find and the family’s tastes. It’s also a great dish for when I don’t know what to cook. I almost always have all ingredients on hand. If I don’t have tortillas I can make my own, but I confess to not doing that ever since kids got licenses and could be dispatched to the local grocery store!
DeleteI make a chicken enchilada too, (no beans so not a burrito) which is sautéed onions, add chicken salsa, sour cream and cheese and seasoning (and there have been times when I have added a can of cream o’chicken soup…no judgement, please). When I make those I use salsa verde in the pan and on top instead of enchilada sauce. Same cooking method applies. I typically have home canned salsa on hand which I make with commercially canned tomatoes.Again, not really authentic, but adapted for availability and personal tastes. If you want a link to the (pre current administration USDA approved) salsa recipe just let me know!
-Meg B.
Edit: Chicken enchiladas are made with leftover COOKED chicken. (That’s important!)
Delete-Meg B.
I've been watching some budget, frugal meals. It's interesting what people eat. There are Youtube videos dedicated to Dollar Tree eats and some where people aim for meals under a few dollars. I do get lots of ideas. I know that I need to do more batch cooking and putting things in the freezer for easy cooks when I don't feel like any actual cooking.
ReplyDeleteI did a Dollar Tree challenge back when they were still truly $ tree, my old blog. The comments were not very positive, but I get it. Too much processed foods, hit dogs. Right now, I freeze some surplus recipes like soup and chilli but my son is a big eater and I find with much, between lunch and a leftover supper it takes care of the excess.
DeleteI like having a baseline of meals available. We're lucky for now in that we have quite a few freezer meals available. I go through phases of whittling those down, then building them back up. I far prefer the whittling down phase, because it means less cooking! ;-) - Hawaii Planner
ReplyDeleteI suppose those will grow with only you and M home next year. Like Sharon above, I'd like more things in freezer but mostly its soups and chili here that get froze.
DeleteChecking to see what we have, cooked or raw, is Tommy's job. We do sort of plan together. I have been taking food to neighbor who just discovered he has lung cancer and tumors elsewhere in his body. The only thing he has sounded enthusiastic about is blueberries...so guess he will get blueberries often in some form.
ReplyDeleteThat's nice you have a system and that you help your neighbor.
DeleteI am one of those with oodles in the pantry and freezer, but still some nights we eat cheese toast or a pbj for dinner. I love to cook but I hate cleaning the cooking mess with a passion, so. lot of times I don't. With the exception of buying fresh produce and bread, we could probably go 3 months without ever setting foot in he grocery store. It will never happen even if I don't shop because TheHub's recreational shopping stop on the way home form work has just transformed to a mid-day special trip since his retirement.
ReplyDeleteI actually get a bit stressed when the refrigerator is too full and can't find things. No recreational shopping here now...we both hate shopping. My son buys meat and produce. That's about it.
DeleteGuilty of the oodles in the freezer and pantry but cooking is my de-stressor. I straightened up both last week and nothing went to waste or is outdated so I was happy about that. I do have a LOT of dry beans of various kinds and pasta in every shape and size, so I need to start using them more.
ReplyDeleteI read what you do for mock lasagna. Saturday I did something similar and used manicotti noodles, par cooked them and then cut in half. Layered the bottom of a dish with my meat, veg sauce. I filled the cut manicotti with my cheese ricotta then more sauce and parm and motz and it was really good. Made a nice presentation too. Enjoy your Friday!!
Did you layer the manicotti? I tend to make manicotti as the side to a Parmesan crusted chicken. It's been years and years though since I made it. I agree...it's a visually nice dish.
DeleteI cut them in half and then set them up in the sauce. SO much easier to fill too.
DeleteGenius! Frankly, the noodles are hard to find here, but next time I see them I'll buy and give it a try.
DeleteI am only barely over my hatred of cooking...baby steps. But I do manage to do it anyway. Sloppy Joes - haven't had those in so long. I like keeping small portions of cooked and raw meats int he freezer that thaw easily for nights that I must feed myself something other than take out.
ReplyDeleteI think I make sloppy joes whenever I host big groups. Well, for my first birthday after my husband died and I did not want to celebrate alone, I had my family for two different pastas. The only time I make sloppy joes is for a crowd as my version needs at least 3# hamburger and makes enough meat for 24 sandwiches.
DeleteWell it is over 90 here generally now so it is fruit and vegetable time. I typically keep watermelon and tomatoes from the farmer’s market on hand as well as various vegetables like okra, fresh peas, corn, radishes etc. This week I have of course watermelon and tomatoes, along with radishes, Vidalia onions, green onions, yellow summer squash, spinach, broccoli, butter peas. I made a tuna casserole with squash and spinach in it today. Most of the time I eat either tomato sandwiches or tomato onion and cheese sandwiches or tomato cracker salad. While I have a large stockpile of dried beans I usually eat fresh or frozen peas and beans in the summer. Oh, and ice cream… lol. Cindy in the South
ReplyDeleteY crockpot is definitely in full use in summers. If I bake it's early. Just bought my first watermelon of the season. Couldn't resist.
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