Meal Plan Monday

We're going back to a Cash Budget again (thanks to Dave Ramsey, we're debt free except the house and building our 6-month emergency fund!).  So I tried to set the budget amount on the low side, but didn't limit it too much , since I'd not been couponing or stockpiling lately.  Since this is the last week of the month, and we spent extra last week (for Crab night, sooo worth it!), I'm down to a very small budget left, so I'm trying to use what we have on hand and prepare seriously frugal meals.  Also, the store sales aren't very spectacular this week, so there's not a lot of the whole food we eat at a good sale price, and my Organic Produce Co-op is every other week and this is the off week.  So, I'm making due with what I have on hand.

Monday

Rub Grub Pork Chops
Kale, Olive Oil & Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Mixed Vegetables (Frozen)
*This is rolled over from last week.  I was tired, and we had lots of leftovers Saturday.

Tuesday

Veggie Burgers w/ Fixins (Cheese, romaine, onion, tomato, pickles)
Sweet Potato French Fries
*HEB has combo deal for Morningstar Veggie Burgers, get Sweet Potato Fries Free.  So I'm getting 2 of each and will have an easy dinner for $6.61 plus fixins, that I already have on hand for other meals. Tuesday is busy and it beats the fast food/pizza I might order otherwise!

Wednesday

Whole Wheat Pizza
Greek Salad
*I have everything for the crust in the pantry.  For toppings, using Red Peppers, on sale this week, and then leftover meats and veggies and banana peppers. I'll chop up a head of Romaine lettuce and put the extra in a ziploc to make my own bagged salad to use throughout the rest of the week. We have leftover feta & olives.  Yum!

Thursday

Shepherd's Pie
*I have made this recipe before (one of my favorite freezer meals) and I LOVE the carrots mixed in with the potatoes.  But we always have leftover mashed potatoes, so I'm going to use the leftover Kale & mashed potatoes from Monday in place of the mashed potatoes & carrots in this recipe, and I'll throw in whatever extra veggies I have in the fridge or freezer.  I would normally triple this recipe for the freezer, but I'm on the super tight budget this week so I won't be cooking extra.  Plus I have frozen veggie coupons that I know will go on sale soon so I can get them for free.  I'll stock up and make three of these then.  This is a great one dish meal and it's loaded with veggies, so I don't feel guilty about not adding any sides!

Friday

Chicken a la King
served over Frugal Mini Popovers or Pillsbury Biscuits, depending on how the day goes.
Salad (all ready from Wed)
*I don't usually buy Pillsbury biscuits b/c I like to stick with whole grains - but I actually got PAID  75 cents to buy 6 packages of these this week.  So for that price, I'll keep some one hand for quick easy meals! This A la King recipe freezes well too, so I might double it and freeze the extra in a ziploc. With the Pillsbury Grands it will make an easy last minute meal.

Saturday

Chicken Curry
over Saffron Rice (taking the easy way out here - just packets of rice with seasoning I already have in the pantry that were free with coupons)
Roasted Vegetables with Soy Sauce & Ginger (which I plan on prepping the night before or that morning)
*I love Curry, and I have all the ingredients on hand, although I'll be using chicken breasts instead of thighs.  Ken doesn't usually like Chicken Curry, but a friend made her version for our freezer swap once, and he loved it.  It used coconut milk, and she topped it with toasted coconut, and it was so yummy.  So I think we'll like this version.