My meal plan 1/25 - 1/31

I went through my pantry and both freezers this weekend, and discovered I still have a ton of food left, even though I've been doing the pantry challenge! I'm going to work on using some more of it up this week, and will probably continue on for a couple more! Last week was crazy...on top of everything that we already had to do, I ended up with two sick kids, so last weeks meal plan got kind of messed up. I've moved a couple things from last week to this week.

Monday - Spinach stuffed chicken breasts, rice pilaf, steamed broccoli and cauliflower

Tuesday - BBQ Ribs, oven fries, green salad

Wednesday - Gyros, spinach pie, greek salad

Thursday - Whole roast chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Roast pork loin, broccoli, glazed carrots

Sunday - Omelets (using up tidbits of leftovers) and fresh fruit

I don't plan lunches or breakfast by the day, but this is what we'll be eating throughout the week:

Lunches will be the usual...leftovers, sandwiches, salads, soup

Breakfasts will be cereal, oatmeal, eggs, fruit

I'm also doing a baking day tomorrow...banana bread, apple crisp, granola bars for school snacks, pumpkin muffins, and a coffee cake.

I only spent $27.70 on groceries this week!

I got away with only spending $27.70 this week, and that included a birthday with school treats! I'm still doing the pantry challenge, and wouldn't have even spent this much this week, but my son decided that he wanted tacos at home for his birthday instead of going out. I ended up actually spending waaay less than we had planned for the week, because we'd told him we could go anywhere he wanted for his birthday! I love saving the money, and I suppose it's flattering, but I was really looking forward to a night off! Here's my rundown for the week:

Orchard Market (local chain)

6 lbs apples (for school treat and snacks) $3.00
2 Gallons milk $1.47 each
1 1/2 lbs ground beef $2.83
2 large tomatoes $1.55
1 dozen eggs $ .24 (YES! Less than a quarter!)


Meijer

6 boxes cereal $ .99 each
12 cans Hunt's tomato sauce $3.00
6 tubs Quaker Oats $5.94
2 6-pk double rolls Quilted Northern $2.13 each

Total for the week...$27.70! I saved $33.28. My local store has a few internet printable coupons...they always have $1 off milk and $ .75 off eggs, which is how I'm always able to get milk and eggs so cheap! I also had Meijer Mealbox coupons for the Hunt's and the Quakers, plus a $2 coupon off my order from last week's shopping! I still have soooo much food in the house that I think I'm going to continue with the pantry challenge for the next few weeks!

This week's menu...1/18-1/24

This week is going to be relatively simple...I have a busy week ahead of me! My daughter's last game is today...she's a 7th grade cheerleader. My oldest son turns 10 on Thursday and he has chosen to bring my mini apple pies in to school for his birthday treat. They're easy, but time consuming so most of Wednesday will be spent making those. Add in two birthday parties, a couple of Doctor appointments, and the usual homework/running around, I won't have much time! I'm doing the pantry challenge this month, so I won't need to go grocery shopping, at least! I will have to make a run for milk, apples for the pies, and plain yogurt for gyro night, but that will be all my shopping!

Monday - taco salad with the leftover taco meat from a couple of days ago ( I switched up a couple of the days last week, and we had tacos on Saturday...I'm not actually feeding my family meat leftover from last Wednesday!)

Tuesday - gyros, spinach pie, and greek salad (the gyros are made with ground beef, but taste *exactly* like real gyro meat...I'll post the recipe on Tuesday!)

Wednesday - chicken/broccoli/peapod stirfry

Thursday - OUT! Birthday boy's choice. And birthday cake.

Friday - Baked chicken breast, glazed carrots, green beans

Saturday - Pizza pasta bake, green salad

Sunday - Chicken quesadillas

Meal Plan for the week

I'm partly following a pantry challenge for the month, but am slightly low on some things because every year I do a mostly eat from the pantry month in December. Mainly because the last place I want to be in December is the store. I worked retail for many, many, many years and got my fill of Christmas shopper crazy on me. Or maybe it was just a couple of years but felt like a lifetime. So while I'm still mainly doing pantry eating, I do have a budget of no more than $50 a week to add to what I have already.

Monday...ate at McDonald's (this was planned...the kids all had gift cards they got for Christmas...dinner was on them!)

Tuesday...Roast chicken with roasted potatoes and carrots, tossed salad, and yeast rolls

Wednesday....Taco night

Thursday....Leftover chicken, steamed broccoli, rice

Friday...Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread

Saturday....Grilled cheese and tomato soup

Sunday....Pancakes, sausage, fresh fruit

Lunches will be leftovers or sandwiches (it's usually just me and my 4 year old during the week), breakfast is cereal, eggs, or oatmeal. Snacks are fruit, popcorn, cheese and crackers, toast, yogurt.