Skip to main content

"Make-Do" Meals

Ever had one of those weeks where you think you have enough groceries to last an entire week and then Monday rolls around and you have basically nothing?  Well, that was me this week....and in my line of work, food is a must have!  So....because going to the grocery was the absolute last thing I wanted to do this week, I made the decision to make a menu of the meals we were gonna eat and I was gonna make do with what I had.  It's actually been pretty fun coming up with all kinds of meals that my family (and the ones I keep) would love.  Sunday night I looked through my "ingredients" by searching the pantry, the fridge, the freezer, and the deep freezer.  So....here's my menu for the week and a little description about each meal (in case you are curious)! 

Monday
Breakfast:  Blueberry Muffins (found a box pushed WAY back in the pantry)
Lunch:  Cheese Ravioli (From the frozen food section at Kroger...very tasty and a hit with all the kids ages 1 and up.  With these I just count out enough for 5 kids and boil them, drain them, and pour red marinara sauce on them.), Applesauce, and Lima Beans (from the freezer)
Dinner:  Baked Ziti (From the freezer cooking party in September!), baked apples (my dad gave me a 20 lb box from the Mennonites and I peeled/cored/sliced them and baked them in the crock pot all day on Monday....YUM)

Tuesday
Breakfast:  Biscuits (frozen from SAMs) and Scrambled Eggs (made enough for 5 kids and 3 adults)
Lunch:    Cheese Quesadillas (easy), green beans, and a cutie
Dinner:  Meatloaf (I bought 10 lbs of Lauras Lean Beef for $1.10 a pound a few months ago and froze them!  What a steal!  I added in some green peppers from my garden that I froze, and then egg, oats, and everything else for a typical meatloaf), squash (frozen from my garden) casserole (just threw in random stuff that I had....mushroom soup, bread crumbs, ritz crackers, and butter, and LOTS of cheese), and green beans (frozen from my garden).  This was a hit as well!

Wednesday
Breakfast:  Cinnamon Toast
Lunch:  Homemade Mac N Cheese, peas, and Baked Apples
Dinner:  (This will be interesting....don't know if it will be good)...I just threw a bunch of stuff into the crockpot and I'm calling it Chicken Tortilla Soup although I'm not using my usual recipe.  I added frozen chicken tenderloins, frozen corn, dry red beans (usually use black beans), frozen tomatoes from my garden, tomato sauce, taco seasoning pouch, and green pepper from my garden. 

Thursday
Breakfast:  Oatmeal
Lunch:  Grilled Cheese, Apple Slices, Mixed Veggies (frozen)
Dinner:  Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (Egg noodles, chicken, garlic, chicken bouillon cubes, water)

Friday
Breakfast:  Waffles
Lunch:  Chicken Noodle Soup, Baked Apples (too many apples), Peas
Dinner:  Leftovers!

Taking a few minutes of thinking and planning has really helped us "clean out" the house and has given me an idea of what kinds of foods we will for sure need when we go to the grocery next.  It has seriously provided some of the "best" meals according to my children and the ones I keep.  I wonder just how long I can go before going back?  Hehehe!  Just kidding, we are almost out of milk, bread, and eggs....so probably Saturday! 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Adley's Birth Story

I have been a little overloaded in life and let our blog go to the back burner!  But, I must write about sweet Adley's birth story just like I did with Ava and Anniston :) On June 8, after a sleepless night, Kyle and I got up and got ready to head to the hospital to meet our third precious girl.  To say I was nervous would be the biggest understatement ever.  Even though I had gone through 2 csections before, it didn't mean I wasn't scared and nervous....it's a big, scary surgery!  Mostly I was just afraid of the needle.... We arrived at the hospital, checked in, and started getting prepped for surgery.  First came the beautiful gown (I was so happy it wasn't the paper/plastic gown like I had with Anniston...I sweat to death in that gown), then came blood work and the IV, which I was not excited about....I hate needles.  And then the VERY worst part started.  Waiting.  Waiting for the magical hour of 7:30 am.  It took forever.  I was...

Freezer Cooking

Well, many of you know about my adventures in freezer cooking. Lots of people have asked how it works, how I do it, etc.  So, I've decided to blog about it.  I will include pictures, recipes, and a shopping list.  After all that, you will be set to try it with a group of your friends!  All of this ended up costing right around $92 per family.  We did a $50 deposit up front, and then the remaining balance was split up and paid the day we cooked.  This is enough for you and 4 friends to each go home with 17 meals in this day.  First off, let me list the meals you will make: Easy Cheeseburger Casserole (each family will go home with 2 of these) Tex Mex Chicken and Rice (each family will go home with 4 of these) Baked Chicken Fajitas (each family will go home with 2 of these) BBQ Chicken (each family will go home with 2 of these) Chili  (each family will go home with 2 of these) Chicken Casserole with Doritos (each family will go home with 2 ...

Thriftiness Fun

Those of you who know me, or have spent at least 5 mintutes around me...know that I am one of the most frugal people on the planet. Why am I such a tightwad? Well...I think I gotta give the credit to my dad on that one. He taught me from an early age the importance of being smart with money. I saved up my birthday and Christmas money when I was very young just so that I could start my first savings account. I started babysitting at age 11 (which I cannot believe), and every bit of that went into my account. I did lots of odd jobs when I was a kid to earn and save a buck here and there, including collecting chestnuts from the giant trees in our backyard to sell at a local grocery store. (Have you ever seen where chestnuts come from?? A baseball sized ball of needles, basically.)  It was a tough job, but I was excited to be earning and saving. So that's the story of my thrifty beginnings, and it has continued to follow me into my adulthood. At this point in my life, saving money ...