December has been c-r-a-z-y. One look at the calendar of events and I knew that I had to plan well in order to get dinner on the table this month otherwise we’d wind up eating at Culver’s three times a week! So I did my shopping a little differently this month.
Right before Thanksgiving a lot of canned foods were on really great sale at Wal-Mart. So I took advantage and bought several pallets of things we use often. This is what my little laundry room pantry looked like:
Next, I shopped for 25 meals all at once. So that we could get through the majority of the month only stopping in for milk and produce. I don’t think this plan has been particularly helpful from a cost point of view (it would be except that the little trips to get milk and produce have a tendency to include some impulse buys – have you tried Ghirardelli Dark chocolate peppermint bark, oh-my-goodness ) but it has been awesome to go weekend after weekend without needing to do a big shopping trip.
Our menu this month:
- Angliotti and light-alfredo sauce, garlic toast and salad
- Hot dogs, french fries and apple slices
- BBQ baked potatoes & slaw
- Steamed sausage and potatoes with parmesian cheese
- Pizza Bites (Annie’s Eats) with marinara
- Chicken, avocado, tomato, spinach wraps (Learned this from Jessica)
- BBQ Little Smokies and Macaroni and Cheese
- Pork Tenderloin in mustard sauce with mashed potatoes
- Jambalaya
- Chicken Enchilada Ring (HEB Chicken for enchiladas, wrapped in reduced fat crescent rolls, baked and then served with queso and sour cream)
- Green Chili Stew
- Ground Chicken tacos & rice
- Heavenly Homemaker Lasagna Casserole
- Beef Pot Roast
- Beef stew over white rice
- Blueberry scones (have you seen these over by the biscuits??LOVE)
- English Muffins with canadian bacon slices and poached eggs
- Green chili hashbrown casserole
- Sausage sautéed in Worcheshire and Lime with couscous
I know that’s not 25 but some things we had more than once.
So this has been a month of casseroles and all kinds of good meals from cans and the freezer. Being the the oddball that I am I don’t see any problem putting canned sloppy joe mix on homemade bread or serving canned stew with a salad made from delicate baby greens and heirloom tomatoes. That’s how I roll – I do the best I can and try not to obsess over the other stuff!
I will say this – if that commercial that has been playing lately where they put the beef stew over white rice has you intrigued – go for it! I’m eating it right now and it’s awesome! Would it better if the beef and veggies were organic and the stew was homemade from scratch, oh definitely –no doubt about it. But this is good too. In one week I’ll be 38 years old and one thing I’ve learned is this – I can do ANYTHING but I can’t do EVERYTHING.
So December has been my official prepared foods month and so be it. Tonight I plan on spending some quality time in my PJ’s playing Go Fish with my little ones.
Oh, P.S – we’ve been eating off paper plates too! Shhh, oh the shame!
Posts
1 comment:
Hey man, your menu sounds very well-balanced and delightful to me! Way to go on the planning! I'm very intrigued by the enchilada ring -- I love anything wrapped up in a crescent roll. :)
Post a Comment