Tilapia
Fish and Chips
Dorito Salad
Hamburgers
Spaghetti
BBQ chicken
Chicken Divan
Salmon and Rice
Pizza
Lasagna
Stuffed shells
What I need:
Doritoes
Salmon
Pepperoni
Shells to stuff
More tilapia or some type of cod/cheap white fish
December
Spinach soup
Red lentil soup
Broccoli lasagna
croissant wraps of some sort
pork with balsalmic
crock pot pork
broccoli soup
roast chicken
spaghetti
Egg Bake with potatoes and bacon
Red and green crostata (kale, leek, pepper)
vegetable soup
November
Look how lazy I've become in this. Here are some ideas for dinner this week.
Breakfast Casserole
French toast
Pizza with chicken, pepperoni, broccoli, and vegetables and a sourdough crust.
Broccoli soup with sourdough, maybe in bowl form if I'm feeling energetic, from the same dough I used for the pizza crust (I'll make same day as pizza and then freeze until we have broccoli soup day)
Roasted chicken
Vegetable soup (this'll be for my lunches, since no one else will eat, except maybe Savannah)
Later on:
Some tandoori chicken with the rest of the breasts I bought
September
What We've Got and Need/Want to Use:
1 yellow squash
2 bell peppers
frozen spinach
cream cheese
crackers
nuts
lettuce
tomatoes from garden
plain yogurt
hamburger
whole chicken
sausage, arg
artichokes
frozen sauerkraut
a few pepperoni
cheddar cheese
swiss cheese that's getting a tinge old in the freezer
What We'll Make:
Spinach Artichoke Dip with Crackers
squash with orzo and a sausage tomato basil sauce
pepperoni rolls
tandori chicken (provided I can find a recipe for it with a whole chicken or I buy some breasts)
lime chicken
honey yogurt whole wheat bread
refrigerator bread
fajita soup (dare I?)
reuben sandwiches (need corned beef; do I have Thousand Island dressing?)
August
Just starting a list of ideas:
-ricotta kale pie
-tomato corn pie?
-pizza
-Italian pork crock pot roast
-chicken pesto sandwiches
-zucchini/squash stir fry
-raw corn soup
-chicken fajitas
-spaghetti
-homemade tomato soup--possibly a yellow one
-tuna salad
-roasted yellow tomatoes with gnocchi
Desserts:
PB ice cream
lime coconut bread
strawberry sorbet
June
-spaghetti
-Italian Crock Pot Chicken on rice or with pasta
-French toast casserole (yes, I put this up every month and never think about starting it the night before; thus..)
-French onion soup with grilled swiss sandwiches
-reuben pizza
-another kind of pizza--probably chicken ranch
-quinoa salad with maybe some fish if I can find it cheap enough
-dal with naan
-roast in crock pot--either Ranch or Swiss steak-esque
-tarragon chicken with funeral potatoes
-crock pot baked potatoes with all the fixings
-Eggs in a basket with hashbrowns on the side
-Scones with smoothies
-hummus wraps
-sandwiches with cold cuts or meatballs or possibly both (I have a lot of hot dog buns hanging around)
-hot dog roast
-stir fry
-fajitas or fajita soup or both
-carrot cauliflower sandwiches
-fish and chips
-lemon pasta with tomatoes and basil
-crock pot lasagna
April/May
I'm going to be using this same menu for May. Why? Because I made so little that I planned to from April. (It's not my fault; my sister kept sending me these yummy recipes and everything sounded so good on other food blogs. What was I to do? Follow my own menu? Of course not. Besides we had all that Easter candy to sustain us; who needs real food, right?)
Um, it's a little alarming to me how badly I followed the menu for March. No wonder we're going to go over. And also, what did we eat? It's not like I was running to the store for weird things...
Dinners:
*2 roast chickens (not made in succession, but at some point throughout month)
From leftovers I'll make:
-Chicken burritoes with homemade tortillas
-Chicken ranch salad
-Pasta with pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon, chicken, and Parmesan
-Chicken pesto pizza
-Chicken pot pies
*Steaks for Easter with potatoes or pumpkin risotto
*Roast Pork (maybe I'll do that Dr. Pepper thing if I can find some cheap enough)
From leftovers I'll make:
-BBQ sandwiches or pizza
-Barley soup with pork
*Reuben sandwiches
*Dal with naan
*Lentil and sweet potato soup
*Bacon Egg Bake
*Cheese or Bacon Pizza
*Eggs in a basket with hashbrowns on the side
*Scones with smoothies
*Potato/Sweet potato latkes
*Quinoa and black bean salad with eggs on the side
*Egg salad sandwiches
*Spaghetti and mini meatballs
*Pumpkin waffles
*Oven French toast
Desserts:
*Mini cheesecakes
*Ice cream
*Mint brownies
(Yeah we'll have more, but not sure what yet)
Lunch/Snacks:
*Sweet Potato Hummus
*Sandwiches with cold cuts
March
I usually say these are in no particular order, but this month they kind of are. I'm trying to build on larger meals to create smaller ones. I'm trying to be organized and perfectly perfect in every way. Yeah, we'll see how that goes.
1. Dal with naan
2. Eggs in a basket
3. Spinach Pie
4. Potato/Sweet potato latkes
5. Bacon Egg Bake
6. Sunday dinner: BBQ pork roast
7. BBQ pizza (unless we're totally BBQ'd out from leftovers in which case we'll freeze the rest and do the pizza later in the month)
8. Barley soup
9. Savory bread pudding with a bit of meat or eggs on the side
10. Sunday dinner: Roast Chicken
11. Chicken pot pies
12. Chicken and dumplings
13. Colcannon with Irish soda bread and chicken
14. Lentil and Sweet potato soup
15. Sunday dinner: Lasagna
16. Beef and bean burritoes
17. Spaghetti with a bit of beef
18. Pumpkin risotto
19. Pumpkin waffles
20. Sunday dinner: Roast Chicken
21. Pizza-chicken
22. Chicken burritoes with homemade tortillas
23. Chicken ranch salad
24. Quinoa and black bean salad with eggs on the side
25. Pasta of some sort--maybe with pesto
26. Scones with smoothies
27. Tuna Casserole(?)
Desserts: (Because I think by now it's clear that this needs a category in my planning)
1. Mini chocolate chip cheesecakes
2. Ice cream
3. Kip's brownies
4. Cookies of a variety that should not be eaten for breakfast
February
No particular order unless stated. Also, not done. Haven't been feeling well, which is throwing off my game here at the beginning of the month.
1. Spinach Pie
2. Lentil Curry with rice or naan (made)
3. Chicken dish from smitten kitchen (made)
4. followed by a Chicken Bacon Chili (made)
5. Bread stick with marinara and cheese fondue
6. Pasta with pesto and sun-dried tomatoes (made)
7. Roast for V-Day
8. followed by stew if we have any leftovers
9. Broccoli alfredo (for V-day if roast too expensive)
10. Spaghetti with meatballs
11. followed by Meat and bean burritoes
12. Waffles
13. Pumpkin risotto
14. Tuna Casserole
15. Whole Wheat Scones with smoothies
16. Hoagies
17. Hot Reuben Sandwiches (made)
18. Farro with broccoli gratin (depending on price of farro in Evansville)
19. Pigs in a blanket (made)
20. Eggs in a basket (made)
January
When planning a menu, I generally come up with about 20 meals for the month. (They are in no particular order--I'll get to them when I'm in the mood for them.) I figure the rest of our dinners will be leftovers or something super quick. I'm trying to be conservative in this first month of our Cheap Eat Challenge. We'll get creative as the months go by if we can.
Also, as a note on breakfasts and lunch, we'll generally eat breakfast cookies, oatmeal, or some type of cheap cereal for breakfast and PBJ's with some fruit for lunch. At least the kids will. I'm more of a scrounger--I'll be eating the odds and ends in the fridge. Anyway, I'll put notes up on the blog about what we eat for breakfast and lunch, but don't have a specific menu.
Dinner Menu--January
1. Creamy White Bean Soup
2. Hashbrowns and eggs
3. Potato Soup
4. Dal and Naan
5. Roasted chicken and potatoes
6. Chicken burritoes
7. Pancakes
8. Eggs and Savory Muffins
9. French Toast in a Pan
10. Chicken Chili
11. Spaghetti
12. Pumpkin Waffles
13. Tomatoe soup and Grilled Cheese
14. Pizza
15. Pasta With Veggies
16. Butternut Soup with Sour Dough Bread
17. Fried scones with Smoothies
18. Beef and Bean Tacos
19. Latkes
20. Fried Rice