Menu Plan thru 2/19

Dinner has always been decided about 4pm and it was always a headache to try to figure out what to make. I work 3pm-7pm so I would get that daily call about "What's for supper?". My usual response was "I don't know, whatever you can find" or "You decide."

Last Friday dh and the kids complained that we had no food in the house. So my first response was "we will go to the store for a big grocery trip tomorrow". This grocery trip usually cost us around $200-$250. I knew there had to be a better way to grocery shop and save money in the process too. Here is my first venture into menu planning...

Last Friday I decided to try to make a menu plan. I was overwhelmed but got some help. I had always thought menu planning was about picking random recipes that you want to make. When starting to make a menu plan I found out the first thing you need to do is find out what you already have in your freezer, fridge, and pantry. So this menu plan is mostly using items I already had on hand. Next menu plan I will use a combination of what I have on hand and what items are on sale.

For breakfast we always have hot or cold cereal, pancakes, or waffles. Lunches are leftovers/we usually make a buffet of whatever is in the fridge.

These are what I had in my freezer:

13 lb. ham
4 lb. beef briscuit
box of 20 pork egg rolls
box of jumbo breaded shrimp
4 lb. pkg. of country style pork ribs
3 lb. pkg. of beef soup bones
2 lb. bag of leftover turkey meat
2 Beef Roasts
1 lb. ground turkey
various bags of frozen veggies

Here is my menu plan for suppers from 2/5 through 2/19

Breaded Shrimp, Rice, Veggie
Crockpot Turkey Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Gravy, Rolls
Crockpot Scalloped Ham & Potatoes, salad, bread
Clean the Fridge Night (leftovers)
Crockpot Beef Roast, Carrots, Potatoes
Beef Stroganoff with Noodles, veggie
Ham Quiche, Fruit, Toast
Homemade Pizza
Country Style Ribs, Potato Salad, Baken Beans
Sour Cream Chicken, Veggie, Rolls
Tator Tot Hotdish, veggie
Chili, Bread
Cheesy Potato Dish w/ Ham, salad, bread
Ham & Cheese Omelettes, Hashbrowns, Fruit
Homemade Pizza

Grocery Total for the items I needed to make these was $71.00.

I don't plan to enter a grocery store again until 2/20.

Based on what I have experienced this week doing a menu plan can save you alot at the grocery store. It is also awesome not to have to think about what to make for suppers.

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