Meal Plans

Meal plans help keep meal time less hectic.   Its the basis for your grocery recipes and helps keep you organized.   

We use a matrix for meal planning for simplicity.   

Monday:  soup. - its an easy dinner when people have to eat at differnt times.   A simmering slowcooker  is always a welcome thing to come home to. 

Tuesdays:   Pizza - a really inexpensive dinner that is a winner in most houses.  

Wednesday:  chicken or pork

Thursday:  beef 

Friday:  pork or chicken 

Saturday: Pork or chicken 

Sunday :  Breakfast for Dinner

Week 1: 

• Vegetable bean soup , rolls 
• Potluck 
• Chicken Pot Pie - pudding 
• Tacos 
• Pork chops with dressing, green beans j
• Pork stir fry , rice
• Breakfast for Dinner

Week 2

• Baked Potato cheese soup , rolls 
• Pizza
• Pork roast , mashed potatoes, green beans 
• Speghetti and meatballs
• Pork sliders, veggies 
• Homemade chix nuggets, oven fries veggie platter 
• Breakfast for Dinner

Week 3 

• White bean chicken chilli , quesadilla
• Pizza 
• Chicken cassarole , peas and carrots. 
• Burrito bowls 
• Roasted chicken with oven roasted root vegetables 
• Pork chops , mushroom gravey, corn
• Breakfast for dinner.   

Week 4 

• Chicken Noodle soup , cheese and crackers , fruit 
• Pizza 
• Chicken papakash 
• Enchaladas 
• Pork chops , baked potatoes, stuffed tomatoes 
• Chicken Parmesan , salad 
• Breakfast for dinner 
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• Chicken tortilla soup
• Pizza 

• These are based on buying rotation bulk protein.   Chicken breast is 1.77 a pound again at Fred Meyers .  (Kroger) .   We got pork loin for .99 a lb last weeek at QFC (Kroger ) .   We got hamburger (sirloin roast) at safeways a few weeks back for 2.40 a lb using a basket coupon.   Pepperoni was purachased with a coupon on sale.   Pepperoni has a long shelf life and we got cheese for 2.00 a lb.   cheese is also 2.00 a lb Saturday only , next saturday at Fred Meyers.   I suspect that it will be at qfc as well.   There is a limit of 2.5 lbs., use a digital coupon, and buy ten dollars of other merchandise.   Watching and taking advantage of special buys goes a long ways to bring your cost of food down.   

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New chicken enchiladas.

Chicken enchaladas...scratch

Enchilada sauce can really bump up the cost of chicken enchaladas.   Making your own can be easy and use up things hanging around in the fridge.


Sauce :

Make a roux with 1/2 stick of butter and 4 Tbls flour.  Add 3 cups of vegetable or chicken broth gradually and whisk until liquid is incorporated and getting thick.   Add sour cream a little at a time until combined.   Set aside -sauce will thicken.  Stir occasionally so a skim doesn’t form.

Meanwhile, cook 2 chicken breasts in the oven or insta pot.   When done, cut cooked chicken into small cubes.  

While chicken is cooking, in small bowl. Combine :

1. Mild green peppers chopped (can) -1/2 can drained. 
2. Mexican blend cheese 
3. Salsa or some of the sauce.
4. Add cooked chicken. 

Roll chicken mixture into 6 inch tortillas.   Corn or flour. 

Place some sauce in bottom of baking pan.   

Place tortilla rolls in sauce.   Top with remaining sauce, cheese 

Add tomatoes /and or reserved peppers for garnish if desired.   

Bake at 375 degrees until bubbly and cheese is melted.   About 20 minutes if room temp, more if you have made it ahead and refrigerated it.   

Pork Loin sale.

The family is galaventing downtown.  This small town has trolly rides and festivities.

I am listening to Holiday Music, drinking Irish Cream Coffee, and butchering two 1/2 pork loins.
I made 20 pork chops. 2-1/4 lbs of ground pork. 1/2 lb of stir fry meat.   I was out of quart bags , so I cut pork chops, layered them with cereal box liners, and bagged 4 at a time .   The less than perfect slices, I cut into stir fry meat while cutting off anything that didnt seem desireable.   I ground what was left of meat and fat.   I can use it when making meatballs or meatloaf from the 7 percent hamburger.   Meatloaf is better is it has some fat in it.   When cut with extra lean hamburger, a little ground pork would be good.

Seven meals for four divided by 8.58 is 1.23 a meal.

Dinner

Dinner tonight : spareribs , pasta salad, apple pie

Gather ingredients for the pie 

Fill greased pie plate with cut , sliced , apples 

Make custard 

Make streusel topping,   Bake pie. 

Salad 

Make dressing 

Slice veggies ; marinate in dressing 

Cook pasta, chill in ice bath, add to dressing. 

Brown meat in insta pot in olive oil setting on sauté . 

Pour beer over ribs and change setting to slow cook.  Cover and coook 8 hours or until done.   

Pizza casserole in the insta pot.

Well, kinda.   I cooked the pasta for two minutes and manually de pressurized.   I used 1 quart of water to 1 lb of penne pasta,   It was perfect.  


1 lb penne pasta , Barilla .73
1 jar pasta sauce .74
1 package Italian grated cheese 1.00
1/4 package pepperoni. ,85, cut rounds in half

Parsley and red pepper flakes

Process pasta for 2 minutes in the insta pot.   Self de prsssurize , drain .
Add all other ingredients except parsley and pepper flakes, stir.
Top with parsley and peppers flakes

Total 3.22. : servings 8
1.61 for four servings.  

Berry Muffins ....easy

a good way to use up sour cream before it goes bad.


Blueberry muffins :  ( I used cranberries )

2 cups baking mix
3/4 cup sugar

Mix dry ingredients

1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
Mix together wet ingredients.

Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients

Add 1 cup berries.  Use fresh or frozen that haven’t been thawed.  

Fill greased or lined muffin cups 2/3 full.
Sprinkle with sugar or cinnamon sugar

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.