Menu Plan Monday
Menu Plan Monday is a part of my routine. But today it just feels boring. I am tired of turkey. I am tired of ham. I am tired of leftovers. But my budget is even more tired of eating out and throwing food away.
In preparation for Christmas, we are tightening our belts at home. I have reduced our grocery budget to just $250 for a family of five for this month. And this includes our Christmas Day dinner. The name of the game for December is Chopped style eating from the pantry. If it isn’t milk, bread, or produce, it’s not on the list.
Here’s this week’s plan:
Monday: Hot sandwiches, toasted on the George Foreman Grill and made up of the last of the ham and shaved turkey. No additional groceries needed.
Tuesday: This is my final in person class for the semester, so this is a breakfast for dinner night. There’s bacon in the freezer, eggs in the fridge, and biscuit mix in the pantry.
Wednesday: Baked tilapia, rice, and steamed broccoli. I need a couple lemons and limes to go with this, but that’s it.
Thursday: Spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad. We will need 1 lb of ground beef and some lettuce. $5 out of pocket.
Friday: Roasted pork tenderloin, roasted potatoes and a green veggie. Probably spinach for the girls and broccoli for the boys. I used all the potatoes for Thanksgiving, so we’ll need some more. Probably about $3 for 5 lbs and there will be leftovers.
Saturday: Pizza night! We still have several pizzas in the freezer from the recent sales at Target and Randalls.
Sunday: Undecided. Sunday is homework day for me, but it is also a good day to do any meal preps for the coming week. I’ll take a look at the sales and go from there. In case you missed it, the Kroger Mega Event is already live!
Grocery list:
1 lb of ground beef – $2.99/lb at Fresh Market on Tuesday
1 loaf of Italian bread – $.99 at Fiesta or Randalls.
lettuce – $1.29 ea at Sprouts
red and gold potatoes – $3 at Sprouts
3 lemons – $1 at Sprouts
3 limes – $1 at Sprouts
1 gal milk – $2
1 loaf sandwich bread – $1
mixed fruit – $5
=$18.27, which leaves me plenty of room for mistakes, catastrophes, and mislaid plans.