I am attempting to get back in the habit of planning my menu each week. When I have done this in the past, it saves both time and money. Not to mention I don't have to listen to my husband asking every morning and evening, "What's for dinner tonight?" :-) So, last week, I posted our menu for the week on my lovely new organization center that is hanging from the side of my fridge. And we managed to stick pretty closely to it. But, it is a new week, so it is time to start over again.
Once I get done sipping my first cup of coffee and enjoying this rare, quiet, beautiful Oregon morning, I am heading inside to peer into my freezer, rifle through my pantry, and see if I can manage to make a menu for the week that does not include shopping. I think I'm in pretty good shape this week. I still have plenty of meat in the freezer, and we bought fresh veggies at the Farmer's Market yesterday. My pantry is starting to look a little less crowded, thanks to doing the same thing last week. However, I still have about 18 cans of various stocks and soups, lots of canned tomatoes, a big ol' container of V8 (which means I MUST make lasagna this week!), and about 10 cans of sloppy joe mix. I even have a full thing of milk in the fridge. I think I really might stand a chance of (mostly) avoiding the stores this week ... which makes me very happy, since I hate to shop!
So, my challenge for you today is to see if you can make an entire week's meals from your pantry this time. What are some cheap and easy recipes you can make that include what you already have? Plan ahead for refrigerator goulash night - put it on the menu! If your household is like mine, the last week of the month is always a good time to save money, since that pesky mortgage or rent payment is coming up on the 1st! Try it, and let me know how it goes!
Hi there! Found you from Tiffany's blog and love this idea!! And I must say you have piqued my interest--how do you make lasagna with V-8? Do you make your marinara sauce with it? Can't wait to hear :) Also--my hubs doesn't like eggs, soups, anything casserole or "sauce-y", or red sauce (meaning tomato, bbq, enchilada...). I'd love any ideas you have for these parameters. We've been married for 3 years (celebrated last week!) and I'm getting better at working around these limits but those are some of my favorites (esp soup!)! All about compromise. Anyway I love your blog and I'm looking forward to reading more. And ps I'm in Hillsboro too!!
ReplyDeleteHi Julia! So glad you found me. :) Tiffany is one of my dearest friends - I love her blog too! My hubby can be picky about casseroles & soups too. I very rarely get away with making soup ... unless I make it thick enough that it resembles stew. That is somehow acceptable. I can usually get him to at least try something if there's meat in it somewhere. - he's a meat & potatoes guy. I'll try to post some more ideas of what has worked for us as far as that food compromise - great idea! Also, once it's up, check out today's post. I am going to post my lasagna recipe. It was passed down to me from my mom, and it is the one dish of hers that I can truly duplicate. And I do a pretty good job on it, if I do say so myself. My husband is not a huge pasta eater, and he will actually request this dish! I have another lasagna variation that your husband might light, because there's not as much sauce on it - I'll try to find it & post it another day. Thanks again for joining me! :)
ReplyDelete