Sunday, December 28, 2008

Menu Plan Monday


I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I ate way too much which always makes it good, right?

In an effort to bring more balance into our lives, my husband and I have decided to institute a day of rest each week. We realized we were working every stinkin' day and not taking any time to relax. So we are going to attempt to make Saturday a day where we don't work on the business, I don't cook or clean, no chores for the kids (can you hear them cheering?) no yard work.....nada! I don't know how it will actually work in practice but we are going to give it a shot. We'll fill our day with lots of lounging, game playing, book reading, library visiting...pure unadulterated laziness. Chris even suggested we turn off the electricity (computers, DVD player, radios, video games) and use candles but I'm not sure I can survive with no computer.

All that to say, I'll be planning make ahead meals for Saturday that just take a little bit of warming up but no actual preparing. This could work out to be a really good thing.

I also scored a huge chunk of leftover Christmas ham from my Mom so that will be added to our meals this week as well as the giant chicken I got on sale last week.

So here we go...

Breakfasts
Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, and Fresh Apple Oatmeal
Poached eggs and toast
Breakfast Leftovers (rush to church no time to cook)

Dinners
Ham and Cheese Quiche (doubled) and green salad
Roast Sticky Chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans
White Chicken Chili (leftover chicken) and Cornbread
Lentil Burritos with cheese, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, & salsa
Leftover Night
Fried Rice (leftover veggies, meat, eggs and rice)

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Roast Sticky Chicken sounds great! And you've also given me an idea of what to do with all my left over Ham. Here we come to Quiche! lol. Thanks! ;)

ConservaChick said...

Turn off the electricity? Use candles? I think we have an old Amish bonnet in the dress up bin. Wanna borrow it? ~K

Joanna said...

Your menu plan Mondays are so inspiring! I still haven't quite gotten that tack down right yet, but I'm working on it!

DarcyLee said...

The Roast Sticky Chicken is so good. I found the recipe about a year ago and my family wants roast chicken made this way every time now. I'm planning on quiche this week too with all the leftover ham.

As usual, great ideas for menu planning.

Mom to Five said...

These meals sound absolutely delicious!!! My goal this week is to spend under $100 for our meals and grocery needs-I feel 7 so it will be a challenge:) 5 kids ages 9 and under and 2 adults-it is always interesting to come up with meals that the kids will eat!!
Have a super week!!!

Judy said...

Sounds yummy.
I am new to your blog and LOVE IT!! I went back and read through the FAQ section. What great ideas you have. I am seriously considering the homemade laundry soap.
Keep up the great work.

Terri Steffes said...

Sounds so good, as usual. I am going to try the Amish baked oatmeal this week.

Michelle said...

I have a chicken for next week---I'll have to use the Roast Sticky Chicken recipe!

Gayle said...

Conservachik,

I know, sounds kinda extreme doesn't it? But the power went out during the snow storm last week and it was so relaxing and peaceful to have all the electronics off. We watch way too many movies and spend WAY too much time on the computer.

Anonymous said...

Good for you! There is a reason God commanded a weekly day of rest. Candles might be extreme, but leaving the tv, dvd player, video games, radio, and computer off will give you a much needed "time-out" from the world.

Shan said...

The Sticky chicken sounds wonderful. I think I'll convert my roast chicken this week to this recipe.

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to let you know you have inspired me to really get serious about a grocery budget and meal planning, and I set my budget with a family of 4, to $40 dollars, and to my surprise I have been able to easily do this, 2 weeks in a row. Keep up the great work.

Cristina said...

I just stubbled apon your blog and I just love.

I am actually starting a grocery challenge myself after reading how you do it.

I have all the same stores you go to so I'm going to give it a shot:)

Anonymous said...

I'm new to your blog(from Canada).
Wow are you ever organized!! : )
I'll be trying those yummy breakfast recipes.
?--do you put the roasted chicken in a ziploc bag overnight?
Love your site.

Gayle said...

I ended up with no 3 or 4 lb chicken. The thing is a whopping 7 or 8 lbs so I don't have a ziploc bag big enough for it. I read in one of the reviews that a lady just put it in her roasting pan and covered it with saran wrap to seal it. I think I may try that.

~ esther ~ said...

I have been browsing through your blog this past weekend and have been totally absorbing everything. Your blog is incredibly timely, and every day I read (almost) everything all over again.

I found your link off of recipezaar (my favorite, favorite recipe site) and it feels like such a God-thing that I found it.

The things you have written about are so "doable". After I read it, I was like, "I can do this!". I've never felt that way about budgeting before. It has empowered me, and for the first time, I am excited about our budget! (my husband is wondering what happened!)

Thanks.

Easter said...

Hi, I just found your space here and love it. But I have a meat eating, milk drinking husband and son. We go through 3-4 gallons of milk a week. They THINK they have to have meat every dinner. My husband was raised on a farm with fresh milk everyday, fresh pork and beef everyday (frozen each year)we don't farm but do raise a garden and can every year. Do you have any suggestions for me to cut my bill without "damaging" my home life? LOL

Gayle said...

iluvsnow,

I hear it's cheaper to use one of those buy-a-cow programs where you buy a whole or half cow, have it butchered and stuff your freezer for a years worth of meat. As for the milk I would sneak and mix half reconstituted powdered milk and half regular milk and cut down your milk budget by half. My family doesn't notice the difference at all. Now if they actually saw me doing this they might. But sometimes a little sneakiness is in order. ;) You might just have to realized that your budget is going to be a little higher and cut back in other areas...no packaged foods, lots of homemade, no pops, chips or candies.

Unknown said...

I think that's a great idea - taking a day of rest.
I wanted to ask, do you find that with your budget you're still able to include fresh veggies and fruits in your grocery cart?

Gayle said...

Almost every week I buy fresh apples and bananas. We grow a garden and can alot of our veggies and some fruits and then I probably buy veggies every other week. They last longer in our house because they are usually eaten just as a side dish with dinner whereas the fruits are eaten everyday as snacks and sometimes in my baking.

Janelle said...

I made the crumb-topped banana muffins for breakfast yesterday, modifying the recipe a bit to make it more healthy for the kids. I used 1 c. wheat flour and 1/2 c. white flour, omitted the oil, and cut the sugar to 1/4 c. They were wonderful, and a great way to use up the rest of the crumb topping I had remaining after making an apple pie for Christmas Eve! Thanks for the recipe link, and enjoy them!!

Anonymous said...

Great menu! I love your breakfasts! Have a Happy New Year!

Allie
Learningtobefrugal.com

Anonymous said...

The apple French toast casserole was de best to start the New Year. We topped it with whip cream in a can spray. Usually we get this at our grocery outlet for $.99 (Cool Whip brand)

An awesome delight! KUDOS to you Gayle!

East Coaster

Anonymous said...

Yum. Thanks for the great recipes! I made Ham & Bean soup with all of my leftover Ham. I will have to remember to make a quiche next year.

I like the idea of menu planning. I am trying to stick to my budget this year, and have planned my meals out for the next week. My budget is $50 a week for a family of 5. I am heading out shortly to see if I can actually do it!

Anonymous said...

I made the lentil burrito filling and have a note: the cooking time for the lentils is VASTLY different from the cooking time on the brown rice. i put all ingredients in the pot together (as stated in recipe) but the rice seemed to take nearly an hour to cook thoroughly. by that time the lentils had dissolved completely, as they take only about 20 mins. to cook. the taste was still good, but the texture was a little weird - crunchy rice and mush. i would suggest amending the recipe (for BROWN rice only) to add rice first and cook, then add lentils. if you are using white rice this is not an issue as the cooking time is the same.