One Week Sample Menu

May 31, 2009 by pearsonsprogress    No Comments    Posted under: Blogroll, Gardening, recipes, saving money

For Kim who requested one of my sample menus:

*we have our largest meal mid-day at 2pm and we eat lighter in the evening at 8pm

** this is how I actually write out my menus for the week. I include page #’s and the name of the cookbook, and if guests are coming, I would add a dessert. Since we frequently have friends over, the leftover desserts usually will last the rest of the week.

*** Next to this menu I keep a grocery list, remembering 1st to ‘shop’ in my pantry.

Monday:

Dinner:

1^st: Cream of Chicken Soup with bread (both homemade)

2^nd Meat-Potato Quiche (p 158 More with Less Cookbook:You can buy this from Amazon.com via this blog. Just click: Bobbie’s store, ‘cookbooks & canning’, page 6)

Salad (picked from my garden)

Supper:

Chicken Teriyaki (seasoning from a packet)

Egg rolls (frozen)

Salad (picked from my garden)

Tuesday

Dinner:

1^st: Left over Cream of Chicken soup

2^nd:Steaks (take out of freezer from the piece I bought at Christmas)

Potatoes & fava beans (beans from garden)

Spinach (frozen)

Supper:

Fried Rice (cut up leftover Chicken Teriyaki & egg + veggies)

Salad

Wednesday:

Dinner:

1^st: Cream of potato & fava bean soup (made from leftover side dish) & Bread

2^nd- Beef Hash (leftover steak from Tuesday) & fried eggs

Toast (from bread made on Tuesday)

Salad (from garden & homemade salad dressing)

Supper:

Leftover Potato Soup & Homemade Toast

Thursday:

Dinner:

1^st Bean Soup with bread

2^nd: Chicken Cheese Casserole (p 124 More with Less Cookbook)

Green Beans

Supper:

Meat-Potato Quiche (leftover from Monday)

Salad (from garden & homemade salad dressing )

Friday:

Dinner:

1^st:Cream of Spinach Soup (made from leftover spinach on Tuesday)

2^nd; Pizza Rice Casserole (p 129 More with Less cookbook) *use canned hamburger

Navajo Fry Bread (p More with Less Cookbook)

Salad (from garden & homemade salad dressing)

Supper:

Creamed Eggs over Homemade Toast

Sausage (canned)

Saturday:

Dinner:

1^st:Cream of Tomato soup (canned tomatoes)

2^nd: Sloppy Joes over Homemade toast

Salad (from garden & homemade salad dressing)

Supper:

Bean Soup (leftover from Thursday)

Navajo Fry Bread (leftover from Friday) page 83 of More with Less cookbook

Sunday:

Dinner:

1^st:Chicken Noodle Soup (made from the chicken I cup up and stewed last Thursday) with Homemade Croutons (end of loaf)

2^nd: Buffalo Wings

French Fries (cooked in Olive oil)

Salad (from garden & homemade salad dressing)

Supper:

Pizza Rice Casserole (left over from Friday)

Salad (from garden & homemade salad dressing)

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Why I Plan My Menus:

May 22, 2009 by pearsonsprogress    2 Comments    Posted under: Blogroll, Grocery Challenge, recipes, saving money

A menu plan saves money. Reducing trips to the supermarket, a menu plan reduces impulse spending. Using leftovers efficiently cuts food waste and ‘working in’ an ingredient that I already have helps me use what’s in the pantry or garden.

A menu plan saves time. No frantic searches of what to prepare… I know exactly what meals I’m fixing at all times. This frees me up to do other things.

A menu plan improves nutrition.  John and I basically eat little or no junk food. We eat real homemade meals and we always have homemade bread on hand. I buy only fruit and vegetables on sale. When traveling, I also pack lunches to save on money. Almost anything I make will be tastier & more nutritious than buying on the road.

*I like to plan my menus by the week and I also plan for leftovers. I try to include at least one menu for guests too.

Fava Beans

May 22, 2009 by pearsonsprogress    1 Comment     Posted under: blessings, Blogroll, Grocery Challenge, saving money

Here are the results of my efforts:

1st planting                       2nd planting                   harvested beans                 cooked beans with ham

My Pantry

May 14, 2009 by pearsonsprogress    1 Comment     Posted under: Blogroll, Canning/Preserving, Gardening, Grocery Challenge

It’s been busy around here! As you’ve already read, we had family for a visit, then another young woman came from France for 4 days and finally this weekend, we will have another gal in one of our ‘guestrooms’.

Work is busy, church is busy and our house is staying full! In spite of all of the activity, I’ve found time in the evenings to do some canning. These past 2 weeks I have canned 10 kilos of pork cubes (some with Chipotle seasoning), 10 kilos of potatoes and I ground, seasoned, made and canned 10 lbs of sausage patties.

My PANTRY is filling! It’s sure nice to have a jar of ground beef ready to pop open (I use reusable canning jars) and add to a casserole. This week when I was rushed for time due to work and meetings, I opened a jar of beans, & one pork cubes to make nachos for lunch. I add some fresh lettuce, scallions and cilantro from my garden, some salsa and cheese over chips.

I sure look forward to the summer tomatoes, peppers and onions for making enough salsa that will last us a year.

These are my 3 shelves of canned food. The photos are slightly overlapping each other and you can get a ‘larger’ view by clicking on the photo.

The benefits of canning for me:

1. fresh food canned with the seasoning I want and use
2. I buy at the cheapest prices to stretch my grocery money
3. I always have food on hand when we travel or have friends over
4. I enjoy the process and like to see the pantry full of options for meal times

The downside of canning for me:

1. my hands & nails have taken a beating
2. I have to be careful not to strain my wrists
3. I’m usually up pretty late at night getting it all done