What’s On Your Plate?

Do you ever get that strong sense of accomplishment by using up all of your food resources; not letting anything go to waste? Am I just totally OCD? Please tell me I’m not the only one. It’s not just, “Oh, what a good meal and nothing went to waste.” I’m talkin’ about head held high, can’t stop chatting about it, walking around with a pride patch pinned to my shirt.

I just love the way it feels; like we aren’t wasting a thing – and yes, I AM very proud. Some people of the world would give their right arm for what we have here in our country. Do we take our abundance for granted? Yes, absolutely. Though, here in our house, we try to consciously make an effort to be thankful and resourceful. For my family to stop for a second and take notice of what they have, THAT is what I am most proud of…not so much the fact that I’m filled with mad cooking skills…eh-hem.

Anyway…

That brings me to my Menu Plan. After taking a look at my “end of the week” groceries (since my shopping usually takes place on Tuesdays or Wednesdays), I knew I had some odds and ends to use up: half of a rump roast, half a bag of potatoes, some other “seen-better-days” produce. This is what I came up with:

• Monday – Crockpot rump roast, seasoned steak fries, broccoli & cheese, salad (made with lettuce, baby spinach, onion, pecans, golden raisins, celery & grape halves)

Seasoned Steak Fries 5 washed potatoes; skin on; cut into 6 wedges each Toss them in olive oil, sea salt (I used Hawaiian sea salt) and steak seasoning. Bake at 400 for about 45 mins or until tender. Put under broiler to crisp up if necessary.

• Tuesday – BLT sandwiches, Dill Pasta salad, Orange slices
• Wednesday – Balsamic Grilled Tuscan Chicken (trying something new), rice, capresse salad

Balsamic-Grilled Tuscan Chicken
1/2 c. olive oil, 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp Dijon-style mustard
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 pkg. Pepperidge Farm Tuscan Inspired Sourdough bread
(can you tell where I might have gotten this recipe? LOL)
Mix first 3 ingredients in resealable plastic bag or container. Add chicken to coat. Cover and refrigerate 20 min. or overnight. Prepare bread according to package directions (or toast a loaf of your choice) Cut break into 2″ diagonal slices. Meanwhile, grill chicken until cooked through. Serve together.

• Thursday – Blue Cheese & Bacon stuffed grilled burgers (with leftover bacon from Tuesday and blue cheese that I found on clearance for $1.49), White shoe-peg corn
• Friday – Apricot Jalapeno glazed grilled pork chops, Mashed potatoes, salad, deviled eggs

I am rather unsure on how the weekend is going to play out, so I’ll stop there.

Sounds pretty good, right? Just because you are a frugal shopper, doesn’t mean you have to eat plain, boxed, boring food! Be creative and plan your menu around what’s on sale (or free!)

Okay…now back to my awesome feeling of accomplishment (I told you that I can’t stop talking about it.) Last week, my mother in law brought me a stack of recipes to flip through…just to see if there was anything I could use. Many were recipes that I already had favorites for, but there was one for Apple Oatmeal cookies that I put aside for further reading. I started to skim over the ingredients. Quick oats? Yup! *just* enough in the bottom of the the canister. Apples? *quick glance to the fruit basket* Yes! and they need to be used, like, yesterday. Honey? Of course! I have three different containers all with just a little bit left in the bottom of each one.

Anyway…you can see where this is going. A half hour later, I had a batch of these soft, healthy little goodies! Except,I totally had to ruin the healthiness by turning them into Whoopie Pies with a can of butter cream frosting that I got cheap at Kroger last week homemade cream cheese frosting.

*shrug*

It could be worse.

In case you have all of the same ingredients lingering around your house, you can find this Apple-Oatmeal Cookie recipe HERE.

So, what’s on YOUR plate this week?

More Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie.