The Shopping Adventures of Cheapo McFrugalpants » Meal Planning

What’s On Your Plate?

Cheapo McFrugalpants — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:38:00 +0000

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.

Meal Planning at Holiday Time

Cheapo McFrugalpants — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:45:00 +0000

How hard is it to try and plan meals during the holidays? If you are like us, we are SO, SO busy rushing around, helping charities and trying to attend everyone’s functions. Typically, these activities are sure to include food. Better on OUR food budget? Absolutely. Better on OUR waistlines? Not so much. Regardless, we feel very fortunate to have these opportunities when we know so many do totally without.

Even if your schedule is as full as ours, try and take a second to do a meal plan. It helps take a little stress away from the week, not having to worry about what to cook for dinner on the days you ARE at home. When you are not organized with meals, it is so much easier to just “order out.” Save yourself a little money and cook what you already have at hand. Take the money you WOULD have spent on eating out and buy someone a meal who needs it. *wink*

Monday – Leftovers from the weekend (use them up folks!)
Tuesday – Wanchai Ferry Orange Chicken w/onion & zucchini added, white rice (this was the kit, not the frozen dinner. Though, here is a $1.50 printable coupon off of a WF frozen meal. We’ve had those too and they were surprisingly good)
Wednesday – Baked Chicken legs with Franks Sweet BBQ sauce (coupons for Frank’s & French’s products), Broccoli Chicken rice, canned corn, salad
Thursday – Beef roast (in the crock pot), baked sweet potato, canned green beans, Rhodes multi-grain rolls (coupons often in Sunday paper)
Friday – Youth group Christmas party – would it be anything other than pizza?
Saturday – Party Invite – finger foods of some sort I believe
Sunday – another luncheon invite – will probably be “fend for yourself” day

What’s on your plate this week?

Menu Plan Monday: Big Hit Avocados

Cheapo McFrugalpants — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:00:00 +0000

About four years ago, I decided to try my hand at a low carb diet…Atkins…whatever you want to call it. A close friend of mine lost 60 lbs. with this eating lifestyle, so I thought, “What the heck? Why not?” So I did. On top of the 20 lbs. I so painfully lost the year before, I lost another 30 lbs. within the next four months. Wow! A total of fifty pounds! I could not believe it. Well, with a back injury last summer and an almost broken ankle this summer, I managed to gain 20 of those pounds back. I hate it. It feels horrible…mentally and physically. Since low carb was the only eating lifestyle that I actually found great success on, I’m going to try and get back on the wagon. (like any “diet”, it takes some real mental work up, ya know?) Pictures, like this one, tends to help with a bit of inspiration. Wish me luck.

(January 2008)

With a low carbohydrate mindset, obviously when a “Big Hit Avocado Party” came across on Houseparty.com, I was there to apply. Guess what? They chose me to host! Soon after, I received a box of goodies: a cutting board, recipes/coupons/chip clips for all of the guests and a gift card in which to buy cooking supplies. We tried all sorts of new recipes, such as Turkey Bacon Avocado roll ups, Shredded Chicken Avocado pizza, Avocado Blue Cheese dip/dressing and, of course, guacamole. Luv.

Me & Michelle and our friend, el toro Pinata

Charlie & Lisa with their avocado love

Friends, Food and Fun

Out of all of the new foods we tested, the biggest hit was the Avocado Blue Cheese dip. We used this with fresh veggies and also as a sauce on the turkey wraps! Here’s the recipe in case you would like to try it too.

1 Hass Avocado, small, diced
1 c. sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 lemon, juiced
1 T. white vinegar
1/4 c. chopped parsley leaves
1 t. minced shallots
1/2 t. minced garlic
1/4 lb. blue cheese, crumbled

In a mixing bowl and using a wire whisk, combine everything except the blue cheese and avocado, blending until smooth. Gently stir in the blue cheese and diced avocado with a fork until blended and creamy. Would make a good salad dressing as well! Enjoy!

As a start to my “perfect” low carb week, here is my menu dinner plan. (please note that the rest of my family will have an altered plan)

Mon – Broccoli Bisque topped w/bacon & cheese, salad
Tues – Taco Salad w/guacamole
Wed - Baked Pork Chops, cottage cheese & salad
Thurs- My birthday.big.whoop. – not sure yet
Fri - party at mom & dad’s – Italian Beef & veggie salad (Lord help me skip the pie!)
Sat – Chicken Broccoli Divan
Sun – Pizza pot pie & salad with the girls in Chicago. I’m telling you right now that I will not be able to pass up the Mediterranean Bread at Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinders.

Here’s to a great, “on plan” week!

Also, menu plannin’ over at Chive Talkin.

Menu Plan Monday: What’s On Your Plate?

Cheapo McFrugalpants — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:35:00 +0000

“Hey Cheapo! What’s on YOUR plate this week?”

Sadly enough, it has been a few weeks since I have done any meal planning. This week, I decided to jump back on the horse and ride! Here’s what we “should” be having:

Mon: Leftover Father’s Day Baked Ziti – altered, with garlic bread & salad
By the word “altered”, I took the recipe suggestions into consideration and also added cooked Italian sausage and/or ground sirloin and cooked onion. If adding more ingredients, be prepared to use a pan bigger than 9 x 13. As far as the garlic bread goes, I prefer homemade as to the prepared chemical filled stuff. I bought store baked french loaf ($.99), sliced it in half horizontally and slathered the tops with a good layer of softened butter. Then, in the dollar section, I found a grinder with sea salt and garlic. I ground that over the butter and topped with a sprinkling of parsley and shredded Parmesan cheese. Bake towards the end of the Ziti baking time, then quickly broil to toast it up. Mmmmm!

Tues: Hot Dogs, Corn on the cob, Mac & Cheese

Wed: Homemade Waffles & Sausage
Something I’ve never done, but was inspired by Money Saving Mom to do – make homemade waffles. I’m so ~~nerdy~~ excited about doing it! I’m not talking just plain ole’ Leggo My Eggo type waffles – I’m looking for buttermilk, cornmeal, blueberry, fudge and pumpkin praline! Well…maybe I should just start with the plain ones first. I’ll keep you updated!

Thurs: Grilled Burgers, Broccoli, Cottage Cheese & Pineapple

Fri: Pork Stir Fry

Sat: BBQ Ribs, Corn & Rice

Sun: Masonic Family Picnic for lunch and a Youth Group cookout for dinner

It’s truly amazing how much time and money you can save by planning out your meals each week. Plus, when you already know ahead of time what you are having, it takes the stress away each day. If you don’t know where to start, here is a planning sheet that I have always liked to use. It’s only for dinners, though you can find others that plan every meal of the day. Breakfasts for us are rather slim – cereal, English muffins or smoothies; lunch usually consists of dinner leftovers. If you want to save money on paper and ink, you can also get a small magnetic whiteboard for your fridge to plan meals on. I’ve seen them for $2.50-$3.50 at Dollar General.
At any rate, gather your store sale sheets and start your planning TODAY!! Yes, TODAY…as in right NOW! *wink*

More Menu Plan Mondays!

Menu Plan Monday: What’s on Your Plate?

Cheapo McFrugalpants — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000

“Hey Cheapo! What’s on YOUR plate this week?”

Wow. I have really gotten away from meal planning lately – and it shows. I find that when meals aren’t planned out, we tend to A) eat out a lot B) eat on the run or C) eat very poorly. We’ve been guilty of all three. Soooo….heeerree’s this week!

Mon. – BBQ Chicken Pitas, Pickles on the side, Steamed Cabbage
(These were awesome! Grilled BBQ chicken breast, sliced it up, filled a whole wheat pita lined with **Si Si Cilantro Mayonaise, topped with sharp cheddar, red onion, tomato & red leaf lettuce) **Si Si Cilantro is a dip mix from Tastefully Simple. We like to just mix it with mayo and have a gourmet topper for burgers or mix with plain sour cream to top mexican food. MMM…

Tues. – Grilled Pork Chops, Sweet Peas, Garlic/Olive oil pasta

Wed. – Sausage, egg & cheese on whole wheat english muffins, watermelon, celery w/peanut butter sticks

Thurs. – Spaghetti & Meat Sauce (sauce in freezer from last week), Salad

Fri. – Crock pot beef tips w/onions & mushrooms, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower

Sat. – Grilled Burgers (will share the recipe for the BEST burgers ever), corn on the cob

Sun. – Leftover buffet (though I will be going to El Salto with the Twitter gals. Yipee!)

For now, this is what we’ll be eating. Though, tomorrow is the Meat Truckload sale at our local groc shop – so things MAY change. *wink*

More Menu Plan Mondays!

Menu Plan Monday: What’s on Your Plate?

Cheapo McFrugalpants — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:54:00 +0000

“Hey Cheapo! What’s on YOUR plate this week?”

McFrug can already tell…this is going to be one of THOSE weeks. You know, the weeks where you are going to be nowhere close to home when it’s time to start cooking dinner? The type of week where you’ve used up all of the “instant” meals or pre-prepared meals? Just that sort of week where you wonder if you will actually have time to even get groceries?
Somehow…some way…it all tends to work out…doesn’t it?

Here’s the plan:
Monday – Shrimp poppers, mashed potatoes, broccoli & carrots
Tuesday – Tuna Salad on croissants, sliced tomatoes w/greek dressing, pretzels
Wednesday – Grilled burgers, buttered garlic noodles, green & white asparagus
Thursday – French toast & sausage links
Friday – Thai Chicken Satays, broccoli w/cheese sauce
Saturday – gone from 4am to midnight on youth group trip, packed lunch, eating dinner out
Sunday – whatever-anyone-can-find-to-eat-day
AKA: leftover day

Be sure to check out more Menu Plan Mondays to see what is one everyone else’s plate!

Menu Plan Monday: What’s on Your Plate?

Cheapo McFrugalpants — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:07:00 +0000

“Hey Cheapo! What’s on YOUR plate this week?”

Though a few extra [sale] items will have to be bought this week, Cheapo is still trying to use up whatever is in the fridge and cabinets. Have you ever tried doing this? You will be AMAZED at how long you can really go without grocery shopping. All it takes is a little planning.

Monday – Pineapple Jalapeno chicken, pea pods, mashed potatoes
Tuesday – Grilled Cheeseburgers, mac & cheese, broccoli & carrots
Wednesday – Provolone/onion/tomato quiche, salad, fruit
Thursday – Chili w/cheese, cornbread
Friday – Grilled pork chops, brown rice, garden medley veggies, garlic cheese toast
Saturday – Eggs, biscuits & gravy, fruit
Sunday – [leftover/frozen] Italian Beef Sandwiches

Just a side note on the Italian Beef – following advice from my friend Michelle, I doubled all of the spices, including the Italian seasoning packet, along with using about 7 lbs. of beef (since it was for a party and all.) This made an ENTIRE crockpot full of shredded beef. We have been eating it for lunches most of the week. Before we got sick of it, I froze what was left of the beef and buns so we could have it again on Sunday. Bringing out pre-prepared meals on Sundays allows for more “family” time – instead of standing in the kitchen all day cooking and cleaning.

Don’t forget to enter the Freebie Deebie Giveaway for THREE Fiber One Health & Fitness Packages!

Menu Plan Monday: What’s on Your Plate?

Cheapo McFrugalpants — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:58:00 +0000

“Hey Cheapo! What’s on YOUR plate this week?

Cheapo thinks that maybe aside from buying a gallon of milk, she can SKIP grocery shopping this week! The meals may not be particularly unique or extremely interesting, but they are meals none the less. How much do you have hiding in your cabinets, freezer and fridge? Take a look and plan around what you already have!

Monday – Grilled Pork Quesadillas, Broccoli Mac & Cheese, Cottage Cheese
Tuesday – Pepperoni Pizza, Salad, Orange Slices
Wednesday – Chicken Salad Croissants, Greek pasta salad
Thursday – Burger patties, buttered noodles, Broccoli & Carrots, Garlic Cheese Bread
Friday – Pineapple Jalapeno glazed chicken, Mac & cheese, Fruit/Yogurt Salad
Saturday – Party time!!
Sunday – Eggs, Biscuits & Sausage Gravy

Mr. & Mrs. McFrug are going to be throwing a party this Saturday, just as sort of a “pre-rat-race-of-summer” get together with friends. The food menu isn’t extremely extensive, but a little shopping will have to be done for that. Cheapo has a hard time getting by “cheap” on parties. We’ll see how she does! Oh…hmm…maybe Tanya over at Shin-dig-it can help? *wink*

For the local folks – today is the 10% off day at Five Star. Don’t forget your Market coupon! Kroger & Martins have a few coupon match ups. Will try and list those later.

This week’s Menu Plan Monday is being hosted by $5 Dinners – check out others!

Don’t forget to enter the Freebie Deebie Giveaway for a Fiber One Health & Fitness Package!

Menu Plan Monday: What’s on Your Plate?

Cheapo McFrugalpants — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:39:00 +0000

“Hey Cheapo! What’s on YOUR plate this week?”

Cheapo has tried her best to make meals out of what has already been bought. Minus VERY few items, she did rather well!

Monday – Cilantro Lime Chicken Fajitas, Mac & Cheese, Peas & Carrots
Tuesday – Chili & Spaghetti, crescent rolls
Wednesday – Grilled wraps, green beans, Italian pasta salad
Thursday – Pizza, Coleslaw
Friday – Apricot Jalapeno glazed Pork Chops, fried apples, buttered carrots
Saturday – Spanish Omelets, Biscuits
Sunday – Will be eating at youth group meeting (Italian beef?)

There it is! Need a few items to make chili and we should be good to go! Well, and maybe a few other “sale” things to save a bit of $ in the long run *wink*

Plan, Plan, PLAN! It will save you money and time in the long run!

Menu Plan Monday: What’s on Your Plate?

Cheapo McFrugalpants — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:45:00 +0000

“Hey Cheapo! What’s on YOUR plate this week?”

How quickly the weeks seems to roll around! McFrug has now realized, that she has made grocery lists and menu plans for so long now, that she’s not sure how to grocery shop without them! The idea of actually walking into the store without a plan, sale flyer or list is just too scary of a thing. Not to mention the TIME it takes to buy grocs without a list – we’re talkin’ 20 minutes v/s 45 minutes here!
Did you make YOUR plan this week? If not, take 10 minutes now and do it! Start with what you already have in the fridge and cabinets – then fill in from the sale flyer and items you have coupons for. Ten minutes now will save you much time and stress in the long run of the week.

Here’s mine:
Monday – Pork Cutlets w/gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, baby brussel sprouts, buttered noodles, cinnamon rolls
Tuesday – Chicken Stir Fry w/ brown rice, sugar free jello
Wednesday – Tacos, green beans, fruit
Thursday – Cauliflower Bisque topped w/cheese & bacon, salad, rolls
Friday – BBQ Cheeseburgers, Creamed Corn, Fruit
Saturday – 16th Birthday party to attend
Sunday – Pork chops, eggs, fried apples, biscuits

Was that difficult to do? Not at all. *wink*