Menu Monday..

This is that transitional time in Oklahoma where one day it's eighty degrees, the lilacs are blooming and the next day the high is forty!  I make my menu seasonal but it's really hard during this time because I don't know if we should be having soup in the house or grilling on the patio. To make it easy on myself, I put a few cold weather meals in the menu and also a few warmer weather meals, then I just pick the temperature that fits the day.

This week has started cold so I used the honey mustard chicken and rice meal with green beans and green salad last night, tonight, we're having grilled fish and mac-n-cheese and  mixed veggies.  I have an outing at work and need something fast and easy!

Wednesday night is eat-at-church night - my favorite night of the week!  I'll tell you, I don't feel the need to eat out during the week when I can count on a night out every Wednesday for under fifteen dollars!

Thursday is going to be crab salad sandwiches with a veggie tray, Friday night, I'm grilling burgers and having baked beans and coleslaw(it's supposed to be almost eighty!).  Saturday, we'll probably grill chicken and potato packets and have a greek salad.  I'm thinking we'll be eating on the porch again by saturday night!

Here's my super easy potato packet recipe. I change it up as the summer goes on to include my garden produce. 

Super Easy Potato Packet

Spray a large sheet(about the size of a 9x13 cake pan) with no stick spray or use the no stick foil
Dice in about 1/2 inch cubes one potato per person (1/2 for kids)
Dice about 2 tablespoons onion per person
You can also add: carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, etc....
Add  teaspoon diced garlic per person
salt/pepper to taste
If you have fresh basil or a favorite herb, put it in also.  If you only have dried, use 1/2 teaspoon per person or leave it out.
1 tablespoon grated parmesan or other hard cheese per person
Drizzle of olive oil

Place all the ingredients on the foil, layering potatoes and other hard veggies first.  Place another sheet, a little larger than the first, on top of the ingredients.  Starting with the bottom foil sheet, fold up at least three times all around so moisture will not escape while cooking.

Place directly above fire on medium for about 10 minutes and then move to an area of the grill that is not going to cook directly or on low.  cook another 10 minutes.  Carefully, remove the foil packet and place on a cookie sheet.  Unroll one end of the foil and check for the potatoes to be soft.  If they are almost there, just leave them in the foil until the meat gets finished grilling, the steam will usually finish cooking them. 

You can just open the top of the foil to serve or put in a serving bowl.  For family, I just serve out of the foil.....no clean-up!

Eating from the Stockpile

I am a stockpile shopper.  I hate above all else to start making something and realize that I am out of one ingredient on the list!  I purchase things on sale and store them until we need them.  Now, I'm not one of those hoarders that you see on tv!  I don't have 100 shampoo bottles or enough cereal to feed us for ten years in my pantry.  I usually only keep a few extras because I have done this enough to know the sales cycles.  Retailers put items on sale in about a six to eight week cycle or a seasonal cycle.  For instance, facial tissue usually goes on special during the late fall/early winter, so I will buy ten to twelve boxes to get us through until they go on special again.  Cereal is about on a six week cycle so I only need enough to get us through six weeks until the coupons and specials are on again.

During the month of January, I usually go on a 'don't buy anything unless I really need it or can get it almost free' diet.  I like to try to save as much as possible since we just finished the Christmas season.  Our property taxes are also due in December so after I've traveled to Bethlehem to pay the taxes, paid for all the Christmas gifts, and all the other expenses that December brings, I feel that I need to be extra frugal.  Plus, in Oklahoma, I never know how the weather will be so staying home is a good thing!

I made my menu plan this month using things I already have in the pantry and freezer.  I download and print my menu plans from this website.     http://moneysavingmom.com/downloads/meal-menu-planners
It has a monthly planner that I like.  It's blank so I just fill in the month and what I'm planning to have each night for dinner.

This week looks like this: Sunday lunch - pot roast, potatoes, carrots, green beans; dinner - homemade pizzas; Monday - shrimp lingune and salad; Tuesday - potato soup, homemade bread; Wednesday - roast beef hash(leftover pot roast), apple salad; Thursday - fish tacos, spanish rice, lettuce/tomato salad; Friday - cornbread topped chili casserole; Saturday - baked chicken and stuffing, broccoli.

The only thing I have to buy for this week is some lettuce and tomatoes for the salad.  I made two weeks worth of menus using just what we had in the pantry and I still have a few meals left for the third week.

January is looking like a good frugal start for 2011!