Weekly Menus

I don’t know how many families out there prepare a weekly menu and shop with it in mind, but we sure do! To a bizarre degree actually. I keep watching these people on TV talk shows come on as guests with sure-fire ways to “cut spending” and “reduce your grocery bill by half”. Bull crap. I already DO all of their tips! So what are WE supposed to do?

First we plan out what we are going to eat for the week. This includes me opening up Food Network’s site and scrolling through my list of recipes saved on the computer. Inevitably I will choose MAYBE one recipe from these lists and we’ll settle on easier meals like “grilled chicken” instead of something from a recipe.

After the meals list is made we figure out what we have and what needs to go on the grocery list (you’ll notice I am using the “we” term here… Stu’s job is to watch TV on the couch while I make these lists and occasionally say “sure that sounds good”). We’re easy eaters for breakfast… cereal. Lunch for Kaden is either leftovers or a sandwich and grapes or watermelon. Stu takes leftovers and I eat soup or whatever I can create (this usually means either garlic paste with Arabic bread or a French baguette sliced and topped with some Gruyere cheese). But for dinner I try to cook something every week night. Our grocery list contains EXACTLY what we need. But, because of the inflated prices of food here, we still spend over a hundred bucks a week for two and a half people. We buy NO pre-made meals (mostly because they don’t sell them) and most of our cart is produce and baby stuff. Since we spend almost $20 on a pack of 70 diapers, and $16 for a can of formula, usually the bulk of our spending is on baby stuff. Even wipes run pretty expensive here. But every time one of the “experts” comes on TV I get all excited, hoping for new tips, usually to no avail (and I’m not freaking making my own bread when it’s less than 50 cents here).

Anyway, so here is our menu for the week, feel free to steal ideas. We don’t pick what day it will be on, we usually decide during the day which one we feel like having that evening.

Day 1: Grilled Steak, mashed potatoes, and frozen mixed vegetables.
Day 2: Three-Cheese chicken pasta bake (recipe follows), mini garlic toasts, and frozen corn.
Day 3: Hamburgers with cheese, tomato and lettuce, French fries.
Day 4: Rice, peas, and hamburger skillet meal.
Day 5: Chinese food meal (fried rice, steamed chicken wontons, sweet-and-sour chicken)

So, this I invented last night and it was pretty good. I call it 3-Cheese Chicken Pasta bake!

3-Cheese Chicken Pasta Bake:

1 lb. uncooked chicken, cut up into bite-sized cubes
3 cups uncooked spiral pasta noodles
½ cup chopped white onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Onion powder
Garlic powder
½ Jar of pasta sauce (I used traditional Ragu)
Basil seasoning
½ cup Sharp Cheddar cheese
¼ cup Mozzarella cheese
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
1) Boil water for noodles, add noodles, cook until tender. Drain, set aside.
2) In a large skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat, add onions and garlic and cook until transparent, about 5 minutes. Add to drained pasta. In the same pan, heat another tablespoon of olive oil and add chicken. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Cook until no longer pink, add to pasta mixture. Add a little sauce at a time to the pasta mixture until desired amount is achieved. Sprinkle with basil seasoning and mozzarella cheese, stir. Pour mixture into a glass baking dish and sprinkle with cheddar cheese and top with parmesan cheese.
3) Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.