2012 $50 Weekly Menu Week #21

2012 $50 Weekly Menu Week #21: Planning a menu for a family of four within a $50 or so budget each week isn’t always easy, particularly when planning camping trips or special occasions. This weeks menu offers a special focus on Camping on the cheap- $43.09 after taxes!
Our garden is producing pounds of fresh tomatoes so we’re taking advantage of the bounty of Free food and incorporating it into the menu several times. In addition to tomatoes, our summer squash is nearly ready, the farmers market has fresh zucchini and eggplants for less than .50 each.
Pineapples are still fairly cheap at .99 each, kiwis – 6 for $1, watermelon on sale for $3.99, blackberries are in season and we picked several quarts (free). This weeks groceries also included artisan lettuce, multicolored bell peppers ($1.29 for 3!)- interestingly- the colored bell peppers were half the price of green bell peppers, celery, radishes, onions, 2 heads of cabbage, 3 cans of white tuna, 1 pound of grapes, 2 pounds of blueberries, pepperoni, 2 pounds of black beans, milk, green peppers, cantaloupe and mango. The fresh fruits have been cut up into bite sized chunks and made into a fabulous salad (See the photo!).

Monday 21st:

* Breakfast: Blueberry Crumb Coffee Cake
* Lunch: Tuna & Grape Salad Wraps, potato salad
* Dinner: Campfire Pig Greens – the tastiest Cabbage recipe you’ve ever had in your life!!

Tuesday 22nd:

* Breakfast: Fruit Salad (Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Kiwi, Mango, Pineapple)
* Lunch: Grilled Zucchini Pizza
* Dinner: Tomato Pie

Wednesday 23rd:

* Breakfast: Fresh Fruit Salad (Cantaloupe, Kiwi, Mango, Pineapple)
* Lunch: Cool Cucumber Soup
* Dinner: Grilled Steak marinated in Copycat A1, Italian grilled potatoes & sweet onions, salad

Thursday 24th:

* Breakfast: Eggs Over Easy, toast
* Lunch: Chipotle Egg Salad
* Dinner: Mexican Baked Fish, Fiesta Rice

Friday 25th:

* Breakfast: Fruit Salad (Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Kiwi, Mango, Pineapple)
* Lunch: Grilled Black Bean- and Rice-Stuffed Peppers, sliced fresh tomatoes
* Dinner: BBQ Chicken, Macaroni Salad

Saturday 26th:

* Breakfast: Yogurt Berry Parfaits
* Lunch: Wraps Made from Leftover BBQ Chicken, shredded with Sliced Tomatoes
* Dinner: Cheeseburgers, campfire Taters, salad

Sunday 27th:

* Breakfast: Maple Almond Scones, Coffee
* Midday Meal: Homemade Pizza & salad, Camping is over, everyone is tired from packing up and heading home

Various Snacks:

* Fresh Fruit- Watermelon, Pineapple, Cantaloupe, Blueberries, Blackberries, grapes
* Deviled Eggs
* Angel Food Cake & Fresh Berries
* Watermelon Rind Pickles

Drinks Included:

* Iced Tea (Sweet Tea)
* Coffee
* Lemonade
* Copycat Gatorade
* CopyCat Arizona Green Tea

FYI:This is a great time of year to be checking your local trade/swap boards on Facebook, in the newspaper or on Craigslist – oftentimes it’s possible to find excellent deals on dirt cheap veggies from abundantly producing gardens.

Our own garden is producing cucumbers and fresh tomatoes! For those that are just joining our weekly menus, we do raise our own chickens (for fresh eggs) and get about a dozen per day- So if you’re noticing a large number of eggs in our menu plans, that’s why!