2013 $50 Weekly Menu Plan Week #6

2013 $50 Weekly Menu Plan Week Like most families, some weeks we just aren't as organized as others and don't get everything accomplished that we want/need. This is one of those weeks and as such, our dining choices will be limited to what we have on hand in the freezer and pantry.
I's a Frugal Fast

week! Every once in awhile it's good to switch from a great selection of fresh fruits and veggies to just frozen or home canned. I personally do this when I notice that the fruits and veggies aren't getting scarfed down quickly enough because they're "too abundant". Once the fam goes a week without fresh produce, they're more than eager to dig in the following week. This weeks Total Expense, $0.00

Breakfast Choices this week: Sometimes the kids mix and match, they'll grab a mango muffin and a couple hard boiled eggs as they head out the door, it's all a matter of personal preference to them and this is basically a list of what's available this week to choose from:

• Cinnamon Peach Muffins (same recipe as mango muffins, just use home-canned peaches instead of mango)
• Fruit & Yogurt Parfaits
• Hard Boiled Eggs (great protein burst, dirt cheap, actually free since we raise chickens)
• Bagels & Cream Cheese (Bagels are easy to make and freeze great!)
• Egg White Omelets (Egg whites, diced veggies, seasonings)
• Vanilla Coconut Protein Bars
• Cinnamon Apple Breakfast Quesadillas
• Protein Shake Smoothies (Vanilla Whey, Berries or Tablespoon of Peanut Butter, Ice)

Monday February 4th, 2013:

• Lunch: Leftover Chili (Superbowl Potluck)
• Dinner: Chicken Bog (Southern dish
  of chicken, rice, seasonings, sausage)

Tuesday 5th

• Lunch: Chipotle Egg Salad
• Dinner: Cowboy Pork Chops, BBQ Rice, Steamed Spinach

Wednesday 6th:

• Lunch: Leftover Chicken Bog
• Dinner: Meatloaf, Baked Potato, Steamed Asparagus

Thursday 7th:

• Lunch: Meatloaf Sandwiches
• Dinner: Sweet & Sour Grilled Chicken, Potato Salad, Steamed Broccoli

Friday February 8th:

• Lunch: (Leftover) Grilled Chicken Wraps
• Dinner: Beef & Broccoli Casserole

Saturday 9th:

• Midday: Fish Fry with Friends, we're providing all the Fish! Friends are bring side dishes -This will be an all day/evening event with tons of friends/food.

Sunday 10th

• Lunch: Sun-Dried Tomato Egg Salad Wraps
• Dinner: SouthEastern Chicken Stew, corn muffins

Various Snacks:

• Peanut Butter Fudge Swirl Brownies
• Fiery Deviled Eggs, Hard Boiled Eggs
• Protein Shakes & Protein Bars
• Fresh Fruit- Apples, oranges (a few leftover from last week)
• Hummus & Carrot Sticks (leftover from last week)
• Copycat Nature Valley Granola Bars

Drinks Available: A note about our drink offerings, while we do always have coffee and tea in the house, coffee is usually with breakfast, hot tea is usually in the evening and for the most part our other drinks consist of Water. We don't "drink milk" at all.

* Iced Tea (Unsweetened & Sweet Tea)
* Coffee
* Hot Chocolate/Cocoa
* Lemonade

A few things we'd like to share with you:

Sometimes we don't always have all the ingredients listed in a recipe on hand, for example, this week we have Savory Meatloaf and it lists Sweet baby rays BBQ sauce. I don't happen to have a bottle of sweet baby rays bbq sauce on hand, so I'll either make my own copycat recipe or I'll whip up a basic bbq sauce recipe. You don't have to follow every recipe to a T, by learning to use substitutions, not only will you save cash, but you'll discover some fabulous recipes along the way too.

You may have noticed that eggs are never in our "just purchased" list, this is because we raise our own chickens and often sell the extra eggs to cover the expense of their feed which equates to Free Food for us!

The catfish listed in this weeks "Fish Fry" is fish that we caught ourselves.


FYI Section:
It has been brought to our attention that a few folks who are just joining us are getting the wrong impression that we purchase EVERYTHING at once for each weeks menu plan. This is not the case at all, nor do we recommend it. We are incorporating items purchased or home canned weeks ago into the menu plan this week.

For example, back on week #39 we purchased over 40 pounds of meat- I promise you we didn't eat that all that week! For Further reading/help we recommend the following:

• The 2012 Family Guide to Groceries under $250 a Month- a guide of how and where to cut grocery expenses to get spending under control while providing an eye-opening view of the dirty manipulation tactics retailers use to keep you spending

• $50 Weekly Menu Plan Help across the USA- Do you find yourself struggling to reduce your grocery bill each month? Check out our Menu plan help across the USA to see if your area has been featured for more 1-on-1 help, if not, feel free to add your request to have your city/state featured.

• February Sales Trends- not sure what Should be on sale right now? Here is a list of the current Sales trends for the month of January, so you know what savings to expect

• $50 Dollar Menu Frequently Asked Questions - a few of the most often asked questions regarding our $50 menu plans
  • Basic Questions- Why we don't provide a shopping list, Random ingredients that aren't in the shopping list, are groceries cheaper , etc
  • More Questions- more in depth questions regarding dietary guidelines, dealing with picky eaters, junk food and more