2013 $50 Weekly Menu Plan Week #20

2013 $50 Weekly Menu Plan Week #20: Every so often we take part in a ritual we that we like to refer to as a frugal fast…
If you’re not familiar with the term, a frugal fast is when you use whatever it is you have on hand, rather than spending any additional money. We have a tendency to do this when the items we purchased the week before did not get eaten in order to avoid waste. Right now, we still have enough salad fixings from last weeks groceries to last until at least Thursday, as well as apples, a couple bananas (now frozen) and a few other veggies. Our garden is overproducing radishes and the tomatoes are just starting to ripen, so it won’t be long before we’re sharing recipes for those as well!

Breakfast Choices this week:

• Egg White Omelets (Egg whites, diced veggies, seasonings)
• Toasted English Muffins or Morning Sunrise Sandwiches
• Raspberry Cream French Toast Fingers
• Fresh Fruit (always available) ( Apples, Home-Canned Peaches )
• Eggs- Poached, scrambled, fried, etc
• Leftover Overnight Blueberry French Toast Bake
• Blueberry Ginger Smoothies(using frozen blueberries)
• Banana Bread

MondayMay 13th:

• Lunch: Pepper Steak Wraps (using leftover steak from the sat night)
• Dinner:Crockpot Pizza Stew

Tuesday May 14th:

• Lunch: Shrimp Pasta Salad
• Dinner:Honey Dijon Salmon, Steamed Green Beans with a touch of garlic, grilled potato wedges
  

Wednesday May 15th:

• Lunch: Leftover Pizza Stew
• Dinner:Real Boston Baked Beans, Brown Bread, Red Hot Dogs

Thursday May 16th:

• Lunch: Shrimp Pasta Salad & Baked Beans
• Dinner: Savory Meatloaf, Baked Potato, Garden Salad

Friday May 17th:

• Lunch: Meatloaf Sandwiches
• Dinner: Catfish Nuggets, Broccoli Slaw

Saturday May 18th:

• Midday:Get Together with friends for the day, bringing angel food cake, and deviled egg dip & veggies

Sunday May 19th:

• Lunch: Grilled Chipotle Chicken Sandwiches
• Dinner: Hearty Taco Pasta

Various Snacks:

• Fresh Fruit– Apples, Home-Canned Peaches
• Honey Crunch Granola Bars
• Pickled Eggs
• Microwave Popcorn
• Deviled Egg Dip & Veggies

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, it is usually used in making homemade yogurt, or in cereals, baking, etc.* Iced Tea (Unsweetened & Sweet Tea, various flavors)
* Coffee
* Hot Chocolate/Cocoa
* Lemonade

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

The salmon mention in this weeks menu plan is fish that we caught ourselves. Red hot dogs are a New England “thing” and are natural casing hot dogs that “Snap” when you bite them. They’re literally the best hot dog in the world and luckily for us, my parents are willing to mail me some a couple times a year. Seriously. I realize that’s not exactly Frugal- but when you move away from a region and can no longer enjoy the deliciousness that it offers, you’ll do just about ANYTHING!

Our get togethers’ with friends, if you’re just joining us, are potluck. We all (about 8-12 couples) bring a dish (sometimes 2) and there is always more food than necessary to feed such a crew! It’s a great way to sample various dishes, have a great time relaxing with friends/family and to help remind you that “Life is Good”.

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 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.

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

• Making Fruits & Veggies Last: At the beginning of each week we prepare the vegetables and fruits to make meal preparation easier during the week and to save money by preventing waste. You can read more about that here.

• How Spending $25 Now can save you Hundreds Later

• $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