2018 $50 Budget Menu Plan Week 2

2018 $50 Budget Menu Plan Week 2: Chicken is incredibly inexpensive this time of year so we recommend that
you stock up if you have the freezer space available. This week it was only $1.59 per pound for boneless, skinless breast. These prices are fairly common at warehouse stores such as Costco or Sam’s, but these prices were actually at our local Lidl store.

Lidl’s Flyer Deal

Generally speaking, when grocery shopping we prefer to shop at the fewest stores possible. If you want to save time you can save competing grocery store flyers on your phone and show them to the cashier at Walmart as you checkout to get the same prices with their price matching program. Unfortunately, our local Walmart isn’t exactly well known for having decent produce on hand, so I usually prefer to drive an extra 10 miles or so to Aldi or Lidl’s.

Where else can you score a three-pound bag of fresh gala apples for under two dollars?!

Aldi Flyer Deal this Week

This week we purchased the following: Blueberries, red-yellow-orange bell peppers, mangoes, lettuce, gala apples, navel oranges, fresh Florida strawberries, 15 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, tomatoes, blackberries, yeast, cucumbers, cream cheese, tortilla chips, greek yogurt, honey ham, limes

Total spent this week on groceries: $54.62

From our Backyard: Fresh Eggs

From our Windowsill/ Garden: a few fresh herbs in the windowsill– cilantro, basil, parsley and rosemary

If you’re not familiar with our weekly menu plans, you’ll notice that our menu often includes ingredients that weren’t included in the weeks grocery list, you can read the full explanation why here.

Breakfast Options for this week:

• Crepes filled with cinnamon apples
• Strawberry Burst Refrigerator Oatmeal
• Fruit & Yogurt Parfaits
• Eggs-poached, over-easy, hard boiled, scrambled with leftover sauteed veggies & a sprinkle of cheese, etc
• Green Mango Salad
• Instant Oatmeal (18 Flavors)

Monday January 8th:

• Lunch: Italian tuna and bean salad
• Dinner: Curried Tomato Chicken Casserole

Tuesday January 9th:

• Lunch: Quickie Panini-Style Grilled Ham & Cheese
• Supper: Smothered Southern Style Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes, Salad

Wednesday January 10th:

• Lunch: Leftover Curry Tomato Chicken in a Tortilla Wrap
• Supper: Honey Mustard Dijon Chicken, grilled taters, Salad

Thursday January 11th:

• Lunch: Mango & Cheese Quesedillas
• Supper: Shepherds Pie & Salad

Friday January 12th: Beef and bean enchiladas are great during the work-week. Usually when I throw these together, I make an entire tray of them, flash freeze them and then wrap them individually & vacuum seal the package.

• Lunch: Pita Pockets stuffed with veggies
• Supper: Beef & Bean Enchiladas

Saturday January 13th:

• Dinner:Annual Chili Cookoff! Wish me luck, I want to win this year!

Sunday January 14th:

• Dinner: Italian Sandwich Subs, macaroni salad

Various Snacks & Desserts:

• Fresh Fruit Choices Available– Apples & Oranges
• High Protein Cinnamon Maple Crunch
• Salted maple popcorn
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

Drinks Available:

• Coffee
• Hot Chocolate/Cocoa
• Iced Tea (Unsweetened or Sweet Tea)
• Water, of course.

Less Likely to be used, but still available:

• Copycat Gatorade
• CopyCat Arizona Green Tea
• Lemonade
• Iced Coffee Drinks
• Almond Milk

FYI: If you’re wondering why all the ingredients listed in the recipes aren’t necessarily showing in the “purchased groceries” list, please check out our Frequently Asked Questions!