2014 $50 Budget Menu Plan Week #35: Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer in our household, a time when suddenly the entire house is filled with sunflowers, apples and pumpkins. Like many families we spent Labor Day together picking apples and playing in the mountains, this weeks menu plan certainly reflects that bounty!
This week we purchased the following: Bushel of Apples (Cortlands, MacIntosh, HoneyCrisp), 2 Gallons of Fresh Pressed Apple Cider, Pork Loin, Bacon Wrapped Beef Filets, Lettuce, Cucumber, whole chicken, fresh broccoli, greek yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese, flour tortillas (no time to make them this week!)
A tip- if you go to a “pick your own” orchard chances are if you ask one of the employees they’ll allow you to pick up “drops” which are perfectly good apples that have dropped to the ground. Be sure to check around the stem area for little holes to avoid extra protein!! Since we use our apples to prepare homemade apple crisp and apple pie kits, along with apple pie jelly, drops are perfect. At less than half price per pound, we can get twice as many apples put away for the year.
From our Backyard: Fresh Eggs (down to about 12-15 a day)
From our Windowsill/ Garden: Fresh Herbs(Cilantro, Parsley, Rosemary, dill, oregano, basil, mint), onions(grown from scraps), green peppers, jalapeno peppers, Cherry tomatoes
Total spent this week on groceries $67.87 While we spent a bit more on groceries this week, we also have apples for making homemade fruit leather, muffin mixes, apple pies, apple crisp and much more throughout the year.
1 bushel of Apples equals:
- 42-48 pounds
- 126 medium apples
- 15~ 9 inch pies
- 30-36 pints frozen
- 16-20 quarts canned
Now, before you read the menu and say wait a minute, they didn’t buy any “whatever” this week, we urge you to read ALL of the Helpful articles at the Bottom of the menu that explains our Menu plans and HOW they work!
Breakfast Options for this week: (Fresh Fruit Choices, Watermelon, bananas, blueberries, Peaches, Cantaloupe)
- Caramelized Pumpkin Sticky Buns
- Greek Yogurt with Blueberries, Blackberries, Strawberries, etc (berries were frozen in season)
- Poached Eggs over Steamed Broccoli
- Muffins
- Apple Walnut Butterhorns
- Eggs-poached, over-easy,hard boiled, scrambled with leftover sauteed veggies & a sprinkle of cheese, etc
- Cinnamon Apple Pecan Refrigerator Oatmeal
Lunch Options for this week:Lunch is over-rated and we usually skip it. We eat dinner early and snack mid-afternoon on the following:
- Leftovers, if desired. (Quinoa, Huli Huli Chicken Wraps, mexi-cali quinoa salad)
- Egg saladsandwiches or wraps
- Cucumber wraps
- PB&J wraps or Peanut butter dill pickle bites
Monday September 1st: Potluck gathering with friends, we’re providing:
- Dinner: Drunken Chicken,Potato Salad
TuesdaySeptember2nd:
- Dinner: Bacon Wrapped Beef Filets, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Salad
WednesdaySeptember3rd:
- Dinner: Chicken Alfredo Quinoausing leftover chicken from the Drunken Chicken
ThursdaySeptember4th:
- Dinner: Huli Huli Chicken, steamed broccoli, Butternut Squash (previously frozen from our garden)
Friday September 5th:
- Dinner: Mexican Fiesta No Bake Casseroleusing leftover tortilla chips left behind at the potluck
SaturdaySeptember6th:
- Dinner: Rosemary Pepper Pasta, Homemade Garlic Bread, Copycat Olive Garden Salad
Sunday September 7th:
- Dinner: Apple Glazed Roast Pork, Mashed Potatoes, Herbed Carrots, Homemade Applesauce, garden salad
Various Snacks & Desserts:
- Fresh Fruit Choices Available– Apples, Apples and more Apples, Home Canned Peaches
- Bacon Jalapeno Cheese Ball
- Homemade Granola Bars
- Hard Boiled Eggs
- Caramel Apple Dip
- Yogurt Parfaits
Drinks Available: * Iced Tea (Unsweetened or Sweet Tea)
* Coffee
* Hot Chocolate/Cocoa
Less Likely to be used, but still available:
* Copycat Gatorade
* CopyCat Arizona Green Tea
* Lemonade
* Iced Coffee Drinks
* Almond Milk
FYI:One question that we’ve received in the past when sharing our Drunken chicken recipe is how do we “stretch” the chicken after feeding 4 people. The answer is, in our house we eat normal sized portions of meat. As you can see in the photo of this weeks dinner, the majority of the plate is Vegetables (salad, baked sweet potato) and a bacon wrapped grilled beef filet. The filet is a normal portion size, rather than a gargantuan piece of meat. This is also how we maintain good health, fewer doctor visits and can enjoy the occasional sweet treat that others may deem “Unhealthy & Horrible for the family”, hahaha. Yes, we do sometimes eat homemade “junk food” and we enjoy every single bite of it, because we eat well normally.
For Further reading/help we recommend the following:
- $50 Dollar Menu Frequently Asked Questions– There are certain questions that seem to pop up again and again, so rather than be redundant and repeat answers, we’ve put them all in one convenient place for you!
- 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
- It Doesn’t Add up– Learn why some items in the Menu plan aren’t listed in this weeks grocery purchase list & how it all comes together
- September Sales Trends-not sure what Should be on sale right now? Here is a list of the current Sales trends throughout the month of September so you know what savings to expect and look forward to.
- 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.
- 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 – if you gain nothing else from this site, don’t overlook this tip. It has been an EXTREME money-saver for our family
Absolutely LOVE your weekly menus, but wondering where they went. Being the worlds worst planner your menues have been a life saver for our family and I have come to anticipate every monday just to see how you do it! Hope everything is well with you and your just enjoying life right now.:yourock: