Weekly Frugal Menu Planning
For various and sundry reasons, it’s going to be a tight grocery week. [Not the least of which is our impending 7600 dollar check to the IRS — thank you again, emergency fund! Though it’s getting a little cold in there … Heh.] We will be relying very heavily on the freezer and pantry.
Monday: African Safari Pilaf [No purchases necessary.]
Tuesday: Black Bean Soup and Tofu/Veggie Pasta Salad [No purchases necessary.]
Wednesday: Tunisian Vegetable Stew [All I need to buy is cabbage.]
Thursday: Tomato-Feta Stuffed Sweet Potatoes and Blueberry Cornmeal Pudding [All I need to buy is sweet potatoes]
Friday: Taco Soup [No purchases necessary]
Saturday: Roast Chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy and broccoli [No purchases necessary.]
So, a week’s worth of dinners [and lunches with leftovers] and all I have to get is a head of cabbage and 4 sweet potatoes. Breakfasts tend to take care of themselves with homemade yogurt and granola. I also have smoothie makings in the freezer. I’ll have to pull out 2 lbs of ground beef or turkey from the freezer and a frozen chicken. I got the chicken a few weeks ago when it was 39 cents a pound, and the ground meat was on sale for 99 cents a pound a while back. Not too bad.
Beth said,
March 26, 2006 @ 9:29 pm
The pilaf looks good, but could I use broth instead of water and granules? And sugar instead of splenda, or just leave that part out altogether? I haven’t looked for organic boullion (sp?) but I usually have organic chicken broth in my pantry.
Terri said,
March 26, 2006 @ 10:04 pm
Actually, I have never made the pilaf before, this is a first time run through for me. But we don’t use artificial sweeteners, so I’m sure I’ll just use sugar, myself. [I think her husband is diabetic or something.] I’m sure you can use any sort of broth or stock mechanism, I think she just wrote this one with an eye on price. I’m constantly fiddling with her recipes [for instance, I also don’t use margarine], but they make such great starting points.
Marilyn said,
March 27, 2006 @ 11:09 am
Doesn’t it feel nice to know that even if money is tight, you are creative enough to use what you have and you were smart enough to stock up during “good” times to tide you over in “lean” times? And when your children are older you can even tell them that it’s bibilically based by pointing out the story of Joseph and his brothers?