Menu Monday Oct. 24

I spent roughly $50 on groceries this week, partly because I had $10 in coupons, but that is the least I have spent on groceries in a LONG time.  I'm very proud of myself, thankyouverymuch.

Here is what's on tap for the next two weeks:

Tues. 10/25: Jiffy Jambalaya Remember I wanted to make my own jambalaya?  This will be my first go at it, so hopefully it is delicious.

Wed. 10/26: Santa Fe Enchilada Bake This is something I've made before.  it's easy and with the right subs (whole grain tortillas, low fat cheese and fat free sour cream), it's not too heavy on calories.

Fri. 10/28: Burgers.

Sat. 10/29: Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches I'm a sucker for buffalo chicken.

Sun. 10/30: Baked Ziti.  AKA "Throw some noodles, sauce, and cheese in a casserole dish and bake."

Tues. 11/1: Grilled cheese.  Do you really need a recipe?

Wed. 11/2: Pizza.  I use this recipe for the crust.  I half the ingredients, though, since I'm only making it for the two of us.  And I don't like super duper thick pizza which is what would happen if I used the whole recipe for one pizza.  here is what it looked like last time I made it.  Depending on when in the rotation it's on the menu, I'll have green pepper and onion on there in addition to pepperoni.

Fri. 11/4: Tacos.  J's favorite.  I use a seasoning mix found here.

What all are you having the next few weeks??  Let me know in the comments.

Don't forget that you can check out my food board on Pinterest!

Menu Monday

It's been a while since I've posted.  It's been crazy, too, but I'll get to that in another post.

For a few months, J and I have been menu planning every two weeks.  It really helps when I'm grocery shopping because I know exactly what I have to get, and it helps at home with the "what are we going to eat?" question because I know ahead of time when I need to pull out hamburger meat or chicken breasts or what have you.  Woo hoo!  SO here is what's on tap for the next 2 weeks:

Mon. Oct. 10: We had a meeting at church and dinner was provided.

Tues. Oct. 11: Jambalaya.  We currently use the Zattarain's box and toss in some smoked sausage.  I eventually would like to find my own recipe because the boxed mixes are so high in sodium.  I'm looking for a good one.  If you know of one, leave me a note in the comments.

Wed. Oct. 12: Chicken and Dumplings.  This is a new recipe and I'm kind of excited about it because it seems so easy.  It's from a cookbook I have in my kitchen, so I can't link to it, unfortunately.  It's your basic chicken, celery, carrots, and biscuits recipe. The particular recipe I used was great, but I misunderstood the directions for adding the biscuits and added the whole can thing.  Which meant it was more like dumplings with chicken and veggies.  Oops.  It was yum, though, so I will make it again but alter the amount of biscuits I use.

Thurs. Oct. 13: I have praise band rehearsal every Thursday night and I go straight to church from work so J is on his own every week.

Fri. Oct. 14: We have a youth event so I won't have to cook.  Woo hoo!

Sat. Oct. 15: Chicken Enchilada Pasta.  This is also a new recipe, and oh my goodness it looks delicious!  It WAS delicious, but it was also SPICY.  Will make again but J couldn't handle the heat (I thought it was great) so I need to tone it down a bit.

Sun. Oct. 16: We'll probably just do tacos, though I'm thinking about making Chicken Taco Chili.  This is a monthly dish at our house when the weather is cooler.  So delish and so easy. This didn't happen because we went to my father in law's for dinner.

Mon. Oct. 17: Youth night.  Probably leftovers.

Tues. Oct. 18: Sloppy Joes.  Tuesdays are my gym night, so I try and do something I can whip up easily when I get home since J won't cook. I don't remember what we did but it wasn't this.

Wed. Oct. 19: Orange Chicken/General Tso's Chicken.  I found this orange chicken recipe that I might try, but we're not huge orange chicken fans.  I'd rather make a General Tso's recipe using this recipe to bake the chicken instead of frying it.  In all reality I wish I could figure out where the picture below came from.  It popped up on my Pinterest feed and its source says "Pinterest for iPhone."  Thanks.  That's a lot of help. I ended up making the chicken and dumplings this particular night, so I can't report about the Chinese recipe...

Thurs. Oct. 20: Jenny's rehearsal, so we're off the hook there.  The weekend of the 22nd is my last full, busy weekend and then I can RELAX.  Hallelujah!

You can follow my recipe board on Pinterest.