Eating Out of the Cabinets: This Week's Menu Plan

So.  In case you didn't know (and actually care.  You probably don't - and I'm cool with that), one of my 88 resolutions this new year is to eat everything out of my cabinets and "start fresh".  So the past 15 days were pretty good and easy - but now it's getting challenging.  My goal once my cabinets are empty is to make a list of things I want stockpiled - not the random crap I have like Potato Pancake mix & spicy V-8.

I haven't banned myself from the grocery store - I've only just been buying produce, meat, dairy and other perishables.  No "stocking up" or anything beyond the baking basics to fill the cupboard.  By the end of this week - I'll be pretty bare.  But I'm so close to February  (well, half way there...) that I wonder if we can survive eating out of the cabinets the entire month.  For the record - I'm not some big stockpiling person.  Although I think we have too much crap - based on others with real "stockpiles" - it's nothing.

So here goes it:

Monday:  BBQ Pork in the Crockpot with Yellow Rice.  Steam some broccoli.

Tuesday:  Leftover Pork.  Might need to make more rice.  Find some vegetable to go with it.

Wednesday:  Rice Krispie Chicken with canned peas & boxed mashed potatoes.  Will scale down the chicken recipe to 1 pound.

Thursday:  Italian Marinated Chicken (I have half a bottle of Italian Dressing in the refrigerator that expires this month.  Might as well use it.)  Couscous & broccoli (I have about 4 pounds in the freezer).

Friday:  Taco Casserole.  Have most of the ingredients laying around.  Will have to pick up a tomato - but I'll be doing a produce run this week anyways so it's no biggie.

Saturday:  Leftover Taco Casserole.

Sunday:  Homemade Chicken Lo-Mein.

Meal Planning - Why I'm Quitting!

So I tried out "meal planning" for 2 weeks.  Yeah, it's not for me.  I'll add meal planning to that long list of things that I'm not good at.  I think I actually stuck to my game plan 3 out of 14 days.  That's failing no matter what system you use.  To think positively though, I see that one of my strong suits in life is being able to open my refrigerator and cabinets everyday and magically have something for dinner without any prior planning.  And worst case?  Our pizza place is speed dial number 5 on my cell phone.

So good-bye meal planning.  It wasn't nice to know you in the short time you existed in my life.  I admit defeat - but to make myself feel better, I'm going to run to Shaw's tonight after my husband gets home to redeem myself!  

Weekly Menu Planning - Take 2!

So I'm still trucking along with this weekly menu planning - although I'm not very good at it.  I think last week, I actually stuck to my "plan" 1 time.  Maybe 2.  Here's a go for this week (based on what we have in the house):

Wed (tonight) - Pork Tenderloin, starch, veggie

We ate Pork, potatoes and brocolli!  Woohoo!  We're little piggies and ate the entire 1.23 lbs of pork tenderloin.  Tuna Helper tomorrow!

Thurs - Leftover Pork, starch, veggie

Mac and Cheese.  Husband found some leftovers in the fridge (who knows how long they were there!).

Fri - Possibly pizza.  If not, Spaghetti with ground Sausage

Spaghetti with ground sausage!

Sat - Leftovers (if Spaghetti)

Pizza from Papa John's!!  Used coupon code VISA06 to score free cheesy bread with a purchase of a Large Specialty pizza (thanks Retail Me Not!)

Sun - Pork Tips, starch veggie

Mon - Leftovers?

Tues - Tuna Helper with added frozen peas

This is last week's fiasco HERE.  Even though I didn't stick to my plan, I'm using the stuff up in my cabinets and being nourished!  

Also, my husband is not home Tuesday and Thursday nights.  So I'm never going to make a "good dinner" those nights.  For the most part, our kids eat what we eat and if they don't want to - then they don't eat.  A lot of Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'll make them their own thing and eat cereal - just because I don't want to cook or wash dishes if I don't have to.  June Cleaver I am not.

Weekly Menu Try-Out!

I love reading others' blogs because it inspires me.  For instance, Katy at Happily Average has made me realize that I really should use up some of the junk in my cabinets.  Celeste and Kara at Itty Bitty Bistro have started to lure me into the world of homemade stuff and meal planning.   I also stumbled across Gayle at The Grocery Cart Challenge who is trying to spend only $60 a week feeding her family of 6.  I think I do pretty well - but I'm averaging $69 a week now.  Maybe I can bring my average down a little if I use up some of the stock I have in the cabinets.  

I am overwhelmed by my boxes of Rice-A-Roni and pounds of chicken breast that I'm going to do a dry run on "meal planning".  One probably starts "meal" planning on a Monday or Sunday - I decided to shake things up a bit and do it on a Wednesday.  Here's what I have come up with:

Wednesday (tonight) - Hungarian Kapusta (I add 1/2 pound crumbled cooked bacon and I cook the cabbage in the bacon grease - it's one of the few things I enjoy making and it's DELICIOUS!) with mashed potatoes and cheesy broccoli.  

I made my Kapusta.  The kids would not eat it so they got dino nuggets.  I decided to make canned peas instead of broccoli.  I boiled the potatoes for the mashed potatoes, but did not follow through.  Those are in the fridge awaiting mashing. 

Thursday - Leftovers

Husband ate leftover kapusta.  I was really sick and didn't eat anything.  Kids ate hot dogs.  I was so sick it wasn't even funny.  Doubt I'll be making Sweet & Sour Chicken tomorrow because I feel disgusting.  Handling raw chicken will probably make me vomit.

Friday - Sweet & Sour Chicken with Rice

Yeah.  I didn't feel like cooking.  The husband got paid (he gets paid every Friday) and we splurged for pizza.  So Shameful - but it's good to reward yourself every now and then.

Saturday - Leftovers

Spaghetti with tomato sauce and ground turkey sausage.

Sunday - Pork Tips/Starch/Broccoli

Spaghetti with leftover tomato sauce and ground turkey sausage.  I'm going to spice it up tonight by making crescent rolls too.  As you can see, me and this menu planning stuff isn't going too well!

Monday - Ribs/Starch/Broccoli

I made my sweet and sour chicken.  I made up the recipe with stuff I had in the house.  I threw it all in the crockpot - 3 lbs of chicken (this is easily 3+ meals worth), 1 can of crushed pineapple drained, 1 jar of Sweet & Sour sauce, about 3/4 cups chopped onions, some frozen brocolli and corn, I threw in some crushed red pepper.  Then I made rice and it was delicious.  

Tuesday - Tuna Helper

Leftover Sweet and Sour Chicken

I may come back to this post to modify it.  I really don't like setting goals for myself because it's hard to stick to goals.  I'm not a dedicated person!  ;)  I'm doing well reporting my grocery spending because it interests me.  Cooking does not interest me.