Enough!

Over the last few months I have been searching for a website that provided a menu for a week. Well, they exist, but they are NOT free. You have to pay well over $10 dollars a month. For some, that may not be much, and may be worth it; however, my whole plan was to have a menu and shopping list so I could SAVE money. So, I am going to give it a try myself.
Oh, and this is just dinner because we usually have the same things for breakfast and lunch.
Breakfast: Cereal or Oatmeal with fruit
Lunch: Turkey Sandwich with veggies or PB and J
I am also trying to make my own bread for the week to save $10 dollars. So far so good.
Monday
Beef Tacos
Ground beef
Hard or Soft Taco shells
Lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and salsa
Black beans for a side
Tuesday
Chicken with Mushroom Sauce
Two chicken breasts
2 Teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup fat free milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
Fresh mushrooms sliced
1/2 medium onion sliced into rings
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Combine cornstarch and milk, set aside. Cook chicken in oil for 5-6 minutes or until cooked, remove. Saute mushrooms and onion in butter. Stir in broth, salt and pepper, bring to a boil. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook for 2 minutes. Serve wit Chicken.

1 Chk breast with 1/3 cup sauce equals 212 calories and 8 grams of fat.

(this is not my own recipe. I looked it up in the Taste of Home special issue)

Wednesday
Hamburgers with Oven fries
Hamburger patty
Buns
Lettuce, tomato, ketch-up, mustard, and pickles
Potatoes cut into wedges smothered with oil, paprika, garlic powder, and salt. Cook for 45 minutes.

Thursday (We call this night, "Pizza and movie night". We have it every week)
Veggie Pizza with herbed tomato crust
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 all-purpose flour

Toppings
1 can pizza sauce
1 medium green pepper
1 cup mushrooms
1 red onion
1 tomato
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Combine whole wheat flour, parsley, rosemary, yeast, sugar, salt, and pepper. In a saucepan heat water, tomato juice, and oil to 130 degrees. Add dry ingredients; beat until smooth. Stir in all-purpose flour. Hand Knead dough. Put in bowl and cover with light flour. Let rise for 45 minutes.
Roll dough into 12 inch circle. Put on pizza pan coated with cooking spray. Spread sauce and add toppings.
Bake 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes

1 Slice equals 240 calories and 4 grams of fat
(Recipe from Taste of Home special issue)

Friday
Stuffed Ranch Chicken
1 bacon strip cut in half length wise
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons fat free ranch
3 tablespoons finely chopped mushrooms
3 tablespoons finely chopped sweet red pepper
3 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
2 teaspoons cornstarch
6 tablespoons fat free evaporated milk

Cook bacon. Spread chicken with ranch dressing. Top with mushrooms, red pepper, green onions. Roll up and wrap with piece of bacon. Hold with toothpick. Place in baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. In a small saucepan combine cornstarch and milk until smooth. Stir in pan juices. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Serve with chicken.
(taste of home special issue)

Saturday
Beef Kabobs
Steak cut into small squares
Use all left over veggies from the week
bell peppers, green and red peppers

Use a long kabob stick and cook on the grill

Sunday
Pulled pork Sandwiches
1 pork shoulder (about two pounds)
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 onion, chopped
Hamburger buns

Place pork in crock-pot. Cook on high for 5-6 hours
Remove pork, shred with fork. Discard liquid in slow cooker. Return pork to slow cooker; add BBQ sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, and onion. Cook on high for 1 hour.
Serve on Hamburger buns.



I did have most of the small ingredients like cornstarch and cooking oil along with flour. I went to the farmers market to buy the veggies and to Smith's to buy the meat. Total cost for this week (including breakfast and lunch) $100.00!! We are on track for our $400 a month grocery bill.

Happy Cooking this week!!