Monday, July 04, 2005

Dinner Menus and Recipes

This is a work in progress and NOT complete! If there is something listed that doesn't seem clear or if there is a recipe you would like that is not included here, please e-mail me at irishones7@juno.com .

This is listed in the "____ on Monday, ____ on Tuesday" format to help give ideas only. I don't even follow this myself and Sunday is not listed since that is almost always a "roast day" here although not in the summer. I also don't always do the meals as a whole. Sometimes we are just not in the mood for a certain side dish or dessert so I adapt and make something else.

This is a basic list of the foods that my family likes the most. It evolved from 3 x 5 cards that I had used to list meals that I knew my family would eat. I started out with 2 weeks' worth, 14 meals. It has taken several years to get this many together but now that we have more variety everyone is a bit happier.

You CAN do this for yourself! First make a list of things that you KNOW your family will eat and come up with a handful of meals. Start with main dishes only and you'll find that you think of other meals and sides/ desserts as you go.

A couple shopping tips that help me to keep costs down:

1) Make a list! This is where this whole list of menus came from. I find that if I figure out what we will eat and make a list to stick to that my bill is lower.

2) Make another list! I know, some of you just aren't list makers but this one has really helped me; I go through my cupboards and refrigerator/freezer and make a list of everything I have (not spices, etc) and take a look at that first before I make my shopping list. This has saved me from buying multiples because I wasn't sure if I had the item on hand or not. I am also sometimes able to make full meal plans from what I already have on hand and buy less for that week because of it.

3) Be flexible! For instance, if I make my list up and get to the store to find that one thing is on sale or just far cheaper that week than another then I try to adapt and plans change a bit. I do try to keep the main dishes the same and make sure that I check the ads FIRST so I know what is on sale or not.

4) Check the "dented cans" section. Many times I have checked here to find items that were completely fine (and not dented at all!) but were there because the store was phasing them out. I've gotten many things from beans to Holiday coffees and candies etc. in this section at a mere fraction of the price, most often as little as 10% of the original. If I don't use the item that week because it wasn't "planned" it simply goes onto the "have-on-hand" list the next week and usually gets used then.

There is so much more information for lowering food costs and there are websites galore. One that I particularly like is www.hillbillyhousewife.com .  I also do most of my food shopping at Aldi ( www.aldi.com ). NO they are not a store that carries off brands or junk! There are a few things I don't purchase there but most of it is VERY comparable to the big brands and so much cheaper. If you have one nearby, please check them out! Buy one or two things and give it a try, I bet you won't be disappointed.

Beef-Monday
~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) Beef Stew
      Cucumber Salad
      Dinner Rolls
      Chocolate Cake

2) Hot Roast Beef and Cheese Sub
     Chips
     Pickles and olives
     Pudding

3) Hamburgers in Gravy
     Rice
     Dinner Rolls
     Vegetable
     Fruit

4) Cheeseburger
    Corn on the cob
    Fries
    Applesauce
    Fig Newton's

5) Tacos
     Nachos
     Fruit
     Cookies

6) Poor Man's Steak*
     Canned potatoes
     Gravy
     Vegetable
     Rolls
     Cake

7) Korean BBQ Beef*
     Ramen noodles
     Oranges
     Ice cream

8) Pasties*
     Tossed salad
     Jello parfaits

9) Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast
     Vegetable
     Chocolate Cupcakes

10) Steak Sandwich
      Fries
      Pickles and olives
      Mousse

11) Beef and Broccoli with Garlic Sauce*
      Rice
      Oranges
      Ice cream with cinnamon crunch

12) Sloppy Joes*
      Chips
      Pickles
      Pudding

13) Chili Cheese Burgers
      Fries
      Corn on the cob
      Ice cream

14) Ramen noodles and ground beef* or meatballs
       Stir-fry broccoli, cauliflower, carrot mix
       Almond cookies

15)  Chicago Pizza Burger*
        Oven fries
        Mini cheesecakes

16)  No Bean Chili and Fritos
        Veggies and dip
        Jello and whipped topping

Chicken-Tuesday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

17) Fried chicken
       Oven fries
       Relish tray
       Fruit
       Vanilla wafers

18) Chicken with rice
       Gravy
       Salad
       Jello
       Granola bars

19) Chicken fried rice
       Steamed oriental vegetables
       Fruit
       Pudding

20) Roast chicken
       Noodles
       Gravy
       Salad
       Apple pie

21) Chicken stew
       Dinner Rolls
       Salad
       Fruit Pie

22) Chicken soup (This is our very favorite for those times when money is very tight.)
       Bread
       Salad
       Crumb cake

23) Chicken Quesadillas*
       Tomato soup with goldfish crackers
       Ice cream

24) Orange Chicken*
       Rice
       Vegetables
       Fruit
       Cookies

25) Sliced turkey and gravy
       Rice
       Vegetable
       Apple Pie

26) Chicken Parmesan sandwich (frozen chicken patties-marinara-mozzarella)
      Oven herbed potatoes
      Olives and pickles
      Ice cream sandwich

27) Nacho Mama's Tortilla Soup*
      Cheese and crackers
      Donuts

28) Chicken Patty Sandwich
      Fries
      Coleslaw
      Angel Food cake

29) BBQ Chicken
      Oven potatoes
      Vegetable
      Fruit and cookies

30) Chicken nuggets
      Roasted potatoes
      Carrot sticks
      Ranch dip
      Cookies

31) Crunchy Turkey Slices
       Veggie

32) Chicken and Stuffing Bake
       Steamed zucchini
       Pudding parfaits

33) Chicken and Noodles
       Green bean and corn mixture
       Cookies and fruit

34) Chicken Spaghetti*
       Fresh Bread or Cheese Bread
       Salad

35)  Chicken Sandwich Ring*
        Sliced cucumbers and tomatoes
        Fig or Strawberry Newtons

36)  Devonshire Sandwiches*
        Salad
     
37) Anne's Lime Ranch Chicken*
       Italian Veggie Toss*
       Roasted potato wedges
 
38) Chicken BBQ Sandwiches
      Chips
      Veggies and Dip  

Pasta-Wednesday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

38) Macaroni and cheese with hot dogs
     Green beans
     Apples and pb dip

39) Spaghetti
      Salad
      Cheese bread
      Brownies

40) Ravioli
       Dinner Rolls
       Green beans
       Salad
       Fruit and Cookies

41) Noodle Frittata
      Fried potatoes
      Coffee Cake

42) Pasta Salad*
       Rolls and butter
       Fruit

43) Three Cheese Tortellini with ham cubes and peas
       Salad
       Yogurt and cookies
     
Pork-Thursday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

43) BLT's
      Pretzels
      Cheese dip
      Fruit

44) Corndogs
      Cheese sticks
      Pickles and olives
      Yogurt

45) Hot ham and cheese sub
       Chips
       Pickles and olives
       Pudding

46) Chili cheese dogs
       Fries
       Pork and beans
       Applesauce
       Pie

47) Bagel Dogs
       Fries
       Corn
       Cookies n cream pie

48) Moo Shu pork
      Warm tortillas
      Hoisin sauce
      Fried rice
      Vanilla ice cream with cinnamon crunch

49) Ham Steaks
      Herbed potatoes
      Gravy
      Broccoli and cheese
      Snow Dessert*

50) Pork Chops and Gravy
       Potatoes
       Vegetable
       Apple Cake

51) Kielbasa in Beer
      Broccoli cauliflower mix
      Fried potatoes
      Fried apples or applesauce

52) Scottish Eggs*
       Fried potatoes
       Pudding

53) Pork Tenderloin Roast
       Gravy
       Boiled potatoes
       Veggie
       Apple fritters

54) Kielbasa stir fry
       Rice
       Salad
       Fried apples or applesauce

55) Ham and Potato Scallop*
      Green salad
      Fruit

56) Ham Loaf*
       Scalloped potatoes
       Salad
       Jello or pudding


57) Delicious Hot Sandwiches*


58) Sausage Rolls*


59) Crescent roll dogs
     


Fish-Friday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

60) Fish sticks
      Tater tots
      Cole Slaw
      Corn on the cob
      Jello

61) Tuna and crackers*
       Macaroni and cheese
       Green beans
       Oranges
       Yogurt

62) Fried Catfish
       Fries
       Corn
       Coleslaw
       Key Lime Pie*

63) Ming Dynasty Tuna Casserole*
      Salad
      Mandarin oranges and Sandies

Misc.-Saturday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

64) Grilled cheese
      Tomato soup and Popcorn
      Carrot or celery sticks
      Ranch dip
      Rice Krispies treat

65) Pizza Bagels
       Salad
       Ice cream

66) Hoagies
       Chips
       Pickles and olives
       Cookies

67) Stromboli*
      Breadsticks
      Marinara Sauce
      Ice cream

68) Muffuletta*
       Chips
       Brownies

69) Quesadillas
       Tomato soup
       Cucumber sticks and dip
       Vanilla ice cream

70) Appetizer Night
      Chicken cheese spread*
      Tapenade*
       Hummus or Baba Ghanouj
       Assorted olives
       Salsa
       Chips,whole wheat crackers, whole wheat pitas
       Veggies and dip
       Cookies and fruit

71) Salads
      Nicoise salad*
      Italian kidney bean salad*
      Potato salad
      French Rolls
      Ice cream
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~








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