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
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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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