My Menu Plan For Oct / Nov 2024

 After the latest round of media stories,  I thought it was time I shared our latest menu plan.  Many people on social media thought we didn't eat meat.  Others thought we had a high carb diet or didn't eat at all.  It was quite hilarious to read so many assumptions.

We eat meat most nights of the week and while there's not a lot of meat in the meals,  it's still there,  we can taste it and see it.

It's hard to explain everything in our menu plan,  the cost of each item,  when I bought it and how much I use,  but I will explain a few things.

*  Legs of lamb were bought earlier this year from Tasman Meats.  They were $7.99kg and I think I bought 3 or 4 legs.  The butcher was quite happy to cut them in half for me and wrap them up.  I cook legs of lamb in the slow cooker and a full leg won't fit in.  I used leftover grocery money I'd been saving for a sale like this.  It's called my grocery slush fund.

*  Chicken drumsticks were also bought from Tasman Meats when they had them for $1.99kg last month.  I bought 10 kilos and portioned them up into meal sizes and froze them.  

*  The chicken dump bags are drumsticks in a snap lock bag with diced veggies,  liquid chicken stock,  sauces and seasonings. I did these meals in bulk when I bought the drumsticks.   I defrost the meal in the fridge then ' dump ' it all into a casserole dish and cook it in the oven.

*  The fish we eat is Woolworths Basa fillets.  The current price is $8 for 1 kilo.  I coat them in seasoned flour then pan fry in a tiny bit of oil.  I also cook them in the oven in foil with seasonings.

* Tuna casserole,  tuna pasta bake and Massaman beef curry are the only meals that use tinned soup,  ready made pasta sauce ( I mix it with a tin of tomatoes to stretch it out ) or a packet of seasoning.  I buy these items because that's the recipe,  it tastes better or it works out cheaper.   Everything else is completely made from scratch.

*  Many of the meals are made in bulk,  portioned out and frozen for future menu plans.  For example,  lasagne costs about $20 to make.  I get 12 serves from my big dish.  Even more if I use TVP and add extra veggies to the sauce.  I only need to make lasagne twice a year and I always have the ingredients on hand.  I don't go out and buy it all in one hit when it's on the menu and we don't eat it day after day until it's gone. 

*  We grow many of our veggies and freeze excess.  We eat in season too.

*  " Get Your Own " on the menu means we can eat whatever is in the house.  That might be leftovers,  bits and pieces from the freezer or something simple like pancakes,  toasted sandwiches,  soup,  eggs on toast or ' wing wong for a goose's bridle " as my mother in law would say.

*  Sometimes we move the meals around if our plans change.  If food has been defrosted in the fridge it's safe to keep for another day.

All the recipes for these meals are in the recipe section.

Some of our garden produce

Some of the fruit we grow

The latest menu plan

Some of the meals we eat

We eat chunky,  hearty soups.

Tuna pasta bake before adding cheese

Chop suey

Slow cooked lamb with silverbeet and mash

The big 12 serve lasagne

How I serve lasagne

Roast beef ( a rare treat now ) with lots of veg

Do you write out and use a menu plan ?

Super Cheap 28 Day Menu Plan

 There's no doubt that meat prices have sky rocketed over the last couple of years.  It doesn't seem that long ago that Coles supermarkets ran a big advertising campaign highlighting their 1 kilo trays of beef mince for $5.  That same tray now costs $12.  Lamb prices have doubled now making it a luxury piece of meat.  Roast legs of lamb and roast beef are now off our menu and we can forget about steak.  Not that we had steak on a plate for a meal but now cooking a beef stew is too expensive.  I just can't justify paying close to $20 a kilo for the cheapest steak no matter how far I stretch it in a stew -  and yes,  I can stretch it far.

The main meats we have been eating are chicken drumsticks,  chicken fillets,  beef sausages,  frozen fish fillets,  tinned tuna and salmon and beef mince.  Last year when meat was hard to come by I did manage to buy one corned beef ( silverside ) and one tray of cheap steak.  Over the last 14 months I've rationed that steak out to make Massaman beef curry and beef stew.  I think I now have one 300 g piece of steak left in the freezer.  Unless beef prices drop I will not be buying steak in the foreseeable future.

So with all this in mind,  it's been a real challenge writing a menu plan with variety yet keeping to our $100 - $120 a month food budget.  This budget includes food and kitty litter for Princess ( our cat ) and food,  basic toiletries and cleaning ingredients for Darren and I.

I was blessed a few months ago with a large amount of TVP  ( textured vegetable protein ) for free from a friend.  When I first heard about it years ago I vowed I'd never use it.  But desperate times call for desperate measures and TVP has been a real blessing for stretching beef mince without really noticing a difference in texture.

Below is the latest menu plan I have been using.  Keep in mind it's just the two of us but I still cook for 4 - 6 people as per the recipe and freeze all leftovers.  It's very rare that leftovers are eaten as lunches.  They end up being dearer than a toasted sandwich and we don't need to eat meat twice a day.  

 From memory,  all recipes for the meals below are in the recipe section.

My Abundant Life: Recipes (myabundantlife07.blogspot.com)

Day 1  -  Chunky Chicken Soup made from slow cooker stock.

Day 2  -  Meatloaf,  potato mash and steamed veg.  Leftover meatloaf frozen

Day 3  -  Leftover Chunky Chicken Soup with crusty bread

Day 4  -  Salmon Patties ( bulk cooked and in the freezer ) with rice and steamed veg

Day 5  -  Honey Mustard Chicken with rice

Day 6  -  Sausages,  potato mash and steamed veg

Day7  -   Get Your Own - maybe toasted sandwiches,  eggs on toast,  leftovers

Day 8  -   Lasagne ( made in bulk and frozen ) with steamed broccoli and silverbeet from the garden

Day 9  -   Chicken Drumsticks Lemon Flavoured with potato mash and steamed veg

Day 10 -  Massaman Beef made in the slow cooker served with rice.  Leftovers frozen in single serves

Day 11 -  Tuna Casserole served with steamed green veg.  

Day 12 -  Chop Suey served with rice.  Leftovers frozen into single serves

Day 13 -  Curried Sausage Casserole in slow cooker served with mashed potato.  Leftovers frozen 

Day 14 -  Leftovers of some description

Day 15 -  Tuna Pasta Bake ( bulk cooked and from the freezer )

Day 16 -  Cottage Pie ( I call it shepherd's pie )

Day 17 -  Chunky Chicken Soup from the freezer

Day 18 -  Beef Stew in slow cooker served with potato mash

Day 19 -   Homemade Chicken and Pineapple Pizza

Day 20 -   Silverside with potato mash and steamed veg

Day 21 -   Spag Bol ( sauce made in bulk and in the freezer )

Day 22 -  Chicken,  potato and veggie bake. Kale and broccoli used in bake came from our garden

Day 23 -   Freezer meals or eggs on toast 

Day 24 -   Fried rice with small amount of chicken added. 

Day 25 -   Family Meat Pie ( portions from the freezer ) served with steamed green veg  

Day 26 -   Leftover fried rice

Day 27 -  Fish portions ( from Aldi ) cooked in foil with lemons, served with potato mash and steamed veg

Day 28 -  Honey Soy Chicken Drumsticks served with rice and steamed veg

   

Chop suey in the making.

Slow cooker Massaman Beef Curry

Homemade pizza

Bulk Chunky Chicken Soup for the freezer

Honey Mustard Chicken

How are you fighting rising meat prices ?

Do you have any super cheap meal ideas ?

Another Low Cost Menu Plan

I thought I'd share another cheaper menu plan we finished using just recently.  While not all meals are cheap,  we've tried to offset the cost by making some super cheap meals or eating leftovers.

Mon 22nd July -  Potato bake using potatoes bought at $1.99 for 5 kilos.  I probably used less than 1 kilo.  Other ingredients were a few eggs,  lots of veg including silverbeet from our garden,  seasonings,  100g of shaved ham and grated cheese on top

Tues 23rd - Sausages,  mash and steamed veg.  The three of us only need 5 sausages making the meat component cheap at under $2

Wed 24th - Honey mustard chicken with rice.  Two small chicken fillets were used.  Sauce made from scratch and bean and carrots were added to make it a complete meal.

Thurs 25th - Roast beef in gravy from the freezer with mash and steamed veg.

Fri 26th -  Tuna casserole.  Not exactly a cheap meal.  It costs about $5,50 plus a side of veg

Sat 27th  -  Chunky chicken and veg soup.  Cost $ 2.50 for 8 - 10 serves over two meals  I don't count the cost of the chicken stock made from scratch.  Using a chicken carcass costs nothing and most people would throw it out.

Sun 28th - Freezer meals of leftovers.  Freezing the leftovers eliminates food wastage and creates a free meal.

Mon 29th - Chunky chicken and veg soup leftovers.  The stock came from the freezer so I didn't want to freeze the soup leftover from Saturday's dinner

Tues 30th -  Meat pie and veg.  This recipe uses 400g of mince costing $4 plus $1 for pastry and the cost of a few potatoes plus steamed veg on the side

Wed 31st -  Lasagne and veg.  The lasagne was made last month,  portioned and frozen. We had four people for dinner that night costing $1.30 per serve plus veg

Thurs 1st Aug -  Freezer meals for Darren and I

Fri 2nd -  Girello roast beef  in slow cooker with roast veg

Sat 3rd -  Massaman beef with rice from the freezer.  Approximate cost for 6 - 8 serves is $5.50 or 80 cents each serve.  We used three serves that night

Sun -  Homemade pizza.  The dough costs about 60 cents for two pizzas.  Topping are shredded chicken $2 pineapple 20 cents,  tomato or tomato sauce and cheese.  Darren uses fancier ingredients which he pays for or he uses what's in the fridge already.

Recipes for most of these meals can be found on the recipe page 

Honey Mustard Chicken 

Homemade Pizza

Tuna Casserole

Have you eaten a really cheap meal lately ?

Our Low Budget Menu Plan

Due to a recent cleaning job loss I've taken to writing out super budget friendly menu plans to help keep our grocery costs low.  We are currently living off our stockpile and only spending $100 a month to feed the three of us plus our cat.

We have reasonable amounts of meat in our freezer,  bought at the best possible price and portioned out carefully.  We are not big meat eaters but we do eat meat 5 or 6 nights a week even if it's just soup with little bits of chicken in it.  We DO NOT eat leftover meat in sandwiches the next day or eat dinner leftovers for lunch either.  It's much dearer than an egg on toast,  soup or a crumpet / muffin.

Here is the menu plan we just finished using -

Wed 26th June - Roast lamb in gravy ( already cooked and in freezer ) with roast veg and steamed veg

Thurs 27th June - Chunky chicken and veg soup ( stock with chicken bits from the freezer )

Fri 28th June -   We used some money from our treat fund to eat out before going to the movies ( voucher )

Sat 29th June - Chunky chicken and veg soup with crusty bread

Sun 30th June -  Homemade hamburgers with seasoned wedges.  We didn't have lettuce on hand so we went without.  The wedges were homemade and seasoned with salt,  garlic and rosemary

Mon 1st July -  Silverside ( already cooked and in freezer ) with roast veg and steamed veg

Tues 2nd July -  Lasagne with steamed veg

Wed 3rd July -  Sausages,  mash and steamed veg

Thurs 4th July -   Jessica cooked a gnocchi and chicken dish

Fri 5th July - Lamb chops,  mash and steamed veg

Sat 6th July - Chicken skewers ( on clearance ) with cucumber,  garlic bread and tomato.  We were going out to a party so didn't want to eat too much

Sun 7th July -  Eggs,  bacon,  spinach and mushrooms on toast.


NOTES -

*  The lasagne cost $1.30 per serve.  I used tomatoes from our garden that were cooked and frozen last season..  I get 12 serves from the lasagne and always fill up the plate with veggies.  The leftover portions are frozen for future meals.

*  Roast lamb,  beef and silverside is portioned out to 2 slices each for Jessica and myself and 3 or 4 slices for Darren.

*  1 lamb chop per person and they were bought on clearance for $7.99 kg.  They are put on the menu plan about once a month due to their dearer price.

*  Sausages are portioned to 1 1/2  each for Jessica and I and 3 for Darren.  Sometimes I jazz them up with 1/2 a tin of tomatoes seasoned with Italian herbs.

*  Homemade hamburger patties are 80 grams each.  If tomatoes are too dear I don't buy them to go in the roll.  Tomato sauce is used instead.   We usually include cheese,  cucumber and  lettuce in the roll and Darren sometimes fries an egg to put in his.

Here is June / July's grocery shop.  Milk,  fruit and veg were bought as needed each week.  We were gifted with lemons and mandarins. Because vegetables are so dear,  I've been buying carrots,  cauliflower, frozen beans and corn.

Menu Plan March / April 2018

I've been asked to share my latest menu plan.  Please keep in mind it's mostly just Darren and I at home but I still cook some meals for four people and freeze the leftovers.  . Our freezers and pantry are well stocked and at times we live off our stockpile.  Our current grocery budget is about $100 per month

Wed 21st March -  Freezer meals.
Thurs 22nd -  Lamb Shanks and mash
Fri 23rd -  Chop suey and rice
Sat 24th -  Meat pie and steamed veg
Sun 25th -  Get\Your Own
Mon 26th -  Honey soy chicken drumsticks, mash and steamed veg
Tues 27th -  Hamburgers and wedges
Wed 28th - Pork chop for Darren,  Chicken drumstick for me with veg
Thurs 29th -  Freezer meals
Fri 30th -  Spag Bol
Sat 31st - BBQ sausages,  rissoles and salad
Sun 1st April -   Chicken and salad
Mon 2nd - Pizza
Tues 3rd -  Tuna casserole and greens
Wed 4th -  Sausages,  mash and steamed veg
Thurs 5th -  Saucy chicken drumsticks, rice and veg
Fri 6th - Beef stew in slow cooker with mash
Sat 7th -  Fish in foil,  rice and zucchini slice
Sun 8th - Get Your Own
Mon 9th - Roast beef,  roast veg and steamed veg
Tues 10th -  Lasagne and steamed veg
Wed 11th -   Krispy Fried Chicken drumsticks, rice and zucchini slice     
Thurs 12th -  Freezer meals
Fri 13th -  Silverside in slow cooker with mash and steamed veg
Sat 14th - Engagement party food
Sun 15th -  Left overs
Mon 16th - Left overs
Tues 17th -  Tuna pasta bake and greens
Wed 18th - Sausage casserole and mash

My Menu Plan March 16 - April 15th 2017

After posting my shopping list for the month,  I've been asked to post the menu plan to go with it.

Here's what we'll be eating for the month -

Thur 16th -  Spag bol

Fri  17th -  Meat pie with steamed veg

Sat  18th  -  Mexican rice ( Megan made this )

Sun  19th  -  Chicken Burritos.  Burritos were given to us

Mon  20th  - Sausages,  mash and steamed veg

Tues  21st  -  Lamb chops,  mash and steamed veg

Wed  22nd  -  Freezer meals ( frozen leftovers )

Thur  23rd  -  Honey mustard chicken with rice

Fri  24th  -   Fish in foil with a green leafy salad

Sat  25th  -  Shepherds pie

Sun  26th  -  Pizza

Mon  27th  -  Lemon chicken drumsticks with rice and steamed veg

Tues  28th  -  Beef tacos.  The taco shells are store bought

Wed  29th  - Roast chicken pieces,  gravy,  mash and steamed veg

Thur  30th  -  Roast lamb,  roast veg and steamed veg

Fri  31st  -  Chunky chicken soup with toast or bread stick

Sat  1st  -  Tuna casserole with steamed veg

Sun  2nd  -  Freezer meals / toasted sandwiches

Mon  3rd  -  Sausage casserole with mash

Tues  4th  -  Chicken flan with salad

Wed  5th  -  Rissoles and salad

Thur  6th  -  Lasagne with steamed veg

Fri  7th  -  Fish in foil with salad

Sat  8th  -  Krispy fried chicken drumsticks with mash and steamed veg

Sun  9th  -  Get your own

Mon  10th  -  Chop suey with rice

Tues  11th  -  Slow cooked lamb with mash and steamed greens.

Wed  12th  -  Salmon patties with salad

Thur  13th  -  Fried rice

Fri  14th  -  Hamburgers with wedges.  The rolls are store bought and need using up.

Sat  15th  -  Tuna pasta bake with steamed greens.

NOTES -

*  I might swap meals around depending on the day and weather

*  All meals are made from scratch unless otherwise stated

*  Some of the meals have already been made and frozen

*  The roast chicken came from Coles on clearance.  Darren cut each chicken into 6 pieces.

*  The sides might be changed depending on what we are picking from the garden,  the weather or what needs using up.

*  Get your own is an easy meal night when everyone gets there own whatever.  This is the family's chance to cook for me ( my night off ).

*  We lost a freezer full of food almost two months ago.  Due to this,  our meat options are limited.

*  This menu is based around the girls being at work and Uni or not always being at home   Wednesday and Fridays are diet days for one family member so calories are limited for them.  They will have a healthier option of the same meal.

*  All the meals are based on what I've bought on my monthly shopping day,  our stockpile,  our garden and weekly top ups of milk,  fruit and veg.

Roast dinner

Fish in foil

Meat pie

Honey mustard chicken

Leafy salad

Frugal Reading Links

Here are a few links to articles that are relevant to this time of the year.  Happy reading

Saving money and getting the kids back to school
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/starting-school-year.html

Beating the heat in Summer
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/keeping-cool-in-summer.html

Saving money on water usage
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/februarys-theme-being-water-wise.html

Budget planning for a new year
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/getting-your-budget-in-order-for-new.html

Our family's menu plan
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/my-menu-plan-thursday-20th-nov-thursday.html

Easy card ideas
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/hand-made-card-ideas-january-2016.html

A favourite Summer salad
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/creamy-pasta-salad.html

Running Out Of Groceries Or Grocery Money

Running out of food can be a scary situation to be faced with. What to do ? What to do ? I guess the first question you need to ask yourself is " Have I really run out of food or do I have food but don't know what to cook ? " If you have run out of food just because you didn't buy enough,  then it's time for a new plan of attack. Writing a menu plan for the week might be a good place to start. Then write your shopping list from the menu plan. Don't forget to include breakfasts, lunches and snacks as well as the main meal.    Once you've mastered shopping for a week then you could try fortnightly or monthly shopping.

You might be in the situation where you haven't run out of food but feel like the food you do have isn't going to make great meals. This is the perfect time for experimentation. Grab your cookbooks or use the internet to try something different. There are websites where you can search for recipes with certain ingredients. This could be the making of a new family favourite recipe.

If you have run out of grocery money for whatever reason, you have a few options. Can you make meals out of the food you DO have ? Can you find some extra money from another area of your budget ? I'm not talking about hundreds of dollars. $20 or $30 could last a week or two with a carefully planned shopping list if you have basic ingredients on hand like herbs, spices and a few baking ingredients like flour and sugar

Once again a menu plan will help you through a tough time until money becomes available again. A packet of quick oats will give you a filling breakfast for a week. Two loaves of bread will be enough for lunches. Buying one piece of the cheapest fruit available per person could be a snack. In Winter apples, pears and citrus fruits are very cheap. In Summer it could be stone fruit or grapes.

Dinner doesn't have to be fancy if money is tight. Here are some cheap meal ideas -

* Boiled potato with steamed veggies, seasonings and a little grated cheese on top is very yummy and cheap.
* 300 grams of mince can be bulked out with rice, rolled oats and cheaper vegetables like beans, cabbage or carrots.
* Eggs, baked beans or spaghetti on toast
* Pasta with tomato sauce and cheese
* Pasta with a tin of tomatoes and grated vegetables
* Fried rice without any meat.
* Pancakes

Remember,  water is free ( or almost free ) so drink lots of it.  If you are after a hot drink,  then tea is cheaper than coffee.

Have you ever run out of grocery money or groceries ?  What did you do in this situation ?

My Menu Plan 16th August - 15th September 2015.

After a few months of not having a menu plan,  it's wonderful to get back into the routine.  My mind is a ease and the family just loves to see what's on the menu for tea each night.

Here's the long awaited menu plan for the Gower's -

Sun 16th   -  lunch at Cath's place after arriving home from the workshop.  Get Your Own that night.

Mon 17th  -  KFC drumsticks with tomato relish,  wedges and salad
Tues 18th  -  Tuna Pasta Bake with greens
Wed 19th  -  Meals out of the freezer
Thurs 20th  -  Fish in foil,  rice and steamed veg
Fri 21st  -  Homemade hamburgers and wedges
Sat 22nd  -  Veggie soup and toast
Sun 23rd  -  Get your own but feed me 

Mon 24th  -  KFC drumsticks ( we have lots in the freezer ), mash and steamed veg
Tues 25th  -  Homemade meat pie with steamed veg
Wed 26th  -  Meat pie leftovers and anything from the freezer
Thurs 27th  -  Roast chicken with roast veg and cauliflower and white cheese sauce
Fri 28th -  Spag bol with garlic and herb toast
Sat 29th  -  Chicken curry with rice
Sun 30th  -  Get your own but feed me.

Mon 31st  -  Honey soy drumsticks with mash and steamed veg
Tues 1st  -  Beef stew and mash
Wed 2nd  -  Wedding Anniversary so maybe out for tea
Thurs 3rd  -  Fish in foil,  wedges and steamed veg
Fri 4th  -  Rissole casserole with mash
Sat 5th  -  Chops,  mash and steamed veg
Sun 6th  -  Father's Day.  Might cook something special at home

Mon 7th  -  Saucy chicken drumsticks with rice and steamed veg
Tues 8th  -  Chop suey and mash
Wed 9th  -  Roast leg of lamb with roast veg and steamed veg
Thurs  10th  -  Tuna casserole and greens
Fri 11th  -  Shepherds pie made with left over lamb
Sat 12th  -  Homemade meat pie with steamed veg
Sun 13th  -  Get your own but feed me

Mon 14th  -  KFC drumsticks with mash and steamed veg
Tues 15th  -  Homemade lasagne with steamed veg

NOTES

*  I don't cook on Sundays.  We are generally busy with church or family get togethers.  I cook six nights a week for my family so Sunday night is their turn to serve me.  It also gives them a chance to learn new skills in the kitchen.

*  The menu plan is not set in stone.  If something comes up I just swap it around.

*  I always defrost the meat in the fridge as it's the safest way I know.  If something comes up and we can't eat it that night,  it's safe for another day.

*   The veggies we eat are the cheapest in season I can find.  We also have lots of blanched veggies in the freezer.  Someone commented on an earlier menu saying we eat a lot of potato.  As I said,  the menu isn't set in stone.  Some nights I look at the menu and might change the mash to rice.

*  We don't have any special dietary requirement in my family.

* We rarely have dessert as the main meals are enough.

*  Left overs are frozen that night and written into the menu plan as a free / freezer meal.

lasagne and streamed veg

chicken curry in the slow cooker

Family meat pie

Hamburgers and wedges at home

fish in foil

My Menu Plan

Oops,  I'm a bit late with my menu  plan.  Here's what we will be eating for the next four weeks -

Mon 23rd -  Chop suey and brown rice
Tues 24th - Sausage casserole in the slow cooker with mash
Wed 25th - Roast beef in the slow cooker with roast potato,  pumpkin,  carrots and steamed veg
Thurs 26th - Tuna pasta bake
Fri 27th - Honey mustard chicken and rice
Sat 28th -  Homemade hamburgers and wedges
Sun 29th -  Get your own but feed me

Mon 30th -  Tacos and a baked dessert of some description
Tues 31st -  Beef stew in the slow cooker with mash
Wed 1st -  Roast chicken with roast veg and steamed veg
Thurs 2nd -  Fish portions,  rice,  zucchini slice and steamed veg
Fri 3rd - Spag bol
Sat 4th - Chops,  mash and steamed veg
Sun 5th -  Get your own but feed me

Mon 6th - Homemade meat pie and steamed veg
Tues 7th -  Homemade KFC drumsticks with mash and steamed veg
Wed 8th -  Silverside in the slow cooker with roast veg and steamed veg
Thurs 9th -  Tuna casserole and greens
Fri 10th -  Freezer bits and pieces that need using up
Sat 11th - Chicken schnitzel,  mash and steamed veg
Sun 12th - Homemade pizzas

Mon 13th -  Meatloaf and gravy with mash and steamed veg
Tues 14th -  Chicken flan with herb /garlic bread
Wed 15th   Roast leg of lamb with roast veg and steamed veg
Thurs 16th -  Salmon patties with brown rice and steamed veg
Fri 17th -  Shepherd's pie with herb bread
Sat 18th -  Freezer meals
Sun 19th - Family over for lunch so maybe leftovers for tea.

Homemade Hawaiian pizza

Roast veggies

Homemade hamburgers and wedges

Krispy Fried Chicken

My Menu Plan Friday 20th February - Friday 20th March 2015

Here is my latest menu plan.  It looks like we won't be getting too much hot weather in the next few weeks so I've changed some of the meals accordingly.  I've introduced some cooler weather meals as we transition into Autumn.  Of course,  my menu plan is not set in stone.  I'm sure outing will crop up and there might be days when we don't feel like eating the meal on the plan.  That ok.  We have plenty of food in the house so we won't starve.

Fri 20th - Homemade hamburgers and wedges
Sat 21st - Salad and fish cooked in foil

Sun 22nd - Get your own but feed me
Mon 23rd - Salad and crumbed fish portions and smashed potatoes
Tues 24th - Roast chicken ( on BBQ ) with potato / pumpkin mash and veggies
Wed 25th - Homemade hamburgers - we were given rolls that couldn't be frozen.
Thurs 26th - Tuna pasta bake and greens
Fri 27th - KFC chicken drumsticks and salad
Sat 28th - Freezer meals

Sun 1st March  Get your own but feed me
Mon 2nd - Tacos and a dessert of some description
Tues 3rd - Leg of lamb and roast veggies
Wed 4th - Shepherds pie with leftover lamb
Thurs 5th - Fish potions,  rice,  zuc slice and veggies
Fri 6th - Salad and chicken strips
Sat 7th - Chops and salad ( or veggies )

Sun 8th -  Homemade pizza
Mon 9th - Rissoles,  salad and baked potatoes
Tues 10th - Chicken curry in slow cooker with rice
Wed 11th - Homemade meat pie with veggies
Thurs 12th - Fish cooked in foil with mash and veggies
Fri 13th - Chicken hamburgers with wedges
Sat 14th - Honey mustard chicken with rice

Sun 15th - Toasted sandwiches
Mon 16th - Spag bol
Tues 17th - Beef stew in slow cooker with mash
Wed 18th - Roast chicken with roast veggies
Thurs 19th - Salmon patties with baked potatoes and salad
Fri 20th - Freezer meals

A roast meal

Chicken curry in the slow cooker

Homemade meat pie

Honey mustard chicken made from scratch.

My Menu Plan Monday 19th January - Thursday 19th February 2015

Having a menu plan is a great way to save lots of time and money.  It eliminates meal time stress and gives you a chance to plan ahead.  Over the last month I've been a little slack with my menu plan.  For a few weeks I didn't have one as such but I always have a fully stocked pantry,  fridge and freezers.  It was no big deal as such as we didn't spend any extra money.  It just felt a little weird not having a plan.

Here's the long awaited new menu plan -

Mon 19th -   Roast chicken,  mash and veg
Tues 20th -  Slice meat,  pasta salad,  potato salad and green salad - Megan's birthday request.
Wed 21st -  Same as yesterday as I made double.
Thurs 22nd -  Tuna casserole and greens
Fri 23rd -  Bits and pieces from the fridge.
Sat 24th -  BBQ sausages,  rissoles and ribs with salad. - we had visitors
Sun 25th - Leftovers from yesterday.
Mon 26th -  Homemade hamburgers and wedges.
Tues 27th -  Soup made with Christmas ham bone,  potato,  carrots and corn
Wed 28th - Leftover soup and bread rolls
Thurs 29th - Fish portions,  wedges and salad.
Fri 30th -  Freezer meals ( leftovers I've frozen )
Sat 31st -  Homemade KFC chicken drumsticks and salad
Sun 1st Feb - Tacos
Mon 2nd -  BBQ sausages,  ribs and green salad
Tues 3rd - Spag bol
Wed 4th -  Homemade pizzas made with frozen Christmas ham
Thurs 5th - Salmon patties and salad
Fri 6th -  Chicken schnitzels and salad
Sat 7th -  Megan's party so it could be bought pizzas for the girls
Sun 8th - Get your own but feed me
Mon 9th -  BBQ rissoles,  potato slices and salad
Tues 10th -  Meatloaf,  salad, and baked potatoes
Wed 11th -  Homemade meat pie and greens
Thurs 12th - Tuna pasta bake
Fri 13th -   Homemade hamburgers
Sat 14th -  Chicken and salad
Sun 15th - Get your own but feed me
Mon 16th -  BBQ chops and salad
Tues 17th -  Honey mustard chicken and rice
Wed 18th -  Lasagne and greens
Thurs 19th -  Fish potions,  zuc slice and vegies. 

As always, the menu can change at any time depending on the weather.

Everything is made from scratch including sauces.  The only exception is the fish portions.  Fish is so expensive and the portions are a cheap way to have a little fish.

A roast dinner

Pizza subs - one of the many ways we make pizzas.

Honey mustard chicken

The Menu Plan Went Out The Window

The last few weeks have been very unpredictable in our home.  We've had the bathroom renovations come to an end and the mess to clean up afterwards including a complete dust of the house.  Darren had a church communtiy day to organise with hampers and toys to give away.  Our church cafe opened and Darren was heavily involved in the set up. .Both Darren and I have been unwell over three weeks.

With me losing my voice it took two attempts to film my last tv story for this year.  That meant I needed to get the house " tv ready " twice.  Normally I can do this without a problem.  But when you feel like crawling into bed,  it can be a challenge.  With the events that happend in Sydney,  there were challenges in finding a camera crew available in Melbourne.

We've also had the usual Christmas breakup dinners to attend,  school presentation nights,  VCE info nights,  a school hiking camp for Megan and the usual housework to do.  Jessica is working more shifts in the lead up to Christmas and Megan started working at the church cafe.

Thankfully my Christmas shopping was almost complete before all this craziness decended upon our normally quiet home.

As for " THE MENU PLAN ",  well,  it's on the fridge but lets just say, it went out the window.  I had a vague memory of writing it a month ago but with so many things on,  there were many days when I didn't even have time to look at it.  Some days we stuck to the menu plan.  Other days we swapped meals around and other days we ate out of the freezer.  Jessica and Megan cooked a few nights when I was sick.  Some nights we just ate what each of us felt like.

Menu plans are very important to have.  They can bring some stability when craziness fills your life.  They are also meant to be flexible when the best laid plans go out the window ( with the menu plan ).

Having a well stocked pantry,  fridge and freezer helps to stay on track with your grocery spending too.  Although we didn't cook everything on the menu plan,  we used those ingredients to make other meals.  Having meals in the freezer was a big help as well.  When my throat was at it's most painful,  spag bol came to the rescue as  I needed to eat something soft .  I always cook the meat sauce in bulk and freeze it into meal portions.

If you haven't tried writing a menu plan before,  I encourage you to give it a try.  It might not be possible to stick to it all the time,  but it's comforting to know you've planned your meals as best as you can.

As for next month's menu plan,  I'll write it again knowing it will help us through Christmas and the holiday season..