Another Week of Meals

I'm happy to report that I've made it out of the grocery store again this week on budget (well, not exactly, I overspent by 8 cents yesterday!). I was able to afford some unexpected items in addition to the weekly spend thanks to great sales going on, including an extra 2 bottles of organic unfiltered apple juice, 4 extra jars of all natural spaghetti sauce, 18 cups of all natural yogurt for lunchboxes, a package of lunch meat, 4 extra cups of mozzerella cheese, and a free bottle of club soda thanks to a coupon all for $55 (and 8 cents)! I was even able to squeak out 4 extra freezer meals for future use within the usual grocery spending. Our chicken sitter (caring for our 2 chickens over the winter in the country) brought us a dozen enormous beautiful brown eggs, and I'm making pineaple jam this weekend from a case I'm expecting with my Bountiful Baskets order tommorrow.

So, here's the weekly breakdown of dinner meals, my next post will be my freezing endevour this week, I'm finishing up today so I'll post soon!

1. Chili Dogs and Broccoli Slaw (left over moose chili from last week, quick sale all beef organic hotdogs, all natural whole wheat buns. juliene cut broccolli stalks saved from last week, finely chopped last of the baby carrot bag, with a light mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper dressing- pictured above)





2. Linguine with Creamy Mushroom and Ham Sauce (**recipe at the bottom of this post)





3. Elk Pot Roast, Roasted Potatos, and Veggie (yet to be determined by Bountiful Baskets!)





4. Black Beans and Rice (I'll post this EASY, CHEAP recipe in my next freezer post, its a new family favorite!)





5. Sweet and Sour Antelope Meatballs on Rice, Stir Fried Veggies (again, veggies yet to be determined!)





6. Pulled BBQ Sliders and Fruit Salad (leftover pot roast in homeade bbq sauce with homeade whole wheat rolls)





7. Antelope Meatloaf, Mashed Potatos, and Roasted Veggies (this meatloaf/meatball recipe will be in the next freezer post, what a timesaver, its already cooked and ready to go!)

I also purchased ingredients for 24 calzones which will also be in the next freezer post for lunchboxes and weekend convenience.

**Linguine With Creamy Mushroom and Ham Sauce- 1 onion chopped, 1 garlic clove minced, 12 oz mushrooms sliced, 1/4 sherry or white wine, 1 tsp dried thyme 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 2tbs flour, 2 cups mild, 1 cup chopped ham or turkey, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 cup fresh parsley, 1 lb organic whole grain linguine. Sautee garlic and onion til soft, add mushrooms, sherry if using, and spices- cook uncovered about 5 min until mushrooms release juices. Sprinke with flour, stirring to combine, gradually whisk in milk, stir and cook until smooth and thickened, stir in ham and parsley if using. Toss with cooked pasta. (taken from the Lactose-Free Family Cookbook by Jan Main)

Our Weekly Meal Plan on a Squeaky Tight Budget

Wednesday is grocery day around here, and my bulk order from http://www.vitacost.com/ arrived yesterday, so here's our meal plan for the week:

Breakfast:
I never plan in advance, but thanks to my online order of hot and cold grain cereals, as well as bread on hand for toast, we are set for whatever the kids choose this week. Normally we use only a gallon of milk per week, the kids dont like drinking it plain.

Lunch:
My 2 sons pack a lunch each day, organic pb&j on whole wheat white bread, a side of raw fruit or veggie, an organic snack bar or baked treat from the kitchen, and water. Thankfully, that's usually all they want, but a couple days a week they ask for Annie's mac and cheese which I usually pick up when its $1.25 per box- they split the box plus a raw fruit or veggie, and snack bar/baked treat with water.

My husband and I have leftovers, cook up a few eggs, or make a sandwich- I dont really plan lunches since my daughter and baby that are home during the day arent the least bit picky and will eat whatever I serve- I just make sure there's sandwich fixings, raw fruits and veggies from our Bountiful Basket.

Snacks:
The kids usually snack on raw fruits, baked goodies, pb sadwiches (they love pb!), make and egg or something simple.

Dinner:
Here's where I do my real planning, otherwise we end up running out for fast food, or to the grocery store for some quick fix convenience food junk.

1. Elk Pot Roast, Chunky Mashed Potatos/Beef Gravy, and Brussel Sprouts- roasted with OO and garlic.




2. Turkey Meatloaf and Veggie Pasta Salad-brussel sprouts chopped (set aside from last night)/sliced black olive/parmasean/wholegrain pasta salad served warm dressed only with OO, salt and pepper.




3. Spicy Pulled Meat Tacos and Garden Salad with Homeade Ranch Dressing(half of roast from day one set aside and reseasoned overnight in the crock pot until fork tender), Ranch made from sour cream, lemon juice, skim milk to save on calories, dill weed, garlic, and paprika, salt and pepper, fresh cracked is best!




4. Ethiopian Stew, delicious and simple- simmer cubed potato and carrot in chicken broth along with a seasoning packet made by my friend Lindsey, tomato sauce, and chickpeas (both made myself to avoid canned BPA), my kids LOVE this soup and its hearty enough to serve alone.




5. Plowman's Share and Homeade Buscuits (3 layers: 1st cubed cooked potato, 2nd elk pot roast meat, topped with a bag of frozen green beans -organic of course), you can add cheese if you like, but we are trying to cut down on dairy consumption so I don't. Everyone loves to sprinkle with soy sauce to add flavor, or dip in homeade ranch dressing, and since it's all made ahead of time, it assembles quick in a 9X13.




6. Homeade Chili and Corn Chips (store bought, quartered corn tortillas baked till crispy). I'm combining elk hamburger, various roasted peppers/onions, tomatos, and pinto beans-again, made from scratch to avoid BPA, chili powder, garlic, and cumin- cook it low and slow, serve with sour cream.




7. Broccoli Steak and Rice- marinated antelope steak stirfried with fresh broccoli, tossed with a beef, soy, and ginger sauce (I set aside half of the gravy from meal #1 for the base of this sauce.)

I usually dont stick to the meal plan in order depending on what we're in the mood for, and this week is a bit heavy on meat consumption, but that's the benefit of a hunting husband, the freezer's always full of organic, wild grass and mountian stream fed meat!

You can see that I try to double up and set out ingredients for later meals to cut down on kitchen time for myself. Along with my Bountiful Baskets, and $85 monthly order from vitacost, I only spend $56 in the grocery store today for the week, it would've been $50, but I found some organic all beef hotdogs on quicksale which I'll work into next weeks menu. this month I did opt for conventional produce baskets instead of the organic for more variety- doing so saved me and extra $90, bringing my monthy grocery budget for this month down to $345 for our family of 6, oh woops, I forgot to add the quicksale hotdogs, I guess it's really $351 for the month!

Goals For This Week

1.Make ahead and freeze homeade organic bagels and dry waffle mixes

2.Learn from a friend how to make organic tortillas.

Up For A Challenge?

Wow, its been several months since I've posted here, but I'm really excited about what the next month will hold. A friend and I are hosting a "Processed Free" household blog challenge this month and would love for you to join us! The goal is to make as many reasonable changes as possible this month to avoid processed packaged foods and products. I already know I wont complete the month completely processed free since we are travelling several times this month and staying with friends and family who will be providing meals so kindly for us. HOWEVER......I am implementing some great changes that hopefully will make our home a healthier place.

Here are a few of my goals to tackle this month, I'll post the progress as some of its a new experiment for me!

1. Making up a batch of shampoo/conditioner and lotion from all natural ingredients


2. Minimize eating out during our 2 trips out of town this month.


3. Swapping out my usual Organic Bountiful Baket for the Conventional in an effort to save a little cash and get a bigger variety of fruit and veggies.


4. Make a bulk order of organic pantry staples, and make a bulk freezer purchase of certian items from Natural Grocers (its 3 hours away, but we will be travelling through at the end of the month) to keep me out of the grocery store as much as possible where temptation for convenience food abounds.


5. Avoid all canned food, even those labeled organic since most contain BPA.


6. Attend a Local Food Growers exhibition at a nearby college to seek out more natural grocery sources.


7. Toss the plastic dishes and start eating on real ones!

Feel free to link up your own blog or leave a comment regarding the challenge, I'm always on the lookout for new ideas/recipes- here's a link to my friend Lindsey's blog post http://faithfulhomemaking.blogspot.com/2012/03/its-march-time-for-challenge.html , she's MUCH more prepared than me, and even posted her next weeks menu for a family of 6. Also check out this article "The 15 Grossest Things You're Eating" http://www.rodale.com/gross-food?page=0 if you're needing a little motivation to get started!