Eat at Home 3!

DH and I are leaving today to go visit family in Texas (sadly DS can't go because of school and work) till next weekend. We get back on a Sunday afternoon so I'll be quickly meal planning and running to go shopping. Y'all be sure to post some good ideas on here for inspiration for me, ok? I know we'll be eating out a lot, which we love because it's places we don't have here, but I'll be ready to get back to eating at home by then. Have a great week everyone!
 
Just got home from New Orleans at 1am this morning so I am hoping I got everything at the grocery I needed for the week. I am exhausted. It was a horrible day of travel and we had to run through the airport in Atlanta to make our connection. I didn't get to eat between flights as planned so I was SO sick by the time I got home due to no food. But we made it! So here is my plan:

Breakfast: Oatmeal, banana, and yogurt
Lunch: Frozen meals and roasted veggies to bulk them up (sweet potatoes, carrots, honeynut squash, and brussels.
Dinners:
Tonight: French Onion soup and chicken sandwiches
Sunday - Wednesday: Chicken parm with spaghetti with extra veggies mixed into the sauce (mushrooms and zucchini this time)
Thursday - Friday: Cheeseburgers, salad, and veggie tots

Keeping it super simple!

What are you all doing for thanksgiving? I got my $8 turkey yesterday. I know I’m doing strawberry cobbler (I got a flat of strawberries for my birthday), and corn casserole. I need something green.

I got my turkey today from Aldi. My family goes out on thanksgiving itself, but the weekend after I make a big meal to eat off of for the week. My plan as of now is:
Turkey and gravy
Stuffing (family recipe)
Green Bean Casserole
Potatoes in some form (thinking hashbrown casserole or sweet potatoes of some kind)
Rolls
 
I am so ready for Thanksgiving! I have already ordered a lot of my stuff like the turkey and some of the staples.

Wednesday: (carry over from last week)
Baked Fish
Rice Pilaf
Broccoli

Thursday:
Out to Dinner with Friends

Friday:
Pasta Carbonara
Garlic Toast

Saturday:
Porcupine Meatballs
Mashed Potatoes
Fried Okra

Sunday:
Pesto Chicken Soup
Garlic Toast

Monday:
Red Beans and Rice
Corn Muffins

Taco Tuesday:
Tacos
Cantaloupe
 
Busy week at work for me, so I'm planning to do takeout on Friday. Meal plan for this week is simple, because I may not be home to actually make dinner:
S - Chicken burritos
M - Beef stew (made it over the weekend)
Tu - Spaghetti and meatballs (jarred sauce and frozen meatballs)
W - Spaghetti and meatballs
Th - Chicken tenders & tater tots, asparagus (unless I'm home, in which case I may do something more interesting)
F- Out or takeout.
 


Just found this board. I'm always looking for ideas. I used to meal plan. Got out of the habit and started again about 3 weeks ago. My DH and DS are pretty good about trying new things. So far only 2 items didn't make the cut! And I haven't made spaghetti with meat sauce in 3 weeks. That is probably a record for me! I keep that in case one of my new ideas doesn't work out. I always have spaghetti as a back-up! :rotfl:
 
Saturday: Homemade Mac and cheese and roasted veggies
Sunday: Italian beef sandwiches and left over mac and cheese/veggies
Monday: Chicken and Rice
Tuesday: Leftover Chicken and Rice
Wednesday: Taco Salad
Thursday: Spicy Chicken Rolls, Baked Potatoes
Friday: Pancakes and Bacon

I was going to make fruit dip to take to my in laws for Thanksgiving dinner but I think I am going to make Brie Cranberry Bites. As long as weather holds out we will be driving back to IL day after Thanksgiving to do Xmas with my family so I always make snacks to bring back, still working on that list.
 
Late again, but it's another week of cooking:). No Hmart or Aldi trip this week, b/c I have produce still to get rid of (so Safeway filled in the little I needed:))...here's the plan...(there are frozen pizza and tacos as specific requests from my youngest)

Sunday - Safeway $5 subs, Roasted Veg Medley (used up piece parts of veg in my fridge - 1/3 of butternut squash, 1/3 of gray squash, 1/2 a large onion, and 1/2 bag of baby carrots), Grapes
Monday - Chicken Soft Tacos with Lettuce, Salsa, and Chopped Avocado, Refried Beans, Strawberries and Blueberries
Tuesday - Chicken and Veg Pot Pie (in Casserole form, ala Pioneer Woman, with a single pie crust laid on top), Apple Slices
Wednesday - Spaghetti and Meatballs, Green Salad
Thursday - Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp, White Rice, Roasted Carrots, Chopped Mango
Friday - Frozen Pizza night with Fruit Smoothies and Salad Bag
Saturday - Leftovers (we are going out for lunch to BGR to get rid of a local flavor expiring Nov 22, and then going to a friend's house for game night, so I may not eat, or I may finish my own lunch) - if no leftovers, it will be Mac and Cheese (regular and vegan) with fruit

Okay, so we've been cooking, except for Monday when we enjoyed being dual vets:)...of course, that meant I wasn't here to post, but here's the plan...

Sunday - Bibimbop-inspired Chicken and Tofu Crockpot Stew Over Rice (Shredded Carrot, Celery, Onion, Green Onion, Corn, and Coconut Milk added to a clearance sauce from HMart - this was LOVED), Grapefruit and Clementine Salad
Monday - OUT (Vet's specials:))
Tuesday - Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet (with Tomato Paste, Balsamic, Red Wine, Onion, Garlic, Herbs, Celery, Bell Peppers, and Carrots), Dairy-Free "Cheesy" Grits with Nutritional Yeast/Rice Milk/Plant Based Butter, Homemade Pear Blueberry Muffins (and Grapes for those who skipped Grits)
Wednesday - Hawaiian Night - Teriyaki Baked Chicken Tenders, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Cinnamon-spiced Pineapple, Avocado Asian Salad Bag
Thursday - Beef Sloppy Joes, Baked Fries, Roasted Asparagus, Sliced Clementines
Friday - Vegan Night - we are donating top 8 allergy free vegan chili and rice treats, so we're gonna have some for dinner and donate the rest - I'm making a sweet potato, black bean, and pumpkin chili, subbing in white wine for the pumpkin beer to keep it gluten-free. To round out dinner, I'll serve chips and guacamole for us.
Saturday - OUT - we have an afternoon park clean up service project, so we're gonna use up a Groupon for Mongolian BBQ and then one for Mini Golf afterwards to have a nice family night out
 


We’re back from three weeks at Ft Wilderness! . It was great but it’ll be nice to get back to our old routines. I feel like we hit a great balance of eating In and enjoying a few special meals out.

Early on we had a BBQ for our friends over from Germany and the UK. Not everyone could make it so I had a ton of leftovers that we worked on eating up the rest of the time. I’m good for burgers and pulled pork for at least a month!

We had so many leftovers that I never even defrosted half of the meals I brought from home. We ate the jambalaya and gumbo I made but hauled the frozen debris and chili home.

We used the leftover slider buns for sandwiches in the parks which worked really well, they don’t smush as easily as regular bread. I plan on adding them to my brownbag repertoire 😊


Much fruit and yogurt was eaten. The grandbaby has us eating healthily on vacation!

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We had bunless burgers using ground beef leftover from the BBQ a few times.

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Cheese and tomato sandwiches in the parks. We also did a charcuterie type thing with leftover smoked sausage, cheese and veggies a few times. I kept things cool with frozen Gogurts in an insulated bag.

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Smoked chicken and andouille gumbo brought from home was dinner two nights.
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Tons of leftover yogurt after baby girl left so we had that for most breakfasts.

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A few pix from the BBQ. We had burgers, hot dogs and DH’s famous pulled pork. Dessert was something new for our friends, s’mores at the campfire singalong.

(Disclaimer-these are a friend’s pictures. I was too busy trying to play hostess while herding a 21 month old in close proximity to a BBQ grill and campfire and completely forgot!)

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Just got back from the grocery store, and shopped my pantry/got a few things at a store that were needed.
Tonight we are doing slow cooker white chicken chili and dinner rolls with butter, leftovers tomorrow
Monday: lasagna rolls ups, salad
Tuesday: Chicken tacos, yellow rice and black beans
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Scrambled eggs, blueberry pancakes, bacon
Friday: Budget bytes Italian wonderpot
Saturday: Trader joes orange chicken, brown rice, broccoli
 
Still working on whittling down the freezer and pantry.

Sunday
Grilled chicken (freezer)
Baked potatoes
Salad


(Almost) Meatless Monday
Red beans (freezer)
Rice
Broccoli


Taco Tuesday
Fajitas (uses chicken/steak leftover from Sunday)
Mexican rice (pantry/freezer)
Slaw


Wednesday
Jambalaya (freezer)
White beans (pantry)
Salad


Thursday
Fried pork chops (freezer)
Butter beans (freezer)
Baked sweet potatoes


Friday
Bunless burgers (freezer)
Sweet potato fries
Salad


Saturday
TBD/leftovers
 
Phew...I still have to go shopping, but I made a Ground Beef and Eggplant Dairy-free lasagna that's in my fridge for tonight...the kids will add mozzarella and parm to the top after baking, but I'll have enough "cheesiness" from my dairy-free bechamel (olive oil, flour, rice milk, tons of nutritional yeast, basil, oregano, garlic, italian seasoning, red pepper flake, and s&p - it crazily is the best "cheesy" thing I've had so far, better than anything I've bought that's supposed to be cheese:))...
 
This week I am planning...
  1. Soft tacos and side salad. Not sure which protein, whatever is in the freezer.
  2. Hard tacos same as above.
  3. Alfredo and green beans
  4. Some kind of Chinese chicken, rice, and peas
  5. Chef salad
  6. Spicy soup beans with chorizo and corn bread
  7. Home made cheese and veg pizza
Maybe one more week and I’ll be able to unplug the chest freezer and defrost it. We are eating mystery items for lunch all week.
 
It is so hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week! The next month or so is sure to FLY by! I started purchasing my Thanksgiving groceries 2 weeks ago, so hopefully next week's grocery budget will be relatively low. I already have the bird (biggest expense).

Wednesday:
Work Dinner for DH and I
Pizza for the kiddos

Thursday:
Chicken Fried Rice

Friday:
Manwich
Tator Tots

Saturday: (friends visiting from out of town)
Chili
Jalepeno Cornbread
Blackberry Cobbler with Ice Cream

Sunday:
Out to lunch with our weekend guests after Church

Monday:
Creamy Gnocchi with Italian Sausage and Kale
Garlic Toast

Taco Tuesday:
Chicken Enchiladas
Ranch Style Beans
 
Thanksgiving is upon us!

Monday: Pasta with cacio e pepe pasta sauce (a Whole Foods find), salad
Tuesday: Slow cooker salsa chicken, brown rice, broccoli
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Non traditional Thanksgiving with friends. (not cooking all of it, but we are hosting and this is on the menu) Turkey, Braised short ribs with tomatoes, homemade gooey Mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, salad, with spinach artichoke dip with pita chips, cheeseboard and fruit and veggie tray for appetizer. Chocolate chip cheesecake and pumpkin pie. And lots of wine:love::flower1::love:
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: BF's work Thanksgiving dinner at this nice Italian restaurant downtown
Sunday: leftovers if there are any, and if not we are pulling baked ziti out of the freezer and will have some kind of veggie with it
 
For Sunday and Monday, I am loading up my cooler with random fridge items to take with us to pigeon forge. We’ve got lots of salad stuff, and sandwiches. We will eat a big ruby Tuesday salad bar Sunday at lunch (bogo and discounted gift cards, oop minimal) and a big hotel breakfast Monday. The rest of the time I want to eat our stuff. The other five days...
  1. Soup beans, hush puppy waffles, green beans
  2. Breakfast
  3. Turkey, gravy, dressing, peas, corn, mashed potatoes, rolls, strawberry cobbler
  4. Turkey and dumplings
  5. Turkey fried rice
I just need bacon to finish these dinners. So $4 which means I’ll spend $60 😜
 
We got back from a lovely week visiting family last Sunday and we grabbed something about 3:00 on the way home from the airport- it was a weird flight time so we ate a late breakfast before leaving and then were still full and didn't eat dinner. I quickly ran to the store to get things I knew I could throw together without too much work or thought this week, using some things from the pantry and freezer. We had:

Mon: bbq chicken with veggies
Tue: Italian beef & zucchini pasta soup
Wed: chicken cordon blue with loaded baked potatoes
Thu: sautéed sausage and apples with baked beans
Fri: Cuban sliders

This week will be crazy! Although I work Mon-Wed at my normal job I work today, Thanksgiving, Fri, Sat, and next Sun at my "part-time" till I retire in April retail job! I'm going shopping this morning before I go in. Here's this week's plan:

Sun: crock pot beef stew
Mon: creamy coconut Caribbean chicken with garlic broccoli and rice
Tue: lime glazed pork chops with guacamole and chips
Wed: pizza pasta
Thu: turkey, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes & gravy, corn, cranberries, and DS is making the apple pie (he's taking baking and pastry this semester:)
Fri: stovetop kabobs

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
 
YAY, it's Thanksgiving week!!!!!! (and a short work week :yay: )

Wednesday:
Pizza ( just like most of the US, I am sure. LOL)

Thanksgiving!!!
Breakfast:
Bacon, Eggs, Biscuits

Lunch: Coldcuts, Cheeses, Crackers, Fruit, Relish Tray, Hummus and Pretzels

Dinner:
Turkey and Cornbread Dressing
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Green Bean Casserole
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Deviled Eggs
Sweet Potato Casserole
Cranberry Sauce (for the kids)
Cranberry Congealed Salad
Sister Schurbert Rolls
Chocolate Meringue Pie
Pumpkin Pie

Friday:
LEFTOVERS!!!

Saturday:
Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo
Garlic Toast

Sunday:
Venison Steak
Homemade Potatoes Au Gratin
Fried Okra

Monday:
Turkey Noodle Soup
Grilled Cheese

Taco Tuesday:
Bean Burritos
Fruit
 
Phew...it's been a few days of cleaning out everything in my kitchen:)...yesterday, I cleaned out a fig jam I made last Xmas and made cocktail meatballs with heinz 57 and pineapple and marachino juices (from the "healthy" ambrosia salad I made - no marshmallows or cream:)...here's my full weekly plan...

Sun - Cocktail meatballs, Healthy ambrosia fruit salad (fresh clementines, fresh pomegranate seeds, canned pineapple chunks, maraschino cherries, flaked coconut), roasted veg (potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and onions), and homemade pear and cranberry muffins
Monday - Red Curry Veg over Rice (Bell Peppers, Carrots, Green Onions, Corn, Onions, Sweet Potatoes), with Leftover Meatballs (apparently, I made a ton) and Red Grapes
Tuesday - Lemon, Garlic and Plant Butter Shrimp over Pasta, Green Salads with Tomato
Wednesday - Frozen pizzas with Fruit Smoothies (I prep all day, so this is the easy meal)
Thursday -
Breakfast - Cinnamon Rolls and Coffee
Lunch Tray - All beef Kielbasa, Specialty Cheeses (everyone but me), Crackers, Vanilla Pumpkin Marshmallow Pudding Dip (Dairy Free), Sliced Apples and Pears
Dinner - Turkey, Giblet Gravy, Stovetop Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes (Dairy Free), Citrus Cranberry Sauce (and canned for the kids), Dairy Free Green Bean Casserole, Sweet Potato and Apple Oat Crumble Casserole (Dairy Free), and maybe a fruit muffin if I'm on point in prep
Dessert - Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream Pie with Whipped Cream (Dairy and Dairy Free) and Salted Caramel Sauce (for everyone but me)
Friday - OUT - Seeing ICE at the Gaylord, so we're eating in town afterwards
Saturday - Leftovers
 
Yay for a short week!
Breakfasts: Bagels with cream cheese and a yogurt (Thanksgiving will be Cinnamon Rolls and Hot Chocolate)
Lunches: Roast beef sandwiches on sourdough and macaroni salad (Wednesday is a Thanksgiving potluck at work)

Dinners:
Sunday - Wednesday: Chicken stroganoff with egg noodles and sourdough bread
Thursday: Out for Thanksgiving lunch. We go to a place that does a really nice buffet with a ton of options. If I need a dinner, I will either have leftovers from the potluck at work OR I can make a frozen meal
Friday: I am making a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, cheesy hashbrown casserole, gravy, and a black forest poke cake.
Saturday: Leftovers
 

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