Menu Plan Monday 60

I puttered around in the kitchen most of the afternoon yesterday--boiling eggs, cooking down a chicken carcass for broth, making rhubarb bread, and making lasagna and garlic bread for supper. The rest of the week won't be as involved. Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday--Lasagna, garlic bread
Monday--Salsa chicken, brown rice, broccoli
Tuesday--Turkey burgers, salad
Wednesday--Breakfast for dinner; pancakes and bacon
Thursday--Pepperoncini Beef, home fries
Friday--Pizza
Saturday--TBD

Rhubarb Bread

I had enough rhubarb left in my little patch that I decided to try some rhubarb bread. I used this recipe from allrecipes.com.

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I did not add walnuts)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together milk, lemon juice and vanilla; let stand for 10 minutes. (I made one loaf of bread and 8 muffins with my batter.)
   
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, oil and egg. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda, stir into sugar mixture alternately with the milk mixture just until combined. Fold in rhubarb and nuts. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.
3. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Sprinkle this mixture over the unbaked loaves. (I ended up not putting the topping on; it tasted fine without it.)
   
4. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

From the Grocery List to the Dinner Table

It wasn't a great week for grocery sales, but my family needs to eat, so here's what I bought:

Breakfast items--

Life cereal ($2.67-$0.75 coupons=$1.92 each), Mini Wheats w/Fruit cereal ($2.99-$1.00 coupon=$1.99), Post Honey Bunches of Oats, $2.50, Kashi Go Lean, $2.99, also, pancake mix and sausage

Lunch--

Ramen noodles, chips, bread, applesauce, canned pineapple, peanut butter, corn dogs, chicken tenders, deli salami, deli turkey

Meat and sides--

Seasoned whole chicken, chuck roast, pepperoni, French bread, frozen veggies

I made the chicken with mashed potatoes and cooked carrots. I'm still trying to decide what to do with the roast, so it went in the freezer for now. We had homemade pepperoni pizza, some with yellow peppers, the other night. I'm putting lasagna on the menu next week some time and will use the French bread that night. Frozen veggies are a quick and easy side for a busy night.

Snacks--

Keebler crackers, Kraft marshmallows ($1-$0.50/2=$0.75 each), almonds

Produce--

Green leaf lettuce, bananas, cucumber, broccoli, strawberries, braeburn apples, yellow bell pepper, potatoes

Dairy--

Milk, eggs, cottage cheese, creamer, block and shredded cheese, yogurt, orange juice, sour cream, butter, American cheese slices, chocolate milk ($1.99 on sale; I mix 1/2 and 1/2 with white milk to cut down on the sugar the kids get, and it's still plenty chocolatey)

I bought two containers of cottage cheese, one to have with salads/snacks and one to use in lasagna.

Pantry items--

Ketchup, flour, salad dressing (Kraft $1.49-$1/2= $0.99 each), pizza dough mix, vanilla, lasagna noodles, dill relish ($1.25-$0.75=$0.50), baked beans, Nesquik, pasta sauce, brown sugar, salt, organic honey, cinnamon, vegetable oil, whole wheat tortillas

These are items I was either running low on (flour, vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt, Nesquik), were on sale (ketchup, salad dressing, dill relish, baked beans, pasta sauce, organic honey, vegetable oil), or I needed for a meal in the next week or so (pizza dough mix, lasagna noodles, tortillas)

Other--

Coke ($4.94 on sale, I don't indulge very much, and only on the weekend, but this is as low as 24 packs sell for these days), cappuccino mix, coffee beans, Arm & Hammer Free detergent ($2.49-$1/2=$1.99 each), L'Oreal kids shampoo ($2.29-$0.75=$1.54)

Menu Plan Monday 59

I only have a partial list this week as I have to make a grocery list and go shopping this week. Here's what I have planned so far:
Sunday (Father's Day!)--Bacon wrapped pork, garlic smashed red potatoes, peas & carrots
Monday--Turkey burgers, sweet potato fries
Tuesday--Sausage, fried potatoes, veggie
Wednesday--Chicken, brown rice, veggie
Thursday through Saturday--To be decided

Kabobs

I love to grill kabobs in the summer, and there are so many different possible ways a person can make them. Recently we had smoked sausage with green pepper, onion, grape tomatoes and pineapple. Zucchini, summer squash and mushrooms are also great veggie additions. Sometimes I marinate them, this time I did not. I serve them over rice.

Menu Plan Monday 58

I did a big grocery shopping trip on Saturday, so we're well stocked for the week. Here's what we're eating:
Sunday--Grilled hamburgers, sweet potato fries, fruit salad and Rhubarb Dump Cake for dessert
Monday--Smoked sausage kabobs, brown rice
Tuesday--Tacos
Wednesday--BLT's
Thursday--Pork loin, mashed potatoes, veggie
Friday--Pizza
Saturday--TBD

Rhubarb Dump Cake

I was looking for a new rhubarb recipe and found this one on allrecipes.com. It was really easy to make, and although not my favorite rhubarb recipe, the kids loved it.


1 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/4 inch slices (I used almost 4 cups)
1 cup white sugar
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin mix (I used cherry flavor)
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 cup water
1/4 cup margarine, melted (I used butter)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Spread the rhubarb evenly in the bottom of the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the sugar over the rhubarb, followed by the gelatin mix, and finally the cake mix. Pour the water and melted margarine over the top. Do not stir.
3. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the rhubarb is tender.

We had this warm with vanilla ice cream. The kids finished it off the next day with a little bit of whipped cream on top.

From the Grocery List to the Dinner Table

Last weekend we had to finish shopping for my daughter's birthday, so we picked up some of the sale items at Super One.

Ronzoni Garden Delight pasta, on sale for $0.99, used $1/2 coupon=$0.49 each (will use in pasta dishes in the future)

Hersheys candy pouches, on sale 3 for $5, used $2/2=$1 each
M & M's, on sale for $1.99, used $1.50 off 2 coupon=$1.24 each

Gold'n Plump chicken drumsticks and thighs, on sale for $1.99, used $1 coupon=$0.99 each (we grilled the drumsticks and I cooked the thighs for chicken soup for my daughter's birthday)

Overall I saved 39%, or $55.97 by shopping the sales and using coupons. I also bought:
Grocery items
Creamette thin spaghetti, $0.66 (for the pantry)
Ballpark buns--$1.50-$0.55 coupon=$0.95 each (Had Sloppy Joes from the freezer, and brats/hot dogs this week)
Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce--$1.50-$1/3 coupon=$1.17 each (for the pantry)
Rachel's Kettle Chips (hubby's choice)--$2.00 (for lunches)
Country Hearth whole wheat bread--$2.49-$0.55 coupons=$1.94 each (for breakfast/lunch/snack)
Del Monte ketchup--$0.77 (pantry)
Kellogg's fruit snacks (kid's choice)--$2.22
Kingsford lighter fluid--$3.33 (It's grilling season!)
Two bottles Dasani water (it was warm, we were thirsty)--$1.49 each
Del Monte spaghetti sauce--$0.66 (pantry)
Kingsford charcoal--$6.46-$1.00 coupon=$5.46
Doritos--$1.99 (lunches)
Meat
Besides the Gold'n Plump chicken, I bought a bag of Schweigert chicken nuggets for $4.99 (kids are home from school and I need some extra lunch options)
Produce
Mann's broccoli slaw--$1.47 (added to salad and casserole)
Bananas--$2.09 (got the first pound free with store coupon)
Green leaf lettuce--$0.97 (for salads, on sandwiches)
Pink lady apples, 3 lb.--$2.77
Dairy (Breakfast and snack options)
Eggs--$1.54
David bagels--$1.49
Arrowhead cottage cheese--$2.49
Skim milk--$3.19
2% milk--$3.59
Land O'Lake gallon orange juice--$4.34
Frozen
Kemps vanilla ice cream--$2.99 (to go with daughter's birthday cupcakes)
3 Jack's pizzas--$1.88 each
Deli
Hony ham--$4.68 (For sandwiches, in eggs)

Menu Plan Monday 57

School's out and summer's here! I'm not grocery shopping until the end of the week, so I'm using what I have in the pantry and freezer for this week's meals. Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday--Homemade chicken noodle soup (7 year old daughter's birthday pick), cupcakes and ice cream
Monday--Sloppy Joes and/or pulled pork from the freezer, salad
Tuesday--Grillled brats/hot dogs, sides TBD
Wednesday--Grilled chicken drumsticks, sides TBD
Thursday--Baked spaghetti
Friday--Pizza
Saturday--TBD

Ham Tetrazzini

Another recipe from allrecipes.com, this is a great way to use up leftover ham.

2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I also added a bit of shredded Swiss cheese that I needed to use up)
1 cup diced ham
6 ounces spaghetti (I used wide egg noodles)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I did not add parsley)
2 tablespoons chopped pimento peppers (I did not use these)

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, saute chopped onion in butter until tender.
Stir in cream of mushroom soup, water, and shredded cheese. Heat mixture until cheese melts, stirring often.
Add ham, cooked and drained pasta, chopped pimento, and chopped parsley to saucepan; stir.
Stir until heated through, serve hot!
I also added a sprinkle of Parmesan right before serving.