Technically I ended the challenge last week - I feel like it was a total success but I just had to go to the grocery store and re-stock. I feel that it was successful because it stretched my creativity, cleaned out a bunch of food that needed to be eaten, and got me into the habit of making weekly meal plans - a habit I am definitely continuing.
In my "naivete", I thought that meal-planning would be boring because it would make life so predictable. Um, hello! lol With a 6-month old, I need that one piece of predictability in my life! It's nice to have a plan for the week and to know exactly what I need to buy. I should also add that with just the two of us, I really don't usually need to cook 5 days a week - something I didn't actually realize until I started writing it down. About 4 meals really works for us, with leftovers the rest of the days!
In the process of eating from the pantry, my friend and I had a Freezer Cooking Day. It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be, and we are definitely doing it again! I'll share what we cooked when FishMama and Money Saving Mom host their Freezer Cooking Day in February.
Without further ado, here's the plan for this week:
Monday: Chicken in a Bag from Freezer Cooking Day (crockpot meal) {I found this originally on Money Saving Mom but can't find the link now}
Tuesday: Pan-Seared Tilapia (I use 1/3 cup or less of flour, only 1 T oil and add Montreal Chicken Seasoning and some garlic powder)
Wednesday: Angel hair with meat sauce
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Johnny Marzetti (very easy with pantry staples; I sub some garlic for the celery - obviously not 2 cups though :)
Weekend: Leftovers, soup, etc.
I'll probably make up some pumpkin chocolate chip bread since I have the mix leftover from buying it in the fall.
And there you have it!
Linking to Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday
Your menu looks great! Glad it was a successful month for you.
ReplyDeleteHey Jess! I had no idea you were still blogging until I followed your comment link today. Hooray! Yours is definitely one of my favorites. You've got a lot of great ideas and are a fantastic writer. Loved the tissue box project. Hope your little one is doing well, this stage of infancy is SO much fun.
ReplyDeleteI don't like menu planning but I still do it anyway. Each week after I finalize my menu I am glad that I spend the time to do it.
ReplyDeleteI also organize my shopping list according to where in the store the items I need are. I'm dorky like that. :)
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