I realized after typing up this menu plan that all but one of our meals came from some branch of America’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Country/Cook’s Illustrated.
I am a serious fangirl.
What I Spent
I lazily put off doing a big grocery shopping trip, so I only spent $87 on a non-Aldi fill-in trip.
Week 1: $145
Week 2: $180
Week 3: $87
What We Ate
Saturday
The girls requested a Chick-Fil-A night, so I went to the drive-thru to pick up dinner.
Sunday
I made ramen noodle bowls with chicken and red peppers.
Monday
Sonia requested chicken katsu with tonkatsu sauce and rice (recipe from Dinner Illustrated).
Tuesday
We spent the afternoon at the pool with friends, so in the morning, I got some beef au jus out of the freezer and made some fresh French bread.
So, that way we had an easy dinner when we got back from the pool.
I don’t remember for sure what we had on the side, but I think it was fresh fruit.
Wednesday
I made sizzling Korean beef lettuce wraps, and we had peaches on the side (Sonia had grapefruit, since she’s allergic to fresh peaches.)
Thursday
I tried a slow-cooker sausage ragu recipe that caught Sonia’s eye in the latest Cook’s Country magazine.
Just the sauce cooks in the crock pot; you cook the pasta on the stove top. I imagine pasta in the crock pot might get rather soggy.
Everyone gave this recipe a thumbs up, so yay!
We had green beans with our pasta.
Friday
Um, I have not decided yet. And since I am terrible of thinking of meals last-minute, I better make a dinner plan very soon.
What did you eat for dinner this week?
EngineerMom says
We’ve been getting a CSA, which I love and hate. I love it because farm-fresh veggies! I hate it because it gets picked up on Tuesday, and I normally menu plan and shop on Saturday, so I can’t plan my menu for the week on Friday like I normally do, since I have no clue what’s coming until Monday morning.
I’m still trying to figure out how to handle the mid-week produce dump. Our farmers’ market is on Wednesday, so I’ve kind of shifted to picking up meat/eggs and any other veggies/fruit needed on Wednesdays, then just picking up dairy and staples on Saturday. I’ve also finally just scheduled about 2 hours in the afternoon on Tuesday to prep the veggies. They show up practically straight out of the soil, so I need to do things like trim carrot tops, wash greens, etc., to get them into a state that can be used for cooking.
Incidentally, this has also made me realize just how much material must get wasted on the way to the grocery store! I usually end up composting about 1/3 the volume of what shows up int he box, just from disposing of things like carrot and radish tops, corn husks, or damaged beet greens (normally I’d cook them, last week’s batch were pretty badly insect-damaged, though the beets were fine).
betta from daVille says
If you are looking to use, rather than discard: we use carrot tops in salad, spanikopita, or throw in the freezer for making stock. We’ve also made radish top pesto.
lisa says
I like the Food Network boxed dinner mixes and found a bunch of Chicken Tikka Masala ones. Very tasty. At 75 cents a box, it was frugal. Here was our very chicken menu:
– Chicken Tikka Masala
– Chicken & Rice
– Leftovers
– Enchiladas
I cooked out chicken and will use it for fajitas, quick chicken parm, and garlic bread chicken pizza……
Tamara says
We were in the mountains in a rented condo, so I went EZ with the menu due to not knowing what might be found in the ‘borrowed’ kitchen.
Sat- Avocado BLT’s, bagged salad
Sun- Pollo asada, tortillas, bagged salad
Mon- Beer and small bites out on the patio of a local craft beer brewery.
Tue- Grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches, bagged salad
Wed- BBQ chicken, bacon, and cheese quesadillas (yum!), cantaloupe
Thu- Trader Joes fzn terriyaki chicken (just ‘ehh’ – made from scratch is always so much better than frozen IMO ), rice, peas
Fri- Leftovers from last night
Now that we are home and back in my own kitchen, I am looking forward to a much more interesting menu this coming week!
Carla says
Fresh peaches are my favorite fruit – feels tragic that Sonia can’t eat them!
Kristen says
I know! I feel so terrible for her.
jessica says
Add me to the *trying to clean out freezer/pantry* group!
My oldest had less work hours last week and it was an odd schedule so he was home many nights for supper.. so I made sure we had suppers he liked too-lol
Sunday- put the crock put on the porch and cooked a beef roast in it all day! Carrots cooked in the beef broth, premade mashed potato bowl I picked up last week from Sams club. Sourdough bread I picked up at Aldi.
Monday- Smothered pork chops, carrots, buttered noodles, fresh broccoli and a loaf of Rhoads bread( frozen logs you defrost and bake) My mom was here with us and brought a loaf of Almond pound cake fresh strawberries, blueberries and pineapple
Tuesday-A bag of Trader Joes Sweet and Sour chicken in the air fryer, made a quick pot of white rice and some leftovers reheated for the 4 of us at home after we tackled my inlaws overgrown yard.
Weds- LEFTOVER night! Roast and gravy, pulled pork from the freezer, rice, fresh fruit and I cooked a zucchini from the garden.
Thursday- Chicken Patty Parm, salad and fettuccine noodles, served with pineapple and a loaf of frozen garlic bread.
Friday- inventoried the freezer and pantry and decided I had no desire to grocery shop yet… So.. fried up a 2lb hunk of ground beef. Destined half to go with a clearance $1.00 kit I found at my store(thanks person who tore the corner!) the other portion I made into korean beef.
Then I made a pan of rice krispy treats to share at home and at friends pool in the afternoon…Found a block of cream cheese and made a pot of buffalo chicken dip to use up the fresh veggie dippers this weekend… Seasoned a pot of black beans with garlic and fresh lime…
Supper was handled, snacks were handled, weekend lunches and snacks handled..
gina says
It was a clean out the freezer week and clean it out I did! I got the fridge fairly empty, too, so I went grocery shopping this morning before work. This week we ate:
Monday – Turkey Chili over Rice, chopped onions and peppers
Tuesday – Chicken Sausage with whole wheat pasta and homemade pasta sauce with spinach
Wednesday – Enchilada Chicken, freezer mashed potatoes, sliced honeydew melon
Thursday – Chicken Pot Pie with chicken, peas, onion, and celery – very tasty!
Friday – Beefy Goulash, corn
Saturday – Eating here {because someone gave us a gift certificate!}
Sunday – (freezer) Pot Roast, mashed sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts
I might decide I would rather eat out for Sunday, too…we’ll see…I’m getting weary of all the cooking and having to be creative!
Ruth T says
Between an urgent care visit for one kid and having a yard sale the last 2 days, most of my meals have been super easy this week.
Saturday – We went to a friend’s house that have a pool. They had a taco bar and we took no-bake cookies. (No oven! Yay!)
Sunday – We had those same friends over for dinner. Grilled hot dogs and yellow summer squash, made pigs in a blanket (this day was actually cool enough for the oven), they brought watermelon and chips.
Monday – My daughter received a coupon in the mail for free Domino’s pizza and we bought a second one for $7 to feed everyone. It was so very good.
Tuesday – Chicken salad croissants, watermelon, grilled squash, and smoothies. I’m adding chicken salad croissants to the list of things that are totally underappreciated by small children.
Wednesday – Urgent care evening. Just me and the 2 preschoolers at home so I made some hot dogs on the George Foreman grill and cut up some strawberries.
Thursday – Brats, squash, chips, and watermelon.
Friday – Cheeseburgers, watermelon, and corn.
Kristen says
Ugh, an urgent care visit is never fun. Hope everyone is all right now!
Ruth T says
Thanks! A cut we were thinking would need stitches ended up not needing stitches. Yay!
Lindsey says
Saturday: zucchini latkes, raspberries with cream (produce from our garden!)
Sunday: grilled salmon, melting potatoes (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/katie-lee/melting-potatoes-5513135) and fruit salad
Monday: zuke and carrot latkes, leftover fruit salad
Tuesday: grilled burgers, sliced pineapple
Wednesday: we had leftover zuke and carrot latkes so I used them like bread to make toasted cheese latke sandwiches. Sliced cuke and tomato salad. Apples
Thursday: French onion soup (it has been raining all week, so this sounded warming)
Tonight: fillet o’ fish sandwiches, homemade ice cream (nutrition goes to the dogs on Friday)
betta from daVille says
WWI: $158. Super high, but it included $25 worth of pork butt (on sale) and $52 to stock up on olive oil that was on sale.
WWA (working backward):
Friday: Filipino grilled chicken, golden zucchini (from garden) sweet potato
Thursday: pork carnitas on giant salad with corn on the cob. Made copycat Chilpotle’s viniagrette and it was delicious (onceuponachef.com)
Wednesday: friends had us over for dinner: Indian
Tuesday: 3-meat & ricotta meatballs with sauce, mozerrealla sticks, golden zucchini — dinner plans rained out so dug in the freezer, all from scratch.
Monday: Peruvian grilled chicken with green aji Amarillo sauce, quinoa, golden zucchini and a cucumber-avocado-cilantro salad
Sunday: Pork carnitas over giant salad with dressing mentioned above; golden zucchini (clearly the zucchini from the garden have arrived!)
Saturday: cheesesteak sandwiches with grilled peppers, mushrooms & onions; cabbage slaw & cucumber (from garden)
ALSO: I’m not sure if I ever thanked you for posting the KA English muffin bread recipe on your blog, but since C-19, it has become the one bread that I have baked and it is both easy and delicious, so THANK YOU!
Faith says
I too make most of my meals from ATK! Thanks to you I started getting cooks country and the recipes are always delicious. Thanks so much for the suggestion!! I’ve been eyeing that sausage ragu recipe too. So nice to know it is good. I’ll put it on the list for next week. I’ve been cooking my way through their cast iron pan cookbook and the ATK essential cookbook (both out from the library). So many good recipes!
Jenny says
As we have hardly any corona cases here, we are allowed to meet people again, even in bigger groups. Masks and distance rules are still hold up.
Saturday: We visited a zoo with local forest animals with our friends and their small kids. Afterwards, we had a late lunch at a restaurant. I had a big baked patato with sour creme, mushrooms and salad
Sunday: We visited more family and had lunch at a Greek restaurant. That was our weekly meat meal.
Monday: we had mushroom risotto with gorgonzola
Tuesday: bread, cheese and freshly cut vegetables as snacks
Wednesday: we tried a new recipe for onion tarte which was very delicious
Thursday: We had fries and oven-baked fish.
Friday: probably, we will have tortilla wraps with falafels and salad.
Stephanie says
I was very uninspired this week:
We had regular summer fare…
Grilled meats with fresh fruit and veggie sides. One day I did make oven fries but we are now in the SCORCHED EARTH HOT part of summer so I don’t like using my oven right now.
I know we had a lot of fresh cherries and strawberries this week which was nice.
Faith says
I grill my oven fries and they turn out amazing!! Microwave the potato wedges for 5-10 minutes until partly soft and then season and grill. I learned that from ATK. They get a nice brown crispy outside.
JD says
No fresh peaches for Sonia? That’s terrible!
I am still shopping every two weeks, so last week my bill was just for a few items I picked up, like dishwasher detergent.
Last week we had:
Ribs, served with white sweet potato salad and sliced cucumbers
Homemade gluten-free chicken tenders, sauteed okra, and a sauteed dish of summer squash and eggplant. All fried, I know.
Cauliflower/cheddar cheese soup with bone broth pulled from the freezer, served with fruit and crackers on the side for my husband, fruit for me
I got home late one night, so he had a frozen pot pie and I scrounged for leftovers.
Leftover cooked wings, which I had pulled out of the freezer, plus sliced raw veggies.
WilliamB says
This week had an unusually large number of smorgesborg meals and take-out (i.e., leftovers but eaten properly at the table). The fridge got full somehow then I had a dental marathon. I don’t want to open my mouth more than a crack right now and the list of foods I can’t have is so varied – including nothing hard, sticky, or chewy/doughy – that I think I’m left with baby food and smoothies.
– Tonight will be pasta to use up the sauce, likely with sauteed ground beef added, no veg for me (too much chewing), and a fruit smoothie.
– Sous vide’d pork chops, pan-browned cauliflower, and whatever fruit was in the fridge.
– Pork rib-like things (thick-cut and meaty, but with less surface area than pork chops). I threw out the wrapping before I realized it wasn’t the sliced pork loin I thought it was. So I salted and roasted them and hoped for the best. It came out well. Served with strawberries, melon, and sauteed green beans.
– Sandwiches and sliced veggies on the road, while I helped out someone by conveying luggage from our town to a campsite.
– The day of the dental work I had thickly buttered toast and a big grilled cheese sandwich. The bread was crispy on the outside so I had to be careful; other than that, it met the need of “mushy and I don’t need to open my mouth wide.”
Bobi says
I read and enjoy these posts weekly. And I’m not sure if I missed this or if no one here has mentioned it but I thought I’d share in case others don’t know this secret. I admit, I read it on another blog but it’s true! Red bag breaded chicken breast fillets from Aldi taste just like Chick-fil-a!
Ruth T says
I’ll second that! They’re kinda pricey (for Aldi) but you put it on a brioche bun and it’s sooo good!
Darlene says
Sunday: My daughter made spaghetti sauce. One of the many perks of her living home for a while is the fact that she’s a great cook. She also made ginger cookies.
Monday: We finished the spaghetti sauce.
Tuesday: Fish cakes with a big salad and something else which escapes me. Strawberries maybe?
Wednesday: The last of the fish cakes with spicy french fires and baby spinach.
Thursday: Pizza and more spinach.
Friday: Ramen bowls to use up all the odd bits of veggies in the refrigerator.
Kristen, I found a used copy of the ATK Quick Family cookbook for an excellent price. I already have a list of recipes I want to try. Thanks for recommending it!
Dianne says
Sunday – potstickers, dragon noodles, and strawberries
Monday – Frito pie, green salad, cherries
Tuesday – leftovers
Wednesday – leftover baked chicken, brown rice, green salad, mini Key Lime Pies
Thursday – ravioli, green salad, peaches
Friday – German sausage, sweet potato fries, coleslaw, cherries
Barb says
I spent $53.73 this week.
Saturday-stuffing, sweet potato casserole, butter beans, cranberry/apple/cherry sauce
Sunday-barbecue chicken in the crockpot, baked beans, deviled egg, baked pears
Monday-leftovers
Tuesday-egg scrambled with ham and cheese, waffles, strawberries
Wednesday-pimento cheese on a croissant, watermelon, cookies
Thursday-leftovers
Friday-going to make ham and boiled eggs in cheese sauce served over toast, squash, fruit
Maureen says
We ate dinner at home all week! And thankful too, but tiring. But onward to saving money and not wasting food. I’m so glad I am able to report at eating home all week!
Monday was spaghetti with sauce from the freezer.
Tuesday was marinated pork grilled with peppers and onions and yellow rice.
Wednesday was burgers and corn on the cob (BTW, fresh corn from Aldi is pretty good).
Thursday was stir fry with chicken.
Tonight the American Legion does take out dinners and it’s my husband’s favorite meatloaf and corn. No potatoes, but I’ll make mashed for him.
Tomorrow is pierogis and kielbasa. Found a place that makes HUGE pierogis that are delicious for take out.
Plus I took all the leftover veggies that I could scrap together and roasted them for my lunch for the week.
Bee says
Saturday – Pork loin with a peach compote and roasted veggies
Sunday – Fresh Fish with slow-cooked grits and salad ( just-caught snapper provided by my son)
Monday – Roast chicken, rice and salad
Tuesday – Ribs, roasted potatoes and salad
Wednesday – Coq au vin, rice and salad
Thursday – Chicken tacos with corn, black beans, avocado and tomato
Friday- Stir-fry
Natalie Jenkins says
I got a new cookbook from the library this week, and it had lots of recipes I wanted to try before the book was due!
Sunday: Spinach and ricotta phyllo pie (sounded great, ended up meh).
Monday: Matar Paneer from the cookbook Indian-ish. We agreed that this was the best Indian recipe we’ve eaten at home.
Tuesday: Aloo Gobi (potatoes and cauliflower), also from Indian-ish, also delicious.
Wednesday: Pizza rice (also from Indian-ish….)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Malaysian Ramen (guess which cookbook this recipe comes from?)
Kyndra says
Oh I love Indian-ish, and yes! The Matar paneer is amazing. The parathas are also delicious if you get an opportunity to make them.
Debbie says
Sun-leftovers
Mon and Tues-fish tacos with corn, black beans, rice, salsa
Wed-baked spaghetti from the freezer, fresh corn on the cob, English peas
Thurs-Pork loin from the freezer, roasted vegetables, leftover rice with corn, green beans
Fri-bacon-wrapped chicken breast, leftover roasted veggies, potato wedges
Sat-chicken soup
Holly G says
With just the two of us I usually batch cook a couple meals twice a week and we eat them over the course of the week.
This past week we had:
* cheesy taco pasta (I think this is Recipe from skinny taste? She used turkey but I used beef cause that’s what I had in the freezer.)
* fish tacos and calabacitas
* chicken stir fry over rice.
* rotisserie chicken (hubby had to go pick up his new glasses and couldn’t resist the temptation) and I made mashed potatoes to go with it to use up some potatoes that were getting old and frozen veggies
kristin @ going country says
Calabacitas! Holly, can I ask where you are? I had never heard of calabacitas before moving to New Mexico.
Ellen says
Saturday- Had a small graduation party for DS, we had it catered, Italian. It was so hot and humid!
Sunday- cleaning up from party. And it was my mothers birthday, so we all went over and ordered in Portuguese BBQ.
Monday- BBQ chicken on the grill, buttered noodles, corn. dd had naan pizza since she is not a fan of chicken.
Tuesday- shrimp scampi, I also had some salad. DS had naan pizza.
Wednesdays- hot dogs on the grill, mac & cheese, I had some leftover shrimp that I didn’t cook last night, so made shrimp cocktail.
Thursday- Breakfast for dinner, Apples, French toast.
Friday- Think the boys are going to have hamburgers on the grill, need to figure out for the girls, since we are both not big on burgers.
Sabrenia Baxter says
What is Portuguese BBQ?
kristin @ going country says
It saddens me to think of anyone being allergic to fresh peaches.
Saturday: Chicken, poached in the morning, then I made some of it into chicken salad and some I left plain for two of the kids to dip in a curry dip (just mayonnaise and sweet curry powder). Also bread and butter and pickled carrots (carrot ribbons that sat in the leftover pickling liquid from some pickled garlic scapes I made a month or so ago).
Sunday: Again in the morning, I cooked a large bone-in ham my husband had bought. At the same time I cooked some sliced potatoes in the oven. And then we had some sauteed squash, frozen peas
Monday: Middle son’s birthday meal request was sausage (breakfast sausage patties, because that’s the only kind of sausage I could get), pasta with pesto (hooray for healthy basil plants this year!), carrot sticks with curry dip, ice cream sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies. I made the cookies at 6:30 a.m., before it got too hot.
Tuesday: My husband took all four kids camping. For them, I packed ham and leftover potatoes, antelope bites I had made the day before, garlic bread made on Sunday when I was baking bread. canned sardines, carrot sticks, cookies, and marshmallows. I had leftovers and a cocktail while I watched a movie and it was GLORIOUS.
Wednesday: Antelope goulash with carrots, rice, sauerkraut, and raw green beans from the garden. It had been a few years since I’ve made sauerkraut, and my kids couldn’t remember if they like it. Happily, three out of four did. So I guess I’ll be making more with the three cabbages still in the garden.
Thursday: Pork steaks, rice, sauerkraut, carrot sticks with curry dip
Tonight: Leftovers
Debbie says
I kind of scrolled without reading who submitted this menu, but when I read antelope bites, my first thought was “ this must be Kristen from Going Country”. I can’t say I see that often in menus. Thanks for the smile.
kristin @ going country says
You’re welcome. As Johnny Nogarelli says in “Grease 2,” I got a rep to protect.
Susan says
1. Potluck this evening…bringing a watermelon washed off and a clean knife. 2. Cooked chicken breasts in cream of chicken soup served over rice for two weeks now 3. Quick stop at dollar tree=pizza crusts…elbow mac…lasagna noodles…those nice butterfly shaped puff pastry cookies. 4. New red print cotton table cloth at Tuesday morning close out sale. Gorgeous. 5. A few pennies for floral china 100 year old salt shakers at thrift store..I can get corks at ace hardware