As I mentioned before, we had some added (and unexpected) expenses this month. Eating and cooking from the pantry and freezer helped a lot this month.
Dinners last week consisted of a few pantry meals. Some meals were healthier than others but all were budget-friendly!
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Monday: Rotisserie Chicken, Rice Pilaf, green beans.
Several years ago, my parents bought us a Ronco Rotisserie Oven. You know, set it and forget it. In all those years, we really only ever used it for hot dogs. We decided this summer that we're going to use it for other things.
I LOVED how this whole chicken turned out! Even better than the ones from Costco!
This was such an easy meal. Even better, it was a complete meal from the freezer!
Tuesday: Leftover Night. Pork Chops, Spaghetti Squash, Steamed Veggies.
Come back this week to find out more about the sauce we used for the pork chops!
Also, I'm going to show you how I cook a spaghetti squash this week!
Wednesday: Chili Macaroni.
This is a hearty, one-pot meal that uses 1/2 a box of macaroni and less than a pound of ground meat along with other ingredients that are easily found in the pantry.
I used lean ground beef, but I'm sure it would be super-tasty with ground turkey or chicken for less calories!
Thursday: Red Bean & Rice Soup served with Quesadillas. (recipes for both will be coming soon!)
I must be crazy! We were in the middle of a heat wave last week and I served soup for dinner! But after finding the ingredients for a super-simple soup recipe in my freezer and pantry, I just couldn't resist serving it up for dinner with some tasty quesadillas on the side!
Quesadillas are perfect served alone or along with a nice bowl of soup or chili. They are also a great way to finish up the almost-forgotten cheese in the deli drawer of the fridge before the expiration date!
Friday: Leftover Night.
Leftover night isn't always just about leftovers. Sometimes, it ends up being a "fend for yourself" sort of night. This is what we did on Friday.
Grace and I went out for part of the day and had a late lunch. By the time dinner rolled around, I was too tired and hot to deal with it.
I reheated some pasta for Grace, popped the Chili Macaroni into the microwave for Joe and threw together a fruit salad for myself. I also enjoyed a bowl of cereal with some fresh strawberries and skim milk.
Saturday: Pizza delivery.
We had a really busy day on Saturday. We planned to hit a favorite pizza shop on our way home from a family birthday party. After such a hot day outside, we were too sweaty to comfortably eat in a restaurant (even if it was just a pizza buffet). We ordered pizza delivery instead once we were home.
I hated breaking from the pantry challenge, but I really just could not cook after being out in the overwhelming heat. I just don't handle the heat very well.
Sunday: Bologna and Cheese Sandwiches, Amish Macaroni Salad.
Grace had us up early on Sunday. She seemed to really just want to hang out with her daddy, so I took advantage of the situation and cleaned her room from top to bottom. When I finished her room, I picked up the toys that were strewn across the rest of the house and ran the vacuum. I even managed to empty and reload the dishwasher. It felt great to be able to clean without being pulled here or there by Miss Grace.
Since I focused on cleaning, I forgot to consider dinner. One of my favorite summer meals is a simple bologna sandwich. So, when Joe ran to the supermarket to pick up some lettuce and milk, I asked him to pick up some hoagie rolls, bologna and American Cheese. Since Giant has the best Amish Macaroni Salad, he picked up a container of that too.
Even though I'm a bit late in sharing this Menu Plan Monday post, I'll still be linking up with many other bloggers over at I'm an Organizing Junkie!
2 comments:
Goodness! Thah chicken!! It looks so professional! Did you do anything special with it (except for putting it in that oven-I-will-need-to-have-one-day)?
The quesadillas look yummie too!!
The chicken looks delish!
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