Menu Plan Monday 2012 ~ Week of January 9th

Last week, I mentioned wanting to keep our food bill down for the next few weeks.  In order to do this, I decided to do another Pantry Challenge.  I seem to do this every few weeks or so.  Either when I decide we need to save money or when there isn't any room in the freezer or pantry for any new purchases.  If I'm lucky, the occasions will coincide with each other.  If I'm not lucky, using from the pantry takes a bit more creativity and will-power. 

Lucky for me, my pantry seems to be overflowing because I'm seriously lacking creativity at the moment! 

Another thing that's working in favor of this month's pantry challenge is that Joe seems to be 100% on board with the idea.  Since he is the one that does about 95% of the food shopping, having him on board is helpful.  I don't know how many times in the past, I've told him to only buy what's on the list, only for him to come home with 3 or 4 extra bags filled with items that "were on sale".

This past week, he really stuck to the list.  I think the only item he purchased that wasn't on the list was a loaf of Italian bread he picked up when I told him we were having chili for dinner.  He was stopping to pick up milk and yogurt on his way home and couldn't resist the loaf of crusty bread.  I'm glad he thought of it, since I actually forgot to add it to the list. 

We didn't fully follow last week's menu plan.  Due to frozen chicken issues, I had to switch the days around a bit.  Plus, I ended up with more chicken than I needed for the week.  I didn't realize how large the two packages were when I brought them up from the freezer. 

I ended up making some Crock Pot Chicken Chili with half of the extra chicken and will made broth and shredded chicken with the rest of the chicken.  Both will be put to use this week, making meals simple so I can get to work taking down the Christmas decorations and a few other things that need to be done around the house. 


Here's a look at our plan for the week: 

• Spanish Chicken Stew.  I like to add more vegetables to the broth made from the Spanish Chicken dish along with any leftover chicken for a nice and hearty stew. 

• Chicken Pot Pie.  I'm really in the mood for comfort foods this week.  And you can't get much more comforting than a homemade pot pie right out of the oven.  Mmmm! 

• Sweet Potato Soup.  This is something new.  I haven't posted it yet, but hope to get it posted this week.  I threw this soup together on Sunday while I prepared Breakfast for Dinner.  I had some extra bacon and 2 sweet potatoes, so I decided to make a quick soup.  Although, we didn't have this for dinner yet, I did take a quick taste and it is really tasty!  I'll make a salad and grilled cheese sandwiches to serve alongside this yummy soup! 

 

• Enchiladas.  Leftover Crock Pot Chicken Chili mixed with some leftover rice will be the perfect filling for enchiladas.  It's been a while since I made them, so we're really looking forward to enchilada night!  Here's another enchilada recipe that we love...and will have to add to our menu plan....SOON!

• Tuna Noodle Casserole.  With the addition of the Chicken Chili last week, we skipped this casserole from last week's menu plan.  After all the chicken in this week's plan, this will be a nice change. 

I originally planned to have a couple of dinners using beef this week, but since we have so many leftovers from last week, I thought it would be a good idea to use  up some of what didn't make it into the freezer for future meals.  Beef next week, for sure! 

I had a few requests for the Gooey Butter Cake recipe I mentioned in last week's plan.  I'll be getting that posted this week. 

Now that you've seen what I'm bringing to the table this week, leave a comment letting us know what's on your menu this week! 


If you are still looking for recipes or menu planning inspiration, you can follow me over to Menu Plan Monday hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie or you can check out our past menu plans.