Menu Plan Monday 2013 ~ week of December 31 (2012)

Since today is the last day of the year and the rest of the week begins the new year, I figure it's safe to date this menu plan with 2013.  The number thirteen is a good number for our family and I hope to make it a great  year!  More about that in another post!  For now, I'm working on getting back on track with my menu planning and keeping our grocery bill as low as possible, something I plan to do all year long!

I've been away from menu planning and cooking for over a month now and it's about time for me to get back into the swing of things.  I already started by making a wonderfully frugal and flavorful soup that I'll be sharing with you all later this week.  Making that pot of soup was all I needed to get me interested in getting back into the kitchen to whip up some great meals for the next several weeks!

Here's what's cookin' this week:

Monday 

Chipotle Turkey Chili 

Our days of going out and partying on New Year's Eve are over!  

Long ago, we started a tradition of getting together with friends 

and preparing a huge meal of all of our favorites.  

This year, it'll just be the three of us.  

We'll snuggle on the couch with a movie 

and MAYBE make it 'til midnight!
*We ended up having a short visit with friends
over some Chinese takeout.
At 9pm, it's still not certain if we'll last 'til midnight!  

Tuesday 

photo credit:  Extraordinary Life 

 Crock Pot Pork and Sauerkraut

I've been in the mood for pork and sauerkraut lately. 

So I was really pleased when I was taking inventory of our chest freezer 

in the basement and found a pork loin that I had forgotten about!  

Some mashed potatoes and a frozen veggie will finish off this 

delicious, comfort-food meal!  

Wednesday

Polish Cabbage Noodles 

Since we have leftover ham in the freezer,

I want to make this dish using some ham in this recipe 

in place of the turkey bacon that I usually use.  

I have all the ingredients on-hand, so this will be both easy and frugal!  

Thursday 

Chicken 'n' Dumplings 

Right now, as I am typing up this menu plan, 

I am making broth from a meaty rotisserie chicken carcass.  

I will pick the meat from the bones, strain the homemade broth 

and set aside in the fridge for this recipe.  

Leftovers will be turned into a soup (shown above) 

and put in the freezer for next week!  

Friday 

Leftover Night.  

With all of the wonderful meals made throughout the week, 

there's bound to be a lot of leftovers!  

I LOVE leftovers!  

Not only does it use up stuff from the fridge so it doesn't go to waste, 

it also allows me to have an easy, no-cook night!  

Saturday 

Bacon, Potato and Egg Skillet

While I prefer to use regular bacon for this recipe 

since the grease is so great for frying up those potatoes, 

I'll be using either turkey bacon or leftover ham this time.

Sunday

I'm still undecided on dinner for this night.  

I'd love to do a big Sunday dinner and invite my family over

but we might actually be out of town for the day. 

(Depending on the hubby's schedule.)  

In the end, it might just be another leftover night!  

Now that you know what we're eating this week, let us know in the comments what's for dinner at your house this week! Or, if you need more menu planning inspiration? Follow me over to Menu Plan Monday hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie! Or, if you like what you see here, you can check out my past menu plans.

You can also find this week's menu plan linked to On the Menu Monday hosted by Yvonne at Stone Gable.