I hope everyone had a nice weekend! Here’s our menus for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday:
Friday –
Breakfast: I had yogurt, while Jai opted for leftover casserole.
Lunch: I had a piece of pizza leftover from the night before, along with an organic fruit pouch and a glass of coke.
Jai had more casserole. He could have eaten something else, but he really liked the casserole!
Dinner: I opted for my favorite quick-and-easy stockpile meal for hectic nights – Pasta Roni. I used a box of Nature’s Way Mushrooms in Cream Sauce, and added two cans of tuna and some green olives. I served this with some salad that needed to be used up.
(The second plate is empty because Jai hadn’t gotten back from work yet!)
Saturday –
Breakfast: I wasn’t feeling so hot, so I skipped breakfast. Jai ate the rest of that casserole!
Lunch: Since I was still feeling a bit off, I just wanted something simple and plain for lunch – so we had fresh, warm homemade bread served with a choice of butter, jam or peanut butter and applesauce.
Dinner: That afternoon, I went to the store and bought chicken, pork, and a gallon of milk for $7.86. This was my last shopping trip for the week, bringing my final grocery total for the week to $16.90 – far below our $50 allotment. Since I’d had a pretty rotten week, we decided to take the leftover money in our budget and have some fun. We went out for dinner to a restaurant we like:
We spent $21.55 for two hamburgers and fries, a beer, and tip. After dinner, we also got two ice cream cones for $3.08. Our final total for the week was $41.53.
It was a fun night out – sticking to a budget doesn’t necessarily have to mean sacrificing things you enjoy.
Sunday –
We had a nice brunch of pancakes:
When I’m making pancakes for just the two of us, I find it easier to make one big pancake and cut it in half. (When I have company over, I make smaller ones and keep them on a warm plate in the oven until they’re all finished.) I had a lot of batter left, and there were several more pancakes made after I snapped this picture!
Dinner:
I used the chicken I had bought on Saturday to make a big pan of Garlic Chicken and Roast Potatoes:
This chicken is slow-cooked, and so good, especially with fresh-pulled garlic from my garden.
This is an example of one way to save on meat. This package of drumsticks only cost $4.01, and makes a big meal – especially when combined with potatoes, a frugal staple. You could make this meal for about $5, and you get a lot of food for your money. Since there’s only two of us, we’ll get a few meals out of leftovers from this dish, but it could easily serve a larger family.
