Menu Plan: Winter (Mar. 3-9)

Strategies used this week:

• We often purchase meat in larger quantities and/or when it's on sale. We then divide it into portions and store it in the freezer. This allows us to take advantage of a lower unit price when available and it is also convenient to have cuts of meat stocked in our freezer when needed. The pork we're having this week is an example of this idea. We purchased a whole tenderloin and then cut it into chops and roasts. Last week we took advantage of chickens being on a Buy One Get One sale. We froze one bird. The other bird was cooked and made into stock. We then portioned and froze the meat and stock. I think we ended up with about 10 cups of shredded chicken and 7+ cups of stock for about $8. The chicken shred will be wonderful to have later to add to pizza, enchiladas, chicken salad, soups, pot pie, and many more dishes. This is one way we make real foods fit a real budget!

• Also, we reserve half our meals to be meatless. Meat is probably the most expensive aspect of meals. And so, we try to also have meals that are well balanced but meatless. (It also balances our differing preferences. My husband the heavy meat-eater and me the lighter, more veggie-eater. ;) )

• We don't  necessarily do "themes" in our weekly menus. However, there are a few meal types that we try to include each week:
• fish
• pasta
• soup (cold weather months)/ salad (warm weather months)

• We had to do a lot of restocking of our pantry this week. Sometimes it just happens that we run out of several items at once. However, by keeping a basic pantry and knowing exactly what items are there (and the prices for purchasing them), we're much better able to predict and anticipate the dry good aspect of our food costs. 

Breakfasts

- Egg Sandwich (scrambled eggs &  cheddar cheese on toast), grapefruit

- Winter Oatmeal (oats, diced apple, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, chopped walnuts, drizzle honey)

- Egg & Veggie Omelet (eggs, swiss cheese, diced tomato, sliced mushrooms, diced bell pepper, S &P to taste), toast, orange

- Toast with peanut butter and diced apples 

- Favorite green smoothie

Lunches

- Florentine ravioli

- Pulled pork, black eye peas, collard greens

- Cannellini soup

- Leftover salmon kedgeree

- Soup leftovers

- leftovers

Dinners

- Oven barbeque pork chops, slaw, cornbread

- Black bean quesadillas topped with salsa, avocado and sour cream (made by adding baking soda to yogurt), green side salad

- Salmon with pepita (pumpkin seeds)-lime butter, wild rice, steamed vegetables

- Root vegetable bake, polenta

- Pulled pork tacos

- Root vegetable bake & polenta leftovers

Snacks

-celery with peanut butter

-oranges

-grapefruit

-cheese slices

-homemade crackers

- Dessert (date night this week!): Molten Lava Cakes with Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream (My hubby certainly knows the way to my heart! :) )

Weekly Menu Planning Sheet

*Note: Reviving Homemaking is not affiliated with any of the sites or companies included in the links, and was not asked to include or recommend them or their recipes in this post. (I simply like what they have to offer!)

Linked up at: A Mama's Story, The Alabaster Jar, The Modest Mom, What Joy Is Mine, The Better Mom, Far Above Rubies, Time-Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Growing Home

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