Sunday, July 20, 2008

Weekly Menu and The Budget Challenge

This weeks menu is inspired by the beginning of my challenge to myself to spend no more than $120 a week on groceries. Ideally I am trying to do it for no more than $100 (which so far for this week I have made the $100 goal). Consider it a kind of a test on myself for me to help other people understand how it can work.
The way I set it up is I shop only the perimeter of the store (so fresh produce, meat, dairy and whole grains - no crackers, chips or sweets, etc). I went with what was on sale for meat and dairy and this week with the whole grains I figure I am going to get my carbs from lentils and rice and starchy vegetables. All my produce was purchased from the farmers market (spent under $30 there and that included some nice Harley Farms goat cheese). We also made some hearty chili this weekend that can be used a few different ways and was a good way to stretch the meat.
So, here is the weekly plan:
Monday - Chicken noodle bowls with soba noodles, salad and misc other veg with fish sauce mixture
Tuesday -Lamb and beef chili (inspired by a Tyler Florence recipe) over grilled polenta squares with sauteed zucchini and roast brussel sprouts
Wednesday - chicken noodle Vietnamese soup with mixed greens
Thursday - Lamb and beef chili with beans over roasted zucchini, onions and eggplant
Friday - Roasted chicken with roast brussel sprouts, carrots and potatoes, and a large green salad, and pasta with Nonnie's sauce (I make large batches of this and keep jars of this in the freezer for a good comforting meal - everyone loves it and we are having friends over :-) )

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