Information from friends - Menu planning and food ideas

December: 2009
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Three very smart friends recommended making and sticking to a menu. This seems like a good financial idea as well as an organizational brainstorm. That way we can try to clear out our freezer and cook smarter! (ex. brown hamburger for several meals at one time, or make chicken noodle soup after cooking a chicken for a previous meal - providing broth and meat). I take credit for nothing below. If a reader would like to take credit (you know who you are) - just add it to the comment section.

One main idea these two friends shared is SHOP LESS!
Here are some details (copied from their email)

When I cook, I try to make 4 meals at a time. Current favorite cook ahead meals are: Shepherd's Pie, Mexican Tamale Pancakes, Crock Pot meals. Stand by quick meals: Beans and Rice, quick "Parmesan". Take prepare eggplant, chicken patties or turkey patties a, add sauce and cheese and put in toaster oven or regular oven, turkey meatballs from Costco (use in spaghetti, add to BBQ sauce, or plain with mashed potatoes, etc.). For lunches at home, I've tried to simplify. I have salad (prewashed mixed greens from Costco, shredded cabbage and some form of protein on top) and kids have hummus or lunchmeat, bread/crackers, fruit and veggies. On weekend we open soup or chili (no great sodium content, but they make some better soups these days and if I cook chicken in crock pot I save broth and dumped in noodles or rice and frozen veggies). It also works well to "doctor" canned soup by adding frozen veggies or canned beans.

M* has in the computer many of the meals we typically eat and what is needed to make those. Every 2 weeks he prints that list off, crosses out what we have, and circles what we need. It seems to work well for us. It took a little time to get all that info in the computer, but now it's very easy to just print it out.

I've attached my monthly menus….I was printing out blank calendars and then filling them in w/pen or pencil. I still do that but realized I could easily go back in to the file and "update" it with the entrees we served. If it says "open" we were either out of town, had other meal plans or the entrée just wasn't a huge hit. J If you really want to be "budget" conscious, I put my grocery list on an Excel spreadsheet and then scan the ads – putting in the lowest price I find and changing it when I find a better deal. Then you can take the ads to Wal-Mart (that's the only place that price matches around here) and do your shopping. I was experimenting with doing this bi-weekly and trying to determine if the bottom line changed enough, but found that we would run out of time to do the shopping if it wasn't all done at the beginning of the month, and then we would end up drive-thru dining, which is MUCH more expensive.

Crock Pot recipes are also a huge factor in my life.
Crock Pot Recipes

All soups can be made in the crock pot – just put your normal ingredients in and put them on low for the day.

Pork Chops & Mushroom Gravy

Brown your pork chops and put them in the crock pot. Cover with a large can of cr. of mushroom soup on low for the day. Serve with mashed potatoes. (Potatoes can be boiled, mashed & frozen ahead of time (I often make a double batch) and then defrosted in the microwave. Add milk if they seem too dry.

French Dip Sandwiches

Put a roast (cheap is fine – it's going to cook all day) w/one can of Beef Consume, one can of French onion, & one can of beef broth. Shred beef and serve on hard rolls w/juice to dip in.

Beef Stroganoff

Dice the roast (I do mine bite size to eliminate cutting it again at the table for the little one). Put it in the crock pot and cover w/large can cr. of mushroom, 2 cans mushroom pieces, pkg dry onion soup mix, salt, pepper and one cup of wine.

Crock Pot Lasagna

Break up 8 uncooked lasagna noodles. Place half in the bottom of the crock pot. Brown hamburger (can mix w/half ground turkey (economical) or use ground Italian sausage (sometimes cheaper, tastier) w/1 tsp. Italian seasoning. Spread half over noodles. Layer spaghetti sauce, canned mushrooms, ricotta cheese & mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Cook on low about 5 hrs. (I usually use a whole jar/can of spaghetti sauce, sm. Can mushrooms – not a fave of some of the kids, the whole container of ricotta and a whole 2 c. bag of moz.)

Pizza Rigatoni

1 ½ lb. Italian sausage, browned; 3 c uncooked rigatoni noodles; 4 c. shredded moz. Cheese; sm can cr. of mushroom soup; 2 cans (15 oz. & 8 oz.) pizza sauce; 3 ½ oz. pepperoni; 1 can pitted ripe olives drained & halved.

Layer ½ of all ingredients in the above order. Repeat layers. Cover & cook on low for 4 hrs.

Chicken & Stuffing (Found out my kids don't like stuffing, but Bri & I liked it)

Put 6 boneless chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot. Add a sm. Can cr. of chicken soup. In another bowl mix 1 ¼ c water, ¼ c melted butter & a 6 oz. pkg. of stuffing mix. Cover the chicken and cook on low for 4 hrs.

Golden Chicken & Noodles

Put 6 boneless chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot. Mix 2 cans condensed broccoli cheese soup with 2 c. milk, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. dried basil & 1/8 tsp. pepper. Put over chicken and cook on high for 1 hr, turn to low and cook 5 to 6 hrs. Serve over noodles. (I've almost always skipped the 1 hr. on high….just do it all on low for 6 – 8 hrs.)

Chipotle Rib Sandwiches

Slice a sm. onion into bottom of Crock pot. Put 3 ½ lbs. beef short ribs in crock pot, meaty side up. Sprinkle w/pkg. of beef onion soup mix, add 16 oz. jar of chipotle salsa (Pace) & ½ c. ale-style beer. Cook for 10-12 hrs on low. Shred meat to serve on hard rolls. *I didn't care for this one – thought it was too bitter, but then I added the whole beer – not just ½ c. Brian & the boys liked it, I don't remember coryn & Levi's vote.

Ziti w/Spicy Ragout

Cook 1 lb. dried ziti and add to crock pot. Brown 1 ¼ lb. hot Italian sausage, drain & add to crock pot. Add 1 jar spicy red pepper pasta sauce, 2 c. shredded Italian cheese blend & 1 c. red wine (merlot). Stir together and cook on low for 2 – 4 hrs. Serve w/shredded Parmesan cheese.

Zinfandel-Braised Pork Loin

Sprinkle 3 ½ lb. double pork loin roast w/1 pkg. Italian herb marinade mix and set aside. Combine 1 cored & thickly sliced apple 1 onion thickly sliced in bottom of crock pot. Add 1 ½ c. Zinfandel and put roast on top. Cook on low for 6 – 8 hrs. (you are supposed to serve the apples & onions w/the juices reduced to half….knowing my kids I didn't even waste the time – chalked it up a loss, but the roast was really good)

Carrot Spoon Cake

Spray crock pot w/cooking spray. In a lg. mixing bowl combine 1 pkg spice cake mix, 2 c. shredded carrots, sm box instant butterscotch pudding,4 lg eggs, 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, 1 c. sour cream, 1 c. water & ¾ c. canola oil. Beat on high for 2 min. Cook on low for 4 ½ - 6 hrs. Serve w/whipped cream.

Chocolate Pudding Cake

Spray crock pot w/cooking spray. Mix 1 pkg choc. Cake mix, 1 pkg instant chocolate pudding mix, 2 c. sour cream, 4 eggs, 1 c. water & ¾ c.veg. oil for 2 minutes. Stir in 1 c. choc. Chips. Spray crock pot w/cooking spray and add mixture. Cook on low for 6 – 7 hrs.

Hot Cocoa Cake

Spray crock pot w/cooking spray. On the stove, heat 2 c. milk to almost boiling and set aside (I have no idea why you do this!) In lg. mixing bowl combine 1 pkg choc. Cake mix, 1 ¼ c. water, 3 lg. eggs, and 1/3 c. canola oil. Mix on med. for 2 min. Transfer to crock pot. Sprinkle 1 box cook & serve choc. Pudding mix over batter & slowly pour in hot milk. Cover & cook on low for 4 hrs. Turn off crock pot & sprinkle cake / 1 c. marshmallows. Let stand for 5 min. Serve warm by scooping out cake & serving w/additional marshmallows & choc. Syrup. Can also let cool completely and sliced to serve

Here are a few other good recipes I received:
Easy supper: Zippy Chick. 1/2 c apricot preserves, 1/2 c catalina dressing, 1/2 package onion soup mix. Mix these together and pour over 4 chicken breasts. Bake 350 for 50 minutes. Serve with broccoli and rice.

Best recipe idea: boneless pork chops, favorite bbq sauce. Put pork chops in crockpot for at least 3 hrs high...put to low later and then to warm. Serve over rice...a no brainer and my kids love this. Little mess.....

Taco Soup: boil a chicken (save the broth) de-bone and chop chicken (a little time consuming) add 1pkg. taco seasoning 1pkg. ranch seasoning 1 onion, 1 can corn 2 cans chili beans, 1 jar salsa, 1 can chopped green chillies. Top w/ fritos, sour cream, and cheese

One thing we do is get turkey kabob (?) and saute that with chopped onion. Then mix that with mac and cheese and frozen peas. Total comfort food.

Another thing I have recently started doing is cooking and freezing meals with two friends of mine. It's sort of like Once-a-Month cooking (they have a website) but another good book is "Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer". You can start out slow, just making double batches of dinners here and there, and gradually building a back-up stock of dinners. Right now, we have frozen spaghetti sauce in the freezer stacked up in flat ziploc bags. The best part about this is that I sneak in frozen spinach and fresh carrots chopped up very finely into the sauce. It makes the sauce heartier and sneaks veggies into my daughter, who LOVES my spaghetti and always asks for it. :) I actually use my favorite Ragu sauce, but add sweet Italian sausage that I cook in the oven in a baking pan to cut down on the mess (rather than use a skillet and do it stove top), and then the secret veggies. Heat up the sauce to cook the veggies a bit, and then let cool and spoon into quart (or you might use gallon size) ziploc bags.