Random musings & rants of a girl who is attempting to do and have it all while raising her little person.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Meal Plan for the Week of January 17th

We're making a concerted effort these days to do the following:
  • Weekly Meal Planning
  • Grocery Shopping Once Per Week
  • Leftovers for Lunches
While we've always grocery shopped on a fairly regular basis, it was always when we were in desperate need of everything and we never went with a meal plan in hand. We'd toss out ideas as we walked the grocery store and in turn, we tossed anything & everything into the shopping cart. This meant we'd have a lot of random items, an abundance of fruit & vegetables and no clear direction. I found that I was throwing out a lot of produce AND making multiple (and costly) trips to the store each week to pick up miscellaneous items.

We're on our 3rd week of (official) meal planning and I just wrote out our grocery list for tomorrow, which is surprisingly small. Our shop last week was rather big so I'm happy to see a lot of carryover that I'll put to use this week. I'm also having a lot of fun with this because it's the push I need to peruse my cookbooks and magazines in a quest to try new things.

Here's a look at what's on the menu this week:

Sunday - Grilled cheese sandwiches, soup & salad.
*I'll be at a baby shower during the afternoon and D will likely meet a friend for brunch so we will have a simple dinner.

Monday - Southwestern Chicken & Black Bean Stew

Tuesday - Pork Scaloppine with Proscuitto, Sage & Caramelized Lemon

Wednesday - Campanelle with Italian Sausage & Leeks

Thursday - Spiced Lentil Soup with Minted Yoghurt

Friday - Classic but Quick Beef Stew

I'm pleased that I have almost all the ingredients needed for sides with the dishes above (salad, vegetables, etc.) as well as the majority of the fresh herbs, spices & other random ingredients. It's a nice feeling knowing that we'll be grabbing the essentials with minimal waste & cost. Each dish should also provide enough leftovers for D's lunches (again, a cost savings).

All recipes are from Fine Cooking and are in my rotation for the very first time. Check back for reviews!


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