Meal Planning: Month of May

By Tiffany, on May 7th, 2012

(Tilapia with Lemon Caper Pasta, Green Beans with Garlic)

Whoo-wee! Have I got some seriously delicious meals planned for this month! I didn’t exactly set out and seek to find a schlew of new recipes, but it sure does look that way!

I’ve turned the page for a new month and a new budget… and a confession.

I went over budget by $65 last month.

*sigh*

I’m certainly not thrilled (see what happens when you don’t write it all down?!), but I know from experience that saving money is a marathon, not a sprint. The more we practice, the better we fine tune our skills and become better savers.

On the bright side, going over budget has allowed us to be stocked up on flour, granola bars, cereal, honey, pasta, tomatoes and other items that will last us well beyond one month. And to help compensate for going over last month, I’m putting in extra effort to plan around what we already have in the house.

I also learned a few lessons amidst the calculator grumbling and banging, and I’ll share those with you tomorrow, but we’re keeping the focus on fun stuff today – FOOD!

You’ll notice a pasta dish three of the four weeks, pork that was marked down a few weeks ago and I’ve got a new spin on our favorite tacos and enchiladas – and I always have ingredients for these dishes in the pantry. I even have many of the “smaller” ingredients for most of these dishes and making substitutions whenever possible for whatever I already have in the fridge/freezer/pantry. We’ll probably have company over one night this month, and there’s a good chance we’ll go over to a friend’s house too, but despite this, I’m going to work hard to come in under budget and make up for last month’s failure miss.

Week 1

(S) Family Dinner

(M) Breakfast Pies w/Hash Browns (using homemade biscuits and cheddar cheese from freezer)
–> this will become a batch cooking session for the freezer if the kids like them

(T) Leftovers

(W) Spaghetti

(Th) Leftovers

(F) Pizza

(S) Pulled BBQ Pork Sandwiches, Homemade Macaroni and Cheese, Veggie

(Greek Couscous)

Week 2

(S) Family Dinner

(M) Sweet & Sour Pork, white rice (using pork chops from freezer and frozen stir-fry veggie blend)

(T) Leftovers

(W) Pesto Ranch Cheesy Pasta Bake (not sure if using fresh or frozen veggie yet, and using Italian cheese blend in freezer)

(Th) Leftovers

(F) Pizza

(S) Company’s Coming Over: Grilled Spicy Chicken Legs, Greek Couscous, Veggie, Salad, Homemade Rolls

(Strawberry Pretzel Salad)

Week 3

(S) Family Dinner

(M) Salsa Verde Chicken (using Leftover Spicy Grilled Chicken from Saturday), Southwestern Corn, Homemade Corn Tortillas, Coconut Rice, Homemade Salsa with Tortilla Chips

(T) Leftovers

(W) Vegetable Curry

(Th) Leftovers

(F) Pizza

(S) Chicken & Tilapia Lemon Caper Pasta

*** If we attend a Memorial Day Potluck, I plan to bring Strawberry Pretzel Salad and/or Garlicky Pasta Salad.