Meal Plans

Time for everyone’s favorite blog feature: what the Loys are having for dinner this week. Here it is:

Thursday: pizza and apples
Friday: sausage, spinach and egg casserole and oranges
Saturday: black bean veggie burgers and pears
Sunday: Thai chicken with rice and broccoli
Monday: creamy cheese ravioli spinach bake and carrot sticks
Tuesday: spaghetti and meatballs, oranges
Wednesday: leftovers

Our grocery tab this week? $44.95

So where am I getting my awesome recipes? I’ve been copying some good ones out of a cookbook called The Six O’Clock Scramble that I checked out of the Denver Public Library. Everything I’ve tried so far I’ve liked and the recipes have been easy enough for me to cook them with my six-month-old strapped to my chest and two hungry preschoolers underfoot.

My secrets to a low grocery bill this week? First, use what you’ve got. I made potatoes and kielbasa last week. The leftover kielbasa is going into my egg casserole. Tada! I also stumbled on a BOGO sale for chicken last week, so I’m using chicken I stuck in the freezer for our Thai chicken dinner on Sunday. I bought 8lbs of oranges last week. We’re still eating them and will be for awhile. A little planning goes a long way toward keeping your grocery bill down. I also write on my weekly plan any food I still have in the freezer that I need to use in upcoming meal plans. I also found organic bananas on sale for $.35/lb so the girls will be eating some variation of banana bread for breakfast after they finish their pumpkin bread.

So confession time. My grocery bill is artificially low for one reason. I have utilitarian pets. Long story short, I sold a bit of gold because prices are so nice and I bought myself a small chicken coop with the proceeds. We have a backyard flock of four little hens that produce about 15 eggs a week in the winter. Since the chickens are pets, I don’t count the cost of their feed toward the grocery budget, particularly because they eat so many kitchen scraps. It’s a pretty sweet deal. Those uneaten crusts left behind by the kids get fed to the chickens who squirt out eggs a couple times a week. Nice, eh?

Here’s the recipe for the black bean burgers:

1 can black beans
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2c minced red onion
1/2c bread crumbs
1/4tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt and pepper
1/4c cornmeal
3 tbsp oil

Mash beans with fork. Add all ingredients save for the cornmeal and oil. Stir. Make patties. Coat patties with cornmeal. Heat oil. Fry patties over medium heat for 3 minutes/side. Tada! Dinner.

This cookbook is designed for those of us with picky eaters so you may want to boost your spices if you like, I dunno, flavor. 🙂 I like to top my veggie burgers with guacamole (avocado + lime + cilantro + salt = yum). Happy eating!