It’s the end of the month–always a good time to shop the pantry instead of the grocery store. (The freezer is getting so empty I might actually have to clean it.) I’m making my week’s menu based on what we already have in the house, supplemented by what produce is on sale this week at my favorite local market. I’m also skimming the March issue of Food & Wine, which seems a little light on dinner options, but has plenty of intriguing recipes for snacks, breakfast and lunch.
So here’s what I’ve come up with.
Monday: Thai ground beef (from this turkey recipe, but my beef is super lean, so I use whichever I have on hand), coconut rice, spinach salad
Tuesday: Chicken and dumplings (basically this recipe, but with homemade biscuit dough and boneless chicken thighs)
Wednesday: Homemade mini pizzas (I have this dough in the fridge that needs to be used up, and plenty of cheese and odds & ends for toppings)
Thursday: Italian Wedding Soup (using the turkey carcass in the freezer for broth)
Friday: Salmon cakes, dill sauce, roasted cauliflower (extra salmon that I bought last week and leftover potatoes)
I don’t have a plan for the weekend yet. It should be a quiet one, so there’s room to wing it in the kitchen. I think I’m going to try this trick for encouraging some fruit and veggie eating, possibly with some yogurty dip or hummus. And since we are low on snacky things to put in lunch boxes, I may break down and finally try this goldfish cracker recipe, but cut them into little squares (I am not ordering a goldfish cookie cutter).
What’s for dinner at your house?
Home Baked 
I feel so weird doing this since these aren’t my blogs, but it is important to support other momblogs!, Meal planning is a hot topic today…Sarah at http://www.ohanamama.com is using pinterest to plan her meals- brilliant! Also- another Sarah at http://www.peasandthankyou.com has an easy goldfish/cracker recipe that I can attest to!
Enjoy shopping the pantry. It is the most satisfying because it is the cheapest!
Thanks for sharing! I love to check out other people’s meal plans–a great source of ideas!
I have seriously got to do this soon. My freezer has reached max capacity and my pantry has stuff I’ve bought that I want to try but never got around to making. Terrible. I think that is one of my next projects: Sort, clean, organize, inventory and then start to use up!
I am notoriously bad about menu planning, but really hoping to get back into it because it really is useful. I think I like the idea of having certain types of meals on certain days of the week as I’ve heard of some others doing. it would at least give me a direction to go in…although I don’t usually end up making stuff on the original day planned 🙂
I ought to inventory my freezer; maybe I’ll start once I get it empty! I’ve also seen people do certain types of meals on certain days of the week, but I tend to shuffle the days around a little as I go, too. There’s almost always a pasta day and a pizza day, but it’s not always the same day of the week. I also try to alternate meals that I know everyone will eat without complaint with those that are a little unfamiliar.