Meal Plans for week of September 11, 2017

Notes:   Eggs continue to be really inexpensive this week.   Our Kroger stores have 18 eggs for .99 if you buy five of anything on their list.   Fred Meyer had more variety than QFC.   They included eggs, bread, sugar, and some bars, and milk.  .  We are on a no spend Spendtember .   I spent 7.50 this week continuing to rotate down  our stock.

• Chicken Parm, salad 
• Pizza
• Chicken nuggets, oven fries, salad or veggie sticks 
• Ham and Potato soup, toasted cheese, 
• Tacos, insta pot refried beans, 
• Salmon, baked.  Rice medley, broccoli 
• Breakfast for dinner :   Waffles 

Notes:   Eggs are .99 for 18 or 12 cents a serving of two.  Pizzas cost 1.04 each, chicken parm is made from chicken patties that are 5 dollars a package on sale at Safeways.  Chicken nuggets are homemade and are from 1.50 a pound chicken breast.   Insta pot refried beans are not cheaper than canned, but have more nutrition and less salt.   Taco shells were purchased on sale with coupons  for .60 cents a package of 12.   Hamburger was 4.00 a pound, and precooked and de-fatted.   

Everything but the salmon is less than a five dollar dinner.  Some of the really inexpensive dishes balance out the one expensive one.    

My meal plans are based on a matrix that is based on protein.   Other people base a matrix on themes or kinds of meals --- like a roast, a roast planned over, a soup etc. or Italian, Tex mex,, etc.   

My mother went through a meal plan where we had the same thing every week --  clam chowder or egg omelette every Friday, pizza on Thursday, hamburgers on Saturday, roast on Sunday. Etc.  

Whatever works, make a plan , or plan to fail.   Meal plans stave off the take out demons, and take away the stress of the What's for Dinner question.   The more organized you are, the less stress you will have.