I’ll admit it. Menu planning hadn’t even entered my mind until I sat down just now. It’s amazing how easy it is to get out of routine during vacation times.
But since we have about five days until payday, and we “dedicated” a portion of our grocery budget to our vacation, I’m planning to stretch what we have in the pantry and freezer to make it through the week without having to really shop.
And what do we have? Plenty of pre-cooked chicken breasts and pre-cooked ground beef.
Monday – Chicken Fried Rice using the pre-cooked chicken breasts and some already-cooked rice that’s in the freezer. Family favorite ready in minutes using things we generally have on hand.
Tuesday – Spaghetti. I don’t have any jarred spaghetti sauce, but I do have canned tomatoes. I prefer my own homemade sauce anyway, but sometimes it takes some motivation to make it.
Wednesday – Something with Wacky-Mac, garlic and olive oil, and sliced chicken breasts. I currently don’t have a recipe, so I can guarantee creativity, though I can’t guarantee fabulousness.
Thursday – Hamburger patties (pre-cooked) in mushroom gravy over mashed potatoes.
Friday – Eat out!
Saturday – Grilled out steaks with baked potatoes.
Sunday – Dinner at a friend’s house.
Everything on my list can be made using what we have in the pantry and freezer, throwing in some canned or frozen veggies to complete the meals. Perfect for a typical summer week of pool-going. Who wants to go to the store anyway, when you can spend time with your kiddos? (While time at the store can also be time with your kids, who really wants to spend time with with a crazy-eyed mommy?)
I’m linking this post up at Menu Plan Monday over at orgjunkie.com.
Edited to add: I just linked up at MPM, and she is using the picture link-thingy. Since there’s no pics in this post, I used one from my Chicken Stir-Fry Tutorial, which is a little like chicken fried rice, right?
This week we're stretching out what we already have too.
I havent ever made chicken fried rice before but would love to try sometime. What seasoning do you for the rice?
Mmmmmm this sounds so good! I really need to start making a menu for the week!
Honestly, I just do some onions and garlic with the chicken, and then some soy sauce on the rice, until it turns the color I want. Maybe I should do a "how-to" post on chicken fried rice too! As simple as it is, it took me forever to get it right.