Meal Plan Monday #9

Well, another week has flown by. There will gradually be a change in my meal planning. I will definitely be trying to incorporate more grilling meals. The kids will be happy--less dishes to clean up after dinner!

I used to have great success meal planning for two weeks at a time--I hope to get back to that soon. A quick trip in between the two weeks to get fresh perishables and we're good to go. I think I spend less money that way, but sometimes I feel like it's not really worth it for two reasons. One, it takes much longer--which leaves me a bit crabby by the end. Two hours grocery shopping, half an hour in the checkout, and an hour schlepping it all in and putting it away often equals a very grumpy Mommy! Maybe in the summer when the kids are home to help put away I might get back to it. Also, I wasn't good at estimating when we would "bump" meals to utilize leftovers, so I ended up over buying--usually not a big problem. I'm also trying to decide where I'm going to be shopping. When we were getting ready for DD's party this past weekend, I had to run into a Super Walmart at the last minute to get a few things. I have not shopped at a Walmart in ages, partially because of location, partially because of the whole "walmart" thing, and partially because our local Kroger store has several promotions that keep me coming back. For every $100 I put on my Kroger gift card, my DD earns $5 for her marching band account. Money we can use for marching band expenses, uniforms, private lessons, anything band related. That adds up! Also, they have a pretty good fuel rewards program that has me earning 50 cents off per gallon for 4 fill-ups most months. That adds up too! When I ran into that Walmart though, I felt a bit like all bets are off. Boy was it cheap. I would estimate the few items I saw were running 30% below the Kroger I shop at. Now I realize that not everything would be that much less, and indeed, I'm sure some things would be slightly more, but it makes me question how much are those *extras* really costing me? I'm going to have to chew on this a bit. Let me know if you have an opinion on the whole "where to shop" topic.

Finally, here's my plan for the coming week. For more Meal Plan Monday, head over to organizing junkie's. This week my son and his wife will be staying with us Monday and Friday, and I will be watching my grandson Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Yeah! We're all really, really looking forward to having him. I may even end up having DS play hookie on Tuesday and taking off for the zoo. Mattie has a peanut allergy, so we will definitely not be eating out, and will be watching our ingredient lists like crazy.

Monday--London Broil, baked potatoes, asparagus
Tuesday--fish on the grill (I'll see what looks good when I get there), roasted vegetable rice, squash and zucchini
Wednesday--Ravioli w/marinara, french bread, broccoli sauteed with garlic
Thursday--Pepper steak, rice
Friday--Burgers on the grill, fruit salad, corn on the cob
Saturday lunch--crockpot chicken sandwiches, chips, fruit, veggies
Saturday dinner-- (DS's 24th birthday celebration) BBQ ribs**, oven fries, Paula Deen's mac and cheese, cole slaw, deviled eggs, watermelon, corn on the cob--I'll only make all this if DS and family are staying for dinner, otherwise, I'll pare it down a bit. We were lucky enough to dine at the Lady and Sons while on vacation last summer--I had really low expectations, and it was wonderful! It's worth jumping through the hoops to eat there if you're ever in Savannah.
Sunday lunch--Grilled chicken salads, french bread
dinner--out to Olive Garden after the 5 year old's dance recital. Her favorite restaurant. She is too excited about both these events!

**BBQ rib recipe. Slice one or two onions. Place on a large sheet pan. Season ribs well with salt and pepper. Place ribs on top of onions. Pour one beer into pan, do not pour on ribs. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 300 degrees for 3 hours. Discard liquid and onions. Coat ribs with barbecue sauce--we're going to try Sweet Ray's. Heat on grill or under broiler until warmed through and sauce is thickened.

Have a terrific week.