Menu Planning on a Budget

It seems everyone these days is talking about budgeting. As a household with only one income, this is something we HAVE to do and keep track of. Often I get asked, "how do you spend so little on groceries"?

Luckily, I have small children who will try almost anything and like most foods. If I do try out a new recipe, I make sure it has components they will like or will put something with it they will eat. We also usually have family favorites around a newer meal.

Our menu for the next two weeks is as follows:
(btw we don't normally have things going on every Friday, it just seems these two weeks we do)

Friday--date night
Saturday--roasted chicken, squash casserole, butterbeans
Sunday--quiche with sausage, mushrooms, kale, and swiss
Monday--copycat Olive Garden gnocchi soup, rolls
Tuesday--chicken fried rice
Wednesday--hamburgers, tater tots, fruit salad
Thursday--birthday meal for my Mother in Law seafood pasta, cheddar biscuits, salad, turtle cheesecake
Friday--Church Family Night
Saturday--Cheesy Pork Chops and rice, peas, apple slices
Sunday--butternut, sausage and wild rice soup
Monday--bean burritos with the fixings, guacamole and salsa with tortilla chips
Tuesday--venison pot roast with potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and green beans, cornbread
Wednesday--teriyaki salmon, brown rice, broccoli
Thursday--chicken cordon bleu, mashed potatoes, sautéed greens, carrots


I don't coupon. I don't stockpile sale foods, actually I rarely look at the sales paper. I do plan out our meals; we rarely go out to eat; and I shop Aldi's. Let me first say, Aldi's doesn't have a clue I exist, but I adore them. I'm able to get most of my groceries there and then go normally to Walmart for the rest. I'm a brand name cereal snob, and our local grocery stores are so gosh darn expensive as well as have bad produce. We can't afford to buy organic, but we try to incorporate lots of fruits and veggies throughout the day and cut back on processed food.Very rarely do I buy pre-made food--sauces, dressings, hamburgers, etc. I also try to keep my pantry and spices stocked with staples.

Right now I keep track of our meals on my budget spreadsheet. I have our budget on a spreadsheet so that I know what bills need to get paid out of what paycheck. It works for us and I always know where our money needs to be spent.

I hope to be able to put up some of the recipes I use during these two weeks as well as a couple from last week.

Happy Friday!