When I sit down to put a menu together, I usually will look at my calendar to see what the week ahead looks like, how busy it will be, what things are going on in the evenings. These all factor into how “fancy” I will or will not make the menu. Budget is also a factor. How’s the grocery budget looking? Are we getting close to the max amount I want to spend this month? How can I create a menu to be more frugal or budget friendly?
This is the last full week of May so I may err on the side of frugal and keep things simple. It’s not too busy of a week but I find that I like to keep dinners simple anyway so I don’t have a ton of prep work or cleanup. That post nap/pre-dinner can be a little nuts around here.
Avocado Pasta with chicken (make extra chicken for a leftovers meal)
Instant Pot Lemon Pepper Salmon
Breakfast Tacos
Leftovers
I am going to keep at the meal prep for my lunches. It’s been great having a salad ready to go that I can add extra toppings to. I will probably use leftover meatloaf muffins for lunches. For James’ lunches he takes a bowl sandwich – chopped lettuce, deli meat, tomatoes and a pickle. It’s a pretty easy thing to throw together in the morning or the night before if I am feeling productive.
I’ve gotten better at making snacks for the boys too which has cut back on having to buy snack bars and other pre-packaged items. I am still making the granola bars but may try something a little different when they run out. I also made a batch of these muffins yesterday which they love.
So, that’s the menu for this week! Now that it’s complete, I am going to create a grocery list and give HEB curbside pick up a try tomorrow.
Elizabeth Hafner 