Monthly Menu: October

OctoberMenu 

Here are my dinner plans for 31 days of October. A few things you should know:
*I plan for a month, but shop weekly because we like fresh produce that won't last more than a week and to pick up any random items that always seem to be needed.
*My budget for the month is $550 for 2 adults & 4 kids - that includes all home-cooked meals, snacks, school lunches (for 1 student), and dining out. (We usually have cereal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch)
*I love to use leftovers to create another meal (ie. wk 1 I use left over pot roast for beef & peppers and beef stew)
*My meals are pretty simple (most ingredients are listed in the meal item) My go to cookbook is my 1996 Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook (you know, the red checked one) - it was a wedding gift and has been extremely useful.

 Week 1 Menu:
1. Pot Roast, Potatoes & Carrots (6-8 hrs. in crock pot w/ 1 c. water and onion soup mix)
2. Oriental Beef & Peppers on white rice (sauce: soy sauce, peanut butter, brown sugar and garlic)
3. Beef Stew (beef stock, leftover pot roast chunks, potatoes, and carrots, plus green beans, corn, and onions)
4. Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
5. Leftovers
6. Pizza (from favorite local restaurant)
7. Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs
Snacks: Apples, Grapes, Cubed Cheese, Homemade Caramel Popcorn

Week 2 Menu:
8. Whole Roasted Chicken with carrots and rolls
9. Chicken and rice broccoli, cream of chicken soup(use leftover ckn)
10. Chicken Quesos (leftover chicken, plus onion, and cheese grilled inside a tortilla)
11. Pork chops, mashed potatoes and green beans
12. Homemade Chili (hamburger, onions, chili beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, basil and garlic)
13. Chili Dogs (hot dogs, buns, leftover chili & cheese)
14. Eat Out: Burgers & Fries

Snacks: Cinnamon Roll-ups (butter & cinnamon-sugar on a tortilla, rolled-up), Homemade Caramel Popcorn, Homemade Applesauce, Graham Crackers & milk

Week 3 Menu:
15. Grilled Chicken (with Italian dressing marinade), Sweet Corn and Crescent Rolls
16. Chicken Stir Fry (ckn, squash, zucchini, onions and broccoli) with rice
17. BBQ Chicken in Crockpot (4 ckn breasts with fav. BBQ sauce) with coleslaw and baked beans
18. BBQ Chicken pizza - leftover ckn, onions, pineapple, bacon & mozz. cheese on pizza crust (or crescent roll dough)
19. Tacos - beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese, tortillas, salsa, sour cream, black olives
20. Meatloaf, rolls, green beans, and corn
21. Eat Out: Sandwich Shop
Snacks: Homemade granola, pears, bananas, homemade cookies, chips & salsa

Week 4
22. Garlic-Lime Chicken (saute chicken breasts with minced garlic and lime juice), sweet peas & bread & butter
23. Home-grilled Burgers & Tater Tots
24. Spaghetti with meat sauce, corn, bread & butter
25.  Homemade Lasagna, salad, rolls
26. Leftovers
27. Chicken pot pie
28. Eat Out: Sandwich shop
Snacks: Bananas, applesauce, cereal trail mix, cinnamon roll-ups, fruit smoothies

Week 5
29. Roast, potatoes & carrots
30. Philly cheese-steak (leftover roast sauteed with peppers and onions on hoagie with cheese)
31. Steak Quesos (leftover roast with onions, cheese grilled in tortillas)
Snacks: Oranges, pears, homemade granola, yogurt