A Budget Friendly Menu Monday

During December I really try to keep our weekly meals as simple and inexpensive as possible. My sister shared a great tip with me recently – if she buys something for a new recipe (or an ingredient that she doesn’t usually keep stocked in her pantry), she plans another meal the same week using that ingredient.

Isn’t that such a smart idea? Here’s how I used that tip last week: I bought frozen tater tots for the Cheeseburger Tater Tot Cups (another recommendation from my sister). I also bought hot dogs and buns for Paul’s lunches. My “use it up” meal was Sloppy Joes – served on leftover hot dog buns, with the extra tater tots as my side dish!

Another night I picked up a rotisserie chicken on the way home from work. We ate the dark meat for supper, and after we ate I cut the rest of the meat off the bird and shredded it. The next day it was ready to be dumped into my chicken noodle soup! If you find that getting the meat off your chicken takes forever, plan ahead and do it the day before you need it in your recipe. 🙂

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On The Menu

Breakfast:

• Green Smoothies
• Oatmeal

Lunch:

• Leftovers
• Hot Dogs (Paul’s favorite meal of all time)

Supper:

• Cheeseburger Tater Tot Cups / Spinach Salad
• *Simply Delicious Chicken Noodle Soup (I use egg noodles instead of rice & added fresh spinach) / Bacon Cheddar Cheese Ball
• *Rotisserie Chicken / Southern Green Beans / Buttered Parsley Potatoes
• Spaghetti with Meat Sauce / Spinach Salad
• Super Sloppy Joes / Tater Tots / Lemon Garlic Broccoli
• *“Grilled” Chicken Tenders / Pasta with Broccoli (SteamFresh frozen veggies for the win!)
• Leftovers

*these can be on the table in 20 minutes

Snacks: I’ve been making this Everything Bagel Chex Mix for gifts and get-togethers – and it’s so good! I love that you can make it in the microwave, so it really doesn’t take long to make a big batch.

Read More: 5 Shelf-Stable Meals You Can Always Have On Hand!