Eat at home

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Well timed thread! I'm making my shopping list right now Count us in as spending WAY too much on take-out/eating out. I make sure I buy a few pre-made dinner options at Trader Joes to keep in the freezer, just in case. That way, when I'm pooped or too busy, I just pull it out and warm it up instead of getting take-out.

My favorites are Mandarin-Orange Chicken w/ Rice and veggie, Enchiladas with rice and corn, Chimichurri salmon with Mashed potatoes and green beans....

This/Next week we're having:

Tues: Quinoa w/Black Beans & Cilantro with Tamales and Corn

Wed: Ribs and Cheddar Corn Chowder

Thurs: Bruschetta w/leftover soup

Fri.- Sun. We'll be gone for a wedding, HAVE to eat out.

Mon: Artichoke and Tuna Panini's w/ Garbanzo bean spread and Chips

Tues: Coconut Chicken with Strawberry-Spinach Salad

Wed: Steak, Mashed Potatoes and Green beans w/Caramelized Onions

Thurs: Ratatouille w/ Garlic Bread and Marinated Mozzarella

Fri: Homemade Pizza (TJ's ingredients, YUM!!) and Carrots/Broccoli w/ Ranch

Was wondering if you follow a recipe for your Quinoa and black beans recipe?

DH and I go out every Tuesday, so tonight is homemade Pizza for the crew.

wednesday-Porkloin with garlic, tomatoes and corn

thursday-quiche with whatever veggies i buy at wed. farmer's marke

friday- stroganoff

saturday-Indonesian chicken

sunday-shrimp with whatever sat. farmer's market turns up.

 

[blanq]

This thread is a great idea! WheelCEO, I also purchased quite a few restaurant.com certificates, and your are right...it does cut down on the cost of eating out. Meal planning is the key for me, otherwise I am just too tempted to say "Let's go out to eat." This week we are having:

Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Onion Rings
Taco Salad, Watermelon
Blueberry Coffeecake, Eggs, Sausage
BLTs, Baked Beans
Pizza (my local grocery store has a Friday special: a 18" one topping homemade pizza for $7.88)

 

[TiffanyK]

I had to pop in on this thread because Eat at Home is the name of my blog! And that's what my whole blog is about - simple recipes to help people eat at home. I now have 52 weekly menus + complete grocery list on my blog. Here's a link to the latest.

Here's a link to the list of them all (well, nearly all of them. I need to add some to the list.)

 

[blanq]

Tiffany, your blog looks great! I am definately going to try some of your menus. The grocery list will be a time-saver!

 

[java]

I had to pop in on this thread because Eat at Home is the name of my blog! And that's what my whole blog is about - simple recipes to help people eat at home. I now have 52 weekly menus + complete grocery list on my blog. Here's a link to the latest.

Here's a link to the list of them all (well, nearly all of them. I need to add some to the list.)

Tiffany I bought the stuff I need to make your Chicken alfredo stuffed shells. Anxious to give that a try.

When school starts up again I'll be using your weekly stuff. Thanks for organizing it all and the shopping list is fantastic!! That must take tons of work for you and I appreciate it!

 

[figment3258]

So glad this thread is helping others as well.

I was wondering if anyone has an idea for a pot roast. I bought it yesterday it was on sale could not pass it up so if you have a favorite idea and would like to share i am all ears. Thanks!

 

[mdsouth]

Maybe I should start a new thread for all the recipes I am sure we are going to want to share. I know that as I have read through your menus, lots of dishes sound great. :thumbsup

I really like to use my crockpot, since I can set it up in the morning and it is done at dinnertime. What a time-saver! Lots of people don't use their crockpots as much in the summer, me for one. But with the heat index over 100, I don't want to use the oven, so the crockpot is a good option.

As a start, I would love the recipe for the following:

crock pot apricot pork chops and sesame green beans

My menu

Tuesday - Crockpot chicken, rice, green beans and possibly a salad
Wednesday - Hamburgers cooked on the grill, baked beans, home fries
Thursday - Tacos, rice, carrots, and mac and cheese
Friday - Pizza night, make-our-own pizza (The kids can help but creating their own pizzas with the toppings they want). We will probably just have a salad and chips with the pizza.
Saturday - Hamburgers and hot dogs, green beans, and potatoes or rice
Sunday - We eat out after church for lunch and usually just have left-overs or hot dogs for dinner.

I noticed most people only listed one meal for Saturday and Sunday. Do you eat out the other meal or what?

I find Saturdays are the hardest for me. My DH and son want a big meal at lunchtime as opposed to just a sandwich and then I have to come up with another meal for dinner usually or we just eat leftovers.

 

[stazmatic]

I plan my meals similarly to what was posted. One tip I have for avoiding eating out over the weekend is to plan a "signature dish" that you will really look forward to and then you will prioritize making it instead of going out to eat. That has really helped with us. If my husband suggests going out to eat Sat night and I say ok - but I planned on making filet mignon he would rather eat at home. It's still cheaper and healthier than eating out too.

 

[snoopybabe]

Thanks Tiffany. Your recipes look delicious!

Here's my plan for the week
Monday - meatloaf
Tueaday - beef over noodles - crockpot
Wednesday - Rotissaire chicken - crockpot
Thursday - Spaghetti & meatballs
Friday - bbq chicken
Saturday - summer salads
Sunday - chicken paprikash

 

[mdsouth]

Tiffany I bought the stuff I need to make your Chicken alfredo stuffed shells. Anxious to give that a try.

When school starts up again I'll be using your weekly stuff. Thanks for organizing it all and the shopping list is fantastic!! That must take tons of work for you and I appreciate it!

Thanks so much for posting the link and a huge thank you to TiffanyK for your blog, Eat at Home! What a great site. The photographs are amazing and it is wonderful to see that you use common ingredients that are easy to find.

Thanks so much!

I plan on trying out the Sweet and Sour Chicken Kabobs!

Everything looks delicious and you even have some WDW foods for us to try.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I plan my meals similarly to what was posted. One tip I have for avoiding eating out over the weekend is to plan a "signature dish" that you will really look forward to and then you will prioritize making it instead of going out to eat. That has really helped with us. If my husband suggests going out to eat Sat night and I say ok - but I planned on making filet mignon he would rather eat at home. It's still cheaper and healthier than eating out too.

We always plan a special meal to cook together on the weekends. crack open a bottle of wine, and put on some music, and cook away. It is a lovely tradition.

 

[mdsouth]

I plan my meals similarly to what was posted. One tip I have for avoiding eating out over the weekend is to plan a "signature dish" that you will really look forward to and then you will prioritize making it instead of going out to eat. That has really helped with us. If my husband suggests going out to eat Sat night and I say ok - but I planned on making filet mignon he would rather eat at home. It's still cheaper and healthier than eating out too.

Great idea to have something really special planned for the weekend. It will be motivating to stay at home instead of eating out. A second advantage is that I have more time to prepare a great meal on Saturday and Sunday than I do during the week.

Thanks again OP for starting this thread. The timing is fantastic! I am a teacher, and we start school in less than two weeks. This thread and the blog, Eat at Home will help me so much! I will feel less over-whelmed and happy knowing that I can make great meals for my family on a budget!

 

[stazmatic]

So glad this thread is helping others as well.

I was wondering if anyone has an idea for a pot roast. I bought it yesterday it was on sale could not pass it up so if you have a favorite idea and would like to share i am all ears. Thanks!

Onion soup mix and water in the crockpot is super easy and tastes great! The roast just falls apart and you can use the broth it produces to make your own gravy.

 

[KKB]

Baseball SHOT our meal budget out the window this summer...DH & I are teachers & go back to school tomorrow, so it is time to get ORGANIZED. LUCKILY there have been good sales recently & I have stocked my pantry & freezer. I intend to hit the gym on my way home each day, so the crock pot is going to be my best friend...
http://eatathomecooks.com/
This is a site I have turned to for affordable menu planning. Rather than follow it verbatim, I pick & choose based on what meats are in my freezer.
Extreme heat warnings here today, so the pool is out--even too miserable for that! SO I will spend my last day of summer vacation wrapping up loose ends!

 

[apnep]

So glad this thread is helping others as well.

I was wondering if anyone has an idea for a pot roast. I bought it yesterday it was on sale could not pass it up so if you have a favorite idea and would like to share i am all ears. Thanks!

I always just slow cook mine on the stove. I put some olive oil on it, with salt and pepper and sear it first. Then I put in beef broth, a can of cream of mushroom, a pack of onion soup, celery, sliced onions, and carrots and just let it sit on low heat for several hours. It turns out great every time and the soup makes a nice gravy.

This week we ate/are eating:

Sunday: Lentil sausage soup with crusty bread.
Monday: Leftover lentil soup.
Tuesday: Swedish style meatballs over egg noodles.
Wednesdayasta with marina sauce.
Thursday: Sloppy joes.
Friday: Grilled brats, fresh grilled corn on the cob.
Saturday: Leftovers.
Sunday: Steaks.

I always serve a salad and a veggie on the side and depending on what I'm making maybe a roasted potato/sweet potato. Also, I'm using alot of ground turkey this week.

Great thread OP!

 

[Stitchnut]

We have had one of the busiest summers on record for our family, and like many of you, trying to fix dinner at home gets tough. I plan our weekly menu, shop, and try to do as many slow cooker meals as possible. It's been nice coming home and dinner is ready and waiting.

 

[jaci-h]

We recently got a membership at Sams Club (yes, for the TWO of us, ), so we've been buying meat in the beginning of the month when we have most of the money (we get 1& 1/2 monthly paychecks on the first, and half paycheck on the 15th) nd freezing it! Right now we've got steak, pot roast, BLSL chicken, ground turkey, and pork chops in the freezer!

I normally meal plan, but this next week is insane for us (I'm starting a new job and DH is working insane overtime) and next week WE GO TO DISNEY!!!

So meal planning is shot, this week.

But in 2 weeks I'll start back up again

 

[figment3258]

Onion soup mix and water in the crockpot is super easy and tastes great! The roast just falls apart and you can use the broth it produces to make your own gravy.

Sounds good I have all of that just a quick question how do you make a gravy with that? Thanks!

 

[brerrabbit]

From past experience I can tell you that planning your meals in advance is certainly the way to go when wanting to cut the budget. The biggest advantage is since you know what the menu is you can limit your shopping list to the items needed to make the meals and avoid the impulse buying that usually happens at the grocery store. When we did that we cut our monthly grocery bill in half.

 

[kinntj]

I had to pop in on this thread because Eat at Home is the name of my blog! And that's what my whole blog is about - simple recipes to help people eat at home. I now have 52 weekly menus + complete grocery list on my blog. Here's a link to the latest.

Here's a link to the list of them all (well, nearly all of them. I need to add some to the list.)

I wanted to thank you for your site! It's a lot of hard work for you and it's so easy for us. I do pick a couple of things from your menu's to use each week. We've loved everything I made from your recipes! I skip the desserts, because I would be tempted to eat them.