Week 159 Menu Plan - Whole 30 / Pantry Challenge Using What We Have
Hey hey ... it's that time of the week again!!
The Pantry Challenge is coming along fairly well as Hubby has been in charge of the dinner plans, for the most part. I tell him what I have in mind and he goes and rummages around to find what he needs to prepare same ;-) So far, so good, mostly!
Last week had 3 stops at 3 stores ... the Aldi shop sort of set me over the edge. Only because the boy was with me. There was a comment about the ground beef being $5 for a little over a pound ... it was 93/7 fat ratio and actually a lot cheaper than other places BUT still, did i need 4 packages (during a pantry/freezer challenge)? NO, I did not. Nor did I need to buy THAT much salad stuff (2 heads of iceberg, 1 head of butter, 2 pkgs of organic mix) ... and I just need to start thinking smaller and remember that lately, it's just the 3 of us eating around here, not 6 :-(
Meal prepped a little for the week ahead: made mayo, a batch of ranch dressing (new recipe and this one is even BETTER than the last one, recipe coming soon!) cooked a spaghetti squash (pressure cooker style, post coming soon!) and a few other things ... I also made a batch of tuna salad to try and pursued Hubby to eat lunch a little more often!
I had picked up the InstantPot Duo during Amazon's Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale for $16 after the sale price and gift cards I had accumulated. Hubby fired it up a week ago for a quick dinner on Saturday of pork chops and sort of broke the ice for us ... now we are looking for recipes to try here and there with it!
Sunday - spaghetti and meatballs ... I will have spaghetti squash instead of the pasta. The meatballs are borderline compliant (I'm certain they probably cross the line but they ARE in the freezer to be eaten along with the red sauce). Will offer up a side of salad for those who are interested.
Monday - short ribs in the pressure cooker with mashed taters and roasted veggies on the side. Fingers crossed this works out well enough to share!
Tuesday - Taco Tuesday ... Hubby is wanting to make some fish tacos with the fish we have in the freezer ... I might just make 1 pound of ground beef and use some of the dolphin fillets we have for blackened fish tacos ... I'm sort of excited!
Wednesday - Soup and salad all around. For those who want something more substantial, grilled cheese sandwiches are also an option ... not sure what kind of soup but I'm sure Hubby will be resourceful and use what we have on hand ;-)
Thursday - I've got a bunch of turkey burgers in the freezer so I think I'm going to convince Hubby to make something with them, creative, and not just grilled ... maybe something like caprese burgers or something (tomato/basil/mozzarella cheese/balsamic) and leave the cheese off for me?
Friday - Wings ... I'm going to try them in the Instant Pot and then finish them off in the oven ... I'll keep you posted how that goes! I think we will be having friends over this evening so I may have to buy some flat bread and make some flat bread pizzas to go along for those who would like (I have the cheese and tomatoes to do the rest, just need the flat bread)
Saturday - Hubby's choice ... need to go rummage around in the freezers and see what we have. I know there's quite a bit of bratwurst and I do have a few bags of bratwurst and some red taters ... maybe that's what I'll offer up?
What are YOU planning for the week ahead? Go check out Organized Junkie's Menu Plan Monday party for more ideas!
The Pantry Challenge is coming along fairly well as Hubby has been in charge of the dinner plans, for the most part. I tell him what I have in mind and he goes and rummages around to find what he needs to prepare same ;-) So far, so good, mostly!
Last week had 3 stops at 3 stores ... the Aldi shop sort of set me over the edge. Only because the boy was with me. There was a comment about the ground beef being $5 for a little over a pound ... it was 93/7 fat ratio and actually a lot cheaper than other places BUT still, did i need 4 packages (during a pantry/freezer challenge)? NO, I did not. Nor did I need to buy THAT much salad stuff (2 heads of iceberg, 1 head of butter, 2 pkgs of organic mix) ... and I just need to start thinking smaller and remember that lately, it's just the 3 of us eating around here, not 6 :-(
Meal prepped a little for the week ahead: made mayo, a batch of ranch dressing (new recipe and this one is even BETTER than the last one, recipe coming soon!) cooked a spaghetti squash (pressure cooker style, post coming soon!) and a few other things ... I also made a batch of tuna salad to try and pursued Hubby to eat lunch a little more often!
I had picked up the InstantPot Duo during Amazon's Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale for $16 after the sale price and gift cards I had accumulated. Hubby fired it up a week ago for a quick dinner on Saturday of pork chops and sort of broke the ice for us ... now we are looking for recipes to try here and there with it!
Sunday - spaghetti and meatballs ... I will have spaghetti squash instead of the pasta. The meatballs are borderline compliant (I'm certain they probably cross the line but they ARE in the freezer to be eaten along with the red sauce). Will offer up a side of salad for those who are interested.
Tuesday - Taco Tuesday ... Hubby is wanting to make some fish tacos with the fish we have in the freezer ... I might just make 1 pound of ground beef and use some of the dolphin fillets we have for blackened fish tacos ... I'm sort of excited!
Wednesday - Soup and salad all around. For those who want something more substantial, grilled cheese sandwiches are also an option ... not sure what kind of soup but I'm sure Hubby will be resourceful and use what we have on hand ;-)
Thursday - I've got a bunch of turkey burgers in the freezer so I think I'm going to convince Hubby to make something with them, creative, and not just grilled ... maybe something like caprese burgers or something (tomato/basil/mozzarella cheese/balsamic) and leave the cheese off for me?
Friday - Wings ... I'm going to try them in the Instant Pot and then finish them off in the oven ... I'll keep you posted how that goes! I think we will be having friends over this evening so I may have to buy some flat bread and make some flat bread pizzas to go along for those who would like (I have the cheese and tomatoes to do the rest, just need the flat bread)
Saturday - Hubby's choice ... need to go rummage around in the freezers and see what we have. I know there's quite a bit of bratwurst and I do have a few bags of bratwurst and some red taters ... maybe that's what I'll offer up?
What are YOU planning for the week ahead? Go check out Organized Junkie's Menu Plan Monday party for more ideas!
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