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Sunday, August 16, 2009

Food plan: week of 081609

What is more inspiring to get on a regular weekly meal plan than having a new fridge? Nothing I can think of.

I have a feeling, a pretty small one, that I'll follow through with this plan, rather than ditching part-way through like the last time(s). Feel free to call me out on it if I default.

This weeks menu, after pestering Rodney with questions not varying much from "what do you feel like having this week?", in no particular order:
  1. Honey-soy Marinated London Broil
  2. Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken Salad
  3. Mixed Green, Artichokes and Olives with Avocado dressing
  4. Bow-Tie Pasta with Fresh Vegetable Sauce
  5. Tapenade-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Our grocery list including stuff I needed to re-up on ("on-hand" necessities), which are not necessarily necessary for us to eat this week, but I feel naked without and are good go-to pantry items in case I want to crap out on the food plan:
  • Tomato paste = $5.07/12-6 0z cans
  • Mexican-blend cheese = $4.99/2.5 lbs
  • Diced tomatoes = $7.99/8-14.5 oz cans
  • Tortilla chips = $3.99/3 lbs.
  • Grape tomatoes = 1.49/pint
  • Lemon = 0.32/0.36 lb
  • Zucchini = 0.68/0.98 lb
  • Yellow squash = 1.08/0.84 lb
  • Baby red potatoes = 3.99/2 lb
  • Red pepper = $1.02/0.41 lb
  • Sweet onion = $1.76/2.33 lb
  • Avocado = $1.49/ea
  • English cucumber = $1.49/ea
  • Ginger root* = $0.38/0.24 lb
  • Romaine lettuce = $0.79/ea
  • Iceburg lettuce = $0.68/ea
  • Baby spinach = $1.99/6 oz
  • Fresh dill* = $1.12
  • Sourdough bread = $2.99
  • Eggs, large =$2.59/18
  • Swiss cheese, sliced =$3/8 oz
  • Mayo = $6.99
  • Honey mustard* = $0.99
  • Red wine vinegar* = $2.63/16 oz
  • Whole chicken = $5.22 @0.99/lb
  • Whole chicken = $5.40 @0.99/lb
  • London broil* = $4.94 @ 1.99/lb
*First-time ever items for our household! We're broadening our food horizons -- so vivid this way!
=$105.36 -- for two people? In one week? Seems like a lot. Yeah, it is, sort of.

I'll probably go get another whole chicken or two for the boobs required for the tapenade-stuffed boobs, which will be another $10, bringing up the grand total to about $115. Keep in mind we'll have an extra 8 each of wings, legs, and thighs as well as 1.25 lbs of London broil to use later.

Plus, I'm kinda thinkin' I'll try my hand at making a chicken stock sometime in the somewhat near future, which might save some money while being more healthy and flavorful (in what, I'm not sure yet). But then again, I don't have any carrots or celery to make up a mire poix (isn't that what it's called?) for the stock. Maybe I'll just have a bunch of chicken carcasses in the freezer for a while. And maybe I'll get sick of them being the freezer and dump them and the Ziplocs their stored in, ultimately costing me money. We'll see how it works out -- I'm optimistic!

2 comments:

Jess said...

I used to make my own chicken broth, but I've gotten lazy and happily spoiled by the very inexpensive Better than Boiullon chicken base. It's so much cheaper than cans or cartons of chicken broth. I do use a little less salt in the recipes because it is so salty. There's also no waste which is awesome :-) And they have vegetable and beef versions.

The Cook said...

Better Than Bouillon offers Lower Salt options, but they aren't widely available. I agree though, it is a fantastic option. Particularly fantastic is the ingredients, meat is listed first which means it is the primary component. Thumbs up to that!