The devil made me do it...Tues is desk day and while I reviewed the budget, I heard our neighbor hail DH. I realized that both guys were enjoying coffee outside on the 1st warm AM. I dashed downstairs shook spice on defrosted chicken parts and threw the pan in the microwave. I poked my head through the door and asked DH to turn on the grill. 5 minutes later I sent the pan of mostly cooked chicken to be finished on the gril.

Dinner will be potato squares re-purposed left-over, scalloped-like baked potatoes, saute mushrooms, green salad and grilled chicken with home-made ice cream sandwich. There is enough chicken for dinner tomorrow. Thursday will be vegan instead of Wednesday as planned.

Cyd, that sounds sooo yummy!

Bless, make sure she gets lots of sleep as I find that when the nerves are on high gear, the resistance to bugs is low. You are an awesome mom and will make sure she gets well quick!

Last of the pasta salad for lunch yesterday for me and today for SO. Haven't decided what dinner will be tonite. SO and I had a disagreement Monday nite so he took me out to dinner as an apology. He normally doesn't eat chinese, but knows I love it, so we had almond boneless chicken, very tasty and I have leftovers that will either be lunch or dinner today....thinking dinner and just adding a salad and some veggies

Thinking potato gnocchi with parmesan and butter for lunch, simple and very satisfying too.....comfort food! yummy!

Cooked the chicken curry last night, with rice and Brussels sprouts as the sides. Sent leftovers with DD for her lunch (she is done with classes, but she's working today), along with chocolate cake and a peach.

I brought the last of the ground beef mixture and a bread roll for my lunch, with grapes and cake for snacks.

Dinner will be chicken curry, rice, green beans, cucumber salad.

Tomorrow's [Thursday] dinner will be an experiment with vegan lasagna. Eggplant sliced lengthwise replaces the pasta with a variety of grilled veggies instead of lean ground beef. A rich Bechamel subs for spaghetti sauce and I'll try to get to the store for goat cheese. If not I have good Parmesan and Mozzarella from the cheese shop. Salad and garlic toast will support. I've settled on old fashioned bread pudding for dessert because rain/cold weather, I have bread that needs to be used-up and if they hate the lasagna, the dessert is a favorite and is also very filling.

Cyd, that sounds interesting; I've never heard of lasagna without the pasta! I wouldn't call it vegan if it has cheese, however. To me, the term vegan means no animal products, at all (no eggs, dairy products, or bees' honey).

Bless, my friends tease me because as a budget stretcher, I have used uncooked ramen noodles as my pasta. I simply slid a knife between the layers and then put them dry in the pan. Theres always enough moisture with the sauce and cheese to do the bit of hydrating they need.

And even though I got teased about it, it was ALL eaten.

Sounds like an interesting idea Beaglelady.

Let's put it this way, I sent a pan full over to my neighbor and it came back empty!

Went grocery shopping on Saturday. Spent $39.39 and bought:
2 boxes cereal, $1.88@
1 bread, $1.00
1 bottle cranberry juice, $2.09 (with redemption value)
2 gals. milk, $2.89@
1 ice cream, $2.69
1 coffee creamer, $3.79
1 cheetos, $1.99
2 lbs. strawberries, $.88/lb
2 snack bars for DD, $1.00@
2+lb chuck steak ($3.99/lb) = $8.54
12 croissants, $5.99

Grocery spending to date: $76.08 + $39.39 = $115.47

Amount remaining in the June grocery budget: $150 - 115.47 = $34.53

This week, 2 of DD's friends are coming to stay a few days at our house. They will fix their b'fasts, lunches, and snacks; I will make the dinners.

Tonight (Tues), I will cook some of the chuck steak, along with rice, cucumber salad, and green beans, for dinner.

Tomorrow (Wed), dinner will be Polish sausage, with rice, lentils, and leeks.

Thurs & Fri: I don't know yet, what I'll make.

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The green beans had been in the fridge for a bit too long and starting to spoil. So, much to my chagrin, I tossed them, and cooked the last of the Brussels sprouts, instead.

Tuna sounds good and tuna is cheap. We have been baking chicken and cooking beans which are also cheap. I have been trying to find ways to diet while on a tight shoe string budget for a family of five. We have some picky eaters in our house as well as diabetics. I don't know what to fix anymore. I know they are getting tired of chicken, but when it was on sale, I stocked up them and if I had not have done that then we would not be able to eat this week. Sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do. I remember growing up that we didn't eat meat everyday, we had beans instead. I remember eating beans and cornbread with some garden vegies. I know it wasn't a steak or hamburgers, but I was healthier then and I learned to respect my parents and appreciate what I did have. I still don't eat hamburgers to this day and we rarely eat steaks. I have learned to live without a lot of that stuff. I do miss my moms Sunday pot roast. I think meat is marked up too much. Wish we could go back in time, and even with coupons, you can't get beef. Well, good luck everyone on your menus. Let me know if you have any good cheap ideas.