3.01.2013

March Meal Plan

I didn't mean to.

Honest, I didn't.

I've always been skeptical about it, anyway.

But then, I accidentally did it, and I think it's going to work.

Yes, I accidentally planned planned an entire month's worth of meals when I sat down to make a grocery list.  Here's how it happened: I got a new cookbook right before Christmas, and started flipping through the pages and writing down recipes that I wanted to try in the next couple of weeks.  And then I put them on the calendar interspersed with some quick meals and weekly favorites, and realized there were four weeks' worth of recipes ready to go!

You'll notice that there's pizza every week, and there are only 5 meals a week.  We typically fill in one night with our church group potluck before Bible study, and the other night is leftovers.

So, I just thought I'd share:

Week 1:
Bacon and egg sandwiches
Sausage and wild rice casserole
Ravioli with homemade pasta sauce
Chicken gyros
Pizza

Week 2:
Spinach and bacon quiche
Spanish tortilla
BBQ pork sandwiches
BLTs
Pizza

Week 3:
Chicken Vindaloo
Meatloaf
Shepherd's Pie
Minestrone
Pizza

Week 4:
Black bean soup
Chicken tikka masala
Breakfast for dinner
Pesto and veggie pasta
Pizza

For the few extra leftover days of March, there's a chicken pot pie and some chili in the freezer.

You want to know the best part of it?  I spent my 2-week food budget, and bought the main ingredients for a month's worth of meals.  I'm still not 100% sure how that happened.  I know I'll have to make a mid-month run to the store for milk, cheese, and produce ... but I have all the staples ready for March.  If this means what I think it means, we'll save about 30-35% of our food budget, based on this accident.

Are there any of these recipes you're particularly interested in?

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