Meal Planning

Ugh! I'm at job number 3 and I've just done some of my weekly shopping. Food prices here are a good 5% more than back "at home". I have two bags of groceries in the car, mainly pantry staples, some treats (and that's what upped the grocery bill).   I have to set aside one week night as my shopping night. I'm just used to the stores near my house. I'm not a big fan of grocery shopping anyway and wandering aimlessly around a store is not the way I wish to spend my daily break.

That being said, I've planned out a weeks worth of meals. I'm taking a page from Ugly Debty and using up some things in the cupboards and some things not getting any better in the freezer. 

I have the fixings for the following meals (which will make leftovers for lunch)

Black beans and rice.

Mushroom Bourguignon-a la smitten kitchen.

Chicken thighs to be roasted, toasted or made into curry.

Lentil or split pea soup with some leftover ham.

Pasta Sauce-either Creamy Vodka or Puntanesca.

I have all the ingredients save for about $5 worth of things I'll need to buy (more mushrooms some cardamon pods for a curry, a few more olives). 

I have to get better about pre-planning my meals for this weekend job.  I have access to a kitchen, but the condiments are limited as are the cooking pots and pans. I do have a crockpot, a bunch of frying pans, some baking pans and two small sauce pans.  What I've been doing is packing most of my leftovers for my meals with a sandwich from the gourmet one day for lunch or a small pizza for dinner.  Last week I made re fried bean soup (from a year of Crockpotting), this week, I'm making a potato and artichoke heart tortilla from Smitten Kitchen.  There is a jar of artichoke hearts here that I was told I can use.  Plus the barn chickens have supplied us with lots of eggs this week. 

I've been using the excuse that my schedule is all off kilter to fall off the menu planning bandwagon.  I just have to do a little creative planning to make it work.