Lots of bloggers post their upcoming week’s menu plans, but I’m showing you what we already ate. A hypothetical meal plan is certainly more impressive; I’m realizing this as I’m trying to make pictures look as good as they tasted and thinking there should definitely be more fruits and vegetables. But here goes…

Sunday

Eggs and biscuits

I don’t have a picture since I didn’t decide to do this until Monday, but I’ll bet you know what scrambled eggs and biscuits look like. Brett loves breakfast for dinner and goes a little nuts for my biscuits, good thing they’re cheap and easy to whip up!

Drop biscuits

• 2 c. flour (I do a blend of all-purpose and white whole wheat)
• 1 Tbs. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 c. melted butter (1 stick)

Mix all ingredients until just moistened. Drop in large rounded spoonfuls onto baking sheet (makes around 12). Bake at 450 for 9-10 minutes. 

Monday

Tacos, veggie rice, and cucumbers

The rice was made up on the spot. I grated a bunch of carrots and zucchini and a little onion and put them in chicken stock to cook with the rice. When it was all cooked, I stirred in a little bit of cheese. Mmmmm, so good. Tasted kind of like Rice-A-Roni except better.

Tuesday

 

Apple Pecan Chicken Salad

This is a copycat of a Panera salad which Brett always orders. Only six ingredients in my version:

Apple Pecan Salad

• Lettuce
• Apples
• Grilled chicken
• Green onions
• Toasted pecans
• Champagne vinaigrette (Trader Joe’s)

Wednesday

Corn chowder and grilled shishito peppers

This was also something I made up – a super budget-friendly meal, and the girls liked it (they’re hit and miss with soup). I think the soup totals around $3.50, and the peppers were free from my mom’s garden.

Easy Summer Corn Soup

• 2 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 3 russet potatoes, cubed
• 3 ears of corn, grilled and kernels cut off
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put a couple Tbs of olive oil in the bottom of a pot. Add onion and potatoes, and cook until onion is transparent, a couple minutes. Then add stock and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Add corn, cheese, sour cream, and salt and pepper and stir until cheese is melted and corn is heated through. Garnish with extra sour cream and cheese if desired.

Thursday

Papa John’s pizza

No cooking for momma tonight! Hannah’s school was doing a fundraiser night with Papa John’s, so we enjoyed some carry out pizza. Pepperoni and black olives for the girls, and buffalo chicken for Brett and me.

Friday

Cheese enchiladas, refried beans, and kale chips

Yep, those kale chips are a tad crispy. Just keepin’ it real, not the prettiest picture. Brett loves it when I make slow cooker refried beans. The enchiladas are from this cookbook using homemade sauce (which ended up being a tad spicy for the girls, so they wouldn’t eat it).

Saturday

Pork chops, cracker salad, corn, and banana mini muffins

Blogger Stacy from Stacy Makes Cents posted cracker salad on Instagram, and I thought it sounded interesting! I used what I had on hand, just cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, crackers and mayo. Winner! Banana mini muffins were from this cookbook which is by the same author (Jessica at Good Cheap Eats) who did the enchilada recipe. When it comes to food blogs, I don’t follow very many because I’ve found a couple good ones that fit my style of cooking – real food recipes that don’t involve a million ingredients or extensive prep time – and I’ve also purchased cookbooks from them because I know they’re recipes I’ll actually use and enjoy.

So that was our week of dinners! They were tasty and budget-friendly and (mostly) kid-approved.