I am one of those parents that if the kids aren’t eating the food you put on the table, and you tend to have more leftovers than usual, maybe you’re getting in a cooking rut. I do tell my kids that if they are hungry, “eat what is in front of you” but variety is more my style. I’ll be honest, one of the perks of becoming a mom and housewife is that you don’t have to make the same old things that you had growing up– for example, oatmeal, spaghetti, and peanut butter and jelly… how come those are my kids favorite? But sometimes, I find myself making the same things over and over because it’s convenient, doesn’t involve a lot of brain work, and always in my case, cheap.
I needed something I could easily adapt for our diet (gluten free is a must, and dairy free is extremely helpful). I placed a call out on Facebook for meal suggestions and then I went on Pinterest. You know, that place that sucks you in and 2.5 hours later you emerge with a list, a whole new board, and a disaster of a house because your back was turned. Yep, 2.5 hours to come up with 14 meals that maybe I have done before and maybe I haven’t. That 150 minutes divided into 14 meals, means I spent 10 minutes per plate idea. Just pin this post and save yourself some time! Yeesh. My food board is here, for what it’s worth.
This menu plan is based on affordable meats, what is on sale, what I have on hand, and what won’t heat my house up– it’s already hotter than Hades! Some of us are begging to go to hell to cool down a bit! 😉 Ok, so without further adieu, here we go:
14 Dinners:
Honey Mustard Chicken Potatoes
One Pot Easy Shepherds Pie (Will involve oven but I’m thinking of trying my instapot, in this case its only partially tried and true)
Cream of Broccoli Soup (and I need something to serve with this, Salad maybe? Suggestions? )
Spaghetti (Kid requested. Meh. Ok. I’ll make mine with Zucchini Noodles use my zoodle maker) (Mine is like this but less sophisticated and this one is on sale for about the price I got mine plus all those extras?! Woah! Brush alone would have been nice ;))
Creamy Sun-Dried Chicken (Oh my gravy! When I made this a month or so ago, we all agreed that this would HAVE to be made more often, and so, here I am) Pssst- use Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 GF flour and 1 can of coconut milk to make it gf and df
Salsbury Steak Meatballs (I have never had meatball version! And who could go wrong with salsbury steak?)
TaterTot Casserole – Not my particular favorite but a requested dish
Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie (serving with some gf corn bread)
One-Pan Taco Rice
Chicken Fajitas, throw some taco seasoning on top of chicken with a bit of lime juice and cook in crockpot for a 4-6 hours and serve over corn tortillas.
One Pan Chili Mac Salad
Ground Turkey Zucchini Sweet Tater Skillet
Baked Whole Chicken (I like this method best)
Fish N Chips
Lunches are a various combinations of baked potato bars, handmade lunchables (meat, crackers, and fruit), smoothies, salads, pasta dishes, and whatever else floats my boat. Breakfast will be oatmeal, corn grits, eggs (boiled, quiche, or scrambled), maybe a batch of muffins or pancakes, and smoothie.
Well, there you have it. My grocery budget for 2 weeks is $300, feeding 9 people 5 days a week and 7 people the additional 2 days. I hope this helps you. If you helped me come up with this menu plan through the Facebook suggestions, I owe you.
Thanks for this, Challice. I’m in a bit of a rut. Maybe it’s lazy days of summer? And I’m so glad you openly talk about the need for GF & DF. So many people think I’m crazy for feeding my family this way (even saying doctor’s orders causes them to look at me strangely), & I know it doesn’t matter what people think, but sometimes my skin might be a bit thin…
I know you wouldn’t want me to say this, but I admire the heck out of you!!
I admire you too! I am glad it was helpful! I need to add my next menu. Love you!
It’s tricky eating gluten free but after a few weeks you can comfortably get used to such a life style.