Meal Planning

I have mentioned this before, but I am not very good at detailed meal planning, with a different dinner planned for each day.  Instead, I just prepare a couple of dishes for the week and sort of alternate them.

On Sunday night, I baked a potato (in the microwave) and topped it with a piece of bacon leftover from Saturday's brunch, and had that for dinner, since I wasn't very hungry.

On Monday night, I took the rest of the leftovers from Saturday's brunch (2 sausages, 1 piece of bacon and some scrambled eggs) and mixed it with some leftover rice and a handful of roasted peanuts and made fried rice for Monday dinner.  I consider that to be a very frugal meal because it was mostly made from leftovers.

On Tuesday, I took 2 cooked chicken breasts from the freezer, sliced them and added some sliced potatoes, sliced carrots, sliced onions and frozen green peas and sauted it all with some dried herbs and had that for dinner; I took the leftovers with rice and green beans to the office, for lunch, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (today).

Wednesday and Thursday nights, I had frozen taquitos!  Probably not the most balanced and nutritious dinners, but again, I wasn't very hungry and that was all I really wanted to eat. 

Tonight (Friday), I had freshly cooked rice with leftover shrimp curry and the last of the green beans.
There's still enough shrimp curry leftover for one more meal (probably Saturday night).

I checked my freezer and I have a whole chicken (uncooked), 2 cooked chicken breasts, a package of chicken curry, some sausages, a package of roast chicken bones/bits and pieces and several packages of uncooked chicken bony pieces with which to make soup/broth.

I think I will make a pot of chicken and vegetable soup and take out the package of chicken curry for next week's meals.  I still have half a cabbage that can be cooked to go with the chicken curry and the soup will have onions, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and whatever frozen vegetables I can find in the freezer.

If I make another batch of the no-knead bread (or try my hand at making kneaded bread!),  that will be a good accompaniment to the soup.

If I choose to do this, then, I don't need to go grocery shopping this week!  I have enough fresh fruit (oranges from the tree, 2 pears, plus 3 mangoes I was given) and some fresh vegetables (1/2 lettuce, 1/2 cabbage, carrots) plus frozen vegetables.  I wasn't very impressed with this week's grocery specials and if I can eat from the freezer and pantry, then, so much the better.  It would save me some money and even better, save me a little time, too.  

Would you go grocery shopping if you didn't have to?