April 2011 Homecooking Challenge!

[Alyantavid]

Last month's thread is here.

Have fun!

[Alyantavid]

4-1 pizza night

[mamacolleen]

I'm new to this thread but I am ready to join!

We've been focusing more and more on eating at home and trying to cut expenses to a minimum due to some large expenses this year. April in particular is going to be tough so I'm ready to commit to no eating out. Well, to be realistic I'm going to commit to eating out twice this month and absolutely no buying lunch/snacks out.

4-1 - french toast with pear sauce (needs to be made because we have a lot of pears that are on the verge) and sausages

[CameronsMama]

Well, last month was horrible! I'm hoping to get back on track this month, and I'm hoping to get down to 4 meals out this month. (Less would be awesome, but I'm trying to be realistic!)

4/1 Cheesy potato soup with french bread

[Tammy in Germany]

I'm in.

4/1--roast with potatoes and carrots, macaroni salad, million dollar pie for dessert.
4/2--hotdogs w/ coleslaw, baked beans, macaroni salad
4/3--steaks w/ baked potatoes, salad
Edited by Tammy in Germany - 4/2/11 at 1:20am

[PNWmama]

I'm joining!  We don't eat out all the much, but it's more than we can really afford.  I'd rather be putting that money into savings or buying myself some unstained-by-little-fingers clothing.  So I'm going to give us two nights of eating out this month, but the rest is home cooked.  That said, I have no idea what to make for dinner tonight, so this may be one of our eating out nights 

[Alyantavid]

I love all the new faces!

I have no set goal, just trying to limit how much we eat out.  We don't eat out often because we really don't enjoy it but sometimes we're out and it's just easier.  Or sometimes dh gets a craving.

[MaryElizabeth]

I'm back! And ready to go! I did terrible last month :( On both groceries and eating out. My goals: 4 times eating out total. $150 on groceries for the month.

04/01  -  DH brought home Zaxby's --- yes, wonderful start 

          -  Chicken and orzo soup with pumpernickel bread

04/02 -  Leftovers and sandwiches

         -  Baked Spaghetti with garlic toast

04/03 - Grilled cheese and soup

         - leftovers

04/04-04/08- DD and I will be home alone so super frugal eating will be going on! 

[jimblejamble]

I fell off the wagon with last month's thread... Let's try this again. Tonight I'm making pasta.

Tomorrow I'm making Winter Root Soup from Nourishing Traditions.

[CameronsMama]

4/1 Cheesy potato soup with french bread

4/2 Chicken and rice soup

[MaryElizabeth]

04/01  -  DH brought home Zaxby's --- yes, wonderful start 

          -  Chicken and orzo soup with pumpernickel bread

04/02 -  Leftovers and sandwiches

         -  Baked Spaghetti with garlic toast

04/03 - DH's aunt and uncle are driving though, so we have to meet them at Cracker Barrel--- #2 already? NOT doing well this month.

         - leftovers

04/04-04/08- DD and I will be home alone so super frugal eating will be going on! 

[Alyantavid]

4-1 pizza night

4-2 pasta primavera, kids had leftover pizza

4-3 pork roast, mashed potatoes, corn

[LadyJayne813]

I spent some time this weekend preparing to not eat out this month.

Our biggest challenge for not eating out is days where the planned meal does not come together. For example, the meat is not taken out to defrost, or I get home later than expected, and can't cook what was planned. In the old days, we would wind up getting takeout.

I made 4 meal sized containers of homemade meatballs, and cooked them without sauce. When needed, they can be heated rather quickly by boiling them up in some sauce. They can become pasta with meatballs, or meatball parm sandwiches.

I bought 2 bags of real chicken tenders. (not nuggets, these are raw chicken that have been breaded.) My wholesale club was offering $2 off the 5 pound bag making it $11.99 a bag. Each bag feeds us about 3 times.

i went to our polish deli, and bought 2 rings of real kielbasi, and pierogis. We really enjoy this, and it's relatively quick and easy to make. Sometimes we eat the kieibasi and sauerkraut on a roll as a sandwich. I bought enough for 2 meals.

Boneless skinless chicken was on sale for 1.79. I poached one pakage, and froze it in broth. This will become an easy chicken salad later. One package was grilled and frozen, and will become green salads with grilled chicken at some point.

I am also stocked up on tuna. We make homemade tuna subs on 4-$1 portuguese rolls from a store about 4 blocks from our house. Usually I have salad veggies on hand that will be the sub toppings.

I think we are in good shape to avoid eating out. Breakfasts and lunches will be eaten at home, or packed at home and eaten at work or school.

As I cook over this week, I'll made additional food that will be frozen for later quick meals. I'll probably make 1 meatloaf to freeze, and an additional roast beef that can become pepper steak without much effort.

[CameronsMama]

You know, last month I didn't really keep track of lunches, but we ended up eating lunch out as many times as dinner, so I think I'll keep track this month. Breakfasts are always at home, with only  a few super rare exceptions, and are usually toast, oatmeal, fruit, or sometimes cereal if I find a really good deal on something all natural.
 

4/1 Leftovers

      Cheesy potato soup with french bread

4/2 Scrambled eggs with cheese, spinach and mushrooms

      Chicken and rice soup

4/3 Out for a family Sunday brunch (we went at lunchtime, though)

      Leftover chicken and rice soup

[CameronsMama]

Originally Posted by LadyJayne813 

I spent some time this weekend preparing to not eat out this month.

Our biggest challenge for not eating out is days where the planned meal does not come together. For example, the meat is not taken out to defrost, or I get home later than expected, and can't cook what was planned. In the old days, we would wind up getting takeout.

I made 4 meal sized containers of homemade meatballs, and cooked them without sauce. When needed, they can be heated rather quickly by boiling them up in some sauce. They can become pasta with meatballs, or meatball parm sandwiches.

I bought 2 bags of real chicken tenders. (not nuggets, these are raw chicken that have been breaded.) My wholesale club was offering $2 off the 5 pound bag making it $11.99 a bag. Each bag feeds us about 3 times.

i went to our polish deli, and bought 2 rings of real kielbasi, and pierogis. We really enjoy this, and it's relatively quick and easy to make. Sometimes we eat the kieibasi and sauerkraut on a roll as a sandwich. I bought enough for 2 meals.

Boneless skinless chicken was on sale for 1.79. I poached one pakage, and froze it in broth. This will become an easy chicken salad later. One package was grilled and frozen, and will become green salads with grilled chicken at some point.

I am also stocked up on tuna. We make homemade tuna subs on 4-$1 portuguese rolls from a store about 4 blocks from our house. Usually I have salad veggies on hand that will be the sub toppings.

I think we are in good shape to avoid eating out. Breakfasts and lunches will be eaten at home, or packed at home and eaten at work or school.

As I cook over this week, I'll made additional food that will be frozen for later quick meals. I'll probably make 1 meatloaf to freeze, and an additional roast beef that can become pepper steak without much effort.

Much of our eating out comes from the same problem, so I also have tried to make some advance preparations to deal with those situations. I've been trying to make extra to feed the freezer lately, so I hope it will help. You have some good ideas, I may copy a few :)

[MaryElizabeth]

04/01  -  DH brought home Zaxby's --- yes, wonderful start 

          -  Chicken and orzo soup with pumpernickel bread

04/02 -  Leftovers and sandwiches

         -  Baked Spaghetti with garlic toast

04/03 - DH's aunt and uncle treated us to lunch. It was a wonderful surprise 

         - leftovers

04/04-04/08- DD and I will be home alone so super frugal eating will be going on! 

[Alyantavid]

4-4 leftovers

Edited by Alyantavid - 4/6/11 at 9:01am

[MaryElizabeth]

04/01  -  DH brought home Zaxby's --- yes, wonderful start 

          -  Chicken and orzo soup with pumpernickel bread

04/02 -  Leftovers and sandwiches

         -  Baked Spaghetti with garlic toast

04/03 - DH's aunt and uncle treated us to lunch. It was a wonderful surprise 

         - leftovers

04/04-04/08- DD and I will be home alone so super frugal eating will be going on! 

04/04- Leftovers for lunch

        - Leftovers for dinner --- I WILL clean out this refrigerator!

        *p.s. I went over my budget at the grocery 

04/05 -veggie patty for DD, sandwich for Mommy?

         -lima beans and sourdough bread

04/06- sandwiches 

        - mac and cheese, green beans

[jimblejamble]

Tonight I'm making kale & sausage soup

[mamacolleen]

4-2 fish cakes with baked beans

4-3 veggie fajitas

Tonight we're having lazy shepards pie. Yum!