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Last week I mentioned that we’ve not been as diligent with our budget as we need to be. One of the places that we’ve let slide is dining out. A few years ago (around the time I started this blog) our budget was super tight and eating out was not something that fit into the budget except for the rare special occasion. As things improved for us financially we got a loose with our budget and even though we had a set amount in our budget for dining out, we started treating it as a ‘fluid’ amount. We’ve been tightening up our budget again and realize we really need to address the dining out. Not just because of the financial impact but also for the health impact. I find myself dealing with tummy troubles again almost every time we have a meal out.
To help with the budget and my tummy, we are on a mission to avoid eating for the rest of November. Truthfully, eating out is more of a convenience thing than anything. We’ll be out running errands and decide to stop somewhere or on Friday afternoon (always Friday it seems), Joe will ask if he can pick something up. And if I don’t already have something started, I agree. In theory, these should be things that we can eliminate. Considering it is rare to cost less than $40 each time we dine out these savings can go far. And I look forward to getting my tummy troubles back under control.
This week we’ll cook a big roast to turn into three meals (plus broth). A pot of pinto beans will also be three meals (two of those using a small amount of the beef). We’ve also got a nice amount of venison and antelope in the freezer so we’ll have game a couple of times. There are a few trout hanging out in the freezer that will become a delicious trout chowder. Left over from a shopping trip last week is Romaine lettuce and broccoli. The winter squash on the menu is from a friends garden– she had a bumper crop and I was able to buy quite a few from her at a great price. The potatoes and beets are from our garden (now kept in cold storage in the garage along with the winter squash) and we’ll add in some greens from our ‘winter’ garden to go with the beet salad. I’m so happy with how well my little cold frame boxes are doing so far. Yesterday I made French bread (based on this recipe) to have for the week.
Menu Plan
Sunday- Chicken fried venison and antelope, mashed potatoes with gravy, green salad with blue cheese dressing
Monday- Crock pot beef roast, winter squash, broccoli
Tuesday- Pinto beans, quinoa, Caesar style sauteed greens
Wednesday- Taco salad (made with leftover roast, beans and quinoa)
Thursday- Trout chowder
Friday- Navajo tacos
Saturday- Sweet and sour venison meatballs over rice, beet salad
What’s on your menu this week?
