Last Two Weeks of Meal Planning

A few weeks ago I wrote a post on meal planning. I wanted to give you guys some exact meal plans I've made for the last two weeks. For these two weeks of meals I've color-coded it so maybe it might be a benefit to whoever may need a real life example. (More meal planning ideas.)

Key:
*Some of these ingredients are even spread between the two weeks, not just one week. 
Green = Cheap Ingredient
Red = A purchased item, reused in multiple meals
Blue = An item that was just on hand, in the fridge, freezer, or pantry.
Purple = Item made at home rather than purchased

December 4th - 9th 

• Meal #1) Orecchiette with Sausage, Basil, and Tomatoes. Use canned Stewed Tomatoes. (Recipe)
• Meal #2) Turkey Enchiladas (Mom's recipe). Use leftover Turkey, and frozen Tortillas.
• Meal #3) Super Green Split Pea Soup (add Basil) in Crockpot. Buy dried split peas, frozen spinach, use vegetable bouillon. (Recipe)
• Meal #4) Pizza Bagels with Sausage, Tomato Sauce, Basil, Mozzarella. For Tomato Sauce add a dash of red wine, italian seasonings, salt, and pepper. (Bagel Recipe)
• Meal #5) Thai BBQ with Chicken (Thaifoon Style). Make rice with meal. Buy coconut milk, carrots, and bell pepper. Use leftover tofu in addition to chicken, add Basil.
• Meal #6) Curried Chicken Pot Pie. Make a simple crust. Use carrots, frozen spinach, frozen veggies, and vegetable bouillon. (Crust Recipe)

December 11th - 16th
Extras: Make Boule Bread, buy lunch meat. Use lettuce for sandwiches. (Boule Recipe)

• Meal #1) Giada's Lemon Pasta. Buy spaghetti, lemons, parmesan, basil. Serve with Rosemary Shortbread. Use lemons and dried Rosemary instead of fresh. (Giada's Recipe) (Shortbread Recipe)
• Meal #2) Eggplant Parmesan. Use Panko bread crumbs, parmesan, basil, and canned stewed tomatoes for sauce. (Recipe)
• Meal #3) Soft tacos. Buy Flour tortillas, one fresh tomato, lettuce, cheddar cheese, scallions, and ground beef.
• Meal #4) Chicken Teppanyaki. Buy chicken, bellpepper, scallions. Use carrots, and make rice with meal. (Recipe)
• Meal #5) Pizza with garlic sauce, caramelized onions, walnuts, mozzarella, and parmesan. Use remaining dough left over from making Boule Bread (Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day Method). (Pizza Recipe) (Dough Recipe)
• Meal #6) Twice Baked Potatoes. Buy potatoes. Use cheddar cheese and frozen peas.

And yes, this does take some time. It's like figuring out a puzzle sometimes, but all of the effort really yields great results at the Grocer's Checkout. I hope this helps! If you have any more money saving techniques when it comes to grocery bills, please comment. I'd love to learn from you!

-R