A Week of Meals for $60 and Under: Italy, Ireland and the USA

This weeks’ menu has a wide variety of proteins. Bacon, fish, beef, chicken, pork chops. I tried to be eclectic and appeal to the variety of tastes in my household (and yours).

One of my main tricks to staying within budget is to always follow my list! I have all of my meals planned out, list made, and coupons found before I ever set foot in the store. I buy my meat a week or more before and freeze until I need it. Then when I am in the store, I will buy meat if it is on sale or I run across a Manager’s special. That is the only thing that I buy that are not specifically on my list.  If buying the discounted meat, make sure you freeze immediately and thaw properly to avoid spoilage (usda thawing guidelines). My only exception to this rule is fresh seafood. I try to buy that the same day I plan on using it. 

This is my week.

(my average prices do not include spices, butter, oil, etc)

Monday

Gnocchi with Bacon and Spinach (@$6.50)

• Gnocchi $2.19 (packaged, Kroger)
• Bacon $0.55 (¼ , $2.99 Kroger)
• Onion $0.47 (Vidalia, Trader Joe’s)
• Shredded Parmesan $1.40 (½ , Kroger)
• Baby Spinach $1.99 (Trader Joe’s)

This is a repeat recipe from few weeks ago but I made additional changes. I substituted baby spinach for the endive this time. I actually like this version a lot more than the other two versions I have made. Not usually leftovers with this meal. I think next time I will use two packages of gnocchi and a little extra bacon to add some leftovers

 

Tuesday

Oven Baked Fish and Chips (@$10.50)

• Pollock $4.49 ($2.99 lb, Farmers’ Market)
• Panko Bread Crumbs $1.75 (½ bag, $3.49)
• Tarter Sauce $1.29
• Garlic Fries $2.29 (frozen, Trader Joe’s)
• Lemon $0.33

Fish was cut into smaller pieces, dipped in flour mixture, egg wash, then panko bread crumbs. Placed evenly on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cooked at 400 for 18 minutes, flipping halfway through. Served with fries, tartar sauce, and fresh lemon. Flour mixture is flour, old bay seasoning, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. I did learn drinking and cooking leads to me forgetting to set the timer and I end up burning half the french fries.

 

Wednesday

Italian Beef Sandwiches (@$11)

• London Broil Roast  $5.60 (3lbs, Manager’s Special Kroger)
  
• Hoagie Buns $1.50
  
• Cheese $1.25
• Italian Dressing Mix $0.99
• Pepperoncini $1.15 (½ , 2.29 jar)
• Pasta Salad $0.50 (Suddenly Salad, Creamy Italian)

Crockpot!!! My husband requests this dish often but finding a large enough roast at a good price is usually difficult so he doesn’t get it as often as he would like. The recipe was shared to me in my old TheBump birth month group. I will say, sometimes I cheat and don’t brown the meat first. I think it turns out just fine. There are usually some leftovers. I like to make my own pasta salad but when the easy stuff is on sale, I buy it. I don’t use ½ cup of mayo though. Yuck. I use ¼ cup sour cream instead.

 

Friday

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad (@$9.50)

• Chicken Breast  $4.46 (2.99 lb, Fresh Market)
• Pasta $1.00  (Rotini)
• Romaine Lettuce $1.99 (bagged, Trader Joe’s)
• Shredded Parmesan $1.40 (½ , Kroger)
• Caesar Dressing $0.66 (⅓ , $1.99 bottle)

I cooked the chicken for this dish at some point during the day (375 for 20 minutes). Diced the chicken and refrigerated until needed. Cooked one box of pasta according to package instructions. You don’t have to use rotini. Drained and rinsed pasta with cool water. Added pasta, chicken, romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and caesar dressing to a LARGE bowl. Mix well. Use as much or as little dressing as you want. I used 1 ½ lbs chicken. 1 lb pasta, and a whole bag of romaine so ⅓ bottle did okay for me.

 

Saturday

Hoisin Pork Sandwiches (@$8)

• Pork Chops $3.36
  

  Hoisin Pork Sandwiches

• Hoisin Sauce  $1.29(½ )
• Hoagie Buns $1.50
• Broccoli Slaw $0.99 (½ , Trader Joe’s)
• Vegetable Chips $0.99 (½ , Trader Joe’s)

I found the recipe in this month’s Food Network magazine. It looked really yummy but I am without a grill. So I decided to try it in the oven. Of course I made some changes. As for cooking, I  baked the pork in a glass casserole dish at 350 for 30 minutes. I did not use spicy pickles or spicy ketchup, which might have ended up too spicy for my toddler. I used regular ketchup and regular dill pickles (both from Trader Joe’s). And the Root Vegetable Chips from Trader Joe’s are absolutely amazing, not too hard with just a little salt.

5 meals for around $45.

 

**Bonus Dessert**

The night we had fish and chips, I had a little extra time on my hands and decided to try a british dessert to go with it. I found a recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding. It seemed tasty and by substituting corn syrup for golden syrup(?), I had everything at home. Plus it was made in a muffin tin and I think individual desserts are so cute.