$1 pizza dough and half-priced chicken breasts! #mealplanning 8/11 thru 8/17

Brand new to Meal Planning?

Start by reading all about Meal Planning (scroll down to "A Day in My Life" on the right-hand side of this page and click Meal Planning: How To Get Started or just click here) in order to familiarize yourself with the steps! There, you will find a link to a detailed example of my own weekly meal planning where I walk you through step-by-step.
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The first thing I do on Saturday mornings is to look back over the week to see if we did indeed eat everything on my meal plan and adjust my inventory, reducing it by what we ate and increasing it by anything I purchased and/or made-ahead. We did eat everything on our meal plan last week so I reduced my inventory accordingly. I also increased my inventory by the items I purchased this week.

Inventory
4 portions ground turkey breast
2 portions ground brisket
1 portions colossal shrimp
4 portions boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 portions sweet Italian sausage
1 portions Beer Brats
1 portion made-ahead shredded chicken thighs
1 portion made-ahead chicken enchiladas Verdes
1 portion made-ahead spicy, shredded pork
1 portion Mahi Mahi

Next, I shop my pantry, freezer and fridge for ingredients to come up with some meals off our Master Meal List, looking at our family calendar to ensure I wasn't planning on something we had recently eaten. I scan the weekly ad as well as the coupons and Just4U deals from Safeway via the iPhone app to see what was on sale that might complement and/or substitute for what I had come up with and of course, how to stretch ingredients over enough meals to use them up.

Weekly Meal Plan

Grilled chicken with asparagus

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts were only $2.99/lb and I had a Just4U deal for another $1.00/lb off so, I stocked up (as much as my freezer would allow!) and put a portion of it on the menu alongside some grilled asparagus, which was only $1.99/lb. For this meal, I also had to purchase our favorite Stubb's BBQ marinade (I use half a bottle each weekend). I'm really looking forward to this item going on sale soon as it's $5.99 per bottle. 

Lettuce wraps

I had canned water chesnuts, leftover green onions, ground turkey and all the sauces and spices on hand for this meal. When I saw as Just4U deal that offered a head of Iceburg lettuce for only $0.59 and white sliced button mushrooms for only $1.59, I purchased those items and added this meal to our menu for the week. 

Leftovers

Turkey bolognese and salad with herb vinaigrette

Flipping through my recipe book and my Master Meal List, this meal caught my eye. It's a Real Simple meal that is made with fresh, shredded zucchini, which was on sale $0.49/lb this week. I have the ground turkey on hand as well as all the ingredients for the fresh herb vinaigrette and the remaining ingredients are few and inexpensive. I only needed to purchase canned, diced Organic tomatoes (on sale 4@$5) and whole wheat Linguine. Making this recipe in it's full size makes enough leftovers for me and the kids to eat lunch twice later in the week, bonus!

Chicken and spinach flautas and chips with guacamole

Avacados are still 5@$4, which made me want guacamole (when do I ever NOT want guacamole?) and with cilantro only $0.49 and a red onion only $0.69, I decided it would be a side dish with something this week. I choose chicken and spinach flautas because I had leftover tortillas to stuff with one portion of the mixture I had in my freezer. Super easy week night meal!

Sauteed Mahi Mahi with Romesco sauce over almond couscous 

I have been meaning to test this recipe from Cooking Light for months now and with red bell peppers only $1.00 and having almonds, garlic, and the other ingredients on hand, I decided this would be the week to do so. I will use the portion of Mahi Mahi I have on hand and serve it over couscous that I have on hand. 

Grilled barbeque-sauced chicken pizzas

Finally, I got my hands on some of Safeway's pizza dough! They never have any in-stock when it's on sale and I always kill myself to make it from scratch here at home. I'm so excited to finally have gotten two packages of it and for only $1.00 each! I'll layer the dough with barbeque sauce (I have it on hand), leftover grilled chicken from earlier in the week, shredded mozzarella cheese (I have it on hand), pineapple chunks (I have it in my freezer), and green onions (using up what remains from the lettuce wraps).

What did I purchase this week?

I only spent $165.62 this week because of all the great Just4U deals and coupons at Safeway this week. I spent the majority of my budget on fresh, Organic produce for the week's breakfasts, lunches, and snacks (grapes, berries, mangos, plums, celery, broccoli, apples, bananas) and on stocking up on boneless, skinless chicken breasts and ground turkey (on sale $2.99ea). I stocked up on Ziploc freezer bags because they were $1.50 off plus I had a $1.00 coupon if I purchased two boxes. I also stocked up on canned, sliced peaches (I never have luck pitting and removing the skin on fresh peaches without destroying the fruit!), which were 2@$1.00. One of my biggest scores this week were the $5ea bags of limes and lemons! I will squeeze the juice into ice cube trays and freeze to use throughout the year when citrus isn't on sale. We use a lot of lemons and limes and since we moved and I no longer have an unlimited supply of Meyer Lemons, I have to juice them and freeze them any time I can get them on sale. We were low on Organic flaxseed waffles, which were on sale $2@$5, applesauce squeeze pouches were also on sale 3@$5, and Fiber1 oats and chocolate bars were 4@$5 and I had a Just4U deal for an additional $0.50 per box. Because I stocked up on yogurt and Organic milk last week (that doesn't expire for a few more weeks), I didn't have to purchase any this week. We also aren't eating much bread and have English muffins in the freezer so, I didn't have to purchase any bread this week.