Cooking From Your Pantry | Menu Plan Ideas, Freezer Meals and Simple Recipes Week 4 of 52

I used to pop into the grocery store several times a week to pick up what we needed,  but now that I’ve reduced my grocery shopping to just one store, I’m starting to get the hang of planning ahead. I feel less stressed, I’m cooking more from scratch and better yet, I seem have more time to do the things I want to do. Why didn’t I think to do this years ago?

Here are my menu plan picks for this week:

3 Breakfast Ideas

Pineapple Orange Banana Smoothie – Don’t be afraid to use brown bananas and frozen pineapple in this tasty smoothie.  The frozen pineapple will make it creamier and the ripe banana will make it sweeter.  {Pin it for Later}

Homemade Poppy Seed Muffins – I love muffins.  You make a ton all at once and then can grab and go all week.  If you like lemon, exchange the almond extract for lemon extract.  {Pin it for Later}

Homemade Scones – You probably have everything you need to whip a batch of these up, plus you can pull down any flavor of your favorite jam to sweeten them up.  {Pin it for Later}

4 Lunch Ideas and Dinner Ideas

Beef and Barley Stew – This pressure cooker meal is ready in a snap, and it is soooo hearty and delicious.  {Pin it for Later}

Chicken Casserole w/Mashed Potato Topping – This is the meal and the sides all wrapped up into one neat little plate of deliciousness.  {Pin it for Later}

Spinach Salad w/Bacon Dijon Dressing – If you are looking for a lighter meal that is still packed with flavor, this spinach salad is awesome.  {Pin it for Later}

Feta Cheese and Cucumber Mediterranean Tuna Wrap – Wraps make it feel like you are lunching at a deli somewhere, but without the hairnets and soda fountain.  {Pin it for Later}

3 Sweet Treats 

Chewy Reese’s Stuffed Monster Cookie – These things are like cookies on crack.  They are like dessert inside a dessert, which is personally my favorite kind of dessert. {Pin it for Later}

Old Fashioned Apple Crisp – Apple crisp makes the house smell like love.  Seriously, your family will be like, “Aw, smells like mom really loves us.”  So make some love…ahem, keep your minds clean, people.  {Pin it for Later}

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream – Eat it plain, eat it on the apple crisp, or even better, go for the dessert trifecta and dollop a scoop on top of the warm Reese’s Monster Cookie.  Go on, live a little.  {Pin it for Later}

Featured Freezer Meal Recipe

Freeze Juice for Smoothies – Okay, so this isn’t really a meal, so much as freezing the ingredients to make a meal when you need it.  It’s a great way to get single serving juice for smoothies, without having a 1/2 carton going to waste in the fridge.  {Pin it for Later}

Featured Canning Recipe 

Homemade Apple Butter – This would taste amazing spread thickly all over one of those breakfast scones.  Just sayin’. {Pin it for Later}

What are YOU planning on making this week?

~Mavis

Find more recipes on One Hundred Dollars a Month as well as on my Pinterest Recipe Boards.

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