December: Meal Plan on a Budget!
It’s December!
According to Canada’s Food Price Report for 2024, a family of 4 will spend $16,297.20 on food this year — that’s up $701.79 from 2023!
That’s $1,358.10 a month.
That’s roughly $313.40 a week.
NEW CHALLENGE!!!
Let’s feed me, my husband, our 15 year old and our 11 year old for about HALF that and make a week long menu plan for under $160.00!
Here is the November weekly meal plan staying close to my budget of $160.00! I want you to have all the tools to be able to feed your family 7 healthy(ish) meals, while not putting yourself into the poorhouse! I hope you enjoy and please let me know if you follow this weekly plan and if you were able to stick to the budget! NEW FEATURE ALERT!!!! Now you can click on the recipe listed in the MENU below and it will take you directly to the recipe!!
MENU
Sunday: Yule Ball Beef Goulash
Monday: Spanish Beans & Eggs with Toast
Tuesday: Garbage Bread with Fresh Pizza Dough
Wednesday: French Onion Chowder
Thursday: Sausage Alfredo Pasta Bake
Friday: Buttery Garlic Baked Croissants with Turkey & Harvarti
Saturday: Chicken Orzo
Staple Items
These items are ALWAYS in my pantry or fridge. This tip bares repeating… As soon as I see an item running out it goes on the my shopping list. If they come up on my PC Points list or go on sale, I buy them. We have a second fridge in the garage, so I always have eggs, mayo, soy sauce, etc. on hand. It may take you a while and some money to get this system going but once you do… your wallet will thank you. Things I need for this week’s menu that I already have in my kitchen (my staple items) are listed below on the left. The items that I need to buy are listed on the right.
SHOPPING LIST:
STAPLE ITEMS:
12 tablespoons olive oil
3 onions
1 can diced tomatoes
3 teaspoons smoked paprika
4 tablespoon parsley
2 tablespoons chives
salt & pepper
1 lb ground beef
1 cup mozzarella cheese
2 bell peppers
2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
3 teaspoons thyme
1/3 cup dry white wine
5 Yukon gold potatoes
4 1/2 cups flour
4 bay leaves
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ chicken bouillon cube
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon paprika
3 boneless skinless chicken breast
⅓ cup dry white wine
¾ lb. orzo
3 large carrots
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup red wine
4 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 package pasta
10-12 leaves fresh basil or 2-3 teaspoons dried
4 teaspoons apricot jam
4 teaspoons honey mustard
1⁄2 cup leaf lettuce
1 lb Italian Sausage
Garnish: Everything Bagel seasoning & honey
NEED TO BUY ITEMS:
2 cups cheddar cheese
5 eggs
1 can white beans
18 cloves garlic
Jar of Alfredo sauce
4 large croissants,sliced
8 slices havarti cheese
16 slices deli turkey
3 tablespoons canned cranberry sauce
3 large celery stalks
1 lb beef chuck stew meat
3 cups broccoli florets
1 3/4 cup heavy cream
9 1/2 cups chicken broth
Yeast
7 tablespoons butter
2 pounds sweet onions
1 thin crust pizza dough (store-bought or homemade)
SUNDAY: Yule Ball Beef Goulash
I’m not going to lie, I was unsure about this one. There are some dishes I don’t like to mess with and stew is one of them. This recipe called for different flavours than I’m used to in my stew but Ninja and I both agreed that this was a fantastic and flavourful alternative to our normal, winter stew. The paprika and cranberry sauce, gave it such a nice twist! We would definitely have this again!
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb beef chuck stew meat
2 tablespoon flour, for dredging
2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 teaspoon pepper, divided
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine
3 tablespoons cranberry sauce
4 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
2 bay leaves
3 potatoes, diced
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, season the beef with 1 tsp of the divided salt and 1/2 tsp of the divided pepper. Reserve to the side while you prep the vegetables, around 10 minutes or more is great. Pat down beef with a paper towel to remove excess moisture, then dredge in flour.
In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the oil and heat until shimmering. Brown each side for 3-5 minutes (depending on size) before flipping. The meat will brown better undisturbed so don't be tempted to flip early. Remove beef to a plate and rest.
Lower the heat slightly to just above medium and add the onion and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent. Add the carrots, celery and bell pepper and sautee for 3-4 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook until it begins to darken, then add the wine to deglaze, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Allow the wine to reduce by about half, then add the cranberry jelly, stirring until melted.
Add the beef back to the pot, then add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Stir to combine.
Allow the stew to come to a boil then reduce heat to simmer, add the remaining 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper, and cover. Allow to simmer for 75-minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure that the stew does not begin to boil. In the last 25 minutes, add the potatoes and allow to simmer uncovered. If additional liquid is needed, it can be added at this point. Beef broth or water are both good options, if needed. Once the potatoes are tender, remove bay leaves, taste for salt and adjust if needed.
MONDAY: Spanish Beans & Eggs with Toast
Eggs, tomatoes and white beans, can you really go wrong with that delicious trio? No, the answer is no. This egg dish was so yummy, every single one of us sopped up every last drop with buttery toast. I love changing up our breakfast for dinner every once in a while and this one is a definite winner. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can white beans, rinsed
4 eggs
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons chives, chopped
salt & pepper
Directions
Heat a large pan with a medium heat and add in olive oil, after 2 minutes add in the garlic and onion. After 3 minutes add in paprika and continue to mix, 30 seconds later add in l diced tomatoes, 1 tbsp parsley and 1 tbsp chives, mix until well combined and cook for 2 minutes, then add in the white beans and season with salt & pepper, mix until well combined and let it simmer.
About 3 minutes after adding the beans, create pockets in the skillet and add the eggs into each pocket, so they sit in place, lightly season the eggs with salt & pepper, place a lid on the pan. Cook until the egg whites are fully cooked through but the egg yolks are still runny.
Once the eggs are cooked, remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle with freshly chopped chives.
TUESDAY: Garbage Bread
Ninja was so excited for this meal and it did not disappoint! We made our favourite easy pizza dough in our Oster bread maker and after that, this was incredible easy! We love Strombolies and this was a twist on that. It was a very yummy and fun dinner that we all loved! HBear’s boyfriend even had seconds.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Ingredients
1 thin crust pizza dough (store-bought or homemade)
1 lb ground beef
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste
1 egg (for egg wash)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
Preheat your oven to 375°F. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onions until they’re just starting to turn translucent.
Add in the ground beef, breaking it apart with a spoon, and cook until browned. Season with salt and pepper, and add garlic. Add the bell peppers and Italian seasoning. Stir together and cook for another couple of minutes.
Roll out your pizza dough on a floured surface to prevent sticking, and create a rectangle about 10x14 inches.
Spread ground beef mixture over the dough, leaving a slight border around the edges. Sprinkle with mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
Carefully roll up the dough, starting from the long side, and pinch the ends shut. Place seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Make a couple of slits on top of the bread for steam to escape. Beat the egg and brush it over the top.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the bread is beautifully golden and sounds a little hollow when tapped. Let it rest for a few minutes. Then slice it up and serve warm.
Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
1 packet Quick Rise yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon dried basil
Directions
Place all ingredients in bread machine pan. Select DOUGH setting, then press START. It will take 1 hour 30 minutes for the machine to process the dough.
WEDNESDAY: French Onion Chowder
I love French onion soup. Like, I LOVE French soup! Unfortunately, my Kids hate it! So I thought I could trick them and make this chowder! It did not trick them at all, but I don’t care lol because it was amaze balls! Like, I smile just thinking about it! It was so delicious.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 pounds sweet onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 medium potatoes, coarsely peeled and chopped
1/4 cup flour
8 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
salt & pepper, to taste
Directions
Place butter and olive in a dutch oven and heat on medium-high heat. Once melted add sliced onions with a pinch of salt. Toss the onions in the butter and oil, cover and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid, stir and reduce the heat to medium-low heat. Cook for 40 to 45 minutes stirring every 5 minutes until deeply golden brown.
Once the onions have caramelized, add in garlic and thyme and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Then add in wine and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until reduced by half.
Next add in the potatoes and flour, and cook for 2 minutes before pouring, while stirring, in the chicken broth and heavy cream.
Add the bay leaves, cover and heat on medium-high bringing the soup to a low-boil. Then uncover and reduce the heat to medium to medium-low and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until the potatoes are thoroughly cooked through. Remove bay leaves and add parmesan cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
THURSDAY: Sausage Alfredo Pasta Bake
A go-to dinner for us is pasta with a jar of Alfredo sauce. Sometimes we add veggies and sometimes we add meat, this time we did both and baked it! I added a few things to this recipe that weren’t on the shopping list, but I had in my fridge, we diced up 3/4 of a red pepper that we had in the fridge and topped it with about a cup of mozzarella that we had shredded for something else the week prior. It was cheesy, creamy and delicious!
Ingredients
3/4 package pasta
1 lb Italian sausage
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
10-12 leaves basil
salt and pepper, to taste
Jar of Alfredo sauce
Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F and prepare a baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.
Cook pasta according to package directions in a large pot of water, salted generously. Follow directions to cook it to “al dente,” then drain the salted water. Set the cooked pasta aside. Drizzle a little olive oil over the pasta to keep it from sticking.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté onion and minced garlic in olive oil until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
Add sausage and heat until thoroughly cooked. I tossed in a half a red pepper that I had in the fridge. Remove from heat and stir in basil, salt, and pepper to taste. Place sausage mixture into prepared baking dish and set it aside.
Pour the Alfredo sauce over the sausage and stir until well-coated. Add pasta and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle shaved Parmesan cheese on top of the pasta (we had shredded mozza and we threw about a cup on top too). Bake for 20 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned.
FRIDAY: Buttery Garlic Baked Croissants with Turkey & Harvarti
Honey and cheese is quickly becoming one of my favourite combinations. Ninja is a sandwich guy and I’m always trying to find hot sandwiches for dinner that are new and interesting. This was ridiculously easy and tasted like a freaking gourmet sandwich at a trendy restaurant! We bought ham for school lunches this week and had a few pieces left that we didn’t want to go to waste, so we added them too! Yummers!
Buttery Garlic Baked Croissants with Turkey & Harvarti
4
servings10
minutes10
minutesIngredients
4 large croissants,sliced
8 slices havarti cheese
16 slices deli turkey
4 tablespoons apricot jam
4 teaspoons honey mustard
4 leaves lettuce
2 tablespoons garlic butter, melted
Garnish: Everything Bagel seasoning & a drizzle of honey
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.
On one half of each slice croissant spread about a tablespoon of jam. On the remaining half spread a teaspoon of honey mustard. Top one of the halves with two slices of Havarti and top the other half with four slices of turkey.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder. mix together.
Close the sandwich and brush the tops with melted garlic butter, sprinkle with everything bagel spice then drizzle with honey. Place the croissants on a baking sheet and place into oven for 6-8 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve warm
SATURDAY: Chicken Orzo
OK, not every meal we make goes according to plan lol this meal was super rushed because HBear had to stay late at one activity and was running behind to her next activity which made us rush dinner. We did not allow the sauce to reduce and the orzo was not cooked fully lol. We all still ate it and liked it lol especially Ninja and HBear who love love love super el dente pasta, SBean and me, not so much lol. When I had leftovers the next day I was blown away! It was rich and creamy and exactly what I was hoping it would taste like the night before lol it doesn’t matter, everything about this dinner was fantastic… Except for the pictures! Lol
Ingredients
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
3 cups broccoli florets
⅓ cup dry white wine
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
¾ lb. orzo
1 ½ cups cheddar cheese
- Sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1 ½ cups chicken broth
½ chicken bouillon cube
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon parsley
¼ teaspoon paprika
Directions
Combine the sauce ingredientsin a large measuring cup with a spout and set aside.
Cover the chicken with saran wrap and use a meat mallet to tenderize each side. Cut into strips and pat dry and season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the orzo.
Add the wine to the same skillet used to cook the chicken and set the heat to medium. Simmer until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the butter and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and stir continuously for 2 minutes.
Add the sauce mixture in small splashes, stirring continuously. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover partially while you boil the orzo.
Cook the orzo 1 minute less then what's noted on the package instructions. Add the broccoli to the boiling pasta water during the last 3 minutes. Drain once cooked.
Gradually sprinkle in the cheddar and Parmesan cheese into the sauce until combined.
Add the broccoli and the cooked orzo. Stir to combine and heat through for 1-2 minutes. The orzo will continue to absorb more and more sauce. Continue to cook until the sauce is reduced and the orzo is cooked through. Add the chicken and cover to heat through.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #406 Down Bad in Toronto This week, I talk all about my trip to see Taylor! Topics: Zellers, Kelowna flight, the hotel, the first morning, on the train, Taylgate, Era’s concert, getting home, SOW, opening act, & Memphis.
What a week!!! We are still recovering from our whirlwind trip to Toronto to see Taylor last week but had no choice but to get up and get going because… it was BIRTHDAY WEEK BABY!!! SBean celebrated her 12th birthday on Wednesday and it was pretty low key. We had her dinner of choice, steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans and then Grandma, Grandpa and Papa came over for cherry cheesecake and presents. More on birthday week, next week! On top of birthdays, HBear has been working her butt off, preparing for the high school musical, Aladdin Jr. This week was opening night! HBear was cast as Iago and she was phenomenal! Her cast performs mostly for the evening shows so she prepared a special chair for me front and centre during the performance for her school classmates on Friday morning, so good! I’m completely blown away by the sets that the Kids did plus acting, singing, and dancing! So good! HBear has been there every day for weeks getting ready. I just get pictures sent to me of her and her boyfriend backstage, they are so cute lol.
This weekend was silly lol we prepped for HBear’s family birthday lunch, Ninja set up the Christmas tree and lights, HBear performed with her Aladdin Jr cast at the OSNS telethon and then performed 2 shows while SBean threw her birthday/sleepover party! We had the whole family and HBear’s BF over for SBean’s birthday lunch choices of brisket and poutine and HBear’s lunch choices of Caesar Salad and Yorkshire pudding. HBear opened up presents and then hurried off to be in the Santa Claus Parade with the Aladdin cast and SBean ran off to dress rehearsal for the John Denver concert next week. It was a busy but awesome week.
1 thought on “December Meal Plan”
What a great meal plan. These all sound delightful.
Visiting today from SSPS 339 #45,46&47
Merry Christmas to you and your family.