Menu Plan for the week of October 26th: Eat from the pantry week

There were absolutely no good sales this week at Winn-Dixie or Save A Lot.  So what to do about a menu when you don't have a shopping plan?  Buy the basics and eat mostly from what you already have on hand. 

Looking ahead at my week I see that we are going to be very busy!  I'm sure most of you are too since it is the week of Halloween and Fall Festivals at local churches.

Sunday is my annual family reunion.  I will be making a lemon pound cake along with some baked macaroni and cheese.   After the reunion, I'm having a smaller gathering of close family to carve pumpkins and have a bowl of chili. 

Monday is Caleb's 15th birthday.  I try to make each child their absolute favorite meal on their birthday.  He is my most picky eater and when asked he says he doesn't have a favorite meal.  Boo!  I decided on grilled hamburgers, tater tots, cucumber slices and chocolate cake.

Tuesday I plan to pull a ham from the freezer.  Along with the ham we will have green beans, mac and cheese, and crescent rolls.

Wednesday we will be walking down to the First Unite Methodist's Pumpkin Patch and having chili and hotdogs with friends there. 

Thursday is Trunk or Treat at my home church, Madison Street Baptist.  Our church went with Thursday to avoid clashing with so many other area churches who will be doing activities on Wednesday.  If you are in the area, come by MSBC and join in the fun with free food, free candy, and inflatables for the kids, along with some fantastic trunks for Trunk or Treat!

Friday is Halloween.  Normally I would try to make a silly or scary meal but this year we have a home football game that involves Christin, Brandi, and Caleb.   I will put the ham bone from Tuesday in the crock pot with some dried lima beans and make a pan of cornbread.  This way each person can grab a bowlful and eat when their schedule allows. 

Saturday is band marching contest.  Woohoo!  We will be traveling to see the Bradford and Union County Bands perform and I will be taking a cooler full of snacks and drinks. 

The only items I see myself actually needing to buy this week are the basics:  bread, milk, fresh fruit. 

I encourage you to also look at your schedule, see what you already have and fill in the gaps.  Let's make this a pantry and freezer week and save some money!