I made an oops!

This morning I got ready to finalize my grocery list for next week.  We are headed out of town on Saturday morning and probably won't be back until later Sunday afternoon.  I wanted the list ready to go, so when we got home, I could just run out and pick up the few things (produce and milk) that we needed.  The problem?  I didn't make a menu.  When I did my initial menu for the month of March, I made it for four weeks and needed it to be for five.  Oops!

Since I have no money coming in next week, it meant that I had to do a "from the pantry" week.  This wasn't be too hard since I have several staples that I purchased in bulk.  My biggest thing was to use up what we already have so I don't have to buy much.  I think I did a pretty good job.  You will notice several of what would be considered to be more convenience meals.  They will still be from scratch, but they are made from the basics that we always have on hand.  Also, there are a lot of "eggy" dishes.  I have 9 dozen eggs.  I purchased 10 dozen at the beginning of the month, my father-in-law has brought me another 6 and we've been/will be out of town for two weekends, so there is no shortage of eggs in this house.  That's ok-we love 'em and eggs are very versatile.

So, here it is:
Monday-3/28
Breakfast:  Oatmeal, Strawberries
Morning Snack:  Veggies and Hummus
Lunch:  Spaghetti, French Bread, Clementines, Salad
Afternoon Snack:  Smoothie, Graham Crackers
Dinner:  Taco Salad, Spanish Rice, Corn

Tuesday-3/29
Breakfast:  Pancakes, Smoothie
Morning Snack:  Almonds
Lunch:  Cheese Pizza, Green Beans, Cantaloupe
Afternoon Snack:  Carrots with Peanut Butter
Dinner:  Fried Rice, Teriyaki Chicken

Wednesday-3/30
Breakfast:  Egg Muffins, Apple Juice, Toast
Morning Snack:  Smoothie
Lunch:  Chicken Strips, Broccoli, Blueberries, Breadsticks
Afternoon Snack:  Squash Oatmeal Muffins
Dinner:  Ham & Beans, Cornbread

Thursday-3/31
Breakfast:  Granola Bar, Oranges
Morning Snack:  Raisins
Lunch:  Waffles w/ Cranberry Syrup, Smoothie, Apple Slices, Corn
Afternoon Snack:  Popcorn
Dinner:  Cheese Omelets, Bacon, Toast, Fruit (whatever misc. fruit is around)

Friday-4/1
Breakfast:  Freezer muffins (I have a few of several different kinds hanging out in my kitchen freezer), Orange Juice
Morning Snack:  Cereal
Lunch:  Egg Salad, Peas, Banana, Crackers
Afternoon Snack:  Brownies
Dinner:  Grilled Cheese, Pretzels, Cut up veggies

Saturday-4/2
Breakfast:  French Toast Casserole
Lunch:  Meatball Sliders, Pea Salad
Dinner:  Chicken Lasagna

Sunday-4/3
Breakfast:  Leftovers
Lunch:  Leftovers
Dinner:  Will pick up when doing monthly grocery shopping or we will eat out if I do well budget-wise while shopping! :)

Grocery List
Strawberries $1.18
Carrots $1
Broccoli $3
Grape Tomatoes-if I can find some at a reasonable price $2
Lettuce $7 for 2 pkgs.
Spinach $4
Apples$5
Bananas $2
Mushrooms $1
Crackers-one of our stores has these B1G1Free $4
Sour cream-for making ranch dressing and for taco salads $1.25
Organic tortilla chips $3
Small container plain yogurt (to use as starter-I forgot and ate all of my batch without saving some to start the next batch) $.50
3 gallons whole milk (2 for drinking/baking, 1 for yogurt) $10

Total = almost $44

This is about average for what I spend on "off" weeks.  Plus, grocery prices are increasing every week it seems.  It is getting harder and harder to spend less on groceries and still maintain quality.  I am trying to justify the cost with the hope that eating better will mean less spent on medical.  Of course, as I type this, I'm dealing with a horrible sinus infection and have spent well over $150 treating it in the past two weeks and I'm no where near healed.  Ugh!