Ready for some “Lion” weather? March is almost here – time to come in like a lion, so March can go out like a lamb! I’m ready for warm days to be here – and to stay here. This is the first year that I’ll be able to plant a garden. We moved into a new house last summer and one was planted when we got here. So we’ve kind of inherited an already prepared area. Time for some tomatoes and maybe some bell peppers and cucumbers. Nothing fancy; gotta start small! Spring weather means the garden is one step closer!
Speaking of planning something, do you plan your menu? You should! I’m convinced that it’s one little step that makes a big difference in any grocery budget! If you’re interested in planning, take a look at this menu plan!
What if I don’t cook every night?
Awesome! I don’t either – we often have leftovers 2-3 night/week. Just take this basic plan, cut out some meals and make leftovers part of your plan!
What if I don’t want a particular meal on a specific night?
Awesome! Just take this basic plan and swap meals around.
What if I want to see the Excel version?
Awesome! You can download it here.
What if I don’t eat beef? Or chicken? Or pork?
Awesome! Just take this basic plan, remove the foods you won’t eat and put in foods you will eat.
What if I don’t know how to make that meal?
Awesome! Included are the links for the recipe that I usually use.
What if we always have pizza on Friday nights?
Awesome! (Can I come over?) Just remove my Friday meals and put in pizza.
What if I want to plan for more than just dinner?
Awesome! Feel free to print this out, write out breakfast & lunch meals. Or you can edit it in Excel and make it your own!
What if I don’t like your recipe?
Awesome! Use which ever recipe you normally use and just use this basic plan as a suggestion.
What if I have my own monthly menu plan?
Awesome! Care to share it? Share it down below in the comments so that we all can see it and be inspired!
What’s cool about this menu plan?
I tried to have a variety of meals each week – some beef, some chicken, and some pastas. That way you won’t get too bored. There are also plenty of ways to save time when using this menu plan. Examples: When prepping chicken at the beginning of the month, make enough for the other recipes and freeze it for future use. When making ground beef, brown 2-3 times the normal amount and freeze that. Check out these easy crockpot instructions for bulk cooking chicken and bulk cooking ground beef. It makes it super quick to pull meals together!
Also this month finishes off Lent. For those that are Catholic and don’t meat on Fridays, I used meat-less meals on Fridays. For those that do eat meat, feel free to modify the recipe to include chicken, pork or beef – whatever seems great!
Recipes in this menu plan:
Oven Baked Italian Sausages
Spicy Chicken Rigatoni
Fajitas
Kung Pao Shrimp
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Meatloaf
Chicken Noodle Casserole
Meatball Subs
Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl
Cheeseburgers (I make these on the griddle in the winter time)
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Slow Cooker Creamy Spaghetti
Chicken Pot Pie
Vegetable Soup
Taco Salad
Glazed Pork Chops
Slow Cooker Corned Beef & Cabbage
Pizza
Sweet Asian Chicken
Pork Tenderloin
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Stuffed French Bread
Oven Drumsticks
Tacos
Broccoli Alfredo Stuffed Shells
Broiled Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
Slow Cooker Ham
Ham & Bean Soup
Slow Cooker Italian Chicken
Crock Pot Smothered Pork Chops
Slow Cooker Barbeque Beef Sandwiches
Jayme is a wife to 1 and a mother to three little boys (soon to be 4 this summer!). She coupons, but isn’t super extreme about it. She price matches and loves it! While she likes to cook, she’s in the stage of life where simple is usually better! She never knows how many hands she’ll have free at dinner time! You can find her at No Regrets Living.
How much do you spend on average a month on a menu like this?! Im pretty excited I found your page!
I struggle with that question because I feel “out-of-touch” with what full retail prices are! Since I coupon, buy things on sale and have a good stockpile in my freezer and pantry, it’s hard for me to know what it would cost to start from “scratch”!
I also didn’t set out to intentionally create the least expensive meal plan that there could be. I mean, I have shrimp, ham & corned beef on here! (But that’s because it’s the season of Lent, St. Patrick’s Day & Easter) And except for Fridays, all my meals have meat. You won’t find a bunch of rice & beans.
My goal is family friendly recipes that are seasonally appropriate that take advantage of common ingredients that most of us have access to or routinely buy.
I hope it works for you!
This is awesome! I love how you’re sharing the meal plan and links to recipes. I’ve been wanting to do a meal plan but lost my momentum when hubby went off for an extended training. I should come up with something for when he returns though as things will get busy again.