For those of you for used to follow my other blog

You will find some of the same money saving and healthy recipes on my new blog as well.  Many of you already know that menu planning is the first step in budgeting so here it is our Menu Plan from today until next week.  I have even included the detailed shopping list I used.  That is another big money saver for me, by the way.  Sticking to your list and going to the sections in your list that you have needs in.

Grocery List
Produce	Dairy	Bread/Cereal	Dry Foods	Sweets & Snacks
onion	Shreeded cheese	Hoagie buns	Brown sugar	Kool-aid for lunches
carrots	Butter		Sodium free chickne broth packets	pop
celery	Mozz shredded 1 large bag		Ketchup	water
garlic	Fat free cream cheese		Lasgana noodles
			TVP
			Taco Sheels hard & soft
			Refried beans
			Spilt Peas
Canned Foods	Meats	Frozen
Pasta sauce	Turkey Ham	broccoli
	Ground beef	Turkey meatballs
		Green beans
		French fries
		corn

 

*All strike through items are needed but are currently in my home!

Tuesday Night Taco Night!

Our recipe included TVP..and for those of you who aren't familiar with TVP, it is Texture Vegetable Protein it can be found in the baking isle at most large markets...next to the gluten free products. I rehydrate a cup and add it to 1 pound of ground beef(usually 80/20), and then add taco seasoning.

1 cup of TVP

1 cup of chicken broth( or sodium free stock)

taco seasoning (we use our own it is cheaper and you do not have to worry about egg allergies)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

hard shells

soft shells

sour cream( we use light)

salsa

Sides

Mexican corn ( recipe to follow)

fat free canned refried beans

Mexican Corn

Ingredients

• 1 bag of frozen corn cooked and drained
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/4 cup butter (or substitute)
• 5 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan combine corn, cream cheese, butter, jalapeno peppers and garlic salt. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until heated through, stirring constantly after cream cheese begins to melt.

Wednesday- Roasted Asparagus Lasagna

• 2 pounds of fresh asparagus trimmed into 1 inch pieces

• The recipe calls for primavara type veggies, I used carrots and chopped spinach
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (we omit these the hubby hates them...but I figure they would be yummy)
• 2 T. olive oil, divided
• 4 T. butter
• 6 T. all-purpose flour
• 1/2+ t. salt (add more to taste)
• 1/4+ t. pepper (” “)
• 3 c. milk –or you can sub 3 cups of chicken stock
• 1 c. thinly sliced onion( it called for red but I used the yellow I had on hand)
• 4-6+ garlic cloves (
• 12 oz. Lasagna noodles, cooked and drained (100% whole wheat if you can find them)
• 1 1/2 c. (6 oz.) shredded mozzarella
• 3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• (optional) cooked, chopped chicken – I usually use chicken leftover from dinner from last week
  

1. Place asparagus and mushrooms (also chicken if you’re using it, and/or the primavara veggies) in shallow baking dish or roasting pan. Drizzle with 1 T. oil, toss to coat. Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes or until vegetables are browned; set aside. Reduce heat to 350.
2. In large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt & pepper until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Set aside. In a large skillet (we use cast iron for everything), saute onion and garlic in remaining oil until tender. Remove from heat; add roasted asparagus, mushrooms (and chicken). (If I want to dirty fewer dishes, I’ll just saute the onion, garlic, and asparagus mixture all together in a huge cast iron frying pan.)
3. Grease a 9×13 baking dish with a stick of cold butter. Start layering: noodles, a third of asparagus mixture, a third of the white sauce, repeat twice. Sprinkle both cheeses on top.
4. Cover loosely (so foil doesn’t touch the cheese) and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until heated through. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting. Yield: 12 servings.

The original recipe came from  I have changed it very little

Click here to check it out