Weekly Meal Plan With Meal Cost Breakdown

I've been posting our weekly meal plans on my other blog, but I should probably start posting them here as well. Since I shop on Friday, our menu plans run from Friday through to the next Thursday, and this week it looks like this:

Friday: Hamburgers & Chips [large burger patty, big salad]
Saturday: Tacos [chicken breast, beans, salad]
Sunday: Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya [jambalaya, salad]
Monday: Tuna Patties, Pasta, and Green Beans
Tuesday: Meatball Soup, Garlic Bread
Wednesday: Spaghetti, Garlic Bread
Thursday: Tater Tot Casserole

And tonight I worked out the cost of each meal, and the cost per serving. It's a little tricky because I'm on a low-carb diet and don't always eat the same meals I cook for the boys, but I'm figuring in my costs, too.

The hamburger and chips meal was the least expensive so far. A half pound of ground beef ($3), 3 hamburger buns ($1) (I bought a half dozen, the others are in the freezer for next week), a half a bag of frozen oven fries ($1), some salad ($1.50), and Coke ($1) cost a total of $8, so that works out to $2 each.

The tacos were more expensive (but only because I had a grilled chicken breast instead), with another half pound of ground beef ($3) and a taco meal kit ($4), salad, cheese, sour cream, etc. ($2), Coke ($1), plus I had a half a can of beans ($0.40) and a chicken breast ($2.50) for a total of $12.90, or $3.23 each.

And the chicken and sausage jambalaya was in the middle, with a cup of basmati rice ($1), a chicken breast ($2.50), a couple of links of sausage ($3.50), a can of diced tomatoes ($0.80), 2 cups of chicken stock ($1), Coke ($1) and some salad for me ($1) for a total of $11.80, or $2.95 each.

That's three dinners for roughly $32.70, and I'm pretty happy with that. I'm a little bit surprised at how cheap the burgers are, especially since grabbing McDonalds instead would set us back between $35 and $40. And while the oven-baked chips don't compare to hot, deep-fried, salty, golden French Fries, the kids agree that my burgers beat Maccas' any day of the week.

So far the kids have enjoyed all the meals on the menu. Friday night is almost always Burger Night, except on the rare occasion that it's Pizza Night (sometimes homemade, but usually take-out), and they really enjoy it. It's how we start our weekend.

And Saturday night is almost always Mexican Night, but rarely tacos. Usually we do nachos or, if I'm working I'll fix up some enchiladas that Karen can throw in the oven for half an hour. Lately, I've been trying some different Mexican-inspired casseroles (some of which have been better received than others), but because we have tacos so rarely, the kids think of them as a treat, and thoroughly enjoyed them.

The jambalaya was a recipe that I've had for a while, but haven't cooked in a long time. In fact, I didn't remember ever cooking it, but both Jack and James insisted that I have, so I'll take their word for it. Everybody enjoyed it, and there were complaints about the absence of left-overs, so I might have to add more rice next time.

So hey, I'm three for three, and I'm doing it on the cheap!