Can I do it?

I've decided to try to live on half my salary. Obviously, there are a lot of factors involved here, but the biggest aspect by far is menu planning.

My typical routine involves "menu planning." I'll check the weekly grocery store ads and come with a couple of things to cook for the week. And I usually follow through - cooking on Saturday and/or Sunday and eating on those dishes for the rest of the week. In addition to going out for dinner and/or lunch an average of 3 or 4 times a week.

But, I don't just shop for what's on my grocery list. So, there's where I started yesterday. Earlier in the week I made a pantry/freezer list and created a two week menu based on those items and what was in the weekly ad. The goal is to not step foot in the grocery store again until I get back from a trip to Austin on October 16th (this is almost as big a deal as cancelling my cable. Almost.).

The first wrench in my plans was that the grocery store was out of the Perdue whole roaster chickens that were on sale. Now, the old me would have just grabbed one of the other chickens lying there and gone on about my business. But the new me noticed that the chicken I was after was on sale for $1.79 per pound and there was no other chicken combination around that matched that. So I asked the lady that came walking up to restock the kabobs to see if they had any in the back (again, almost as big a deal as the cable. Seriously.). They didn't. So, I had to regroup right there in the meat department of Publix. So, here's this week's menu. I made the soup yesterday morning based on what I had and froze half of it.

Saturday -

101 Cookbooks Ribollita I used garbanzo beans and spinach because that's what I had.

Artichoke and Spinach Dip I didn't have any cream cheese, so I used the recipe as a starting point. I halved everything except the artichokes, used pepper jack instead of cheddar, and baked it topped with more cheese

Simply Recipes Bolognese I added mushrooms and served it over penne. I froze 1/2 of it.

Sunday -

I'm heading to the Taylor Swift concert today with my childhood best friend and her 6 year old daughter. Ridiculously excited because we went to our first concert together - Rick Springfield 1984. Not cooking today and probably eating out all day. May have leftover soup for lunch.

Monday -

Lunch - leftovers

Dinner - Steak (my grandmother recently sent me a bunch of Omaha steaks), baked potato and spinach salad

Tuesday -

Lunch - leftovers

Dinner - homemade pizza with mushrooms and spinach

Wednesday -

Lunch - out

Dinner - leftovers

Thursday -

Lunch - sandwich

Dinner - leftovers

Friday -

Lunch - leftovers

Dinner - breakfast for dinner

Saturday -

Lunch - salmon patties and couscous

Dinner - Roasted Chicken, mushroom risotto, roasted broccoli

I spent $114 at the grocery store yesterday, and I'm hopeful that I'll actually be able to make that last (with one stop for fresh produce) the month. Will keep you posted!