In the Kitchen...Menu Plan May 4 - 9

I wonder how many of these "time to get back on the menu plan!" posts I have on this blog.  It's one of those things that I know I *should* do, but sometimes I just get lazy.  Actually, even when I don't have one posted here, there's usually a list on the "board of possibilities" on the fridge that I can work from.  At the moment, that board is empty as we've eaten everything that was on it.

About six weeks ago we looked at our spending and decided if we were going to move forward with any of our plans, we needed to really focus on sticking to our budget.  Next to the mortgage, food is our biggest expense (and depending on how the month goes, sometimes it even surpasses the mortgage.  So we're trying hard to stick to the budget.  Last month I was within $60.  This month, a trip to Costco with daughter in tow completely blew it out of the water. 

So now my focus is on using what we have.  I've been slowly whittling away at our over-stuffed pantry.  I found room to put my new ice cream maker in there, so that's progress.  Eventually I hope to have a whole section dedicated to kitchen equipment, because my cupboards are overstuffed with pans and small appliances (gadget girl here!). 

In a couple of months, I'm going to be getting five farm-raised local chickens, so I need to make room in the freezer for those.  I'm really excited about that - local chicken is hard to come by around here!

This week, I need to use up sprouting potatoes and broccoli.  Speaking of broccoli, which makes me think of broccoli beef (word association!), I need to find a new cut of beef for making broccoli beef.  We've been using hangar steak, which we LOVE LOVE LOVE, but it's $8 a pound now or something ridiculous like that, and I can't justify that while we're trying to scale back.  Flank steak would be perfect but it's even more expensive.  Thinking about bottom round but I need to do a little research online and see what other people are using. 

And so, without further adieu (er, total babbling), I present...our menu plan.

Scalloped potatoes and ham (this will only have two cheeses this time!)
Chicken and Broccoli impossible pie
Chicken Strips and Oven Fries
Spaghetti
Grilled sausages with black bean and rice salad (salad recipe from this  cookbook)
Ham and Beans (I will likely use a different kind of beans as I'm not fond of limas, though I do have butterbeans (large limas) in my pantry).

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Have a great week!  And, as always, remember to visit Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.com for more menu planning ideas than you ever imagined!