A new challenge

After reading this article, I was inspired. Eating out is one of our biggest budget challenges (well, that and my tendency to grocery shop compulsively). So I talked to hubby about it. Today marks the beginning of a new budget month for us, and we're going to give it a shot.

Our rules are simple: we will not have an eating out budget (if I'm going to Starbucks it's coming out of my allowance!), and we can buy anything we want at the grocery store. I also like her philosophy that, if you find you NEED to eat out for some reason, you write it down and look at the situation, to try to change it in the future.

So I made up a list of a month's worth of meals that I can make, including some quick and easy stuff for nights when I'm tired, and some more cooking-intensive items for weekends when I really feel like doing it right.

So here are 31, whether or not we eat them all:

1. tacos (chances are we'll have this at least twice)
2. tamale pie
3. salsa chicken
4. balsamic chicken
5. buttermilk chicken
6. grilled pork chops
7. roasted cornish game hens
8. grilled salmon
9. teriyaki chicken
10. grilled cheese and soup
11. spaghetti
12. beefy tomato skillet
13. oven fried chicken strips
14. fish sticks and frozen fries
15. turkey burgers
16. hamburgers
17. chicken and black beans
18. pork tacos
19. stuffed peppers
20. blackened chicken salad
21. jambalaya
22. chili
23. tandoori chicken
24. rotisserie pork loin
25. kielbasa and cabbage
26. enchiladas
27. fried rice (pork or chicken)
28. Spanish rice cassserole
29. BBQ chicken pizza
30. stroganoff
31. chili dogs