Menu Plan Monday - December 1

It's time to break out the recipe books and search the internet for holiday desserts, cookies, and other seasonal favorites. My daughter has found a gluten-free cookie cookbook at the library and she's already made some goodies from it. We bought a large bag of Pamela's Gluten-free Baking Mix. It works very well in place of the gluten-free flour mix called for in the recipes, provided you do not add the xanthan gum that the recipes use (it is already included in the baking mix). 

Money is always in short supply for us during the Christmas and New Year season due to my husband's line of work - who is here to purchase anything when it's cold and snowy outside and they can be in sunny Florida or Texas? Because we're not only trying to pay our bills but also purchase a few gifts for our children, we find ways to scrimp at the grocery store. This year is even worse than last - the prices for food just keep rising. This week I was able to purchase pork chops and steaks at a super sale price (along with reduced costs because of short dates). Personally, I don't eat meat except on rare occasions. My husband and kids, however, feel as if the earth is shaken if they don't have meat at the table.

The good news is that gasoline has gone down for the last month or so. I can't believe we are filling up the tank for less than $3.00 a gallon. Let's hope the trend continues for a while. Now, if we can only get the food prices to lower too, we'll be all set. Wait a minute ---- I forgot about rising insurance and health care costs ----

Here's the menu plan for the week:

Monday

Seasoned Pork Chops

Cheesy Rice

Green Beans

Left-over Pumpkin Pie

Tuesday

Round Steak

Baked Potatoes

Tossed Salads

Home-canned Peaches

Wednesday

Sloppy Joes

Potato Chips

Home-canned Applesauce

Thursday

Potato Soup

Crusty Rolls

Friday

Pizza & Pop

Saturday

Burgers (including veggie)

Home Fries

Tossed Salads

Sunday

On Your Own