Weekly meal plan and Monday dinners

Here's the place to share your meal ideas for the evening, post where you bought the ingredients frugally and even share a recipe if you would like. If you need some inspiration for your own dinner tonight, this may give you some helpful ideas.

What's on your menu tonight?

Sunday night we had rotisserie chicken, homemade dressing and squash & onions. I always forget how easy it is to make homemade dressing and it tastes so good. I used 16 oz. whole wheat bread (broken up and left sitting on 2 cookie trays for a couple hours), sauteed celery, onions and mushrooms, 1 cup chicken broth, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, pepper and parsley. Bake in oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. I vow to make it more often as everyone loved it.  You can see a photo of dinner from Sunday evening above.

* Monday:  Homemade veggie soup (using homemade chicken stock I made Sunday night), grilled cheese sandwiches, apple slices. See recipe below.

* Tuesday:  BBQ beef in slow cooker (using London Broil on sale at Food Lion through 11/4 for $3.50/lb), rolls, cole slaw, steamed broccoli

* Wednesday:  Toasted chicken sandwiches on Chicago rolls (on sale at Lowes Foods through 11/4 for $1.49) topped with sauteed onions & green peppers (2 for $1 at farmer's market) as well as tomatoes and provolone. Sides of local corn (from the farmer's market for 9 ears for $4) and sugar snap peas.

* Thursday: Homemade veggie pizza with green peppers, mushrooms, black olives and onions, side salad

* Friday:  Garlic shrimp on a green salad, garlic bread

This vegetable soup includes some of my favorite vegetables. You can add any veggies you like (green beans, potatoes, cauliflower, etc)

2 cans (28 oz each) of diced tomatoes with liquid

4 - 6 cups chicken broth (I usually use 6 cups of water with 3 chicken bouillon cubes or 6 cups homemade chicken stock)

8 oz sliced mushrooms (although I often add 12 - 16 oz because I LOVE mushrooms!)

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 zucchini, sliced

2 yellow squash, sliced

2 carrots, sliced

1 onion, chopped

1 cup corn

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

Pepper to taste

Italian seasoning to taste (or fresh herbs at the end)

6 - 8 oz cooked pasta (I like to use medium shells)

Saute' the onions, celery and garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the rest of the veggies, canned tomatoes (including liquid in can) and chicken broth. Add any dry seasonings & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer on low, covered, for 1 to 1.5 hours. Remove bay leaf and add in the cooked pasta. Garnish with Parmesan. Serve with crusty bread.