Meng Menu + Fried Rice Recipe

Saturday: Homemade Eggrolls (never made these before! Excited!), Raman noodles (kickin' it old school!)

Sunday: Fried Rice w/ pork and asian veggies (Recipe below!)

Monday: Hot dogs, chips, corn on the cob (Happy Labor Day!)

Tuesday: Sloppy Joes, baked fries, carrot sticks

Wednesday: Calzones, salad

Thursday: Parent Night at Preschool (out to eat)

Friday: Chicken Pot Pie

Grocery shopping victory!

I spent $106 today which included pull-ups AND sherbet AND cake mix (those little extras!) YES! Plus I wanted to try to cook something new this week (eggrolls) and I bought  a lot of fancy-schmancy ingredients (can you say "oyster sauce"?) to make them and I STILL didn't break the bank! YEA!

See? you don't always have to deprive yourself of treats or cooking new things to stay on a budget. You just have to cook smart--like I am making Calzones two weeks in a row because I have most of the ingredients leftover. Plus they are yummy! Want to make your own? Here is the recipe!

And here is another recipe:

Fried Rice
Serves 4-6 (big portions)

This recipe is a great way to use up leftovers, it is quick, tasty, figure friendly (despite the name "Fried Rice" there is very little oil in this recipe), and kids love it--and so will you!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice (make extra one night and this recipe will go even quicker!)
2 cups diced cooked meat (I have used left over pork loin but chicken, steak, or shrimp would be great too!
1 egg
1-2 TBS vegetable oil
1 tsp sesame oil (I have this on hand but you could leave it out if you don't have it. It adds a wonderful asian flavor in the background though)
Frozen asian veggie medley OR leftover veggies in fridge (green beans, carrots, broccoli, whatever!)
2 green onions, greens diced
1 tsp minced garlic (or to taste)
Powdered ginger (to taste)
Ground mustard (to taste)
Hot sauce or red pepper (to taste)
2-3 TBS + one dash soy sauce (or to taste)

Make it:

Heat large (as big as you've got) skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray when hot.

Scramble egg with one dash of soy sauce. Pour in hot skillet and scramble with a wooden spoon until cooked and resembles little crumbles/ribbons. Egg will cook quickly! Remove from skillet.

Add vegetable and sesame oil to skillet. Throw in frozen veggies and toss to coat.  Add 1/4 cup water and bring to boil. Cook for 6-8 minutes or until tender. Add garlic.

Add meat, green onions and egg back into skillet (if using leftover veggies, simply heat oil and throw veggies in with meat, etc). Stir frequently until warmed through.

Add rice (if using cold leftover rice, warm in microwave until warm/hot before adding). Before you stir in the rice into the veggies/meat, add soy sauce, ginger, ground mustard, pepper on top. Stir everything in and heat through.

Serve!

My husband and kids love this--and so do I! You will too!