It's time to get re-organized

The start of a new school year - time to organize and get back into routines. The number one routine that gives almost instant gratification is making menus. So this afternoon I sat down with my crock pot cookbook (because I still don't have ovens) and came up with 7 recipes that sounded pretty good. Then I made a list of the ingredients (minus very obvious things like salt, pepper, olive oil, etc), checked off what I have and went to the store. I'm pleased to say that I got everything except the pork chops at Aldi. All the ingredients I didn't have, plus basic cheeses and salsa I like to have on hand, plus stuff for lunches and snacks, plus a treat for Doug and I for tomorrow, for $140.

Sounds like a lot of chicken recipes, but I probably won't cook every night so this will cover a week and a half. And my kids don't appreciate much variety in side dishes, so they are repeated too.

Here are the menus:

1 Minestrone Soup (for Monday when my vegetarian friends are over)
2 Raspberry Glazed Meatball over Egg Noodles
3 Pecan & Apple Stuffed Pork Chops
4 Chicken Mozambique
5 Chicken & Stuffing Casserole
6 Classic beef & Noodles
7 Cheesy broccoli Casserole

Ingredient List

Minestrone:
red potatoes
carrots
beef broth
diced tomatoes
green cabbage
zucchini
onion
green beans
celery

Meatballs:
prepared turkey meatballs
raspberry preserves
fresh ginger
egg noodles

Stuffed Pork Chops:
thick pork loin chops
green apple
onion
white bread
pecans
butter
apple juice

Chicken Mozambique:
boneless chicken 2.5 pounds
white wine
butter
onion
lemon juice
rice

Chicken w/ Stuffing:
chicken breast
butter
cream of mushroom soup (2 cans)
stuffing mix

Classic beef:
beef stew meat (2 pound)
fresh mushrooms
onion
beef broth
sherry
sour cream
egg noodles

Cheesy broccoli:
frozen chopped broccoli (2 pkg)
cream of celery soup
shredded cheddar cheese
saltines or potato chip crumbs
chopped cooked chicken