One thing that’s driving me crazy at the grocery store these days is the price of lunch meat. For me to buy a pound of lunch meat at the grocery store is $8.99/pound or more. No, I’m not buying the pre-packaged stuff that has all sorts of preservatives in it or what’s in the case and on super sale. I’m buying the lunch meat that has no preservatives, no sodium nitrates or sodium nitrites. Basically, I want less in my lunch meat but it costs more to have it. (This lunch meat pricing seems a bit like shopping for a bikini where less fabric costs more, but that’s another issue altogether and I’m trying to stay on topic.) Honestly, I’d rather go to my favorite seafood market and buy a lobster and have that for lunch since it costs $8.99/pound, too! Although, lobster is not what my kids want to pack for their school lunches. They’d rather have a slice of something flat. And, less smelly around lunch time.

What I’ve found that I like to buy from Trader Joe’s around the holidays (they don’t carry it year-round was what they told me) is a sliced ham that’s uncured and lacks all the chemicals and junk that are in most other sliced “lunch meats.” I bought a ham, divided it up, put it in several containers, and froze it. It works quite well in lunches or if you want to have your own ham, cheese, and egg sandwich for dinner one night, too. I think I’ll buy another one or two and freeze them for future use.

Weekly Meal Plan

Weekly meal planning saves money on our food bill, reduces food waste, and keeps me from sighing around dinner time and saying, “Let’s go out to eat,” which I used to proclaim more often. If you’re looking for more reasons to meal plan, check HERE. It’s a short list of 11 reasons why I do it. If you’re looking for more meal planning ideas, check HERE.

This meal plan is from Monday, December 3, 2012 to Sunday, December 9, 2012.

Monday: ham, cheese, and egg sandwich with veggies

Tuesday: vegetarian chili with cornbread

Wednesday: vegetarian chili with cornbread (leftovers)

Thursday: pan seared mahi mahi, brown rice, green salad

Friday: neighborhood holiday pot-luck party (we brought cole slaw)

Saturday: Christmas morning strata

Sunday: shrimp scampi and green salad

My daughter made dinner on Saturday morning (she made the make-ahead Christmas morning strata) and we ate it Saturday night for dinner. She did the final recipe test on it. My son made the shrimp scampi on Sunday night.

What’s for dinner at your house this week?

Go Gingham related links:

Pantry basics for the home cook – what’s in my pantry
Refrigerator basics for the home cook – what’s in my refrigerator
New to cooking at home? Fear not!
How we keep food waste to a minimum