Menu Planning Monday - budget stretchers

chicken tacos - HEB combo loco (30 min meal) ($5)
buy ground chicken at $2.50 lb, get taco shells and salsa free (and cheese too). One of our new grocery faves is lettuce shreds. Yes, we know we can just thin slice iceberg lettuce and get more out of our purchase, but we really think theres something to the shreds. They actually have flavor whereas iceberg is usually very bland if not bitter. I'm not big on ground chicken - I find it dry, but Walker really wanted to try this cut out. I'm happy to see him getting more involved with meal planning. Served with FF veg. refritos topped with a little FF sour cream, salsa, and cheese melted on top

Hot doggies - HEB combo loco (30 min meal) ($8 w/leftovers)
Buy the all beef lite franks @ $2/ea, get 2% Kraft ched free which will be for taco night too! Buns on sale for a buck. Having these w/lowfat hotdog chili, sliced fresh strawberries/bananas, holy trinity salad. Our quest for more side options goes on, but we managed to start eating carrots by getting creative.

Grilled chicken and veggies salad - BOGO deal (30 min meal) ($6)
Still had a pack of the chicken tenders left from my Kroger BOGO deal. George foreman and a little BW3 grilling sauce, and voila - man food that he'll never know is good for him. Kroger had all colored bell peps on sale for a buck each, a steal in my eyes. He has also approved zuchinni as a veg for his limited farm fresh palette, so I'll grill those up too and throw on my cheap bag salad, topped with homemade citrus vineagrette.

Grilled italian seasoned chicken breasts over spag and veggie marinara (30 min meal) ($6.50 w/leftovers)
Premarinated chicken on sale at HEB, $3.50 for 1.5lb. Had the pasta and veggie marinara in freezer, along with 3/4 of garlic bread loaf. Ceasar lite kit on sale for $3 - we love this so had to have.

Slow cooker - pork tenderloin and potatoes (Crock Pot during the day, 30 mins to finish) ($5)
Tenderloin on sale for $2.77 lb!! wow!! This was so easy! 1 pork loin, 4 russet potatoes, water to cover, and one package onion soup mix. The pork was so tender, more like pulled pork. I removed the potatoes and smashed with a little baked potato fillings - these were the real winner. Also thickened the aujus into a gravy right in the CP and poured over the pulled pork. Served with steamed broc on sale at Kroger for buck a bunch.

Hamburger Helper - makes a great meal apparently... (def. 30 min meal) ($5)
90% lean on sale in value packs - $2.99 lb. Bought a 2 lb. pack and split for two HH nights. Walker had picked up a double box of the "dinner in a pinch" so I figured he could make that a couple nights. Mix in some corn, broccoli, whatever. Serve with extra salad.