Week 1 $70 menu for family of five

This week is all about chicken stock.

I've been really interested in what Katie from Busy Happy Kids has been up to lately, especially her recent $70 menu challenge. It got me thinking about what I would buy if I had an ongoing $70 per week grocery budget.

I realised I would try to buy things that would serve as the base for many meals over many weeks, which got me inspired to put together a month's worth of $70 per week menu plans for a family of five. These menus will build on each other, so that some things purchased in week one will hopefully stretch to feature again in week two and further, giving those weeks more wiggle room in the budget.

To put together today's Week 1 menu plan, I used Countdown's online shopping feature to get my prices. Everything listed below is as priced at Countdown this week (making it standard around New Zealand). I tried to make use of specials wherever possible, so some of these prices will change next week, but I will do Week 2's menu plan next week using that week's specials.


Shopping List (Total $69.95)

• Cucumber = $2
• Pop N Good Popping Corn 500g = $2
• NZ Rose Apples 1KG = $3
• Sun Valley Foods Pearl Barley 500g = $1.69
• Essentials Tomato Sauce refill 575g = $1.60
• Homebrand Rolled Oats 750g = $2.00
• Homebrand Mixed Frozen Vegetables 1KG = $2.29
• Leggos Supa Pasta Sauce 750g = $2.50
• Homebrand Sandwich Bread x 4 = $4 (save the bread bags for storing/freezing food)
• Signature Range Butter 500g = $5
• Valumetric Cheese Block Colby 1KG = $7.90 (use no more than half the cheese this week)
• Farmer Brown Eggs 20pack size 6 = $5
• Countdown Full Milk Powder 1KG = $8.99
• Essentials Soft Brown Sugar 500g = $1.50
• Signature Range Crackers Cheese 250g = $1.99
• Essentials Peanut Butter Crunchy 375g = $2.50 (save the container when it's empty for freezing chicken stock)
• Tegel Chicken Thighs 2KG = $10
• Essential Pasta Spirals 500g = $0.95
• Homebrand Long Grain Rice 1KG = $1.79
• Highmark Soy Sauce Golden 300ml = $2.25

Menu

Day 1 Breakfast

• French Toast (2 slices per person), using 10 pieces of bread dipped in a mixture of 3 eggs mixed with 3 Tablespoons of milk (made with a mixture of milk powder and water). Cook in a frying pan on a medium heat in a tiny smear of butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar to serve if desired.

Day 1 Lunchbox fillers and snacks for five people

• Sandwiches - Cucumber and butter, or peanut butter.
• Apple slices - Cut three apples into slices and divide between five lunchboxes.  (Remove pips from cores and freeze apple cores to save for apple sauce).
• Crackers and small cheese slices (two per person).
• Popcorn - Cook in butter on stove and sprinkle with salt if you have it.

Day 1 Dinner

• Divide the 2KG chicken thighs between two oven trays. 
• Put five of the chicken thighs into the first tray, rub chicken thighs with a sauce mixed up of 2T tomato sauce, 1T soy sauce, 1T brown sugar and 1T peanut butter. This is the chicken you'll be eating tonight. Bake at 180°C until golden and cooked through. Serve with cooked rice and 1 cup cooked mixed vegetables. (Make a double portion of rice and save half in the fridge for Day 3's fried rice dinner.)
• In the second tray - roast the rest of the chicken thighs at 180°C with salt and a sliver of butter per chicken thigh. Cook until golden and cooked through. (Baste after about 20 minutes by spooning melted butter from bottom of the tray and drizzling it over the chicken thighs). Allow to cool and then shred all the chicken meat off the thighs and divide between three containers or freezer bags. Freeze for later use. 
• Save all the empty bones from both trays of chicken to make chicken stock. Place in a large stock pot or two large saucepans filled with water. Simmer on a low heat for several hours. Strain liquid into multiple containers, including a 1/2 cup portion, 3 x 6-cup portions, plus several other portions for future uses. Place chicken bones back in the saucepans, cover with fresh water and repeat process to make more chicken stock. The goal is to make as much stock as possible out of the bones. (The chicken stock recipe I usually make also incorporates vegetable scraps and vinegar to draw out the gelatine from the chicken bones. Use this recipe if you have those ingredients in your kitchen, as it is even more nourishing and will stretch your bones further.)

Day 2 Breakfast (prepare pearl barley for tonight's dinner now)

• Porridge made with rolled oats, water and milk made with a mixture of water and milk powder. Serve with brown sugar if desired.

Day 2 Lunch - Leftovers from dinner or lunchboxes filled with:

• Cheese pizzas made with bread, tomato sauce, cheese and butter
• Cucumber slices
• Homemade popcorn
• Crackers and small cheese slices (two per person).

Day 2 Dinner

• Chicken barley soup - (This is a double recipe - save half for Day 5's dinner). In the morning, soak 1 cup pearl barley in four cups of water and leave to soak all day, then rinse and strain. At dinner time, saute 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables in a nob of butter for several minutes and then pour over 12 cups of chicken stock. Stir in the rinsed and strained pearl barley and cook on a medium heat for at least an hour, or until the pearl barley is cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste if you have it.
• Serve with buttered toast cut into strips

Day 3 Breakfast

• Egg-In-A-Hole - make one for each family member, using 1 slice of bread, 1 egg and a smear of butter per person. 

Day 3 Lunch - Leftover chicken barley soup or lunchboxes filled with:

• Sandwiches - Cucumber and butter or peanut butter
• Apple slices - Cut three apples into slices and divide between five lunchboxes.  (Remove pips from cores and freeze apple cores to save for apple sauce)
• Homemade popcorn
• Crackers and small cheese slices (two per person).

Day 3 Dinner

• Chicken fried rice (use Day 1's extra rice, plus soy sauce, 2 eggs, 1 of the portions of chicken you set aside from Day 1 and 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables).

Day 4 Breakfast

• Porridge made with rolled oats, water and milk made with a mixture of water and milk powder. Serve with brown sugar if desired.

Day 4 Lunch - Leftover fried rice or lunchboxes filled with:

• Cheese toasties made with bread, tomato sauce, cheese and butter
• Apple slices - Cut three apples into slices and divide between five lunchboxes. You could smear with peanut butter if desired.  (Remove pips from cores and freeze apple cores to save for apple sauce)
• Homemade popcorn
• Crackers and small cheese slices (two per person).

Day 4 Dinner 

• Pasta bake made by mixing together 1/2 pack of pasta spirals (cooked in water according to packet instructions), 1/2 cup of chicken stock, 1/2 jar pasta sauce and 1 portion of chicken thigh meat set aside on Day 1. Spread mixture out in a baking tray, sprinkle with grated cheese and top with bread crumbs made by grating a bread crust. Bake at 180°C for about 20-30 minutes, or until golden and heated through.

Day 5 Breakfast

• Egg and toast cups (Ignore the bacon in the linked recipe, just use 5 pieces of bread, 1/2 cup grated cheese, 5 eggs and a smear of butter to grease the muffin tray.)

Day 5 Lunch - Leftover pasta bake or lunchboxes filled with: 

• Peanut butter sandwiches.
• Apple slices - Cut three apples into slices and divide between five lunchboxes.  (Remove pips from cores and freeze apple cores to save for apple sauce).
• Homemade popcorn.
• Crackers and small cheese slices (two per person).

Day 5 Dinner

• Chicken barley soup - use the other half of the soup made on Day 2. Serve with buttered toast cut into strips. 

Day 6 Breakfast

• Porridge made with rolled oats, water and milk made with a mixture of water and milk powder.
• While porridge is cooking, make apple sauce out of the apple cores saved during the week. Simply place cores (which have had the pips removed) into a small saucepan with 2 Tablespoons water, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon if you have it. Cover and simmer cores on a low heat until soft. Mash with a potato masher and swirl through porridge if desired. 

Day 6 Lunch

• Leftover chicken barley soup served with toast. 

Day 6 Dinner

• Pasta (use the other half of the packet from Day 4) served with pasta sauce (use the other half of the jar from Day 4), the third portion of chicken set aside on Day 1 and a sprinkle of cheese.

Day 7 Breakfast

• Egg and toast cups (Ignore the bacon in the linked recipe, just use 5 pieces of bread, 1/2 cup grated cheese, 5 eggs and a smear of butter to grease the muffin tray.)

Day 7 Lunch

• Cheese pizzas made with bread, tomato sauce, cheese and butter. 

Day 7 Dinner

• Easy long-grain rice risotto. Use 2 cups rice, 6 cups chicken stock, 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables, butter and cheese.