Craving Fresh: Week 2 $70 menu plan for family of five

I'm posting Week 2's $70 menu today so you'll have a full week with these particular Countdown specials, since I've designed this menu by gathering prices from Countdown's website. You may be able to find better prices elsewhere, but these prices are pretty good, in my opinion.

Chicken is the name of the game again this week. I was hoping to find beef mince at a good price to vary things up, but chicken worked out to be better value, especially considering all the chicken stock that can be made from its bones to furnish future meals.

This menu builds on some of the ingredients bought in Week 1 that didn't get used up, which gives it slightly more wiggle room for fresh fruit and vegetables.

Shopping List (Total $70.00)

Cucumber = $2
Apples Envy 1.25KG = $3.75
Carrots 500g = $1.25 (Save all carrot peels and tops and ends to make chicken stock. Store in a bag in the freezer until you're ready to make stock.)
Countdown Potatoes white washed 4KG = $7.00
Homebrand Mixed Frozen Vegetables 1KG = $2.29
Homebrand Sandwich Bread x 4 = $4 (save the bread bags for storing/freezing food)
Alpine Butter 500g = $5.80
Essentials Coconut Cream 400mls = $1.39
Essentials High Grade Flour 1.5KG = $1.80
Farmer Brown Eggs 20 pack size 6 = $5
Homebrand Crackers Traditional 250g = $1.50
Eta Peanut Butter Crunchy 375g = $2.50 (save the container when it's empty for storing food)
Essentials Diced Tomatoes 400g = $0.80
Homebrand Peach Slices in Syrup 415g = $1.19
Select Baked Beans 420g = $0.85
Countdown mixed Peanuts and Raisins 200g = $1.80
Signature Range Salsa Mild 300g = $2.79
2 x Ingham Whole Frozen Chicken = $14
Asian Home Gourmet Nonya Curry sachet 50g = $2.00
Harvest Rice Bran Oil 1L = $5.00
Homebrand Long Grain Rice 1KG = $1.79

(Items leftover from last week - tomato sauce, half a block of cheese, rolled oats, brown sugar, milk powder.)

Menu

Day 1 Breakfast (Get two chickens out of freezer to defrost for dinner)

Poached eggs on toast. (5 eggs, 5 pieces of bread.)

Day 1 Lunchbox fillers and snacks for five people

Sandwiches - Cucumber and butter.
Apple wedges - Cut two apples into wedges and divide between five lunchboxes. (Remove stalks and pips from cores and freeze apple cores to save for apple sauce).
Crackers and peanut butter (one per person).
Carrot sticks - Peel one large carrot and divide between five lunch boxes. Save the carrot peel and tops in a bread bag in the freezer for making chicken stock.

Day 1 Dinner - Roast chicken, roast potatoes, gravy and 1/2 head broccoli

Roast both chickens in a large oven tray following these directions, which only use salt and oil for seasoning. Baste chickens two or three times during cooking, with fat drippings from the bottom of the tray.
While the chickens cook, prepare and cook roast potatoes following these instructions. When draining the blanched potatoes, save the potato water for making gravy.
Move cooked chickens to chopping boards or large plates to rest and use the chicken drippings in the bottom of the oven tray to make gravy, following these instructions and using the cooking water from the potatoes and half the broccoli you are simultaneously going to cook by cutting into florets and boiling for two minutes.
Serve one of the chickens with tonight's dinner and shred any leftover meat plus all the meat from the second chicken to use for future dinners. Divide all the shredded chicken between 5 containers or clean bread bags, two of which can go into the freezer, the rest into the fridge.
Like last week, save all the empty bones from both chickens to make chicken stock. Place chicken carcasses and the carrot scraps from lunch into a large stock pot or two large saucepans filled with water. Simmer on a low heat for several hours. Strain liquid into one ice cream container, a 1-cup portion and a 6-cup portion for future meals this week. Freeze any excess chicken stock for future weeks. 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

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:

Sandwiches made with one of the portions of shredded roast chicken, grated carrot, cucumber slices and butter.
Apple wedges - Cut two apples into wedges and divide between five lunchboxes. (Remove stalks and pips from cores and freeze apple cores to save for apple sauce).
Peanuts and raisins

Day 2 Dinner - Quesadillas

Make eight tortillas following this recipe (it uses 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3/4 cup warm water and 3 Tablespoons oil or softened butter).
Pour tin of baked beans into a bowl and smoosh with a potato masher. Stir in half the jar of salsa and 1 portion of shredded chicken.
Use the baked bean/salsa/chicken mixture and a sprinkle of cheese to make 8 folded quesadillas following these instructions.

Day 3 Breakfast (prepare pearl barley for tonight's dinner now)

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 - Lunchboxes filled with:

Sandwiches made with one of the portions of shredded roast chicken, grated carrot, cucumber slices and butter.
Apple wedges - Cut two apples into wedges and divide between five lunchboxes. (Remove stalks and pips from cores and freeze apple cores to save for apple sauce)
Crackers and peanut butter (one per person).

Day 3 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 the ice cream container of chicken stock and an additional 4 cups water. 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. Just before pearl barley has finished cooking, add one portion of shredded chicken from Day 1's dinner and simmer until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste if you have it.
Serve with buttered toast cut into strips

Day 4 Breakfast

Porridge made with rolled oats, water and milk made with a mixture of water and milk powder. Serve with tinned peaches if desired.

Day 4 Lunch - Leftover chicken barley soup or lunchboxes filled with:

Cheese toasties made with bread, tomato sauce, cheese and butter
Carrot sticks
Apple wedges - Cut two apples into wedges and divide between five lunchboxes. (Remove stalks and pips from cores and freeze apple cores to save for apple sauce).
Peanuts and raisins

Day 4 Dinner - Potato Wedges

Potato wedges prepared following these directions and topped with 1/2 jar salsa and melted cheese. Serve with half a broccoli - cut into florets and boiled for one to two minutes.

Day 5 Breakfast

Poached eggs on toast.

Day 5 Lunch - Lunchboxes filled with:

Peanut butter sandwiches.
Apple wedges - Cut any remaining apples into slices and divide between five lunchboxes. (Remove stalks and pips from cores and freeze apple cores to save for apple sauce).
Crackers and cheese.

Day 5 Dinner - Chicken Barley Soup

Chicken Barley Soup - use the other half of the soup made on Day 3. 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, or peanut butter sandwiches, carrot sticks, peanuts and raisins.

Day 6 Dinner - Nonya Curry on Rice

Nonya curry - Use half of the Asian Home Gourmet Nonya Curry spice packet and save the other half for next week. To make curry, you will partially follow the instructions on the back of the packet, but you will stir-fry the potatoes in oil and half the spice mix for three minutes, then add the coconut cream and the tin of chopped tomatoes and one portion of the shredded chicken from Day 1's dinner and simmer until a nice sauce has developed.
Serve with 1 cup of mixed vegetables and rice cooked in a mixture of plain water and 1 cup of chicken stock.

Day 7 Breakfast

Homemade Hash Browns served with tomato sauce.

Day 7 Lunch

Leftover Nonya Curry, sandwiches or cheese pizzas made with tomato sauce, cheese and bread. Use up any leftover snacks - crackers, apples, carrots, peanuts and raisins.

Day 7 Dinner - Risotto