The best way to be prepared for your shopping is to know what you want and don't stray from your list. MAKE A MENU. Here is mine for next week:

Sunday:
Crock pot rotisserie chicken
mashed potatoes
steamed carrots

Rotisserie Chicken:
1 chicken at least 4 lbs
Olive oil spray
Seasoned salt

Clean chicken inside and out. Spray with olive oil spray. Sprinkle season salt. Spray inside of crock. Do not put any water in the crock.

Roll 3 or 4 wads of aluminum foil into 2"-3" balls and put them in the
bottom of the crock. The chicken is going to lie on these. Put chicken breast side down in crock on top of aluminum balls. Cook on High (will not come out the same on Low), 4-6 hours. (A 3-lb chicken takes about 4 hours). Serve with hot mashed potatoes and steamed carrots.

Monday:
Veggie Lo-Mein
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup snow peas, halved on a diagonal
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into match stick size pieces
1/2 pound assorted mushrooms coarsely chopped
4 scallions, thinly sliced on a diagonal
2 cups fresh bean spouts
2 inches fresh ginger root, minced or grated with hand grater
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lo mein noodles or thin spaghetti, cooked to al dente and drained well
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Heat a large non-stick skillet over high heat. When pan is very hot, add oil, (it will smoke a bit) then, immediately add the snow peas, pepper, mushrooms, scallions, and bean sprouts. Stir fry for 1 minute to flavor the oil, then add the ginger and garlic, and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add the cooked noodles and toss with to combine. Add the soy sauce and toss the ingredients to coat noodles evenly with sauce. Transfer the lo mein to a serving platter and garnish with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.

Tuesday:
Marinated Pork chops
steamed green beans
mac and cheese

Chops:
1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh if possible
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4-6 Pork chops

Mix together all the ingredients, except the pork chops.

In a plastic bag, such as a ziplock, put in the pork chops and cover with the marinade. Try to get as much air out of it as possible, and then smush it around, turning it a few times to get all the pork covered and the marinade distributed as evenly as possible. Stick it in the refrigerator for about 30 or so minutes, but no more than 4 hours. Don’t do this over night or the pork will be inedible.
About 20 minutes before you are ready to cook the chops, take out of the refrigerator and bring up to room temp.
If using a broiler, turn it to highest setting. Put the oven rack at the second place down (not the top place just under the broiler), about 6-8 inches below the heating element. Turn the broiler heat to low-medium and cook for about 6-7 minutes, and then turn. Cook for about 4 more minutes, or until the pork chops are no longer pink inside, yet still juicy.

Wednesday:
Bean and cheese burritos
salsa

Either purchase or make your own bean and cheese burritos, serve with feash or store bought salsa.

Thursday
Chicken pot pie:
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp salad oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp tarragon
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth or homemade
1 c. frozen peas
1 1/4 c. milk
2 tbsp flour
2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/4 c. Crisco shortening (I used the spectrum stuff)
1 pinch salt
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp vinegar
Cold water

All you do:
Cut chicken into 1-inch chunks. In skillet, heat oil and cook chicken until tender. Remove from pan when done.
In drippings, cook onion until tender.
Add potatoes, carrots, salt, pepper, tarragon and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
Stir in frozen peas.
In small bowl, mix milk and 2 T. flour until smooth. Stir into vegetable mixture.
Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Stir in chicken.
Pour into unbaked pie crust (recipe follows) and cover with second crust.
Vent and bake at 350 degrees until crust is golden-brown and liquid bubbles.
CRUST: Mix together 2-1/2 c. flour, shortening and salt in mixing bowl.
In measuring cup, mix egg and vinegar. Fill with water to make 1 cup.
Add half the liquid to the dry ingredients. Mix just until moistened. Discard remaining liquid. Divide dough in half and roll out crusts. Line pie pan with one crust. Reserve the second crust for the top.

Friday:
Homemade pizza
salad

Either make or use a sore bought crust. Make and bake pizza, serve with salad.


Saturday:
leftovers or take out! Hey its the weekend. :)