Mealtime Monday

here's a confession: i'm not a big budgeter. i don't really have time to write everything down or put it into an excel sheet. so my budget is this: "don't spend money." since we're a one-income household for the time being, i've started to work on a weekly menu to save $$$. my sister-in-law posts her weekly menus on her blog, so i decided to start doing this as well.

from now on, i'll be sharing my weekly menu and a favorite recipe on mondays. we'll be doing a lot of slow-cooker recipes because i work until 7 most days. in the few weeks that we've been doing this, we have already seen huge benefits!

menu plan

monday:

frozen pizza & salad

tuesday:

crock pot fajitas

wednesday:

all-day meatballs

thursday:

creamy chicken & potatoes

friday:

eating out/date night

saturday:

turtle soup

sunday:

eating at grandma robison's

and now for a favorite recipe!

Eggplant Lasagna

1 eggplant pared and sliced in 1/4 inch slices; flour each piece and fry in a little oil till brown on each side. Drain on paper towels, then layer in a casserole dish. Between each layer add a tsp of tomato sauce on each slice and add shredded mozzerella. 1 eggplant usually makes 3 layers in an 8x12 inch casserole dish. Top with Mozzerella as the final topping. Then bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese starts bubbling.

Cooking Tip: To get out some of the water in the eggplant, and to have a less soggy cooked vegetable, You can slice Eggplant, salt the slices generously on each side, let sit on a grid or paper towels for about 1/2 hour, then wipe off any salt that's left. The salt helps get rid of the water, either by absorbing it or by causing the eggplant to sweat. Cooking Tip: To rid eggplant of bitterness, slices the pieces into saltwater as you peel it. Pat dry before cooking.