Menu Planning with the MARTIN’S Ad

Menu planning and saving money really can go hand-in-hand.  It is important to realize that you can still enjoy some of your family’s favorite meals by menu planning with a sales flyer, you just need to be flexible. 
I am including ideas and recipes for four meals for the week.  As I’ve mentioned before, I have found that I really only cook on average four meals a week and that we end up having at least one left-over night, one meal out, and something easy like homemade pizza.
I didn’t feel like there were any great deals on meat this week, so I am going to give some ideas for ground turkey (a decent deal at $3 for a 20.6oz package) and then a meatless meal.



Turkey Burgers:
I saw this turkey burger recipe and it looks really easy and simple.  You could save more calories (and carbs) by serving them on the GIANT Brand Thin Sandwich Rolls that are $2 this week.  If you want to make healthy french fries here is a recipe for Oven Fresh Seasoned Potato Wedges with the all-purpose potatoes on sale this week for $2.50 for a 5-lb bag.  You could have either a Birds Eye Stemfresh vegetable for $1.67 a bag or a bag of Dole Salad for $2 a bag to complete your healthy dinner.

Ground Turkey Noodle Bake:
This recipe is a good basic baked pasta recipe with a healthy twist.  If you don’t egg noodles in your pantry I think you could substitute any type of thin pasta (if you don’t have any of that the San Giorgio is $1 a box).  I read where several of the people who reviewed the recipe said that they didn’t have dry milk powder on hand and that in place of that and the water they just used regular milk.  The GIANT Brand shredded cheese is on sale this week for $1.67 a bag if you need to pick up cheese.  This would be a great meal when you add in a loaf of GIANT brand Italian Bread for $1 and a GIANT Brand Salad Mix for $1.

Turkey Meatloaf:
Did you really think I would feature ground turkey recipes and not have a turkey meatloaf?  This turkey meatloaf looks really easy.  I always have salsa and bread crumbs in my refrigerator and pantry.  The bell peppers are on sale this week for $3.49/lb. (you could probably get away with just one type if you don’t want to buy both).  Instead of the traditional mashed potatoes you could make a box of the Betty Crocker Specialty Potatoes.  If you want an easy vegetable side pick-up a can of Green Giant Vegetables that are $0.80 each this week both of these items are even less if you buy them as part of the Buy $20 get $7 off instantly. 


Rachel Ray’s Macaroni & Cheddar Cheese:
I found this recipe years ago when my brother gave me a Rachel Ray cookbook for Christmas.  It is really good and doesn’t take that much longer than if you pulled the blue box out of your pantry.  If you don’t have elbow macaroni the San Giorgio is $1 a box this week.  The GIANT brand shredded or chunk cheese is $1.67.  This recipe is great alone, but if you add a side of fresh broccoli for $1.69/lb you might feel better about eating it for dinner.

Happy Menu Planning!

~Ann