Sunday, December 29, 2013

Meal Plan for Dec 29 - Jan 4

I think I have a tentative meal plan in place as dh is sick and I am not feeling well.  My oven caught fire Christmas morning so I am dependent on my stove top, crock pot, microwave and George Foreman.

Here it goes:

Sunday:  sausage burritos
               chicken noodle soup and ham for lunch and dinner

Monday:  eggs, bacon and toast
                grilled cheese and soup
                pasta

Tuesday:  oatmeal
                soup and sandwiches
                ham, fried potatoes and veggies

Wednesday:  pancakes
                      hot dogs
                     taco soup

Thursday:  eggs, bacon and toast
                  grilled cheese and leftover soup
                  crockpot chicken, stuffing and veggies

Friday:  oatmeal
              hot dogs
             date night

Saturday:  eggs, bacon and toast
                 soup and sandwiches
                 sausage, potatoes and veggies

Snacks are:  pretzels, popcorn and chips and salsa

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Meal Plan for Dec 22 - 28

I am not planning to do any grocery shopping this week as this month has been blown out of the water.  Based on what I have in the house we are having:

Sunday - sausage burritos
             - chicken, potato salad and coleslaw
             - hot dogs

Monday - eggs, bacon and toast
              - grilled cheese and toast
              - sausage, french fries and veggie

Tuesday - pancakes
              - hot dogs
              - chicken leg quarters, stuffing and veggie

Wednesday - muffins
                   - sandwiches
                   - ham, mashed potatoes, carrots, pasta salad and cranberry sauce

Thursday - eggs, bacon and toast
                - sandwiches
                - spaghetti

Friday - muffins
           - sandwiches
           - ham, corn on the cob and veggie

Saturday - eggs, bacon and toast
               - hot dogs
               - chicken, mashed potatoes and veggie

Snacks:  popcorn, chips and dip and pretzels

Monday, December 16, 2013

Menus for Dec 15 - 21

Okay so I am a day late.  Busy time of year.  Here is goes:

Sunday - eat out for lunch
             - hot dogs for dh, Christmas party for me

Monday - protein shake
              - sandwiches
              - baked pasta

Tuesday - protein shake
              - sandwiches
              - leftovers

Wednesday - protein shake
                   - sandwiches or leftovers
                   - chicken, stuffing and carrots

Thursday - protein shake
                - sandwiches
                - ham, broccoli salad and potato salad

Friday - protein shake
           - leftovers for me, Christmas party for dh
           - date night

Saturday - eggs, bacon and toast
               - hot dogs for dh, sandwiches for me
               - chicken, mashed potatoes and carrots

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Menus for week of December 8 - 14

Okay as promised here is what I am planning for us to eat this coming week.  I say "planning" because life happens.

Sunday:

Breakfast - burritos
Lunch - eat out with friends
Dinner - pizza (ds brought us some while we decorated the tree)


Monday:

Breakfast - protein shakes
Lunch - sandwiches
Dinner - chicken thighs, stuffing, carrots


Tuesday:

Breakfast - protein shakes
Lunch - sandwiches
Dinner - fish sticks, corn on the cob and mixed veggies


Wednesday:

Breakfast - eggs, bacon and toast
Lunch - sandwiches
Dinner - baked pasta


Thursday:

Breakfast - muffins
Lunch - sandwiches
Dinner - chicken, mashed potatoes and carrots


Friday:

Breakfast - protein shakes
Lunch - sandwiches
Dinner - white chicken chili


Saturday:

Breakfast - eggs, bacon and toast
Lunch - hot dogs and slaw
Dinner - fried fish, corn on the cob and carrots


Snacks:
popcorn
chips and salsa

Hope everyone has a great week.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Grocery Shop 12/07/13

Well here is my shopping list from today.  Dh had done some shopping last week but he didn't keep any receipts for me so I have no clue how much he spent.  Over I am sure .....

So unto today:

Kroger:

1 box fish sticks
1 Izze drink (free)
2 bags potato chips (for dh)
2 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg sliced cheese
1 5lb bag of potatoes

I can not get over how much cheese has gone up.  I paid $2.99 for 24 slices and this was on sale !!!  outrageous !!!

Total:  $13.57

Aldi's:

3 dozen eggs

Total:  $2.55

Grand total:  $16.12

I am looking for a good sale on ground meat.  I would rather have ground turkey but boy has that gone up in price also.

I am sure I will have one or two more things to pick up but I ran in after work and picked up what I knew I needed.

I will post my menus later.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Sorry I have been AWOL

I have been very sick with acute bronchitis.  I have been in the bed and dh has been swinging it in the kitchen.  I will be back on track in a couple of days.  Sorry.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Meal Plan for November 24 -30

Wow !!!  Can you believe that it is the end of November already?  This year has been flying by.  Well, I know I am late but better late than never.  I am really sick right now so we are going to go easy this week (at least the first part).

Sunday:
B - burritos
L - Thanksgiving meal at church
D - hot dogs and slaw

Monday:
B - protein shakes
L - sandwiches
D- taco soup

Tuesday:
B - protein shakes
L - sandwiches
D - chicken leg quarters, mashed potatoes and carrots

Wednesday:
B - eggs, bacon and toast
L - hot dogs for dh, sandwich for me ( dh is off and I am working)
D - spaghetti and meatballs

Thursday:  Thanksgiving
B - eggs, bacon and toast
L - grilled cheese and soup
D - turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rutabaga, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls

Friday:
B - muffins
L - turkey sandwiches
D - homemade pizza

Saturday:
B - eggs, bacon and toast
L - hot dogs for dh, sandwich for me (I work)
D - white turkey chili

Dh and I love turkey leftovers so the end of this week and the first part of next will feature that.  Thanksgiving may have more dishes as I am not sure what ds is bringing.

Snacks:
chips and salsa
popcorn
zucchini bread

I will post my grocery purchase later as I need to lay down right now.  God bless everyone.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Meal Plan for November 17 - 23

Okay so I just published what I bought last week for groceries.  So now this is what we are going to eat this week.

Sunday:
B - eggs, bacon and toast
L - burritos, salsa and chips
D - taco soup and hot dogs

Monday:
B - protein shakes
L - sandwiches or leftovers
D - chicken tenderloins, mashed potatoes and carrots

Tuesday:
B - muffins
L - sandwiches or leftovers
D - baked pasta

Wednesday:
B - protein shakes
L - sandwiches or leftovers
D - meatloaf, mashed potatoes and veggie

Thursday:
B - eggs, bacon and toast
L - sandwiches or leftovers
D - fried fish, corn on the cob and carrots

Friday:
B - protein shakes
L - sandwiches or leftovers
D - date night

Saturday:
B - eggs, bacon and toast
L - grilled cheese and soup
D - homemade pizza

Snacks will be:  apples, chips and salsa and popcorn

Last week's shopping

Sorry I have been awol.  I started working last week and I had a booth at a craft fair on Saturday and was super busy getting ready for that.

Here is what I spent last week:

Kroger - trip #1

2 bags frozen veggies
1 pkg sliced cheese
2 boxes of stuffing
1 box fruit snacks (for dd)
2 pounds of butter
2 bags of sugar
2 boxes of pasta
4 boxes of mac and cheese (2 boxes are for food drive at church)
2 bottles of ketchup
2 cans of chicken broth
1 pkg of hot dogs

Total spent:  $30.41


Kroger  - trip #2

3 boxes of frozen waffles (for dd)
1 box Kashi bars
2 boxes of stuffing (for food drive at church)
2 pounds of butter
5 bags frozen veggies
2 bags of meatballs
1 Dole smoothie (free)
10 cans of tomatoes
6 cans of Rotel

Total spent:  $34.15


Kroger - trip #3

1 bottle of fish oil
3 lbs Gala apples
3 lbs Granny  Smith apples

Total spent:  $14.05
Grand total:  $78.61

Wow !!  This is more than I had intended to spend.  Some was for a food drive at church but it was not a significant amount considering.  The apples were after we (dh and I) saw the doctor and he told dh to snack on apples not junk at night.  I thought apples were in season?  They were so expensive.  Dh loves granny smith and I love Gala therefore I got some of both.  Kroger had a great sale last week on things I needed or will need further in the month.  Therefore, I purchased extra that will balance out when I average at the end of the month.  I was completely out of butter and at $1.99 a pound I could not pass it up.  This week all I will need is milk, bread and eggs.  I still have luncheon meat for the week and if I run out dh will get peanut butter and jelly.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

First Grocery Shopping

This morning I did my first grocery shopping for next week.  I had not had time to make a full list but did know of what I had to have early in the week.  I meant to get a picture but camera had to be charged so maybe next time.

Kroger:
1 tube of Crystal Light drink mix
10 lb chicken leg quarters
1 pkg cheese slices
1 pkg luncheon meat
1 can cranberry sauce (for food drive at church)
1 cucumber
1 case of water bottles

Total spent:  $18.45
Left for the week:  $21.55

The leg quarters were 69 cents a pound and I had a coupon on top of it.  It was the best deal protein-wise this week.

Meal Plan for November 10 - 16

I just realized that I had not posted my plan for next week.  It has been ready I have been busy sewing.  Here it is:

Sunday:
B - eggs, bacon and toast
L - ham, mashed potatoes and carrots
D - grilled cheese and soup

Monday:
B - protein shake
L - sandwiches
D - chicken thighs, stuffing and green beans

Tuesday:
B - protein shake
L - sandwiches
D - spaghetti and salad

Wednesday:
B - muffins
L - sandwiches
D - taco soup

Thursday:
B - protein shake
L - sandwiches
D - fried fish, corn on the cob, carrots

Friday:
B - protein shake
L - sandiwches
D - crockpot chicken, roasted potatoes and carrots

Saturday:
B - eggs, bacon and toast
L - @craft fair (for me), taco soup for dh
D - home made pizza

Snacks:
popcorn
pretzels
chips and salsa
zucchini bread

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Planning Meals

In our ladies Sunday school class our fearless leader handed out blank weekly meal planners.  We are talking about ways to have less stress during the holiday season.  Most of the ladies looked at the piece of paper and then back at her like, what are we to do with this?  I was surprised at how many ladies did not plan their families meals each week.  We were to do plan our next weeks meals and bring it in that next Sunday.  Only two of us completed the assignment.

Is meal planning that hard?  Maybe too time consuming for some.  But hard .....  I don't think so.  I am at a different stage of life then some in our class.  My children are grown and it is mainly just my dh and I.  However, even when my children were small I planned.  It was one less headache at a very rushed time of day.  I could take out the meat the night before or even do most of the cooking before bed.  It allowed me to enjoy my children more or if I was working at dinner it gave me the piece of mind that my dh was not serving them fast food.

How do I meal plan?  Well, I inventory my proteins first.  This means going to the deep freeze or pantry for me.  I also will inventory main ingredient carbs, such as pasta and beans.  I also look in the fridge to see what needs to be used up before going bad.  If I can plan my entire two week menu on this then great !!!  If not I will in what I can then figure out how many meals I still need to plan for.  My grocery list is then what items I need to fill out the meal plan.

My inventory for this coming planning session:

Frozen:
2.2 lbs of white fish
2 lbs of ground beef
1 meal of cubed ham
1 pkg of chicken thighs
1 pkg of chicken tenderloins
1 pkg of turkey bacon

Pantry:
3 cans of tuna
2 cans of chicken
6 cans of soup
3 boxes of pasta
4 jars of spaghetti sauce

To be used up:
carrots
celery
zucchini

I need to make a two week meal plan around these items.  I will get back to you when I decide what I am doing.  We do have homemade pizza once a week and have date night on payday.  That leaves me with 11 dinners to plan.

Hope this helps anyone reading this.  This is what works for me.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Meal Plan for November 3 - 9

I know I said I would post this yesterday but I got busy sewing .....  Here it is though and tweeted and ready for the week.

Sunday:

B - breakfast burritos
L - ham, potato salad and green beans
D - hot dogs and coleslaw

Monday:

B - protein shake
L - sandwiches
D - spaghetti and salad

Tuesday:

B - protein shake
L - sandwiches or leftovers
D - chicken, stuffing and carrots

Wednesday:

B - eggs, bacon and toast
L - sandwiches or leftovers
D - taco soup

Thursday:

B - muffins
L - sandwiches or leftovers
D - homemade pizza

Friday:

B - oatmeal
L - sandwiches or leftovers
D - dinner out with friends

Saturday:

B - eggs, bacon and toast
L - grilled cheese and soup
D - chicken,  mashed potatoes and carrots

Snacks:
popcorn
pretzels
zucchini bread

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Groceries for Nov 3 - 8

I know I said that I was going to try to stay out of the store but dh wanted some special things this weekend and dd paid me back $25 that she owed me so off I went.

First stop was Kroger:

1 small container cole slaw
1 pkg hot dog buns
1 pkg hamburger buns
1 lb turkey bacon (free)
1 lb baby carrots (free)
1 pkg muffin mix (free)

total spent:  $3.06

Next was Aldi:

2 loaves of bread
1 container artisan lettuce
1 dozen large eggs
2 cans of tuna
4 cans green beans
10 lb potatoes

total spent:  $12.40

Finally,  I went to Publix:

2 cans manhattan clam chowder
3 thin slices of taylor pork roll

total spent:  $5.53

Grand total spent:  $22.99

Not bad I think.  The clam chowder is what dh was really wanting and Publix is the only place in town that I can find it.  The taylor pork roll is a really special treat and I only get three slices at a time at Publix.  I can't get over the price of tuna now.  I had had 12 cans and I was down to one so I had not purchased any in a while.  I thought I did good only paying 69 cents a tin.  I was out of green beans and they were .49 cents a can at Aldi.

I love my freebies that Kroger sends me every couple of months.  It really helps stretch the grocery dollar.

I will post my menu for next week later today.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Menu for October 27 to November 2

Here is what I am planning for this week.  Everything has been bought for this menu.

Sunday
B - Eggos
L - spaghetti and meatballs
D - chicken, asparagus and potato salad

Monday
B - protein shake or oatmeal
L - sandwiches
D - meatloaf, mashed potatoes and asparagus

Tuesday
B - protein shake or oatmeal
L - sandwiches
D - taco soup and salad

Wednesday
B - eggs, bacon and toast
L - sandwiches
D - chicken, stuffing and carrots

Thursday
B - protein shake or oatmeal
L - sandwiches
D - homemade pizza

Friday
B - eggos
L - sandwiches
D - chicken lo mein

Saturday
B - eggs, bacon and toast
L - hot dogs and mac salad
D - baked pasta

Snacks
- pretzels
-cookies
-banana bread or muffins

I found a sale on asparagus so therefore we are eating it.  Lunches for me is typically leftovers or sandwiches.

A New Challenge !!

Next week I will be starting a new challenge and I thought I would start a new blog to help me along. Due to some financial difficulties (most of which I have brought upon myself) I am having to lower my food budget from $100 a week to $40 a week.  It is my husband and I most of the time with my dd eating with us occasionally.  I will be trying to stay out of the grocery store until November 8 which is our next payday.

I know this will be a struggle with the holiday season coming up but my goal (and my dh :)) is to be debt free as soon as possible and this is the first start towards that goal.  We have a lot of debt, almost drowning debt, and he need to get a handle on it now.  To top it all off my dd is getting married next July 2014 and we will need to find the money to pay for that also.

So, come and join me on this new journey.  My goal is to average $40 a week.  Let's see if I can do it.