Menu {November 12 – 17}

Tonight we have our first freeze warning here in the deep south.  The cold weather moving in makes me crave cold weather comfort foods:  chili, soups, and potatoes.  Our menu this week reflects my cravings as we enter the cold weather months.

Dinner menu ~

• Monday:  Chicken, mashed potatoes, salad
• Tuesday:  {David’s birthday celebration meal}  Tacos, chips & salsa, poblano chile pepper enchiladas, pinto beans, salad, and bread pudding for dessert (ice cream for the kiddos)
• Wednesday:  Slow cooker chicken with potatoes & carrots, green beans
• Thursday:  Homemade pizza night!  Cheeseburger and pepperoni pizzas, salad
• Friday:  Chili with baked potatoes, salad
• Saturday:  White bean stew, cornbread

Breakfast menu~

• Oatmeal with fruit/craisins, and walnuts  *really want to try it with pumpkin too
• Polenta with cheese, oranges
• Eggs (fried, scrambled, hard boiled) with toast or biscuits, apples
• Pancakes or French toast, with syrup and fruit
• Muffins or Quick bread with fruit smoothies

Lunch menu~

• Hot dogs with chili, side of chips/baked fries, pineapple
• Spaghetti, cheese toast, salad, fruit
• Chicken noodle soup, grilled cheese
• Sandwiches, mac & cheese/noodles, fruit
• Fried rice with chicken & veggies, fruit

Kitchen to-do list~

• bake Amish White bread and whole wheat bread
• cook pinto beans and white beans (freeze extras)
• make pepper sauce from last of garden peppers
• mix up salad dressing

What’s on your menu this week? 

Thank you, I’m an Organizing Junkie for the Menu Plan Monday link-up!  Visit there to see what others are eating this week. 

menu plan {October 22 – 26}

We went through the past week without a menu plan.  Ask me how that went…

Too much money spent and chaos…that’s how that went.

This week, we have a menu plan!  And I’m expecting a much easier week in the kitchen.

Breakfasts

• eggs with toast/biscuits/or banana bread, fruit
• oatmeal with fruit
• pancakes with fruit

Lunches (serve with carrots/salad/slaw and fruit)

• spaghetti
• hot dogs, mac & cheese
• sandwiches with chips or noodles
• chicken tacos

Dinners

•  pork loin, sweet potatoes, peas, cabbage
• chicken and dumplings, cole slaw, rolls
• fried rice with pork, stir-fry veggies
• chicken & sausage gumbo, cole slaw, rolls
• eat out (fall festival)

Sweet treats/snacks

• sugar cookies
• popcorn/salted or kettle corn
• banana bread
• carrot chips with ranch dip
• peanut butter fold-overs and/or fruit (the old stand-by!)

What are y’all eating this week?

 

Check out more menus over at Organized Junkie!

 

 

 

Saving money on groceries {and a menu plan}

Recently, I’ve decided to try couponing again.  Most of what we buy with coupons are beauty and home items.  Occasionally we will buy food items like yogurt, cheese, or condiments with our coupons.  We rarely buy convenience type foods because we just don’t have the budget for these items. 

Couponing has allowed us to save money on items that can be expensive and to then apply that savings to other areas – particularly for us, one area would be the feeding of five children (two of whom are older boys who eat a lot! {smile}).

Since feeding a family can get expensive, here are a few things we do to save money on groceries:

• Use grocery store sales papers and shop loss leaders.

The front page of the grocery store sales papers are the loss leaders.  Basically, the store is taking a loss on these items to pull customers in with the hopes that you will buy other items too.  When the prices are good, we will stock up on loss leaders.  We focus mainly on buying staple items, meats, and fruit. 

• Use coupons to reduce costs.

A recent trip to the store resulted in a catalina (sort of like a coupon that is money that the store gave us for meeting particular buying guidelines…and I also reduced the cost with coupons by about $10).  That catalina plus more coupons reduced a separate grocery total from $50 dollars to $35!  Not too bad!  (Visit here for some great links to blogs that will teach you how to save money with coupons.)

• Make many of your own foods from scratch.

We try to make as much from scratch as possible.  Tonight we had chicken strips, buttery herbed noodles, broccoli, and bread.  It was all homemade!  (Well, except for the pasta…I’m not there yet!)  It does take a little more time to bake bread and make food from scratch but the taste is so much better and we won’t mention the health returns from consuming less chemicals & preservatives.  Our children actually prefer homemade chicken nuggets and chicken strips…they are that good…and really not hard at all!

• Grow food in a garden.

Some people are limited by the amount of space that they have to grow food.  However, I encourage you to grow something in a few pots if you can.  A homegrown tomato is so much tastier than a store bought one.  (And cheaper) Right now our garden is giving us tomatoes, okra, and peppers so those veggies will show up in the menu more.

• Have a menu plan.

If I fail to plan, we tend to spend more.  For us, no menu plan = eating out.  Can you say “Cha-ching!”?  With a menu plan, we eat at home more therefore saving money.  {smile}

And since we are on the subject of menu plans…

Here’s our plan for the rest of the week:

(Random tip of the day:  I love all of the cool free fonts so I like to use them in random places {smile}.  Visit here to see what I’m talking about and to download some for your use.)

 

Dinners:

• Roasted chicken, sweet potatoes, fried okra
• Oven fried chicken strips, buttery herbed noodles, broccoli
• Breakfast for dinner:  pancakes, cheesy eggs, bacon
• Chicken and gravy over noodles, green beans
• Eat out - pizza

(Can you tell that we were well stocked with chicken?  Guess what has been on sale?)

Lunches: (serve with mac n cheese, chips/salsa, or popcorn and fruit/applesauce)

• Grilled or regular sandwiches
• Hot dogs
• Corn dog muffins
• Chicken quesadillas or stuffed pitas

Breakfasts: (serve with fruit)

• Granola/yogurt or oatmeal
• Eggs – fried, scrambled, cheesy, omelets
• Cheese or Peanut butter toast

 

This blog post is linked to Menu plan Monday!

{In our kitchen} Menu plan for January 23 – 27

This week I thought that I would challenge myself to use some of the Pinterest pins in the {In the kitchen} section.  Just a little warning…do not visit Pinterest and search for food ideas when hungry…speaking from experience here {laugh}!

Our dinner menu for this week mostly comes from Pinterest pins.  I didn’t want to put too many new things out there for the kids though I honestly don’t think they will complain about the new recipes (links included). 

Monday

Roasted chicken (an old recipe for us but easy & well loved), potatoes and carrots, green beans, and spinach salad

Tuesday

Chicken Enchiladas, salad, cornbread

Wednesday

Crock Pot Chicken and Rice, green beans, salad

Thursday

Eat out night

Friday {Family Fun/Movie Night}

Pizza Casserole, salad, ice cream sundaes

Breakfasts (serve with either fruit or smoothies)

• oatmeal 2X
• pancakes
• cheesy eggs and toast
• fried eggs and toast
• Cheese/Peanut butter toast 2X

Lunches (serve with a veggie/salad & fruit)

• spaghetti
• sandwiches and pretzels 2X
• hot dogs and mac & cheese
• nachos with taco meat, salsa
• peanut butter sandwich, bananas, pudding

Snacks

popcorn, fruit, trail mix, apples with peanut butter or try something from here

Menu Plan for Mom who is trying to lose weight

Breakfasts

• oatmeal sweetened with a little brown sugar, fruit, and a sprinkle of pecans
• boiled eggs and half a grapefruit
• egg white omelet with mushrooms and tomatoes

Lunches

• sandwiches, pretzels, fruit
• baked chicken (cooking ahead this weekend) and steamed, seasoned veggies

Suppers

• smaller portion of dinner menu item, heavy on the veggies, and a salad {smile}

 I will be linking to Menu Plan Monday at Organized Junkie once the link up goes live and I get a break to get back on the computer today.  {smile}

 

 Hope y’all have a happy Monday! 

 

 

 

{In the kitchen} Menu for January 16 - 20

In an effort to save money, I’m trying to get better at making our menu and actually sticking to it.  We are also eating a lot from the pantry and freezer in this week.  Here is what is on our menu this week:

Monday

• B ~ Oatmeal & Toast with cheese or peanut butter, fruit
• L ~  Spaghetti, corn, fruit
• D ~ Roasted Pork Loin, carrots & potatoes, peas
• Snack ~ Bananas and Peanut butter toast

Tuesday

• B ~ Pancakes, strawberries
• L ~ Grilled Cheese, carrots, noodles, fruit
• D ~ Omelets, potato pancakes (for our studies on Germany),  strawberry smoothies
• Snack ~ Banana or applesauce muffins

Wednesday

• B ~ Cheesy eggs, toast, fruit
• L ~ Tacos, corn, salad, fruit
• D ~ Pork fried rice, stir-fried green beans, carrots
• Snack ~ Trail mix

Thursday

• B ~ Oatmeal and smoothies
• L ~ Hot dogs, macaroni & cheese, carrots, fruit
• D ~ Teriyaki chicken wings, roasted potatoes or brown rice, green peas
• Snack ~ Cookies or muffins

Friday

• B ~ Angel biscuits with eggs & cheese, fruit
• L ~ Baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese, fruit
• D ~ Either pizza or hamburgers (Eat out)
• Snack ~ Popcorn trail mix

*Fruit for meals will be whatever we happen to have on hand at the time.  It’s usually bananas, apples, oranges, or applesauce this time of the year.  We have much more variety in the summer. 

I’m linking to:

Menu plan for August 1 – 6

 These are not our eggs but hopefully I will be showing you a picture of some soon.  We are so excited to get eggs from our city chicks!

For the next two weeks, we will be getting our home in tip top shape for the beginning of the new school year.  I’m working now to do what I can to help us ease back into school and hopefully to help our school year get off to a smooth start.  A menu plan is one way that our home runs smoother during the busy school months.  Here’s what we will be eating this week:

Breakfasts ~ (served with fruit or fruit smoothies)

• Cheesy eggs, smoothies
• Banana Chocolate Chip muffins
• Cinnamon Swirl bread
• Granola, smoothies
• Peanut butter or cheese toast/Oatmeal, fruit
• Pancakes, turkey sausage

Lunches ~ (served with veggies and/or fruit)

• Grilled cheese, chips and salsa
• Hot dogs, carrots with ranch dip
• Nachos with taco meat, fruit salad
• Peanut butter and honey sandwiches, carrots with ranch dip
• Chicken quesadillas, chips and salsa
• Leftovers/sandwiches (Saturday.  Shopping day for me)

Dinners ~

• Chicken wings (teriyaki style), rice, stir-fry green beans, fruit salad
• Homemade pizzas (cheese, hamburger and veggie), salad, cookies
• BBQ chicken (slow cooker), rice, veggies, fruit slushies
• Pizza casserole, green beans, fruit
• Eat out
• Birthday meal?

Snacks ~

• Popcorn, granola, fruit, kettle corn, smoothies, muffins

 

This post will be linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organized Junkie.

Menu plan for May 15 - 21

I love to read menu plans!  Maybe it’s because I have a love for organization tools.  Or maybe it’s because I find lots of new ideas from other’s menu plans. 

I have found that having a menu plan for the week is good for keeping me on track and for keeping me from spending extra money on take out meals or those quick little trips to the store because I forgot something.  What’s not to love about that?  {smile}

 

This week our family’s menu plan looks like this:

Sunday

• Muffins & fruit
• Taco Salad, chips & salsa/nacho cheese dip
• Sandwiches, carrot sticks with dip, fruit

Monday

• Pancakes & sausage
• Quesadillas, carrot sticks & broccoli with dip, applesauce
•  Roast chicken, rice, veggies, salad

Tuesday

• Smoothies and scrambled eggs with ham & cheese
• Chicken patties, baked fries, fruit
• Chicken fajitas, salad, beans & corn

Wednesday

• Waffles & berries
• Chicken chef salad or sandwiches, peaches
• Potato soup with BLT sandwiches

Thursday

• Smoothies and cheese/peanut butter toast
• Hot dogs, baked fries, applesauce
• Stir-fry chicken over rice with stir fry veggies, rolls or bread sticks

Friday

• Fried eggs & toast, fruit
• Grilled cheese sandwiches, carrot sticks & broccoli, fruit
• Homemade Pizza, salad, dessert

 

This post will be linked to 

Menu Plan Monday ~ November 8 – 12

This week it will be back to normal in the kitchen since we are almost all over our illnesses.  I am so thankful that last week’s menu plan was all ready in place before I got sick.  The kitchen just sort of ran itself {with the help of my husband} while I was out of commission for a few days.  Menu plans are truly life (and money) savers!

Here is our menu for the week:

Monday:

• oatmeal with peaches
• grilled ham & cheese, carrot sticks, grapes
• sloppy cornbread, salad, green beans

Tuesday:

• oven french toast, turkey sausage, apples
• fish stick or tuna sandwiches, carrot sticks, pears
• David’s birthday dinner ~  hamburgers, oven fries, cheesecake & ice cream

Wednesday:

• fried or scrambled eggs, toast, applesauce
• ham sandwiches, popcorn & carrot sticks, apples
• turkey and rice, salad, corn

Thursday:

• peanut butter or cheese toast, fruit salad
• hot dogs, oven fries, applesauce
• stromboli, salad, corn

Friday:

• mini breakfast pizzas, oranges or grapefruit
• turkey quesadillas, black/corn/rice, fruit
• eat out after church directory pictures

I love pretty menu planning sheets.   A few weeks ago,  I came across this one at The Project Girl.   I really like how there is room for all three meals but what really sold me on this meal planner is the list at the bottom.  Sometimes when I am making out a menu plan and grocery list, I will forget to write an item on the grocery list.  I used this form during my last menu planning, and loved that it was all on one sheet and I didn’t have to dig through my lists & recipes to find the grocery list.  I just cut this one off of the bottom and took it to the store with me.  It’s a free download, so go check it out! 

To read other Monday menu plans, please visit  Organized Junkie.