First of all, can I just say that this economy SUCKS. My husband and I are so thankful for everything we have but geeze it is so unstable. And then all the stories we hear of layoffs and what not. I am inspired to make my meal plan this month much more budget friendly. And, more meals. Less eating out, more cooking. Some of these are repeats from last month. It's because I got lazy and didn't make them. Instead, we had things like cereal or Taco Hell.
Chimichangas (excited to try this one!)
Stromboli
Potato Soup
White Chicken Chili
Crock pot Pasta Fagioli
Two Bean Tamale Pie
Tofu and Cheese Stuffed Shells
Falafels & Pita Bread
TGIF Skillet Meal (just happen to have one in the freezer)
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Calzones
Sloppy Joes
Stuffed Pork Chops & Asparagus
Chicken Quesadillas
Chicken Fried Rice
Meatloaf
Beef Strogonoff
Spaghetti
Creole Chicken and Rice
Mac & Cheese
PB&J
Grilled Cheese
Egg Salad Sandwiches
Tuna Melts
Tuna Casserole
Hash browns and eggs
Frito Pie
Cabbage Rolls - do you have a good recipe you'd like to share?
Pasta with Ham
Burritos
Kraut Burgers
Homemade Pizza
Loaded Baked Potatoes
Spanish Rice with Chicken
Chili
Citrus Ginger Chicken & rice
Tacos
Black Eyed Peas and Ham
That should be enough to cover lunches and dinner for at least a month.
Showing posts with label meal planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meal planning. Show all posts
Monday, March 23, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Meal Plan
Okay, we're getting into the swing of our schedule now :) You're going to be seeing LOTS of crock pot recipes from me, many courtesy of crockpot365.blogspot.com :)
I'm moving to a monthly meal plan, because I think it'll be easier to shop less with our schedules the way they are. I need meals that are ready before I get home from work, since my husband will have to eat before I get home.
This is what's on the menu for this month:
Fajitas
Tamale Pie
Chimichangas (excited to try this one!)
Buffalo Chicken Lasagna
Hasbrown Casserole
Corn and Spinach Enchiladas
AuGratin Taco Bake
Potato Soup
Chicken Caesar Salad (not crockpot, but it's easy to assemble and a favorite in our house)
Calzones - not crockpot, but I can freeze and re-heat :)
Stromboli - freezes well :)
Japanese Mum's Chicken
Bourbon Chicken
White Chicken Chili
Spaghetti
Rosemary Chicken Salad Sandwiches
With leftovers and things like grilled cheese or frozen pizza this menu will last us an entire month, or more.
I went shopping and spent about $250 on groceries for all of the meals above, plus filler stuff and stuff for lunches. All in all, not bad. And, I honestly think it'll last us closer to 2 1/2 months.
I'm moving to a monthly meal plan, because I think it'll be easier to shop less with our schedules the way they are. I need meals that are ready before I get home from work, since my husband will have to eat before I get home.
This is what's on the menu for this month:
Fajitas
Tamale Pie
Chimichangas (excited to try this one!)
Buffalo Chicken Lasagna
Hasbrown Casserole
Corn and Spinach Enchiladas
AuGratin Taco Bake
Potato Soup
Chicken Caesar Salad (not crockpot, but it's easy to assemble and a favorite in our house)
Calzones - not crockpot, but I can freeze and re-heat :)
Stromboli - freezes well :)
Japanese Mum's Chicken
Bourbon Chicken
White Chicken Chili
Spaghetti
Rosemary Chicken Salad Sandwiches
With leftovers and things like grilled cheese or frozen pizza this menu will last us an entire month, or more.
I went shopping and spent about $250 on groceries for all of the meals above, plus filler stuff and stuff for lunches. All in all, not bad. And, I honestly think it'll last us closer to 2 1/2 months.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Money Saving Tips
So, this post is going to be an on going one and I'll add to it as my budget meal planning journey continues. I'll add the link to the left, so you can always find it. Please comment with any additional tips you may have!
_____________________________________________________________________
Make a weekly meal plan and stick to it.
Don't stock up on produce unless you can freeze it for later.
I check Walgreens and CVS for their weekly and monthly deals and hardly ever pay for things like shampoo and batteries. I'm not quite as crazy about deal finding as some ladies out there are, but I do watch for deals on products I know I'll use.
I don't buy commercial household cleaners. They aren't good for the environment, they aren't good for me and most of all, they aren't good, or safe, for my son. You can effectively clean ANYTHING with hot soapy water, vinegar, lemon and baking soda. And, it saves money!
Stop using paper towels. They are expensive and you don't need to use them. Use a wash cloth or a towel to clean up messes
Stretch your meat! You don't need to use that entire pound of hamburger for any one meal. One pound can go a LONG way. I can make an entire meatloaf (with left overs), a crock pot full of chili, meatballs, strogonoff and tacos with 2 pounds of hamburger. That's about 10 to 12 meals for a family of 3. I know many of my recipes call for a full pound of meat, but you don't need to use that much if you are trying to stretch your dollar. Fill in the gaps with corn and more beans in the chili, you don't need to overstuff your tacos and meatloaf can be stretched in countless ways. Portion sizes are out of control, scale back and you'll save a ton.
While we're on meat... consider trading ground turkey for ground beef, it's cheaper. You can get away with it easy in that chili and use 1/2 and 1/2 in the meatloaf.
Tuna... use it to replace chicken in chicken casseroles and make tuna salad instead of chicken salad. It's cheap and healthy.
Cook! Start from scratch and you'll be eathing healthier and cheaper.
Buy dried beans. Canned beans, even though cheap, are FIVE TIMES more expensive than buying dried.
Recycle and repuprose. Don't waste leftovers! My husband isn't a fan of them, so I freeze leftovers and serve them in a few weeks, he has no idea they are "left overs". Make sandwiches out of that left over roast meat, make chicken quesadillas with left over chicken, be creative.
Skip the non essential commercial foods. Potato chips, cheap pizzas, ice cream, the deli counter... If you are cooking from scratch you'll have lots of yummy goodies at home, for MUCH less and won't miss these things. Homemade ice cream and homemade yogurt are much cheaper than buying. If you must have your potato chips, consider the store brand.
Use any leftover funds from your grocery budget to stock up on something that is on sale or buy a bulk pantry item.
Don't drink your food budget. Stop the soda habit. Drink water, and not bottled water.
Pay for the food, not disposable packaging.
Shope your fridge, freezer and pantry first.
Coupons... I keep my eye on the frugal blogs out there for really great deals (read free) but other than that, I don't waste time on coupons. Generally, there aren't coupons for real food (meat, eggs, milk, flour, sugar...). There are exceptions, and I watch for those, but most of the time store brands or non processed options are cheaper than using a coupon.
Carry a calculator. Yes, it's nerdy but it will help you stick to your budget and compare brands. Also, make sure you are thinking price per pound or price per ounce when you are comparing.
Pay attention to prices. Keep a log of prices you see on items you buy most frequently and you'll have a better idea of what a good price really is.
International groceries - our local Mexican grocery store has FAR better prices on things like meat and produce than our chain grocer typicaly has.
Warehouse clubs - beware! I buy some staples at Sams, like milk, eggs or cheese but generally the food sold here are all not "real" food but rather commercial processed and not needed items. I usually don't find good produce and buying produce in bulk leads to waste. My meat is still cheaper at the Mexican grocery store. We do buy toilet paper and laundry detergent at Sams.
If you have a green thumb, grow your herbs. Think about how much money that will save! Unfortunaltey, I don't have a green thumb so it would just cost me more, lol.
Buy frozen veggies! They keep and are often times cheaper.
Obtain a store card
Eat meatless at least twice a week - Beans and Rice, egg dishes, vegetable stir fry with rice, vegetable pizza, pancakes for dinner...
BOGO doesn't always mean you have to buy 2. Often times, you can buy one and get it for 1/2 off. Read the fine print.
Buy a deep freeze and cook more than you need. Time is money :)
Do you buy diapers? Check out your local drug store, I've found that their store brands are often the cheapest around, and good quality as well.
Do you have kids? Leave them at home. LOL. Focus on yoru shopping and don't allow them to throw extras in that aren't in the budget. Make them a yummy treat when you get home.
_____________________________________________________________________
Make a weekly meal plan and stick to it.
Don't stock up on produce unless you can freeze it for later.
I check Walgreens and CVS for their weekly and monthly deals and hardly ever pay for things like shampoo and batteries. I'm not quite as crazy about deal finding as some ladies out there are, but I do watch for deals on products I know I'll use.
I don't buy commercial household cleaners. They aren't good for the environment, they aren't good for me and most of all, they aren't good, or safe, for my son. You can effectively clean ANYTHING with hot soapy water, vinegar, lemon and baking soda. And, it saves money!
Stop using paper towels. They are expensive and you don't need to use them. Use a wash cloth or a towel to clean up messes
Stretch your meat! You don't need to use that entire pound of hamburger for any one meal. One pound can go a LONG way. I can make an entire meatloaf (with left overs), a crock pot full of chili, meatballs, strogonoff and tacos with 2 pounds of hamburger. That's about 10 to 12 meals for a family of 3. I know many of my recipes call for a full pound of meat, but you don't need to use that much if you are trying to stretch your dollar. Fill in the gaps with corn and more beans in the chili, you don't need to overstuff your tacos and meatloaf can be stretched in countless ways. Portion sizes are out of control, scale back and you'll save a ton.
While we're on meat... consider trading ground turkey for ground beef, it's cheaper. You can get away with it easy in that chili and use 1/2 and 1/2 in the meatloaf.
Tuna... use it to replace chicken in chicken casseroles and make tuna salad instead of chicken salad. It's cheap and healthy.
Cook! Start from scratch and you'll be eathing healthier and cheaper.
Buy dried beans. Canned beans, even though cheap, are FIVE TIMES more expensive than buying dried.
Recycle and repuprose. Don't waste leftovers! My husband isn't a fan of them, so I freeze leftovers and serve them in a few weeks, he has no idea they are "left overs". Make sandwiches out of that left over roast meat, make chicken quesadillas with left over chicken, be creative.
Skip the non essential commercial foods. Potato chips, cheap pizzas, ice cream, the deli counter... If you are cooking from scratch you'll have lots of yummy goodies at home, for MUCH less and won't miss these things. Homemade ice cream and homemade yogurt are much cheaper than buying. If you must have your potato chips, consider the store brand.
Use any leftover funds from your grocery budget to stock up on something that is on sale or buy a bulk pantry item.
Don't drink your food budget. Stop the soda habit. Drink water, and not bottled water.
Pay for the food, not disposable packaging.
Shope your fridge, freezer and pantry first.
Coupons... I keep my eye on the frugal blogs out there for really great deals (read free) but other than that, I don't waste time on coupons. Generally, there aren't coupons for real food (meat, eggs, milk, flour, sugar...). There are exceptions, and I watch for those, but most of the time store brands or non processed options are cheaper than using a coupon.
Carry a calculator. Yes, it's nerdy but it will help you stick to your budget and compare brands. Also, make sure you are thinking price per pound or price per ounce when you are comparing.
Pay attention to prices. Keep a log of prices you see on items you buy most frequently and you'll have a better idea of what a good price really is.
International groceries - our local Mexican grocery store has FAR better prices on things like meat and produce than our chain grocer typicaly has.
Warehouse clubs - beware! I buy some staples at Sams, like milk, eggs or cheese but generally the food sold here are all not "real" food but rather commercial processed and not needed items. I usually don't find good produce and buying produce in bulk leads to waste. My meat is still cheaper at the Mexican grocery store. We do buy toilet paper and laundry detergent at Sams.
If you have a green thumb, grow your herbs. Think about how much money that will save! Unfortunaltey, I don't have a green thumb so it would just cost me more, lol.
Buy frozen veggies! They keep and are often times cheaper.
Obtain a store card
Eat meatless at least twice a week - Beans and Rice, egg dishes, vegetable stir fry with rice, vegetable pizza, pancakes for dinner...
BOGO doesn't always mean you have to buy 2. Often times, you can buy one and get it for 1/2 off. Read the fine print.
Buy a deep freeze and cook more than you need. Time is money :)
Do you buy diapers? Check out your local drug store, I've found that their store brands are often the cheapest around, and good quality as well.
Do you have kids? Leave them at home. LOL. Focus on yoru shopping and don't allow them to throw extras in that aren't in the budget. Make them a yummy treat when you get home.
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