Meal Planning With Your Calendar

I am really into meal planning. Years ago, before I did this, I would haphazardly shop at the grocery store and just kind of fling things in the cart as I went along, and make up my meals as I was shopping. I've been trying to plan better though, so a couple days before I go grocery shopping, I decide what I want to make for the next 2-2.5 weeks. I make my meal list and grocery list, and then I download one of these:



I then look at our regular calendar and figure out our schedule and decide what to cook what days. I know that Tuesday and Thursday are designated Karate nights, so I always need something easy for those nights, like grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup, or tator tot casserole. Friday or Saturday nights are usually homemade Pizza nights. Not everything is easy though; The next couple weeks will see Cabbage rolls, Goulash, Beef Roast and Beef stew (yaay for leftovers!) and Rubber Chicken (roast chicken, chicken pot pie and then chicken soup!). I currently have 17 different meal options, so I almost did 3 weeks this time.

After I am done deciding what to cook when, I pencil it in on the calendar. Voila! I now have 2-2.5 weeks of menu planning. I can look at each day and figure out what needs to be made, or I can prepare the day before if I am making something like a Roast Chicken for instance. Of course I am free to substitute if something doesn't work out, but usually we pretty much stick to the schedule. It also really helps me stay on budget as well, because I only stick to what meals I am making. I always allow for some extras, because I never fail to forget a few things that I needed.

It Works for me! Check out the other great ideas at Works For Me Wednesday!!

I Did It!

I actually bbq'd all by myself last night!! well, with a phone tutorial by my hubby. And before you go saying how easy it is, we don't believe in propane in this house, we're all charcoal baby! I was scared actually, but I actually managed to cook us a nice dinner of bbq'd burgers. I think I can do this more often! And even better, I am proud of myself for learning something new!

Shopping at Wally World

Well, today marked the END of Spring Break, and back to school. WooHoo!! That also means that it is back to normal, and I have to admit, it feels good! I am sure the kids are enjoying getting back to school too, they got bored a few times last week.

So this morning I did my huge, massive, ginormous grocery shopping at our local WalMart supercenter. I spent around $284. WOWZA!!! I wasn't prepared for that, but I discovered that with the meals I have planned, as well as staples I still had in the house, I have enough food to cover meals for ONE MONTH!! That cost also includes staples such as toilet paper, dishwasher soap, cat litter, my face moisturizer, deoderant, and a few other non-grocery items we needed.

I also picked up a super cute outfit for our youngest daughter for $6.92 (*gasp* can you believe it? I didn't buy an outfit at Gymboree!!! lol). I love this set, the capris come just below her knee, and it looks adorable on her. It is a tunic top if anyone was wondering.


I also picked this up for my niece, who was just born last week.

I Love this dress, I wish it was in a size my youngest daughter could wear, but alas, it only went up to 6-9months.

Besides the typical things I purchase every time, like hot dogs or chicken strips(weekend food), I also purchased a beef roast, a roast chicken (making two that I have in freezer now), two lbs hamburger (three that I have now), boneless skinless chicken breasts, and a bag of chicken drumsticks, among other dinner items. We eat a lot of chicken! lol. I'll be trying some new recipes I found last night on Allrecipes.com. Once I cook those, I will share the recipes on here. Here is a teaser...one includes cabbage! Wish me luck, I've never cooked that before.

I am very pleased with my purchases. I will still have to go out weekly for more bread, produce, milk, and of course, dog food. I can't recall a time when I've had enough food to last us this long. It is very satisfying!