October 2013 Menu

One way I know to really help our budget is to cut out eating out. With our schedule this requires meal planning. I have a gazillion things pinned on Pinterest so I decided to make use of my pins to plan our October Menu. I have planned breakfast, lunch and dinner for weekends and just dinners for week nights.

In addition, I will pre prep food for lunches for the week for the 2 girls and myself. My youngest son eats hot lunch at school. Some will be leftovers from the night before and other options will be salads, sandwiches and whatever else we can think to make on the weekend to make things easier for the week.

The menu. This menu starts with Sunday September 29th and goes through the end of October. If you are interested in links to any of the recipes for menu items let me know and I can get them for you!

S: Sliders, fries and veggies w/ ranch
M: Hamburger helper, green beans
T: Breakfast for dinner (Eggs Benedict)
W: Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole, roasted broccoli
Th: Gnocchi Chicken Soup, crackers
F: Slower cooker balsamic pot roast, fries
S: B- Cereal or bagel, L- Sandwiches or cup of noodles, D-sub sandwiches & chips

S- B- Eggs/hash browns, bacon, L- Sub sandwiches & chips, D-Crockpot sweet garlic chicken, rice, veggies
M- Mongolian beef, rice, stir fry veggies
T- Homemade pizza, salad
W- Crispy chicken wraps, veggies w/ ranch
Th- Italian wedding soup, hm biscuits
F- Crockpot brown sugar balsamic glazed pork tenderloin, ranch potatoes and roasted broccoli
S- B: Pumpkin cinnamon rolls w/caramel frosting, L: Hamburgers & fries, D: I am fixing dinner for several couples going to the homecoming dance need to find out what they want.

S: B-Biscuits/gravy, hash browns, L-Swirly dogs & chips, D- Crispy cheddar chicken, pasta side and veggies
M: Skillet chili mac, corn
T- Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans
W- Copycat Panera Broccoli cheese soup, hm biscuits
Th- Crockpot pineapple chicken, rice and veg
F- Hm pizza (this may change to eating at the game I am signed up to work concessions this night)
S- B-Breakfast puffins, L- Sandwiches & chips, D-sub sandwiches & chips

S- B-Eggs benedict casserole, L- Sub sandwiches & chips, D- Crispy chicken tortilla roll ups, chips
M: Baked parmesan paprika chicken, ranch potatoes and broccoli
T: Cheesy taco crescent calzones
W: Chicken wild rice soup
TH: Crockpot broccoli beef, rice
F: Hamburger French dips & fries
S: B-Hash browns, eggs, bacon, L: Sandwiches & chips D- at my parents for my moms bday dinner

S: B- at my parents house, L- CORD, D- Grilled flank steak with gorgonzola cream sauce, baked potatoes and veggies
M: Fettuccini Alfredo, garlic bread
T: Tacos
W: Potato cheese perogi, veggies
Th: Halloween not sure what the plan is yet

Menu Plan January 2013

As we set off into a new year, I want to refocus on menu planning. Having  a plan saves money, time and stress. I am less likely to grab pizza on my way home when I have a meal planned out and the items purchased. I will stick to once a week grocery shopping which helps reduce extra spending by grabbing extras every time I go to the store.

I have a plan for dinners. Breakast in our house during the week is always something quick. I do cook a family breakfast on the weekeends but always have the items on hand for that unless its something special. The kids eat lunches at school and I will pack leftovers, soup or salads to work for my lunches.

I did make out a 3 meal plan for now until the first though. With all 5 of us home for 4 days straight meal planning is a MUST.

29th:
B: Cinnamon Rolls
L: Pizza rolls & salad
D: Soup & sandwiches

30th:
B: Waffles & eggs
L: Pizza casserole
D: ?? something from the freezer

31st:
B: Donuts (free from bread outlet)
L: Spaghetti and hm French rolls
D: Appetizers to celebrate new years

1st:
B: Biscuits & gravy
L: Layered Enchilada bake

1- Turkey Dinner (turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing etc)
2- Cracker Barrel Chicken & Dumplings (Made with turkey)
3- Ranch Chicken Encheladas (made with turkey)
4- Hamburgers & fries
5- Chicken & cheese lasagna roll ups and salad
6- Ham, scallop potatoes and veggies
7- Spaghetti, french bread & salad
8- Meatloaf, mash potatoes and veggies
9- Taco soup
10- Tacos
11- Pizza
12- Hamburger french dips, french fries
13- Roasted chicken, mash potatoes and veggies
14- Pasta carbonara, french bread & salad
15- Smoked mozzarella stuffed meatballs, rice & veggies
16- Tuna noodle casserole
17- Pork carnitas & rice
18- Philly cheese steak sloppy joes, roasted potatoes and veggies
19- GAME NIGHT-POTLUCK
20- Pepper steak, rice
21- Spaghetti, french bread & salad
22- Chicken cordon bleu with parm dijon sauce, rice and veggies
23- Tomato soup & grilled cheese
24- Tacos
25- Pizza
26- Steak, baked potatoes and salad
27- Roast, baked potatoes, veggies
28- Pasta with chicken sausage, peppers & escarole
29- Kahlua pork, rice and veggies
30- Perogi casserole, salad
31- Nachos
After I do the grocery shopping for each week I will post that as well!

Grocery Shopping/Menu Planning Week of June 10th

We are working on using up some things in our freezer & pantry so that I can restock it with fresh. I also still have quite a bit of produce left from last week to use this week.

Total spent $56
$1.77 Shredded cheese
$1.98 Gravy Packets (2)
$3.94 Milk (2 gallons)
$3.78 Butter (2 pounds)
$1.98 Ketchup (2)
$.89 Conditioner
$2.98 Diced ham
$2.89 Tortillas
$4.30 Pork Chops
$4.84 Chicken drumsticks
$6.63 BS Chicken
$3.78 Tilapia
$2.99 Basil
$2.98 Arugula
$.68 Lemon
$2.78 Cauliflower
$1.25 Cabbage
$3.98 15# potatoes
$2.50 Parmesan Cheese

DINNERS:
S- Crispy Balsamic Chicken, Roasted Cabbage, Potatoes
M- Out for our teams soccer party
T- Chicken drumsticks in crockpot, rice a roni, salad
W- Potato Soup & biscuits
Th- Pork Chops, Rice & Roasted veggies
F- Roasted chicken, mashed poatoes/gravy, green beans

BREAKFAST:
Pancakes
Eggs/Turkey Bacon
Muffins
Bagels & fruit
Cereal
Smoothies

LUNCHES:
The kids eat at school
I will pack leftovers or salad

Week of 2/26-3/3

Its hard to believe we are coming up on March so quickly! As is the norm in our household, last week brought some huge changes. I am reaching the end of my pre requisites for the LPN program. The wait list for the program itself is now at 24 months, which means I need to go back to work. I am not giving up on the goal of finishing the LPN program, its just not something thats going to happen anytime soon due to the wait list.

I started applying for jobs the week before and got an interview right away. Last week I was hired and started my new job. I am loving it so far and honestly its really nice to be back to work. This last week was a challenge though, as I was still finishing clinicals. It made for long days, leaving home at 7am and not getting home until after 10pm. Add to that a cold and sinus infection and by Friday I was done in for. This week I will finish up clinicals and take the written final for the NAC class and its onto full time training for work!

To get us better organized I have put a chore chart back in place. I also have some amazing friends who have stepped into help with getting kids where they need to be and helping with child care. I cannot thank them enough!!

Onto this week! The menu is planned, chore chart is made and we are set to go!

Dinner menu:
S- Stuffed shells with sauce (freezer meal), green salad and hm french rolls
M- Tuna Casserole (freezer meal)
T- Tacos
W- Garlic lime marinated pork, cilantro lime rice and veggies
Th- Garlic lovers roast beef, mashed potatoes, oven roasted cauliflower
F- Pizza
S- Subway after church

Lunches: I will pack leftovers from dinner the night before or soup/sandwich.

Menu week of 2/19-2/25

Week 1 of clinicals was a success. Now, onto week 2. This week again was a little weird. Monday was my youngest daughters 11th birthday. She and I went out of town to a friends so most of our meals were on the go. The other kids were scattered (one at cousins, one at birthday parties and one at home). I made the mistake of not planning the menu before going shopping yesterday but think I did pretty good on the fly this week.

Dinners:
M- Fondue (cheese fondue w/raw veggies, apples and french bread), chocolate w/strawberries, bananas and marshmallows. (Daughters bday dinner)
T- Taco soup
W- Ruben sandwiches and spaghettios (oldest son is cooking) I will pack LO taco soup
Th- Zupa Toscana Soup
F- Pizza for the kids, I will pack leftovers

Menu Week of 2/12-18

This week is a little different for us. I am starting my clinicals for the NAC course this week which leaves my oldest to fix dinner 2 nights this week. I also need to pack my dinner/snacks with me so I have to prepare ahead of time.

Breakfast Options:
Cereal (Special K, Cheerios or Rice Crispies)
Eggos
Eggs/Turkey Bacon
Smoothie

Lunches:
*The kids will have school lunches.
*My oldest will be eating at home (he gets out early for Running Start). He usually has leftovers, salad or a burger.
*My lunch focus this week will be on salads with protein. I will cook up extra steak, chicken and hardboiled eggs to have on hand for those. I am also going to thaw a freezer meal of white chicken chili I receive din our last swap and will use that for lunches and some dinners for myself this week.

Dinner:
S- New York Steak, brussels sprouts and sweet potato. I will fix burgers for 3 of the kids they don't care for steak.
M- Tacos for the kids at home. I will pack white chicken chili and cut up raw veggies.
T- Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken, Rice and raw veggies with LF ranch
W- Tomato Soup and grilled cheese for the kids, I will take leftovers from Tuesdays dinner
Th- Asian Glazed Chicken, rice and broccoli.
F- We are scattered this day. The kids are all doing something different for dinner. I am going to pack leftovers from Thursday.
S- I will be eating at a scrapbook crop and the kids are having pizza.

Menu Plan Week of 2/5-2/11

Most of my recipes this week (and most weeks) come from Skinny Taste I LOVE this website. The recipes are healthy and family friendly. The nutrition information is posted as well as the WW points are already calculated, could it get any eaiser?? I think not :).

Breakfast options:
Cereal (Cheerios, Special K or rice crispies), fruit
Yogurt/fruit
Eggos with peanut butter/fruit
Bagel with lowfat cream cheese
Eggs w/turkey bacon or turkey sausage crumbles

Lunches:
The kids eat lunch at school. I pack my lunches on days I have class.
This week my lunch options:

Butternut Squash Soup
Sandwich and veggies w/hummus
Leftovers from the night before
Salad with grilled chicken

Dinner:
S- grilled New York Steak, roasted veggies and sweet potato
M- Baked Chicken Parmesan, Whole wheat pasta w/sauce and salad
T- Taco soup in the crockpot
W- Turkey meatloaf, mashed cauliflower, steamed broccoli
Th- White Chicken Chili and cornbread
F- Pizza and salad

Grocery shopping and menu planning Week of 1/1/12

The first half of this week was meals from things on hand. I did our grocery shopping yesterday for the rest of the week and a little bit of stock up. We are trying to focus on eating healthier which means more fresh fruits and veggies which sadly are expensive this time of year.

Menu:
Wednesday:
B: Eggs/turkey bacon or cereal
L: At school for kids, I had a sandwich
D: Stuffed peppers for ODS and I and tacos for the rest (using the same mix of taco meat from the freezer)

Thursday:
B: Pancakes/turkey bacon or cereal
L: At school for the kids, out with a friend for me or salad at home
D: Cod, brussels sprouts for ODS and I and tacos with leftovers for the other kids

Friday:
B: Cinnamon rolls
L: At school for kids, salad for me
D:  Homemade pizza

Saturday:
B: Biscuits and gravy, eggs
L: Homemade soup and sandwiches
D: Subway after church (we just get the $5 footlong sandwiches no chips or drinks)

Groceries purchased:
Fred Meyer $69.26

4- Special K cereal $10
1- Store brand Rice Crispies $1.99
2- pancake mix $3.98
Raw sugar $3.09
Half & half $1.79
3 shredded cheese $6.50
2 OJ- $5.00
4 bagged salad kids $4.00 (wish these would last longer they are on sale for a great price)
brussels sprouts $3.38
6 grapefruit $2.00
3 green bell peppers $2.04
mandarin oranges 1.07
9 yogurt $3.00
sour cream $2.00
Bacon 1.56
cod 3.89
2 whole chickens $9.71 (.88#)
1 gallon milk $2.59

The chickens went into the freezer for future use. I also placed an order with Zaycon foods for 40# of boneless skinless chicken breast that will be here later in the month at $1.69 a pound.

See how others did at the Grocery Cart Challenge

Menu Plan and Grocery Shopping Week of Oct 30th

I have been horrible about menu planning and actually cooking the past few weeks. This week I am determined to get back on track. Here is our menu plan and the grocery shopping the kids and I did yesterday.

Dinner menu:
Sunday: Tacos
Monday: Chicken pot pie
Tuesday: Zuppa Toscana Soup and french bread
Wednesday: At sons soccer party
Thursday: Spaghetti, french bread and salad
Friday: Hamburgers and french fries
Saturday: Subway after church

Groceries purchased:
2-2 liters of soda $1.58
3 boxs ceral $8.97
hot sauce $1.49
Shredded cheese $2.50
Hot pocket $2.50
Taco shells $1.99
spanish rice 1.59
2 boxes eggos $2.98
fajita seasoning .89
chicken broth 2.99
milk 2.59
tortilla shells 3.89
seasoned ground turkey 1.99
ground beef 7.33
kale 2.49
bananas 1.92
apples 1.89

Total: $50.61
We had alot of leftovers from last week and the weekend that will be incorporated for lunches as well as parts of the meals planned for the week. I will also end up picking up a couple more gallons of milk later in the week.

Menu Week of 9/18/11

This week, Fall Quarter starts at the college. With my school schedule and the kids activity schedule, I MUST be prepared. The kids eat lunch at school most days (and pack once in a while). I will be packing my lunch with me daily.

Weekday breakfast options: Cereal, bagels, eggos, oatmeal  (I eat a ff Chobani yogurt, fruit and whole grain english muffin with 2 T. peanut butter)

Lunches: I will pack my lunch with either leftovers, salad, sandwich in a Flat Out Wrap or Lean Cuisine.

Dinners:
Sunday: Roasted Sticky Chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables
Monday: Chicken Francese, brown rice and vegetables
Tuesday: Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili, brown rice again
Wednesday: Spaghetti (I will have spaghetti squash in place of pasta), French bread and salad
Thursday: Pot roast in Tastefully Roast SauceSimple Tender Pot , baked potatoes, veggies
Friday: Kids Choice
Saturday: Subway after church

Change of Plans and Revamped Menu

A little over a week ago, I made a decision. I desperately need to make a lifestyle change. I have spent too many years sabotaging myself with my weight and eating habits. I took action and did four things last week.

1. Joined Weight Watchers Online
2. Joined the YMCA
3. Joined a Biggest Loser competition (local group of ladies)
4. Stocked up on healthy foods

Last week was week 1 in my lifestyle change. I took a water aerobics twice and tried yoga for the first time (and loved it). I stuck to my WW points, drank my water and was rewarded with a 1.4 pound loss! Yes its a small amount on the overall amount I need to lose but it is a positive start!

With this change comes a need to modify our menu. I found a fabulous website http://www.skinnytaste.com/ that is FULL of fabulous recipes. The nutritional information is provided AND the WW points have been calculated! This weeks dinner menu is coming from that site with the exception of Sunday.

Our revised dinner menu:
S: Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Walnuts, green beans (for the kids that don't eat Brussels sprouts), pasta roni for the kids, and green salad.

M: Asian grilled chicken, cucumber salad, roasted spaghetti squash

T: Mexican slow cooked pork carnitas, rice and veggies

W: Pasta Fagioli, French bread

Th: Caramelized Onion, Red Pepper and Zucchini Fritata, Green salad

F: Burgers & baked fries for the kids, turkey burger and baked chipotle sweet potato fries for me, skinny ranch dip and salad.

S: Pizza for the kids. I will be eating at an all day scrapbook crop!

September Menu

I have stocked up on breakfast and lunch options for the kids. The kids will eat lunch at school most days (free lunch) but will pack on some days. I will stock up on soup/salad options for myself at home. Later in the month, school will start for me and I will be packing a lunch for myself as well. HMM, I better get myself a lunch box ;)

This menu is the dinner menu for the month. I will be attending a Freezer Meal (FM) swap this month which is focused on crockpot meals! I will take 12 of the same meal to the swap and come home with 12 different meals for my freezer.

1- Bratz, burgers on the grill
2- Pizza for some of us, at the football game for the rest
3- Soup, sandwiches
4- Ribs on the grill, baked potatoes and veggies
5- Roast, mashed potatoes and veggies
6- Tacos, rice
7- Crockpot meal (FM)
8- Spaghetti, french bread, salad
9- Meatloaf, mash potatoes, veg
10- Subway after church
11- Brown Sugar & Balsamic Pork Loin, Brussels Sprouts w/ bacon/walnuts, green beans
12- Creamy wild rice soup, french bread
13- Tacos, rice
14- @ church
15- Crockpot FM
16- Hamburgers & french fries
17- Kids choice
18- Encheladas
19- Zuppa Toscana and french bread
20- Tacos, rice
21- Crockpot FM
22- Crockpot FM
23- French dips
24- Subway
25- Sticky chicken, mashed potatoes and veg
26- Bake potato chowder, french bread
27- Tacos, rice
28- Crockpot FM
29- Crockpot FM
30- Kids choice

Menu Week of 8/21

Only a couple more weeks of planning 3 meals per day. While I enjoy menu planning, just planning dinner is much easier LOL!

Sunday:
B: cereal, muffins, whatever each wants
L: ??
D: Grilled burgers for the kids, grilled steak bites with blue cheese dipping sauce (Freezer meal) for ODS and myself. Salad and potatoes.

Monday:
B: Cinnamon Rolls
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: @ a wedding reception

Tuesday:
B: Hashbrowns and eggs
L:  Pizza in Crescent rolls
D:  Encheladas

Wednesday:
B: Waffles with homemade blueberry sauce
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Chicken Divan, rice, veggies

Thursday:
B: Pancakes, eggs
L: Tacos
D: Olive Garden (copykat) Fettucini alfredo, homeamde french bread and salad

Friday:
B: French toast, eggs
L: At home for the boys, out for the girls
D: Fondue!!

Saturday:
B: Homemade muffins
L: Picnic at the beach
D: Subway after church

Menu Week of 7/24

This weeks dinner menu is based mostly on freezer meals from this weeks freezer meal swap! Love the variety of meals we get to try.

Sunday:
B: Donuts (from the bread outlet)
L: Sandwiches and chips
D: Beer can chicken (freezer meal), pasta roni, green beans and salad

Monday:
B: Choice of cereal, muffins, yogurt/fruit
L: Ravioli, salad
D: Hamburger helper, salad and garlic bread

Tuesday:
B: Choice of cereal, muffins, yogurt/fruit

L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Mexi Chicken (freezer meal), rice

Wednesday:
B: Choice of cereal, muffins, yogurt/fruit

L: Penne with Garlic cream sauce, garlic sourdough, salad
D: Hamburgers (Premade and in the freezer) & french fries, veggies

Thursday:
B: Choice of cereal, muffins, yogurt/fruit

L: Packed from home picnic at the park if its nice
D: Cheesy Chilada Bake (freezer meal)
Friday:
B: Hashbrowns, eggs, bacon
L: Leftovers
D: Pizza for the kids, sushi out for me (I had the dates mixed up last week OOPS)

Saturday:
B: Belgian waffles
L: Mini corndogs, fries
D: Subway after church

Menu Week of July 17th

Breakfast this week (weekdays) will be cereal for the kids. Thats what they like to have and well, really all they want to eat in the morning. So I have decided to throw the breakfast battle out the window for the rest of the summer. I will have either egg and toast or yogurt and fruit before I head out to class. And of course, LOTS of coffee!

This weeks Lunch/Dinner menu:

Sunday:
B: Waffles
L: Odds and ends from the freezer/fridge
D: Grilled steak, pasta roni, vegetables

Monday:
L: Chicken fingers & fries
D: Pork ribs in Crockpot, rice and vegetables

Tuesday:
L: Hot dogs/Mac & cheese
D: French dip sandwiches, french fries and salad

Wednesday:
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Pomegranate/Chipotle meatloaf, mashed potatoes, veggies and salad

Thursday:
L: Tacos
D: Leftovers/CORD (Clean out refrigerator dinner)

Friday:
B: Muffins
L: Sandwiches & chips (if the weather is nice we will pack this as a picnic and head to the park)
D: Pizza for the kids I am going to sushi with a good friend!

Saturday:
B: Cinnamon rolls
L: Grilled burgers, creamy parmesan pasta salad

D: Freezer meal

I am providing a meal for another family on Wednesday (Urban Garlic Chicken). Saturday morning I am hosting a freezer meal swap and will prepare some brunch items for the group.

Menu Week of July 10th with recipe links!

This weeks menu will be a use it up menu. There are a lot of bits/pieces of things or partial packages in the cupboard that need to be used up. I did supplement with a few items from the store. I tried out the new grocery section of our local Target this week while shopping for other items. Not someplace I would want to do regular grocery shopping, but, great selection for just needing a few items!

This weeks menu:
Sunday
B: at camp
L: sandwiches & chips
D: Garlic Panko Chicken Strips , Parmesan Garlic Pasta, green salad

Monday
B: Cereal or yogurt/fruit
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Tacos and spanish rice

Tuesday:
B: Cinnamon Melt Muffins from Tastefully Simple
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Olive Garden Fettucini Alfredo and Salmon, french bread and salad. I will make some regular spaghetti for the 2 kids that don't like fettucini alfredo.

Wednesday:
B: Cereal or yogurt/fruit
L: Chicken strips & french fries, watermelon
D: Pork Ribs in crockpot, rice and veggies

Thursday:
B: Cereal or smoothies
L: Leftovers
D: at camp

Friday- Sunday should be at camp but we will have to see how the weather holds up. Camping meals will be kept very simple.

July 3, 2011- Summer activities update, menu and ramblings

We are discovering new ways each day to enjoy frugal fun this summer. Yesterday we walked around the fabulous Farmers Market here in town. We picked up a few items for a delicious all local dinner for tonight. We then drove towards home and stopped at several garage sales. We found items to add to our back to school box for the fall as well as a couple of items on our wants list (such as a flour sifter!). On our way home a friend called and asked if we wanted to head out to the beach with them. OF COURSE! We stopped by the house and threw some snacks and drinks in the ice chest and headed out.

Washington State passed a new law that requires a Discover Pass to park in State Parks. We have not yet picked ours up so that excluded our favorite beach. Our friends showed us a public county beach that we didn't even know existed! We had a fabulous time before heading off to church!

This week is going to be a hectic week. School starts for me on Tuesday and my oldest daughter has a soccer tournament this coming weekend. July also brings additional challenges of expenses of youth group camp and dance camp. With the busy schedule and additional expenses it is very important to stay ontop of menu planning and being prepared. We also need to make sure that we keep our activities free or low cost to avoid financial stress, which personally, I feel is one of the worst kinds of stress.

With that, here is our plan for the week!

Sunday:
B: Cereal or egg/toast
L: Chicken drummettes and leftovers
D: Garlic scape pasta with Alfredo sauce, salad and chibatta bread (all from the local farmers market)
S: Fruit (grapes/cherries)
Activity/craft: Movie day or the park depends on the weather

Monday:
B: Waffles
L: Hamburgers
D: At friends BBQ
S: Fruit bars
Activity/Craft: 4th of July BBQ with friends

Tuesday:
B: Cereal or bagels
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Chicken, stir fry veggies, rice
S: Popcorn
Activity/Craft: Park and thank you card(s)

Wednesday:
B: Blueberry muffins
L: Cheeseburger spaghetti, salad
D: Pork ribs in cp, coleslaw, rice a roni
S: Ice cream cones
Activity/Craft: Library

Thursday:
B: Cinnamon rolls
L: Chicken & vegetable summer tostadas or bean/cheese tostadas
D: Steak/egg salad or hotdogs/chips
S: Popcorn
Activity/Craft: Giant bubble wands and homemade bubbles. Family game night.
Friday
B: Cereal or egg/toast
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Pizza after soccer game
S: Cookies
Activity/craft: Soccer tournament/playground

Saturday:
B: Cereal or yogurt/fruit
L: Packed from home picnic for soccer tournament
D: Grilled kabobs, grilled "baked" potatoes, salad
S: Packed stuff from home for tournament
Activity: Soccer tournament/playground

Menu and Shopping Trip Week of 6/26

I have planned out Sunday-Thursday of this week and will finish out the week when the sale ad is available. I did our grocery shopping last night, with the kids so a few extras made it into the cart. Hmmm not sure HOW that happened :)

Sunday-
B: We ate at camp. We sauteed leftover potatoes, peppers and onions in a cast iron pan over the camp fire and fried up eggs to go with it.
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: The two older kids had a BBQ for youth group and I treated the two younger kids to dinner at Billy McHales on Sundays their kids meals are 1/2 price!

Monday-
B: Leftover muffins from camping
L: Mini corndogs/french fries or sandwich/chips
D: Grilled chicken, grilled potato/veggie packets, salad
Snack: Smoothies
Activity: Family movie night

Tuesday-
B: Eggs, bacon, hashbrowns
L: Tacos
D: Slow roasted sticky chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies and salad
Snack: Popcorn
Activity: Dance classes. The dance studio where my youngest daughter takes classes is offering drop in classes on Tuesdays over the summer. Both of the girls are going to try some different kinds of dance this summer. My youngest son is going to reluctantly give Hip Hop a try :).


Wednesday-
B: Biscuits/gravy and sausage
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Spaghetti, french bread and salad
Snack: Ice cream cones from a local dairy farm
Activity: Library and farm for ice cream cones

Thursday-
B: Cereal or eggos
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Grilled burgers/hotdogs
Snack: Crackers/cookies etc.
Activity: TBD

I didn't take a picture of my shopping trip but here is our list of purchases for the week:
2- Eggo Waffles $3.98
2- Apple Juice $3.78
2- Whole fryers $7.73 (one is for our family and one for a family we are providing a meal for)
1- shredded cheese $2.50
1# bacon- $5.71
Sausage links $3.49

Total: $27.52
I will pick up our CSA Farm box on Wednesday and that adds in more veggies. We are still using what we received last week as well!

Summer Vacation- Week 1

YEAH summer vacation has finally arrived. This summer, I won't be working but I will be taking 12 college credits. 7 of those credits will be online classes which allows quite a bit of flexibility. However, as with anything, routine is key. We started off the summer by creating a rotating chore chart for the family. By using this chore chart, it will take about an hour each day to get thru all of the daily "stuff". This allows us the entire afternoon for fun!

Along with chores, we have made sure to add in 20 minutes of reading time daily. I feel reading is very important for the kids as well as myself. It allows one time to relax and step back from the insanity of life, along with keep up on a very important skill. As I type this blog post, the two youngest kids are sitting here with their books :). Our local library offers a summer reading program that awards the kids for their reading and best of all, its FREE!

Our menu has been planned for the rest of this week along with fun activities. Here is a peek at our week :)

Monday:
B: Egg/toast or cereal
L: Leftovers
D: Pecan Crusted chicken, mashed potatoes and salad
Snack: Popcorn
Fun activity: Game night!
Craft: Chocolate covered strawberries (ok not really a craft but hey the kids are excited!)

Tuesday:
B: Blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs
L: Potato chowder and sandwiches
D: Lasagna, salad and homemade french bread
Snack: Free ice cream cones
Fun activity: Bowling and the library
Craft: Cards

Wednesday:
B: Omlets or cereal
L: Sandwiches & chips for those at home. Oldest daugther and I will be heading to a soccer BBQ. We will take cucumber salad and snicker salad.
D: Leftovers, steak bites with blue cheese dipping sauce, salad
Snack: Smoothies
Fun activity: Park
Craft: Sun visors

I will post the rest of the week later on!

May Menu

If you seen the note FM that stands for Freezer Meal. I have alot of meals in the freezer from the past 2 months freezer cooking sessions and swaps. I am planning another for May (see below). Each night as I am doing the dishes I take out a freezer meal to thaw overnight. There is alot of variety in our freezer so I just choose whatever sounds good that night for the next day!

May Menu
1- Grilled burgers, hot dogs and pasta salad
2- Slow roasted rosemary/garlic chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies
3- FM
4- Chicken ceasar pasta, salad and french rolls
5- FM
6- OUT- we will be attending an art walk with childrens art from local schools (including my daughters art) and will have dinner there
7- Mission Team Potluck (I'm taking chili)
8- Mothers day I am hoping we can go to the beach again and roast hot dogs. If not I will probably pull out a freezer meal.
9- FM
10- FM
11- BBQ at church
12- FM
13- Tacos
14- @ a graduation BBQ
15- Shepherds pie, salad, hm rolls
16- FM
17- FM
18- Spaghetti, salad, french bread
19- FM
20- Homemade pizza
21- Subway
22- BBQ burgers
23- FM
24- FM
25- Chicken ceasar wraps

26/27- free choice
28/29- meals at other locations
30- On the go or sandwiches
31- FM

My May Freezer Cooking Session will include:

3-Chicken Broccoli Bake
3-Chicken Cordon Bleu
3-Daves swamp blues bbq chicken
4-Cheesy Chilada bake
3-Shanghai Stir Fry
15-Cheese Burgers
4-Rice Pilaf
4-Garlic Mashed potato
8-Tropical Fruit Smoothie
8-Lasagna

All recipes except the cheeseburgers come from the book Fix Freeze Feast I cannot recomend this book enough! The # next to the item is the quantity of meals I will be making. The Rice Pilaf and Garlic mashed potatoes will be a side dish. The cheese burgers is an individual # not meals.

The lasagna will be my meal I am making for this months freezer swap. I will take the 8 lasagnas and come home with 8 different meals for our freezer. This is a great way to try new recipes without the commitment of making several of them!