Finally, the February menu plan

I got it done today and want to get it posted for you to check out.


February Menu Plan

1. Chicken thighs, green beans, fries/baked potato
2. Turkey/rice soup or hotdogs, fresh bread
3. Pork chops, rice, veggies
4. Pizza
5. Leftover soup or cheese quesidillas
6. lunch: birthday party, supper: beef stew
7. lunch: at friend's house, supper: sandwiches
8. Chicken, rice, peas
9. Pork tenderloins, corn, fries
10. Spaghetti
11. Pizza
12. Brats, baked beans, salad
13. lunch: turkey tetrazinni, supper: lasagna
14. lunch: tukey, green bean casserole, supper: leftovers, fruit smoothies
15. Broiled chicken breasts, rice, veggie
16. Pork, salad
17. Breakfast for dinner
18. Pizza
19. Fish, rice, peas
20. lunch: hot dogs, mac 'n cheese, supper: ????
21. lunch: sub sandwiches, smoothies, supper: cheeseburgers, chips
22. Chicken, veggies
23. Out for dinner
24. Breakfast for dinner
25. Pizza
26. Tacos
27. lunch: pork roast, veggies, mashed potato, supper: leftovers
28. lunch: manwich, chips, supper: ????

I only have a couple of empty spots in the plan. I guess I will deal with them when I get there. Maybe I will feel inspired more by then.

Happy planning to you!

Frugal Friday- Importance of meal planning

For today, I want to tackle the importance of meal planning.

I can't stress enough the importance of making a meal plan for the
week. This is a great way to save money, and you don't even have to use coupons if you don't want to!

In my former "before coupon clipping life", I used to be one that said "I don't feel like _____ tonight", and end up ordering takeout. Imagine my shock after I started clipping coupons. I went back through my checkbook and couldn't quite believe that we had spent almost $300 in one month on restaurant bills! What a waste of money.

I now know that meal planning makes a big difference. And when I plan meals that center around what my family likes, it is very easy to do.

When I make a meal plan, it is always subject to change. Let's face it, life is full of change. Stuff happens- like a doctor appointment or unplanned company and you need to roll with the punches. If you don't' "feel" like eating the planned food on a certain day, mix it up. I would much rather have it on the calendar and know that I have all the ingredients in the house than be wondering what I should make.

For my family, I keep the meals easy. I know we always end up with chicken at least
once, pork, pizza, and some sort of red meat dish. Beyond that is just
figuring what to add to it. I also write it out on the calendar too. Then even hubby could start dinner and help out. I also keep the basics stocked. For us the basics are sides like rice, potatoes, etc, and veggies (canned, fresh and frozen).

Lastly, I shop the grocery store each week in order to take advantage of the sale cycles. I check what is on sale, compare it to what I have and make the meal plan. Then I write out my shopping list from there. When I'm in the store, I keep my eyes open for non-advertised sales and clearance items. I always leave a little room in my budget for that!

I hope that I was able to show you some options for saving money on your groceries. Please feel free to leave comments and/or your ideas on this post!

Menu Plan Monday

It's that time again already. I have found that I need to have a better weekend plan in place so we can easily resist the temptation of take out. I went into this past weekend without a plan and therefore we were making a mad dash around the kitchen at every meal. So, starting this week I will include the next weekend as well and the weeks will be from Monday to Sunday.

Saturday: lunch was hot dogs at a festival, dinner was pizza take out.

Sunday: lunch was leftovers thrown together, supper was chicken/rice/peas

Monday: Pork chops, beans, cantaloupe

Tuesday: Chicken, ranch mashed potatoes, corn

Wednesday: Breakfast casserole, blueberry muffins

Thursday: pizza

Friday: Chicken nuggets, fries, veggie

Saturday: Taco salads, hot dogs and other leftovers

Sunday: Hamburgers, velveeta shells/cheese, veggie

Have a great week everyone!!

Meal planning!

One of the best things I have found to help me save money is meal planning. This takes time, but I see the best results! Every Friday (or Saturday morning), I sit with the local grocery store ad and plan the meals for the next week. I look at the sale items, and match to coupons if possible.

Because I work part-time and I hate trying to think of meal ideas, I have a generic plan I follow too.

Monday- chicken
Tuesday- pork
Wednesday-breakfast
Thursday- pizza
Friday- open
Saturday & Sunday- cheeseburgers, tacos or spaghetti.

All lunch meals are very simple whether I am home or the sitter is here. Lunches consist of mac 'n cheese, hot dogs, sandwiches or spaghetti-o's. (Can you tell the kids are all 5 and under?)

I make sure that I have side dishes like rice or fries, and frozen veggies to go with all dinners. Then all I have to do is change how I fix the meat and what the side dish is. We all tend to like plain things, so I don't make too many casseroles.

With the above plan, and having a freezer in the basement, I can stock up on commonly used items when they go on sale! Just 2 weeks ago, our local store had boneless skinless chicken breasts in a 3lb bag for $3.99. I bought 6 bags. Since we eat chicken weekly, this was a sweet deal for us.

Another thing I do is package all leftovers in small containers and freeze it. Both hubby and I just take a container from the freezer to work and lunch is ready! Saves on the spending as well!

I hope this will inspire you to make the meal plan, it really does help!

Let me know by leaving a comment, do you meal plan to save money?