Not so Fancy Meals

I am in a slump again.  It happens every couple of months.

I am tired of cooking meals.

I am tired of deciding what to cook for meals.

Funny--a couple of months ago I was so grateful to be in my kitchen again after 2 months of sitting around letting everyone else work while I was healing.

This happens every year.  Nobody’s hungry because of the heat(especially lunch).  So I  stop planning meals.  Then I am frustrated because when they are hungry I have no plan.  See how this is a bad cycle to get in?  I made a super easy lunch last week.  I loved it because it was easy & nourishing.  The kids loved it because there was cheese on their eggs & they got to have ketchup on their potatoes(can we say easy to please).   Potatoes & ham, scrambled eggs w/ cheese, peppers & onions & toast.  Not fancy but filling.  Easy and better than not fixing anything.

So I am gearing myself up for some easy meals.  Here is my short list.

Freezer meals—check out some of my favorites

Crockpot meals like Pirates Stew,  Salisbury Steak, Mexican Chicken,  or Orange Pork Chops—dump it in, turn it on, eat it later

BLT’s

Sandwiches

Fruit, cheese & crackers

Leftovers—gotta find a way to make enough they don’t eat it all

Frittata

Sloppy Joes

Salads—Taco salad, Quinoa salad, so many to choose from

So I am not going to stop cooking but I am going to be smart about what I fix.  What are some of your favorite summer meals?

Linked up at Tasty Tuesday, Delectable Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, What’s On YOUR plate, & Fun with Food Friday

Strategic Shopping My other Job

A friend of mine asked to take lessons when she read my status on Facebook last week about only paying $17 for $71 for groceries. That made me laugh because I just follow several deal blogs & do what they tell me! 

Especially my friend Gwen’s site, The Savings Jungle, which details the local sales & coupon deals.

Here is my routine!

1.  I buy two St. Louis Post papers & one local paper every Sunday on the way home from church.  (My kids love this because they get to read the comics—family tradition here)  This costs me about $5.  If I use just 5 coupons I will break even.

2.  If I get the time on Sunday, I flip through the coupons & take out & clip any I KNOW that I will use.  If not, I will do it while watching a movie one night that week.

3.  I combine the coupon inserts.  That way I have the same coupons together.  Notice I am not clipping at this time.  I also throw away all the non coupon(ads) pages from the inserts to reduce the bulk.

4.  What is left of the inserts gets put in my coupon binder.  I mark on the front of the inserts the dates so I can easily find a coupon I need(based on the date).  Helps my poor eyes not have to read the fine print later.

5.  Locally, there is a free paper that is delivered on Wednesday evening.  When that arrives in my drive way I look through the ads for items that I feel are good deals.  I frequent several stores—Schnucks, Gerbes, Mosers, Hy-vee, & Aldis.  I also go to Target & Wal-mart on less frequent occasions.  I also keep a price book to help me with knowing if a price is a good deal.

6.  When I find a good deal I circle it in black sharpie so it really jumps off the page at me.

7.  Thursday morning I make a weekly deals round up page from the black circles(idea from Life..Your Way) so I can see easily what I am shopping for when I go.  I also mark down any coupons I know about that match up on this page.  I check The Savings Jungle to see if she’s found a few more good deals & mark those down on my page.

8.  I check my Menu Plan to see what I am going to need  for the the next 7 days and add any ingredients that are needed.  Fresh fruit, vegies, bread, & milk get added here too.

9.  Lastly I really looks to see what stores have the most deals.  I might go to just one or two.  Gas prices factor in to this decision. 

We have piano lessons on Thursday so I hit the stores that are on the way & closest to that.  I shop while the kids are at their lesson so I am using my time wisely.  We are also out on Tuesdays so I can go to the other stores then if I decide it is really necessary.

10.  After my round up page is created I gather the coupons that I need from my binder or my clipped coupon stash(this travels with me).  I don’t take my big binder with me to the store.  I also print a lot of coupons off the internet and I store those in my traveling stash.

11.  Now I am ready to shop.  I take along my list & my coupon stash every time I go in to town because you never know when you might have time to swing in a store.

All these steps have evolved and are still evolving today.  I am sure a year from now I will have found something new or better to use.  So take what works for you and leave the rest!  But I hope this helps you save money & find a little more wiggle room in your budget!

Smart Spring Meal Planning

The thermometer is inching up. 

We might(maybe hopefully) have had our last frost. 

I am thinking about fresh fruits & vegetables more to round out our main dishes. 

Planting the garden is sounding more like reality than fantasy.

When I want to be outside more I find that I am not as creative or happy about being in the kitchen.  I want to spend my days digging, planting, raking, clipping & all sorts of fun things like that.  So what is a momma to do?  The troops still need to be fed.  I have two choices & I plan to use them both!

1.  Delegate—I learned this winter what wonderful cooks my girls can be.  They know how to cook but for some reason this job seems to fall to me.

  

Sure they set the table & get the drinks when I ask but the bulk of the cooking seems to fall on me.   After the first of May this will change.   My goals is to have some assigned meal times so I can have a meal(or day—gasp!) off.  This will gain me some “outside” time.  It also allows my girls to get in some more practice in the kitchen & they can expand their list of recipes they feel confident fixing! 

2.  Plan—this choice is two-fold

• Choose meals that can be thrown in the crock pot & forgotten until it is time to eat.  I love my crockpot & use it several times a week.

Pirates Stew

BBQ Meatballs

Turkey in a Pot

• Choose meals that can be put together in a short time or that be prepped ahead of time.

Chicken Quesidillas

Tacos

Baked Potatoes(set the oven timer)

Freezer Meals

SALADS!!!!  We love lettuce & pasta salads.  Find a favorite & don’t be afraid to have it every week! 

Now I am off to write up my meal plans for the next couple of weeks to make this happen.  Let me know by commenting, if this is a help or you have any other great quick ideas for getting food on the table at this time of year.

   

No idea what is in the freezer!

It is time to take stock!  We’ve survived the month of the girls doing all the cooking.  It has taught everyone some lessons.

1.  We all have favorite foods—I knew that but wow was it apparent!  And not everyone rice at every meal is acceptable.

2.  Meals are for everyone so if you are the "designated cook” it is important to think of others (not just ourselves) when we choose what is on the menu each day!  I never thought this would be a lesson to “teach” but we can all be selfish especially when it comes to favorite foods! 

3.  Being the one in charge goes well for about  3 weeks and then the “shine” wears off! 

4.  I like to try new things!  One of the things I missed the most was trying the new recipes that I found as I was reading blogs!  I find real pleasure when EVERYONE loves a new recipe.  That can be challenging in a family of 6.  Steve is SO laid back about food—if it is nourishing & filling he is generally happy with it.  Some of the others aren’t so laid back though.

So as we enter February & I am easing back into the kitchen, I am evaluating what our menus will be this month.  The biggest obstacle is that I haven’t made it out to our big freezer to see what is still there.  Same problem with my stockpile in the basement.  I know there is food available but have no clue what it is!

Two goals for tomorrow

1.  Go to one store, probably Aldi’s, to get some necessary items.  I am not walking very far yet so . . . one store may be too much. 

2.  Send the girls out to take an inventory of what meals are frozen & available in the garage freezer.

That will keep us from starving & get me back on track with being in the kitchen!  Two things we always have on hand are eggs & potatoes.  Here is a great fast recipe for a quick breakfast, lunch or supper!  Everyone here loves eggs so it is one I go back to a lot!

Easy Frittata

Hash Browns or 4-5 potatoes(diced)—frozen is fine

2 T oil

10 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Dice your potatoes & place in a large skilled.  Add oil & fry until tender.  In a separate bowl, beat eggs & add milk.  Sprinkle cheese over potatoes when they are done.  Pour eggs over cheese & potatoes.  Cover skillet & turn heat down to low.  Let eggs cook until firm.  Those who love salsa put a little on their slice.

Serve with toast or biscuits & fruit.

 

 

Planning & Shopping for a Month of meals

The way I have shopped for groceries has changed over the years.  When we were in college I didn’t do a lot of planning or organized shopping. 


More kids came along and I exchanged teaching in middle school for homeschooling my little man.  Wow that was 13 years ago.

I learned somewhere along the way about once a month cooking & shopping for that.  It revolutionized my grocery shopping.  Some months I would cook and freeze food but I always planned meals out for a month at a time.  Some of my friends thought I was crazy.  It was a huge day(or two) of shopping but totally worth it.

Benefits?
Fewer trips to the store—when you don’t go to the store you don’t spend money.  Hard to spend too much if you don’t go anywhere.  Staying home is a good thing. 

I knew what I would/could fix each week—I wasn’t as much worried about what we would eat each day as having the ingredients on hand so we could make several choices.  This worked GREAT for the first 3 weeks of the month but the last week things would be getting a little tight.  Eventually I would plan for 5 weeks and shop sometime during the 5th week.  Then we didn’t “run out” of things and resort to unplanned store visits.

How to Plan?
1.  Print out a calendar and make note of any special considerations like practices or meetings.  Those nights you might grab take out or plan to have a crockpot meal ready so it is fast & easy. 

2.  Choose nights to assign a certain meat or type of meal(Mexican, Pasta etc).  I like to plan 2 weeks of meals and then repeat it to make planning simple. 

3,  Make it as simple as possible.  Choose meals your family loves & you like to fix.

4.  Make a list of needed ingredients(non perishables) and how many you need for the month.

5.  Divide up the list based upon what store you normally buy those items at—try to only go to one or two stores or you may just loose you mind!

    

6.  Add the perishable items needed for this coming week. 

7.  Carve out a period of time where you are fresh(and your children too).  Make sure to take snacks & drinks along!

8.  Take a look at your refrigerator, freezer and pantry.  Do any cleaning out and rearranging before you leave.  It is rotten to have grocery sacks everywhere & need to clean up a mess in the the refrigerator.

9.  Each week figure out what perishables you need and make a quick stop to pick those up.  Doing this on days where you are already in town works great for saving on gas & time.

This method saving me money in gas and kept me from spending extra money on things that weren’t on my list.  By making such a large list it keeps you focused on what you are truly there to purchase.  It is a hugely satisfying feeling to put all that food away & know that you can manage to feed your family for quite some time in coming month.

For other Money Saving Monday ideas go to

Family Friendly Frugality

Batch cooking: Do the chicken!

Chicken is my go-to meal for any night when life gets hurried.

So I am always watching for boneless chicken breasts on sale!  Since I am looking at a month of not being able to cook much we are going to be working up some chicken recipes this week.   If we can avoid resorting to take out or pancakes every night that will make several members of our family VERY happy!

THE PLAN

Lemon Chicken—paired with rice, noodles, grilled, crockpot—you cannot hurt this recipe!

Teriyaki Chicken

Skillet BBQ Chicken

Turkey & Noodles—putting a turkey breast in the crockpot tomorrow morning.  That should give us 2 batches of soup(at least) from the leftovers.  Not to mention the yummy stock for other soups!

Chopped/shredded chicken—boil a bunch of breasts & process them in the food processor or chopper.  I have an easier time coming up with a meal from a cooked bag of chicken than a frozen block of chicken breasts.  It speeds things up too!  Don’t throw out the broth—freeze it to use in recipes!

My little guys get in on the fun as we work the chicken up.  They label bags & spoon spices in to empty bags.  Steve & I cut up or cook the chicken.  A team effort makes getting a bunch of meals in the  freezer very doable.  Not counting the shopping, we won’t spend more than a couple of hours for around 15-20 meals.  AWESOME time investment! 

Do you have some favorite chicken recipes? 

I would love to add to my plan if you have one to recommend!

Interested in more Tasty Tuesday?  Go to Beauty & Bedlam!

Batch Cooking for College: Sloppy Joes

Life is resuming its normal pace around here.  We aren’t baking dozens and dozens of cookies for friends.  The frig is empty because of the snow over the weekend and I MUST go to the grocery store soon. 

Michael heads back to classes in a couple of weeks & he’s requested some frozen meals to take along.  I have been trying to involve Elizabeth in the planning stages of meal preparation more so she can work towards doing this on her own down the road.

We brainstormed this morning & here is what we came up with for this weeks menu & the batch cooking we will do.

This week

Sausage Egg Quiche & Spice Muffins x 2

  —1 family meal & 12 individual size portions

Sloppy Joes(recipe below) x 5

  —2 family meals & 18 individual size portions

Taco meat x 3—18 individual size portions

Taco Soup x 3—1 family meal & 10 individual size portions

Next time Chicken is on sale

Broccoli Chicken Pie

Turkey Noodle Soup

Chicken Quesadillas

This will allow Michael to take a stash back to school.  I also plan to share some meals with another college student who attends our small group at church.  It will also give me a few meals in the freezer for the days ahead.  It is nice to have a quick meal available for those CRAZY days when I don’t have time to stick something in the crockpot.

My Sloppy Joe recipe is not one I have in a recipe book—this has frustrated Elizabeth & dear hubby so I wrote it down for them(and you).  Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes  serves 6

1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1-8 oz tomato sauce

2 T quick cooking oats

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp garlic salt

6 wheat buns

Brown meat & onions.  Add remaining ingredients except buns.  Simmer until the mixture isn’t runny.  Toast buns &  top with meat.  Yummy with fresh vegies & fruit.

 

Linking up at

Tasty Tuesday @ Beauty & Bedlam

Delectable Tuesday @ Home Sweet Farm

Menu Monday

I have discovered a way to help me "do" breakfast! I am baking muffins the night before--right after supper I get them going & they are done before the kids are in bed. Sitting here smelling the blueberry ones I just pulled out of the oven. Side benefit is that Steve gets to have some too--I don't get up to do his b'fast as he leaves by 7 & I am not at my best then(HA!)

This weeks lineup

Monday

Pancakes & Eggs, Chimichangas, BBQ Chicken

Tuesday

Muffins & Bacon, Farmer's Casserole, Meatloaf

Wednesday

Yogurt & Fruit, Brown Beans & Cornbread, Confetti Fish

Thursday

Oatmeal, Sweet & Sour Meatballs, ?(gotta find a recipe here)

Friday

Eggs & Muffins, Mexican Bean Salad, Cheesy Broccoli Rice Soup

Saturday

Oatmeal, Sack Lunch, Out to eat in KC

Sunday

Oatmeal, Carry in Dinner @ church(gotta figure this out too), Cheese & Crackers

Menu Monday

This is a crazy week for us. We are headed to Iowa for a Bible Quizzing Regional Tournament so things are a bit off for us. But the menu plan is in place so we will survive & have plenty to eat. I find it is one less bit of chaos if I have things laid out ahead of time. It helps me to know what needs to be picked up on Tuesdays when I am in town for errands.

Breakfasts

Oatmeal, Muffins & Eggs, Yogurt, Cereal

Lunches

Mexicali Casserole, Broccoli Soup, Frittata, Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Supper

Parmesan Chicken, Beef Tostadas, Rosemary Pork Tenderloin, Tilapia Vera Cruz

Menu Monday

It is the beginning of a new month! I am craving fruit and vegies right now--of course in the middle of winter. LOL! Right now just trying to eat as healthy as we can so I can continue to whittle away at those extra few lbs that I am carrying around. I can feel my stamina improving as I walk longer & faster each time I am on the tread mill.

Here is the plan for the week! Lots of eating out it looks like--YIKES! Need to have a plan on what to eat at each place and consistent workouts this week.

Monday

Muffins, Eggs & Sausage, Beans & Rice, Baked Orange Pork Chops

Tuesday

Yogurt, Broccoli & Cheese Potatoes, Stir fry w/ Steak

Wednesday

Eggs & Toast, Lunch out w/ Church ladies, Chicken and Noodles

Thursday

Oatmeal, Italian Hotdish, Broccoli Cheese Soup

Friday

Yogurt, Lunch out w/ kids, Beef Stew

Saturday

Oatmeal, Sack lunches, Traveling

Sunday

Cereal, Sloppy joes, Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

Menu Monday & Brown Jug Soup

It has been Monday--all day! It used to be my least favorite day because I had to get back to work and stop playing from the weekend but lately it has been my favorite day! That is because we are home all day on Mondays! We get tons of school, laundry, and house cleaning done on Mondays! I always get to walk on Mondays too!

I make our menus a month at a time so Sunday I make a list of needed ingredient for the week for my shopping on Tuesday. Today I sent Michael(he was in town for class anyway!) to Aldi's so tomorrow's shopping will be easier! I also look at what we didn't eat the week before and change things around to use up what might go bad in the frig!

Here's the list

Monday

Yogurt & Strawberries, Farmer's Casserole, Teriyaki Chicken w/ Brown Rice

Tuesday

Spice Muffins, Sweet & Sour Meatballs, OUT for our anniversary

Wednesday

Oatmeal, Mac & Cheese, Confetti Fish(hold over from last week)

Thursday

Sausage Quiche, Grilled Cheese, Broccoli & Rice Soup

Friday

Yogurt, Brown Beans, Pizza

Saturday

Oatmeal, Sack Lunches, Brown Jug Soup(below)

Sunday

Oatmeal, Carry In Dinner at church, Cheese & Crackers


We will be gone all day on Saturday so it is nice to start my "slave" to working on dinner. I love my crockpot & this is one of our favorites. Enjoy!


Brown Jug Soup from Fix it & Forget It Cookbook

10 1/2 oz can chicken broth(or water)
4 chicken bouillon cubes(or not)
1 qt water
2 cups celery diced
2 cups diced onions
4 cups diced potatoes
3 cups diced carrots
10 oz frozen corn
2 10 3/4 oz cans cream of chicken

Combine in slow cooker. Cover. Cook on Low for 10-12 hours or until vegies are tender. You can add cheese to this too but we never do. By the way I have NO idea why this is called Brown Jug Soup--that is what is called in the recipe book!

Menu Monday

The menu isn't complete yet--there are holes that I haven't decided about yet. Some weeks are like that I guess. Wiggle room--a place for left overs & creativity. :)

Mon Waffles, Broccoli & Rice, Beef Tostadas

Tues Oatmeal, Frittata, White Bean Chili

Wed Bacon/Eggs/Muffins, Spaghetti, Confetti Fish

Thurs Yogurt, ? , Pasta Salad

Fri ?, Pasta Meatball Soup, Tatertot Casserole,

Sat Cereal, Hamburgers, Out

Sun Oatmeal, Ham & Potato Scallop, Cheese & Crackers

Menu Monday

Ready to start a new week! Last week we were able to stick to our plan pretty closely--went out out to eat on Sunday instead of doing the crockpot meal but we will do that Tuesday night instead so it all works out!

Lunches

Pasta Meatball Soup, Beans & Rice, Spaghetti, Farmer's Casserole, Hamburgers, Stir Fry & Chicken in a pot

Suppers

Fried Chicken Salad, Swiss Steak, Rosemary Pork Tenderloin, Vegie Lasagna, DATE night, Ham & Beans & Sloppy Joe's

Kids are really learning some new recipes and it has put some variety back in our lunches. We were tired of the rut we were in so it has been very YUMMY!

Menu Monday

Menus for the Week

Trying to slim down as I am sure everyone in the country is doing. It is crazy when it is cold and all we want to do is hibernate & be warm then we try to loose weight. Well I am tracking my calories and watching my serving sizes. Goal this week is to walk on Monday, Wednesday, & Friday. I will post later how it goes. :)

B'fasts

B'fast burritos, Yogurt, Eggs & muffins, Oatmeal, Bacon & pancakes, Cereal

Lunches

Broc Cheese Soup, Chimi's, Italian Hotdish, Mexican Bean Salad, Quesidillas

Suppers

Crock pot smokies, Stir fry(steak), Tropical Fish, Potato Soup, & Vegie Pasta Salad

As always this is subject to change as our schedule allows. One thing that has helped with our time in the mornings is to have a child in charge of lunch. E does Monday & Tuesday, MN gets Wednesday & MA does Thurday & Friday. That means no lunch duty until Saturday for Mom! Yeah!!!!

Unfortunately there is always something else to do . . . .

Menu Plan

Well this month I am trying something different that I read on a Flylady post. November's new habit is to get your menu's planning going. I used to do a plan once a month and that worked pretty well. I would make this HUGE list and go to Aldi's & Walmart to stock up. That cut our grocery bill by a lot in avoiding the little trips to the store.

Then I started to use coupons more & that means I am at the store multiple times a week sometimes--but only for coupon stuff. So I back slid in to not planning and shopping ahead as much. So I am trying to find a balance.

I do have a lot on hand but find that I am often missing one ingredient for something and that is SO frustrating to me. So having the plan and getting the staples in one big trip sounds good & then I can zip in quick and get the great deals when I am in town on errands on Tues/Thurs.

So here is my plan for suppers for this month & the next two weeks. The plan for lunches is different.

Mondays - Chicken
Tuesdays - Beef
Wednesdays - Fish or Pork
Thursdays - Meatless
Fridays - Big crowd or easy
Saturdays -Chicken
Sundays - leftovers or easy

Monday - Garlic Lime chicken Mexi-Chicken
Tuesday - Crockpot Pirates Stew Crockpot Swiss Steak
Wednesday - BLT's and Potato Salad Tropical Fish
Thursday - Crockpot Stuffed Peppers 3 Bean Soup
Friday - Pizza Pizza
Saturday - Crockpot Brown Jug Soup Creamy Chicken, Vegies & Noodles
Sunday - Cheese & crackers Sloppy Joes

I am going to work on the last two weeks tomorrow so that I can plan my "big" shopping trip for Tuesday. I think that will take a lot of stress off me in the next 4 weeks as the holidays draw near. More time for baking & making gifts instead of stressing about what to feed everyone! I am also going to do a chicken freezer day since we are running low on frozen meals in that meat if I can catch frozen chicken breasts on sale! Or maybe I will just go buy another frozen turkey! Gotta do the math first!

Getting organized

I am tired of the whole putting food on the table process. It just seems to be one more chore right now. Normally I like cooking and all that is involved in that. I am not sure why my attitude has changed. That said I also know if I have a plan then I won't be panicking when suppertime rolls around. This week here is the plan

B'fasts

Oatmeal, Yogurt & granola, waffles w/ applesauce, & cereal

Lunches

Fast Frittata & biscuits, Broccoli & Rice soup, Mac & Cheese, Chili

Suppers

Teriyaki Chicken
Tilapia Vera Cruz
Crockpot Swiss Steak
Italian Hotdish
Meatloaf

So I have a plan now just have to find some excitement. Maybe I will just go make cookies!