May 25, 2008

Menu Planning Makes a Difference.

I didn't always menu plan, in fact at one point I thought it would only be a waste of time. But now days I got a bit wiser, menu planning really does make a difference. I write down the plan on a dry erase board in the kitchen, I also include what leftovers can be eaten for lunch "left over buffet" and my shopping list. I always know what is for dinner by planning it out, it has made it less stressful for me and our grocery budget. I plan our meals with what we have, and what is on sale in our local fliers. I usually do the planning on Thursdays or Fridays since that is when the new sales come out. If there is a good sale on stuff for in the pantry I will stock up, often just buying meats, fresh produce, and milk. I am not a great chef, I just love to cook, and plan ahead. This is my plan for the following couple days.

Friday- Take out, we got pizza, steak salad, and onion rings- often on pay day we'll get take out.

Saturday- BBQ chicken bites, Corn, l.o. baked beans, and baked taters.
All this I already had on hand. I chop up the chicken *on sale this week for 1.89lb.*into bite sized cubes, cook it in BBQ sauce *hunts 1$ bottle*, I had the corn in the freezer and I use my veggie steamer to cook it, add some butter and pepper. The potatoes we already had since they were on sale a few weeks ago bogo for 5lb bags they were under 4 dollars. Lastly we had baked beans a few days ago, and I wanted to get them eaten, I think they are pricey we like Bushes baked beans and I got them on sale for $1.25.

Sunday- CP roast, with veggies, and Italian bread.
We got the roast the other night they are sirloin tip roast, they were bogo, I got two roast for 10 dollars. I add cubed potatoes, and veggies, often leftovers from the fridge. I will be posting a tutorial on it later.

Monday- Leftover roast made into Sheppard's pie, I haven't done this before, so we'll see how it goes. I'll be posting a tutorial on this also.

Tuesday- CP salsa chicken on torts. I'll likely post a tutorial on this one too.
I stocked up on salsa, and torts when they were on sale. 1.99 for the salsa, and 1.00 for a 12 pack of torts. We'll likely put lettuce on them with sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Wednesday- Steak hoagies and I am thinking home fries.
I've had the sliced steak in the freezer after a bogo sale, I haven't tried making my own fries yet, so we'll see how they go.

Thursday- Frozen pizza, and cheesy bread
Simple day, nothing fancy.

Friday- Spaghetti and meatballs, with Italian bread
Noodles are fairly cheap if I go to the big chain market they can be 1$ for Barilla pasta, or if I make it to our little store sometimes .65 cents for an off brand. I buy pre-made frozen meatballs for 5.49 on sale, we usually make spaghetti with the bag 2 times, and meatball subs once. I am horrible at making them homemade. Lastly I stock up on Rinaldi pasta sauce when it is 1$ a jar, we love the tomato basil, and 3 cheese blend. We'd love to make our own someday, right now we live in an apartment with no grass for a garden.

Just getting started.

Finally I found what I was looking for. I have been wanting to do a blog on my recipes, tips, ideas, and just things I love. Thanks to a generous lady, I was pointed in this direction. I am super excited to get things up and running. Bare with me right now, I am new to this.