Menu Plan Monday - April 5th

 
Even though I skipped posting my menus last week I did continue to cook from my menu list.
I apparently hate to be tied to a strict schedule and ten to swap around the whole 2 weeks of menus to suit my time and taste needs but it is still working.

I have noticed now that I have been menuing for a month here that I have more food on hand than I would if I just winged each meal and shopping trip. I've also taken more time to prepare foods ahead so my freezer keeps fuller as well.

I've been setting Tuesday's aside as Kitchen Days and work on baking, cooking and cleaning for as much of the day as I can. By doing this I have been able to make and freeze: mega muffin mix x5, cooked hamburger x6, burritos x12, runzas x20, cooked beans x10 cups and cooked chicken and chicken broth. This has made prep for meals and afternoon snacks much easier.

Tomorrow I will be making and freezing: meatballs, cooked chicken and broth, brown-bag burritos and more mega muffin mix.

On to the Menu Plan for this week!
I keep my menu list in a clear vinyl cover sticky-tacked to my fridge.

BREAKFAST:
same old, same old
Oatmeal - cooked, baked, boiled and fried....it's cheap and nutritious so it's a big staple for us:)
Rice pudding
Eggs and Toast


LUNCH
Beef & Cabbage Soup
Homemade Mac and Cheese
Brown Bag Burritos
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Scalloped Potatoes

(I add veggies and fruits to each meal just depends on what is in the freezer or fridge. We usually have at least 1-2 sandwich meals each week as well.)

SUPPER
Spanish Rice
Chili & Cornbread
Ranch House Chicken Casserole
Meatball Chowder

Hmmmmm, I need some more recipes here but what is on my list won't work because I ran out of cheddar cheese again and I am low on rice until I order it from my food co-op. I've got lots of chicken but need to do a refresh on my menus since it's getting warmer here and I don't like to cook many soups or casseroles in the spring and summer.
I'll probably work on supper meal ideas tomorrow during Kitchen Day.

If you are hitting a wall with recipe ideas I'd encourage you to check out books that your library has. I recently did this and came away with a great Amish cookbook as well as some "old" favorite type recipes. I find it helps to peruse a cookbook as opposed to a recipe website. If you are on a budget then I would recommend staying away from any recipe book that calls for odd or rarely used ingredients

Happy Cooking!

As always go Here to find tons more ideas and recipes.

Menu Plan for this 4th week of March

I'm really liking the general menu plan that I've made and have found it very easy to switch around the order as needed to help and not hinder my days.

I hang my menu list on my fridge so that it is always visible and I am working on getting myself into the routine of preparing my supper meal right after lunch or right along with preparing lunch.
I do need to start getting more detailed with my side dishes so will be trying to add that to this next set of menus.

Last time I went shopping I forgot to list exactly how many blocks of cheese I needed to buy to prepare the listed dishes so I did run out early but have been able to make needed adjustments without too much trouble.


BREAKFAST:

• 7-grain Cereal
• Oatmeal
• Rice Pudding
• Scrambled Eggs
• Blueberry/Raisin Biscuits
• Baked Oatmeal

LUNCH:

• Fried Rice
• PB & J
• Goulash
• Potato Soup
• Runzas

SUPPER:

• Honey Ginger Stir-Fry
• Baked Beans 
• Crockpot Hamburger Veggie Soup
• Crock Cabbage Rolls
• Chicken Lasagna
• Crockpot Spanish Rice
• Homemade Pizza

You will probably find repeats from last week here but that is simply because I didn't make it last week and swapped some meals around :)

I like the flexibility that this open-ended menu gives me. I have a tendency to get locked into a calendar menu and feel like I can't possibly prepare the Wednesday meal on Monday or I'm simply doing it all wrong......neurotic, I know.

Make sure to check out more menus and recipes at Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Mondays.

The Pantry is Full - What's for Dinner?

Finally after wandering around searching for the last 5 minutes looking for my Home Management Notebook where my menus are kept.
Which proves that you don't have to be super or even mildy organized to make and use menus!

Last week went pretty well and I mostly stuck to my menu plan.
This week my cupboards are full though my fridge still needs some organizing and wiping.

Instead of using a specific day plan I'm using a general plan of options for each day.

BREAKFAST
(I don't rotate daily necessarily, depends on how the night with little one went. Our staple is oatmeal)

• Apple Oatmeal
• 7-grain Cereal
• Rice Pudding
• Oatmeal
• Biscuit Egg Sandwiches

LUNCH

• Brown Bag Burritos
• Pepperoni Quiche Squares
• Macaroni & Cheese
• Goulash
• Sloppy Joes
• Potato Soup
• Baked Ziti

SUPPER

• Baked Chicken Legs
• Taco Soup
• Chicken Licken (crockpot)
• Crock Cabbage Rolls
• Homemade Pizza
• Pancakes & Eggs
• Chicken Pot Pie

I'm using the FREE downloads for menus and shopping lists from Money Saving Mom this time around and I'm really liking the layout and how many different options you can choose from.

I'm going to be working on organizing a Baking Day alongside my Kitchen Day and I'll start by using the basic recipes given in this E-Book from the Family Homestead.


As always don't forget to check out all of the wonderful menu plans on Organizing Junkie.

What are Runzas????

"Runza? What is that?"

If you are from the midwest, like me, you know the answer.

If you are from another part of the country you may have eaten one but it just has a different name.

"A runza (also called a bierock, fleischkuche or Kraut Pirok) is a yeast dough bread pocket with a filling consisting of beef, pork, cabbage or sauerkraut, onions, and seasonings. They are baked in various shapes such as a half-moon, rectangle, round (bun), square, or triangle. In Nebraska, the runza is usually baked in a rectangular shape. The bierocks of Kansas, on the other hand, are generally baked in the shape of a bun." (Wikepdia)

Where I grew up my favorite fast food restaurant was Runza.
But where we live now the closest restaurant is ummm, actually I'm not really sure. Maybe 1.5 hours away.

I make my own. There's tons of recipes just google or try one of the following.

These freeze great so make up a ton.
My SIL adds cheese to hers and then uses canned cream soups mixed up as dips for the sandwiches.

If you are nursing and aren't used to cabbage be aware that your little one may react to the extra "gas", and you may too:)

Original Runza Recipe with variations

Runza Recipe with pictures

Runza (meat pies) with pictures

Pantry Eating Menu Plans

I'm working on eating from the pantry for this week and last week. We did end up doing a bit of basic shopping yesterday in town spending about $46 on some basics and snagging some good deals that a couple stores where running due to Grand Opening gigs.Here is a rough outline of what we will be eating this week.


BREAKFAST

• eggs & toast
• perfect steel cut oats
• rice pudding
• oatmeal
• 10 grain cereal
• breakfast casserole

LUNCH

• tomato soup & cheese sandwiches
• fried rice
• baked potatoes with toppings
• hot dogs & carrots slices
• sandwiches with fruit smoothies
• fried potatoes with sausage

SUPPER

• baked beans
• barbecue chicken & mashed potatoes
• chicken pot pie
• pancakes & eggs
• homemade runzas
• pizza

I know I have enough food on hand although I am running a bit low in some areas....especially veggies. I do have 2 heads of cabbage and 2 heads of cauliflower and a couple of sweet potatoes, oh and a bag of frozen brussel sprouts so I'm sure we will make it work:)
The toughest this week will be having good food on hand for my 9 month old. I'll reserve the sweet potatoes for her and she could eat mashed cauliflower too. She eats soft-boiled egg yolks and I do have plenty of eggs on hand, I will also probably make up some yummy baby custard for her and maybe some arrowroot crackers as well.

Anyways this is the rough draft but I'm sure it will change with inspiration or tiredness....whichever comes first!

Menu Plan Monday.....on Wednesday

BREAKFAST
oatmeal
eggs & english muffins
baked oatmeal
eggs & toast
coffee cake


LUNCH
hot dogs, chips, fruit
sandwiches, carrots & celery
goulash, salad
crockpot spaghetti, green beans, french bread
hot dogs, veggies
fried potatoes with ham, green beans
pot roast, potatoes, carrots, salad (Sunday Lunch)


SUPPER
abc soup, french bread
enchiladas, corn, green beans
au gratin potatoes, peas & carrots
leftovers
pepperoni pizza, salad
baked beans, cornbread, salad
biscuits & gravy, fruit


SNACKS
frozen fruit cups
muffins
coffee cake
oatmeal raisin bars
cookies
popcorn & fruit


My goal today and tomorrow is to bake and prep some food ahead of time to make the flow of meal making a bit easier.
I'm hoping to:
brown hamburger, make biscuit mix, cut up veggies & freeze, bake french bread, freeze pizza crust, shred cheese, make cornbread mix, make frozen fruit cups, bake & freeze muffins, bake oatmeal raisin bars & some cookies, make coffee cake mix.

Right now this list seems impossibly long considering that I can not walk through one room in my house without tripping over something. And of course since I've spent the last hour that Sadie has been sleeping on the computer instead of cleaning it may take a bit to get started! But I do feel better and more focused just by having this all written down and planned so that is success.

A Bundle of Savings

I have been working on reducing our monthly money outflow recently by learning more about couponing and cutting our grocery budget and to help me out has been these ebooks.
Right now you can purchase a whole bundle of ebooks for a low price of $17 here.
You will receive "Supermarket Savings 101", "Grocery Shopping on a Budget", "Money saving Meats" and "Saving on Cleaning Supplies". Plus 13 other ebooks full of frugal living advice and low cost recipes!
I've been working through Supermarket Savings and have been inspired to change the way I've been shopping with the goal of reducing our monthly grocery budge by $300! And now I have all the tools at hand to do so.

If you haven't been to these great websites yet please visit them today. You will be amazed at what you didn't know about grocery shopping cheaply with very little extra effort.

SAVING 'O' THE GREEN EBOOK PACKAGE DEAL!

Frugal Homeschooling

Grocery Cart Challenge

Miserly Moms

Saving Cents with Sense

The Simple Dollar

Money Saving Mom

Striving to live cheaper

At the beginning of the year my hubby and I made a commitment to not let our finances go to pot like we have for many years. It is sad to think of all the money that we have wasted simply by not paying attention or taking the time to keep track of things.
So, I have really dedicated myself to keeping our checkbook balanced and following a written budget plan. (see Dave Ramsey if you need help with budgeting)
It has taken me several attempts and different forms to come up with a budget plan that is simple and easy to use. I tried Larry Burkett's system when we were first married but as soon as kids came along I found it almost impossible to manage, I also tried this plan, and have worked Dave Ramsey's plan as well. But invariably they were all too detailed or for whatever reason I had a hard time sticking with them.
After much trial and error I have come up with a simple one-page monthly budget plan.d

Along these same lines I have run into a problem that will not be solved by adding more money to the budget category. FOOD! This is a major budget buster in our house and I'm totally to blame for it. We hardly ever eat out so that's not the issue but I've been averaging close to $700 a month on groceries for our family of 7!!!!!! I know that I can do better than this without sacrificing our health.
Part of my problem has been that while I make out a grocery list I don't usually have a menu written out as well, so I impulse buy. Also I have a bad habit of borrowing from other envelope categories if I've overspent at one store so that I don't have to cut very much from my list. Very bad idea!

Thankfully there are much more frugal and creative souls out in the blogsphere and internet world that have readily shared winning strategies on saving money and living more frugally, so I wanted to share some posts that have especially hit home for me.

The Simply Dollar - The Happy Minimum

Biblical Womanhood - Frugal Friday Menu planning

Money Saving Mom - 100 Different ways to save $100

Life as Mom

I love this website for really good, simple, cheap recipes as well.
The Family Homestead