Week 16 Meal Plan

Temperatures are feeling more winter-like here in Wisconsin! I'm getting so excited for Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas coming up.

But I need to focus! I can't get ahead of myself dreaming of the future--it's never guaranteed.

I'm averaging about $70 on grocery bills each week without couponing. That's not too bad, right? I had to re-stock on a few basics this week, like extra-virgin olive oil, canola oil, and a few key spices. I know that when I need to re-stock on basics, I need to watch my meal plans even closer so I don't overshoot that $70 goal. Here's my meal plan this week:

1. Bean and pepper nachos
2. Homemade Margherita pizza
3. Pork chops with sautéed apples and onions
4. Crockpot BBQ pork with roasted cauliflower
5. Big Batch pierogis with cucumber/tomato salad
6. Pork chop stir fry with carrots and zucchini
7. Chicken with lemon-leek linguine

Weeks 13 AND 14 Meal Plan

It's something I have always wanted to do, but thought it was impossible. I admire other people who can successfully pull it off. But I finally did it, myself! I made a meal plan for two whole weeks! (Minus one day that we will be on the road, but I still planned to do a Double Dinner to take instead of buying food on the road)

Even better yet, my grocery bill was less than $90 with no couponing or waiting around for sales.

Here's what's for dinner for the next two weeks:

1. Squash soup with French bread
2. Poblano and corn quesadillas (with homemade tortillas)
3. Whole chicken in the Crockpot + homemade chicken broth
4. Lemon-garlic spaghetti (squash) with chicken sausage meatballs
5. BBQ chicken with leftover crockpot chicken
6. Maple-mustard pork chops with winter squash puree
7. Chicken and okra stew

1. Salmon cakes with green beans
2. Big Batch Tomato soup and grilled cheese
3. Chicken with lemon-leek linguine
4. Crockpot Beef vegetable stew
5. Chicken with olives and lemon and pea rice
6. Lemon and thyme stroganoff
7. Double Dinner poblano and corn quesadillas (on the road)

Bonus foods:

1. Whole wheat huckleberry pancakes
2. Pumpkin-zucchini bread
3. St. Wilfrid apple cake

A few key ways I saved money this time:

• I'm starting to plan a Double Dinner once a week. I'll make a large batch of dinner one night to freeze half for later, while one of my meals that week will come from the freezer. Essentially, I'm only buying for 6 meals per week then.
• I love making a Big Batch of something once or twice a year and then eating off of it until I can make more. For this week, I'm using one of several quarts of canned homemade tomato soup that I made from our garden tomatoes. Another meal I "don't have to buy."
• I'm still using veggies from the garden. I saved some of the spaghetti squash and zucchini in the pantry, which will last a long time in a cool, dark place. I also bought butternut and acorn squash when it was on sale to save for later. Finally, with temperatures flirting near freezing this week, I pulled all my unripe tomatoes, put them in a brown paper bag, and will be waiting for them to ripen.
• Similar to Big Batch meals, I also like to make specific ingredients ahead of time and in bulk. Specifically: chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, and bread crumbs. Those things add up when you buy them frequently! So it's easier (and sometimes healthier) to make them at home and can or freeze for later.
• I bought cheaper cuts of chicken and did the preparations myself, rather than paying a higher price for that convenience. For instance this week, I needed 4 skinless leg quarters for a meal and 4 boneless/skinless thighs for another meal. Instead of looking for these specific items, I bought a family pack of 8 leg quarters. When my baby was napping, I took the skins off of them all and then separated the thigh and drumstick meat on 4 of them. I saved the skin and bones for the broth. A little prep work will save money twice and nothing goes to waste!

Week 12 Dinners, Fall is here!

I went to college to study Meteorology, and in my former life before I became a stay at home Mom, I worked as a Meteorologist for 2 years. Weather is in my heart. This may be sort of nerdy, but I admit that I often plan my meals with the forecast in mind. It has been chilly off and on for the last few weeks, but this coming week will be consistently cool and fall-like. My heart is warmed with love for fall! So I'm starting to trickle out the recipes that will warm cold noses and that I have been waiting months to cook.

Last week, I drained the fridge and freezer of all of our meats, so I knew this week's grocery bill would be heavily influenced by re-stocking on meats. In order to balance the extra cost, I pulled two whole meals from the freezer. We are also experimenting with steel-cut oats or oatmeal for breakfast (a one-time bulk buy that lasts a couple weeks) rather than buying 2-4 boxes of cereal plus a gallon of milk every week, in order to save money. In all, I came a few dollars below my target (yay!).

Here's what's for dinner this week:

1. Big Batch Pierogis with roasted garden zucchini (a Big Batch meal from the freezer)
2. Shrimp jambalaya (for dinner on our meatless Friday night, but will add some chorizo for lunch on Saturday)
3. Corn chowder
4. Spanish stew chicken thighs
5. Green chili, white bean, chicken soup
6. Kielbasa n kraut
7. Buffalo chicken pasta (a Double Dinner meal from the freezer)

Saturday, October 4, is also the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, so I'll be making something special to enjoy on that day!

Week 11 Dinners and Low Grocery Bill

I had a very good day grocery shopping. Not only did my baby sleep through the entire trip, but I managed to get a week's worth of groceries--breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for two adults and ingredients for homemade baby food--for only $45! No coupons, no overly-processed food that tends to be cheap. I also bought freezer bags and ingredients to make and can my own Apple Butter Barbeque Sauce, so my grand total came to $55 this week.

The greatest ways I saved money were by using up foods that I had previously bought in bulk. Two of my meals this week called for ground beef--unless it's a hamburger, I almost always substitute the healthier ground turkey for ground beef. I already had two pounds frozen in the freezer, so I did not need to buy it this time. I also had frozen red and yellow peppers from last week's stuffed peppers. I cut up and froze the tops of the peppers that I cut off to make the cups. No waste! I also bought butternut squash when it was on sale a few weeks ago; foods like squash and potatoes will stay good for many weeks (or months) if cleaned off and then kept in a dark, cool place. So when they're on sale, stock up! Finally, because the risotto and lasagna make so much food, we actually got a freebie day by eating their leftovers for dinner on day 4 and lunch on day 5. I could have frozen half of the risotto, but the flavors actually got better the next day and the day after!

Here's what's for dinner this week:

1. Greek salad
2. Butternut squash barley risotto
3. Zucchini lasagna
4. Leftovers! (risotto and lasagna)
5. Lemon and thyme stroganoff
6. Mushroom and spinach calzones
7. Roast chicken with balsamic peppers