*I finally committed to stop buying paper towels and napkins. I set up a basket by my sink for dish cloths and Ryan is going to install a towel bar close to the sink for towels. I placed a decorative basket above the fridge for a convenient place to toss all the dirty towels. *When I wash towels, I add a cup of white vinegar to the load.
*I baked a double batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins replacing the oil with applesauce and a batch of granola bars for our morning breakfasts on the go and treats.
*Made pancake mix and cooked a batch to freeze. This is the mix I use Perfect Pancake Mix. I love this blog and I am also going to try her Quick Mix
*Made a double batch of laundry soap. Here's the link to my friend's recipe: The Prudent Homemaker laundry soap
*Recieved a box of hand-me-down clothes from my sister-in-law that my daughter can wear in the next year or two.
*Roasts were on sale at Smith's so I bought a few for double duty dinners.
*Signed up for the 30 day Amazon Prime trial. I think the more online shopping we do, the better deals we can find and then we can save on shipping
*Took the kids to Home Depot on Saturday for the free kids workshop. My son made a cute desk calendar.
Some other thoughts I have been thinking about are 1. I'm pretty upset with the whole Target data breach thing as it affected us and we had to get a new debit card issued. I will probably save money on unnecessary purchases (esp their dollar section) if I stop shopping there. 2. I also really do not like going to Walmart, but it is the closest store to my house other than Costco, it's where I get my prescriptions, and there are a few things I do buy here that are hard to find elsewhere and a better price, so I may limit my Walmart shopping to once a month when I get my refills.
Weekly Menu:
I thought I would start sharing my weekly menu this year as well. Hopefully you can get some ideas on how to maximize time and still cook delicious food so you don't have to eat out. As you can see, I do crockpot meals multiple times per week and do double duty dinners often!
Weekday breakfasts are the baked goods I prepare and freeze, thawed the night before.
For weekday lunches, I eat leftovers or make a quick wrap and Ryan eats at his parent's house that is close to his office. My son's school has awesome catered hot lunch, so I do pay for that 3 days a week and then make him a sack lunch the other days. I send some things with my daughter to supplement her meals at the babysitter.
Monday: crockpot beef rump roast and vegetables (prep night before, refrigerate and put on low when you leave in the AM) I add a little worscheshire and A1 to the top of the roast, vegetables on top and sprinkle garlic powder. Leftover meat will be shredded after dinner and separated into two containers, one will go in the freezer.
Tuesday: Leftover shredded beef taco salad
Wednesday: crockpot pineapple teriyaki chicken with quinoa and steamed broccoli (night before, place 3 chicken breasts in pot, pour can of pineapple chunks and 1/2 cup Yoshida's teriyaki sauce, cook on low 8-10 hours in the AM) 15 minutes before dinner, boil quinoa and cut/steam veggies.
Thursday: Lasagna and salad (When I make lasagna, I make it in two smaller pans and freeze one. Tonight's dinner will be the frozen one from last week's cooking. I love lasagna, but it's time consuming if you want to do it right, so I usually make them on school breaks)
Friday: BBQ chicken pizza (I cook two chicken breasts in crockpot with 1/2 cup BBQ sauce on low all day
to use as my pizza topping then make the dough when I get home from work)
Saturday:
Breakfast: Pancakes (extras will go in freezer)
Lunch: I will probably take the kids on a morning outing, so this would be our one eat out meal for the week.
Dinner: Beef Stew (using the leftover frozen beef from Monday's roast, I will cut up veggies and make a stock with water, Better than Bouillon, worscheshire, and seasonings in the morning and cook in the crockpot on low 8 hours) I will experiment with the Quick Mix I posted above and make some biscuits. Any leftover stew will be frozen in pint size Mason jars for lunches.
Sunday:
Breakfast: Omelets
Lunch: Leftover beef stew with toasted cheese sandwiches
Dinner: Family Dinner with the in-laws
Some other thoughts I have been thinking about are 1. I'm pretty upset with the whole Target data breach thing as it affected us and we had to get a new debit card issued. I will probably save money on unnecessary purchases (esp their dollar section) if I stop shopping there. 2. I also really do not like going to Walmart, but it is the closest store to my house other than Costco, it's where I get my prescriptions, and there are a few things I do buy here that are hard to find elsewhere and a better price, so I may limit my Walmart shopping to once a month when I get my refills.
Weekly Menu:
I thought I would start sharing my weekly menu this year as well. Hopefully you can get some ideas on how to maximize time and still cook delicious food so you don't have to eat out. As you can see, I do crockpot meals multiple times per week and do double duty dinners often!
Weekday breakfasts are the baked goods I prepare and freeze, thawed the night before.
For weekday lunches, I eat leftovers or make a quick wrap and Ryan eats at his parent's house that is close to his office. My son's school has awesome catered hot lunch, so I do pay for that 3 days a week and then make him a sack lunch the other days. I send some things with my daughter to supplement her meals at the babysitter.
Monday: crockpot beef rump roast and vegetables (prep night before, refrigerate and put on low when you leave in the AM) I add a little worscheshire and A1 to the top of the roast, vegetables on top and sprinkle garlic powder. Leftover meat will be shredded after dinner and separated into two containers, one will go in the freezer.
Tuesday: Leftover shredded beef taco salad
Wednesday: crockpot pineapple teriyaki chicken with quinoa and steamed broccoli (night before, place 3 chicken breasts in pot, pour can of pineapple chunks and 1/2 cup Yoshida's teriyaki sauce, cook on low 8-10 hours in the AM) 15 minutes before dinner, boil quinoa and cut/steam veggies.
Thursday: Lasagna and salad (When I make lasagna, I make it in two smaller pans and freeze one. Tonight's dinner will be the frozen one from last week's cooking. I love lasagna, but it's time consuming if you want to do it right, so I usually make them on school breaks)
Friday: BBQ chicken pizza (I cook two chicken breasts in crockpot with 1/2 cup BBQ sauce on low all day
to use as my pizza topping then make the dough when I get home from work)
Saturday:
Breakfast: Pancakes (extras will go in freezer)
Lunch: I will probably take the kids on a morning outing, so this would be our one eat out meal for the week.
Dinner: Beef Stew (using the leftover frozen beef from Monday's roast, I will cut up veggies and make a stock with water, Better than Bouillon, worscheshire, and seasonings in the morning and cook in the crockpot on low 8 hours) I will experiment with the Quick Mix I posted above and make some biscuits. Any leftover stew will be frozen in pint size Mason jars for lunches.
Sunday:
Breakfast: Omelets
Lunch: Leftover beef stew with toasted cheese sandwiches
Dinner: Family Dinner with the in-laws
My goodness! You are so prepared that I had to share my Monday "meals" just for contrast and a good laugh.
ReplyDeleteBreakfast: cold cereal, skim, strong coffee, all absent-mindedly consumed while reading the paper
Lunch: 2 string cheese sticks and 2 Wasa crackers at my desk just before 4th period
Snack right after school: Greek yogurt cup and 6 Trader Joe's ginger snaps, again at my desk
Dinner: Leftover hummus with what's left in the bottom of the pita chips bag (pita dust?) dumped right into the hummus and eaten with a spoon. Beer