The one major thing that helped me cut my grocery budget in September was having a meal plan in place. When I first started meal planning I did it for just a week or two at a time and worked my way up. Now I find it easier to just plan the whole month at a time and do most of the shopping at the beginning of the month. As long as I have all the ingredients for my meals it doesn't always matter what day we have them on. My meal planning is flexible, which is nice if something comes up.
Here are our dinners for October:
1. BLT's, ( using free Tomatoes from my Mom, cut up fresh veggies ( brought home from work) and ranch dressing ( I make homemade)
2. Chicken Cacciatore( crock pot freezer meal), spaghetti noodles
3. Chicken patties, buns ( had in freezer), cut up veggies ( leftover from work)
4. Snack night
5. Dinner Out ( going to see Kid #5 for Homecoming)
6. Spare ribs (freezer), baked potatoes, green beans ( pantry)
7. Chili ( hamburger from freezer, home canned tomato juice from my sister, onion from pantry), corn bread ( eggs free from my sisters chickens, everything else from my pantry)
8. Chili dogs ( everything for this is leftover or from freezer), oven fries
9. Pork tacos ( pork roast from freezer ) tortillas - this is a new recipe from Pinterest
10. Breakfast Casserole ( eggs from sister, everything else from freezer and pantry)
11. Snack night
12. Leftovers
13. Meatloaf ( hamburger from freezer, everything else pantry), mashed potatoes, corn
14. Stuffed Green Pepper Soup ( hamburger from freezer, everything else from pantry except green pepper, bought those)
15. Quasidillias ( cheese from freezer), refried beans ( pantry), salsa, sour cream
16. Fiesta Lime Chicken, ( crockpot freezer meal) rice, broccoli and cheese ( pantry and freezer)
17. French Toast ( bread freezer, eggs free) sausage links ( freezer), syrup ( homemade)
18. Snack night
19. Leftovers
20. Whole roasted chicken ( freezer), roasted potatoes, green beans ( pantry)
21. Pizza soup ( all items are pantry and freezer items)
22. Skillet meal ( haven't decided which one)
23. Brown Sugar Honey Chicken ( crockpot freezer meal ) rice and broccoli ( pantry, freezer)
24. Tacos ( hamburger freezer)
25. Snack night
26. Leftovers
27. Chicken n Noodles ( leftover chicken, noodles homemade by my husband)
28. Leftover pizza soup, busciuts
29. Undecided skillet meal
30. Eggs ( free from sister) bacon, toast ( bread in freezer)
31. Spaghetti n meatballs ( pantry and freezer except noodles)
I tried to give everyone and idea on if I already had something on hand or not. I try to make meals using up thing I already have. Tomorrow I will tally the numbers and let you know how much I spent :)
Today I also sold a small item out of my garage earning $5. In my world every little bit counts!
Hi, I just found your blog through nester's 31 day challenge, what do "snack night" meals consist of?
ReplyDeleteHi! Snack nights, are usually appetizer type snacks. Dips, chips, egg rolls, pizza snacks, cheese and crackers, etc....sometimes adult drinks. Those are one of the things we miss about eating out. Plus I work in a kitchen 5 days a week and I don't always want to cook on Fridays :)
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