Happy Mother’s Day! I hope that you did something really special to celebrate?
With the warmer weather here, I’ve included a couple of budget friendly recipes that get ya cookin’ outdoors. When summer rolls around I like to do as much cooking outside, it’s so much better than heating up the kitchen.
Here’s what our meal plan looks like this week:
Budget Friendly Meal Planning
Monday
Leftovers – southwest pork loin, flour tortillas and season black beans.
Tuesday
Chicken and Rice Casserole from Hot Eats and Cool Reads – served with steamed broccoli.
- Serves 6
- Recipe Notes: You don’t have to use Rotisserie chicken, any cooked chicken will work.
- Cost Cutting Tips:
- Use leftover chicken.
- Make your own cream of chicken soup, it’s easy and inexpensive.
Wednesday
Slow Cooker Onion Pork Tenderloin – served with mashed potatoes and green beans.
- Serves 6
- Recipe Notes:
- Cost Cutting Tips:
- Keep an eye out for pork tenderloin, it often goes on sale for less than $2 per pound.
- You can purchase a red cooking wine for less than a few dollars.
Thursday
Leftovers – chicken and rice casserole, onion and pork tenderloin.
Friday
Beltline Bar Wet Burrito – served with a tossed salad.
- Serves 16
- Recipe Notes: This recipe serves a large crowd. It’s the perfect dish to serve at parties. If you’re not having a party you cut the recipe in half or freeze the leftovers.
- Cost Cutting Tips:
- Instead of purchasing lean ground beef, try this little trick for reducing fat in ground beef, It’s a much cheaper option.
- Replace the canned re-fried beans with homemade ones. Dry pinto beans are inexpensive, simple to make and they freeze up nicely.
- Make your own enchilada sauce using tomato sauce and a few spices. It’s cheaper to make and you are in control of how spicy it is.
- Make your own flour tortillas for a inexpensive and delicious replacement.
Saturday
Hot Dogs – served with pasta salad and baked beans.
- Serves 4
Sunday
Bratwurst Supper from Taste of Home – served with biscuits and for dessert peach cobbler.
- Serves 12
Download – Week 19: Menu & Shopping List
Budget Friendly Tips
✔ Keep a well stocked pantry, it is an essential part to feeding a family on a small budget. Plus it’s comforting knowing that there is always something at home to cook.
✔ Stock up when prices are at there lowest. Sales usually go in a 3 month cycle, so if you see an item at it’s rock bottom price, buy enough to use between now and the next sale.
✔ Another way to keep your grocery bill low is by using coupons for the items that you need. I rarely plan my menu around coupons that are available, I find that I end up spending more. Instead I create my menu first and then look for coupons that will lower the bill.
Time Saving Tips
✔ Do your grocery shopping online, you’ll save so much time because someone else does the shopping for you. It also allows you more flexibility for staying on budget, you don’t check out until your total is just right. Use my Walmart Grocery Pickup link and get $10 off your first order of $50 or more.
✔ Spending some time meal planning can make your life so much easier. It’ll save you time and money, improve your nutrition, it’ll make cooking more manageable and it will give you more control over what you put on the table.
✔ A simple way to save yourself some time in the kitchen is by prepping your food for the week. This can be done by simply washing your fruits, chopping your vegetables or portioning the food for each meal. It’s up to you how much you want to do to save yourself sometime later in the week.
About Our Meal Plan
✔ Our menus are designed to feed a family of four, two adults and two teenage boys. It can also feed two adults and 3-4 young children.
✔ Many of the meals included in our meal plan are budget friendly to begin with, however we do offer tips that will reduce the grocery bill even further.
✔ Our family eats a pretty simple meal for breakfast and lunch, like cereal or sandwiches and sometimes leftovers. We don’t make to much of a fuss over it.
✔ Sunday dinner is our biggest meal of the week, that’s when all of the family gets together, so we tend to spend a little more money and include dessert. I try to make enough for leftovers during the week.
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About the Author 
Robin
A mother to three amazing boy, wife to an incredible husband and a former finance manager who traded in her spreadsheets for cookie sheets. I blog about things that make life a little more fun, a bit more manageable, slightly prettier, a great deal tastier and considerably cheaper.
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