I’m so excited, Wednesday is the first day of spring, I absolutely love spring, I love seeing the color come back into the trees and flowers and the temperatures rising. The only thing that I don’t like about this season is the time change. Why can’t we just keep the time the same.
The time change has really done a number on me this year. I don’t remember ever being effected this much by it, I just can’t seem to get out of this tired funk that I’ve been in all week. Hopefully as the temperature gets warmer I’ll pull out of it.
Here’s what our meal plan looks like this week:
Budget Friendly Meal Planning
Artichoke Grilled Cheese – served with tomato soup and sliced apples.
- Serves 4
- 1 sandwich
- 1 cup of soup
- 1/2 an apple
- Cost cutting tips:
- Make your own sour dough bread for a delicious and budget friendly option.
- Get your cheese from the deli department, you can have them cut exactly what you need so there won’t be any waste, which will save you money.
Mexican Street Corn Soup – served with tortilla chips.
- Serves 6
- 1 bowl of soup
- a handful of tortilla chips
- save the leftovers for Friday nights dinner
- Cost cutting tips:
- You can make chicken stock for free, using ingredients that you would normally throw away.
- Instead of using heavy whipping cream, which can be pricey, use milk, it has a similar flavor.
Slow Cooker Chops & Gravy – served with egg noodles and green beans.
- Serves 6
- 1 pork chop
- 1/2 cup noodles
- 1 cup green beans
- Cost cutting tips:
- Purchase pork when it is on sale and be sure to stock up, about 3 months worth. The lowest price that I’ve seen for pork tenderloin is $1.49 per pound. I usually buy about 20-25 pounds worth and I have the butcher cut some of it into boneless chops.
- Save money on spices by purchasing them from the dollar store.
Pepperoni Pizza – served with tossed salad
- Serves 8
- 2 slices of pizza
- 1 cup salad
- Leftovers can be used for lunches or save for Friday nights dinner
- Cost cutting tips:
- Make your own pizza dough, it’s not difficult and it only costs pennies when you do it yourself.
- Save even more on your pizzas by making your own pizza sauce.
Leftovers
- Mexican street corn soup with tortilla chips
- Pork chops and gravy, egg noodles and green beans
- Pizza and tossed salad
Salsa Verde Chicken – served with Spanish rice and seasoned black beans.
- Serves 8
- 2 soft tacos
- 1/2 cup Spanish rice
- 1/2 cup seasoned black beans
- Cost cutting tips:
- Make your own flour tortillas for a inexpensive and delicious replacement.
- Replace the beer, in the chicken recipe, with homemade chicken stock. It’s a tasty option, plus it’s gluten free.
- Make your own Spanish rice instead of purchasing the preservative packed options.
- Make your own black beans, it’s a cheaper option and they are simple to make.
Fried Chicken Tenders – served with mashed potatoes, corn, biscuits and for dessert, peanut butter pie.
- Serves 4
- 2-3 chicken strips
- 1/2 cup mashed potatoes
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1 biscuit
- Cost cutting tips:
- Chicken breasts frequently go on sale, purchase in bulk and freeze for future use.
- Lower your grocery bill a little more by making your biscuits from scratch, they’re really easy to make and really yummy.
- Making your own Oreo pie crust will lower your grocery bill using coupons will lower it even more.
Download – Week 11: Menu & Shopping List
Budget Friendly Tips
✔ 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.
✔ One way that I keep my grocery bill low is by using coupons for the items that I need. I rarely plan my menu around the 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 my bill.
Time Saving Tips
✔ Spending a little 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 menus do not include breakfast or lunch, but there is space for you to fill in what your family likes. 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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