I have found that by planning my meals for the month, I can drastically reduce our families grocery spending. It takes time and a whole lot of effort though. And to be honest the past several months I wasn’t so good about it. But, then Scott and I sat down and took a look at our spending. And we realized that we needed to be a whole lot better about sticking to our budget.
And so, the first thing I did at the beginning of the month is sit down with google calendar and plan out my meals. I made my grocery list based on this meal plan. Then I took a trip to Walmart to stock up on a months worth of groceries. I kid you not three separate people looked at me and my overflowing cart and one actually laughed at it.
Some may think planning your meals out for a month isn’t flexible enough. Basically, it is a rough estimate. I can still switch things up a bit, but I know that aside from milk and produce, I have everything I need for the months worth of meals. If I want to switch the meal from the 13 to the 27th, there is not rule saying I can’t. And I don’t have to wrack my tired brain at 5:00 each day trying to figure out what we’re having for dinner.
We’re half way through the month and so far we’re on pace for sticking with the January grocery budget! So, I thought I’d share what’s working for us at the circus as well as our meal plan for the week.
Sunday- breakfast for dinner: waffles
Monday- lasagna, rolls, green beans
Tuesday- dinner at a friends house, I’m bringing dessert… any suggestions? I am trying to make something without having to go out and buy any new ingredients…otherwise, I’d totally make this. Anyone have a yummy desert recipe I can make with ingredients you have on hand around the house?
Wednesday- Sarah’s Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup, home made rolls
Thursday- I am going out for a girls night with my SIL and good friend… we’re eating at Chipotle, then watching this movie, and enjoying some “Gilmore Girls style” junk food.
The fam, however, will be eating pepperoni bread, applesauce, and corn.
Friday- chicken pot pie (or as my kids call it… vegetable pie…they are excited b/c it is sure to make their ears taste disgusting)
Saturday- French toast, sausage
You can check out org junkie for more menu planning ideas.
I love my husband’s Nana. She’s a remarkable lady. I loved her for years, just based on hearing about her from her grandson and reading her sweet letters. Then, I flew to California and met her. And I loved her as my own Nana!!
When I walked in her side door, I instantly felt at home. I sat down at her table and never wanted to leave again.
Gana (as my kids call her b/c she is their Great Nana) is famous for her quince jam, her tacos, and her French toast (among many other things).
Being a mother of three boys, she is used to making food in bulk. And her method of making French toast totally works for me!
I used to cook my French toast one at a time in oil in a frying pan. Not exactly healthy or quick. Then a few years ago my in laws gave me a large waffle iron. I squealed with delight, “Now I can make French toast like Nana!”
Yes, Gana’s secret for French toast is to cook it in one of those large waffle irons (not those tiny circular single serving Belgium waffles irons). The waffle iron seems to seal in the taste in the bread and I love the fact that I can cook 4 at a time.
It might not look like your average French toast… it def looks like a cross between a waffle and French toast. Call it waffle toast…or French waffles…or toasted waffles…whatever you call it, call it breakfast…because it is delicious! I’m telling you, it’s tasty, more healthy, and definitely quicker than my old method. It’s worth a try, I promise you!
My family’s love for Chick-Fil-A goes deep and wide.
The first symbol my son recognized was for Chick-Fil-A. He could “read” it at age 2. And anytime he saw a cursive C he thought it stood for Chick-Fil-A. At that same age, I showed him a symbol for the golden arches and he had no idea what it was.
My daughter’s one year scrapbooks both have pages dedicated to their “first Chick-Fil-A” kids meal experience.
It’s this deep love for Chick-Fil-A which prompts me to dress my crew like cows and herd them to the local Chick-Fil-A for cow appreciation day every year. I don’t don cow costumes simply for my desire to get free food. I do it because I love Chick-Fil-A. I can tell you right now that if McDonald’s offered me a free meal for dressing like a farm animal, you would not find me showing up dressed head to toe as a cow or chicken or any other mammal.
I save this public humiliation for one fast food franchise alone.
dear, sweet Chick-Fil-A
…with it’s delicious real, not processed chicken sandwiches and nuggets, it’s sweet tea which is so delicious I would give up my Coke A Cola addiction for it, it’s table toppers so my kids don’t have to eat off messy tables, it’s second miles service with cashiers who will willingly take my tray to the table as I am busy juggling kids, and drinks, and food, the hostesses who come to my table and refill our drinks, not to mention the indoor play areas, hand spun milkshakes, and Christian values. Need I go on? Shall I say more?
This year we had our very close friends join us for the festivities. We’d been looking forward to it for weeks. When D day or shall we say Cow day arrived, they were in the midst of trying to buy a house. They actually invited us to take a look at the house before our 
dinner date. While there they decided they did indeed want to put an offer out on the house. But what about cow appreciation day? Their realtor graciously offered to follow us to Chick-Fil-A for them to sign their papers. He ate his dinner while our families enjoyed our dinner date. Then they signed on the dotted line, cow costume and all, while we entertained the kiddos in the play area. I can only imagine the conversation he had with his wife that night. “Honey, you’ll never believe the clients I met with today. No, no dinner for me dear. I ate at work…the crazy couple were wearing cow costumes as they filled out the paper work. Yes, that’s right I said cow costumes….”
Yeah, we’re branded all right…and we seem to share this obsession with our friends as well.
**Cow tipping takes on new meaning as my little calf/acrobat gets down on all fours and asks if I want some milk, after which she does a summersault on the playground floor.
Dinner time….the family all gathered around the table, enjoying a delicious meal, talking about the day, laughing and enjoying one another…statistics say that families that consistently eat dinner together tend to raise healthier, more well behaved children, then families that don’t. So, what are we doing wrong?
More often than not the Circus Family eats breakfast and dinner together as a family. More often than not our dinner “hour” is more like a dinner hour and a half. I wish I could say it as because of our scintillating conversations. However, my kids are what I fear the slooooowest eaters on the eastern seaboard. (unless it’s dessert or some other food they particularly enjoy). But give them chicken and you can pretty much forget about doing anything other than getting ready for bed after dinner that night.
This causes great frustration to my husband and I. The kids and I typically wait for Scott to get home so we can eat together. This means we usually sit down around 6:00 for dinner. If the kids stretch things out the average 1.5 hrs than we aren’t getting up till around 7:30. Leaving us no time for that walk around the neighborhood, or trip to the park after dinner. It’s usually just time for a little playing on the floor and then teeth brushing, fluoride, and bedtime stories. Scott would love to have more time to spend playing with the kids rather than watching them stare at their plates.
We have tried various tactics to shorten the time around the table. They have worked to various degrees. My question for you all, is “how long?”
How long does dinner typically take your family? Am I alone on this or is it merely par for the course at this stage of our family life?
It’s Monday again and time to post this weeks meal plan. Be sure to click on the link above if you want to see what other people are serving their families this week. I have discovered many fun new recipes from participating in this carnival.
- Monday: Tonight is my last MOPS meeting of the year. Since I arrive early for set up, I skip dinner and eat at the meeting. Daddy will be serving fish to the kids tonight. (Perfect plan for me b/c I hate fish (the smell, sight, and taste) so I don’t have to cook it, eat it or clean up after it, BUT my hubby and the kids get to enjoy the healthy change of pace. I got frozen cod fillets for them. They liked them last week, so here it goes again!!
- Tuesday: I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand last week to make the Mexican Tortilla Soup, so I plan to get the necessary cans of Cream of Chicken Soup and serve it up tonight. The kids aren’t big soup fans, so I’ll just serve them the corn bread and save out the beans and a few pieces of chicken.
- Wednesday: My husband has a Wednesday Night Sailing Race again tonight, since it’s just the kids and I we’ll keep it simple… I’m thinking grilled cheese for dinner.
- Thursday: A nice, hearty lasagna sounds yummy for tonight.
- Friday: We’re heading out, so I’ll pack pepperoni bread for us to eat in the van on the road.
I thought I’d share my 4 year olds favorite lunch sandwich with you all this week. Those of you feeling a bit adventurous might want to give it a try. You put peanut butter on one slice of bread, grape jelly on the other (nothing new here) and in the middle you place a slice of cheese and a few slices of ham. He invented it, he LOVES it and has eaten it every day for lunch for the past few weeks. If any of you give it a try, please comment and let me know what you think! As for myself, I think I will pass.
For those less daring, here’s our dinner plan for the week…
[You know your want more…]
I think all of the nice spring weather has thrown a wrench on my meal plans… last week we ate hot dogs three times in 5 days… the weather was so stinking gorgeous that we had to grill and all I had in the freezer was hot dogs, so the kids were VERY happy. When my 2 year old sees hot dogs in the fridge she says, “hot dogs daddy make” (Truth is Daddy makes anything that is on the grill, but hot dogs is the meat of choice for the kids) Anyway, here’s to more than just hot dogs!!!
[You know your want more…]
I have really enjoyed having people stop by to check out my recipes. I hope you’ll stick around awhile and learn more about the circus life here. It has also been a ton of fun for me to find new recipes to throw into the mix by visiting the other postings on Menu Plan Monday.
Here’s what’s cooking at my place this week!!
Monday: Another MOPS meeting for me which means Daddy and the kiddos are having pancakes again. (pancakes are one of my hubby’s specialties)
Tuesday: With spring weather here, we’ve got to enjoy life outdoors, so we’re having grilled hot dogs with a side home fries and baked beans.
Wednesday: We’re having some friends over for dinner tonight. I think I will make Mexican Lasagna.
Thursday: Double Peppy Pizza (after watching BOZ, my kids now call pizza Double Peppy pizza when we put any sort of veggie on it)
Friday: I didn’t have time to make the chilli last week, so we will give it a try tonight.
Saturday: We have a busy day here with a quick meal between activities. I plan to make up some pepperoni bread so it will be ready when ever. It is one of my husband’s favorites and the kids enjoy it as well. You just make the bread dough in the bread machine, then roll it out real thin and sprinkle cheese and pepperoni on it. Roll it up and pinch the sides. Bake for 20 min at 400 degrees. It tastes good warm or cold.
Sunday: Hopefully this week I will remember to get the frozen chicken out of my freezer ahead of time so we can finally have roasted chicken with stuffing and canned peas. I keep forgetting so it gets put off to the next weeks meal.
That’s the plan for the week. Often times it gets switched around a bit, but at least it is something to start with.
Thanks to all of you who stopped by and read my site and my meal plan last week. It was fun to have some new visitors on my site! Here is this week’s menu plan at our house.
- Monday:Pancakes and Scrambled Eggs: Tonight is Mommy’s Night out as I have a MOPS meeting so Daddy will be cooking breakfast for dinner tonight for him and the kiddos.
- Tuesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs: I like to make my own meatballs by taking ground turkey, bread crumbs, one egg, and Italian seasonings and mushing it all together. I then make them into little meatballs and broil them in the oven. One pound of meat makes enough for two meals so I freeze one batch of meatballs for next time! Then all I have to do is boil some water for spaghetti, open a jar of Ragu and Voila! Dinner is served!!
- Wednesday: Harvest Steaks and buttered egg noodles with a side of canned peas. This is one of my kids favorite. They call ham, “the new meat” To make the kids ham, I just brown the ham steak on both sides and serve plain. To dress it up a bit for my hubby and me, I use this recipe from Taste of Home’s Simple and Delicious Sept/Oct 07 magazine.
- 1 med onion halved and thinly sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ham steaks
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
- 1/2 cup apple butter
- Saute onion and pepper in butter until crisp tender.. Remove from pan and set aside. Brown ham steak on both sides. Meanwhile in small bowl, combine cornstarch and apple juice until smooth; pour over ham. Bring to boil; cook and stir 1-2 min or until slightly thickened. Reduce heat; spread apple butter over ham. Top with onion. Cover and simmer 5-7 min or until heated through
- Thursday: Chicken and Dumplings: This is super easy and my kids have been asking for it for the past week! Take 3 frozen chicken breasts and put in crock pot with 2 cans of chicken broth. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Pour cooked chicken and broth into large pot on stove and bring to a boil. Use a fork to break up the chicken into pieces. Mix dumplings using Bisquick recipe and drop onto chicken and broth. I recently startedd adding baby carrots and frozen peas to the chicken while in the crock pot in order to get our veggies in there too! A one pot meal and it is so easy!
- Friday: Day Before Chilli Recipe: My husband had been asking me to find a new chilli recipe for awhile. I found this online and it was an instant hit. While it suggests you make it the day before, I have forgotten and made it the day of and it still tasted great!
- Saturday: Homemade Pizza
- I make the dough in the bread machine using this recipe:
- For 2lb serving (this serves 4 adults plus 2 preschoolers with some leftover)
- Ingredients: 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups of all purpose flour
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1-1/4- 1 3/8 cups water
- 3 tablespoons of oil
- Combine all ingredients into bread pan.
- Select dough setting. (will take 1.5 hrs to make dough)
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Roll out dough and top with sauce, cheese, and toppings
- Bake for 20 min
Sunday: Sloppy Joes made with Manwich and served with oven baked fries and sweet peas
Let me know if you end up trying any of these recipes. I’d love to know what you think!!
I have found that I save a ton of grocery money as well trips to the grocery store, by making a monthly meal plan. I write on my calendar my meals for the month. Then, I make my grocery lists based on that and theoretically, I have all I need for us to eat for the month (with the exception of produce and milk, which I have to return to the store multiple times for). I found a blog which lets you post your weeks meal plan on Monday for others to see. Looks like fun to me and a great way to find new recipes to get you over those slumps of the same old meals. So, this is my first post on Menu Plan Monday. Hopefully, someone will find something yummy they want to try.
Monday- Fiesta Chicken: put frozen chicken breasts and jar of salsa in crock pot on low all day. Make rice and pour chicken and salsa over the rice, top with shredded cheddar cheese. Easy and everyone in my house loves it (even my 2 year old)!
Tuesday-My husband won’t be home for dinner this night b/c he is volunteering at a homeless shelter. Since it just me and the kids, I will stick with something simple, like French toast.
Wednesday-Mexican Chicken Soup-I got this one from Sheila’s post last week on To Love, Honor, and Vacuum. Sounds yummy so I thought I would give it a try!
Thursday- Jamaican Beans and Rice- also found this recipe on Sheila’s post last week. You know my kids love beans, so seemed like a winner for our house!
Friday-Sloppy Joes (made with Manwich) and tater tots.
Saturday-My church is having a children’s ministry volunteer appreciation dinner this night, so no cooking for me tonight!
Sunday- Roasted Chicken- whole chickens were on sale a few weeks ago and I bought one and stuck it in the freezer. Thought we’d put it in the oven, have some mashed potatoes and serve up a big, home style meal for dinner.
If my geographic area is hit with a EMP, nuclear bomb, or a Katrina like natural disaster, I hope that it does not come at the end of the month. If we are left to fend for ourselves at the end of the month than my family’s future would be bleak, as you can see by this photo taken this morning of my refrigerator. How long can a sack of potatoes, 2 dozen eggs, a jar of spaghetti sauce and some American cheese really last you? And what yummy dish can I whip up with those ingredients? Mind you, we have no meat in our house whatsoever. At the beginning of each month I sit down and plan out our meals for the month. I then make 2 grocery lists, one for BJs and one for a normal grocery store (b/c some things you just can’t buy in bulk) I used to be able to make 2 grocery store trips at the beginning of the month and then another one mid one to restock up on milk and produce. Now that I have 3 kids, I have MUCH less room in my cart (b/c 2 of the kids take up the majority of the cart) so my BJs run now happens twice a month and with 4 of us drinking milk now, we head weekly to restock up on milk. The only reason you see milk in the fridge now is b/c we stopped on our way home from church yesterday so I could run in for milk and something to eat for the day. For some reason this month we used up a lot of our storage. Sometimes when the month ends, I say we have no food, but what I really mean is we don’t have the food we like or that I feel like cooking. This morning when I was packing my husbands lunch I made him a sandwich that consisted of half a flour tortilla with 2 slices of swiss cheese inside and a post it note which read, “Sorry 
” Tonight I plan to go to BJ’s. I sure hope the end of the world holds off at least until tomorrow!
I have found that by planning my meals for the month, I can drastically reduce our families grocery spending. It takes time and a whole lot of effort though. And to be honest the past several months I wasn’t so good about it. But, then Scott and I sat down and took a look at our spending. And we realized that we needed to be a whole lot better about sticking to our budget. 
