So the menu planning is going meh. I have been winging it so I do need to focus more on a "plan". I have been trying the freezer meals though and I think this is going to be very beneficial especially on the nights I just don't want to cook.
I enjoy trying new recipes & I really need to write a review on these meals so I can reference them in the future. I'll start with Tuesday's dinner. I made tuna casserole, I've never made tuna casserole before so this was trial. I made this recipe http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-tuna-casserole/detail.aspx and I ended up freezing half the batch so there will be no tossing out the leftovers that we've forgotten about. My hubby liked it, I think it was a smidge dry and I think I got a little too much crust on the top. All in all it was pretty good and a nice budget meal.
Last night I made dorito chicken. Not the most healthy meal but oh my it was delicious. Hubby thought it had rice in it, I guess the doritos gave it a ricey texture. I thought it tasted a bit like the Schwans lime chicken dinner minus the lime so I think if I added lime it'd be pretty close. Hubby suggested making it into enchiladas sometime & add some rice to it. I agree it'd be worth a try. I also split this recipe, it was small to begin with (8x8) pan so I ended up freezing half of it. The portions for the 2 dishes were probably 2-3 servings (about the size of the frozen meals we get from Schwans). Here's the link to that recipe http://www.jamhands.net/2008/12/mexican-chicken-casserole.html
Tonight I threw in 2 pork chops and some baby ray's bbq sauce. It was really soupy so I broke apart the pork to make shredded pork, it soaked it up nice and I think it's going to be tasty. It sure does smell delicious in the house. I also made up some roasted red potatoes which I tossed in some oil, Wildtree garlic, pepper & parmesan cheese. I think those are going to be rather tasty too. And lastly I made up some homemade biscuits http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moms-baking-powder-biscuits/detail.aspx the revisions I made to this recipe was 3 tsp of baking powder & I used butter instead of shortening.
Oh I want to note a meal I made last week too, Ranch House crock pot pork chops. This was good but a bit salty. I used a packet of ranch I had in the cupboard but I think if I use the Wildtree ranch mix it might not be quite as salty so I will try this one again some time. I served it with mashed potatoes. Here's the recipe for the pork http://realmomkitchen.com/287/ranch-house-crock-pot-pork-chops-with-parmesan-mashed-potatoes/
I have no plan for the rest of the week and the only thing left in the freezer is Schwans baked cod & some frozen blue gill besides the 2 frozen meals from this week. So I definitely need to get a plan for the coming week.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Meal Planning Confessions
I need to confess my meal planning shortfalls. I fail at it, I fail miserably which leads us to frequent McD's, Pizza Hut, Culvers, BK, Taco Johns, Arby's...well you get the idea. Worst thing is this happens way too often. I honestly think having kids would make it easier to plan but when it's the two of us with crazy days that are different from one day to the next with really no set routine it's just so easy to go to the fast food plan especially when I think my hubby is going to do dinner and he thinks I'm going to dinner & we realize neither of us really has a plan or ambition to cook and the heat we've been having lately really doesn't help either.
Hubby and I got married in our 30's so we also had quite a few years of bachelor/bachelorette habits. I recently decided I need to get a handle on this whole planning thing....AGAIN (I go through spurts but it doesn't ever stick). Recently I have gone from a 40+ hour a week job to working at home and my husband has gone from unemployed to starting his own business plus a job that requires him to be on call 24 hrs 3 days a week along with managing our 2 duplexes. This is going to be a HUGE adjustment for me and I've decided I don't want my hubby eating junk food from gas stations on the road while he's working (I'm not sure why it's ok for us to eat fast food all the time though lol). So somehow I need to plan meals (breakfast, lunch & dinner) around wacky scheduling & on the go snacks for my hubby that he will eat and all on a budget. See this is all overwhelming to me but I'm determined to get it figured out. And somehow I need to do this without spending a day a week at it because in the past that's what I've done. I will surf the internet for recipes I'd like to try because I like trying new things, then I get lost in cyber world lol. Then I compile my grocery list which leads me to searching the grocery store ads (which I should've started out with first) then I search coupon sites thinking I'm going to find a coupon for every thing on my list...not reality. At this point I hit the store(s) and let me tell you, I despise grocery shopping which is probably one of the reasons I fail miserably at this whole planning thing.
So there it is, my confessions in a nutshell. Now, I'm hoping to blog this journey in hopes that it'll help me stay on track.
Hubby and I got married in our 30's so we also had quite a few years of bachelor/bachelorette habits. I recently decided I need to get a handle on this whole planning thing....AGAIN (I go through spurts but it doesn't ever stick). Recently I have gone from a 40+ hour a week job to working at home and my husband has gone from unemployed to starting his own business plus a job that requires him to be on call 24 hrs 3 days a week along with managing our 2 duplexes. This is going to be a HUGE adjustment for me and I've decided I don't want my hubby eating junk food from gas stations on the road while he's working (I'm not sure why it's ok for us to eat fast food all the time though lol). So somehow I need to plan meals (breakfast, lunch & dinner) around wacky scheduling & on the go snacks for my hubby that he will eat and all on a budget. See this is all overwhelming to me but I'm determined to get it figured out. And somehow I need to do this without spending a day a week at it because in the past that's what I've done. I will surf the internet for recipes I'd like to try because I like trying new things, then I get lost in cyber world lol. Then I compile my grocery list which leads me to searching the grocery store ads (which I should've started out with first) then I search coupon sites thinking I'm going to find a coupon for every thing on my list...not reality. At this point I hit the store(s) and let me tell you, I despise grocery shopping which is probably one of the reasons I fail miserably at this whole planning thing.
So there it is, my confessions in a nutshell. Now, I'm hoping to blog this journey in hopes that it'll help me stay on track.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Dill Potato Salad
I have one word for this recipe YUM! I have never made potato salad before, I guess I always had this perception of it taking a long time to make & that it was difficult. Besides I'm not a HUGE fan of potato salad since there are so many varieties out there and some just aren't good. But this one I had to try. I was in Door County in May and had lunch at The Cookery and they serve a potato salad on the side with their sandwiches and it is so delish! I had to hunt down the recipe when I got home and this is what I found. I'm not sure if it's the exact recipe they use, it says it's theirs but I think their's was better. This recipe was super easy with not a lot of ingredients, I challenge you to give it a try especially if you like dill.
The Cookery's Dill Potato Salad
3 pounds new red potatoes
1/2 cup tangy Italian dressing of your choice
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Thinly sliced green onions and/or freshly chopped parsley (optional garnish) Boil the potatoes until tender. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients except the garnish.While the potatoes are warm, cut them into small chunks and toss them in the dressing. Top with thinly sliced green onions or freshly chopped parsley.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Couponing/This Week's Savings
I have recently decided to see what I can do with saving more with our grocery bills. Today was double coupon days at Copp's, so I browsed their flyer and compared what I had in coupons. I was able to double up to 5 coupons with my bill totaling $25 (before discounts). I initially planned to take advantage of their Kellogg's/Keebler 1.68 deal with some Rice Crispies and Mini Wheats coupons which would've made my cereal .68 a box. Apparently everyone else in town had the same plan because there wasn't anymore of those left in the store. Since I had to buy 8 boxes to get the 1.68 deal I wasn't going to do that without being able to use any coupons. So, here's what I ended up with. I'm still new to this whole couponing thing but my bill was over 50% off so that's not bad.
Reg. 1.69
Sale 1.50
Savings .19
Total Paid 1.50
Creamette Lasagna
Reg. 2.15
Sale 1.50
Savings .65
Total Paid 1.50
Nestle's PB/Chocolate Morsals
Reg. 4.98 (for 2)
Sale 4.00 (for 2)
Coupon Doubled 1.00 (for 2)
Savings 1.98 (on 2)
Total Paid 3.00 (for 2)
Total Paid 1.50 ea.
Nestle's Semisweet Chocolate Morsals
Reg. 4.98 (for 2)
Sale 4.00 (for 2)
Coupon Doubled 1.00 (for 2)
Savings 1.98 (on 2)
Total Paid 3.00 (for 2)
Total Paid 1.50 ea.
Progresso Chicken Broth
Reg. 2.89
Sale 1.69
Coupon Doubled 2.00
Savings 3.20
Total Paid -.31 Yes that's a negative, I got paid to purchase this item
Carnation Evaporated Milk
Reg 2.58 (for 2)
Sale 2.00 (for 2)
Coupon Doubled 1.00 (for 2)
Savings 1.58 (for 2)
Total Paid 1.00 (for 2)
Total Paid .50 ea.
Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup & Cream of Mushroom Soup
Reg. 5.45 (for 5)
Sale 4.00 (for 5)
Coupon Doubled 2.00 (for 4)
Savings 3.45 (for 5)
Total Paid 2.00 (for 5)
Total Paid .40 ea.
Buddig Deli Beef
Reg. 2.55 (for 3)
Sale 1.77 (for 3)
Savings .78 (for 3)
Total Paid 1.77
Sweet Potatoes
Reg. 1.49 (1.25 #)
Sale .99 (1.25 #)
Savings .50
Total Paid .99
Russett Potatoes (I screwed up and must've grabbed the wrong bag)
Reg. 2.29 (5 #)
Total Paid 2.29
Roundy Whipping Cream
Reg. 1.25
Sale .99
Savings .26
Total Paid .99
Roundy Large Eggs
Reg. 1.65
Coupon 1.50
Savings 1.50
Total Paid .15
Morning Glory Milk
Reg. 3.39
Coupon 3.25
Savings 3.25
Total Paid .14
Total Bill Regular Price
37.34
What I Paid
18.41
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Menu week 9/10/10
Well I'm going to give this a go again :) Whenever summer hits my menu planning just goes down the drain but once fall hits I get into the cooking & baking mood again.
So here's what my menu plan was for this last week with the recipes.
-Mexican Potatoes
This one's easy just use a baked potato instead of a taco shell. They're yummy & very filling
-Honey Balsamic Chicken
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Honey-Balsamic-Chicken
served with either some seasoned potatoes or pasta
-Applesauce Bbq Chicken
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Applesauce-Barbecue-Chicken
served with Maple Baked Beans
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Maple-Baked-Beans-4
-Ravioli
just adding spaghetti sauce to it with maybe some sausage, served with a tossed salad & garlic bread
-Apple Glazed Pork Chops
I don't have the recipe yet for this on
Since this week is over, I'm going to update what I actually cooked :) and my reviews. We did have the Mexican Potatoes and they were good as always. My husband decided to cook some steaks on the grill one night and I was all for him cooking :) We did eat out a couple nights, I made homemade pizza one of the nights too which I thought was pretty yummy.
And then this evening we had the Applesauce bbq chicken with some maple baked beans and mashed potatoes. The chicken was pretty good, it had just a smidge of sweetness and some bite from the bbq sauce and the baked beans were a nice little touch from the plain canned beans. This meal is a must make again and will stay in my favorite recipes book. I whipped this entire meal up in probably 20 mins! I love quick meals. It was helpful that I had some canned chunky applesauce from last year that I used in it, not sure I'd make it using anything different.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Weekly Meals 3/14/10 - 3/20/10
Well I've been slacking on my weekly meal plan and I really need to get back on track with it.
Here's what we've had so far this week
Sunday
Lasagna (the frozen kind! lol)
Monday
Spanish Rice
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Week 2/28/10-3/6/10 Recipes
I realized that I have two classes this week so my hubby will be in charge for two evenings this week then his bday is saturday and Im sure we'll be going out to eat friday or saturday then.
Sunday
Totinos pizza & sundaes
Monday
Chicken Fajitas
Tuesday
Pasta with Tuna & Capers in White Wine Sauce
Garlic Bread
Steamed Carrots
Wednesday
Class so whatever hubby surprises me with :)
Thursday
Class so whatever hubby surprises me with :)
Friday
Out to eat (?)
Saturday
A Chicken Pasta of some sort I think
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