Cookin' Day

So in an effort to reduce food spending (the weekends when hubby is home is the worse!) around here, I pulled out my menu planner and pencil for some serious planning. Our current budget is $440 a month for groceries and since I usually don't go shopping until the weekends he is home, it's chaos and daily (aka expensive) shopping which blows budget big time. So yesterday I got the bright idea to do my shopping on the weekends he works. Oh, my gosh! What a difference! (Did I mention I didn't have to bring anybody with me??) I spent a little over 200 this week (I went over by $18). Although I had cash, I swiped that old debit card when I went over. There were some things I could have done without until next shopping day, so next time I won't bring card.
Here's my dinners for the next two weeks:
Mini burgers/ potatoes / baked beans
baked spinach mostocolli/salad
pork loin/spinach marie/carrots
beans and cornbread (2)
chili
chicken and rice/salad
lasagna/mixed veggies
bbq/sweet potatoes/green beans
taco salad / yellow rice
sloppy joes / sweet potatoes
creamy chicken and broccoli
Shepard's pie

Most meals will make enough for leftovers for lunch, so that helped quite a bit toward the other meals. About $4o of it went to diapers, paper towels, etc.
Then came the fun part--I think:)
Today I made chili, sloppy joes, cooked up the hamburger and chicken for the other meals, made chicken broth, tomato soup for Shepard's pie ( I was out, it came out ok!) In all it took about 4 1/2 hrs....and I had extra hamburger and chicken for future meal or two. I felt like they must have with the loaves and fishies! I have to admit I found myself fretting over what seemed to be a small amount of food after shopping. The verse that says not to worry about what you will eat or wear came to mind. So I quickly found the thankful side of it and as always, I'm taken care of:)
BTW--my feet hurt!!

1st day results:)

OK, my first day was mediocre. I went out (my first mistake) by myself. I had to get wet wipes and milk from CVS. Of course, I didn't just go there. Most all my purchases were in the budget, EXCEPT for lunch. I love Sonny's. Eating out is probably my worst habit of all. However, as I'm eating my lunch in the parking lot (I didn't feel like getting out of the car), I realized that my pulled pork is just as good! So I got to figurin' just what a meal identical to Sonny's would cost if I had been smart and made it at home. Eating out w/family---$45 w/tip. Cooking at home---about $15 for entire family. Not to mention, less stress around the "Little Diner" table which my kids love to visit. While still an expensive meal for home, a considerable difference to eating out. And except for pulling the pork, the meal is very easy to fix (Yeah, crockpot!)
I'm currently working on my food budget. I did decent this last time( I shopped for 2 1/2 weeks for 240 which included $40 in diapers), and probably would have had enough to last all thru this week, but I made some errors, mostly due to not freezing some of my meats immediately. If I had, then the chicken and the remainder of pot roast would have been good for this week to eat off of. So my goal is to use my shopping money that I set aside for this week and use it for the next several weeks. If I have any left that will go to our newly formed savings fund.
Can't we all use a little help with our budget? Check out http://www.angelfoodministries.com/. For any of you that are not familiar with this there is enough food in each box to feed a family of 4 for about a week, all for $30, there are no restrictions based on your income. Each month's menu is different than the previous month and consists of both fresh and frozen items with an average retail value of approximately $60. Keep checking back as I put together a couple of menu ideas to help stretch our food budget with the help of Febuary's Angel Food box.

Family Circus

I have that little boy from the Family Circus. You know, the little boy that roams all over the yard back and forth, at least a 1000 steps, and when mom calls him in and asks what he's been doing all day, he says nothing?!? Yup, him. He has shaggy blond hair, beautiful brown eyes, and a great smile (he uses it to get him out of trouble!!). As I was reading the funnies yesterday, there was the Family Circus. There was the boy(picture to left), coloring on the walls, scaring his little brother (in our case, making him laugh harder), banging on the pots and singing, climbing up to get cookies out of the jar (he did this the night before last), and hitting his sister on the head with a ball. Grandma says to him, "You're being a real handful today", to which Jeffy replies, "No, Grandma, I'm only 3, I won't be a real handful 'til I'm five!" Yikes!!! Will I (or he) survive to 5?!? I'm sure the neighbors only think we have 1 child as his is usually the only one I call to --get down, stop jumping, stay off your brother/sister, turn off the water, no, you can't slingshoot your brother across the yard! I do love that little stinker though!
On another note, I didn't spend any money today. Not for a lack of wanting, though. Personally I would prefer NOT to pay the house payment and go shopping instead....the practical side so far took over though, and I didn't go.
Looking for something sweet but not much in the kitchen? I made these tonight for dessert for my/neighborhood kids. My mom use to make these for us. Quick to fix, and hits that sugar spot.
Flour tortillas
Veg oil
Butter
Powdered sugar
(I didn't say healthy!)

Heat the oil over med heat. If desired, cut tortillas into smaller shape (I usually cut in quarters). Fry tortillas till brown, both sides. Rub butter on 1st side, sprinkle w/powdered sugar. Turn and repeat.

Kids

Well, the best laid plans....gone bad. My daughter, got sick after we got to my friend's house (she was to watch them). Yucky eyes, fever and overall sluggishness. So, after visiting with friend, me and hunny loaded up 3 of the 4 (4 stayed to spend the night with her son), and came home. We watched Juno instead. Good movie, although I'm afraid that's how life must really be like out there! Daughter's feeling better today, and is excited about going to Seaworld tomorrow. I spent the last of my grocery money + some at Publix. I am really trying hard to stay under $100, how do those that do it for $40 a week do it????? I was over by $18. I did have to buy formula since the nursery forgot to put it back in my bag last Sunday. I'll get it tomorrow, and I should be good for the next couple of weeks. I guess I'd better get back to life, I have a french toast to put in the fridge and floor to mop. BTW---I love this recipe, I prepare it the night before, get up and put it in the oven. Try it sometime!

Overnight French Toast II
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 (1 pound) loaf French bread, sliced
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt


Combine the corn syrup , butter, and brown sugar in a small saucepan and simmer until the sugar has melted. Pour this mixture over the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch casserole dish.
Place the bread slices over the sugar-butter mixture in the dish. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt; pour this mixture over the bread. Cover the dish and let it stand in the refrigerator overnight.
The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Uncover the pan and bake for 45 minutes. Serve while hot or warm or the French toast will harden in the pan. It can be reheated. (compliments of Allrecipes.com)

Dinner Ahead!

My kids just got up from the breakfast table (blueberry pancakes, yummy), and already they are asking about dinner. Being the scatterbrain that I am, I love Donna Young Printables. They're FREE, easy to use, and they keep me in line. Some days of homeschooling rob me of what little brain cells I have left, and I the thought of dinner makes me grumpy. However, when my menu board is up I just have to see what I'm fixing and I get get my act together for the day. I put it in a page protector and use a dry erase marker. It has reduced our eating out ALOT---We were going out at least 7-10 meals a week. Blows that budget I created. And since we are eating home more, I get to make some of the more expensive meals that I love but didn't buy because of the cost. My kids are little enough at this point they love to eat at the "Little Diner" (our dining room). I light candles, bring out the fancy napkins, and put some great background music on. I do have to clean up, but usually everybody helps.