Updates Abound!

It's been a few days since I updated my blog. I've been busy playing catch up. Of course, I still haven't planted annuals. I think the few hanging baskets and my lilies are going to be all the floral around my patio this summer.


Here's my Weekly Menu:

This week, I've decided to try a bunch of different recipes from Aldi Menu Planning. That was the store I was going to do most of my shopping - so I thought I would try it out.

Monday: Stuffed Peppers
Tuesday: Tilapia
Wednesday: Sausage Casserole
Thursday: Pork Chops with Apple Mustard Glaze
Friday: 4th of July picnic
Saturday: Cheesy Eggplant Casserole
Sunday: Hubby's on his own aka Leftovers

A Raise and new Supplemental Income

DH had his review today and they graced him with a nice raise! He is now officially making $1 more per hour than me. With that ... and the amount of overtime he has been offered is a great deal for us! Maybe we can finally move this mountain.... oh and I can get a car quicker!!

I found something that I like to do online now. The company is called Cha Cha.

What is Cha Cha:

"ChaCha is a web search engine that’s available online and by mobile phone with information whenever an InfoSeeker needs it…anytime, anywhere. ChaCha harnesses the power of the Internet and provide answers when an InfoSeeker needs them most."

You get paid .20 for every search you complete and you can work as many or as few hours as you want! I got accepted last week and have made $52.60 already! I think this will be a nice way to get a little extra income.

How does it work?

The InfoSeeker texts Cha Cha and it pops up on my Firefox driven dashboard. I search for the answer, validate it and send it! Viola! .2o cents in my account.

I can have 20 people total join my team - so if you are SERIOUS about making some money online please leave your email address in my comment box and I will send you information about Cha Cha. I'm sorry that I have to be a little harsh, but I only get 20 people for my team and I want to fill it with motivated people who are interested in putting the time in to make some money!

Don't forget to visits these sites:

These blogs/message boards sure get a work out! I get grocery tips and strategies from them and I eat them up!! I recommend them highly!

Money Saving Mom

More than Enough

The Centsible Sawyer *new to my blogroll*

HotCouponWorld

Weekly Meals

Weekly Meals - back to having a plan

Thanks to HotCouponWorld, More than Enough & Money Saving Mom - my stockpile has grown enormously! In fact, this week the only things on my grocery list were:

15 boxes of pasta (.16 a piece)
American cheese slices
milk
apples
yogurt
french onion dip (for my sausage casserole dinner)
4 cans of spag sauce
2 cans of diced tomatoes

That's all I needed.... that's all I bought! Suweeeet! (of course, if I forget yeast one more time at the grocery store - I'm going to freak out!!)

Here's my Weekly Menu:

Monday: Tater Tot Casserole (my favorite E-Mealz recipe)
Tuesday: Spaghetti Bake
Wednesday: Brats & Perogies
Thursday: Sausage Casserole
Friday: Tilapia (haven't decided which recipe to try)
Saturday: Homemade Sausage Pizza
Sunday: Hubby's on his own

Grocery Shopping and Weekly Menu Update

Let the stocking up begin! This week I had an extra perk in the grocery budget and I made the best of a good thing! Let's see what I got for FREE this week:

A pouch of cat treats
1/2 gallon of Dean's Ice Cream
2 bags of Steamfresh Corn
4 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats

I hit my Italian grocery for produce and prosciutto ham for my salad on Easter and Hungarian Sausage that was on sale. I then filled my cart at Aldi for a whole $69.00 and most of it was stock up for a later date! LOVE IT! DH finds comfort in an overflowing pantry as well!

No Corned Beef and Cabbage this week since we just had it, and not too adventurous in the meal planning department this week. I switched my Emealz from ANY STORE to the new choice of ALDI. The whole list - should I have needed everything was $62.00 for the 7 days of meals! I was impressed! Decent meal ideas - I'm saving it for next week, I think.

This Week's Meals:

Monday: French Toast Bake
Tuesday: Hungarian Sausage & Pierogies
Wednesday: Monterrey Spaghetti (with Chicken)
Thursday: Kielbasa Soup
Friday: Winging it - pantry pot luck!
Saturday: Italian Easter at my mom's! I can't wait!
Sunday: Boys on their own (I work at night)

Our Weekly Menu

Well, with everyone in the house with a queazy stomach or worse - I have been saving a fortune in food costs and energy cooking dinner! Want to bet even without eating that I am the only one in this family that WON'T lose weight! LOL

Monday: BRAT DIET (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast)
Tuesday: BRAT DIET (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast)
Wednesday: BRAT DIET (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast)
Thursday: Game Plan is Pan Fried Ravioli (but we'll see who feels like eating)
Friday: Corned Beef and Cabbage ?? (have a feeling we might push this off til next week too)
Saturday: Greek Lemon Chicken Soup with homemade bread
Sunday: Boys on their own for dinner

I didn't post my menu for the last few weeks. Sorry about that. A lot of duplicates from thngs I have made before exccept I did try one of my new E-Mealz recipes from my last week menu list. I have never EVER tried a Tater Tot Casserole before. Just doesn't sound right to me... I dunno. Well I tried their recipe of putting tater tots in a 13x9 baking dish mixing cooked and crumbled ground beef with cream of mushroom soup and an envelope of taco seasoning together and pouring on top of the tater tots and covering with taco cheese and baking. (I made a double batch -- cooked for about an hour) and it tasted REALLY GOOD!

Here's a few meals off of my E-Mealz menu that I got this week.
I have the ANY STORE option.
(I just have to wait to get everyone WELL before I start this.)

Chinese Pot Roast (sounds good - doesn't it?)
Chicken & Cranberry Pan Sauce (oooo I can't wait to try this one!!)
Salsa Sirloin Salad
Ham & Cheese Crescent Roll Ups

I'll keep you updated on how more of these recipes turn out.

E-mealz : I wound up joining & saved money doing it!

I talked about it last week that I was strongly considering trying the E-mealz because my weekly meals really needed a pick me up. In fact, I haven't even posted my Weekly Menu because it's basically the same things I had already posted. B..O..R..I..N..G!!

I was listening to the Friday Edition of The Dave Ramsey Show and I heard the advertisement for E-Mealz again. I was on my way home from my weekly shopping excursion. I spent $1.04 OVER my weekly budget. I found it ironic because that's what it would cost me a week to join E-mealz with the code: DAVE. No joke.

What is it?
E-Mealz is a menu planning site that not only comes up with a meal plan, it gives you recipes and a shopping list for 7 meals a week.
You can choose between Kroger, Publix or Walmart and your menu plans are built on what is on sale that week. I chose to do the ANY STORE PLAN because I bop between stores so much and although I do have a SuperWalmart close to me - it's not my first choice grocery store.

They also have special needs for families such as LO-CARB, LO-FAT or POINTS SYSTEM for families or ANOTHER plan if you are just cooking for 2.

Although I have a basic outline of my Weekly Menu this week because I went shopping yesterday instead of Tuesday because we are supposed to get "substancial" snow again (man I am so incredibly tired of SNOW), I downloaded my first week's menu.

What's the Menu Look Like?
Sounds pretty good -

1. Mexican Meatloaf
2. Spicy Pork Tenderloin
3. Raspberry Chicken Salad (using rotisserie chicken that I can get FREE at work!)
4. Sausage Fajitas (using smoked sausage that ALWAYS goes on sale)
5. Chicken and Rice bake
6. Cauliflower Cheese Soup
7. Tater Tot Casserole

And recipes look very easy too. Not that I will do 100% of my weekly meals based on this, but it sure puts a few more options into my boring menu list and doesn't seem to cost an arm & a leg.

I'm sure a brunt of the shopping list may be done at Aldi, but I 'll let you know how I do with the recipes and what the price list comes up to be.

E-MEALZ Easy Meals for Busy and Frugal Families
Enter Code: DAVE for $2.50 off membership! ($12.50 for 3 months)
That's $1.04 a week for weekly meal plan, recipes and organized shopping list.

Can this be the answer to my weekly menu doldrums?

I went grocery shopping yesterday. You've heard me moan and complain about how my shopping trips just aren't as lucrative as they once were. I know the food prices are going up everywhere and it's the truth. I'm not store loyal. I bounce between store to store for whatever deals I can muster. I plan my weekly menu and try to use items I currently have. Frankly, I'm in a rut. I'm eating the same meals over and over (because I know they work into the budget) and I'm BORED .... and BROKE!

There's been a lot of talk about these Meal Planning services. I've been hesitant to join any because I don't see why I would pay someone to do what I already do. HOWEVER, I did find this one that kind of intrigues me. It's inexpensive. It comes with a grocery list and recipe instructions. They say that the shopping list is around $75. which is about what I spend every week. New recipes? Stays within the budget? Shopping List? I can go to any store? I may actually sign up for this one. My Weekly Menu will be a little more interesting .. THAT'S FOR SURE!

$15 every three months = $1.25 a week. I think I may be able to fit that into the grocery budget.

E-MEALZ Easy Meals for Busy and Frugal Families

Our Weekly Menu

Looks like it may be a "clear out the pantry" dinner week. Nothing spectacular on sale this week at any of my regular shop grocery stores. I'm going to have to wing it again, I guess. I'm going to hit the SuperWalmart and see if anything strikes me there. I don't really have a taste for a couple things on the weekly line-up. This may get edited. :)

Monday: Shrimp Scampi (b1g2 free on shrimp)
Tuesday: Tangy Pork Chops with Stuffing (didn't make it last week)
Wednesday: Kielbasa Stir Fry (B1g2 free on sausages)
Thursday: Manicotti
Friday: French Toast Bake (have a couple cans of Cinn Rolls in the fridge)
Saturday: Pork Chops with Cherries (bake with a can of cherry pie filling)
Sunday: Boys on their own

Our Weekly Menu

In case you hadn't already noticed - I've added a section on Menu Planning on the right side of my blog. I have an ongoing feed to Menus4Moms which gives ideas for weekly menu planning. I wanted to make sure everyone knew it was there and to take a peek at it.

As for my menu planning looks like the Meat Lover will be happy! Pork Loin is on sale and I always have a TON of recipes for Pork Loin! The boys don't mind eating it so often because each recipe tastes totally different from the other one. I have a lot of ingredients already in the pantry so my shopping this week will be a few things I need for my menu and the rest will be staple replacement for the pantry. Hello Aldi! Here I come!!


Monday: Taco Soup
Tuesday: Honey Mustard Pork Chops
Wednesday: Stuffed Peppers
Thursday: Pork Casserole
Friday: Italian Style Meatloaf
Saturday: Tangy Pork Chops with Stuffing
Sunday: Boys on their own

Our Weekly Menu (revised copy)

UPDATE: I love Meijer's 10 for $10 sales, but I sure wish they'd stock themselves appropriately. Ad comes out on Sunday - and things are out of stock on Monday. Really??
What I did get on the $10/10 for my Weekly Menu was the cinnamon rolls, mac and cheese (both generic versions, but taste the same!) and portebella mushrooms!

On the Cellphone: While shopping - about 15 miles from home I get a phone call. It's my husband who is basically freaking out because there is a TORNADO by our house! Well, that's what he heard. He was at work about 15 miles from home in the opposite direction. We were quite lucky. A tornado did touch down, but skipped over our area and went east.

A couple of the recipes are linked below. I'll have to go type up the last one.... and figure out what I am going to make for dinner TONIGHT!

**************

When making my grocery list, I first scan the sales flyers of my favorite stores.
The best deals are found accidentally by going to that little Italian grocery store
that I told you about last month. I then scan my coupons for deals that match the sales. THEN I hit my cookbooks for ideas of what to make with what's on sale (and hit the coupons again if the case may be) A lot of work? Yep. But it's worth it to get a week's worth of menus on the cheap! We have hearty appetites in this house -- well the ds eats like a bird but the dh and I like to eat so we don't do well on itty bitty recipes.

I stumbled across a place online today that has weekly menu ideas with a shopping list! I just signed up for their newsletter and added a widget off to the right side ----> for you guys to have access to it as well. It's called Menus4Moms

Note: Here's a start to my weekly list.
I'll have to finish it up and post recipes tommorow after I see what Angelos has on sale.

Monday: Italian Sausage/Portebella Mushroom Stirfry w/ pasta
Tuesday: TBA
Wednesday: Cinnamon French Toast Bake
Thursday: Cheesy Enchiladas / Fajitas
Friday: Mac N Cheese Taco Bake
Saturday: Homemade Pizza - for the Green Bay Game
Sunday: Boys on their own

Extras: Homemade Bread (in the bread machine) and a couple of desserts.

Our Weekly Menu w/ recipes

This week again will be a little weird because of the holidays. My mother always hosts Thanksgiving Dinner and our family hosts Christmas. Last year, I decided to get a little crazy and made Rib eye steaks and lobster tails for dinner. Mind you, I'm only feeding 5 for Christmas. My husband and I were so incredibly sick on Christmas, that neither one of us could enjoy or even recall our feast so I decided that we would do it again this year. Of course, budgetted into our annual Christmas account - we are having Prime Rib and Lobster Tails for dinner . Our only splurge of this year (and probably next)

Tuesday: Taco Soup (recipe from my mentor Pam! -- was quick and delicious!!)
Wednesday: Pork Chops, Stuffing and homemade applesauce.
Thursday: Spaghetti Bake (feeds for two days - easy and yummy!)
Friday: Free Buffet at my work on Friday for Christmas
Saturday: Chicken Pasta
Sunday: Pizza (boys on their own)
Monday: Corned Beef and Cabbage
Tuesday: Prime Rib and Lobster Tails

Grocery Budget
Christmas Dinner: $114 - made it (barely)
Regular Groceries: $70 plus $35 from next week's envelope seeing that I won't be able to go shopping until late next week.

***Recipes***

Spaghetti Pie:
You may need to alter the amount of pasta and sauce if you don't have the 11x13 pan. It will bubble over (been there, done that)
I also cut down on the cheeses a touch because my son isn't a huge fan of cheese. Adjust cooking time if you have premade this and put in the fridge.

1 pound Italian Sauasage (I use gr beef and add italian seasonings while browning)
1 large onion chopped
2 jars spaghetti sauce
1 lb spaghetti cooked and rinsed
1/2 stick butter or marg.
3 eggs beaten
16 oz shredded motz cheese
8 oz grated parmesan cheese
16 oz sm curd cottage cheese

Brown sausage and onion and drain. Add spaghetti sauce along with some basil, oregano and minced garlic to taste. Simmer up to 2 hours (my mom's recipe - she's retired, I don't have time to wait 2 hours!)

Toss cooked spaghetti with butter - add eggs, parm cheese and half of the motz cheese until well mixed. Spoon mixture into buttered 11 x 13 casserole. Press down. Cover evenly with a layer of cottage cheese. Spoon sauce on top. When smooth, poke holes with a wooden spoon randomly over the entire surface.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake 10-15 min or until golden and bubbly. Cool 10 minutes before serving.


Taco Soup*:
1 lb of gr beef (browned)
2 cans diced tomatoes with juice,
2 small cans of tomato sauce (or 1 large can),
2 cans of pinto beans that have been rinsed and drained, (I used northern beans - all I had)
about a half diced white onion,
3-4 cups of water
2 pkg taco seasoning.

"Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer. The longer you simmer the better it will be. We waited about 30 minutes cause it just smelled so darn good, but it's like pasta, it's even better the next day. We pour a bowl, top with some cheese, and usually will eat it with a flour tortilla. But it's good with crackers, by itself, with chips, just whatever. Takes about 10 minutes to throw together, it's cheap (tomato stuff is always on sale, beans are cheap, taco seasoning is fairly inexpensive), and makes a huge pot. I make this when I have company, everyong loves it."

*This recipe came from my mentor, Pam. She was awesome enough to share a bunch of recipes for gr beef and frozen chicken breasts. You'll see me refer to Pam's recipes often.

Mangia!

Our Weekly Menu

There's a little Italian grocery store that I go to. Usually, I just pick up meat and produce there. The prices are amazing. Typically their grocery items are marked up a bit more than my regular grocery store, but I wound up finding a bunch of great finds there this week!

Budget: $70

Monday: McDonalds (I know, I know)
Tuesday: Country Ribs, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes and Applesauce
Wednesday: Steak Fajitas
Thursday: Stuffed Peppers
Friday: Pesto Chicken with Tortellinis
Saturday: Dijon Pork Chops
Sunday: Boys on their own

Our Weekly Menu

Boring week for menu planning. Very little left in the budget for groceries so I have to be inventive on the days I do have to cook. I didn't realize how many meals out we had this week. What a treat!

Monday: Italian Breakfast Casserole
Tuesday: Meatloaf and Potatoes
Wednesday: Hot and Spicy Tacos (got my free seasoning packet from Old El Paso)
Thursday: Mom's taking us out for Pizza for DS's birthday
Friday: Burgers on the grill (weather permitting)
Saturday: My DS's 16th birthday party - eating on the fly.
Sunday: Ravioli Shrimp Scampi (ds's favorite meal)