Menu Planning/ Meal Plan 7/19-8/1

Ahh, Menu Planning. Or is it more like, "AAAAHHHHH!!! MENU PLANNING!!!!!" ? In my case, it can be a bit of both.  I have figured out that having a set menu helps me save money and my sanity. We can try new meals and decided if it is a keeper or if we never eat it again. I don't have to wonder "Ugh, what is for dinner tonight?" To go even further, I even plan out breakfast, lunch and snacks.

Here is a Dinner-Only look:

• The way I meal plan is simple. I first look at how far out I want to menu plan. Right now, I am only doing per-pay-period menu planning, but for my sanity, I think I will switch to one day of planning a month's worth of meals. So. Much. Easier.
• Next, I get together my recipes together. For this menu, I needed 13 dinners with the 14th meal being out. So, I find 13 dinner recipes and sides.  I gather a few of our good ole standbys that I know everyone will love. Then, depending, I will add some brand new dinner recipes to the menu.
• Now I look at C's work schedule for this week. He works at the same time every day, and the same off days, they just rotate so I like to plan accordingly. I then look at my calendar to see if I have any meetings, play dates, parties, appointments, etc that would interfere with dinner prep or dinner itself. After that is done, I can start placing what meals go on which days. I try and choose meals that take the most time prepping/cooking for nights that C is off. Crockpot meals are easy for days that I may not be home at dinner time and he can just eat and take a plate with him.
• I do a ton on my computer, but menu planning (for right now) just isn't one of them. I like to have a hard copy in front of me. I can't always be on my computer, but I can leave a piece of paper on the counter to come back to if I have a spare moment.
• There are a ton of free blank menu planners on the internet. Organized Home has a nice printable. For more of a calendar format, Donna Young.org has a nice selection of different weekly and monthly printable.
• Lastly, I fill in what dinner goes on what night. :)

Here is a copy of the rough draft I made of this period's menu. As you can see it isn't perfect, and I don't plan on making a nice, neat one either. One important thing: Place your menu plan on your refrigerator or in a spot that is easily accessible and easily seen.

(Yes, I realize my photography skills aren't the best and I cut off and only have six days instead of seven!)

Here is my menu plan for July 19th-August 1st:

Monday 19th: B)grits/Fruit   L)mac and cheese   D)out

Tuesday 20th: B)cereal/fruit  L)Daddy's Choice   D)Potato Soup/Taquitos (homemade)

Wednesday 21st: B) Cheese Toast/Fruit  L)Leftover Potato Soup and Homemade corn dogs  D) Homemade Graham Crackers w/ Homemade peanut butter, bananas and pretzels

Thursday 22nd: B)Oatmeal/Fruit  L) Homemade PB sandwiches/pretzels  D) Crockpot: Bacon Wrapped Garlic Chicken with mashed potatoes, fried squash and fried okra (I bought fresh squash and okra at the farmer's market in town the other day. I LOVE fried squash but rarely fry anything-tonight-we shall FRY! lol)

Friday 23rd:  B) Breakfast Cookies/Fruit  L) Rice and Beans  D) Homemade Pizza

Saturday 24th:  B) Grits/Fruit  L) Homemade PB sandwich/pretzels/cheese stick  D) Spaghetti (homemade sauce) with green beans and bread

Sunday 25th:  B) Cheese toast/Fruit  L) Left over Spaghetti and Carrots  D) Spicy Black-eyed Pea soup and cornbread

Monday 26th: B) Oatmeal/Fruit  L) Mac and Cheese  D) Crockpot Sloppy Joe's with Oven Fries and English Peas

Tuesday 27th: B) Breakfast Cookie/Fruit  L) PB Sandwich/ pretzels/cheese stick  D) TBA  (*If I have a sitter, the kids will eat supper there and I will pack C sandwiches for his take-to-work meal*)

Wednesday 28th: B) Grits/Fruit  L) Mayo Biscuits and Rice  D) Corn Chowder and Rolls

Thursday 29th: B) Homemade Blueberry Muffins/Fruit  L) Homemade Corn dogs (from freezer) and green beans  D)Chicken and Rice with Carrots

Friday 30th: B) Cereal/Fruit  L)Taquitos (from freezer)  D) Crockpot Turkey Steaks with Cheesy garlic mashed potatoes and corn

Saturday 31st:  B) Eggs and Toast/Fruit  L) Mac and Cheese   D) Sante Fe Soup with bread

Sunday 1st: B)Oatmeal/Fruit  L) Left over Soup  D) Mushroom Chicken with rice and green beans

I will be posting recipes for the homemade peanut butter, taquitos and corn dogs in a later post!

Kristina used COUPONS!

Today I defeated my menu plan mayhem and grocery list. TODAY, I found out what all of the Walgreen's couponing rave was about! 
I DID not plan on going this far with my couponing...but after the first two toothpastes..I couldn't help myself.  The lady that checked me out helped me out a great deal and was incredibly friendly! Yay for her! :)

So, Walgreen's had Colgate toothpaste for $3.49 with $3.50 in Register Rewards. I bought 8 tubes of toothpaste and received $28.00 in RR. We also bought a Gillette Fusion ProGlide for $9-something and got 5$ in register rewards.   So, I had 33$ in RR. :) Each toothpaste had to be a separate transaction and I totally didn't mind holding up that line (for once in my life)!!!! 

-I had a coupon for BOGO Dry Idea (or Right Guard) deodorant. I have no idea how it worked out, but I paid 32 cent for TWO Dry Idea deodorant. It was a Walgreen's ad and MF coupon. (So my receipt says..but I still have my MF coupon...)

-With my RR I bought Ziploc Freezer bags x2 with a $1.00 off coupon (Walgreen's in store coupon book), Dawn dish washing liquid x3, Milo's Tea x2, BOGO AA Batteries.  I used 3 RR coupons in this transaction and paid $6.40.  Not too bad considering Milo's is $2.50 a gallon!!! :)

-My favorite of the day was the Nivea body wash. I had a coupon for buy 2 women's Nivea body washes and get 1 man's Nivea body wash FREE. So, I decided to pair that MF coupon up with my Walgreen's RR.  Thank the Lord for the sweet check out lady. She really helped me alot. She explained to me a bit how the RR worked and that I needed a "small" item to kind of balance out things and pay the least. I figured she knew what she was talking about, so I ended up getting two bottles of Dawn dish detergent as well.  Nivea MF coupon + 4 RR=$3.68 :) Umm..that Nivea body wash was $6.99 PER BOTTLE.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Below is a picture of my above deal descriptions. There is also a free bag that I got for purchasing the razor and TWO more RR coupons that I didn't use! This was my FIRST time ever using RR at Walgreen's. I think I did pretty good and was pretty please with my deals. :)

Toothpaste anyone?

Moving right along to my Dirt Cheap deals of the day.  I was in the market for new mascara. I even had a coupon for a mascara I wanted to try.  Anyone that knows me well knows that I am very particular about mascara AND what I buy at Dirt Cheap. For the longest I would not buy anything that went on my skin (aside from clothing).  I passed by the huge table with cosmetics and thought I would take a peek. Well, of course some of the packages were open..but there were a TON that were not. They were in their original packaging. So, I decided I would give it a whirl. I got a bit carried away with the mascara, but I am now the proud new owner of EIGHT, yes EIGHT different types of mascara. Hopefully, I can find one that I like within that bunch.  I also got a Loreal Infalliable Lip duo stuff (and this stuff STAYS ON..let me tell ya), some kind of Revlon foundation and a Loreal Infalliable press powder/foundation (which I have used before and it is great). All of this for $5.50.

I love flags  I love a front door flag flapping in the wind on a stormy day, or just blowing in the breeze. Unfortunately, with my attempt to be frugal, a 20$ flag really isn't in my budget. I have a few holiday flags that I have had over seven years, an American flag, and an Alabama championship flag I got at Winn Dixie for like $1!! When I saw these, I could barley contain my excitement.  These are full size flags and they are CUTE. They were a bit more expensive than I was hoping, but a steal compared to the regular prices. Hopefully, there will still be more around in a few weeks and they will be discounted even further and I can add to my outdoor flag repertoire. :)

Three full size flags $15.00

With my ever increasing knowledge of living frugally, I have become quite the busy bee in the kitchen. I am whipping up my own ranch dressing mix, taco mix, and onion soup mix. I've bought plastic containers to store them in my pantry, and that is fine. These little storage containers were too cute to pass up. They even will look really pretty on the counter to hold rice, grains and beans!

Containers: $6.00

Lastly, my Winn Dixie deal of the night.  As I picked up my two, 5lb bags of potatoes I noticed a coupon attached. Normally, I would pass a coupon by, but now I have the bug so I have to check it out to see if it is worth my time. :)  The coupon was for a FREE Marie's Classic Potato Salad Dressing. Well, of course, WD didn't have the "Classic Potato Salad Dressing". So, I asked if I could possibly get another type of dressing. They said sure and if I had a problem we could override it. :)   My experience at WD was PLEASANT. The girls at the checkout were actually friendly and helpful! We did two different transactions so that I could get both of my dressings for free and my potatoes still 2/$5.

10lbs potatoes-$5

2 Jars Honey Mustard-($7) FREE

If I actually have anyone that reads my blog, please give me tips on this couponing stuff! I really don't have time to be too hardcore (though I do have a date scheduled with a friend tomorrow morning at the dumpsters...hmm...) about it...but saving a little helps a ton. :)