menu plan

Our grocery shopping and menu plan are a bit off this week. We returned home on Thursday evening to an empty refrigerator and empty cabinets. We pieced things together and ate out a couple of times on Thursday and Friday. On Friday night, we finally got our grocery shopping done. I spent $65 on groceries, which I guess wasn't too bad since we did no grocery shopping the week before. Our menu plan this week ran from Saturday until Friday. I'll have to make a new menu plan starting this weekend. Or maybe I could be creative and use what I have already in stock! Stay tuned to see... (I'll only include Tuesday through Friday, since I'm sure you don't care what we had the days previous to this :)

Breakfasts:

Tuesday- Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits

Wednesday- Waffles (already made in freezer) and Mangoes

Thursday- Peanut butter Banana Smoothies

Friday- Oatmeal with Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, and Raisins

Lunches:

Tuesday- Leftover Quiche and Grapes

Wednesday- Peanut butter and Honey Sandwiches and Quakes

Thursday- Leftover 3-Cheese Baked Spaghetti

Friday- Leftovers

Dinners:

Tuesday- 3-Cheese Baked Spaghetti, Homemade Bread, and Green Beans

Wednesday- Leftovers and Fresh Pineapple

Thursday- Black Beans, Grilled Veggies, and Brown Rice (in a tortilla, maybe?)

Friday- BBQ Chicken Pizza, Corn, and Cheesecake Pudding Parfaits

menu plan

I didn't do any major grocery shopping today. We have some things I can put together for dinners and breakfasts this week without having to buy much. I did find good price-matching deals on grapes and bananas. I also got some milk and snacks for the road. Clay is leaving for Illinois on Saturday to preach a revival for a small rural church as a part of his Revival Practicum class. The boys and I are heading to Louisiana for the week while he's away. So our Menu Plan is limited this week and there won't be a need for one next week. I'm looking forward to a break from coupon-clipping, menu planning, and grocery shopping. Our Menu Plan for this week can be found below. Happy Cooking!

Breakfasts:
Tuesday- Ziploc Bag Omelets
Wednesday- Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits
Thursday- Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies
Friday- Biscuits and Eggs
Saturday- Breakfast on the Road
Sunday and Monday- Visiting Family in Louisiana

Lunches:
Tuesday- Leftovers
Wednesday- Lunch with Friend
Thursday- Leftovers
Friday- Lunch at Friend's House after Bible Study
Saturday- Lunch on the Road
Sunday and Monday- Visiting Family in Louisiana

Dinners:
Tuesday- Brisket Sandwiches (leftover brisket and buns from freezer), Squash, and
Ranch-style Beans
Wednesday- Dinner Date with Clay!
Thursday- Leftover Stew (from Monday)
Friday- DiGiorno Pizza, Corn, and Grapes
Saturday-Monday- Visiting Family in Louisiana

Brownie Trifle

Recipe of the Week: Brownie Trifle

I enjoy making Brownie Trifle for church gatherings or for company. It is very inexpensive and feeds a lot of people. My mom introduced me to this recipe when my future in-laws were eating over at our house one Sunday for lunch. It was a big hit then and continues to be wherever it is served. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 box of brownie mix (And the ingredients needed to make the brownies listed on the box)

1 small pkg. instant chocolate pudding (I use sugar free/fat free to make it healthier :)

1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding (Again, I use sugar free/fat free)

4 cups of milk (I use fat free, but it doesn't make a difference)

1 16 oz. container Cool Whip

Almond Toffee pieces or Butter Finger pieces (You can either purchase these candy pieces in the baking aisle, or you can buy a Heath or Butter Finger candy bar and chop it into pieces using a meat tenderizing mallet. The latter is the cheapest choice :)

Directions:

Make brownies according to package directions. Set aside and allow to cool. Allow Cool Whip to soften while brownies are cooking, so that it is easier to spread. Mix puddings and milk together in a mixing bowl. Follow directions on pudding package. (Sometimes I add Cool Whip to this mixture to make it more mouse-like and sometimes I don't. It's just your preference.) Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 5 minutes. Crumble 1/3 of the brownies in a large bowl. (Glass containers work best because the layers can be seen.) Spoon and spread 1/3 of the pudding on top. Spread Cool Whip over the pudding. Repeat 2 more layers of brownies, pudding and Cool Whip. Sprinkle almond toffee pieces or Butter Finger pieces on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I also sometimes put 1 cup of chocolate chips into the brownie batter, pudding batter, or sprinkled on top along with the candy pieces. This recipe can be changed up a lot to whatever you have on hand. Have fun and be creative!

3.3 grocery shopping and menu plan

Total: $51.60

I have not been doing well at coupon clipping lately. I admit it takes up a lot of time. Something I do not have a lot of. Well, I have the same amount of time as everybody else, yet I choose to spend it in different ways- in ways other than clipping coupons :) So I used the sale papers today and price-matched on a ton of produce. Among my best deals were:

• head of lettuce- $.59
• avocados- 2/$.79
• bunch of broccoli- $.88
• strawberries- $1.50
• bell peppers- 3/$1 (These were almost $1 for 1 at Walmart's regular price!)

My best deal was on Huggies Diapers. I detest paying full price for diapers, so I was pleasantly surprised with this bargain. Albertson's had jumbo packs on sale for $7.98. I price-matched two packs at this price and then used a $5/1 coupon and a $3/1 coupon which I found linked at this post on Moneysavingmom.com. My end price for the 1st pack of diapers was $2.98 and my 2nd pack was $4.98! Unbelievable!! I was able to get 2 packs for under the price Walmart was selling 1 pack at regular price!

What was my worst deal? I decided to splurge and buy tahini sauce for some hummus I'd like to make this week. The tahini cost over $6, but I do hear that it lasts a long time. And hummus is filling and good for you- tons of fiber, plus really yummy, so I took the plunge.

How did you do this week on grocery shopping? Any great deals you'd like to share?

Breakfasts:

Tuesday- Oatmeal with Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, and Raisins

Wednesday- Pancakes (from freezer) and Fruit Syrup

Thursday- Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits (with fresh strawberries :)

Friday- Sausage Biscuits (biscuits leftover from Tuesday night)

Saturday- Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies

Sunday- Ham and Cheese Omelets

Monday- Oatmeal with Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, and Raisins

Lunches:

Tuesday- Leftover Gumbo

Wednesday- Garden Veggie Soup

Thursday- Chicken Sandwiches and Carrots

Friday- Garden Veggie Soup

Saturday- Cheese Quesadillas and Refried Beans

Sunday- Lunch Out

Monday- Leftover Cornmeal Chicken

Dinners:

Tuesday- Whole Wheat Biscuits (Cooking Light: Low Fat/Low Cal)

Wednesday- Small Group Meal (Bringing Sweet Tea and Brownie Trifle)

Thursday- Taco Soup and Homemade Bread

Friday- Chicken Sandwiches and Hummus

Saturday- Hamburgers/Hotdogs at a friend's Birthday Party

Sunday- Cornmeal Chicken (Cooking Light: Low Fat/Low Cal), 4-Cheese Mashed Potatoes, and

Broccoli

Monday- Pork Stew over Rice and Homemade Bread

free pancakes!

Yesterday was National Pancake Day Celebration at IHOP. So what does that mean? Free short stack of pancakes for our family! They were so yummy and filling. We ordered ours without butter and used sugar-free syrup to be on the healthier side :)
There's nothing like receiving a ticket that says $0 on it! We did make a small donation to St. Jude's while we were there. Free pancakes and making a difference? Priceless.

recipe and a story

In the post directly before this one, I mentioned in our Menu Plan that we would be having steak for dinner because of a defrosting mix-up. Well, the story continues. Clay marinated and grilled the "steaks" for dinner on Thursday night as planned. We cut into them and soon knew that they were not beef steaks, but were pork steaks. It was a pleasant surprise as they were juicy and seasoned very well. But where were those beef steaks leftover from Valentine's Day? They were still in the freezer! So many mix-ups, but problem finally solved. While Clay's mom was visiting this weekend Clay grilled the infamous beef steaks and veggies. It was so yummy. We had leftovers last night for dinner. The mushrooms were my favorite!

Recipe- Ziploc Bag Omelet
I admit, I am unable to make a pretty omelet. However, this recipe was easy and tasty and looks better than if I made it in a skillet. We put all the ingredients together on Saturday night and just had to cook it on Sunday morning. Makes a very filling breakfast or supper! I got the recipe from my wonderful sister, KK.

Ziploc Bag Omelet

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/4 cup diced green pepper

1/4 cup diced onions

1/2 cup chopped ham (or other meat of your choosing)

Cheddar cheese (however much you like)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a quart size freezer bag. (It needs to be freezer or it may burst while heating.) Swish ingredients around to make sure they are well combined. (If you skip this step you may wind up with hard-boiled eggs within your omelet!) Refrigerate overnight or cook right away. Fill a stock pot up half way with water. Bring the water to a boil. Place bags inside pot and allow to boil for 13 minutes. Instant omelets!

2.17 shopping trip and menu plan

Town Talk - $20.08

Walmart $38.58



Total spent = $58.66

The deals weren't super this week. I only price-matched on baby carrots ($.99/lb. at Kroger) and grapes ($.99/lb. at Kroger) at Walmart. Since the price-matching deals were so sparse, I headed over to Town Talk. I hadn't been there in a while and LOVE their prices. I loaded my cart with 2 bags of Dole Spring Mix Salad for $.50 each, Stauffer's Animal Crackers for $.50, Onions for $.19/lb., Weight Watchers Cookies for $1, Tortilla Chips for $.50 and whole-wheat Tortillas for $.50 each. I also got some other items that were at good prices that we needed to round out our meals for the week.

Breakfasts:

Tuesday- Waffles (already made-in freezer) and strawberries

Wednesday- Cereal, milk, and apples

Thursday- Bran Muffins and apples

Friday- Oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins

Saturday- Breakfast Burritos

Sunday- Breakfast Casserole

Monday- Pancakes and Bacon

Lunches:

Tuesday- Leftover Pork Chops and Beans/Sandwiches

Wednesday- Leftover Potato Soup and Salad

Thursday- Chicken Sandwich (Deli Meat)

Friday- Green Salad and Garden Veggie Soup

Saturday- Lunch Out (Clay's mom will be visiting)

Sunday- Lunch Out (Clay's mom will be visiting)

Monday- Peanut Butter Siesta Sandwiches (Pg. 215 of Cooking Light: Low-Fat/Low-Calorie)

Dinners:

Tuesday- Loaded Baked Potato Soup, Mixed Greens Salad, and Homemade Bread
Wednesday- 2 Egg, Ham, and Cheese Omelets (Put all ingredients in Ziploc bag (2 eggs, diced
ham, cheese, onions, and bell pepper. Boil water in a sauce pan. Place bag(s) in the
boiling water and allow to boil for 13 minutes- instant omelets!) and Whole Wheat
Biscuits (Pg. 49 of Cooking Light: Low-Fat/Low-Calorie)

Thursday- Steak, Green Beans, and Homemade Bread
*Funny story (kind of)- We splurged and bought steaks for Valentine's Day. It was
cheaper to buy them in a large package, so Clay grilled 2 of the steaks and we froze
the other 2. I mistakenly took out the steaks to defrost on Monday thinking they
were pork chops. Oh well, it just means we get to have steak for dinner this week!

Friday- Date Night!! - Noah - pizza at Kid's Night Out

Clay and I - dinner at T.G.I. Fridays (using a BOGO coupon found here).

Saturday- Grilled Pork Chops, Grilled Veggies, and Homemade Bread

Sunday- Cornmeal Chicken (Pg. 151 of Cooking Light: Low-Fat/Low-Calorie), Mashed
Potatoes, and Carrots

Monday- Gumbo (from freezer), Rice, and Crackers