Meal Planning

For the past month or so, I've been meal planning every week.  I was getting tired of never knowing what I was going to make for dinner and then oftentimes, figuring it out late in the day.  This lack of planning was causing me to make multiple trips to the store during the week.  And also eating out way too much...So, I knew for a long time I wanted to meal plan but my domestic skills in the kitchen were not that great....Anywho, I've finally been consistently planning meals on Monday or Tuesday and then grocery shopping on Wednesday when Parker's at school...  So, these are my usual steps I go thru which takes me a total of maybe 30 minutes and it has made my week way smoother!  Since I've been meal planning I will never go back!

Step 1:  Look at what we have in the pantry/refrigerator to get some meal ideas.
Step 2:  Look at the meal list from the week before, was there anything I didn't make?  Usually, I will have one or two meals I didn't make.
Step 3:  Look at our schedule for the week, if we have something going on in the evening I will try to plan a quick/easy meal for that night.
Step 4:  Create a dinner for each night, and a lunch for two days (the weekend when Scottie's home)
              *Parker is a picky eater, so I try to keep in mind at least some side dishes I know he'll eat.  I got in a terrible habit of making a separate meal for Parker for dinner but started quickly realizing what a bad habit this was...So now we have a rule, you eat what we make for dinner or you don't eat.  I know for some of you this might seem harsh but it's what works for us.
              *I also plan one new meal I haven't made before:)
Step 5:  Create a grocery list with EVERYTHING I'm going to need.

Step 6:  Make my official menu, this hangs on our fridge:)

****Now I don't follow this to a T, I almost always change it up but at least I have idea's and I know I have exactly what I need to make whichever dinner I end up fixing:)

**I've also been trying to learn about "freezer meals" I actually just did my first freezer meal but we have yet to eat it...Lasagna, I've read this is a great meal to freeze, I'll let you know how it turns out:)
**I also read that you should never throw out leftover veggies you should stick them in a freezer bag and throw them in the freezer, apparently the leftover veggies are perfect for soups:)  Just a little tip!

Have a great weekend!

Cheers,
Ashley

Clueless Couponing...

I am so intrigued by people and their couponing skills.....Love my mom and dad but neither household were couponers at least not while I was around.  I never grew up watching anyone clip coupons.  But ever since I've been running my own household for the last few years I've started seeing our grocery bill grow and grow.  We have a large budget for groceries in our house but I've started to realize I could do a much better job at cutting our grocery bill down significantly by just watching sales, stocking up, clipping, and printing various coupons...I got a little organizer and made tabs for various stores and items.  I know it seems crazy but I actually enjoy doing this, I love shopping and I love a good deal...So, tonight I put my very new NEW couponing skills to use.....(You people who coupon don't make fun of me, I'm new at this) but to me this is an awesome deal! Tonight's Target Trip:

4 boxes of pasta:  2.28 (1.00 off)

Wanchai orange chicken: 4.99 (1.50 off)

Maxwell Coffee 270 cups:  $6.79 (1.00 off)

Lunch Bags: 1.89

Degree deodorant:  .97 (1.00 off)

Green Works (4 items): 6.47 (1.00 off & 1 free item: worth 2.50)

Redcard Savings:  -1.19

Free $10 gift card for transferring a prescription:  -$10

Total out of pocket:  $12.82:)   

Cheers,

Ashley