Meal Plan 2

It's officially fall here in Idaho!!! Today it's chilly, rainy and lazy out. So you'll notice I selected somewhat heavy meals this time. It's my favorite time of the year! Bring on the sweaters, leggings and an extra 5 pounds, baby! It's a little beef and protein heavy this time too.. just remember every recipe can be altered to fit your specific wants and needs! 

Comment and share how much you're spending on groceries each trip and how many trips you make in a month!! Send me some feedback on types of recipes you'd like to see on here! 

Dinners:

Sloppy Joes
http://southernbite.com/sloppy-joes/

Chicken Enchilada Rice Bake

http://www.jocooks.com/main-courses/poultry-main-courses/chicken-enchilada-rice-casserole/

Chicken Quesadilla

I just slice 1-2 chicken breasts very thinly, sauté with some olive oil, salt, pepper and cumin. Then assemble the tortillas with refried or black beans, chicken, cheese and whatever else you want to add. (salsa, rice, avocados, etc.) Toast in a skillet or in the oven until crisp. 

Homemade Pizza

Just pick up your favorite pizza crust, tomato sauce, mozzarella and the pizza toppings you prefer. Bake according to the crust and the cheese is bubbly. For a fun family night, pick up mini crusts and make a toppings bar for the kiddos to assemble their own! I like to put my tomato sauce in a sauce pan, add some seasonings and cook it down until it is between a sauce and paste just to concentrate the flavor a little more.

Grilled Cheeseburgers & Chicken
(2 meals, whenever we fire up the grill, I throw on as much as I can)

I have been craving a cheeseburger like you don't even know, lately. The greasier the better. Don't forget the steak fries!
The leftover BBQ chicken makes great leftovers on salads, in wraps or just reheated. Also try a BBQ chicken quesadilla if you want! Use BBQ sauce and sautéed onion instead of beans, mozzarella instead of cheddar and sliced up leftover chicken. 

Chili 

Feel free to use your favorite chili recipe! I'll share what I do, because it's quick, easy and basic. I just grab a can of kidney beans, pinto beans, Bush's chili beans, small can of tomato sauce, 1lb ground turkey, a small onion and chili seasoning. Cook the turkey and onions, add in the seasoning packet (we tried McCormick's BBQ chili seasoning packet and enjoy that as well for something a little different from time to time) throw in the drained kidney and pinto beans, the whole can of tomato sauce and the can of chili beans. You can heat it up on the stove or the crockpot. Serve with cheese, plain greek yogurt, green onion, crackers or Fritos! You can switch up the beans, opt for no meat, add diced tomatoes, do your thing! 

Fried Rice
http://therecipecritic.com/2013/08/easy-fried-rice/
*If you didn't use your whole bag of frozen shrimp, toss it in!

Ham & Swiss Sliders

http://www.kingshawaiian.com/recipes/hawaiian-ham--swiss-slider/
We never use all of the sauce for topping these sandwiches. You could easily cut it in half, in my opinion. 

Glazed Pork Chops
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2010/08/glazed-pork-chops/

Tater Tot Casserole

I hate cream of mushroom soup... cream of anything soup to be honest. But I do like a good tater tot casserole when it's cold and dreary outside. I use 2 lbs of lean ground beef, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 16oz of sour cream (or plain greek yogurt), 1 cup of cheese and 1 bag of frozen tater tots. Mix sour cream and soup together then layer it on top of the browned hamburger. Next, add cheese and top with the tots. Cover in foil. Bake at 350 in a greased 13x9" pan for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes. 

Frittata

(super easy and customizable.)
We like to add some sautéed spinach, ham or bacon, cheese & mushrooms. 

**This round of meals we are making a large batch of breakfast burritos for breakfast. An hour or so of work and dirty dishes but a hot and hearty breakfast in under 2 minutes all week long.

***With each meal, I like to serve a vegetable and a fruit. Lately I have struggled as my local grocery store is kind of terrible with their produce, but right now they're "renovating". 

*cue eye rolls*
-If you want me to share my sides with each meal as well, let me know!!! -

Groceries
Produce:

1 onion

1 green pepper

Garlic

Cilantro- optional

(Frittata add ins)

(Pizza toppings)

(Burger fixins) 

Center of the Store:

Ketchup

Brown sugar

Mustard

Applecider vinegar

Soy sauce

Sesame oil

2 enchilada sauce cans

Rice

Refried beans

1 can of corn (or frozen)

Black, pinto or refried beans (optional for quesadilla)

Pizza sauce

(Pizza toppings)

Favorite bbq chicken seasoning or marinade

Pinto beans

Kidney beans

Chili beans

Tomato sauce

Chili seasoning

Fritos

Hawaiian rolls

Onion powder

Mayo

Worcestershire

Dijon mustard

Poppy seeds

Cayenne

Garlic powder

Paprika

Olive oil

Cream of mushroom soup

Cold Stuff:

Cheddar cheese

Monterrey jack cheese

Mozzarella

Swiss cheese slices

Butter

Plain greek yogurt or sour cream

Freezer stuff:

Peas

Tater tots

Meat:

4lbs ground beef

1lb ground turkey

6 chicken breast

Eggs

Milk

Ham deli meat

Pork chops

(Pizza & Frittata toppings)

*Don't forget to grab stuff for breakfasts, lunches and snacks!
    However, I wouldn't worry too much about desserts or sweet things this round! Here's a link to 55+ ideas for what to do with all the leftover Halloween candy you'll inevitably have! http://www.somethingswanky.com/55-recipes-using-halloween-candy/

Enjoy!

Happy Shopping,

-The Cheap Mama

TGFA (Thank Goodness for Amazon)

I hope you found my first meal plan helpful and were successful by shopping on a budget! I had to make an extra trip to the store for more fruit, milk and Oreos.... you know, necessities.. ;)
Please send me any feedback on what things worked or did not work for you!
Anyway, check back next week for my 2nd meal plan!

In the mean time, I thought I would share some of the ways I save on household goods!

We live 30 minutes away from a Walmart and about an hour away from anything else... lame. So, we have Amazon Prime! Honestly, I'm not sure how we ever managed without it.

~Every month our dog food for the month is delivered to my front door. We buy expensive dog food because our dogs are spoiled but I save about $10 a bag through Amazon.
~Every 3 months, 36 "family rolls" of Cottonelle toilet paper arrives for less than $20! Sometimes as low as $15. They say the 36 family rolls equates 86 regular size rolls. I don't know about that but it does last us about 3 months or so.
Diapers are usually a couple dollars less from Amazon. I don't subscribe to them personally because I just order whatever happens to be most affordable at the time.
Clothes, replacement tooth brush heads (generic), toys, baby items, health items, beauty goods, gifts... You find it in my house- there's a 75% chance it came from Amazon.


Next, I need to try the new Amazon buttons! Have you seen those?? They seem incredible. Lets say you use Tide laundry detergent, so you order a Tide Amazon button and place it on your dryer. (the button is $4.99 initially) When you realize you're running low on laundry soap, you just PUSH the button and boom, it's ordered! You'll have tide on your door step in about 2 days if you have Prime. Crazy, right?
Even cooler, Amazon just started Amazon Fresh and in certain areas (for now) you can order your groceries and have them delivered in cooler bags for $15 a month. I may be on a budget but if Mountain Home ever enters the 21st century, you better believe my groceries would be hand delivered to my porch. Not dragging toddlers to the store? Here! Take my money!

In summary, Amazon runs my house.

Now is a great time to try Amazon Prime as the holidays approach. One year, I shipped a box of gifts from Idaho to Kansas for Christmas and it cost me nearly $50. FIFTY DOLLARS! You know how much I could have bought for $50? That's almost a year of toilet paper!
Anyway, lesson learned and since then I order gifts from Amazon and ship them directly to the person -for free! But they have to wrap their own gift and I don't get to make it cute and stuff... but I don't think people mind too much.

Well, now that I've sounded like a giant billboard for Amazon -not my intentions... it's a huge help to keep me on budget. I don't know about you but if I walk into a store for one thing, I usually walk out with about 5 more items I don't need.. That in addition to the convenience, video and music streaming and quick shipping- sanity saver!


What are your favorite Amazon deals??


-The Cheap Mama

Here we go! Meal plans!

My first 2 weeks worth of dinners!!! 

You'll notice a few things about me pretty quickly
1. I'm a sucker for Mexican
2. We eat a lot of beans (my toddler is picky all of a sudden....)
3. I don't plan 14 meals for 2 weeks, because we usually order pizza one night

4. I talk A LOT.



Meals

Dinners:
Roasted Vegetables and Sausage

            Our favorite is diced sweet potatoes, any green vegetable (give brussel sprouts a shot!)  and a Chicken Apple Sausage (we like Bruce Aidells brand) throw it all in a bowl, toss with olive oil,  salt, pepper and garlic powder, then place on a cookie sheet. Roast at 400* for about 40 minutes. Honestly though, I feel like you can roast just about anything and suddenly it’s kind of amazing. You can also use frozen vegetables just add about 10 minutes or so cooking time. (1 package sausages, 2 sweet potatoes, 1 bag of brussel sprouts or broccoli or whatever you like!)

Peanut Noodle Salad

            https://www.facebook.com/buzzfeedtasty/videos/1709366292649346/?business_id=10153286773125329
                        *see recipe below because this link is a video.

Taco Salad

            I brown about a pound of ground turkey and toss in a packet of low sodium taco seasoning. Throw in some black or pinto beans, fresh tomato, lettuce, crushed tortilla chips, corn, cheese and catalina dressing. Or whatever you enjoy in your tacos!  

Philly Cheesesteaks

            http://www.thelittlekitchen.net/cheesesteaks/print/
            I use roast beef instead of fancy, expensive cuts of meat! We’ve even used pre-packaged roast beef and it’s works just as well! I also like to use frozen peppers and onions because it’s easy, cheap and lasts longer than fresh stuff. I add a couple splashes of Worcestershire or soy sauce too.
                        *this is great mixed in with brown rice also.

Oven Fried Chicken

            http://life-in-the-lofthouse.com/oven-fried-chicken/

Spaghetti

            Easy. Just noodles and your favorite spaghetti sauce. I skip the meat on this but ground turkey is a great and inexpensive option if you prefer meat in yours. Just season the turkey a little since it's pretty bland. 

Breakfast Casserole

            http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/easy-cheesy-breakfast-casserole-recipe/

Burrito Bowls

            http://fitfoodiefinds.com/2013/03/copy-cat-cilantro-lime-brown-rice/
                        *I double the lime and cilantro for the rice. Once the rice is ready, I throw together either black or pinto beans, some sautéed peppers and onions, corn, salsa, lettuce, etc.

Jack o Lantern Grilled Cheese Tomato Soup

            http://diethood.com/jack-o-lantern-grilled-cheese-sandwiches/
                        *Papa Murphys also has jack o’lantern pizzas for $5 if you order ahead of time for Halloween!

Skirt Steak with Mushroom Gravy

            http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/shows-the-chew-recipes-grilled-skirt-steak-with-mushroom-gravy-michael-symon.html?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
                        *try this with German egg noodles –spetzle if you can find them!

Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers

            http://simplefood365.com/stuffed-peppers/

                        *I use all these ingredients but dice up the peppers and toss it all in a skillet because I ain't got time to stuff the actual peppers. Plus this takes like 20 minutes instead of 40! Also, you can choose to use fresh or frozen peppers. If you want the melty cheese on top, throw it in a casserole dish, top with cheese and broil until bubbly and brown. 

White Chicken Chili (crockpot)

            http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html?m=1
                        *for a lighter version, you could omit the cream cheese. But, I mean, it’s cream cheese...

Cajun Shrimp Pasta

            I just throw this together sometimes when we are craving something kind of spicy. While my fettuccine noodles are boiling, I melt about 2 tbsp of  butter in sauce pan. Once melted, I toss in 2 tbsp of flour and whisk it until combined. Add in about 1 tbsp of Cajun seasoning (depending how spicy you want it) and cook until fragrant. Slowly add in about a cup of milk while whisking to keep it from clumping. Drain the pasta but reserve about a quarter of a cup of pasta water and return back to the pan it was cooking in. Dump your Cajun sauce over the pasta and some of the reserved water. Sautee your shrimp in butter or olive oil, a little salt and pepper until the shrimp is warm throughout. Toss it all together. I like to add steamed broccoli to this as well.

**Add quesadillas, salad with leftover oven fried chicken and refried beans for easy alternate meals on lazy days if you’d like.

**I don't plan specific sides, just grab what looks good at the time. 

***Actually typing up what we do is kind of strange so I apologize if this is too lengthy or too vague! Please let me know if you have any questions or if you have any feedback for me.

Breakfasts:

We eat a LOT of eggs. I plan on muffins, oatmeal and pancakes as well. We used to prepare frozen breakfast burritos that were a big hit, but burned ourselves out a little bit. I do highly recommend what I like to call the “3-2-1-1 biscuits.” 3 cups of Bisquick, 2 cups of shredded cheese, 1 cup of milk and 1 pound of cooked breakfast sausage. Roll into balls and bake at 350* for about 20 minutes. These freeze and heat up great but you may have to add a few drops of water to them when using the microwave. 

Lunches:

We typically have a lot of leftovers, sandwiches and salads.

Snacks:

Energy bites, greek yogurt and peanut butter, fruit.

http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2016/07/9-energy-bites-recipes.html
            *here is the link to a variety of energy bites to choose from. We’ve tried a few of them and really enjoyed the PB& J and Almond Joy the best so far! The kiddos even love them!

Desserts: 

Either dirt cups or pumpkin shaped Rice Krispy Treats for Halloween.
Cookies because sometimes you just need a cookie.

Groceries
Below are the groceries for the dinners only. You may have a lot of the ingredients already, but I included them all just in case! Don't forget about sides :) 

Produce:

2 sweet potatoes

Brussel sprouts (or a veggie for roasting)

Ginger

Garlic

Carrots

Cucumber

1 red bell pepper

4 bell peppers (or just get the frozen ones)

Green onion

Cilantro bundle

2 tomatoes

Head of lettuce (shredding your own is easy and a better value)

2 mushroom containers

2 limes

2 white onions

salad

Center of the store:

Peanut butter

Soy sauce

Rice wine vinegar

Sesame oil

Siracha-optional

Brown sugar

Flour

Peanuts

Catalina dressing

1 package ranch mix

Beef stock

Corn starch

Olive oil

Worcestershire sauce

Dried oregano

Cajun seasoning

Seasoning salt

Taco seasoning

Cumin

Chili powder

Onion powder

Linguine noodles

Fettuccine noodles

Spaghetti noodles

Spaghetti sauce

Brown rice

1 can Rotel

2 cans of black or pinto beans

Tomato soup

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can corn (or frozen)

Tortilla chips

Tortillas

Hoagie rolls

Bread

Spaetzle noodles (optional)

Cold stuff:

Provolone slices

Block of cheese

Cream cheese

Plain greek yogurt (or sour cream)

Butter

Eggs

Milk

Frozen:

Peeled and cleaned shrimp (You can get 2 meals out of 1 bag, so we will use the other half next time)

Hashbrowns

Frozen peppers

Frozen chopped onion (optional, but you'll thank me later.) 

 Meat:

1lb breakfast sausage

1lb roast beef  (or whatever you like for philly cheesesteaks)

1lb skirt steak

1lb ground turkey

1lb ground beef

Just got home from our shopping trip! I got all we need for 2 weeks (breakfast, snacks, lunches and desserts of course) and went a little over budget... $166 was my total today but we did have to get laundry soap and coffee... so I'm calling it a 'win' anyway haha!

Good luck! Let me know how it goes!!!
Congratulations if you made it this far, this was a long p

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

Peanut noodle salad:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. Sriracha
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp. ginger /minced
3 cloves garlic /minced
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Box Whole Grain Linguine (or any pasta will do)
1 cup carrots /finely cut into matchsticks
2 cucumbers /shaved using vegetable peeler
1 red bell pepper /thinly sliced into strips
1 yellow bell pepper /thinly sliced into strips
1/2 cup green onion /sliced
1/4 cup cilantro /chopped
1/4 cup peanuts /chopped

Directions:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to instructions on the box. Drain and run cooked pasta under cold water to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, Sriracha, water, minced ginger, minced garlic, and brown sugar.

Combine pasta with sliced vegetables. Pour the dressing over the pasta and vegetables and mix well. Cover and chill for at least one hour before serving. Garnish with chopped cilantro and peanuts. Enjoy!

Meal Planning!

One of my most successful money (and sanity) saving tips is meal planning!

Once I started meal planning I easily cut my grocery bill in half!

For some clarity, I think meal 'planning' and meal 'prepping' are terms that get used interchangeably, when they are pretty different in reality.
Meal planning is creating a menu, grocery list and recipes to follow.
While meal prepping is actually preparing those meals ahead of time. 
Meal prepping definitely has its benefits! Busy week ahead? Meal prep! Having a hard time fixing or eating lunch? Meal prep! 

Now that we've got that out of the way, my goal with this blog is to encourage and assist in meal planning!

I am going to do the hard part for you!

Every two weeks I will share my meal plans, grocery list and links to every recipe I have planned! Just visit the blog, print, shop, save and cook! 
Typically, I try to plan a variety of options to avoid being heavy in one area or another. For example, I do a few chicken meals, beef meals, pork and vegetarian all while keeping a good balance of healthy and splurges here and there!
I set a goal to spend no more than $300 a month to feed my family of 4 (2 adults, a toddler that eats like a frat boy and a baby that's new to this whole food thing!)

In addition to sharing my meal plans, I hope to share tips and deals I utilize to keep me on budget while tossing in some mommy-centered fun!

I am excited to begin this journey and hope others find this page has helpful as I intend it to be! Check back soon for my first week of meal plans!

-Amanda
The Cheap Mama ;)