5/11 thru 5/17 #mealplanning and stocking up with fresh, #organic produce #motherhood

Brand new to Meal Planning?

Start by reading all about Meal Planning (Link at the top) in order to familiarize yourself with the steps! There, you will find a link to a detailed example of my own weekly meal planning where I walk you through step-by-step.
__________________________________________________________________________

The first thing I do each week is look back over the week to see if we did indeed eat everything on my meal plan (I write down each night's meal on our family calendar) and adjust my inventory, reducing it by what we ate and increasing it by anything I purchased and/or made-ahead. 99% of the time if a meal that was planned for wasn't eaten it's automatically added to the next week's plan.

Inventory
4 portions ground turkey breast
2 portions ground beef
4 portions ground pork
2 portions pork tenderloin
5 portions ground brisket 
10 portions boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 portions Brats
1 portion King crab legs
1 portions made-ahead enchiladas Verde
1 portions made-ahead meatloaf
1 portions made-ahead lasagna

"Portions" for my family typically mean 1/2lb to 3/4lb of meat and it feeds all four of us at one meal. To keep my freezers organized and make things easier on myself, I divide up my bulk purchases into portions and label everything before freezing it. For example: meatloaf requires 1lb of ground beef where Goulash only requires 1/2lb so, I package 1lb of ground beef and write "meatloaf" on the outside of the bag to ensure I don't accidentally thaw out an entire pound of meat for a recipe where I only need half. You could also write "1lb" on the bag. 

Next, I shop my pantry, freezer and fridge for ingredients to come up with some meals off our Master Meal List. As I mentioned above, I write down each night's meal on our calendar so, I look at it first to sort of rule out meals we've recently eaten to cut down on monotony. Then, I read the weekly ad and look through the coupons and Just4U deals from Safeway via the iPhone app to see what is on sale that might complement and/or substitute for what I came up with. I also jot down the price of things I plan to buy that I can frequently find cheaper at my local farmer's market (Dan's) or at Trader Joe's. On shopping day, I stop at Dan's first and buy whatever is cheaper than Safeway; next, I stop at Trader Joe's; and then, I purchase everything left on my list at Safeway. Lastly, I determine how I can stretch ingredients, specifically fresh produce and expensive items over enough meals to use them up to prevent waste. 

Weekly Meal Plan
Smoked brisket cheeseburgers with grilled sweet potato wedges
David picked up a freshly ground 6lb brisket that he magically smoked into THE best cheeseburgers either of us have ever had. It's one of our favorite meals. I divided up the remaining meat and froze it. The brisket was $6.99/lb. We also paid $4 for gourmet burgers buns from Feel Good Bakery and $1.85 for an organic heirloom tomato. I had cheddar cheese and pickles on hand. I also paid $0.90 for 2 large sweet potatoes that we will parboil, slice, season and then grill. YUM!

Crab boil with corn and red new potatoes
A Southern, Coastal favorite that we can now easily afford with King crab legs going for only $6.99/lb! I bought 1lb plus organic new potatoes ($2.99), and fresh local corn (3@$1). It will be boiled in those famous Louisiana spices then, drained out on brown paper bags for us to dig into with our hands. 

Leftovers

Turkey goulash and a salad with herb vinaigrette
Honestly, my suddenly very picky 6 year old forced me to make this meal this week. It's not that we don't like it, it's not difficult nor expensive to make, it's just not something we chose because our weather is SO HOT lately and a steaming hot bowl of hearty pasta is just not at the top of the list. However, Emily is no longer eating a few of her long-time favorite meals and it's left me with not many choices. She loves goulash so, I'm making a double batch to have for dinner and for her to have leftover 1-2 more times later in the week. The box of dried macaroni was $0.50 and the sour cream was $1.49. I have all the other ingredients on hand including organic Romaine lettuce leftover from last week to combine with dried cranberries, carrots, walnuts, and croutons for a simple side salad. 

Grilled chicken sandwiches with chips
I stocked up on boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they were on sale for $1.99/lb. I bought as much as my freezer could hold, which is 10 portions (20 breasts). We will grill two extra this weekend and slap them on the other 2 gourmet burger buns we'll have leftover for an easy chicken sandwich. Chips were on sale (Buy 2 Get 2 Free) so, we will eat them with our sandwiches. Outside. At night, when it's cooler outside. :)

Gnocchi and grilled mushrooms with vodka cream sauce and garlic bread
After seeing a restaurant commercial, David confessed that he's never had Gnocchi and didn't even know what it was. After I guffawed, I put it on my grocery list because Trader Joe's had it pre-made for only $2.99. I also picked up an 8oz package of cremini mushrooms at Trader Joe's for $2 and a jar of their vodka cream sauce to smother it all in. Yum. I have a loaf of garlic bread in the freezer that I'll serve with it. Easy.

Mother's Day dinner out

What did I purchase this week?

I spent just under $150 this week and got so much food to stock my pantry and freezer with! I had to purchase bottled water because Emily has a field trip this week and they are requiring her entire lunch be disposable. We were also low on cheese nips, popcorn snacks, chicken marinade and Greek yogurt (Emily's lunches) so, I purchased those items as well. Organic golden apples were only $2.19/lb and I grabbed deliciously sweet mangos 3@$1 at Dan's. I'm making zucchini bread for the kids this week so I grabbed a few for only $0.49/lb and David and I are having Mojito's this week so, I purchased limes 6@$1.

The best Just4U deals this week included:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, $1.99/lb
• Ground turkey breast, $5.99 each
• Luna bars, $0.88 each
• FREE 16oz Lucerne American cheese when you buy 2 cans of Grand's biscuits ($2 each)
• Lay's potato chips, Buy 2 Get 2 FREE
• Organic strawberries, $2/lb
• Open Nature English muffins, Buy 1 Get 1 Free
• Blackberries, $2 for 16oz

Emily built a nest #firstgrade #kids

This is my first grader.

She is so many things, too many to list, but foremost she is creative when left to play.

With the weather warming up around here and me not remembering to reset our sprinkler system, our backyard grass got a little... err, crispy in spots. Emily found one of these crispy patches and asked if she could pick it. She's normally not allowed to pull up the grass.

I said "sure" assuming she would just throwing it around like confetti.

Chasing after Nolan that day, I lost track of Emily for about an hour until I saw her from the play room window under our lemon tree.

When I asked what she was doing (there are thorns and ants and other unpleasantries and it's generally just not a place to hang out) she cried out "I'm putting my nest in the tree, for the hummingbirds to have their babies this Spring".

With a "what the...?!?" I carried Nolan outside to have a look at this nest she was talking about.

And I was blown away. She had twisted and curled and tied and molded that crispy grass into a little cup-shaped nest. And she put it on a little branch with great pride. And she called out to the swarms of hummingbirds we have in our neighborhood to come visit her nest. And she waited. She checked on it all day, for several days, anxiously waiting a mama hummingbird to make it her home for her eggs.

She's gotten busy and come down with strep since then so, it's possible she's forgotten the nest but I can tell you it's still out there. Empty. For now.

Nolan and his trucks: watching the wheels turn #tuesdaytoddlertales #motherhood #kids

This is my baby. He's almost two.

And he loves to watch the wheels turn on his trucks!

Every single day.

He rolls his trucks, cars, and trains along the window sills, the table top, his train table, and the ottoman in the living room. He rolls them on walls, on cabinet fronts, on top of stray books, and on you if you are lying still!

He will squat down next to his push bike, his shopping cart, his rocking big wheels, his wagon, and his push mower to watch the wheels turn as he pushes each one outside.

And lately, we've found him like this. Laying down, face close to the wheels, watching them turn when he rolls them along the carpet.

He's fascinated! And we are, too!

4/27 thru 5/3 #mealplanning with bronchitis. I probably should've worn a mask to Safeway. #cooking #motherhood #kids

Brand new to Meal Planning?

Start by reading all about Meal Planning (Link at the top, or just click here) in order to familiarize yourself with the steps! There, you will find a link to a detailed example of my own weekly meal planning where I walk you through step-by-step.
__________________________________________________________________________

The first thing I do each week is look back over the week to see if we did indeed eat everything on my meal plan (I write down each night's meal on our family calendar) and adjust my inventory, reducing it by what we ate and increasing it by anything I purchased and/or made-ahead. 99% of the time if a meal that was planned for wasn't eaten it's automatically added to the next week's plan.

Inventory
2 portions ground turkey breast
4 portions ground beef
4 portions ground pork
3 portions pork tenderloin
10 portions boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 portions chicken drumsticks
1 portion Salmon
5 portions Brats
1 portions made-ahead enchiladas Verde
1 portions made-ahead meatloaf
1 portions made-ahead lasagna

"Portions" for my family typically mean 1/2lb to 3/4lb of meat and it feeds all four of us at one meal. To keep my freezers organized and make things easier on myself, I divide up my bulk purchases into portions and label everything before freezing it. For example: meatloaf requires 1lb of ground beef where Goulash only requires 1/2lb so, I package 1lb of ground beef and write "meatloaf" on the outside of the bag to ensure I don't accidentally thaw out an entire pound of meat for a recipe where I only need half. You could also write "1lb" on the bag.

Next, I shop my pantry, freezer and fridge for ingredients to come up with some meals off our Master Meal List. As I mentioned above, I write down each night's meal on our calendar so, I look at it first to sort of rule out meals we've recently eaten to cut down on monotony. Then, I read the weekly ad and look through the coupons and Just4U deals from Safeway via the iPhone app to see what is on sale that might complement and/or substitute for what I came up with. Lastly, I determine how I can stretch ingredients, specifically fresh produce and expensive items over enough meals to use them up to prevent waste.

Weekly Meal Plan
I came down with bronchitis on Thursday night and Emily ended up with strep throat on Saturday so, with all the illness, I knew this coming week's menu had to be simple, easy, and include a whole lot of leftovers so as to not overwhelm David. Yes, I still did the meal planning AND shopping... who else is going to do it?!? I probably should have ordered it all online and had it delivered but I'm too much of a control freak to trust someone else to pick out my produce. I didn't die and it's done now.

Grilled chicken Ceasar salad
4lb bags of frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts were on sale for only $1.89/lb (I bought 2!) so I bought them and had David grill a whole bag (9 breasts) over the weekend to use not only in his lunch for the week, but for dinners through the week including this one. I have all the ingredients on hand for the dressing except anchovy paste ($2.99), and organic Romaine hearts (on sale $1.99).

Leftovers x3
Soup, sandwiches, grilled chicken with vegetables, chicken sandwiches, chicken wraps... whatever David can make while I'm laid up in bed and he's home with both kids.

Pad Thai
You can make this meal with anything, even without meat! I saw ground pork on a "BOGO" (buy one get one free) sale so I bought it ($4.99), plus the brown rice noodles I love ($2.99), and green onions ($0.99). I have cilantro in my garden (yippee!) and all the ingredients for the sauce plus the roasted peanut topping on hand. I'll use half the package of pork in this meal and use the other half in tacos later in the week.

Brats with oven-baked french fries
A super easy week night meal David can make, again if I'm still ill. Just4U was offering 2lbs of their brats for only $5 so I purchased a pack along with some french hoagie rolls ($1.99) and will serve them up with oven-baked french fries I have in my freezer. 

Crispy tacos with chips and queso
Just4U had 15ct taco shells for only $1.49 (limit 2) so I stocked up and added this meal to this week's menu. I'll use up the other half of the package of ground pork to brown with onion I have leftover from last week and garlic I have on hand. I'll shred up the remaining Romaine lettuce to serve on top along with some shredded cheese, taco sauce, and organic cherry tomatoes (all things I have on hand). Just4U was offering Tostito's chips "BOGO" plus a free jar of Tostito's salsa and Velveeta was on sale for only $5 so, I purchased the chips, salsa and cheese as well as 2 jars of Rotel (on sale $0.99) and will make some skillet queso to serve with my tacos.

What did I purchase this week?

 

Because I'm so sick and Emily's sick and David is barely treading water trying to play SuperDad to us all, I raced over to Safeway to get everything we needed this week, regardless of if I could've gotten it cheaper somewhere else. Some times easy is best!

I purchased Kraft EasyMac (on sale $0.88) and Organic chocolate milk (my sick daughter's request) for $3.49 -yikes- , soup from the Safeway deli (2@$4, my request), and butter for $3.99 -ugh- because I ran out. I also purchased corn and flour tortillas and Toaster Strudel because we were out.

The best deals included:

• whole pork tenderloin, $1.99/lb
• Farmer John's bacon, BOGO
• O Organic flaxseed waffles, 2@$5
• Tillamook yogurt, BOGO plus $0.55 off every 3 (I bought 12)
• FREE Dave's gourmet butternut squash sauce
• FREE Barilla marinara sauce
• FREE Tostito's salsa when you buy 2 Tostito's tortilla chips (which were 2@$5)
• Dorito's, BOGO
• Strawberries, 2@$3
• Blackberries, $1.99 

Is it a train, a truck, a plane...?!? #tuesdaytoddlertales #motherhood #kids

Nolan's finally starting to verbalize more, more often, and more clearly.

He points to things and calls them by their names like "dadda", "momma", "kitty", "hat", "bubble", "ball", and "shoe". He may know what other objects are but he doesn't call them by their names - he doesn't say anything about much else, really.

Except trucks, trains, planes, tractors, buses, and all construction equipment. He calls all these things "cat". Or something that sounds like "cat".

He LOVE LOVE LOVES them all and points them out daily! He calls out "cat", excitedly each time we see one and even tries to run after them if he can. He repeats "cat", "cat", "cat" until you acknowledge that you see it, too.

We continue to correct him with their actual names so he'll eventually learn them but for now, we know to look for a truck, a train, a plane, a tractor, a bus or a dump truck anytime we hear "cat" coming from him.  

4/20-4/26 #mealplanning during #earthweek - busy, busy, busy with activities but there's always time to plan! #cooking #motherhood #kids

Brand new to Meal Planning?

Start by reading all about Meal Planning (Link at the top, or just click here) in order to familiarize yourself with the steps! There, you will find a link to a detailed example of my own weekly meal planning where I walk you through step-by-step.
__________________________________________________________________________

The first thing I do each week is look back over the week to see if we did indeed eat everything on my meal plan (I write down each night's meal on our family calendar) and adjust my inventory, reducing it by what we ate and increasing it by anything I purchased and/or made-ahead. 99% of the time if a meal that was planned for wasn't eaten it's automatically added to the next week's plan.

Inventory
3 portions ground turkey breast
4 portions ground beef
7 portions boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 portions chicken drumsticks
1 portion Salmon
1 portion Italian sausage
1 portions made-ahead enchiladas Verde
1 portions made-ahead meatloaf
1 portions made-ahead lasagna

"Portions" for my family typically mean 1/2lb to 3/4lb of meat and it feeds all four of us at one meal. To keep my freezers organized and make things easier on myself, I divide up my bulk purchases into portions and label everything before freezing it. For example: meatloaf requires 1lb of ground beef where Goulash only requires 1/2lb so, I package 1lb of ground beef and write "meatloaf" on the outside of the bag to ensure I don't accidentally thaw out an entire pound of meat for a recipe where I only need half. You could also write "1lb" on the bag.

Next, I shop my pantry, freezer and fridge for ingredients to come up with some meals off our Master Meal List. As I mentioned above, I write down each night's meal on our calendar so, I look at it first to sort of rule out meals we've recently eaten to cut down on monotony. Then, I read the weekly ad and look through the coupons and Just4U deals from Safeway via the iPhone app to see what is on sale that might complement and/or substitute for what I came up with. Lastly, I determine how I can stretch ingredients, specifically fresh produce and expensive items over enough meals to use them up to prevent waste.

Weekly Meal Plan
Smoked baby-back ribs, grilled zucchini, and sweet potato wedges
Baby back pork ribs were on sale ($2.99) and are perfect to let smoke on the BBQ pit for 3 hours while we garden and let the kids run around in the sprinkler. It was so hot this weekend here in the Bay Area! I'm keeping the entire meal outside by throwing zucchini ($0.99/lb) - halved, oiled, and seasoned - and sweet potatoes ($1.29/lb) - quartered, oiled, and sprinkled with spices and brown sugar - on the grill the last 45 minutes of cooking time.

Spinach and sausage calzones with warmed marinara sauce
I'll be making these again this week at David's request. They couldn't be simpler and are oh, so yummy! I purchased garlic and herb fresh pizza dough ($1.49 at Trader Joe's), and Organic baby spinach ($2.99) that I'll cook with the Italian sausage I have in my freezer. I have jarred Organic marinara sauce in my pantry.

Grilled chicken over mashed garlicky cauliflower and a salad with herb vinaigrette
There's nothing like a juicy, marinated, smoked chicken breast! We haven't had them in a while eventhough David makes them every weekend for our lunches throughout the week so, here they are this week! I'll roast a head of cauliflower ($1.79 at Trader Joe's) with some garlic, onion ($0.65), thyme and oregano (both from my garden) before mashing them up with milk and butter. They are better than mashed potatoes! I'll also serve a simple salad of organic red leaf lettuce ($1.99) with dried cranberries and croutons (I have on hand) with my home-made herb vinaigrette, which I only had to purchase Balsamic vinegar for ($8.99).

Leftovers

Earth Day Movie Night & Pizza Party

Turkey crispy tacos 
I only had to purchase organic cherry tomatoes for this meal as I have all the ingredients (half a package of ground turkey, taco shells, taco sauce, and shredded cheese) on hand. I will use up the rest of the organic red leaf lettuce remaining from salads and the remaining onion in this meal. 

Sloppy Joe's and oven-baked french fries 
This meal cost me nothing this week as I have all the ingredients (the other half package of the turkey, Manwich sauce, buns, frozen fries) on hand. To save time, when I brown the ground turkey with the onion and garlic for my crispy tacos meal, I'll split it in half to use in that meal and this one so that I don't have to cook the same thing twice.

What did I purchase this week?

 

*~* Excuse the very hungry little boy in the photo!*~*  :)

 

I spent $131.86 total this week - so many amazing deals!

 

Besides the organic fat-free milk, deli ham & cheese, bread, and fresh produce I buy every week for all our meals and snacks, I had to purchase a few things I was out of including:

• buttermilk, $0.99
• Balsamic vinegar, $8.99
• canned corn, $1.00
• canned, seasoned black beans, $0.89
• Gluten-free all purpose baking mix, $4.99
• enchilada sauce, $1.99
• organic mini peanut butter crackers, $2.99
• frozen Steamers (peas and broccoli), Buy 1 Get 1 Free

A few items I purchased this week that aren't normally on my list include:

• kale, parsley, beets, green apples, ginger for juicing in the morning
• sprouted flaxseed bread, bulger and quinoa for healthier lunches during the week

4/13 thru 4/19 #mealplanning is best when well-thought and well-planned. That means shopping at two stores some times and always knowing what's the "best" price for an item you need! #motherhood #cooking #kids

Brand new to Meal Planning?

Start by reading all about Meal Planning (Link at the top, or just click here) in order to familiarize yourself with the steps! There, you will find a link to a detailed example of my own weekly meal planning where I walk you through step-by-step.
__________________________________________________________________________

The first thing I do each week is look back over the week to see if we did indeed eat everything on my meal plan (I write down each night's meal on our family calendar) and adjust my inventory, reducing it by what we ate and increasing it by anything I purchased and/or made-ahead. 99% of the time if a meal that was planned for wasn't eaten it's automatically added to the next week's plan.

Inventory
4 portions ground turkey breast
2 portions ground beef
8 portions boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 portions chicken drumsticks
1 portion Salmon
1 portions made-ahead enchiladas Verde
2 portions made-ahead meatloaf
1 portions made-ahead lasagna

"Portions" for my family typically mean 1/2lb to 3/4lb of meat and it feeds all four of us at one meal. To keep my freezers organized and make things easier on myself, I divide up my bulk purchases into portions and label everything before freezing it. For example: meatloaf requires 1lb of ground beef where Goulash only requires 1/2lb so, I package 1lb of ground beef and write "meatloaf" on the outside of the bag to ensure I don't accidentally thaw out an entire pound of meat for a recipe where I only need half. You could also write "1lb" on the bag.

Next, I shop my pantry, freezer and fridge for ingredients to come up with some meals off our Master Meal List. As I mentioned above, I write down each night's meal on our calendar so, I look at it first to sort of rule out meals we've recently eaten to cut down on monotony. Then, I read the weekly ad and look through the coupons and Just4U deals from Safeway via the iPhone app to see what is on sale that might complement and/or substitute for what I came up with. Lastly, I determine how I can stretch ingredients, specifically fresh produce and expensive items over enough meals to use them up to prevent waste.

Weekly Meal Plan
Buttermilk "fried" chicken with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli
I have buttermilk left from Easter (that's not expired) and I thought of this meal. I had to purchase corn flakes ($2), Organic Yukon Gold potatoes (Trader Joe's 3lb bag $3.99), and broccoli crowns ($0.99/lb). This meal is a favorite, I can promise you there won't be any leftovers!

Tequila-soaked grilled shrimp tacos with chips and guacamole
With warmer weather hanging around here, all I can think about is being outside. Grilling. And eating more summery foods, like shrimp tacos. OMG, these are to die for. We make them often when we can get shrimp cheap (summer time)! Jumbo shrimp were only $6.99/lb so I bought a pound plus an orange ($0.55) and 2 limes ($0.50) for the marinade. I also needed corn tortillas ($1.99), cilantro ($0.49), cherry tomatoes ($3.99), and avocados ($2.99 for 4). I have all the other ingredients for the tacos and the guacamole on hand.


Family Night Out
Meatloaf with balsamic potatoes and green beans
We didn't eat this last week (we had leftovers/cereal) so it's on the menu again this week. I'm using a pre-made meatloaf from my freezer stash for a delicious, quick weeknight meal. I'll serve it with balsamic potato salad, which I only had to buy green onion ($0.99- I only need half) and steamed green beans ($0.38).

Lettuce wraps
An easy, quick, cool meal for a warm and busy night! I have ground turkey and all the ingredients for the sauces so I just had to purchase mushrooms ($1.49 -I'll only use half in this meal), onion ($0.79/lb- I only need about 1/4 of it), green onion ($0.99- I'll use the other half from the balsamic potato salad), and Iceburg lettuce ($0.99).
  
Stout sausage and cheese
I found a recipe for a mac 'n cheese that called for Italian sausage ($2.49), Velveeta ($6.99), Guiness beer ($1.29), and rotini pasta ($1.99), plus a few other ingredients that I have on hand or will use up what I purchased and don't need in other recipes this week (like yellow onion and mushrooms) and I just had to try it out. If it's a keeper I'll post it for y'all to try in your own kitchens!

Buffalo chicken strip sandwiches and oven-baked tator tots
We didn't eat this last week (we had a potluck dinner I forgot about) so it's on the menu again this week. I'll oven-fry boneless, skinless chicken breast strips and then, coat them in Frank's Buffalo wing sauce that I have on hand. I'll serve them on hoagie rolls (in my freezer) with blue cheese dressing that I have on hand. Oven-baked tator tots (in my freezer) will be great to go along side them.  

What did I purchase this week?

I always shop at Trader Joe's on Thursdays while Emily is at gymnastics. After about 5 trips, I know exactly what everything costs that I like to purchase there. That's one of the many fabulous things about Trader Joe's: everything is always the same price. And it's a low one!

I spent $57.61. I was out of corn flakes, peanut butter crackers, coconut oil, ground chili paste, Dijon mustard, and cheddar cheese. For meals, snacks, and lunches this week I had to purchase one Guiness beer, organic brown rice rotini pasta ($1.99), mushrooms ($1.49), avocados (4pk for $1.99), sweet onion ($0.79/lb), bananas ($0.19/ea), Organic celery ($1.99), green onion ($0.99), organic cherry tomatoes (18oz $3.99), blackberries (18oz $3.99), and organic Yukon gold potatoes (3lb bag $3.99). Emily wanted chocolate milk and I wanted a bottle of their Mendocino Cab so I splurged a bit. :)

 

Then, on Friday I shopped at Safeway and spent $79.04. Grapes ($1.88/lb), green beans ($0.49/lb), broccoli crowns ($0.99/lb), and Iceburg lettuce ($0.99/ea) was cheaper than at Trader Joe's. I knew that because I looked up the prices on Safeway's Just4U mobile app and wrote them down. Then, while at Trader Joe's, I compared prices. Easy!

Things we were out of that I needed for the week's breakfasts, lunches, and snacks included:

• frozen Organic flaxseed waffles ($2.99)
• Organic fat-free milk ($3.99)
• Yogurt cups ($2.59 6pk)
• Frito's chips (BOGO!)
• English muffins (3@$5)
• Organic golden apples ($2.19/lb)
• Deli ham and deli turkey ($5/lb each)
• Tortillas ($1.99)
• French bread (2@$4)
• Graham crackers ($1.49)
• Italian sausage ($2.49 when you buy 2 or more)
• Jumbo shrimp ($6.99/lb)

I purchased ground turkey (BOGO!) as I needed one whole package for a potluck meal over the weekend. I also purchased bean dip (on sale $1.49), frozen yogurt (Just4U deal $2.99), and a roll of cinnamon rolls (Just4U deal $2.99) at Emily's request.

A boy and his sandbox #wordlesswednesday #motherhood #kids #toddlers

4/6 through 4/12 #mealplanning for our first week back to school after #springbreak ! #motherhood #kids

Brand new to Meal Planning?

Start by reading all about Meal Planning (Link at the top, or just click here) in order to familiarize yourself with the steps! There, you will find a link to a detailed example of my own weekly meal planning where I walk you through step-by-step.
__________________________________________________________________________

The first thing I do each week is look back over the week to see if we did indeed eat everything on my meal plan (I write down each night's meal on our family calendar) and adjust my inventory, reducing it by what we ate and increasing it by anything I purchased and/or made-ahead. 99% of the time if a meal that was planned for wasn't eaten it's automatically added to the next week's plan.

Inventory
3 portions ground turkey breast
2 portions ground beef
10 portions boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 portions chicken drumsticks
1 portion Salmon
1 portion made-ahead spicy shredded chicken
1 portions made-ahead enchiladas Verde
2 portions made-ahead meatloaf
1 portions made-ahead lasagna

"Portions" for my family typically mean 1/2lb to 3/4lb of meat and it feeds all four of us at one meal. To keep my freezers organized and make things easier on myself, I divide up my bulk purchases into portions and label everything before freezing it. For example: meatloaf requires 1lb of ground beef where Goulash only requires 1/2lb so, I package 1lb of ground beef and write "meatloaf" on the outside of the bag to ensure I don't accidentally thaw out an entire pound of meat for a recipe where I only need half. You could also write "1lb" on the bag.

Next, I shop my pantry, freezer and fridge for ingredients to come up with some meals off our Master Meal List. As I mentioned above, I write down each night's meal on our calendar so, I look at it first to sort of rule out meals we've recently eaten to cut down on monotony. Then, I read the weekly ad and look through the coupons and Just4U deals from Safeway via the iPhone app to see what is on sale that might complement and/or substitute for what I came up with. Lastly, I determine how I can stretch ingredients, specifically fresh produce and expensive items over enough meals to use them up to prevent waste.

Weekly Meal Plan
Bacon corn chowder with grilled shrimp and a salad with herb vinaigrette
As I was flipping through an issue of Cooking Light magazine that I had several recipes flagged in, I came across two that I had marked: a Squash and Corn chowder and a Bacon and Corn chowder with grilled shrimp. I decided to combine the two and once I make it and determine it worthy, I'll post it here on my blog for y'all to test in your own kitchens! I needed 4 Cups corn, it was on sale $1.49, yellow onion (Organic at Trader Joe's was only $0.49), half & half (which I purchase often for french toast anyway at $3.49), and the shrimp (on sale 2lbs for $8.99 at Safeway). I had all other ingredients on hand. I have leftover Organic Romaine hearts that I'll serve as a side salad.

Buffalo chicken strip sandwiches and oven-baked tator tots
Buffalo chicken wings are a favorite of ours and it's a shame our local Wingstop has such terrible service as it forces me to make them here at home. I digress. I'll oven-fry boneless, skinless chicken breast strips and then, coat them in Frank's Buffalo wing sauce that I have on hand. I'll serve them on hoagie rolls (in my freezer) with blue cheese dressing that I purchased today ($3.99). Oven-baked tator tots (in my freezer) will be great to go along side them. I'll put lettuce and tomato on mine to use up what I have leftover from last week.

Leftovers

Turkey tacos and chips with queso
This meal cost me nothing this week as I have taco shells, taco sauce, shredded cheese and lettuce and tomato, chips and all the ingredients for skillet queso on hand. 

BBQ chicken and pineapple pizza
I'll use just one of the chicken breasts David grills every weekend chopped up for this meal. I have BBQ sauce, leftover green onion, fresh pineapple (from last week's purchase!), shredded Cheddar-Jack cheese, and bacon on hand. All I had to purchase was pizza dough ($0.99). 

Summer pasta Bolognese with garlic bread
Dan's produce stand had gorgeous zucchini ($0.49/lb) and I had every other ingredient for this meal on hand so, it was added to the menu! I purchased a loaf of garlic bread ($1.49) to serve with it.

Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and a salad with herb vinaigrette
I'm using a pre-made meatloaf from my freezer stash for a delicious, quick weeknight meal. I'll serve it with mashed potatoes (2lb bag of Organic Yukon gold potatoes was only $2.99 at Safeway!) and the last Organic Romaine heart in a side salad. 

What did I purchase this week?

 

 I spent $8.66 at Dan's produce stand on a flat (8 - 1lb packages) of Organic strawberries ($4.00), 3lbs of zucchini & squash, and a sweet yellow onion. Then, I spent $124.90 at Safeway for our usual, weekly milk, yogurt, and fresh produce for the week's meals as well as:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, $2.49/lb
• Whole wheat flower, $5.49
• Safeway brand salsa, on sale $1.99 plus a $0.50 coupon from Just4U
• Grapes on sale $1.99/lb plus a $0.25 off per pound coupon from Just4U
• Blink tears for contacts, on sale $5.49 plus $1.00 off coupon from Just4U
• Organic raspberries, Buy 1 Get 1 Free
• Organic blackberries, Buy 1 Get 1 Free
• Poptarts 12ct., on sale $1.49
• Nutrigrain bars, on sale $1.99 plus $1.00 off coupon from Just4U
• Safeway garlic bread, on sale $0.99
• Deli sliced honey ham, $5/lb
• Doritos, on sale $1.88, limit 1
• Safeway brand graham crackers, on sale $1.49

I also needed ginger, dark cocoa powder, and canned peaches for a few meals.

Most people go on #vacation for #springbreak - we built an outdoor chalkboard! #motherhood #kids

Have you seen all the cute DIY on Pinterest regarding making your own chalkboard?

There's even colored paints now! Wow.

I have been dying to make an outdoor chalkboard for the kids for months now and decided to make it happen over Spring Break. Gram was in town and David was off work and so, we set off to our local hardware store for materials to bring our ideas to fruition.

After reading through all the DIY tutorials about making it yourself, I was really frustrated and uninterested, to be honest so, we went with simple. And pre-made!

We purchased chalkboards (2 at $9 each) that were 2' x 4' and mounted them side by side on 1"x2"x8' (2 at $1.85 each) studs so that we ended up with a 2' tall 8' long chalkboard. With the wood screws, an eraser and a box of white "Teacher chalk" as Emily calls it, the entire project was just under $25.

We mounted the 1"x2" studs to the fence posts (we leveled them, measured for screw position and David pre-drilled some pilot holes first) then, attached the chalkboards to the studs (we measured for screw position and David pre-drilled pilot holes in the chalkboards as well). 

It turned out great, no?

It's exactly 4' off the ground, perfect height for first graders.

We didn't do any weather-proofing but are confident it will last for years to come as we recently just trashed her Ikea easel that had a chalkboard on one side. It was 6 years old and sat outside every day of those 6 years.

Tuesday Toddler Tales - Nolan and the starfish #tuesdaytoddlertales #motherhood #toddler #kids

We purchased a Family membership to The Aquarium of the Bay again this year and took Nolan for the first time a few weeks ago.

He was absolutely mesmerized by all the brightly colored fish, jellies, and sharks! He sat very still in his stroller, staring quietly as we walked past each exhibit. Once we rode the elevator down stairs to go through the tunnels, we let him out to walk around. He could see best with David holding him and actually reached over to try and touch the fish, though only managed to tap the glass.

His favorite place in the aquarium was the third floor. It had all the lights on, for one thing, and was more wide open so he could explore all the exhibits. His favorite exhibit was the tide pool.

He got really excited when the rush of water would come down like a waterfall. Must have been the sound and all the white froth. He enjoyed climbing up and jumping off the little step stool and finally got curious about what was IN the tide pool. With David's help, he leaned over and put his hand in the water and touched an anemone. He touched it a few times and seemed to really like it.

Emily loved it, of course! This aquarium is her favorite family outing because she loves to touch the sting rays and bat rays.

3/30 thru 4/5 #mealplanning for #Easter and a visit from Gram! #cooking #motherhood #kids

Brand new to Meal Planning?

Start by reading all about Meal Planning (Link at the top, or just click here) in order to familiarize yourself with the steps! There, you will find a link to a detailed example of my own weekly meal planning where I walk you through step-by-step.
__________________________________________________________________________

The first thing I do each week is look back over the week to see if we did indeed eat everything on my meal plan (I write down each night's meal on our family calendar) and adjust my inventory, reducing it by what we ate and increasing it by anything I purchased and/or made-ahead. 99% of the time if a meal that was planned for wasn't eaten it's automatically added to the next week's plan.

Inventory
4 portions ground turkey breast
2 portions ground beef
2 portions flank steak
5 portions boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 portions chicken drumsticks
1 portion Salmon
1 portion made-ahead spicy shredded chicken
2 portions made-ahead turkey meatballs
2 portions made-ahead enchiladas Verde
2 portions made-ahead meatloaf
2 portions made-ahead lasagna

"Portions" for my family typically mean 1/2lb to 3/4lb of meat and it feeds all four of us at one meal. To keep my freezers organized and make things easier on myself, I divide up my bulk purchases into portions and label everything before freezing it. For example: meatloaf requires 1lb of ground beef where Goulash only requires 1/2lb so, I package 1lb of ground beef and write "meatloaf" on the outside of the bag to ensure I don't accidentally thaw out an entire pound of meat for a recipe where I only need half. You could also write "1lb" on the bag.

Next, I shop my pantry, freezer and fridge for ingredients to come up with some meals off our Master Meal List. As I mentioned above, I write down each night's meal on our calendar so, I look at it first to sort of rule out meals we've recently eaten to cut down on monotony. Then, I read the weekly ad and look through the coupons and Just4U deals from Safeway via the iPhone app to see what is on sale that might complement and/or substitute for what I came up with. Lastly, I determine how I can stretch ingredients, specifically fresh produce and expensive items over enough meals to use them up to prevent waste.

Weekly Meal Plan
Steak fajitas with chips and guacamole
With Gram in town and sunny skies, this meal is perfect. I have all the ingredients for the marinade except cilantro ($0.49) on hand and I needed to purchase tortillas ($1.49). For the guacamole, I had to purchase a red onion ($0.79) and avocados (3@$2). I purchased two bags of tortilla chips because they were on sale ($1.88). The steak is a large enough portion for this meal as well as a fabulous leftover lunch one day this week.


Easter Sunday 
I'm making a glazed spiral-sliced ham ($18.25), roasted potatoes ($2.99), steamed green beans ($2.00), cornbread dressing with cranberry sauce ($0.99), and herb biscuits. I had to purchase organic celery ($2.50) for the dressing and I'll use up the red onion I purchased. I have the herb biscuits unbaked in the freezer that I made last week. My favorite part of this meal is the leftovers we'll have for lunch later in the week.

Hawaiian burgers with fruit
Pineapples were 2@$5 (I forgot them in the photo), buns were $1.99 and green onions were $0.25, which made me think of Hawaiian burgers. I have all the other ingredients on hand for this meal. 

Meatball subs and oven-baked fries
This meal only cost me $1.20 for the provolone cheese as I'll use the remaining 2 portions of meatballs I have in my freezer, hoagie rolls I have in my freezer, and organic jarred pasta sauce in my pantry. I'll serve it with frozen steak fries I have in my freezer. 

Lasagna with garlic bread and salad with herb vinaigrette
Gram loves lasagna so I'll pull one out of my freezer and serve it with the garlic bread I purchased today for $2.00 and a salad that I needed organic Romaine hearts ($2.99) for. I have all the ingredients on hand for my herb vinaigrette dressing. 

Enchiladas Verdes topped with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes
After an exciting week with Gram, I'm giving myself a break and pulling a portion of my enchiladas from my freezer. I'll top them with leftover shredded organic Romaine hearts and the leftover cherry tomatoes I have on hand. So, this meal cost me nothing this week.

What did I purchase this week?

I spent $116.02 this week. I had to purchase fresh fruit for the week's meals as well as eggs, English muffins, and bread for french toast. I needed whipping cream, buttermilk, and powdered sugar for portions of our Easter meal and desserts and I was low on sesame oil, which was $1.00 off. In addition, I splurged on some champagne to serve with our Easter meal. Some of the great Just4U deals I took advantage of this week included:

• Barilla pasta, $1.00
• Vlasic pickles, Buy1 Get1 Free
• Weber marinades, Buy 1 Get1 Free
• Mangos, 5@$5
• Dove bodywash, $4.99, limit 1
• Annie's vegetarian organic refried beans, $2.49
• Strawberries, Buy1 Get1 Free
• Blackberries, 2@$5 
• Garlic bread, 2@$4 

Facing an elephant #Wordlesswednesday #toddler #motherhood #kids

Nolan and the doorbell #tuesdaytoddlertales #toddlers #motherhood #kids

Nolan's (twenty-one months old) obsession over this past week has been our doorbell.

It glows at night, which is how I suppose he noticed it existed, and now, every single time we leave or come home, he wants to ring the doorbell. He races up the front steps and points to it. He starts grunting and babbling and doing his little happy feet dance as you get closer to him on the porch and begins giggling when you pick him up and lean him toward the button. As soon as he pushes it, he shoves the door open and runs into the house so he can hear it chime. Then, he says; "hi". 

And I mean really, who can resist a bright white, shiny, little round button to push?

He does this same ritual with every light switch in the house, the garage door remote, his sound machine, his space heater, and the oven timer when he hears it go off.

3/23 thru 3/29 #mealplanning I didn't blow my #budget but I overspent on BOGO deals! #motherhood #kids #cooking

Brand new to Meal Planning?

Start by reading all about Meal Planning (Link at the top, or just click here) in order to familiarize yourself with the steps! There, you will find a link to a detailed example of my own weekly meal planning where I walk you through step-by-step.
__________________________________________________________________________

The first thing I do each week is look back over the week to see if we did indeed eat everything on my meal plan (I write down each night's meal on our family calendar) and adjust my inventory, reducing it by what we ate and increasing it by anything I purchased and/or made-ahead. 99% of the time if a meal that was planned for wasn't eaten it's automatically added to the next week's plan.

Inventory
4 portions ground turkey breast
4 portions ground beef
2 portions flank steak
8 portions boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 portions chicken drumsticks
1 portion Italian sausage
1 portion Salmon
1 portion made-ahead spicy shredded chicken
2 portions made-ahead turkey meatballs
2 portions made-ahead enchiladas Verde
2 portions made-ahead meatloaf
2 portions made-ahead lasagna

"Portions" for my family typically mean 1/2lb to 3/4lb of meat and it feeds all four of us at one meal. To keep my freezers organized and make things easier on myself, I divide up my bulk purchases into portions and label everything before freezing it. For example: meatloaf requires 1lb of ground beef where Goulash only requires 1/2lb so, I package 1lb of ground beef and write "meatloaf" on the outside of the bag to ensure I don't accidentally thaw out an entire pound of meat for a recipe where I only need half. You could also write "1lb" on the bag.

Next, I shop my pantry, freezer and fridge for ingredients to come up with some meals off our Master Meal List. As I mentioned above, I write down each night's meal on our calendar so, I look at it first to sort of rule out meals we've recently eaten to cut down on monotony. Then, I read the weekly ad and look through the coupons and Just4U deals from Safeway via the iPhone app to see what is on sale that might complement and/or substitute for what I came up with. Lastly, I determine how I can stretch ingredients, specifically fresh produce and expensive items over enough meals to use them up to prevent waste.

Weekly Meal Plan
Sweet 'n spicy grilled chicken drumsticks with grilled asparagus and herb biscuits
Emily has been wanting to try "a chicken leg" for days now. I'm assuming it was on the school lunch menu one day and it looked really yummy. :) So, with drumsticks only $0.99/lb, I bought a package to have David throw on the grill with his usual chicken breasts. I will coat them in a delicious, sweet 'n spicy sauce right after they come off the grill that I have all the ingredients on hand for. I purchased asparagus ($1.09) that I'll have David grill as well. Because I wanted to have buttermilk herb biscuits for our Easter feast next weekend but found buttermilk on sale ($0.99) this week, I decided to make them this week and freeze half the recipe to just thaw and pop in the oven next week. I have rosemary and thyme in my garden so I only needed to buy fresh sage ($1.99).

Sloppy Joe's and oven-baked tator tots
A super easy meal that I can throw together on one of our busier weeknights that cost next to nothing this week! I have buns in the freezer, Manwich in the pantry, and tator tots in my freezer. I needed to purchase onion for the meat mixture, which was only $0.49.

Leftovers

Grilled chicken Ceasar Salad
One of my husband's favorite meals, probably because I make the dressing myself. I have all the ingredients on hand for the dressing but had to purchase Organic Romaine hearts ($3.00) and Parmigana-Reggiano cheese ($11.98). The cheese will last for months through several meals, including two lasagnas I made and froze over the weekend. 

Salisbury steaks with mashed potatoes & mushroom gravy and roasted broccoli
I can't wait to try out this recipe again to really perfect it for my family and then, get it up here on my blog for y'all to enjoy. 3lbs of Organic Yukon gold potatoes are only $3.99 at Trader Joe's- I'll use less than half of them this week and the other half for our Easter feast next week. I also purchased an onion ($0.49), 8oz cremini mushrooms ($2.50), and broccoli crowns ($0.99/lb).

Crispy beef tacos with chips & salsa
Another super easy, super quick meal I can throw together on a busy weeknight is tacos. I have the shells, shredded cheeses, taco sauce, and chips and salsa to serve with it. I will use up the remaining onion, and some of the Romaine to shred and place on top. I also purchased Organic cherry tomatoes from Trader Joe's for only $2.99. 

Chicken piccata over angel hair pasta and a spinach salad with herb vinaigrette
With the purchase of capers ($2.99) and Organic baby spinach ($2.49), I have everything I need to make this meal. I have fresh lemon juice in my freezer, whole wheat angel hair pasta in the pantry plus all the other ingredients for the sauce, and I have all the ingredients for my herb vinaigrette on hand.

What did I purchase this week?

 

I spent $86.51 between Trader Joe's and Safeway this week, which leaves me with only $10.48 to spend next week, which is the final week of this month's challenge. Honestly, there's no way I can only spend $11 next week so, I failed at trying to stay under $300/month. However, it's okay! I'm more interested in staying within about $100-$125/week and just wanted to experiment to see how low I could go. :)

 

Could I have spent less this week and stayed within my budget? Absolutely!

 

However, you know my golden rule: NEVER pass up a "BOGO" (Buy One Get One Free) deal on things you're family loves and will eat before they expire. 

So, what did I buy this week?

Besides eggs, milk, and the fresh produce for the week's meals, I stocked up on these items because of their great prices:

• Oscar Mayer bacon, on sale $3.99, limit 5
• Quaker oatmeal squares cereal, BOGO
• Mini Wheats cereal, on sale $2.99 plus $1.00 coupon
• Nabisco Triscuits/Wheat Thins on sale, $1.99 each plus $1.00 when you buy 2
• 28oz-32oz frozen potato varieties, on sale $1.49 each, limit 4
• Frito's chips, on sale $2.99 plus $1.00 coupon
• Ghirardelli chocolate chips, $1.79 each, limit 1
• Shredded coconut, on sale $1.49 each, limit 1
• Lawry's marinades, BOGO
• GoGurt, BOGO
• Poptarts, BOGO
• 3.5oz Albacore tuna, BOGO

We were out of graham crackers, Parmigana-Reggiano cheese, mini peanut butter crackers, and Fig Neutons cookies so I purchased those as well. I also purchased shredded hashbrowns (part of the potato sale) as we love to have them in a casserole form for breakfast.

Is there any "baby" left? #wordlesswednesday #motherhood #toddlers

3/16 thru 3/22 #mealplanning Nearing the end of the month and still have money to spend! #kids #motherhood #cooking

Brand new to Meal Planning?

Start by reading all about Meal Planning (Link at the top, or just click here) in order to familiarize yourself with the steps! There, you will find a link to a detailed example of my own weekly meal planning where I walk you through step-by-step.
__________________________________________________________________________

The first thing I do each week is look back over the week to see if we did indeed eat everything on my meal plan (I write down each night's meal on our family calendar) and adjust my inventory, reducing it by what we ate and increasing it by anything I purchased and/or made-ahead. 99% of the time if a meal that was planned for wasn't eaten it's automatically added to the next week's plan.

*~*HUGE INVENTORY INCREASE*~* 
I went to Costco after David got paid on Friday 3/1 to stock up on everything they offer cheaper that we were out of. You can read the post and see the photograph with pricing details HERE.
 
Inventory
6 portions ground turkey breast
5 portions ground beef
2 portions flank steak
1 portions ground brisket
9 portions boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 portion Italian sausage
1 portion Salmon
1 portion made-ahead spicy shredded chicken
2 portions made-ahead turkey meatballs
2 portions made-ahead enchiladas Verde
2 portions made-ahead meatloaf
1 portion made-ahead chicken & spinach flautas

"Portions" for my family typically mean 1/2lb to 3/4lb of meat and it feeds all four of us at one meal. To keep my freezers organized and make things easier on myself, I divide up my bulk purchases into portions and label everything before freezing it. For example: meatloaf requires 1lb of ground beef where Goulash only requires 1/2lb so, I package 1lb of ground beef and write "meatloaf" on the outside of the bag to ensure I don't accidentally thaw out an entire pound of meat for a recipe where I only need half. You could also write "1lb" on the bag.

Next, I shop my pantry, freezer and fridge for ingredients to come up with some meals off our Master Meal List. As I mentioned above, I write down each night's meal on our calendar so, I look at it first to sort of rule out meals we've recently eaten to cut down on monotony. Then, I read the weekly ad and look through the coupons and Just4U deals from Safeway via the iPhone app to see what is on sale that might complement and/or substitute for what I came up with. Lastly, I determine how I can stretch ingredients, specifically fresh produce and expensive items over enough meals to use them up to prevent waste.

Weekly Meal Plan
Brisket burgers with grilled sweet potato wedges
Warmer weather lately makes me want cheeseburgers. Bad! So, with buns in the freezer and our favorite accompaniments on hand, I was left only needing to purchase an organic tomato ($1.85) to top my burger and two small sweet potatoes ($0.60) for the side dish.

Mushroom and proscuitto pasta Senese
I was flipping through some copykat recipes on Pinterest (who doesn't do this?!?) and found one called Pasta Senese. It's apparently very popular at Olive Garden (we haven't eaten at one in years) and required very few, inexpensive ingredients including: mezze rigate (on sale $1.00), fresh sage ($0.99), cremini mushrooms ($2.50), and proscuitto ($3.99). I had all the other ingredients on hand.

Calzones with marinara sauce
David requested this meal this week. He loves them! So I purchased some fresh pizza dough at Trader Joe's ($1.29) and will stuff it with half a package of ground turkey that I'll add some Italian seasonings to and some shredded mozzarella cheese I purchased today ($2.99). I have jarred marinara sauce in my pantry so this meal cost nearly nothing. 

Leftovers

Pad Thai
I'll use the other half of the package of ground turkey I needed for calzones in this meal. I had to purchase brown rice Pad Thai noodles ($2.79), green onion ($0.50), and cilantro ($0.49). 

Flautas with guacamole
I'm pulling my last portion of made-ahead chicken & spinach flautas from my freezer to use this week on one of our busiest nights. I'll serve it with fresh made guacamole, which required me to purchase avacados (4@$1 at Dan's). I'll use up the cilantro I purchased in the guacamole. I have frozen lime juice and red onion on hand.

TexMex potato soup
I wanted to use up the leftover Yukon Gold potatoes I have from last week. With all the ingredients on hand (carrot, celery, half & half, cheese, bacon, chicken stock, etc.) except yellow onion ($0.88) and a can of Rotel ($1.00), this meal was a no-brainer.

What did I purchase this week?

 Between Dan's produce stand, Trader Joe's, and Safeway, I spent $72.21, which leaves me with $96.99 for the month. I'm doing really well, I think! :)

Some of my best finds at Dan's produce included:

• Seedless grapes, $0.49/lb - they came in "moist" which can mean they'll mold more quickly so they were reduced for quick sale
• Avacados, 4@$1
• Bosc pears, $1.00/lb
• Organic pink lady apples, $1.99/lb

Other great deals I got from Safeway's Just4U program and digital coupons included:

• Barilla pasta, $1.00ea
• Oscar Mayer weiners and bacon, $2.99ea
• Annie's Organic refried beans, $1.49
• Lucerne non-fat yogurt 6pk (expire April 30th), $2.49
• Odwalla drinks Buy 2 Get 1 Free plus $1.00 off every 3 purchased
  

3/9 thru 3/15 #mealplanning for less than $60 this week! #motherhood #kids #cooking

Brand new to Meal Planning?

Start by reading all about Meal Planning (Link at the top, or just click here) in order to familiarize yourself with the steps! There, you will find a link to a detailed example of my own weekly meal planning where I walk you through step-by-step.
__________________________________________________________________________

The first thing I do each week is look back over the week to see if we did indeed eat everything on my meal plan (I write down each night's meal on our family calendar) and adjust my inventory, reducing it by what we ate and increasing it by anything I purchased and/or made-ahead. 99% of the time if a meal that was planned for wasn't eaten it's automatically added to the next week's plan.

*~*HUGE INVENTORY INCREASE*~* 
I went to Costco after David got paid on Friday 3/1 to stock up on everything they offer cheaper that we were out of. You can read the post and see the photograph with pricing details HERE.
 
Inventory
6 portions ground turkey breast
5 portions ground beef
2 portions flank steak
1 portions ground brisket
11 portions boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 portion Italian sausage
1 portion Salmon
1 portion made-ahead spicy shredded chicken
1 portions made-ahead orange chicken sauce
2 portions made-ahead turkey meatballs
2 portions made-ahead enchiladas Verdes
2 portions made-ahead meatloaf

"Portions" for my family typically mean 1/2lb to 3/4lb of meat and it feeds all four of us at one meal. To keep my freezers organized and make things easier on myself, I divide up my bulk purchases into portions and label everything before freezing it. For example: meatloaf requires 1lb of ground beef where Goulash only requires 1/2lb so, I package 1lb of ground beef and write "meatloaf" on the outside of the bag to ensure I don't accidentally thaw out an entire pound of meat for a recipe where I only need half. You could also write "1lb" on the bag.

Next, I shop my pantry, freezer and fridge for ingredients to come up with some meals off our Master Meal List. As I mentioned above, I write down each night's meal on our calendar so, I look at it first to sort of rule out meals we've recently eaten to cut down on monotony. Then, I read the weekly ad and look through the coupons and Just4U deals from Safeway via the iPhone app to see what is on sale that might complement and/or substitute for what I came up with. Lastly, I determine how I can stretch ingredients, specifically fresh produce and expensive items over enough meals to use them up to prevent waste.

Weekly Meal Plan
Meatball subs with oven-baked tator tots
With sourdough hoagie rolls on sale for only $1.99 and a freezer full of meat, I decided to take some time over the weekend and bake up a triple batch of meatballs nirvana. I needed to purchase an onion ($0.39), which I'll use up in the meatloaves I'm making later in the week, and fresh basil ($1.99 at Trader Joe's).

Grilled chicken with hot crash potatoes and asparagus
Grilled chicken is almost always on the menu so that David has it for his lunches throughout the week. I make a version of Pioneer Woman's hot crash potatoes with fresh lemon juice (in my freezer) and fresh thyme (in my garden) that is so good and with a 3lb bag of Organic Yukon gold potatoes only $3.49 at Trader Joe's, this side was a no-brainer. I'll use up the potatoes in my garlickly mashed cauliflower later in the week.

Orange peel chicken and broccoli over brown rice
This meal cost me nothing this week as I have one last portion of the made-ahead sauce in the freezer plus broccoli in the freezer and brown rice in my pantry. 

Leftovers

Date Night out

Meatloaf with garlicky mashed cauliflower
I'll use up the onion from the meatballs to make 3 meatloaves this week: 1 to eat and 2 to freeze. I only had to purchase a red bell pepper ($0.88 on sale!) to complete the loaves. As a side dish, I'm making my garlicky mashed cauliflower so I had to purchase a head of cauliflower ($2.99). I like to mix about 1lb of mashed up boiled potatoes to my cauliflower for better, thicker texture.

Enchiladas Verdes
I have a pantry full of verde salsa and sour cream in my fridge and with a 20ct pack of tortillas on sale for only $2.00 I decided to add this meal to our menu. I also had to purchase cilantro ($0.49). I'll have David smoke 2 extra chicken breasts this weekend that I'll shred up with the cheese I have in my fridge to make 3 pans of enchiladas: 1 to eat and 2 to freeze.

What did I purchase this week?

 

I spent only $46.70 between Trader Joe's and Safeway this week that leaves me with $169.20 for the month.

We needed milk, deli meat and cheese, dried pasta, bread for sandwiches and french toast and fresh fruit for the week's meals. I was also low on sugar ($1.99 for 4lbs from Just4U), baby carrots ($2.00 for 4lbs), and dried pasta (the kids love the new Barilla veggie pastas and they are only $1.49). I purchased EasyMac for only $1.00 each, Manwhich for only $1.00 each, and Weber's BBQ sauce for only $0.99.

Random notes left everywhere! #firstgrade #motherhood #kids

We set Emily's alarm for 6:50am everyday. That gives her 20 minutes to get up and get the clothes on that she picked out before going to bed before our alarm goes off at 7:10am.

She's gotten so good at getting up and getting dressed that she finds herself with extra time.

In the last month she has used that extra time in good and weird ways. A few days last week we caught her making herself breakfast - selecting a yogurt, putting fruit on her plate, and putting a waffle in the toaster or pouring some cereal. On another day she had made a ghost mask and jumped out from behind the counter yelling "BOO!" to scare us. She cleaned the playroom and packed her own lunch (we made it the night before and it was in the fridge waiting to be put in her lunchbox) once; she made Valentine's for every member of our family the day after Valentine's Day; and once she built a fort in the living room where she was hanging out in, playing Toy Story 3 on the XBOX.

The strangest, weirdest, funniest day yet was this morning.

I woke up to find sticky notes all over the house. On the walls, on a few of the appliances, and on a few of the kid's toys.

 "This is the microwave"                                      "This is the kitchen"

"This is the refrigerator" 

"This is my toy bins"                                             "My bedroom"

She used tape to be sure the note would stay up in case the sticky stuff melted. :)

And she told us that she put up the notes on all the most important stuff so no one would forget what it all was.

Welcome to the brain of a first grader.

3/2 thru 3/8 #mealplanning $600 grocery #budget this month and $300 has already been spent at Costco! That leaves me with only $60 each week. #motherhood

Brand new to Meal Planning?

Start by reading all about Meal Planning (Link at the top, or just click here) in order to familiarize yourself with the steps! There, you will find a link to a detailed example of my own weekly meal planning where I walk you through step-by-step.
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The first thing I do each week is look back over the week to see if we did indeed eat everything on my meal plan (I write down each night's meal on our family calendar) and adjust my inventory, reducing it by what we ate and increasing it by anything I purchased and/or made-ahead. 99% of the time if a meal that was planned for wasn't eaten it's automatically added to the next week's plan.We had leftovers a second time last week because our schedules were just too hectic so, the sausage tortallini with roasted red pepper Alfredo is going back on this week's menu.


*~*HUGE INVENTORY INCREASE*~* 
I went to Costco after David got paid on Friday 3/1 to stock up on everything they offer cheaper that we were out of. You can read the post and see the photograph with pricing details HERE.
 
Inventory
9 portions ground turkey breast
3 portions flank steak
1 portions ground brisket
12 portions boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 portions brats
1 portions Italian sausage
1 portion Salmon
1 portion made-ahead spicy shredded chicken
1 portions made-ahead orange chicken sauce
2 portions made-ahead roasted red pepper puree

"Portions" for my family typically mean 1/2lb to 3/4lb of meat and it feeds all four of us at one meal. To keep my freezers organized and make things easier on myself, I divide up my bulk purchases into portions and label everything before freezing it. For example: meatloaf requires 1lb of ground beef where Goulash only requires 1/2lb so, I package 1lb of ground beef and write "meatloaf" on the outside of the bag to ensure I don't accidentally thaw out an entire pound of meat for a recipe where I only need half. You could also write "1lb" on the bag.

Next, I shop my pantry, freezer and fridge for ingredients to come up with some meals off our Master Meal List. As I mentioned above, I write down each night's meal on our calendar so, I look at it first to sort of rule out meals we've recently eaten to cut down on monotony. Then, I read the weekly ad and look through the coupons and Just4U deals from Safeway via the iPhone app to see what is on sale that might complement and/or substitute for what I came up with. Lastly, I determine how I can stretch ingredients, specifically fresh produce and expensive items over enough meals to use them up to prevent waste.

Weekly Meal Plan
Steak fajitas with chips and guacamole
Warmer weather = grilling. Always! And now that I have flank steak in my freezer it means steak fajitas. Yum! For the marinade I needed an orange ($0.60) and cilantro ($0.79); for the guacamole I needed avocados ($3.00), red onion ($1.00), cilantro, and chips to serve it with (on sale $1.88); and for the fajitas I needed tortillas (on sale $1.79), organic baby spinach, and cherry tomatoes (not pictured as I bought them at Dan's produce stand over the weekend for $0.99).

Spinach stuffed shells
With the crushed tomatoes, organic spinach and goat cheese I scored for next to nothing at Costco and the dried jumbo shells I have in the pantry, I decided to add this meal to our menu. I had to purchase fresh basil ($1.99) for the sauce and ricotta cheese ($4.99) for the filling. I have everything else including mozzarella cheese on hand. And the filling is enough to freeze and make a lasagna or another batch of stuffed shells when pasta is on sale in the future!

Apricot-BBQ glazed grilled chicken, balsamic potato salad, grilled asparagus
David grills chicken every weekend to take in his lunch for work all week so, I'll just have him throw two more breasts on and in the last 5 minutes of cooking he will brush on this very delicious apricot-bbq glaze. I have all the ingredients on hand for the glaze. I decided to serve grilled asparagus ($2.99) and my Balsamic potato salad with it. I needed Organic Yukon gold potatoes ($4.99) and green onions ($0.99).

Brats with oven-baked tator tots
This meal cost me nothing this week as I have the french rolls and condiments as well as frozen tator tots on hand. 

Leftovers

Sausage tortallini with roasted red pepper Alfredo and spinach salad with herb vinaigrette
This meal cost me nothing this week, though I will be using up the remaining organic baby spinach I purchased at Costco so, I guess that would be about $1.50. :) 

Turkey chili with cornbread

This meal cost me nothing this week as I have all the seasonings for the chili and all the ingredients for the cornbread on hand. I will use up the red onion I purchased for the guacamole.

What did I purchase this week?

Safeway was offering their famous "Spend $75 and get a $10 coupon to use towards your next purchase" deal this week and though I didn't NEED some of the items above, I had to purchase them to get to a total of $75 as dairy products are excluded and they were nearly $20 of my list this week.

I purchased our usual deli meat, yogurt, and fresh produce for the week's lunches and snacks. I also purchased half & half, organic flaxseed waffles, and goldfish crackers as we were out of them. To help me reach a total of $75, I also purchased corn dogs (at the full price of $7.49, ugh!), Poptarts (on sale $1.99), brownie mix (on sale $0.99), rolled oats (on sale $2.19), brie ($7.89) and crackers (on sale $2.99), hamburger buns (on sale $1.99), and hash browns (on sale $1.49). All of these things are shelf- and/or fridge-stable, things we love and WILL eat, and {almost all} were on sale. So, it was a win. 

When I went to check-out, I left all the dairy products in my shopping cart and had the Cashier ring up everything else. It came to $75.49. Talk about exact! I paid, got my $10 coupon, and had the Cashier ring up all the dairy. It came to $18.61 so, minus my $10 coupon, I paid $8.61. So, my total spent for the week was $84.10. That leaves me with $215.90 for the month. 

Quarterly Costco shopping trip: I doubt this will all fit in my fridge/freezer! #mealplanning

I spent just over $300 on what you see in the photo above and it's coming out of my $600 grocery budget for the month of March.

These are all things MUCH MUCH MUCH CHEAPER than at Safeway, Trader Joe's, and our local Dan's produce stand when on sale and even after any coupons I might have. These are all the things that make my $50 annual Costco membership worth it!

So, what did I buy and how much did it cost?

Ground turkey, $2.19ea
93% lean ground beef, $2.99/lb
Flank steak, $7.99/lb
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts $1.99/lb
Cliff bars 30ct, $22.00
Cliff Kidz bars 30ct, $11.99
4pk 8ct Crescent rolls $6.49 ($1.50ea)
80ct Precious string cheese, $8.99
Tillamook medium cheddar, $5.99
2pk 12oz goat cheese, $6.49
Mexican-blend shredded cheese $5.99
Knudsen cottage cheese (expires April 30th), $3.99
Non-fat plain yogurt (expires April 9th), $4.49
Pt. Reye's blue cheese, $8.49
24ct Baby-bel cheese, $7.49
Canola oil, $5.49
2pk 16oz grated Parmesan cheese, $10.49
Ground cinnamon, $3.49
24ct AA large eggs, $2.19
Better than Boullion, $6.49
9 cups raw almonds, $6.99
8lbs red seedless grapes, $8.99
4lbs strawberries, $7.99
24oz Organic blueberries, $4.99
16oz Blackberries, $4.99
3lbs bananas, $2.99
Organic raspberries, $3.99
Organic baby spinach, $3.99
3lbs Meyer lemons, $3.99
5lbs limes, $5.49





I will juice all the lemons and limes into ice cube trays (approximately 1oz each) and freeze to use all year long (or however long they last!), most of the dairy products I purchased will last 3-8 months, and we will plow through all the fruit this week! I know not everything at Costco is the best deal but these things are for us and I'm so glad to have one just a few miles down the road. 

Other things we purchase at Costco include razors, batteries, trash bags, light bulbs, cat litter, Organic ketch-up, honey, A1 steak sauce, Carnation instant breakfast powder, Pur water filters, minced garlic, Cottonelle wet wipes, spinach & cheese ravioli, Italian sausage tortallini, and wrapping paper! I'm sure there are lots of other things though I'm drawing a blank at the moment.

Nolan: twenty-one months #motherhood #toddlers

Biggie Smalls is 21 months old!

How big is Nolan?
Our little man is 24lbs and 33" and is still wearing a size 3 diaper. He recently moved into a size 6 shoe and size 18 month clothes. I find myself looking for things that appear more "big boy-ish", if y'all know what I mean. Less onesies with matching cotton pants and more t-shirts and jeans. I also went with a Tsukihoski athletic shoe instead of a leather Pedi Ped. My favorite t-shirt right now has the face of a Pirate on it, complete with eye patch and gold tooth!

He's an eager eater though can be hesitant to try new foods. His favorite foods include:

• Blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, pears, bananas, grapes, pineapple, oranges, and apples
• Monterrey Jack, cheddar and Mozzarella cheeses
• Peanut butter on wheat bread
• Whole wheat pasta with red sauce
• Macaroni and cheese
• Grilled cheese sandwiches
• Deli-sliced ham and mesquite turkey breast
• Chicken nuggets, turkey corn dogs, fish sticks (home-made or store-bought)
• Steamed peas, sugar-snap peas, green beans
• Graham crackers, Goldfish crackers
• Popcorn, puffs, granola bars
• French toast, flaxseed waffles, home-made Pumpkin muffins, zucchini bread, banana bread

He happily sits in his high chair without protest and drinks water with every meal. He started showing interest in using a spoon and fork this last month so, we started giving him one with every meal. He has gotten really good at using a spoon to scoop up his food and actually get it into his mouth. When he's full, he starts throwing all the food left on his tray onto the floor. I have no clue how to stop this so, for now I stay close and say "thank you" when he puts the food into my outstretched hand. I give him a wet paper towel and tell him to clean up and he wipes his face, hands, and his tray. It's very cute!

 
He sits forward facing in his Britax Marathon car seat behind the driver's side and seems to really love looking out the window.

Nolan is a great sleeper! He's sleeping 11-12hrs at night from about 8pm-8am. As we've done since he was about 7 months old, he sleeps in his crib with his blanket and his lovey "Picky". He sleeps in complete darkness with his sound machine on white noise. He naps once a day for 2-3 hours between the hours of 1-4pm every day in his crib. We follow the exact same nap time and bed time routines that we started when he was 7 months old. For naps, we tell him "it's time to go upstairs and take a nap" and he willingly runs towards his room. We turn on his sound machine and a dim lamp to change his diaper, sing his one lullaby, and get him into his crib. We tell him "I love you, bye-bye" and walk out, closing the door behind us. He goes to bed quickly and easily. For bedtime, we play 6 songs from Jewel's lullaby CD while bathing him, putting lotion on him, changing him into his PJs, and playing with toys in his room. We read books in his rocking chair, too. When the CD is over, we turn on his sound machine, turn off the dim lamp, offer him a drink of water, and put him in his crib. We give him hugs and kisses, tell him "I love you, good-night" and walk out, closing the door behind us.

Favorite toys and activities
Nolan really loves to touch everything. Everything! So, the touch pools at The Aquarium of the Bay is a favorite place for our family these days.

The Zoo is another favorite place for us to spend half a day. Nolan loves to walk around, looking at each animal but especially loves to comb the goats.

I didn't manage to capture any photos of the day we spent at Little Farm but I can tell you Nolan loved watching Emily feed lettuce to the ducks, geese, and chickens and celery to the cows and goats. He didn't want to feed them nor get too close, I think their large size scared him, but he loved being able to walk around and look at the bunnies and the pigs!

I also take Nolan to our local parks several times a week. He's becoming more aware and interested in children his age and wants to play near them. He loves to climb and slide, swing, and play in the sandbox.

Reading the same books over and over again is still a favorite activity. He has to sit in your lap and be in charge of turning the pages. He recently discovered Thomas the Train books and will sit through us reading them, even the lengthy ones. Now that Emily can read just about anything you give her, he likes to sit in her lap and have her read to him. She's really animated, using different voices for the characters and making silly faces. There's more giggling than reading going on most of the time. 

Our sandbox is a toy he plays with every single day, even when it's raining outside (we move it under the patio). He loves to fill up the towers and watch the sand fall down and fill up the toys. He also loves to throw it.

In the past two months, he has used sidewalk chalk and played with some Play-doh and discovered how much fun it is to pop bubbles.  He really loves to bounce and catch and toss a ball, ring the doorbell, flip any and all switches, stack blocks into a tower and knock it down, and do Emily's Melissa and Doug clock puzzle. He also loves to squat & jump, load the dryer, throw trash away, perform a downward dog yoga pose that we call "upside down man", do forward rolls, dance and watch Emily play video games. He's also discovered Emily's Thomas the Train set and loves to sit in the middle of it when it's all set up and roll the trains over the tracks.

What toddler doesn't like to climb? Nolan climbs on everything. And falls off of everything. I hope it's only a matter of time before he puts it together and takes up a new hobby.

If I had to pick one thing that is his #1 favorite activity it would be rolling his trucks on every surface indoors and out. He loves to watch the wheels go around! He takes his trucks and cars everywhere and actually threw a little fit when I took one away from him before putting him to bed one night.

Nolan really loves music. He loves to dance to anything on the radio and recently has become interested in performing the hand motions to some nursery rymes including: Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes; The Itsy Bitsy Spider; Open/Shut them; If You're Happy and You Know It; and Row Row Row Your Boat. He claps when the song ends and begins the hand motions again if he wants you to sing it again.
 
Language explosion
Nolan is very quiet and reserved, happiest to observe, most of the time, but has started using words more regularly.

Words he uses accurately and regularly:
Mama, dada, Bap (for Emily)
Kitty
Go, Go, Go (when running through the house)
Shoe
No
Okay
Yum
Bubble
Row Row Row (he loves that song and requests it)

Ball
Car
Cow
"Grrrr" (when you ask him what a tiger says)

Along with all the excitement, learning, and growing, Nolan appears to be entering that "Terrible Twos" phase of acting out physically when frustrated. It's pretty minor and rare (for now) but he is hitting himself in head when he's displeased (a slapping motion), head-butting the object he's frustrated with, and going into what we call "turtle mode" (slumping down onto the floor into a ball) when he doesn't want to do what you want him to do. We redirect 80% of the time and ignore his behavior the other 20%. He recovers quickly if you can make him laugh. We are not introducing any punishment as of now.

He really dislikes lengthy car rides, stroller walks, and shopping trips where he's confined to a shopping cart because he just wants to run around and touch everything! So, I don't run many errands these days with him in tow.

A typical day:
8:00am - Wakes up, gets his diaper changed and gets dressed. Most of the time David does it as I'm helping Emily get ready for school.

8:00-9:30am - Playtime! Typically here at home with David as I'm at the school volunteering, at the gym, and/or getting myself dressed for the day. He loves to read books and destroy the playroom we cleaned the night before.

10:00am - Morning snack time and off to play! Wee Play, the Zoo, and the Aquarium open at 10am and the parks are full of kids his age by then, too.

12:30am - Lunch time here at home.

1:00-4:00pm - Nap is 5 hours from when he woke up on any given day. I try to get upstairs to begin the nap time rituals 15 minutes before that 5 hour mark. Nap time is just short of 3 hours before we have to pick up Emily at school. Normally I have to wake him up or get a friend to walk Emily home.

4:00pm - Afternoon snack time and play time with Emily here at home, mostly outside. If she has an after school activity, gymnastics, or a play date with friends, Nolan and I play together.

6:30pm - Dinner here at home with Emily. David is still at work so I make them a meal they can eat together and sit with them.

7:00pm - Bath time for them both. They love to play together and keeping them together makes things much easier on me! When I get Nolan out, I leave Emily in, at her request, so she can play with her favorite bath toys and actually get herself clean.

7:30pm - Once Nolan is in PJs and his lullaby songs are over, we sit together in his room and read books, build block towers, and just play together. It's his wind down time and it's quiet and dark in his room. Lights out is about 8:00pm.

Nolan is such a sweet, gentle, curious, happy, affectionate little man. He LOVES to hug, kiss, high five, blow kisses and fist bump. He willingly does anything you ask him to do and is just a complete joy to have in our lives. His favorite person is Emily, hands down. He wants to do everything she does, wants to be everywhere she is, and is most at peace when playing with her. She's so patient and kind with him, though she can get annoyed when he gets a hold of her favorite toys or her school work. He's starting to fight back a bit (mainly hitting) when she takes a toy from him. He also shows great empathy for her when she's hurt or sad; he cries when she cries. He loves her!

In just three months, Nolan will be two years old and we just can't believe it!