Sep 30, 2010

September To-Do List -- Recap

You may recall that I posted a September To-Do List at the beginning of the month.

My thinking was to challenge myself to complete these items by posting them here.

Here's how my list turned out:

September To-Do List

Around the house:

-Clean off my side of closet shelves in order to Done
-Get shoe boxes labeled and in closet I'm not sure whether to mark this as done or not done...I did get my shoes in the shoeboxes labeled with super sticky post it notes. Which proceeded to fall off. And my shoes are still half as messy as when I started. I don't know if this is going to be a solution to my shoe mess or not.
-Go through clothes on rocking chair I managed to fill a large trash bag with clothes to get rid of. I now need to clean out my dresser drawers to make room for what's left.
-Organize coupon binder Done! I'm super happy now that my coupons are once again organized. It makes finding what I'm looking for so much easier.

In addition, I was able to completely clean up my desk area as well as the drawers of my nightstand. Woohoo - two more things I won't have to do!

On the crafty side

-Make up new Awana dues boxes Done - I had to actually do these twice as I first tried to use Mod Podge and it didn't turn out, so I tore them apart and redid them.
-Paint the pot for kitchen utensils as well as some clothes pins Not Done :(
-Figure out clothes pin kitchen holder idea Not Done :( I think I'm scared to try out the spray paint I bought. I need to do this!
-Finish up Menu Plan printables and upload post Done

In the Kitchen

-Try one new recipe each week Three out of four!
-Week one – Broccoli Chicken Casserole
-Week two – Crockpot Chicken Marsala
-Week four – Quicker than delivery Pizza

Spiritually

-Continue memorizing Romans 12 I slacked a bit on this - I still have a few verses to go.
-Work on Changed Into His Image daily I didn't do too well here either - I really need to take a closer look at my priorities as my spiritual progress was really lacking this month.

I don't like all that red! But I do like the green!

It's time to start thinking about my October To-Do List. What items am I procrastinating on? What new things would I like to try? What really needs to be done?

I challenge you to make up a monthly to-do list also! Not for the things you already know you will do, but to challenge yourself to get some extra/fun/new things done.

Bargain Shopping Update

This week's bargain shopping went about as I had expected.

I was able to complete my Rite Aid shopping without any problems. That's two weeks in a row with happy Rite Aid shopping! I was able to complete the Olay deal and I stocked up on cat food. I don't know if better deals come along on cat food as I've never needed it before, so I figured this was a good enough price for now. I bought 30 cans, which will last for a while and I can now keep an eye out for better deals.

CVS was out of the Vitality toothbrushes, but I was able to get a raincheck. I hope they get new stock in before the coupon expires as I'm wanting to try out this toothbrush. I'll have to check back next week and see.

I did go to Walgreens, too. I walked in the store, walked around, and walked back out. Although they had lots of free after RR offers, I still would have had to pay tax for stuff I didn't need or want. So I bought nothing at Walgreens this week.

I did pop into Target for some shredded cheese. They have Kraft cheese on sale for $2 and I used two of the $5/5 coupon to get 10 packages of cheese for $1 each. While the girl was scanning the cheese, the catalina machine printed out a $1.50 Kraft coupon, which she grabbed and scanned before I was able to give her my coupons. I was wondering if that might cause a problem, but she took my two coupons also and I ended up paying $8.50 for 10 packages of cheese. Those babies are now snuggled in my freezer until I have need of them.

That's the sum of my sales/coupon deals for the week.

Did you score any great deals?

Sep 27, 2010

Menu Plan Monday 09/27/10

Each week I take the time to plan out what we will be having for dinner every night. Since I cooked up a 4-month freezer cooking session before school started, my menu planning is really easy. I have 5 of the 7 nights covered - in the freezer and ready to be baked/thrown in the crockpot/grilled/etc. So all I have to come up with is two menu ideas each week. And if I’m struggling, I can always plan a night out. Or breakfast for dinner. Or something else that is just as easy. But even when I don’t have freezer-ready meals, I find that menu planning is a MUST!

I try to cook one new recipe each week. I enjoy trying new recipes, but my family gets a tad bit weary of ‘new’ if I do it too often. Especially if the ‘new’ recipes don’t turn out as tasty as I thought they would be. :)

This next week is an easy week as I am planning a pizza night for Wednesday as we will be gone all day. Our ‘new’ recipe will be Chicken Broccoli Alfredo.

Here’s what we will be eating this week:

Monday – Oriental Pork Chops, Brown Rice, Salad
Tuesday – Parmesan Chicken, Roasted Potatoes
Wednesday – Pizza
Thursday – Chicken Enchilada Casserole, Beans
Friday – Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, Rolls
Saturday – Swedish Meatballs over pasta, Salad
Sunday – Ranch Chicken, Baked Potatoes

Our ‘new’ recipe last week was Quicker Than Delivery Pizza. I liked the idea of a no-rise crust and I had everything in the pantry for this. I made two pizzas and two breadstick pizzas.

I hate to say it, but I’m a pizza snob. Once upon a time, we used to own a pizza parlour and I am usually pretty critical of pizza, whether made at home, from frozen, or from a pizza place. The recipe I used tonight was just okay. The crust was a lot like frozen pizza crust – it was tasteless and too thin. But it was super easy so I’ll keep it around until I find a better one.

Don’t forget to head over here to download some free printable Menu Plans!

As usual, I'm linking up with Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

So what’s on your menu this week?

Sep 25, 2010

Bargains I'm 'Chasing' This Week

As I've stated before, this is not a 'Deal Blog'. I don't currently have the time or desire to blog about all of the deals out there. If you are looking for the best drugstore and grocery deals of the week, there are a ton of blogs out there that will detail them for you. I follow quite a few myself and I also read at Slickdeals. For the next few weeks, I will also post links to my favorite deal blogs at the end of my 'Bargains' post.

Here are the deals I will be chasing this week:

Rite Aid

Olay is on sale this week buy one get one 50% off. And if you buy $30 you get $10 in UPRewards. I’ll match this with the coupon ‘buy two moisturizers, get eye roller free’.

I actually didn’t get this coupon in my Sunday inserts, so when I heard about it, I checked on ebay and bid on a listing for 10 of these coupons and 10 $1 off Olay coupons. I paid less than $2 for the lot. I have had good luck ordering coupons on ebay, but to get a decent price, you need to order them before the sale begins – otherwise everyone is wanting them and the prices go up.

I want to do this deal for two reasons – I am almost out of moisturizer and the deal is a small moneymaker even after tax. Added to that, I can use this purchase toward the rebate that Proctor & Gamble has out where if you buy $50 in P&G products, they will send you a $110 value coupon book. There’s also talk of a new Olay rebate coming with this week’s inserts, so that might be something also.

21.99 Olay eye roller
4.25 Olay moisturizer at 50%
7.64 Olay moisturizer at 90% (My current wellness discount is 10%)
=33.88 + 3.13 tax
-$5/25 Rite Aid coupon
-$1/10 Wellness skin care coupon
-$19.99 Max value of free eye roller coupon
-$2 (2) $1 Olay coupons
=9.02
-$6 UPRewards from last week
=3.02 oop
Get back $10 in UPRewards

My second transaction will be for items I need – not the best prices one can find, but still pretty good – and if I don’t buy toilet paper and paper towels this week, someone’s gonna’ be in trouble!

$12 (30) cans Friskies Cat food
$5.49 Bounty Basic Paper Towels
$5.49 Charmin Bath Tissue
$1.25 Theater style candy (Julu Bees, Julu Fruits or Red Raspberries)
.88 Now and Laters
=25.11 + 2.32 tax
-5/25 Rite Aid Coupon
-2 (2) $1/15 Friskie mq
-$1 charmin mq
-$1 bounty mq
=18.43
-$10 UPRewards from previous purchase
=8.43 oop
Get back $6.88 in UPRewards ($3 Friskies, $1 Charmin, $1 Bounty, $1.88 candy)

If I do this second transaction twice, I will have purchased over $50 in P$G products in all three transactions and I can send in for the coupon book rebate – but I’ll wait to see if Olay comes up with a better rebate.

Not a money making week, but lots of product with a low oop.

Target

Kraft cheese is on sale for $2 (shredded or chunk)
Use $5/5 printable coupon
=$1 each

Walgreens

Although there are several free after RR sales this week, none of them excite me. I don’t have any RR that I need to roll, so I think I might skip Walgreens this week.

CVS

I may grab one of the Oral-B Vitality Rechargable Toothbrushes for hubby. They are on sale for $23 with $13 ECBs and there is supposed to be a $10 coupon in this weeks inserts. If I get the coupon, it will be free after ECBs. The limit is two, so I’ll think about doing this. I do have some ECBs to use toward this, so we’ll see.

If I decide to do it, here’s what my transactions will look like:

$23 Vitality
$5.49 Charmin
=28.49 + 2.64 tax
-$5/25 (This coupon is expired but I think my store will still take it)
-$10 Vitality mq
-$1 Charmin mq
=15.13
Use $6 ECBs
-9.13 oop
Get back $13 ECBs

$23 Vitality + 2.13 tax
=25.13
-10 Vitality mq
=15.13
-13 ECBs
=2.13
Get back $13 ECBs

If I do shop CVS this week, I won't do the 2nd Rite Aid transaction twice. Either way, I'll have over $50 in P&G Products so I will definitely send in for the rebate.

Not a killer week - but I'll have enough cat food and toilet paper to last for a while. :)

Here are links to my two favorite deal blogs:

Coupons, Deals & More

My Frugal Adventures

So what are your must-do deals of the week?

Sep 23, 2010

Free Printable Menu Planners

Since I make up a menu plan each week, I decided to create a printable menu plan that I could print out - something I made myself and that would give me a bit of variety each week.

I played around a bit and came up with these:


It is a bit hard to see the background in these small pictures, but it looks like this:



Since I find menu planning such a great help, I would love it if having a printable menu plan helps you to jump on board and start planning your weekly menus. So....I decided to offer these printables to any of my followers who wants them! Not a follower? Easy, just click on the 'Follow' button!

Then click here and your download should start immediately.

I hope you enjoy these! And I hope you find menu planning as helpful as I do!

Linking to the following link parties:
giveaways



Sep 21, 2010

Garlic Dijon Chicken - A "Dump" Chicken Recipe

This is one of the 'dump' recipes I made during my last freezer session. A 'dump' recipe is just what it sounds like - just dump all of the ingredients into a ziplock bag and freeze. There are many to be found online - just google 'dump chicken recipes' and you will find a variety of different ideas.

I don't know where I found this one, so if you know who I can credit, please let me know.

Garlic Dijon Chicken

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 Cloves Minced Garlic
4 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
2 Tablespoons Lime Juice

Combine the garlic, mustard, and lime juice in a ziplock bag. Add chicken and let marinate for several hours. **I freeze it at this point. The chicken will marinate as it thaws.** Cook or grill as desired. I usually bake it at 350 degrees for 35-40minutes or until done.

I really liked how this came out. It had the right amount of flavor - not too strong and not too subtle.

I will definitely include it in future freezer sessions!





Sep 20, 2010

Bargain Shopping Update

Whew!

I'm tired from all the running around I did today after work....but what a great bargain day!

I found everything I was looking for plus a few extra items.

At Walgreens, my favorite cashier had saved her coupon inserts for me! Isn't that sweet? I ended up with 4 Gain Dish Detergents, 6 cans of Cream of Chicken soup, and 4 Butterfinger bars (like I really need those, huh?).

I love the CVS I shop at - they happily honored my expired ECBs even though they expired over a month ago! So I picked up some soda, deodorant, and a few other things to use them up. Got back $4 in ECBs for future trips.

Now, I will admit I was dreading Rite Aid. I seem to always have problems using coupons at both of the Rite Aids that I shop at and my plans for today involved lots of coupons. I was also worried about finding enough of the items I wanted to buy so I could use my $5/$25 coupons.

Well, I ended up with the nicest two cashiers I have ever had at Rite Aid! I did have to shop at both stores, but I found everything I had planned to buy! I also got some cheap coffee for work.

I ended up with 4 John Freida shampoos, 2 Bounty paper towels, 14 Quaker Oatmeals, 2 Coffees, 2 Listerine, 2 Crest, 4 A&H Spinbrushes (these I stuck away for stocking stuffers), 2 A&H toothpaste, 1 Swiss Miss, and 1 Sensodyne.

I spent $11.85 - have $6 in UPRewards to use and will get back $6 in rebates.

Not too shabby!

I'm really trying to buy only things we will actually use. I have a closet full of stuff that I've picked up cheap or free and I really don't want any more stuff that will just be sitting in a closet. Anyone need any Dulcolax?

Menu Plan Monday 09/20/10



Have you made up your menu plan for this week yet? Do you regularly plan your weekly menus?

I have found that menu planning, although a bit time consuming at first, is a huge timesaver in the long run! And it saves us money also, as I go to the store with a list and avoid buying things 'just in case' we might need it.

So, without further ado, here's what we will be eating this week:



Monday

Mexican Penne, Refried Beans, Salad
This is already made and in the freezer. I'll top it with a bit of cheese and bake.

Tuesday

Garlic Dijon Chicken, Potatoes, Salad
I marinated this chicken and froze it. It is one of the 'dump' recipes I am trying for the first time from my recent freezer plan. I'll probably either roast or bake the potatoes, depending on how much time I feel like spending that night. I will post this recipe later this week as I don't know where I found it to give proper credit.


Wednesday

Chicken Spaghetti, Rolls, Fruit
Another freezer meal that is ready to go.

Thursday

Sue Sue’s Casserole, Green Beans
This is one of the few ways I can get my kids (and myself) to eat peas. For some reason, the combination of foods in this recipe masks that gross pea flavor. :)


Friday

Lasagna Roll-ups, Garlic Bread, Salad
I plan to make extra of these and flash freeze. I'll then freeze some sauce in ice cube trays to have ready to go for quick lunches.

Saturday

Quicker than delivery Pizza, Salad
This is my new recipe of the week. I'll probably make two - one cheese and one pepperoni.

Sunday

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Potatoes, Salad
Chicken and bbq sauce will cook in the crockpot and be ready for a quick meal before church Sunday night. Lots of salad this week 'cus a friend gave us a few heads of lettuce which I need to use up.




So, that's the plan for us this week. So easy - freezer cooking has really made a difference about how I feel about cooking dinner on busy nights.


I will be linking this plan up with I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday Party! Click on the link to find hundreds of menu plans to help you get started or just to find some new recipes to try out!

Sep 19, 2010

Bargains I'm 'Chasing' This Week

First off, let me state that this is not a 'Deal Blog'. I don't currently have the time or desire to blog about all of the deals out there. If you are looking for the best drugstore and grocery deals of the week, there are a ton of blogs out there that will detail them for you. I follow quite a few myself and I also read at Slickdeals.

But I do coupon. I usually buy four newspapers each week as well as print out coupons from the internet. And I look for those deals that match coupons with sales for even greater savings. Most of the deals I shop for are not ones I find myself. I love that there are people out there who are willing to do it for us! One day soon I will post links to some of the blogs I follow but in the meantime, I want to start tracking what deals I am chasin'.

So this week, here's my plans:

Rite Aid

Trans. #1

$10.00 (2) John Freida Shampoos
$ 7.96 (4) Quaker Oats
$ 1.76 (2) Bounty Basic Paper Towels
$ 2.99 Listerine Zero
$ 2.99 Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste
=$25.70 + ~2.38 tax
-$5/25 Rite Aid Coupon
-$6.00 (2) John Freida coupons
-$1.00 Rite Aid Wellness 1/10 Hair coupon
-$4.00 (4) Quaker coupons
-$ .50 (2) Bounty coupons
-$2.00 Listerine coupon
-$1.00 Rite Aid Video Value Listerine coupon
-$ .75 Crest coupon
=7.83
Will get back $10 UPRewards ($3 for John Freida, $4 for Quaker Oats, $2 for Listerine, and $1 for Crest)

Trans. #2

$10.00 (2) John Freida Shampoos
2.99 Listerine Zero
2.99 Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste
1.69 Trial Size Sensodyne Toothpaste
7.96 (4) Quaker Oats
=25.63 + ~ 2.37 tax
-$5/25 Rite Aid coupon
-$6.00 (2) John Freida Coupons
-$1.00 Rite Aid Wellness 1/10 Hair Coupon
-$2.00 Listerine Coupon
-$1.00 Rite Aid Video Value Listerine coupon
-$ .75 Crest Coupon
-$1.50 Rite Aid Video Value Sensodyne coupon
-$4.00 (4) Quaker Coupons
=$6.75
Will use $4 UPRewards from previous transaction and pay $2.75 (UpRewards cannot be used towards tax)
Will get back $10 UPRewards ($3 for John Freida, $4 for Quaker Oats, $2 for Listerine, and $1 for Crest)

Trans. #3

$17.98 (4) Arm & Hammer Spinbrushes (BOGO this week)
3.99 (2) Arm & Hammer Toothposte (BOGO this week)
3.98 (2) Quaker Oatmeal
=25.95 + ~2.40 tax
-$5/25 Rite Aid coupon
-$8.00 (4) $2 Spinbrush coupons
-$1.50 (2) $.75 Toothpaste coupons
-$2.00 (2) $1 Quaker coupons
-$1.00 Rite-Aid Wellness Oral Care Coupon
=10.85
Will use $8 UPRewards and pay $2.85
Will get back $7 in UpRewards ($5 for Arm & Hammer, $2 for Quaker Oats)

After all three transactions, I will have paid out $13.43 and will have $15 in UPRewards toward future purchases.

If I can find them, I plan to buy more Quaker Oats as they are free after coupons and UPRewards. There is also a Single Check Rebate for $5 back if you buy $25 in certain products and Quaker Oats are included.

There is also a $10 SCR (Single Check Rebate) available when you spend $25 in Oral Care products. I already submitted for this rebate last month, so I cannot do it again.

The biggest hurdle will be finding everything I want to complete each transaction. I fear the stores near me will not have enough oats, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I'll be sure to get rainchecks tho, because Oatmeal is something we go through a lot of.

Other deals I'll check out while at the store:

Crest White Strips $29.99 - Get $15 UPRewards
Use $5/25 Rite Aid coupon and $5 White Strips coupon
= 4.99 after coupons and UPRewards
Not a bad price and I've been wanting to try these.

Campbell Select Soups $2/3 - Get $1 UPReward
Use $1/2 coupon
= free after coupons and UPRewards


Walgreens

.89 Gain Dish Detergent w/in-ad coupon
-$1 Gain coupon
=free (cashier will have to either adjust up the detergent or adjust down the coupon)

I have four coupons, so I hope to get four of these

.89 Campbells Cooking Soups (Cream Mushroom and Cream of Chicken) w/in-ad coupon
-$1.50/3 coupon
=.39 each when you buy three

.49 Butterfinger candy bars w/in-ad coupon
-$1/2 coupon
=free (I need my candy for energy as I'll be heading to Rite Aid after Walgreens)

.99 Kleenex w/in-ad cpn
I probably won't get any of these, but there are coupons out there so I might change my mind.

CVS

2.99 Right Guard Deodorant - Get $2 Extra Care Bucks (Limit 3)

I'll buy 2:

=5.98
-$3/2 coupon
=2.98
Get back $4 in Extra Care Bucks

I have almost $10 in expired ECBs (Extra Care Bucks). My store has been good about taking expired ECBs in the past and I'm hoping they will honor these. If so, I will look around and find some other things to pick up with my $10.


That's my plan for tomorrow afternoon. I shall see how it all plays out.

Sep 14, 2010

Menu Plan Monday 09/13/10


On the menu plan for this week is:

Monday

Korean Tri Tip, Noodles, Salad
A yummy dish that goes from freezer to crockpot. My family loves the flavor of this dish. I have made this several different ways - with ribs, roast, stew meat, and tri-tip. I found the flavor too intense with the stew meat and not intense enough with the ribs and roast. I now make sure that the pieces of meat are cut up into four or five large pieces. This way the flavor is enhanced without being overpowering.

Tuesday

Pork Chops w/French fried onions, Rice, Veggies
My mom used to make this when I was younger. It is so easy and I love the way the flavors blend. Just place pork chops in a baking dish, cover with a can of cream of mushroom and sprinkle with ¾ can of French fried onions. Bake about 40 minutes and add remaining onions when done.

Wednesday

Chicken w/Salsa, Rolls, Fruit
I’ve seen this recipe many places on the web, so I don’t know who to give credit to. But it is a simple, tasty meal. Top chicken breasts with 2 tb. salsa and sprinkle with cheese. Bake til done.


Thursday

CP Roast w/potatoes and carrots
Another recipe I borrowed from mom. Place a roast in the crockpot and sprinkle with one packet of dried onion soup mix. Add one can of cream of mushroom soup, two cans of whole white potatoes (drained) and a few handfuls of baby carrots. Cook on low all day and dinner is ready and waiting for you.

Friday

Grands Taco Melts, Celery sticks
A variation of a recipe from the Pillsbury site. Cook ground beef and season with taco seasoning and salsa. Then flatten out the grands biscuits to line the cups of a cupcake pan. Fill with beef mixture, top with shredded cheese and bake. A fun, yummy meal.

Saturday

Stuffed Shells, Spanish Rice, Salad
I still need to make these…

Sunday

Stuffed Buffalo Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Cauliflower


I’m linking up with I’m an Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday.

Last week's menu - In Review and Honey Bun Cake Recipe

Wow, I can’t believe another whole week has passed!

I have a recipe to share with you that I think you will love!! It’s not my original recipe; I found it here.

I’ve made this cake twice and each time I was asked for the recipe. It’s just that good. The name of this cake is Honey Bun Cake – but my son has renamed it Death Valley Cake because of the crater in the middle. Both times I made this, the cake fell after taking it from the oven. The first time, I didn’t check for doneness, so I made sure to the second time. But it still fell – not as bad the second time, but enough for the glaze to puddle a bit in the middle. But, even with it falling, I will definitely make it again.

So here’s the recipe, followed by a review of last week’s menu plan.

Honey Bun Cake

1 yellow cake mix (with pudding in the mix)
8 oz. sour cream
4 eggs
2/3 cup oil
½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons milk

Lightly oil and flour a 9 x 13 baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine first five ingredients and mix for two minutes.

In small bowl combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

Pour ½ cake mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle with ½ of the brown sugar/cinnamon mix. Repeat.
With a table knife, swirl through the cake mix to gently distribute the cinnamon.

Bake for 35 minutes or until done.

Mix powdered sugar with the milk and pour glaze onto cake immediately after removing from the oven.

Swoon.



Here’s last week’s menu plan:
Monday – Teriyaki Turkey Breast, Salad, Stuffing
Tuesday – Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Wednesday – Black Bean Salsa Chicken, Salad
Thursday – Enchilada Casserole, Refried Beans, Salad
Friday – CP Chicken Marsala, Garlic Pasta, Broccoli
Saturday – Stuffed Shells, Spanish Rice, Veggies
Sunday – Stuffed Buffalo Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus

I goofed on scheduling a potluck at church – I planned it for this coming weekend instead of last, so I had to switch up Saturday and Sunday of last week with this week. So last Saturday, we had Rotisserie Chicken for dinner and I planned for leftovers on Sunday as I knew we wouldn’t be too hungry after eating all that yummy food at the potluck.

All in all it was a good week. I was looking forward to the Stuffed Buffalo Chicken, but I'll have to wait a bit longer as I moved it to this week. The Chicken Marsala was good, but I was a bit disappointed in the texture of the chicken. I think it might have been better if the chicken breasts were cut into smaller pieces to soak up more of the sauce.

Sep 9, 2010

Strikethrough!

Isn't this cool? I figured out all by myself googled how to strike thru text.

I never knew how and it is super easy! But you probably already know that. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm the only person who didn't know how to do this.

Just in case there is someone out there who doesn't know how, you, too, can google it you simply put an s inside <> before the text and an /s inside <> at the end of the text that you want to strike through. Like this:


I'm tickled pink!

It doesn't take much to amuse me!

Sep 7, 2010

Menu Plan Monday 9/6/10

Yikes....it's already Tuesday! So, I'm late, late, late in posting this!

Our plan for the week:

Monday

Teriyaki Turkey Breast, Salad, Stuffing
Since Monday was a holiday, I didn't preplan a freezer meal. But in the meantime, I came across a marinated turkey breast that I had picked up on markdown in our freezer. Time to eat it!

Tuesday

Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
I mixed up the meatloaf and froze it raw. Let thaw and bake. Easy, peasy.

Wednesday

Black Bean Salsa Chicken, Salad
Also premixed and frozen. And a crockpot meal, too!

Thursday

Enchilada Casserole, Refried Beans, Salad
One of my favorite freezer meals. I make up a meal kit with the meat mixture ready to go. I package the tortillas and cheese in separate bags and have it all in one larger freezer bag. Ready to assemble and cook and the kids love it!

Friday

CP Chicken Marsala, Garlic Pasta, Broccoli
This is our new recipe for the week. I will post a review and, if we like it, the recipe later this week.

Saturday

Stuffed Shells, Spanish Rice, Veggies
I have a confession to make....I never completed the stuffed shells when doing my freezer cooking. I know - bad. So Saturday I'll be making two of these and freezing one for later this year.

Sunday

Stuffed Buffalo Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus
This is a good and different way to make chicken. I don't like blue cheese, so last time I made this I used mozzarella cheese. This time I bought pepper jack cheese. I think pepper jack will blend well with the buffalo marinade.

So, how do you plan your meals? Do you plan weekly, monthly, or longer? Or do you wing it each day?

That's all for now - I'm off to link this post to I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday party.

Sep 6, 2010

Last week's menu - In Review and Recipe

We did fairly well in following last week's menu! I'm proud of us!

Here's what I planned:

Monday – Asian Pork Tenderloin, White Rice, Veggies
Tuesday – Enchilada Casserole, Refried Beans, Salad
Wednesday – Meatball Sandwiches, Fruit
Thursday – Dump Italian Chicken, Pesto Noodles, Salad
Friday – Out to eat with the Girls – Pizza for the guys
Saturday – Chicken Broccoli Casserole, Rolls
Sunday – Chicken Enchiladas, Ranch Style Beans, Spanish Rice

Tuesday we went out for Pizza. It was my birthday and the whole family got together. It was so fun! I love it when we can all get together - it is sometimes hard with all the different work schedules.

So we didn't eat the Enchilada Casserole on Tuesday and we didn't eat Meatball Sandwiches on Wednesday. :(

I can't remember what we did Wednesday, so it must not have been too thrilling!

The rest of the week went as planned except I didn't make the Ranch Style Beans on Sunday. Hmmm...maybe I can work them into next week's menu.

The Chicken Broccoli casserole was really good and I will definitely make it again. I found the recipe at Taste of Home and it is here. Here is the recipe with the changes I made or will make next time:

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

1 1/2 cups water
1 package (6 ounces) chicken stuffing mix
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 1/2 - 2 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of broccoli soup, undiluted
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in stuffing mix. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, layer chicken and broccoli in a greased 11" x 7" baking dish. Top with soup. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese over soup. Fluff stuffing with a fork; spoon over soup. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings.

Sep 1, 2010

September To-Do List

I made up a list of things I would like to get accomplished during the month of September.

Around the house:
- Clean off my side of closet shelves in order to
- Get shoe boxes labeled and in closet
- Go through clothes on rocking chair
- Organize coupon binder

On the crafty side:
- Make up new Awana dues boxes
- Paint the pot for kitchen utensils as well as some clothes pins
- Figure out clothes pin kitchen holder idea
- Finish up Menu Plan printables and upload post

In the Kitchen:
- Try one new recipe each week

Spiritually:
- Continue memorizing Romans 12
- Work on Changed Into His Image daily

By posting it here, I hope to have some accountability. Wanna' make up one of your own? Just think up a few things you wish to accomplish (not regular things you will do anyway, like laundry). Keep it doable by not overloading your list.

So...I invite you to tell me what's on your list!