Finally getting back on track this week to make some good, home cooked healthy food for my family! I feel like we have eaten out SO much in the recent months and it's starting to make me feel gross.
So my first step this week was to get a good meal plan in place for the week!
Monday - Roasted Lemon Chicken with Greek Salsa served over rice (recipe on Pinterest Board)
Tuesday - Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff, Egg Noodles, Pop Overs and Peas
Wednesday - Pork Chops with balsamic strawberry salad and Orzo
Thursday - Crock Pot Honey Chicken with rice and green beans
Friday - Dinner at my mom and dads house for Tim's birthday (Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Salad)
Saturday - Tacos, Chips with Salsa, Corn
Sunday - Leftovers
There is always a method to my meal plans. I don't simply pick recipes for certain days because they might sound good...I always go base my meals on what we have going on that day and what is on sale at the store. This way my meals are realistic with my schedule and hopefully can stay within my grocery budget!
For example: Tonight (Monday) I picked the Greek salad chicken because it's a new recipe I haven't tried before. I knew my husband was off tonight and able to help with the kiddos during the dreaded dinner hour so that I could focus on getting the meal going.
Tuesdays meal is a family favorite and also an easy throw into the crock pot meal. After a busy day today, I know I'll be less than energized tomorrow for cooking dinner. Having it already cooking all day is a wonderful way to still get a healthy meal on the table at dinner!
Wednesday - This is a nice day because we have no activities going on and school is early release, which leaves me more afternoon to get cooking done.
Thursday - Thursday is always a crock pot day because of gymnastics. We do school pick up and then rush off to gymnastics. By the time we get home, it's 6:00 and everyone is HUNGRY!
Friday - Fridays always vary based on husbands schedule and what we have going on. I generally don't plan large meals for Fridays because we are always winding down from the week and getting ready for the weekend!
Saturday - It just depends! Mostly on KU basketball games is what I base my cooking around :)
Sunday - Always a leftovers/DYOT night since we normally have a large lunch following church.
Monday, February 6, 2012
New Meal plan and great grocery deals!!
Well I have finally (sort of) gotten my rear in gear and got my coupons sorted and organized. It was a good week to finally get things together since Dillons is offering their buy any 10 assorted items in the sale and automatically get $5 off at the register. There were several items that were a good deal to begin with but that also matched up well with coupons!!
A few of these deals that I came across were:
Kleenex brand tissues - The tissues are normally $1.49 per box. As part of the sale, they were $.99 per box. I had 3 coupons for $1.00 off of 3 boxes ($.50/3 which doubled to $1/3), which made each box $.65 each. So it normally would have been $14.00 for those boxes, but I paid $5.91. Not a bad deal!! And a great time to stock up on tissues for spring allergies that are right around the corner.
Quaker granola bars - These are a big time favorite snack in my house between the kids and my husband. They are so easy to grab and bring on the go on busy activity nights.
The granola bars are another one that I always stock up on when they go on sale. These are normally $2.11 per box. Being part of the sale made them $1.61 per box and I had 4 coupons for $1 off of every 2 boxes. So the original cost of 8 boxes would have been $16.88 for the 8 boxes. With the sale and the coupons, I paid $8.88, or $1.11 for each box. I generally only buy these kinds of "treats" when I can get them for around $1 or less.
Tostitos Tortilla chips are another that are enjoyed at our house. The 3 bags of tortilla chips are normally $2.99 each. On sale they were $2.49 and I had 3 coupons from Dillons for $2.00 off of one bag, so I paid $.99 for each bag. The original price would have been $8.97, I paid $2.97.
Sunny Delight - Ok so I admit, this isn't something I normally buy because it's not healthy and full of sugar. But my husband loves the stuff so I went ahead and got him a couple of bottles...normal price is $1.49. On sale it is $.99 and with my coupon for $1.00 off of 2 bottles, they were $.49 each.
Another way I was able to save was using $1 off your next purchase coupons to get bags of goldfish for free!! Goldfish crackers are normally $2.14. As part of the buy 10 sale they are $.99. I had 5 of these $1 off your next purchase catalinas which made the crackers all free. This is another item that my toddler especially is crazy about. So to stock up at that low price is a great deal!!
There are several other good deals going on with this sale (sale is good through tomorrow), so it's totally worth checking out to see if there is anything your family likes and that you can match up with your coupons. One thing to always watch for is to make sure items aren't marked up on the "normal price" sticker to make it seem like you are getting a better deal. This is one gripe I have with Dillons in particular, they will mark up the "normal" price to make the sale price seem better! Gatorade is an example of this...the large bottles are normally $.88 a bottle. But every once in a while it will be a "GREAT SALE" that they are 10/$10...which actually makes them MORE expensive at $1 per bottle. Having a price book that you write down prices in can help with this, so if you see a deal at a later date you can look back and know if it's normally more or less.
So grab your coupons, grab the store ads and get busy!
A few of these deals that I came across were:
Kleenex brand tissues - The tissues are normally $1.49 per box. As part of the sale, they were $.99 per box. I had 3 coupons for $1.00 off of 3 boxes ($.50/3 which doubled to $1/3), which made each box $.65 each. So it normally would have been $14.00 for those boxes, but I paid $5.91. Not a bad deal!! And a great time to stock up on tissues for spring allergies that are right around the corner.
Quaker granola bars - These are a big time favorite snack in my house between the kids and my husband. They are so easy to grab and bring on the go on busy activity nights.
The granola bars are another one that I always stock up on when they go on sale. These are normally $2.11 per box. Being part of the sale made them $1.61 per box and I had 4 coupons for $1 off of every 2 boxes. So the original cost of 8 boxes would have been $16.88 for the 8 boxes. With the sale and the coupons, I paid $8.88, or $1.11 for each box. I generally only buy these kinds of "treats" when I can get them for around $1 or less.
Tostitos Tortilla chips are another that are enjoyed at our house. The 3 bags of tortilla chips are normally $2.99 each. On sale they were $2.49 and I had 3 coupons from Dillons for $2.00 off of one bag, so I paid $.99 for each bag. The original price would have been $8.97, I paid $2.97.
Sunny Delight - Ok so I admit, this isn't something I normally buy because it's not healthy and full of sugar. But my husband loves the stuff so I went ahead and got him a couple of bottles...normal price is $1.49. On sale it is $.99 and with my coupon for $1.00 off of 2 bottles, they were $.49 each.
Another way I was able to save was using $1 off your next purchase coupons to get bags of goldfish for free!! Goldfish crackers are normally $2.14. As part of the buy 10 sale they are $.99. I had 5 of these $1 off your next purchase catalinas which made the crackers all free. This is another item that my toddler especially is crazy about. So to stock up at that low price is a great deal!!
There are several other good deals going on with this sale (sale is good through tomorrow), so it's totally worth checking out to see if there is anything your family likes and that you can match up with your coupons. One thing to always watch for is to make sure items aren't marked up on the "normal price" sticker to make it seem like you are getting a better deal. This is one gripe I have with Dillons in particular, they will mark up the "normal" price to make the sale price seem better! Gatorade is an example of this...the large bottles are normally $.88 a bottle. But every once in a while it will be a "GREAT SALE" that they are 10/$10...which actually makes them MORE expensive at $1 per bottle. Having a price book that you write down prices in can help with this, so if you see a deal at a later date you can look back and know if it's normally more or less.
So grab your coupons, grab the store ads and get busy!
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