Menu Plan!

Are you guys ready for a new week?  We are.  Our life is still a little insane, but we will persevere :)

Monday - Hobo Dinners!  - I've seen these a few places lately, and I am going to do a slightly different version myself, but I am excited.  Our plan is to "clean out the fridge" with ours.  They should be great.

Tuesday - Birthday Dinner - Cooking out!

Wednesday - Church

Thursday - Spaghetti, butterhorns, greenbeans

Friday - Family Night

Saturday - baked chicken, bread machine rolls, sugar snap peas

Ugh - The Drugstore game at Walgreens

I had a rough time today at Walgreens.  It seems like everytime I try to "get the deals" at walgreens I have a problem.  Today was one of those days, and even though I had an understanding cashier I ended up causing a lot of people to wait (I was the only one in the store when I started, and there were five waiting when I was done...I kept apologizing, but I felt awful!)  I did manage to make it out for a little over $20 with swim diapers, floss, pads, emergen - c, and a pack of silly bands.  :) Meanwhile...I don't think I'll be going back to Walgreens anytime soon.  (Nor do I think they want me back :( )

Menu Plan Monday

I've found that planning a basic menu tends to save me at the grocery store.  We generally have granola, oatmeal, or baked oatmeal for breakfast and leftovers or something with peanut butter for lunch.

Dinner requires a bit more variation, but it is still simple.

Sunday - Sloppy Joes
Monday - Cranberry Pot Roast, rice, Mashed potatoes, green beans, butterhorns
Tuesday - Beef Burgundy, salad
Wednesday - church
Thursday- Chicken Pot Pie or Chicken Tetrazzini
Friday - Family Night
Saturday - Spaghetti

For more great menu plans check out http://orgjunkie.com/

CVS - The Drugstore Game

I haven't been playing the drugstore game like I have in the past, but this week I decided to get back to it.  It was a decent week to try it again.  I am a complete and total toilet paper snob, so I do try to look for deals on Charmin, but am completely willing to pay full price when necessary.  This week they had a proctor and Gamble deal that included charmin - I got 3 of those packs for $30 (not a phenomenal price) but did get back $10 ecbs.  Then I bought hand soap and Tena pads (I have an older friend that will be thankful to get them) and used the $10 ecbs and a $2.50 coupon from the pads and $.35 for the soap.  I ended up paying a little over $3 for that and got back $3 from the soap and $9.99 from the pads.  Then I bought from their baby deal $20 on pampers (have a baby shower to go to next week) and $5 for 2 packs of wipes.  I had a coupon for the pampers -$2 and then the ecbs $3 and $9.99.  So I paid about $10 for all of that and got $10 ecbs for next week.  So in all I spent $43 (a lot for one week) but I got a lot that I needed.  We'll see how next week goes.

Kitchen Extras!

I had a chance to get some baking done this afternoon, and I took advantage of it.  I often use powdered milk for baking, and generally make up a quart at a time, the only problem is it goes bad within a few days, so you need to use it quickly.  Today I made up a batch of Peanut Butter Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, and a batch of White Bread.  We also tried the Chicken Fried Rice tonight and it seemed to be a hit.  The only problem I ran into was that I used a rotisserie chicken from a few nights ago and my husband did not like the way it was seasoned, so...we'll do it again, but not with that chicken :)

Menu Plan

So, like always I didn't stick to last weeks plan, so you may see some repeats.  No one's perfect, right ??

Sunday - Spaghetti, butterhorns, green beans
Monday - Chicken Fried Rice (Here is our review)
Tuesday - Dinner with Friends
Wednesday - Church
Thursday - Chicken Pot Pie
Friday - Family Night
Saturday - Homemade Pizza (Dough from FishMama's Recipe and I wanted to try out this white pizza that I saw recently, but honestly will probably just do Pepperoni for DH and brocolli and olives for DD and I.
 By the way you should check out that article that is linked to the white pizza.  I am really wanting to try to do dinner the way she did soon, but I am still cleaning out a few things from my freezer.  Soon though....you can look for it.

We also will try to get a few kitchen extras done this week so that we have them later.

For More Great Menu Plans Check Out http://orgjunkie.com/

Recipe Review - Cranberry Pot Roast - 5 Stars!!

We loved the Cranberry Pot Roast from our freezer day! Last night I served it to both my immediate and a good portion of my extended family and it was wonderful.  It was sweet, and good, and did I say wonderful.  It was a simple recipe 4 ingredients and I just stuck in the crockpot all day long.  We served it with both mashed potatoes and rice (since I really, really, don't like potatoes) and both ways were a resounding hit.    As much as we liked it, I totally forgot to take pictures because it was inhaled before we could do anything about it. :)

Project Simplify - Wardrobe

Simple Mom is hosting project simplify this month to help get our spring clean on and this weeks project is wardrobe.  I'll admit I was a little disappointed that this was the task this week, becuase I felt like I already had a handle on mine, but I am one to stick to a plan.  Yesterday I dumped all my clean laundry, my dresser drawers, and my one little stack of shorts from by my bed all in a pile and got started.  I totally forgot to take pictures.  I was completely set on getting the job done, and just got sidetracked. 

I found out that I had more in there than I thought I did I was able to get rid of a box full of clothing that was outdated, too small, or just old.  Miracle of miracles, my dresser is the right size again!  I have plenty of room in there for everything that I wear.  That stack of shorts by my bed made a move back into the dresser.  Yay for spring cleaning!  I'll put my after pictures up later, for now,  you should go get started on your project. It feels great!

While Technically this is not a BEFORE Pic - It is all the stuff I cleaned out of my drawers and closet :)

After

My side of the closet - After - I did remove that random hanger after the pic :)

Menu Plan

Welcome to a new week!
Monday - Chicken pot pie
Tuesday - Dinner w/ friends
Wednesday - church
Thursday - Chicken Alfredo - I have been making my own alfredo (because it's yummy!) but this week I have a jarred sauce.  If you want to make your own I recommend this recipe. 
Friday - Family night
Saturday- cranberry pot roast  (we never got to it last week)
Sunday - sloppy joes

So that's it this week.  Hope you all have a nice week!
Check out more great plans at orgjunkie.com

A favorite easy meal.

Do you have a favorite meal that you pull out for nights you are on your own?

Most nights my husband can be home for dinner, but occasionally, for whatever reason my daughter and I eat on our own.  On those nights she and I tend to stick to a vegetarian fare, mostly because we never get to eat that kind of stuff when Daddy's around.  Our favorite is ravioli or tortellini.  We serve it differently everytime because there are a ton of combinations that you can have and still have it be wonderful.  It can be served with a tomato sauce, an alfredo, a pumpkin cream sauce, or even with crazy bits and pieces from the refrigerator, or freezer.  Last night we just had plain cheese ravioli covered with broccoli and pecans, and it was delicious.  What's your favorite "easy" meal?