Weekly Meal Plan #8
What a week last week was!
I need to post about last weekend’s awesome Pumpkin Patch that we went to AND our totally fun and cool Halloween adventures…. that will take me a few days to get done, so bare with me.
For the second week in a row we shopped at Walmart. Lenny really seems to think we can save a few bucks there. (A Walmart trip generally includes the entire family. Usually Matthew stays with me, and Lenny takes the twins and sometimes the older kids to the other side of the store to look at toys, tools, video games, etc.)
This week I did do lots of coupon clipping and they made it to the store with me. Yippy! I saved right at $6.00 with coupons- for real! Some of the coupons were from the Sunday paper and just as many were from online places I have found using the websites/blogs I have featured in the sidebar of this blog. Let’s see if I can become a coupon pro…. I am not sure I have the patience for it, but I will make an effort.
I do not think there are enough adjectives in the English language that could help me describe just how much this store (WALMART) sends me over the edge. I could totally have a two-year-old-like-tantrum on just about every aisle!
My ‘I dispise Walmart’ List:
1) People are rude- shoppers mostly.
2) They do not try to move out of the way…. YOU can wait for them!
3) Kids run amok!
4) There is rarely anyone who can help you, although the frozen food guy totally went out of his way to help me find Velveeta cheese as he overheard me tell Garrett I could not find what I was looking for. He then genuinely asked me if there was anything else he could help me find. He gets two thumbs up!
5) The set up does not completely make sense to me… ugh! (ours just finished renovating)
Did I mention I could honestly fall apart in this store? It makes me want PROZAC!
Here is a great new link I added this week to my sidebar- Moms By Heart. The creator is a mom who was effected by the economic crunch and has mastered the art of couponing and maximizing deals… I get the feeling she is one of those who walks out of the store with a cart full of stuff for next to nothing. She has tutorials on how to optimize deals at CVS, Walgreens, your traditional grocery shopping spot, tripling and doubling coupons and creating your stockpile of food so you are never without and never purchase out of impulse. Check her out!
Here is my meal plan for the week.
Dinners:
November 1-6
We generally eat out on Saturday’s.
I will cooking the following meals in no particular order.
Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken served with Puerto Rican rice, rotel and chips. This is one of my pre-assembled Homemade Gourmet meals that is in the freezer. Click on the name of the food to view the recipe… but basically it is chicken with black beans and tomatoes with cream cheese in the crockpot. You could always make your own version of it by improving this recipe if you are not yet on board with the beauty of Homemade Gourmet.
Shredded Chicken Flautas made with leftover Santa Fe Chicken. Served with leftover rice, rotel dip with chips and refried beans (from a can).
Indiana Chowder served with sweet cornbread. This is a yummy beef and noodle stove top dinner topped with cheese. The recipe comes from my friend Kim. I will share it later in the week once I make the meal. It is really cheap and yummy!
Raspberry Vinaigrette Crockpot Chicken sliced and served over salad with a veggie and rolls on the side. I have some frozen chicken breasts I need to use and an almost full container of raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing I need to use before it expires. Throw your frozen chicken in the crockpot. Empty the container of dressing. Set the crockpot for the desired cook time… and dinner is done. Does not get much easier than that, does it?
Pinto Bean and Rice Bowls. This will be a Chipotle-Restaurant -Style-Knock-Off. Make your beans in the crock, a pot of white rice (squeeze in a little lime), top each person’s bowl with sour cream, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, etc. It is Chipotle on a budget.
Crockpot Mediterranean Chicken served with spaghetti noodles and garlic bread. This is another Homemade Gourmet pre-assembled meal that I made at one of my meal classes being stored in my freezer ready to be tossed into the crockpot. I will boil the noodles on the side and warm the bread in the oven. Super simple!
Lunches:
Garrett and Anthony take brown bag specials to school each week.
Their sandwich choices this week are:
Turkey
PB and J
PB and Nutella (with or without bananas)
BBQ Chips
Fruit/Veggie Choices:
Sliced apples
Grapes
Bananas
Baby carrots and ranch
Making a batch of Toll House Gourmet Chocolate Cookies as well… so I will toss one of those in there.
They can take a piece of Halloween candy too. I always envied those kids in school who’s moms packed a piece of holiday candy in their lunch bag. And what about the moms who packed a sweet little I Love You note… on a napkin was always cute. I think Garrett would kill me though. Not sure that is as cool for the 5th grader as it is for the Mom. Anthony would love it.
Twin’s Lunch Options:
Kraft Mac and Cheese
Turkey, PBJ or PB and Nutella sandwich
Tortilla Roll-up
Pretzel Sticks and Peanut Butter
Salad (I’ll be eating salads for the week… if they want some they can have it.)
Fruit/Veggie Choices:
Sliced apples
Grapes
Bananas
Baby carrots and ranch
and
sliced cheddar cheese on the side
Breakfasts:
Below are everyone’s choices…
Honey Bunches of Oats (For the big kids cereal can be eaten in a plastic cup in the car on our ride to school if we are running behind.)
Honey Nut Cheerios
Instant Oatmeal
Toast and Nutella
Scrambled Eggs (in the microwave in a coffee cup- Garrett has perfected this) and Toast
Last weeks stuff that was really good and you should try:
Nutricious Bars– yum! The kids loved them for breakfast. Fast and easy to make, too!
Pumpkin Muffins– these were not on my list to make, but I had everything on hand and they sounded good. Garrett was not the biggest fan but everyone else loved them.
Crockpot Brocolli Cheese Soup– Lenny loves Brocolli Cheese Soup. This one has a lot of spaced out steps, but there is the option to do it all at one time, you just have to check in on it and stir so it is not clumpy. Yum!