Cause you gotta eat

July starts tomorrow... Hopefully, if you are following along with me, you have gone to Costco or Sams and stocked up for the next 3 months! My total for Costco came to $302. Although I didn't buy all the meat there (because we have deer), I did get diapers and Benadryl, which more than covered the cost of the hamburger and roasts. At any rate, you hopefully didn't spend more than $400.

Now, I like to do my small weekly shopping on Mondays. No big reason why, it just works well in my schedule. So, here is my weekly shopping list, hopefully it won't cost more then $40.

Watermelon
garlic
grapefruit (at least 5)
egg noodles (didn't find these at Costco :( )
sour cream
bacon
milk (0%, 2%, whole)
eggs
powder sugar
bread
miffin mix
yogurt

I am getting plenty of veggies from my garden, and that is saving me money!! I will do a post on gardens soon.

I remember summers in KC at my grandparents. Well, actually what I remember most is my grandpa's waffles. He made them from scratch, no waffle mix at his house. For a long time I used his buttermilk waffle recipe... That is until I wanted waffles and didn't have any buttermilk. I know you can "make" your own with milk and vinegar, but it just doesn't taste the same. So I went on a search for waffles that were just as good... And I found one!! My whole family absolutely LOVE these waffles. I still will make Grandpa's buttermilk ones, but most of the time I make these.

Best Waffles

Ingredients:
1 1/3 c flour
4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 t sugar
2 eggs, separated
1/2 c butter, melted
1 3/4 cups milk

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.
Separate the eggs, adding the yolks to the dry ingredients, and place the whites in a small mixing bowl. Beat whites until moderately stiff; set aside.
Add milk and melted butter to the dry ingredients and blend (you want this a little lumpy). Fold in stiff egg whites. Ladle mixture into hot waffle iron. ENJOY!

Ok. So after going though and writing down everything I need for the next three months, I then make my "Buy Ahead" shopping list. Most of these things I try to buy at Costco (you can go to Sam's Club if you prefer). Remember this is for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinners for the next 3 months, so expect to pay for that much (it will be more than $100). These are all at least amounts, I never buy less than I need, but sometimes buy more.

16 lb ground beef (however, I have some deer so I won't be buying this time)
8 pork chops
6 8-packs hot dogs
2 whole chickens
pork shoulder
6-8 lb chuck roast (I have some deer so I won't be buying this time)
brisket
16-20 spare ribs
frozen berries
frozen veggies
4 frozen pizza
meatballs
10 frozen chicken breasts (it is a better deal to buy the package of already frozen chicken breasts, you are going to freeze them anyway)
egg noodles
American cheese
cheddar cheese
Parmesan cheese
Peanut butter
flour (I always buy this in bulk 25 lb bags)
cinnamon
can corn
apple cider vinegar
tuna
Chips
4 bottles BBQ sauce
canned diced tomatoes
tomato sauce
can soup
salsa
granola bars (2 boxes)
String Cheese
crackers
diapers

Here is the list for things I buy at King Soopers:
sour cream
cream cheese
13 muffin mixes
cereal (I find better deals at Kings then Costco)
onion soup mix
Italian dressing mix
AuJus mix
rosemary
thyme
bay leaf
5 cans spaghetti sauce
Skim milk
2% milk
bread

I should come out pretty good, seeing as I don't need to buy the ground beef or the roasts because we have some deer left from hubby's last hunting trip. I will make the post later this week, so keep a watch out!

OK, so just because I plan my meals out for 3 months and do a big shopping trip once every 3 months does not mean that I don't have to go shopping every week. I still need to buy the fresh fruits and veggies, not to mention cheese, yogurt, milk and butter. I know that these are all things that you can buy frozen, but, well I don't. I will buy a bulk bag of frozen berries for smoothies, and a bulk bag of mixed veggies that I can boil up for a quick addition to dinners, but that is about all I do.  I have heard of some people stocking up on dairy items, even milk. They store them in their freezer. But I never know how much my family will drink from one week to the next, and even though we have a chest freezer, space is valuable (seeing as I need to stock it with meat for 3 months).

The hardest thing about this weekly shopping trip is to stick to a list. I am forever going and buying things that aren't on my list (yes I am human). And those $1 items sure do add up fast. One thing that really helps me (although some call me nuts) is on these little weekly trips I take my kids. Why??? Well, it is simple, I have a list of 5-10 items, it should only take me about 10 minutes to get them, which is about that same amount of time my kids behave in the store. So, by taking my kids I am forcing myself to stick to the list and get in and out as fast as I can. For those lucky times when I am kidless, don't go to the store hungry (that is the worst thing you can do) and go when you are in a bit of a hurry so you don't dilly dally in the snack section.

So this weeks list consisted of the following, all bought at King Soopers (I prefer Kings because it usually has decent prices on the things I need, and their quality on the fruit and veggies is so much better then Wally World)...

cheddar cheese - $2.18
2% milk (for the hubs) - $2.79
Whole milk (for the boys) - $2.79
2 bricks of cream cheese - $1 each
2 lbs butter - $2.50 each
2 packs margarine - $0.97 each
tortillas - $0.99
18 eggs - $2.98
4 mangos - $0.88 each
bunch of bananas - $1.55
watermelon - $5.99

Total coming to $31.73, not too bad for a weeks worth of food (remember that I am on my last week of food from the previous quarterly plan, so that is why I get away with this. Obviously these items don't make up all the meals). It took me a little longer this time, because a certain 4 year old decided to walk off on my while I was picking out some bananas. I was still out within 15 minutes, and it only took me 5 min to make up the list, no coupons either.

I love BBQ! I grew up on KC BBQ, specifically Jack Stack and Smoke Stack. I love that stuff, I think I could eat it every day! I like the smokey, sweet KC BBQ has. I know that there are many, my husband included, that would rather have Texas BBQ, but when I cook, it is KC all the way.

For years I would try to imitate KC BBQ using the oven, crock pot, and grill. Of course nothing would work. Then last year the hubby went out and bought a Traeger Smoker. My life was changed. If you are going to get a smoker, this is the one to get. Before I got a smoker, I thought smoking would be hard and stinky. But I just fill up the pellet hopper with my favorite Traeger pellets (apple, cheery, or pecan) and smoke the meat for a day or so. It comes out so tender and delicious. My mouth is watering right now...  So there are many ways to smoke, and many recipes, here is mine, feel free to tweek it as you want.

Smoked Pork Shoulder

Ingredients:
7-15 lb pork shoulder
Grill Mates Pork Rub
1-2 bottles of your favorite BBQ sauce

Directions:
Start your smoker, and get to temp of between 180 and 225. I like to use either apple, cherry or pecan wood for smoking pork, it gives it a mild sweet smokey flavor, which is what I really like. Generously rub pork with Grill Mates rub. Make sure you really rub it in, give the poor pork a good massage. The better you rub the better it will taste. Then put it in the smoker for 10-23 hours (1.5 hours per pound). After half the time has passed completely cover the pork with foil (this will make it extremely tender) and put back in the smoker for the rest of the time.

Now you have a couple of choices. I like to pull my pork when it is done, then throw it in the crock pot for another hour or so covered in my favorite BBQ sauce. But I have also just sliced it or pulled it and skipped the crock pot. It is up to you, and how much time you have. But let me tell you this is WONDERFUL stuff.

Crock pots are AWESOME! If you don't have one get one! You spend a few minutes in the morning throwing some stuff into the pot, turn it on low, and go about your business for the day. When you finish work and it is time for dinner, you will have an amazing meal, not to mention a house that smells like you slaved all day over a hot stove.

I am not sure when or where I got this recipe. It was a long time ago, when I was in college. I would start the pot in the morning before my classes, and when I got home after spending all day on campus, I would have a perfect and delicious meal. Much better then what most of my friends were eating.

So here it is, the 3 Envelope Crock Pot Roast Beef

Ingredients:
1 3-4 lb beef roast (your choice on cut)
1 c water
1 c salsa
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 envelope Italian dressing mix
1 envelope Au Jus mix

Directions:
Whisk together water, salasa and seasoning packets. Place roast in crock pot. Pour seasoning mixture over roast. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

I have also put in some cubed potatoes. They were delicious too!

Enjoy!

I found this recipe as while ago on Recipe Lion. I was looking for cheap, quick and easy meals using ground beef (cause I can only handle so many hamburgers and tacos). All of these ingredients are staples in the pantry and fridge, so we always have them on hand. It is a super easy dish, and all the boys actually eat it... Most of the time anyway, I do have a stubborn 4 year old, one day he loves it the next he hates it, I can't keep up. This post is done in red, to keep in time with the color coding for my meals, this meal is a beef meal, thus the red color. So here it is... Poor Man Husband Casserole...

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef 
garlic to taste (we like our garlic, but some of you may not)
1 t salt
1 t sugar (or you can use truvia if you are trying to cut back on the sugar)
2 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce  
8 oz egg noodles
8 oz sour cream
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1.5 c cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F. 
Brown and drain ground beef. Then mix with garlic, salt, sugar, and tomato sauce. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. 
Cook and drain egg noodles.
Mix sour cream and cream cheese together in a small bowl. 
Layer, in order twice - noodles, sour cream mixture, meat. Then sprinkle cheddar cheese on top, and bake for 20 minutes.

Enjoy, and have your kids do the dishes. Super easy and delicious dish!

So you have your 3 months of meals planned... Run to the store right?? Wrong. Now you need to go though and pull out all those recipes (which is another reason why color coding is so useful), then you need to start a tally. If you have a 1st or 2nd grader this is really good practice for them. You see each ingredient you will need to mark a tally for, of course not all tallies mean the same. For example, ground beef I mark a tally for each pound I need, but salt I go by the tea spoon. Make since? You will need to come up with your own method for this, unless of course you are going to completely use my menu as is, then you can just skip ahead to the shopping list (which I will post soon).

From this list you can check your pantry to see what you have on hand. Obviously you don't need to buy more salt if you already have a couple pounds, on the other hand, I will over buy meat sometimes if there happens to be a deal.

Now some people make up their menus based off of sale prices, and if you want to do this, by all means do it. But I don't like to limit myself and I don't like to take the time to look though the ads and match them up with my recipes... I just don't have that kind of time.

Anyway, stay tuned to see the three months recipes, tally lists, and the BIG SHOPPING list.

Now when most think of menu planning they think of planning dinners. I have posted my menu plans for both breakfast and dinner too! I suggest that you do that as well, it really saves time, money and stress.

Dinner is the most time consuming part of my planning. This is the meal that my whole family is usually here for. I don't make extra special meals, or difficult meals. I try to make stuff that they will eat and is good for them, which is actually kind of hard sometimes.

The first thing I do when menu planning is look at a calendar (duh, right?). But remember I am planning for the next three months, so that is July, Aug, and Sept. When I look at the calendar, I need to think about what is coming up as far as holidays, birthdays, and any other special day. For us, there is the 4th of July (which we are going to a friend's house), also the boys and I will be out of town from July 20-23 (so meals won't be needed on those nights), the hubs and I are celebrating our anniversary Aug 2 (so mac and cheese that night for the little ones), and my oldest little boy has a birthday September 18, and his party will be the 13th-14th. I highlight all those days and fill in those meals first. Then I just start filling things in. There really isn't a right or wrong to this. Whatever you like, just remember to use your color coding when doing this so it is easy for you to see if you need to defrost anything (meat) a day or two ahead of time. When I am doing this, I go though and put in all the beef first, then pork, then chicken, ect. That way I am less likely to put back to back meals.

Here are the meals for the next 3 months. Look soon to see the shopping list, and learn how I accomplish that one...

Lunch is interesting... During the school year I let my kids buy their lunch 2 times a week from the school. Once is always Wednesdays, because that is Pizza Day, and the other varies. The other days are usually a sandwich. They have a choice when they eat at home, so I always have things on hand. Here are the choices...

PB&J
Ham and Cheese crackers
Grilled cheese
Chicken Nuggets
Cheese quesadilla
Left overs from dinner (which never gets chosen :(

They also have to choose at least one veggie or fruit. After they eat all of their "main dish" and fruit or veggie, if they are still hungry they can have some chips or jello or pudding.

During the summer months I will have salad for lunch, because it doesn't cost me much at all. I have a garden that produces more than I can eat of the veggies I love. And I only use a table spoon of dressing. So 1 bottle will last me all summer. YEAH!

Anyway, I ALWAYS have carrots, celery, ham, cheese, PB, jam (home made), crackers, chicken nuggets, tortillas, bread, bananas, and apples on hand. I spend about $10 a week on keeping things stocked from lunches. So that is about $120 for 3 months worth. However, the only things I buy in bulk from this list is the chicken nuggets, tortillas, crackers, American cheese, and PB.

Breakfast can be tricky. I refuse to give my kids cereal every day, although once a week I don't see the problem. This means that I cook/fix breakfast for them every other day. It really isn't a lot, because breakfast is one of the easiest and cheapest meals of the day!!  I sat down with the kids and asked them what they liked most for breakfast. And to my surprise it isn't the sugary cereal.

Anyway here is how it broke down, we do the same thing every week, but with different things to eat each day it works.

Muffin Mondays (I buy those $1 muffin mixes, so for 3 months worth it is only $12-$13!!)
Toast Tuesdays (This is either French Toast, Cinnamon Milk Toast, or Toast with a nut butter of their choice. You can make your bread and save more money, but meal usually costs me $15 for the 3 months.)
Waffle Wednesdays (I make our waffles from scratch, and do a double batch to freeze half. That way I only have to cook these every other week. This meal costs about $8 for the 3 months, pretty awesome!)
Eggs Thursday (I know, eggs doesn't with a T but, we love our eggs, and they are sooooo cheap. So another 3 months is a little over $8.)
Fruit & Yogurt Fridays (Name says it all, I typically don't buy the individual cups, because it is a much better deal to get the big tub of it then top it with what ever fruit you have. All in all I spend about $10 for the 3 months worth)
Cereal Saturdays (Cause it is fun! But it does cost a lot!! I spend about $30 for the 3 months on cereal!! So if you are giving your kids cereal every day, think about how much you are spending!!)
Smoothie Sundays (We go to Church at 9, so we need something really quick. I put a cup of yogurt in with some frozen fruit and milk.Costs about $20 for the 3 months)

If you don't already have a menu for breakfasts, I would totally recommend one. Use mine or figure out one that works for your family. Please remember that the prices given are for just me and my younger boys, so 4 of us, 3 kids and 1 adult, as my husband gets up before the rest of us and has his own smoothies that he makes. Adding all this up, looks like I spend about $104 for 3 months of breakfasts, that is $35 per month... Or just under $9 per week! Not bad.

First step in my process for easy menu planning is color coding your recipes. I am redoing mine, because things have changed (having 3 young boys is harder than it looks), so I will share with you how I am going to do my color coding and how I will be doing it here on the blog. Of course use what ever makes most since for you, just make sure you write it down somewhere! Then when you copy a recipe make sure you write it or print it out on the correct color paper. I suggest using colored paper verses just printing it in a color so it is easy for you to find it later. Anyway, here is my color code...

Beef - Red
Pork - Pink
Chicken - White
Pasta - Orange
Vegetarian - Green
Breakfast - Blue
Dessert - Purple

I used to break it down even more, but I found that it just got to complicated. So I am just going to have 7 now.

I love to cook! I know that there are a lot of people out there who don't. They think it takes too long and they don't have time (and I have done recipes that are like that, and I don't like them). Now when I talked with some friends the other day, they said it wasn't just the cooking that bugged them, it was the whole process... meal planning, shopping (attempting to save money), cooking, and cleaning up afterwards. I have to admit I hate most of that too. So I have a system, one which I have been wanting to update for a long time. I have a bunch of recipes that my family loves all written down, and color coded according to what it is (ie. chicken, beef, seafood, mexican, etc.).

I do the color coding for a couple of reasons.  First it makes my life a whole lot easier on cooking day when I can just look by color at the recipes instead of pawing though cookbooks (which I have WAY too many of). Second, it makes it really easy to make up my menu plans and give them variety, because while the hubs is one who can eat spaggetti for dinner 7 days a week, I am not. I like to eat different things all the time. 

I also make my meal plans for 3 months in advance.

Why might I do this?? Well, for one, I am not one that enjoys spending a bunch of time every week or month coming up with a plan for what we are going to eat. Also, it allows me to REALLY shop in bulk. For instance, I buy 30-40 lbs of ground beef at the time, and spend a lot less then if I buy it even 5 lbs at a time. Also I can buy things like catchup, sugar, flour, spices, and oils in bulk, which is how I am able to save so much more money, without coupons. Granted, when I make my run to Costco, it costs me $300-$400, but I am only going there once every, 3 months. I of course buy fresh foods (fruits, veggies, dairy) weekly from which ever store I can, but it usually only costs between $30 and $70 (it is more when I go in and have time to look, lol) a week. So if you do the math, I am spending at most, $415 a month on groceries (and that includes breakfasts, lunches, snacks, dinner, and diapers). Not too bad for a family of 5.

Another thing I should mention is that I have Fend For Your Self Nights (FFYS), these are days when we usually eat leftovers or the ever favorite PB&J if nothing else is around. FFYS happens twice a week.

Another important reason I do 3 months of planning AND use my color coding, is that it let me be flexible. Have you ever done weekly plans, done the shopping and then it comes to the last day of the week, and you just don't feel like having meatloaf (or whatever)? Well if you have done your meal plans and vurtually all you shopping for the next 3 months, you can swap out that meal with next months lobster if you want (like I really make lobster, lol, it is just an example).

So this brings me to the reason why I am starting this blog now. I am going to try to help you and your family save money (without coupons) and time. I will be posting my families menu plans, shopping lists, and recipes that we love. Some of these meals may not be the most healthy, but I have 4 picky boy eaters here, so I do what I can.  I would also LOVE to hear some of your kid tested and approved recipes.