Menu Plan through January 31

The following is my menu plan through the end of the month. Much of the meat is coming from the freezer, as we need to get it emptied out. I will not be eating most of the carb selections, but try to fit my diet around what everyone else is eating. I didn't type in the days of the week, but the plans run Monday through Sunday.
Warm regards,
Shannon

Menu January 14-20

Breakfast

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Pancakes
Sausages
Juice

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Oatmeal
Applesauce
Milk

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Cereal
Milk

Egg casserole
Toast
Juice

Lunch

Tuna salad sandwiches
Carrots with dip
Peaches
Milk

Rice with vegetables
Mandarin oranges
Milk

Lentil soup
Pears
Buttered bread
Milk

Raman noodles
Mixed vegetables
Milk

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Pineapple
Milk

Bacon
Hash browns
Eggs to order
Juice

Cold meat sandwiches
Vegetables and dip

Dinner

Bean burritos
Spanish rice
Corn

Garlic chicken
Spinach salad
Noodles

Crock Mock Beef Bourguignon
Mashed cauliflower
Green beans
Crusty bread

Meatloaf
Peas and carrots
Roasted potatoes

Homemade pizza

Halibut nuggets
French fries
Carrots

Leftovers

January 21-27

Breakfast

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Pancakes
Sausages
Juice

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Oatmeal
Applesauce
Milk

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Cereal
Milk

Egg casserole
Toast
Juice

Lunch

Salmon patties
Carrots with dip
Peaches
Milk

Rice with vegetables
Mandarin oranges
Milk


Bean and vegetable soup
Pears
Buttered bread
Milk

Macaroni salad
Mixed vegetables
Milk

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Pineapple
Milk

Sausage gravy
Biscuits
Eggs to order
Juice

Cold meat sandwiches
Vegetables and dip

Dinner

Cabbage roll soup
Brown rice
Crusty bread

Pepper stuffed herd chicken
Noodles
Broccoli

Mountain goat roast in the crock
Baked potatoes
Green beans
Corn on the cob

Salisbury steaks
Mashed cauliflower
Bussels sprouts

Homemade pizza

Halibut nuggets
French fries
Green beans

leftovers

January 28-31

Breakfast

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Pancakes
Sausages
Juice

Eggs
Toast
Juice

Oatmeal
Applesauce
Milk

Lunch

Macaroni & tuna casserole
Carrots with dip
Peaches
Milk

Rice with vegetables
Mandarin oranges
Milk

Tomato soup
Pears
Buttered bread
Milk

Raman noodles
Mixed vegetables
Milk

Dinner

Turkey divan
Mashed cauliflower
Rolls

Moose burgers, grilled
French fries

Spaghetti with caribou sauce
Carrots
Garlic bread

Tacos
Corn
Rice

Menu Planning Made Easy

I love it when someone makes my life just a little easier.

I was perusing one of my favorite blogs, A Happy Home, and came across a post recommending Menus 4 Moms. This is an awesome resource for inexperienced menu planners as well as us "old pros." If you are just beginning to plan menus, you can use her FREE menus, recipes, and shopping lists just the way they are. If you want, or need to, however, you can just use them as an outline. Even better news, as I looked over some of the menus, I saw that they would fit very well into a rather frugal grocery budget.

There are many terrific food related articles on the Menus 4 Mom website. I spent quite a while just exploring it. This site is going onto my sidebar as a really "Awesome Resource!"

Enjoy!

Warm regards,
Shannon

Christmas Tea Party

Several days ago, my daughters hosted their annual Christmas Tea. We had 16 young ladies and 6 (old?!) ladies in attendance. Everyone said it was a smashing success.

The theme the girls chose was snow and snowmen. The invitations, which I neglected to photograph, were purchased as blank cards at Michael's for $1 for 10. We embellished them with scrapbook supplies and printed wording from the computer. For decorations, my husband, Mr. Christmas, strung white icicle lights from the ceiling, as well as his usual multi-colored lights around the edges of the ceiling. We also put icicle lights and white tulle across the hearth. As always, I placed about a dozen votives in the fireplace to give light, but not heat. We used Debbie Mumm paper plates from Jo Ann Fabric over heavy red octagonal styrofoam plates. I know, not fancy, but clean up after 16 little girls and you'll understand. After the first year, we switched to fancy disposable. The tables were covered in red cloths with squares of matching Debbie Mumm wrapping paper to accent. Centerpieces were red and green floral candle rings around candles floating in footed glass ice cream dishes. I wove a long strand of white snow flake garland around the centerpieces.

This is the bigger girls' table.

The little bags on the plates were little bead snowflake ornaments that we made together for the girls to take home.

This is the littler girls' table. No candles on it! Our menu was:

Tea sandwiches (chicken salad, turkey and spinach pinwheels)

Mini ham and cheese quiches

Fruit kabobs with vanilla yogurt dip

Mini muffins (strawberry cheesecake flavor)

Cookies (meringues, macaroons, white chocolate/dried cherry, lemon bars, peanut butter, gingerbread stars)

Scones with strawberry jam and mock Devonshire cream

Cranberry tea

I love our Christmas teas. I wish you all could have joined us!

I hope your Christmas was lovely!

Warm regards,

Shannon

Pumpkin Delight

This is a nice, but very rich, alternative to pumpkin pie. It is a little like a pumpkin pudding with a buttery crust on top. I think it is absolutely delicious. My 2 year old loves it, too. She calls it "Punk."

Pumpkin Delight

Beat together:

5 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 29 ounce can pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Pour the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish.

Sprinkle over the top:

1 standard sized yellow cake mix (butter flavor is REALLY good)

Thinly sliver 2 sticks of butter and lay on top of the cake mix.

Sprinkle over the butter 1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional, I don't).

Bake at 300 F for 1-1 1/2 hours until set (no butter pooling on top) and crust is a nice dark golden color.

Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Warm regards,

Shannon

Thanksgiving Menu

Here is the menu for Thanksgiving at our house.

roasted turkey (15 pounds)
sage dressing (some in the bird and some in a pan)
pan gravy
mashed potatoes (Yukon golds)
sweet potato casserole (lots of marshmallows)
green bean casserole
cloverleaf rolls
cranberry relish
stuffed eggs
olives, pickles
orange fluff
apple pie
German chocolate pecan pie

This is a very traditional menu for us. The only new additions this year are the pies. After 16 years of marriage, I just found out my husband likes pecan pie. I was going to make a Pumpkin Delight, which I like better than pie, but I my husband doesn't really like it. I think I will post the recipe for you in case you want to make one yourself.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Warm regards,

Shannon

Saving Money at the Grocery Store Part 4

These books have helped me the most in learning how to save money grocery shopping. I am including the links to Half.com where they can be purchased used at a huge discount. Of course, I would advise taking them for a test drive from your local library or through inter-library loan before purchasing.

Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half, Barbara Salsbury, 1982 here

The Complete Tightwad Gazette, Amy Dacyczyn, 1999 here
Also available as 3 volumes:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3

Miserly Moms: Living on One Income in a Two Income Economy, Joni McCoy, 1996 here

Miserly Meals: Healthy, Tasty Recipes Under 75 Cents Per Serving, Joni McCoy, 2002 here

Please post your favorite money saving books in the comments.

Warm regards,
Shannon

Saving Money at the Grocery Store, Part 3

I have a few final ideas about saving money at the grocery store. I’m just listing them by subject as that seems easiest.

Breakfast:
I’ve heard so many ladies say they can’t cook breakfast—they’re too rushed in the morning--so the children and husband have to start their day with cold cereal, which is not only expensive, but very unhealthy. I allow it once per week, on Saturday morning. I look for the cheapest one on the shelf—my limit is $1.50 for a standard sized box (one whole box will be consumed in one sitting at my house). If it is a treat and not a daily staple, then the children will take whatever they are offered. Personally, I do not believe that a cooked breakfast is a big deal to produce. I cook breakfast nearly every morning, and except when I have a newborn under six weeks or the absolute worst morning sickness, my husband gets a cooked breakfast everyday he works a day shift. That has been my practice since we were married almost 16 years ago. Even when I can’t get up due to nursing or nausea, I arrange something hot for him—toaster waffles or a plate he can heat in the microwave. I feel my husband and children are too important to me to shove a cold bowl at before they start their day. You can make lots of nice breakfasts the night before. If you do an internet search for make-ahead breakfast, you’ll get more than you’ll know what to do with.

Eggs are a good value as far as protein goes, especially if you are going light on meat to save money. They are also easy to cook. Our standard breakfast is scrambled eggs and toast with juice. I can make a big pan of scrambled eggs (I scramble 8 at a time for me and 5 little people), and 8 slices of toast in less than 5 minutes. Oatmeal is probably the cheapest choice for breakfast, but everyone I know has a definite limit as to how much of it they can tolerate. I have a hard time with the texture and can’t eat it very often. We usually have it with milk to drink, so it’s a complete protein. My children like applesauce spooned over the top.

Juice is outrageously priced. We have one glass (6-8 ounces) per day, usually at breakfast. Any more than that is really unnecessary as it is so high in sugar. Children (and adults) should be taught to drink water when thirsty and not require a flavored drink. That will lead to a soda habit later on. Whole fruit is much better for your body, anyway.

Lunch:
If I don’t have any leftovers, then I have a rotating schedule of lunches that the children and I eat everyday. My husband takes a lunch to work, but wants the same thing everyday. If I had to pack a school lunch for the children, I suppose I would make a rotating schedule for them, utilizing the least expensive things I could find. I think putting individual servings in small reusable containers would be cheaper than single-serving containers. Also making sandwiches from leftovers would be more economical than deli meat.

Milk:
Milk is unnecessary. There, I said it. Cow milk is meant for calves; people do not technically require cow milk to be healthy. There are tons of good (even better) sources of calcium. Broccoli is one. If you cannot afford milk, you shouldn’t feel bad—unless of course you can’t afford milk in order to buy cigarettes or something. Just investigate other good sources of calcium and work them in. If we have 2 8-ounce glasses per day (the recommended amount), this would be 1 and ¾ gallons per day. At $3 per gallon, that would be $36.75 per week in milk alone!! I cannot fathom spending that on a beverage. If you have milk, treat it as what it is—a protein source, not a beverage.

Baby items:

Formula: I nurse my babies for 6-12 months and wean them to milk in a soft spout cup, so I don’t have any advice here except WIC.

Diapers: Cloth are better for the environment as far as trash goes. Money-wise, take the cost of laundering them into account. I use disposable at present, at my husband’s request. He doesn’t want the extra wash water in the septic tank. I have used cloth in the past. I like cloth and would switch in a minute to save at the store. I buy Wal-Mart brand or Luv’s. They perform at an acceptable level and are not too expensive for me.

Diaper wipes: Unnecessary, but SO convenient! A big stack of white face cloths are very cheap at Wal-Mart or a similar store. Of course you have to treat them like cloth diapers as far as washing goes.

Baby food: Not needed. Mash table food with a fork, mix in milk or formula or whatever they are drinking at the time. A baby food mill can be found at thrift stores or fairly cheaply at a discount store like Wal-Mart. It is a real help, especially for meats.

Pet items:

Dog/cat food: I spent years buying an acceptable inexpensive cat food. I then read that a good quality food is a better value in the end. The reason: less waste. The animal requires a smaller serving of high quality food and uses more of it for nutrition. Consequently, they produce smaller, less-smelly piles of waste. I believe this. I switched to Iams cat food (dry). Our cat eats about 1/3 less of it than she did of the Wiskas we used to buy. She now only has one pile in her litter box daily. She used to have much more—and they smelled A LOT worse.

Cat box litter: I also spend more here to get better results. I buy the white crystals, which cost a bit more, but they cut the smell so well I don’t mind. Now that the cat goes less, the crystals last longer than they used to as well. I have to remind the children to stir the box daily, though, when they scoop it, to dry the urine.

Produce:

Buy fresh produce in season from local growers. I wrote about this here. If you can garden, do so. Even a tomato plant growing in a bucket will cut down what you have to buy. I can’t afford all fresh so I buy some frozen and canned as well. Frozen is preferable to canned, as it retains more of the health benefits of the food. I plan for fruit at one meal every day, as well as a glass of juice at breakfast, and at least 3 vegetables. I try to plan different colors everyday for health benefits. When planning a menu, I don’t count potatoes as a vegetable. I count them the same as bread.

Meat:

We are carnivores at my house. However, I try to have a “meatless Monday” on my dinner schedule, as well as a soup night and dried beans every week or so. My husband doesn’t like fish so much, but the children and I LOVE it, so we have it while he is at work. You have to investigate meat prices and cuts, so you know when you have a good price. I will not go above $2.39/lb for boneless, skinless chicken breasts. When I lived “down south” (in the lower 48), my limit was $1.99. Everything is more expensive here—except fresh salmon, but it’s not as cheap as you’d think unless you fish for it yourself or have generous neighbors.

We also eat wild game meat that my husband hunts and we process ourselves. Moose is delicious, as is caribou. I never cared much for the white-tailed deer we had in the mid-west, but if you have the opportunity and inclination, do try to supplement with game meat. Even just fishing a little in the summer will bring down the food bill.

Cook from scratch:

Most convenience foods can be reproduced with a little effort. I use thick white sauce instead of cream of whatever soup in casseroles. I also use white sauce with cheddar cheese in it over macaroni instead of boxed mac-n-cheese. Cookies are fun and very cheap to make (healthier than store bought, too). Ultimately, bread is better to make at home, too, but this is an advanced step for most people. Home made pancakes, biscuits, noodle and rice mixes, even my beloved cappuccino mix is cheaper than pre-made, processed packages from the store. Try just one item at a time if the idea of scratch cooking scares you.


I hope you are blessed by this information. I recently had to cut my grocery money by $10 per week, from $125 to $115. I did really well this first grocery trip, but am always looking for new ways to save. Please add your favorite grocery dollar savers in the comments, if you are so inclined.

Warm regards,

Shannon