How we avoid eating take out 5+ times a week

Last week I had a lovely email in my inbox from a fellow teacher and new Mommy (Hi Sam!). Her question was simple, with me going back to work how did I plan to make sure a dinner made it to the table that didn't come from a drive thru window. The answer? I meal plan.

 

She asked me to share how I did it, so here it goes.

 

First, I started out by making a simple word document that contains all of our 'go to' meals. These are the tried and true recipes that I know my husband will eat. Some of them take way too long for weeknight meals, and that's okay. Its just my list to keep things straight in my head. I put food on there with a list underneath of the things I need to make it. Like this:

 

Mexican Chicken:

1 lb chicken breast

Taco Seasoning

Minute Rice

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Small Can Corn

Jar Salsa

 

Literally, its nothing fancy at all. Currently it has about 40 meals on it- with notations when a meal will make a double batch that I can freeze for later or has enough for leftovers. Then I fill the meals in on my Meal Plan Sheet.

 

Its a simple sheet that I had laminated so I could use a dry erase marker on it each week that hangs on the fridge. Then I pick some meals off of my go to list and at least one new meal to try of Pinterest. This weeks meal plan looks like this-

 

Sunday- Roasted Chicken

Monday- Burgers and Corn on the Cob

Tuesday- Croc-Pot General Tso's Chicken 

Wednesday- Steak Calzones

Thursday- Chicken Burritos and Rice

Friday- Spaghetti

Saturday- Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

 

Then I start to make my grocery list. Since every item has either a list or a recipe, I look at what I need vs. what I have and fill my list in from there. I always shop at the same grocery store, so I sort my list by the way the store is laid out.  For my store its fruits and veggies first, then the deli, then meats, then the diary aisle- etc. That way I grab things off of my list as I pass them and I can avoid going back to pick up something I missed. During the school year I also use a local grocery store that has an option to order all of your groceries on line, then pick them up at the curb.  It eliminates forgetting things and impulse purchases, and I don't have to drag the kid out of the car in the cold. It costs $5, but I think it's well worth it.  I always manage to have at least $5 in coupons for products I'm buying, and I avoid picking up things because they "looked good" so in my mind that makes it pay for itself. If you live in the Pittsburgh area check out any of the Market District stores to see if they offer it, I use the one in Robinson.

 

As I'm meal planning I try to keep a few things in mind. First, is it a meal that is manageable on a weeknight? Second, can I prep anything ahead of time to make it easier? For example Thursdays we have swim lessons at 6- so I'll prep the chicken while I'm making dinner on Wednesday. Ill poach it in chicken broth and shred it while I'm cooking the steak. Then it goes into the fridge and Ill heat it up with some taco seasoning on Thursday while I'm making cilantro lime rice to fill the burritos. I make my croc pot meals on the weekend, and put all of the ingredients into a Ziploc baggie and put it in the fridge or freezer so all I have to do is dump it into the croc pot in the morning.  

 

 I like eating at home because its cheaper and better for you, but every once in awhile you have a day that makes you say "Im not cooking". So either the hubs will cook dinner or we'll head out for an impromptu family date night. It's okay either way. When that happens we shift around the meals and I just reuse the meal that didn't get made on next weeks meal plan.

 

So that's how I do it, Sam.  Does anyone else have ideas for easy weeknight meals? Id love to hear them!

 

 

 

 

 

   

 



Holy Adult Stuff Batman.

Tonight we set up a 403b plan with a financial planner. We also picked out life insurance, did a cash flow analysis, made a financial plan and talked about creating living wills.

One question, lovelies,

WHEN DID WE GROW UP??

Well, I mean, I guess when this guy came along...

..but still.

A little over a year ago we were eating junk food for dinner and would actually spend our extra money on ourselves. We didn't do laundry but once a week, and if we would rather go out than clean the house we did.

Tonight, I came home from work, ran the sweeper, moped the floors made a dinner of grilled chicken, baked sweet potatoes, corn and salad.  We ate dinner, I did dishes and a load of laundry and then we sat down with a lady in a power suit and talked about mutual funds and aggressive vs conservative investments.

I feel old and responsible.

So now that the baby is asleep I will put my feet up on the couch, eat a bowl of ice cream and watch American Idol.  Because a person can only take so much responsibility in a day.



DIY Vinyl Calendar

Step one of getting organized involves making sure everyone is where they need to be when they need to be there. A few months ago I saw this project over at Sarah's blog Life Sweet Life and thought "hmm I can do that!" Well today, I decided it was time to get started.

I had an old picture frame lying around the house that I had bought on clearance for $3.00 at JoAnn's a long time ago. . (Please forgive the bad pictures, the good camera was dead so my point and shoot will have to do!)

I removed the back and hot glued the glass to the frame. I simply ran a line of hot glue around the frame and inserted the glass. Then to make sure it was in there good and tight I added another layer to the top of of the glass and folded down the tabs on the back of the frame to secure the glass. I used my Cricut to cut out the vinyl that I got super cheap at http://www.expressionsvinyl.com/. I purchased a 12x24 sheet of one of about 38 colors for around $1.89. Go to Michaels and two sheets is going to cost at least $9, and you cant get near as many colors. Shipping was also very cheap and very fast.

My kitchen is light blue and white, so I went with a black, dark blue and gray color scheme. I used the Cricut Cartridge Designers Calendar that I got on clearance, I use it to make really fun calendars for my classroom. It already had the blank calendar and the days of the week on it, I just had to choose which ones I wanted and hit cut!

I knew I wanted the calendar to be dry-erase, so I used the flip feature to cut the words out backwards and stuck them on the back of the glass. I know the Cricut Expression has this button, but Im not sure about the other Cricut machines.

I used brackets to signify where I can write in the Month and added our name for a little personalization. After it was all stuck on there, I went over it with some windex to remove fingerprints and Volia- Done!

As for sizes- the frame is 12x12, so I cut out an 8 inch calendar box. The days of the week are all 1 inch, the name is 1 1/2 inches and the brackets are 2 inches. I left some space at the side to write in any notes that I may need to remember that month. All I need to do is find a skinny dry erase marker and Im good to go!

The best part- I already had all of the supplies, making this a free project :)

Now- the next challenge is to actually get the hubs to use it....we'll see how it goes!

Getting Organized

It really is amazing how much crap two people can accumulate. The hubs and I have lived together for three years, and he's been in this house for 8. As I start to clean out closets, go through drawers and the attic I keep finding the craziest stuff that for the life of me I cant imagine why we have. Why do two people need a case, think 30 of them, of Jose Cuervo shot glasses? ("Because they were free at the bar one night!" claims hubs.) What about a candle powered fondue set? A kitchen towel warmer? (Christmas gifts gone way wrong) A set of wall sconces with dogs on them? (No idea). As I prepare for this baby one thing is for sure...a yard sale is in our immediate future, and anything that doesn't sell will be at goodwill ASAP. Hopefully the Hubs wont be here for it, or he may cry when he realizes I'm adding his candy bar vending machine and rock em sock em robots to the pile- Christmas gifts that a guy his age does not need. Wish me luck!