I have been married for over 10 years, but I am still trying to figure out how to manage my home, children, and work. It is amazing how there are so many different ways to do everything. I've settled into a meal planning method that works well for me, but it certainly isn't the only way to meal plan. Before we dig into different meal planning methods, let's get some of the basic questions out of the way. What is meal planning? Meal planning is the simple act of thinking ahead about what you want to eat, using those ideas to create your grocery list, and then eating those meals over the next several days. For a more detailed look at meal … [Read more...]
An Awesome and Affordable Dinner Party Menu
For Grace's wedding birthday, I came up with a simple, delicious, and affordable dinner party menu. The meal was so well received that I wanted to share it with you. The main course was crock pot cheesy pasta and beef casserole from Tammilee Tips. This recipe is so much better than regular spaghetti. The homemade sauce makes all the difference. All of my guests went back for seconds! In the picture above, I used mozzarella cheese. The recipe calls for cheddar and, I like it better with cheddar. However, you can use whatever you have on hand. There were 10 adults and 6 children at the party. I doubled the pasta recipe, and we had a … [Read more...]
More Fast & Easy Vacation Meal Planning
When our family goes on vacation, I always make a meal plan. We love to eat out, but it isn't very relaxing with little ones. Plus it gets expensive! In 2011, I pulled together a fast and easy vacation meal plan. Last summer when we went on a beach vacation, I decided to document our meals so I could share them with you all again. I hope it inspires you as you plan for your next vacation. What We (2 adults, a preschooler, and a toddler) Ate On Vacation Day One: Breakfast - peanut butter toast at home Lunch - chicken salad sandwiches, chips, and yogurt in the car Supper - chicken tenders, green beans, grapes - This meal was … [Read more...]
5 Cheap Meal Ideas for a Tight Grocery Budget
This winter has been out of control! We have had tons of snow here in Pennsylvania. Plus we can't forget about the epic "polar vortex" that has been bringing bone chilling temperatures. All of this cold weather has put a significant dent in our bank account. Nate and I have been buying oil to heat our home at an alarming rate. It. is. so. expensive. We are getting by (and we are so thankful for all that we do have!), but things are tight. There isn't much extra laying around these days. To help our dwindling bank account get through another week until payday, Nate and I came up with a cheap meal plan for the week. I rarely share … [Read more...]
Save Money & Stay Cool with 7 Meal Ideas for “Leftover” Grilled Chicken
The next time you fire up the grill, add some extra chicken breasts that you can use later in the week for any of these simple dishes. It will save some time in the kitchen and money in your pockets. Plus they will help you stay cool since most of them don't require the oven. 7 Meal Ideas for "Leftover" Grilled Chicken 1. Quesadillas 2. Chicken Fried Rice 3. Super Fast Chicken Pasta 4. Lettuce Salad with Homemade Sweet & Sour Salad Dressing 5. Chicken Salad 6. BBQ Chicken Pizza 7. Chicken, Broccoli, & Garlic White Pizza Recently I tried this type of "leftover" chicken meal plan. It was amazing how many meals I could … [Read more...]
How to Start a Cooking Club
My cooking club was one my favorite way to save time and money in kitchen. I started it with some girlfriends from church several years ago. We haven't been active for awhile now and I miss it! How did it work? Once a month I picked a freezer friendly recipe to share with the other members of the cooking club. I made several batches of that one dish, froze it, wrote out the cooking instructions, and then handed it out at our "cooking club exchange." Each member of the group would make a different dish at home and bring it to exchange. Allow me to say this again in case anyone is confused: Let's say 4 people were in the cooking … [Read more...]
