I posted a lot of information about my family and how we plan meals in this initial post.
You may have noticed that I didn’t post about my weekly shopping trip. I skipped out on grocery shopping completely this week. It was a crazy weekend, and I just didn’t have time and really there wasn’t anything we needed for meals this week other than milk, so my husband bought that the other night when he ran out to do the Target HSM3 deal for me. So, my total OOP for groceries last week was $1.99 for a gallon of milk.
Sunday – Pot Roast (freezer meal)
Monday – Baked chicken breasts – I got this recipe from Christy’s Once a Month Cooking – I am excited to try it because you can make it in the crockpot and freeze it. I’m going to make a double batch (we’ll eat half and freeze half)
Ingredients:
2 – 3 whole chicken breasts, halved (boneless, skinless)
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 can (10 1/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. orange or apple juice
1 tsp. leaf tarragon or rosemary
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 can (4 oz.) sliced mushrooms, drained
Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry; place in crockpot. In saucepan, combine remaining ingredients and heat until smooth and hot. Pour over chicken breasts. Cover and cook on low setting for 8-10 hours.
Christy’s Note: When I prepared this, the chicken came out so tender, it was falling apart. So, I shredded it, and served it over rice. We also found that shredded, it makes a GREAT sandwich filler!
Cool, bag, lay flat to freeze.
To serve: Thaw chicken and reheat. Serve as half-breasts with sides, or shredded on rice, or shredded on sandwich rolls.
Tuesday – Easy Swedish meatballs – this is from Girlfriends on the Go: A Busy Mom’s Guide to Make Ahead Meals
Ingredients:
30 pre-cooked frozen meatballs
1 pkg country gravy mix
1 cup sour cream
1 12 pkg egg noodles
Prepare gravy according to package directions. In a large saucepan, mix prepared gravy with 1 cup of sour cream. Add frozen meatballs. Heat until meatballs are cooked through and the mixture is bubbly. Serve over prepared noodles.
(If freezing, mix prepared gravy with sour cream. Place meatballs in a freezer bag and pour sauce over the meatballs)
Wednesday – California combo – This is another yummy recipe from Marci’s blog
Thursday – Lemon chicken – this is from Girlfriends on the Go: A Busy Mom’s Guide to Make Ahead Meals
Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tsp dried thyme
3 tsp salt
1 clove garlic
1 cup lemon juice
Mix spices and lemon juice in a bag. Add chicken breasts. Marinate for several hours or overnight. Place in slow cooker for 4-6 hours on low. You can also bake or grill instead.
If freezing, place in a frezer bag. The chicken will marinate while thawing.
*This recipe is a “double” recipe, so I will freeze half and cook the other half
Friday – Tator Tot casserole
Ingredients:
1/2 pound ground beef
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 (14.5 ounce) can French style green beans
1/2 (32 ounce) package tater tots
shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef and drain fat. Stir in condensed cream of mushroom soup, water, garlic salt, cheese, and green beans. Pour the mixture into a medium-sized casserole dish and layer with the tater tots. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until tater tots are browned and crispy.
Saturday – Lemon Herbed Tilapia (freezer meal) – this is another meal that I got from my freezer swap group and I’m excited to try it!
You’ll have to let us know how the crock pot and freeze meal is…it sounds good…if it’s good, we should use it for the next freezer group
Now what are you going to put that extra $38 dollars towards? Will you keep it in your grocery budget for weeks you go over? Will you save it or maybe even splurge on something great! It should be accounted for!
Since I’m doing a freezer swap group now which is an additional expense I hadn’t necessarily budgeted for, I might put the $38 toward that. Or…I might just add it to my “stockpile fund” that I use when there are really good deals and I want to stockpile something but don’t have the money in my budget for it.