Menu Plan Monday

Keeping meals simple this week. I carried one meal over from last week that we didn't end up using.


Monday:  BBQ Cups - kids love these and they are simple. I have also seen them with Taco Meat
Tuesday:  Pork Chops/ Applesauce / Corn
Wednesday: Halloween - sandwiches
Thursday: Rotisserie Chicken in the Crockpot
Friday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday: ??


This weekend I made a batch of Stuffed Green Pepper Soup , a recipe that Melissa posted. I plan on using this for lunches this week for me and Hubby. 


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Saturday Check In

I went back to tracking last week and it definitely works better for me.  I have been trying to determine what is best amount for our weekly finances.  Last week I did $200 and came up $25 over. Here is the breakdown for the week:
Groceries/Household Items: $74.53
Dining Out: $62.07
Recreation: $20
Gas: $69.05

Gas was only for my Van and didn't include the Husband's truck. He only drives a mile to work and didn't need to fill up this week.  We also went out to eat more this week than we have in a while.   This week I am going with a $250 budget as we have a few more things coming up this week. Husband's truck will need gas. I am hoping this works better for us.  I will also be watching what we spend at the store and not going out to eat this week.

We  sat down with our daughter on Tuesday and gave her a daily spending limit for her lunch. We showed her how much she was spending. She has snacks and drinks I already bought her to take with her for practice.  Wednesday she did good but on Thursday she went over again. Only by 30 cents but it is still over.  She is gone for the weekend and I didn't see it before she left. I will be collecting it from her when she gets home.   I don't want her falling into the same money problems that her Dad and I did when we were younger.  She needs to learn to budget her money.  The lunch account for all 3 kids is combined so it is hard when she goes over it doesn't really affect her at lunch.


Here is my To Do List from last week.

1. Organize Dining Room ( has become the collecting place for everything)
2. Parent Teacher Conferences for the Kids
3. Grocery Shopping
4. Send payment for Son's Baseball team. 
5. Go over list for Halloween supplies. (Costumes are bought but need to check for accessories)

I did pretty good but didn't end up organizing the Dining Room.   We seemed to have something to do every night this week and I didn't get to it. Today has been spent running everywhere also.  Kid's had practice plus a baby shower and birthday party.  Tomorrow is Church and getting pumpkins for the kids. I am hoping we can still find some as we waited too long this year.  

I am off to take the youngest to a birthday party. 

Hope everyone has a good weekend and everyone out East survives the storm.  I will post on Monday our Menu plan for next week. 

Menu Plan

I am a day late with this post but here is what is on the menu for this week. The hubby and kids did pretty well sticking to the menu I laid out for them while I was gone.

Monday: Cheese Ravioli, Garlic Bread,Applesauce
Tuesday: Goulash
Wednesday: Leftovers or Sandwich night
Thursday: PorkChops, corn, Salad
Friday: Crockpot Chicken Teriyaki
Saturday: Tater tot Casserole


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Back on Track

The last two weeks have been crazy.  I got away from tracking for two weeks.  The week my Aunt died and then last week while I was in Seattle.  I tracked my expenses for the week in Seattle but that was just to turn into work for reimbursement. My hubby handled everything at home while I was gone so I didn't ask him to keep track of everything. 

This week I am getting back on track and track where everything is going. I like to  know where my money is going.  Before I left for Seattle I paid the bills that went out for the second half of the month.  So that is taken care of. I gave myself $200 for the week for groceries/gas/misc.  We will see how it goes.

One problem area is the kids lunch account. My youngest two boys take their lunch some days but my daughter doesn't like to do that in Middle School.  The problem is that the lunch prices were raised this year and the portions went down so the school lunch is not enough for her. I think it would be if she were to eat all her veggies and fruit that they are required to take now. She is also in cheerleading after school and wants snacks before practice.  I have bought snacks for her to take with her but of course she forgets them at home. So she picks something up at the snack bar which is ridiculously high. She is spending anywhere from $4 - $5 a day when she has cheerleading practice. I know that this is not that much but it adds up quickly.  I can pack quite a lunch and snacks for that price. We are going to have to make a change because she is killing me with these prices.  ( A  little update, all 3 kids share the same lunch account so setting a daily limit doesn't seem to be working because there is always money in the account. Our school doesn't accept cash for lunches the money  has to be in their account.).  Any suggestions ?

Today I need to go grocery shopping to get the supplies for the week. I will post my menu for the week in a separate post. There is not too much to shop for this week.

This week's To Do List:

1. Organize Dining Room ( has become the collecting place for everything)
2. Parent Teacher Conferences for the Kids
3. Grocery Shopping
4. Send payment for Son's Baseball team. 
5. Go over list for Halloween supplies. (Costumes are bought but need to check for accessories)

Menu Plan

Thank you for the kind words on my Aunt passing last week.
I am in Seattle this week at a work conference. I made up a meal plan for the hubby while I am gone. He has a busy week with running kids so I made sure it was quick and simple.

Monday: Pulled Pork sandwiches: this was in freezer so just had to thaw put.
Tuesday: Spaghetti , garlic bread.
Wednesday : leftovers or sandwiches
Thursday: hotdogs , Macaroni and cheese
Friday: eat out. I get home on Friday
Saturday: My 20 year class reunion
Sunday: eat at church

I will be interested to get home and see if the family followed what I laid out.
Have a good week!

The Big C

The Big "C" Cancer has reared its ugly head this week. A friends Dad last his 7 month battle with Cancer this week.  On the same day my Aunt also lost her fight. It is so hard to watch friends and family grieve for their loved ones. 
In my Dad's family my Aunt is the 4th sibling to die from this horrible disease.  My Dad came from a large family there are 13 kids total in the family. Four of them lost to cancer and 1 (My Dad) to heart attack. 2 died when they were real young to pneumonia and kidney problems.  Unfortunately my Uncle has also been diagnosed with Cancer and is not responding to treatments either.  Sometimes we wonder why our family has been hit so hard.  We know God is in control and he has a plan that we don't understand. We know that our loved ones are in a better place and are no longer in any pain.  That doesn't always ease the grief though at least not now. 
I am not one to sit around and do nothing. After hearing the news I felt like I had to do something. So I left work went to Walmart and bought basic supplies to take to the families. Plates, cups, paper towels and a veggie tray.  My  Husband and I have both lost our Dads and when we were going through it the last thing you want to do is worry about dishes or what to feed everyone.  I will be fixing more food tonight to take down to my Aunt's for tomorrow.  I know there will be plenty of family there tomorrow.  This may seem small but I feel the need to keep busy.  I hate Cancer.

Menu Plan Monday

Here is this week's Menu. I followed last week's menu except for Saturday because we were invited to a cookout.

Monday: Whole Wheat Pecan Waffles and Bacon, : I can't wait to try these waffles.
Tuesday:  Chicken and Noodles: Using Leftover chicken.
Wednesday: Leftover Night or Sandwiches
Thursday: Enchiladas
Friday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday: Cookout
Sunday: Youth Group Night at Church.

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I had most of the ingredients on hand for this week so I only need to pick up a few things for this week. I will be planning and shopping for next week also since I will be gone. I head to Seattle for a work conference next Monday and Hubby will be staying home with the kids.  I have no worries as my husband can cook but I want to make it easier for him since he will be left with all the kid running.  Some weeks it really does take both of us to get the kids everywhere. :)

Have a good week!

Friday Recap

I made it through the week!! While I was doing the September Savings Challenge I started tracking where I was spending all weekly money. Since DH gets paid weekly we end up putting part of his check in the bank and keeping part out for weekly expenses. ( Food, Gas, Clothing, etc).  My paycheck is twice a month and on those pay days I pay our bills.  I know where my paycheck goes but I have not been very good at keeping track of the weekly money.

Tracking definitely helped me budget our money better. I decided I would start publishing our weekly totals here so I am more accountable. 
This week was a stock up week for Groceries. During September I had used up a lot of meat that was in our freezer. I was done to a few packages of Ground Beef, a 10 lb Ham , 12 lb Turkey and some frozen fish. I know there are many dishes I can make with Ground Beef but I wanted to give my family a little variety. The Ham and Turkey don't fit in my Crockpot so I need to cook those on the weekend. 
Groceries: $124.76
This included 2 Whole Chickens $.99/lb,-  I already cooked one this week with the Bones reserved for Broth.
Pork Loin $1.99 lb. - Cut this up at home into 3 meals- 2 pkgs of Pork chops and 1 pork loin to roast.
Jif Peanut Butter $10.98 - this is a twin pack and DH only like Jif. I don't buy name brand on very many items but this is one.
Boneless/ Skinless Chicken Thighs 1.67 / lb
This gives a little variety in the menu.

Entertainment - 31.00
Dining Out $ 23.96
Gas $182.30 - this is high for us but it included husbands truck, motorcycle , my van and the mower.

A new week starts for us tomorrow.

Menu Plan Monday

Here is our Menu Plan for the week.


Monday: Tacos
Tuesday: Crock Pot Chicken , Carrots, Potatoes
Wednesday:  Cheese Ravioli/ Garlic Bread / Salad
Thursday: Ham n Beans / Corn Bread
Friday : Leftovers/Sandwiches.  Football Game so dinner is quick.
Saturday: Chicken Casserole
Sunday:  Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops / Salad/ Applesauce

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