Weekly Column: 30 Minute Meals

30 minute meals

In keeping with last week’s topic, menu-planning for busy weeknights, it is helpful for busy parents to have a back-up plan for when find yourself unprepared. Although a menu-plan will help keep you organized, sometimes you will eat in one meal what you thought could stretch into two…sometimes company drops in, a child is home sick, or you will forget to thaw meat. These things happen. But how can you get everyone fed without resorting to the most expensive alternatives: drive thru or take out?

Stockpile some quick fixes

Whenever you have small portions leftover, consider freezing them for quick weeknight meals. For example, a cup of leftover rice might be frozen then later combined with leftover beans, some seasoning, and reheated to make burritos or enchiladas. Toss together a quick salad and you have created a quick, balanced meal that costs virtually nothing extra. Compare this to a $40-50 take-out meal. If you can reduce the number of times you eat out, you will be doing your budget a real favour.

Some other quick fix ideas include keeping Ziploc bags marked in the freezer for different kids of soups. Rather than throwing out portions of mashed potatoes and vegetables, save them for hearty weeknight soups. Do the same with leftover meat, and be sure to incorporate soups into your regular menu-plan to avoid overwhelming your freezer.

The incredible, edible egg

Breakfast for supper is an affordable option that can be written into a weekly menu-plan, anytime. Even if you haven’t planned on it, breakfast-type meals can bail you out when you find yourself stuck with no supper prepared. Bacon, ham or sausage thaws quickly in the microwave while omelettes can use up odds and ends from the fridge. Pancakes or French toast are ready in minutes and can be served with a dish of fruit for fibre and nutrients. Leftover baked potatoes can be fried with omelette ingredients and topped with cheese all in the same pan for a delicious, low mess pan scrambler. When you find yourself in a rush for food, do a quick survey of what you have on hand and make the effort to feed your family at home.

Wraps, stir fries and buns

If you’ve kept some portions of leftover meat in your freezer you can quickly thaw them in the microwave to use in wraps, sandwiches or stir fries. Cans of ham, chicken, tuna and the like can also be mixed with mayo for a cheap and easy sandwich filling. If you’d rather go meatless, washing and slicing vegetables does not take long and can be done while rice or noodles cook. Quickly sliced French bread or buns baked with sauce, pepperoni and cheese make mini pizza the kids will love. You may prefer a meat and potatoes meal to end your day, but if you are out of time and ideas these options will get you through a hectic evening so you can try to do better tomorrow.

One Dish Wonders

It sure saves time if you can prepare a meal in one pot. If hamburger helper is not your thing, you can improvise with your own pasta creations. As your pasta cooks, add your preferred vegetables to the pot to cook. Drain when the pasta and vegetables are tender. At this point you can add whatever precooked meat, sauce or cheese you have on hand for an incredibly fast meal. The same can be done with rice.

Rely on yourself

There are dozens of other quick meal ideas out there, too many to list. Look online for meals that suit your taste. The point is not to tell people what they should be eating but rather to give them the confidence that they can throw together a meal that is not terribly unhealthy, does not cost much, and does not take much time or effort to prepare.

Everyone has those days where things didn’t go according to plan. Maybe you worked late, the game went into overtime, traffic was bad, you veered from your menu-plan, or the cows got out. The fact is, these things happen. When everyone arrives home, tired and hungry, there needs to be a way to feed them and get them to bed so you can do it all again tomorrow.

By keeping some emergency food on hand (preferably leftovers that might otherwise go to waste) you are enabling yourself to prepare quick meals on the go without ordering in. Some pantry staples like soup and stock, noodles, rice, tomato sauce and pasta will help you through busy evenings. Keep your fridge stocked with basics like eggs, milk, butter and cheese plus your preferred fruit and vegetables.

Keep some essentials on hand so that, even at your busiest, you can eat affordably at home.

Menu-Plan Series: 2 Hours of Cooking

I have sick kids today and, since I'm preparing for some busy weeknights through the winter, I took the opportunity to cook and freeze some meals ahead.

I started with two 2 lb packages of ground beef. This is meat I receive free from my parent's farm but for the sake of those interested in budgeting, I just checked my local Superstore flyer and lean ground beef is $3.77/lb. So for the purpose of this post I am starting out with 4 lbs of ground beef worth approximately $15.08.

2 lbs each of ground beef

For curiosity's sake, I took note of the time so I could show how long it took for me to cook several meals for my family. I began at 9:40 this morning, intending to bake and freeze 2 lb meatballs and make a lasagna and extra meat sauce to freeze.

On the left, scramble frying hamburger. In the bowl on the right,
preparing to mix up meatballs. It is 9:56.

 In the first 15 minutes I have 2 lbs hamburger fried and ready to be made into a basic meat sauce. I have also assembled what I need to make meatballs and set my kids up working in their little school workbooks at the coffee table. I think by this time O has lost interest and is running head first into the couch.

Fried beef is seasoned with fresh and powdered garlic and  dried oregano.
Meat mixture is ready to be rolled into balls, portioned into burgers or
pressed into a loaf pan for meatloaf. Today I choose meatballs.
Note that the oven is preheating.

 By 10:07 I have mixed up the meatballs with bread crumbs, 2 eggs mixed with onion soup mix, Worcestershire and homemade seasoning salt and a splash of milk.

Meat balls ready for the oven. 

 By 10:19 the meatballs are ready for the oven. My meat sauce will use up one large Ziploc bag of baked tomatoes from my garden. This homemade sauce included zucchini, celery, onion, garlic and peppers from my garden so I did not have to do any chopping of vegetables for today. I am glad to know my kids are getting an extra pop of garden vegetables with out realizing it ;)

Meatballs are in the oven.
To the right of the stove I have reserved a small amount of fried beef to season for taco salads.
Lasagna noodles are cooking and my cottage cheese filling awaits being layered into a lasagna.

 By 10:41 (one hour from when I started) I am assembling a lasagna to freeze and the meatballs are cooking in the oven. The kids have now moved onto the computer where J is working on his school literacy program.

At the last minute, I decide I will reserve some meat sauce to make chili.

 By 11:28, the lasagna is assembled and cooling on the counter along with a portion of taco meat for salads. I have reserved enough straight meat sauce to be served over spaghetti once Husband is home. There will likely be enough for a full supper plus lunch for myself and the kids. The meatballs are baked and cooling. I also have enough chili simmering to feed us two meals (we like it with fresh buns or over fries with cheese on top).

In one hour and 48 minutes, all of this food was prepared, cooked and cooling.
I then sat to have a bowl of chili and play crazy 8's with the kids. 

From top left: meat sauce (2 meals for 3-4 people),
lasagna (1 full meal for 4 plus a bit leftover, I'm guessing), meatballs
portioned into bags (2 meals for me and the kids, one for Husband, the kids and I),
2 full meals of chili,
one small portion of taco meat for a salad for myself and baked tacos for the kids.

 By 12:18 I had the dishes done, tea made and was sitting down to write this post. I am a fairly quick and organized cook as I have been cooking for many years and have always enjoyed it. Some might prepare this number of meals faster, some slower. The main thing is that the food is ready when I need it, as long as I am organized enough to remove it from the freezer the day before or morning of.

Cost Breakdown:
$15.08 meat
$1.50 can of 6 bean medley beans
$1 pork and beans
$1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 large plus 1 small bag homegrown baked tomatoes (priceless!)
$2 cottage cheese (guessing)
.50 cents -2 eggs (free from mom but probably .25 cents each?)
$2 mozzarella cheese (a high estimate)
$1 breadcrumbs and spices

I think I remembered everything I used, for a grand total of $24.08 for what I'm estimating will be 8 meals. This works out to $3.01 per meal for a family of 3 or 4 depending if Husband is home.

Admittedly, you would add a salad or garlic bread, fries or baked potatoes etc to your meals. Some fast options to go with meatballs are rice with roasted vegetables or a pasta with salad. So this would be a couple dollars more for that entire meal. Still...it seems likely that you could serve up a good home cooked meal in 20 minutes for around $6 or less. Compare that to being tired on your way home from work and spending $40-50 on a meal for four that does not even provide leftovers. I prepared 8 meals for under $25 in less than 2 hours this morning.

Now when I do up next week's menu-plan I have some ready-made meals to use on Monday and Wednesday, my busiest evenings. Also, if I run into trouble and need a quick meal at any time I won't give in to the urge to grab something quick for us to eat. Having these meals on hand saves us an incredible amount of money while ensuring we eat healthy even on busy nights.

I hope this example encourages you to give batch-cooking and menu-planning a try!

Menu-Plan Series: Quick Emergency Meals

Okay, so you wrote the plan and a few days into the week something derailed and you don't have your meat thawed, you didn't pre-make your soup or salad, and you are itching to dial in a pizza. Who can blame you? If they delivered pizza to the boonies you can bet I would give in to temptation a lot more.

The inability to order in food has really helped me be more organized and has also prompted me to have a go-to list of meals that can be made in a rush. Anyone that has tried to cook a meal with two hungry toddlers wailing in the background can understand the urgency to get food on the table quick. Here are some of my favorite fast-food-from-home options:

1. Pancakes and bacon, or any variation of breakfast for supper.

Pancakes from scratch takes literally 5 minutes to make. I suppose that can be improved upon by keeping a pancake batter mix on hand, but if I need it in faster than 5 minutes I'm in trouble.

Pancakes

1 cup all purpose flour
1tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

mix dry ingredients in large measuring cup. Beat one egg separately, then add along with 1 cup milk.

Whisk together your batter until all flour is moistened and the largest lumps are incorporated. It does not need to be smooth. Allow your griddle or pan to heat on medium-high to the point that water "dances" when a few drops are tossed on the surface. At this point I turn it down to medium to avoid smoking us out of the house.

Use a scant bit of oil or cooking spray for your first pan of pancakes. After the first round, your pan should be hot enough and the cakes should flip nicely. This recipe makes about 6 medium sized pancakes for my kids, usually leaving one or two to freeze for a quick breakfast. Most often, I double the batch so I have more to freeze. To use later I just thaw each pancake individually in the microwave and then toast so it's nice and fresh seeming. You can add banana or blueberries, saskatoons, etc to your batter as desired.

Other breakfast for supper ideas are: toast and eggs, hashbrowns, sausage and eggs, and as Pru suggested in a previous post, omelettes are great for cleaning out the fridge too. Obviously you want to round out a hasty meal like this with some fruit or a vegetable. You might not want to be throwing down bacon for supper all the time but it does get you out of a pinch when needed. The key is to have some of these things stashed in the freezer when needed!

2. Sausage and Perogies

Both of these cook fast and it always seems like a lot more planning went into the meal than actually did. Serve with peas or a can of corn, a bagged salad, a bit of greek yogurt and green onion. So yummy and ready in less that 30 minutes!

3. Tacos

The beauty of ground meat is that you can thaw it as it cooks. Ideally, you would always have things thawed and yada-yada, but that quite often doesn't happen and tacos have bailed me out of a pinch many times. I get the kids busy tidying the porches or getting into their pjs and while the meat cooks I chop the salad and vegetables, grate cheese etc.

4. Chicken breast and....anything

Chicken cooks quite fast. So don't microwave it for too long or you will have a raw, rubber, overcooked mess. But a minute or so on each side and then chopped up and thrown into a pan will get you started on a fast meal. If you are going with pasta or rice, be sure to start your water boiling while the meat is in the microwave. Microwave some veggies or throw them in as the meat is almost cooked. Add sauce and heat through or serve as is, making sure of course that everything is thoroughly cooked.

5. Stir-fry

Prepare basically as above. You can purchase a stir-fry sauce to add as everything is cooked or make your own with some soya sauce, hoisin or other flavorful sauce, a bit of water or chicken stock, corn starch to thicken. Do some googling to find a recipe you like that can be made with on-hand ingredients in a pinch.

6. Bags of cooked shrimp, canned meat, sandwiches, soup or beans and toast

Shrimp thaws and cooks super fast if you like it. I can quickly throw it in a stir-fry or some pasta and we love it. Sandwhiches: self-explanatory! Soup or beans is not my favorite for supper but it sure beats going to bed hungry! I don't fall back on this option because my kids won't eat it, but if it works for you--great!.

7. Shop Your Freezer

You should know by that morning if you are flaking out on your menu-plan. Don't be discouraged! I do it all the time! There is not usually a week goes by where I don't divert from the plan in one way or another. Sometimes we eat more than I expected and we are a meal short. Sometimes I just plain drop the ball. No worries. I make double and keep frozen meals just for these occasions. I am also not the least bit ashamed to admit that I keep a bag of fries and chicken nuggets on hand for nights that have just seriously fallen apart. It happens. I can fix myself something out of whatever this around and the kids are over the moon with this once in awhile treat. Add some veggies and a smoothy and I'm sure they will live til morning. The key, here, is to decide in the morning that you need to use your backup inventory and take it out to thaw. If you take out a frozen meatloaf and attempt to bake it for supper you will be eating it for breakfast. But if you have things ready for the oven when you get home you have a much better chance of averting a hunger-induced meltdown.


 8. If all else fails, go as healthy and as cheap as you can!

No one wants to eat quick, emergency food all the time but I do believe we all run into those instances where we are tempted to go easy (and expensive) when we are in a rush. I am not recommending this food as ultra-healthy but only making suggestions to get you through busy times in as healthy and affordable a way possible.

If you absolutely must pick up a meal on your way home from work, ripping into the grocery store for a ready made chicken and salad will cost a fraction of what a pizza or chinese, etc will cost. Be wary though! I brought home a lovely cobb salad (that cost $9!) from the grocery store and the eggs on it were mouldy. Super not impressed. Because we are out in the country I didn't return the salad, and only got an answering machine when I called the store about it. So try to get as fresh as you can, and good luck!

Weekly Menu-Plan Series

Now that I have kids in after-school activities, I am seeing a need to be more organized and prepare food ahead of time lest we fall into the costly and unhealthy habit of eating out. We live in a rural area so the options are slim. If I don't have supper planned and ready ahead it just means no one gets fed until late, which is hectic enough, but it also pushes back bedtime which will effect the next morning and behaviour for days to come. For myself, it also means I won't get the kitchen cleaned up that night and I will wake up to a mess which effects my mood and gets my day off on the wrong foot. So I know that I must be disciplined in order to keep things running smoothly.

I know that I am very fortunate to have the option to stay home while my kids are small. I choose to do this. If I had to, I would work out of the home and pay someone to look after my kids. But we aren't to that point yet and, for now, I feel that I can "save" our money just as efficiently as I could go out and earn more while incurring childcare costs to do so. That said, to each their own! We are in the midst of an economic crisis in this area. People are getting by however they have to, and more power to them :)

I have always been a fan of cooking in batches. In a couple hours I can prepare several different meals using similar ingredients, freeze most of it, and be prepared for busy evenings as they come. You can read more here and here and here.

You can also check out some sample menu-plans that I've used here, here and here.

Full Disclosure: I come from a family farm. I get my beef free from my parents--we are extremely lucky and grateful for this. While my meal plans might be heavy on the meat, particularly that of the red variety, my overall goal is to help people see how one meal can be planned with tomorrow's needs in mind. How can you plan your meal prep a day in advance to save time, lower stress, and prevent wasting food (and money!)?

There are an overwhelming number of menu-plan ideas on Pinterest. If you are interested in becoming more efficient in the kitchen it is a good starting point. Personally, I don't spend a lot of time looking at what other people do because I can use that time in the kitchen preparing food. I started cooking for a family of 7 when I was ten years old. Not everyone feels as proficient or creative, and that is positively okay! Take what helps and leave the rest.

In the weeks to come I plan to blog about the process of getting meals ready and using a menu-plan to simplify my week. If you have used a menu-plan please share your thoughts in the comments. I am always open to new ideas to save time and money!

Soup--the ultimate time and money saving meal!

Menu-Planning Saves Time and Money

Another weekly column :) 

Are you familiar with menu-planning? Planning your meals a week in advance can save you time, as well as keeping you on budget. Try this approach:

·         Take a quick inventory of your fridge, freezer and pantry: What needs used up? What have you got that can be eaten this week? What must you purchase to complete some frugal meals?

·         Consult the weekly grocery flyers: What is on special that can be incorporated into your plan? Begin a shopping list.

·          Shop ONLY for the items on your list. Unless you spot a remarkable deal that can be used in next week’s meal plan, do not be tempted to overspend.

I was given a HUGE day planner midway through 2015--I use it for all my lists.
There are gardening plans, outlines for columns, grocery lists and budgets jotted
down in this book. I also do my weekly menu-plan in this book. My plans are very flexible
and are usually meant to remind me to use perishables before they go to waste. 

Returning to the grocery store throughout the week costs more money because people typically pick up a few extras every time they shop. Get in the habit of making a list and only going once. Now that you have your week’s groceries, write up your menu-plan. Some things to consider are:

• Have you got a busy night (or two) of the week? Plan easier meals for those nights, use a slow cooker, or cook a double portion the night before so part of your work is done. For example, an extra large pot of rice can be a side dish one night and part of a casserole the next. Put leftovers straight into a casserole dish and refrigerate so they are easier to reheat the next night. If you have meals planned in advance you can prepare by chopping the vegetables and thawing out meat a day ahead.  
• When you make dishes like lasagna, meat sauce, chili, meatloaf or a favorite casserole, make a double batch and freeze one to avoid buying take-out on a busy night. Being prepared and cooking from scratch are great ways to reduce your grocery spending.
• Use your menu-plan to eliminate waste in your kitchen. Turn leftovers into soups or casseroles. Pair with a quick tossed salad or veggie platter and you have a healthy, satisfying meal that might otherwise have gone to waste. Keep in mind that every meal does not need to be gourmet quality. If you are drastically trying to reduce your spending, focus on nutrition and eliminating waste.
• When planning your menu, ask yourself if there are ways to reduce the cost of your meals. Can you bulk up the recipe with beans, lentils or seasonal vegetables? Can you use a less expensive cut of meat, marinade it and cook it longer to achieve a tender and less costly meal? There are thousands of frugal meal ideas online. Begin “pinning” and reading cookbooks or websites like allrecipes.com.
• When writing your shopping list, notice how much you are spending on empty calories. Do you drink pop? Do you buy juice for your kids? What about cookies and crackers and chips and snacks? Focus on spending your dollars on the healthiest and most nourishing food first—have you hit your budget limit before getting to the candy aisle? What are some cheaper alternatives to your favorite snacks? Pop your own popcorn at home and save. Bake your own cookies and sweets and reduce harmful preservatives at the same time.
• Take baby steps to avoid frustration and failure. If you are used to eating out, select ready-to-serve meals that cost less. If you are used to ready-to-serve, get some easy recipes for your favorite foods and try cooking from scratch. If you already cook from scratch, try switching up your routine. Substitute porridge for the kids’ usual high sugar cereal. Purchase frozen bags of fruit and vegetables and use smoothies to ensure you are achieving the recommended daily servings of fruit and vegetables. Notice what usually goes to waste in your fridge and stop buying it for awhile. Perhaps you were only buying it out of habit and won’t miss it.
• In every menu-plan, have one evening where you make “breakfast for supper”. Supplement quiche, pancakes, bacon and eggs or your favorite restaurant-style breakfast with a bowl of fruit or a smoothie. These meals are quick and affordable if you watch for specials on meat (assuming that meat is your thing).  
• Remember to include in your plan (and shopping list) only the things that you will actually eat. There is no point buying ingredients that will go to waste or never be used. Ask people who have gone through lean times what they would cook—your parents, grandparents or an elderly neighbour might have wisdom to share. At any rate, take the opportunity to connect and have a visit.

Use the grocery flyers and in store coupons to get organized and save yourself time and money. And--if at all possible—please remember to support the local food bank. There are donation bins in every grocery store.

How We Saved Money Jan 10-16, 2016

As I've mentioned, it is a goal of mine to stick to a tight kitchen and household budget in 2016. Reporting my spending here on the blog has proven to be a great motivator and really holds me accountable, if only to myself. So I'm going to make an effort to report each week on 1) how we saved money 2) what we spent on groceries and 3) weekly menu plan.

1. We have a humidity problem in our home (totally rare on the prairies as it is usually too dry here in the winter. The problem stems from the home being built elsewhere and moved here, onto a concrete basement that had barely enough time to cure before having a house plopped on it. The cement basement floor is poured after delivery of the home, resulting in a LOT of moisture that must go somewhere as the concrete dries out over the next few years). This is all fodder for a future post regarding Ready-to-Move homes (RTMs) but for now my issue is keeping a fan blowing on the glass exterior door that leads from our master bedroom onto a small deck. The humidity inside combined with the cold temps outside is a lethal combination that sees water drip down the door and freeze, eventually rotting the wooden door casing. Now to the point: we have 3 portable fans and suddenly all of them were seized up and wouldn't turn. The larger ones are used by the basement wood stove to circulate the hot air and warm the entire basement (and thus the floor of the main floor). Without these fans functioning my floors are cold and water runs down the glass door. Husband was able to dismantle the 3 fans and remove dust and grease the tiny parts so that things work again. I almost gave in and went and bought new fans as it is important to circulate the air here, but we have bought some time with our old fans instead.

The kids broke a blade off one fan last year. We kept the motor and cage part because the blades and stand from our other fan fit, so we have a back up motor. Both of them quit at the same time (they run constantly) but they are now back in action. To the right of the fans you can see the table that was fixed. Durned kids! LOL

2. My son (3) climbed onto my Duncan Phyfe coffee table and broke one leg off it before Christmas. Husband was also able to fix the leg, saving me from taking it to a furniture repair shop in town.

3. Cauliflower has skyrocketed to $7 a head here. The Canadian dollar is in a tailspin as is our oil-based economy. I am checking the "quick sale" rack in the produce department before I buy anything and got a perfectly fine head of cauliflower for 30% off. The cauliflower is still too expensive but nice to have for a stir fry. You can bet that I will be comparing bags of frozen next time I am in the store!

4. My mom's chickens are laying eggs like gangbusters and she has instructed us to quit buying eggs in town. Having free eggs will save us over $5/week, at least, and gathering eggs is one of my kids' favorite chores at the farm. Win-win!

5. (edited to add) I finally put our satellite TV subscription on a seasonal break. We have 180 days to decide if we will cancel it altogether. I should have done this a year ago and we have talked about it many times. This saves us $75/month--$900 a year!--and we were only really keeping it out of habit. I don't like to let the kids watch much TV (basically a show while I do outside chores) but we do have Netflix and they usually have a show while I make supper. That $75/month can now be used for groceries, bills or an emergency fund.

6. I'm returning to menu-planning and checking the flyer before I get groceries, and am sticking to a strict list. More posts to come!

Have you noticed an increase in the cost of food where you live? Have you been able to save any money this week?

Walking the Walk

I consider myself to be a "saver". I talk about frugal living, I don't shop for myself very often and I've saved a LOT of money by using second hand baby paraphernalia and hand-me-down clothing for my kids (and myself). We often wait for things to be on sale or try to find second hand, and we buy useful, needed gifts for Christmas and birthdays. I do not buy toys for my kids unless it is birthday and Christmas, with the exception of a few summer toys for the lake this year. Although I think we are far more frugal than many of the people we know, Husband and I are realizing there is much need for improvement. One issue we have is we use our credit card in order to receive air miles and it has led to rampant use of credit. Although we ALWAYS pay off the balance I think we have become desensitized to spending. So for one month we plan to use cash and see how it goes.

FULL DISCLOSURE: My dad is a cattle farmer and I get most/all of my beef for free. This is wonderful and I'm so grateful. But it doesn't add up to me why we spend so much on food when our main protein is free.

With that in mind, I've sat down and made a list of some areas to improve upon:

For myself:

• groceries are almost exclusively bought by me, and I cook 99% of our meals. I have extraordinary control over what comes into this house, but at times I feel I have no control at all. All in all, I want to reduce my grocery bill for our family of 4 to a consistent $700/month. I want $50 of that monthly amount to include pet food for the cats and dog, and I want a portion of that $50 to go towards creating a greater stockpile of food here (ie. flour, sugar, oats, rice, coffee etc). 
• ACTION: next time we go to town for groceries I will withdraw $700 for groceries. I plan to do one shop per week for the fresh things we need (milk, eggs, fruit and veg) and one larger shop per month where I can take advantage of store specials to build points while I buy larger amounts and items that we have run out of (canned goods, freezer items, baking and cooking supplies)
• MY GOAL: to become accustomed to spending less impulsively in the grocery store. To many people a $700 grocery budget for a family of 4 would be heavenly, and I realize it is an ample amount. The fact is, we are sometimes at the store 5 or 6 times a month and it is just adding up and feels out of control. I feel that if I am using cash I will be more aware of my monthly budget being used up. Once I have a sense of where the money is going I plan to steadily reduce the amount we spend on food well below this initial goal.
• I consider it a real treat to have an evening off from cooking. When we are all in town for several hours it is so tiring and coming home to cook for everyone when I'm exhausted sometimes leads to me suggesting we grab something and bring it home. This is not the end of the world but I plan to come up with healthier and more affordable options. One of which will be bulk cooking some family favorites and freezing so that I can have things thawing and waiting for us to arrive. NOTE: it has been months since we had take out or drive thru!
• better use of our garden
• use the "Good Food Box" program in town to see if there is a savings (I have purchased my first box for $15 and was impressed with the amount of produce. I plan to continue ordering every second week)
• make better use of menu plans for frugal, healthy meals
• less kitchen waste
• be better prepared with Husband's work lunches so that A) I am not buying pre-packaged food to send with him and B) he is not stopping at gas stations for quick lunches (not only gross but expensive!)
• Let's face it, I spend a lot on my yard and on fabric. I fully admit I can go overboard. Like a true addict, I just really need to avoid situations where I buy more stuff. I'm done with the yard for the year. Anything else I want will be structural (a bench for by the pond) and I will ask for it for Christmas or birthday. I have projects in mind that I will be watching for salvaged materials to use (ie. outdoor oven, flagstone patio area, but will wait for the right opportunity). There won't be a need for too much spending in the spring, either, as I've built up a good base of perennials and things are starting to fill in. Any major projects now will be ones that add value to our yard and can save us money down the road (chicken house, barn etc)
•  As far as quilting goes, I have splurged on some lovely fabrics (most of which were on sale but it really adds up!) and I am putting it out there for all the world (or the scattered reader here, anyways) that I will not, must not, shan't and can't buy any more fabric unless it is essential for the completion of a project. I love to look and if I came across some great vintage prints I might make an exception but the flagrant collecting of material must really stop. It must. I might need a sponsor.
• Come up with ways to make some money on the side without needing childcare
• look into having all our insurances at one office. Perhaps we can reduce some of our spending here. Insurance is by far our largest expense and although we won't go without it, I am hoping to find a way to reduce its cost. We switched home insurance providers this spring for a savings of $700+. I hope to save even more while keeping the same coverage. Edited to add: there was a mysterious monthly charge of $230/month coming out of our bank account. Unsure if it was Husband's company insurance I inquired at one office and could get no information regarding the charge. I have gone through all of our records and still didn't know what the charge was for. I called the local small town office where we used to insure (dropped them for a different small town office to save $700/yr and after much persistence I find that we were still being charged for our old insurance policy. Once I remember to fax a copy of our new policy we will be reimbursed over $1100--woot! woot!!
• We were paying an $8/month fee on our joint bank account without my realizing we could eliminate that charge. My own personal account has a couple different charges that I need to cancel (life insurance, which I have elsewhere, and overdraft protection). It is costing me $10/ month and I just need to remember to cancel those!
• Work on selling our camper privately.

For Husband:

• Once in awhile it may become necessary for Husband to pack his own lunch at night. I am not instigating a battle of the sexes debate; I feel it is easier for me to make his lunch during the day while I prepare other food than have him come home after a 12 hour work day to make his own lunch when he should be seeing the kids. It is not a job that I resent, but there are days that the kids and I are out and about and it would help immensely if he made his own sandwich or packaged up his own leftovers. I used to make him individual meals that he could take and reheat in his little lunch kit warmer that plugs into his truck. I need to prepare a few for the week on Mondays again like I used to. 
• Eliminate or greatly reduce soft drink consumption.
• Eliminate or greatly reduce trips into gas stations for snacks and treats.
• Only buy tools that are needed to complete a task that has been begun. No buying tools that we might need down the road or because they are a good deal. They aren't a good deal if they don't get used.
•  Sort and put away screwdrivers/wrenches/various tools so they can be found and used readily when needed, thus reducing the need for multiple sets
• No impulsive purchases for the children, or if something cannot be resisted it must be saved for a Christmas or birthday gift

For the Family:

• movie theatre tickets and snacks are a real costly expense. The last time Husband went it cost $60 for him and our 2 preschool kids. $60!!! I don't go along because of the cost and the volume. We will put more emphasis on movie nights at home with homemade pizza and popcorn etc. We can probably rent a new release on our satellite dish for under $10. Still a treat but so much more affordable.
• I reduced our satellite dish package by $30 for the summer months. We watch more Netflix than anything, but we are curling fans and I hate to lose live coverage of events through out the winter when we are in the house more. We do discuss cancelling satellite and if we decide to it would be a savings of $50+/ month.
• no more plastic junk toys. NO MORE!!
• better use of the library and free kids programs. We need to brainstorm some free activities that we want to do and not forget them when we have a free day together. 
• set a Christmas budget and stick to it. We never carry a balance on our credit card but we have seen some frightening bills come in January. Christmas is one area where we could make real progress on our spending.
• Start a fund for a family vacation.
• Make an actual budget for kids' activities. My kids aren't in much but I tend to stick them in programs willy-nilly and don't know how much I spend in a year. Perhaps there is a way to be more conscious and get more for my dollar. Skating/hockey is a popular pastime for Canadian kids. I will let my boys choose if they wish to play. To me, the fees are enormous and I'm not sure how much the 3 year old will get out of it. The 5 year old is going to be very tired adjusting to kindergarten, so I have opted to wait for next year. 
• My eldest son just started kindergarten and already there's been unexpected costs--he had to have headphones--$20 for the cheapest set! He has had a book sale catalogue sent home (recycled it while he wasn't looking) we sponsored $40 for the Terry Fox Run, and I sent him $5 for the hot dog sale. When he came home with no change I asked if he ate 3 hot dogs ($1.50 each). He said no, but he bought a hot dog for a little girl who didn't have any money. I thought it was sweet but I'll be sending the correct change from now on!
• Use the refunds from recycling our bottles and cans to buy a takeout meal when we go to the bottle depot. Put any extra money into the vacation fund.
• Pick bottles and cans from nearby ditches in the spring to contribute to our vacation fund. Good for the environment, great way for the kids and I to be outside and work together.
• Begin using money we save in other areas to invest in GICs and try to put our money to work.

For now, the plan is to withdraw $700 for groceries/pet food/ food stockpile and see how I do this month. I realize this is actually a LOT of money when you consider our mortgage, utilities, etc are above and beyond this cost. I want us to be prepared for a situation of reduced income/unemployment or unforeseen emergencies. This is my jumping off point. I want to reduce our spending far beyond these numbers but first need to see where the money is going. At the same time, there are many areas where we do well: we have an emergency fund and I have made some investments and set up Tax Free Savings accounts for both of us. Our kids both have education plans and we actively discuss what we need to be doing. We know we are leaking money, though, and it is very important to me that we set an example for our kids and teach them about money as they grow up. As my parents told me, it doesn't grow on trees :) If we are going to talk the talk, it is time to walk the walk. 

Thrifty Thursday: Couponing for the Non-Committed

This is my third "Thrifty Thursday" post. I want to stay motivated as I work on our family budget--part of that motivation is sharing what I am doing. It can be discouraging to read frugal blogs and see how people feed their families on so little money--I feel like I am trying hard and yet I don't see those results. I am sensitive to the fact that many people are frugal out of necessity and don't have the option to "not succeed" in their attempts. The last thing I want to be is patronizing. Nonetheless, I feel like we are bleeding money around here and there are some expensive things we need to save for. I know there are people who want to reduce their spending but do not know where to start..so I am writing these posts for them and myself :) I hope you are inspired and if you can add any ideas of your own I hope you will comment below :)

Like me, you have probably heard of people saving hundreds of dollars by extreme couponing, although I've never watched the show by that same name. I know a lady who was actually paid for some things (I mean, she got the product for free plus she was paid a few cents! When I get a chance I'm going to get her to explain that one to me!)

Unfortunately, my own attempts at using coupons have been haphazard and usually leave me frustrated (forget to use them) or annoyed (clutter of newspapers/recycling/only coupons for things I don't need etc). But I have also been getting more serious about stockpiling certain items (a post related to that is coming soon) and so it makes sense to watch for coupons for the things that I don't need immediately but want to acquire in quantities.

I saw something on Pinterest that helped explain a few basics of couponing. If you are interested you can read more here. For the time being I want to use coupons to help me 1) reduce our current grocery spending and 2) help build a stockpile of certain household items (which should in turn also help us reduce spending). I am only willing to commit a bit of time to this per week, however, so I have a few guidelines for myself and I'll see how it goes.

1. Pick up the Sunday and Wednesday papers regularly (we now have a worm composting bin in which I use a lot of shredded newspaper, so the mess is less of a concern these days. I also use newspaper to start the wood stove, and we recycle)

2. Check online for manufacturer's coupons the night before I shop. Print and clip. (This will usually be Monday nights as I prefer to shop early Tuesday mornings)

3. Menu plan according to what's fresh in the garden, what needs used up in the fridge/freezer, and what is on special at the grocer.

4. If and when there are enough deals at a store that is not my regular grocery stop, I will go with a list and do a partial shop there. This might include ten-for-ten dollars days at the Co-op (usually get ten canned items for ten dollars, etc) or their meat sale. It does not help me to go to the extremely busy Co-op on 10% off Tuesdays, though, as it is more expensive than Superstore to start with. With two small helpers along on my once-a-week trip to town, multiple stops are near impossible. By the time we do all our errands we are exhausted and starved, so one-stop shopping was mandatory. when they were smaller. This fall, however, my big boy is starting kindergarten and will go on the bus to school every second day for the whole day. So there will be times that I have only one helper which will make it easier and will mean more room in the car.

5. By checking out the flyers before shopping, I will not need to circle the whole grocery store looking for deals (and therefore will succumb less to impulse buying!). I always write my list out in order of where things are, so I can continue to do that and will not, for example, go down the baking aisle if I know that flour is not on special that week etc. This should help curb the non-essential spending.

6. Once I get a feel for how often things go on special I will be more systematic about stockpiling. I read that sales happen on weekly cycles. Once I have those figured out I will report back and it will be easier for me to predict what I'll be buying.

7. I will continue to check the coupon wall as I enter Superstore (my main shopping choice). Twice recently the "coupon wall" has burned me with expired coupons, so I must remember to read the fine print before I use them! I use my points card and I pick up the weekly coupon for the free item if I spend the required amount. My goal is to not spend the required amount but, experience tells me, there is usually one week a month where I get a bigger amount of groceries. Why not time this with a decent free item (or bonus points for free groceries) especially if the money is spent when the groceries are already on special? This is how I hope that stockpiling will help save us money in the long run.

Some of the free items I have received over the years include: Rubbermaid food storage containers (twice), coffee travel mugs, battery pack and flashlight combo (gave away as a Christmas present), men's shaving kit (gave away as Christmas gift), various shower packs for women (I usually donate these unopened to the women's shelter at Christmas time), toothbrush and toothpaste combo worth $30 (it was whitening toothpaste which hurts our teeth, so I donated it to the food bank), free light bulbs, free cleaning product combos, you name it.

One other thing I should add is that I try to pick two on-special items every week that my kids deposit in the food bank bin on our way out of the store. I want them to be aware of our abundance and take their responsibility to help others seriously. If they don't understand that other families don't have enough, of course they won't grow up concerned about it. While I do think food banks and shelters are only band-aid solutions for deeper social issues, they do what they can to help and we must try to help too. I also engage the kids in conversations about homelessness, job loss, the working poor, etc, to try to help them understand where that donation is going. If I can be watching flyers for good deals and coupons this will also mean more donations to the food bank.

How I Did This Week:

Last week's shopping turned into a frugal failure. This week I went through the weekly flyer (discovered that laundry soap regular $18.98 was on for $10.98-so I got two). It is interesting to note that the Sunlight detergent in the flyer was an $8 savings each, while I had clipped a manufacturer's coupon that would save $2 if I bought 2 Tide products. I saved $16 by cross-referencing with the weekly flyer :)

We loooove Frank's RedHot Bollywood and I had a coupon to save 50 cents so I purchased one bottle. In comparing my grocery receipts I saw that last month the in-store special on the same sauce was over a dollar cheaper--SIGH--a person could really go in circles doing this! What I learned from that is to save my manufacturer's coupons to combine with the lower in-store price. That means checking the weekly flyer before I shop. If I had used the coupon the previous month I would have had the sauce for half price, so I am going to try to be much more aware of prices and, if I can get a decent stockpile, never pay full price for my groceries again :)

Thrifty Thursday: Cooking in Batches

This is my second "Thrifty Thursday" post. I want to stay motivated as I work on our family budget--part of that motivation is sharing what I am doing. It can be discouraging to read frugal blogs and see how people feed their families on so little money--I feel like I am trying hard and yet I don't see those results. I am sensitive to the fact that many people are frugal out of necessity and don't have the option to "not succeed" in their attempts. The last thing I want to be is patronizing. Nonetheless, I feel like we are bleeding money around here and there are some expensive things we need to save for. I know there are people who want to reduce their spending but do not know where to start..so I am writing these posts for them and myself :) I hope you are inspired and if you can add any ideas of your own I hope you will comment below :)

As a stay-at-home-mom, I am very fortunate to have the time to bake and cook from scratch. I am really so grateful that I am home every day with my kids. The flip side to that is that I am home everyday, EVERY. DAY. with my kids!!

Let's just say that as much as I like preparing the meals that we eat, I do like a break from it now and again. Likewise, we are often out and about and returning home at meal time can be an ordeal if I am not well-prepared. It often leads to impulsive trips for take-out food as we leave town, or expensive ready made meals from the grocery store. On average it is about $40-50 to feed my family of four a meal of fried chicken or Chinese food. That leaves enough for Husband to take a lunch the next day, but is not comparable to a homemade meal that might feed us all for under $10.

So, to combat boredom with the every day meal preparation around here, and to be better organized for our busy times, I have begun cooking batches of food on Wednesdays. Last week I made an extra large batch of meat sauce and from it made a lasagna to freeze for another day.

 The remaining sauce was also frozen and can be served over pasta or combined with beans and spices to make a quick chili. If these two frozen dishes prevent us eating take-out twice in the next month, that is a savings of $80 or more. I estimate that the sauce cost me less than $7 because the hamburger came free from my parents' farm. Even with the cost of cottage cheese, lasagna noodles and mozzarella on top, these are some frugal options when we are in a hurry. I am so fortunate to have a small chest freezer and a stand-up freezer in which to store extra meals. For anyone interested, I have written about cooking in batches here and here.

Do you ever prepare food ahead of time? Can you suggest any meals that are quick to prepare when we are on the run?

BBQ Pizza Crust

We are enjoying some summer heat this week, although I know it can't last. We are silaging at the farm (the beginning of the end of summer every year). This morning I heard Canada geese flying over my yard. The days are noticeably shorter and from here on out we will savour each day of summer as though it is the last.

In the interest of not heating up the house this week, I opted to try my New York Style thin crust pizza on the BBQ. The crust recipe is from my America's Test Kitchen cookbook and we love it. The dough is made with cold water and stored in the fridge up to 3 days. While I am reducing our grocery spending I plan to keep the dough on hand for quick affordable meals. Once it became so hot I dreaded to use the oven, so I finally made pizza on my BBQ :)

Once the dough had come to room temperature on my counter, I heated my pizza stone in the BBQ. Of course the wind picked up and it was hard to keep the grill as hot as I liked but I lit the searing burner and rotated the crust to try for more even cooking. 

I spread the crust on lightly oiled parchment paper and transferred it to the baking stone. 

So good already! I also plan to use this recipe and method for homemade naan bread!

Once the bottom of the crust was crispy I flipped it and added our toppings. We had one with tomato sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella and the other with Greek and feta dressing topped with mozzarella and Asiago. I would add less cheese next time, as it can easily be a bit soggy in the middle. The kids loved their pizza on the BBQ, however, and J said it was the best pizza he ever had :)

There was dough left over so I cooked it lightly on both sides and froze it for another day. This should help us avoid those impulsive trips through the drive thru on our way home from town and will likely become a part of my weekly meal plan.

Delicious!!

A Garden Update, of Sorts

For some reason I'm having a hard time believing we are halfway through June. I have the odd sensation that we somehow missed spring, but I think I know why. Last year in the spring we had no lawn to speak of, just topsoil, and our driveway had exposed clay in places. We got extra gravel and our lawn grew last year so the mud and mess being tracked in was so much more manageable this year. It felt like the season of mud didn't happen, in a way :) add to that the fact that May was unseasonably hot and dry, and it just feels like spring didn't happen. Thankfully, things are growing although we have had minimal rain. We have our big totes in place to use as rain barrels so we can catch every drop of rain possible for use in our yard. 

I got a 6 pack of dahlias at a greenhouse. They are among my favourites but I've had no luck buying and planting the tubers. We had a touch of frost after I planted them out so 5 of them in the apple tree bed look scraggly and forlorn. But this lovely is on my sittin' porch where I can enjoy it everyday. 

My mom has had some success with her incubator, despite power outages and other mishaps. Unfortunately the day after things started to hatch the cord wiggled out of the incubator and the rest of her eggs were lost, including guinea eggs that we were so excited about. 

Lambo. 

Suzy. Our lambs are in our little pasture here and are a constant source of amusement. 

As for the garden, potatoes and onions are doing great and I planted 4 or 5 varieties of sunflowers that have all come up. It will be so much fun to watch them get taller than us, along with my first ever crop of corn. I started pumpkin plants early and managed to plant them out successfully. That is actually the first thing I've started indoors that survived hardening off and transplanting, so I'm excited to have grown our own jack o lanterns and pumpkin purée. 

My spinach, kale, lettuces and carrots are slow to appear and I dread a year without a fresh supply of beets. Our elderly neighbour plants a big garden and usually offers us part of his excess. This year we may be counting on his generosity:) likewise, I've replanted cucumbers which simply didn't germinate and my next crop has not come up either. It's a bit discouraging but I've had slow starters before, replanted, and ended up with everything coming up at once and being too crowded. So I guess I'll give things more time and concentrate on what is doing well. 

I also planted a row of asparagus and some tiny shoots have appeared in my straw mulch. I'm nervous to keep the weeds out of that row but we have really enjoyed the asparagus out of my brother's garden. It is definitely worth a try to grow my own. 

Last year I planted 5 grape vines and 3 survived the winter. I don't have a picture but I do need to come up with a trellis idea that works. Perhaps a post on grapes will be in order. I am never sure if I should jump the gun and blog about something before I know it will survive. But if I stuck to that around here I may never blog at all ;) how's your garden growing?

Menu Plan February 16-22

We had a lovely day sleigh riding with family and new acquaintances yesterday. My brother is training a different horse to pull the sleigh. It was just the break we needed from being cooped up at home!

I seem to be over the hump of my February blues. Motivation has returned, and what feels like a busy week lies ahead. There are chores that I have left too long and swimming lessons start tomorrow. I want to have some quick easy meals to take the stress out of arriving home from swimming and having to make supper. Here's my tentative plan for the week:

Monday:

Husband lunch: pb and j sandwiches (he actually likes them, but I do feel bad resorting to peanut butter and jam). The fresh food is getting low but I refuse to go to town until we have to go for swimming (Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next month) cans of fruit, all bran bars, puddings
Kids lunch: stirfry with left over rice
Supper: Pizza and tossed salad
major chores to do: clean ashes out of stove, haul wood to basement from garage and replenish supply in garage, all laundry, all toys tidied, vacuum, compost and garbage out, tidy front porch, tidy entryways, bake cookies and prepare a double recipe of new-york style pizza dough/ refrigerate half

Tuesday: (swim 4-4:30)

major chores: deep cleaning of all bathrooms, haul wood, prepare and refrigerate quinoa salad, get water and groceries before swimming lessons
H lunch: leftover pizza, veggies and dip, last of the fruit
kids lunch: grilled cheese, canned fruit, carrots and dip
kids snacks and drinks packed for town/swimming
Supper: chili I made last week thawed and put in slow cooker before we leave, buns, quinoa salad

Wednesday:

H lunch: leftover chili and buns, fruit and veg, cookies
Kids lunch: play date here with little friends, fruit and veggie tray with grilled cheese sandwiches
Supper: taco night (roasted broccoli and chickpeas, spanish rice, enchiladas, guacamole)
major chores: clean my sittin' porch (dog and cats have made it a disaster this winter), garbage and compost out, laundry/washed and put away, wash kitchen and basement floors

Thursday:

H lunch: wraps/ leftovers, fruit and veg, etc
kids lunch: leftovers
snacks and drinks packed for swimming lessons
Supper: meatballs I prepared and froze last week put in slowcooker before we leave, fried rice and stir fry
major chores: cut veggies and cook rice before we leave for town, bake bread and cookies
Weather permitting we will spend the morning outside playing and/or at my mom's visiting and playing

Friday: (hopefully the first of Husband's 4 days off)
we may or may not spend the day running errands in town, doing things with the truck that I have not been able to accomplish. There are several light bulbs that need replaced in the garage, a honey-do list as you can imagine after a 24 day shift of work. I hate to bombard Husband on his first day off, but it is nice to get some of the list accomplished quickly and treat the kids to dinner out--then spend the weekend playing and relaxing)
Supper: pub grub (stuffed potatoes, caesar salads, wings, garlic fingers using the premade pizza dough)

Saturday:
Supper: pasta night

Sunday:
Supper: roast and all the fixin's

Menu Plan Feb 9-15, 2015

 The purpose of my planning a weekly menu is threefold:

1. Use up what is potentially going to go to waste from my freezer, purchased groceries, home preserves or garden
2. Become better organized in order to squeak out more time for hobbies/ a deep cleaning of the house/ kids activities (translation: less cooking=more living!)
3. Attempt to reduce the amount I am spending on food by using in-store coupons, points card at grocery store, doing without, and reducing waste

I'm enjoying following the blog Mortgage Free In Three. It gives wonderful inspiration to pay off debt faster, and recently provided a printable menu planning document. As Elaine suggests, it makes sense to menu plan starting on the day you get groceries--it works well for me as I am a once/week shopper. This week my grocery day fell on a Monday because there were a few things I wanted to do in town and we never drive to town without trying to complete all our errands. NOTE: this is being posted late as hauling wood/mopping floors/laundry and some serious teenage mutant ninja turtle play time had priority. Such is life!

This week's list:

• fill 2 water jugs (forgot the jugs at home, but should make it til next week)
• pick up parcel new cookbook, woohoo! Perhaps a post on that later :)
• weather stripping for the garage door since the kitties have pulled a piece of it completely off and made a draft. Wouldn't you know it, the day after I buy weather stripping I open a closet and find the weather stripping that I thought we had used up in our old house. So I can return what I bought and save ten bucks! 

For my menu plan this week, I have consulted the freezer: some bits of pork chops, enough for a meal, still some roasts and a package of steak to use up, a package of hamburger, some chicken wings, bacon, a package of deer sausage given to me by a friend, perogies, green beans, spinach. Also there are some chicken breasts and shrimp.

In the fridge: lettuce needing used today or ASAP, peppers, some crushed tomato sauce, part of a cucumber, carrots, celery, red onion. We also have some asiago cheese and a bit of mozzarella, some cheese slices (Husband likes them but I try not to buy them!).

On special at grocery store: I got 2000 extra points (when you redeem 20,000 points you save $20) buying things I needed anyways, and I resisted buying anything that wasn't on my list. Normally I don't buy much juice but both kids are getting sore throats so I bought calcium and vit D added oj, and a 5 pack of juice boxes because by then both kids were thirsty and had already drank the juice I brought from home. Altogether, this week's grocery bill was $115.52. It helped that I avoided the meat aisle altogether so I couldn't impulse-buy. I don't go near the bakery because I make all our bread and sweets at home. I've also stopped buying more almond milk until I see if the kids are going to continue drinking it. At $4/2L jug it won't hurt my feelings if they go off it :)

OK, enough stalling. This week's grocery plan:

Monday Feb 9:

• H lunch: leftovers and buns
• kids lunch: popcorn shrimp and homemade fries
• supper: pizza using leftover taco meat, cold cuts, crushed tomatoes (all of which were needing used up in the fridge)

Tuesday Feb 10:

• H lunch: pizza and fruit
• kids lunch: buns, fruit and veggies, can of chicken noodle soup, smoothies
• supper: lasagna, focaccia, caesar salad

Wednesday Feb 11:

• H lunch: beef buns, fruit and veggies
• kids lunch: leftovers
• supper: pulled beef, buns, whipped potatoes, brussels sprouts, salad

Thursday Feb 12: ,boil eggs for Friday)

• H lunch: beef buns, fruit and veggies
• kids lunch: grilled cheese sandwiches, smoothies, fruit and veggies
• supper: slow-cooker pork chops in sauce with rice, green beans

Friday Feb 13:

• H: egg salad sandwiches, fruit, veg, pudding
• kids: curly pasta and toast, apple sauce and veggies
• supper: deer sausage with perogies, layered salad, green peas, fried onions

Saturday Feb 14:

• H: running out of inspiration, but by then something will come to me ;)
• kids: likewise!
• supper: butter chicken, rice, roasted veggies

Sunday Feb 15:

• H: Chicken salad sandwiches, fruit etc
• kids: leftovers
• supper: steak bites, stuffed potatoes, garlic toast, salad

I may not stick entirely to the plan, but now that I know what I have available I hope to thaw/prepare in advance to give myself more time for other things. The weather is supposed to warm up by Thursday so I plan to be outside rather than in the kitchen--a good thing since the wood supply is running low!

What have you got planned for the week?

How I Did: February 1-7

I enjoyed having a menu plan much more than I thought I would. I felt able to plan a day or two in advance, which left me with a bit of extra time for blogging and sewing (two of my goals this year). We are very flexible, which helps when you have children and live in the country--trips to town pop up and/or get delayed and it is best to just roll with it :) It is easy for me to say that because my kids are not in any extra activities, but that will change when they start swimming lessons in town on February 17. I may be whistling a different tune by then ;)

So how did last week's plan go?

Off the top, I posted the plan without consulting a calendar, so ended up with the wrong dates for the days of the week--off to a great start as usual! 

Sunday: I made 2 loaves of bread (froze 1). Made 2 dozen buns (froze 1 doz). I got company and forgot to make the pear crisp, so I made it Monday night instead. Used up the remainder of a bag of pears that would have been composted.

Monday: All went according to plan.

Tuesday: All went according to plan.

Wednesday: We made an unscheduled trip to town. I improvised a new recipe for fish cakes and used up leftovers from the fridge. I thawed the roast that I had planned to have Thursday, but because I bought some reduced avocados that needed eaten I switched to...

Thursday: Taco night. Also pre-roasted Friday night's roast and made buns for...

Friday: Pulled beef on homemade buns. Seriously, how have I never made this before? As the daughter of cattle ranchers, with limitless beef roasts over my lifetime...I shall be making up for lost time with this one. Really, really good. An upcoming post on this, I'm sure!

Saturday: While I had planned to use up some frozen drumsticks, I ended up adding some chicken breasts and hosting my parents' 45th anniversary supper. It was only 4 extra adults, and I did make too much, but homemade fries and pasta salad, plus a green salad, peas, and buns made for a finger lickin' good time ;)

I have found a new recipe for dinner rolls. I confess to being inept at rolling them into nice balls, hence the misshapen and odd-sized buns that we have been eating all these years. My stand mixer has made such a difference in my bread making endeavors. I stubbornly resisted buying one (cost and I really wanted to make the food my granny did with just her bare hands). Alas, they don't make 'em like they used to and I could never get it right. The mixer gets it right, though. Now to figure out how to make the rolls look purty....I'm getting better, but still a ways to go ;)

Most pictures of the food in my kitchen are from directly above--less clearing of counter tops necessary that way!

Good bye store-bought, expensive, disappointing gravy mixes! Growing up, flour and water was sufficient to thicken roast drippings into gravy. At some point we became hooked on adding a package of gravy mix, or to making gravy when there are no drippings (ie. fries, dressing and gravy mmmmm). A little digging around on the internet and I am now in business making my own self-thickening gravy mix. I'll post on it soon!

When I planned Saturday's meal, I meant to use up the cream cheese that is in my fridge in some kind of wonderful dessert. I forgot, but cream cheese never goes to waste (in fact, I can't believe it has survived til February...WTH?) This is a great recipe from America's Test Kitchen, a fluffy yellow cake with chocolate icing. I made it because the brother that came loves it; he ate so much supper he skipped dessert in spite of my encouragement...really, you better have a piece!

So that was the week. I feel happy with my results. I don't pressure myself to stick too rigidly to any kind of schedule. While my kids are young and free, we just roll with whatever is happening. At the same time, it is easy to have the day-to-day chores take up all of my day and I don't find the time for my own interests. I felt that the meal plan helped me accomplish extra baking/cooking on certain days which freed up time for some sewing and blogging, and of course more time playing with my kids. Have you tried anything new in the kitchen lately?