Grocery Shopping....UGH!

In an effort to blog more, I may share more of my mundane life than you really want to know......

I don't know about you, but I dislike going to the grocery store.
Probably because it's such a chore for me. I thought maybe
blogging about it might make it "fun".

Here goes nothin'!
I start out by making a menu. Because I don't like grocery shopping, I make a menu for at least 2 weeks and sometimes 3 0r 4. If I am really lucky I can squeeze another week of meals out of what I buy before I even have to go back. Yep, I hate grocery shopping.

I first write the meal ideas down and then add them to the menu calendar. This way I can try to think of things we'll be doing on those dates. Maybe something easy if we have a long day or something in the crockpot if I have to be somewhere else that evening.
Crockpot cooking is my favorite way to cook! I love that I can cook in the morning and when I am tired at the end of the day, dinner is ready!Our menu usually consists of tried and true favorites, but especially when the kids were young, I would get out my recipe books (of which I am not lacking) and search for something new to try out. I would try to have a "new" meal at least once a week.

We found several of our family favorites this way!
Coming up with 14-21 meal ideas is no easy task. And it can take me a while! To make the ideas flow, I will have a "theme" for a certain day. This month I chose Thursday as a hearty soup night! Mexican for Monday, Chicken on Wednesday and Crockpot Tuesday are past ideas! Of course, when the weather is nice, we grill all weekend long!
I've also tasked family members with coming up with ideas and as the children got older, they also cooked one night a week! Usually it was something simple like Hamburger Helper, but hey, I didn't have to cook!
When I am feeling ambitious, I also like to go through the cupboards and freezer and write down what I already have and try and come up with meals that include those ingredients. This is a money saving technique I learned when we were first married.
I always try to have a magnetic list pad on the fridge so I can write down things I need from the store as I discover I'll be needing them such as coffee, paper towels and such. While I am making the menu, I add to this list the ingredients I need for the meals.

Then there are those coupons. What a chore! But so worth the investment of time. I can save anywhere from $30- $50 using those trusty coupons! And, nope, the Commissary doesn't double them, but I sure wish they did.

I subscribe to the Sunday paper for coupons, clip them from product boxes, get them from friends (thank you, Christy & Chrystal!), get them off the store shelf and pick up coupon books from the store. Ideally, I should clip them once a week so they don't stockpile, but this week I found myself cutting so many on Sunday that I had to take several breaks and do something else cuz my back was hurting.

I also sort though my coupons and get rid of all the expired ones so I don't have to worry about that while I am shopping. How I miss having the kids help me cut and sort the coupons. I am sure they don't miss it though!

Well, that is how I do it!

If you've got some time saving tips or money saving tricks up your sleeve, I would love to hear them! I haven't ever tried printing coupons off the web, so if you've done that, I'd love to hear from you on how that works!

Have a blessed day!
~Angel

Menu Monday

Nothing too complicated on this week's menu! We ended up going out one day last week and not eating everything on the menu so you may notice a couple of repeats.

Crockpot Monday
Pizza Rice*

Soup on Tuesday
Taco Soup

Chicken Wednesday
Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Thursday
Sloppy Joe Pasta

Friday
Chili Dogs
Mac n Cheese

Saturday
Teriyaki Chicken
Teriyaki Pasta

Sunday
Pizza

*Pizza Rice
{a new dish for us so I can't vouch for it}
2 cups white rice (uncooked)
3 cups chunky pizza sauce
(I could not find CHUNKY so I bought cheap pizza sauce and some Italian diced tomatoes)
2 & 1/2 Cups Water
7 oz can mushrooms (undrained)
4 oz pepperoni (we're using seasoned cooked hamburger)
1 cup grated cheese
(I always add more cheese than a recipe calls for!)
Combine rice, sauce, water, mushrooms and meat in slow cooker or crockpot.
Stir. Cover. Cook on low 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.

Menu Monday

I really hope to get back to my weekly features. It's fun to do and gives me motivation!
I've got my menu already planned for a few weeks anyway.
Here is this week!

Monday

Beef Stew* (*recipe follows)

Tuesday
Grilled Ham & Cheese
Tomato Soup

Wednesday
Chicken Fried Rice

Thursday
Sloppy Joe Pasta

Friday
Pigs in a Blanket
Mac n Cheese

Saturday
Teriyaki Chicken
Teriyaki Noodles

Sunday
Enchiladas

*Beef Stew (in Crock Pot)
1.5 lbs Stewing Meat
16 oz pkg frozen veggies (carrots, corn, peas)
4 lg potatoes, cubed

3 stalks celery chopped
1 bay leaf
1 onion, chopped
1 can stewed tomatoes of your choice (Italian works well)
8 oz can tomato sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Put meat in bottom of crock pot or slow cooker. Layer frozen vegetables and potatoes over meat. Mix remaining ingredients in bowl and pour over other ingredients. Cover. Cook on low heat 6-8 hours.

Have a fabulous week!

Menu Monday!

This week's menu!
We are finally going to get our oven back tomorrow! YAY!

Monday~
Garlic & Herb Chicken
Salad
Tuesday~
Grilled Sausages & Dogs
Potatoes
Corn
Wednesday~
Potatoes Stroganoff (HH)
Thursday~
Breakfast
(Pancakes, Eggs, Hashbrowns, Bacon)
Friday~
Spaghetti
Saturday~
Grilled Chicken
Potatoes
Green beans
Sunday~
Grilled Meatloaf
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Veggies

Menu Monday

Monday
Beef Fajitas
Spanish Rice

Tuesday
Russian Rice
(link to the recipe on an old blog)

Wednesday
Mexican Beefy Rice

Thursday
Chili Dogs
Stuffing

Friday
Potato Soup
Cornbread

Saturday
Teriyaki Chicken
Teriyaki Rice

Sunday
Grilled Steak
Potatoes
Tossed Salad

Hopefully the weather holds up so we can grill. Of course, I'll be having a low carb alternative. :-)
I've got lots going on for the next few weeks at my stamping blog, but I'll try not to be too scarce!

Menu Monday! (On Tuesday)

Time for a plan!

Monday
Grilled Chicken
Potatoes
Seasoned Vegetables

Tuesday
Pigs in a Blanket
Mac n Cheese

Wednesday
Leftovers

Thursday
Roast

Potatoes, Carrots & Onions

Biscuits

Friday

Turkey Breast Fillets
(I have a package of fillets and I am looking for a recipe! Do you have one?)
Rice

Veggies

Saturday
Grilled Sausage
Four Cheese Italian Pasta
Broccoli

Sunday
Chicken Fajitas
Mexican Rice
Refried Beans

Angel

Menu Monday!

Time for a menu!
Hmmm... I am starting a low-carb diet tomorrow so this may look a lot different than my past menus!

Menu Monday!

Time for my 3rd Menu Monday!

Monday

BBQ Meatballs*

Stuffing

Green beans

Tuesday
Potato Soup
Cornbread

Wednesday
Chicken Strip Wraps
Crockpot Mac n Cheese*

Thursday
Chili Mac (HH)
Rolls

Friday

Chicken Quesadillas
Mexican Rice

Saturday
Grilled Steak
Grilled Potatoes
Veggies

Sunday
Grilled Pork Chops
Oven Baked Potatoes
Grilled Green Beans

* New Recipe

Notes on Last Week- Even though we didn't do the Family Favorites, we did really well at sticking to our menu except for Saturday. I should have known better than to put something on the weekend menu that wasn't for the grill. We ended up grilling a pork loin instead of having spaghetti.

We have 2 new recipes this week. If the meatballs turn out to be good, we'll make those when the kids are here for Christmas. Brian really likes meatball subs. :-)

Thanks for visiting!
~Angel

Menu Monday!

Time for my weekly menu! I actually make up about 3-4 weeks of menus ahead of time as I find the task not one of my favorites! Just as easy to sit down and think up 3 weeks as it is one! I also have a couple of days of the week that I pick a topic for such as Soupy Tuesdays and Mexican on Fridays! It's easier for me to think of a Mexican dish or a soup!

Monday
Pigs in a Blanket
Stuffing

Veggies

Tuesday

Tomato Soup
Grilled Cheese

Wednesday
Cheesy Ranch Burger (HH)
Corn

Thursday
Bagel Pizzas
Chips

Friday
Chicken Fajitas

Rice

Saturday
Spaghetti
Bread Sticks

Sunday
Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
Rice

Notes on last week: We didn't exactly stick to our menu as I found a great deal at the commissary on Rib-Eyes so we grilled steak last night. In fact I think we grilled out 4 days last week! It was so pretty outside. I did try the new Crock pot stew recipe. We had it over rice and I give it a thumbs up! (I did add 2/3 can of water and cooked on low for the most part.)
No new recipes this week. Instead I have 2 new dishes on next week's menu!

Have a great week!
~Angel

Menu Monday!

Anyone who knows me or has been to my house knows that they're likely to find a menu on the side of my refrigerator. I've done this off and on (mostly on) for over 20 years! It takes a bit of time, but I usually look through my cupboards and find out what I've got to work with and plan a menu and make a grocery list. I also clip coupons (with my wonderful daughter's help!) and have found these tasks combined to be a HUGE money saving routine!
So, when I saw that my BFF Peggy had joined a group (orgjunkie.com) that among other things promotes menu planning I thought it would be something I'd like to do as well. So, you'll hopefully see Menu Monday as a weekly feature here. I'll try to add a recipe to the post as well. New recipes are something I love to sample and by doing so have found some delicious family favorites.
Here we go!

Monday~
Brocolli & Cheese Casserole
(Since it's just me 'n KT)

Tuesday~
Crockpot Stew
A new one for us!
I saw it on one of my favorite stamping blogs!

Wednesday~
Grilled Sausage (hot dogs for Katie)

Grilled Potatoes and Veggies
We like to cook the whole meal on the grill....easier Clean-up!

Thursday~

Fettucini Alfredo w/ Chicken

(Chicken Helper)

Friday~

Tacos
Mexican Rice

Refried Beans

Saturday~

Grilled Pork Loin
Pasta
Grilled Green Beans

Sunday~
Grilled Cheeseburgers
Baked Potatoes
Corn

You can tell- we love to grill (with charcoal!) and take advantage of it as long as the weather holds out.

That's all for me today! Hope you're having a fabulous Monday!

~Angel

ETA~
Karla asked about the grilled veggies....

My answer: I started doing this so I didn't have to cook ANYTHING in the house when Kevin was grilling. I open up a can of green beans (we like them so much I usually use 2) and drain. Then I dump about 1/2 the can on a square of aluminum foil, add 2-3 pats (generous pats) of butter and some seasoning (salt, pepper and a little garlic salt) and then fold in the edges of the foil making a packet. I end up with 3-4 packets. Kevin grills it over the heat directly for about 10-15 minutes on each side and then puts them on the upper rack while he cooks the meat.... same thing for the potatoes. We use fresh potatoes occasionally chopped into bite sized pieces or else frozen hasbrowns adding onion and green pepper when we have it. Same foil packet. Best thing about it is NO DISHES!