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Meal Planning & Prep Nov. 2-9

I just realized I never posted my meal plan this week. Oops! Here’s what we ate this week.

1. Monday…I honestly can not remember! It’s been a long week….
2. Tuesday I made Spinach, Chicken & Tortilla Soup  and had the leftovers for Wednesday’s lunch.
3. Wednesday night we made ground beef tacos and I had leftovers for lunch Thursday.
4. Thursday night we made cheese burgers.
5. Friday for lunch I ordered a buffalo chicken salad through our school’s lunch service, Wholesome Tummies. For dinner I had Target’s Simply Balance tomato soup and a turkey sandwich.

And now it’s Friday and I’m so happy for the weekend!

Halloween 2014

Halloween was wonderful once again. We started the celebrations Wednesday night with pumpkin carving & costume assembly. I helped Steve create a guitar for his costume. He painted it while I made chili & corn bread. After we ate dinner we carved pumpkins. His Mine

Thursday we finished shopping for party food & costume items. At school Friday all the teachers came dressed in costume. I was Fern from Charlotte’s Web.

 

I gave my teachers little treat bags with a pencil and pumpkin spice M&Ms.

We trick or treated with the children & had a little Halloween party. The children were super excited. Holidays are so much fun with kids. After work I hurried home to prepare for our party with friends. This was the most low-key last minute Halloween party we’ve ever had. It was nice & a bummer all at the same time! I made chocolate chip oatmeal cookies & Count Chocula Rice Krispie treats.

Then I finished making my costume. I bought a blank head band a bunch of clearance flowers to make my hair piece. I pulled the flowers off the stems and hot glued them onto the headband.Then I painted a mask for my sugar skull costume.

And now presenting Frida Kahlo/sugar skull and Zakk Wylde. 

Now it’s time to shop the after Halloween clearance & stock up for next year!

 

Halloween Costumes Over the Years

We love Halloween. Well, we really love any reason to through a party, but Halloween is at the top of our favorite holiday list. We love dressing up, the scary movies, the candy(!!!), and I thoroughly enjoy making creepy & gross treats. Let’s take a trip down memory lane…

Our first Halloween together was in 2005. We dressed up as 80’s rockers. Steve’s hair is a wig…mine is not

Steve was in a band and they were apart of a Halloween show in a barn. We didn’t dress up in 2006 & 2007. We did carve pumpkins though. I couldn’t find 2006’s picture, but here’s 2007. In 2008 I dressed as a cop and Steve a robber. We went to a Halloween party at the restaurant/bar he worked at. In 2009 we were living together in our own house for the first time. We threw a big Halloween party. We were engaged at the time and were zombie bride & groom.

I had fun decorating the house  & making food.
In 2010 we threw another party (at the same house) and we were Fred & Wilma.In 2011 we had moved into a new house & enjoyed throwing another Halloween party here. We had accumulated a lot of decorations (we shop the after Halloween sales) and had fun decorating. I was a candy corn witch and Steve was Ricky from Trailer Park Boys. We adopted Lucy this year. She was a football player and worn several Halloween outfits. In 2012 we had another big party at our house. I went Pinterest crazy and did a lot of decorating! 

I was a cowgirl & Steve was Nascar fan.

Lucy was a hotdog & Rico was superdog. They also got cute Halloween portraits!

In 2013 we had moved out of our house and in with my dad. My friend hosted the party at her house. We took all the decorations over there to decorate. Steve was Sergeant Slaughter and I was Frenchie. Rico wore the skull outfit and Lucy the pumpkin costume.

Stay tuned to see this year’s costumes!!

 

 

 

 

Meal Plan Oct. 26- Nov. 2

This has been a busy week & it’s only Tuesday. Knowing it would be a busy week I kept meals simple and open ended. I went shopping Sunday and bought what was on sale and used what we already had in the pantry/fridge to put together a few meals. The other days we will just wing it. So I guess this really isn’t a meal plan!

	BREAKFAST	LUNCH	DINNER
SUNDAY			Homemade Pizza
MONDAY		Chicken Salad Wraps	Beef Stew
TUESDAY	All Week: Greek Yogurt, Chex & Raspberries Eggs Protein Oats	Luncheon	Beef Stew/Leftovers
WEDNESDAY		Tuna Salad Wraps	Chili & Corn bread
THURSDAY		Chili & Corn bread	Chicken & Veggies
FRIDAY		Chicken & Veggies	Chicken & Veggies
SATURDAY		Leftovers	leftovers
SUNDAY		leftovers	leftovers

Sunday I made a lot of chicken salad for lunches. Then I made a sausage & veggie pizza for dinner.

Rico is supervising!

Monday I filled the crock pot with beef & veggies so we would have several meals of beef stew. I bought the ingredients for chili and we’ll make that Wednesday evening and eat those leftovers.

I love a good plan, but sometimes life happens and it just doesn’t come together!

All the Deals

I absolutely love bargains. It’s probably bordering on the obsessive side, but i’m okay with that! Last night I got an email from Serrv that they were having a one day 75% off outlet sale. That’s 75% off their already cheaper outlet prices. This morning I woke up, drank my coffee, packed up a lunch for Steve (he was judging a local weightlifting competition and needed food!), delivered his lunch, and was off to shop!

The sale is in their basement with tables all lined up with beautiful hand crafted fair trade goodies. I love looking for gifts here because they have so many unique items. I got my mom something (which I’m not posting in case she reads this!) and I bought my dad these bookends. My dad is possibly the hardest person to shop for. He loves wood carving and he owns a tree trimming company, so these are perfect. They were $48 but I got them for $12! 

Then I saw a table of instruments, asked a lady for a box, and filled it up. This year my school is focusing on integrating more music in our curriculum. These instruments are perfect!

The original price was $161! I got them for $40. The one instrument was a little smashed so she gave it to me for $1. It still works, and let’s face it, preschoolers are tough on instruments anyway.

The bargain high got to me so then I was off to a local thrift store. It’s apart of the hospital and it’s the nicest thrift store. It’s set up like a house and everything is presented very well. I saw this jug and was excited to see it was 50% off. My dad collects crocks – even cracked ones like this one. Another Christmas gift for him at only $11!

Afterwards I went to Goodwill. I got an Old Navy dress for $11 and an Athletica sweater dress for $9. Perfect for the fall/winter with tights/leggings and boots.

 

Earlier in the week I went to Goodwill and got this white top from Banana Republic, orange top from Ann Taylor Loft and these Gap pants for $20 total!

My last stop was at Marshalls where I found this set of dishes for $15. This set is $50 at Kohls. We’re in the process of finding a house & moving. Dishes were on my list of things to buy, so I’m very happy to have found these.

And to end this post, we are getting a Home Goods! I’m very happy about this!

Meal Plan & Prep for Oct. 19-26

New here? Read this post first.

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For this week’s meal planning & prep I decided to do almost all Crock Pot meals and double recipes so we would have dinner and then leftovers for lunches.

The Plan:

	BREAKFAST	LUNCH	DINNER
MONDAY		Beef Stew	Italian Chicken & Autumn Veggie Soup w/ Tomato Broth
TUESDAY	All Week: Greek Yogurt w/ Raspberries Eggs Protein Oats	Chicken & Autumn Veggie Soup	Turkey Meatloaf w/ Brussel Sprouts
WEDNESDAY		Meatloaf & Veggies	Chicken Marsala & Broccoli
THURSDAY		Chicken Marsala & Veggies	Chicken, Kale & Butternut Squash Cornbread Pot Pie
FRIDAY		Pot Pie	Tilapia & Roasted Veggies
SATURDAY		Leftovers	leftovers
SUNDAY		leftovers	leftovers

The Process & Recipes:

Saturday I went grocery shopping. I had a short list of stuff we needed, but for meat I bought what was on sale and then planned recipes based on what I bought. I bought ground turkey, chicken breast, and a london broil.

Sunday morning I made this beef stew for the crock pot. I already had all of the ingredients, so it worked out beautifully.

Once everything for the stew was in the Crock Pot, I had a lot of cabbage and kale leftover. I went ahead and chopped the rest of the cabbage and shredded the rest of the kale. The only remaining fresh veggie I had in the fridge was brussel sprouts. I got those out and chopped them too.

Then I wrote down what I already had in my kitchen: 12 lbs chicken breast, 1.3 lbs. ground turkey, 1 lb. tilapia, 6 bags of frozen veggies, spinach, kale, cabbage, beef broth, chicken broth, fire roasted tomatoes, 5 cans of tuna, brown rice, corn bread, and chicken marsala sauce. Using these ingredients, I searched Pinterest for recipe ideas. I then created a list of any ingredients I needed to buy. Then off I went to Aldi to finish the shopping.

When I got home I assembled Italian Chicken & Autumn Veggie Soup w/ Tomato Broth in a large ziploc bag. I used this recipe  but altered it for Crock Pot cooking and omitted gnocchi. Then I put this bag into the refrigerator. On Monday morning I’ll pour it into the Crock Pot and my job is done.

On Tuesday I have turkey meatloaf planned using this recipe. Half of my turkey was frozen so I didn’t mix it up ahead of time. Instead I put everything together in the fridge. On Tuesday morning I’ll mix everything and put it into the Crock Pot with the brussel sprouts.

Wednesday I’ll cook chicken in the crock pot. When I come home from work I’ll put it into a skillet with the Campbell’s marsala sauce and broccoli. Easy!

I put leftover chopped butternut squash & kale into a bag and then looked up recipes for chicken, butternut squash and kale. I didn’t want a soup, which was all I could find. Then I found this recipe for pot pie for Thursday‘s dinner. Perfect! I have a box of cornbread mix and will use that to make the crust instead.

Friday we will bake the tilapia with vegetables. Simple & easy.

We always have leftovers or go out on the weekend. I have extra chicken breast, canned tuna, and veggies on hand in case we don’t have enough leftovers for a lunch.

Have a great week!

Weekending

Saturday: We slept in, as we normally do on the weekends. It’s my favorite part. Once we were out of bed, we drank coffee & ate breakfast (oats+banana protein+peanut butter + almond milk). Then we went to a local trail and had a beautiful fall walk.

Then we headed to our favorite farm (Local Homestead Products) for their Octoberfest. I sweet talked donkeys & a goat. We picked pumpkins. All pumpkins were only $5! Then we got a bottle of apple cider, two whoopie pies, and beef jerky. We love this place because it’s local, they have local products, and they have great prices. We only spent $15.

Afterwards we drove & ate whoopie pies…a messy decision. We went thrift shopping for Halloween costumes (no luck). Then we treated ourselves to lunch at Chic-fil-a before heading home.

Sunday: Steve works on Sundays so this is normally my day to do housework. Not very exciting, but it makes me feel good that everything is ready for the week. I did dishes and started scrubbing the kitchen which lead me to cleaning the Keurig. Well ours is a Keurig powered Mr. Coffee.

I took it apart, scrubbed it with soap & water, then did the vinegar cleanse. There are tutorials around for details, but basically you run vinegar through it many times.

Then I got to work cooking. I did my weekly meal planning & prep.I got several boxes of Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners at Target with a Cartwheel coupon. They sell them for $2 a box, but they had a 25% off Cartwheel coupon so I stocked up. They make clean up so much easier.

When I went grocery shopping Saturday I got a ton of gas points. On my Just for U account through Safeway I had an offer for 40 cents off per gallon when you spend $70, 10 cents off per gallon when you spend $5 on produce, and 2x points. I spent $90 on groceries and left with 70 cents off per gallon. Today Steve got gas for $2.35!!Dishes are done, laundry is done & put away, and I vacuumed. Now I’ll relax and Pinterest while dinner is cooking! ..and drink this pumpkin spice hot chocolate.

 

Meal Plan for Oct. 13-19

New here? Read this post first.

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This past Sunday I did not do my normal prep work and prepare all our lunches. I didn’t even get a meal plan together. Friday and Saturday I was very tired and by Sunday I was sick. The very last thing I wanted to do was cook! Instead, Steve and I made a quick stop at the store and bought some meat. Then we winged it for dinner every night and ate leftovers for lunch.

And your Crock Pot is your very best friend when you don’t feel well!

Sunday: I never made carnitas Friday (my dad and I went out to dinner) so I made them Sunday in the Crock Pot. I ate mine with brown rice, salsa, fresh tomatoes, corn, cheddar cheese & sour cream.

Monday: I stayed home from work and felt miserable. I slept til almost lunch time, so we had pancakes for lunch. Luckily I had beef stew meat (already chopped) and leftover chopped butternut squash. I threw it all into the crock pot and added the rest of the ingredients from this Paleo Beef Stew for dinner. It’s a delicious & easy recipe. Will definitely be making it again.

Tuesday: For lunch I had leftover beef stew. Steve was home so he cooked chicken breast, potatoes, and broccoli for dinner.

Wednesday: Leftover carnitas for lunch. For dinner we had chili in the Crock Pot. We used this recipe for the chili (we used beef & pork) and it was very good. Will be using this recipe again. I topped mine with cheddar & sour cream.

Thursday: Leftover chili for lunch and then this for date night: 

We ordered sesame chicken, orange chicken, & sushi. We also got some pumpkin beer, wine, and caramel apple twizzlers. It was wonderful with the added bonus of no cooking!

Friday: Leftover orange chicken & yogurt for lunch…. weird combo, but I need to go grocery shopping! For dinner Steve made chicken with Campbell’s skillet sesame chicken sauce. I wasn’t crazy about the sauce, but Steve did a nice job cooking the chicken!

Now that I’m feeling better and getting a week off, I’ll be back to regular meal planning & prep this weekend for next week.

Meal Plan & Prep October 6-12

New here? Read this post first.

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This week’s meal plan was based on my new grocery budget. I’m challenging myself to spend $100/week on groceries. Steve and I have been saving & pay off debt since January. One of our biggest expenses is groceries. I’m hoping to reduce our grocery bill and put the difference into our savings account. We shall see how it goes…

I shopped at Aldi and a local farm for all of this week’s groceries. I bought everything that was on sale. I also planned recipes that used similar ingredients. I spent about $94. I still need to buy a pork roast for Friday’s dinner, but hopefully they go on sale Wednesday.

The Plan:

	BREAKFAST	LUNCH	DINNER
MONDAY		Tuna salad over Spinach	Caprese Turkey Quinoa Casserole
TUESDAY	All Week: Vanilla Yogurt Pumpkin Oats Eggs	Butternut Squash, Apple & Chicken Hash	Crock Pot Chicken, Kale & Sweet Potato Soup
WEDNESDAY		Beef & Cabbage	Baked Pesto Chicken
THURSDAY		Shrimp Teriyaki stir fry	Parmesan Tilapia & Green Beans
FRIDAY		Chicken, Kale & Sweet Potato Skillet Meal	Crock Pot Carnitas & Brown Rice
SATURDAY		Leftovers	leftovers
SUNDAY	Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes	leftovers	leftovers

The Recipes:

Breakfast

• Nature’s Path Original Hot Cereal (plain oatmeal) with a scoop of pumpkin & lots of pumpkin pie spice. Bought the oats at Big Lots for $2.00/box with using a 20% off coupon.
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes – I got the idea from here. I bought a bag of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pancake Mix ($3 at Big Lots w/ coupon). I got a bag of chocolate chips for less than $2 at Aldi and a can of pumpkin for 89 cents at Aldi.

Lunches

• Tuna Salad of Spinach – I bought tuna at Aldi (69 cents a can), added plain Greek yogurt, relish, diced onion and celery, and mustard. I put the tuna over fresh spinach I bought at the farm for $2 a bag.
• Butternut Squash, Apple & Chicken Hash (I substituted chicken for the bacon)
• Beef & Cabbage
• Shrimp Stir Fry – I already had 1/2 a bag of frozen stir fry veggies so I cooked these in a pan,  added shrimp, and teriyaki sauce.
• Chicken, Kale and Sweet Potatoes – I chopped a large sweet potato and then partially cooked it in the microwave. I heated coconut oil in a skillet. Once hot I added the sweet potato and a lot of chopped kale. I stirred and cooked until the kale was wilted and the potatoes were crispy. I added this to cooked chicken.

Dinners

• Caprese Quinoa Casserole – I doubled the turkey and halved the quinoa
• Sweet Potato, Kale & Chicken Soup – simple & delicious recipe
• Baked Pesto Chicken
• Parmesan Crusted Tilapia 
• Crock Pot Carnitas

Prep

1. First I diced 5 pounds of chicken breast. I heated coconut oil in a pan and cooked the chicken in batches. Cook long enough to get crispy and browned. Then I divided the chicken into four containers (two for steve, two for me).
2. Next I made the butternut squash & apple and added it to the chicken in the containers.
3. Then I made the kale & sweet potato and added it to the remaining chicken containers.
4. I made the beef & cabbage. While it cooked I made the tuna salad and then the shrimp & veggies.
5. Once all the lunch entrees were cooked and divided into containers, I added fruit & veggies.
6. I prepped Monday’s casserole and put it into the refrigerator.
7. Cleaned up and was done!