Meals this Week/Life update

Happy Monday!!!

Before I get to my blog writing today, I wanted to give a quick update of life stuff!  Last night I attended my first Heart to Home group.  This is a small group that pairs young women and experienced (does that sound better than "old") women to offer mentorship and support.  Joining this group has been on my heart for some time, but I have found multiple excuses not to make the commitment.  Let me set this up for you.....I walked into a group of about 15 people that had pre-established relationships and I knew NOONE!! Being from West Monroe, it is hard to not know anyone!! Those of you that know me are in shock right now.  This was totally out of my comfort zone, but I felt that it was God's instructions to follow through with this.  Everyone was super nice and welcoming.  I was quite most of the time and just listened.  This was probably a lesson I needed to learn, too.  Each girl was so different from the other, I liked this.  The lesson of the night focused on personal finances...whew, lets get right down to business!! I admire how transparent each of these girls and moms are with each other.  Transparent IS my comfort zone.  I don't know how to be any other way.  As the night wrapped up it was time to close with a prayer.  Guess who volunteered???......Most of you are NOT guessing me but you are wrong.  Yep....I prayed OUT LOAD in a group of people I have known for about an hour.  God does crazy things sometimes, I tell ya!!

I could talk alot more about my night and what I learned, but I am sure that will come out in blogs to come.  Right now I want to move on to meals this week based on Brookshires sales.

Here the products I am using that I picked up for BOGO.


Here is how it will play out...

Sunday - Turkey Mexican Pizza (I had the pleasure of being served at my Heart to Home group, but I was so excited about my groceries (insert Nerd Alert) I had to go ahead and prepare the meal)

*I cooked both packs of meat and divided out.  Will use one for Sunday's meal and one for later in the week*

I do my best to load all my meats with veggies.  It sneaks it in for the kids AND it gives me more meat (you know what I mean, right?).  I used celery, bell peppers, onions, and carrots (my Sams trip last week)

*Chopped up more veggies than I needed to use later in the week*

Monday - leftovers

Tuesday - "Darn Good Chili".  This is not the kind of chili that sits in the crock pot for hours and you serve on Super Bowl Sunday, but it is a quick week night meal using Bear Creek Soups (which I love).  I already have the meat and veggies, so I just mix it together!

Wednesday - left overs

Thursday - Pork Chops in the crockpot with BBQ sauce.

Friday - Left overs!

I love these kinds of weeks where my meals are all planned out and low stress.  This equals more time with my kids and happier mommy.

Tomorrow you will be bombarded with all things Ruddick!!!! It is his BIRTHDAY and I gave him a fresh hair cut this morning! ADORABLE for sure!

Monday Meal Plan

What's on the menu this week?  I really have no idea, so lets think about it together.

The time I spend in the kitchen each day has continued to decrease as each week is somehow busier than the last..  Thank GOODNESS for freezer cooking.  My deep freeze has come through day after day in the last couple of weeks and I feel like a genius for stocking it well!!!

Monday:  Defrosted deer meat patties (yay deep freeze) and a loaf of bread (this use to scare me, but it is totally fine).  Add cheese for patty melts

Tuesday:  Tilapia with steamed Broccolli

Wednesday:  I have a meeting, so D is on his own

Thursday:  Basil Pork Chops over Cous Cous

Friday:  Quick PB and J before Sterlington Panther game day!

Have a good Monday!!!

Monday Meal Plan

Here is the plan for the week!!

Sunday - BBQ Shredded Chicken Sandwich with Roasted Bell Peppers

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Ranch Chicken Salad Sandwiches (pending - May have guests that night to serve)

Wednesday - Garlic Shrimp

Thursday - Turkey Burgers (make extra)

Friday - leftovers

I have been obsessed with roasting veggies lately.  I am usually a sautee kind of girl, but I have been loving this new roasting option.  The Cons:  it takes a little while to get them truly done and it makes my kitchen smokey.  The Pros:  You can throw them in the oven and not have to do anything else until their done.  Plus, everything roasted is deliciousness!!

Roasted Bell Peppers:

I picked up Red Bell Peppers from the Brookshires BOGO sale this week.  I typically do not buy Red Peppers because of the price, but I thought I would try them out since they were on sale.  I also recently read a recommendation that roasted red peppers are a good table food option for babies. 

I sliced them up and spread them over a cookie sheet covered with wax paper and drizzled with EVOO.  I chose not to season them at this point since the baby would be eating some.

Cook in the oven set to 425 for 20 minutes.  They could have stayed in longer, but I had a pacing daddy and a clingy two year old that needed to be fed pronto!!

I removed a few peppers for baby R and then seasoned HEAVILY with Sea Salt, Garlic Powder, Pepper, Old Bay Season, and Tony's.  Season, taste, and add as needed.

You can season with anything you like.  We prefer a kick in the taste and are NOT fans of bland food.  It took quite a bit of seasoning to give these a good flavor.  However, they were quite yummy in the end.



Baby R was not ready for the pepper.  He had trouble controlling it in his mouth and almost gave me a panic attack!!

The Meal:

Chicken - BOGO Brookshires
Bread - BOGO Brookshires
BBQ Sauce - 25 Cents at Freds (memorial day sale)
Lettuce - BOGO Brookshires
Steamed Green Beans - BOGO Brookshires
Provolone Cheese - Sale at Target using target coupons
Red Bell Peppers - BOGO Brookshires

Meal Plan this Week 8/25

It's a light week for meals and I am excited about this!! We are gearing up for company this weekend, so I will be making plans to feed 4 extra people and looking for the best deals!  Of course, its time for football food so I can't wait to make those snack all day recipes!

Sunday - Salads with whatever is in the fridge, left over squash

Monday - Tacos (tukey meat (BOGO brookshires) cooked and frozen in freezer from freezer cooking Sundays

Tuesday - Left overs

Wednesday - Shrimp (Sams) over rice with roasted carrots (BOGO brookshires)

Thursday - D's football draft, so whatever RL and I can find

Have a great week!

Meal Plan This Week - 8/18

Below is my menu plan for the week.  Meals are based on what is available in my kitchen. :)


Sunday - Spaghetti!!

**Pasta - BOGO brookshires
**Pasta Sauce - BOGO brookshires - I will use any kind of pasta sauce and add mulitple      ingredients to make it taste the way we like it.  Recipe coming soon
**Meat - My deer hunting daddy :)
**Fresh Lima Beans - splurge from local market

Monday - Left overs

Tuesday - Roast in the crock pot with steamed squash (sliced on Sunday), and rice

**Roast - BOGO brookshires with coupon - (purchased for around $2)

Wednesday - Work Late - Salads

Thursday - Turkey Burgers (make extra)

**Turkey Meat - BOGO Brookshires

Friday - Leftovers

Weekly meal planning is something I implemented when I went back to work after my second child.  It has relieved so much stressed knowing that I have a plan for the week and no need to run to the grocery store!!

Meal Plan for the Week

I thought I would try and post my weekly meal plan for examples on how I cook with what I have or based on sales. I try to always have a plan by the close of Sunday. Planning helps me stay strong against the temptation of picking something up. We do go out to eat on occassion (which is super important to me since my
Husband doesn't cook), but I like to save it for a no rush weekend night without the looming bedtime hanging over my head.

This week...

Monday: Crockpot honey mustard chicken (bogo chicken/brookshires) with roasted zucchini

*defrost meat for Tuesday*

Tuesday: manwhich (meat already cooked in freezer), bread in freezer from previous target sale (Paid 20 cents), topped with cheese (bogo).

Wednesday: some type of crockpot pork chops (bogo) with squash

Thursday: leftovers (my favorite)

Friday: ham/turkey salads (both items bogo) - add carrots (bogo) and celery

What are you cooking this week?

Freezer Cooking Based on Brookshires Sales!

One of my goals every Sunday is to try to cook at least one item to put in the freezer. Freezer meals are amazing for weekdays and I have so much more time to spend with my kids before thier bedtime. Today I was a rockstar in the kitchen and was able to prepare 6 bags of chopped onions, 9 egg muffins, 10 breakfast burritos, and 10 chicken and cheese burritos!

I started by putting a pack of chicken tenders in the crockpot before church. (Purchased at the BOGO sale at brookshires)



Season with lemon/pepper, salt and pepper. Add a little bit of water and cook on low.

By the time we ate lunch and rl went down for a nap, it was done!


Now just shred it up!



Most of the time, I freeze the chicken plain and shredded. You can use it for tons of different meals... Chicken spaghetti, bbq chicken, mexican chicken, etc.

Today I made chicken and cheese burritos using the tortillas from the BOGO at brookshires. These are great plain so that you can add anything you are in the mood for like bbq or salsa.

To make things go a little quicker, I go ahead and tear off 10 squares of tin foil



Then i just wrap them up and place them in a bag.



I also made breakfast burritos with eggs, cheese, and sausage. Sometimes I use deer sausage or turkey sausage. This time it was plain ole unhealthy sausage bc......you guessed it. BOGO at brookshires. I used 8 eggs and a pack of sausage for 10 totillas.






Bags of onions were BOGO and I love to cook with onions. I chopped up one bag and stored them in individual bags to use for meals.



Finally, I made egg muffins! I got a dozen eggs free with the purchase of turkey bacon!!

Scramble eggs ( i used 6) and add whatever you like! This time I used salt, pepper, cheese, ham, and onions. In the past, I have also used salsa, spinach, turkey. Basically whatever you want to throw in!



The next step is VERY important. Spray a muffin tin excessively. I am serious. Disregardig the importance of this step will leave you soaking and scrubing for days. Make sure to spray the sides well too.

Fill almost to the rim. Fill higher than the pic below. They turned out kind of thin.



Bake at 350 for about 25 min. Check them. You can tell when they are done.






Flash freeze them and then just pile them in a freezer bag. Now they are ready for a quick breakfast!!

Ill post a couple of deals tomorrow, but there aren't alot out there this week.

I am working on a couple of blogs that I am really excited about. One is a big list of comparable prices at different stores. What items cost at sams, walmart, target, etc. This will help us have more confidence when spotting what we think is a deal.

I am also working on a series that will teach 10 habits to save money for your family. Even if you are naturally frugal, we could all use reminders every once in a while!!