Instead of posting my menu plan and grocery purchases, since I often reverse meal plan, I thought I’d share with you what we ate this past week and then what we bought for this coming week. I don’t do a rigid meal plan most weeks; I usually just make sure we have enough on hand for 8-10 different dinners and then I plan that day what we’re having based upon the time I have and what sounds good.
I know that this system doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s worked pretty well for this season. I also make sure to have back-up emergency dinner options in the freezer (chicken nuggets/strips + frozen pizza) so that if I just don’t feel like cooking at all or run out of time, we still have options that are much less expensive than takeout.
If you are the type who needs a structured meal plan and you feel stuck in a rut, check out my 10 Weeks of Money-Saving Menus for some of our very favorite inexpensive and easy recipes — all done for you, complete with grocery lists! (And you can also download my FREE 60 Meals to Make Instead of Getting Takeout list for some great last-minute dinner ideas.)
I’m trying to use up a bunch of odds and ends we’ve had on hand for awhile — lots of things from deals I’ve gotten or clearance or markdowns I’ve found. So this week’s menu is especially hodge-podge due to that. I hope it encourages you that you don’t need to have fancy meals; cereal is just fine every once in awhile!
What We Ate This Past Week
Here’s what we ate this past week:
Sunday — We drove home from Kansas and got home right around dinner time, so it was Fend-For-Yourself night. I think most had cereal or sandwiches with leftover turkey and cheese and bread we had from our family Christmas dinner we’d had before we left for Kansas.
Monday — It was New Year’s Eve, but all the older kids were gone, so we just had scrambled eggs and some other odds and ends with the little kids.
Tuesday — I made a pot of “Chili” — using what we had on hand. You can see a super short video of what I used for it here. We also tried a new-to-us Honey Butter Cornbread recipe that didn’t have refined sugar in it (since I’m really cutting back on how much refined sugar I eat this year). It was almost as good as my World’s Best Honey Cornbread. Not quite, but really delicious for only using maple syrup!
Wednesday — We had leftover cornbread, sausage (I cut it in two-inch pieces and browned it), steamed veggies, and sweet potato fries and french fries.
Thursday — I made our family favorite Chicken Salsa Pizza. This is the BEST pizza crust recipe!
Friday — We had leftovers because there was just enough soup, sausage, and pizza left to make enough of a meal for everyone!
Saturday — The older kids were gone, so Jesse and I got take out from Taziki’s.
Sunday — We had dinner with our Community Group. It was baked potato bar and chili night. Everyone brings something to make it easy to have dinner together! We brought a big bag of shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits.
I did a grocery pick-up order at Kroger on Saturday night and we picked it up on Sunday. Kierstyn started 4 mornings-a-week preschool this week so I bought a few things specifically for her lunches/snacks at preschool as I’m trying to figure out what she’ll eat at school when I’m not there encouraging her to eat (she’s one of ours who sometimes needs some extra encouragement to eat!)
I Think I’ve Finally Landed on a Grocery Budget Number!
If you remember in the fall, I was tinkering and experimenting with our grocery budget and trying to figure out what would be the best amount for right now, especially since I’m doing grocery pick-up instead of shopping in-store as that’s just been saving me a lot of time and I’ve been very pleased overall with the deals I’ve still been able to get.
With adjusting our diet a little bit and Kierstyn going to school, I’m thinking we’ll likely be sticking with a $150 grocery budget right now. That feels like a good amount for what’s reasonable and realistic in this season. That could change in the future, but I feel good with it right now!
And I’m excited because we spent exactly $149.64 at the Kroger this week! YAY! Here’s what we bought:
I’ll post next week to share what we ate with this + what we already have on hand! Stay tuned! Also, our stove is currently broken and we have been told we need to fully replace it, so it may be a few weeks before we have a stove again. So we’re getting creative with oven and instant pot and griddle recipes! I’m finding most things can be pretty easily adapted!
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Meal time just got so much easier!
I love your grocery budget numbers! I wasn’t sure if I am in the right area for my grocery budget, but I am pretty close to yours. The only difference is I go to the grocery every 2 weeks instead of weekly. I, also mainly do grocery pick-up except when I do delivery which only happens in the winter months and if I go to Aldi in-store. I love all your grocery posts.
Take Care,
If you have a grill, that can be very helpful when your stove is broken. It can handle a large amount of meat at once. It is great for meal planning!
Sadly, our grill stopped working last year and was unable to be fixed. We need to get a new one but we just haven’t prioritized it in the budget!
Our stove broke on us about a week before thanksgiving. I was sad to see it go, but I love our new one.
I’m trying to get a set grocery budget too…feeding two adults and two teens who are bigger than we are!
We are excited that we might be able to get one that’s a bit safer than the one we have — since David is getting older and taller and a bit more curious and I’d like for it to be harder to turn on than our current stove is.
A tip for others with knobs where little ones can reach…remove the knobs and store them in a drawer nearby. Just put the knob on when you are there cooking and supervising. This has worked beautifully with our special needs kids and allowed us to keep our oven.
That’s a great tip — thank you!
Do you have another post about grocery pickups? Like who you use and how it’s working for you? I’m interested in that. Thanks!
Oh, it’s just Kroger. They offer free pick-up with any $35 order and you can use their digital coupons and get the weekly deals.
Was the stove brand new when you moved in?!
No, it was the original when the house was built. We’re hitting that time when probably all appliances will need to be replaced. We had to replace the built-in microwave and dishwasher last year. This is probably the year for the stove and the fridge.