I'm finally getting back into regular menu-planning after taking a few weeks off to have a baby. And it feels so good! I'm sticking to simple meals since it's our first week of our official
homeschool year and the goal of this week is to be consistent with our
new schedule. I can quickly get side-tracked in the kitchen so I made the menu really easy to try and deter myself from losing focus!
We're mostly eating from the pantry and freezer as these are rather full and in need of a little pairing down. We did spend $33 at the store buying produce and dairy products, but the main staples for these meals we already had on hand (which is the beauty of stocking up on sales!).
Here's the plan:
Breakfasts
Kashi waffles, strawberries, yogurt
Strawberry smoothies, muffins
Banana bread, oranges, yogurt
Cereal, juice or fruit x 2
Oatmeal, grapefruit
Pumpkin waffles, strawberries
Lunches
Spinach Rice and Cheese Casserole, fruit
Tossed salad (using fresh-from-the-container-garden lettuce!) with hard-boiled eggs and cheese, bread
Baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese, peaches
Pot roast, corn, toast, tossed salad
PB&J, carrots, applesauce
Leftovers x 2
Dinners
Ham and Cheese Stromboli, broccoli
French Toast with strawberries and freshly-whipped cream, hashbrowns
Chicken BBQ Pizza, corn on the cob, fruit salad
Turkey sub sandwiches, chips, veggies
Mini Meatloaves, mixed steamed veggies, bread, sweet potatoes
Steak, corn on the cob, grapefruit, cucumber and tomato salad, bread
Dinner out
Snacks
Yogurt
Fruit
Granola bars
Muffins
Cereal
Cheese/crackers
Check out more menu plans for this week over at Organizing Junkie.
Joy @ Frugal Menu Mamas says
I make Ham & cheese stromboli the same way using leftover ham I froze after Easter. I am still looking for a fancier recipe than just ham and 2 types of cheese, but my family eats it this way, so maybe I should just stick with it!
Jodi W says
I just tried your pizza recipe this weekend. I thought it was great! So easy! I hope to make my own pizzas each week now and save about $50 a month. Thank you!
Crystal says
How do you cook your steak?
Kim says
Crystal, you and your family are a testament that eating healthy doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Plus your menu sounds delicious!
I was just wondering if you were going to post your “May progress report” . You have had enough to keep you busy, I just enjoy hearing your progress to your home purchase (plus it inspires me to keep plugging away at our goals)
Kim from Philadelphia
Nicole says
I’m interested in hearing about your homeschool too. Are you starting kindergarten or just formal preschool? I’d love to hear what you are doing with the girls since I am homeschooling my girls starting this fall. I’d especially love to hear ideas for homeschooling that save money. Looking around at curriculum and such, I’ve noticed it can be very expensive. Any tips would be appreciated.
***************************
Money Saving Mom here: We’re starting Kindergarten with my 4-year-old and the almost 2-year-old is participating as well–just for fun!
We’re using My Father’s World Kindergarten curriculum and I’m very excited about it. It’s quite inexpensive and by utilizing the library and PaperBackSwap, it’s even less expensive! We’ll see how it goes… and maybe in ten years from now or so, I can talk on how to save money on homeschooling (I coupon shopped for close to ten years before I started blogging about it so maybe I’ll do the same with homeschooling?!)
Amy says
I make my strombolis the same way. My husband loves them. When I want to do something a little extra special for him I make a few for him to take for lunch during the week. It doesn’t take much time and it’s pretty cheap. I sometimes get “fancy” by adding a little italian dressing or bbq sauce. lol I’m a pretty basic cook too.
I like homeschooling in the summer, especially when it’s really hot out. We go outside in the morning and then go in and do school when it’s hot and go outside later. My 4.5 year old dd is wanting to learn to read too I need to start spending some time with her every day working on it. She’s my youngest so far to show interest.
Katie says
Sounds like a great plan! 🙂
gretchen says
Sounds really yummy. I need to try making your spinach rice casserole soon.
One question, maybe for your other blog, but why are you starting home school in the summer? Definitely sounds interesting! I’m excited to learn more about your approach to this as it is something we are considering for our family.
***********************
Money Saving Mom here: I was homeschooled growing up and we always schooled year-round. I plan to do the same as it worked so well and since the girls have been begging me for months to please do more school with them (we’ve done a number of preschool things for the past few years), I figured that now was as good of a time as ever to start since I’m feeling much more energetic and Kathrynne is almost 4 1/2 and trying to teach herself how to read.
But we’ll see how things go. I’m just taking it one day at a time right now. 🙂
Ann says
Do you have suggestions for picky eaters. I’m not sure how it happened, but my son won’t eat certain foods. I am trying to eat from the pantry a little more and this makes it a little difficult. He won’t eat yogurt, most cheeses, milk, eggs, most canned fruit. It is very frustrating since my girls will eat all the things that he won’t. He won’t even eat mac and cheese or hot dogs (but I don’t blame him with the hot dogs). I’m not sure how he got this way. I didn’t cater to his preferences, and he was such a good eater as a toddler. Now he is 8 and would live on PB and J if I let him.
Connie says
Do you have a recipe for the french toast? that sounded yummy
LisaGrace says
I have a quick question for you! I just got married and am learning the art of menu planning. I know you and your husband have a general “only-buy-what’s-on-sale” rule, so do you menu plan before or after you check out the stores? I would love to menu plan off the sales but am never sure whats on sale (besides coupons) before I’m in the grocery store. Help? : )
************************
Money Saving Mom here: Can you check your sales fliers online before going to the store? That’s what I always do. Most major store chains have them available online.
I use those to determine what is on a good sale and what will be a good deal paired with coupons I have. I then make my menu/grocery list based upon those deals and what I already have on hand.
Hope that helps!
kathy says
our walmart has banana boat sunscreen on sale for $5.oo. there is a $2.00 coupon on banana boat’s website.
Carissa says
I always love reading your meal plans. I wish I were that organized!
Amy L says
Thanks for Posting this! Your menu is always so motivating! Especially when I see your bread because I know its home made! I’m still trying to get that one down right!!
********************
Money Saving Mom here: Should I confess that this week I’m not making bread? Just using what I already have in the freezer–some homemade, some storebought. 🙂
Sonja Barber says
Sounds like a good plan. I’m starting back to using my Crock Pot meals to help reduce the heat from the oven in this aweful Texas heat! I get my recipes from http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/. They were very handy last year and now I have some old favs and new recipes to work with. I haven’t put them on a calendar or structured them yet (must too practicle). Good luck to you and I’ll get stocked up too now that I’m actually going to have some idea of what I want.
$ Money Savin' Momma $ says
Do you have a recipe for the Ham and Cheese Stromboli? Sounds yummy!
*********************
Money Saving Mom here: Um, yes, I have a recipe, but I don’t think it’s anything to call home about! 🙂 I’m using pizza crust and then just putting sliced ham and two types of cheeses, rolling it up, and baking it. And that’s it! I’m sure if I were a more gourmet chef I could come up with some fancy spices to add, but unfortunately, I’m a pretty boring cook. 🙂