Meal List for December

Meal List for December

When I do my grocery list, I usually figure out how many meals we need for the month and construct a list to shop for the entire month. Our current monthly budget is $200-$300 for the 3 of us. That includes dinners, lunches, breakfasts, snacks, pantry staples, as well as any health and beauty products such as toothpaste, lotion, toilet paper, etc. for the entire month.

First I start by figuring out what meals we currently have. I look through the pantry, cupboards, and fridge to see what we have that can be made into meals and I make a list of those meals.

Then I count the amount of days in the month from the day that we will be going grocery shopping. I then subtract the number of meals we currently have from that number to decipher how many meals are needed for each day of that month. For example, if i currently have 5 meals and we go grocery shopping on the fist of the month in a 30 day month, I will subtract 5 from 30 coming up with 25 meals that we will need. (I base the number of meals off of dinners only because we utilize leftovers for lunches and then purchase some contingency meals for lunches and breakfasts)

Then I go through the sale ads and/or my Favorite Couponing Blogs to see what is on sale at the time. I will construct a list of meals from the items that are on sale or from our Goto Cheap Meals List. Once I have come up with the amount of meals that we need, I will go through the list and create another list of the items we need to purchase to make those meals including any coupons that are needed. Then I add some contingency breakfasts and lunches to the list such as oatmeal, waffles, cereal, eggs, soup, sandwich stuff, peanut butter, etc. We usually have quite a bit of breakfast and lunch items already since we use leftovers for lunches on most days.

I then will hang my meal list on the fridge so that I can see exactly what meals I have to make and can just pick whichever one sounds good for any given night and cross it off the list.

Here is my meal list for this month:

We had enough items in our stock already to get us through until today (12/15) so that is when we did our shopping. Part of my list includes items for Christmas so I will not be including those as they are not part of our normal meal list. However, that does mean we can take 2 less meals off our our normal list (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) so for this month we only need 10 dinners. That way I will be able to stretch our budget to be able to pay for the Christmas items that we need. :)

• Rice and beans (we use black beans and brown rice)
• Black Bean and Egg Burritos (using left over rice and bean mixture mixture from previous meal) and salsa - check out my Stretching The Leftovers post
• Grilled cheese and tomato soup (x2) <---this indicates I will be making this twice
• 2 family meals (sometimes we do contingency dinners for the nights I work early and don't have a lot of time to cook. These are usually some type of frozen pizza or microwavable family meal)
• Beef Stroganauff (ground beef, noodles, and cream of mushroom soup)
• Eggs and Hashbrowns (x2)
• 6 can soup with biscuits (2 cans of corn, 1 cans of chili beans, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of broth - can use your own homemade stock to make even cheaper)
• Tuna  melts and chips (x2)
• Stove top chicken (2 boxes of stove top stuffing - make it & put it in a 9x13 baking pan. Cut up raw chicken breasts into thin strips and place on top. Pour 1 can of cream of chicken soup mixed with milk over the top and bake)

I added a couple of extra meals just in case we do not have as many leftovers from Christmas as I am planning. If we don't end up needing them, we can just add them to next months list!

Our Goto Cheap Meal List

Our Goto Cheap Meal List

It is a rare occurrence, but once and a while there won't be a lot of good sales in the ads and/or not a lot of great coupons to use to save money at the store. When this happens I utilize my list of Goto Cheap Meals.
This is a list I have compiled of meals that include ingredients which are always fairly cheap no matter if they are on sale or not.

Beans and Rice: mix any of your favorite beans with your favorite rice. Add seasonings, salsa, etc. to add some more flavor. For our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $2, or $0.67 per person.

Beans and Weenies: mix chili beans with chopped up hot dogs. For our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $2.75 or $0.92 per person. We like to use the all turkey nitrate free dogs which cost a bit more but they are more healthy. We buy 2 cans of beans and then use 1 can and half a package of hot dogs for each meal.

Breakfast for Dinner: this can mean eggs and toast, pancakes, biscuits and gravy etc. Eggs are very cheap and so is bread and pancake mix. We usually go the eggs and toast route which only runs us about $1.03 total or only $0.35 per person.

Tortilla Pizza Roll-ups: tortillas, pizza sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings you like. Veggies are the cheapest toppings. You just put the sauce, cheese and toppings on the tortillas and bake until cooked through. Then you can eat them as is, or roll them up. For our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $5 or just $1.67 per person. (cost is based on using turkey pepperoni for the topping)

Stir Fry: veggies are always the cheap way to go. Most stores sell bags of frozen already chopped stir fry veggies that are ready to dumb in the skillet. The bags are usually no more than 3 dollars. We cook these with a bit of soy sauce or teriyaki sauce and serve it over rice. For our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $5 or just $1.67 per person.

Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup: bread, sliced cheese and a can of soup. These meal is most likely a comfort food from your childhood. For our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $3.32 or just $1.12 per person.

Chili: we use tomato juice, ground beef, chicken, turkey or pork (whatever is the cheapest at the time), chili beans and seasonings. We serve it with cinnamon rolls or even cheaper, crackers. For our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $8 or just $1.33 per person. (makes about 6 bowls. cost is based on serving with cinnamon rolls)

Pasta: noodles are always super cheap and you can add veggies, meat, beans, or anything you like to it and mix it with your choice of sauce. Lately I have been using tomato sauce and spinach so I will base the cost on that. For our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $5 or just $0.83 each. (makes about 6 servings)

Chicken Tacos: cook about 4 chicken breasts in the crock pot on high all day with a jar of salsa. Shred and put in tortillas. For our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $5.50 or just $1.83 each.

Tuna Melts: put tuna on toast and melt a piece of cheese on top. For our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $3.32 of $1.12 per person.

6 Can Soup: 2 cans of chicken broth, 1 can of chili beans, 1 can of corn, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of tomato soup. Mix it all together and voila! you have soup. For our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $3 or just $1 per person.

Stroganoff: noodles, ground beef or turkey and 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup. For our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $3 or just $1 per person.

Mac & Weenies: mac & cheese is only about $1 a box. (we like to use the organic mac & cheese from Trader Joe's which is just $0.99 and no added butter is needed!) add some chopped up hot dogs and you have a hearty meal! For our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $2 or just $0.67 per person. (we like to use the all turkey nitrate free dogs so the cost reflects that)

Beefy Mac: mac & cheese is only about $1 a box. (we like to use the organic mac & cheese from Trader Joe's which is just $0.99 and no added butter is needed!) add some ground beef or turkey and you have a hearty meal! Four our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $2.25 or just $0.75 per person.

Messy Lasagna: mini lasagna noodles (any smaller noodles will do), tomato sauce and cottage cheese. (you can add meat or veggies if you wish) For our family of 3 this only costs about a total of $2.50 or just $0.83 per person.

Stretching The Leftovers

Stretching The Leftovers

One of the ways that I like to save money on our grocery budget is by stretching our leftovers. When I make dinners, I make enough to feed my 3 person family for that night as well as leftovers for lunch the next day. We also have some contingency lunches, so there are days that I can utilize the leftovers for another meal. There are a couple ways to do this:

1) Restaurant Night: Save at least one serving from each dinner and freeze it. Eventually your freezer will fill up with many individual meals. You can have a fun "Restaurant Night" by going through your freezer and creating a menu of all the individual meals that you currently have. Then your family can pick which meal they would like to eat that night and all you have to do is heat it up. It is fun and convenient.

2) Second Meal: You can use your leftovers to create another meal entirely. Here are some examples:

• First night: Chili Second night: Chili Dogs or Cincinnati Chili (chili over noodles)
• First night: Tacos Second night: Nachos (left over taco filling over chips)
• First night: Mac and Cheese Second night: Beefy Mac or Mac and Weenies
• First night: Rice and Beans Second night: Rice and Bean Burritos (add meat, cheese, etc.)
• First night: Baked Chicken Second night: Chicken Stir Fry (add veggies)
• First night: BBQ Pork Chops Second night: Pulled BBQ Pork Sandwiches
• First night: Pot Roast Second night: Pot Pie (wrap meat and veggies in crust and bake)

If you use your imagination, the possibilities are endless!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!

This is my absolute favorite time of the year! I love seeing all of the decorations and watching all of the Christmas shows on TV. This is the first year that we will be hosting Christmas Eve at our place and I am so excited to play hostess!

We get together with my mom and step dad for Christmas Eve and then my dad, step mom, and my husband's parents on Christmas Day so we get to partake in lots of festivities!

What do you love about the holiday season?