Menu Plannin'

We've just returned from a long-awaited trip to Disneyland and the California coast and I am SO not ready to get back into the domestic life.

Cooking meals?!

Washing dishes?!

Bleh!

Well, nevertheless it must be done, and it must (apparently) be done by me.

Now y'all know that Disneyland is crazy expensive, so I'm tightening my purse strings for the next little while. I had a $20 credit for Home Chef Meal Delivery, so I'm getting a box from them on Thursday. Also, I've been working as a Customer Service Evaluation Specialist for a while now, and there is quite a bit of eating out involved, but it all gets reimbursed thankfully. So all the eating-out you'll see on my menu's is really for work, so it's all good, right?! Here's the plan for this upcoming week: (Whenever it says protein shake, that's my meal, not everyone elses)

Sunday

Breakfast: Cereal and fruit

Lunch: Homemade freezer lunches (sweet baked kielbasa, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and half a roll)

Dinner: Rigatoni with meat sauce, roasted broccoli, 30 minute rolls, and homemade grape juice

Monday

Breakfast: Toast, apples, protein shake

Lunch: Egg salad sliders and carrot sticks

Dinner: Panda Express

Tuesday

Breakfast: Huevos rancheros (probably toast for whiny kids)

Lunch: Nachos

Dinner: Pizza at Boondocks

Wednesday

Breakfast: Cereal and smoothies

Lunch: Sonic

Dinner: Toddler's choice (it's our baby's first birthday!)

Thursday

Breakfast: Waffles, bananas, protein shake

Lunch: Hard-boiled eggs, veggies, cheese, crackers, etc. . . 

Dinner: Home Chef steak and pepper skewers and roasted potatoes

Friday

Breakfast: Cereal and smoothies

Lunch: Mac and cheese, carrot sticks, protein shake

Dinner: Home Chef Acapulco beef burger and cilantro-lime fries

Saturday

Breakfast: Lemon poppyseed pancakes and bacon

Lunch: Sonic

Dinner: Food at the bowling alley with mah sista!

Grocery Budget for the next few weeks: $150
On the shopping list for this week:

• Bananas
• Apples
• Whatever fruit is on sale?
• Potatoes
• Eggs
• Maybe some mozzarella cheese and pepperonis 

Ikea Groceries

First day of my current pantry challenge! Yay! I will probably spend this first week using most of my $100 on things for the month, with the hope that I won't make multiple trips to stores over the next 4 weeks.

I had a lunch date planned at Ikea with a friend today, so I decided to grab a couple of things in their little market. My pickiest eater LOVES Ikea meatballs, and since we used ours up on a family dinner yesterday, I decided to grab a new bag. I also grabbed some of their frozen cinnamon rolls to have for breakfast once or twice during this challenge. I anticipate running out of milk, so we'll need breakfast options other than cereal sometimes. The little jar of wholegrain mustard wasn't needed, but it was calling my name. Whole grain and deli mustard have become cravings to me ever since I was pregnant with my third little one last year. But for $1.49, I figured it was ok. :)

Also pictured are free food I collected today. An egg from my chicken and some grapes from my grapevine. Yay for my miniscule backyard homestead!

Today's total: $14.67
Budget left: $85.33

My menu plan for the week:

(Healthier items are my meals)

Monday

B- Cereal, protein shake

L- Ikea Restaurant with friends

Snack- Fruit snacks, larabar

D- Mac-n-cheese/leftovers/smoothie bowl

Tuesday

B- Cereal, protein shake

L- Leftovers, Israeli chopped salad

Snack- Cheese, grapes, and watermelon

D- Fried breakfast ravioli

Wednesday

B- Oatmeal, protein shake

L- Chicken nuggets, smoothie bowl

Snack- Apple slices and carrot sticks

D- Popcorn shrimp

Thursday

B- Zucchini muffins

L- Frozen pizza, veggie-topped flatbread

Snack- Popcorn

D- Spaghetti

Friday

B- Cereal, protein shake

L- Leftovers

Snack- Fruit leathers, pistachios

D- At a wedding reception

Saturday

B- Pancakes

L- Grilled cheese sandwiches

Snack- Zucchini muffins

D- Lemon Pesto Chicken

Sunday

B- Cereal, fruit

L- Nachos, burrito bowl

Snack- Granola bars

D- French toast and bacon

I have a lot of really random things in my freezer right now, so I'm planning on using up quite a bit of it these next few weeks. I also have some freezer meals I've been slowly stashing away over the last two months, so those should come in handy as well. 

Ideally, I will post recipes with the yummy things I'm eating and making. Fingers crossed!

Spending freeze

I'm not sure how many times I've said "I'm back!" but i'm sure it's too many. So I won't say it this time. I'll just say that I had my 4th baby in June and wow, life has been CRAZY. An amazing kind of crazy, but also exhausting and sometimes overwhelming.
And expensive. Haha! Wow, you forget about diapers. And the cost of eating out and convenience foods because you're too tired to cook.
Well, our budget has taken a serious hit so i'm here starting a spending freeze.
Time for a pantry challenge! Starting tomorrow it's $100 for the next 4 weeks and just trying to make do with what i've got. I'm nervous for sure because our garden has been less than productive this year, but I'm hoping that blogging with keep me accountable.
Wish me luck!

Two Ingredient Sweet and Sticky Sausage

I cook a lot of Kielbasa around here. It's probably one of my top 5 favorite meats. I fondly remember my mom making Jambalaya and only picking out the kielbasa to eat, leaving the rest behind. So good. I also like to try out different ways to prepare it to keep things interesting, and give me an excuse to eat it more often.

This recipe is CRAZY easy, and you can use regular Smoked Sausage instead of Kielbasa if you like. I've done both and they are equally yummy.

Two Ingredient Sweet and Sticky Sausage

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Package Kielbasa, or Smoked Sausage

1 cup Pure Maple Syrup

(Costco always has one of the best prices for Maple Syrup around!)

Start by cutting up your sausage into 1 inch-ish slices.

Add your sausage to a large skillet on the stove, then pour the maple syrup over the top.

Turn the heat up to high. After the syrup starts  boiling, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. I usually turn each sausage over half-way through.

Remove from pan and serve! So easy, right?! You can also put the ingredients into your slow cooker on low for 2-3 hours. These would be awesome as an appetizer, but I love serving them for dinner the most. Mm-mm!