My friend is just getting back into the kitchen and had many questions...here are some of my answers.
Q. Where do I start? I have a few things that I can cook but I would really like to better use my financial resources.
A. Baby steps will get you there. Make it a goal to try 1 new thing/recipes a week...or every 2 weeks...if your family likes it put it in the keeper file (3 ring binder w/ page protectors) or make note on a piece of paper. If they don't make a note of it and why - didn't taste good, took to long, Ian did not like it but the kids ate it up = future lunch ideas, lol.
Q. What is a coupon match up. Is it matching up a coupon and a store ad. How do you use store ads?
A. Yes a coupon "match-up" is matching an item that is on sale with coupons for that same item. I have used coupons on and off - currently I'm on with them. By making a list of whats on sale, that your family eats or uses, will help with your spending. There is no sense in buying spaghetti sauce on sale if no one likes it (unless you know that you need to make a donation to the food pantry soon, kwim?) But if Stove Top is on sale and your family eats that a lot then buy it and see how creative you can be with it. (Hope that makes sense?)
I love the MOPS cookbook because its full of family friendly mom-tested recipes Last night I wanted to make meatloaf but did not have the ingredients in the house to make the recipe I normally (Its in the MOPS cookbook) so I pulled it out looking for a new variation using ingredients I already had in the house...everyone ate it up. I have lots of cookbooks and the MOPS one is one of my top 3 go to books. My other favorite is a Betty Crocker with the red checked cover...it has lots of b-a-s-i-c how-to's because there are times when we all need that from time to time!
(NOTE the MOPS cookbook I refer to was published by our local MOPS group. Its my favorite because it is full of tried and true family favorite recipies.)
Speaking of meatloaf did you know the same meat mix makes good meatballs? (I just learned that in the last year when I got tired of buying store-bought ones with all the extra stuff, that my kids love...now I just make homemade meatballs and put BBQ sauce on them. (I know its got bad stuff in it too, but its one of the few things that we eat and I try to change it up so we don't eat BBQ sauce all the time...even though my family would love to!)
Q. Roasted cauuliflower what is that?
A. Oh and as for roasted cauliflower I found that recipe about a year ago...My husband did not like cauliflower until I started fixing it this way. Now we eat an entire head at 1 meal!!!!! You can reduce the rosemary and garlic if its not in your diet or you don't have that much in the house. http://www.food.com/recipe/roasted-cauliflower-16-roasted-cloves-of-garlic-106251
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Menu Planning again.
Must be an April thing...I'm trying to get back to menu planning. Since the beginning of March I have been foccusing on couponing and other ways to save money on my family's food budget.
A friend recently asked for some suggestions about how to start planning meals. Below is part of my reply to help her get started.
Here is my thought process that goes into planning meals. You will develop your "rules" as you go...so don't stress about them. For me just knowing what meat we are having is a huge help as is recording what you ate, it makes repeats happen less often and helps plan the next round of meals.
I have been doing a cash envelop for food for the month of March and using coupons more. It does make a difference. I am best to stay out of Hy Vee and shop at Fareway with a HyVee Ad match....I stick to the deals better and don't buy the "extras" like I do at HyVee. (I don't know why but I get annoyed with HyVee because of that. I spend at least $20 more when I go there.)
I also shop at Sams and Target. I saved over $10 with coupons and my Target card there last week! Now if printer ink was not so expensive! We don't get the Sunday Paper, so I've been printing out internet coupons. I am trying printing the non store coupons from Swagbucks and curious to see if I get the points via using coupons from there...it will be a few weeks before I know if it works or not. (I hope it does so I can use Amazon cards to get the stroller we picked out :) )
Do you follow Penny Pinching Mom on Facebook? She is my new favorite coupon/money saving Mom blogger...because she is "local", well Midwest anyway. ;) She has Hy Vee coupon match ups and Target coupon match ups that I really appreciate. I have searched for years for a HyVee matchup. She also has a link on her blog to a gal that does Fareway matchups and deals and that helps too.
Good luck! If you come across any cool or helpful resources please share!
Karla
- - - - - - - - - - -
How I plan meals
- Ask family members what they are hungry for...sometimes it really helps, sometimes I don't get any ideas but this is where I start.
My "rules"
- I need leftovers Sunday-Wednesday nights for DH lunch the next day.
- Thursday night is good for fish/other single serving foods or those that don't work well in DH lunch
- What's in the fridge..this is a REAL challenge in the late spring-summer-fall when we HAVE to keep eating up what we get from our @Grinnell Heritage farm's CSA box before the next one comes. I welcome this challenge! (Its less of a challenge in winter when I have to go to the store for produce and only buy a couple of things because nothing looks/tastes as good as the fresh summertime produce.) And yes in season we eat salad 2-3 times a week, and the boys do to.
-What nights do I need crock pot/leave in the oven meals...ie beef roast, hamburger casserole
-What nights do I need cook it QUICK or throw it in the over so I can prep it when I get home meals...ie taco salad, sloppy joes, chicken pattys (one of the few processed foods I serve on a semi-regular basis)
-How can I prep ahead? EX Grilled chicken on Sunday night and Chicken salad on Tuesday using the extra grilled chicken...
-Keep in mind likes and dislikes...you will notice that there is not much pasta as a main dish - Jay does not like it that well, so lasagna is a once a month or two food, but pasta is often a side dish.
Pizza, every Friday? Really? Yes...think of all the options
-homemade - crust from scratch
-homemade - store bought crust
-homemade - alt crust (tortilla, hot dog bun, English muffin) (Good kid friendly lunch w/ leftover pizza toppings.)
-take -n- bake
-delivery
-dine out
-frozen (lol)
That is all food for thought.
Here is what I do...we have a protein at every meal, if you do meatless nights include those ( I would love to but that is not fully supported here)
1. List a protein/ for each night of the week (beef, pork, ham, fish (salmon, tuna, mahi mahi,etc), chicken, turkey, sausage, beans and rice, etc.
2. Looking at the calendar what nights do you need quick/crock pot meals - do those first
3. What is in the fridge that needs to be used up next?
4. What did your family members request - make those a priority?
5. What's left? (pork is usually my sticking point...love to eat it but can not cook it well unless I'm grilling pork chops or making ground pork) This is also when I get out my MOPS cookbook or the most recent cooking mag to look for ideas for "something new and different."
**Sometimes I don't plan the full meal, just the main dish, until the day of the meal. It helps to get out frozen meat to thaw in time. (This is another time the MOPS cookbook comes out - or I search online for ideas...) START HERE!
**Record what you DID serve and use it as a reference the next time you are planing meals...or to remember on Monday night that you just had peas and tater tots as side dishes on Friday night so maybe you want something different tonight to keep from getting bored... AND HERE
Here is a sample menu. What is after the = is what we actually had to eat...
Example Menu
Friday - pizza = delivery
Saturday - beef = steak, grilled potatoes, salad
Sunday - pork/ham = bean soup
Monday - beef = pot roast (beef roast, potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, etc.)
Tuesday - pork = ground pork, salad, couscous
Wed - chicken = chicken stir fry with rice
Thurs =- -salmon = salmon, sweet potato, salad
Friday - pizza = homemade
Sat - Lunch =leftover pizza - Supper = go Out
Sun Lunch = out Supper = Turkey, baked potato, Carrots
Monday pork = pork chops, flavored rice, green beans
Tuesday- beef = taco salad
Wed - pork = ham steak, Italian noodles, peas
Thurs -chicken = chicken patty, bun, tater tots, carrot sticks (one of *those* nights)
Friday - pizza = Go Out
Sat - Lunch out Supper - sloppy joes (pork, turkey, beef, etc), buns, chips, salad
Sun Lunch Leftovers S - BBQ chicken, stove top, roasted cauliflower
A friend recently asked for some suggestions about how to start planning meals. Below is part of my reply to help her get started.
Here is my thought process that goes into planning meals. You will develop your "rules" as you go...so don't stress about them. For me just knowing what meat we are having is a huge help as is recording what you ate, it makes repeats happen less often and helps plan the next round of meals.
I have been doing a cash envelop for food for the month of March and using coupons more. It does make a difference. I am best to stay out of Hy Vee and shop at Fareway with a HyVee Ad match....I stick to the deals better and don't buy the "extras" like I do at HyVee. (I don't know why but I get annoyed with HyVee because of that. I spend at least $20 more when I go there.)
I also shop at Sams and Target. I saved over $10 with coupons and my Target card there last week! Now if printer ink was not so expensive! We don't get the Sunday Paper, so I've been printing out internet coupons. I am trying printing the non store coupons from Swagbucks and curious to see if I get the points via using coupons from there...it will be a few weeks before I know if it works or not. (I hope it does so I can use Amazon cards to get the stroller we picked out :) )
Do you follow Penny Pinching Mom on Facebook? She is my new favorite coupon/money saving Mom blogger...because she is "local", well Midwest anyway. ;) She has Hy Vee coupon match ups and Target coupon match ups that I really appreciate. I have searched for years for a HyVee matchup. She also has a link on her blog to a gal that does Fareway matchups and deals and that helps too.
Good luck! If you come across any cool or helpful resources please share!
Karla
- - - - - - - - - - -
How I plan meals
- Ask family members what they are hungry for...sometimes it really helps, sometimes I don't get any ideas but this is where I start.
My "rules"
- I need leftovers Sunday-Wednesday nights for DH lunch the next day.
- Thursday night is good for fish/other single serving foods or those that don't work well in DH lunch
- What's in the fridge..this is a REAL challenge in the late spring-summer-fall when we HAVE to keep eating up what we get from our @Grinnell Heritage farm's CSA box before the next one comes. I welcome this challenge! (Its less of a challenge in winter when I have to go to the store for produce and only buy a couple of things because nothing looks/tastes as good as the fresh summertime produce.) And yes in season we eat salad 2-3 times a week, and the boys do to.
-What nights do I need crock pot/leave in the oven meals...ie beef roast, hamburger casserole
-What nights do I need cook it QUICK or throw it in the over so I can prep it when I get home meals...ie taco salad, sloppy joes, chicken pattys (one of the few processed foods I serve on a semi-regular basis)
-How can I prep ahead? EX Grilled chicken on Sunday night and Chicken salad on Tuesday using the extra grilled chicken...
-Keep in mind likes and dislikes...you will notice that there is not much pasta as a main dish - Jay does not like it that well, so lasagna is a once a month or two food, but pasta is often a side dish.
Pizza, every Friday? Really? Yes...think of all the options
-homemade - crust from scratch
-homemade - store bought crust
-homemade - alt crust (tortilla, hot dog bun, English muffin) (Good kid friendly lunch w/ leftover pizza toppings.)
-take -n- bake
-delivery
-dine out
-frozen (lol)
That is all food for thought.
Here is what I do...we have a protein at every meal, if you do meatless nights include those ( I would love to but that is not fully supported here)
1. List a protein/ for each night of the week (beef, pork, ham, fish (salmon, tuna, mahi mahi,etc), chicken, turkey, sausage, beans and rice, etc.
2. Looking at the calendar what nights do you need quick/crock pot meals - do those first
3. What is in the fridge that needs to be used up next?
4. What did your family members request - make those a priority?
5. What's left? (pork is usually my sticking point...love to eat it but can not cook it well unless I'm grilling pork chops or making ground pork) This is also when I get out my MOPS cookbook or the most recent cooking mag to look for ideas for "something new and different."
**Sometimes I don't plan the full meal, just the main dish, until the day of the meal. It helps to get out frozen meat to thaw in time. (This is another time the MOPS cookbook comes out - or I search online for ideas...) START HERE!
**Record what you DID serve and use it as a reference the next time you are planing meals...or to remember on Monday night that you just had peas and tater tots as side dishes on Friday night so maybe you want something different tonight to keep from getting bored... AND HERE
Here is a sample menu. What is after the = is what we actually had to eat...
Example Menu
Friday - pizza = delivery
Saturday - beef = steak, grilled potatoes, salad
Sunday - pork/ham = bean soup
Monday - beef = pot roast (beef roast, potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, etc.)
Tuesday - pork = ground pork, salad, couscous
Wed - chicken = chicken stir fry with rice
Thurs =- -salmon = salmon, sweet potato, salad
Friday - pizza = homemade
Sat - Lunch =leftover pizza - Supper = go Out
Sun Lunch = out Supper = Turkey, baked potato, Carrots
Monday pork = pork chops, flavored rice, green beans
Tuesday- beef = taco salad
Wed - pork = ham steak, Italian noodles, peas
Thurs -chicken = chicken patty, bun, tater tots, carrot sticks (one of *those* nights)
Friday - pizza = Go Out
Sat - Lunch out Supper - sloppy joes (pork, turkey, beef, etc), buns, chips, salad
Sun Lunch Leftovers S - BBQ chicken, stove top, roasted cauliflower
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)