Monday, February 28, 2011

Coupons!

I blogged here about living simply. We have been working diligently on this. I have continued to plan our weekly meals, simplify our grocery list, and use coupons to get deals. This is a helpful site in case anyone is interested http://www.southernsavers.com/.

I am only cooking 2 meals this week so our grocery bill is going to be light!

Meal 1 - Semi Homemade Spagetti
1 can crushed tomatoes
a spoonful or two of tomato paste
diced onions
diced peppers
diced garlic
a dash of chili powder
a dash of brown sugar
a little oregeno
Ground Turkey or beef

1. Throw all these ingredients in a crookpot and simmer for a couple hours.

2. Top whole wheat noodles with sauce

Meal 2- Rolled Chicken and Spinach

1. Recipe to follow

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Menu - 1.31-12.5

This weeks menu is below. I will try to upload the recipes as I cook.

Monday night:
Taco Soup


Ingredients:
Ground Turkey (or beef)
Beans (your choice - I used left overs)
1 can of corn
1 package taco seasoning
1 package ranch dressing
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cup of water.

Instructions:
Cook meat. (I cooked meat with chopped green peppers and onions). Mix all ingredients and heat in crock pot (or on the stove) until soup is warm and veggies are soft. Serve with a dallop of sour cream and top with cheddar cheese. I also like to dip tortilla chips in the soup.

Tuesday - Chicken Lasagna

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
lasagna noodles
spagetti sauce
green bell pepper
onion
chili powder
garlic poweder
italian seasoning
italian cheese

Thursday - Chicken and Rice

Chicken
Brown Rice
Cream of mushroom soup
cream of celery soup
cream of chicken soup
1 stick butter
1 cup water

Friday - Pizza

1 can thin crust pizza dough
ground turkey
1 pkg mozerella cheese
bell pepper
onion
pizza sauce

Extra Meals-

Hamburger steak with mashed potatoes
Ingredients: Turkey, oatmeal, seasoning, worchesterchire sauce, bacon, potatoes, milk, butter, salt and pepper

Quiche:
3 eggs
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup bisquick
1-1/2 cup milk
dash of salt and pepper
1 cup chopped ham
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 tsp dried oregeno

Living Simply

I don't like New Years resolutions. People make committments in the beginning and don't hold true to them in the end. Mostly because the goal is set too high. People don't see results fast enough and can't reach the goal, get frustrated and give up.

I heard about an idea of picking one word and focusing on the word for the year or one word per month. This is much more do-able for me, baby steps! So, this year I picked the word SIMLPE. My goal for the year is to live simply in all areas of my life.

One of the main areas we are aiming to simplify is our finances. It is important for us to live within out means. We don't live on large salaries but we are extremely blessed. We want to be good stewards of our (God's) money. This means saving, tithing, paying off debt, and only spending on things we really need.

My first goal has been to simplify our grocery budget. Now, I have heard crazy stories about couponing and I am striving to learn this process. I am by no means an extreme couponer. So far though, the biggest thing that has helped simplify our grocery bill is planning out meals for the week and only buying the things we need. For 2 or 3 Saturdays in a row I have taken time to sit down and plan 6 meals for each week. I no longer go to Walmart (unless I need a few items). I actually enjoy grocery shopping!

Not only have I enjoyed saving money. I have also enjoyed the planning and preparing process. I find a little food can go a long way. I have been experiment with new recipes, looking through all those cook books we got as wedding gifts. By planning ahead we are also able to eat even healthier than before. I make (almost) every meal from (mostly) scratch. So we eat far less preservatives and prepared food.

I have only made one meal that was not a success....turkey meatloaf. However, my loving husband ate every bite off his plate. 3/4 of the meatloaf is still sitting in our fridge.

Most of al,l living simply is a lot more complex than it seems. Living simply is stretching into so many aspects of our lives. I can't wait to see how living simply changes us for the better in 2011.

Stay tuned. I will be posting out weekly menu and if I find any great couponing sites I will be sure to share!