Meal Plan Monday- 7.7.14

Meal planning Monday is here again...it comes so soon every week!  Its been awhile since I've posted my meal plan, but Im back on the posting wagon!

Monday  - Dinner out - its a special day this week because papa doesnt have to work!

Tuesday - Ball Park All Beef Hot dogs

Wednesday - Spaghetti Bake

Thursday - Crockpot BBQ Ribs

Friday - Fish and Chips

Monday  - Dinner out

Things you need: Your debit card, and the van

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put family in van, and drive to restaurant.

2. Eat.

3. Pay with debit card.

Tuesday  - Ball Park All Beef Hot Dogs

Things you need: $0.50, Ibotta and Shopmium

DIRECTIONS:

I checked it out and there was a $1.50 rebate there.  For good measure I checked Ibotta and they had a $1.50 rebate as well!  I redeemed both, and the final cost was $0.50 for some solid hotdogs. Enjoy!

Cost: $3.50

Ibotta rebate - $1.50

Shopmium rebate - $1.50

OOP: $0.50!

*Ibotta is a rebate app that offers cash back for various items purchased.  There are also additional bonuses available.  You can click on the Ibotta hyperlink, and sign up.  Then you download the app, and you can view a gallery of product offers.  You need to go through the offers you want and complete one or more of the tasks - generally worth between $.25 and $1.00.  There are usually 3 tasks for each one, and doing all three maximizes your earnings.  The tasks are things like sharing on your Facebook, watching a video, taking a single question pole, etc.  They are very simple tasks.  After you complete the tasks, they are added to your checklist.  Then you go shopping at one of the approved retailers, scan your receipt, scan the barcode on the item, and wait for your cash to come rolling it.  This is generally worth a few bucks, and it is usually useful items for your household.  On occasion, there are bonus deals where you can earn more rebates for redeeming combinations of different product offers.

*Shopmium is a rebate app similar to Ibotta with less options.  The major bonus of this program is that the money is deposited directly into your payapl account without having to wait to accumulate enough money to cash out. If you are new to shopmium, and would like a free Lindt candy bar, use this referral code - YUCGFGTQ after downloading the app to your phone.

Wednesday  - Spaghetti Sauce

Things you need: 1 lb lean ground beef, 1 box rotini, 16 oz jar of spaghetti, 2 cups of shredded cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large skillet, cook hamburger until brown. Mix most of the spaghetti sauce into skillet. Reduce heat and simmer.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Mix in pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. Mix together spaghetti and meat mixture, pour into 9x13 pan. Top with cheese and bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

*I like to add whatever random stuff we have in the fridge at the moment so this week I'll miz in spinach, onions and red pepper.

Monday  - Easy Stuffed Shells

Things you need: 36 uncooked jumbo pasta shells, 1 jar (24 ounces) spaghetti sauce, 36 frozen fully cooked Italian meatballs (1/2 ounce each), thawed, 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

Monday  - Crockpot BBQ Pork Ribs

Things you need: rack of ribs, 4 c. Bbq sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put ribs in crockpot, and cover with bbq.

2. Put crock on high for 4 hrs, or until meat begins to fall off the bone.

*I make my own bbq by jusy pouring a few basic things together - red wine vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, Worcester and a bit of mustard.

Monday  - Fish and Chips

Things you need: 4 six ounce cod filets, beer batter (2 c. Of flour, a can of beer, garlic, salt and pepper), 2 potatoes sliced like fries, oil

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat over to 450. 

2.  Layer fries on baking sheet, brush with oil and season with salt and pepper. 

3.  Bake 35-40 min until they are crisp. 

4.  Heat oil for fish in pan until hot.

5. Salt and pepper the cod and dredge in the beer batter.

6. Drop in hot oil and fry both sides.  Set on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Serve with ketchup and tartar. 

ENJOY!

"Meal Plan Monday" - Irish Week - 3.10.14

I sat down to plan meals this week, and decided that we would have an Irish themed week.  I googled a LOT, but let me tell you, google just can't do everything.  So, I turned to my Irish girlfriend, Ger, and she's advised me on some great things to try.  Here's what we've got planned: 

• Monday - Calcannon (A traditionally Irish dish mainly consisting of mashed potatoes with kale or cabbage)
• Tuesday - Dublin Coddle (Coddle was created to use up leftovers, but usually has sausage, bacon, potatoes, onions and carrots)
•  Wednesday - Irish Stew 
• Thursday - Creamy Chicken Boxty
• Friday - Shephard's Pie

Monday ~ Calcannon

Things you need: 3 lbs potatoes, 1 cup of butter, 1 1/4 c of hot milk, freshly ground black pepper, 1 head of cabbage, 1 lb ham (cooked), 4 scallions, chopped parsely

Directions

• Steam the potatoes in their skins for 30 minutes. Peel them using a knife and fork. Chop with a knife before mashing. Mash thoroughly to remove all the lumps. Add 1 stick of butter in pieces. Gradually add hot milk, stirring all the time. Season with a few grinds of black pepper.
• Boil the cabbage in unsalted water until it turns a darker color. Add 2 tablespoons butter to tenderize it. Cover with lid for 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly before returning it to the pan. Chop into small pieces.
• Put the ham in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes until tender. Drain. Remove any fat and chop into small pieces.
• Add cabbage, scallions, and ham to mashed potatoes, stirring them in gently.
• Serve in individual soup plates. Make an indentation on the top by swirling a wooden spoon. Put 1 tablespoon of butter into each indentation. Sprinkle with parsley.

*See the original recipe HERE

Tuesday ~ Dublin Coddle

Things you need: Potato soup, thyme, parsely, 2 onions, sausages, half litre of whole milk, roughly diced potatos, pepper.

Directions

• Start the potato soup, and add the cooked bacon, sliced onion, big bunch of thyme and some parsley.
• Cook for about 30 minutes.
• Add chopped potatoes to the soup (waxy, not floury)
• 3. When the potatoes are nearly cooked add the sausages (cocktail is fine) and cook for 15 minutes or so.
• Add the milk, and pepper and cook for another 15 minutes or so. Serve hot.

*See the original recipe HERE

Wednesday ~ Irish Stew 

Things you need: 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 lb mutton or lamb cutlets (bone removed) cut into 2" chunks, 2lb potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters, 1 cup onion, roughly chopped, 1 cup leeks, cleaned and finely sliced, 1 cup carrots, roughly chopped, 1½ pints  dark beef stock, 2 or 3 cabbage leaves, thinly sliced, Salt and Pepper

Directions

• In a large frying pan heat half the oil to hot but not smoking. Add half the lamb pieces and brown all over. Remove the lamb and place in a casserole, cover with a half of the potatoes, onions, leeks and carrots.
• Heat the over to 350 degrees
• Add the remaining oil to the frying pan, heat again then add the remaining lamb and brown all over. Add to the casserole and cover with the remaining vegetables.
• Add the stock, cover with a tight fitting lid, cook in the oven for 1 hour. Add the cabbage (if using) replace the lid and cook for another hour. Check from time to time to make sure the stock isn't reducing too much, if it is add a little boiling water. The meat and vegetables should always be covered by liquid. If the sauce is too runny at the end, cook a little longer with the lid removed. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve piping hot.
*See the original recipe HERE

Thursday ~ Creamy Chicken Boxty

Things you need: Boxty - 1 med potato, peeled and grated, 1 1/2 c fat free milk, 1 c flour, 3/4 c mashed potato, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 pepper, Filling - 2 bacon strips, 2 c sliced mushroom, 1 med leek, 1/4 c half and half, 2 tbsp flour, 3/4 c fat free milk, 2 c cubed chicken breast, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

• Place grated potato in a colander to drain; squeeze to remove excess liquid. Pat dry. In a large bowl, combine the grated potato, milk, flour, mashed potato, salt and pepper. Let stand for 20 min.
• Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Add mushrooms and leek; cook until tender. Gradually add cream. Whisk together flour and milk; add to pan. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the chicken, salt and pepper; heat through. Remove from the heat and keep warm
• Coat another large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Pour 3/4 cup batter into center of skillet; lift and tilt pan to coat bottom evenly. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 2-3 minutes longer. Remove and keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter, coating skillet with cooking spray as needed.
• Spoon filling onto pancakes.

*See the origianl recipe HERE

Friday ~ Shepherd's Pie 

Things you need:

• 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 onion, diced, 2 carrots, diced, 2 stalks celery, diced, 2 cloves garlic, crushed, Salt and freshly ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 2 pounds mutton, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 cup beef stock, 1 1/2 cups garden peas, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
• 
  

Directions

• Preheat oven at 400 degrees F.
• Add butter and oil to a large skillet on medium heat. Saute onions, carrots, celery and garlic until tender for about 7 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Once the vegetables have softened and start to brown a little add the tomato paste and mix evenly. Add the ground beef and cook until beef is no longer pink about 10 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and beef stock. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook and simmer for another 10 minutes. Mix in peas. Transfer mixture to an oven-proof baking dish and spread evenly. Place potato on top of ground beef mixture and spread out evenly, once the top surface has been covered, rake through with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. Place the dish into the preheated oven and cook until browned about 20 minutes. Spoon out the shepherd's pie and serve.
• Fill a large saucepan with cold water and a tablespoon of salt. Add potatoes to the water and bring to a boil. Let potatoes cook until soft about 20 minutes. Once the potatoes are at a desired density, drain the potatoes and place them back into the saucepan for mashing. Add butter and cream and begin to mash potatoes into a semi smooth consistency. Once at desired texture add cheese and mix well. 
• Season with salt and pepper.

*See the original recipe HERE

That wraps up our meal plan for the week....I hope you enjoy them as much as we plan too!

**May the luck of the Irish be with you**

~Danielle 

September 28th, 2013 - Freezer Meals

Good morning!  Today's post is a guest blog by our very own Jessica - She is a licensed social worker, who is preparing to meet a very lovely little belly bean in a few short weeks.  She is a frugal mama, who has very sweetly offered to share her freezer meal work up with us!  Take a moment to see more about who she is by stopping by her blog here and her website here, then swing on down to see how she does what she does!

From Jessica ~

Well hello there! If you have not tried freezer cooking before, you are missing out...yes it requires work and planning up front, yes it is a big mess, yes it is a long day of cooking, and yes your grocery bill will look bigger up front, BUT then it’s DONE! Done meaning, all you have to do is throw it in the crock-pot, oven, microwave, or warm in up stove top and dinner is DONE! Done also means you don’t have to go back to the grocery store for a few weeks to a month, and even then usually just for essentials (milk, bread, eggs, etc).  DONE also means (this one is high on my list) that there is not a huge stack of “prep” dishes to do every night!

 

I have to give shout outs to http://smithlive.blogspot.com/ and http://melissafallistestkitchen.blogspot.com as they have both been fundamental in my planning, recipe selection, and overall freezer cooking experience. I feel like I have taken bits and pieces from both of them and adapted it to my taste and style.  I would encourage you to look at their websites!!

 

For right now, it is me and my hubby, so I make almost all of our freezer meal portions for two, so most of the recipes are for 4-6-8 servings so I portion it into smaller servings (and therefore get more meals). I have done 3 rounds of freezer cooking and each one has turned out a bit different as a result, but generally I get 30-40 meals, not including breakfast and lunch tacos/foods for $200-300.

 

TIP: Check out your Sunday circulars...meat is what makes meals expensive, so we try to plan around sales on ground meats, chicken, and pork. I often swap the meats in the recipes for whatever is on sale to make it cheaper!

 

OK, to get started you need to choose your recipes.  (You can follow that link, or select Freezer Meal Recipes from the left hand side of the page.) This past time I chose about 15 and the time before that about 10 or 12. These do include some sauces and soups, which I made large portions therefore getting more meals. Again, it depends on how many you are cooking for. Smithlive often doubles, triples, or quadruples her recipes to make about 25+. Either way, the goal is usually a month’s worth of meals in one day, factoring in a day or two of leftovers and eating out.

 

TIP: Look for recipes that call for the same ingredients, especially if you are just starting out. For example, if chili powder, ground mustard, soy sauce and rice vinegar are not staples in your house, buying these for just one recipe is not efficient. This is also true of things you might not use all of (canned adobo chilies, cream cheese, bbq sauce, etc). Try to find 2 recipes that will use the same ingredients to help lower cost!

Because I have done 3 rounds of freezer cooking now, I am going to list all of the recipes that I have used; again, it’s up to you which ones you want to use, maybe even start with 10. Also, a good portion of your favorite recipes can be modified into freezer meals, so if you have something you love, try freezing it! Disclaimer: a few of these recipes are new this round, so I cannot vouch for how they taste/turn out.

TIP: I print my recipes and put them in plastic sleeves in a 3 ring binder. This means I can take them out (of the binder, not the sleeve) easily and they are protected from the mess I make in the kitchen!

Last thing before the recipes...decide how you are going to package things. I LOVE LOVELOVE LOVE my foodsaver system and use this for almost everything except casseroles. If you don’t have a Foodsaver system, ask for one for Christmas, and until then use heavy duty quart and gallon freezer bags.

OK, here is my list:

PORK

Chile Verde Carnitas

BBQ Pineapple Pulled Pork

Egg Muffins (BREAKFAST ITEM)

WW Breakfast Burritos (BREAKFAST ITEM)

CHICKEN

Monterey Chicken

Cafe Rio Chicken

Lemon Garlic Chicken

WW Chicken Burrito Wrap (LUNCH ITEM)

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

Brown Sugar Chicken

Sesame Chicken

Creamy Chicken and Rigatoni Primavera (can also leave out chicken for veg dish)

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

 

BEEF

3 Packet Roast

Beef Stroganoff

Best Ever Beef Dip Sandwiches

Goulash

 

GROUND MEAT (We use turkey and chx a lot because it’s healthier, but it is not cheaper!)

Spaghetti Sauce

3 Bean and Beef Chili

Sweet Sloppy Joes

Almost Lasagna

Baked Penne

NO MEAT/VEGGIES
Taco Dinner Mac and Cheese

Twice Baked Potatoes

Spicy Roasted Vegetable Mac and Cheese (can add meat if you wish)

Lentil Soup

RECIPES

They are in alphabetical order. I have made notes in red- either changes I have made or notes on how to cook. If the majority of the directions are in red- do the directions in black and then stop when you hit the red. As with ANY recipe, read through all of the directions  prior to beginning.

COOKING

Use your judgment when cooking based upon the time you have and what you are using. Crockpot meals can be adjusted based on time and temperature. ALWAYS make sure to cook all meats thoroughly when reheating. If baking, usually 350 for 20-25 minutes is good and stovetop over medium high heat until cooked.

Please leave a comment or two - adding other great freezer meal information, or what you loved about this one!