Sydney loves being able to see her dad throughout the daytime. Unfortunately, Sydney has been cranky from about 4-7 p.m. lately and that is when Eric usually gets to see during the work week. She loves to dance with him and they have some really deep conversations. Those conversation usually consist of Dada, baba, and screeching, but it is adorable!
The one project that I did undertake this weekend is my bi-weekly menu calendar.
One errand that I absolutely detest is grocery shopping. I dislike everything about it. I hate coming up with meals that we haven't had twenty times that month already, I hate writing up the list that inevitably has things missing and I hate dragging out the baby in between feeding and naps to get the groceries. Not to mention, it never fails that the day of the week that I have to go out to get groceries because I have absolutely nothing left in the house to feed us for dinner, it is cold and gross outside.
Soooooo...I had been finding a ton of new recipes on Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/) and so I thought that there was no reason why I shouldn't write up a grocery list for two weeks worth of dinners so that I don't have to run this errand quite as often. First, however, I would have to get more organized. I've had this old whiteboard calendar up in our office for forever and I thought it would work well and help me get things a little more under control.
I have to say, I think it has been quite successful in a couple of different ways. For one, I am cutting my runs to the grocery store in half (for the most part) and secondly, we are trying a ton of great new recipes (and some duds). It has been a great change of pace mixing it up a little with all the new recipes and we are saving money by not going out to eat. Going out to eat isn't a great option for us being that Sydney goes to sleep at 7 p.m. every night, but also, making ends meet on a one paycheck budget is not easy. It has been quite an adjustment and the more organized and prepared I am with dinners, the less likely it is that we'll have to spend extra money going out or ordering in. Eating in is not always the funnest, but at the moment it makes the most sense for us.
So this weekend, it was time to finish up the menu calendar for April by coming up with a couple more weeks worth of dinners. We don't always eat these dinners on the day that I post them originally, but we will have ingredients for two weeks worth of recipes regardless of whether or not we move things around. We also end up having leftovers which is a plus because I can bump a planned dinner (something that will keep in the fridge or pantry for a while) and then we end up having an extra meal in the house if we are ever in a bind.
Well, that was my uneventful weekend. I hope you all had something fun or relaxing going on too! Happy Monday :)
That is SO impressive! I plan only a week ahead but I've been feeling very uninspired lately. At the end of the month, you should share your favorite new recipes that you've tried, I'd love to know what you liked! I hear you on the one income situation...but it makes it more fun when you do go out!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
How was the crockpot lasagna? Maybe the recipe would be a good idea for a future blog post? *hint!*
ReplyDeleteThank you, Katie! It has taken me a long time to get anywhere near organized in the kitchen and I am definitely a work in progress. I am going to be posting some of our favorite recipes here and there and I've already started with the Tomato Risotto with Portobello Mushroom recipe. It's delish! I'll keep it up and let you guys know what other recipes are worth your time to try out.
ReplyDeleteDanielle, the crockpot lasagna was really good, but if you are looking for a traditional Italian lasagna, this might not be it. Of course if you were looking for a more traditional lasagna recipe, it probably wouldn't be made in a crockpot right? :) If you like Stouffer's lasagna then you will love this and it is super easy! One tip though, don't use the no-boil lasagna noodles. Use regular uncooked noodles. The no-boil noodles turn to mush.
Way to go girl! This is something that I do too. It also helps me look ahead to what's on sale. Meijer sends out ad previews so I can always see two weeks worth of sale ads every Friday, and that helps plan the grocery trip and meals. What an orchestra of workings (meal planning, sales, coupons, lists) but SOOOO worth it! Especially if you can save a trip to the grocery store! Are you guys planning on a garden this year? We're going to try it and hopefully cut costs on fresh produce.
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