The Plan .....

Groceries on the Cheap is a different way to buy groceries and meal plan.   We all know that someone gets to buy food and get meals on the table.  Fact of life.  How you go about it can save a ton of money and a lot of time.

Normally, we learned in Home Ec to make a meal plan, make a grocery list, check the ads and buy groceries.   All this takes a fair amount of time.    I am not going to pretend that the new way is not going to take any time.   I am going to say that it is more simplified in that you are taking less steps and dealing with less food choices.

• This is done once.....Identify the sources of protein your family eats. 
• Identify the entrees that your family likes and you make on a regular basis. 
• List the shelf stable and freezer foods that you use to make those meals. 
• Now, find the lowest prices on those foods.  Simplify:   We buy diced tomatoes because they can be used for many things and adapted using a blender or food processor.   
• Some people have used a price book to facilitate finding lowest prices.   
• Buy low, eat high.   Just like a stockbroker, you want to buy in bulk when these items are low prices and eat when they are high prices.   Finding the lowest price and buying in bulk saves a ton of money.
• Rotate your meat.  Buy one meat in bulk at its lowest price a week.   Buy four to six weeks of that ‘protein” .   It is the best way to get your protein at the lowest possible price.   Simplify.  Buy cuts that are versatile and easy to prepare.   Examples would be boneless, skinless, chicken breast, pork loin, and low fat hamburger.  Add eggs, cheese, and beans. 
• We eat on four dollars a day per person and supplement granddaughter and grow a stock.   
• It is possible, it just takes some time to get up and running, meanwhile , you are saving money bit by bit. 
• Efficient scratch cooking is part of the package. 
• This means you always have food in the house.   Statistics show that when people have to wonder where the next meal is coming from, they reduce their life expectancy.   

Meal plans

ok, this is going to be short and sweet.  My keyboard isn’t working and I have to type with two fingers,    Just another agrevation in a long l o n g. Day.   Mother told me there would be days like this,,,,  

Menus save time and money.

• Chicken breast, rice, veggies 
• Pizza
• Chicken enchaladas 
• Salmon cakes, veggies, corn 
• Tacos, refried beans 
• Pork stew
• Breakfast for dinner 

We are cooking a load of chicken and hamburger because the freezer decided to hiccup last night and thaw the ice cream.   It magically  decided to run again,   I thawed as much as I could on the refrigerator to cook and save some.   Now I guess I’m going to cook a lot.    Its still a mystery how the freezer just decided to thaw and the fan didn’t work.    

Chicken and rice is easy and will use up some of the chicken I cook,   

Pizza is a good basic.  Everyone likes it and it’s cheap.   A cheese pizza is about a buck when you buy your ingredients on the cheap.   

Chicken enchiladas take a sauce that is homemade.   Enchiladas sauce can be pricey , 

Salmon cakes are good and stretch salmon,    

Tacos are good and the meat is being cooked in batches.   We have plenty of taco shells because if the sales  this week, 

Pork stew is from the pork loin we got last week.  

Breakfast 4 dinner,   Another meal winner. The whole family cooks.   

This example is to show the mindset of how we go about meal planning.   

Next, why.  .....

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS FOR CINCO DE MAYO

1 large or two small chicken breasts.  , cooked

1 cup ( 4 ounces ) grated cheese

1 can green diced mild chili's, drained.

3 cups white sauce made with chicken stock instead of milk.

1/2 cup sour cream

 6  inch flour tortillas

• In small bowl, combine shredded chicken, 1/2 the cheese, and just enough sauce to combine.  
• Spread 2-3 Tbls chicken mixture onto lower third of the tortilla.  Roll up.   
• Spread a thin layer of sauce in bottom of baking dish 
• Place rolled , filled, tortillas into baking dish until filled.   
• To with rest of sauce and the diced green chillis and remaining cheese 
• 
  

Bake at 350 degrees. Until the sauce is bubbly around the edges and cheese is melted, about. 30 minutes.   

Dinner Diary

This week.....

We had chili on Monday.   A new recipe that has corn in it as well as tomatoes and beans.

Tuesday we ate out with friends.  I had a chicken cordon blue with asparagus.

Wednesday we had stew,  a meal that wasn’t planned.  I happened on to a discounted package of stew meat at Safeways for 4.00 a pound.   I cooked it in the insta pot with veggies (potatoes ad carrots ) and it took 45 minutes.   I had leftovers on Thursday.

Thursday we had rice and planned  over chili.   I garnished it with sharp cheddar cheese.  

Tonight we are having roasted red pepper, tomato, and carrot soup and tuna melts.   We have extra English muffins that we paid 1.67 a dozen for.   I got both the tomatoes and the peppers for under my 1.00 target price.

Saturday we will have pizza.   I have some ham cubes we got for 2.00 a package.  We can also get a quiche and some flavor in a potato soup with the rest of the two dollars.    We will add the tops of the peppers that were cut from the peppers we got for .88.
We can add pineapple and plan for sweet and sour pork or chicken on Monday.

Sunday , we have sausage in the freezer.   A quiche of sausage and cheese sounds good.  We will still have English muffins left, and we have a cantaloupe.

Stretching a piece or package of meat and using all of a vegetable stretches your food dollar.   Every little thing you can do to stretch, and find food for a RBP helps.   Its the little things that add up to make your food bill 4.00 a day.  I have adapted my regular shopping/cooking habits to finally come down to four dollars a day per person.  The theory is that if you can do it for 4.00 a day, spending more isn’t hard.  We have salmon, pork loin, good hamburger, boneless, skinless chicken breast, and fresh fruit always.   I buy what vegetables I can that are 1.00 or nearly a dollar a pound or each, and supplement with frozen or canned.   We eat balanced, we eat well.   Four dollars a day also supplements granddaughter and grows a stock.


Simplify, buy at RBP, and always have food in the house.

4 plus 1 is FIVE.   Four people, 1 meal, 5 bucks.
Keeping guidelines in mind helps to keep you on track.

No food is going to do your family well if you are feeding it to the garage disposal.

Some people wouldn’t see a bargain if it got up and bit them in the butt, Don’t be that person.

Friday Recipe

Roasted red pepper, tomato and carrot soup

Line sheet pan with parchment paper

1/2 red pepper , sliced and cored.
2 pounds Roma romatoes, quartered and seeded
1 Lb  carrots, scrubbed and cut into uniform pieces, small coins would work best.
Garlic
Olive oil

Roast at 400 degrees for  55 minutes or until carrots are tender. You should have some carmelizing.

Cool slightly,

Place 1/2 of the veggies in a food processer and add 1 cup water to process.
Transfer to a bowl and process the remaining veggies with another cup of water or just enough to process.

At this point, you can put the purée in a covered container and place in fridge.

When ready to eat. Place purée in sauce pan and add enough milk to soup to make it the desired consistency.  Garnish with parsley and salt and pepper.  


In cooked the carrots for 75 minters.   I would either cut the carrots smaller, or zap them a few ministers in the microwave first.

Carrots, peppers, tomatoes ready for roasting.   

Thursday Notes

Yesterday, we had stew for dinner.   It wasn’t planned.   I shopped three stores yesterday.   I am over budget for the week, but became of the quantities I purchased, we won’t have to have much next week.  I got stew meat for 4.00 a pound because it had today as a pull date.   I just cooked it yesterday.  Tomato paste, broth, meat, carrots and potatoes in the insta pot for 45 minutes.   I actually threw  it together, started the pot and went and watched the news.  

Because of cinco de Mayo, there was a lot of Mexican inspired foods on sale.  Really really really cheap.   A lot of 4 day sales that end Saturday.   We got 24 ounce salsa for a dollar, as well as flour tortillas for .49.  It is easy to make a ‘toasted cheese’ sandwich with tortillas instead of bread.  Using smaller ones for enchiladas keeps the carbs down.  

In addition, dairy was on sale, so I got enough to last the rest of the month.   Most of it was 1/2 price Or at least discounted drastically.  I am not finding coupons for much of anything, and the yogurt was no exception.    Sour cream and cottage cheese was greatly reduced, as well as 1/2 price milk.  

Buying things when they are a good price saves a lot of money.   It is what affords you good meals for a small budget.  

We still have chili leftover from Monday.  Tuesday we went out with friends, and yesterday we had stew.   I think we will have chili over rice tonight.   Its not what is planned, but it works and we wot waste.  

Sausage was 1.99 .   That’s  enough for the month’s worth of breakfast for dinners.  

Because we have a new pork loin, and hamburger and chicken, we wont have to buy meat the rest of the month.   That cuts a lot off of the food bill.   The dairy is bought also, so that leaves fresh fruits and veggies.   When you are in that position, it is a good time to take stock in the stales and see if you have enough .   Certain things have a very very long shelf life, like some never spoil.   Buying in bulk just means that you don't have that thing on your list for a long time.   It simplifies things.  

•  Salt 
• Honey
• Rice 
• Sugar 
• Beans 
• Pasta - 8 years 
• Pure maple syrup
• Dry milk 
• Soy sauce 

Some of those things can be really really inexpensive.   I bought a bag of salt for 5.00.  Swear we have enough salt for my lifetime, my daughters lifetime, and probably into my granddaughters. LOL 

I also buy soda in bulk.   Ditto vinegar.   Soda and vinegar make for good cleaning agents.   They are not caustic and cheap when bought in bulk. 

Buying quantities, just means you don't have to put them on your shopping list, and the simpler  the list, the easier and faster you can get in and out of the store.   We went to 3 stores yesterday, we were gone 1.5 hours and I didn't hurry.  I was also checking prices so I know where to find the cheapest .  I actually get inquiries from people asking that question. Safeways overcharged for the milk and we had to go back.  That took an additional ten minutes from the 1.5 hours.   

The more you can stock at RBP , especially things that don't go bad or will last the month at least, the more you can get to the point where some weeks you can just shop the perimeter of the store.   That is the fastest trip you can make.   

Spending more time planning a trip and shopping will save a lot of money.   Making cooking scratch efficient will balance the amount of time spent.   Most meals take me less than 20 minutes.   Stew last night took 15 minutes.  That was mostly browning the meat and making gravy. 

Having the right tools, as with any job, makes a big difference.   My insta pot and food processor are my workhorses in the kitchen.   I rarely use the mixer.   It does knead bread well and is good for Christmas cookies.   I hear you can shred meat, but I dont know anyone that has done it.     Before I discovered that you can grind meat in the food processor, I used the kitchen aid to do that.  I think it does a better job, but the food processor is a lot more  efficient.   

.

Yesterday, because I knew we were going to three stores and it was going to be a big haul because of the prices, I made a list and used a piece of copy paper out of the recycle.   I marked off columns and identified them by store.   We always have a cooler bag in the car for cold things so we ca go t multiple stores or errands.   Monday’s winco run was in conjunction with my doctors appointment.   The three stores we went to were located in a circle of about 3 miles from the house.   Before we got a winco, we made a once a month  trip to winco in a town three towns away - about 20 miles round trip.   

By next week, I should be on target for the 4.00 a day challenge.   

Pasta sauce and pasta are .88 each at winco this week.   It is a good time to buy for the needy.   It is quite remarkable that you can spend 1.76 for a package of spaghetti and a can of pasta sauce and feed a family dinner.  That is probably less than a cup of coffee .   Random acts of kindness can be as simple as taking your clean paper bags to the food bank, giving someone a coupon for something they have in their carts, or stopping on you walk to help  someone with their weed eater.   It doesn’t have to cost you money, but you can still make a difference in someone’s life.   

Thanks for visiting.   

Multi grocery haul

Part of the Haul. ...

QFC 

Salsa 24 ounces .  2.49 paid .99

Lettuce .99

Cole slaw .99

Sour cream .79

Yoplait .50

Peppers .88

La Victoria salsa bogo 3.29/2

Cream cheese 1.50

Tortillas .49

Turkey breast, beef sliced 2.50

Hard taco shells 1.00

Taco seasoning FREE

Sausage links 1.99

30.19

WINCO 

Tortilla chips .98

Spaghetti .88

Beans, canned .48

Roma tomatoes 1.51

Taco shells .98

Total 7.09

SAFEWAYS 

Milk .88

Muffins .99  (4)

Beef stew -markdown 1.5 bs 6.54

Shrimp 7.96 2 lbs 

Total 16.37 

Total 53.69

Chain store ads

I have to get FM electronically.   QFC and Alberways are not much there.   It may be a good time to alternative shop.

QFC

Peppers, cucumbers, .88

ELECTRONIC COUPONS
There is some discussion on whether you can use a paper coupon with a digital coupon.   My source says you can use both a Kroger stores, coming from corporate Kroger.   I’m not sure that you can.  It wouldnt hurt to try.

BUY 4, SAVE 4
You must buy 4, but not necessarily the same thing.   Use your store card

Ritz 1.79 -$$
Land of Lakes Butter 2.49



FOUR DAYS ONLY W TH F SAT ONLY - DIGITAL COUPONS -YOU CAN USE 5 TIMES
AVACADO  .77
TORILLA CHIPS .99
TORTILLAS  ,49

DIGITAL AY DAY YOU CAN USE 5 TIMES

KROGER CHEESE 2.49 (TOP OF THE TARGET PRICE)
MARIE CALLENDERS DINNERS 4/8
YOPLALIT 10/5
SOUR CREAM/ COTTAGE CHEESE .79
BREAKFAST SAUSAGE 1.99
———————————————-

ALBERWAYS

Breyers ice cream 2/5
Bread .78@@
Milk .88 @@
Raw shrimp 2.98@@

4 DAY SALE, W TH F S
Pork shoulder blade 1.59
Taco shells, 1.00
Sour cream 1.00
Tortillas 1.00
Note sour cream and tortillas are cheaper at qfc

About it.

Fred Meyers

Milk .99
18 ounces blues 2.99
Lettuce .99
Taco shells 1.00

Digital coupons
Cheerios, 1.49
Cr cheese 1.49
Pastas .49
Marie. C dinners 4/7

Chilli

Yesterday I made chili .  We had stopped by winco for a few things.   I got tortilla chips and beans were on sale for .50.   That was my target price.  I usually make scratch beans because they are so much cheaper.  But, I also want to keep a few on hand because if we have an emergency, dry beans won’t work.  

1/2 pound cooked hamburger
2 cans or 4 cups cooked beans , kidney
2 cans diced tomatoes with chillies
1 quart vegetable broth
1 cup corn ( I used frozen)
1 T TACO seasoning

I used the insta pot.   The hamburger was frozen, so I put the pot on sauté until the soup came to a boil and switched the pot off and then to slow cook.  

We served it with grated cheese, and chips.

Cost:
1/2 lb hamburger 1.22
2 cans beans 1.00 ( or .10 for 4 cups scratch)
Diced tomatoes .78
Corn .25
Taco seasoning and vegetable broth (bouillon ) are too small to cost.
Total:
3.29 or 2.39 for scratch

The chips were .98.  We used maybe .25 worth .
This chili  would have served 4.  We had a lot left.  It made the six quart almost full.

It isn’t necessarily what you buy, its more when and where you buy it.

Beans in the insta pot.   Wash beans and pick for any rocks etc.   place in insta pot.   Cover with water    Up to 2 inches above the beans.  Always be sure to not fill the pot more than 1/2 full when you are cooking something that expands—like beans or pasta.  
Close lid and turn the lever to seal.   Push the “bean” button.
Walk away.  Open the pot when it is finished depressurizing by itself.

Drain beans in a colander over the sink.

Winco Haul - May

Winco

Tortilla chips .98

Cookie mixe .49

Apple rain .88

Winco beans .50

Chicken dinner 1.98

Strawberries 1.98

Total 13.50

Kitchen Management

Monday Kitchen Management is a tool that keeps dinner time in control and saves time and money .

Menu :

• Chili, tortilla strips 
• Pizza 
• Pork stew, rolls 
• Tuna melts, roasted carrot, tomato soup 
• Chicken enchiladas , salad 
• Chix nuggets , oven fries, veggie platter 
• Breakfast 4 dinner. 

1. IMake chili , bake chips 
2. Make pizza dough, refrigerate. 
3. Wash veggies and cut up fruit
4. Cook chicken 
5. Clean out the refrigerator and dump anything dead.
6. Wash kitchen floor 
7. Wash the counters, sinks, and drains ,disinfect 
8. Straighten the freezer drawers. 

Meal Plans

Meal plans are a good way to get organized and save time and money.   Have a plan , or plan to fail.

First, the pork loin from Fred Meyer was nasty.   My granddaughter got it out to help me , so I proceeded to cut it.   It was fine for the first 12 Pork chops.   The rest presented fat all the way through the middle.   I was intending to make it a roast.   I wound up making stew meat.

I am sitting at 56.63 a week for the year.  (4 months) thats .63 a week more than the proverbial 4.00 a day.   Considering that we bought a bulk lot of both boneless, skinless chicken breast and 80/20 hamburger, that isn’t a bad average.

Meals.....we use a protein based matrix to expedite the processs.   Being as efficient as you can in both plannng and scratch cooking, makes groceries on the cheap possible while maintaining a quality balanced diet.

• Chllli, tortilla chips 
• Pizza, salads 
• Pork stew, rolls 
• Tuna melts., roasted carrot and tomato soup 
• Chicken enchaladas, salad 
• Chicken nuggets, oven baked fries, vegetable platter. 
• Breakfast for dinner. 

Notes:   We hae an abundance of English muffins,  egg muffins and tuna melts are a good way to use them up. 

Chilli is easy one pot meal in the insta pot.  Make beans, drain, put pot on sauté and cook meat if not already cooked, and add tomatoes, seasonings.   

Pizza is a dollar a pizza, so its an inexpensive meal that is a hit with everyone.  A homemade pizza crust takes minutes and cost .19.   

Pork stew is from the pork loin I purchased and is also a insta pot meal.   

Somewhere, I have a recipe for roasted carrot and tomato soup.   

Chicken nuggets are from the tenderloin and are homemade with a breading of bread crumbs (homemade) chopped nuts, and parm cheese.   (Real cheese) .  Chopped nuts are cheaper in the bulk isle at winco.   

Breakfast for Dinner is a family affair, everyone cooks.   

Thanks for stopping by..... 

Fred Meyer Haul

The last for the month...

Fruit bars -3.34
Fruit pie 5.00
Pork loin 5.64
Mission tortillas 1.00
Corn 1.00
Cantaloupe 2.00
Peppers .88
Cherry tomatoes 2.00
Cucumber , English .88
25.50 total


Total for the month 296.50 or 70.60 a week
Includes bulk hamburger cost -without bulk purchase 45.36 a week.

Last quarter 51.98 a week.
Total for 4 months including bulk meat 56.63-   .63 over 4.00 a day.  

Friday recipe -

Groceries on the cheap takes a different approach to grocery shopping.   Instead of going to the store and buying a weeks worth of  groceries and repeating the process the next week when the cupboards are bare, you shop to replentish your basic stash.   Simplify, lower your costs, always have food in the house.   

The cooking part is made simpler by scratch cooking efficiently.   Finding recipes that take 5 or less ingredients is a good way to start. 

Buying your diced tomatoes with seasoning is a good way to simplify things.  Most brands have Mexican and Italian seasonings.  

Adding diced seasoned tomatoes and cheese to a cooked meat and pasta makes a quick dinner.   You can use diced chicken, sausage , or ground meat.   

Summer is coming.   A dinner salad is a good way to eat .   Add a nice crusty piece of bread or a muffin.  

Soup is a good go to when you dont want to cook in a hot kitchen.   Dump ingredients in a slow cooker and get out of the kitchen in a hurry.  

Pasta cooks in 2 minutes in the insta pot.  There is a pressure up time and you need to de pressure manually soon after the cycle is done.   Drain as usual.   If the pasta sits in the pot and depressurizes automatically, the pasta will be over done.   The time it takes is just enough to gather ingredients or 

heat sauce. 

One of our go to meals in a hurry is chicken parm.   The chicken is patties from Foster Farms.   They heat in the microwave in minutes.   Put over cooked spaghetti and add sauce and parmesean cheese.   

It takes minutes.   

Last night we had chicken chimichangas.    They took a matter of minutes because I had cooked the chicken in the insta pot earlier in the day.   I added a green salad.   

Spaghetti and meatballs is also easy.   I buy meatballs, but I have also make meatballs in a bulk meat cooking time.   I make them with a portion scoop and put them on a rack over a sheetpan.   That way, the fat drips onto the sheet pan as they bake in the oven.  They are not stewing in their own fat.  

 Garnish spaghetti and meatballs with Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.   

Anything that you can put together in minutes and hand off to a instapot, slowcooker, or oven is a 

good pick.   I make stove top stuffing, add craisens an apple pieces and put it in the oven with pork chops I have browned on the stove.  Cover and cook until the meat is done.   I make scratch stuffing when I happen to have enough dry bread. 

Sausage or meatball subs work well too.   You can sometimes get sub rolls at the DT that are orowheat brands they carry.   I have a scratch recipe, but it takes a lot of fussing.  You can make it in the kitchenaid, but it still has shaping and rising times.   

Spinach, tomato, and feta sandwiches???????    Obviously, the spinach is raw.   

Dinner Diary

Peasant Bread ...a rustic bread -cost .25 

Leftover cake crumbs made in the food processer 

A good way to make best use of the last of the cake.

Crush in a bag from cereal inserts or cake mix, oatmeal.....

Finish in the food processer.  Who says garbage is garbage.   LOL.  

Dinner 

Chicken Primavera

Bread 

Vanilla Pudding with cake topping.  

Chain store ads

QFC

FOUR DAYS ONLY -april 26-29 - TH, F,S,S 

Pork Shoulder Roast .99

BUY 4, SAVE 4

BREYERS 2.99

RITZ 1.79

KROGER SMOKED SAUSAGE 1.49

LAND OF LAKES BUTTER 2.99

DIGITAL COUPONS - you ca buy up to 5 of each item 

GM cereal 1.49 - should be paper coupons to stack 

Kroger cheese 2.49 - top of the target price 

Yoplait 10/5

Marie Calllender’s Pot Pies 2/5

Oscar Mayer bacon 3.99

Goldfish 2.99

Tide 3.99 / 50 ounces 

Phil. Cream cheese 1.49

Corn 2/1 

Regular ad 

Flank steak 5.99

Strawberries 2.99

Asparagus 1.99

Alberways 

Pudding Rings 2/5

Cheese .99@@

Lean Cuisine 1.89@@

Kelloggs Cereal 1.69 - coupons out there, you must buy 3

Buy 10 Dannon Lite and Fit, or Oikos yogurt and get butter or eggs free

The yogurt is a dollar each.  

Thats about it.   

Fred Meyer next.  I have to get it on line.  

English cucumbers, peppers.  .88
Foster Farms BS chicken breast 1.97


DIGITAL COUPONS
Tide.3.99
Cheese 2.49 - top of the target price
GM cereal 1.49 - coupons are out there

——-

Flour tortillas 1.00
Honey 3.99
Pr shoulder bone in 1.79

Digorno pizza 4.99
Berries  2/5
Corn 2/1
Hebrew national 3.99

Tuesday Food Diary

Last night we had taco soup and quesadillas.  We had derviated from our normal breakfast for dinner the night before and had nachos.   My husband said he didnt feel like eggs.   We had leftovers, so I made taco soup and added a quesadilla.  

Leftover taco meat,
Black olives
Milk green chillies.
2 cans diced tomatoes with jalapeños
1/2 quart of tomato boullion.
12 ounces of frozen corn.

Simmer in slow cooker.


Quesadilla

Spray small flour tortilla with cooking spray
Put sprayed side down in small sauté pan.
Fill with grated cheese
Top with another tortilla and spray with cooking spray.

Brown on both sides to melt cheese.
Cut into quarters.  


Leftovers don’t have to be boring, or look like leftovers.  

Fred Meyer Haul

I am way under budget, if you dont count the bulk beef purchase we made this month.   I expect by next month we will be back on track or lower without having to buy much meat.   We are down to just buying pork.

Frozen entrees 1.88
Fruit bars 1.88

Goldfish .99
Cookies 1.99
Snapeas .99

Diced ham 2.00
English muffins (12) 1.67
Butter 2.50

Grapes 1.99
Tomatoes 1.29

Total 24.90

I went for 4/5 strawberries.   As typical of FM mentality, bait and switch, they had none.

Kitchen Management

Kitchen Management, aka meal prep and clean kitchen.....is a good way to get a head start on dinners and take some of the stress out of a hectic dinner hour.  

Meal. Plan recap:

• Taco soup, tortilla chips 
• Pizza 
• Chicken Primavera
• Tacos, Spanish rice 
• Chix chimichangas 
• Baked Potato bar 
• Breakfast 4 dinner 

1.  Find taco soup recipe 
2. Make pizza dough...you can freeze it. 
3. Wash veggies , including potatoes 
4. Clean out refrigerator and dump anything dead.  
5. Incorporate anything on the edge in the next few meals. 
6. Wash and disinfect counters, sinks, and drains. 
7. Wash kitchen floor 
8. Straighten pantry 
9. Mark meal plan to precook chicken for primavera and chimichangas.

Clean inside of dishwasher -part of deep clean.  

Meal Plans

Meal Plans are a tool that saves time and money .   Being organized is a good thing.   Even if a plan doesn’t work, you are still better off to have a plan.

• Soup and Bread 
• Pizza , salad 
• Chicken Primavera, bread sticks ,  
• Tacos, Spanish rice.
• Chicken Chimichangas, lettuce, tomato 
• Baked Potato bar 
• Breakfast for Dinner. 

1. Soup of choice, bread is a good fill in.   Something about a crusty loaf of bread just make soup and bread fulfilling.   Homemade bread can take as little ass 10 hands on minutes and cost a quarter.   
2. Pizza is 1.00 a cheese pizza.   Add toppings and you still have an inexpensive crowd pleaser.   Pizza dough can be purchased for 1.50-2.00 and made for.......19 cents.  
3. Chicken Primavera is an old recipe revisited.   Healthy and good.   
4. Tacos are another easy meal.   Taco meat is already cooked in the freezer.  A couple of seconds in the microwave and you can add it to a little water and taco seasoning in a sauté pan.   Let it simmer while you chop tomatoes, onion, and lettuce.  Gather the salsa and cheese.   Spanish rice is a few minutes hands on in the insta pot. 
5. Chicken chimichangas are another easy dish. Chicken cooks from frozen in the insta pot in mere minutes.  Before insta pot, I cooked it in the microwave in water.   Add cream cheese, diced chicken, and pepper jack cheese, add mild green chillies.  Spray with oil and bake.   Basically, everything is cooked, you are just melting cheese and browning the tortilla.   
6. Baked potato bar uses up about any leftovers in the fridge.     Another easy dinner the family likes because they can make it themselves.   
7. Breakfast for dinner is a family affair , everyone cooks.  I want to try oven french toast.   Hoping to find french bread at the DT.  

On another note.   The center for disease control is recommending that you dont eat romaine in any form. I assume that they are not including romaine you grew yourself.   But, a lot of people are getting sick 🤕.