Meal Plan Monday - June 17

The Cinnamon Stove Top Granola was a huge hit at our house last week!  I didn't add any of the brown sugar that the recipe called for since I thought it would be plenty sweet enough with the honey.  It turned out to be a chewy granola that our whole family loved.

I've also started looking for more meatless meals to try and save a bit more on our grocery costs.  Last week I made Chicken Fried Steak which really isn't chicken or steak (don't tell my husband)!  I was completely surprised by the texture and how filling the meal was.

If you are looking for meatless meal ideas, I've started a new Pinterest board just for meatless meals.  Also if you have any favorite meatless meals, please share them in the comments!



Our menu for this week:

Breakfast
Cereal, Bananas
Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets
Scrambled Eggs, Toast
Cinnamon Stove Top Granola

Lunch
Grilled Cheese, Applesauce
Tuna Salad Sandwiches, Carrot Sticks
Mac&Cheese with Peas
English Muffin Pizzas, Grapes
Dinner Leftovers

Dinner
Monday:
    Baked Ravioli, Green Beans

Tuesday:
     Meatloaf Patties cooked under the broiler, Lemon Parmesan Broccoli 

Wednesday:
    Kitchen Sink Quesadillas

Thursday:
    Meatless Meatball Heros

Friday:
    Wedding Reception

Saturday:
   Lemon Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Corn

Sunday:
   Breakfast Pizza w/bacon 


Get more menu planning ideas at Menu Plan Monday. 

{photo credit}

Simply Saving Saturday

A frog hopped onto our front step this week.  The little guy got lots of attention from the boys. They didn't want to touch him, but they figured out that if they put a finger close enough to him it would make him jump.  I'm not so sure he appreciated all the attention very much.

We've been keeping track of how much gas we put in the second vehicle that I use.  I had to fill up again this week--exactly three weeks since the last time!

I was able to add more grass clippings to our garden after my husband mowed the lawn this week.  We are also saving egg shells for the garden.

I cashed in Swagbucks for two $5 Amazon gift cards.  So far this year we have earned $40 in gift cards that we have saved for birthday and Christmas gifts.  Most things that I buy from Amazon can shipped for free with a $25 order.  It has been a huge blessing!

I earned $3 for taking a survey through Pinecone Research.  Since my application was accepted 2 months ago I have earned $18 with this company!  I'm not sure if they are accepting applications right now, but if you are interested, there are sign up links on this post by Crystal at Money Saving Mom.

We signed up for a special offer for the newspaper.  We are now getting 4 newspapers delivered to our door for $.08 more per week than what we were spending to buy one newspaper at the convenience store.  It is a 12 week offer that automatically renews at the regular rate, so I wrote a reminder on the calendar to call and cancel.

This week I made homemade pizza crust, Cinnamon Stove Top Granola and two meatless meals.

In my mailbox: a free magazine and Kotex samples with a coupon.

Used shampoo and conditioner samples.

Our on-going savings:

**Follow a weekly meal plan.

**Earn Swag Bucks for Amazon gift cards that I use to buy gifts.

**Earn Recyclebank points for gift cards, coupons and free magazine subscriptions.

**Husband takes lunch to work everyday.

**Turn lights off when not being used.

**Use cash to buy groceries.

**Use scrap paper for notes and lists.

**Drive to town once a week for shopping and errands.  

**Buy less cereal and eat oatmeal and other homemade breakfasts several times a week.

**Reuse plastic and paper shopping bags for small trash and recycling.

**Save bread ends for the freezer.

Note: Some of the links in this post are referral links. When a new member signs up using my referral link, I receive bonus points for that referral.

Stay Organized This Summer With A Summer Routine

This is a very exciting week for us since it is the last week of school and summer officially begins at our house!  Our three months of summer here in northern New England always goes by very quickly.  As our children get older, each year goes by faster than the last, and hard as I try, it seems impossible to make each moment count.

I've been thinking a lot over the past few months about what I want to accomplish this summer and I came to the conclusion that the best way to get everything done is to create a summer routine in order to help me stay organized this summer.

This is what our summer routine looks like:

5:45 - Mom up, get ready for the day

6:00 - 6:30 - Boys wake up 
Breakfast/Bible
Get Dressed
Chores

Gardening
Outside Play

11:30 - Lunch

Read aloud to children

Inside/outside play, reading, games, fun and frugal activities*, playground, academic projects and/or games**

Computer work, crafting (me)

4:30 - Start dinner

Quick pick up

5:30 - Dinner

Notice that there are a lot of gaps in our routine.  I don't want every hour of every day scheduled, but I think this will be a great tool to help me to stay focused and get things done.  I'm also always open to making changes to our routine as needed.



*Here are some of the fun and frugal activities I am planning on trying with the boys this summer:

Super Bubble Fun
Soda Bottle Water Toy & Sponge Bombs
DIY Lava Lamps
Bee Buzzer
Campfire Cones
Paper Plate Sun Catcher

**Summer is definitely supposed to be fun, but there are also a few academic areas that I want to work on with the boys a few days each week.  Here are some of the free resources and inexpensive ideas that I really like:

Preschool Site Words
DIY Write and Wipe Preschool Worksheets
Paper Plate Clock
Penny, Nickel, Dime Exchange Game
Ten Commandments Writing Practice
1st Grade Book Report Printables
Weather Graphing Printable

What are some of your favorite summer activities?  Will you be trying something new this summer?




{photo credit}

Meal Plan Monday - June 10

Our meal plan this week:

Breakfast
Cereal, Bananas
Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets
Scrambled Eggs, Toast
Cinnamon Stove Top Granola (I'm going to leave out the brown sugar)

Lunch
Grilled Cheese, Applesauce
Tuna Salad Sandwiches, Carrot Sticks
Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Carrot Sticks
English Muffin Pizzas, Mandarin Oranges
Dinner Leftovers

Dinner
Monday:
    Crock Pot Pizza Casserole, Vegetables

Tuesday:
    Chicken Fried Steak, Salad

Wednesday:
    Spaghetti

Thursday:
    Tuna Noodle Casserole

Friday:
    Leftover Night

Saturday:
    Stir-fry

Sunday:
    Kitchen Sink Quesadillas


Get more menu planning ideas at Menu Plan Monday. 

{photo credit}

Simply Saving Saturday

This past Sunday the children and I went to church early with my husband instead of using extra gas to take a second vehicle to church.

We planted bean seedlings that our son grew at school and we planted squash seedlings in our second garden.

I saved yogurt cups that have covers and used them to store our leftover vegetable seeds.

I raked up grass clippings to use as mulch in the garden to (hopefully) help with weed control.  I also put some around the tomato plants which I've read helps keep moisture in the soil.

While I was making banana bread this week, I realized that I was out of eggs.  Instead of running to the store, I did a quick internet search.  I used 1/3 cup of applesauce and 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed mixed with 3 tablespoons of water to replace 2 eggs in the recipe.  It worked really well!

I made strawberry popsicles with apple juice that I bought on sale instead of grape juice.

We saved a quick $84/year by removing the protection plan from our Dish account.  According to a lady I talked to in customer service, the protection plan covers most of the cost of a technician coming to our home to fix an issue with our satellite reception.  The ironic part is, according to the person I spoke with, when a technician comes out they will ask if we want the protection plan. It makes me wonder how many people are needlessly paying for the protection plan.

I haven't shopped at Rite Aid for quite a few months, but I went in to get the Stayfree deal and was surprised to see that the brand of milk that we have been buying is over $.50 cheaper there!  Rite Aid is a little bit out of our way, but when I can, I will plan to buy milk there.

We borrowed several books from the library, including a recipe book of meatless meals.  My husband jokingly told me that I couldn't read that book. :)  We also borrowed a DVD for our family night.

I price-matched at Walmart to save time and gas.

Earned $3 for taking a survey.

In my mailbox: Fiber One sample

I cut both children's hair.

Our on-going savings:

**Follow a weekly meal plan.

**Earn Swag Bucks for Amazon gift cards that I use to buy gifts.

**Earn Recyclebank points for gift cards, coupons and free magazine subscriptions.

**Husband takes lunch to work everyday.

**Turn lights off when not being used.

**Use cash to buy groceries.

**Use scrap paper for notes and lists.

**Drive to town once a week for shopping and errands.  

**Buy less cereal and eat oatmeal and other homemade breakfasts several times a week.

**Reuse plastic and paper shopping bags for small trash and recycling.

**Save bread ends for the freezer.

Note: Some of the links in this post are referral links. When a new member signs up using my referral link, I receive bonus points for that referral.