{ Menu planning on a budget }

Hey everyone, welcome back to my blog. 

So Monday I mentioned that I was going to be menu planning and doing a post on it, and then as always life got in the way and I didn't get around to it.

If you're looking for general posts on menu planning, there are a few already on the blog, you can do a quick search, over there on the right sidebar, and it will bring them all up for you.

This menu planning was a little different than my usual, in that instead of choosing the meals first and then buying the meat/poultry at the grocery store, I bought the meat and poultry first, and then planned around what I was able to get.

With the current pandemic situation, it's been difficult at times to find what I need, and the prices have also gone up astronomically.

So, we are left with having to just shop what we can and then plan accordingly.

With our current unsure situation, as pertaining to my husband's job, I have decided to start being even more frugal in my grocery shopping, and maybe looking into doing my bulk food shop at Aldi, then adding Walmart or Commissary to just add on whatever I can't find at Aldi.

I went grocery shopping last week, and spent $144 at Aldi, then another $80 at Walmart.

Once I got home, I jotted down what I was able to get meat wise, then worked on my menu from there.

I tried to make simple meals, as well as meals that I can stretch and use leftovers for another dinner.

I'm still trying to figure my way around this, I've spent the last 22 years menu planning one way, and now I'm having to switch it up, not sure for how long, but we will see.

I guess life is full of twists and turns, and we need to adapt and just go on however we can.  So this is it for the near future.

Now let me show you what my menu is, for the next two weeks.

Friday 26th - Alfredo Pasta

Saturday 27th - Feijoada c/ arroz (Portuguese Bean Stew)

Sunday 28th - Leftovers

Monday 29th - Roast chicken and potatoes

Tuesday 30th - My daughter bough us Panda Express for dinner

Wednesday 1st - Smoked Sausage and Potatoes

Thursday 2nd - Brunch, dinner was just whatever everyone wanted.  Cereal, sandwiches etc.

Friday 3rd -  Spaghetti, Salad

Saturday 4th - Grilled Bratwurst, Potato Salad, Fruit

Sunday 5th - Pork al Pastor, Rice, Beans

Monday 6th - Wingers Sticky Chicken Fingers, Mashed Potatoes

Tuesday 7th - Homemade Potato Gnocchi with Meat Sauce, Garlic Bread

Wednesday 8th - Bacon Carbonara

Thursday 9th - Chicken in Cream Sauce, Butter Rice

Friday 10th - *New menu kicks in*

I still have a bit of meat and poultry left in the freezer and will use those towards the next meal plan.

How do you deal with months where you need to cut down your food budget?    Do you have some cheap and filling meals you go to?

If you have any advice, feel free to drop it below, I will take all the advice I can get right now.

{ Grocery Haul }

Hello friends, how is you Saturday going?

I was thinking about my post for today and had a few ideas going, but decided to do a Grocery Haul instead.

Why???

Well I had a few of you message me either on Facebook or email me and ask what my grocery shopping looks like considering I tend to buy for 2 weeks and stay at or under $250, for our family of four.

I don't always buy the exact same thing, especially meat wise because it depends on my menu plan, so it kind of depends on what I'm making, whether it's a family favorite recipe, something simple, or a new recipe I am trying.  New recipes are usually the times my grocery shopping cost is higher, but I still manage to stay right at $250 and that includes toiletries, dog food and cleaning supplies etc.

I know a lot vloggers share their grocery hauls, but I'm not a vlogger and really don't like talking on camera, nor do I plan on following the masses and video recording anything, so pictures it is, but I will tell you what is in each picture and what I bought it for.

The next two weeks it's all about Portuguese food and going back to my roots.  I've been extremely nostalgic and just missing my childhood days and home and family and the foods we used to eat, I think we all go through those times in our lives. 

With that being said, a lot of the meals I'll be making I have not shared before, nor taken pictures, so will be doing all that too, which has me super excited.

Right, so let's get on with it, I will show you what I bought and then I'll show you how much it cost at the end.

Bear in mind that I do my shopping at the base commissary.

Frozen:::::
Two packs of burritos, Beef and Green Chili and Bean and Cheese (my kids and husband enjoy these for a quick lunch)
2 bags of Steamables Mixed Veggies (one will be as a side dish, one will be used in some rice I'm making)
2 Red Baron Pizzas (I keep these in the freezer for weekend lunches)
Pizza Rolls (Kids enjoy these for lunch)
Sausage Biscuits, 20 snack pack (my husband eats these in the morning, he will grab two and go off to work)
2 packs of Maple Bacon (one for a recipe, one for a weekend breakfast)
Ground Beef
Steaks
Chicken Tenders
Chicken Legs
Thick pork chops



Meats::::
Ground Beef, 4 lbs
(Shepherd's Pie, Grandma's Meatballs, Oven Burgers with Peppers and Mozzarella)



Meats::::
Steaks (Portugalia Steaks for dinner)
Chicken Tenders (Chicken Strogonoff)
Thick Pork Chops (Pork with baby potatoes)
Chicken Drumsticks (Roast Chicken and Potato wedges)





Veggies and Fruits::::
Bag of lemons
Bananas, tons of bananas, they were on sale for 59c a pound and my kids are on a banana kick
Peaches
Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Tomatoes
Avocados, they were on sale
2 Green peppers



Dairy::::
I bought two gallons of milk yesterday at Walmart, they were on sale for $1.97 so didn't have to buy today
Honey Ham, on sale for $2.50
Cream cheese for bagels
Heavy Cream for a recipe
Pepper Jack, Mozzarella and Provolone Cheeses (Mozzarella is for the hamburger recipe)
Shredded Mexican Style Cheese



Eggs were only $2.69 so I grabbed two, need some for recipes and also for breakfast and desserts



Grabbed a live Basil plant, my other one was all gone and ended up dying not sure why.  This one looks so good and smells amazing.  It was only $2.00





Bakery::::
One loaf of Texas Giant white bread
Philly Steak Subs for Sub sandwiches for a lunch
Hotdog buns for a recipe
Cinnamon Raisin and Original Bagels



Pantry::::
Small bag of flour, didn't need too much
Bag of sugar
Mixed Nuts (snack for me)
Goldfish, two bags (snack for kids)
2 macaroni and cheese boxes, only 90c (lunch for kids, they love this stuff, I don't)
Jalapeno Slices for sub sandwiches
Strawberry Jam



Pantry::::
Penne Rigatoni and Trio Italiano, they were on sale for 69c and I always have pasta in the house for a quick meal, or a salad as a side dish
Ramen noodles (my husband and kids love it as a quick lunch or even a snack)





Pantry and baking::::
Aluminum foil (I go through this stuff like crazy, I use it on my baking sheets to make clean up easier but I also use it in my oven to keep it clean from spills)
Parchment paper
Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice for me
Sweet Peas for a recipe
Tomato puree and sauce
Mushrooms
Black Eyed Peas (tuna salad for the kids and I for lunch)
Nacho cheese (my hubby likes having it on hand for a quick nacho snack)
Kidney Beans for a recipe
Pasta Sauce on sale for 69c (good to have on hand)
Popcorn
Tabasco
Bay Leaves



Rice
Dog Treats
Sandwich bags



The total was $160.57, not bad at all.  Yesterday like I said, I went to Walmart and got toilet paper, 2 gallons of milk, one gallon of chocolate milk, cereal, kleenex, dog treats, female products.  I spent $40.  So I'm still under the $250 budget for these two weeks.



I'm always asked how I manage to do that, and honestly, aside from those lunch items and snacks, I make all our meals from scratch and I menu plan.  I can't even begin to stress enough just how important menu planning is to staying under budget.

Our meals for the next two weeks are as follows......

Breakfast
Oatmeal
Cereal
Scrambled Eggs

Lunch
Sandwiches (PB&J, Ham and Cheese, Subs)
Quesadillas
Soup
Leftovers
Tuna Salad

Dinner
Saturday - Bifes a Portugalia (Portuguese steak, fries and eggs)
Sunday - Salsicha c/ molho de tomate, arroz (Sausage in tomato sauce, rice)
Monday - Strogonoff de Frango, pure de batata (Chicken stroganoff, mashed potatoes)
Tuesday - Arroz a Valenciana (Rice with chicken and sausage)
Wednesday - Almondegas da Bio, Salad (Greatgrandma's meatballs, salad)
Thursday - Filetes panados c/ arroz de ervilhas (Breaded Fish Fillets, Rice with peas)
Friday - Cachorros quentes c/ molho de pimento e tomate (Hotdogs with peppers and tomato sauce)
Saturday - Frango Assado c/ batatas (Roast Chicken and potato wedges)
Sunday - Carne de Porco com batatinhas (Pork with baby potatoes)
Monday - Peru salteado com cogumelos e mozzarella (Turkey with mushrooms and mozzarella)
Tuesday - Hamburgueres no forno c/ queijo e pimento (Oven hamburgers with cheese and peppers)
Wednesday - Roupa Velha (Old clothes, weird name I know but it's basically leftover meat fried with onions and potatoes)
Thursday - Feijoada (Bean stew, rice)

So there you go, I hope you enjoyed my first grocery haul here on the blog, let me know if you would like me to continue doing these. 

I enjoy watching other people's grocery hauls usually to get ideas, or see what they're eating, buying for the money they're spending etc.

I have another post coming up later today, it will be my weekly meals in review, so keep an eye out for that :)