Menu Plan

I actually got my stuff together and sat down with my recipes, grocery list and coupon folder.

The results: meals planned until next Thursday, a very detailed and organized grocery list and coupons poised and ready to be used before their expiration date.

Today ~ frozen pizza and side salad (I haven't shopped yet!)
Thursday ~ leftover rice and beans
Friday ~ crock pot chicken with squash/sweet potatoes
Saturday ~ vichyssoise (don't ask me to say that)
Sunday ~ eating late lunch at J's parents'/leftovers
Monday ~ penne rustica
Tuesday ~ slow cooker ribs
Wednesday ~ stuffed peppers
Thursday ~ leftovers

For the crock pot chicken, vichyssoise, penne rustica and slow cooker ribs I'm using Robin Miller's quick meals recipes. Their specific posts will be more detailed and give you the recipes.

I'm really going to try and take her advice by organizing not only this week's menu, but the prep-work as well. A couple of these recipes have cross-over ingredients that can be chopped at the same time, or have pre-cooked ingredients I can make ahead in one, huge pre-cook session. Also - two are in the crock pot, which is always easy!

A couple of my cookbooks have recipes that can be frozen, or feature recipes that you can cook up to a certain point and freeze. Once you're ready you continue cooking from that point, after thawing. I might look into spending a day or two in the kitchen to fill the downstairs freezer with easy things like this. It just saves so much money to buy the bigger bags/containers of things. I'm really trying to cut back on our spending. We've already stopped going out to dinner and order food maybe 2 times a month, in comparison to around 2 times a week before. Cooking at home just saves so much, and everybody seems to be trying to save now.

Oh! And while I'm on the topic of saving money -- I scored 100% on my National Safety Council Driver Safety Course! Illinois changed their minimum requirements for automobile coverage, resulting in my premium being raised $80 for the next 6 month installment. I called MetLife to see what they could do and they offered me a "safe driver discount."

All I had to do was pass the safety course and I get to save 10% for the next three years! The class itself was $25 - but it's worth it because of the money I'm going to save (almost $400!). You can take the course online or from a DVD, fill out the answers in the little booklet they mail you and send it back to them. I know MetLife offers it - but if you guys don't have their insurance, you should call up and see if your insurance company offers anything similiar!