Menu Plan Monday 2/7/11

This is going to be quick! I've got at least one recipe for this week to post which will be coming later! So, here is our dinner menu:

Biscuit Topped Chicken Pot Pie

Sloppy Joes, Green Beans, Corn

Italian Roast Wraps, Steamed Garlic Broccoli

Veggie Soup (w/ leftover beef from roast), Corn Bread

BBQ Chicken Pizza, Carrots & Ranch Dip


And these meals will probably give us a leftover night or two! If not we'll have sandwiches or pancakes!

We did have a great new meal, Baked Penne with Sausage and Spinach. I came up with my own recipe after getting some inspiration from another (which I can't find) and it was soo yummy! Great for leftovers and I was able to freeze enough for us to have in the next week or two!


I didn't get to the baked oatmeal but I do plan on making it this week for breakfast! (I've got buttermilk that has to be used up!) I'm sure there will be some other baking going on for snacks! Last week we made oatmeal cookies with cranberries and pecans!

Oh and I did find organic frozen corn at Winn Dixie!! No GMO's! It was 2.19 for about a 10 oz bag and that's more than I like to pay (since I was getting the 12 oz bag for $0.98). I had a $5 off coupon, so I reasoned that the $2.19 was part of what I got free. :) And I'll feel good feeding my boys one of their favorite veggies.. or grains... whatever you want to call it!

Saturday $ense

So, this week.. I didn't do so great. Here is my menu so you can see what meals I had planned. I did have to buy meat this week and I didn't find great deals on meat. I'm not sure if we're going to be having one of the meals on the menu. It all depends on our plans tomorrow. So, one meal could be a roll over meal. Here are the things I had on hand to complete my meals/snacks:

Tuna
Ranch Dip
Flour
Butter
Annie's White Cheddar Bunnies
Pretzels
Crackers

(Again, we have more stocked. This is just what I remember off the top of my head that I didn't have to buy to complete meals and for snacks)

I shopped at WalMart and Winn Dixie this week.

WalMart:

Household Items:

Chalk 1.00
Ivory Soap (3) 0.75
Quart Storage Bags 1.64
Imodium AD 4.00
Wipes 1.78

Dairy:

String Cheese 2.98
Parmesan Cheese 2.18
Sour cream 8oz 0.88
Provolone slices 2.36
Danimal Yogurt 2.00
Cage Free Eggs: 2.27
2% Milk 2 gallons WIC

Pantry:

Wing Sauce 1.47
Rolled Oats 2.24
JFG Mayonnaise 2.68
Penne Whole Wheat 1.08
Classico Pasta Sauce 2.28
Organic Chicken Broth 2.63
WW Tortillas 2.00
Kettle Chips 2.98
V8 Juice 2.58
Cranberry & Nut Mix 2.88
Nutra Grain Fruit Bars 2.50
Bread WIC
Peanut Butter WIC
Honey Bunches of Oats WIC
Cheerios WIC
Juicy Juice WIC

Produce:

Organic Spinach 4.88
Coleslaw 1.50
Clementines 3 lb 3.75
Onions 1.64
Bananas 0.97
Organic Carrots 0.97
Organic Garlic 1.68
Pears 1.78


Meat:

Italian Turkey Sausage 2.98

Extra:

Diet Sunkist 1.48

Total 74.71

Winn Dixie (mid wk)

Household:
Angel Soft 5.00
Sparkle Paper Towels 5.00

Pantry:
Natures Own Bread 2.59
Apple Juice 2.49

Produce:
Bananas 1.66


Meat:
Sirloin Tip Roast 8.85
Boneless Chicken Breast 6.05

Total 34.35

Grand Total 109.06

Yes, technically that is over for the week. But if you remember last week I only spent $90.24. So, for the pay period I spent a total of $199.30 out of our $200.00 budget. I sure know how to just barely make it, huh!? I'm a little frustrated with it because I was hoping to save a little. But I did my best, minus that Diet Sunkist! I did use two coupons, one for the pasta sauce (-1.00) and one for the string cheese (-0.55). I'm just going to have to be more resourceful and thrifty! So, time to start planning next week!

Baked Penne with Spinach & Sausage

This was super good and easy! Try it!

Baked Penne with Spinach and Sausage

10 oz whole wheat penne (or ziti noodles), cooked and drained
1 lb sausage (I used sweet Italian turkey sausage)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jar of pasta sauce (I used onion/garlic flavor)
3/4-1 cup of V8 Juice
4 cups (or handfuls) of spinach
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350. Crumble and cook sausage and onions together, until sausage is no longer pink. Add garlic and cook about a minute. (Drain, if needed. I actually had to add about a TBS of butter to the pan because of the turkey sausage) Add pasta sauce and V8 juice (I added about 1/2 cup at first). Simmer about 10 minutes, uncovered, for sauce to thicken a bit. When sauce is almost ready, combine noodles spinach, mozzarella and about 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Mix pasta mixture in with the sausage mixture. (This is where I added about 1/4 cup more of V8 juice to make it a little more saucy and it was perfect! Pour into greased 9x13 pan, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted!

So good!

Coming soon: why I'm avoiding canned tomato products! Come on grocery stores!!! Get with it and start providing tomatoes in glass jars and boxes!!!

I'm linking up with Feasting in Fellowship Friday at Comfy in the Kitchen!



and

My Thorn: Part 3

I mentioned in my last thorn post that I had found the Girl Talk Blog fear series and it has been so good for me to read!! Last time I was reminded to not listen to the lies of my fears but to listen to the truth of God's Word!

Here is an excerpt of the most recent post I've been reading over and thinking about:

"Our fears are due to our failure to stir up--failure to think, failure to take ourselves in hand. You find yourself looking to the future and then you begin to imagine things and you say: 'I wonder what is going to happen?' And then, your imagination runs away with you. You are gripped by the thing...this thing overwhelms you and down you go. Now the first thing you have to do is to take a firm grip of yourself, to pull yourself up, to stir up yourself, to take yourself in hand and to speak to yourself." Dr Lloyd Jones

Even before reading this I have found myself putting this into practice. I talk to myself OFTEN! And it is really a helpful tip! So, what do I say to myself? Well, lot of what I say is straight from God's Word.

Philippians 4:6-7 ~ "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

The above verses I put to memory a long time ago. I can't tell you how many times I've been up in the middle of the night repeating those words over and over and over.

Sometimes I remind myself,

"I am free. I am not a slave to sin anymore. Christ came to set me free! There is freedom in Christ"

And I repeat that with Galatians 5:1 in the back of my mind,

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

and

"for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 1 Timothy 2:7

And you know, sometimes I just say,

"Crystal, get yourself together!! You are being ridiculous! Take a deep breath and calm down!"

Then I follow with a verse to remind myself why I'm being ridiculous! Like,

"And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" Matthew 6:27

Remembering, meditating, and praying God's Word can really do wonders with anxiety and fear! I pray for you and for myself that we can be like the Proverbs 31 woman:


"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come." Proverbs 31:25

Need to catch up? Here are the first two posts in this series:

Part 1
Part 2

I'm linking this post up with Time Warp Wife's {TITUS 2}SDAYS.