Menu Plan: 3 Moms/ Budget Update

It’s time for another weekly menu plan as well as a 3 Moms update. It has been a few months since Jen, Kate and I shared a month in our kitchens and we thought it would be fun to give a short update. Kate’s been filling up her freezer, Jen has been stockpiling groceries and I’ve been trying to cut the budget and get back into a routine.

A few things that have been happening around the Happy House.

Grocery Budget Challenge

This month I am trying to cut 10% from our usual grocery budget of $600 a month in order to have some extra cash for stockpiling. So far I have spent $402 for the month. The family has gone out to eat once each week since the challenge began which is not typical for our family, so that has saved us a little on the grocery budget but not much. One reason why it is so low is because Cora was sick last week and I just couldn’t get to the store! We got a box of free produce and eggs from a friend, plus I had lots of pasta and venison in my stockpile so I was able to stretch the food we already had without going to the store.

Kids Make Breakfast

School started two weeks ago, and my teenagers have the responsibility of making breakfast twice a week. Let’s just say they are a little slow accepting this change. Getting up earlier to start school has been hard on everyone, so we are still easing into things around here. I think the kids will transition into an earlier wake-up (and making time to make breakfast)  by the end of the month.

Eat from the Garden

While I do not have a garden, many of my friends do. I have been blessed this summer with their surplus veggies. It has been fun experimenting with new recipes, and I plan to share the recipes with you over the next few weeks. So far I have made cucumber tomato salad, stuffed tomatoes, dill pickles, rhubarb cake, fresh salsa, and am planning on making spaghetti sauce and tzatziki this week.

The Ghost Pepper Challenge

Last weekend one of our friends thought it would be fun to give my husband a ghost pepper. My husband loves hot foods, and within a few minutes he had decided he needed to try this pepper, which is 500 times hotter than a jalapeno pepper.

See the sweat coating my husband’s head? That is after eating a piece smaller than a pea! But since my older kids decided to try it too, he had to have more….

The one good thing about this whole pepper eating contest was that they ate the whole thing, including the seeds, so no planting a new one next year!

A Few Surprises

We have some changes brewing around here and I can’t wait to share them with you soon.

Menu Plan

Breakfast

French Toast

Served with sausage, juice, and milk

Homemade English Muffins

served with eggs, fruit

Whole wheat pancakes

served with fruit, orange juice, milk

Oatmeal, Cereal, or Breakfast leftovers

Our Lunch List:

• Tzatziki w/ Bread Machine Pitas on the grill
• Egg Salad Sandwiches
• Tuna Salad Sandwiches
• Peanut Butter Sandwiches
• Hard Boiled Eggs
• Quesadillas
• Grilled cheese
• Leftovers
• Macaroni and cheese
• Smoothies
• Cheese and crackers
• Yogurt
• Fruit and veggies
• Baked Potato
• Sweet Potato

Dinner

Quick Taco Crescent Bake

Shepherd’s Pie

served with fresh vegetables

Salmon Turnovers

served with salad and carrot sticks

Homemade Pasta

served with salad, fresh bread, fresh vegetable

Grilled Pizza

served with salad

For more than 300 menu ideas each week, visit Org Junkie.

Shepherd’s Pie photograph courtesy of Mollyeh.