Menu Planning - Week 24

Here's what we're munching on this week....

6.11.11 - Pizza & Watching Carolina Baseball
6.12.11 - Lorraine's Stuffed Peppers from Supper Swap
6.13.11 - Baked Ziti w/ Italian Sausage
6.14.11 - Leftovers/Dinner on your own
6.15.11 - ZPizza Fundraiser for Team-in-Training
6.16.11 - Jennifer's Burritos from Supper Swap
6.17.11 - Grilling out

It is a busy week for us, but looks like we're getting used to our new schedule and getting the hang of planning our meals around it again.  Summer is officially in session :)

Saucy Pork Chops for Crockpot

When we started our supper swap group, I knew that we couldn't eat casseroles all the time.  First of all, there are only two of us.  Second of all, we can't afford a whole new wardrobe for expanding bellies!  While I've made lots of yummy casseroles, I've also scoured the internet for good meals that can be frozen, thawed, and dumped in the crockpot for an easy dinner.  One of my favorites has been these Saucy Pork Chops.

Only 5 ingredients!
6-8 thinly sliced pork chops
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 dry onion soup packet
1 tsp parsley flakes

Easy Directions!
Just mix up the soups and parsley right in your crockpot, add the pork chops and cook on LOW for about 4 hours!  You'll be left with fork tender chops and some yummy gravy to serve over rice or potatoes.

Menu Planning - Week 20!

Wow, can't believe we've been at this menu planning thing for 20 weeks!!!  I'm fairly sure this is one of the only new-year's resolutions I've ever kept.  AND, one of the best.  In just 6 short weeks, we'll be half way through 2011.  I can hardly believe the year is passing us by so quickly, but I do believe menu planning is in our life to stay!

My half marathon training starts this week, so I'll be planning lots of things that can be popped in the oven or crockpot or cooked by hubby or thrown together at the last minute until I get the hang of the new schedule.

5.14.11 - Monthly Dinner Club @ Scott & Meredith's - we're in charge of bringing a veggie so we're taking Asparagus  for grilling!

5.15.11 - Supper Swap - Making Saucy Pork Chops for Crockpot, Rice & Okra

5.16.11 - Parmesan Crusted Chicken w/ Spinach, Tomatoes & Goat Cheese

5.17.11 - Spaghetti w/ Italian Sausage

5.18.11 - Leftovers/Sandwiches/Salads

5.19.11 -  Girl's Night Out for Dinner 

5.20.11 - Grilled Flank Steak w/ Tomatoes, Red Onions & Balsamic

Menu Planning - Week 16 & 17

So I failed to put up our menu last week, and you can see that we ate out a whole lot because we were sorta busy, but just for the sake of documenting, here is what we ate.  Also, I can't believe how hard it was for Ryan and I to try and remember what all we ate this week!

4.16.11 - Carolina Baseball Game - Chicken Fingers & Bratwurst
4.17.11 - Dinner w/ Leigh & Gray -- Tequila Lime Chicken & Grilled Corn -- YUM!
4.18.11 - Yo Burrito Girl's Night for me, Chickfila for Ryan
4.19.11 - Chickfila on road for me, Subway for Ryan
4.20.11 - Lasagna Casserole
4.21.11 - Out to eat @ El Chico
4.22.11 - Paula Dean's Pork Tenderloin, Sweet Potatoes & Salad

As for this week, trying to get rid of some freezer meals, and minimize the work involved around meal time..... here's our plan:

4.23.11 - Leftovers for me, on-the-road for Ryan
4.24.11 - Easter lunch leftovers
4.25.11 - Chicken Tetrazzini in freezer from Supper Swap
4.26.11 - Homemade Calzones
4.27.11 - Meat loaf in freezer from Supper Swap & potatoes
4.28.11 - Date Night Out
4.29.11 - Ryan out of town, so TBD for me

Money Saving Menu Plan - Week 12

It is supper swap week for me again and I'm making Taco Casserole to give away.  It's getting toward the end of the month and as I look over our budget, I'm trying to pinch a few pennies so we can add more to our savings at the end of this month, so decided to see how much we can save this week eating mostly at home.

3.19.11 - Ryan's best friend Christian and his fiancé Stephanie are coming to town for a Couples' Shower in their honor.  My parents are actually hosting at their house and we'll be chowing down on some yummy Shealy's BBQ with all the fixin's.... I made Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings, and they were a hit as always :)

3.20.11 - Supper Swap Day - we'll be eating the Taco Casserole I fixed instead of freezing it

3.21.11 - Jennifer's Stuffed Shells (still in freezer from last supper swap, time to clean'r'out!)

3.22.11 - I'll be eating dinner with girls from work at Yo Burrito ----one of our FAVORITE places with the BEST JARGARITAS (that's a margarita in a mason jar) in town!  Then we'll be heading over to our friends the Gzvodas' to find out whether baby G is a girl or a boy!

3.23.11 - LEFTOVERS!  We've got Bible Study Wednesday night, so instead of going out before or after, we'll clean out some leftovers from the fridge.

3.24.11 - Lorraine's meatloaf & mashed potatoes (Supper Swap)

3.25.11 - Zingy BBQ Chicken... I found this recipe earlier this week, then also got it in an email today from Leigh  in her weekly TOP 10, so decided it was a MUST for our menu plan this week

I'm so thankful for the girls I do supper swap with, even though I don't have children like they all do, I definitely benefit from having a few meals tucked away in the freezer when we're either trying to save money, or I just don't have the time or motivation to cook something from scratch.  I've mentioned this a few times before, but I think EVERYONE should get a group together and give supper swapping a try. 

Menu Planning - Week 8

OH, so perhaps this is lazy, but since we hosted our dinner club last night and the girls from work and I are doing supper swap today, I'm totally calling this a leftovers and whatever is hiding in the freezer/pantry week.  For the meals we eat at home, we'll be deciding as we go.  We've had a lot going on this past week and there's lots to do this week as well, so sometimes making a detailed plan doesn't make much sense.  We've got plenty of food in the freezer/pantry, so we'll just save some cash money by cooking what we already have here at home.

2.19.11 - Made these awesome Chicken Enchiladas and Smothered Beef & Bean Burrito Casserole for our monthly dinner club
2.20.11 - Having my parents over to finish off the fiesta leftovers (ie. FRIDGE CLEANOUT MEAL!)
2.21.11 - Eating Chick-fil-A (Bush River Road has free sandwiches with your church bulletin on Mondays!)
2.22.11 - FREEZER/PANTRY CLEANOUT MEAL
2.23.11 - FREEZER/PANTRY CLEANOUT MEAL
2.24.11 - Ryan's 27th Birthday... out to eat with family!
2.25.11 - Celebrating Ryan's Birthday some more on our way out of town for a wedding!

Hopefully next week I'll be back with some better planning and maybe even a new recipe!

Menu Planning - Week 4

Crazy, another week is here already!  We have our Supper Swap tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to an easy week or two since I'll have some meals ready to just toss in the oven or crockpot.  So... here's what we are eating this week:

1.22.11 - Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Venison Tenderloin & Pioneer Woman's Perfect Potatoes Au Gratin
1.23.11 - Supper Swap Sunday - Mexican Chicken Casserole (this is what I'm making to give away)
1.24.11 - Jennifer's Meat Loaf & Mashed Potatoes (a la Supper Swap)
1.25.11 - Leftovers/Fridge Cleanout/Find-Your-Own Dinner Night
1.26.11 - Salads & Zuppa Toscana (I hope it REALLY tastes like Olive Garden!)
1.27.11 - Date Night OUT
1.28.11 - Taking dinner to the newest parents we know & meeting their sweet baby boy!

When we get to the end of the month, I'm going to go back and review the new recipes we tried, which ones we liked, disliked, and whether we're ever going to make them again.  


Have a great week!

Did I say I was back?

Perhaps I spoke too soon.... computer is still a little messed up and we are in the market for a new one, so it might be few and far between for posts... but I promised to tell y'all about something cool I did.... so here it is!

So every now and then, something comes your way that is both fun and makes your life easier. This month, I had the opportunity to join in a "Supper Swap" with some girls from my office. Here's how it works....

You pick a day/time/place to meet up. We met in the back of a Wal-mart parking lot on a Sunday evening. Each person in the group picks a freezable/storable meal to make. Then, depending on the number of people in the swap (it's 4 in our case), you make a dish for each family. So, you have a dish of your own to keep, 3 to give away, and you get 1 dish from each other person!

I ended up with 4 fantastic meals, and only had to buy the ingredients and prepare one! It may seem like a lot of work, but since I made enough of the same meal for 4 families, I was able to buy the ingredients in bulk, thus saving money. Also, the time I spent to make 4 of the same recipe was much less than it would take for me to make 4 different recipes.

Since it's only me and the hubby, each of these meals makes for great leftovers, or a great night to have over family or friends since we have plenty to share. I'm joining in the swap once each month which will give us about 1 pre-made meal a week. This works great for nights when I know we'll be busy -- and the other girls in the swap say it makes cooking with children around MUCH easier, too. The other benefit for me is exposure to recipes that I've never made before and might shy away from on my own. If we cook it and like it, I'll get the recipe and make it again some time!

I encourage you to get together with some friends and have a supper swap of your own... you won't regret it, PROMISE!

Hopefully more posts coming again sometime soon...
Lockslie :)