Perfecting Imperfection

I did do a menu this week.  In fact, I planned out the whole month of March!  I got the idea from my friend, Christine.  She got the idea from somewhere in the blogosphere.  I had a printout to use from my Organizing Life as Mom ebook.  So, I was good to go.  One thing that I really liked about it was that I was able to kind of use stuff I already had for this week and then buy what was on sale this week for weeks to come.  For example, whole roasting chickens were buy-one-get-one this week...so I bought 4 to use for recipes coming up and froze them!

Anyway - here is this week's menu:

Monday - Pasta in Olive Oil and Garlic w/Salad and Garlic Bread (book club ladies may want to sit at the other end of the table tonight!)


Tuesday - Pork Stir-Fry


Wednesday - Layered Mexican Chicken


Thursday - Nana's or Leftovers


Friday - Ham and Cheese Supper (in the slow cooker . . . this is a new one from my slow cooker cookbook) 


Saturday - Disney Princesses on Ice - so... we will probably be ordering something with my parents for dinner.


Sunday - Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes (or maybe twice baked if the kids cooperate!)


There you have it.

In other news - the boys are sick.  Danika is coughing.  No one is sleeping.  Everyone seems to be crying or at least someone is always crying.  It's been a rough weekend.  I'm so ready for spring.

Guess what I got for Valentine's Day?


I am so stinking excited about this because I waste a ton of coffee by making a whole pot but LOVE a cup in the morning to get going!  Plus - it's super easy, super fast and there is NOTHING to clean up!  ;)

I also got another wonderful Valentine's surprise!  I got an email this morning telling me that I won a copy of Clutter Rehab for submitting a recipe here!  I used Say Mmmm to make the printable grocery lists!

What a great start to a day!


In all honesty, this week is kind of lame...but it's a busy week, so what can I say...

Monday ~ Heart Shaped Pizzas from Papa Johns (a Valentine Tradition!)


Tuesday ~ Chicken and Rice


Wednesday ~ Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes


Thursday ~ Nana's or Leftovers (I have Open House so Jerry is in charge!)


Friday ~ Turkey Chowder (this is a push from last week...someday I'll tell you about how Jerry broke my crock pot.  :(


Saturday ~ Chicken Nugget Casserole and Salad


There you have it!  I did plan breakfasts and lunches, too...but they aren't anything exciting so I figured I would just share what we will be eating for dinner this week!

Hope you all have a great Valentine's Day!

So - last night kind of stunk...as a Pittsburgh girl, I was disappointed in my team.  The truth is, they really didn't play Super bowl quality football.  They played like it wasn't as important a game as it really was - they played like it was a regular season football game.  Still, I'm proud they made it as far as they did.  :)

Oh - and the commercials...they stunk.  The only one I even remotely liked was this one:




It could be because my Nate is a huge Star Wars fan and laughed his butt off when he saw it!

*This article...made me love this commercial even more!!!  Thanks for sharing, Anthony!

Anyway ~ on to why you are here...my menu for this week!

Monday - Tasty Chicken with Mixed Veggies and Rice

Tuesday - Chicken Nibblers with Peas and Fries (This is Jerry's day to cook - gave him something easy)

Wednesday - Pork Chop Slow Cooker Casserole (I will be out this evening - PM conferences at school - so I thought I'd make it easy on Jerry, again.  I'm too good to him!  hehehe)

Thursday - Leftovers or Eat at Nana's

Friday - Pierogi Casserole with Salad

Saturday - Danika's first of two parties...this one is at our house!  Making Ham BBQ, 7 Layer Salad, Hot Dogs and Buffalo Shrimp (maybe)  along with snacks and such...oh, and cake!

Sunday - Danika's second party - at my SIL's with my niece who is turning, *gasp* 17!!!!  Wow...the reality of that just hit me.  Haven't discussed food, yet, for this one.

There you have it.  If you want to check out more great meal plans and get more ideas for what to make for dinner, head on over to the link up for MPM at orgjunkie.com!  

Despite all the excitement this weekend, I made it to the grocery store yesterday and am ready for this week!

I was so excited about my total for the month so far, too!

We have budgeted about $450 for groceries each month.  This month (keep in mind this will last me until Saturday, January 22nd) we have spent $317.32!!!  I couldn't be happier!  Plus, we have been eating at home and not ordering out.  We have been packing lunches because we have had leftovers!  It's been a great month for menu planning and shopping!

Okay ~ so, here is this week's menu:

If you want to add your menu or check out some more great menus from other bloggers, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Monday ~ Turkey Tuna Melt Casserole (from Family Feasts for $75 a Week)

Tuesday ~ Chicken and Biscuits (from A Pinch of This, A Dash of That)

Wednesday ~ Baked Fish and Hashbrown Casserole

Thursday ~ 3 Cheese Kielbasa Bake (from Dinner on a Dime - this is from their Freezer Pleaser section and   will make 2...one for another week!)

Friday ~ Poor Man's Stoup and Pizza Pinwheels 

Saturday ~ Eat at Mom's - guys going to Penguin Game

Sunday ~ Eat here (maybe Spaghetti and Meatballs I skipped last week) with Mom - guys going to Steeler Game

As you can see...my hubby and Dad will have a busy weekend cheering the Pittsburgh sports teams on to victories - so I'm not planning anything to cook.  We are going to eat left overs and play it by ear.  :)

Have a great week!

Random note about what I've been up to - I've been working on making a binder to help with meal planning and such...I've been working on it for over a week here and there.  I'm hoping to finish it by Friday so I can use it as my 52 Weeks of Organizing project.  :)

Anyway - I went to 2 different stores again this week to do my shopping.  Actually, I sent DH to Walmart to buy some meat for the week and I headed to Aldi for the rest of the stuff we needed.  I also had to make a quick stop into Giant Eagle for Diced Green Chilies . . . which Aldi didn't have.  I have to tell you that the difference from Aldi and Giant Eagle is almost intimidating!  I've been shopping at Aldi for most of what we need for the past 3 weeks.  I'll be honest with you - we are saving money.  A lot of money.  There are some things that we have found we don't like from Aldi but DH usually picks those things up with the meat or when he goes on a mid week milk run.  Giant Eagle did have Sunday papers on sale 2 for $1.01 - I got 4!  Lots of great coupons this week!  :)

I did really well with last week's menu and we didn't eat out or order anything all week long!  We even packed our lunches and took them to work - no subs or Wendy's last week!  I feel great about it, too.  You know what else, my kids didn't eat chicken nuggets once last week!  They usually eat them at least twice a week for either lunch or dinner because they are quick and I know they will eat them.  This past week, though, my kids ate what we ate.  The day I made the Black Bean and Sausage Soup my bigger kids mainly ate the salad and garlic bread, but even that is pretty awesome.  My kids had salad for dinner!  :)

I'm hoping to have a more detailed account of how much I'm saving and what I'm learning later this week for you.  I have to share this story with you, though.  When DH brought me his receipt for Walmart, I started breaking it down and discovered that he paid WAY too much for 1/2 of the pork chops he bought!  I told him that we needed 12 boneless pork chops for one of the meals this week.  He bought a package of 8 and a package of 4 to make 12.

When I looked at the receipt I saw that he paid $2.79 per pound for the package of 8 and about $4.40 per pound for the package of 4.  They were different brands . . . but holy cow!  We looked at it together (because I made him double check to make sure I wasn't crazy) and we talked about how it would have been better to just buy 4 extra and freeze them than pay almost double for less.  The cool thing is that he actually got it and started asking me about other kinds of meat and groceries we buy!  It was the first time I've actually been able to talk to him about the things I have been reading about and trying out.  In his defense ~ I'm a real pain in the butt when he goes grocery shopping...or at least I have been in the past.  He almost always forgets something or buys something that isn't exactly what I needed or wanted and it really irks me.  I totally understand why he would have stuck to buying the exact number or pork chops I asked for...but I'm learning to be a little more flexible, I hope.

Okay ~ on to this week's menu!

So ~ I've been reading my new book, "Family Feasts for $75 a Week" and getting lots of great ideas and tips on how to get more for my money as well as save some time while cooking at home.  Truth be told - I didn't do so well shopping this week.  I guess I haven't really disciplined myself enough, yet.  But I can't be too hard on myself...it was only the first week I tried.  :)

I did hit 2 different stores - one for their awesome prices on everyday stuff and ingredients for meals I have planned this week.  The other store for their meat - because their prices are decent and the meat is high quality.  I will say that I probably picked an awful time to go shopping there, though - the selection was very limited...that's what happens late on a Sunday at a small store.

Anyway, the one thing that I am going to try this month to help me get more on track saving money at the grocery store is keeping a price book.  It's suggested in the book and I realized that I really don't know when a deal is a good deal or a great deal.  Keeping track of prices at the stores I shop will help me to see when something on sale is at a "stock-up" price or just a better than normal price.

One thing that was a real eye opener when I was working on our food budget was how much we really spend eating out and ordering in.  We fall victim to 2 excuses when it comes to not cooking our own meals.  The first is picking lunch up while working.  We do this because we are SUPER busy and there isn't always something easy to grab for lunch.  I'm still not use to cooking for 6 people and a lot of the time we don't have leftovers!  So we get $8 here and $6 there...maybe a $5 foot-long or $4.99 meal from Wendy's.  Those add up QUICK!

The other thing that we are guilty of - mostly me - is thinking, "We don't go out to eat much, so ordering Chinese or Pizza once in a while is no big deal."  The problem with THAT is that when we do it it can cost $40 or more!  I could make at least 2 dinners for that price...maybe more once I start learning the prices of things and the time to buy.

This is not to say that we won't order out once in a while - but we have a goal to cut our "restaurant" spending in half this month!  Trying to reach that goal will make me much more likely to plan my lunch the night before work than waking up and realizing there is nothing to take.

So - on with this week's menu!  I'm linking up over at I'm an Organizing Junkie - head on over to see some more menus for this week and maybe get some ideas for what you want to make this week!



Monday ~ Breaded Pork Chops and Vegetable Fried Rice

Tuesday ~ Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday ~ Crispy Cod and Tossed Salad

Thursday ~ Spaghetti and Meatballs with Garlic Bread

Friday ~ Florentine Chicken and Veggies

Saturday ~ Black Bean and Smoked Sausage Soup with Homemade Biscuits

So...I plan on doing a second blog post later today (Two in one day!?! What has gotten into me?) about the next "Day" in my 30 Days of Truth but I wanted to post my meal plan today because I actually took the time to plan it out Saturday and did my shopping yesterday!  (Grocery shopping on a Sunday?!? What has gotten into me? - I went super early in the AM so it wasn't too bad)

I also have to tell you that I bought an e-book over the weekend over at Life as Mom.  I think it inspired me to do my meal plan this week because of the really cute print-outs and all the organization stuff in there.  I will say I was kind of disappointed that so many of the pages were calendar pages - but I know I'll use the other planner pages a ton!

Okay - on to this week:

• Monday - I already have my Turkey Chowder in my slow cooker.  We are also having Caesar Salad (which my kids LOVE for some reason) and some garlic bread.
• Tuesday - Jerry cooks for the kids on Tuesdays.  I made it simple and told him to just make Pasta.  I'm headed to Mommy Group...so he is on his own!
• Wednesday - Pizza Roll Up Burritos which I got from Debbi Does Dinner.  I'm not really sure what else we are having...but it's a start.
• Thursday - I'm making my Meatloaf.  The kids love it.  It's easy and I know they will eat it.  I'm also making mashed potatoes and corn...mmmmm....
• Friday - Chicken Macaroni Bake this recipe I nabbed from Once a Month Mom's website - I'm still so curious about cooking only once a month but haven't been able to make the time to look into it...which probably means it would be perfect for me!  I'm going to try to do peas and garlic bread with this one, too.  My kids are LOVING garlic bread lately.  :)
• Saturday and Sunday - we are celebrating Nate's birthday this weekend so it's an anything goes kind of weekend.  I know we are doing pizzas on Saturday but Sunday is up in the air. 

There you have it.

Can't wait to check out some of your Menu Plan Mondays to get ideas for next week!  :)

So - I'm currently in that place where things are suppose to go back to normal but don't feel normal at all.  I'm sure that is normal when you are dealing with a loss.  The funeral for Memaw was a wonderful tribute to her amazing life.  All the branches of her family tree were represented and those who were unable to be here extended their thoughts and prayers.  Parts of my blog post about Memaw were even worked into the eulogy that her grandson, Bobbie, read.  I think Memaw would have been really happy that her family was together to celebrate her life.  We had dinner at my sister-in-law, Lori's, house on Tuesday.  It was full of laughter and memories and Chicken and Halusky.  :)  (FYI - that isn't Memaw's recipe...but how cool is it that there is a Slovak Cooking website!?!)  We went back to Memaw's house after the funeral on Thursday and took a picture with everyone who was there - if you are reading this and you have a copy PLEASE send one to me...I didn't have my camera!  :(  We looked at pictures and talked about what wonderful memories we have of Memaw and her home.


 I had a wonderful day with my grandmother who is visiting from Florida yesterday!  We went to the mall and the new five below store (which was a pretty neat store!).  We had an amazing dinner of homemade sauce and roast and ziti...mmmm.  Today, we ate some halupky (again, not the right recipe...but you get the idea) that Memaw and my mother-in-law had made and frozen.  They were delicious.  


Now...it's suppose to be back to normal, right?   Doesn't feel right.  To top it all off, my kiddos are sick!  I hear coughing and hacking upstairs...ugh.  I already made the necessary phone calls to inform everyone that Nate will not be going to school.  We are taking a sick day and I'm hoping that a vaporizer and some extra Vitamin C will whip us into shape!  What a way to start a week!  


I did, however, have to time to make a menu plan this weekend, go shopping and only forget 2 things! I thought that I would share it as part of Meal Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie since I've been LOVING looking at other menus posted by bloggers.  So...without further blabbing by me...I give you:

P.S. - I think that something funky is going on with my Intense Debate Comment Form and this blog layout.  If you can't find a way to comment, try going to the main blog page and then click on the Comments link...or am I crazy?  Anyone having a problem?