{Menu Plan Monday and GCC Roundup}

So I didn't get a chance to post my menu yesterday, so I thought I would post it today with my grocery round up! :)

Menu this week:
Monday: We had chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes with corn (HEALTHY!!! LOL)
Tuesday: SHROVE TUESDAY! We had pancake dinner!! With bacon and strawberries
Wednesday: Dutchess Soup and rolls
Thursday: Baked Spaghetti (I didn't get to make it last week) with salad and bread
Friday: Bible Study Night, I'm taking turkey chili and cornbread again, it was a HUGE hit last week!
Saturday: (Celebrating my sister and BIL's wedding anniversary) Turkey and corn pudding with green beans. Cake for dessert.
Sunday: turkey Panini's with sweet potato fries.


Now for my shopping today:



Sun Harvest:
Celery $.77
Spinach $.47
Cilantro $.33
Fuji Apples $.63
Cameo Apples $.62
Red Grapes $1.54
3 Lg Potatoes $.83

Store Total: $5.19 w/tax



New Flower Farmers Market:
3 hearts Romaine $.99
10 grapefruit $1.00
Hot House Tomatoes $.85
Baby Carrots $.99
Bananas $1.71

Store Total: $5.89 w/tax



Walmart:
Rolls $2.50
Pretzels $1.18
Swt. Pot. Fries $2.68
Deli Turkey $3.01
Paper Towels $1.86
Bacon $1.88
Corn bread mix (for the corn pudding) $.44
Tea Bags $1.00
Cake Mix $.88
Oatmeal $1.18
2 Pringles $1.90
3 doz. Eggs $3.84
2 loaves Bread $1.76
5lb sugar $1.76
Coffee $2.22
Vegetable Oil $1.94
Juice Boxes $1.82
Creamed Corn $.57
Canned Corn $.57
Pam Spray $1.46
Baking Powder $.81
20 Tortillas $1.36
Tomato Sauce $.46
Granola Bars $2.00
Frosting $1.26
Green Beans $1.14
Chili Seasoning $.32
Mayo $1.57
Ground Turkey $1.38
Q-Tips $1.34
Nasal Spray $1.98
Excedrin Migraine $.94
Excedrin Back and Body $2.97 (a new must have for my job!)
Deodorant $0.94
Greeting Card $.44

Store Total: 55.94 w/tax


Sams:
2 Gallons of milk $4.78

Store Total: 5.17

GRAND TOTAL for the week: $72.19
a little over, but still not bad! :)

To see more Menu Plan Monday's Click here: http://orgjunkie.com/
To see more GCC Roundups, click here: http://grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com/

{Grocery Cart Roundup: Feb 16th}

This is so exciting! I have wanted to join Gayle for the longest time on her Grocery Shopping Roundup, but never took the time to do it! I don't know how often I will post, however, I hope to do it pretty often! :)

Here are all my goodies!
regular stores:


farmers market:




Here is what I purchased this week:


Walmart:
Sandwich Bread: $0.88
Rolls: $2.50
18 eggs: $2.12
French Bread: $1.43
HI-C boxes: $1.82
Chicken Nuggets: $3.97
Coffee Creamer: $2.58
Saltines: $1.06
Breakfast Sausage: $0.98
Half and Half: $0.97
1lb Ground Turkey: $1.38
2 pkg. Hot Dogs: $1.40
Instant potato flakes: $2.28
Beef Broth: $1.48
Rotel $0.79
Cream of Mushroom soup: $1.12
Green Olives $1.38
Tomato Sauce $0.46
Egg noodles: $1.44
Chili Seasoning: $0.32
Deli-black forest ham: $2.49
Deli-roast beef: $2.78




Farmers Market:
3 pints strawberries: $2.64 (.88ea)
3 pineapples: $2.64 (.88ea)
Edamame: $1.99
iceberg: $0.77
Romain $0.77
bananas: $2.00
blue cheese: $1.71
tomatoes $0.65
onions: $0.71
tangelos: $1.53
red grapes: $1.63




Sams:
2 gallons of milk: $5.24




H-E-B:
small water bottles: $1.59
butter: $0.75
margarine sticks: $0.59
foil: $0.99
Deli-Provolone: $1.15
Deli-Munster: $1.56

Weekly Total: $64.54

To check out other grocery cart roundups, check out The Grocery Cart Challenge!

{Menu Plan Monday: Feb 16}

Wow! Monday already? Lagan had the day off, so it was really nice to be able to go shopping and not worry about what time she got out of school. I made a visit to a new farmers market today and was SOOOO excited to see the AMAZING deals I scored there!

In addition to my Menu Plan Monday, I am going to be sharing my grocery buys for the list on Gayle's Shopping Roundup! So look for that post next! :)

Monday: Tetrizini (I will have this recipe up soon!) with iceberg wedge salad with homemade Russian dressing, tomato wedges, and bread

Tuesday: Brown Rice and Lentil Casserole with green beans and rolls

Wednesday: Pancakes and Sausage

Thursday: Baked Spaghetti with garlic bread

Friday: Bible Study Night, I am taking turkey chili

Saturday: Bean Burritos with homemade refried beans (I will share this recipe asap too!!) with chips and homemade salsa.

Sunday: Sweetish Meatballs with rolls, romaine salad and blue cheese

To see More Menu Plan's check out Menu Plan Monday on the Organizing Junkie!

{A new look...a new idea!}

Hey everyone!! You may have noticed I gave the blog a little face lift! I am SOOOOOOO excited about this, because it's something I have been praying about for a few months now!

So let me fill you in...if you don't already know, I run a blog called The Gourmet Momma. Well, Gourmet Momma just turned a year old and I realized that I didn't keep up with her as much as I would have liked to. However, I was posting lots of recipes over here! So God and I had a little chat over where I should take this, and I came to the conclusion that I will keep Gourmet Momma up, but I will not be adding new recipes. Instead, I will be posting them over here with all my tips and photos and whatnots!

SOOO EXCITING! hehe I just feel like this is the right thing to do for my time and for my blog readers. Now you don't have to jump from blog to blog to blog to find my recipes! I have so many more to share! And lots of you have requested that I do simple recipes that are cheap...I am all about that! So you will be seeing LOTS of "real" food that is easy on the pocket book, easy to make, and delish!

So I hope you like the new look, the layout may be changing a little over the next day or so also, so don't freak! :) I have it under control...after all, I am a professional at this! hehe

See you all real soon!!!!

**Oh, and I gave Gourmet Momma a PINK makeover for the blog...doesn't she look spiffy?!

{Cheese Enchilada's Recipe}

WOW, it feels good to be back! I am so happy to be here sharing again, I have missed you guys!!

So I thought I would come back with a bang and share one of my families FAVE recipes...Cheese Enchiladas! These are SOOOOO easy and fast, you will be making them all the time too!

What you need:
(for sauce)
2-3 cups chicken broth (to the consistency you like, start with 2C and add more if needed)
4 Tbs Chili Powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 heaping tsp. garlic powder (with no salt added)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 pinch ground cinnamon (less than 1/16 tsp.)
1/3 tsp. sugar (helps cut the bitterness of the chili powder)
5 Tbs. cold water
5 Tbs. white flour

(for enchiladas)
1 onion, chopped
2C. cheddar cheese, shredded (keep some on the side for TOPPING!)
1C. Monterrey jack cheese (this is VERY important!)
Corn Tortillas (I usually make about 8-10)

How to make it:
1.) To make sauce, mix flour and water together until there are no lumps. If there are lumps now, you will have lumpy sauce. (add the water to the flour a little at a time!) Then, combine all ingredients, except water and flour mix, in a sauce and bring up to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook 3 minutes.
Slowly add in the flour mix with a whisk and cook another 3 min. until thick.


2.) For Enchiladas, heat corn tortillas in the microwave, wrapped in a MOIST paper towel, about 1 1/2 minutes, just until hot.

3.) Take a tortilla and add about 1/3C cheese and a few chopped onions. Roll and place in a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray.

4.) When all enchilada's are rolled...


cover with sauce and top with cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven about 15-25 minutes just until cheese on top is melted and a little brown.



We serve these with homemade re-fried beans and Spanish rice! YUM! Top with just a little bit of sour cream and some fresh chopped onions and they are PERFECT!

{Recipes}

Hey Guys! Wow, is it Friday already? This week has been loads of fun, and I hoped I could help some of you with your money saving. Today I thought I would post some of my recipes from the week. Several of you asked for my chicken and dumplings recipe, so I thought I would share it, but if you saw another one that you would like to know how to make, just leave me a comment on this post and I will make sure that I post it! :)

My recipe for Chicken and Dumplings is really very easy. Here is what you will need:

Chicken and Dumplings:
1 whole chicken
1 family size can cream of chicken soup
3-4 cups chicken stock (I use my own)
2-3 cans of refrigerated biscuits, each biscuit cut into 1/4's
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Optional:
Celery, carrots, and potatoes all diced and boiled until soft.

Here is how to make it:
1.) The day before I will take a whole chicken and stick it in the crock pot and cover it with water. Set it on low all day (around 8-10 hours) until it all falls apart.

2.) Shred the chicken off the bone and place to the side. I only use 1/2 a chicken for one recipe. (I use the other half for another meal that week).

3.) Bring chicken stock to a boil in a large pan. One by one add in the dumplings. Don't over crowd the pan. Do this in shifts to avoid the dumplings from sticking together.
When dumplings float to surface, allow to cook 2-3 minutes until they are no longer like biscuits, but more like a hard dumpling.

4.) Strain out dumplings and hold to the side.

5.) Add chicken soup to the remaining chicken stock, then add water until the soup is the consistency you desire. Add back chicken and dumplings and seasoning.

That's is, all done! It takes about 30min from start to finish! :)

{Menu Plan Monday: Jan 12}

Menu Plan Monday already? This week is really tight around here, so we are eating more vegetarian or meals with meat we already have around in the freezer!

VERY Frugal Week! I also didn't plan breakfasts because I am making muffins and bagels tomorrow.

Dinners:
Bean Burritos with chips and homemade salsa (I made homemade refried beans the other night and I have tortillas and tacobell sauce, I also already have chips and everything to make salsa except cilantro and a jalapeno!)

Panzanella salad

Tortilla Soup with cheese quesadillas
(I have everything to make this except the cheese)

Chicken and Dumplings (I am roasting a whole chicken and spitting it between this and the next meal! HUGE money saver!)
(I already have the biscuits and the chicken in the freezer)

BBQ Chicken Pizza (I already have the red onion and pizza crust)

Spaghetti with homemade sauce and garlic bread (sauce is already done in the freezer, and I already have pasta, as you saw in my previous post! lol)

Hamburger Soup with french fries (already have fries in the freezer, and I also have everything for the soup except the meat.)

To see more Menu Plans, check out Organizing Junkie!

{Menu Plan Monday: Dec.29}

Last menu for this year!!! YAY! :)
I did the menu a little different this week. I didn't plan specific breakfasts for each day, I just got a few things that I could make over and over to make it easier!

Breakfasts:
biscuits with egg and sausage
everything bagels with cream cheese
English muffins with poached eggs and bacon
cereal and fruit
oatmeal with sauteed apples and brown sugar

Dinners:
Monday - Crock pot Pot Roast with root veggies and sweet potatoes (save half the roast for later in the week)
Tuesday - chicken pot pie**
Wednesday - BBQ with my sister and BIL for New Years!
Thursday - Mexican skillet with cream cheese added served with crock pot pinto beans**
Friday - TX Cowboy pie made with leftover pot roast
Saturday - chicken noodle soup**
Sunday - Chicken Alfredo pizza with broccoli and mozzarella (made with morning star "chicken" strips)
Monday - crock pot potato chowder with buttery bread machine rolls

**The Mexican skillet, chicken pot pie, and chicken noodle soup are all made from ONE chicken! Click here to see the recipes: http://www.5dollardinners.com/2008/12/frugal-food-for-large-families.html)

To see more Menu Plan Monday's check out Organizing Junkie!

{Menu Plan Monday Dec.22nd}

I have been wanting to join in on Menu plan Monday for FOREVER but never got around to doing it. I have been menu planning for years to save money and my sanity at dinner time! So now I get to share my meals with you! I am going to try REALLY hard to do this every Monday.
Here is our Christmas Menu for this week:

Monday:
Breakfast - Gingerbread Pancakes with fat free whipped cream
Dinner - Pork chops with baked potatoes and apple slices

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Amish baked oatmeal with rasins and cinnamon
Dinner - Egg salad sandwiches with lowfat chips

Wednesday: Christmas Eve
Breakfast - Breakfast Tacos with black beans and salsa
Dinner - Chinese Takeout

Thursday: Christmas Day
Breakfast - Sticky Buns (these are SOOO good!) and Sausage Kolaches
Dinner - Mexican Feast including: Cheese Enchiladas, Homemade Tamales (we made these a few days ago), charro beans, spanish rice, queso, quacamole, salsa, and Chocolate Cake for Jesus! :)

Friday:
Breakfast - english muffins with turkey sausage patties and cheese
Dinner - Meatball Sandwiches and salad (I'm using my own pasta sauce for this to save $)

Saturday:
Breakfast - Cereal and Toast with fruit
Dinner - Grilled Chicken leg 1/4's with chicken flavored rice and salad

Sunday:
Breakfast - Leftover muffins from last week
Dinner - Spaghetti with homemade sauce and garlic bread

for more menu plan monday's check out The Organizing Junkie!

Have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!! :)