Post-Party Plans

The party's over...and it was a great one! The theme was "Fairytales Can Come True" and I served food that related to a fairytale:
Candy Apples = poisoned apple from Snow White
Hershey's Kisses = True Love's Kiss from Sleeping Beauty
Spinach Dip with bread chunks for dipping = Hansel & Gretel (bread crumbs)
Little bags of M&M's = Jack and the Beanstalk (magic beans)

...you get the idea!

Because I had to spend extra on the party, it's time to pull in those reins these next couple weeks to make up for it. Here is my menu for this week:

Monday: BLT's (with tomatoes from our garden)
Tuesday: Crab Rangoon, salad
Wednesday: Soup from the freezer
Thursday: "On your own"
Friday: Teriyaki salmon (Trader Joe's) with rice
Saturday: Pizza Night
Sunday: maybe pot roast?

I'm headed to Babies R Us today to pick up what I hope to be the last cans of formula for a very long time!

Working for the weekend

I have family coming in this weekend for my daughters' birthday, so I'm trying to compile a menu that is easy on our budget (and easy for me to cook!).

Friday dinner: (still to be determined)
Saturday lunch: Apple Pecan Salad (We're serving more food at the party in the afternoon, so a light lunch works well.)
Saturday dinner: Take out!
Sunday breakfast: Cinnamon rolls, fruit, hot chocolate
Sunday lunch: Tortilla soup w/chicken (see recipe below)
Sunday dinner: Poppy seed chicken with noodles and peas (This has become one of my favorites!)

***I found a lower cost alternative to the bags of pre-frozen chicken breasts: If you buy the packages of fresh split breasts, a lot of the time it's much less expensive per pound. For example, this week at Safeway, a 4.5lb. package of split breasts is on sale for $1.64/pound. A 4lb. bag of frozen breasts is $2.50/lb. You can almost buy twice the fresh chicken for the price of one frozen bag!***

Speedy Tortilla Soup
1 can (15oz.) black beans
1 can (4oz.) diced green chiles
1 pkg. (14oz.) frozen southwest blend vegetables (or use your own mix of corn and peppers)
1 cup salsa
2 cups shredded chicken
1 can (28oz.) red enchilada sauce

In large pot, combine ingredients and cook over medium high heat until getting ready to bubble. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon into bowls, sprinkle some grated cheddar or monterey jack cheese over the top, and serve with tortilla chips.

*Don't forget to enter Wedgie Free Wednesday over at Hanes for your chance to win a free pair of Hanes panties!

Budget Buster!

My husband told me that our grocery budget went WAY over last month. Of course he asked me what did I spend that money on...and I had no answer. So I've decided to slim down our budget overage and see where my grocery money is going. I also need to figure out how much we're spending on meals and if that can also be trimmed.

For the month of August, I will detail my grocery purchases and the meals I plan to make with them. My grocery budget is $400 for the month. It's just my husband and myself and our 10 month old twins. They don't eat as much as we do, but formula and diapers gets added in to that grocery budget too. Jeez!

On July 24th, I bought 6 cans of formula (25.7oz. each) for $132.54 = $22.09 per can. I also bought a 30oz. can of formula for $21.59. I have already used the 30oz. can and have opened one of the 25.7oz. cans. I also bought 204 diapers for $32.97 ($0.16/diaper) and 616 wipes for $13.01 ($0.02/wipe). I haven't opened these boxes yet, so I don't know if I will get through August without buying more.

Today I went to Safeway and spent $12.98. I bought:

• 2 gallons milk $5.49
• Jif peanut butter $3.99 (for all those pb&j's we'll soon be eating)
• Ritz crackers $3.50

I'm having some family for dinner Sunday and I'm making Poppy Seed Chicken. I had everything but the Ritz crackers. Tonight we are having leftovers (I made individual meatloaves last night and eggrolls w/fried rice the night before). Saturday night I was thinking about grilling some halibut steaks I bought at Trader Joe's.

Friday's dinner: $0

I'll post totals for Saturday and Sunday's dinners as well as the menu for the new week on Monday. Submit your dinner plans (along with prices) and help us all figure out how to save a little money in the grocery aisles!