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As long as I have the time, I love working in the kitchen. There is just something so fulfilling about combining a variety of ingredients and producing something delicious. In fact, puttering around in the kitchen can be a de-stressor for me, especially if I am baking. But that is only if I have plenty of time and don’t need to rush.
I also enjoy trying new recipes. I find that I can easily get into a rut with my cooking if I’m not careful, so I’ve kind of had this pact with myself that I’ll try at least one new recipe a week. I love it because it helps me find new favorite recipes, allows me to stay creative in the kitchen and helps keep our meals from getting too same-ish.
A lot of my recipe inspiration comes from Pinterest. If you’re a Pinterest lover too, I’d be delighted if you’d want to join me there. And now, let’s look at what we ate the last two weeks!
If you are new to these menu plans of mine, it’s probably helpful to know a couple of things first:
- Our family of five consists of two adults with fairly big appetites, a 6-year-old boy, a 3 ½-year-old girl and a 15-month-old girl.
- I buy lots of fruits and veggies in bulk from local farmers/orchards in the summer and then freeze or can them. This is not only much cheaper it is also healthier too.
- I have a stockpile- my cupboards are full from previous shopping and here’s why. When I can get pasta for free with coupons, I buy as much as I have coupons for. If I’m able to get flour for $0.50/bag thanks to coupons, I’ll buy half a dozen and put them in the freezer to use as needed. I do this as much as my budget allows, on as many items as I can and as a result save lots of money. Then when I go to plan menus, I simply plan our meals around what I already have in my cupboards and freezer, as much as possible. Obviously, I still might have to buy a few things at regular price here and there, but by stocking up when the price is at rock bottom I save a lot.
- I cook almost totally from scratch. That means when I make a cake, I rarely use a cake mix. I make my own bread totally from scratch. I rarely use pre-packaged sauces. I make my own cream soups and pie crusts. Making your own food is typically less expensive and healthier too.
- We rarely snack. By eating “heavy” food like granola at breakfast we don’t get hungry until lunchtime. And the same goes for the afternoon. Our lunches are big enough that we usually are fine until dinner time. When we do need a snack, I try to keep it mostly healthy by offering fruit, nuts or maybe No Bake Energy Bites. We don’t always do it perfectly though, and sometimes end up having chips or cookies instead.
- Our breakfasts consist of Easy Homemade Granola or Baked Oatmeal, the occasional bought cereal that I was able to get for $0.50/box and sometimes some fruit too. I know that might seem awfully boring to some of you, but we actually all really enjoy it and prefer it over other breakfast food. I also have a homemade iced latte, homemade frappe or some other fun beverage every morning. It’s just one of the little things that I do to add a bit of sunshine to my days!
Below you will find our lunches and dinners. If we ate something other than our usual breakfast, I’ll note that too.
Monday through Friday, 3 days a week the lunches are just for the two youngest and me, the other 2 days my husband joins us. Our son gets lunch at school and 3 days a week my husband takes a packed lunch with him to work. His lunch typically consists of sandwiches, fruit, homemade yogurt and sometimes random leftovers too.
WEEK 1
Sunday
- With my family for the weekend! Took 3 heads of lettuce, 2 gallons of milk, homemade yogurt and a bunch of frozen fruit.
Monday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Blonde Brownies
– The Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup was amazing! I most definitely will be making it again and often. I tweaked the recipe a bit to work with what I had on hand. Basically, I used milk instead of cream, shredded cheddar for the cheese and corn chips instead of the corn tortillas.
Tuesday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Mixed Frozen Peaches, Frozen Strawberries and Frozen Blueberries (I preserved all of them)
- Oven Ready Lasagna (had in the freezer); Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce
Wednesday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Eggs; Sausage; Frozen Fruit Salad
Thursday
- Eggs in a Nest (eggs fried in a slice of toast); Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Subs (bought from a friend who was selling them for a fundraiser); Potato Chips; Homemade Applesauce
Friday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Bananas
- Homemade Chicken Alfredo Pizza (used Easy Healthier Alfredo Sauce and homemade pizza crust) ; Lettuce Salad; Homemade Applesauce
Saturday
- Eggs in a Nest (eggs fried in a slice of toast); Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Had a last minute picnic supper at the park with my husband’s family. I took hot dogs, potato chips and frozen fruit
WEEK 2
Sunday
- Ate at my in-law’s
- Chicken Taco Haystacks (basically chicken, tomatoes, beans and seasonings cooked together and served over rice and corn chips and then topped with lettuce, salsa, cheese, sour cream, salad dressing etc.); Yogurt Parfaits (used homemade yogurt, homemade granola and bananas and fruit that we had preserved)
– We were asked to provide supper for our church’s youth group (a total of about 40 people). We hosted them at a friend’s place since ours is too small, so she helped with some of the food. I did the majority of it, but she provided a few of the things.
Monday
- Leftover Chicken Alfredo Pizza; Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Porcupines in a Skillet; Peas; Homemade Applesauce; Chocolate Chip Cookies (homemade- were in the freezer)
– The Porcupines in a Skillet recipe was super easy to make and while it’s a very simple, basic recipe, it is actually surprisingly tasty. The children all liked it too, which was a big plus. Definitely a quick, easy dinner!
Tuesday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Leftover Chicken Taco Haystack; Homemade Applesauce
Wednesday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Country Potato Soup; Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Cheese
Thursday
- Homemade Chicken Salad Sandwiches (on Homemade Bread); Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches (I preserved); Frozen Blueberries
- Homemade Breakfast Sandwiches (eggs, sausage, cheese on a bagel); Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Ice Cream
Friday
- Various Leftovers; Homemade Yogurt; Oranges; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
- Big Lettuce Salad (had chicken, black beans, hard boiled eggs and cheese) with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Homemade Popsicles
Saturday
- I and our youngest spent the day with friends and I took Salsa Ranch Chicken Wraps as my food contribution. My husband took care of getting food for him and the older two and I think he made sandwiches and had leftovers.
Denise
I just found your blog via Pinterest and I love the information you provide here! You write in such a clear and honest way, and the ideas you share are very inspiring to me! I work half time for my church, which I love, and still have 2 of our 3 kids at home. Between work, juggling schedules, and sharing a car with my son, it seems overwhelming and exhausting to try to prepare everything from scratch. There always seems to be too much to do and not enough time to do it! But as I read through one of your posts and checked out a couple of the linked recipes (hugely helpful, btw!), I thought…”I could do that!” So tonight I will make the Creamy Potato Soup with ingredients I have on hand and haul back out my dusty bread machine… 🙂 Thank you for the encouragement and all the helpful ideas! I have subscribed to your blog and am heading over to Pinterest to follow you there! -Denise
ThriftyFrugalMom
Thanks for your kind, encouraging words, Denise! I pray often that God would use this platform that I’ve been given to encourage and inspire people, so your comment blesses me immensely because I realize He is answering that.
Yes, cooking at home and from scratch can feel like a lot of work, like you said. For me the key is to stick with simple recipes most of the time, keep my kitchen stocked with basic food staples and also having a few really quick/easy meal ideas to fall back on for days when things just don’t go as planned really helps too! (Some of mine are breakfast foods, homemade cream of tomato soup and baked potatoes.)
Hope your dinner turned out well and gave you the confidence that you can do this. 🙂 Blessings as you continue to juggle everything and try to find a good balance with it all! I know that’s not an easy thing.