Another busy week is happening but I am officially starting to count down the remaining days till Summer!  48 school days if you care. Monday- Matt and I have a meeting, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday are all ballgame days. Hopefully this makes time go fast!

Breakfast- Saturday- Eggs how you like them! Sunday-  Breakfast casserole (Dad version) ,Thursday–Baked oatmeal   Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday,   find it (oatmeal, omelets, cereal and milk, sausage, pop-tarts ,cereal bars, pancakes and eggs)My goal is to make a baked oatmeal for Tuesday morning but we will see.

Lunch- Saturday-finger foods are sandwich’s  Sunday- Mi Cancun  Left-overs are always great for lunches, I made a HUGE Pasta salad for dinner on Saturday so that is a good start!

Dinner- Saturday- Pasta Salad  Sunday-Find it and eat it, I actually had ice cream Monday-Hamburger tacos Tuesday- Taco casserole (yes finally) Wednesday- Cheeseburger soup  Thursday-Chicken nuggets    Friday-  Good question probably hot dogs at ballgame!

This week was scheduled to be a really busy week with three ballgames and a meeting in Mocksville on Monday.  However, the weather has changed and that means plans have changed. We were able to reduce  this weekend.  Matt and Zach helped me empty out the chest freezer in our building. The ultimate goal is to restock it with another cow probably late in the summer. However, I also would like to see if we can stretch the meat we have and use what is oldest up.  We are also starting to run low of most of our “connivence” meals as we are beginning to approach Summer!    I am excited to finally start back in a routine and hope to keep up with blogging and other things more regularly.

Breakfast- Saturday- Dutch boy pancakes and bacon . Sunday-  Bagels from Food Lion Tuesday- mini muffins, Friday–Baked oatmeal   Monday, Wednesday, Thursday  find it (oatmeal, omelets, cereal and milk, sausage, pop-tarts ,cereal bars, pancakes and eggs)My goal is to make a baked oatmeal for Tuesday morning but we will see.

Lunch- Saturday-left overs  Sunday- Kimonos   Left-overs are always great for lunches and I have a stash of crackers and other snack items as well.

Dinner- Saturday- Matt made smashed tacos on tortilla shells on black stone  Sunday- rotisserie  chicken and scallop potatoes from Costco  Monday-KFC bowls  Tuesday-Baked Potatoes and Salad  Wednesday-Gyro (found pita bread at Costco as well) Thursday- Taco Pasta  from the freezer as well.   Friday- Salisbury steak, rice and green beans

I hope to stick to the plan this week so we don’t end up eating out alot.

Things don’t always work out as planned. But you can always keep moving forward. That is the plan for the week.  We have had a couple of rough days so let’s hope things are better.

Breakfast- Saturday- Sausage, Bacon and Eggs. Sunday- Cinnamon Rolls from a can (actually two cans).   Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Friday– find it (oatmeal, omelets, cereal and milk, sausage, pop-tarts ,cereal bars, pancakes and eggs). I did make baked oatmeal last week, and I made some Bacon and egg muffins on Saturday. Hoping to keep things going smoothly this week.

Lunch- Saturday-? a grab and go with chips or left-overs  Sunday- New Mexican Restaurant for lunch. It was good but crowded and loud so don’t know if it will be a repeat.  Left-overs are always great for lunches and I have a stash of crackers and other snack items as well.

Dinner- Saturday- I made a green pepper, onion, steak and Japanese BBQ sauce Rice Bowl. Sunday- Cocktail wiener and left-overs  Monday – Spaghetti Tuesday- Taco Pasta from last week.   Wednesday-Meatloaf muffins and mashed potatoes  Thursday- Hamburger helper  Friday- Have not gotten that far.

I am hoping to start back on a more steady and predictable schedule. Of course as I say this I am also sick!  I feel like we know what to expect and can begin to plan around what is happening instead of reacting!  We should not experience any changes until after a court date at the end of April. Baseball season has started so we are going to be busy watching games. My goal is to eat at home as much as possible but in reality that may not happen.

Breakfast- Saturday- Breakfast bowls with lots of left-overs.. Sunday-  Grits  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Friday– find it (oatmeal, omelets, cereal and milk, sausage, pop-tarts ,cereal bars, pancakes and eggs)My goal is to make a baked oatmeal for Tuesday morning but we will see.

Lunch- Saturday-IHOP after ballgame  Sunday- East Coast Wings  Left-overs are always great for lunches and I have a stash of crackers and other snack items as well.

Dinner- Saturday- We ate but I am not sure what Sunday- Chicken Tacos and Raman Monday-Sausage Potato soup from freezer Tuesday- Baked Ziti and garlic bread from freezer  Wednesday-Rice A Roni and Chicken Sausage Thursday- Hamburgers and FF  Friday-  Taco Pasta  from the freezer as well.

I like consistency and schedules!

I said today that I am thinking that we are transitioning from survival mode to learning to live mode.   Between life upgrades, once in a life time weather events and illness, this year has been a bit rocky to start.   I was able to grab a couple of hours on Sunday, in order to use up alot of our junk food before it goes bad.  Matt and I worked to prep for three total meals and also work on making food work for us in another busy season.. We finished up swim season and already Baseball try out are here. We will start games next week.

Breakfast- Saturday- Oatmeal  Sunday- Matt and I both ate left-over bagels.   Monday, Tuesday, Thursday,   Wednesday, Friday– find it (oatmeal, omelets, cereal and milk, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs)

Lunch- Saturday- Panda Panda Restaurant   Sunday-Long horn Steak House  Left-overs are always great for lunches.  We also have lots of soups to heat and eat.

Dinner- Saturday- Steak and baked potatoes Sunday- left-overs Monday-  Pork chops, sautéed squash and fresh veggies to dip. Tuesday-Chicken and Rice soup  Wednesday- Spaghetti   Thursday-rice stir fry  Friday- Taco Pasta

Due to some major life changes, this week we are just going to hold on. Grocery spending is currently at $239.29.  I am ok with this as the life change may cause the groceries to go up as well.

Breakfast- Saturday- I had grits  and eggs Sunday- Chocolate Chip Waffles Monday-Egg bites left over from camping , Tuesday,- Baked oatmeal, Thursday- muffins  Wednesday, Friday– find it (oatmeal, omelets, cereal and milk, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs)

Lunch- Saturday- Leftovers from Panda Panda Sunday-Baked Ziti  .  Left-overs are always great for lunches and I have a stash of crackers and other snack items as well. We are also taking some prepared soups for lunches as well.

Dinner- Saturday- Chic a Fil (treated by a friend)   Sunday- Disney Loaded potato soup Monday- Magnolia Beef. Tuesday- Chicken Broccoli Casserole.  Wednesday-KFC bowls  Thursday-Cheese Quesadillas and Mexican rice. Friday- Swim party.

I talked about my word of the year “Reduce” yesterday, I also mentioned how it goes really well with my pantry challenge.  I have decided to try and include an update on the pantry challenge on my Monday Menu Post. I did make a pretty long list (65 items) of meals we could have. I decided not to share because I was not specific enough with some of the items and I will be sharing what we are eating regularly so that should help.   This marks the first full week of the pantry challenge as I did grab some drinks and chips on December 30th. We have been focusing on using up the left-overs from Christmas as well as starting to organize and use up items from my pantry. We have ran out of two items, thyme and ranch powder. I decided to add them to my Azure standard order so that I will not be tempted to shop anywhere else. So far that order is $72 and I am thinking that I can get my Amazon subscribe and save ($147) down as well so currently $250 for the month of January is the plan. You will notice that we did not use any prepared meals this week as we had enough left-overs from the party to continue to use.

Breakfast- Saturday- I had grits Sunday- I had Fried eggs and toast Monday-Egg bites left over from camping , Tuesday,- Baked oatmeal, Thursday- muffins  Wednesday, Friday– find it (oatmeal, omelets, cereal and milk, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs)

Lunch- Saturday- Leftovers  from Smoke Pit Sunday-Brisket  .  Left-overs are always great for lunches and I have a stash of crackers and other snack items as well. We are also taking some prepared soups for lunches as well.

Dinner- Saturday- Tomato Soup (used remaining tomatoes from party and a bag of frozen tomatoes)  Sunday- Sandwiches with discard sourdough bread. Monday- Lily (Chicken pasta using the rest of our canned chicken and left-over chicken from Smoke pit)  Tuesday- Turkey pot pie (Turkey and veggies are all from Christmas party) I also made another one of these and froze for later use.  Wednesday-Spaghetti and meatballs Thursday-Eating on way to swim meet. Friday- Corn dogs from freezer.

I have started thinking about plans for a pantry challenge in January and February minus the Super Bowl Party.  I am currently working on a list of meals that can be made with items we have on hand.  I plan to share the list and the exact details in the next couple of weeks. I am also planning a trip to Costco prior to Christmas so I have started to look at what items we may need to stock up.  This is the final week of work for me for the year. Kendall and Zach have a couple of exams this week but should be all finished by Thursday.  The focus for this week is to start using up what we have and planning for eating from the pantry.  I should mention during our pantry challenge we have a Christmas dinner for approximately 30 and our Super Bowl Party which should be a bit larger maybe we will see. I am trying to make a hot breakfast a couple of morning this week due to how cold it is and the fact the kids have morning swim practice before exams.

Breakfast- Saturday-Left-overs from camping . Sunday- Left-overs from camping. Monday- Rotel breakfast casserole, Wednesday- Baked oatmeal, Thursday- muffins  Tuesday, Friday– find it (oatmeal, omelets, cereal and milk, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs)

Lunch- Saturday- Leftovers Sunday-Panda Panda .  Left-overs are always great for lunches and I have a stash of crackers and other snack items as well. We are also taking some prepared soups for lunches as well.

Dinner- Saturday- Steaks and salad. Sunday-Chill Chili cheese and corn chips  Monday- Ham Bone Soup  Tuesday- Sloppy Joes on buns that were left from Camping, Wednesday-Kielbasas and rice (Matt is making but using some sausage we have instead of Kielbasa)  Thursday- Zach is in charge Friday- Choice will be steak fried rice or baked ziti.

The weather is making a dramatic change it is going to cold for a couple of days this week. For us that means that we need some soup!

Breakfast- Saturday- Grits or oatmeal . Sunday-  Left-overs, Tuesday- Bakery treats for Veteran’s Day  Monday, Wednesday, Thursday Friday– find it (oatmeal, omelets, cereal and milk, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs)

Lunch- Saturday- Leftovers Sunday-Christos  .  Left-overs are always great for lunches and I have a stash of crackers and other snack items as well.

Dinner- Saturday-Hamburgers on Sour Dough Buns with chili and slaw   Sunday- Left-overs  Monday-Chili cheese and corn chips Tuesday- Broccoli Cheese soup and fresh bread.  Wednesday-Eggroll in a bowl  Thursday- KFC bowls  Friday- not sure yet. Might be a eat out night?