One of our biggest expenses is and has always been Groceries. I am forever trying to figure out ways to either save money and or stay in budget with this expense. In March I was so far over budget that I was even hesitate to post my monthly update. So in April I am already stressing and trying to come up with ways to make up the difference. After some discussion with Matt, we have decided to eliminate Costco shopping for the month and try to eat what we have with minimal trips to Aldi as needed. On Saturday, we did end up eating out twice but used profits from the yard sale to do so. Sunday was back on track with a creative yet traditional “Easter Dinner”. Matt grilled a can of ham on the grill with pineapple, I added a box of scalloped potatoes, made deviled eggs from our Easter eggs, add coleslaw and cucumber relish to complete. We also used some money from the yard sale to refill our gas cylinder for grill. As the weather gets warmer you notice a lot more use of this.  A huge part of not shopping this month will be menu planning so here is the start.

Breakfast-French toast (leftovers) , Cereal, toast, eggs and Pumpkin Baked oatmeal.

Lunch-The girls are out of school this week until Thursday so they will be eating at home and I will pack both their lunches on Thursday. I did go ahead and make a salad for myself and probably will eat some leftovers one day this week.

Dinner– Since we have at least 2 nights at home this week, Matt will be cooking a little bit more then previous weeks but we do plan to eat from our pantry and freezer.

Monday- Pork chops with mac and cheese and glazed carrots.
Tuesday- Beef Enchiladas
Wednesday-Breakfast casserole
Thursday-  Baked potatoes
Friday- Grilled Chicken
Saturday- Shrimp cocktail or coconut shrimp. Dinner- pizza ( need to use up the store bought crust we purchased.