Weekly Shopping Trip--Stretching Last Weeks

Remember last week when I saved $92.71 and purchased a bunch of markdown meat??? Well aside from a $20 shopping trip yesterday and trip to Save A Lot earlier in the week, I am going to be able to stretch what I purchased with what is in my pantry for another 8 days!!! (Which translates til next pay day!!) No major shopping trip for me this week other than to get WIC items(like milk and eggs) in the next 8 days. :)

Since my pantry challenge ended, I have been able to restock my pantry decent enough to be able to this next 8 days! (See pic below)


Yesterday I went to Family Fare to finish a couple of meals for this next week and get hubby some Wild Cherry Pepsi(his morning "coffee").

Here is what I purchased...

• 4 cases Wild Cherry Pepsi $9.00
• 1 bag lettuce shreds $1.00
• .58 lbs Roma tomatoes 58 cents (these are safe ones!)
• 1 bottle Ortega Taco Sauce $1.67
• 2.49lbs bananas $1.47

Total $19.61 with tax & bottle deposits.

I also found some clothes for my dd this week!!

So there is the deals/savings that I found and did this week! Stay tuned to see what my menu is going to look like for the next 8 days!

To read about others weekly savings, head over to MoneySavingMom's Super Savings Saturday and BecentsAble's Centsible Shopper Show N Tell!!

Frugal Friday--OAMC My Way

"Once a month cooking" can help you cut costs only if your family enjoys the results. I tried doing "once a month cooking"(OAMC) where you make double of an entree and put one in the freezer for a later date. My family did not enjoy the "later date" meal when I would go to serve it. So instead of making up the entrees and freezing them I came up with other methods to help me save time in the kitchen preparing meals or for those times when didn't have any convenience items to pull for a quick dinner.

I wish that my Uncle was still living and was raising cattle like what he did when I was a teen. OR that I could find someone trustworthy to buy my meat in bulk. For now, I just find good meat sales at the grocery store or get it from Sam's Club.

Here is what I call "my version of OAMC".....

For 15-20lbs of ground beef, I take and make burgers and meatloaf with the raw meat and freeze them. The burgers get stacked with wax paper between them in a freezer bag. Each freezer bag has the number I need for one meal. I also make meatballs but I cook them and then flash freeze on a cookie sheet and then transfer to a freezer bag. I also brown some of the ground beef and put in plastic containers/freezer bags the amount that I need for a meal of spaghetti, chili, goulash, and sloppy joes.

For chicken meals, I normally just get the Quick frozen boneless chicken breasts/tenders because they are usually on sale more than fresh chicken. So I just take a bag out the night before for the dinner meal the next day. If I get fresh chicken I still make sure that I get it on sale and I get the boneless/skinless breasts....When I get home I clean and de-fat them and put them in a freezer bag in the number I need for a meal(usually 5-6 breasts do it for my family of 7). If the breasts are thick I will butterfly(slice them width-wise) them to make the meat stretch a little more, which means that 3-4 breasts is enough for my family. It also helps to butterfly them when you know that you are grilling them because the meat cooks more evenly! I also will cut up the raw chicken to pull out for using in soups and such. I also make sure that I get a couple of whole chickens when they are on sale to have to pull out of the freezer for the next day for a drop in the crock pot and forget type meal! LOL

For pork chops, I get one of those half boneless pork loins and bring it home and slice it into pork chops(or you can have the butcher at the grocery store do it too!) and once again make sure that I put wax paper between the chops and divide it into the meals in freezer bags.

I found doing things this way I am not tied down with the precooked meals in the freezer. If I want to try something different/new for a meal I can without having to go to the store to get other meat to use. I also found that doing my meats ahead and putting them in freezer, I have been able to cut the time in the kitchen preparing the meal in half! Most of meals I can get done in an hour or less, unless of course I am using my crock pot! LOL Also, no more wasted food from the family deciding that they didn't like the "second round".

This method I found was great each time that I had a new baby in the house. I was able to nurse baby and put baby down for a nap and then prepare and eat dinner before baby would need my attention again. If I am using my crock pot I would just put the items in the crock pot when I had about 5 minutes in the morning before lunch.

The other thing I do is keep a baking routine where I can get a good stash of quick breads/muffins, cookies, and other snacks in the freezer. The quick breads/muffins can be used for breakfast along with some scrambled eggs. The cookies are just nice to have for that sweet tooth! LOL Another thing for breakfast that I have made ahead for my boys is "Mom's Egg McMuffins" toasted english muffin with scrambled egg patty, sliced american cheese, and bacon or ham or sausage patty. Wrap the individually with plastic wrap and then put in a bread bag. When you want one take it out microwave for 20 seconds and then turn it over and microwave for another 20 seconds, if still cold in the middle microwave for 10 more seconds. Let set for 2 minutes and eat! You can use croissants or biscuits for the same type of sandwiches.

Homeschooling with Little Ones--The Routine

As I continue my home schooling with little ones series, I thought I would give you a glimpse of what my daily routine looks like.

Please understand that this is more of a routine than watching the clock for the next time frame.

Here is our routine (the times are approximate):

7am~~I am up to get hubby’s lunch made and to get him out the door by 8am.
8am~~Breakfast and morning chores. It doesn’t happen every day, but I try to get my shower while the kids are doing their chores!
9am~~Start school (sometimes, like Mondays, start time doesn’t happen till 9:30)

Morning school time runs till 11am. During those two hours, I work/play with my little ones while my older ones do independent work. Independent work is studying AWANA verses, Math work (unless it is a new concept then it waits till the afternoon), Spelling work, and Creative/Journal Writing.

11am~~Noon “Recess time” There is another home school family on our block so the kids get together to play for an hour before lunch. If the other family is having a coop day or is gone I use the time for us to take a walk, or to play games in the backyard!

12:30pm~2:30pm Afternoon School/Quiet Time. This is when my little ones are napping. The older ones do a ½ hour of quiet reading. I am able to work with my older ones on school work. We either check or do Math together. We do Science and History together. Usually we are all done by with everything by 2:30pm sometimes it ends up closer to 3pm.

3pm~~Kids do their afternoon chores before having their free time. I take the time to get dinner prepared, work on laundry, and/or have more time with my little ones.

6pm~~Dinner time. Hubby has just come home by this time so I love to have dinner done and waiting on the table for him when he arrives home.

After dinner, each of the older kids has an “after dinner chore” that needs to be done before they are allowed any more free time. This also allows everyone’s food to settle before more play or a family walk or bike ride.

7:45pm Bedtime routine starts. Routine consists of baths, if needed, pajamas on, snack, daily Keys for Kids, and prayer. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are “bath nights” so bedtime routine usually starts around 7:30pm.

Kids bedtime is 8:30pm, however, the four older ones are allowed 5-15 minutes of reading time before lights are out. The amount of reading time is based on whether or not they got to bed on time or not. If it is after 8:30 before they are in bed then their reading time is cut short.

It doesn’t always happen but hubby and I usually try to get to bed around 10pm. By this time, both of us have relaxed enough from our busy day to actually go to sleep. We also have had time together to talk about our day and any problems that we need to work on together. We even take time to pray together.

So there is glimpse of what a “typical day” looks like at my house.

You probably are wondering why there is no specific time for blogging or household management (cleaning, pay bills, laundry, grocery shop, etc.) to get done because I don’t have any set times to do these things. I usually only do a school schedule four days a week so that gives me one day to get all my errands and grocery shopping done. My hubby only gets paid twice a month so there is only 2 days each month that I pay the bills. Cleaning and laundry get done during the daily chore times or on Saturday mornings. As for blogging, I work on that during quiet time or at the end of the day when the kids are in bed. Saturday or Sunday afternoons are my “planning” times, that is when weekly menus and blogging topics are decided.

To find out what works for others, head over to Rocks in My Dryer!

Here is the previous post of this series....Part 3 of Homeschooling with little ones

Worthwhile Reading!!

Head over to Heart of the Matter and do some reading!! It is "Dad's Week" over there! Homeschooling Dads sharing their perspective on homeschooling and family life! Even if you don't homeschool, the articles/entries are very worthwhile the reading!

Click on the link or the graphic and do some reading!

Weblink Wednesday--Fun Ideas Calendar

Did you know...???

• February is National Heart Month?
• June was Seafood month?
• Child Injury Prevention Week was the 1st week in September?
• October is National Fire Prevention Month?
• Games & Puzzles Week is November 16-22?
• 1st phone call made on March 3, 1876?
• April is National Poetry Month?
• Amelia Earhart flew solo across the Atlantic on May 21, 1932?
• National Chocolate Day is September 23rd?

I found all these "special" days, weeks, and months using the following sites:

Idea Calendar has an icon for each month that when you click on the icon you get a list of "specials" for the month.

Teacher's Vision has a downloadable/printable Educator's Calendar that you can print out with each day of the month filled with different things.

Holiday Insights has a wealth of insight on bizarre, wacky, unique type days throughout the whole year.

I used each site this past school year to put together different unit studies each month. I also added in the "Trivia of the Day" to our school day. I listed off something from the day and would have my munchkins investigate looking for more information on the trivia. You can learn alot about unusual events in history this way along with learning research skills online(oh don't worry I don't let the munchkins search without "safety search measures" in place!) and in resource books(like encyclopedias).

For other great links to check out...head over to Val's--Homeschooling with Encouragement!