Menu Planning

 My Weekly Menu Spreadsheet

I hate grocery shopping. I hate it.

Therefore, I often don't feel like cooking. Why? Because I don't have any good ingredients.  When I don't (even loosely) plan a weekly menu, I fall into buying the same stuff at the store.  And when it comes time to cook, I'm bored rather than inspired.

Lately, I've been using a spreadsheet to plan weekly menus.  I like this idea because I used to save online recipes in my bookmarks folder, but it quickly became an unorganized list of random recipes.  By using this spreadsheet I can see what I've made, where the recipe comes from (if there is one), and I get excited about trying new menu ideas.

The spreadsheet is pretty simple--on the x-axis I put the days of the week, and on the y-axis, the week dates. Easy. Simple. Boom.

After a while, I can track our eating habits.  Are we eating out too much?  Am I sticking with the menu? What did we and didn't we like.  And, if I change my mind I can drag and drop recipes to other dates.

I try to make one vegetarian meal per week and one slow cooker meal per week, and I plan for leftovers at least once a week, perhaps twice.  We are so bad at eating leftovers, so I've tried to perfect the art of cooking for two.  Menu planning is a lot easier when three or four days are practically planned already.

The best part about menu planning is having a shopping list! I can go to the store and get exactly what I need for dinner all week!  When planning out the weekly menu, I can work within my budget--a couple of fancy-ish meals and some cheapo ones.

We'll see how the menu planning spreadsheet works out in the long run. Hopefully, I'll stick with it.  I've been keeping tabs on Stephanie at Keeper of the Home and her Plan It--Don't Panic Meal Planning Challenge that is just starting.  She has a lot of great resources to keep people planning.

Do you plan your weekly meals? If so, what works best for you?

Dave Ramsey is Gonna Kill Me, Or Why We Bought a New Car

Dave is going to be very angry with me.  We broke one of his rules.  We bought. . .gasp. . . a new car.  You may remember my post, Trying to Live Frugally, where I explained how and why we are trying to get out of debt. We are, still, attempting to get out of debt as quickly as possible.  And, hopefully never to incur credit card debt again.

We had a plan--a la Dave--to save up enough cash to buy a used car outright.  We thought we'd be living with my mom for a little while.  Then, my husband got a job, then I got a job.  So, now we really need two cars (unfortunately we live in a two car city).

We figured instead of saving cash, we'd get a cheap-ish used car and finance it.  This way we could still pay it off pretty fast. My husband really wanted a small suv--so he can tote his music equipment around and it would be a good future family car. Plus, he's a tall guy and cars aren't as comfy as a suv or truck.

So we go look. Most of the suvs in our first price range were, well, crappy.  So then we looked at ones a little nicer--which were much more expensive.  There wasn't much of a in-between.

Then we got to thinking: Why buy a used car that will only last us a few years when we could spend 6-7 grand more for a new one that would last ten years?  We both have decent salaries now, and my car is paid off, so really, we can afford it.

We didn't want more debt, but our goal is to pay the loan of super early and not have another car payment for several years after--or ever!  After looking around, we got a great deal on a 2011 Nissan Rogue crossover--it an suv style with a car's gas mileage.  We got a base model with no bells and whistles, got great financing, and a lifetime warranty on the engine and transmission!

Yes, we have more debt to add to the pile, but we do have a car that will last us ten years.  And, we know it doesn't have any problems versus a used car that may windup having serious issues.

We prayed a lot about our decision and consulted with our parents. And, we feel like we made the right choice!

Do you buy used cars or new ones?

No Time For Breakfast? Hello Breakfast Burritos!

I sometimes forget to eat breakfast, but since I love breakfast I make an effort to eat something.  More importantly, my husband won't eat breakfast unless I put something in front of him.

We've both wanted to slim down and tone up (the exercise part is yet to come), and eating breakfast is one of the best things you can do to shed some pounds.  It gets your metabolism going and gives you some energy to start off your day.

Lately, I've been making a poached egg on whole wheat toast (egg-poaching post coming soon).  The hubs likes it and it doesn't take very long to make.  But, we've had enough poached eggs for a while.

Pinterest, besides being a black hole for productivity, gave me the idea of breakfast burritos, made in advance, and then frozen.  What a great idea!  Grab one, put it in the microwave, and you're good to go!

A great thing about breakfast burritos is that you can pretty much put whatever you want in them.  Mine are classic breakfasty goodness.

The ingredients:

• eggs--I used 5
• sausage--I used half the pack and had some left over
• a potato--also had some left
• half an onion
• shredded cheese
• tortillas

I cooked the potatoes and onion in a skillet, until soft (with some Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning, of course).  Then, browned the sausage. And, scrambled the eggs.  

Make sure you warm up the tortillas before assembling the burritos--it makes them more pliable.  I got the fajita size tortillas which proved to be a little smaller than I wanted, and I kept over-stuffing them.  Apparently, I'm not too good at folding the burrito closed on one end, either. 

For each burrito I put a spoon of each ingredient, with shredded cheese sprinkled on top.  I got 10 burritos, with some potatoes and sausage left over. 

Then, I individually wrapped each burrito in plastic wrap and placed them all in a freezer bag. 

How easy! Breakfast for the week is done! Next time I may try to make them a little healthier--maybe with some beans and some spinach.  The important thing is to get us eating breakfast every day.  We'll progressively get healthier.

What is your favorite quick breakfast?

Confessions About Budgeting. . .

I have a confession.  We have done a horrible job of budgeting this month. Its a good thing God saved our butts with me getting this job!

I suppose because the husband got a job we felt like we finally had some dough.  He gets paid once a month which isn't ideal because you have to make sure it lasts through the month (although I'm trying to see it as a motivation to keep up the budget).  I did the responsible thing and paid all the bills first.  But then we got a puppy. . . we went to Target. . .we went to dinner.  Our lump sum quickly dwindled.

Part of the reason we got Lucille and went to Target (I bought work clothes) was we were pretty sure I was going to get the job I interviewed for.  But then we had to wait on my background check to come back, and that took a while.  So I got nervous, thinking I may not get the job after all, causing me to freak out about our lack of budgeting.

Luckily (well, thanks to God's provision), I got the job and will start on Tuesday.  Whew! Checking account saved!

But--if the job would've fallen through, we would have been in a tight spot and would've had to eat ramen noodles for every meal (okay, it wouldn't have been quite that bad).  And I did get a bit nervous about everything going sour.

So, here is some encouragement if you have been or are thinking about budgeting:

• Everyone splurges sometimes--even when they shouldn't (don't beat yourself up about it)

• Getting used to a budget takes time, and sometimes you'll mess it all up

• Society tells us to spend, spend, spend--so pat yourself on the back for just trying to budget

• Even seasoned budgeters struggle!

While I do have a list of things I can't wait to get once I start getting paid, landing this job has encouraged me even more to get out of debt!  We're getting closer and closer!  Being debt free seems even more important now that both of us are bringing in a paycheck--if we stick with our budget plan, we just might attain some financial peace.  

Budget on my friends! 

Slow Cooker Recipe: Mrs. Susan's Pot Roast with Mushroom Gravy

I hope that you have discovered the wonders of the crock pot. The slow cooker. The magical dinner that cooks itself.

While the hubs is a great sport and eats my healthy menu experiments, he still loves meat-and-potato type meals.  Of course, I must indulge him once and a while. 

One of his favorite meals is something his mom used to make: crock pot roast with mushroom gravy.  This recipe is delicious and incredibly easy.  I highly recommend it!

Ingredients: 

• Roast--whichever kind you prefer
• Button mushrooms, cut in half--I usually get a tub of them
• A handful or so of coarsely chopped onion
• 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cans of french onion soup

I usually half this recipe since I'm normally cooking for two.  

Preparation:

Put all ingredients in slow cooker and turn on low.  In 6 or so hours, done!  I usually chop up the roast (or sometimes steak) into bite sized pieces--per request of the husband.

I like to serve the roast with brown rice (gotta make it a little healthy).  But, you could also serve it with some mashed potatoes or pasta.  I probably should've served it with a salad, but I forgot lettuce at the store (man, I wish I had a garden!).

What is your favorite crock pot recipe?

We Got A Puppy: Meet Lucille

We got a boxer puppy.  She's adorable.  And a handful.  But she's a lot of fun.  Minus the fact that she pees and poops a lot.  Potty training is exhausting!

My husband grew up with a boston terrier.  It died when he was in college.  Ever since we got married, he has wanted a dog.  I'm more of a cat person--and we already have two.  We decided to get a dog when we got a yard.  And, as you may know, we have a yard now.

Enter Lucille.

A ball of energy and a cuddler.  I'm a fan of our little gal, but I'm also exhausted!  I haven't been working, so I've been puppy-sitting all day.  I try to take her out every 30-45 minutes, but she still has accidents.

I haven't gotten much done lately (except blogging and endless pages of pinterest) because she falls asleep on the couch--but only when I'm on the couch too.  If I get up, she wakes up and follows me.  I can get stuff done in short bursts--if she wanders for too long, she either has an accident in the house or gets into the kitty's litter box.  So, I think I'll have to kennel her for a little while every now and again.

I can't imagine what having a kid will be like!  But at least babies poop in diapers!

What is your favorite and least favorite thing about puppies, or any pet for that matter?

Update on the Job

I got it! How the Lord provides!