Looking to the Future

I've gotten a lot better about shopping smarter (read: cheaper). Most of the things that I buy are on sale. I customize my meals plans around what's on sale, and what's a good deal.

But I think now it's time to kick things up a notch: it's time to start planning meals for the whole week.

Whoa! Crazy talk!

Nah. I've read in many different places that meal planning helps you save even more money than just throwing sale items into your cart (which has gotten me into a lot of trouble lately).

So here's my meal plan for the next week or so:

Turkey Meatloaf with potatoes and some kind of veggie

Jennie-O Turkey is one sale 2 for $7, and Freshlike frozen veggies are on sale 5 for $5. Can't beat that. I've also got a five pound bag of Yukon Golds in the pantry that I'll either roast or have Aric make into mashed taters.

Tacos

Ground beef, taco shells, and lettuce are on sale. We make two pounds of taco meat so that a few days later we can do taco salads - just throw some lettuce on a plate, pile on some meat, crumble up some nacho chips, and you're good to go!

Shepherd's Pie

Like I said, ground beef is on sale, so why not give it a try? It's also one of my favorite meals, ever since I was introduced to it at Disney World (no joke - I tried it in the England section of EPCOT).

Aric also pointed out last night that we never make casseroles, and maybe we should try.

Steak, drop biscuits, and veggies

Chuckeye steak is on sale. Aric tells me that it's pretty ok meat. I don't really know - unless it's ground up or chicken, I really don't know what's good and what's not, so I bow down to Aric's knowledge.

This steak will give us a good opportunity to grill. I plan to serve with frozen veggies (or fresh, if they're a good deal). And I recently found a recipe for red onion and cheddar drop biscuits that I'm antsy to try (even though it's got cheese in it, I can eat a little. I just have to not eat cheese a day or two before).

Honey Glazed Chicken Breasts, drop biscuits, and veggies

You know this big frozen bags of boneless, skinless chicken breasts? Yeah, they're on sale this week. The other day I found a recipe for honey glazed chicken tenders, so I thought I'd give it a try. We should have some drop biscuits left over from the previous night, as well as veggies. And if we don't have veggies, I'll just march right out to the garden and pick some lettuce and whip up a tasty salad.

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I am pretty excited about the Shepherd's Pie. It's my favorite comfort food.

Of course I am going to document my recipes and adventures, so stay tuned!