Menu Plan Monday 6/27

It's not terribly busy around our house this week.  Just a few things going on here and there.  My oldest is away visiting his grandparents for most of the week, so I'm taking it easy on the cooking.  I'm still getting lots of fresh veggies from my hay bale garden.  We've already harvested lots of squash, bell peppers, jalapenos, and tomatoes.  I ready to get enough tomatoes to make fresh salsa to can and put away!

Here are our dinner plans for the week:

Monday - Slow Cooker Cheeseburger soup (missed this last week)

Tuesday - Chicken alfredo pasta, broccoli

Wednesday - baked bean and cheese chimichangas, veggie

Thursday - dinner out for a fundraiser

Friday - Girl's dinner out  (the boys are having pizza and a movie night!)

Saturday - leftovers (husband working)

Sunday - tacos, zucchini

For more menu ideas, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Mega Swagbucks Friday!

Don't forget that it's Friday!  That means that it's Mega Swagbucks Friday!  That means the odds are better that you will win higher amounts of Swagbucks for searching the web!  Not familiar with Swagbucks?  Swagbucks is a search engine where you earn digital dollars periodically for doing things like searching the web.  (This is something you do anyway so you might as well get paid for it!)  Swagbucks can then be cashed in for gift cards and other merchandise.  I use mine to buy Amazon gift cards.  It only takes 450 Swagbucks to earn a $5 Amazon giftcard.  I use these giftcards to buy things such as diapers and other nonperishable items.  This really helps to lower my budget and save money!  I promise, it really works!!   Click here to learn more and to sign up!!

Weekly Shopping Trip for 6/20

Not a lot of shopping around here this week.  We just had too much going on.  Here is what I did spend.  (Sorry, no pictures)

Walmart

total spent:  $30.81
total saved:  $7.26

Brookshire's


total spent:  $1.79
total saved:  $2.20

total spent this week:  $32.60

I didn't shop at CVS or Walgreen's this week.  Hoping for some good deals next week and that I actually have time to shop!

Menu Plan Tuesday?!

It's a busy week with Vacation Bible School, lessons, dentist appts, etc. so I have not had a free minute (or at least one where I felt like getting on the computer) to post my menu plan for this week.  So here you go, a day late.

Monday - Rotini and Meatballs, broccoli

Tuesday - Mexican Tortillizzas

Wednesday - Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

Thursday - hot dogs, baked sweet potatoes wedges

Friday - bacon & cheese grilled sandwiches, chips

Saturday - husband working = leftovers

Sunday - leftovers/sandwiches

Sunday Coupon Preview for 6/19

Head over to the Sunday Coupon Preview and see what coupons you might find in your Sunday paper.  Remember, coupons can be regional and there is no guarantee that you will get every coupon listed and the values may differ.

We can expect the following inserts this weekend:

Smartsource
Redplum

Friday Featured Recipe

This recipe is another adaption of a Weight Watchers online recipe.  I changed it up to suit our tastes and to use the ingredients that I had on hand.  I try to have at least one meatless meal each week.  They are healthier and are more budget friendly.  This one was great.  My husband ended up having to work late and was not home for dinner, so there were plenty of leftovers!

Bean and Rice Casserole
1 15 oz. can black beans (I use dried, cooked) or pinto beans, rinsed
1 c. cooked rice (white or brown)
1 c. corn (frozen or canned, drained)
3/4 c. light sour cream
3/4 c. shredded cheese
2 T. chopped green chiles
1/4 c. sliced green onions (green part only)
1/4 t. each salt, pepper, chili powder
1 c. corn (frozen or canned, drained)

Mix all together, reserving a small amount of cheese for the top.  Pour into greased 2 qt. dish.  Bake 30-40 min or until golden and bubbly.  Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.  Serve with corn muffins.  This is 6 Weight Watchers servings and probably 4 regular servings.  It could easily be doubled/tripled to feed larger families.  

I try to always have cooked beans in my freezer.  It is much more economical to buy dried beans and cook them than to buy canned beans.  You can also control what goes into them.  I typically pay around $.50-$.75 (on sale) for 1 lb of dried beans.  This easily makes the equivalent of 5-6 cans of beans.  I usually keep both pinto and black beans on hand in the freezer for easy, throw together meals.

Weekly Shopping Trip for 6/13

I didn't do a lot of shopping this week.  Only stopped at Walgreen's, Dollar Tree and Walmart.  I was  excited to actually find the items I wanted in stock at Walgreen's even though I didn't do my shopping early like I normally do.  Maybe that is because of the daily limits that have been put in place in some of the Tyler stores.  I only have a picture from Walgreen's.  The Walmart trip was an issue in itself (that's a whole different story) so by the time I got home my groceries were mostly thawing/room temp and needed to be put away.

Here is how the week went:

Walgreen's

Trans #1
Purchased:
(1) Blistex Men @ $2
(1) Bayer Advanced @ $3
(2) Dial 12 oz lotion @ $4.99/each
(1) Granola bar @ $.25
total:  $15.23
Used:
(1) $2/1 Bayer insert Q from 6/12
(2) $2/1 Dial lotion or body wash from 6/12
Bogo Sale on Dial (took off $4.99)
(2) $2 RR
total spent:  $.24
RR received: $1 for Bayer and $2 for Blistex

Trans #2
Purchased:
(4) Nestle Crunch Bars @ $.39
(1) Bayer Advanced @ $3
(2) Lysol Toilet Bowl cleaner @ $2.99/each
(2) Granola bars @ $.25/each
total:  $11.04
Used:
(1) $2/1 Bayer insert Q from 6/12
(4) $.35/1 Nestle Crunch printable (I don't believe these are available anymore)
(1) $1/2 Lysol insert Q from 6/12
Bogo sale on Lysol (took off $2.99)
(1) $.99 RR
(1) $1.50 RR
total spent:  $1.16
RR received:  $1 for Bayer

Total:  $1.40
Total saved:  $30.50 (sale and coupons)

*I could have used my $2 RR from T1 but decided to pay a little more and get rid of my smaller ones instead.*

Walmart/Dollar Tree
Total spent:  $44.84
Total saved:  $21.53 (price matching and coupons)

Total spent this week:  $46.24
Total saved:  $52.03