Frugal Menu Mamas

Happy Monday!

Here is my menu plan for the week:

MONDAY-chicken & dumplings (from the freezer), corn

TUESDAY-country style steak (from the freezer), mashed potatoes, green beans

WEDNESDAY-Mediterranean pot roast (in the crock pot), Parmesan noodles, salad

THURSDAY-sweet & sour pork (x 2 for the freezer), rice, peas

FRIDAY-leftovers

SATURDAY-brown rice & lentil casserole (new to us), bread, limas

SUNDAY-eggs, bacon, biscuits

If there isn’t a recipe link, feel free to ask me…some I will post later in the week or next week, some I may have just forgotten!

For more great menu plans, check out OrgJunkie.com!

The Pilgrims got it right.  Even though they had hard times in the New World, they had good times, too.  And they remembered to be thankful.

Thank you Lord for the innumerable ways you bless me!

Here is a quick tip from a reader Sherri (thanks!):

In the perfect world I would have time to do everything.  Wash, clean, play, cook, etc.  In my so called “perfect” world I would have the time to buy, cook, and puree vegetables so far in advanced that I would never have to run to the store for anything.  Too bad my perfect world doesn’t exist!  In place of these pureed vegetables I buy babyfood squash and sweet potato when it’s on sale.  I usually have one or two jars handy for meals such as, mac & cheese, meatloaf , smoothies, or any other dish you can sneak it into.  The kids NEVER notice when there’s added veggies and I love that I just gave them an extra helping of vitamins!  I usually just make the good ‘ol box mac & cheese and just dump the jar of baby food in with the milk and cheese packet.  I mix the squash in when I’m mixing the eggs in with the meatloaf, and if I’m making smoothies that have a ton of fruits, I might just sneak in some sweet potatoes too!

I am excited today to share with you a family favorite recipe.  These PB Squares  are so yummy and so easy that my family made them every year growing up.  They kind of taste like a Butterfinger candy bar.  My mom used to give them as Christmas goodie gifts and I will probably do the same this year.  Since my kindergartner is home this week, this was our project yesterday.  Don’t they look beautiful?

PB Squares

a box of Wheat Thins

peanut butter (I prefer creamy Jif)

chocolate bark (on sale usually around this time)

-Make little sandwiches with two Wheat Thins, spreading peanut butter between them.

-After you have done this with the whole box of Wheat Thins, melt the chocolate bark.

-Dip the little sandwiches in the chocolate bark, turn to cover completely.

-Dry on wax paper.

That’s it!  These freeze well and the sandwiches (before dipped) freeze well, too.

Well, this will be a teeny tiny menu plan, because we are off to the in-laws for Thanksgiving this week!  I am excited!

So,  Monday we will have chicken brushetta from the freezer and Tuesday we will have sandwiches on the drive down to sunny Florida.   I will take an apple pie kit to make an apple pie Thanksgiving Day.  We’ll be back Saturday night and will have something from the freezer.  EASY WEEK!

Do you remember when I talked about “dump” chicken recipes?  Well, since then we’ve been trying a few.  I must say that our favorite so far has been the Lemon Garlic Chicken.  It was one of the last packages of dump chicken I had left in the freezer.  I pulled it out this week and plopped it in the opened.  Oh, it was tasty!  The kids even loved it, which is HUGE at our house!  Now, it really didn’t have any “goop” to put over rice, so next time I will not plan plain white rice with it.  Anyway, I thought I should feature it today because it is so delicious.  This recipe is from Soopermom’s Dump Chicken pages.

By the way, I wish I had a photo of this lovely and delicious chicken, but we ate it too fast.  Sorry!

Lemon & Garlic “DUMP” Chicken
2 Cloves Garlic — chopped (I used pressed garlic)
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Chopped Parsley (I used dried parsley)
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/8 Teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 Pounds Chicken Pieces

For immediate cooking: Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Place all ingredients into a
large baking dish, turn chicken to coat. Bake until chicken juices run
clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30 minutes for chicken
breasts).

For freezing: Place all ingredients into a 1 Gallon freezer bag. Lay flat
in freezer.

To thaw and cook: Take the bag out of the freezer the night before, make
sure the baggie is completely closed. Place the Bag on a shelf furthest
from the freezer (It works best if the bag is laying flat, although this
may not be the best option with a side-by-side fridge/freezer). Preheat the
oven to 350 F. Empty the contents of the bag into a large baking dish and
bake until the juices run clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30
minutes for chicken breasts).

Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

I wrote this post on rebates at the beginning of my blogging journey.  Since writing it, I have filled out even more rebates.  However, I have become unorganized and I really needed to read my own post this week to keep me getting the most for my money.  Right now, there are a lot of great rebates out there.  I don’t post them all on here because this is not a “deal” blog…this is more of a “food” or “meal planning” or “money saving” blog….not sure how to categorize it.  Anyway, many of the deal blogs I subscribe to shout out rebate offers and link to the forms.  All I do is print them and use them. I especially love when the deal blogs give me purchasing scenarios for getting the most for my money!

So, here are some examples of deals I got the past few weeks because of combining sales + coupons + rebates.

-Glade Scented Oil Candles and Refills-I used the scenarios from Streching a Buck blog to guide me.  I didn’t get it quite exactly the way she suggested, but for me it will be a $3 money maker!

-Nabisco Crackers are on sale at Kroger this week for $1.99.  I got 4 coupon booklets at Kroger a week ago from a display that each had $1/2 boxes of Ritz, Wheat Thins, or Triscuits.  With the current Nabisco/Kraft rebate, I am getting 10 boxes of crackers for $.50 each!

Here are the rebates I used:

-SC Johnson

-Nabisco/Kraft

I searched the web and I had a hard time finding a site that lists current grocery rebates.  I did however, discover a forum about it at Hot Coupon World.

If using rebates still intimidates you, then check out these two articles on saving with rebates.

Save with Easy Grocery Rebates

How to Use Grocery Rebates for Extra Money

Now get saving!

This is a heads up….

Ok-so one of the magazines I keep mentioning is Kraft Food & Family.  I am sad to say that my most recent issue said if I want to continue, I’ll have to pay!  I am so bummed!  I enjoyed the coupons and recipes, but I probably won’t pay for a magazine that only comes out four times a year!  One of my friends here told me her’s said the same thing, so I guess we are all stuck with having to pay if we want to keep it coming.

At Southern Savers, Jenny has an idea for getting it for a bargain, if you want to pay for it….

I love soup when it is cold out.  I am also a picky eater, so that makes it tricky.  I don’t actually enjoy too many soups with veggies in them, except taco soup.  Anyway, I thought I’d remind you that I have a “soup” tag over on the right hand side.  Also, I’m always look for new soups, so please send your recipes my way at chadsjoy at gmail dot com.  I’d love to feature you!

Here are some of the delicious soups on Frugal Menu Mamas:

Tortilla Soup (Green & White Lightening Chicken Chili)

Taco Soup

Easy Baked Potato Soup

Chicken & Dumplings (sorta soupy)

Chicken Corn Chowder

And here is the link to 3 Cheese Potato Soup that I have made before and my friend Liz LOVES!

I need more ideas…so please send me your yummy soup recipes at chadsjoy at gmail dot com!

Here’s our quick plan for the week, most meals are from the freezer…LOVE IT!

MONDAY-lemon garlic chicken (from freezer), rice, green beans, rolls

TUESDAY-ham & cheese pockets (from freezer), corn, mac n cheese

WEDNESDAY-hamburgers, fries, fruit

THURSDAY-fajitas (x2 for freezer), yellow rice

FRIDAY-leftovers

SATURDAY-out of town

SUNDAY-taco soup (from freezer), biscuits

For more menu plans, visit OrgJunkie!