I did not plan as much as I did before because I sort of knew what the process was like already. I have to say, all of our meals did last us just over a month (and I did throw one away because I did not like it at all. I love healthy food, but this one was too healthy).
Yesterday (Sat. 4/11) I cooked up all of my chicken in the slow cooker because I needed a lot of shredded/diced chicken for my recipes. I cooled it and cut it all last night so I would not have to do that today.
Then, I got all of my pots and pans ready.... (please note: you will need a VERY large saute pan if you want to work efficiently. I got a great one on sale at Kohls for about $20).
Then, got all of my ingredients ready:
and more....
This time, I estimate that I spent about 4 hours cooking today. I had to boil pasta in 3 separate pans as well as cook brown rice on the stove, so that took up a lot of my time.
All in all, here is what I made:
Enchiladas (red sauce)
Enchiladas (white sauce)
Taco meat: 3 bags full
(yes, we really LOVE this stuff. I make tons of nachos, tostadas, salads, taquitos etc.)
Beef taco skillet
Buffalo shrimp and beans (2 lbs)
Easy Taco Bake
Weight Watchers chicken and cheese pasta casserole
Taco pie
"Magnificient" casserole
(yes, that is what it is called)
Pork and brown rice
Chicken and gravy
(will be good with mashed potatoes!)
Brown rice for my orange chicken (I buy it from Trader Joe's)
Brown bag burritos (for my lunch)
(this isn't even everything. I had to put some in my freezer in the garage!)
Please know that each of these meals will feed Louie and I for at least 2-6 servings (depending on how hungry we are and how large of a batch it made).
All in all I figure I spent about $115 for a month's worth of dinners (and about half or more of my lunches). I think that's pretty good considering my monthly budget for food is $200 or $50/week. That means I still have $85 to buy fresh fruit, veggies and a few splurges =)
To get the most for my money, I stock up on things I know I'll use when they are on sale for a great price. For example: cheese, boneless skinless chicken, ground beef, onions, beans, ground turkey, corn tortillas, shrimp, guacamole, pasta, sour cream, rice etc.
I won't pay more than $1.99/lb for boneless skinless chicken breast
I try not to pay more than .99/8 oz. of cheese
I don't pay more than .69 for cream of ____ soup (the 98% ff kind)
$2.49 or less for 93% ground turkey
I also add beans to just about everything I make to make the meat stretch farther. Also, we love beans and they cheap as well as super healthy.
The only thing I didn't get to today was homemade pizza dough and my muffins. I honestly don't even have room for them, so I didn't even attempt to make them. I'm pooped anyway!
I thought this was funny. I guess Noche was pretty tired too....she is so tired that she is sleeping with the chair as her pillow...
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