Budget...
Busy....
Two B words that are unfortunately in my daily (hourly if we are being honest) vocabulary. So instead of ignoring them or begrudging them, I am going to have to embrace them. I am slowly phasing out my day job and fully focusing on Shine A Little. This is exciting and exhilarating and I am scared down to my bones.
This is something I have slowly been transitioning to this point. This is what I want but along with it comes good and bad. Less money, more time for my family. I think the trade off is worth it, but changes have to be made!
People also throw around the idea of simplifying. But I believe this is something different for every person. For me, to simplify my life means adding some structure and dependability. For me, chaos is crazy. It makes me pull my hair out. And it is super easy for me to get to that point. Especially with all the hats I wear (or the balls I have in the air.... pick your metaphor). For me to simplify, I am going to play a game. I call it what is the least I can spend at the grocery store and still feed my family yummy meals. Maybe I need to work on coming up with a catchier name.
The Menu:
1/20: Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu
1/21: Stuffed Buffalo Chicken, Italian Green Beans, velveeta mac and cheese
1/22: Open.
1/23: Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
1/24-26: I will be out of town so I am leaving frozen meals for my family from my freezer cooking group.
1/27: Slow Cooker Hashbrown Casserole (I will serve this in tortillas)
1/28: Chicken Parmesan Rollups, roasted potatoes
1/29: Frozen Meal from cooking group
1/30: Open
1/31: We have plans out.
2/1: Mexican Manicotti, Spanish Rice (Recipe Below)
The Fine Print
On days that we have activities outside of the house (dance, gymnastics), my crockpot becomes my best friend. It is sooo easy for me to justify eating out when we are out during dinner time, but I won't waste money. So, if I can get dinner going in the crockpot, I will always go home and eat it.
I also don't like throwing away food. So, the days where I have written open is there for leftovers or a day of buffer in case my life doesn't go as planned. That happens!! My husband is NOT a fan of leftovers, so I tried to plan without those in mind. If we do leftovers, we do those for lunches the next day. That keeps us from spending money on food while out. Mostly my husband since his job is mainly spent in his car traveling all over town.
I keep homemade salsa on hand. For Christmas I got a pressure cooker, so look for canning recipes to come.
Spanish Rice:
3c White Rice
1 Onion
1 green pepper
Garlic to taste
1 7oz can of green chilies
1 can of diced tomatoes
4 cups of chicken broth or water
Cumin, salt, chili powder for spice
I saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper. Add the rice dry. Brown for 1 minute. Add the broth/water and the rest of the ingredients. I add the broth slowly to make sure the rice doesn't get mushy. Cook for 20-30 minutes covered, stirring periodically. Once some of the water/broth cooks down, add some more.
I hope this helps and gives you some good inspiration for new recipes. I will be back in two weeks with a new menu!
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