May 2012 Monthly Meal Plan

May 2, 2012 By 2 Comments

Our monthly meal plan is a staple of our budgeting process.  We look at it this way.  We are planning meals one way or the other.  We can do it on the fly, trying to figure out each day what we are going to feed our kids; we can plan week to week, spending the time planning while we make our grocery list or letting the grocery store choose for us while we shop; or we can put in a little time at the beginning of the month and make it easier each week to just write out a shopping list and get what we need.  Since we’ve started planning month to month, we have found that we actually spend less time planning what we eat.

This month, we are focusing on a number of different comfort foods.  These are foods that we love to eat, that the kids will eat, and that pair well with large salads and multiple sides of veggies.  On several nights, we will actually be recreating that idea of a “Blue Plate Special”–a meat, a starch, and two veggie sides, served with a side salad.  We are upping the veggie quotient this month.  Why don’t you check out what we’re having and join us for a couples of meals?

 

May 2012 Monthly Meal Plan

Week 1 (April 29 – May 5)

Sunday–See April Meal Plan
Monday–See April Meal Plan
Tuesday–Spaghetti Dinner
Wednesday–Veggies and Cold Cuts
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Pizza Night!
Saturday–Fish in a Pouch

Week 2 (May 6 – May 12)

Sunday–Beef Bourguignon
Monday–Veggie Subs
Tuesday–Eggs, Bacon, and Western Hash
Wednesday–Veggie Spanish Tortilla
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Fried Fish
Saturday–Picnic Dinner!

Week 3 (May 13 – May 19)

Sunday–BBQ Chicken (Beth’s Mother’s Day request)
Monday–Broccoli Rice Casserole
Tuesday–Taco Tuesday!
Wednesday–Turkey Sliders
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Meatball Subs
Saturday–Dinner Out!

Week 4 (May 20 – May 26)

Sunday–Pork Stir Fry
Monday–Quinoa and Potato Stew
Tuesday–Smothered Chicken
Wednesday–Baked Potatoes
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Pizza
Saturday–Baked Fish

Week 5 (May 27 – June 2)

Sunday–Steaks
Monday–Fried Mac & Cheese
Tuesday–Chicken Fried Steak
Wednesday–Quiche
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–See June Meal Plan
Saturday–See June Meal Plan

As always, if you are looking for recipes or answers on monthly meal planning, please leave a comment or email us with your questions.  We can’t promise that we will have all of the answers, but we will do our best to find them!  Just send us an email at simplybudgeted@gmail.com.

Have you tried monthly meal planning? How did it go? Any tips or suggestions?

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4 Ingredients Gluten-Free Cookbook

April 26, 2012 By 32 Comments

We recently received a copy of the 4 Ingredient Gluten-Free Cookbook and are excited to share a couple of the recipes with you!

Seeing that I had the review task for this cookbook, I went to the dessert section. The first recipe I tried out was the Peanut Butter Cookie recipe.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 egg

Preheat the over to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, mix all ingredients. Using a tablespoon amounts, roll into small balls and place on the baking sheets. Flatten slightly with a fork, crisscross style. Bake for 10 minutes, or until a thin crust forms on the cookie. NOTE: These will harden as they cool.

My Thoughts: I love peanut butter cookies. These peanut butter cookies were really simple to make with what I had on hand. I admit I didn’t use crunchy peanut butter but went for the Skippy Natural Peanut Butter I seriously love. These are worth making again for sure!

Next up on the test list is the Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

4 eggs, separated

1 cup superfine sugar

1 3/4 sticks (7 ounces) butter

8 ounces dark chocolate

Put a rack in the lowest position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with 1/2 cup of the sugar. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until fluffy, then add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until fluffy, then add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, gradually beating until stiff peaks form. In a bowl set over a pan of hot water, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring regularly. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks. Fold in the egg whites. Scrape the batter into the cake pan and bake for 40 minutes. Serve warm or chilled.

I can’t wait to try this recipe since I have some baking time back in my life for a few weeks!

You can find this cookbook over on Amazon for a great price!
We are excited to offer one our readers a copy of this cookbook in a giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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April 2012 Monthly Meal Plan

April 1, 2012 By 2 Comments

We are so very happy to be back to our normal meal plans.  Our little experiment went very well with both of us losing a fair amount of weight, but the draw of meat and the need to feed our kids healthy food that they will actually eat just became too much.  We did learn quite a bit about eating meat more sparingly and focusing our meals more on healthier grains and vegetables.

This month’s meal plan is almost like a “greatest hits” of many of our favorite dinners.  Some of it is time intensive (but so worth it), some things are convenient cheats, and others are just plain good.  We hope that you give some of these great ideas a try!

April 2012 Monthly Meal Plan

Week 1 (April 1 – April 7)

Sunday–Chicken and Mushroom Pizza
Monday–Vegetarian Tapas
Tuesday–Pork Stir Fry
Wednesday–Lasagna
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Chicken Sandwiches
Saturday–Coffee Rubbed Beef Sandwich with Chipotle BBQ Sauce and Apple-Parsnip Slaw

Week 2 (April 8 – April 14)

Sunday–Easter Dinner!
Monday–Portobello Mushroom Sandwich
Tuesday–Tacos
Wednesday–Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Pizza
Saturday–Date Night!!

Week 3 (April 15 – April 21)

Sunday–Fish with Tempura Veggies
Monday–Pancakes
Tuesday–Chicken and Rice
Wednesday–Chili w/ Cornbread
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Chicken Pot Pie
Saturday–Shrimp Kabobs w/ Rice Pilaf

Week 4 (April 22 – April 28)

Sunday–Chicken and Waffles
Monday–Panzanella
Tuesday–Cheese Quesadillas with Corn Salsa
Wednesday–Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Subs
Saturday–Shrimp and Grits

Week 5 (April 29 – May 5)

Sunday–Fried Chicken Dinner
Monday–Spinach Ravioli
Tuesday–See May Meal Plan
Wednesday–See May Meal Plan
Thursday–See May Meal Plan
Friday–See May Meal Plan
Saturday–See May Meal Plan

As always, if you are looking for recipes or answers on monthly meal planning, please leave a comment or email us with your questions.  We can’t promise that we will have all of the answers, but we will do our best to find them!  Just send us an email at simplybudgeted@gmail.com.

Have you tried monthly meal planning? How did it go? Any tips or suggestions?

 

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March 2012 Monthly Meal Plan

March 1, 2012 By 4 Comments

Our Monthly Meal Plan has kind of become a staple of our budgeting process.  Rather than planning for meals from week to week, we put in a little extra time and effort and knock it out right away.  It takes a little discipline, but sticking to the plan can keep costs down and lead to a healthier and closer knit family.  Research supports the notion that having dinner as a family has a number of benefits for the kids (http://children.webmd.com/guide/family-dinners-are-important).

I’ve had a few people remark in the past that they just don’t have the time to plan a menu like this.  My response is that we don’t plan because we have time; we have time because we plan.  Taking the time to plan out our meals makes our shopping list easier to make.  We simply look at our plan and buy the things that we need for the week.  That keeps us from buying all sorts of extras and it saves us the time of planning our meals and our shopping list at the same time.  Other people tell me that they just aren’t disciplined enough to stick with it.  Here’s a “not so secret”:  neither are we!  We have a plan to keep us on the right track, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t get cravings or just not feel like cooking sometimes.  Rather than having no ideas as the default, however, we have our plan to fall back on.  This becomes one of our main rationales for keeping up with it.

March is the last month of our New Year’s diet plan.  I’ve heard that, after a few months of not eating meat, many people lose a taste for it altogether.  Let me just say that we are not those people.  We are anxiously awaiting the last week of the month when we are able to enjoy a nice thick hamburger or some fried chicken.  As it is, adding cheese and milk back into our diet have given us a lot more options for our menu.  We made it a point to go back to our Thursday night leftover plan.  Otherwise the fridge just backs up with leftovers that we wind up throwing out at the end of the week.  I hate wasting like that.

We hope that you enjoy our humble offerings.

 

March 2012 Monthly Meal Plan

Week 1 (February 26 – March 3)

Sunday–See February Meal Plan
Monday–See February Meal Plan
Tuesday–See February Meal Plan
Wednesday–See February Meal Plan
Thursday–Tortellini
Friday–Subs
Saturday–Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Week 2 (March 4 – March 10)

Sunday–Lasagna
Monday–Tortellini Soup
Tuesday–Quiche
Wednesday–Quinoa Pancakes
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Veggie Quesadillas
Saturday–Fried Calzones

Week 3 (March 11 – March 17)

Sunday–Veggie Pot Pie
Monday–Brocolli Fettucine Alfredo
Tuesday–Veggie Cheese”steak”
Wednesday–Veggies, Pita, Hummus
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Baked Potatoes
Saturday–Gnocchi

Week 4 (March 18 – March 24)

Sunday–Mushroom Risotto
Monday–Veggie Lo Mein
Tuesday–Veggie Fajita Nachos
Wednesday–Morrocan Rice
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Subs
Saturday–Polenta with Mushrooms

Week 5 (March 25 – March 31)

Sunday–Roast Chicken!!
Monday–Baked Penne
Tuesday–Caesar Salad
Wednesday–Fish with Noodles and Veggies
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Pizza
Saturday–Burgers

As always, if you are looking for recipes or answers on monthly meal planning, please leave a comment or email us with your questions.  We can’t promise that we will have all of the answers, but we will do our best to find them!  Just send us an email at simplybudgeted@gmail.com.

Have you tried monthly meal planning? How did it go? Any tips or suggestions?

 

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February 2012 Monthly Meal Plan

February 1, 2012 By 3 Comments

Our Monthly Meal Plan has kind of become a staple of our budgeting process.  Rather than planning for meals from week to week, we put in a little extra time and effort and knock it out right away.  It takes a little discipline, but sticking to the plan can keep costs down and lead to a healthier and closer knit family.  Research supports the notion that having dinner as a family has a number of benefits for the kids (http://children.webmd.com/guide/family-dinners-are-important).

We made through our first month of the year.  We finished the 2012 Whole Living Action Plan and continued the month eating a vegan diet.  So far, Brian is down over 20 pounds and Beth has lost 12.  These are pretty good accomplishments for our first month!  We are hoping to continue these gains (or losses…it all depends on how you look at it) and to learn from our experiences as we move forward.

February is kind of a transition month for us and our diet program.  Half-way through the month, we switch from a vegan diet, eating no animal products whatsoever, to a vegetarian diet, introducing dairy products, eggs, etc, but still refraining from eating animal flesh.  Thankfully for Beth, this changeover occurs on her birthday.  How easy is cheese pizza for a birthday present, eh?

We hope in our meal plan this month that you find a variety of healthy, meatless meals that your family will enjoy and ask for again.

 

February 2012 Monthly Meal Plan

Week 1 (January 29 – February 4)

Sunday–See January Meal Plan
Monday–See January Meal Plan
Tuesday–See January Meal Plan
Wednesday–Black Bean and Rice Enchiladas
Thursday–Twice Baked Potatoes
Friday–Spaghetti
Saturday–Vegetable Minestrone

Week 2 (February 5 – February 11)

Sunday–Super Bowl Menu
Monday–Veggie Stir Fry
Tuesday–Pita, Hummus, Veggies, and Cous Cous Salad
Wednesday–Stuffed Peppers
Thursday–Taco Salad
Friday–Veggie Subs (nothing says Happy Anniversary like a sub! =P)
Saturday–White Bean and Mushroom Stew

Week 3 (February 12 – February 18)

Sunday–Pizza!!  (Happy Birthday Beth!)
Monday–Corn Chowder
Tuesday–Pizza!!  (Yes, again!  For Valentine’s Day this time!)
Wednesday–Veggie Quesadillas
Thursday–Chef Salad
Friday–Southwestern Scramble
Saturday–Veggie Fried Rice

Week 4 (February 19 – February 25)

Sunday–Mushroom Risotto
Monday–Veggie Lasagna
Tuesday–Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Wednesday–Spanish Tortilla
Thursday–Quinoa Pancakes and Eggs
Friday–Veggie Pot Pie
Saturday–Falafel

Week 5 (February 26 – March 3)

Sunday–Chili with Cornbread
Monday–Baked Potatoes
Tuesday–Macaroni and Cheese
Wednesday–Subs
Thursday–See March Meal Plan
Friday–See March Meal Plan
Saturday–See March Meal Plan

As always, if you are looking for recipes or answers on monthly meal planning, please leave a comment or email us with your questions.  We can’t promise that we will have all of the answers, but we will do our best to find them!  Just send us an email at simplybudgeted@gmail.com.

Have you tried monthly meal planning? How did it go? Any tips or suggestions?

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Meatless Monday: Chickpea-Brown Rice Veggie Burger

January 16, 2012 By 3 Comments

So here it is, the last week of our 21-day challenge.  Finally, we get to add grains back into our diet (grains, yes, but gluten, no).  It was soooo nice to feel full again yesterday!  We thought we would try out this Chickpea-Brown Rice Veggie Burger.  We aren’t usually big fans of veggie burgers, but this one looked pretty decent.  As it turns out, it wasn’t half bad.  The taste was a little nutty (because of the brown rice) and earthy.  It had a crisp texture on the outside, but was creamy on the inside.  I had to be pretty careful flipping them because they wanted to fall apart on me.  In my mind, it was more like a salmon or crab cake.  Shaped a little smaller and served up with a little lemon juice or some kind of sauce and they would probably fill that bill just fine.  We served it up with lettuce, tomato, red onion and a small serving of french fries (hey, you’ve got to indulge sometimes, right?)

As for making the recipe, I had a couple of hiccups doing it.  That always leads to tips for you guys!  First of all, the recipe calls for an egg.  Since we are following a vegan diet for a bit here, that presents a bit of a problem.  I found a solution, though!  Take 1/4 teaspoon of flax seed and whir up to a dust in your spice grinder (I use a cheap coffee grinder that I never use for coffee).  Then blend that up for a couple of minutes with 1/4 cup of water.  That will replace one egg as a binder in your recipe.  The recipe also says to mash the chickpeas and rice.  Unless you’ve got arms of steel, pull out a food processor and spin it until you’ve got a nice dough-like consistency.  Then add the rest of the stuff in.  Here are the results!

I cooked the rice, mixed up the burger stuff and cooked these in between breaks of football games on Sunday so I know that you can do this at home.  A little time and patience and you too can put good, healthy (and cheap) food in front of your family.  By the way, the kids devoured it!

We hope you enjoy this Meatless Monday.  Leave us a comment if you enjoy it or let us know what you are having tonight.  If you are interested in Meatless Monday and want to get some more information about joining in the movement at your home, check out this site or send us an email.

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January 2012 Monthly Meal Plan

January 1, 2012 By 4 Comments

Our Monthly Meal Plan has kind of become a staple of our budgeting process.  Rather than planning for meals from week to week, we put in a little extra time and effort and knock it out right away.  It takes a little discipline, but sticking to the plan can keep costs down and lead to a healthier and closer knit family.  Research supports the notion that having dinner as a family has a number of benefits for the kids (http://children.webmd.com/guide/family-dinners-are-important).

It’s a brand new year and with a new year comes a feeling of renewal and a great opportunity for a fresh start.  For us, that means kick starting our diet.  We are starting the year off with the 2012 Whole Living Action Plan, a 21 day detox designed to give you more energy, help you sleep better, and help you lose weight.  Basically, it cuts out every that we eat from day to day and replaces it with the produce section.  The plan eventually adds in seafood and eggs, but we are pushing the envelope a bit.

For the first six weeks of 2012, including the 3-week detox, our diet will be totally vegan.  No meat, seafood, cheese, eggs, milk, or even honey will be included in our meal plan during that time.  For the following six weeks, we will adjust to a vegetarian diet, reintroducing animal products, but not animal flesh.  Many of our dinner leftovers will be re-purposed as lunches.

We hope that this 12-week plan will not only help us to accomplish some much needed weight loss and increase our energy levels, but to give us a greater appreciation for what we are putting into our bodies.  We hope that it helps us to focus our meal plans less around meats and processed starches and more around healthy grains and fruits and vegetables.

With that, here is our first meal plan for the new year.  We hope that you find it intriguing, varied, and, most of all, delicious.

January 2012 Monthly Meal Plan

Week 1 (January 1 – January 7)

Sunday–Potato, Cabbage, and Chickpea Stew
Monday–Steamed Broccoli and Butternut Squash w/ Tahini Dressing
Tuesday–Roasted Peppers and Cauliflower w/ Almonds
Wednesday–Stir Fry Veggies
Thursday–Butternut Squash Soup w/ Steamed Cauliflower and Sauteed Mushrooms
Friday–Greek Salad
Saturday–Roasted Ratatouille

Week 2 (January 8 – January 14)

Sunday–White Bean and Mushroom Stew
Monday–Red Lentil Soup
Tuesday–Roasted Vegetables and Cannelini Beans
Wednesday–Baked Sweet Potato w/ Broccoli
Thursday–White Bean and Mushroom Stew
Friday–Red Lentil Soup
Saturday–Falafel

Week 3 (January 15 – January 21)

Sunday–Acorn Squash w/ Quinoa and Pistachios
Monday–Chickpea Brown Rice Burger
Tuesday–Veggie Fried Rice
Wednesday–Kale, White Bean, and Potato Stew
Thursday–Rice Noodles w/ Broccoli, Kale, and Mushrooms
Friday–Polenta w/ Mushrooms and Tomato Sauce
Saturday–Lentils w/ Rice and Kale

Week 4 (January 22 – January 28)

Sunday–Chickpea Curry w/ Naan
Monday–Veggies w/ Lentils
Tuesday–Quinoa Salad w/ Almonds
Wednesday–Spaghetti Dinner
Thursday–Baked Sweet Potato
Friday–Veggie Stir Fry w/ Rice
Saturday–Polenta w/ Mushrooms

Week 5 (January 29 – February 4)

Sunday–Dahl w/ Naan
Monday–Pasta w/ Peas and Mushrooms
Tuesday–Squash and Kale w/ Rice
Wednesday–See February Meal Plan
Thursday–See February Meal Plan
Friday–See February Meal Plan
Saturday–See February Meal Plan

As always, if you are looking for recipes or answers on monthly meal planning, please leave a comment or email us with your questions.  We can’t promise that we will have all of the answers, but we will do our best to find them!  Just send us an email at simplybudgeted@gmail.com.

Have you tried monthly meal planning? How did it go? Any tips or suggestions?

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Turkey Leftovers: Pot Pie and Enchilasagna

December 29, 2011 By 8 Comments

Some people do ham for Christmas, but I’ve always fancied turkey.  Just like with Thanksgiving, though, you always have the problem of what to do with all of the leftover turkey.  You want to use up the turkey, but turkey dinners, turkey sandwiches, and turkey salad can only get you so far.  Here are my simple offerings for cheap, easy ways to completely transform that turkey into a new dish that the entire family will enjoy.  Both of these recipes use 5 ingredients (not counting salt, pepper, and water).  Odds are that you have everything you need to toss together one of these dishes tonight!

 

Turkey Pot Pie

This really couldn’t be simpler.  I used 2 packages of powdered gravy mix and a bag of frozen soup mix (potatoes, carrots, peas, etc).  I prefer the brown gravy, but leftover turkey or chicken gravy works, too.  If you don’t have a pie crust, use a can of biscuits or a batch of baking mix to cover the gravy mix.  The best part has got to be the crust soaking up all of that gravy.  So cheap, but soooo tasty!

Ingredients

2 cups brown gravy, prepared
1-16 oz bag mixed frozen vegetables
2 cups chopped leftover turkey
salt and pepper to taste
1 pre-made refrigerated pie crust
1 egg
1 Tbsp water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix first 4 ingredients in a medium pot over medium heat and warm through for 5-10 minutes.  Pour into a greased, 9-inch, deep dish pie plate.  Cover the dish with the crust and fold the edges in.  Beat the egg with the water and brush over the crust

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

 

Turkey Enchilasagna

I wanted to make enchiladas, but it had been a long day and rolling everything up seemed like so much work.  We also didn’t have any enchilada sauce, but we always have tomato sauce and spices so I whipped some up using this easy Ten Minute Enchilada Sauce Recipe.  Layering a flat starch product with tomato sauce, meat, and cheese seemed too much like lasagna not to go with the corny little play on words.  Serving it up was actually much easier than enchiladas that I’ve made in the past, so this might start becoming a regular thing around here.

Ingredients

2 cups of Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese
1 6-oz can black olives, chopped
1 can enchilada sauce
8 tortillas
2 cups chopped turkey

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine cheese and olives in a large bowl.

Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of sauce into the bottom of a round casserole.  Layer tortilla, 2-3 tablespoons of sauce, 3-4 tablespoons of turkey, and 3-4 tablespoons of cheese mixture.  Repeat 6 more times.  Top with tortilla, more sauce, and the remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Let cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving with sour cream.

I hope you enjoy these dishes.  I know that I enjoyed making them and that my family loved eating them!  Leave us a comment and let us know what you do with your holiday leftovers.

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Betty Crocker Cookbook

December 18, 2011 By 2 Comments

Details …

America’s most trusted cookbook is better than ever!Representing its most thorough revision ever, the Betty Crocker Cookbook, 11th Edition includes hundreds of new recipes, three new chapters, and icons that showcase how we cook today—faster, healthier, and with many more flavors.

New features celebrate the book’s expertise and heritage with repertoire-building recipe lessons and fresh twists on American classics. With nearly 1,100 gorgeous new photos and 1,500 recipes, as well as invaluable cooking guidance, The Big Red Cookbook is better and more comprehensive than ever before. The book features:

  • Exclusive content at BettyCrocker.com for Big Red buyers, including 80 videos, 400 additional recipes, and more to complement and enhance the cookbook
  • 1,500 recipes, 50 percent new to this edition
  • Nearly 1,100 all-new full-color photos—more than three times the number in the previous edition—including 350 step-by-step photos
  • Bold, contemporary, and colorful design
  • Three new chapters on Breakfast and Brunch, Do It Yourself (including canning, preserving and pickling) and Entertaining (including cocktails and party treats)
  • New feature: Learn to Make recipes giving visual lessons on preparing essential dishes like Roast Turkey and Apple Pie, with icons directing readers to bonus videos on BettyCrocker.com
  • New feature: Heirloom Recipe and New Twist showcase classic recipes paired with a fresh twist, with icons directing readers to bonus videos on BettyCrocker.com
  • “Mini” recipes giving quick bursts of inspiration in short paragraph form

With 65 million copies sold and still going strong, the Betty Crocker Cookbook, 11th Edition is the one kitchen companion every home cook needs.

Our Thoughts …

I have one of the 1970s versions of the Betty Crocker cookbook. It was on my grandma’s shelf before it was on mine. It is still one of my first references when I am cooking and baking. I was excited to see a new edition of this cookbook come out. It was hard to image it getting better that my go-to reference 1970s version but it did get better. There are so many new recipes in this book. I love the chapter layout with tabs of this book because it makes it so easy to find that dessert or appetizer you want to make. The tabs are in the old version and probably one of the reasons I love that book so much. I am thrilled they kept the tabs in the book to make it such an easy reference. They also kept the pictures. I love having a picture when I am making a recipe because then I can see if I flubbed it up or if I was almost close to making it. (I rarely claim perfection!) Over all this new edition is a much a have for a kitchen … even if you have an older version of the cookbook like I do. You will find something to love in this edition for sure!

You can find this cookbook over on Amazon right now for a great price! You can still order it and get it in time for Christmas too. This would make a perfect gift for someone who wants to start to cook in the new year, has an older edition of this book, or even just needs a great reference cookbook!

 

NOTE: We were provided with a review copy of this book to support this review. No other compensation was received. All thoughts and options expressed are our own.

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December 2011 Monthly Meal Plan

December 4, 2011 By 3 Comments

Our Monthly Meal Plan has kind of become a staple of our budgeting process.  Rather than planning for meals from week to week, we put in a little extra time and effort and knock it out right away.  It takes a little discipline, but sticking to the plan can keep costs down and lead to a healthier and closer knit family.  Research supports the notion that having dinner as a family has a number of benefits for the kids (http://children.webmd.com/guide/family-dinners-are-important).

Even though we strive to stick to our plan, however, sometimes life just gets in the way and we have to change things up a little.  Don’t let that discourage you, though!  I always feel that if I have a plan, I can always adjust it when the need arises.  If I don’t have a plan, though, I feel like I am always adjusting and trying to put something together at the last minute.  That’s usually not a fun way to be.

This month, we are focusing on cleaning out our freezer.  At the beginning of next year, Beth and I are planning to go on a vegan diet for a couple of months in an effort to kick start our weight loss and fitness goals.  As such, we need to make sure to use up most of the meat in our freezer so that we aren’t wasting the money.  The big difference for us this month will be that we will not be replacing that meat when big sales are happening.

December 2011 Monthly Meal Plan

Week 1 (November 27-December 3)

Sunday–Shrimp Scampi w/ Rice Pilaf
Monday–Red Beans and Rice
Tuesday–Turkey Salad
Wednesday–Leftovers
Thursday–Pork Chop Dinner
Friday–Pizza
Saturday–Hot Dogs for the Kids (Beth and I will be at a Christmas Party!)

Week 2 (December 4-December 10)

Sunday–Vegetarian Chili w/ Rice
Monday–Vegetarian Chili w/ Spaghetti
Tuesday–Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice
Wednesday–Slow Cooker Meat Loaf
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Tacos
Saturday–Daring Kitchen Meal (Keep a look out for this one)

Week 3 (December 11-December 17)

Sunday–Beef Stroganoff
Monday–Lentil Soup
Tuesday–Steak Dinner
Wednesday–Grilled Cheese w/ Tomato Soup
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Spanish Tortilla
Saturday–Carnitas

Week 4 (December 18-December 24)

Sunday–Enchiladas
Monday–Chickpea Curry
Tuesday–Spaghetti Dinner
Wednesday–Carnita Pizza
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–BLT’s w/ French Fries
Saturday–Turkey Dinner

Week 5 (December 25-December 31)

Sunday–CHRISTMAS!!  (Ham Dinner)
Monday–Risotto
Tuesday–Turkey Noodle Soup
Wednesday–Turkey Pot Pie
Thursday–Leftovers
Friday–Quesadillas
Saturday–Appetizers

As always, if you are looking for recipes or answers on monthly meal planning, please leave a comment or email us with your questions.  We can’t promise that we will have all of the answers, but we will do our best to find them!  Just send us an email at simplybudgeted@gmail.com.

Have you tried monthly meal planning? How did it go? Any tips or suggestions?

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