This week I’m back to meal planning

Do you use your crockpot?  Do you have one?  Do you use an InstaPot?  I don’t have one.

This week, I worked hard on a meal plan.  We are trying to save money.  

We are discovering that we overspend needlessly.  We eat out way too often which isn’t good for our health OR our budget.  And sometimes we buy little things that we don’t even think about and though they are little things… they add up!  So we are trying to do better and honestly, just go back to the way things were before…

I used to be so good at this!  It’s how we survived when the kids were little and even up into their teens too.  Every weekend, I would sit down with my notebook and plan the week.  I’d ask everyone if there was something they wanted and I’d try to put it in the plan and just fill in from there.  Now, it’s more just me planning and basing it mostly on our health.  Tweaking recipes to make them better for us and trying new recipes too.

SOOO… yes, this week I meal planned.  I planned every meal except one day over the weekend so we could treat ourselves if we want.  But I planned Breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday.

I made a breakfast casserole this week to eat on… forgetting that the microwave is broken… so DH is taking it to work to heat it up and eat.  Lol and I’m eating oatmeal. 😂

Last night we had cabbage creole (as I’m trying to finish up the cabbage we got the first week of our CSA… I already have another one… 😳) which we loved!  

Today, I’m using my crockpot and making beef and broccoli.  I’m really looking forward to it.

I love using my crockpot but don’t use it often enough.  It makes dinner time so much simpler and I’m fortunate that I am home so I can put it on at just the right time.

I usually do more soups in the crockpot but I need to branch out more!  We’ve done tacos and fajitas too, chili and beans as well.  I think I should try to incorporate at least one crockpot meal a week for those busy days, when I think I’ll be too tired to cook.

This is a new recipe… I hope it tastes good!  We love to go out for Chinese but we don’t have a favorite nearby and well, as I said before, eating at home is better for our health and our budget.

I’ve also been trying to utilize my freezer more too!  Especially since it’s just the two of us most of the time.  I take the left overs and freeze them for DH’s lunches and sometimes I do two servings in one container in case I just don’t feel like cooking, or missed a trip to the store.  

It is so nice to just be able to run out to the freezer and go.

So, what are you eating this week?  Do you meal plan? 

Until next time… ♥️