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{Mom, Vicky, Jill, Colette, etc: Don't take a red pen to my grammar or sentence structure, I'm sure it's horrible! :D Love you! }

Here is my list for this month. 25 recipes, with a little wiggle room to eat out (or use leftovers) To keep grocery prices low, see tips below. We do not have these meals in order. Like I said, I have the list, and the ingredients and we decide that day what we want. There are some pieces to the meals that I do make at the beginning of the month and freeze. It's easier when you own a deep freeze.

For individual recipes, please ask! Some things, like Lasagna, most people have their own version. But I am happy to share mine! I just wanted to get this out asap for those of you asking! Also, we are not big salad eaters, so we don't have to budget for that. And when we do use salad or lettuce, I don't buy it until we're ready to use it!

*-can make ahead and freeze
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Dinners

*Lasagna, Garlic Bread (30min prep; Bake 20min)
Chili, peanut butter or grilled cheese sandwiches (20 min)
*Alfredo Bake, Garlic Bread (25 min)
Fried Chicken, Corn, Mashed Potatoes and gravy (30-45 min)
*Chicken Pot Pie (10min prep; 20 min bake)
Baked BBQ Chicken, Greenbeans, Fried Potatoes or rice (20 min prep; 45 min bake)
BBQ Hamburger, Mac and Cheese (20min)
*Meatballs, Greenbeans, Fried Potatoes or rice (make ahead prep 25 min; 35 min bake)
Mushroom Steak, Glazed Carrots, Mashed potatoes (crock pot, 15 min everything else)
Cheeseburger Soup (25 min prep: 25 min make)
Cheesy Corn Chowder (25 min prep: 25 min make)
Hamburgers, Baked Beans (20 min HB, 35 min BB)
Spaghetti Macaroni, Garlic Bread (30 min)
Roast, Noodles, Potatoes, Carrots, Bread (crock pot, bread made ahead)
Homemade Pizza (30 min)
Ham & Cheese Roll-up, chips (10 min prep; 20 min bake)
*Chicken Enchiladas, Salad (10 prep; 20 min bake)
Ramen noodles & Mashed Potatoes (5 min.)
Pork Chops, corn on the cob, foil potatoes
(buy pork loin and slice your own chops, grill them, potatoes 40min)
BBQ Shredded Pork (crock pot the other half of pork loin, shred it, etc)
Beef Stew (use leftover roast and veggies)
*Broccoli Chicken Casserole (25 min prep, 20 min bake)
Tacos (10min or less)
Chicken Salad (5 min)
Bierrocks
Meatloaf, broccoli and cheese, fried potatoes
Tuna Melts with veggie chips

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For all my chicken recipes that include shredded chicken (chicken salad, chicken pot pie, etc) I buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it as soon as I get it home. Put small portions (enough for each recipe) in freezer bags and freeze it. I buy this chicken for $5 at krogers and it’s enough for most all my meals. For meals requiring chicken breast portions, I used to buy boneless skinless chicken breasts. But it just keeps getting more and more expensive. Now I buy chicken tenderloins, they are almost the size of chicken fingers. And the same amount (pound-wise) comes in each bag, as the breasts. MUCH cheaper and I trim the fat if needed.

Find a good homemade bread recipe (we use a family one) and make it at the beginning of the month. Again, bake and divide the rolls into portions for each meal then, freeze them! Pull them out while you are making your meal and they should thaw perfectly in time. Pop them into the microwave before sitting down... voila! Hot, fresh rolls!

I know you’re thinking “Ramen Noodles?” Yep... we used to buy canned soup but it was around $2/can! And we needed like 3 cans! We serve the hot soup over mashed potatoes and it’s sooo good, and easy. I couldn’t justify spending so much money on just one meal! We converted to Ramen noodles because it was cheaper (of course)! We don’t have this meal often because of the sodium content!

When buying your pork loin; BE CAREFUL to pick one that has very little fat content. Simply because you are paying for it by the pound, and if it has lots of fat, you’re paying for that too.. and you just trim it off anyway, so why pay for it!? We literally divide the loin in half. One half we make chops out of, the other we crock pot it, and shred it for BBQ pork later that week! Be sure to freeze it right away if you’re not going to use it within 2-3 days! It will spoil quick!

We quit buying ground hamburger over a year ago. At Aldi’s you can buy ground turkey for very cheap! The MOST I’ve seen it for was at Krogers at $2 for 1.5 lbs. And it doesn’t shrink when you brown it! Not to mention healthier for you!

For my pizza crusts, bierrocks, and even ham & cheese roll up; I buy Pillsbury’s Hot Roll Mix. I can get it close to a dollar per box. Easy to mix up, includes all your dry ingredients and tastes wonderfully homemade! I never wait for it to rise!

For lunches? We either eat leftovers from supper the night before, or I buy deli meat (from the deli, not prepackaged. Again, cheaper). If you put your sliced sandwich bread in the fridge, it won’t mold! It might get a little stale, but it’s still good! If ours begins getting a little stale, we toast it :)

Potatoes are used often in our house. But for quick mashed potatoes, we used the box of flakes :) We do use skim milk (or soy) and no butter, to make them a little ‘healthier’. But this isn't always the 'cheap' route. I try to compose meals with a meat, veggie, dairy, grain(bread) and/or something starchy in each.
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I cannot stress the food safety issues here. Deli meat rule #1, if you don’t use it all within 7 days of opening it, toss it! Same rule applies to all leftovers-7 day rule! And don’t reheat the portion more than once. Only heat up what you’re going to eat, and put the rest back. If you heat the whole meal each time you eat from it, the risk for food poisoning is huge! Freeze all your ground meat until you are ready to use it. If you use your microwave to thaw it out, you must cook it right then. Microwaves rarely heat/thaw out the meat evenly. By putting it back in the fridge, the partially cooked pieces are only going to grow bacteria twice as fast. The bacteria doubles every 20 minutes! It’s better to brown it completely, and THEN put it back in the fridge.

And, common sense, always wash hands when touching raw meat! Never use a plate to thaw your meat and then return it to the same unwashed plate :) Sorry, I can’t help but mention food safety. My life was changed by a food safety course I took (and licensed in) a few years ago.

Most of these ingredients I usually have on hand. But I have priced it once, to make all these meals AND bought the basic milk, eggs, cheese and bread.. and only spent $311 for the month! AFTER my kroger’s discount, it was $274

~Happy cooking!