I Finally Did It

So those who know me know that I HATE to cook. I only do it because I have a husband and 2 kids that need to eat. I wish we only needed to eat like 3 times a week, but sad to say we have to eat 3 meals a day:(! Don't get me wrong I love food, I just love it more when someone else is the one cooking it. So another thing to add to our list of "when we have some extra money", is a personal CHEF :)!  So until then, here is what we did that has actually brought my hate of cooking down to a strong dislike. It isn't a new idea and in fact I think quite a few people do it, but it is a new concept around our house. What is it you ask? It is a two week menu.

What a novel idea! I have tried this before with no success and this time around I did things a little different. During my failed attempt I wrote down what we were having each night of the week and then usually when that night came around I didn't feel like what was on the menu :(! And I hated trying to figure out what it was that I wanted instead. So I stopped doing the menu thing and continued hating to fix dinner. This time, I sat down and wrote down 14 things that sounded good (new and old recipes) and then we headed to the grocery store to get all the needed items. Which was quite the experience.

It had been like a month since we had been to the grocery store and our cupboards and fridge were pretty empty.I kind of dreaded going to town, because I hate the grocery bill when things get this low. Anyway, it was the first time in a long time that Matt went with me to get groceries. It was kind of fun, until towards the end and then I remember why it is that I usually go do it by myself. He is fine until you have been out for a while then he is just kind of whinny and he gets pretty agitated pretty easily. So usually I just leave him home and go on a day that my mom can help me with the kids and we usually have a blast :)! (Not that I dont have a blast with Matt, it just has to be a short shopping trip or neither one of us has a fun time). Anyway the 4 of us went to Costco and Winco, and we did great. We spent more than we wanted to at Costco, but like I said we were really running low. Then when we went to WinCo we were both a little shocked. We thought for sure we were going to go way over our budget. But to our surprise with a few coupons and sticking to the list, it was a lot less than we thought. YAY!

So lessons learned through this whole menu and shopping trip; I have enjoyed making a menu this time around and I look forward to cooking dinner, first because the ideas are already there and second because I know that I have all the stuff to make them. I have also learned that making a list of items that will actually be apart of already decided meals, and then buying them, really does help with saving money and making my job as shopper/cook a whole lot easier and more effective. So not only did I finally do it, but I have enjoyed it!!!!

So Here Is Our First List of 14 Dinner Ideas:

1. Taco Salad (Use of Chili Cheese Frito's)
2. French Dip (New Idea from Pintrest)
3. Chicken Caesar Salad
4. Tacos
5. Hamburgers and Homemade French Fries
6. Hamburger Helper
7. Lasagna
8. Pork Chops/Mashed Potatoes
9. Homemade Chicken Nuggets
10. Ranch Chicken Pizza
11. Breakfast Dinner
12. Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
13. Steak and Twice Baked Potato Casserole
14. Turkey/Potatoes

We have had the Chicken Caesar Salad and I have to say that it hit the spot and was way better than I thought it would be. I bought a head of lettuce and cut it up, grilled three chicken breasts, we added olives and tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and a bottle of caesar dressing. It sure was good and we had a little leftover for lunch today! Tonight we are going to have Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole. I hope it is as good as it looked on pintrest.

Another fun thing we did for family night was to make a s'mores treat. It was golden grahams, chocolate chips, and marshmallows. I just mixed the golden grahams and chocolate chips. Then I melted the marshmallow in a pan with a little butter on the stove and then poured it over the cereal and chocolate chips. I loved it and I like it better than muddy buddies which have always been one of my favorites.

Helping Make the Smores Treat!

I am loving pintrest and all the new ideas! Lets hope this menu thing continues to be a good thing around here!