First Solo Outing

We have reached a new milestone.... Drum roll please.... I went out alone with the two kids!

I have been dreading this day since I found out I was pregnant with June bug. After I had her we would go out as a family or either the hubs would go or I would go alone, or the really rare occasions the kids would stay with one of their Grandmas while they were visiting. While those options are doable I have been wanting to go out alone With the kids... Call me crazy.

They just opened a small neighborhood market Walmart by me that isn't huge, but would have everything I would need. I knew this was the store we'd try out this new endeavor... It was a great choice!

Today I woke up feeling brave. I got everyone ready and off we went. I wore June bug with a home made Moby wrap, which worked out great. Billy Goat sat in the cart and loved being able to pat his sister when she would get fussy.

Having two little ones takes forever. Once we were loaded, and the again when everyone was in the cart it was smooth sailing. Since I only go bi monthly we had to get quite a bit of stuff. By the end I had two fussy kids with still about 5 things to get. I was picking something big up (OK you got me... It was a pack of Dr. Pepper). And I may have been struggling a bit. There was a guy in the aisle who noticed, helped me, and to top it off told me I was a great mom. 

Then it was the dreaded check out time. My two kids were still fussing and I knew this could be awful. The store was pretty empty I didn't have to wait in line at all and a cashier who wasn't doing anything came and unloaded my cart and loaded it back up again. They were quick too.

So pretty much the conditions were perfect and made for smooth sailing! I was also under budget! 

This weekend is another dreaded first. My first night alone with them while the hubs is on a camp out with the deacons wish us luck!

September 1 Menu

Here's what we're eating:

Monday:

Beef and Broccoli
    This recipe is in my head. I do just a cheap steak from the store that I cut in small pieces. I cut broccoli in bit sized pieces as well. The sauce I use:
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c brown sugar
1 t Ground ginger
Red pepper flakes
I marinate the meat in the sauce for at least half hour. I put oil in a pan and saute 2 cloves chopped garlic in it. Quickly add the meat and cook until it's rare. Add the broccoli and add a little water or broth and cook until broccoli is tender. Serve over rice.

Tuesday:

Hamburgers
I get a pound of ground beef and add worstiershire sauce to it. If I'm feeling crazy I'll add a dry ranch packet to it. I form those into four balls and press into patties. Sometime I grill them and sometimes I cook on a skillet, both ways are amazing! While those are cooking I saute onions in butter until they turn brown and sweet. When burgers are done I top them with cheese and the onions. Serve them on buns with the condiments you want!

Wednesday:

Taco salad
Brown 1lb ground beef and add in red beans. Salt and pepper to taste. Thinly chop lettuce throw in a bowl, add a bunch of crushed chips (we like Doritos nacho cheese), top with the ground beef and beans. Mix in French dressing.

Thursday:

Chicken Parmesan
I butterfly chicken breasts until they are fairly thin. I bread them first in seasoned flour, then eggs that are beat thoroughly, then in seasoned bread crumbs. I pan fry those in hot oil with two cloves chopped garlic until golden brown, I put those in a baking dish with prego pasta sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 until cheese is melted. Serve over pasta.

Friday:

Leftovers or date night

Saturday:

Sweet and Sour Chicken
Cut 2 chicken breasts into bite sized pieces. And pan fry in oil and two cloves garlic, until golden brown. Put in a baking dish add sauce.
Sauce:
1 can pineapple in juices.
1/4 c ketchup
1/2 c soy sauce
1/4 c vinegar
1/4-1/2 c sugar
1 spoonful of cornstarch
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, serve over rice

Sunday
Green chili burros
1lb ground beef browned. 1 small can green chilies 1/2 can green enchilada sauce. You can add onions and potatoes as well. Fill in tortillas top with cheese and roll them up!

Monday:
Chicken gravy over rice
3 chicken breasts 1 can condensed soup put in crockpot until chicken shreds then add milk until gravy consistency. Eat over rice

Tuesday:
Sloppy joes
1lb ground beef, 1 can manwich buns

Wednesday:
Korean beef
(Click link)

Thursday:
Ranch chicken
3 chicken breasts coated in ranch packet, topped with sour cream and cheese.

Friday:
Orange chicken
(Click link)

Saturday:
Lefties or date night

Sunday
Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole
4 chicken breasts on a pan sprayed and covered in salt and pepper, top with 2 cups grated swiss cheese, and ham slices. Top that with 1 box prepared stuffing. Top that with 1/2 cup sour cream, condensed soup, 1/2 cup milk. Bake 350 for 40 min. Covered 30 more uncovered.

Our Meal Plan

I love food! More than a lot of things. I love cooking, I love eating, and I love feeding people. I love food!

One of my greatest fears of budgeting was that I couldn't eat out as much as I'd like, or that I would be limited in grocery shopping. Better ingredients really do make for better food. I don't go crazy at the store, but putting a limit on what I could spend put pressure on me that I didn't like the thought of. The hubs is great and reassures me that if I am over its no big deal and he means it! He's great, plus he likes good food too! :-)  How I got over my fear is, first, we set a reasonable budget for it. Something that we can obtain. Next I look at it as a game. I have to be as close to our allotted amount as possible. I can't stress if I am over, this is the food for my family after all! Now it's almost fun having our budget in place. I actually enjoy shopping with it! The last thing that helps is making a menu! (I make a bimonthly menu and do major shopping twice a month, if we need stuff in between we make quick, small trips. Less time at the store means less chance for over spending. Bonus is avoiding the heat and not having to load up the two kiddos a bunch!) I did this before but it really helps me think about what I am going to get and stick to that. This week I am even making a treat menu as well! We also have an eating out budget as well and I like that too. We make it count and we definitely eat better quality! We avoid the not so good fast food restaurants, but eat at the yummier places.

What I love most about budgeting in our eating categories is we waste so much less! I'm amazed at it! Since we are on budget I buy what we want, but not excessively. Since we don't eat out as much we eat our left-overs, always and all of them!

The month of August we were over in both categories :-( , but not by much! In fact I am encouraged by it and not discouraged! Bring on September!

We Bought a Car!

We bought a car! Not a new car, but new to us. In fact its the newest car me and the hubs have ever owned. I feel like we bought this car quickly, yet we did a lot of research on it...and on the type of car we wanted and I feel like we got the perfect deal!

We have been talking about getting a new car for a few weeks, but with our budget I thought we wouldn't get a new car for several months or until we sold our old car. Although we knew we would probably need to wait the hubs and I were checking out Craig's list for options. I wanted something bigger and the hubs wanted something smaller. We decided we would look into both and whatever we found that was a good deal that we both loved we would get. Bigger cars were more money with fewer "luxuries'. I still wanted a bigger car. The hubs made a point that our family would fit a smaller car and we didn't need the bigger vehicle. He was right. And thanks to him we got a nice car without breaking the bank. He's really smart and logical. :-). I'm a bit more of an emotional thinker. We make a great pair.

We found our car and it didn't fit the budget. Thank goodness the hubs had some stocks we were planning on cashing in, so we did just that and it worked out! We did have to rearrange some categories and play catch up in some areas, but we made it work! We won't be able to save as much this month, but it worked out!

I love our car and I love that we could buy our car on our budget. I love how free we are on the budget and seeing how organized our money is and getting the most use out of it! I am a happy girl!