The hubby and I got really serious with ourselves and our budget. We are officially on a spending freeze.
Since we were already OVER our grocery budget for January {ouch}, I thought it might be a good {& crazy} idea to try to live off the pantry and freezer for the next two weeks… minus extremely limited staples like bread, milk… and animal crackers, of course. :)
To be honest, I wasn’t sure we could do it, but it felt really good to actually be looking in my pantry for meals instead of just running to the store for whatever was tickling my fancy on pinterest. :)
We slashed our grocery budget that will start in February, and I am *gulp* going to try to delve back into the Crazy Coupon Bandwagon.
{I know. I know.}
I did coupons hardcore for about 3 years, but I’ve been on a Coupon Break since I went back to work when Wade was about 6 months old.
It will be more time and work I’ll need to fit into my week, but if our goal is saving money on our groceries, using coupons is kind of like the biggest no brainer ever.
![creamcheeseenchiladas13_thumb[2]](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-_wdjQ2sQs3M/TxzBdFxzTRI/AAAAAAAALcQ/Yv5J1Y5rCkA/s1600-h/creamcheeseenchiladas13_thumb22.jpg "creamcheeseenchiladas13_thumb[2]")
From the Freezer… Cream Cheese Enchiladas via Pearls & Handcuffs
{source}
Date Night… TJ’s fabulous Orange Chicken
{Yes, believe it or not, we’re even eating in for our date night, but we’re still living it up since TJ’s Orange Chicken is pretty much as good as take out!}
From the Freezer… Asian Pork Chops image via The Cooking Husband
Because of our Challenge, I only had to prep ONE meal this week! And ALL our meals are coming from our Pantry or Freezer! Woot!
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Do you wanna take a stab at a stress free dinnertime? Click for more info on how on earth I do it. {Did I mention I ♥ it?}
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What’s up on your Menu this week?
I’d also love to hear what your tricks are to save big $$$ on your groceries.
I definitely could use the inspirational kick in the patooty.
Good for you! Now I have someone to sympathize with…After today I think I'm going to be over my January budget too. Trying to get back on track this year, and it's hard, but it feels good to be disciplined in the area. :) Let me know what meals you come up with! BTW, I did get to use my awesome header on my cooking page on my new blog. :)
Help me! I am planning on baking a pasta for this weeks menu plan but not real sure what to do. This may be a silly question BUT, I am assuming that I cook the noodles then throw the ingredients together to store for the week? Also, how did you ever end up liking the Chicken & Spinach past bake? Here: http://www.savingmoneylivinglife.com/2010/06/chicken-spinach-pasta-bake.html
Thank you for any help! :D
Make sure you enter Christina's giveaway – ends TODAY! Winning inserts from Jan. 1st to now would be a BIG help in getting you restarted with cpns. I'll cross my fingers that we BOTH win. :)
Good luck with your freeze! I may have to copy this.. we need to cut back and empty our pantry at the same time. Thank you for the great idea.
Ps.. here is our menu..
http://www.thegrantlife.com/2012/01/menu-monday.html
Coupons are a good way to save $$ on grocery. Here is how I organize mine http://lifeinthethriftylane.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-i-organize-my-coupons.html
I would to hear more about how you use coupons to save money. I am just starting to use coupons and I know I have a lot of learning to do. I know I am not going to be saving crazy money like those people on the show. But at least if I can save 50 to 100 dollars I would be in heaven.
Yes, I always cook the noodles first, assemble the dish that I'm baking and then store until the night we're having it. Then I pop it out and in the oven.
And yes, again, the Spinach Chicken was good!!!! I'm a big pasta and spinach lover! I think I bought the little Green Giant square box of spinach. I also cooked that about half the time instructed before adding it to the dish.
Hope that helps!