grocery list Archives

Real Life and Meal Planning – New Plans for May 20

May 19, 2013 by Tiffany

I actually shopped with a real, printed grocery list this week! After several weeks of not using the Weekly Meal Plans due to recipe development, crazy schedules and traveling family members, it was good to get back to shopping with a plan.

I chose the Traditional Plan for May 13, since I did my shopping for that week. And we stuck pretty close to the menu too.

I shopped on Saturday. Have I ever mentioned that I’m a speed shopper? Especially in the grocery store, I don’t waste any time. I grab that cart and I’m off! If I can get through Walmart and home again in about an hour, I feel like I’ve really won.

Saturday evening, there were just two of us home at dinner time. I knew others would be coming in later though, so I grilled 8 burgers. We had sweet potato fries with them. It tasted so good, like summertime.

Sunday was Mother’s Day. Jim talked about taking us out to dinner, but our youngest daughter started running a fever on Saturday night. And honestly, restaurants are pure craziness on Mother’s Day anyway. I decided to make Crockpot Chicken Fajitas, but instead of using the crockpot I used my cast iron Dutch oven. One of these days soon, I’m going to do a post on this pot. I got it in December and I love it! Best of all, it didn’t cost an arm and a leg. I got a deal at Walmart.

I also wanted to make guacamole to go with dinner, but the avocados weren’t ripe yet. So I googled “how to ripen an avocado fast” and came up with a method for doing so in the oven. Chalk that up to too-good-to-be-true. It didn’t work and we ran past the store after church for riper avocados.

There was a frost warning on Sunday night, so we had to tuck the strawberry plants under covers.

On Monday, I grilled chicken tenders outside. I grilled a whole 3lb. bag and froze the extra. I love having cooked meat in the freezer. It makes cooking so much faster. I did a quick no-time-marinade, and doused the frozen chicken with Italian dressing before grilling.

We took a walk after dinner. It was beautiful outside!

The grill ran out of gas just as the chicken was finished cooking. Perfect timing!

Tuesday, I battled a migraine. Yuck. We had an easy dinner of mac & cheese and steamed broccoli. I also created a new ice cream recipe Tuesday afternoon that I can’t wait to share with you. Look for it this Wednesday.

Wednesday, my son reminded me that it was youth group night. Normally, my oldest son drives them to church, but he’s been in NYC this week. So it was up to either Jim or me to do the driving this time. This also made me realize that I’m losing my driver for next year. My son, who just graduated will be living at home. But he won’t be going the same places as my younger son any more. I’ll be back to chauffeuring and finding carpools.

I’m writing this post on Wednesday evening and I haven’t decided what we’ll eat yet. It will either be Garlic Lime Tilapia or Enchiladas.

Thursday is laundry and packing day. And Friday, I’m off to Walt Disney World for the Food Blog Forum Conference! A long weekend in one of my favorite places with some food blogger friends sounds fun to me!

Here’s a sneak peek at this week’s meal plans. You can find out more about how to get them delivered to your inbox by clicking here.

Traditional Plan

Homemade Baked Beans in the Slow Cooker with hot dogs
Grilled sandwiches
Pepper Jack Mac and Cheese
Peanut chicken
Pork Lettuce Wraps
Spanish Steak and Onions with roasted potatoes and asparagus (steak marinated in sliced onions, vinegar, and olive oil)
Frozen Mocha Marble Loaf

All Slow Cooker Plan

Garlic Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes in the Slow Cooker
Homemade Baked Beans in the Slow Cooker with hot dogs
Sweet and Sour Pork Chops in the Slow Cooker
Easy Meatball Subs
Pesto Tomato Ravioli (using cooking method from Ravioli in the Slow Cooker)
Cube Steaks and Gravy in the Slow Cooker
Lemon Cheesecake Dessert

Filed under: Menus, Summer menu Tagged with grocery list, meal plans, Menus, weekly meal planLeave a Comment

Real Life and Meal Plans – And a New Weekly Meal Plan Feature!

April 7, 2013 by Tiffany

I’m so excited about this new feature of the Weekly Meal Plans. Last week, I mentioned that I accidentally threw away my grocery list, which had the menu on it. This week, I was able to print off our new Display Menu and hang it on the fridge.

I can’t even tell you how many times I checked the Display Menu to see what I should be cooking for dinner that night. It’s so handy and beats looking it up on the computer (not that doing that is hard or anything, but…).

Last Sunday, we celebrated Easter. I have a fantastic pineapple dessert recipe that I’m going to share with you tomorrow. It was a great way to top off our Easter dinner. Along with all those peanut butter eggs – yum!

We had to do our egg hunt inside this time, since it was raining. My mom says that if it rains on Easter Sunday, it will rain 7 Sundays in a row after that. It was looking like rain earlier, but it’s been sunny most of the day. Here’s hoping she’s wrong about that!

Yes, that’s a little plastic cupcake instead of an egg. Cute, huh? And if you look closely, you can see our basketball goal hanging on the front door. We’re classy like that.

On Monday, I put meatballs in the slow cooker. I served them on garlic bread like open face meatball sandwiches. So good!

On Tuesday, my son had soccer practice and the others were in and out around dinner time. I pulled a quick meal together of chicken tenders in the skillet and broccoli. Not on the plan, but I had all the ingredients in the fridge.

Wednesday, the boys had youth group. Somehow, I’d gathered nearly 3 dozen eggs in my fridge (not from hens, just the grocery). I decided to make an easy dinner of French toast and bacon, that would also use up the stale bread in the bread drawer. Quick and easy.

Thursday is a busy day for us. The kids all have classes and I also help at one of the homeschool groups. I almost always load up the slow cooker with dinner so it’s ready and waiting when we get home. This time, I tried a new idea for Teriyaki pork chops. Recipe coming soon. It was a hit and easy too.

Friday night brought more soccer practice. I pulled together Chicken Tortilla Soup for dinner, but opted to cook it on the stove top instead of in the slow cooker.

Yesterday was grocery day again. I printed off this week’s Traditional Menu. I like to shop as fast as I can, and having that list ready to print and shop makes it all easier.

Last night, we went out to dinner with friends. It’s so good to have time to catch up. We left all the kids at home with pizza. If you’ve got little ones and still have to line up a baby sitter, hang on! It won’t be long before you can leave them on their own for a while.

Here’s a sneak peek at the menus for this week. If you want the complete grocery list, side dishes, cooking tips and all delivered to your inbox, check out the Weekly Meal Plans page.

All Slow Cooker Menu

Traditional Menu

Filed under: Menus, Slow cooker menu, winter Tagged with grocery list, menu, weekly meal plans1 Comment

Weekly Menu + Grocery List – Year 3 Week 52!

November 25, 2012 by Tiffany

This menu marks 3 full years worth of menus available on the site! You can find all the past menus by going here. I’d love for your help sharing this resource. Feel free to pin on Pinterest or share on Facebook or tell your friends if you like the menus.

Next week, I’ve got a giveaway to celebrate finishing up the third year of free menus.

But for now, let’s talk about this week’s menu. The Lemon Pepper Tilapia recipe can be cooked either on the grill or in the oven. If you choose oven, bake it at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes.

The Cranberry Nut Bars are fantastic, so simple looking, but so delicious. They do make quite a few though. If you have extra, you can pop them in the freezer for later.

As always, you get 6 dinners and 1 dessert. Serving suggestions are included in bold on the recipes and in curly brackets on the grocery list.

Here’s what is on the menu this week:

Swiss Macaroni and Cheese with Smoked Sausage, favorite green veggie

Slow Cooker Beef Teriyaki with Pineapple, rice

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings with Gnocchi, salad

Pepperoni Pizza Pasta, salad

Lemon Pepper Tilapia with Veggies on the Grill (or in the oven), baked potatoes

Beef and Black Bean Taco Bake, chips and salsa, salad

Cranberry Nut Bars

To print, click here: menu year 3 week 52

Filed under: Menus, winter Tagged with grocery list, weekly menu1 Comment

Weekly Menu + Grocery List – Year 3 Week 50

November 4, 2012 by Tiffany

I spent a good bit of last week in Tennessee at my oldest son’s last soccer tournament. We had a great time watching soccer, touring Mayfield Dairy, eating ice cream, shopping the Russell Stover candy store, eating at Mo Mo’s BBQ.

Now soccer season is officially over. Bittersweet, because we enjoyed time with the other families and, of course, watching our son play. He’s a senior so this was the last of his high school soccer career.

This week’s menu has some really good quick meals and a few ways to stock your freezer too. I like to double the Mini Deep Dish Pizzas and freeze them for lunches or snacks. And the Pumpkin Biscoff Monster cookies make plenty for the freezer.

As always, you get 6 dinners and 1 dessert. Serving suggestions are included in bold on the recipes and in curly brackets {} on the grocery list.

Cheater Chinese Chicken over rice

Mini Deep Dish Pizzas, salad

Chicken Philly Sandwiches in the Slow Cooker, french fries, carrot sticks

Cottage Pie, favorite steamed green veggie, Warm Cinnamon Apple Sauce with Toasted Marshmallows

Mexican Beans and Rice, salad, chips and salsa

Ham, Broccoli and Cheddar Soup, Cheddar Chive Biscuits

Pumpkin Biscoff Monster Cookies

To print, click here: menu year 3 week 50

Filed under: Menus, winter Tagged with grocery list, menuLeave a Comment

Weekly Menu + Grocery List Year 3 Week 49

October 28, 2012 by Tiffany

This week’s menu has some of my favorite recipes. Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas and Brown Sugar Chicken and Sweet Potatoes are two recipes we love. It’s hard to go wrong with a slow cooker, especially when the food is delish!

Chicago Style Pizza Pot Pie is a treat. And it reminds me of an outing in Chicago with a friend, when we got to go to the restaurant that makes real pizza pot pies. Amazing and worth the trip.

And Frito Candy! Such a hit every time I make it. The recipe comes from Cookie Madness, I just doubled it so it would last longer than 5 minutes in this crowd of sweet lovers.

Easy Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas, tortillas and fixings, chips & salsa

Brown Sugar Chicken and Sweet Potatoes in the Slow Cooker, favorite green veggie

South of the Border Skillet, salad

Chicago Style Pizza Pot Pie, salad

Bowtie Pasta with Feta and Lemon Pepper Chicken

All Veggie Vegetable Soup, Cheddar Muffins

Frito Candy

To print, click here: menu year 3 week 49

Filed under: 31 days of cooking cheats, Menus, winter Tagged with grocery list, menu1 Comment

Weekly Menu + Grocery List Year 3 Week 48

October 21, 2012 by Tiffany

This week seems to have a theme of honey, but I promise that all the recipes taste very different from each other.

As always, you get 6 dinners and 1 dessert. (Funny that there’s no honey in the dessert.) Serving suggestions are included in bold on the recipes and in curly brackets {} on the grocery list.

Tomato Basil Chicken Soup, garlic bread, salad

Honey Lemon Pepper Salmon, baked sweet potatoes, favorite green veggie

Honey Hoisin Chicken, rice, favorite green veggie

Honey Dijon Pork Chops and Apples in the Slow Cooker, spinach salad, Cheddar Chive Biscuits

Chipped Beef Gravy over Cornbread, fresh fruit

BBQ Chicken with Southwestern Cornbread Stuffing, favorite veggie

Tuxedo Bars

To print, click here: menu year 3 week 48

Filed under: 31 days of cooking cheats, Menus, winter Tagged with grocery list, menu4 Comments

Free Weekly Menu + Grocery List – Year 3 Week 47

October 14, 2012 by Tiffany

The menu this week could be a great opportunity to stock the freezer. Italian Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Shells make enough to freeze a pan and have a pan to eat.

Both the Reuben Calzone and Mel’s Diner Chili will freeze well. You’ll need to double the ingredients for these, if you want to have enough to eat once and still freeze some for later.

And, of course the Cheddar Chive Biscuits are great to put away in the freezer.

Here’s the full menu for this week:

Reuben Calzone, Quick Cole Slaw

Skillet Chicken, Peppers and Tomatoes, salad

Mel’s Diner Chili, Cheddar Chive Freezer Biscuits

Salmon Patties, Mac & Cheese, favorite green veggie

Crockpot Cantonese Sweet and Sour Chicken over rice

Italian Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Shells, salad

Hot Fudge and Caramel Chocolate Poke Cake

To print, click here: menu year 3 week 47

Filed under: 31 days of cooking cheats, freezer cooking menu, Menus, winter Tagged with freezer meals, grocery list, menu2 Comments

Free Weekly Menu + Grocery List – Year 3 Week 46

October 7, 2012 by Tiffany

I think this is a perfect menu for fall. Pumpkin Chili, Apple Cider Cake and some other foods that fit the season as well.

As always, you get 6 dinners and 1 dessert. Serving suggestions are included in bold on the recipe and curly brackets {} on the grocery list.

We’re in the middle of a month long series called 31 Days of Cooking Short Cuts for Cheaters. Click that link to find the other posts so far in this series. Being able to print a grocery list without having to plan a grocery list is a huge short cut for me each week!

Pumpkin Black Bean Chili in the Slow Cooker, Cheddar Muffins

Baked Chicken with Summer Vegetables in the Slow Cooker, angel hair pasta, salad

Loaded Baked Potatoes with Homemade Cheese Sauce, salad

Garlic Lime Tilapia, baked sweet potatoes, favorite green veggie

Honey Cashew Pork Stir Fry, rice

Beef and Black Bean Taco Bake, salad

Apple Cider Cake

To print, click here: menu year 3 week 46

Filed under: 31 days of cooking cheats, Menus, winter Tagged with grocery list, menu2 Comments

Free Weekly Menu + Grocery List – Year 3 Week 45 – Low Cost Menu

September 30, 2012 by Tiffany

I’m pretty sure that the biggest cheater tip I have is the free weekly menus + grocery lists. There are almost 3 years of them, free for the printing. You don’t get much more time saving than being able to skip the menu planning and shopping list making.

I love printing off that list each week and taking it to the store. For a while, I didn’t use the menus I publish here, because I’m always trying out new recipes. But what I’ve learned is that the lists use such common ingredients, it is easy to adapt the meal plan as I need to each week.

If you’ve never tried using the Print. Shop. Cook. feature, you might give it a try. And this week’s menu not only helps you cheat by saving time, but all the recipes are from my Low Cost Meals list, so you can save money this week too.

As always, you get 6 dinners and 1 dessert. Serving suggestions are included in bold on the recipes and in curly brackets {} on the grocery list.

Here’s what is on the menu this week:

Pepperoni Pizza Pasta, salad

Smoked Sausage, Cabbage and Oat Soup, Cornbread

Slow Cooker Beans for the Freezer, tortillas and taco fixings, chips and salsa

Bread Eggs, fresh fruit, milk or yogurt

Mini Deep Dish Pizzas, salad

Ham and Pineapple Fried Rice

Chocolate Cobbler in the Slow Cooker

To print, click here: menu year 3 week 45

Filed under: 31 days of cooking cheats, Low cost menu, Menus, winter Tagged with grocery list, low cost, menu8 Comments

Free Weekly Menu + Grocery List – Year 3 Week 44

September 23, 2012 by Tiffany

Before we get to the menu, I wanted to remind you of the Mr. Food Ultimate Weeknight Meal Contest. My Pork Carnitas in the Slow Cooker recipe is one of 10 recipes competing. I’d love to have your vote! You can vote here through Friday. Thank you!

The menu this week has 3 slow cooker meals and one of my favorite quick meals, Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil. Yum!

As always, you get 6 dinners and 1 dessert. Serving suggestions are included in bold on the recipes and in curly brackets {} on the grocery list.

Chicken Curry in the Slow Cooker, rice, favorite green veggie

Pizza Steak Sandwiches in the Slow Cooker, carrot sticks, French fries

Ham and Swiss Scalloped Potatoes, favorite green veggie

Lentil Tacos, salad, chips & salsa

Zingy BBQ Chicken in the Slow Cooker or Oven, corn, favorite veggie

Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil, Tomato and Onion Salad, good bread with Olive Oil for Dipping

Brownie Biscoff Puppy Chow