Temporarily Tightening Our Grocery Budget

With Christmas right around the corner we have majorly blown our budget for the month. Not to mention some renovations that we are in the process of. We like to be able to save about $1600 a month, but for November and most likely December that is not going to be possible. We already do a pretty good job of cutting back when it comes to food, but recently we have been going out to lunch and dinner more on the weekends. Yesterday I made up a meal plan that includes our breakfasts, lunches, and dinners from now until Christmas using mostly what we have at home and allowing about $10 at Publix to pick up a few things. It will be a good way for us to clear out some things that have been sitting in our freezer and pantry maybe a little to long. 


Breakfasts:
Muffin Melts - I plan to make these over the weekend uncooked and individually wrap them and freeze. Just pop them under the toaster oven broiler when we need breakfast and done.
Yogurt - I try stock up on Greek yogurt when it goes on sale
Oatmeal - Already have a can of quick cooking oats. Add some cinnamon, brown sugar, oats, and water to a bowl microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds.
Bagels - Always keep these in the freezer

Lunches:
Leftovers - Most meals I cook are big enough for us to have leftovers for at least one lunch each. If we already have our lunches planned out for the week I will freeze the leftovers in lunch size portions for easy lunches on weeks when we don't have it all together.


Dinners:

Friday - Hagin's work dinner
Saturday - Steak and veggie lo mein - I bought sirloin on sale a month or two ago and veggies on sale last week. Saute steak and veggies in sesame oil. Add low sodium soy sauce and sesame seeds. Toss with cooked spaghetti. I only use on small sirloin steak and a lot of veggies to help our meat go farther.
Sunday - Turkey Meatballs with spaghetti and frozen veggies - I stocked up on ground turkey recently, we always have pasta and frozen veggies on hand.
Monday - Pulled pork tacos - I made pulled pork for dinner last weekend for Hagin's mom and grandma. Froze the leftovers. We already have soft tacos, cheese, sour cream, and salsa. I might make a side of rice. and beans which I already have.
Tuesday - Turkey Chili and cornbread - More ground turkey and beans and tomatoes I bought recently on sale. Always keep the ingredients for an easy cornbread on hand. I may consider adding some jalapenos to change it up.
Wednesday - Chicken Florentine frozen skillet meal - I like to buy the frozen skillet meals when they are on sale AND I have a coupon. They are very convenient when we are running low on food or I need a quick dinner.
Thursday - Turkey breast, sweet potatoes, and roasted carrots - One of the only meals this week I actually need to buy the ingredients for. Good thing they are all on sale.
Friday - Homemade Pizza - Need the crust, some cheese and toppings already have the sauce.
Saturday - Leftover pasta 
Sunday - CHRISTMAS!

Shopping List:

• 2 - Publix Baby Cut Carrots
• 2 - Mueller’s Pasta
• 2 - Thomas’ English Muffins
• 2 lbs Publix Young Turkey Breast
• Sweet potato
• 2 - Fage Greek Yogurt
• 2 - Pills Pizza Crusts
• 1 - Smart Balance Milk
• Eggs
• Dijon Mustard

With my coupons and sales this should come in around $10-$15 and will get us plenty of carrots, pasta, English muffins, and turkey to last for another few meals. It was fun to come up with recipes to use up some pantry items.