Easy & Affordable Meal Planning

How is your meal planning system working for you?

Do you have a good system?  

Or are you just doing the best you can every week to get dinner ready for your family?

Either way - I've got some meal planning pointers to share with you today!  Hopefully they will make your life a little easier, give you good routines for meal planning and make this area of your life less stressful.

My Meal Planning Tips:

1. Go to the store regularly so that you always have good food options at home.  I utilize grocery pick up at Walmart and Sams to make my life easier.  Then shop in store at Aldi or a local store like Meijer or Schnucks as needed.  We eat the majority of our meals at home and I pack lunches all week long.  This saves us TONS of money.  Eating out is so expensive.

2. Figure out your most affordable grocery prices for the items you love.  For me, Aldi has great prices in my area and then I can pick up favorite brands on sale or at other local stores as needed.  These are not the cheapest meals that you can make for your family, but they're affordable and healthy!

3. Write out a menu of options every week to take the guess work out of meal prep every night.  I'll show you mine below.  I don't assign food to every night.  I just write a list of 7 dinner options for that week and we decide each morning what sounds best to eat that night.  Then once you make a menu be sure to stick to it.  That will save you money!  Prep food on the weekends or at nap time or whenever you have the time.  That will set you up for success when you need to cook after a long day.

4. Eat the rainbow!  Add in veggies and fruit to your dinners to save money from making a huge amount of meat or a huge main course.  Buy the fruits and veggies that are in season and on sale for another way to save money.

5. Ask your family for menu ideas.  Ask your husband or your kids what sounds good for the week.  That keeps you from feeling like you have to be the only one thinking about meal planning.  I usually plan some type of tacos for Taco Tuesdays and then I mix it up the other days.  We usually do Door Dash once a week and I cook the rest of the time.

 

Dinner plates from my house to yours!

1 // Homemade Chinese Take Out

Buy the Shredded Beef Steak at Aldi, season it with your favorite teriyaki sauce.  Serve it with stir fry veggies, rice, lo mein or egg rolls.  It's so good and so much cheaper than ordering take out. 

2 // BBQ night

We grabbed some pulled pork that you just have to reheat and I made sides fresh.  I've gotten the Jack Daniels brand from Sams and Kevin finds different deals to have BBQ shipped in from Southern restaurants.  They're both good.  I did roasted red potatoes and green beans and onions for sides.  My kids love to eat these potatoes dipped in ketchup and I like mine loaded.  We each added bbq sauce and toppings to personalize our plates.

3 // Chicken Picatta

This is one of my favorite dishes!!  Yum!  I bought thin sliced chicken from Walmart.  Then I very lightly breaded it with flour, bread crumbs and seasoning and cooked in on my stove top.  I made a lemon sauce with tomatoes, green onions, scallions, lemon juice, sugar and capers.  Let that all simmer together.  Cook pasta and top with the sauce.  Kevin and I love this!  The kids at plain chicken and pasta.

A friend gifted this lemon pasta to me for Christmas and it was SO GOOD.  I'd definitely buy it again.

4 // Taco Night

I make all the taco fillings - meat, cheese, veggies, salsa, sour cream, pico, etc.  Then everyone makes their tacos how they like.  The kids usually want hard shells, Kevin likes nachos and then I opt for a taco salad or nachos or soft shells.

5 // Toasted Sandwiches

I tried these Deli Rolls from Aldi and they were pretty yummy.  They didn't seem as soft as the name brands, but they worked for this meal.  We each added our own toppings - hot ham and cheese, grilled cheese & BLTs.  Served with chips and apple slices.  We all enjoyed them!

6 // Breakfast for Dinner

My family always love this.  I switch up the carb - pancakes, waffles, biscuits, etc.  Then always serve scrambled eggs and a meat option.  This time I served fruit and or a smoothie.  The kids loved it!

7 // And a few lunch/snack options:

I love a breakfast taco for breakfast or lunch.  If you're making breakfast for dinner, make a little extra and save the leftovers for an easy lunch the next day.

Greek yogurt bowls - full of protein and yummy!  I like to do vanilla greek yogurt, granola, berries, bananas, chia seeds and cinnamon.

Nachos!  Sometimes after Taco Tuesday we will have leftovers.  I like to do nachos or a taco salad the following day for lunch.  This day I had tons of pico so I did nachos loaded with pico.

You can never go wrong with a BIG SALAD for lunch.  Buy enough ingredients to have the same salad several times throughout the week.  It'll make your life easier and healthier.

8 // Keep your menu format easy!

I write mine out like this most weeks and then we have meals to look forward to.  I keep it on the side of my fridge and we talk about what sounds best each day or what needs to be eaten first.  It gives us good food to look forward to eating all week long.

Let me know if you have any questions or need any help in the meal planning department.

Happy cooking!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, Friends!  I hope you had a good week.  Ours was busy with school work, crazy weather and getting back into our routines for the new year.  Both big kids got invited to school friend birthday parties this week.  We are working hard to make friends in our new city so this was exciting.  We had some wild weather this week - woke up to big storms and hail Thursday and wild winds throughout the week.

Did you catch my blog posts this week?

Charcuterie Family Dinner

2023 Word of the Year

Must Make Appetizers

 

Now on to my favorite things:

1 // The Perfect Rug

Remember a few weeks ago when I said I was hunting for the perfect rug for my porch??  Well it took me a year, but I found one!  It was from Walmart online.  I measured to make sure it would be oversized, but not too big and it fits perfectly!

2 // Five Below

Olive & Fletcher got Five Below gift cards from our friends for Christmas.  They could not wait to go shopping.  They love browsing the store and selecting a few treasures to bring home.  Olive came home with new Squishmallows and Fletcher picked out a mix of prank toys and a Squishmallow.

 

 3 // Celebrate

We got to celebrate a cousin birthday some some of our favorite great grandmas.  They're the sweetest, kindest, most stylish 80 year olds.  I always look forward to seeing them.  Leo looks forward to CAKE.  My other kids aren't big cake eaters so it cracks me up that he shouts for joy anytime he sees a big cake.

4 // Snuggles

I love when the kids pick out cozy spots around the house.  The cats love it, too.

5 // Chesskers

Leo loves to be included with big kid activities.  His current favorite game is Chesskers.  He takes all the checkers and cheese pieces out of the box and places them on the board.  Puts them all away and repeats over and over.  It's his favorite.

6 // School lunches

I surprised the kids with fancy caramels and have been making my life easier by packing similar things for both kids.

7 // Back to Teaching

Kevin headed back to the classroom this semester after a year off from teaching.  He has been focused mostly on administrative tasks so this will be a good addition to his schedule.  He's a great professor and he's teaching one of his favorite courses. 

8 // Treasure Hunters

Fletcher & Leo are determined to find treasure in our yard.  Fletcher got a metal detector for Christmas.  They've loved looking for things and digging them up.  His biggest find yet is this very heavy, rusty metal object.  I googled it and can't figure out what it is.  Can you help us solve the mystery?  Bonus points for anyone who has gold or treasure in their description :)

9 // Cinnamon saves the day

I don't love greek yogurt, but I do love it when I add cinnamon to it.  This is my favorite combo - vanilla greek yogurt, bananas, berries, cinnamon, granola and chia seeds.  It makes a great breakfast or a great snack.

10 // Adventure Pearl

She's our most curious kitty and she scares me all the time.  I find her at the very tippy top of the cabinets or the furniture often.

11 // Jordan Bakery Box

Regular Chocolate Chip cookies were on the schedule this week.  You can't go wrong with my favorite cookie.

12// Bible Study

Leo and I are back to Bible study and it feels great!  One week he goes with me and the other week he goes to his preschool class.  We both love it.  We are studying John & the Proverbs 31 woman.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your people!  My kids have a 3 day weekend so I'll see you back here on Tuesday.  Linking up with Momfessionals

Must Make Appetizers

I really love appetizers and I would put these at the very top of my list.  They're easy to make and so good.  Must makes for sure - Bacon Wrapped Smokies & Baked Potato Sliders.  I made both of them for my family for New Year's Eve and we loved them.  They'd be perfect for any gathering or the upcoming Superbowl.

This is probably the best appetizer I make.

Bacon Wrapped Smokies

The ingredient list is small and they're simple.  People always ask me for the recipe and rave about them when I make them for an event.

Ingredients:

1 pkg of little smokies

1 pkg of thick cut bacon

brown sugar

tooth picks

 

Directions:

Cut entire package of bacon into fourths.  It is easiest to just open the package and cut the whole slab of bacon into fourths at once.  Then wrap each little smokey in bacon and secure it with a toothpick.  Line a 9x13 glass pan with all of the smokies.  Sprinkle brown sugar on top of all of them.  Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes until they crisp up.  I like to check on them about half way through and pour off any liquid.  This really helps them to crisp up.  Let cool and enjoy!

Baked Potato Sliders

I love potatoes in any form.  I also love a good loaded baked potato.  These were easy to make and really easy to eat.  I customized them to work for my family and you can customize them for your crowd.

Ingredients:

6 of Your favorite big potatoes (I used Russet and would like to try red potatoes)

salt/pepper/your favorite seasonings

olive oil

toppings: Sliced green onions, your favorite cheeses (I used grated Parmesan cheese & sharp cheddar), bacon and sour cream

Directions:

Wash your potatoes well and slice them uniformly.  Lay them out on a greased baking sheet.  Top them with olive oil and your favorite seasonings.  Let them bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes.  Check on them half way through and flip them.  Pull them out of the oven when they start to brown and are soft - check with a fork.  Top them with your favorite toppings.  Serve with a side of sour cream.  Yum!

Baked and ready for toppings!

I loaded my potatoes up with every topping.  The kids requested plain to dip in ketchup, just cheese and bacon + green onions.  We all loved them!  I like to buy the squeeze containers of sour cream and it worked perfectly to top each slider with a dab of sour cream.

These are both so good - I hope you have a reason to make them soon!

2023 Word of the Year

It's time for my big word of the year reveal!  It's my 11th year to continue this tradition.  I started doing this the year I became a mom.  I knew big changes were in store for our family in 2013 - new baby, moving from Utah to Arkansas, new city and leaving my teaching career to be a stay at home mom.  The past 10 years have played out very differently than I imagined, but despite the twists and turns and surprises, they have been pretty wonderful. 

Here are my previous words of the year.

2022: Home

2021: Focus

2020: Family

2019: Listen

2018: Grow

2017: Care    

2016: Invite

2015: Enjoy

2014: Thrive

2013: Change

 

2023: Shine

Art by Olive.

You may not know this, but every year Kevin gifts me a new planner for Christmas.  He writes me a note in the front of it to recap the previous year and talks about hopes and dreams for the new year.  It's my very favorite gift every year.  My 2023 message ended with lots of ideas and hopes for the new year and then he said, "Whatever it is, I know you'll shine!"  That's an exciting way to kick off a new year!

I hope to SHINE in our new city.  If you've ever relocated then you know, you spend your first year in survival mode.  Everything is new.  Everything feels a little hard and everything takes so much work.  It's exhausting to be new everywhere you go and to figure out your new favorite things.  I'm thrilled to feel a little less new and lot more settled.  I hope our family can relax and shine in the things we love this year.

I want to SHINE in my hobbies and interests.  I want to read good books, do exciting things, have adventures, write for my blog, cook good food, volunteer and encourage my kids to do the same.  They're each finding things they love doing as they get older and that has been so fun.  We're all feeling at home at church with teachers we love, Bible studies that we enjoy and routines that we needed.  It's been a blessing for sure!

I want to SHINE in my bakery business.  I love baking for people.  Things are picking up for Jordan Bakery Box after relocating.  I'm focusing on cookies and treats and I have big ideas for 2023.  I finished the year with some really neat cookie opportunities and hope that continues!

I want to SHINE at home in my job as a mom and wife.  I really do enjoy almost every aspect of being a stay at home mom.  I love taking care of my family.  I love planning meals.  I love organizing our house.  I love planning out our days.  I just want to make sure that I'm joyful about my job so that my family knows how much I love them.  Kevin's got some big work goals on the horizon this year so I'm here to cheer for him and support him.  I don't know what the future holds for me and my job prospects so I'm going to work hard to shine in my role as a SAHM mom as long as that is my title.

I want to SHINE in my self care routine.  I've gotten into a good exercising routine walking almost every day so I hope to keep that up in 2023.  I also want to eat better and be more mindful about the food I'm buying and preparing for my family.  It would also be great to find all new doctors here and establish care.  That's my least favorite part of relocating.

I want to SHINE in the friend department. We are working hard to make new friends at elementary school to church to work to neighbors.  We are hosting and saying yes to opportunities to grow our circle of friends.  I think we'd all say that we are making progress, but I'm guessing that many of you can relate to me - it's hard to make new friends as an adult.  Or hard to find family friends that your whole family enjoys.  Or even finding family friends with compatible kids and schedules.  It's tricky!  So we regularly pray for help in the friend department and it's something we are all working on.  I'm going to keep trying and putting myself out there so that at the end of the year I can say that I finished the year with more friends than I started the year with.

I hope to make our home SHINE this year.  We have started and finished projects and have plans for new projects to help our house feel like home.  The kids have big ideas for their spaces.  We've got ideas for inside and outside.  I'm hoping that they'll all come together to make us love our house even more this year.  My hope is that with all of the projects and personalizing we do to our home, we make people feel welcome, loved and excited to be here with us.  I keep snacks stocked to share with neighborhood kids, s'mores ingredients ready to host in a split second and we host dinners and parties often.  I want it to be obvious that home is our happy place.

 

Have you picked a word of the year for 2023?  I'd encourage you to join me.  I love that it gives me a focus and a place to start with my goals for the new year. 

Charcuterie Family Dinner

I can hardly believe it, but my family has been enjoyed charcuterie boards since 2019.  

We've had so much fun making, building, selling and enjoying them over the years.  We've figured out ways to make them a great dinner option for us.  That usually means we have meats, cheeses, salty snacks we love, fruits, veggies and something warm for dinner time.

I've noticed that when I include lots of new things that's expensive and not very practical.  I try to include one new ingredient, lots of favorites and then clean out my fridge and pantry to fill the board.  Otherwise these boards are expensive to make when you buy everything new.  I also like to have them on the menu twice in one week so that we can make sure to eat up all the meats and cheeses before they go bad.

Now onto some yummy dinner boards that I made over Christmas break.

Dinner #1:

I added in some cranberry cheeses, cheese ball and then soft pretzels from the frozen food section.  Your warm food item doesn't have to be homemade!

 Dinner #2:

I made some homemade crusty bread and did a pretty similar charcuterie board for the 2nd night.  My family never complains about having this meal twice in one week as long as I don't serve them two nights in a row.

We love this crusty bread so much and I feel like a real adult being able to make homemade bread!

Would your family enjoy these??  

You'll have to add this to your menu options in 2023!  Let me know if you have any questions.  I'd love to help you feel confident building a board for your family.

Happy Friday

Hey Friends!  I hope you've had a nice first week of the year.  Ours is off to a good start although we're all a little extra tired getting back into work/school routines.  I'm excited to tell you about the highlights of our week.  Did you catch my posts this week?

Happy New Year!

Amazon Favorites - this post is full of our favorite purchases for the kids and adults!!  The kids are crazy about #5 on the list and they use #3 every single day.  I love #9 and hope we get to use #7 soon!

Now on to my favorite things:

1 // Spa Day

The kids asked for and got some fun spa day stuff in their stockings.  They couldn't wait to do an at home spa day.  We had so much fun.  They relaxed and I was their spa lady.  It was so cute and relaxing :) TJ Maxx has lots of really fun affordable spa day items if you're in the market for some.

2 // Snowy Front Door

I've mentioned before that my red door is a bit tricky.  It's dark enough that things get lost on it so I'm always on the hunt for light, bright door decor.  I found this giant snowflake months ago at HomeGoods.  It's so unique and so pretty.  It's wooden and I love it on my door so much.  I'm still on the hunt for a big rug to layer under my welcome mat, but I'm determined not to buy anything until I find one that I love.  What's on your front door right now?

3 // Jordan Bakery Box

I've made some neat local connections and my cookie business is picking up.  These variety boxes and trays have been really popular lately.

4// Sunsets

We've had some really beautiful winter sunsets after several gray days in a row.  That pretty much sums up winter in the Midwest.

 

.

5 // Best Advice for Moms and Wives

If you want help - ask for it.

I was feeling like I was drowning a bit in house work and laundry and homework and meal prep, etc.  So I asked for help.  Kevin's been folding the kitchen towels and it's my new favorite thing.  It never crossed his mind until I mentioned it.  Now I've got a perfectly folded drawer of clean towels.  Is there something you could delegate or ask for help with in the new year??  Do it!

6 // Find Mom.  Sit on Mom.

If you follow me on instagram (@polkadottyplace), then you know this has been a series I've been doing with Leo.  Find mom.  Sit on mom.  It goes through phases and I was thinking it might be something he was outgrowing.  Then Christmas break happened, and he's still eager to find me and sit on me after we get the big kids off to school.  I love it.

7 // Christmas money

Isn't it so fun to go shopping after Christmas with your Christmas money!?  I look forward to it every new year.  I found this lovely floral storage boxes at HomeGoods this week.  They're large and I knew they'd be perfect for storing things in my closet.  I've got holiday gifts I want to keep hidden from the kids in one and elf ideas for next Christmas in the other.  They're so pretty.

8 // 100!!!

Leo and I hit our exercising milestone of 100 walks together this week!  We've sweated, bundled up and walked in the rain to get it done.  And we both really enjoy exercising together.  I know I'm a better mom when I'm exercising daily.  I think I'm going to celebrate and get some new walking shoes.

9 // School Lunches

I'm back to packing lunches.  I have started packing very similar lunches for both kids and just customizing the chips or the dessert.  It makes the process go really fast and they both end up with healthy lunches.

10 // Planner time

Where are my fellow paper planner lovers??  I couldn't function without mine.  I love this time of year when I'm setting up new blog planners, personal planner, bakery planner and making all the lists and goals.  Check back next week for my 2023 word of the year!

11 // Cheers

These two wrapped up their Christmas break with a drink date with Kevin.  Olive wants a caramel latte and Fletcher wants a slushy drink.  It's their favorite treat.

12 // Emily in Paris

I finished up season 3 of Emily in Paris - wow!  What an ending!  I missed it so much that I restarted the show from the very beginning.  I just love it.  Are you watching?

 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Linking up with Momfessionals

Amazon Favorites

I have so many neat Amazon purchases to share with you today!  Some we gave as gifts and other we bought for ourselves.  It's a great round up of all of our favorite purchases for kids and adults.  I won't waste your time sharing things we returned or didn't love.  Only my favorite will show up on my Amazon favorite posts on the first Monday of each month this year.

Let's get shopping!  These were our December Top 10 purchases.

 

1 // Casual Home Montego Bookcase, 5 Shelf, White

The kids had been asking for some bookshelves for their bedroom to display their favorite things.  These have worked out perfectly.  Kevin assembled both quickly and they are perfect for their bedroom.  They're tall and slim so they really help hold lots of things that would otherwise end up on the floor.  The price is great, too!  10/10 recommend

2 // Crocs Kid's Handle It Rain Boots - grass green

We got all the kids new rain boots for Christmas.  I'm hoping they can work for snow and rain as they do some creek stomping this spring.  These worked out great for my Croc loving middle guy.  They're light weight and made out of the exact same material as Crocs.  They worked great for my 6 year old, but we found them to be narrow in the boot section for my toddler.

3 // Amazon Essentials Boys Lightweight Water Resistant Packable Puffer Coat

My kids have worn these Amazon Essentials winter coats for the past several years.  They're so lightweight yet warm.  They keep the kids warm in the snow and on the playground.  We love these jackets.  They wash so well and hold up perfectly with daily wear.  I'll link the different patterns that we have owned and loved.

 

 

4 // D.F. Orner Window Bird Feeder Weatherproof Outdoor Suction Cup

I bought this for a Christmas gift exchange and it's on my wish list for myself!  I think my kids and cats would love watching birds eat at our windows.

 

 5 // BIGGERFIVE Vigor Kids Fitness Tracker Watch for Kids

Our 6 year old had been asking for a step tracker and our 9 year old was asking for a watch.  This seemed like the perfect combo to get both of them for Christmas.  You cannot beat the price and it's got great reviews.  It's even got a 20% off coupon code active right now at checkout.  This was a huge hit with both of our kids!  They've loved challenging each other to see who gets the most steps each day and they love the watch feature, the movement reminder and the fact that it's waterproof.  Kevin says it's easy to set up and monitor settings on the app.

6 // Pompoms for Crafts 1500 pieces 1cm

These worked out so well for Christmas crafts!  The quality was great and the price was amazing - under $6.  We used them several times and still have plenty leftover for crafting all year long.

7 // OPAU Snow Tube, Larger 50inch Inflatable Snow Sled for Kids

We gifted this to Fletcher for Christmas and he cannot wait for our first big snow to use it.  The quality looks great and the price is awesome.  It's $5 off right now and would be great to have on hand for a big snow day!

8 // Bible Cover, Christ Garden Canvas Bible Case with Floral Pattern

Olive had mentioned that her Bible was hard to transport to church carefully and that she'd like a case.  I searched on Amazon and found this beautiful floral one.  She loves it!  It holds her pens, notes and Bible with ease.  It makes me so happy to see her reading her Bible more now that it's easier to carry around.  And it's on sale right now!  Be sure to measure your Bible before selecting the size.

9 // 2023 Desk Weekly Gallery Leather Planner

I am a paper planner person through and through.  I couldn't function without a spot to write my daily to do list, kid schedules, work schedules and all of our important dates.  I have been using this exact planner style for 20 years.  I love it so much.  It has worked well for me as a single lady, working woman and mom.  The quality is wonderful, it opens flat after just a few uses and there are tons of spots to write down important information each week.  I went with the purple planner this year, but there are tons of fun colors to pick from.  The last thing I love about this planner is that it is very portable.  It's small enough to toss in any bag and use it on the go.

10 // RM RICOMAX Metal Detector for Kids

This was Fletcher's big wish on his Christmas list this year.  He's 6 and thought it would be so cool to have his own metal detector to find treasures in our neighborhood.  He has played with it several times and loves it.  He has actually found a lot of things.  It was easy to assemble, it's really user friendly and it comes with tools to dig and a carrying case.  We love this!  It's 36% off right now.

I hope you found an item or two that catches your eye!  Thanks for shopping my affiliate links.

Linking up with Tanya for Prime Purchases

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, friends!  I hope your 2023 is off to a good start.  

My crew headed back to school today and we are all a little sad to say goodbye to our cozy Christmas break.  We had a really fun NYE at home this year.  We've started some fun traditions - delicious food, football bowl games, new matching pjs and games.  The whole family worked together to get all of our Christmas decor down so the house was fresh and clean.  Big kids are so helpful.  It made me feel so good to have the house back to normal.  It was a wonderful way to kick off the new year!

The kids were excited with surprise new pjs and party noise makers.

 

I made a treat tray for them with cookies & a dessert cheese ball.  They called it a Nummy New Year tray :)

I set the table with fancy glasses and decorated with a black and white theme.  All things I already own and the kids loved the fancy table.  The appetizer menu was a big hit.  I did a fruit, veggie tray, chips and salsa, mozzarella cheese sticks, baked potato sliders and bacon wrapped smokies.

Bacon wrapped smokies are always a good idea.

Loaded baked potato sliders.

Dessert cheese ball.

The kids loved it!  We snacked, played games and put the kids to bed.  Kevin and I stayed up watching football, eating snacks and ringing in the new year with neighborhood fireworks at midnight.

We have all set new resolutions and goals for the new year!  I hope 2023 is a good one for your family and mine.