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A peek at our weekly grocery shopping
Each week I plan on sharing a picture of our cart at each store along with a breakdown on what we bought and what we paid. Thankfully we have zero dietary restrictions or allergies which helps us keep our budget on the low side. We try to stick between $80-90 each week for our family of seven. A lot of times what is on the menu doesn’t directly correlate to what we buy because I like to plan our meals from what we have on hand currently and use our budget to stock up on good buys plus produce and dairy products.
Last week we were shopping for two weeks worth of food because of an upcoming vacation so there really isn’t much to show you this week. We did pick up Lunchables for the kids (a special treat at the start of each vacation) plus a pack of juice boxes and spent about $15. That’s all the spending this week though! You can look at other weeks of grocery budgets and meal plans to get a better idea of how we spend our budget each week.
Also, because of being on vacation I’m not the one planning meals! We will be with my in-laws and while I’ll be helping in the kitchen I won’t be in charge so instead of sharing what we will be eating I’ll be sharing some of our absolute favorite meals down below.
Menu Plan
I love menu planning and seeing other’s dinner plans! I’m weird like that 😉 As I’ve shared before, being in the kitchen is my happy place so I love finding meals that are new but I also never forget our favorites! These will link to the author’s original recipe unless it’s my own recipe/creation that I don’t have a link for… yet.
If you need some inspiration for how to create menu plans you can read here where I go into detail about how I make a plan for our food week and here to read how I create our grocery list.
I don’t make specific plans for breakfast and lunch but these are the basics I rotate between while throwing in a few other things for special days or weeks when I have the right ingredients.
Breakfasts: Pancakes, Coffee Cake, Egg Sandwiches, Sausage Balls, Eggs (various ways), English Muffins, Banana Bread, Biscuits and Gravy, and various types of muffins.
Lunches: Leftovers, PB&J, Meat and Cheese Wraps, Cheese Quesadillas, and Mac ‘n’ Cheese.
Dinners, however, are always planned for since they tend to take the most ingredients and prep time.
We are on vacation this week and I’m not in charge of planning meals. Instead of sharing what is on our menu I’m sharing some of our all time favorite meals!
Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers – These are our absolute favorite chicken fingers. Super crispy and incredibly easy to make.
Salisbury Steak Meatballs – The sauce for this dish makes me lick my bowl clean. I just need to make sure I do it when the kids aren’t looking so they don’t copy me!
Thai Chicken Pizza – It’s rare for a week to go by and this not be requested by the kids. They’ve dubbed it “peanut butter pizza” and it’s a hit with all ages.
Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole – I love that this cooks in the slow cooker and doesn’t require any “cream of whatever” soups. Plus, it’s got bacon.
Basic Drip Beef Sandwiches – I want this in my belly NOW! This makes a HUGE amount of meat so we can cook once and eat it all week or cook once and freeze it for future meals. Either way, it means less cooking for future meals.
Creamy Chicken Taquitos – This was our first adventure into baked taquitos and we’ve been cooking them up in a variety of ways ever since. The creamy filling makes these extra delicious.
Beef Stroganoff – One of the few main meal dishes I’ve created my own post for here. I’m a sucker for slow cooker meals and this stroganoff is no exception.
Homemade Pizza – It’s a staple on our menu every Friday night. You can find my crust recipe here and a recipe for bulk homemade pizza sauce here. Go pick your toppings and cheese and have your own pizza night!
What’s on your menu this week? What are some of your favorite meals?