Why making the time to cook saves TIME and MONEY

We've all said it: "I don't have time to cook." With the "un"routine of summer I have been slacking in the meal planning and cooking department and I miss it. So for those who don't have the time think about this: How long does it take to go to a restaurant and eat a meal? How much does it cost? How many of us have run out for a bag of milk, come back an hour later with $40 worth of stuff we never intended on buying....and forgot the milk?

Today I wanted to take care of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the next couple of days so I didn't need to worry about it. At 5pm it is chaos at my house so no, I don't have time to cook then...so I started at 845am. In about an hour and a half (which included two fights over the toy cars, juice refills, phone calls and channel changes) I had a roast in the slow cooker, potatoes washed and wrapped in foil, banana loaves baked, egg salad sandwiches and tuna pasta salad made. This, combined with the fruit, yogurt, crackers, tomato cucumber salad and leftovers from last night, means I don't even think about feeding anyone til sometime Friday! So at 4:00 this afternoon I took the kids to the splash pad. And know what? We were the only ones there...guess everyone else was trying to figure out dinner!

What's For Dinner Tonight? Mexican Inspired

This one is always a popular go-to in our house. I love that its quick, easy, and relatively inexpensive especially if you can find chicken on sale!
Ingredients:
*2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (since this recipe also contains kidney beans and cheese this is my meat stretching dish. I use 2 chicken breasts to feed 4 of us)
*one can of drained and rinsed kidney beans
*half a green pepper
*half a jar of salsa
*can of corn (optional)
*rice
*cheese for topping

Brown chicken in a pan and cook rice in a seperate pot as per directions. Break into chunks, add green pepper and sautee until slightly tender. Add kidney beans and salsa and corn if you have/want it. Sometimes I toss in the salsa package that comes with the taco kits or some bbq sauce for an extra bit of flavor. Cook on med-high heat for another 10 minutes or so. Add in cooked rice. Serve topped with shredded cheese on its own or with a salad!

Grocery trip to go with Menu Plan

Giant Tiger
*cheddar perogies- sale $1.00
*coffee cream- sale $1.00- 75cent coupon
*crispers- sale $1.00
*alymers diced tomatos- sale $1.00
*red kidney beans- sale $1.00
*banana muffins- sale $1.00
Total with taxes $5.35

Food Basics
*2x eggs- sale $3.00
*bread- $2.19
*lettuce- sale 88cents
*grapes- sale $2.09
*plastic wrap- sale $1.00
*2x nutrigrain bars- sale $1.88 each (with cash for gas promo on them)
*coffee- $3.99 (this was on the list for somewhere else but as the kids went into meltdown mode I knew to grab and go!l
Total with taxes $17.02

Menu Plan for this week (sort of)

So I broke two of the cardinal rules of grocery shopping today...I went hungry AND with grumpy kids. As a result even with a list we didn't get as much as I had originally intended. That's why this is a sort of menu plan! You will notice that I have quite a bit on hand and as I get back onto the swing I will stock up on certain items when they are on sale to work into future menu plans. So with what I had on hand and todays little shop (for under $25) I have 4 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners and snacks!

Breakfast:
*muffins and bananas
*cereal
*egg salad sandwiches
*scrambled eggs and toast

Lunch:
*perogies and veggies
*salad and grilled cheese
*nuggets and fries

Dinner:
*chili
* chili bake (recipe to come)
*sausage on a bun and salad

Snacks and desserts:
*grapes
*crispers
*nutrigrain bars
*veggies and dip
*oatmeal cookies (recipe to come)

Grocery trips to follow in another post. Stay tuned!

Menu Plan for Week of Oct.22nd

Well better late than never! Things have been a little hectic lately but I'm hoping to get back to some serious posting this week (cross your fingers!) Here's what's on the menu for this week:

Breakfast/Snacks:
*Egg Salad
*Cereal
*Yogurt
*Fruit
*2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins (this time I used Chocolate Cake mix and let me just say YUM!!)
*Crackers

Lunch:
*Tuna Pasta Salad
*leftover stew
*grilled cheese and soup
*Easy Peasy Pizza Pockets with veggies and dip

Dinner:
*Stew
*Tacos
*Homemade Burger
*BBQ Chicken, acorn squash (recipe to come) and rice

Free Ebook: Saving with Menu Planning

Yet another fabulous resource for those who are looking to save a dollar! Be sure to grab your free copy of  Saving with Menu Planning.
Be sure to check that it is still free before you order.

Don't have a Kindle? You can download the latest Kindle for PC here (I love mine!)

My Grocery List Week of Oct5-11

If you've been following along on my grocery budget challenge then you will know that ON AVERAGE I have managed to stick to approx. $65/week. Some weeks were a little more and some a little less. This week, however, there are some great deals (like peanut butter) that I don't want to pass up. One thing to keep in mind when sticking to a budget like this is to plan ahead. I KNOW that we use a lot of peanut butter so by stocking up when it is on sale for a great price it will filter through to help me save on my budget in later week's/months.
Here's my shopping list for this week to go with our meal plan. Tentative total: $86.81 +taxes (if I manage to get a turkey)

Food Basics:

• Turkey- SALE 88cents/lb (since its already mid-morning of Fri I'm not sure if there will even be any left by the time I get there but I have my fingers crossed, this would be for a week in Nov. anyways so there's always time to revamp the plan if they are out)
• 2xCake mixes 88cents each
• 2x canned pumpkin $1.30each
• Burger Buns $2
• 2lbs sweet potatos 88cents/lb
• cheese slices $2.49 
• 2lbs apples 88cents/lb
• can of diced tomatos $1
• Tostitos $1.97
• case of pop $4.77-$2 coupon
• 2x Peanut Butter $2.49each
• Total: $33.09(with turkey)

Shoppers Drugmart

• Milk x2- $8.40
• Coffee Cream $1.98
• Rice Side 99cents
• Total: $11.37
  

Loblaws:

• Cheese $4.99
• Dempsters Farmhouse Bread FREE with coupon from here
• Whole Chicken $6ish
• Buitoni Pizza $3.99-$1coupon
• Oasis juice boxes $1.99-$1 coupon from Allens AJ tins
• Honey Bunches of Oats $1.99-$1 coupon from here
• Green Pepper $1
• 2xEggs $1.99each-$1WUB2 coupon
• Total: $19.96

Nesbitt's Meat Shop:

• 1.5lbs medium ground beef $4.50(ish)
• 2lbs lean ground beef $8
• 2 butterfly pork chops $6 (but WELL worth it!) 
• Total: $18.50

Rexall:

•  3xWheat Thins -$1.49-3x50cents off tearpad coupons
• Total: $2.97

Walmart:

• 2xshave gel $2.49-2x $2 off coupons
• Total: 92cents

Menu Plan Week of Oct 5-11

This week's menu plan is pretty basic but delicious all the same.  Have a recipe or tip to share? I'd love to hear. Feel free to post on Kawartha Bargains Facebook Page as well!

Meal Plan:
Breakfasts/Snacks

• Cereal x3
• Egg Salad Sandwiches
• Pumpkin Muffins (I'm going to try making some using a chocolate mix...mmmm)
• Cheese and Crackers
• Veggies and Dip
• fruit
• homemade oatmeal packages (recipe to come)
• yogurt

Lunches

•   Leftovers
• Pizza
• Grilled cheese and soup
• Ham sandwiches
• Egg Salad
• Tuna Pasta

Dinners

• Homemade hamburgers
• Turkey dinner at my sisters
• Chili
• Tacos
• Chicken and sweet potatos
• Pork Chops and rice

Recipe: Easy Peasy Pizza Pockets

I had originally intended on using my Tenderflake for these (if you are following along with my weekly meal plan and grocery list you would find it on there) but since the chocolate crescents weren't part of the sale I decided to give the weiner wraps a try. My kids like the McCain Pizza Pockets which are more doughy as opposed to flaky anyways so I thought this might be a closer match. I'm sure you could use your own homemade dough as well but for those who are still looking for a frugal and fast fix (not to mention they are a bit better for you then the frozen kind) these were FABULOUS! My little guy helped me to assemble them and thought it was tons of fun!

Ingredients:
*Tomato sauce
*Shredded cheese
*Veggies of choice
*Meat of choice (I used leftover roasted chicken today)
*One tube of Pillsbury Weiner Wraps

Instructions:
*Unroll and seperate dough on a cookie sheet
*Spread each dough section with tomato sauce
*Top with shredded cheese veggies and meat
*Fold over to make a pocket (I pinched the edges on some and not on others and both methods worked out fine)
*Bake in preheated 375degree oven for 13-16 minutes.

My Grocery List (Sept. 28- Oct 4)

Here's my shopping list for this week to go with our meal plan. I'll let you know for sure once I'm done all my shopping what my final total with taxes was:) Tentative total: $59.66 taxes

Food Basics:

• Eggsx2 @$1.67each-$1WUB2 tearpad coupon (I saw this deal in another regions Food Basics flyer but not in ours, I'll check once I'm in store to see if its just not advertised here)
• Chicken Breasts $2.99/lb (looking for a $6ish package)
• Whole Chicken $5.99
• Oats $1.99
• Cheese $4.44
• Crescent rolls (if the chocolate ones are on sale) $1.29- $1coupon (no longer available)
• 2lbs of Yams @88cents/lb 
• Green Pepper $1
• Burger Buns $1.99-50cent tearpad coupon

• Total: $25.20

Shoppers Drugmart

• Milk x2- $8.40
• Coffee Cream $1.98
• Rice Side 99cents
• Total: $11.37
  

Loblaws:

• Grapes 99cents/lb= $2
• Can of tuna $1
• Deli meat $4
• Ham $5
• 2x Catelli Pasta @1.67each- 2x$1off coupons from here
• Green Giant Vegetables $2.50-75cent tearpad coupon
• Rougemont 2L apple juice $2.50-75cent booklet coupon
• Total: $15.09

Nesbitt's Meat Shop:
2 lb ground beef $8(ish)
Total: $8

Menu Plan (Sept 28-OCt.4)

I'm excited to try a couple of new recipes this week so stay tuned to see how they turned out! For those of you who are new to Kawartha Bargains here is how the menu plan/grocery list weekly feature works (I work with a $65 grocery budget).
 I had originally intended on posting the menu plan and shopping list together but it becomes a super long post so instead I'll post them separately. The menu plan will include everything we are eating this week as well as links to recipes (as I try them). The shopping list will breakdown by store what I am purchasing and any coupons I am using with a budget breakdown. What is on your menu plan this week? Have a recipe or tip to share? I'd love to hear. Feel free to post on Kawartha Bargains Facebook Page as well!

Meal Plan:
Breakfasts/Snacks

• Cereal x3
• Bagels and Peanut Butter
• Egg Salad Sandwiches
• White Cupcakes- didn't get to these again but am certainly in the mood for a sweet treat (mix left over from Loblaws deal)
• Cheese and Crackers
• Veggies and Dip
• grapes
• homemade oatmeal packages (recipe to come)

Lunches

• Chicken salad from leftover roasted chicken (recipe to come)
• Easy Peasy pizza "pockets"
• Grilled cheese and soup
• Leftover ham
• Leftover stir fry
• Tuna Pasta Salad x2

Dinners

• Roasted chicken, twice baked potatoes (recipe to come)
• Chicken stir fry
• Meatloaf, mashed and veggies
• Ham and sweet potatos
• Some sort of pasta dish
• Homemade hamburgers

Recipe: Tuna Pasta Salad

For those that struggle with what to make for lunch this is a great alternative to the everyday sandwich, its well rounded and even better super cheap and easy to make! 

 

Ingredients:
-a little less than 1/2 package of elbow macaroni
- 3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise or whipped dressing (I prefer the tang of whipped dressing so that's what I use)
-1/2 white onion finely chopped
-1/2 each of green and red pepper or some broccoli and/or some finely chopped carrots (the beauty of this recipe is you can just add whatever veggies you have on hand)
- dash of salt
- dash of pepper
- 1 can drained flaked light tuna
- sprinkle of fresh or dried parsley
 -cubed cheese
Instructions:
1. Cook pasta, rinse until cool.
2. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
3. I find this tastes better if its sat in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.
4. Serve and enjoy!

My Grocery List for the Week (Sept. 21-27)

Here's my shopping list for this week to go with our meal plan. I'll let you know for sure once I'm done all my shopping what my final total with taxes was:)  Tentative total: $ 42.35+taxes

Canadian Tire:

• Armstrong Cheese $1.89
• USE CANADIAN TIRE MONEY

Food Basics:

• Onions $1
• Potatos $2
• Tuna $1
• Pasta Sauce $1
• Broccoli $1
• Sausages $5ish
• Juice Boxes (Oasis) $2.50-$1 coupon from Allens AJ tins
• Baby peeled carrots $1
• Total: $13.50

Shoppers Drugmart

• Milk x2- $8.40
• Coffee Cream $1.99
• Bread $1.99
• Total: $12.38
  

Loblaws:

• Deli Meat $4
• Nutrigrain Bars- Superfruit- Sale $1.99-50cent coupon from tearpad
• Activia Yogurt- $2.99
• Buns- $2
• Cereal (Kashi or Mini Wheats) $2.99-$2 coupon (Kashi) or $1 coupon (Mini Wheats)
• Total: $8.47

Nesbitt's Meat Shop:
1 lb lean ground beef $4(ish)
Total: $4

This Week's Meal Plan- Sept 21-27

Welcome to Kawartha Bargains newest weekly feature! 
If you need some more inspiration you can always stop by last week's menu plan.  
 I had originally intended on posting the menu plan and shopping list together but it becomes a super long post so instead I'll post them separately. The menu plan will include everything we are eating this week as well as links to recipes (as I try them). The shopping list will breakdown by store what I am purchasing and any coupons I am using with a budget breakdown. What is on your menu plan this week? Have a recipe or tip to share? I'd love to hear. Feel free to post on Kawartha Bargains Facebook Page as well!

Meal Plan:
Breakfasts/Snacks

• Cereal x3
• Bagels and Peanut Butter x2
• Bananas
• White Cupcakes were supposed to be on last week's meal plan but never got made so we still have this sweet treat for this week! (mix left over from Loblaws deal)
• Cheese and Crackers
• Veggies and Dip
• Berry Muffins  
• 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins
• Peanut Butter Cookies

Lunches

• pizza
• chili (in the freezer from a previous week) 
• pulled pork leftovers
• roast beef leftovers
• tuna pasta salad (recipe to come)
• grilled cheese and soupx2

Dinner

• Dinner at the Lindsay Fair! (not included in the $65/week budget...taken from our entertainment budget instead)
• Pulled Pork Sandwiches and veggies
• Roast Beef, potatos and veggie
• Meatloaf, mashed potatos and corn
• Pork Stir Fry
• Homemade Ministrone Soup 
• Baked Sausage Pasta

Grocery Budget Challenge: This Week's Total

If you have started following my newest feature The $65 Grocery Budget Challenge, I promised to share with you my total each week. The menu plan for this week saw a couple of changes (such as we just felt like having grilled cheese sandwiches and salad last night for dinner) and we even have some items that we didn't get made (like the white cupcakes). Overall I don't really feel that I spent any more time than usual in the kitchen and I feel like we ate extremely well despite the budget. That being said I did go SLIGHTLY over budget. I was pretty much on track until I got to Loblaws. They had such great deals on meat this week that I decided to grab some extras and will try to take that difference out of the upcoming week's budget (since I shouldn't need much meat and I don't need coffee or any household items it should still work out). Here's how the budget finished up for this week:

 THIS WEEK'S TOTAL: $88.61 over by +23.21 (that includes taxes)
Next weeks budget- $41.79

Recipes: Slow Cooker BBQ Roast Beef Sandwiches

I have become SO in ♥ with my slow cooker! I used to use it occasionally and it often went for months sitting in my cupboard one of those forgotten about gadgets. Now that I've given my head a good shake I've been experimenting with my slow cooker on a much more frequent basis. Not only does it save me time and yield great results its certainly a MONEY SAVER as well.

This week roasts are on for a great price at Loblaws and I managed to find 2 under the $5 mark each (when does that ever happen). My hubby specifically asked for shredded roast beef sandwiches which I paired with a green salad for a quick, easy, nutritious and cheap meal (with leftovers)!

• 1 roast
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• OR sprinkle roast with your favourite mixed seasoning (I used the Clubhouse Pepper Mix)
•  your fav. bbq sauce

1. Place roast into slow cooker. Sprinkle with garlic powder and onion powder, and season with salt and pepper. Pour barbeque sauce over meat until its covered (about 1/2cup). Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.
2. Remove meat from slow cooker, shred, and return to slow cooker. Add a bit more bbq sauce. Cook for 1 more hour. Serve hot.

Filling the Freezer: Muffins

I've had some frozen Europes Best Fruit in the freezer since the last time it was on sale (and extra cheap with coupon), that I couldn't decide what to do with. The kids weren't diggin smoothies and didn't like them on ice cream so they have just been waiting for me to be inspired.

There was a recipe for blueberry muffins on the back of the Bisquick box so I figured today was the perfect day to try! Loved them so much I also made another batch but put chocolate chips in instead of the fruit and while I was at it finished off the box with some biscuits to go with the chili I was making for dinner. YUM! Now I have a great assortment of muffin in the freezer (in conjunction with the 2 ingredient pumpkin muffins from earlier this week) and can tackle some freezer entrees next week.

Muffins Recipe:
2cups Bisquick Mix
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil (which I didn't have so I melted 2 tbsp of margerine and it worked fine)
1 egg
3/4 cup blueberries (or this is where I substituted for mixed fruit and then chocolate chips) Do not thaw frozen fruit

Heat oven to 400degrees. Stir all ingredients except fruit just until moistened. Gently stir in fruit. Divide among cups. Bake 13-18 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes 12 muffins.

Biscuit Recipe:
2 cups Bisquick Mix
1/2cup milk
Heat oven to 450degrees. Stir ingredients until soft dough forms. Place dough on surface sprinkled with Bisquick mix, roll to coat. Shape into ball. Knead 10 times. Roll into 1/2inch thickness and cut with knife dipped in Bisquick mix. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 6-8 minutes. Make approx. 8 biscuits.

Grocery List for This Week

Here's my shopping list for this week to go with our meal plan. I'll let you know for sure once I'm done all my shopping what my final total with taxes was:) Tentative total: $ 60.25+taxes

Food Basics:

• Panebello Pizza- Sale $2.88-$1 coupon from here (if my $2 off coupon from here arrives then I will get two Panebellos total)
• 1lb green peppers 88cents
• 1lb red peppers 88cents
• cauliflower 99cents
• strawberries $1.97
• 1lb grapes 88cents
• Cashmere Toilet Paper- Sale $4.88-$1 coupon from here
• Pasta noodles- $1
• Burger Buns -$2
• Total: $14.36

Shoppers Drugmart (MUST SHOP ON SUNDAY)

• Milk x2- $8.40
• Ritz Crackers x4- $1.79 (hoping for the 8000 bonus points wub4 Kraft products, read this is the last day for that promo, either way a good deal for something we use a ton of)
• Coffee Cream 99cents
• Rice Side 99cents
• Aluminum Foil $1
• Total: $18.54

Giant Tiger

• Lactancia Margerine- 98cents
• Mini Wheats Cereal- Sale $2.49- $1 coupon  
• Total: $2.47

Loblaws:

• Resolve Spray and Wash- Sale $1.99- $2 coupon from Smart Source Insert 08/25/12= FREE
• Deli Meat- $2
• Club Pack Chicken OR Roast (looking for a package around $9)
• Total: $11

Rexall:
Maxwell House Coffee: Sale $5.88

Nesbitt's Meat Shop:
1 lb lean ground beef $4(ish)
l lb medium ground beef $4 (ish)
Total: $8

Meal Plan for This Week

Welcome to Kawartha Bargains newest weekly feature!
 I had originally intended on posting the menu plan and shopping list together but it becomes a super long post so instead I'll post them separately. The menu plan will include everything we are eating this week as well as links to recipes (as I try them). The shopping list will breakdown by store what I am purchasing and any coupons I am using with a budget breakdown. What is on your menu plan this week? Have a recipe or tip to share? I'd love to hear. Feel free to post on Kawartha Bargains Facebook Page as well!

Meal Plan:
Breakfasts/Snacks

• Cereal x3
• Bagels and Peanut Butter x2
• Egg Salad Sandwiches x2
• Strawberries
• White Cupcakes (mix left over from Loblaws deal)
• Cheese and Crackers
• Veggies and Dip
• Berry Muffins 

Lunches

• pizza
• leftover drumsticks/veggies/pasta salad
• grilled cheese and soup x2
• leftover pulled pork sandwiches
• leftover chili
• leftover tacos

Dinners

• homemade burgers and In a Pinch Pasta Salad
• slow cooker pulled pork sandwiches and veggies and dip
• chili
• tacos
• chicken drumsticks/cauliflower/rice side
• italian herb pasta (sauce frozen from a previous week)
• chicken burgers, pasta salad, veggies and dip

New Feature: The $65/week grocery budget/menu plan

I've decided to introduce a new weekly feature that may be useful to many readers.

I've challenged myself to stick to a $65/week grocery budget (please note this does NOT include diapers) but does include household and personal care items. I'm hoping to be able to fill any overages in the budget by using rewards programs like Air Miles and Shoppers Optimum, etc. Each week I will include my menu plan as well as my grocery list so hopefully it will give you some ideas for you own family. That being said next week's menu plan does feature some items that I already have in the freezer and pantry that I have from the past couple of weeks. I encourage you to take a second look at your own freezer and pantry to see what meal ideas are already waiting there for you!

Stay tuned later today for the first installment of this new feature!