So, last week I didn’t post my weekly meal plan.  That’s because I didn’t have one…eek!  As a serious planner with a touch of OCD, that was kind of hard for me! Here’s what happened: My 18 month old was staying with my mom and dad for three days last week, and Chase and I were pretty much foaming at the mouth with excitement.  We basically threw any plans of eating healthy and being frugal out the window and daydreamed about all of the things we were going to be able to do in 3 days.  We took advantage of the free time and went out to eat…a lot. I didn’t go to the grocery store on Monday, and I didn’t meal plan for the week.  It was super liberating until Wednesday night when I was struggling to find something to cook.  I guess I could have gone to the grocery store, but going in the middle of the week throws me way off.  I always buy more than what I need, and food ends up going bad…it’s just a mess.  Plus, since we were going out of town for a family reunion that weekend, I really only need to come up with 2 meals. I managed to scrape a couple of barely edible meals together for Wednesday and Thursday, but it was seriously annoying!  I spent close to an hour looking up recipes to use with stuff in my pantry…and I just felt like it was a huge time waster. I was really looking forward to getting back on track and having our meals planned out for this week. Structure makes me happy…if you couldn’t tell. Since it’s the end of the month and the remainder of our grocery budget is limited, I’m trying to use a lot of what I have at home and modifying any recipes to fit for us so I don’t have to buy a ton of stuff.  If you haven’t yet, go check out how I meal plan so you can see how/why I choose these meals.

June 26th Meal Plan

I really try to choose meals that don’t require me to buy a lot of ingredients.  The main items I’ll be buying for each of these meals is any produce or dairy that’s listed in the ingredients.  If you want to look at the actual recipes for some of the meals, just click on the links.  I’ve made all of these meals before (with the exception of the pizza), and I can vouch for all of them…super tasty!

Dinner

Monday: Roasted Tomato Soup + Grilled Cheese

Chase came down with some sort of funky sickness yesterday, and since I made a batch of my 20 Minute Chicken Noodle Soup yesterday, I thought tomato soup would be yummy tonight (with grilled cheese sandwiches of course).  I’ve made this soup several times, and it is the best tomato soup I’ve ever had…and it’s so easy.  If you’re growing tomatoes this summer (or if you just like tomatoes), this is a great way to use them.  Personally, I have a black thumb and have the hardest time growing anything, but the great thing about knowing people who grow tomatoes is that they have so many they are literally begging to give them away!  My mom sent me home with some tomatoes last week, and I can’t wait to use them tonight!

And yes…I’m aware it’s 100 degrees outside and I’m making soup.  But I can eat soup anytime of the year!

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Pot Roast

This is a meal that goes along way.  We always have a ton of meat left over, and we either freeze some of it for another use, or use it for other meals later throughout the week.  I’m going to use what’s left over for carnitas tacos tomorrow, and breakfast burritos.

Wednesday: Carnitas Tacos (using left over pot roast)

Last night’s pot roast will make tonight’s yummy tacos.

Thursday: Crock-Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls

I love crock-pot meals where you can literally just throw everything in and be done with it.  I’ll modify this one slightly by using chicken leg quarters instead of chicken breasts.

Friday: Beef Shank Stew

We have a ton of beef shanks in our freezer, and for the most part I have no idea what to do with them.  I’ve made this stew 2 or 3 times, and it is so full of amazing flavor!  It’s also the first time I ever cooked with farro…which is like a cross between a noodle and rice?  It’s kind of like orzo, if you’ve ever had that.

Saturday: Chase’s Choice

Chase is cooking Saturday, which means I have no idea what we’re having!  He’ll probably figure it out about 2 minutes before he starts cooking.  He’s the opposite of my obsessive planning.

Sunday: Roasted Sweet Potato and Caramelized Onion Pizza

I’ll modify this one a tad…I don’t have fontina cheese or arugula, so I’ll likely use mozzarella and spinach.

I’ve used all the frozen pizza dough I had stashed in the freezer, so I’ll have to whip up a quick batch for tonight.  My favorite dough recipe is from Pioneer Woman, and it makes 4 balls of dough….one for tonight and three to freeze for later use.  This is such a time saver.

Lunch

To see more about how we eat/plan lunch, read here.  I don’t really have a “scheduled” day that I make any of these lunches.  These are all just from a pool of options I’ll be choosing from this week.

Tuna salad using flavored tuna packets

See the above link to see how I made my tuna salads.

Basil Avocado Chicken Salad 

I already have a basil plant…which is a huge money saver because I use basil in so many things.  I also like to buy a bag of frozen chicken breasts to keep in the freezer…they are perfect for lunches.

Avocado Egg Salad

This mayo-free egg salad is soooo yummy!  Eat it on a sandwich, or just plain.  Hubby and toddler approved!

Salad

Sandwiches

Leftovers

Breakfast

My method of cooking breakfast is prepping enough at the beginning of the week, and everyone can just grab and go from there.  I have a lot going on in the morning, so this saves a lot of time.

This week I plan on prepping overnight oats and breakfast burritos using leftover pot roast.  Those will be options up for grabs for most of the week.  If I have extra time I might whip up some eggs, French toast, or a breakfast hash.

Overnight Oats

I never get tired of oatmeal because there are SO many different ways you can eat it!  Click on the link above to see 5 quick and easy ways to make overnight oats.

Breakfast Burritos

You can’t go wrong with breakfast burritos because you can customize them however you want.  I love prepping a big batch and then freezing them to have as a breakfast option for the next 2 weeks or so.   This week I’m using eggs, shredded cheddar, black beans, and left over pot roast.

Saturday and Sunday: These days are usually reserved for pancakes, waffles, or a Chase specialty.

Snacks

-bananas, strawberries, pineapple, peaches

-cottage cheese + fruit

-boiled eggs

-cheese sticks (I cut them myself from a regular block of cheese)

-strawberry popsicles (I still have some frozen from a couple weeks ago)

Grocery List and Shopping

I use the app List Ease to organize my grocery list.  Not because it’s life changing, but because it’s the first one I downloaded and I happened to like it.  Here’s what my grocery list for the week looks like. I’ve mentioned before, I get all I can at Aldi and then finish up at HEB.

Aldi

I spent about $43 at Aldi.

HEB

I spent about $29 at HEB, but only $23 was on groceries.  I bought bell peppers and tomatoes at HEB instead of Aldi because Ibotta had a 25 cent rebate on each of these items, and they don’t accept receipts from Aldi.  I also got a $1 rebate on the Jennie-O ground turkey using Checkout 51.  To learn more about these apps, read my post on my 6 Favorite Apps That Make You Money.

The Grand Total

I spent about $66 on groceries at Aldi and HEB combined.  With the rebates I submitted using my receipts, I saved about 2 more dollars. 7 dinners + 7 lunches + 7 breakfasts + snacks x 3 people= $66-$1.50 rebates=$64.50

Need a little extra help with meal planning?  Grab your FREE meal planning worksheets and step-by-step guide below!

Have you tried meal planning yet?  If so, I want to hear about it!  Let me know in the comments or email me privately with any questions.