Tackle It Tuesday

For me, this is Spring Break Week and we are off from school. I have been tackling all kinds of things this week. Yesterday, it was my awful home office desk.

Today, I am tackling my kitchen cabinets. With my husband and little one helping to put away dishes from the dishwasher, I have noticed things don't always end of in the "right" place. Every thing has a place but who knows where that place may be today.

Keeping my kitchen cabinets organized keeps me out of the restaurants and fast food lanes. When I know where everything is located, it is so much easier to get started on meal at home. This tends to save us money because you all know that eating at home is so much cheaper than eating out.

What are you tackling today? If you need ideas, visit 5 Minutes for Moms.

Menu Plan Weekly for 3-29 - 4-04

Sunday - Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs (we do this a lot on Sunday evening and then eat the leftovers for lunch during the week - we usually grill some venison sausage links and eat those as well), baked potatoes

Monday - Hamburger Goulash (ground hamburger, stewed tomatoes and elbow macaroni), salad

Tuesday - Fried cubed pork chops, broccoli casserole, 3 bean salad, bread

Wednesday - Grilled chicken, potato salad (will we ever finish all these potatoes), corn on cob, fried okra

Thursday - Pancakes, leftover sausage, fruit

Friday - Fried fish (bream from the river), coleslaw, cheese grits, hushpuppies (I've been eyeing these fish in the freezer for several months and now that it has warmed up we'll pull them out and have a feast).

Saturday - Garlic lime chicken (browse toward the bottom of the link for the recipe), scalloped potatoes, sauteed spinach with garlic, bread

You can check out other menus at Menu Plan Monday over on I'm an Organizing Junkie.

My Most Recent Best Buy

This week our grocery store had ketchup for $.78 (36 oz size of Heinz) and green, seedless grapes for $.99 per pound. My little one loves green grapes and they have been so expensive lately (like a lot of other fresh fruit). I had purchased grapes at nearly twice that earlier in the week, but I bought these today anyway. I washed them good, sacked them up and threw them in the freezer. A lady that I work with does this and says they are fabulous. I decided since we already had a bag in the frig, these could be put in the freezer for a later time.

Just to let you know, we have tried the frozen grapes and they are really good. My little one likes to let them thaw first (kids sometimes don't like to try new things), but I think they are best frozen. This will make a fabulous summertime treat. The best part: No more spoiled grapes!

You Might Be A Redneck If...

you use ratchet straps to make a clothesline.

As I mentioned in another post, we had quite a bit of illness in my family over the past few weeks so this past weekend all of the bed linens needed to be washed. All at one time. I couldn't fathom using the dryer (and all that electricity) for some much laundry and that's where my dear hubby came to the rescue. We strung up a couple of ratchet straps and got all the laundry done. Of course, all of the neighbors are jealous! LOL!!

I know this doesn't have anything to do with saving money at the grocery store, but we are being frugal and trying to do what we can to save money.

Until next time!

Menu Plan Weekly for 3-22 - 3-28

This week we are planning to eat the following. I may rearrange the meals some, but this is the general plan.

Sunday: Grilled hamburgers, fried new potatoes, salad

Monday: 3 Packet Roast, potatoes, onions, carrots and mushrooms, homemade bread

Tuesday: Crockpot Boston butt slices, macaroni salad, broccoli

Wednesday: Grilled chicken wings (my husband has been wanting these for several months but they are sooo expensive), green beans, garlic mashed potatoes

Thursday: Sloppy Joe's (these are wonderful in the crockpot), corn on cob, coleslaw

Friday: Breakfast for Dinner - pancakes, sausage and fruit

Saturday: Pork chops, pasta and cheese, speckled butter beans

For lunches we usually have leftovers from the week, simple sandwiches or soup that has been previously frozen.

For breakfast it's either cold cereal, oatmeal, ham and egg muffins, or grits and biscuits.

So what are you having? If you don't have any idea, head on over to Menu Plan Monday and get some more great ideas.

Another Blog Party

Check out another blog party (Girls Night Out - but not just for girls) over at Ann Again. Parties galore!

Challenge of the Week

I am taking a hard look at whether or not using coupons might be good for us. Since I think that I only buy name brand mayonnaise (I won't touch the store brand), I don't think couponing is going to be worth the time. BUT this week I am going to take an inventory of my cupboards, refrigerator, freezer, laundry room, bathroom, cleaning closet, etc. to see exactly how many name brand items we have. The next step will be to determine if we think that we MUST have the name brand and then if coupons are available for those brands.

If you have been considering couponing, why don't you take this challenge with me? Let me know what coupons you find and at what sites. We don't have a CVS or Walgreens close by (my husband has both in the town where he works but getting him to shop AND use coupons would probably be a stretch). I would have to use mostly coupons just for the grocery store and dollar store, but other ideas are welcome here.