Menu Plan

My freezer is practically running over. If I was brave enough to really dig them I would know what is in it. At this point I am afraid to move too much as I am not sure I could get it all back in. My menu plan will focus on using what I have on hand. My only planned purchases this week are milk and items for my husband's work lunches.

• Pork tenderloin, macaroni and cheese, and peas: Pork tenderloin is the meat that I cook the best. I like to bake it in the oven. The peas are from the freezer and originally from the garden. The macaroni and cheese will be from a mix. I normally make homemade; however, we have a surplus of Kraft Homestyle purchased on sale with coupons.


• Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and salad: I am going to make a big batch of meatballs using venison and turkey along with spinach. The garlic bread will be made with homemade bread, and the salad is from the garden.


• Roast with onions, potatoes, and carrots: I cut a venison roast into pieces and add large diced onions, potatoes, and carrots. This gets topped with salt, pepper, butter/margarine, and Italian dressing. I cover it with foil and bake. It is a hearty meal for a cool, rainy day.


• Pasta salad: I bought multi-colored spiral pasta with a coupon. I make my own dressing using ranch and Italian dressings. I add in whatever vegetables are in the refrigerator. My husband likes this with club crackers.


• Black bean quesadillas and guacamole: I made my own tortillas and they turned out too small for enchiladas. Instead I will make quesadillas. The black beans will turn this into a meatless meal my husband will enjoy. A side of guacamole and chips and possibly a salad will round out the meal.

Cooking from Scratch

I have recently found myself making more items from scratch. I have two reasons. The first is that I like my food to be fresh. Being able to make breads from scratch means that I can buy up basic ingredients and extend the time between shopping trips. My second reason is that I want to know what is going into my foods. I am overwhelmed by companies trying to convince me that those unpronounceable ingredients are not bad for me. I am not saying that they are bad, but they are not necessarily good either.

I realize that most people do not have time to cook everything from scratch. I find that it does take up a portion of my week. Obviously mixing and baking bread is not as simple as tossing a loaf in the shopping cart. I feel the need recently to get back to basics though. I have never liked to be dependent on others for everyting. I have always liked to be able to do things myself. This is just an extension of that.

I will continue to not take the easy way out. I am not saying it is the only way. For me at this point it is the better way.

February Savings

The last half of February was crazy and hectic. I finally sat down last night to enter all of my receipts. I have the feeling one is missing, but I cannot find it so I will go with what I have. My coupon savings for the month totaled $64.76 with a sale savings of $80.07. I made a trip to a store I rarely go to in order to stock up on a few items. That cut into my savings amount.

I am starting March with a clean shopping slate. My hope is to stick with a weekly trip to a couple of smaller stores I like to shop. I am staring to see the rising produce prices that many of my online friends have been discussing. I will tough it out for a couple of months but am glad that gardening season is just around the corner.