We have about a week and a half before payday, and the grocery budget is almost gone. There’s enough for fresh veggies and milk and lunch stuff, but it’s time to get careful.
And creative.
(Three family birthdays and a mother-in-law in ICU 45 minutes away kind of does that to a budget.)
Anyway, there’s no reason to worry. Thankfully, I’m a frugal shopper even when things are hunky-dory, so the freezer has plenty of food in it. These times actually help me be purposeful about using up my random finds.
My Menu Plan:
Monday – Chicken and Black Bean Burritos (This is picnic food to eat at my 7th grader’s football game.) I’ll use frozen, pre-cooked chicken.
Tuesday – Something in the Crock Pot with stew meat I found on sale a long time ago. Probably something like this.
Wednesday – Skillet Lasagna (Using pre-cooked ground beef.)
Thursday – Tamales with homemade enchilada sauce. (I have some frozen that someone gave us.)
Friday – Out to eat. Something cheap. (Hubby insists we eat out on Friday nights. I don’t argue.)
Saturday – Fish sticks and mac and cheese. Because we have those things.
Sunday – Homemade pizza
Monday – Chicken and Bacon Sub Sandwiches (another football game picnic and again with the pre-cooked chicken)
Tuesday – BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (in the crockpot)
Wednesday – Beef Stroganoff (using frozen, pre-cooked ground beef)
Whew. Now I can hit that Aldi that’s near tonight’s football game and pick up the odds and ends we need to make this happen.
Yes. I still use eMeals, but that doesn’t work when I’m in this crunch.
Oh, and Zaycon is having a chicken event soon which is a good thing since I am almost out! Not sure what Zaycon is? Go here to see how I manage buying 40 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts at once. If you already know what it is, go (affiliate link coming up) here to see if there’s an event near you.
I am so sorry to say that it seems Zaycon has gone out of business. I say “seems” because the information I’ve seen says they’ve “suspended” operations and I don’t fully understand what is happening. I’m so so sad about this since this will change how our family keeps our freezer stocked with meat. We’ve been ordering almost all of our chicken, bacon, and shrimp for them for more than five years. If you had ordered recently, I recommend that you call your credit card company or bank (for debit cards) to see what can be done. I’ve heard many people have had success doing this.