Planning a week’s worth of dinner can be intimidating.  
No worries, I have taken care of all the dirty work, right down to the shopping list.
Six meals are included in the plan leaving one night for what I refer to as CORN or Clean Out the Refrigerator Night. 
This week’s plan also includes one vegetarian option. Rotating a meatless or vegetarian meal into your menu plan is a fairly painless way to shrink the grocery budget.

1. BBQ chicken, green beans, stove top macaroni and cheese

Lentil Casserole

2. Lentil casserole, baked sweet potatoes (scrub, prick the skins with a fork, brush lightly with olive oil and bake at 400F for an hour)

Baked Potato Soup

3. Baked potato soup, tuna melts. Tuna melts are simply a cross between grilled cheese and tuna salad sandwiches. Prepare your tuna salad as usual, then add a couple tablespoons as filling in the center as you assemble your grilled cheese.

4. Beef pepper steak, rice

5. Chicken picante, tossed salad

6. Oven baked chimichangas, refried beans, zucchini with corn and cilantro (Simply heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add sliced zucchini and cook until tender. Add a cup or two of frozen corn kernels stir until heated through, and add some coarsely chopped cilantro. Skip the cilantro if you hate it)

7. Clean Out Refrigerator Night

The shopping list does not include basic pantry items such as flour and sugar, but does include all the spices, as most people keep spices based on their regional and ethnic traditions. Don’t be scared to substitute and remember many of the dry goods and cheeses will not have to be purchased every week. Simply cross off the items you have on hand. Purchase amounts apprporiate to the size of your family. The linked recipes feed families of 4 - 6 with small amounts of leftovers.

If you are fairly new to cooking, your grocery bill will drop significantly once your pantry is stocked with the basic spices and dry goods.

I highly recommend Better Than Bouillon instead of buying canned or boxed stock, not only does it cost less per serving, but it does not have MSG which can be a headache trigger for some people. Additionally it is lower in sodium than most bouillon cubes and dissolves more easily in water, speeding up the cooking process.

Dairy section and products:

American Cheese
Butter
Cheddar (sharp)
Eggs
Half and half
Milk
Sour cream (optional)

Dry Goods:

5oz can evaporated milk
Banana pepper rings (Typically near the pickles and sandwich garnishes, get mild or hot based on your preference)
Beef stock / broth/ or bouillon
Dried lentils
Fettucinni noodles
Macaroni noodles
Mayonnaise
Parmesan cheese
Re-fried beans
Rolled oats (oatmeal, but not instant or quick cooking)
Salsa
Sweet cherry peppers (Typically this is near the pickles and sandwich garnish)
Tortillas
Tuna (canned)

Freezer:

Corn
Green beans

Meat:

Bacon
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Round steak (enough for two meals)

Produce:

Bell peppers
Carrot
Celery
Cilantro
Garlic
Green onions
Onion
Potatoes (Idaho are fine, but Yukon gold work well)
Salad supplies (any produce you deem necessary for a good tossed salad)
Sweet potatoes
Zucchini

Spices:

Basil
BBQ Rub or make your own
Cajun spice mix
Dry mustard
Hot sauce, such as Tabasco
Soy Sauce
Vinegar

Heather also blogs at <a href=”http://www.home-ec101.com”>Home Ec 101</a>.

by duplamox

Peeling hard boiled eggs can sometimes be a real pain.

Sure, sometimes it goes just fine, but other times, the whites start peeling off with the shell, and you soon have an ugly mess.  Also, I felt bad when I would let cold water run on the eggs after letting them boil for a minute or two.

Thankfully, after a talk with good ol’ Mom one day, I found a new method for peeling hard boiled eggs!

After I removed the eggs from the stove (after having had the lid on them for 20 minutes), I moved them over to the sink and filled the pan with cold water just to the top (after having dumped out the hot water).

Then…here’s the important part…

I put a bunch of ice in the water as well! No more running cold water over the eggs. I just occasionally added more ice, as my ice melted. Not only did it save water, but it also made the eggs extremely easy to peel!

As an added green bonus, I waited until the pan of water was no longer freezing cold, took it outside, and emptied it onto one of our trees.

Do you have a kitchen tip to share? Please join us at the Blissfully Domestic social network!

Angie can be found writing at Many Little Blessings, where she is striving to save money and live a little more green, even though she can’t help but dream of owning a brand new Kitchen Aid Mixer.

by thomwatson

One thing that I think is important to remember for helping to keep your refrigerator clean is to always put things you are thawing on a plate or in a bowl.

Yes, I know — sometimes space in a refrigerator can be a precious commodity, and adding in a plate or bowl takes up more room. But, it is really worth it!

I had one time that I was thawing a roast in the refrigerator and am SO thankful I had it sitting in a bowl because the bowl ended up with blood/juices all in the bottom — the package had leaked while thawing.

Eeewwwww!

If I had just had that sitting on a refrigerator shelf, not only would it have been a huge mess to clean up, it would have been seriously unsanitary!

So, lose a little space in your refrigerator with a bowl or plate, or maybe even a small bin specifically for throwing in things that you are thawing (if you thaw things often).  You’ll save yourself the future headache (and potential health risk) of having a horrible leak!

Do you have kitchen tips to share? Please join us at the Blissfully Domestic social network!

Angie can be found blogging about faith, family, and household management at Many Little Blessings

 

But why Phosphate Free? What is so bad about Phosphates?

From Yahoo Green:

When phosphates wind up in waterways like rivers and coastal areas, they can “fertilize” algae populations, leading to large algal blooms which in turn can choke out plant and animal life in aquatic ecosystems. This is called eutrification, and along with agricultural runoff, can contribute to aquatic dead zones.

Sounds like a pretty good reason to me, but will a phosphate free detergent get rid of the peanut butter stuck on my knife and the 100% juice ring in the bottom of my glass?

This one will! 

All you have to do is drop one light-weight oval shaped powder pellet in the main detergent compartment of your dishwasher and wait for the cleaning magic to occur.  I don’t know what their secret is but whatever it is, I love it (and my sparkly clean dishes).

Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry are the creators of the people-safe, environmentally aware, and animal-friendly Method product lins; they have an amazing ability to make products that smell amazing, work extremely well, are biodegradable, are naturally derived, and are packaged in an environmentally smart way. They also use humor (something near and dear to my heart) in their advertising.

Method products are quickly becoming the staple green cleaners in my home. 

Are you a Method lover too or is there another green cleaner that you are excited about? Do you have other informational links concerning reasons for going green? Share away via the comment section.

Find out what other Method products I am excited about by reading my previous post.

Photos from Methodhome

Phosphate free information obtained from Treehugger and Yahoo Green.

In addition to being a Healthy Living contributor Lena is also a wife and working mother of two not so sparkly clean kids.  Stop by for a visit at OverCoffee.

I am in heaven. I have found the website of my baking dreams. I am surprised I am even taking the time away from the site to tell you about it. As soon as I am done telling you that this site has the most darling cake and cookie decorating supplies, I will be heading right back to shop my heart out.

I love to accessorize. I love to adorn myself from head to toe with colorful, eclectic accessories. Well then why wouldn’t I love to accessorize my baked goods? If you are like me you love the presentation as much as the baking.

Fancy Flours has accessories for any crafty baker who loves details. I am especially enamored with the cupcake wrappers! They also have a wide selection of sanding sugars! You will recall I love sanding sugars!

How great for the school bake sale or Halloween party?

Now I need to think of a reason to make someone some cupcakes. Anyone want some cupcakes?

Well, goodbye heading back to my new favorite shop to load up for Halloween and Christmas!! Are you coming? While you’re there be sure to see the online Fall Catalog.

My baking brain is spinning!

Where are your favorite places to buy baking accessories? Tell us at the Blissfully Domestic social network!

One Happy Wife is a happy homemaker, former teacher, photographer, and expectant mother through adoption. You can read more about her adventures of homemaking, adoption, photography, and crafts at www.onehappywife.com.