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Things that mysteriously made their way in to my trolley uninvited this week:

2 x Double Choc Tim Tams

1 x 10pk Bulla Splits

1 x 8pk Bulla Double Choc Ice Creams

1 whole pineapple (at least that’s 1 healthy “extra”)

In my defense, they were all on special!!!

Grocery spend for the week: $57.30

Amount now in grocery “kitty”: $157.40

I was going to wait until the end of the year to transfer my accumulated savings into my BHAG account but I think I might empty it at the end of this month (or maybe most of it) and start again. I don’t really like carrying too much cash around with me.

Menu Plan For This Week:

Monday - Homemade Pasties with potato wedges and vegetables

Tuesday - Chicken Pieces (haven’t decided exactly how I’ll cook them yet)

Wednesday - Fried Rice

Thursday - Roast Lamb in the Slow Cooker

Friday - Hamburgers

Saturday - Quiche

Sunday - Leftover quiche

Shopping List so far:

bread

milk

fruit & veg

margarine

I think I’m going to like Mondays for the next 2 months. It’s kind of exciting using cash for groceries when I’m used to using plastic. I usually use plastic for a number of reasons - one of them being I find it hard to track various amounts of cash in my purse. However, I’ve been using a plastic zip lock bag and just throwing that in my handbag when I go into town and that’s working well (so far - it has only been 1 week).

Week One Progress

Total Spent: $45.30 leaving me $84.70 in the “kitty”. Yah!!!

I did deviate from my shopping list a little and bought damper rolls (on special), yoghurt (on special - MUST get back to making my own), garlic bread to have with the pizza (yum!) and some pastry sheets.

Didn’t buy any of the salad items (didn’t need) so other than that it was milk, bread and bananas.

We did deviate from the menu plan a little (which is pretty normal and not really a problem). Spag bol sauce ended up feeding us for 3 meals instead of 2 so we had lasagne one night (with enough left over for lunch the next day - yum!!!!)

Week Two Menu Plan

Monday - Lamb Chops

Tuesday - Steak and Mushroom Soup in Slow Cooker

Wednesday - Fried Rice

Thursday - Chicken Pieces

Friday - Hot Dogs with cheese and bacon (Lleyton’s favourite)

Saturday - Meat Pie

Sunday - Quiche

All served with veg/salad depending on whether and my mood.

Week Two Shopping List

Fruit & Veg

(Bananas are getting expensive again - hope that doesn’t last too long.)

Milk

Bread

Anything else that jumps into my trolley Good specials if I think we’ll use them in the next couple of weeks.

Image via WikipediaI have $130 in my newly labelled “Grocery Money” snap lock bag. The Challenge? To see how much of that I can hold onto between now and next Monday.

Including today, there are 9 Mondays left this year. That gives me $1170 in Grocery Money in total. I wonder how much of that I can hold on to? Quarter? Half? None? LOL. Better NOT be none!!!!

Bear in mind I have not been tracking my grocery spending over the past few months so I have NO idea how far $130 will go, even with my pantry/freezer challenge.

The Plan?

1. Menu Plan (see below)

2. Avoid Specials Brochures that encourage me to buy stuff we don’t really need anyway

3. Shop with a list and STICK to it

4. Don’t let DH loose in the supermarket!

5. Blog it to keep me accountable.

This Week’s Menu Plan

Monday - Spaghetti Bolognese (already in slow cooker)

Tuesday - Tuna Patties (have 12 tins of tuna I bought at $1 each to use up)

Wednesday - Tacos (makes use of the leftover spag bol sauce)

Thursday - Chicken Patties (no idea how I’ll make these yet - have chicken mince, will experiment)

Friday - Homemade Pizza

Saturday - Chops and Vegies (chops in the slow cooker with french onion soup mix)

Sunday - Pasties

Shopping List

lettuce

tomato

bread

milk

fruit

Already have: meat, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, frozen veg, pasta, cheese, taco shells, pastry, swedes

This morning in my “not quite awake yet” state I thought perhaps I’d attempt to regain some semblance of control and menu plan. Nothing too elaborate but a plan nonetheless. As it turned out, it looks like I only needed half a plan. But here it is, such that it is:

Monday - Fish Patties

Farmboy went fishing a few week’s back with his sister’s husband and they caught a heap of Snook which they then had smoked. Farmboy and Trailer Boy (our 4 year old) both liked the taste of cold smoked fish but the rest of us weren’t so sure. My SIL tells me it makes nice fish patties so I thought it was time to give that a go.

Tuesday - Quiche

We have like a bazzilion eggs in the fridge and I really need to do some baking. If only my body and brain would co-operate with my plans!!!! Quiche always goes down well and is an easy meal to prepare.

Wednesday - Chops

The last sheep we had butchered for our own use was a SAMM and is delicious!!! It’s like a cross between steak and lamb. Beautiful and tender but lower in fat and with a more steak-like texture. It’s a new breed for us and I’m quite excited about it. I’ve written a post about it on Lightening’s Garden.

Thursday - Football/Netball Training.

Kids eat there. Farmboy and I sometimes do (depending on how we’re feeling and what’s on the menu) and sometimes grab something easy when we get home.

Friday - Out

Kids will be at grandparents and we’ll grab something on the run.

Saturday - Pumpkin Soup

Planning to cut into the first of the Jap Pumpkins to make soup this week.

Sunday - Toasted Sandwiches

Menu Plan Monday is hosted at I’m an Organizing Junkie.

It is like FOREVER since I’ve actually written a menu plan. But I’m hoping some inspiration will strike my fingers as I type and I can actually formulate some kind of menu plan for this week!!!

Let’s start and see what happens….

Monday - Rissoles with mash & vegetables

Tuesday - Corned Beef in Slow Cooker

Wednesday - Leftover Corned Beef in Cheese Sauce with vegetables

Thursday - Training (kids eat there, sometimes DH and I do and sometimes we grab whatever)

Friday - Chicken Munchies, Oven Fries & Salad/Veg (haven’t decided yet)

Saturday - Take Away Chicken picked up on the way home from sport

Sunday - pancakes (one of those “easy” nights)

Not my most brilliant menu plan ever but a plan nonetheless.

Do you menu plan regularly?

It’s been that long since I’ve written one that I’m very out of practise!!!!

If you need inspiration visit Menu Plan Monday.

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve actually written a Menu Plan for the week. But the disorganisedness of this house is starting to really frustrate me so I’m starting with a menu plan and hoping the rest all just falls into place.

With the onset of cooler weather, I’ve been left with lettuces and tomatoes that could do with using up so they’ll feature a little in the menu plan this week.

Monday - Tuna Patties

Tuesday - Spaghetti Bolognese (in crockpot)

Wednesday - Tacos

Thursday - Out

Friday - Hamburgers

Saturday - Out

Sunday - Quiche

Keeping it nice and simple this week.

Edited to Add:  I’ve decided to add this to the “menu plan Monday” meme so if you’re interested in more menu planning inspiration, you can find it at I’m An Organizing Junkie.   Just a word of warning - the site can be rather slow to load in some browsers.