Frugal Reading Links

Here are a few links to articles that are relevant to this time of the year.  Happy reading

Saving money and getting the kids back to school
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/starting-school-year.html

Beating the heat in Summer
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/keeping-cool-in-summer.html

Saving money on water usage
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/februarys-theme-being-water-wise.html

Budget planning for a new year
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/getting-your-budget-in-order-for-new.html

Our family's menu plan
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/my-menu-plan-thursday-20th-nov-thursday.html

Easy card ideas
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/hand-made-card-ideas-january-2016.html

A favourite Summer salad
http://myabundantlife07.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/creamy-pasta-salad.html

Running Out Of Groceries Or Grocery Money

Running out of food can be a scary situation to be faced with. What to do ? What to do ? I guess the first question you need to ask yourself is " Have I really run out of food or do I have food but don't know what to cook ? " If you have run out of food just because you didn't buy enough,  then it's time for a new plan of attack. Writing a menu plan for the week might be a good place to start. Then write your shopping list from the menu plan. Don't forget to include breakfasts, lunches and snacks as well as the main meal.    Once you've mastered shopping for a week then you could try fortnightly or monthly shopping.

You might be in the situation where you haven't run out of food but feel like the food you do have isn't going to make great meals. This is the perfect time for experimentation. Grab your cookbooks or use the internet to try something different. There are websites where you can search for recipes with certain ingredients. This could be the making of a new family favourite recipe.

If you have run out of grocery money for whatever reason, you have a few options. Can you make meals out of the food you DO have ? Can you find some extra money from another area of your budget ? I'm not talking about hundreds of dollars. $20 or $30 could last a week or two with a carefully planned shopping list if you have basic ingredients on hand like herbs, spices and a few baking ingredients like flour and sugar

Once again a menu plan will help you through a tough time until money becomes available again. A packet of quick oats will give you a filling breakfast for a week. Two loaves of bread will be enough for lunches. Buying one piece of the cheapest fruit available per person could be a snack. In Winter apples, pears and citrus fruits are very cheap. In Summer it could be stone fruit or grapes.

Dinner doesn't have to be fancy if money is tight. Here are some cheap meal ideas -

* Boiled potato with steamed veggies, seasonings and a little grated cheese on top is very yummy and cheap.
* 300 grams of mince can be bulked out with rice, rolled oats and cheaper vegetables like beans, cabbage or carrots.
* Eggs, baked beans or spaghetti on toast
* Pasta with tomato sauce and cheese
* Pasta with a tin of tomatoes and grated vegetables
* Fried rice without any meat.
* Pancakes

Remember,  water is free ( or almost free ) so drink lots of it.  If you are after a hot drink,  then tea is cheaper than coffee.

Have you ever run out of grocery money or groceries ?  What did you do in this situation ?

My Menu Plan 16th August - 15th September 2015.

After a few months of not having a menu plan,  it's wonderful to get back into the routine.  My mind is a ease and the family just loves to see what's on the menu for tea each night.

Here's the long awaited menu plan for the Gower's -

Sun 16th   -  lunch at Cath's place after arriving home from the workshop.  Get Your Own that night.

Mon 17th  -  KFC drumsticks with tomato relish,  wedges and salad
Tues 18th  -  Tuna Pasta Bake with greens
Wed 19th  -  Meals out of the freezer
Thurs 20th  -  Fish in foil,  rice and steamed veg
Fri 21st  -  Homemade hamburgers and wedges
Sat 22nd  -  Veggie soup and toast
Sun 23rd  -  Get your own but feed me 

Mon 24th  -  KFC drumsticks ( we have lots in the freezer ), mash and steamed veg
Tues 25th  -  Homemade meat pie with steamed veg
Wed 26th  -  Meat pie leftovers and anything from the freezer
Thurs 27th  -  Roast chicken with roast veg and cauliflower and white cheese sauce
Fri 28th -  Spag bol with garlic and herb toast
Sat 29th  -  Chicken curry with rice
Sun 30th  -  Get your own but feed me.

Mon 31st  -  Honey soy drumsticks with mash and steamed veg
Tues 1st  -  Beef stew and mash
Wed 2nd  -  Wedding Anniversary so maybe out for tea
Thurs 3rd  -  Fish in foil,  wedges and steamed veg
Fri 4th  -  Rissole casserole with mash
Sat 5th  -  Chops,  mash and steamed veg
Sun 6th  -  Father's Day.  Might cook something special at home

Mon 7th  -  Saucy chicken drumsticks with rice and steamed veg
Tues 8th  -  Chop suey and mash
Wed 9th  -  Roast leg of lamb with roast veg and steamed veg
Thurs  10th  -  Tuna casserole and greens
Fri 11th  -  Shepherds pie made with left over lamb
Sat 12th  -  Homemade meat pie with steamed veg
Sun 13th  -  Get your own but feed me

Mon 14th  -  KFC drumsticks with mash and steamed veg
Tues 15th  -  Homemade lasagne with steamed veg

NOTES

*  I don't cook on Sundays.  We are generally busy with church or family get togethers.  I cook six nights a week for my family so Sunday night is their turn to serve me.  It also gives them a chance to learn new skills in the kitchen.

*  The menu plan is not set in stone.  If something comes up I just swap it around.

*  I always defrost the meat in the fridge as it's the safest way I know.  If something comes up and we can't eat it that night,  it's safe for another day.

*   The veggies we eat are the cheapest in season I can find.  We also have lots of blanched veggies in the freezer.  Someone commented on an earlier menu saying we eat a lot of potato.  As I said,  the menu isn't set in stone.  Some nights I look at the menu and might change the mash to rice.

*  We don't have any special dietary requirement in my family.

* We rarely have dessert as the main meals are enough.

*  Left overs are frozen that night and written into the menu plan as a free / freezer meal.

lasagne and streamed veg

chicken curry in the slow cooker

Family meat pie

Hamburgers and wedges at home

fish in foil

My Menu Plan

Oops,  I'm a bit late with my menu  plan.  Here's what we will be eating for the next four weeks -

Mon 23rd -  Chop suey and brown rice
Tues 24th - Sausage casserole in the slow cooker with mash
Wed 25th - Roast beef in the slow cooker with roast potato,  pumpkin,  carrots and steamed veg
Thurs 26th - Tuna pasta bake
Fri 27th - Honey mustard chicken and rice
Sat 28th -  Homemade hamburgers and wedges
Sun 29th -  Get your own but feed me

Mon 30th -  Tacos and a baked dessert of some description
Tues 31st -  Beef stew in the slow cooker with mash
Wed 1st -  Roast chicken with roast veg and steamed veg
Thurs 2nd -  Fish portions,  rice,  zucchini slice and steamed veg
Fri 3rd - Spag bol
Sat 4th - Chops,  mash and steamed veg
Sun 5th -  Get your own but feed me

Mon 6th - Homemade meat pie and steamed veg
Tues 7th -  Homemade KFC drumsticks with mash and steamed veg
Wed 8th -  Silverside in the slow cooker with roast veg and steamed veg
Thurs 9th -  Tuna casserole and greens
Fri 10th -  Freezer bits and pieces that need using up
Sat 11th - Chicken schnitzel,  mash and steamed veg
Sun 12th - Homemade pizzas

Mon 13th -  Meatloaf and gravy with mash and steamed veg
Tues 14th -  Chicken flan with herb /garlic bread
Wed 15th   Roast leg of lamb with roast veg and steamed veg
Thurs 16th -  Salmon patties with brown rice and steamed veg
Fri 17th -  Shepherd's pie with herb bread
Sat 18th -  Freezer meals
Sun 19th - Family over for lunch so maybe leftovers for tea.

Homemade Hawaiian pizza

Roast veggies

Homemade hamburgers and wedges

Krispy Fried Chicken

My Menu Plan Friday 20th February - Friday 20th March 2015

Here is my latest menu plan.  It looks like we won't be getting too much hot weather in the next few weeks so I've changed some of the meals accordingly.  I've introduced some cooler weather meals as we transition into Autumn.  Of course,  my menu plan is not set in stone.  I'm sure outing will crop up and there might be days when we don't feel like eating the meal on the plan.  That ok.  We have plenty of food in the house so we won't starve.

Fri 20th - Homemade hamburgers and wedges
Sat 21st - Salad and fish cooked in foil

Sun 22nd - Get your own but feed me
Mon 23rd - Salad and crumbed fish portions and smashed potatoes
Tues 24th - Roast chicken ( on BBQ ) with potato / pumpkin mash and veggies
Wed 25th - Homemade hamburgers - we were given rolls that couldn't be frozen.
Thurs 26th - Tuna pasta bake and greens
Fri 27th - KFC chicken drumsticks and salad
Sat 28th - Freezer meals

Sun 1st March  Get your own but feed me
Mon 2nd - Tacos and a dessert of some description
Tues 3rd - Leg of lamb and roast veggies
Wed 4th - Shepherds pie with leftover lamb
Thurs 5th - Fish potions,  rice,  zuc slice and veggies
Fri 6th - Salad and chicken strips
Sat 7th - Chops and salad ( or veggies )

Sun 8th -  Homemade pizza
Mon 9th - Rissoles,  salad and baked potatoes
Tues 10th - Chicken curry in slow cooker with rice
Wed 11th - Homemade meat pie with veggies
Thurs 12th - Fish cooked in foil with mash and veggies
Fri 13th - Chicken hamburgers with wedges
Sat 14th - Honey mustard chicken with rice

Sun 15th - Toasted sandwiches
Mon 16th - Spag bol
Tues 17th - Beef stew in slow cooker with mash
Wed 18th - Roast chicken with roast veggies
Thurs 19th - Salmon patties with baked potatoes and salad
Fri 20th - Freezer meals

A roast meal

Chicken curry in the slow cooker

Homemade meat pie

Honey mustard chicken made from scratch.

My Menu Plan Monday 19th January - Thursday 19th February 2015

Having a menu plan is a great way to save lots of time and money.  It eliminates meal time stress and gives you a chance to plan ahead.  Over the last month I've been a little slack with my menu plan.  For a few weeks I didn't have one as such but I always have a fully stocked pantry,  fridge and freezers.  It was no big deal as such as we didn't spend any extra money.  It just felt a little weird not having a plan.

Here's the long awaited new menu plan -

Mon 19th -   Roast chicken,  mash and veg
Tues 20th -  Slice meat,  pasta salad,  potato salad and green salad - Megan's birthday request.
Wed 21st -  Same as yesterday as I made double.
Thurs 22nd -  Tuna casserole and greens
Fri 23rd -  Bits and pieces from the fridge.
Sat 24th -  BBQ sausages,  rissoles and ribs with salad. - we had visitors
Sun 25th - Leftovers from yesterday.
Mon 26th -  Homemade hamburgers and wedges.
Tues 27th -  Soup made with Christmas ham bone,  potato,  carrots and corn
Wed 28th - Leftover soup and bread rolls
Thurs 29th - Fish portions,  wedges and salad.
Fri 30th -  Freezer meals ( leftovers I've frozen )
Sat 31st -  Homemade KFC chicken drumsticks and salad
Sun 1st Feb - Tacos
Mon 2nd -  BBQ sausages,  ribs and green salad
Tues 3rd - Spag bol
Wed 4th -  Homemade pizzas made with frozen Christmas ham
Thurs 5th - Salmon patties and salad
Fri 6th -  Chicken schnitzels and salad
Sat 7th -  Megan's party so it could be bought pizzas for the girls
Sun 8th - Get your own but feed me
Mon 9th -  BBQ rissoles,  potato slices and salad
Tues 10th -  Meatloaf,  salad, and baked potatoes
Wed 11th -  Homemade meat pie and greens
Thurs 12th - Tuna pasta bake
Fri 13th -   Homemade hamburgers
Sat 14th -  Chicken and salad
Sun 15th - Get your own but feed me
Mon 16th -  BBQ chops and salad
Tues 17th -  Honey mustard chicken and rice
Wed 18th -  Lasagne and greens
Thurs 19th -  Fish potions,  zuc slice and vegies. 

As always, the menu can change at any time depending on the weather.

Everything is made from scratch including sauces.  The only exception is the fish portions.  Fish is so expensive and the portions are a cheap way to have a little fish.

A roast dinner

Pizza subs - one of the many ways we make pizzas.

Honey mustard chicken

The Menu Plan Went Out The Window

The last few weeks have been very unpredictable in our home.  We've had the bathroom renovations come to an end and the mess to clean up afterwards including a complete dust of the house.  Darren had a church communtiy day to organise with hampers and toys to give away.  Our church cafe opened and Darren was heavily involved in the set up. .Both Darren and I have been unwell over three weeks.

With me losing my voice it took two attempts to film my last tv story for this year.  That meant I needed to get the house " tv ready " twice.  Normally I can do this without a problem.  But when you feel like crawling into bed,  it can be a challenge.  With the events that happend in Sydney,  there were challenges in finding a camera crew available in Melbourne.

We've also had the usual Christmas breakup dinners to attend,  school presentation nights,  VCE info nights,  a school hiking camp for Megan and the usual housework to do.  Jessica is working more shifts in the lead up to Christmas and Megan started working at the church cafe.

Thankfully my Christmas shopping was almost complete before all this craziness decended upon our normally quiet home.

As for " THE MENU PLAN ",  well,  it's on the fridge but lets just say, it went out the window.  I had a vague memory of writing it a month ago but with so many things on,  there were many days when I didn't even have time to look at it.  Some days we stuck to the menu plan.  Other days we swapped meals around and other days we ate out of the freezer.  Jessica and Megan cooked a few nights when I was sick.  Some nights we just ate what each of us felt like.

Menu plans are very important to have.  They can bring some stability when craziness fills your life.  They are also meant to be flexible when the best laid plans go out the window ( with the menu plan ).

Having a well stocked pantry,  fridge and freezer helps to stay on track with your grocery spending too.  Although we didn't cook everything on the menu plan,  we used those ingredients to make other meals.  Having meals in the freezer was a big help as well.  When my throat was at it's most painful,  spag bol came to the rescue as  I needed to eat something soft .  I always cook the meat sauce in bulk and freeze it into meal portions.

If you haven't tried writing a menu plan before,  I encourage you to give it a try.  It might not be possible to stick to it all the time,  but it's comforting to know you've planned your meals as best as you can.

As for next month's menu plan,  I'll write it again knowing it will help us through Christmas and the holiday season..

My Menu Plan Thursday 20th Nov - Thursday 18th Dec 2014

It's time to post my monthly menu plan again.  The busy season will be upon us shortly so I've made sure most of the meals are quick and easy to prepare.  As usual,  the menu can change depending on how the week is panning out.  The weather will also decide if we have salad or hot vegetables. 

I have lots of freezer meals as a back up if some family members are absent at meal times.  Megan is away on camp for five days during this menu period and she doesn't want us to have any of her favourite meals while she is away.  That makes it difficult as she likes just about anything I cook.

Here's my menu plan -


Thur 20th - Honey mustard chicken with rice
Fri 21st -  Meat pie with greens
Sat 22nd -  Church leaders lunch
Sun 23rd -  Get your own but feed me
Mon 24th -  Crumbed chicken drumsticks and salad
Tues 25th -  Sausages and salad
Wed 26th -  Roast beef in slow cooker with roast veg and greens
Thurs 27th -  Salmon patties,  rice and veg
Fri 28th -  Freezer meals
Sat 29th -  Chop stew in slow cooker with toast or bread stick
Sun 30th -  Get your own but feed me
Mon 1st -  Saucy chicken drumsticks,  rice and veg
Tues 2nd -  Meatloaf,  mash and veg
Wed 3rd -  Leftover Meatloaf,  salad and baked potatoes
Thurs 4th -  Fish portions and salad
Fri 5th -  Hamburgers and wedges
Sat 6th - Beef stew and mash
Sun 7th - Toasted sandwiches
Mon 8th -  Sliced meat,  salad and smashed potatoes
Tues 9th -  Lasagne and veg
Wed 10th   Silverside in slow cooker with roast veg
Thurs 11th -  Tuna casserole and greens
Fri 12th -  Nasi Goreng
Sat 13th -  Chicken schnitzel and salad
Sun 14th -  Get your own but feed me
Mon 15th -  Sliced meat,  salad and pasta salad
Tues 16th -  Chops,  salad and pasta salad
Wed 17th -  Chicken burgers and wedges
Thurs 18th -  Tuna pasta bake

Some of my monthly grocery shop.

Roast beef and roast veg.

I've been stockpiling.

 

How do you cope with the busy season ?

My Menu Plan 20th Oct - 19th Nov 2014

The time has come to write my menu plan again.  I'm glad I do a monthly one as I can write it up in half an hour then I don't need to think about it for another month.  With the weather getting slightly warmer I'm adding a few salads to my menu plan as a gradual transition into Summer.   Some people love salads as soon as the sun shines.  My family doesn'r mind them,  just not too often

Here's my menu plan -

Mon 20th Oct - Salad ,  fish portions and baked potatoes.
Tues 21st - Honey mustard chicken and rice.
Wed 22nd - Meat pie and greens
Thurs 23rd - Salmon patties,  rice and zuc slice
Fri 24th - Freezer meals.
Sat 25th - Chicken curry in slow cooker with rice.
Sun 26th - Get your own but feed me

Mon 27th - Meatloaf, mash and veg
Tues 28th - Sausages,  salad and bread stick
Wed 29th - Lasagne and salad
Thurs 30th - Salmon portions,  salad and baked potatoes
Fri 31st - Chicken schnitzels,  mash and veg
Sat 1st Nov - Chop suey and rice
Sun 2nd -Get your own but feed me

Mon 3rd - Spag bol
Tues 4th - Crumbed chicken drumsticks,  mash and greens
Wed 5th -  Roast beef in slow coker with roast veg
Thurs 6th - Tuna pasta bake
Fri 7th - Bits and pieces of meat and veg
Sat 8th - Freezer meals
Sun 9th - Get your own but feed me

Mon 10th  Meatloaf,  salad and pasta salad
Tues 11th - Sliced meat,  smashed potatoes,  pasta salad and mixed lettuce
Wed 12th - Roast chicken with roast veg
Thurs 13th - Tuna casserole and greens
Fri 14th - Hamburgers and wedges
Sat 15th - Nasi Goreng
Sun 16th - Get your own but feed me

Mon 17th - Saucy chicken drumsticks,  mash and veg
Tues 18th - Sausages and salad
Wed 19th - Silverside in slow cooker with roast veg

NOTES -

*  Potatoes have doubled in price recently so we are having rice a little more often.
*  The bits an ieces meat is jst that.  I have small packages of leftover lamb,  beef and tow ( uncooked chops.  Everyone can pick their own.
*  For those who are new to my blog,  Sundays are when Darren and the girls cook their own dinner and prepare something for me.  It's a great chance for them to practice and expand their cooking skills ( and give me a night off ).
*  Salads are nothing grand.  Just lettuce,  tomato,  cuccumber, cheese,  eggs and beetroot if we have it.  It also depends on the prices of the salad ingredients.
*  All foods are cooked from scratch.  The only prepackaged food is the fish portions..

Tuna casserole with corn flakes on top

Lasagne big enough for three meals for the family.

Homemade hamburgers and wedges

Roast beef and veg

Meat pie  yummy !!!

My Menu Plan 20th Sept - 19th Oct 2014

 One of my blog readers asked me to post my menu plan for the month.  I always keep last month's menu plan and rewrite it for the next month.  I generally change a few things around depending on what we are doing and according to the seasons.  If the weather is getting warmer then I add a few lighter meals or salads.  If the weather is heading into Winter then I include more stews,  soups and casseroles.

Here it is -

Sat 20th Sept - Chicken Curry in slow cooker with rice
Sun 21st -  Get your own but feed me

Mon 22nd - Honey mustard chicken and rice
Tues 23rd - Meat pie and greens
Wed 24th - I'm away so the family can cook or have freezer meals
Thurs 25th -  I'm away again        "            "              "
Fri 26th - Salmon portions  rice,  zuc slice and veg
Sat 27th - Chicken flan and greens
Sun 28th - Get your own but feed me

Mon 29th - Meatloaf,  mash and veg
Tues 30th - Sausages,  smashed potatoes and veg
Wed 1st Oct -  my birthday so I chose lasagne and veg
Thurs 2nd - Salmon patties, rice and veg
Fri 3rd - Hamburgers and wedges
Sat 4th -  BBQ
Sun 5th - Get your own but feed me

Mon 6th - Homemade KFC drumsticks,  mash and veg
Tues 7th - Chop suey and rice
Wed 8th - Tuna pasta bake
Thurs 9th -  Roast chicken and roast veg
Fri 10th - Homemade pizza
Sat 11th - Beef stew in slow cooker with mash
Sun 12th - Get your own but feed me

Mon 13th - Saucy chicken,  mash and veg
Tues 14th - Tacos
Wed 15th - Silverside in slow cooker with roast veg
Thurs 16th - Tuna casserole with greens
Fri 17th - Spag bol
Sat 18th - Chicken burgers and chips
Sun 19th - Get your own but feed me

Part of my monthly shop
 

Homemade chicken, tomato, cheese and pineapple pizza

What my birthday dinner will look like - Lasagne

Frezer meals for when I'm away

Hamburgers and chips

 Do you write a menu plan ?