Plan (or Non-Plan) for This Week

I am calling this a "non-plan" because I think I am going to try my hardest to get only the very essentials at the store this week. We are going to try to eat through some of the items in the pantry and freezer!

I was looking through the freezer just to see what I had so I could start making my list (and to see if I could avoid going to the store) and I found a pork tenderloin I had purchased and some chicken breasts, pork chops, and frankfurters from Omaha Steaks that we had received as a Christmas gift. So I changed my plan; I am going to go to Vons and pick up the following:
Milk
Bread
2 cans of chicken broth
1 can of black beans
Tortilla Chips
Deli meat
AND THAT'S IT!


That will take us through the following meal plan:
We had Spaghetti and Meatballs last night...already had everything I needed for this...;
Pork Tenderloin, Cheddar broccoli (or maybe just plain) rice, broccoli or sweet potatoes;
Chicken Tortilla Soup in Crockpot (kids may have just chicken nuggets and french fries) (http://jonandjenmiller.blogspot.com/2010/09/crockpot-chicken-tortilla-soup.html);
Poppyseed Chicken Casserole (because I just can't get enough!) with rice and broccoli or other veggie;
and Leftovers.

We can always do burritos/nachos one night for a meatless meal, too! I may go to Sprouts and pick up some fresh berries or other fruit depending on what is on sale, and I may need to get some more avocados to eat with the Chicken Tortilla Soup. But I doubt I will get over $100 total for this week! Yay!

AND I still have the frankfurters we can use next week.

I am also participating in a children's consignment sale going on this weekend, so hopefully I will get some earnings from that. Check it out at www.monkeyinthemiddleconsignmentevent.com.

I am hoping I can continue this trend of saving money through the whole month...

On another note, just thought I would mention that the Disney Movie Rewards program is having a promotion right now that if you enter two movie codes you can pick one of three blu-ray movies for free (not including a small charge for shipping). I am a member of this program (I never pass up a rewards program) and had not entered two codes from movies we got at Christmas, so I scored the first Tinkerbell blu-ray for a grand total of about $4!

I hope all this information helps you in your meal planning and shopping...
Good luck to you!
--Katie