Beef, It's What's For Dinner

After my speal about Zaycon Foods a month or so ago, I thought that I would show you what an order looks like.  Last Friday I got an order of beef.  This is what it looks like straight out of the box:

 My husband and I then divided the 40 pounds into one pound 'patties' wrapped in wax paper.  Because let's face it, every recipe calls for beef in one pound increments.  We then placed four 'patties' into freezer bags and placed them in the freezer.  Here is what that looked like:

We have a standard side by side freezer.  The beef took up the entire top shelf and I was able to fit a few bags of beef from my last order on the same shelf.
Obviously this is not for everyone.  Ideally, we would still have our chest freezer but this will work for now.  Hopefully that is helpful for anyone that is considering ordering.
Here is my referral link again: https://www.zayconfoods.com/refer/zf37347
Or you can just go straight to their website www.zayconfoods.com and set up your own account.

What We're Eating?

This is what I had planned to eat all of this week.  Even the best laid plans sometimes go awry.  We are way off already, but I will give you the plan nonetheless.

Saturday:  Frozen Pizza (My Favorite Meal.)
Sunday:  Vegetable Lasagna.  I used a zuchinni from our garden and lasagna noodles I had left over from the last time I made this.
Monday:  Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili.  I found this on Pinterest and wanted to try it.  Plus I love a crockpot meal.
Tuesday:  Sloppy Joes.  Wanted to use some of my Zaycon Beef while it was fresh.
Wednesday:  Chicken Noodle Soup over Mashed Potatoes.  If you've never had it, you are missing out. 
Thursday:  Meatballs.
Friday:  Leftovers.  Since I have only made the lasagna and sloppy joes so far this week and already have tons of leftovers, I am sure this day will come in handy.

Plan on seeing some of these on my meal plan next week because we are already so off this week.  Enjoy!

December--Week 2

I ran into three stores this week, didn't use a a ton of coupons and spent $24.76.  I will denote anything that I used a coupon on with an asterik:

3 packs Wholly Salsa* (sidenote:  This stuff is delicious.  Definately worth $1 each.)
2 packs Hummus
3 boxes Honey Nut Cheerios*
1 ricotta cheese
3 cans olives* (two were free)
1 onion
1 stalk of celery
1 pack of mushrooms
1 pack romaine
1 package taco seasoning
1 package sloppy joes
1 pack frozen corn
1 pack carrots
2 gallons milk
1 bag Cheetos (This is my contribution to saving companies so that they don't go the way of Hostess by buying snack foods that I love occassionally.  You are most welcome.)

I am waiting for some good coupon deals to come around the corner.  Either I am getting too picky or food really is getting outrageously expensive.  But if these stores don't get their act together, this blog is going to get increasingly more boring.

Weekly Meal Plan

I am a bit behind on all things blogging, so Monday Meal Plan is now Tuesday Meal Plan.  But without further delay, here it is:
Saturday:  Hot Dogs & Oven Fries.  The hot dogs were free from forever ago and the oven fries were part of my Alexia BzzAgent Kit.  So all I had to buy was hot dog buns.
Sunday:  Marinated Chicken & Mashed Potatoes.  My inlaws brought us some potatoes from their garden and I used my Zaycon chicken.
Monday:  Pancakes & Sausage.  Love the Bisquick Shake n' Pours that I got cheap a few months ago.  Very quick meal on a night that Dad isn't home.
Tuesday:  Spinach Salad with Pinapple and Chicken.  I am counting calories and so I am trying to incorporate a salad each week.  Plus I love Spinach!
Wednesday:  Tacos.  Remember those free taco shells I got the week of my first posts?  Plus, my kids l.o.v.e. tacos!
Thursday:  Chicken Helper.  I got these free last month and wanted to try them.  So why not?
Friday:  Leftoevers.  My husband is out of town and so I am anticipating a lot of leftoevers.  Nothing is more frugal than making your kids help eat the leftovers for dinner one night.

I feel succesful this week.  But I feel successful as long as we aren't eating hot sauce.
Next weeks ads aren't looking that exciting, so I am looking for a bit of inspiration.  Anyone?

December--Week 1

I didn't use a single coupon on this trip.  I just made a quick run to my favorite store for some things we need for meals next week.  This is what I got:

Borax
Sour Cream
5 lbs of oranges
Bag of Spinach
2 packs of shredded cheese
3 packs of pop rocks
Hot Dog buns
Off Brand Fruit Loops
Fruit Leather (not pictured)

The Borax, Pop Rocks, and Fruit Loops are for activities I am doing with my kids next week.  The rest of the stuff is all I needed for meals.  I spent $18.29 out of pocket this week.
I have more money in the budget this month, so I am going to make a quick coupon trip on Monday to Fry's for some things for the stock pile.
I will also post what we are eating next week for dinners, it doesn't look like much.  Even I am surprised by how little I needed to buy this week.