Menu Plan Monday - Week of January 31, 2011

So this past week we were struck with illness in our house.  A lot of coughing, sneezing, and runny noses!  One child ended up with bronchitis, and I am off to the doctor today for myself and youngest child.  We will see what we have!  The upside of being sick is that I lost 3 lbs and we were forced to eat at home all weekend!  My parents were also very gracious and brought over homemade Chicken Paprikash for us on Saturday night! 

I do not know how much cooking we will accomplish this upcoming week.  We will be trying to recover and we have a lot of things going on at my son's school for Catholic Schools Week.  Hopefully we will all be healed, because Wednesday is his first ever concert!  I cannot wait!

Monday - Leftovers
Tuesday - Steak Fajitas
Wednesday - Cheesy Potato Crock pot Soup (recipe to follow)
Thursday - Meatball Subs
Friday - Eat Out
Saturday - My Niece's Birthday Party
Sunday - Crock pot Roast

This post is liked at MPM at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Free Cup of Yoplait Yogurt

Go here to score your free cup!  Your coupon will arrive by mail in 2 - 4 weeks!

2011 Pantry Challenge – The Results

Overall, we had an amazing Pantry Challenge in 2011! My main goal was to spend 20% less on our grocery budget. Our normal budget is $300 per month, so the Pantry Challenge goal was $240 for the month. Well we succeeded and only ended up spending $239 this month for groceries! Wow that is amazing! I am thinking of the possibilities if we could spend that every month!


The downside of a Pantry Challenge is that we are a bit low on a lot of our pantry staples as well as meat in our freezer. So I am going to have to make a rather large grocery trip within the next couple of days. To every negative, there is a positive. The positive is that I have some Giant Eagle Foodperks that are expiring that need to be used! So I can save an extra 12% on my groceries. The other positive is that February is a shorter month, so I think we will stay below our $300 budget once again.

I have participated in this Pantry Challenge for the past two years and I cannot express how beneficial it is to participate in this challenge. It also comes at an amazing time of year, right after the Christmas spending rush!

Monthly Home Project - Cinnamon Scones

Photo Source

So one of my 2011 Small Goals, was to try one "home" project per month.  Well this month I decided to try this amazing recipe for Glazed Cinnamon Scones from Money Saving Mom!  I am not much of a baker besides the normal cookies and boxed cake mixes, so this was a stretch for me.  I am so glad that I challenged myself, because the end product was AMAZING!  I had to keep myself from eating all 8 pieces for myself.  The people at work were much appreciated when I brought in this early morning treat for them! 

I will defintely be making these again.  They would be great for brunch!  Go here if you want to try the recipe for yourself!

What We Are Reading Right Now...

I cannot believe it but my oldest officially turned 5 today!  Kindergarten is on the horizon and we are so excited!  He is into a couple of new books lately which include Clifford's Birthday Party and Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten!

He has always been into Clifford books and this one lately due to his upcoming birthday.  Best part was that I got it for free from Paperback Swap!  Miss Bindergarten vigorously prepares for the first day of school as her 26 prospective students (one for each letter of the alphabet) do the same. Any child made anxious by the first day of kindergarten should find great comfort in this book's two parallel stories.

Reduction in Employee Social Security Tax Rate

The Tax Relief Act of 2010 makes a major change in the withholding of social security taxes from employees' wages by reducing the employee share of social security tax from 6.2% to 4.2% for the first $106,800 of wages paid in 2011. The maximum that can be withheld will be $4,485.60, a $2,136 decrease from the 2010 maximum of $6,621.60.

Frugal Tips - Ways to Reduce Your Energy Bills

The colder months are here are some tips for insulating your home better . . .


1.  Apply Weather Stripping to doors and windows.

2.  Insulate outlets and light switches.

3.  Install a programmable thermostat and set it to turn down the thermostat at night and when you are gone.

Saving Money With Your Water . . .

1.  Install a tankless water heater.

2.  Insulate your water heater,, just make sure that you don’t cover up important pieces of the heater such as the thermostat and the air intake.

3.  Wash clothes in warm or cold water.

Appliances are your biggest energy sucker. Use these tips to reduce the energy they use:

1.  Pack the dishwasher. Don’t over pack it, but make sure that you never run the dishwasher for three or four plates and some silverware.

2.  Air Dry Large pots, pans, and dishes. These take up a lot of room in the dishwasher, and you’ll use it less if you dry these items yourself.

3  .Buy appliances with the Energy Star sticker on them.

4.  Use the microwave or toaster oven to re-heat food. Don’t use the oven just to re-heat something. It uses much more energy to heat up.