Meal Planning June 29-July 5th

This week I only have 6 meals laid out for our weekly menu.  Plans are still not in stone about what we are doing on July 4th therefore I did not plan a meal.  If we end up BBQing then we will probably purchase the meat for that on Sunday so it will be fresh.  Happy 4th of July to everyone and may everyone remember the true reason for our celebration instead of enjoying just another day off.

Day 1 - Spaghetti
            Cesar Salad

Day 2 - Shepherd's Pie
             This is a very cheap an easy meal.  Layer in a casserole dish: prepared mashed potatoes, browned hamburger meat (or ground turkey), regular corn (some people use creamed corn but husband is not a fan), and sprinkle with cheese.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is super melty or in my families case a little brown on top.

Day 3 - Chili Dogs (my favorite family stand by meal for busy nights)

Day 4 - Baked Talapia
             Lipton Broccoli and Cheddar Rice
             Steamed Broccoli

Day 5 - Balsamic Chicken (Use thin boneless skinless chicken breasts, sprinkled with a little balsamic vinegar, some salt and pepper, and flour in a hot skillet in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil place the chicken.  Cook chicken on each side about 5 minutes each or until completely cooked through)
             Served with:
             Corn on the Cob
             Mashed Potatoes

Day 6 - Brawts and Sour kraut
            Potato Salad

3 websites you won't be able to live without

There are so many websites on the internet that are designed to help you at little or no cost. Below are 3 websites that once you try them, I know you won't be able to live without.

The first is Flylady.net. Oh how I love my Flylady. Through her website you will learn that making your house a HOME can be done 15 minutes at a time and through routines you can be free. I'm telling you my whole household is designed around the Flylady principles, from how I clean my home to how dinner makes it to the table. If you are at a loss for how to get started on your house, especially if you have NO IDEA where to start, please check her website out. I promise you, you'll be forever grateful you did yourself this favor.

Through the Flylady I found out about the Dinner Diva. Savingdinner.com is a website designed to help you get dinner on the table every night. It costs a mere $10 for 3 months worth. Leanne is a nutritionist who plans for you a healthy menu for 6 nights of the week, including a grocery list. The recipes are healthy, tasty, and they sure can help you get out of a dinner rut. She also plans the meals based on the season. Plus if you have health issues or want to change how you eat, she has meal options for these changes in lifestyle too. Want to just check her out without commitment? Go to her website and she has a free weeks menu for you to sample.

And finally there is the Coupon Lady. http://moneysavingmom.com This website can help you to see what specials are going on at your grocery store before you even hit the entrance. I don't know about you, but my favorite grocery store does not send out circulars as a practice. But I can go to moneysavingmom and find out what my store has on sale and plan a grocery list based on that information. Takes the guess work out of my grocery list. Plus I can match up my coupons to her list and get some GREAT deals.

Stay tuned for additional websites I will review on occasion. They must be websites that make everyone's life easier to make it to my list.