A very clever meal planning idea from Stacie…that I couldn’t not share with you!

I’m always looking for ways to improve my menu planning!  I’ve tried so many different approaches (calendars, binders, computer programs, etc.), but I’ve never quite found the perfect match for me.  When I ran across a few ideas about making a magnetic menu planner for the refrigerator, I LOVED them!

After a little tweaking, I came up with two versions:

• a scrapbook version (the prettiest, but it takes more time),
• a recycled version (very frugal and easy).

I love having my magnetic menu for several reasons:

• I can plan my menu monthly or weekly.
• My favorite meal ideas are right in front of me, so I don’t get stuck in a rut and make the same ones every week!
• It is easy to swap out one dinner for another (no pen marks all over the calendar when I need to make a change)!

Visit me at The Amazing Mess for complete details and directions!

Stacie is a mom of three little girls, wife to her college sweetheart, former elementary teacher, and mess-maker extraordinaire! She blogs about craft projects, cooking, and other enrichment activities for preschoolers at The Amazing Mess.

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This weekend is Labor Day Weekend. And we’re outta here!

The kids and I will be heading down to San Antonio for a quick trip…family wedding calls! (Thankfully my sister will be flying back with us, so I don’t have to do both legs with all 3 children. Alone.)

Until then…here’s what we are eating!

Monday - Green Pepper Chili

Tuesday – Balsamic Chicken and Onions Wraps with Green Beans

Wednesday – Tacos (probably with Green Beans!)

If you see a meal you are interested in, please check back for the recipe later in the week!

Current Monthly Meal Plan can be found here! Get your printable meal planners from the printable resources!

Thanks to Andrea at Mommy Snacks and Marcy at Stretching a Buck for posting the best deals and coupon matchups at my stores each week! And all the BEST menu plans can be found every week at OrgJunkie.com!

Find More Savings

• Free Money Management Software at Mint.com
• Get Free Coupon Alerts
• Print Grocery Coupons
• Join AFullCup to find more ways to save on Groceries!!!

It’s Back to School Week around here…and I’m all of a sudden feeling the need to be uber-organized.  Schedules are changing, new routines put into place…and the last thing I need is to be unsure of what we’ll be having for dinner every night!

I’ve got my monthly meal planner on the table, my grocery shopping list with weekly meal plan…and I’ll be hitting the store circular to make my list.  We’re eating mostly from the freezer this week…as there are no really great meat prices this week. Succotash veggies in the freezer, shredded chicken and mini-meatballs in the freezer from last week’s batch cooking.

Monday - Succotash Rice Pilaf

Tuesday – Pasta Salad

Wednesday – Shepherd’s Pie with Chicken

Thursday – Indian Curry in the Slow Cooker

Friday – Spaghetti with Mediterranean Mini-Meatballs

Saturday – Family Picnic – We’re bringing grasshopper brownies

Sunday - Grilled something or other, or leftovers

I will try to post the recipes each night after I make the meal. If you see a meal you are interested in, please check back for the recipe later in the week!

Current Monthly Meal Plan can be found here! And check out the meal planning and grocery shopping printable resources!

Thanks to Andrea at Mommy Snacks and Marcy at Stretching a Buck for posting the best deals and coupon matchups at my stores each week!

All the BEST menu plans can be found every week at OrgJunkie.com!

Find More Savings

• Free Money Management Software at Mint.com
• Get Free Coupon Alerts
• Print Grocery Coupons
• Join AFullCup to find more ways to save on Groceries!!!

It’s birthday week around here…so be on the lookout for some cool giveaways…and some cool new recipes too!

Monday - Blueberry Pancakes

Tuesday – Quinoa Waldorf Salad

Wednesday – Green Chile Chicken

Thursday – Spanish Rice in the Slow Cooker

Friday – Cobb Pasta Salad

Saturday – Party/Picnic

Sunday - Burgers with Spicy Onions

I will post the recipes each night after I make the meal. If you see a meal you are interested in, please check back for the recipe later in the week!

Current Monthly Meal Plan can be found here!

Need help with your weekly meal planning and grocery shopping…check out all the printable resources!

Thanks to Andrea at Mommy Snacks and Marcy at Stretching a Buck for posting the best deals and coupon matchups at my stores each week!

All the BEST menu plans can be found every week at OrgJunkie.com!

Find More Savings

• Free Money Management Software at Mint.com
• Get Free Coupon Alerts
• Print Grocery Coupons
• Join AFullCup to find more ways to save on Groceries!!!

Ok friends…just wanted to share that this week’s Menu Plan Monday will be more like Menu Plan Wednesday.

We had a family wedding this weekend and I’m way behind on everything…from blogging, to cooking, to meal planning, to sleeping, and more…

That being said…I’m hoping to have a meal plan for the rest of August up and ready to go on Wednesday!

Until then…

Need help with your weekly meal planning and grocery shopping…check out all the printable resources!

Thanks to Andrea at Mommy Snacks and Marcy at Stretching a Buck for posting the best deals and coupon matchups at my stores each week!

All the BEST menu plans can be found every week at OrgJunkie.com!

Find More Savings

• Free Money Management Software at Mint.com
• Get Free Coupon Alerts
• Print Grocery Coupons
• Join AFullCup to find more ways to save on Groceries!!!

We’ll be trying some new recipes…and revisiting some old favorites this week…in an effort to clear out the freezers and pantry!

Monday - Scampi Tilapia

Tuesday – Grilled Pizza

Wednesday – Potatoes and Meat (of some sort!)

Thursday – Grilled Chicken Fajita Pasta

Friday - Lentil and Brown Rice Casserole (The cheapest meal I’ve ever made!)

Saturday – Leftovers or Tuna Sandwiches and Crudites

Sunday - Grill Burgers

I will post the recipes each night after I make the meal. If you see a meal you are interested in, please check back for the recipe later in the week!

Current Monthly Meal Plan can be found here!

Need help with your weekly meal planning and grocery shopping…check out all the printable resources!

Thanks to Andrea at Mommy Snacks and Marcy at Stretching a Buck for posting the best deals and coupon matchups at my stores each week!

All the BEST menu plans can be found every week at OrgJunkie.com!

Find More Savings

• Free Money Management Software at Mint.com
• Get Free Coupon Alerts
• Print Grocery Coupons
• Join AFullCup to find more ways to save on Groceries!!!

We’ll be revisiting some favorite recipes this week…partly to clean out the pantry, use up my uber-cheap green peppers, and to eat a “Bargain Meal of the Week” meal that I’ll be making on my local Fox news on Monday morning!

Monday - Grilled Eggplant Panini

Tuesday – Stuffed Peppers from The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook

Wednesday – Grilling Guac Burgers with Friends

Thursday – Dinner out with the girls…”Psghetti for the Boys”

Friday – Honey Baked Lentils from The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook

Saturday – Slow Cooker Meal

Sunday - Grilling Chicken

I will post the recipes each night after I make the meal. If you see a meal you are interested in, please check back for the recipe later in the week!

Current Monthly Meal Plan can be found here!

Need help with your weekly meal planning and grocery shopping…check out all the printable resources!

Thanks to Andrea at Mommy Snacks and Marcy at Stretching a Buck for posting the best deals and coupon matchups at my stores each week!

All the BEST menu plans can be found every week at OrgJunkie.com!

Find More Savings

• Free Money Management Software at Mint.com
• Get Free Coupon Alerts
• Print Grocery Coupons
• Join AFullCup to find more ways to save on Groceries!!!

On Saturday, I was in and out of the kitchen…trying to get a jump on this coming week!  I was hoping for a little “focused” time in their during Tyler’s nap, but Steve was out of town…so the prep time and batch cooking didn’t quite go as planned.

Le sigh.

But, I still managed to knock out most of my batch cooking list for this week! Ideas for the pesto and recipe for the sausage jalapeno swirl bread coming soon.

• Pesto. Done.
• Sausage Jalapeno Swirl Bread. Done.
• Pumpkin Muffins. Done.
• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. Done. (And mostly eaten!)
• Pancakes. Done. (Waffles…not done. Will hold off on these.)

Still to do…

• Brown the Chorizo sausage and make breakfast tacos.  Will do on Tuesday morning.
• Make Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Cake (or something like that). Will do Monday.
• Soak and cook chickpeas.  Will do Monday.

And for dinner this week…

Monday - Chickpea Tuna Salad – using garden tomatoes

Tuesday – Grilled Honey Mustard Drumsticks

Wednesday – Beef Kebabs

Thursday – Pork Chops (On sale this week for $1.88/lb…not the greatest price, but it will do!)

Friday – Scrambled Farm Fresh Eggs, Turkey Bacon and Fruit

Saturday – Leftovers or Sandwiches

Sunday - Burgers

I will post the recipes each night after I make the meal. If you see a meal you are interested in, please check back for the recipe later in the week!

Need help with your weekly meal planning and grocery shopping…check out all the printable resources!

Thanks to Andrea at Mommy Snacks and Marcy at Stretching a Buck for posting the best deals and coupon matchups at my stores each week!

All the BEST menu plans can be found every week at OrgJunkie.com!

Find More Savings

• Free Money Management Software at Mint.com
• Get Free Coupon Alerts
• Print Grocery Coupons
• Join AFullCup to find more ways to save on Groceries!!!

It’s better late than never, right?!

I discovered reason #217 for why one should have a fully stocked freezer.

Having dinner on hand when returning home from a trip.

The very last thing you want to do after a day of unpacking, laundering 8 loads of dirty clothes that have been stuffed in a suitcase all day, and grocery shopping to fill up the fridge that has been empty for the last week, is cook.

So thankful for my stocked freezer.  And for a menu plan for the rest of the week anyways…

Monday - Expensive Atlanta Airport Food (We do our best to avoid buying food in airports, but an inevitable delay forced us to eat out!)

Tuesday – Cowboy Pie with Biscuits (Recipe coming as soon as I catch up on my inbox and get photos loaded!)

Wednesday – Spaghetti…Birthday Boy Request!

Thursday – Grilled Chicken

Friday – Sausage Muffins and Eggs with Fruit

Saturday – Leftovers

Sunday – Burgers and Salad from the Garden

If you see a meal you are interested in, please check back for the recipe later in the week!

Need help with your weekly meal planning and grocery shopping…check out all the printable resources!

Thanks to Andrea at Mommy Snacks and Marcy at Stretching a Buck for posting the best deals and coupon matchups at my stores each week!

All the BEST menu plans can be found every week at OrgJunkie.com!

Find More Savings

• Free Money Management Software at Mint.com
• Get Free Coupon Alerts
• Print Grocery Coupons
• Join AFullCup to find more ways to save on Groceries!!!

On the road again…I can’t wait to get on the road again…

{Go ahead.  Sing it in your best Willie voice!}

This week I’ll be traveling to the lovely and beautiful Rocky mountains for the Savvy Blogging Summit.  I am co-hostessing the event with the rest of the Savvy Blogging Team…and I can’t wait to get out there and learn how to make this blog better…for you!!!

We have a stellar lineup of instructors, as well as some amazing partners…all of whom will make this event a smashing hit!

On the home front, there is much to do to prepare for our trip. Like pack. And bake snacks for the big airplane ride. And make dinner on Monday and Tuesday. And I have a feeling those meals will be very interesting, as I’m trying to clean out the fridge!

I am, however, looking forward to a few days of eating food that I didn’t make. I’m not going to lie about that!

But until then, I have some work to do:

• Bake Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Bake Pumpkin Bread
• Make Homemade Applesauce for Baby

And dinner of course…

Monday - Grill or Foraging Meal #1

Tuesday – Foraging Meal #2

I will be posting some recipes from this past weekend, and a few others I have had waiting in the wings to share!

Need help with your weekly meal planning and grocery shopping…check out all the printable resources!

Thanks to Andrea at Mommy Snacks and Marcy at Stretching a Buck for posting the best deals and coupon matchups at my stores each week!

All the BEST menu plans can be found every week at OrgJunkie.com!

Find More Savings

• Free Money Management Software at Mint.com
• Get Free Coupon Alerts
• Print Grocery Coupons
• Join AFullCup to find more ways to save on Groceries!!!