Use What You Have - Week 1

When I was younger and when my mom wanted to redecorate or make a craft, she would do this ridiculous/embarrassing dance (love you Mom!) and this corny made-up song about "using what you have" to achieve whatever redecorating/craft you were wanting.  I couldn't quite understand why my parents couldn't just "write a check" whenever they wanted something new...the whole thing of not having money just didn't make sense to me and my brother.  I mean, so what if you didn't have cash...just write a check! :)

Now that I've become a Mom in recent years, and have also become responsible in managing finances, paying bills, saving, etc I find myself becoming very irritated when I go to make a menu for the week and cannot seem to find food to make a meal, yet we seem to have cupboards filled with food.  It's similar to when I say "I have nothing to wear," yet I have a closet filled with clothes...strange how that happens.

So, I've come up with my own "use what you have" strategy, where I've gone through what I have in my house and have created a menu using mostly things from my freezer/cupboards.  I plan to try to blog my weeks and fill you in on the foods I made, plus how much my grocery bill was the for week.

Here's week #1:
Monday: scalloped potatoes & ham, bread, fruit
Tuesday: pizza hot dish
Wednesday: cream chicken sandwiches, chips, fruit
Thursday: beef stroganoff
Friday: royal lasagna (a meat-free lasagna made with sweet corn and a white sauce)
Saturday: breakfast sandwiches (breakfast), pizza loaf (lunch), honey mustard pretzel chicken, french fries, green beans (supper)
Sunday: monkey bread (breakfast), leftovers (lunch), spaghetti, garlic bread (supper)
***Grocery bill for the week....$11.42!!! :)

On a completely different note, check out Lydia's newest "trick"...she's pretty excited!

And just because I know how much people like to "compare" siblings' looks...here's teeny tiny Kase at 6 months: