My October Meal Plan

I got busy the other day and planned out another month of meals for my family.  I dug through some of my past meal plans for inspiration.  A lot of these things we haven't had for awhile so it will be nice.  This is what I have planned: 

Minestrone Soup, Bread Sticks,  Lettuce Wedges

Chicken Enchiladas, Tossed Green Salad

Sopa Seca, Garden Salad

Bacon Egg Sandwiches, Fruit Salad

Sausage Pizza, Garden Salad

Pork Chops, Stuffing, Onion Gravy, Applesauce

Bean Burritos, Lettuce & Tomatoes, Sour Cream, Salsa

Denver Egg Scramble, Toast, Pineapple Chunks

Fettucine Alfredo w/Shrimp, Caesar Salad

Nachos

Chicken & Dumplings, Tossed Green Salad

Sweet & Sour Pork, Steamed Rice, Garden Salad

Broccoli Cheddar Quiche, Toasted Bagels, Cream Cheese

Sloppy Joes, Cole Slaw

Bean Soup, Cornbread, Tossed Green Salad

Baked Ziti, Steamed Broccoli

Salmon Fillets, Red Potatoes, Spinach Salad

Chili Dogs, Veggies & Dip

Blueberry Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Oranges

Hamburgers, Lettuce, Tomato, French Fries

Lentil Soup, French Bread, Green Salad

Swedish Meatballs, Egg Noodles, Green Beans

Smoked Sausages, Baked Beans, Veggies & Dip

Lots of leftovers for extra meals and lunches during the week will help us with our busy schedule, not to mention stretch the grocery budget a bit.

What great meals are you planning to prepare this month?

Making Simple Sturdy Cloth Napkins

I love to make and use cloth napkins.  I haven’t bought a package of paper napkins in nearly five years.  I find that cloth napkins are so much nicer and since I've made several sets I don't have to worry about running out between laundry days.

These are double sided so double thickness.  They hold up really nice.  Like I said, ours get used every day and after nearly five years I think they still look great.

Stitching on some vintage trim

I've posted about making cloth napkins before, but since I was getting ready to make a new set to put away for my future retirement house I thought it might be a good time to talk about them again.

Pressed and ready to finish

I made my pattern using two sheets of copy paper and some Scotch tape to construct a 12 1/2" square.  I find this is the perfect size, not too big and not too small.

Pinned at the corners

I start by cutting out two squares of cotton fabric.  Last time I made napkins I stitched them together with a 1/4" seam allowance, turned them right side out, pressed them and then did a simple straight stitch to top stitch along the edges.  Pretty dang simple.

Stitch around the edge with a 1/4" seam allowance leaving a small opening
I trimmed the edges and corners before turning right side out

This time I wanted to embellish the new ones a bit with some vintage trim I happen to have.  You could embroider them too, which is something I hope to do this winter on another set.  Then once the decoration is complete simply sew and top stitch as I described above.

Press again and topstitched along the edge about 1/8" 

I used natural 100% cotton muslin for these and I also like to use cotton calico prints.  I've made several sets of these napkins and given them as gifts so if you need an idea for Christmas, this might be just the thing. 

Do you use cloth napkins?  Have you ever made any?

My Grocery Budget - August Update

This month turned out to be another stock up month for me.  I stocked up the pantry with pasta, enough to last a long, long time and olives for the holidays and my youngest's olive addiction.  I added more lunchmeat to the freezer that I found on markdown too.  Produce and dairy made up another large portion of my shopping list.

I found some wonderful buys to resupply the baking box in our pantry with items for holiday baking.  Sugar, baking chips and margarine are now scratched off the list.

My non-food items included cat food and litter along with a bottle of pain reliever.  I spent a total of $15.91 of my $25.00 budget.

Happily I was much closer to my $150.oo budget going over just a few dollars this time and feel I am back on track in that respect.  It feels very nice to know that our freezers and pantry are adequately stocked for winter and then some.

Stocking up on assorted pastas

Here is the list of food I bought.  The items highlighted in red are my stock up items:

Groceries		$$$
Crackers (4)		7.52	Store Coupon
Coleslaw mix		1.25	Sale
Bananas		1.22
Grapes		2.59	Sale
Apples		1.82
Milk - 1 gal.		1.99
Flour - 10#		3.57
Shredded wheat		2.49
Bottled water - 10		3.90	Sale
Crackers (3)		4.17	Store Coupon
Peanut butter  - 64oz		5.00	Sale
Olives (6)		5.94	Sale
Mayonnaise (2)		3.98	Sale
Cheese (5)		5.00	Sale
Mushrooms		2.00	Sale
Bananas		1.06
Lettuce		1.29
Tomatoes		0.88
Grapes		2.84	Sale
Tomatoes - canned (6)		3.00	Store Coupon
Milk - 1/2 gal (2)		1.58	Sale
Mixed veggies		1.79	Markdown
Coleslaw mix		0.59	Markdown
Bananas		0.96
Pasta (24)		14.16	Sale
Ramen (24)		2.88	Sale
Sugar - 4#		1.99
Walnuts		4.99
Olives (4)		3.00	Sale
Canadian bacon		1.49	Markdown
Smoked ham 1# (2)		5.00	Markdown
Sugar - 4# (2)		3.38	Store Coupon
Baking chips		3.98	Store Coupon
Powdered sugar (2)		1.98	Store Coupon
Spice packets (4)		1.00	Sale
Pepperoni		1.99	Sale/Coupon
Margarine (4)		3.00	Sale
Butter (2)		4.98	Store Coupon
Lettuce		1.00	Sale
Spinach		1.00	Sale
Tomatoes		2.68	Sale
Apples		0.49	Sale
Relish		1.00	Dollar Store
Milk		2.19
Vegetable oil (2)		3.98	Store Coupon
Tortillas - 20ct		2.59	Sale
Italian sausage		1.75	Markdown
Italian sausage		1.75	Markdown
Canadian bacon		1.29	Markdown
Canned tomatoes (6)		3.00	Store Coupon
Coffee creamer		1.99	Store Coupon
Coffee creamer		1.99	Store Coupon
Bananas		0.98
Split peas		1.29	Sale
Ramen (5)		1.00	Sale
Snow peas		1.79	Markdown
Worcestershire sauce		1.25	Sale
Total		$      153.26

$153.26 ÷ 30 days ÷3 people = $1.70 per person per day!

Did you stock up on anything this month?  Any super deals?

This budget month runs from September 1 through September 30.