Meal Planning: april 2025
MEAL PLAN AND GROCERY HAUL FOR WEEK OF 4/6-4/12
I am new to menu/meal planning but due to some recent life changes, I have decided to get serious about it to help our family budget. A little bit about our current situation:
New baby
We do not own our home
We recently replaced our HVAC system
We currently have 2 full time incomes but that will be going down to 1 full time and 1 part time in the near future
Due to all of this, it is more important for us to live below our means and a huge part of that is our grocery budget. We are trying to use most of what we already have at home but without a plan, this is not going well. Hopefully creating these posts will help keep me accountable and make the process fun.
*Disclaimer, we enjoy getting takeout or going out to eat and we will continue to do so. We just want to plan better for our grocery store trips.
I will be breaking these posts down into three sections: 1. The menu/meal plan 2. Recipes/links/meal notes 3. Grocery cost breakdown (I will also include pictures but forgot to this time)
MEAL PLAN
SUNDAY
B: SLOWRISE DONUTS
L: PAINTED ROOSTER
D: ALEX’S CHILI
MONDAY
B: SLOWRISE LEFTOVERS
L: LEFTOVERS
D: TUNA CHEESY PASTA SKILLET MEAL
TUESDAY
B: QUICHE & PANCAKE MUFFINS
L: LEFTOVERS
D: CRESCENT ROLL TACO BAKE
WEDNESDAY
B: QUICHE & PANCAKE MUFFINS
L: LEFTOVERS
D: LIL’SMOKIES WITH MAC&CHEESE
THURSDAY
B: QUICHE & PANCAKE MUFFINS
L: LEFTOVERS
D: BAKED CHICKEN W/SIDES
FRIDAY
B: QUICHE & PANCAKE MUFFINS
L: LEFTOVERS
D: LEFTOVERS
SATURDAY
B: TAKEOUT
L: PIZZA
D: STEAK W/SIDES (IF WE DO NOT HAVE A BUNCH OF LEFTOVERS)
RECIPES/LINKS/MEAL NOTES
SLOWRISE DONUTS
A local small business that only has pop ups. This wasn’t originally the plan but we love them so we went. If you are local, you should chem them out!
PAINTED ROOSTER
A local small business located in Bella Patina which is where the pop up was. We were there for awhile so we decided to eat here instead of waiting to get home after errands and cooking.
ALEX’S CHILI
Alex makes amazing chili but he does it from memory so I do not have exact measurements but what we used is below:
3 lbs ground beef
Willam’s Chili Seasoning packet (larger one for 4 lbs of meat)
(2) 15.5 oz cans of Hyvee Chili Style Beans in Chili Gravy
32 oz tomato juice concentrate
Brown the beef and drain. Mix the rest of the ingredients in and heat until hot (or desired temp)
TUNA CHEESY PASTA SKILLET MEAL
This is Hyvee’s version of Tuna Helper and it is decent for being a boxed dinner.
QUICHE
Magnolia Table Volume 1: Three Cheese Quiche Recipe
I use whatever cheese I have on hand
I substitute half and half for heavy cream sometimes
Usually add 6 strips of bacon and/or tomatoes
Cook as instructed and it comes out perfect every time
(Sorry I could not find a link for this that was accurate. I will create a graphic for next time)
PANCAKE MUIFFINS
I found the graphic below on Pinterest and we absolutely love it. I found it via Nicole Taylor but I am not for sure if they are the original creator. So far we have used cinnamon and chocolate chips but I plan on trying frozen blueberries soon.
Pancake muffins
CRESCENT ROLL TACO BAKE
I used the recipe from Clara Quick Dinners (linked below)
Pillsbury Crescent Roll Taco Bake Recipe - Clara quick dinners
LIL’ SMOKIES WITH MAC&CHEESE
This is very simple but one of my favorite meals.
13 oz package of lil’ smokies (I usually do all beef or cheddar)
17.5 oz bottle of bbq sauce
This is random but my favorite is the one I get from Dollar General. It is the Bull’s-Eye Everyday BBQ Sauce - Original.
1 box of mac & cheese.
CHEESY GARLIC CHEDDAR CHICKEN BAKE WITH INSTANT MASHED POTATOES
I used the recipe from Easy Family Recipes (linked below) for the chicken
4 oz package of Idaho Instant Mashed Potatoes - Four Cheese
Just cooked using stovetop instructions
PIZZA
Depending on how busy we are, this will either be Costco pizza or a frozen pizza.
STEAK WITH SIDE
Alex will grill the steaks using Kinder’s “The Blend” seasoning and Worcestershire sauce.
The side will either be a box of mac & cheese or a Knorr pasta side.
LEFTOVERS NOTES:
My boyfriend and I work in our corporate offices, so we take lunch with us every day. I usually make a couple of meals at a time and portion them out so we can just grab and go in the mornings.
Our leftovers will usually last a couple of meals but we usually have a couple of options in the fridge at all times during the week.
I plan on trying to prep better on the weekends, so cooking isn’t as much of a “chore” during the week.
GROCERY COST BREAKDOWN
This section will provide how much we spent on groceries during the week and other items we end up purchasing. This is mainly just for nosey people like me who want to know what people are buying. I will include any household items plus groceries which I tend to buy together. I will also note anything we had on hand since we are trying to build meals around what we have right now.
Places we shop:
Dollar General
We “extreme coupon” most Saturdays.
I follow Torok Coupon Hunter for my ideas for CVS and Dollar General.
CVS
COSTCO/SAM’S CLUB
HYVEE
WALMART (PRETTY RARE)
TARGET (PRETTY RARE)
GROCERY HAULS:
Dollar General: Total spent including tax $48.67
Coke 12 packs $25.37
Toothpaste $1.00
Trashbags $15.00
Bbq sauce $2.50
Costco: Total spent including tax $78.97
Toilet paper $24.89
Eggs $6.49
Bike shorts $12.99
Deli turkey $11.99
Heavy cream $4.99
Milk $6.98
Sour Cream $5.29
Hyvee: Total spent including tax $50.37
Ground hamburger 3 lbs $15.17
Bacon wrapped sirloins $11.96
William’s chili seasoning packets $6.98
Nursery water $9.54
Tomato Juice $3.99
EVERYTHING WE HAD ON HAND
Chili: We needed everything except for the chili beans
Quiche: We had all of the ingredients
Pancake Muffins: We had all of the ingredients
Crescent Roll Taco Bake: We had all of the ingredients
Lil’ Smokies & Mac: We had everything except bbq sauce
Cheesy Chicken bake and instant mashed potatoes: We had everything
Pizza: I published this before we ate so we do have a frozen pizza otherwise we ate at Costco while we were there
Steaks and Sides: We have everything
I appreciate you making it all the way to the bottom and I hope you enjoyed the content. I have no idea if this is something people are interested in or if it will be helpful, but it was fun for me to write. I can’t wait for next week and I promise I will have pictures.
