Y’all know I love Dollar Tree. If you are looking for a store to pick up inexpensive ingredients for your holiday meals, head over to Dollar Tree.
Not all of us live near an Aldi (click here to learn more about their Thanksgiving dinner deal), but there is at least one Dollar Tree in almost every town in the US.
And if you’ve never shopped for food at Dollar Tree, here is my Top Ten List.
October is National Pizza Month, so I thought I’d share with y’all some of our favorite pizza stuff: recipes, pizza swag, and even ways to save money on ordering pizza.
Goodness knows we have pizza about once a week (Friday take-out night is usually pizza), so I have all kinds of tips and tricks.
If you are new to making your own pizza at home, here is a list of my must-haves, including ingredients and kitchen tools!
Need a break from cooking and want to order takeout? Here are a few suggestions for saving money and/or earning cash back on your next pizza night:
Inspired by Your Barefoot Neighbor, this recipe is really tasty and pretty easy.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Variations:
The weather this week is going to be weird- Hot in the beginning of the week, and rainy and wet towards the middle and end. All I want is fall weather. I’m craving SOUP! I’ve got a few new recipes in the works- I’ll be sharing them once I make them.
I do my grocery shopping usually early on Saturday morning, after I inventory the fridge, freezer, and pantry (the forms I used are in this post- they are FREE). This week I didn’t buy a lot. We’ve got a lot of pantry staples, and I’m leaning into those, plus a lot of frozen veggies (from our last delivery of veggies for the local CSA. I cleaned, chopped, and bagged what we weren’t able to eat right away), and a big package of chicken breast.
Breakfast: The Big Kid has joined the Protein Coffee train with me. He has his with the equivalent of 2-3 shots of espresso in it, served hot. I take my Protein Coffee iced. 1 protein shake and 20 ounces of cold brew. The littler dude is on an Einstein Bros. Bagel kick. I buy them once every few weeks, pre-sliced, then I stash them in the freezer and pull them out and toast them as needed.
Lunch: Monday through Friday, I pack my own and the kids’ lunches. I bring 5 lunches to work on Monday and stash them in the fridge. I pack the kids’ lunches each night before bed, except for the cold stuff and ice pack- those I put in when I get up in the morning. This week I have frozen entrees- there was a sale a few weeks ago, and I bought enough for the first 2 weeks of school. The big kid has basically the same lunch every day: Sandwich, drink, Quest Protein Chips, and a couple of cookies or whatever I made this week. The little dude has cheesy popcorn, mandarin oranges (2), a cheese stick, a yogurt drink, a cookie, and a fruit snack. Whatever keeps them fed!
Dinner: It’s a mixed bag of crockpot meals and quick-cook, easy dinners this week.
Wednesday: Smoothies and Charcuterie plates (this has become a Wednesday special)
Thursday: Quesadillas, beans and rice
One of the perks of Amazon Prime is that you get a free subscription to GrubHub+ with $0 delivery fees on orders over $12 and reduced service fees.
Here are two codes to save you even more for those nights when you do not want to cook:
Active Grubhub+ members can use the promo code DEALS20 to get $20 off an order of $30 or more through October 5, 2026. Save even more by ordering for pickup! No Delivery fee or tip!
If you are new to GrubHub+, use FIRSTORDER for $10 off a first $20+ order through October 15, 2026.
I used code DEALS20 yesterday to pick up dinner, and I spent $11.00 out of pocket for the three of us. It is definately a great deal.
September is National Potato Month. I love potatoes- they are full of nutrients, they are inexpensive, and a bag of taters lasts a while if kept in a dry, dark cabinet.
Here are a few family recipes that involve potatoes that are the best.
Now that school is back in session, I’m going to be posting my weekly meal plans again. Breakfast and lunch at our house are usually the same each day- that’s how the kids tend to like it.
I do my grocery shopping usually early on Saturday morning, after I inventory the fridge, freezer, and pantry (the forms I used are in this post- they are FREE). This week I didn’t buy a lot. I want to work through what’s in the freezer. I did, however, visit Trader Joe’s and buy 10 bags of their frozen pizza dough- it’s always a good idea to have safe foods on hand, and pizza is one here.
Breakfast: The Big Kid has joined the Protein Coffee train with me. He has his with the equivalent of 2-3 shots of espresso in it, served hot. I take my Protein Coffee iced. 1 protein shake and 20 ounces of cold brew. The littler dude is on an Einstein Bros. Bagel kick. I buy them once every few weeks, pre-sliced, then I stash them in the freezer and pull them out and toast them as needed.
Lunch: Monday through Friday, I pack my own and the kids’ lunches. I bring 5 lunches to work on Monday and stash them in the fridge. I pack the kids’ lunches each night before bed, except for the cold stuff and ice pack- those I put in when I get up in the morning. This week I have frozen entrees- there was a sale a few weeks ago, and I bought enough for the first 2 weeks of school. The big kid has basically the same lunch every day: Sandwich, drink, Quest Protein Chips, and a couple cookies or whatever I made this week. The little dude has cheesy popcorn, mandarin oranges (2), a cheese stick, a yogurt drink, a cookie, and a fruit snack. Whatever keeps them fed!
Dinner: The heat is so bad this week, so I’m trying to make as many cool choices or stuff that doesn’t require a lot of heat or stovetop time (and nothing in the oven!!).
Wednesday: Smoothies and Charcuterie plates (this has become a Wednesday special)
Thursday: Quesadillas, beans and rice
I’ve seen this recipe all over social media. I watched a few videos and rummaged through my pantry. Here is my version. It’s simple and so tasty!
French onion beans
Ingredients
Directions
These beans stay good in the fridge 3-4 days, however, they will not last that long. They are soo rich and smooth. And very filling,
You can make this recipe vegan by using dairy-free butter substitute, coconut milk, and dairy-free cheese.
This weekend, I am on the ball and getting the meal plan posted on Sunday!
My goal of not doing a big grocery shop was foiled last week. I ended up going grocery shopping at Walmart when I needed to order a few things for the house- like washcloths. I have no idea where they all went. It was only $40, still well below my usual weekly grocery bill.
In the summer, we get into a groove when it comes to dinners. Easy, quick foods that are tried and true.
Breakfast: The kids tend to eat cereal, a bagel, or an MBS (Mrs. Bear Special) each morning for breakfast. I usually have a proffee. I cashed in all of my points at Einstein Bros. Bagels to get a free dozen bagels. They are sliced and individually wrapped in the freezer. They are definately going to be a hit this week for breakfast.
Lunch: I’m doing lunch meal prep for the week today- Beans and Rice bowls for myself. And a batch of Mac n’ cheese for the youngest. The big kid usually doesn’t eat a big lunch. He’ll snack or have a bag of Quest Protein chips and a sandwich. We’ll be escaping the house on some adventures. The kids will be taking advantage of the free summer lunches (find out more here) while we are out and about.
Dinner: Because of the heat, I didn’t end up making meatloaf, so we may grill burgers instead, or make Salisbury steaks. I’m not sure which.
Wednesday: Smoothies and Charcuterie plates (this has become a Wednesday special)
Thursday: Chicken Quesadillas, fruit, chips
I took the weekend off from blogging to hang out with the kids and work on another project.
This week is less busy than last week, so I plan on hitting up the gym for yoga as often as I can.
I did a small grocery trip yesterday morning, mostly to get popsicles and a few things that were needed for a specific meal yesterday (Father’s Day breakfast for my ex and the kids). I’m going to try to go another week without a restock shop. We will have plenty of snacks, and I’ve got ingredients to make cookies and everything on the menu for this week.
The kids will be taking advantage of the free summer lunches (find out more here) as often as we can this week.
Breakfast: The kids tend to eat cereal, a bagel, or an MBS (Mrs. Bear Special) each morning for breakfast. I usually have a proffee. I cashed in all of my points at Einstein Bros. Bagels to get a free dozen bagels. They are sliced and individually wrapped in the freezer. They are definately going to be a hit this week for breakfast.
Lunch: Between free summer lunches and the tons of snacks I’ve got in the cupboard, the kids will survive. I have two plastic totes full of individually portioned self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags. There are also preportioned fruits and veggies in the fridge.
Dinner: This week is another use-it-up week. We’ve got a lot of stuff in the freezer, including ground beef, nuggets, and frozen fruit.
Wednesday: Smoothies and Charcuterie plates
Thursday: Nuggets, fruit, and chips
