I wanted to update, but BACON distracted me.

Don't forget to enter the CSN Stores $35 Giveaway!

So I started to come on here to update everything that has been going on lately but then I got distracted by this article. Yes, an article entirely devoted to bacon. For anyone that knows me IRL - I absolutely love Bacon. Preferably crispy. I blame my mother. She use to make us the most amazing bacon sandwiches growing up. She would sneak off to the corner store and get these long skinny italian loafs of bread that were still warm and then fry up some bacon to go with them. Cut the loaf in half, dip the bread in the grease and just pile bacon on top. A nightmare for our cholesterol but the ultimate in comfort food. My sister and I still love to have these for breakfast!

So now I'm the person who loves bacon as if it was a boy toy. I order it as an appetizer when I go to eat at Cracker Barrel. My surefire way of testing a diner is to order their BLT - if you screw that up I won't eat there again. I just found out a restaurant downtown makes a Fried Green Tomato BLT. I can't wait to try this out. It sounds AMAZING!

Having said that, in preparing for Jellybean's arrival I was forced to suck it up and realize that one of the main places I was overspending was at the grocery store. Joey and I have pretty much been living the "DINK" life until now. We pay child support for his son but that is different then having the day to day expenses of a child in the home. So when we would go to the store we would start with a list but rarely stuck to it strictly. There have been times where it took some creative arranging to fit everything in the fridge, freezer and pantry after a trip to the store. I'm going to venture a guess that we could easily spend $300-$400 a month at the grocery store - with only two people in the house. Knowing that I am soon going to be out an extra $580 a month for just daycare and health insurance alone - that just isn't an option anymore.

So - I am back to meal planning. Taking leftovers for lunch at work. Sticking to my grocery list. Actually waiting to run out of stuff before buying it. Buying less junk food/snacks. I know that at times this is going to be a struggle but its not about the two of us anymore. Its the three of us now. There's going to be soccer, T-ball, clothes, doctors, dentists, birthday parties and a million other expenses along the way. We just can't afford to be wasteful anymore. I am amazed by all of you who are able to survive on one income and still afford everything so feel free to share your advice with me. I'm not to proud to take it. I would love to be able to be a SAHM or WAHM at some point and I need to lay the groundwork now for it.

Now with my meal plan for the week -



You can find out more about Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Monday - Shrimp Stirfry (I've had a bag of shrimp and half a family size stirfry kit in my freezer for two months now so its time to use it up!)
Tuesday - Kielbasa on the grill, Fried onions, French fries, Salad
Wednesday - Chicken Parmesan, Angel hair Pasta with Italian dressing and Parmesan Cheese (This is awesome cold the next day!), Spinach salad
Thursday - Potato soup (from the freezer stash), Garlic bread (We have our childbirth classes so need a quick meal)
Friday -I'll be at my sister's so Joey is on his own
Saturday - My niece's cheerleading competition
Sunday - We are attending a wedding.

So this week I really only need to buy bread, milk, fruit and veggies. I have everything else. Thank goodness too since I don't get paid until Friday! :)

Finally - I've started thinking about getting meals in the freezer for after Jellybean is born and I am a zombie. Would you like to share your favorite freezer/crockpot recipes with me? (or come cook for me mid January/early February?)

Menu Plan Monday - Clearing out and getting ahead

You can find out more about Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

It has been ages since I have participated in Menu Plan Monday. My checking account can reflect it since when I don't plan - I overbuy and my freezer reflects it too as it was bursting with meals and/or the fixings to make a meal. I do have one request to throw out there though. I have a ton of frozen beans - lima, butter, kidney. We bought them when my stepson was down and now I don't know what to do with them. Does anyone have some great recipes they would like to share with me so I can use them up next week?

My Menu Plan is going to go Sunday through Saturday since that is usually how I plan. I like to do my shopping on Sundays. Most of this weeks meals are being pulled from the freezer since it really needs to get purged and then replenished. I'll go into some quick breakfast and lunch plans below my dinner menu too.

Sunday
Pasta Bake (Rotini, ground beef and turkey, sausage, ricotta, mozzarella and spaghetti sauce)
Garlic Bread
Salad (I am addicted to salad's now that I'm pregnant)

Monday
Cajun Shrimp
Brown Rice w/pimentos
Asparagus (We buy most of our veggies frozen now so they won't spoil before we get a chance to use them)

Tuesday
Applegate Farms Uncured Hot Dogs (safe for preggos and they taste great)
Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Salad (Yes again!)

Wednesday
Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup
Grilled Cheese

Thursday
Beef Tips in gravy
Whole Grain Noodles
Broccoli

Friday
Fried Mahi ( I use this recipe but omit the sandwich part)
French Fries
Cole slaw
Mixed Veggies

Saturday
Chicken and Dumplings
Cornbread

After all that my freezer should be due for a restock. I'll probably make extra on our meals again for a week or two and be good to repeat the process. I'm making breakfast sandwiches for this week too. Hubby like his on toast, I prefer a bagel. So he will have turkey bacon, egg and cheese, or sausage egg and cheese and I'll have the same - hold the cheese. (yuck - can't do cheese with my breakfast!)

Lunches - I need to use up these Sandwich Pockets -


I bought last week so I'm going to cook up some chicken breasts and probably do a few Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwiches for hubby with that and maybe a roast beef sandwich or two for him in addition. We also picked up a couple of the microwaveable Campbell's Soup bowls since they were on sale at Target so the hubby can have those. His only other request is fruit. I'm going to take the rest of the frozen pierogies I have at least a day or two. Leftover salad is a big hit with me too.  I also have a few freezer dinners I need to use up so all in all I should be good to go.

How about an IV drip of caffeine?

You know how some people can be just a bit too healthy? They take a regimen of 56 different pills, steam everything and don’t add salt to any meal. Yea, I’m not one of those people.

Generally, I eat pretty well. I’m not a huge fan of junk food per say. If I eat like crap for two or three days in a row my body lets me know. I get tired, irritable, I feel sick and I start craving salad and broccoli and oh Brussels sprouts. (Warning: Do not ever let me loose at a Farmer’s Market – I am like a kid in a candy store. I will buy vegetables I have no idea how to cook simply to have them in my fridge!) So then I go on a health kick for a few weeks.



One of my greatest faults is that I LOVE to grocery shop. I was excited beyond belief to fill the pantry up in our new house. I go and buy groceries at lunch and plan out what new and exciting things I’ll be making for dinner. I Google recipes all the time. In the past week, I’ve made my first ever Peach Pie and Chicken Pot Pie. The week before it was black bean enchiladas. I have a binder full of recipes that I peruse like it’s a Tiffany’s catalog. I may be a foodie in disguise.



It’s not all high end in my world though. My favorite dinner ever – TACO NIGHT!!!!! I do not wait for Joey to be ready when it’s TACO NIGHT – I dive into that baby like it’s my last meal and hopefully there will be something left over for him once I’m finished. If not – tough cookies baby – you should’ve been quicker!



This entire food obsession is nothing though compared to the Sweet Tea addiction we have in our household though! (Note: If you live in the South it is not Iced Tea; any true Southerner knows it is simply Sweet Tea. The ice is implied and if you wanted Hot Tea – that needs to be specified; not vice versa) We were going through a gallon or more of Sweet Tea in our house a day. That’s a cup and a half of Sugar a day or about a 5 lb bag a week. Then I started noticing things, like how I kept waking up during the night. Repeatedly. I needed coffee to get me going in the morning more often than usual. I was fading by 2pm each day.


I had an epiphany then. I was addicted to the Sweet Tea. This wasn’t just a passing fancy either. I was into it hardcore – much worse than my simple Foodie addiction. I craved the stuff and if I couldn’t have it I was substituting with Dr. Pepper or Cherry Coke. I knew it was going to catch up to me – I just didn’t think it would be so soon. Once the headaches started to hit I knew it was time to make a clean break.

So now I’m on the path to being a health nut. I swore off the Sweet Tea during the week. It’s water through most of the day except for an iced green tea at lunch and one at dinner. (Yes – I know that green tea has caffeine too. I’m making progress here people. Don’t judge! Pfft.) I manage to make Joey his coffee in the mornings and not get any myself. That caffeine is sneaky though – it almost convinced me I needed a delicious Vanilla Iced Coffee this morning but a traffic jam and an accident up ahead rerouted me around the Mickey D’s that would have led to me downfall. This caffeine addiction I can kick.


Maybe next I’ll work on my BACON addiction. (Ha! Yeah right!)