Life Skills| Menu Planning

Introduction to the basics of menu planning when you are trying to save money.  Life skills take time to learn and implement; especially when you are new to living on your own – check out the life skills series so we can all work together to conquer this thing called “adulting”.

Menu Plan Process:
1. Look at calendar to note which meals you will need
2. Review the food in your frig and cabinets to see what you already have on hand
3. Look at the flyers for your local grocers to see what is on sale
4. Use the allrecipes.com ingredient search to come up with some easy recipes to utilize the food you already have on hand and that is on sale
5. Make your menu!

Quick Recipes:

Country Quiche
6-8 Servings

INGREDIENTS
¼ cup (less or a little more) bacon bits
1 small onion – chopped
4 eggs
2 T milk
2 T flour
1 tsp dried parsley
¼ tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup shredded mozzarella
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

DIRECTIONS
• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
• Mix flour and milk together till not clumpy
• Mix all ingredients (except pie crust) together
• Pour into unbaked pie crust
• Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 min – till lightly brown on top and firm in middle
NOTE: Can make into mini quiches by using 2 containers crescent rolls – flatten and cut into small circles – press crust circles into greased mini muffin tins – put 1 tsp egg mix in – bake 20-25 min

Chili (Crockpot or Stovetop)
8-10+ Servings

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground beef
2 cans chili beans w/ juice
3 cans kidney beans (drained)
4 cans diced tomatoes
1 chopped onion
2 tsp fresh garlic
½ T oregano
½ T cumin
1 T paprika
½ tsp red pepper
4 T chili powder
1 T Italian seasoning

DIRECTIONS
• In a skillet – sauté onions and beef – drain – put in crockpot or big soup pan
• Put everything else into crockpot/soup pan - Stir
• Crockpot: cook on low for 4+ hours
• Stovetop: bring to boil, then simmer for 30+ min (longer it simmers the better it tastes
• Serve with cheese, sour cream, green onions, chips/crackers

Chicken Alfredo

INGREDIENTS
½ cup butter
8oz cream cheese
2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups milk
6oz grated parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS
• Melt butter in medium saucepan till fully melted on medium heat
• Add cream cheese and garlic – stirring with whisk until smooth
• Add milk – a little at a time – whisking to smooth out lumps
• Stir in parmesan and pepper
• Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency

Helpful Links:

-- All Recipes Ingredient Search: http://bit.ly/allrecipesingredientsearch
Electronic Coupons: Ibotta - http://bit.ly/Ibottaregister.  Feel free to use my referral code of: sbzsha – you get $10 and I get $5!
Target Coupons: http://bit.ly/cartwheelcoupons
Grocery Coupons: http://bit.ly/2generalcoupons
-- Aldi App: http://bit.ly/aldifavoritestore

For further details on each of the top five tips check out the videos below:

Life Skills: Top Five Food Tips: http://bit.ly/FHtopfivefoodtips
Life Skills: Menu Planning: http://bit.ly/FildaHouseMenuPlanning
Life Skills: Food Prep: http://bit.ly/FHfoodprep
Life Skills: Food Substitutions: http://bit.ly/FHfoodsubstitutions
Life Skills: Don’t Throw it Out!: http://bit.ly/FHdontthrowitout
Life Skills: Buying Food: http://bit.ly/FHbuyingfood

Follow Filda House:
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INSTAGRAM: @sefendrich