Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping: [Recipe] Taco Seasoning

It’s always a good idea to try to save a bit of money, isn’t it? Here in our house, we’re trying our best to meal plan and get a bit more frugal with our spending on food, an area we usually totally overspend on. If anyone has any great ideas to toss my way, please do!

Meal planning is essential for us to stick to our grocery budget. When we don’t have a plan in place, we just go right off the rails. For now, we’re trying to keep our grocery and supplies (toilet paper, dog food, diapers, etc.) to $600 a month. This amount may change once we settle into a routine and figure out how much we are realistically going to spend.

Last week, I planned our meals and prepped some of them ahead of time on Sunday. Here’s what we had to eat last week:

Sunday – Pizza, Pasta Salad
Monday – Quiche, Maple Sausages
Tuesday – Lawnmower Tacos served with fresh tomato, lettuce, and sour cream
Wednesday – Slow Cooker Beef Tips in Gravy, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Thursday – Burgers and fries
Friday – Takeout (we have a separate budget for that)
Saturday – Chicken fingers, Perogies, carrots, broccoli

I also made tangy pasta salad, quiche, berry crisp, and oatcakes ahead of time to help us bridge any food gaps during the week.

I needed taco seasoning to make the lawnmower tacos (recipe found here: Life As a Mom), so I decided I’d make my own. Here’s how I did it.

[Recipe] Taco Seasoning

1 part chili powder (I used 2 Tbsp)
1 part ground cumin
1 part garlic powder
1 part onion powder
1/4 part salt
1/2 part paprika
1/4 – 1/2 part red chili flakes (I omitted this to keep it kid-friendly)

Just mix everything together and you’re done.

This taco seasoning is so much more frugal than buying the little packets at the store. It costs just pennies to make and the recipe made about a half a cup of seasoning, probably 3 times what you’d get in a packet. It also tastes great and is a healthier option.

[Recipe] Taco Seasoning

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Ingredients

  

• 1 part chili powder I used 2 Tbsp
• 1 part ground cumin
• 1 part garlic powder
• 1 part onion powder
• 1/4 part salt
• 1/2 part paprika
• 1/4 - 1/2 part red chili flakes I omitted this to keep it kid-friendly

Instructions

 

• Mix.

This coming week, we’ve planned the following meals:

Sunday – Andouille Sausage Skillet Pasta, Salad
Monday – Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Rice, Asian Marinated Cucumbers
Tuesday – Salmon, squash, peas
Wednesday – Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs, Mexican Corn Salad
Thursday – Steak and Blue Cheese Caesar Salad
Friday – Take Out
Saturday – Bruschetta Chicken Bake, Salad

I’m also making english muffin bread, and an egg casserole ahead of time to help us out through the week.

Yesterday we did our weekly grocery shop. We stayed in our budget, spending $104. We even got a couple of “bonus” items like chips and dip, sausages and buns. Still stayed in budget. I was so proud of us.

Here’s what we picked up:

raspberries
sour cream
ground beef
pork ribs
romaine lettuce
frozen salmon
frozen corn
frozen broccoli
shredded cheddar
deli ham
cucumber
green onions
sausages
sausage buns
potato chips
chip dip
butter
milk
a chocolate bar
canned tomatoes
bell peppers

Now to prep and cook today to set us up for the upcoming week.