More tips and weekly Menu

A couple more things that will save you time and money:
* Every Tuesday in our town, the grocery ads come out. The ad starts the next day and runs to the following Tuesday. This is a great way to menu plan for the next week and stock up on things that you use often. Beware of loss leaders! It's ok to go into one store and just buy the stuff on the ad and then go to the reliable priced store for everything else. This is maybe not a time saver, especially if oyu have little kids. You'll have to decide on that one! Another good way to use the ad is to buy meat on Wednesday and if you really like it, you still have almost a week to come get more.
* Do a regular inventory of your freezer and shop there before you meal plan or shop. Once you start buying a larger quantity of meat or other things that freeze well, you will need to keep track of what you have in order to actually save that money. What good does it do to buy ribs on sale and then not eat them or even worse - throw them away 3 years later!
* I did a price comparison between Costco and Food Maxx because I wanted to be sure that I was really getting a bargain. I'd be happy to e-mail it to anyone who would like it, just know that it's the things that I buy and it may not be what you want to know. Ask me about the items you would like and I'll compare the next time I go shopping:)
* Did you know that the Kirkland brand at Costco imitates popular brands, but has a very high standard? It has to be as good or better than the original brand. They just came out with mayonaise that is supposed to be as good as Best Foods - really!- and is about half the price. I bought a jar and will let you know if it passes the husband test!
So, now for the weekly menu. I shopped in my freezer and pantry, checked my calendar for evening activities and came up with this:
Sunday: BBQ'd Salmon with garlic powder and pepper, Pasta with butter and herbs, steamed zuchinni
Monday: Whole Chicken with skin off in my Pampered Chef covered bowl with carrots and potatoes, all of it covered with Montreal seasoning, garlic powder and, pepper.
Tuesday: I have to go to Redding right after school and then have a meeting at school at 7, so it had to be quick. Chili dogs and potato salad (I will make that Monday night)
Wednesday: Pork Chops, Hash Brown potatoes, green salad.
Thursday: Leftover night! Actually we will be at a football game so it's pizza!
Friday: We will be at the cabin expecting who knows how many, so I am making a huge amount of tacos and burritos - easy and re-heatable in case people arrive at different times.
Hope this helps someone:) If you need more specific cooking instructions or recipes, just ask! Have a great week! I will try to do this on Sundays or Saturdays usually :)