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Quick and Easy Recipes

5 Easy Freezer Breakfast Meals

How are your mornings going? Are they blissfully smooth with harp music playing in the background? Nope. Me either! That’s why I LOVE these easy freezer breakfast meals so much! They make our crazy busy mornings a little less chaotic! 

 

Taking just one morning about every two weeks to prep a bunch of easy freezer breakfast meals helps provide one less thing to think about, one less thing for the kids to need help with, and one less thing to stress about in the mornings!

 

In today’s post I’m sharing with you five easy freezer breakfast meals that my family has taste tested and loved! I know your family is going to love them too!

Do you need some make ahead freezer breakfast meals that still tasted great when they are reheated? Here are 5 easy freezer breakfast meal ideas that are kid tested and perfect on the go freezer breakfast meals. Continue Reading →

October 2019 Whole 30 Meal Plan for Families

You’re motivated! You have your entire month’s worth of whole 30 meal plan ready for your family. This is going to be awesome! You’re family is going to be SO HEALTHY!

And then you sit down for the first meal and reality sets in. None of your kids will even try dinner…

Holy frustrating! Right?

In this month’s whole 30 meal plan I made sure to choose not only budget friendly meals, but are recipes that either your family will love as is or are easily adaptable to accommodate any picky eaters. 

 

Whole 30 Meal Planning VIDEO giving you tips on how to eat healthy as a family showing you how to not only plan budget friendly meals, but pick healthy recipes that either your family will love as is or are easily adaptable to accommodate any picky eaters. FREE PRINTABLE meal plan with links to whole 30 recipes Continue Reading →

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Easy School Lunch Ideas for Kids

This article on easy school lunch ideas is sponsored by Fetch Rewards. Thank you for using my links to support Pennies Into Pearls at no additional cost to you. 

Tell me I’m not the only one who hates figuring out lunches for the kids! Well, that’s how I used to feel.

It felt like packing school lunches every morning was like asking me in the midst of the morning chaos to also solve a complex physics equation. Too much!

That’s when I knew I needed to create a system to make this daily task a no brainer and help our family have a more peaceful morning. I’m going to teach you all about it!

Easy school lunch ideas for kids with plenty bento box lunch ideas for kids school lunches. Plus tips for lunch ideas for picky eaters. Continue Reading →

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What We Eat in a Summer Day

I can’t believe the Summer is almost over! We’ve been having such a blast this year enjoying the weather, getting outside and spending quality time together! I am also happy to be sharing what we eat in a day over the Summer months with you.

With the kids being home everyday right now, you would think we would be blowing our grocery budget like crazy! But, we aren’t! We’ve been able to stay within our $500 a month budget for our family of 5!

Today, I want to take you along as I share what we eat throughout the whole day! You’ll be surprised at how simple and budget friendly our meals are! This allows us to spend our money more intentionally on things we value more (than the drive thru)!

We are sharing with you exactly what our family eats in a day on a budget. What we eat in a day will surprise you since our family food budget is only $500 for the entire month for our family of five!
Continue Reading →

June 2019 Meal Plan & Grocery Haul

This summer meal planning on a budget post contains affiliate links at no additional cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting Pennies Into Pearls by using my links!

Summer time is when things can go a little haywire with your meal planning. That’s why I am dishing up these delicious grilling and summer inspired recipes that will help you feed a crowd! It’s time to say goodbye to the cozy meals and hello to the light, fresh and grilled fare we enjoy during a picnic or cookout!

This month, I am committed to sharing with you how my family deals with all of these  “unforeseen” events and plans for them as much as possible.

Use this family budget meal plan this June and feed your family for under $520! You will start saving money on groceries as soon as you use this family budget meal plan! Continue Reading →

January 2019 Monthly Grocery Haul – Freezer Meal Update

This grocery haul post contains affiliate links at no additional cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting Pennies Into Pearls by using my links!

Welcome to 2019!! Whew, what a whirlwind last year was. We’ve had so much happening with our family, and this Pearl Team keeps growing and growing, which is so exciting! Today, lets talk meal planning and grocery haulin’!

Do you remember last month, when I cooked freezer meals for 2 months?! That was a crazy few days, but now I am so happy I did it, because for January I will not have to cook a thing from scratch! I just need to reheat the meals I have already made. SCORE!

This month, we are going to review how month two of this fun little experiment is going. If you’re interested in snagging a copy of Seriously Good Freezer Meals (the cookbook I used for my freezer meals), click this link!

Don’t know where to start? Pearl! I got you! Make sure you read this article on how to meal plan for beginners. In there you will find all the tips you need to make sure that you plan to the best of your ability and stay on budget!

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I’m also always sharing our daily frugal living tips for summer survival over on my Instagram stories! It’s super fun over there so don’t forget to follow along!

How We Stuck to a $400 Monthly Grocery Budget

If you are new here, hi! You are probably interested to know what we set for our monthly grocery budget. This is how it’s broken down.

When I first started kicking bootie at the grocery budget game we only spend $300 in our monthly grocery haul. That covers all groceries that can last in the fridge, freezer, or pantry for 30 days or longer. We also budgeted $25 each week for fresh produce and milk. All that takes is a quick 15 minute trip once a week! Lastly, we budgeted $160 for all other household needs that are not food.

Things over the past few months things have changed a bit and we are experimenting with bumping up our budgets and honestly, I think we will lower them back down soon. When you are figuring out your grocery budget, it’s all about trial and error.

The key to sticking to monthly meal plan on a budget is to use cash! Remember that stuff? Seriously, cash is T-H-E single tool we use that has helped our family cut our food budget from $1,000 to only $400 a month!

It is statistically proven that when you use cash you spend less money. It is such a powerful visual reminder that the dollar number you are spending is coming from your pocket and not an imaginary never ending bank account.

Using a cash envelope system is exactly what keeps our family on track with our budget every single day! When using this system every dollar you pull out of your wallet is coming directly from a categorized budget. You visually see money leaving your pocket and that gets you thinking twice about your purchase.

“If I buy this now, I won’t have enough to buy _______ later.” You have to weigh your wants with your priorities.

My Favorite App for Grocery Shopping on a Budget

No mom has the time to spend continuously scanning apps over the holidays looking for the best rebate offers and sales. Which is why I have minimized my rebate strategy to help maximize my savings in the smallest amount of time.

This month’s grocery haul is very different from normal! Because I made and shopped for all meals last month, I don’t have any meal prep groceries to buy this month (other than fresh). You won’t believe how much money we saved by prepping our freezer meals this way!

My very favorite app to us is Ibotta! I have done an entire tutorial on how to use the app to maximize your savings. But in a nutshell this is how I do it, I do my normal grocery shopping first.

Then once I get all my groceries home, I will quickly open the app and search the two stores that I just went shopping at to see if there are any rebates that apply to my groceries. There are usually 3-4 that I can claim. This saves me around $5 each time I use the app.

If that doesn’t sound like much, trust me! The three minutes that it takes me to save $5 is 100% worth it! These small savings add up quick and once you hit $20 you can cash out in PayPal or Venmo, or choose from a bunch of really awesome gift cards! I usually choose Target and treat myself to a well deserved “mom’s only” snack!

If you are new to Ibotta, sign up using this link and you will automatically get $10 after you claim your first rebate! So easy!

January 2019 Family Meal Plan on a Budget & Grocery Haul

Made double freezer meals last month so I don’t have to cook at all this month!

Used this cookbook to make this all possible.

You can download this month’s budget friendly meal plan here.

In this monthly grocery haul on a budget I’m shopping to feed our family of five for TWO MONTHS! I’m talking freezer meals this month! Crazy schedules and small budgets are in need of some freezer meal ideas.Take a look at our Costco grocery haul on a budget and learn tips to save money on groceries.

January 2019 Grocery Haul

This month’s grocery haul is very different from normal! Because I made and shopped for all meals last month, I don’t have any meal prep groceries to buy this month (other than fresh).

You won’t believe how much money we saved by prepping our freezer meals this way! You have to watch the video to find out! What should we do with the savings? I’m thinking about using it towards stocking up on meats next time I see a good sale!

So really all that is left for this month’s grocery haul is to replenish any needed kitchen staples, snack foods, breakfast, and lunch supplies. That’s about it. Take a look at the video to see what we bought this month plus the number breakdown!

 

I’d love to hear any questions you have! Leave them down in the comments below!

Pesto Asparagus Tortellini Pasta Salad

Comin at ya with another super easy and crazy fast dinner idea! Plus, you can feel great about feeding this pesto tortellini dinner to your family because it is fresh and full of veggies (if you want!)

Tonight its a 5 ingredient dinner that will be on the table in under 20 minutes!

Tonight its a 5 ingredient dinner that will be on the table in under 20 minutes! You can count this as a healthy dinner idea because it is full of fresh yummy veggies! This cheap dinner idea will help you stay on budget and still keep all the flavor in the meal!

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Fast Pesto Asparagus Tortellini

(video)

 

This easy dinner idea is a family pleaser for sure! Leave the veggies cut into large pieces making it easy for your picky eaters to scavenge around.

This quick dinner idea is going to take you under 20 minutes to whip together and less than $5 to feed your family!

Tonight its a 5 ingredient dinner that will be on the table in under 20 minutes! You can count this as a healthy dinner idea because it is full of fresh yummy veggies! This cheap dinner idea will help you stay on budget and still keep all the flavor in the meal!

 

Tonight its a 5 ingredient dinner that will be on the table in under 20 minutes! You can count this as a healthy dinner idea because it is full of fresh yummy veggies! This cheap dinner idea will help you stay on budget and still keep all the flavor in the meal!

 

Pesto tortellini is perfect for busy nights where you feel like there is no time to cook but the drive thru is not on the meal plan!

Tonight its a 5 ingredient dinner that will be on the table in under 20 minutes! You can count this as a healthy dinner idea because it is full of fresh yummy veggies! This cheap dinner idea will help you stay on budget and still keep all the flavor in the meal!

The hardest thing you will be doing for dinner tonight is boing a pot of water! You can do it!

Oooh! This would also make a super good on-the-go meal idea!

 

My Favorite Cooking Tools

  • Bamboo Mixing Spoons that my brother got me for Christmas over five years ago and I still use them every day!
  • I use a Rubber Spatula in almost every recipe I am making.
  • We are still using the same Non-Stick Pot that my grandma got us for our wedding almost 12 years ago and we love it!
  • Insulated Carrier for On-The-Go Meals.

This quick dinner idea is going to take you under 20 minutes to whip together and under $5 to feed your family! There is no excuse tonight to mess up your meal plan! This cheap dinner idea will help you stay on budget and still keep all the flavor in the meal!

Share Your Dinner on Instagram!

I would love to see how your family likes your dinner! Share a picture of how your easy cesar pasta salad recipe turns out and tag me on Instagram @PenniesIntoPearls.

 

Thanks so much for stopping in and I will talk to ya soon! Xoxo

Pesto Asparagus Tortellini
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Ingredients
  1. 4 Red Bell Pepper (chopped)
  2. 2 lbs. Asparagus (chopped into 2 inch pieces)
  3. 2 cups Chopped Grilled Chicken
  4. 1 lb. Frozen Tortellini Pasta
  5. ½ cup Pesto (Costco is the best place to buy!)
  6. Optional toppings: chopped parsley, grated parmesan, bacon crumbs
Instructions
  1. Boil a large pot of water.
  2. Cook tortellini as package directs.
  3. Once tortellini is cooked and water is drained, in a large bowl combine all ingredients.
  4. Immediately serve and top with your favorite italian toppings.
  5. Enjoy!
Pennies into Pearls https://www.penniesintopearls.com/