Emily here! Today I am sharing what our monthly dinner meal plan looks like. This is a monthly glance at what we eat every month for dinner.
IDK it seems pretty self explanatory? We have dinners that we really like so those show up many times in one month (Looking at you enchiladas, meatball subs, pizza, and burgers). Also my main tip is to make good food. When we were saving for our home we hardly ate out (and still really don’t). Instead we would ask ourselves if we were to eat out where would be go? What would we order there? Then I would just make it at home. That technique just became how we meal plan. The meals I make aren’t going to make you super skinny and they aren’t going to make you super fat. And it’s like that. (and that’s the way it is boo.)
Emily here! Guess who started a garden? Ya me. I know last summer the whole world was starting gardens because of the pandemic but I had a 3 month old at the time and was just trying to literally survive. But now that 3 month old is 1 year old! I thought a garden would be a perfect activity for us this summer. Here is what’s gone down so far.
Purchased the garden bed and soil. I found a garden bed on the app Nextdoor that someone was making locally. I was v happy to support local and to not have to assemble a garden bed on my own. The seller also delivered soil which saved us multiple trips to Lowe’s. All in it cost $411 (Garden bed, soil, and delivery.) Does this seem high? Maybe but we had this money set aside for the garden (Budget gave me permission to spend) and this is a nice quality one time investment garden bed.
Purchased seeds and a few supplies. I had set aside $450 for the garden so I didn’t have a whole lot left to work with. I decided to get seeds instead of the plants that are already started. I literally just put them in the garden bed and crossed my fingers. I also bought a little shovel and some clippers. I don’t have a watering pail and really wanted to get one for me and my little one. I spend $25 so I still have a little left over.
Planted and tried to fight off a cat. Well the very first night I got the garden bed a dang cat came and pooped in it. Yeah real nice. And silly me didn’t do anything day 1. The cat came back pooped again! So day 2 I got real mad. I had not planted anything yet and tried to do some research. I got rid of the cat crap sprayed the garden box with peppermint spray and then put a tarp with rocks on it. The cat didn’t come back. Or if he did he saw that he got caught and moved on. Now that I have seeds planted I bought a greenhouse cover that covers the top of the garden bed. This will be day 1 with the new cover.
What I planted. I planted cucumber, carrots, cherry tomatoes, romaine lettuce, zucchini, sage, cosmos, dahlias. I read a very fun article in Real Simple magazine that talked about doing only a cut flower garden. I loved that idea but still wanted some veggies because I think they will be fun to harvest with my kid. So I did a little mix. I also wrote the day I planted the seeds on the back of the seed packet and put it in my planner so I could reference back if I needed.
I think there is a lot of pressure with starting a new hobby. It feels like before you even try it you have to be perfect. There just doesn’t feel like there is even any room for error. I already consider my garden a success. My son and I have already had so much fun just digging in the dirt together. If we get a few blooms and veggies from it even better. But if not? Ain’t no thing there is always next year. It’s about learning. Not being perfect.
Maddie here! In my quest for all things budget I have definitely come across posts on homemade cleaners before and I thought “seems like a lot of work” well turns out IT’S NOT. I decided to go the homemade cleaner route after my bathroom cleaner from the Dollar Tree (there are many amazing things at the Dollar Tree but the bathroom cleaner is not one of them) ran out and I decided that I have had enough of chemical cleaners. Inspired by this post from Live Simply I went ahead and bought the items that I need to make my own cleaner. It took my all of two minutes to make the cleaner. It works great and smells so good! I will not be going back to buying cleaning spray or clorox wipes.
Plastic Spray Bottle (Budget Hack: We have one of these on hand but you can also reuse an old cleaning spray bottle.)
What I Did:
Using my 2 cup liquid measuring cup (from the Dollar Tree- a great purchase btw) I added the warm water and stirred in the baking soda. I carefully poured this mixture into the spray bottle.
I added the castile soap and essential oil to the liquid measuring cup and stirred. I carefully poured this mixture into the spray bottle.
Gently shake and done! I will be using this in my bathroom and kitchen. I believe the baking soda will wear out wood over time, so I am planning to create another version without baking soda for my dining room table and other wood furniture.
Hey folks! This is a very versatile, cheap, and delicious recipe that you can make in your instant pot.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Lentils
2 Cups Liquid to your liking. Examples: water, chicken broth, vegetable broth. The last time I made this (pictured below) I used 1.5 cups of chicken broth and .5 cups of leftover coconut milk and it was delish. I wouldn’t use coconut milk for the entire liquid portion, but it added a nice creaminess.
Spices to your liking. Examples: salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, curry powder, garlic powder.
Wrap to your liking. Examples: pita, flatbread, tortilla.
Veggies to your liking. Examples: cucumber, lettuce, bell pepper, tomato, carrots, avocado.
Additional Items to your liking. Examples: hummus, tzatziki, garlic sauce, feta.
Steps:
Add lentils, liquid, and spices to your instant pot. Set to manual for 15 minutes and quick release when finished. Taste lentils and season more if needed.
Place lentils, veggies, and additional items on your wrap. Roll and enjoy! There should be plenty of lentils for leftovers throughout the week.
This was my last day of leftovers and it was just as good as the first! Leftovers are good cold or with the lentils warmed up.
Sister Hack 