March is a welcome sight in this house. All February we had crazy schedules with the middle school musical and district wide arts festival thrown into the mix of our after school schedule already set in place. Then throw in some doctors appointments and what seemed like weekly snow storms, even my best laid plans in my planner couldn’t keep up with the constant changes to our schedule.
March however, starts with two major events: county band for Bookworm, and surgery for Lady Bug. Our after school chaos goes back to normal {is there such a thing?}, but there are some major appointments throughout the month, along with Lady Bug’s surgery, that affect our meal plan a bit.
So this month I’m leaning heavily on fast, easy meals that are also easy to eat. Lady Bug loves chicken noodle soup, as well as pierogies. I have no doubt since both are soft, that she’ll be able to eat them, or at the least, nibble at them.
There are also some Instant Pot meals this month. I started using my Instant Pot* more during February, and it’s really growing on me. I’m enjoying the simplicity of it, and how fast it makes some of the prep time. I don’t have to babysit certain foods anymore, and that’s simply fantastic! I have some recipe posts in the works, so be on the look out for those too!
Beyond basing our meals off our schedule for the month, here are some other things to consider while reviewing our monthly meal plan:
I plan only our dinners. Unless it’s noted, sides consist of a fruit or veggie, possibly a grain, and is based on what I have in my fridge and pantry. You can check out my 30+ frugal pantry staples to see what I always have on hand without going over budget.
We try to have one big meal each week, and it’s usually a roast. Throughout the rest of the week I use the leftovers as ingredients for the week’s remaining meals. For instance, a roast beef then becomes ingredients for beef stroganoff, beef quesadillas, vegetable beef soup and so on.
Breakfasts are usually oatmeal, cereal, toast or bagel with peanut butter and fruit, cottage cheese and fruit, or yogurt with granola. It may seem limited and boring, but keeping breakfast choices as simple as possible makes it much easier during our hectic morning routine. Hubs is out the door at 6:30 and the kids and I are out the door at 7.
Lunches are packed each day for Hubs and the kids, while I currently eat at home. Lunches are either sandwiches, salads, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, or leftovers as the main course. It’s served with a fruit/veg, yogurt or cheese, a drink and a “treat” {gummies, chips, etc}. Snacks, such as crackers, pretzels and Nilla cookies, are also divided out at home and sent to school in smaller snack containers. While packing lunches every day does raise our grocery bill a little bit, it saves us well over $250 every month, making it well worth it. To see what supplies I rely on for our packed lunches, you can check out my 7 must haves for packed lunches.
I don’t stock pile shop –we simply don’t have the pantry space– but I do shop for weekly sales, mostly for snack items like crackers, pretzels, and so on. While this may not be the best of healthiest option for snacks, and I far prefer fruit for their snacks, I have found that dry snacks are easiest when divvying out snacks. And they’re also is the least messy/sticky for in the classrooms and backpacks.
During the summer and fall, I preserve what we are able to grow and get cheap from local you-pick farms and farmer’s markets. It helps me keep what we eat fresh and local, but also limits our preservative and additive intake {I have allergies to multiple things, including preservatives, and my middle gets migraines with certain food additives like MSG}.
Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
Pierogies
Spaghetti & Meatballs, Salad, Garlic Bread
Pancakes, Eggs & Bacon
Chicken Noodle Soup – Instant Pot
Tacos / Quesadillas
Salisbury Steaks, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Cheese Steaks & Fries
Baked Potato Bar – topped with leftover tacos, cheese steaks, etc
Pizza
Chicken Alfredo – Instant Pot
Homemade Hamburger Helper
Cheesy Sausage Skillet
BBQ Meatloaf, Roasted Veggies
Chicken Fajitas
Fish Fillets & French Fries
Potato Soup
Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Salad x2
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches & Chips
Beef Stew – Instant Pot
Creamy Garlic Shells with Chicken, Peas
Swedish Meatballs, Egg Noodles, Green Beans
Slow Cooker Chicken & Rice
Chicken & Broccoli Stuffed Shells
Lemon Chicken & Orzo, Asparagus
Pizza Bagels
Ranch Cheddar Chicken, Rice & Peas
Chicken Parm, Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread
Cast Iron Chicken Skillet, Rice & Broccoli
Salsa Chicken Tacos – Instant Pot
Need some more inspiration for your meal plans? You can check out our past meal plans here! Also don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest, where I have a whole board dedicated to meal planning, as well as boards for soups, chicken recipes, and so on.
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