Honey, What's for dinner???

I know when I get home from work I am going to have everyone asking me a million times the famous question, "What's for dinner?"  So to try and be prepared I start thinking of the answer to this question first thing in the morning & even sometimes the day before.  We are on a tight budget these days so I am throwing down a challenge to find 4 nights worth the great meals for under $40 to feed 4 people each night. 

As anything new I am doing in my life I must run it by the girls at work to get any great ideas from them.  Let's face it, woman can come up with some great ideas when they are challenged.  These meals will include the recipe & what I paid for each item.  Please feel free to comment with any great meal ideas you have.  Remember it must feed 4 people & be under $10 for each meal.

Monday

I am just coming off the weekend & I am already tired.  I have a cold & running a slight fever.  Well just in case you didn't know, mom's don't get sick days.  They must still get up before the rooster each morning & get everyone ready and off to school.  Then make sure everyone has a clean home & dinner to come home to - all while running a 102 fever.  So tonight I think it is going to be super easy.  My family loves to cook things on the grill & since it is June I think we will cook out tonight.  Cookout is my way of having the husband cook dinner & get the kids out of the house so I can rest.  

Luckily, I have a membership to Sam's Club.  Now, I don't shop there much because things seem to be expensive (mainly because you are buying in bulk) and I don't have a lot of extra room in the house; however there are several things that are what I call "Sam's items".  Hot dogs are definitely a "Sam's item".  They have a huge pack of BEEF hot dogs for like $7.  This package will feed us for a couple of months so each time I go into Sam's I grab a pack to keep in the freezer.  If you are lucky enough to have a huge spare freezer Sam's has great bread for super cheap.  The hot dogs buns are $1.88 for 16 buns.  The ideal thing to do would be to buy a pack & freeze them so you will have them when you need them; however, I don't have any today so I will run by the DOLLAR TREE & grab a pack of buns for $1. 

Wow it is before 12pm & I already have dinner planned out.  I am feeling quite accomplished at the fact dinner for tonight is planned & now I am working on tomorrow night.

Abortion... It's is NOT the answer or the question... IT IS THE DEVIL.

Abortion...  Whenever the word is mentioned I get angry, upset and sick to my stomach.  I believe our country has many options for a woman who is pregnant & doesn't want to keep the child.  Our country has programs that will take that child and place them in a loving & caring home.  You can take that child to any fire department, police station or hospital and drop it off; no questions asked.  Why would a woman want to take the life of an innocent child?  What doctor would be a part of such cruelty?

A few years ago, my mother sent me a video of a woman talking about surviving a saline abortion.  Her story is miraculous & quite heartwarming.  Please take a moment & watch the video below.  Wow the impact this speech made on my life.

Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with Endometriosis at the age of 16 and had a full hysterectomy at 21.  Coming from a woman who can't have kids, please think about your decisions before you make the biggest mistake of your life.  My personal opinion is...  ABORTION IS MURDER.  Yes, I am a Christian and I stand firm in this opinion.  

Marinated Baked Pork Chop Dinner

Since I got married I have made it a mission to try a bunch of new recipes.  I wanted to do this for a couple of reasons.  One, I wanted to learn to be a better cook.  My daddy always have me a hard time about my cooking abilities.  I told him I could cook but he never believed me.  The other reason I wanted to do this was to learn to be a better cook and learn some new & easy recipes.

The first step in my new adventure was finding Pinterest.  OMG, I was addicted instantly.  So many different ideas to try.  I started pinning each and everything on my YUMMY board so that when the time came I would have some good things to choose from.  Here is one of them & I must say it is a keeper.

Marinated Baked Pork Chops.

Being a full time working mom doesn't leave me much time to prepare large home cooked meals so I must do what I can when I have time.  This recipe was so easy and was ready in an hour.  I paired it will some cheddar broccoli rice & toasted sour dough bread.

1 TABLESPOON - SOY SAUCE
2 TABLESPOON WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
1 TEASPOON LEMON JUICE
2 TABLESPOON - BROWN SUGAR
2 TABLESPOONS KETCHUP

The recipe calls for 6 trimmed pork chops but this covered 3 pork chops perfectly.



Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients for marinade in a small mixing bowl.
Wash your pork chops & place them in a baking dish (I used a casserole dish).  Cover the tops of the chops with 1/2 of the marinade.  Cook UNCOVERED for 30 minutes.  Remove the chops, flip them over & cover with the remaining marinade.  Cook for another 30 minutes (or until completely cooked in the middle).

Aiden is at his Mother's house this weekend so I can't provide you with a child's critic but the husband totally approved.  These pork chops were so juicy & tender.  We will definitely be having this again...