Meals for traveling!

As summer is approaching fast a lot more of you are going to be traveling more. It seems like the most expensive part of traveling is the food. Three meals out a day can add up fast for a family of four or more. Well maybe I can give you some tips to get the ball rolling.
This weekend my kids and I decided to go out of town to spend the weekend with my husband. Well, I decided this and within an hour of making my decision we were on the road. And I managed to get all three of us packed and most of the meals thrown in a bag and a cooler bag. Not too bad for being spontaneous. How did I do this? Well, I was prepared. We tend to do things in a very spontaneous fashion at our house so I try to keep a going away bag ready and a check list on hand so I don't forget anything.
My going away bag has a cutting board, knife, salt & pepper shaker, forks, spoons, knives, cups, plates, plastic bags, a sponge that has dish soap in it and a couple Rubbermaid containers.
Now that my pantry is stalked I have lots to choose from. I grabbed a few packages of the knotts rice & pasta mix, cookies, apples, rice treats, easy mac, salad dressing & juice drinks. Out of the fridge I grabbed 4 cooked chicken breasts, milk, hot dogs & spinach. *Tip I always have some type of cooked meat in the fridge (usually chicken). I cook extra when I make meals so I don't have to cook every night and for times like this it worked perfect. And from the freezer I grabbed some Healthy Choice meals that I had just gotten at Albertsons for .81 cents, Budget Gourmet & a paninii sandwich.
I knew where we were going had a continental breakfast so I didn't have to worry about breakfast.I also knew our room was going to have a micro and a fridge. Some hotel rooms don't have micros in the rooms but most of them have micros in the lobby that you can use.
I have also been watching my calorie intake so I was concerned about my calories as well but I think we have done pretty well so far. Here is how are meals have played out so far.

The first night we were here I made a rice mix in one of my rubbermaids in the microwave. I heated up two of the chicken breasts (they were huge plenty for all four of us) and we had spinach salad. We were all stuffed.
The next morning we had continental breakfast. For lunch the kids had Easy Mac & hot dogs.* Tip when ever I go threw a drive threw I ask for extra k-up pack or ranch or whatever they might have. This way I can thow it in my going way bag for times like these. I had Healthy Choice meal and I went to Fred Meyer and bought some broccoli for .58 cent a lb (I forgot mine at home) & Ziplock ready steam bags. They worked great! I snacked on broccoli the rest of the day. Dinner the kids and I splurged on a $5 pizza from Little Cesar's! I also had spinach salad.
Morning was continental breakfast again if you stay in a hotel make sure they have some type of breakfast. Most places do now days it just makes for less work and less money to spend on your trip. Lunch~ I had a Budget Gourmet and more steamed broccoli. The kids snacked on popcorn chicken from Walmart, grapes, & juice boxes. Dinner tonight is going to be rotisserie chicken from walmart today, Knotts pasta, and spinach salad. For desert we are going to get our free frosties from Wendys we got a few weeks ago. Had we eaten out for all those meals it would of cost us at least $13 per meal. This is such a huge savings.
If you are planning a trip stop and think about what you can fix in the micro wherever you go you can have a delictious and healthy meal. I have also been known to take our toaster oven to hotel rooms with us & our portable bbq. Most convenient stores have microwaves you can use also. They dont mind that is what they are for.
On the way home tomorrow I am goin to get the kids DQ . I have found that they have the least expensive kids meals $2.99 and you get an ice cream treat with them instead of the toy (my kids dont even miss the toy). We dont always get the treat when we get the meal we save it for a night when we all want ice cream but dont want to spend alot of money. I will heat up a panini sandwich I brought from home.
The other two chicken breast are going to go in my husbands lunch along with some cooked rice. He wont be home until Tuesday night so this will hold him over until he gets home.
Overall I spent $5 on a pizza, $1.88 on popcorn chicken, $11.08 at Fred Meyer for grapes, brocoli, Ziplock steam bags, milk, a bag of baby spinich & a magazine for me, $5.99 for a rotiseray chicken & $2.99 ea for kids meals. Total = $29.93 + tax. Had I not thought meals through before I left I could of easilly spent that on one meal out. =)
See there is more to traveling than just cold sandwiches! What are your great ideas for traveling meals?

Making Your Own Laundry Detergent

I was watching a show on TLC 18 Kids & Counting and one of the eppisodes they made their own laundry detergent and they said it only costs a penny a load. Well, around December I thought I would try it. I Googled "making your own laundry detergent" and found this great blog ( The Simple Dollar) that showed pics and even had a little Utube video.
The detergent is make out of simple ingredients: 1 bar of soap, borax, washing soda & water.
Well, it works great! We have saved alot of money since December. A batch of this recipie lasts us a month or longer. It costs $0.50 cents a batch.

Tip: I use my old salad shooter to shred the bar soap. If you dont have one you might run across one at a yard sale or thrift store. It makes it fast & easy.
Link: http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/03/15/how-to-make-your-own-laundry-detergent-and-save-big-money/

Easter Ham?

What to do with all that left over Easter ham? Dont throw it out! I have a few ideas. I divided mine into three gallon storage bags. I cut the meat away from the bone in one bag. The other two bags had slices in them. We had quite a bit. I bought a 10lb ham! One of the bags of slices I froze and the other bag I have plans for.
This is what we had. We had leftovers one night, I also made split pea soup for lunches out of the bone, we had ham & grilled cheese sandwiches. Tierd of ham?
Well, just freeze it. It frezzes beautifuly. You can dice it up and put in individual ziplocks for future scrambled eggs or a quiche or you can mix it with mac & cheese for the kids. Or you can even put in on english muffin pizzas w/ pineapple.
You still have some left? Make a casserole. Cook your favorite pasta to aldente then put it in a 9x13 pan with a container of alfredo sause, your leftover ham, peas, parm cheese a little salt, pepper & garlice powder and bake at 350 degrees until bubbly! Hows that for ham?

Easter Baskets For About $10!!!

Every year I end up spending alot of money on Easter baskets. This year we just dont have it to spend so I gave myself a goal of only spending $10 on each easter basket. I dont think they played out too bad. We already had our Easter baskets & grass so I didnt have to buy that. Here is the break down:

Linden' Basket:

$2.50 T-shirt From Disney store purchased in July on sale

$3.00 Toy Keys from Walmart

$1.00 Jump rope from Walmart

$1.00 Frisbee from Walmart

$1.00 Kite

$ .39 Peeps Walgreens

$ .39 Snickers Walgreens

$ .33 Stickers

$ .50 Pen

___________

Total $10.11 + Tax

Kody's Basket

$1.00 Kite from Walmart

$1.00 Frisbee from Walmart

$1.00 Jump rope from Walmart

$1.00 Cap gun (I picked this up on clearane at Walgreens in the summer)

$1.00 Cap refills

$2.00 T-shirt Walmart(clearance)

$ .39 Peeps

$ .39 Snickers

$ .33 Stickers

$ .50 Pen

____________

Total $8.61 + Tax

It took a little planning and looking around the stores to find everything but when it all came together I dont think they turned out too bad.

I do try to buy things in advance like Lindens t-shirt and Kodys cap gun. If you find things at a great price pick them up. Then it wont seem so noticeable on your pocket book when you do need a present. Happy Hunting!