That’s how you feed a family of six without going poor and living in a tent.  Cereal. Every night.

Totally kidding. The sheer amount of milk needed will have you in the poor house within days.  I mean, I already feel like I’m there, and that’s because my soon to be 11- year old daughter could probably drink a gallon a day if I let her.  No wonder we call her Giraffe.  Kid has some legs.  When she’s older I’m going to send her a bill for all the milk I bought when she was a kid.  After all, it’s my contribution to dairy farmers everywhere that she even has them.  So when she’s making bank as a model; the bill will be in the mail….

Now, before the well meaning home management gurus start sending me budget tips and inside info on where to get the best coupons, let me just thank you now and politely decline.  I actually know how to do all that stuff.  Not the biggest ace with the coupon part, but that’s okay.  I’ve got stack upon stack of printable weekly meal planner sheets and grocery lists.  I even have the sacred Home Management Binder.   It’s somewhere in my garage, next to the How To crafting books and such.

I’ve made some pretty awesome meals and my weekly menu planning and grocery shopping lists are on point when I do them; and affordable! I just don’t want to.  Most of the time.  And that’s okay.  It really is okay to just be okay.  This parenthood thing isn’t a competition.  And it’s a really good thing, because I don’t think I’d even rate a participation trophy.

You know what dinner was one of these nights this past week?  Frozen popcorn chicken fried  in oil and then tossed with a bottle of Panda Express orange sauce, steamed white rice (gasp) and microwaved edamame.  It was going to be cereal, but the giraffe drank all the milk, and we’d eaten all the cereal the night before…..  yeah.  Right there.  Mic Drop.

So instead of trying to share with you some mind-blowing home budget savvy tips and recipes, I’ll just give you a list of a few simple meals I serve when we’re close to over-dosing on captain crunch and the pizza delivery guys go on strike from being at our house too much (we’re on a first name basis, and I’m pretty sure we’re just one pizza away from swapping Christmas cards…)

Nachos– that’s right.  We just buy a bag of nacho cheese, a huge bag of tortilla chips and call it dinner.  They love it and so does my wallet.

Baked Potato Night.  This one is a fave for me.  I prep the potatoes and wrap each one in aluminum foil then bake – usually around lunch time, then just toss them into the slow cooker to keep warm until dinner.  Then we just pull out odds and ends from the refrigerator.  Sour Cream and butter of course, but also cheese (oooooh, left over nacho cheese), bacon bits, deli meat chopped up, etc. Add some bread and a salad, if you’re feeling awesome, and viola’!, dinner.

Make your own pasta.  I’ll cook one type, usually rotini, then set it on the counter along with a few different (jar) sauces that have been heated up, along with a few options for meat and topping.  Usually left over meats or rotisserie chicken, etc.  Everyone makes their own, and I am done.

Anything slow cooker.  Toss it all in.  Blah, blah, blah.  Dinner.

Macaroni and Cheese and Hot Dogs  That’s right.  Read it and weep.  And it’s the cheep five cents a box kind.  Well, you know.  Kraft, but sometimes it’s the even cheaper stuff.  Best part of this one?  I don’t cook it.  Mama gets a night off and dad is the hero. Yes.

So there you have it folks.  Now, don’t throw any tomatoes at me.  I do cook actual meals, so keep an eye out for more Food posts. Besides, we could use those tomatoes for salsa or something. In fact, here’s an awesome salsa recipe I use from Pinterest.

Until next time, can anyone get me the number for a direct supplier of milk?

And hey!  I want to hear from YOU.  What are your go-to, no-fuss meals?