Here's what's new:

Crystal’s $72 Walgreens + Kroger Shopping Trips (+ our menu)

ButcherBox Discount Code: FREE Bacon for Life + $100 Off!

Crowd-Pleasing Meals for 25+ | Our Vacation Menu Plan for 31 People

Crystal’s $72 Walgreens + Kroger Shopping Trips (+ our menu)

I’m so excited to be back to sharing my grocery trips and menu plans after taking time off for my maternity leave! My goal is to do my Kroger shopping on Wednesdays or Thursdays and then post here by Friday so those who have a Kroger that has the same sales as mine can take advantage of the deals before the sale is done (Kroger sales in our region run Wednesday through Tuesday).

{Follow me on Instagram stories for real-time videos on what I’m buying if you don’t want to have to wait for me to get the post written up for the blog!}

If you’re new here, I practice the Buy Ahead Principle — which means that what we buy each week is often for future weeks. We stock up on the best deals and markdowns each week and that means that we then have a variety of items from previous shopping trips to use to plan a menu from.

In addition to practicing the Buy Ahead Principle, I Reverse Meal Plan. This means that I plan based upon what we have on hand plus what good sales/markdowns I found at the stores. (Read more about Reverse Meal-Planning here.)

Here’s what we bought…

ButcherBox Discount Code: FREE Bacon for Life + $100 Off!

Have you been wanting to give ButcherBox a try? If so, don’t miss this ButcherBox discount code to get FREE bacon for life! (Plus, be sure to check out my ButcherBox review for my honest thoughts on the quality of meat and our overall experience.)

Looking for ways to save on meat right now? With the price of meat rising, ButcherBox might be a great way to save on quality meat!

ButcherBox is very committed to offering high quality meat that is free of antibiotics or hormones. And the animals are humanely raised. They pride themselves on having some of the highest standards for sourcing, sustainability, and taste.

And I have GREAT news!! They’re offering a great deal right now to get FREE bacon in every single box for the lifetime of your subscription! PLUS, you’ll get $100 off over the course of your first five boxes — saving $20 per box!

ButcherBox Discount Code: FREE Bacon for Life + $100 Off!

Through August 14th, when you sign up to try ButcherBox, you’ll get a FREE package of bacon — not just in your first box, but in every single box after that for as long as you have a subsciption!

Plus, get $20 off each of your first five boxes for a total savings of $100!

Just go HERE, enter your email address, and click on the “claim offer” button to get the ButcherBox discount code automatically added to your order. (For more detailed instructions on how to go through the checkout process, see below!)

If you’d like to sign up and take advantage of this deal, just follow these instructions!

After claiming your FREE Bacon offer, you’ll be taken to the sign-up page, where you can choose between five different types of boxes:

I recommend doing a custom box because it allows you to customize the meat that they send and you are able to get exactly what you know you will use.

Once you choose which box you’d like, then you pick your monthly box size. You can choose between a Classic Box ($169/month) or a Big Box ($306/month). The price varies depending upon which type of meat box you chose.

After you’ve chosen your box size, then you can customize what they will send you. I like that you can see exactly what your options are and you can figure out how to get the best bang for your buck!

Then, just input your payment information and you’re done.

If you’re still hesitant about signing up with ButcherBox, be sure to read my honest ButcherBox review! It goes into more details, plus you’ll get my honest thoughts on the quality of meat and our overall experience.

Go here to get started with ButcherBox and get your FREE bacon + $100 Off!

Crowd-Pleasing Meals for 25+ | Our Vacation Menu Plan for 31 People

Near the end of July, we traveled to Bull Shoals Lake near Mountain Home, Arkansas for our annual extended family vacation at the lake with my side of the family. We’ve done this every year for 20 years!

We all stay in small individual cabins, but then we eat our meals all together and spend a lot of time together in the larger house that my parents stay in.

In addition to spending lots of time skiing, boating, swimming, and hanging out, we ate a lot of yummy meals. In order to feed 31 people without it being too much work, we stuck with cheap meals for large groups and we also all pitched in and helped with the food.

How We Planned and Divvied Things Up

My sister planned the menu with easy meals that would feed a crowd and sent out a sign-up form using Perfect Potluck (it’s free and so easy to use!). Each family signed up for the main dishes and side dishes they wanted to be in charge of.

Whatever meals or parts of meals you signed up for, you were in charge of bringing the ingredients for and cooking/baking.

Here were the meals we had…

Be sure to also check out these Recipes for a Crowd of People on Vacation and these Cheap Meals for Large Groups and Easy Meals for 20+ People.

What We Made for Breakfast

Cinnamon Sugar Bagels, Bacon, Scrambled Eggs, Orange Juice
Baked Oatmeal, Sausage, Orange Juice
French Toast, Bacon, Scrambled Eggs, Orange Juice
Pancakes, Sausage, Eggs, Orange Juice

What We Made for Lunch

For lunch, we had a huge Build-Your-Own Salad Bar (most all of my family loves salads!). We also had bread and meat/cheese and peanut butter/jelly/honey for sandwiches for the kids and any adults who didn’t just want a salad. In addition, we set out any leftovers from breakfast or dinner.

Having a Build-Your-Own Salad Bar is such an easy meal idea for 25+ people — and frugal, too! All the ingredients can be stretched a really long way, since you’re only using a little bit of each ingredient on your salad.

Build-Your-Own Salad Bar Ingredient Ideas: A variety of Greens and Lettuce, Canned Tuna/Salmon, Boiled Eggs, Raisins, Carrots, Celery, Seeds/Nuts, Feta Cheese, Avocados, Bell Peppers, Cucumbers, Chickpeas, Cherry Tomatoes, Dressings

What We Made for Dinner

If you’re looking for some really easy recipes for large groups, here’s what we made for the dinners:

Spaghetti, Green Beans, Garlic Bread, Tossed Salad, Fruit
Build-Your-Own Haystacks, Homemade Guacamole, Rice
Grilled Chicken, Steamed Broccoli, French Fries, Tossed Salad, Biscuits, Watermelon
Hamburgers/Hot Dogs, Tater Tots, Corn on the Cob, Steamed Veggies
Papa John’s Pizza, Breadsticks + leftover salad and fruit