Most often if I am in the city (about an hour away) for meetings, they frequently fall on a Friday. The best case scenario for me is that I then have enough time when the meetings conclude, to quickly stop in to Costco before I head home. Our house is full of teenagers on weekends and it’s just nice to pick up a few things that will make everyone happy, like 4 litres of chocolate milk. 🙂

Some day when I’m organized, I’ll do a full post on what I typically buy when I do go to Costco, which is generally once every few months. If I’m stopping in on a Friday I am generally grabbing a Rotisserie chicken, a large kale salad, some banana’s and maybe blueberries or strawberries, definitely Mrs. P’s Peanut Butter Oatcakes, and a large bag of Munchies Mix. Just some items everyone can grab and will make our Saturday and Sunday a little bit easier.

This past Friday when I was there, I was zipping by the meat counter and noticed a bunker that had a big sign on it, and some people milling about. Hint: People milling about, generally mean there’s some sort of good deal happening. 😉 In this case, there was! They had large pork tenderloin on sale. I grabbed one for $15.23 and made a quick mental note that we would have some pork based meals this week.

I made my weekly meal plan and then set out to carve up the pork. Note I am using the word “carve” so it sounds like I know what the heck I’m doing…the truth is…I don’t. What I do know, is that I can easily divide the pork tenderloin into portions, and cut it for the required meal, bag, label and freeze it, which is exactly what I did.

I have several go-to pork recipes, so I knew what I would be using the meat for when I started. When I began, I first cut a large section from the middle, then cut that down the middle to form 2 smaller pork tenderloins. Those I will use in my Garlic and Herb Pork Tenderloin recipe.

After that I sliced up portions that resembled chops to be used in my Slow Cooker Pork Chop Dinner. I also cubed some for Sweet and Sour Pork that is a family favorite, and then sliced up the remaining to be used in a Pork Stir Fry with Vegetables.

When it was all said and done I had spent $15.23 at Costco, which divided by 5 equals $3.05/meal. Wow! I have done this several times, but am still impressed each time with what an economical way this is to stretch your food budget. If you are trying to save money or at least trying to cut down your food budget, making a meal plan can help you with that. I’ve said it many times but making a weekly meal plan can change your life. I’m a believer…not be confused with a “Belieber”…which I understand is something a little different. 😉