Monday

it's Momday again, funny how that works.  I broke down and went shopping Sunday, but only less than 30 dollars.  We needed bread and I have too much work to do to make bread that DH wouldn't eat anyway.  I did take advantage of good buys.  I got two pizzas for  3.00.  Ok I'm a pinch and cheap lunch.  Also I got reduced sodium chicken noodle soup for .52 a can with a coupon and up rewards.
That is more than RBP.   The rest of the cart was ice cream , fruits and veggies.

The grocers are due to go on strike tonight at 7 o'clock.  We are stocked for some time.
My grandbaby is really excited about Halloween.  I need to clean and decorate today.

The cold weather brings out the memories of hot soups, pumpkin everything and apple recipes.  I had the recipe for my MIL's apple cake, don't know where I put it.  We just loved it.  It called for salad oil, sugar and apples and them you mixed the dry ingredients and folded the two together.

Betty Crocker has e mailed me another batch. One osman impossible pumpkin pie that you do on muffin tins.  Sounds like it would be  a good one for individual dishes and simplifying a buffet table,
There are coupons this month for canned pumpkin.  Now is mangold time to stock baking supplies.  They all go on sale this time of the year, and almost never other times of the year.  For many people this is the only time of the year that they bake.

The Internet/ Facebook is full of recipes.  Most of them take expensive ready made items.  Most of the time you can scale them down or substitute ingredients and get the same results.  Case in point : a pizzeria Cassarole.  Ot took, sausage, pepperoni, cheese, and cottage cheese.  Que on pasta and pasta sauce.  That's one protein loaded dish!  You could choose between the sausage and the pepperoni.  Sausage can be defatted.  Pepperoni is cheapest at the dollar store--name brand.  Cottage cheese can be low fat.  And you can reduce the amount of the cheese.  Moderation is the key.  The simpler the dishes, the least expensive they will be.

Substitutions are on the Internet.  Usually I can find any information I need.  My sister gave me a substitution book for Christmas one year.  The Internet is a great tool that our mothers and grandmothers never had.  Also, there are great cookbooks out there that came out of the ww2 era that simplified recipes to compensate for war rationing.  Red velvet cake came put of WW2'because an ingenious woman tried to make a cake that looked like chocolate . Chocolate was in short supply.

I haven't found cheap apples yet.  I am still seeing two dollars a pound.  I haven't checked the fruit stand.

We like tex Mex food.  I especially like it because I can make one meal and satisfy everyone. Semi- vegetarians included.

Cheese Enchilada Casserole

1 cup (1/4 lb) grated cheddar cheese
1cup chopped tomato ( fresh or well drained diced tomato canned
1 cup cottage cheese
Sliced  green onion
2 tsp taco seasoning

9 six inch corn tortillas

Taco sauce
White cheese

1) combine  first 5 ingredients in a bowl.
2)  line a greased oblong  baking dish with three tortillas.
3) spread 1/2 the cheese mixture over the tortillas.
4) repeat layers ending with tortillas.
5) top with taco sauce and white cheese.
6) bake at 375 for 20 minutes.  Until dish is heated through and cheese is melted.

Notes.  At two dollars a pound for cheese,  1/4 pound is .50.  Cottage cheese was 1.67 last week.  Substituting  canned diced tomatoes saves more money.  If you have more tomatoes left over, make salsa.  Tortillas are cheap at grocery outlet and big lots.  This is easier than making enchiladas because the tortillas don't have to be softened and rolled.  A lot faster dish.


If you spend more time shopping, and less time cooking, you will be money ahead.   Think about it this way.  If you normally spend 150.00 for a weeks food and you cut the cost to 75.00.  The difference is 75.00.  Say you are just learning to shop differently and take an extra hour prepping your trip and shopping.  You will be making 75.00 an hour.  If you are in the workforce, you will have to make 90.00 to spend that 75.00. The savings are remarkable.

Thanks for stopping by

Please share

Jane