Terrific Tuesday! January 14

My daughter tagged me an article on Facebook.  Ot was titled " feed a family on 50.00 a week.,   It Basicly was the same tried and true principles that I write about all the time, Sans the stockpiling part.  .  I don't know when this  piece was written, but 1.50 a pound meat is not really realistic now.
My plan is a bit more, Basicly we eat about sixty dollars a week and I spend a little more than that, 75  on a good price week, but less other weeks. Their meal plans were not as hearty either.

Recipes are all over, everyplace you look, you can find new recipes.  Some call for ready made ingredients that can be a bit pricy , but substitutions are a good fox.  Women's magazines, the Internet, my e mail box has weekly recipes from Betty Crocker, backs of packages, even a candle I was given as a gift had a recipe on it.  Trying new recipes keeps meal times interesting.

We had taco rice skillet last night for dinner.  It was on Betty Crocker website,  Basicly taco meat, corn ( my corn had peppers and beans in it) salsa, and rice.  Top with cheese.  We added sour cream and some tortilla chips.  No box here.  No more time than using the box either.  I make my taco meat ahead and batch cook.  Ot makes dinner time less hectic.  Microwaves defrost things in a snap.  Taco meat can be banged on the counter to break up and cooked I'm the microwave for a couple of minutes for tacos, or just added to th skillet for taco rice skillet.

So far this week , we have had

• Pizza ( pepperoni was .50 at the dollar store with a coupon.  
• Blue cheese hamburgers.  
• Salmon 
• Taco rice skillet

We go out with friends in Tuesdays to a happy hour someplace.  Last week we went to the claim jumper and I had a Caesars salad and a six  inch pizza for 6.00.  Tonight we are going for all you can eat lettuce tacos for five dollars.  Personally, or would rather have three tacos with more meat on them.  I can only have three or four tacos to maintain my carb limit, and I'm not getting much cheese and meat for my five dollars.  That works for the guys that can eat 12 tacos.  LOL.  

That's 1 pork, 2 beef, 1 fish.  To complete my matrix we will need a pork or chicken and a vegetarian.  I'll count the tacos with a tablespoon of meat and a butt load of lettuce with a garnish of cheese and tomato as vegetarian ! lol.  

I'm only telling you what we eat so that you can see my thought process.  Your menus will reflect your family's taste.  Basicly, we can eat plenty of good food on our budget.  If you stock and have more momey on snap, you can add a better cut of meat every now and  then.   It's easy to spend more, having food left over at the end of the month and eating well on a more than thrifty budget is a bit harder, doable, but harder.  

I try for close to two dollars a pound ( or meal) for meat.  That's an average.  I can get sausage , ham and pork loin for that.  Chicken I can get for a buck or less.  That can offset the three dollars I have to pay for beef.  These days I pretty much am left with good hamburger and a pot roast sometimes.  As the USDA predicted, I can find ready made beef tips and BBQ pork or beef for around three dollars a pound with coupons and a sale.  I also augment the protein with cheese , rice and beans, and eggs.  

Being flexible and taking advantage of the meat you can find on sale is a way to eat well and lower you food bill.  Protein is traditionally the most expensive food group on your plate.  

Thanks for stopping by

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Jane