Friday, January 13, 2017

Onward and upward.....or downward .....

This blog started out I be to teach people on snap peas r a limited budget how to nit run out of money before they ran out of month,   That was 4.5 years ago. people from all different stages of their liv s have been reading, and from all over the world.    I really thought that it was only going to be local.    I'm not complaining, I think it's really neat.  

Based in the political climate that America finds themselves in, I am attempting to take e conomy a step further.   I am trying new recipes and trying to find the quickest, easiest bread recipes I can in order to cut the bread bill.   Bread is expensive and there is something about a piece of crusty bread straight from the oven that makes dinner special.  One can lay up to twenty dollars for a pizza.   Pizza crust dough costs 1.50.   Pizza dough bought with bulk flour costs .17.   That's a remarkable difference,   Toppings can be what's hanging around the fridge and some cheese.   The last motzerella I bought was two dollars a pound at Costco.  A cheese pizza can cost a dollar or less.    Pizza sauce is a dollar at the dollar store.   It's a name brand that can be found in a lot of grocery stores.  You can freeze it in ice cube tray and pull just enough to use on a pizza.  
Pepperoni is .50 with a coupon for Hormel at the dollar  store,  The  same box at Winco is 1.69.

I make a thin crust.  I don't  need the carbs and hubby prefers a thin crust,   Yesterday I tried a new recipe for crust that is done in the kitchen aid .  Granddaughter spread pizza  sauce on the 1/2 cooked crust with a basting brush,   We added cooked sausage from the freezer, cheese, red peppers that I cut with kitchen shears frozen, and granddaughter put a half package of pepperoni on it.  
Pizza is always a hit with most families.    This one is really inexpensive.  

Night before last we had cowboy speghetti.   It is a recipe from Betty Crocker,    I used vegetable speghetti, 7 percent hamburger that I had already cooked  and de-fatted , some peppers, diced tomatoes and cheese on top.  It is baked in a cassarole dish and you can make it in the morning and bake it at dinner time.    Buying some diced tomatoes with seasoning akreadynon them saves time and money.   I used tomatoes that had Italian type seasoning  in them and omitted the herbs it called for.   They also come fire roasted and with chilies for Tex mex dishes.    You aren't saving a lot, but every little bit helps.    We eat a lot of Italian and Tex mex and judging from what I see on the internet, a lot of other families do too.

On another note , our QFC has free downloads on Friday,   My husband just called me because he wanted something from the store and wondered if there was a free Friday download.    It is refried beans and his week.  I don't take a free download if we aren't going to use it unless it is something I can bring to the food bank or know someone that can use it.   Like cat food for the grandcat! Lol
Free when you are on a tight budget is a very nice word.

To recap, I'm on a mission to learn easy, cheap bread recipes in order to lower our food bill more.   Without compromising good nutrition. I will keep looking for easy, nutritious food for the smallest amount of money,   Looking at grocery hauls on u tube, I am finding all kinds of prices all over the us.   Eggs can be as low as .29 a dozen and as much as 3.69. For example.  Prices are relative.   I can only speak for the PNW,   I can, however, speak to stretching your food dollar, no matter where you are.   Techniques don't change. Find your cheapest stores.   Shop two stores if possible.  Shop sales, buy in quanity when prices are their lowest and your food can be frozen or is shelf  stable.    Don't get caught having to pay  that nasty f word- full price.   ๐Ÿ˜‚.

The habit of going to the store every week and buying the same things for a weeks worth of food is not in your best interest.   There is always someplace to store extra food.   When I had a two bedroom apartment, I used an ottoman that had storage on it for canned goods.  My 3 yo loved  to go hunting for that can of green beans we needed for dinner,   It kept him busy, in my eyesight and I could cook the rest of dinner.   Whatever works.  I have seen people pit their canned goods on a plastic storage crate and put it in the corner of the kitchen. Or use a linen closet.  
What ever works.


Thanks for stopping by.    Happy frugal eating!








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