The nuts and bolts of it.

I usually post the basics around the first of the month. Since its a holiday weekend next weekend, I thought I would do it a little yearly. I feed us on 1/2 the stats for thrifty cooking per the USDA. that's what they base food stamps on. we eat a well rounded normal diet. That is to say, It is not organic, fat, salt and gluten free. I try for the middle of the road on salt and fat.

So, here are the basics.

1/2 price meals takes a three pronged approach.
1) plan and organize
2) shop wisely, I want 1/2 price
3) cook from scratch

1) plan and organize

Like any project you encounter, planning is essential. First, develop a recipe file of main dishes that use inexpensive sources of protein. Tuna, pork, chicken, beans and rice,cheese, hamburger and some cuts of beef. Beef is getting harder since I am seeing double the price since last summer.

Now , identify a list of staple pantry items that you use often. For us it would be cheese, beans, refried beans, pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, some canned veggies, black olives, mashed potatoes, some canned soups.

Start a price book or spread sheet. Label the food, the size of the package, and then track the date, price, and store you got it from. Pretty soon you will have a good idea what the lowest, rock bottom price is.

Plan your meals when you get home from the stores. Nothing too time consuming, just the main dish will do. Plan any easy meal for the days you know are going to be busy.

2) Shop wisely

you want to pay 1/2 price or less. When the target foods are at rock bottom, buy :
A) as many as you can afford
B) as many as the store allows or
C) as many as you need to replenish your stock.

this is not about hoarding. if I use something once a week, I keep 24. if I use it once a month, I keep six.
Besides not paying top dollar for your food, you have a stock to back you up if an emergency arises. there is a sense of security knowing you always have food in the house.

When the ads come out for your local chain stores, take a piece of computer paper ( or a piece from the recycle bin) divide it into four. List the store on top of your quarter sheet. Now write down anything that is on your target list, and anything that is in the fruit and veggie or meat list that is cheap. now cross off anything you don't need or anything that is higher priced elsewhere. Pick the TWO lowest priced stores. plan your trip, get in and get out of the store. the more time you spend in a store, the more money you will spend. I can hit two stores and maybe the dollar store in a little more than an hour.

Never just hit the chain stores. there are some food items at the dollar store, Big Lots, Grocery Outlet, . n other words, the overstock stores are a good resource. Just always check the pull dates. that is a good bet for any store. one time, every item on the baby food shelf was outdated at a grocery chain store. OOPS!

if you can save a dollar a can on your target items, that adds up fast.

the bread outlet store is a great resource. Ours is two towns away, so we go once every six weeks or so. Also, WinCo is a good staple store, it too is a fair ways away so we go every six to eight weeks. I still made the trip in an hour. One trick is to leave the kids at home. They are a distraction and something's just jump in the cart!LOL.

if you don't have storage on the kitchen for canned goods, improvise. I have known people that store them on flat boxes under the bed. I used to store them in a rattan ottoman in the family room when I had a small apartment.

one of my catch phrases is " if you spend more time on the front end of the get a meal on the table train, and less time on the back end, you will be better off. " you get paid for shopping, not for cooking. it is an abstract that some people can't see. if you spend 75 dollars a week less on food and you spend an additional hour shopping, you have just made 75 dollars an hour. And you have to earn 90 to spend that 75.00.

3) Cooking from scratch

there is no room for mixes and ready made food in the 1/2 price budget.
that being said, there are a few things that are either cheaper, or they take such a long time to make that ready Made items are worth it. Refried beans, taco shells, mashed potatoes are some that come to mind. I buyncannedbeans and rinse them well to reduce the sodium. Beans and rice have a very short fridge life. it's not to practical for me to make scratch.

it doesn't have to take a lot of time to make scratch foods. there are tricks. I cook ground meats soon after they are purchased. I can take the time to cook and defat the hamburger when I'm not rushed. I usually buy it when it is buy one get one for 7 percent hamburger. if I can't find 1/2 price hamburger with low fat, I make my own from a roast or London broil that is on sale for less than hamburger. If you defat a hamburger, it has less fat than a boneless skinless chicken breast. I cook a meatloaf, meatballs,hamburger crumbles for pasta sauce or pizza and taco
meat.

I roast a chicken on the weekend and separate it into four bags. Two breasts, the leg portions and the leftover bones for soup. You NEVER want to buy a chicken less than three pounds. The ratio of bone to meat is too great.
deli chicken is usually two or three pounds. At five or six dollars, you are paying 1.66 to 2.00 a pound. I have been getting northwest grown chicken for .88 a pound. that's half price plus if you get a five pound chicken, you are Getting more meat because of the meat to bone ratio. it takes me ten minutes to put a chicken in to roast.
Do the math. 6 pounds of deli chicken is a minimum of 10.00. Six pounds of .88 is 5.44. Almost 1/2 price. if it takes you ten minutes to get it ready to roast, that is 1/6 of an hour. 4.56 savings times six is about 27.00 an hour.

I make a roast of pork loin or beef . Have the roast one night, and slice the rest in meal sized portions for sandwiches. Either bbQ pork or a jus.

Taco seasoning packets are expensive. Taco seasoning mix recipe is on a previous blog as well as almost free pizza, a easy pizza crust recipe in the food processor .

The slow cooker and food processor are youngest friends in the kitchen along with a good sharp knife.
Cooking meat ahead of time makes meal prep on weeknights faster.
The slow cooker is a real life saver when time is short.

Not having a plan is the easiest way to derail your budget. it's too easy to answer the what's for dinner question with order pizza when you have had a long hard day. if dinner is waiting for you, or you can have tacos and refried beans on the table in 15 minutes it makes life so much easier. remember, you can delegate some of dinner. a husband or older child can help a lot. Set the table? Open the can of refried beans. we have a bunny can opener that unseals the can rather than cutting it and leaving sharp edges.

Bread crumbs are easy to make. Dry the heals of your bread loaves in the oven. The oven doesn't have to be turned on. Just put them on the broiler pan to dry. When you have enough, whirl them in the food processor. Even a older child can do that if you deal with the blades. why pay big money for someone else's dry bread? Ditto stuffing mix and croutons.Same with grated cheese, however, I have been finding grated cheese cheaper than the bricks lately.

Check out no brainer pasta on an earlier blog. I dissected a hamburger meal box . The results are remarkable!

K

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Jane

Saturday

Before I talk about our shopping trip, I want to talk about oneweb sites.

The one is www.canyouID.me. It is a Washington law enforcement site with pictures of people wanted by the police. The boot bandit I want to catch is on it among others. Everyone thinks that it isn't their problem. But, shoplifting and identity theft is a multimillion dollar " business " that hurts us all with higher prices for our merchandise and higher taxes for police. Some of these perps steal thousands of dollars. The boot bandit has outfitted herself as ms. Got rocks on someone else's money. Diamond bracelets, platinum and diamond rings, Armani purses etc.

Now, on to shopping. Went to Safeways and got 7 percent hamburger for 2 for 1. Also salads and salmon. Grapes and strawberries.

WinCo was a lot more productive. I got pork spareribs and replenished the canned goods. broccoli and tomatoes were cheaper.

Smoked dinner sausage was 2.28
String beans.33
Olives.88
Pasta sauce .88
Cream of mushroom soup .75
Green chillies .69
Applesauce cups 6/1.58--baby's lunch
Mashed potatoes .88
Taco shells .98
String cheese 1.88 -- baby lunch

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Jane

meals from the ads

Yesterday I went to work. Imput chicken soup stock on to cook in the slow cooker. When ingot home Inboiled noodles and veggies and added them to the soup after I pulled out the bones and picked off the meat. We had soup, cheese bread sticks and blueberry pie.

Hamburger is on 1/2 price at Safeways again. Will make meatloaf, Salisbury steaks, meatballs and taco meat. ll save the meatloaf for a weekend meal and the rest I will break down into meal sized portions and freeze for fast dinners.

We had bought chicken sausage last week and taco shells for .65.
Scallops are on sale at Safeways


Formula
2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish

1- tacos
2-meat ball subs

3- chicken soup
4- chicken and stuffing

5- Mac and cheese
6- spaghetti with mushrooms and spinach

7- seafood chowder



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Jane


ill post again after I go shopping

The ads for March 21

I guess I'm not outdated , the "Food on the table app doesn't have any sizes of the merchandise. That makes it a hard task to compare prices.

Safeways

BiGi
Round steak, 7 percent beef. Pork shoulder,chicken, breast. they don't give prices, so buyer beware.

Grapes 1.88
Salmon 5.99
Cake mix .99
Flour 5 lbs 1.99...read the label for size of package

5 dollar Fridays
Strawberries
Scallops lb
Cheese 2/5....read the label, you want 8 ounces

ALBERTSONS

Strawberries 4lbs/ 6.99. Coupon
Apples .88--sometimes a bag is another 1. Off
Salmon 4 ounce portion 1.00 ( quality?)
refried beans and taco shells BiGi..no price listed ????

QFC

Buy 5
Ritz or nabisco nets 1.79
Bagels or pan bread nets 1.99
Buyers ice cream 2.69

Milk 2.50
Yo plait .50
Roma's .99


TOP

Pork loin 1.97
Ham 1.97
Green chilies 1.00
Hagan cream soups .80
Ground beef 3.00 for 15 percent.

That's all. It's getting harder to find really food buys. Some of the buy one, get one do not tell you the regular price. You have to do the math at the store.

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Jane

Wednesday

It's mid week, time to inventory the fridge and use anything on the edge.

Chicken stock

Cover chicken bones with cold water. Bring slowly to a boil. Remove scum.
Add 1-2 cup each of carrots, celery, and onion. Add Parsley and salt.
Simmer 3 hours. Strain.

Chicken noodle Soup. Bring 1 quart of stock to a boil. Add 1 cup of noodles , and carrots, celery, and cook 10-15 minutes. For a clearer soup, simmer the veggies with the stock and cook the noodles separately. Add the two together. ( leftover noodles from stroganoff or tuna cassarole?)

I am reading a 1950 cookbook. I actually saw lard at Costco. I would serve a cheese biscuit made from low fat bisquick or a apple muffin with chicken soup. Or,perhaps a cheese sandwich using tortillas for bread.S

Some of the meals back then, my mother never made. I don't think that today's family would bot be anamoured with them either.How about spaghetti with Vienna sausage! YUM?!?!
I remember a meal plan in the 70,s of clove-studded bologna.
My, we have come a long way.

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Jane

Food on the Table

I found a new app. It's free. It gives you the ad for your chain stores. Costco is on there, but they don't have any data. It is supposed to take you through meal plans and a grocery list. it doesn't have any cheap button! LOL

I prefer the hard copy add, but when it's a holiday, it would come in handy.

We went to Costco yesterday. There were a few things that we buy that basically are a years supply. Regular Costco has seaweed, but no cornstarch. We had to go to the restraunt supply Costco.

I got new pizza screens because ours were bent . They really help when baking a pizza because the air circulates around the pizza and you get a nice brown bottom crust. They also have better than boullion and dry mustard and parsley. I use a lot of parsley. It makes white foods more appetizing. The other Costco was ,mostly non food items, meds, razors and soap. I have a Lysol soap dispenser that you don't have to pump. It's great for not cross contanamenting when cooking chicken and beef.

Sausage was 3 pounds for 6.99. It was 6.18 this summer. That's still a good price. You can defat it. Use it in quiche, bean soup, on pizza, in an Omlette. A little goes a long ways. sausage bean soup uses about 2 ounces a person. I get four or five meals from a tube of sausage.
Still well under 5 bucks. 9 percent hamburger was 2.09 a poumd and they had lots of cheese for a little more than 2.00 a pound. Most of it was grated.

With effort, you can still make dollar meals that are healthy.
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Jane

Monday madness

I cooked sweet and sour pork yesterday. I used the pork "chops" that I got at Safeways. They really were more like a steak. I cubed them and browned them in a frying pan and then braised them until they were done and tender.
in a separate pan, I sautéed mushrooms, peppers, ginger and added the sauce that I posted for veggies yesterday.
I drained the meat and combined the two pans. I made brown rice.

I had to use flour as a thickener because I went for my 1/2 gallon of cornstarch that I have had for years and it was GONE! Seems the cornstarch fairy used it for slime for the sensory table at work. I'll bet those kids had a ball! I just wish the cornstarch fairy had told me so I bought a new box. LOL

My granddaughter turned her nose up at rice when I tried to give her a bite. I usually try to give her bites of anything that I have that's new for her to introduce her to a variety of foods. She was sitting next to me eating her turkey. She reached over with her tiny fingers and picked up a couple of grains of rice. She liked it. She then reached for another, I got her a bowl of her own. Apparently, she just has to discover new tastes on her own. LOL
If you have a picky eater, just keep trying.

When you are shopping, ,don't get locked in to a particular meat. When the pork chops weren't what I expected, I improvised. That's why it is a good idea to have a basic idea of what you are going to eat for meals when you go to the store, but don't write it in stone until you are home from the store.

I had been looking for a teriyaki sauce recipe for a long time. I think that I found it yesterday. It is so much cheaper and more convenient to make your own as you need it.Ginger is cheap at grocery outlet; my husband renamed a few small oranges for me. Orange juice in a bottle is expensive and we don't usually drink orange juice.

Sunday, we went to Grocery Outlet and Big Lots.
I found green tea, and facial tissue for 600 sheets for 4.00. Less than 1/2 of the cheapest price I have found--except the .50 that Safeways didn't have!

At grocery outlet I found coffee, sliced smoked Gouda, chicken sausage with Gouda and apple and chicken sausage with motts and artichokes. YUM! peppers are a big bag for 3.99. Pink oranges were cheap.

I still want to try speghetti with mushrooms and spinach. I have to pick my day, its something my daughter and grandaughter will eat, my husband, not so much.

I try to use all of something. So with the leftover pineapple ...
pineapple cilantro rice. Maybe, with chicken.

Cook rice. Add roasted onions and pineapple. Fluff rice and add cilantro.


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Jane

Life's short--eat desert first

I have pretty much ignored desert. Many people are on diets and we don't have desert everyday.
but, there are special occasions.

Cakes are really expensive in the bakery. cake mixes are sometimes a buck.

Carrot cake

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1.5 cups vegetable oil

2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda
.25 tsp salt
.25 tsp nutmeg
2 cups grated carrots

Frosting
1/2 cup butter
3 ounces of cream cheese
3-3/4 cups confectioners sugar
1. Tsp vanilla
2 T milk
Chopped walnuts

In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar and oil. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Beat onto egg mixture a third at a time. Stir on carrots.

pour onto greased and floured cake pans. bake at 350 degrees 35-40 minutes or u til toothpick inserted on center comes out clean. Cool on racks,before removing from pans.

frosting

Cream butter and cream cheese. Gradually beat in confectioners sugar and enough milk to make it spreadable. Garnish with nuts. Refrigerate leftovers.

Lasagna

no cook Lasagna noodles
Pasta sauce
6 ounces Cooked ground beef
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
1 carton frozen spinach, very well drained and squeezed dry
1 pound of motts, grated
1.5 cups parm

Mix beef with pasta sauce. Warm.
Mix spinach with cottage cheese
Layer

Sauce, noodles, cheese mixture, motts, and parm. Repeat until 9X13 pan is full.
Set oven to 350
Cover and bake for 40 minutes, uncover and bake 10 minutes longer.

Note
This can be 1/2 recipe on a 9 inch square pan. it is expemsive, but not as expensive as the frozen version. Probably a good company dish. If you were really frugal with the cheese and use a little fresh spinach cooked and drained for colour, you might cut the cost to a five dollar dinner.

Veggie Stir fry

Sauce
2 T cornstarch
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp ginger
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce

Stir fry

1 tsp garlic minced
2 carrots, cut into small sticks
1 cup broccoli , bite sized pieces
1 cups cauliflower,bite sized pieces
Olive oil

Add mushrooms
Snow peas

Add sauce until heated through



Serve over rice.

Note You could add leftover pieces of cooked chicken. The sauce recipe CPU
D be used for sweet and sour pork with pineapple and peppers.

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Jane

Saturday

I only spent 28.00 at the grocery store this week....and part of that was a pie because it was cheaper than I could make it.

It was not a good week for specials.. chicken was on sale cheap at Safeways. It really ticked me off because they offered a seasoning bag for chicken FREE and a liquid crystal light for free. They don't carry the crystal light! What's with that!! Guess they won't be giving away many of those. Kleenex was .50, but they didn't have any of that either. Did get a rain check.

The bag with seasonings for chicken was 2.59. I wouldn't have bought it. That's over 1/2 what the chicken costs. not a good plan. the pork chops at Safeway were more like steaks. I think I'll make sweet and sour pork on rice instead.

we went to QFC because I needed meds. I picked up some apples and the pie.

I have an ear infection so I wasn't exactly in the mood for shopping.

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Meals from the ads

My formula for meal plans is
2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish or seafood

I try to vary our meals so that we have a balanced diet. Then whatever the diet police say is bad for you at the moment, you are pretty much covered! LOL

Corned beef and cabbage, boiled potatoes.
Roast Beef

Sausage, eggs, hash browns fruit
chicken Burritos

Do brainer pasta
cheese quiche

Salmon

Notes
Corned beef is on sale because its St, Pats day. Chuck Roast is 2.77 a poumd.
Chicken is left from last weeks .88 a poumd chicken
I got hash browns on sale at Safeways. They continue to be on sale. also at the dollar store.

Pasta was .80 at big lots. Add .80 for pasta sauce and some cheese (5.12 a 2 pound package. Finely grated cheese goes a long way. Dinner and lunch the next day is 2.85. Add a salad and you are still well under five dollars.

Salmon is on sale at top.

Fruit is still affordable. Bananas are a bargain, full of nutrition and 1.39 at Costco.
You can still get apples for a buck.

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Jane

The ads

I just got the ads..

TOP

Chuck Roast 2.77
Ground beef 20 2.77

QFC

Dryers ice cream. 3/10
Mini carrots 1.00.
Raspberries, blackberries 2.99
Apples .99


SAFEWAYS

Pork cops 1.49
Ribs 2.49
Chicken . 99
Apples .99
Milk 2.59
Yoplait 10/5


5 dollar Friday
Shrimp

Frozen food sale still on.

ALBERTSONS

cantaloupe .38
Yo plait 10/5

Red potatoes 1.99. 5 pounds

Weekend only
Mayon1.99
Tuna 2/1.00


That's it. Safeways continues to be the best prices. A good week to hit the warehouse stores instead.
Or not shop at all.

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Jane

The bread store

Yesterday we had an appointment in a town near the bakery outlet. Since we hadn't been for a long time, we left early and stopped by.

We got 3 loaves of double fiber bread for 5.50. I got two loaves of fiber pme bread for two dollars each. A box of baby cinnamon rolls for 3.50. Smaller ones are 5 dollars.

I got bread sticks and hard rolls. The total of all of this was 18.00. They gave us two packages of dinner rolls and
A package of whole wheat English muffins.

This is enough to last us at least six weeks.
it was a good time because we didn't spend all out allotment this week.

Tomorrow, I will make sausage bean soup and we can have bread sticks with it.


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Jane

Terrific Tuesday

In my research, I am seeing a lot of comfort foods kicked up a notch.

braised beef with hot peppers, taco seasoning, beans and corn.

Peppers with pork and sweet potatoes and cornbread

Brownie ice cream sandwiches with caramel ice cream topping.

Mac and cheese made with sharp cheese.

meatloaf and mashed potatoes ( my mother would make a oven meal. Her version of wick before microwaves and crockpots. Meatloaf, baked potatoes wrapped on foil and acorn squash cut and seeded , with butter, brown sugar.
All baked in the oven at 400 degrees.

Chicken pot pie
pot roast in the slow cooker
Chicken and dumplings
grilled cheese with tomatoes


All from January Family Circle. Look on line or at the library.



We had chicken pot pie last night. I kept it simple because our grandaughter was eating it.

Sometimes, adding one over the top ingredient can make a big difference. Make the difference between low cost hum drum and special. Presentation makes a real difference too. The difference between a " family " restraunt and an upscale one often isn't the menu, it is the ambiance and the presentation of the food. A few fresh herbs ( grow them yourself) or some capers make a big difference.

We eat very well for well under the USDA guidelines for Thrifty meals. Remember, they count real food, not paper products, magazines, or other stuff you can get at the grocery store.

My mother only bought chips if it was for a particular meal. And she wouldn't allow pop or Kool aid on the house. We had milk, water, or tea. When we were older she bought lemonade frozen in the summer when it was .33 a can.
We had breakfast, lunch and dinner. Snacks were almost nonexistent. If we didn't eat our dinner, there was always breakfast. I didn't miss many dinners! LOL. we weren't poor, we had karastan rugs and real china and sterling silverware. She didn't want to waste money, She always wanted to have something to show for her money. She grew up during the Great Depression, she went to work as a teenager to pay the rent, not to buy herself a car. There was no such thing as food stamps, you just had to forge food as best you could. She just believed in plenty of good basic food. My parents thought junk food, was bad for you, even before someone coined the word junk food.

In the sixties, she spent forty-five dollars week on food for five of us. I don't know what the USDA stats were then, it would be fun to find out.

PS. I wrote the USDA. he got back to me really quick. Our family growing up had stats of 30.00. I am sure that some of difference was because we had basically beef and fish ince a week. my Dad didn't like chicken and my mother was afraid of pork.

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Monday madness

I thought that I would talk about salad dressings. Some salad dressings are just best bought. We use a lot of ranch dressing. There is a recipe for smashed potatoes using ranch dressing. it is really good. Vinaigrette, however is really simple and can be made at the time you make the salad.

Basil Vinaigrette

1/4 cup olive oil
1 -1/2 tsp vinegar
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp basil
Pinch of garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Mix. Whisk together before dressing salad.

Pantry deserts...


Lemon Pudding

In a bowl, combine
2/3. cup sugar, 4 tsp flour

Stir in 2/3 cup milk, 4T lemon juice

Separate 2 eggs. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Fold egg white into lemon mixture.

fill four Ungreased custard cups. Place in baking pan, leaving room around sides of custard cups. Fill baking pan 1 inch up. Bake pan in oven at 325 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Serves 4.

I would serve with whipping cream and lemon zest if I had it. Otherwise, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

This is a good go to when you want a really cheap desert. When I was a kid, we girls would do the bakimg.
There were a few cookies that took things that my mother always had the ingredients for. Walnut squares were one. If we didn't have walnuts, we didn't use them. The recipe is in the Betty Crocker cookbook from the 50s. The one with red check cover. The other one was snicker doodles. Sometimes, peanut butter.

When we are having breakfast for dinner, I sometimes make yogurt cups.
Layer plain or lemon yogurt, fruit, and granola if you have it or have recently made it.


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Jane

Suddenly Sunday

Don't forget daylight savings ...spring forward !

I purchased the women's day magazine yesterday while grocery shopping. It has 20 meals you can make from pantry items. It is a little misleading because there are fresh ingredients, but most of them I have in my pantry. It would be a good go to if you we're trying to get by with what was in the house at the end of the month.

Also, they have recipes for trifles. The article on money saving has to do with organizational skills in the kitchen,

Yesterday, we went grocery shopping. We hit four stores in a three mile round trip. I dropped off some paperwork at the pharmacy, got groceries, stopped at a store for supplies for my business, and went to another grocery store and checked for supplies at another store. We were gone from home about an hour. I spent 37.00. I spent 95.00 last week because I found a lot of my target foods at a very low price. Stocking your freezer at Safeways is very fruitful and is still going on this week.

One of the things I bought was a bag of lemons. Lemons are a versitile fruit on the kitchen. Besides using them for salad dressings and to liven up sauces , you can make lemon pudding-- a really inexpensive desert that uses a few inexpensive staples you have in your pantry. Lemon bread. A lemon with some salt disinfects a cutting board and cleans a copper pot.

Meals from the ads

2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish

1) Spaghetti and meatballs (pasta was .75 on JFU at Safeways )
2) Beef and Bean Burritos
3) roast chicken (.88 at QFC)
4) chicken soup
5) Mac and cheese (use up bits of cheese). Cheese was 5.12 on JFU
6) pasta with mushrooms, spinach and garlic ( mushrooms were on JFU )
7) Dagwood sandwiches (artisan bread on JFU)

I got fruit juice for free at Safeways JFU.


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Saturday notes

I finally got my reader up and running, after a grueling week of stomach flu and trouble shooting so I am back in business.

I think it is interesting when the chew talks about frugal meals, they are talking about 5 bucks a plate, not five bucks a meal. I do realize, that they are in NYC and they don't have the space in their homes that people in the suburbs have. Every house my parents had, no matter how small , had a storage room in the basement for food. Having bench marks for the amount you are going to spend on a meal, or meat and veggies helps you to keep a budget. I spent two bucks a meal in the 60s when we were two adults and 1 small child. It increased when we had two teenagers in the house to three dollars. We are back to about two dollars again. The kind of meat has changed a lot. We don't get much steak nowadays.

Yesterday, they cooked a flattened chicken breast and a fried greens and polenta. This could be doable for close to five dollars shopping wisely. I got couscous cheap at big lots. Boneless chicken breasts are 2.66 per pound this week. And greens are always inexpensive. I don't count basic staples in my meal costs. I do count them in my total food budget. a lot of more sophisticated dishes can be doable by watching prices and substituting some expensive ingredients.

Today, I am cleaning out the fridge, dumping hopefully not much that is dead. ( with all of us with the flu, we have not eaten quite what I planned.) and using up bits and pieces. I think we will have Mac and cheese , carrots, and a fruit and cream dish for desert. It's a lot of fat, but probably not as much as if we ate a beef dish. rationalizing?!? Not all our cheese is high fat content. Portion control.
grocery shopping didn't happen yesterday. We spent the day getting a new reader.

I am seeing a lot of pasta with veggies and a little meat sometimes. I think it is a great way to compensate for the skyrocketing meat costs. I am still finding chicken inexpensive sometimes, but beef is about double.
mushrooms and spinach sounds interesting to me. That wouldn't go over we'll with my husband, however.

soups continue to be a good go to especially if you are going to have a hard day and you know it, or you know the family is going to hit home at different times. They can be hearty, satisfying,and hold well in a slow cooker.

I love salads,and summer is coming. You can still get shrimp for five bucks at Safeways often, vegetables are cheaper and you can plant a garden or pots on the back porch.

Often, traditional winter meats are cheaper in the summer. Just wait for a colder day. That's not hard in the pacific NW some summers!!!LOL

I tend to use parsley a lot. it just seems to make anything with a colorless hue more appetizing. I mix bread crumbs, Parmesan or another hard cheese and parsley to top Mac and cheese. Make your own bread crumbs from your crusts. It's easy and you aren't paying big bucks for someone else's garbage bread.
A older kid can do it if you set up the food processor and deal with the blades. kids like to push buttons. Grating cheese is another job kids can do in the food processor. Just set things up and you deal with the blades.

I learned a lot from watching my mother. How to economize on food is a good life skill. No matter what your lot in life is.

There is a movement out there for people to cut their grocery bill for one week and give the savings to the food bank. I guess to help to end hunger and enlighten us. There are people that can't get food stamps or are temporarily unemployed or taking mandatory days off and that is I am writing this blog. There are also people that don't know how to put good food on the table on snap and still have food at the end of the month. there are, of course, other reasons to want to economize on food and people tell me they get other ideas from the blog. It is my intention to help people.



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Oops forgot Safeways adds

Safeways

Pot roast 2.69
Blues or blackberries 2.99
Shrimp 5.00

Just for u
Cheese 2/5.12

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Jane

Friday

I saw a segment yesterday on The Chew. It was about little children eating top ramen and potato chips for breakfast, lunch and dinner because it was all they had. There isn't much I do about that. But, I'll bet those little children are not too worried about the race car drivers having a track. Someone should remind their congress people that they are working for the people, and necessities come before Luxeries.

I can, however, do something about the people that are lucky enough to get food stamps and can't make them last all month. That's what this blog is about. Many other people are reading for time saving kitchen management tricks, or are saving for somethimg they really want, or just don't feel the need to waste money or like beimg reminded of an new recipe to wake up dinner.

No child should be denied a good meal and nomchild should wake up to no food in the house. This plan is doable. All of us run into obstacles, but With some creative problem solving can overcome them. My sister in law and I went to the grocery store together when she onlynhad one car and we both had toddlers. It was easier and more efficient to leave the little ones at home and go together. when I lived in a low rent apartment house, we all banned together and helped each other. We had a community vacume cleaner, the guys took the garbage out so we girls didn't have to deal with the rats. We shared paperbacks, and babysitting.



Spanish Omlette

Potatoes, cooked and sliced
Onion, bell pepper, garlic, green olives, oregano,

Mozzarella cheese, grated

6-8 eggs
Salt, pepper

A good use of leftover potatoes, or stair step them

In a greased skillet, cook the onion, peppers and garlic until wilted. Add the potatoes. Cook until heated through. Add olives and oregano. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese.

Mix together the eggs, salt and pepper. Cook 4 omlettes with the eggs.

Place heated vegetarian mixture inside Omlette.


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How

Thursday notes

This might be a short post. I am still having connectivity issues and it just erased my first post.
There are not a lot of good buys this week. It may be a good week to make a WinCo trip. If you go, wear your walking shoes and bring a buddy and your price list. They don't have weekly specials, but some are really good.
The place is HUGE. My husband swears it is bigger than Costco. And you have to bag your own. Two people means you can watch the register, and bag too.

I'm watching the chew I heard a new word. Passive cooking. I really like that word!

Since our house is sick bay this week, I thought a soup recipe would be in order.

Tomato soup

8 ounces of tomato paste
Onion powder
1 T butter
pepper

Mix together and heat in pan.

Add 2 cups milk

Heat through.

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Jane

Is it Tuesday or Wednesday?

Between me having the flu and the wifi not working, I missed Tuesday altogether.

The ads

TOP

Drumsticks .97
Ice-cream 2.99
15 percent beef. 3.00


ALBERTSOMS

Oranges .50

Weekend only.
Chunky soup 1.00
Ragusa .99
Milk 2.49. Coupon
Craisens 1.69 coupon

QFC

Chicken .88
Grapes 2.49
20 hamburger 2.66
Deli chicken 5.99
Butter 1.88

Monday Madness - Alternative shopping

Yesterday we went to breakfast...the cheaper way to go out on a "date" . Breakfast is much cheaper than lunch or dinner. Afterwards we went alternative shopping.

At the Goodwill, I got a new (as in never worn) shirt and a pair of denium shorts with pink roses embroderied on them. for my grandaughter. I also found a
bunny book and a new bunnie cookie cutter set. Magazines are .50. cooking magazines don't go out of date much. All for 6.30 including tax.

We went to Big Lots. They were having their one day only twenty percent off the entire store sale. I got all kinds of canned goods really cheap. Triskit crackers were 1.60. Diced tomatoes that were .80 on sale were .48. Pickles .80. Pineapple, large can was .80. Pineapple and cottage cheese is a good lunch. Also, pineapple teryicki burgers are delicious. We tend to eat burgers in the summer. Ranch Dressing was an extra large bottle, twenty percent off. 2.40. Whole wheat pasta was .80. Also, pasta with servings of veggies in them. They might be a good way to get veggies into pickie eaters.

The Grocery Outlet was less fruitful. I got a box of soup for 1.29. The soup boxes run upwards of three dollars. Tomato red papper is sometimes cheap at Costco, they don't always have it. They had a lot of cheeses, Tillamook cheese slices were 3.50 a pound. They have romano and parmesean for 2.00 a carton usually. Coffee is really cheap always.

I am working on the regular computer, my tablet lost the ability to get an internet connection. Bummer, I do a lot of research and development for my businesses on it. I really miss it. Hope my husband can get it fixed today.

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Sunday Notes

Carrots continue to be an inexpeñsive vegetable. One of the ways I found to cook them is to add red or new potatoes and any other root veggies I have and roast them in the oven with olive oil and salt and pepper, or rosemary or parmesean.


Carrot Soup

1/2 cup chopped onion
Butter
3 cups chopped carrots
3cups vegetable broth
2T uncooked rice
1/2 cup cream
2T tomato paste
Salt, pepper

Cook onion in butter. Add carrots, stock and rice.
Cover, and simmer until carrots and rice are tender.
Cool. Process in food processor.

Return to pan. Add cream, tomato paste, salt and pepper.

Back in the 80s, compound butters were popular. I think the recipes are on an earlier post. It seems that they are coming back. It is a easy way to add life to a sandwich. Bump up the old Dagwood. My children used to love Dagwood sandwiches. Make them a little more sophisticated.

With the goings on with the drought and congress, it seems to me that a whole lot more people are going to get on the cheap bandwagon. It sounds like a whole lot of people are going to loose funding which translates to less jobs. Just what we need. ( I'm being sarcastic. ).

Eating on the cheap doesn't have to be unhealthy or time consuming.

I do this blog for free. Many others have made millions, yes, millions telling people to cut their toilet paper in half and feed their kids cheap hotdogs and cheese pizza. I am doing this blog so that people in the same boat I was years ago can feed their kids adequate meals on a disastrous budget. I wasn't lazy, I went to work everyday. Day care took 1/2 my wages, and housing took the other 1/2. I was not on welfare. Something good came out of it. I took what I had learned from my mother and read everything I could to learn more. I'm trying to pass on what I learned to people in need. It is not good for child's sense of security to not have food in the house at the end of the month. Anyone can live on the food stamp allotment if they shop wisely. They can't do it buying sodium potato chips and cheese sauce for 13.28 a pound that doesn't have any cheese in it.

That being said, I have found that some people read this blog for the time saving tips, or for a new idea for dinner. Or, just because they don't believe in wasting money. Face it, who can't use an extra few thousand dollars in the bank??

Back when I was first divorced in the mid seventies, I had twenty five dollars left one month for food. Desperate times called for desperate measures. I bought .35 worth of liver and cooked it with tomato sauce and peppers like my mother had. I called my three year old to dinner. I cut it up in small pieces so he could eat it himself. he looked at it and said " what's this?". Not wanting to sway his opinion by any rumors he had heard at daycare, I looked him straight in the eye and said " meat.". He took a bite, and chewed it, and looked at me and said " well, it ain't hamburger! Years later, We had liver once a week, because he liked it. Back in the 70s it was good for you!! LOL


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Another blog

I ran on to another blog where they selling their ideas in a book. They say that they paid off their first house and paid cash foe their cars. On thirty five thousand dollars a year with five kids.I did notice that the kids work too.

The only thing that I notice that I had forgotten about was that ifmyou are buying packaged veggies, weigh them. Some are heavier than others. Also, look carefully especially at Costco. they don't pick over their produce. If one apple is spoiled, you haven't saved anything.

Getting Inspiration.

My daughter brought a take out menu home from a bistro. I thought I would analyze it for inspiration.
Inspiration can come from anywhere. Having varied menu plan keeps things interesting and makes you not even realize that you are eating on the cheap.

Nicoise salad, I totally forgot about. with salmon and balsamic vinegar dressing.

Shrimp salad with field greens, shrimp, corn, tomatoes, jack cheese

Blue cheese and Pear salad. With candied pecans and dried cherries.

Vegetable pizza. Roasted artichokes, baby spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, mozzarella, provolone,Parmesan and basil.

Chicken and angel hair pasta with garlic pasta sauce, spinach, mushrooms and rosemary butter.

Most of these are doable on a budget with some variations, watching for sales. They sound yummy to me without the 10 plus dollar price tag per serving.

inspiration can come from anywhere, your favorite bistro, magazines, the Internet, the back of boxes or even the back of a candle!

When my children were young, they were more likely to eat the same familiar things like pizza, burritos, tacos, spaghetti etc. Someone asked the school one time why there was not a lot of variety on the menus. The answer they got was that they could tell by how much was left in the garbage can what the kids ate and they cooked accordingly . you can encourage children at home to try just one bite of new foods often. Eventually, they will eat a more varied diet. Often it is the texture and sometimes they outgrow it. Just keep trying. Don't make ot a power struggle. I offered my granddaughter mashed potatoes the other night. She Buttoned up her mouth and turned her head. I put a little on my finger and put it on her pouting lip. She ate it. I gave her the bowl, and before long, she was eating it out of the bowl. She needed a bath after that, but she ate it. LOL.

Often, when my husband and I were having spicy food, I would make the preschool age kids Mac and cheese and green beans. They wanted to taste our food.

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The other meals

It was brought to my attention (thank you my one commenter ) that I don't talk avout breakfast and lunch much. breakfast in most families is not a sit down together affair. We are all rushing somewhere in the morning, and are separate places for lunch.

I take a more casual approach ot the other meals. I usually have whole wheat toast and fruit, or banana bread, or yogurt, sometimes with pumpkin seed granola.

Muffins work well. They can be madenand frozen when you have time, and pulled out of the freezer the night before or defrosted in the microwave. You can put all kinds of nutritious stuff in them and the kids will eat it!!! I have a muffin cookbook that has a formula for muffins, and and a whole lot of variations.Any basic muffin recipe will work. Just substitute what you have for the bananas or whatever. Bare in mind what texture and consistency your new ingredient is and match itmwith the old one.

I tend to use bisquick, it's cheap and easy. The banana blueberry one is so nutritious, I usually use it. Making a quick bread is easier and more efficient.

Thinking about the ingredients.

Low fat bisquick
Oatmeal ( lowers colosterol)
sugar ( I use fake because I am diabetic, but it is not a lot)

Bananas ( they are super ripe, good for anti cancer)
Blueberries (antioxidants)
Eggs, you can use fake eggs
Low fat milk

A lot of good nutrition.

Lunch for us is either a sandwich and a piece of fruit, leftovers, or a salad. I especially like whole wheat crackers, cheese, and a piece of fruit like an apple.

The answer to another question! How do I keep a budget and fill my teenage kids hollow legs!
When my kids were teenagers, I had a fifty dollar a week budget. I posted the weeks menus on the fridge so they knew not to eat the rice I had double batched for another meal etc. I also had a list of things that they knew were FREE stuff. Things they could eat all they wanted of if they hungry.
It was top ramen, beef and bean burritos, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and popcorn.

I get the which is cheaper, WinCo or Costco question often. The answer is no one grocery store is cheapest.
The best way to beat the system is to pick the two cheapest per week. Then go to the overstocked stores, the bakery outlet, WinCo and Costco on a need basis for the things that are cheaper there. We hit Costco once a month or when we are running out of meds or TP. WinCo we once every six weeks or so. Grocery Outlet and big lots we hit when we are in that section of town for something else. I plan our trips so we can make the beat use of our time. Thankfully these stores, except WinCo and the bread outlet, are clustered together. I have learned where the food is and can get in and out quickly.

If you just hate to shop and record keeping is not your bag, don't hestitate to deligate the job to a trusted family member. Even an older child sometimes can research prices and fill in a spread sheet.

That being said, I remember putting a grocery list on the fridge, hoping when someone noticed we were almost out of something, they would write it down, and not put the empty box back in the cupboard. I got snicker bars in the list. Like I was going to buy snicker bars. Nice try. LOL

I remember sending my husband to the store to grocery shop because I had had an operation and couldn't go. He came back with a pomegranate and a case of beer! I sent my college age daughter with a budget to Costco. We got a weeks worth of good food.

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The Stats

I have had the day to myself for the first time in what seems like years. I did some research on the Internet. Average food stamps are 133.00 per person per month. 533.00 for the typical family of four. USDA stats for low income family of four is 627.90 a month. High income is 1245.60. Those figure are for June 2012. This is for food only. Paper products, alcoholic beverages etc. Are not included. I am sitting at 1/2 the low income stats and have built a stock besides.

Meals from the ads

My usual post after the ads post is to do a post on making meals from the ads and what is still in my fridge. It is mainly to show the process. My fridge is probably not your fridge and my family dynamics are probably not yours.

My formula for meal plans is

2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish

We tend to like Tex Mex (easy for me to compensate for the veggies). When the children were growing up, we tended to have the same things, because the kids liked them a lot.

1) Tacos,Refried beans
2) beef barley soup, crusty bread
3) chicken pot pie
4) pork spareribs
5) Tomato soup and quesidas.
6) pizza
7) tuna casserole

I got wheat pizza crust at grocery outlet for 2 crusts for a buck. Mots is 2.19 a pound at Costco. I got tortillas for .60 at big lots.Spareribs are on sale at top. My very technical recipe for country style ribs is to slice an onion on top of them in a slow cooker. Add a beer on top and cook for 8-10 hours. Carefully take them out with a slotted spoon when done. Place them on a broiler pan, brush with BBQ sauce and broil until sauce is bubbly.

The chicken, beef, and taco meat are already cooked in the freezer from previous weeks.
Mixed veggies were at the dollar store, also on sale at QFC. Good tuna is on sale as well with a coupon.

My tag phrase is 4+1 is 5. Four people, one meal, five bucks.

If I know that we are doing to have a long, hard day,I plan a meal that cooks itself , so dinner is ready when we are.

I was asked one time, why I would want to feed a family of four for 50 bucks a week. My reply was that my husband and I had both been laid off and we took cuts in pay to get new jobs. And, the mortgage company didn't have a sense of humor! LOL. If you have never been there, you don't understand.

But, besides averting disaster, groceries on the cheap can free up discretionary money for other life enriching things--like the kids college fund, or a vacation that you have always wanted to go on. There is a smug satisfaction that you have beat the stats and a sense of security knowing that You have food in the house at the end of the month.

I started this blog when it was brought to my attention that there were people on SNAP that were running out of money before they ran out of month. The amount of full food stamps is well enough to live on, if you manage it wisely. The trick may be to realize that they are FOOD stamps, not SNACK stamps.It is healthier to snack on an apple or some air popped popcorn than potato chips or sugar coated cereal. It also, won't work if you buy ready made meals.

Knowing how to grocery shop on th cheap is empowering. Even if you don't need to, why waste money??


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The ads

Here are the ads


QFC

10 for 10

Mini carrots
Apples
Frozen veggies 12 oz

Strawberries 2/5.00
Pork shoulder 1.79

Grapes 2.49


SAFEWAYS

sirloin steak 2.99
Milk 2.59

FIVE DOLLAR FRIDAYS

BLUES, 18 ounces
Shrimp

Skippy peanut butter

Sausage buy 1 get1

Coupon****. Tuna, solid pack. 1.19
Coupon. Brownie mix . 99


Frozen foods. Buy five, get ten dollars on your next trip.

Frozen fries 2/7
Mornimg star farms 2.99. That makes them a buck EACH!!!!


ALBERTSOMS

BUY 10

Hunts pasta sauce .80
Brown and serve. . 80

Chicken breasts . 99
15 ground beef. 2.49****
apples .88
Lettuce 1.00
Carrots 1.69




TOP

Apples 1.00
Tomatoes .89
Grapes 1.99

15/10. Beans and tomatoes canned. .67 each"""""


Blues 16 ounces. 3.98
15 percent ground beef 3.00****
Pork ribs 2.00
Pork chops 2.00
Pork roast 2.00
Beef roasts 3.00



Note the flux of ground beef prices, You probably would be better off making it from sirloin Safeways.
Also, there is a great flux on baby carrots.
Beef roast is 3.00. The new two dollars. That's a fifty percent increase.
The 15/10 canned foods are a stockimg alert.
Vegetarian alert Safeways has a net of 1.00 a package on vegetarian "meat".

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The rest of the story

Today is the day I usually do the ads. However, I couldn't finish yesterday's blog.

There are a lots of tricks to make cooking from scratch fast. There is one school of thought that makes a entire month of meals one day, and freezes the rest. I call it marathon cooking. I don't have the stanima for that,but I can see where it might be beneficial to some families. I have dome a mini version of it before and boxed up some for our elderly mothers. I thought it might be fun for them not to eat their own cooking and have some things that they wouldn't cook for one person.

I use the slow cooker a lot of I am going to work the late shift, or entertain. It just makes life easier. The last thing I want to do after I have been on my feet on cement floors all day is to set on to cook a meal from scratch.

When I get a bulk batch of ground meat, or make ground meat, I cook and de fat it and portion control it. Put it into bags and label. It makes life easier and dinner is half made. I make taco meat, crumbles, meatballs, Salisbury steak, and we have meatloaf that night. You can do that for sausage also.

Or I roast off a chicken and separate it into 4 bags: 2 1/2s of chicken breasts, one leg portions and the bones for soup.

I cook off a roast beef or pork and we have a roast meal and then slice the rest thin for a hot sandwich and freeze on family portions.

Take a couple of zip lock bags and put them in the freezer door,label them meat, and veggies. Every time you chop a veggie or cook a meat that goes on a pizza, set aside a little in your bag. I would use separate bags for the meat. At the end of a week or two, you have enough for "almost free pizza". The recipe for dough is on a prior blog. It is really easy and fast. You use the food processor. We also found pizza crusts whole-wheat for 2/1.00 at the grocery outlet .

Another idea, if you are not the tracking type, consider delegating to another family member. I set up my mothers file system when I was in jr high school.

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Will return with the ads

The basics revisited again !!!

About every first of the month, I go over the basics for any new people, or to refresh memories.

This blog is about grocery shopping on the cheap. It takes a three pronged approach at putting inexpensive, tasty meals on the table. It is not about eating cheap hot dogs, top ramen, or .28 a pound chicken or dumpster diving??!! LOL. There are many reasons why one would want to economize on food. Some people read this blog to see new recipes or get an idea how to get out of the kitchen fast. The idea is "If you spend more time on the front end of the 'get the food on the table train' and less time on the back end you will be better off. You essentially get paid for shopping, not for cooking.

If you can cut your food bill in half, and save 75 dollars a week on food, you save almost 4 thousand dollars a year. What can YOU buy or save for that much money. If you are like I was in my early years, I didnt have it to save. I just had to make what I had stretch.

The basics take a three pronged approach.1) Planning and organizing,2) shopping and 3) cooking from scratch

1) Planning and Organizing
Everything successful starts with a plan. First, gather main dish recipes that use inexpensive sources of protein that your family will eat. Start with seven, and go from there. Fourteen is better for variety.

Now, make a list of the staples you use frequently. In our house it would be beans, refried beans, cheese, diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, pasta, some tuna, and some salmon and instant mashed potatoes.
make a spread sheet or a small spiral notebook to track the prices. Record the item, the size, the amount you paid, when and where. Pretty soon you will discover the rock bottom price of the article. Plan your menus when you get home from the store keeping in mind what is leftover in the fridge before you went to the store. Nothing fancy, just jot down seven main dishes. Do this after you shop something that is on sale might not be as good a quality as you want, or not available.

2) Shopping.
When you find the rock bottom price, buy a) as many as the store will allow you to buy, b) as many as you can afford to buy,or c)as many as you need to replenish stock. If I use something once a week, I keep 24. If I use it once a month, I keep 6. This isn't about hoarding.

When the grocery ads come out, take a piece of computer paper , divide it in fourths. Put the name of a store at the top of each section. Go through the ads and mark down any meat and veggie buys that are a good price and any stock items that are a good price. Skip the ready made items and snack food.

When you are done,cross off any thing that is a higher price and anything you don't need. Record lowest prices of your target foods. Pick the two stores that have the lowest prices on things you need. plan your trip to save gas.

Take the ads, and your list. Get in and get out. The More time you spend in a store, the more money you will spend.

Store your fruits and veggies properly. There are storage solutions on the market that make fruits and veggies last longer.

3) Cooking from scratch
There is no room in a good food cheap budget for snacks and ready made foods. That being said, there are a few things that are cheaper to buy ready made than to make from scratch, and a few things that are best bought ready made. Refried beans, canned beans and tortillas and mayo come to mind. Sometimes instant mashed potatoes are cheaper than scratch. There are ways to make dinner as fast as you can by using a box. I did a post on a hamburger dinner box. It is a real eye opener. it is about the most expensive item in the store pound for pound. Booze excluded.

I'm out of time, hope I covered everything.

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Please share. I'm not getting any money for this blog, I am trying to help someone that needs it.

Jane

Price comparisons

My mother was an antique dealer. She always said that every antique store had sleepers and the trick was to find them.

No one grocery store has the lowest prices on everything. If you can effectively and efficiently take advantage of
The lowest prices, you can master 1/2 price food.

We did a Costco run yesterday. We only needed a few things, but they were really necessary things. I thought I would spend some time comparing prices. I have had a lot of questions about comparing Costco prices.

Many produce prices at Costco are pretty stable year round. Bananas are 1.39 the cheapest anywhere. Grocery Outlet is 1.99, other stores .79. All bananas are organic. Berries are almost always cheaper. Blueberries are full of antioxidents and are very versitile.

Toilet paper is the cheapest I have found.

They have pizzas on sale at times. I got a extra Large pizza for 5.99 yesterday. It is so large that I havento cut it into quarters to get it in our fridge and oven!

Cheese was 3.19 a pound. I have been getting it for 2.50 a pound. They had mots for 2.19 grated. Grated cheese should not be more expensive than the bricks. We went to the Tillamock factory. Mthey make cheese in huge molds. Then put it through a cutting machine. The excess goes into a plastic bin and goes to the grater machine. Basically, it is the leftovers.

The chicken sausage that I buy for 2.99 at grocery outlet was more expensive.

I buy the brown and serve baguettes from Costco unless I can find them at the bakery outlet. The bakery doesn't always have them. I keep them in the fridge, they last a long time. Tortillasmaremcheaper. I keep them in the fridge too.

Re fried Beans were cheaper than the regular price at the other grocery stores. They were not the .50 that got them for on sale.

Pasta was a lot more expensive. Pasta has a very, very long shelf life. You can stock very comfortably.

Spices are a lot cheaper. I buy the spices that I use a lot from Costco along with better than bouillon low sodium. Some that I don't use often I get at the dollar store or Big Lots.

Stamps are less than par value at Costco.
Magazines are thirty percent off. They don't have a complete selection.
Some magazines are .50 at the goodwill.

Cottage cheese and sour cream is cheaper at Costco most of the time.

Dry beans are really cheaper. The quantity is huge! In would get together with friends , neighbors, or family and split a bag.

The trick to all this is to know the prices ofnthe things that you use all the time. If you can't remember, keep a spread sheet or spiral notebook . It gives you an overview of prices and where the rock bottom price is. Often times, you can save as much as a dollar or more on an item.

It adds up fast. 75 dollars a week is almost 4 thousand a year!

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Jane

Notes on Sunday

I came across a trivia that is interesting. The grocery chain stores research their locations carefully. they are based on demographics. The dollar stores piggy back certain stores. If you notice most of the time, the dollar store be in the same strip mall as Safeways or grocery outlet! Grouping your stores saves time and gas. We have TJ MAXX , Safeways, and the dollar store and Costco just down the highway. Oe we have Joannes, Albertsoms, Safeways, and the dollar store, and big Lots in a cluster and grocery outlet nearby.

I know I sound like a broken record, but the slow cooker is my best friend in the kitchen. I have to work the late shift today. I'm going to put soup on this morning so it's ready when I get home.

Beef and vegetable soup

1 pound lean ground beef, cooked and defatted
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1 bottle beer
1cup beef broth
1 cup water

1-1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 cup celery
1/2 cup chopped sweet pepper

Salt, pepper, bayleaf

Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Discard bay leaf.

Note. You could use ground pork or turkey. I don't know how fake meat would hold up, but you could add it the last and heat through. You, of course, could add non alcoholic beer.You couldmusenany other rootmvegetables that sounded good to you or add some noodles or cooked rice at the end.


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Shopping trip

I cleaned the fridge, and made banana blueberry bread. Decided to go shopping anyway. I got cheese for five bucks at Top and apples. We took baby to her mom so we got lost for an hour. In less than an hour including travel time, we went to Safeways and got sour cream and some lunch meat. the dollar store was next where I got French fries and hot poppers. The grocery outlet was where I got whole wheat pizza crusts two in a package for a buck. Also chicken and artichoke sausage for three bucks. Yum!



I posted the last of the receipts for February. I averaged 68 a week and more than maintained our stock.

The banana bread recipe is bisquick. It is a healthy banana bread with egg substitute, low fat bisquick and low fat milk. Add oatmeal and bananas that are to the point of anti cancer properties and blueberries with anti ocidents and we have a real winner.

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Finally Friday

Today, I am not going grocery shopping! We have enough food stocked that I dont have to. I am not seeing any terrific buys that are calling me LOL. Just one more reason why stocking is beneficial. They are predictimg 30 mile an hour winds today. A good day to stay home and get caught up on paper work or do some work for the business.

A good day to use the crockpot if the power doesn't go off. We have been real lucky since the power company cut down a tree up the road.

Batch cooking sloppy Joes

3 pounds ground beef
3 cups ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
6 drops liquid smoke
1 Tsp dry mustard


Cook ground beef until no longer pink. Defat. Return to clean pan and add ingredients. Simmer until warm and flavors have blended-- about 10-15 minutes. Bag in meal sized portions.

In also have used a recipe from the crockpot cookbook for a croud that takes veggies and canned tomatoes.

My favorite thing to make when I am having a crowd is something in the crockpot with a couple of simple sides, it takes all the pressure off at serving time. Ome time I had sloppy joes,tater tots and coleslaw. Another time I had sirloin tips with caramelized onions, rice, and green salad.

Salisbury Steak

1 cup milk
28 saltiness, crushed
1/4 cup minced onion
4 tsp parsley flakes
2 poumds groumd meat

Mix together all ingredients. Shape into 8 patties. Spray baking pan with cooking spray. Place parties in pan and bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until temperature is 160. Make gravymaddimg w sauce.


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Jane

the ads

The ads for this week are here.

QFC

Pork loin roast 1.59
Boneless chicken breast 3.75 a pound***
milk 2.50

Broccoli .99
Strawberries 2.00
Grapes 2.49
BRYERS 2.99

TOP

Cheese 5.
Chili 1.00
Broccoli 1.00
Potatoes 1.39
Apples .89

SAFEWAYS

Round steak 2.49
Sirloin tip 2.99
Pork loin 1.69
Shrimp 5.00

5 dollar Friday
Salmon 12 oz
Lemon me range pie


Pasta sUce 1.00
Potatoes , mashed 1.00
Carrots .79

ALBERTSONS

Manufacture coupons round to a dollar
YOPLAIT .50
tuna .78 coupon

That's all.

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Jane

Wednesday notes

I am getting writers block. Please comment what kind of recipes you want to see. Do you want to see the recap of the ads every week? Meal plans? I would really appreciate your ideas!

Today I am going to survey the fridge. We were lucky enough to be able to go out. Happy hour food is much cheaper than the regular menu. I just drink ice tea. My husband loves finger foods for dinner sometimes. You can make finger foods healthy.

Tomato soup is too expensive to make from scratch. My mother-in-law used to make it from canned tomatoes. unfortunately, I never saw her do it. There was a piece on Americas Test Kitchen comparing soups. There are actually tomato soups that have no tomatoes in them. kinda like the cheeseburger macaroni that has no cheese in it. LOL. I like then tomato-roasted red-pepper soup in a box. I can't afford it unless I happen to see it at Costco for about two dollars a box.I add basil, blue cheese, and some milk.

Veggie Sandwiches

Hummus
Feta cheese
Roma tomatoes
Lettuce

Small tortillas

Serve with salad.

I got garbanzo beans for .50. feta cheese with tomatoes was cheap at grocery outlet. small tortillas were .60 at big lots. I keep them in the fridge. I'm not surenincouldnget my husband to eat this for dinner, but maybe it would be a good lunch dish.

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Jane

Quick meals

I'm getting a lot of inquiries about horseradish sauce, chicken pot pie, WinCo and split pea soup.

The only thing I haven't seen a lot of is recipes that call for horseradish sauce. It's a strong taste and goes well with beef.

PIZZA PASTA
Sausage, mushrooms, pepperoni, green pepper, pasta sauce, onion, ripe olives, Italian seasoning. serve over pasta of choice.
Note I bought big cans of sliced ripe olives for 50 at big lots. I'll post later as to the quality.

CHICKEN TACOS

Chicken pieces, cooked
Drained diced tomatoes
Taco seasoning

Corn tortillas

Toppings
Lettuce, cheese, tomato sour cream avocado

CHICKEN QUICHE

Sauté 1/2 cup chopped mild onion and 2 tsp chopped garlic in a teaspoons of olive oil,
In a large bowl, beat six eggs. Add :
3/4 cup heavy cream, 2 cups cooked chicken, 2 cups shredded cheese, and 5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled.
add onion and garlic.

Grease a pie plate and pour mixture in it. Bake at 375 35-45 minutes.

Notes
to reduce the fat!!
You can substitute milk for the cream. Use maybe a half cup instead.you could use turkey bacon and reduce some of the cheese or mix parmesan with cheddar to total 2 cups.


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Jane

Gleaming ideas from magazines

One of my machines needed parts. Had to go to joannes to get it. I picked up the family circle. Magazines are ten percent off. That pays the tax!!!

We also went to big lots. I got fruit pouches for baby for fifty cents. I also got stewed tomatoes for .50 and chicken noodle soup in a larger can...30 percent more for .95.

I thought I would dissect the Family Circle. As usual, the food is in the back. They have a months worth of meals. Woman's Day has been doing that for years.

I won't quote the recipes, but will give you their titles. kinda like you thumbing through it at the checkouts.
chicken stuffed with tomato and cheese
Turkey sausage and spinach Orecchietti
Shrimp and sweet pepper fajitas
Meatballs in creamy dill sauce
Broccoli and onion pie
Pork medallions with apple
Honey soy glazed salmon

Balsamic pot roast
Chicken and hominy chili bowl
BBQ short ribs
Smoky navy bean soup


A lot of these recipes are in their month list.
A lot of sausage, fish, vegetarian, turkey and chicken, and some beef.
Some things I have never heard of, and some my husband wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole...broccoli and onion pie comes to mind. Heck, most of them he would make funny faces about! LOL


Some of these recipes are just to expensive to make. Some you can get into my budget if I find the ingredients on sale. Salmon was on sale this week at Safeways. It was still pricy, but I can offset it withza a couple of inexpensive meals--average. Short ribs are expensive when you consider how much is bone and how much meat you actually get to eat! Chicken breasts are more expensive ,but you can get them on sale, or cut up your chickens and save the breasts up in the freezer. There is a post of things you can do with leg portions. They used to be .50 a pound. Now they are a buck...more than buying the whole chicken. I can find chicken for .88 to a buck a pound.

I don't these days de-bone a chicken very often. I'm not as proficient as I used to be. I am retired, run two businesses, belong to a service club, take care of my granddaughter 10-12 hours a day five days a week and when I don't take care of my granddaughter, I work retail on my feet two days a week. Shopping on the cheap doesn't have to take more time that just going to one store and buying anything you want. Once you are organized, it probably takes less time collectively. Remember, if you spend more time on the front end of the" get dinner on the table train" and less time on the back end, you will be better off. You get " paid" for shopping, not for cooking.

There are ways to cut kitchen time and not sacrifice good food. Box dinners are neither cheaper nor faster. There is a post on that too. LOL. My daughter and I proved that!!
Better, cheaper, faster.

Not everything is organic. Organic can have three percent pesticides and still be labeled organic. Not everything is fat free, or sugar free, or gluten free. Pay attention to what they are putting in those things. It might me penny wise and pound foolish. I think it is interestimg that when our society is turned on to a speciality diet, suddenly even the stuff that never had whatever is being toted as healthy, has a big sign on it's package as fat free or gluten free or whatever. I believe in moderation and balance. They change their mind like some people change their underwear. Remember when liver was good for you?? Drink three glasses of whole milk a day, no don't drink three glasses of milk a day. Eat pasta. No don't eat pasta, you will get diabetes. I really think moderation and balance is the key.

Enough soap box.

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Jane

Sunday and one more day off!!!

I bought salmon, stew meat, and hamburger this week, all in bulk amounts. My husband cooked all the salmon Friday night and I will make a salmon noodle casserole tonight. That leaves me with the stew meat and hamburgernto cook today. I am really hungry for beef barley soup. I wish I had paid attention to how my mother cooked it. I don't remember, but maybe because she started it before I got home from school. Que the Internet!!I have a notion that it had tomato paste, beef, beef stock, carrots...umm

Beef stew
1 pound beef cubes
4 carrots cut into chunks
1/2 pound red potatoes cut in half ormquarters to equalize size.
Red peppers, cut onto chunks
1can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup flour
6 ounces tomato paste
3/4 cup beef broth

1/3 cup additional liquid, water, stock, wine?

Salt, pepper, garlic, thyme

Brown beef. Place beef, vegetables in slowncooker. Add tomatoes over top.
Mix in a bowl, flour tomato paste and broth until smooth. Add the additional liquid, salt and pepper, garlic and thyme. Stir into contents of slow cooker.
Cook on low 6-8 hours or until meat is tender.

My mother cooked stew meat the way her mother did. She dredged it in flour. She then browned it with some oil and added water and braised it.

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soups..easy, cheap and satisfying

One of the most requested recipes I have is for soups. We all want spring to come, but reality is that http://www.pinterest.com/pin/157907530660665317/ still winter. A hearty bowl of soup fills you up and usually it is healthy.

I bought LARGE bag of split peas at Costco. It was fractions of the price it is at even the grocery outlet. I split them with my husband's siblings.

Split Pea Soup #2

1/2 cup celery, sliced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
16 ounces of split peas
9 cups water
1 cup carrots, diced
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
Parsley, basil, salt and pepper

Your choice of meat, ham , kielbasa,or turkey kielbasa, fake sausage???

Sauté onion and celery in olive oil in a soup pot. Stir in 6 cups of water and the peas.
Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer andncook 25 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook an additional 25 minutes. Don't forget the remaining 3 cups of water.

I think you could sauté the veggies and dump everything in a slow cooker for 8-10 hours. You could also substitute veggie stock for the water, or chicken stock. Also, you could sneak in some cauliflower. I usually blend all or part of the soup to make it thicker. If I wanted to sneak in the cauliflower, I would the food processor on it first so it blended in better.

Very technical chicken noodle soup

Sauté vegetables - carrot, celery,and onion
Add chicken broth,diced cooked chicken,and poultry seasoning.
Cook til warm. Add a couple of handfuls of noodles and cook until done.

We like anpiece of hard crusty bread with ours.

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Post grocery shopping

We gone shopping. First we went to the closing sale atmPetosas. They had everything is 1/2 price. I got rice, cream soups, and some sugar free jam. Then off Safeways. Again, there was no 7 percent hamburger. I did get salmon and stew meat. I am hungry for beef barley soup. Mashed potatoes were .90 cents.

I found frozen potatoes and mixed veggies at the dollar store.


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Jane

Finally Friday.

The internet is a wealth of recipes so you don't get stuck in a rut. Betty Crocker has a web site that you can type in what you have and it will give you recipes. Just be mindful that you can substitute a box of ??? For real food.

There are only a few " rules" that will make a real difference on your food bill. It's rather funny to me that my mother a half a decade ago did most of them. There was not then deluge of ready made products back then, or the
Variety of vegetables we have now. The alternative food eaters didn't exist either to complicate things.

I have managed to work around vegetarian. Some of our meals can be adapted, sometimes, she has to make her own.
I have a husband that won't eat vegetables, a daughter that won't eat meat, and I am diabetic, so I can't eat a lot of starch. We all have to co exist! LOL

I digress.

1) never pay full price for anything. Sometimes I get stuck, but it is usually somethimg that never goes on sale. I still try to find the lowest price.

2) Never ( never say never) buy ready made foods. there are a few things that are cheaper ready made andna few that are too time consuming to make yourself.

3)Always shop at more than one store. Stores price some things low, planning on you buying what goes with them at a jacked up price. beat them at their game.

4) Plan your trip, research, make a list. Plan your route,get in and get out.

5) Try to use up everything. Cut the waste. How clever of our great grandmothers to make banana bread!

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Jane

Meals from the ads

Today is usually meals from the ads. Even though I usually wait until after I shop to plan my meals. Sometimes I get to the store and Shay is on sale is in way too large a package or is not good enough or they are out of it.
A couple of weeks ago, QFC had pork loi . Most of it was dark meat and it had large gristle stuff running through it. The strawberries were growing gray hair prettier than mine!

My formula is

2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish

Your spread may be different. these are my strategies than have worked for me. Use the things that make sense for
Your world now.

It seems as if the same cuts of meat are on sale . Trying to mix it up is a challenge. my mother seat one mealmplan and we coldntell what day of the week it was by what we were having for dinner. Pizza.. It must be Thursday. Roast, it must be Sunday. Hamburgers was Saturday!

1- steak, baked potatoes, horseradish sauce mixed greens with strawberries.
2- tacos

3- chicken noodle soup - scratch.
4- pork loin sandwiches with lettuce, tomato, cheese, broiled.

5- Mac and cheese
6- pizza

7- salmon, oven roasted root veggies, salad


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Jane

The ads

It's that Timel of the week.

The ads

Safeways

7 percent hamburger 2.99
Chicken .99

Apples -99
Salmon 5.99
Milk 2.59
Nathans b1G1
Blues,blacks 3.99


QFC

grapes 1.99
Chicken .88
Breyers ice cream 2.99
Klondike bars 2.99
80 percent beef 2.66***

TOP

Sirloin tip B1G1. 2.75 net


ALBERTSONS

Klondike bars 2.60
Chicken .88
Apples .88
Oranges .88
7 percent beef 3.49***

Note the spread between the hamburger prices and the chicken prices.

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Tuesday

It's time to take a quick look at the fridge and incorporate anything hanging around too long. We mare goimg tp have breakfast for dinner to use the berries I bought Friday. Maybe blueberry waffles.

Hreycvv. (Baby Dear is helping! )

A thrifty kitchen always has ground beef or turkey or textured vegetable protein. It's usually inexpensive and versatile.

Beef Stuffed French Bread

1 poumd ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 large baked potato, cubed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Mushrooms
1tsp parsley
1/4 tsp dried onion powder
Pepper
Dash of red pepper sauce

Hard rolls

1cup cheddar cheese, grated

Cook beef and onion until no longer pink. Drain.
Add potato, soup, mushrooms and rest of ingredients except bread and cheese.

Cut a slice off the top of the bread and hollow out center, leaving a shell. Make bread crumbs out of the pieces. Add one cup of the crumbs to the beef mixture. Stir on cheese.

Fill bread shells replace tops. Wrap in foil. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving

From Taste of Home booklet.

Notes. I would use already cooked and defatted beef. Instead of a can of mushrooms, I would use fresh so I could control the amount. A good recipe to use that leftover baked potato. Safeways has hard rolls in a bag. 8 for three dollars. Our TOP has them in bulk bread bin.
Can be made ahead of time and frozen. Thaw in fridge and bake for 20-25 minutes. I like things that I can
Put in the oven and finish dinner while it cooks. Maybe a green salad or veggie sticks.


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Jane

Shopping Trip and $5.00 Dinners

Good Morning. After I get home from any shopping trip where I buy groceries, I post to a spread sheet. Recording my grocery purchase totals keeps me on track.
If I see that I have spent more than my 75 dollar limit, I know I can back off the next week. I typically spend less on some weeks, and spend more the weeks that I find a good price on my stock items or a bulk meat.

Last night we had Pork Loin Roast, Mashed sweetpotatoes, green beans and salad. It would be a five dollar dinner --actually 4.50.

I got Ragu sauce for 1.00 and pasta for a buck. Add some meat and a salad and you have well under five dollars.

Sausage was buy one get one. Sausage and eggs and fruit and toast would be less than five dollars.

Split Pea soup and toasted cheese sandwiches would be less than 5.00.

Chicken Pizza would be less than 5.00 with a salad.

Tacos come in at less that 5.oo.

Pork sandwiches and coleslaw. The trick here is to find buns for a good price. Sometimes, the bread store or Grocery Outlet.

One of the tricks for keeping your food bill low is to group your meals in such a manner that you use all of what you purchased. If you buy spinach for a spinach salad, then you can use some spinach on a pizza. If you have cottage cheese left, make lasagna or stuffed shells. Leftover bread can beoome dressing for chicken or pork , or breadcrumbs for meatloaf or a thickening agent for soup. Cooked to much pasta...make pasta salad for lunch or to go with a sandwich for dinner. Fridge management cut down on the amount you have to throw away. The average family throws out a lot of food--like thirteen pounds a week by one account.

Pot Roast was on sale at Safeways. I am pretty well stocked, so I didn't opt for 18.00 worth of pot roast. If I hadn't been well stocked, I would have divided it into four pot roasts and frozen three of them.


My very technical recipe for pot roast in the slow cooker. Dump the pot roast in the slow cooker. Slice an onion and spread over the top. Salt and Pepper.
Pour a 12 ounce beer over the top. Add enough beef stock to almost cover the roast. Cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours.

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Jane

Is anybody out there?

Is anybody out there? Yesterday I posted recipes for pizza that were different than the hum drum pepperoni...most of them a bit more healthy. I don't know are looking for because I am not gettimg any comments from anyone. There is an anonymous button on the comments section.

It's Sunday and I have to go to work today. That's six days this week, ugh! Soup is a good go to for days like this.

Burger Beef Soup

12 ounces cooked, defatted ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup carrots, diced
1/4 cup celery, diced

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Salt, pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 cup uncooked noodles


Brown onions, carrots and celery in a little EVOO.
Stir in remaining ingredients except noodles.
Heat to boiling. Stir in noodles. Simmer 10-15 minutes until noodles are cooked.
Serve with hard crusty bread or croutons.

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Suddenly Saturday

It's Saturday finally a day and a half off. Yeah! Saturday is a pizza kind of day.

Pizza crust is recipe is on a previous post. It's really easy.
Sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 scant teaspoon EACH of grated onion and minced garlic
Pinch of Italian seasoning
Salt,pepper

Toppings
1.5 cups mozzarella, grated
2 ounces diced ham
1 small red or green pepper, diced
1/2 can sliced black olives, drained **
onion
Parmesan
Basil

bake crust at 375 for 15 minutes. Spread withnsauce and toppimgs and bake an additional 15-20 minutes.

chicken pizza toppings
Chicken chunks
Onion
Garlic
White cheese
Diced peppers
Smoked Gouda

Note : smoked Gouda isnat grocery outlet, chicken strips are buy 1 get 1 Safeways thisnweek. I have not calculated the end cost of those. peppers are cheap at grocery outlet as well.

Mexican pizza toppings

Black beans
Onion, chopped or grated
Peppers, chopped
Tomatoes, chopped and seeded
Garlic, jalapeño, chili powder, cumin
Spinach, cilantro
White cheese

Pizza crusts like bomboli are 2.18 at WinCo. Or pre bake the crust recipe.


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There are still people that are under employed, unemployed or just want to get ahead.

Jane

Bake accordimg to your crust instructions.

Comfort Food

Comfort Food seems to be a topic I see lots. I also see inquiries about chicken pot pie, split pea soup,Tex Mex WinCo vs Costco.

Before I start talking about comfort foods, my daughter told me somethimg worth repeating. Costco green beans have 300 less grams of sodium than some of the other green beans. Their price is comparable except for the .33 ones I purchased from WinCo.

ORZO stuffed Tomatoes--6 servings

2/3 cup uncooked ORZO
6 medium tomatoes
1T butter
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese, reduced fat
1tsp basil
2tsp parsley
Salt, pepper

Cook pasta. Drain
Cut a thin slice off the top of the tomato.
Scoop out the pulp leaving a shell. Invert tomatoes on a paper towel.
Cook butter in a saucepan. Add ORZO, the tomato pulp without seeds,drained and the remaining ingredients.
Spoon into tomatoes. Bake at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes.


3 T butter
3 T flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1-1/2 cup milk

4 ounces shredded cheese
3 cups grated potatoes.
1 cup grated carrots
2 T onion.

Make white sauce with the butter, flour and milk. Remove from heat and add HALF of the cheese.
Add the vegetables. Transfer to an 8 inch square baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Uncover, add remaining cheese and bake an additional 15 minutes until cheese is melted and potatoes are tender.

NOTE

I think you you could use less cheese. You could also grate all of the veggies in the food processor and drain them. Good with roast chicken.


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Notes on Wednesday

Today is the day that I usually make a list of meals from the ads. I'll do that, but I found a recipe booklet at the dollar store that is well worth the buck. it is called America's Cookbook. It has shopping tips, recipes and the history of some foods. it is a great educational tool for children.

They have tips for shopping most of them I have already posted and knew. A couple of them I forgot about.

Never go to the store hungry. Everything looks good and it's to easy to impulse buy. Watch the scanner for errors. I was charged twice for the same thing the other day. Finding it after you leave the store is a hastle to rectify.

Beer Bread

3 cups flour
1T baking powder
1tsp salt
2T sugar
1- 12 ounce can of beer
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375

Mix together dry ingredients. Add the butter and beer. Fold together just until well combined. Batter will be sticky. Pour into greased pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until bread tests done. Cool and turn out onto a wire baking rack.

This booklet is a wealth of information. History of foods, nutrition facts, measurement table, a lot of good basic recipes.


Meal Plans

I usually use a template to plan meals.

2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish

I try to stick to this plan so that we are balanced. Beef has some nutrients that no other meat has. If you pick your cuts and cook it properly, it can have less fat than a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Even Dr Oz says twice a week is OK. The two days are balanced by chicken, pork, and vegetarian and fish. When a family member only ate chicken and pork. They had to go to the hospital for an operation and he was so anemic he had to have blood transfusions before they could do surgery. I think the trick is moderation.

Tacos, refried beans
Pot Roast, red potatoes, carrots, salad

chicken pot pie
chicken soup

Potato Soup
quiche

salmon

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The ads. Again

I hit the wrong key and the entire blog erased. Basically, there are not many good buys this week.
QFC has good buys on dairy and Safeways has round steak and petite sirloin for 2.69.

QFC
18 coumt eggs 1.99
Butter 2.49
Cottage cheese 1.67
Strawberries 2.00

TOP

Oranges organic .89
Strawberries 2.00
Eggs1.50
Apples .99
Blues 18 oz 5.98
Salmon 7.00

Safeways
Round steak 2.69
Petite sirloin 2.69

Blue and blackberries B1G1
oranges .88
Buy 6: brownies or cake mix .99
Sausage B1G1. JOHNSONVILLE or chicken strips.
Ragu pasta sauce 2/3 plus get 1 pasta for free.

Albertsoms is just a bust. White breadnis .88, but I don't buy white bread.

Note.
Good ground beef is 3.99 a pound. Your best bet is to get round steak and grind your own. You can control the fat. If you don't have a grinder on your mixer, get the manual kind at a garage sale or a antique store or raid your grandmothers kitchen.


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Tuesday

I am researching my old personal cookbook. One of the ways to bust the budget is to buy seasoning mixes. Spices are a buck all over. For spices that you only need a little of, the bulk isle is your best bet. Basil is really cheap at Costco in a Large container...share!! We eat a lot of Tex Mex. I can make it and still accommodate the vegetarians without cooking separate entres.

Chili seasoning

4T chili powder
2 -1/2 tsp ground coriander
2-1/2 tsp ground cumin
1-1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Store on airtight container is a dry place

3 tsp for 2-1/2 quarts of chili.

Taco Seasoning
4 T chili powder
3T + 1 tsp paprika
3T cumin
2 T onion powder
1T + 2 tsp cayenne pepper

Makes 1 cup

Use 2 rounded Tablespoons per pound a meat. in cook the meat until no longer pink. Drain in a colander. Pour boilimg water over the meat. Return to pan with a little water and add seasoning. Bring up to temperature. Cool slightly and bag.


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Monday madness

I ran on to meal plans that I did In 2002..some ten years ago. You can tell the adjustments made for the rising cost of food and the more health conscious climate. This was for the month of May and assumed you would add the appropriate veggie and starch.

Pizza, salad
Meat balls
Ham quiche
Hamburgers
Meatloaf
Dagwood Sandwiches
Tuna Cassarole
Beef Briskit
BBQ Beef Sandwiches left from yesterday)
Pizza, ham, pineapple, peppers
Hot Dogs
Roast Chicken
sloppy joes
Chicken pot pie
Tacos
Shrimp muffins, potato soup
Pizza, chicken, olives, onion
BBq spareribs
roast Pork loin
Shrimp fettichini
Pork stir fry
Bacon quiche
Tuna casserole
Pasta bake
Top round steak
Roast chicken
Hamburgers
London broil
Pizza
Chicken casserole
Spareribs

I'm not seeing much difference, except the large beef meals are a thong of the past most of the time. Steak is ten dollars a pound!

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