Zero waste?

The non consumer is talking about zero waste. I think it will be a while before we get to zero waste. Like maybe even never. It would be hard to incorporate no packaging into shopping on the cheap. Many packages can be recycled. I don't buy much that is individually packaged. We bought most of our veggies at the fresh food market and our town is already plastic bag free. bags that you bring to the store have to be washed frequently to keep from contanimating your food. I am sure that my daughter is zero waste, because she comes over and uses my kitchen so she doesn't have to wash dishes by hand! no room for a dishwasher in her unit!

Now, of people would discourage shoplifting, we could do away with the bubble packages that are a bear to open and fill the landfill. LOL. Costco is not very earth friendly. They do recycle boxes and I recycle them again at the store. it is hard to put a set of dishes in a brown paper bag.


Almost all of our garbage can be recycled. I think this movement is talking avout not using any packaging at all.
I am not sure in this day and age that that idea is sustainable in the burbs. It is a noble idea, I just don't know how practical it is for the average home. We will start by getting everything that can br recycled in the recycle bin and taking our packaging to the store to be used again.

On to other topics. I'm not sure what people want to see on this blog there's a comment section on the bottom. You can comment anonymously. please let me know what you want to read about. Recipes? Techniques to get out of the kitchen faster? Where to find the best prices? The basic plan? meal plans? I can't tell by the amount of hits . Sometimes I am inundated with spam.

Meal plans and the recipes that correlate with them can be found At www.womansday.com/meals. Some of them wouldn't fly with my family. A lot of them wouldn't have flown with my parents. Some of them would be interesting to try.
My husband has been really good about critiquing my experiments! LOL

Stair-stepping meals are a good way to not have waste and be more efficient in the kitchen.
Roasted salmon can become a salmon cassarole or be in a salad.

Rice can be Spanish rice with Mexican or Sweet and sour chicken or pork or braised beef on rice.
rice has a short fridge life, use it within 2 days . Dirto beans. Rice pudding???

We all know about Roasted chicken, chicken pot pie, chicken burritos, chicken noodle soup, terriaki chicken, chicken salad, white pizza.....

Batch cooking meat especially is a good time saver. If you batch cook groumd meat at your leisure, you will be more likely to spend the time to de fat it. defatted ground beef has LESS fat than boneless, skinless chicken breast.

Having a few very quick meals at your disposal is a good way to beat the I have no time and have had a hard day blues! For us that is tacos or a hot sandwich. It used to be roast beef a jus. it is getting harder to find a sirloin roast on sale these days. pulled pork or BBQ pork is a option.

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Jane

Dinner

I made enchalada sauce from scratch tonight for dinner for our enchiladas. I made a recipe from the food channel. It called for chicken stock, but I used water so that I could make the vegetarians happy. it was spicy. We like spicy and the baby are her noodles instead. Imfilled whole wheat tortillas with beans, rice, green chilis and jalapeño jack cheese. We topped them with lettuce,tomato, black olives and sour cream. Very filling.

I have been experimenting with new recipes a lot lately.

When we went to happy hour last week, I had stuffed chicken with asparagus and a cesear salad. They just took a couple of whole leaves of romaine with shaved parm, they added a couple of anchovies( I gave them to my husband. )
And a lemon wedge. The chicken was poumded thin. A bread stuffing with dried cranberries was spread on it and it was rolled up and cooked. They served it with asparagus cooked al dente.

They also cook salmon with a shrimp stuffing and drizzle balsamic vinegar over top. I saw a reduced balsamic vinegar on a cooking show last week. I think it was The Chew. They grilled romaine and drizzled it with reduced balsamic vinegar.

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Jane

Sunday Salads

its Sunday and again, I don't have a clue what to write about. I have enjoyed 50 to 80 hit days for a while now. yesterday was a bummer and the Russian porn queens were back in a vengeance. It was an angry birds kind of day.LOL

Went to Costco yesterday to get the things that I forgot. Thats what I get for not writing a list.
we had chicken sausage with Gouda and apple, peppers, and red potatoes for dinner --one pot meal. We had mixed berries for desert.

We eat a lot of one pot meals because they are quick and easy and the clean up is easy too. Precooking meat is another way to make clean up after meal time easier. I am old and I run out of gas by the time dinnertime rolls around especially if I have worked that day. When the children were little, it was always a hectic time of day.

One of the other advantages of shopping two stores is that if the produce looks bad at one store, you have another alternative.

remember, you get paid for shopping, not for cooking. I still want tasty, good nutrition, I just don't want the time consuming work. If you are a person that loves to cook and has the time, I think that it is great! I just don't have the energy and time these days and suspect other people are in the same boat.

Enough rambling...

I am going to make yesterday's French toast recipe (the ome nobody looked at) for breakfast this morning. I got blueberries at costco yesterday.

summer is coming-- well maybe in the Pacific NW!?!LOL.

Salad for dinner on the deck is a pleasant relaxing experience.


Chicken chopped salad

4 - 4ounces boneless skinless chicken breast pieces
1T cumin
1t paprika
1/8 teaspoon of red pepper
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
6 cups gourmet salad greens
3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tsp olive oil

Lemon wedges optional
Place chicken breast half between two sheets of waxed paper. Flatten with meat mallet. Place spices and dash of salt and pepper in a large Ziploc bag add chicken and shake to coat.

grill chicken 3 minutes a side or until done.

Place greens on a large bowl.

Combined vinegar, marmalade ,soy sauce and olive oil and stir with a whisk .

Pour salad dressing over greens and toss.
Place chicken on top of each individual plate.

I might add some parm cheese, nuts ? water chestnuts?
Anything with an Asian flair that would taste good and serve with a roll.

Taco Salad

Mix a heaping cup of cooked taco meat with 3/4 cup salsa heat through on low heat on the stove or in the microwave, covered.

Place lettuce on each plate. Place some meat mixture on each plate. Add chopped tomato, grated cheese, tortilla Chips, chopped green onion.
Black olives would be good too. I would serve with salsa and sour cream.

Shrimp and orzo salad

1cup uncooked orzo

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon olive oil
half a teaspoon dried oregano

2 cups diced seeded tomatoes
1cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1pound medium shrimp cooked and peeled.

Cook and drain orzo.
Mix together salad dressing ingredients
Toss orzo, remaining ingredients together.
Toss with dressing.
Chill about 4 hours.


That's all for today.

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Thanks for stopping by

Jane

Suddenly Saturday

Yesterday was grocery shopping day. In an hour and forty-five minutes.

Went to the fresh food market.
Went to Safeways
Went to the discount store for business supplies
And went to another store for supplies
And on to Costco for meds and some cheese.


I got asparagus for a dollar a pound. purchased jicama so that my grandaughter could taste it for the first time.
Some squash and salad greens.
On to Safeways for the rest of the veggies I needed and scallops on sale for five bucks among other buys.
the discount store still has no runners, but I was fruitful at the second store.

I'm still well under budget.


Breakfast for dinner is a way to cut costs...the kids think it is a special treat!

Baked French Toast

1/4 cup melted butter

4 eggs
1cup milk
1tsp vanilla
Nutmeg
8 slices Texas toast.

Pour butter in baking pan, coat bottom of pan.

Mix remaining ingredients EXCEPT bread in a bowl.

Dip bread in bowl coating both sides

Place on buttered pan.bake at 375 for 20 minutes.


Serve with syrup or blueberries or another fruit in season.



That's all for today

Thanksnformstopping by

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Jane

Friday

Again, I have writers block. The fresh food stand is open for the spring and summer. Usually this time of year it is usually a lot of shrubs and some food. But, I think we will go since it can be on the way to Safeways. Top has herbs for a herb garden for 4/5.00. I might have to plant my porch tub.

Meals from the ads

Our basis is
2 beef
2 Chicken or Pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish


1) salmon , mashed potatoes, salad.
2) Mac and cheese, broccoli
3) eggs, hash browns, berry cup with yogurt. Toast
4) Pork chops, stuffing, salad, green beans
5) chicken sausage, peppers, red potatoes, hard crusty bread
6) enchiladas , chopped salad.
7) London broil, baked potatoes, green salad

Notes I found enchilada sauce by google ing the food network. Emeril has one.
I got salmon for a dollar a portion last week.
Mac and cheese is a good way to clean out the cheese bin.
Stuffing uses up all those bread ends.
Chicken sausage is the lowest price at grocery outlet.
London broil is 2.99 at Safeways. Thinly slice for stroganoff ( raw)the unused portion, or a cooked for a jus sandwiches , or grind for ground beef. It only comes in the giant economy size. Or, share the cost with another family member or close neighbor.

1-1/4 cups enchilada sauce
3/4 pound ( 12 ounces cooked taco meat )
1-1/2 cups grated cheese ( Mexican blend? Or cheddar)
1/2 can chopped green chilies
Chopped onion
8 corn tortillas

Pour 1/2 the sauce in a baking dish
Combine in a bowl the meat, chilies, onion and 1/2 of the cheese.
Fill each tortilla with 1/2 cup of mixture. Roll up and place
seam side down in baking dish.
Pour remaining sauce over tortillas, sprinkle with remaining cheese and a few peppers.
Cover with foil and bake at 3:5o for 26 minutes or until cheese is melted and enchiladas are hot.
Serve with chopped lettuce and tomato and sour cream.


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Jane

Thursday... The weekend looms

I read an old cookbook on my break yesterday.It was the history of Campbell's soups. Very fun to read. brings back old memories.I can remember chicken noodle soup. We lived four blocks from the school, so I came home for lunch.
Sometimes Mom would buy bean and bacon soup.

There were many good recipes that could be adapted to be scratch recipes and the basic green bean cassarole and tuna noodle.Some nostalgia still reigns.

There is a recipe for chicken enchiladas. It calls for enchilada sauce. Modes anyone know a recipe for easy enchilada sauce? Buying sauce jacks up the price too much.

They make my sausage and bean soup by substituting the beans for pasta and flip flopping the balance of tomato and broth. Add sausage and chicken cubes .

Tomato soup spice cake. Never had it, I can't picture what it would taste like and what to substitute for the shortening. has anybody tasted it before?


Combine red potato, broccoli, red pepper, green onion and lemon juice .

I read last night that red potatoes have 34 carbs for a three inch one ! Guess it is 1/2 a potato for me....bummer!
Regular russets are much more carb friendly!

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Jane

The Ads

The ads for this week.

TOP

Hagan veggies, beans, and diced tomatoes 15/10.00....67 ea
7 percent hamburger 3.99***
Pan bread 1.79@YO@@@
5# potatoes 1.00@@
Hormel chicken sausage 3.99
Asparagus 1.29




QFC

BUY 5
Dryers 2.49
Cheerios 1.99
Best foods 2.79


Strawberries 2/4
Hills hire farm smoked sausage 2/5
Country ribs 1.99
Raspberries 2.99


ALBERTSONS

Strawberries 3/3.99
Milk 2.49

Thurs-Sunday
Manwich, tomatoes, pasta sauce .68 limit six
Tillamock ice cream 2/5

Cucumbers .69
Carrots .79

SAFEWAYS

London broil 2.99
Bottom round roast 2.99
7 percent hamburger 2.99
Apples .99
Strawberries 2.00

5 dollar Fridays
8 lbs naval oranges
Jiff 40 ounces. Limit 2
Hunts pasta sauce 1.00****
Grapes 2.99
Mushrooms 1.79


That's about it. ***note the variations in prices
@@@@denotes a coupon in the store flyer.

Be sure to cross off everything that is higher priced elsewhere andmanythingnyou don't want or need.
Now pick the best two. Sometimes like last week, there were only ome for us. We shopped the alternative stores to fill in.

2.99 isn't bad for 7 percent hamburger, but last weeks 2.75 is better.

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Jane

Misc notes

Check out Myfridgfood.com. Today is a recipe for garlic chicken. It would be a good sauce for wings, sweet and sour with green pepper and pineapple...over rice with pork cubes? Using fake brown sugar would bring done the carbs, but they are pretty low already!

USDA stats for Feb are out.

3 Adults on the thrifty plan are 127.00 a week-- actual food eaten

( my daughter buys the some of the baby's food and some of the fake meat.so I'm not counting the baby)

We spend an. Average of 70.00 less 7.00 excess stock equals 63.00

1/2 of 127.00 is 63.35.


I only use store coupons, the other ones are too time consuming and are usually for ready made or things I never buy anyway. I keep our. Meals pretty simple. I don't buy organic, salt free, or fat free unless there is no price difference and they taste good.

Terrific Tuesday

Last night we had beef tips on rice, and a salad. I have enough left to put the tips and gravy together with the roasted root vegetables left from the other night and have stew with some crusty bread Tommorrow night. I have to work Wednesday. planned leftovers are like a free meal! LOL. Freshen it up with some herbs.

Always make a plan, but be flexible.

Salad

Romaine is a better bet for greens. The darker the leaf, the more nutrition. They also last longer.


Croutons

2 cups cubed French bread. toss with 2 T garlic olive oil. Toss the cubes and place them on sheet pan. Bake at 400 for 6-7 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

Dressing
4 t lemon juice
1-1/2 t Dijon mustard
1/2t w sauce
Dash of pepper
2T oil
Mix together

Salad
4 cups romain washed and torn
2T parm cheese
1 medium apple. Diced (soak in vinegar or lemon juice to keep from discolouring. )

Toss together croutons, dressing and greens.

6 servings

I am going to add some parts of some recipes to my personal cookbook. I want the croutons, dressing and the teriyaki
sauce from a couple of weeks ago.

I found good mustard at Big Lots. Wait until they have a 20 percent sale. I see that they have raised the price on tomatoes, but there is still some older stock. You don't always see the same things every time and they don't take SNAP. The savings are remarkable .48 vs 1.69 is a lot per can. 1.21X 2 for a pot of soup is 2.42. Add 1.80 savings for beans and you have 4.22 savings . that's more than 1/2 price. A pot of soup enough for a meal and lunch the next day is 3.11. Almost less than two cans of ready made soup.
And it takes about 10 minutes of your time.

Six cans at 1.50 is 9.00. Scratch is 3.11. Rounding that's 6.00 savings. 10 is 1/6 of an hour. That's 36.00 an hour. Add taxes you aren't paying to earn that 36.00 and you have to make 43.20 an hour to spend that 36.00.
Food for thought.


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It really makes my day to get feedback

Jane

Monday Madness

it's catch up day here, I have been sick all week. I'll be glad when the doc talk to each other and decide what is wrong with me.

Veggie Chicken Packet.
uses bone in chicken breast. Sometimes I have purchased them for 1.25 a pound.

For EACH packet

2 T instant rice
1chicken breast 1/4, or about 4 punches. ( the size of the palm of your hand.
1/ cup sliced carrot
2onion slices, separate into rings
1/4 cup peppers, sliced thin.
1 T water
1 T w sauce
2tsp sou sauce
1 T butter

Place rice in the center of a 14 inch square piece of foil
Top with chicken and veggies
Mix liquids together
Pour over chicken.
I would cup the edges of the foil first.
Dot with butter.
Fold foil around chicken and seal.
Place n baking pan and bake at 350 for 65-75 minutes or until chicken is done.
Open foil carefully, there will be steam!!!


I know the purists would say that I am filling the landfill, you can use used foil.

It would be a good recipe for a busy day. Even a older child or a culinary challenged spouse could put the packets on pan and get them started in the oven. LOL

You could also use already cooked chicken and shorten the time. Yhen you would just worry about how long the rice and veggies would take to cook. It would really be fast if you used leftover rice, maybe even finely chop the pepper in with it. I have a thing about white food. It needs colour. LOL

There is an earlier post on foil packets. It's a good thing to do when you are working late and you can fix them ahead for someone else to shove in the oven. Kids like the packets...it's like camping.




Vegetarian Noodle dish

1 can diced tomatoes, drained ( save juice for veggie stock! Or freeze in ice cube trays.
1can of tomato purée (tomato paste )
1/3 cup chopped onion
1tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Salt, pepper


2-1/2 cup UMCOOKED noodles
1/2 cup small curd cottage cheese
Spinach, cooked and squeezed dry.
1-3 cup grated cheese.


Combine first group of ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes.
Cook noodles

Layer in baking dish ( like lasagna)

Sauce
Noodles
Cottage cheese
Spinach
Tomato mixture

Repeat ending with grated cheese

bake at 350 20-25 minutes.


A good way to use up the last bits of cottage cheese. Very inexpensive. You could mix the spinach with the cottage cheese and save a step.


I started this blog to help people cook good nutritious meals on a tight budget. it came to my attention that some people on SNAP were running out of money before they ran out of month. we eat on about 1/2 of the USDA statistics for a thrifty plan. It is doable. no, we are not on SNAP. In the process, I have learned that other people that want to get out of the kitchen faster because they have busy lives and people that like trying a new recipe like it as well. It can't help anyone if they are not motivated to try. Not having food in the house at the end of the month should be motivation enough. It doesn't make your child or children feel secure when they know the cupboards are empty.

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Jane

Sunday

we finished our grocery shopping yesterday. I started out just wanting to go to the goodwill. I didn't find anything at the goodwill but two magazines. I like .50 instead of upwards of three dollars. my husband wanted the smoked Gouda that I used up making cheese Strada this week, so we went to grocery outlet and big lots.

Big lots had ice cream comes...just the cone part for 1.30. It was my mothers treat for the grandchildren. I really wanted to share the experience with my grandaughter. What a mess, but she thoroally enjoyed it, and she did eat all of her dinner.

Grocery outlet yielded tomatoes, tortilla chips, grated cheese, seasoned Mexican flavors and radishes.
We had pot roast and roasted root veggies for dinner, carrots, red potatoes and radishes. Radishes are really yummy, they loose their spicy taste!


Pudding is a good desert to add calcium into the diet. boxed puddings are expensive and I am guessing have preservatives and anti caking agents in them.


BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3T cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg

3 cups milk
3 egg yolks
2T butter
2tsp vanilla

whip cream garnish optional...or a few chopped peanuts....or some cocoanut?

In a saucepan, combine the dry ingredients. Mix.
pour in the milk and stir over medium high heat until thickened and bubbly.
Reduce heat and cook 2 minutes longer.
Remove from heat . Temper the egg yolks into the pudding.
Add the butter and vanilla to the pudding at the end. cool for 15 minutes.

Spoon onto desert dishes and cover and chill.

This could be almost no carbs of you used fake sugar. Or 1/2 and 1-2 if you aren't diabetic.


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Jane

Suddenly Saturday

We went on a shortened shopping trip since the ads weren't that great and I had a doc appointment in the morning.

Albertsons usually are the most expensive store of my four chains. This week they had enough sales to make it worth my while.

They had a choice of three different apples for .88 and you get an additional 1.00 off if you buy a bag. We like apples, it's not hard to use up a bag.

Pot roast was buy one, get one. I bought two. Well have pot roast one night and probably pulled beef sandwiches another unless we have company.

The other one I will cut up for stew.

Pasta sauce was .88, Manwich was .68. Tomatoes were .68. Cheese was 4.99-limit two , several varieties.


I for a BARTELLS flyer on the mail. They have Libby veggies .59 . And the Blue box pasta for a buck. It was 2.19 at Another store. 1.19 savings is HUGE!

having a vegetarian in the house , we use a lot of pasta and sauce. Some nights there is two meals happening and if the second one is not baby friendly, there are three.

I don't usually buy Manwich, but .68 is cheaper than making it from scratch!

you can oven roast potato wedges and have homemade fries. Take a sheet pan with sides. MI use a 1/4 sheet pan I got years ago ar Costco. Spread some olive oil on the pan. Wash the potatoes and cut them into wedges. 1/8ths of they are large. Dry them with a towel. And putnthem on your pan and drizzle olive oil on them. Toss. I usually add some parm and herbs on top. Maybe thyme, rosemary, or parsley in a pinch. one time I found rosemary parm for. .50 at the grocery outlet. it made two batches.

you can do the same thing with any root vegetable you have. Mix your veggies. Carrots, potatoes, rutabagas, parsnips, sweet potatoes, radishes. Any combo that suits your family and your main dish. Radishes take on a whole new flavor!

My easy take on pot roast is to dump it dry into a slow cooker. Cut an onion up on top (rough cut) pour a beer on top. Add broth f needed to come 3/4 of the way up the roast. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. I base the hours on when we want to eat and how early I get my act together. LOL

Serving a salad and a veggie , a starch and a meat means you will eat less meat and also fulfill the 5 -8 servings of fruits and veggies for the day. Sometimes, especially when strawberries are in season, we have strawberries for desert with a little chocolate and whip cream! The strawberries are still a little if fy yet.


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Jane

Friday

I can't believe I have written over 300 posts about food! The chew made a comment on Facebook that the average family pays nine thousand dollars a year on food. That is about a hundred dollars more a week than we spend.
A lot of people commented that they spend less and some spend more. I know that there are some cities in the US that are a lot more expensive to live than others. I certainly found out this weekend that my shopping plan would take some adjusting for the average family that lives n that town. It was a tourist town and I am expecting many people can find a way to go to the next town for provisions one or two times a month. stocking up would take on a whole new urgency. Regardless of your situation, there is something you can take away from this. The amount you use from this blog is up to you.

Veggie Primaverra

Olive oil
1/2 cup each sliced carrots, chopped celery, broccoli, bell peppers
Tomato juice, peas

1 tsp minced garlic
Basil
Salt, pepper
1.5 cups dry bow tie pasta, cooked

In oil in skillet fry carrot, celery, broccoli and peers and garlic
Add tomato juice and peas,small pepper and basil.
Cook until veggies are tender.

Toss sauce into drained bow ties. garnish with parm or Romano.

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Jane

The ads, finally

I finally got the ads, there was no holiday, so I don't know the delay.

TOP

Sirloin steak 2.99

@@denotes coupons on ads

Cheese 4.99@@
Milk 1.99@@

Shredded cheese?.watch the weight.  U want 8 ounces
Dried beans 1.25
Rice  2 lbs 1.99

Strawberries 2 lbs 5
Cucumber .79
2lbs carrots 1.00

Rotisserie chicken 6.00**
QFC

milk 2.50***

Tomatoes.99
Mango .99
Soup 1.00***
Cottage cheese 1.00


Top round roast b1G1. Nets 3.25
Pork shoulder 1.79
80 percent ground beef 2.66***

ALBERTSONS

b1G1 meat sale
Chuck roast or steak 2.75 net
Sirloin steak  3.00 net
Pork loin chops 1.50 net

15 percent beef 2.99
Thurs-Sunday. Cheese 4.99. Limit 2

Canned diced tomatoes .68 limit 6
Pasta sauce .88

SAFEWAYS

Chuck roast 2.99
Country ribs 1.99

5 dollar Fridays
50 cookies 5.00
Sub kit  5.00

Milk 2.59
20 ground beef 3. 49 lb
Sirloin tip 3.99

That's about it for ads.

Now, With calculator on hand I am going to try to break down the ground beef prices.
The calculations depict the amount you are paying for meat.  Remember  you are pouring the fat down the drain.  Better in the house pipes than yours!!!

15 percent fat, Safeways 3.49. Equals 4.02 a pound
Beef chuck roast, ALBERTSONS 2.75
20 percent fat QFC, 3.19
15 percent, TOP 3.45
15 percent ALBERTSONS  3.44

QFC  is cheapest, but ALBERTSONS is a better buy at 2.75 if you grind your own.

Notes. You need to cross off anything that is cheaper elsewhere.  note the discrepancies in prices between stores.  Soup should be .75.  Deli chicken isn't a bargain at any price.

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Jane

Wicked Wednesday

I still have an ear infection and have to open the store this morning, so this will be short.

This is inventory the fridge day. We didn't get the ads yet, so they will come out Tommorrow. Maybe,

Cheese Sandwich Cassarole.  From retro Betty Crocker
grease a bakimg dish and arrange 6 slices of bread
Cover with six slices of sharp cheese
Top with 6 more slices of bread

make a mixture of
2 eggs
2-1/2 cups milk
Salt, pepper, dry mustard

Pour over the "sandwiches", chill in fridge until bread is softened from the egg mixture.

Bake at  350 for an hour.

Serve with a creamed vegetable.

Serves six.

A good way to use up the free bread from the bakery outlet and add another vegetarian meal to your list.  ,  I would temper it with a low fat dinner the next day.  It's all about variety and balanced
moderation.

We tried this tonight.  I put it in the refer for 3 house.  It would have been better if I had covered it with plastic wrap and put it in longer.  I would have turned them over the last ten minutes of cooking and sprinkled them with a little grated cheese.

Not terrible we ate most of a 9X13 pan..three adults.  The baby wasn't impressed! LOL

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Jane

Terrific Tuesday

We have spent the last two days at the beach.  It is spring break, but still off season.  That's  probably why we got such cheap coupons for lodging. LOL.  We have a very nice room with a view, wifi, and a short walk to the beach complete with a little kitchen bar.  I always throw some things in a insulated bag before we go on long trip.  things like cheese, crackers, fruit, some chocolate!  A couple of drinks.  it is really a good thing I did that this time.

.There is one  independent chain grocery store in the town.  They have nothing.  I thought I could at least get a family circle or something to read.  hey had one bottle of non sugar flavored water.  The vegetables looked ready for the dumpster.  I can see where 1/2 price shopping trips would have to be altered to going maybe twice a month to the next town twenty miles away.  Or you would have to carpool with a neighbor and take turns.

There was one reasonable??? Priced place to eat after six o'clock.  It was a fish and chips place.  It cost 40.oo for fish and and chips and I had ice tea and my husband had 1 beer,  it was our anniversary, so we splurged.  I had brought 1/2 a bagel from the free breakfast the night before and we had fruit, ( I can't have a whole bagel on a diabetic diet). breakfast.  we found Subway a few miles into the next small town and got subway for dinner.  Altogether, we spent 68.00 for three days plus some of the food we brought along.

We did stop I'm the next town.  they had the biggest dollar store I have ever seen.  I found a cd crate that I have been using to store CD cases for the business I needed a different colour.  We found cookies and paper towels.  My husband got salami and pepperoni.

That's about all from the road.

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Jane

Warning. Warning warning

I just tried to log on to the non consumer advocate.  It  redirects you to a ugly website that is in Chinese.  It may harm your computer.

Four plus one is five

Four people, one meal, five bucks.

I base my 1/2 price meals on an a typical family of two parents and two school aged kids. I had a budget of fifty dollars a week in the mid nineties when our children were teenagers.  I still maintained a stock.

From what I can gather the typical SNAP allowanceis three hundred a month. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you spend ten dollars a day on dinner, there either is no money left over for breakfast and lunch or you are going to run out of money before you run out of month.  LOL

My goal for this post is to list  20 - 5 dollar dinners.   Assume that if there is  only an entrée listed, you are going to add an appropriate  veggie or a salad and  a starch if needed.  I usually serve a salad and a veggie and a starch with a meat based dinner.

1) tacos with taco meat, lettuce, tomato and cheese. Refried beans salsa and sour cream
2) Spaghetti with meatballs, green salad, hard crusty bread
3) no brainer pasta , French bread, salad
4) Beef, bean and rice burritos
5) sloppy joes, salad or veggie sticks and French fries
6) roast chicken, oven roasted root veggies, salad
7) BBQ chicken legs and thighs, mashed potatoes, green beans
8) chicken pot pie
9) chicken club sandwiches
10) chicken soup
11) pulled pork sandwiches
12) sausage bean soup
13) sausage, eggs, hash browns ,fruit
14) sausage, peppers, red potatoes
15) Pork Loin Roast
16) tomato  basil soup, cheese quesadas.
17) pizza
18) Mac and cheese
19) split pea soup
20) spaghetti with mushrooms, spinach and parm

21) BBq pork sandwiches
22) pork stew

I was reading the family circle magazine.
If you go to  Facebook.com/familycirclemag and push like,there is a free download for twenty minute meal ideas.  remember, if there is an ingredient that makes the recipe too expensive, try to substitute it for something of like flavor and texture.



This is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure you can think of more.


Thanks for stopping by

Please share,

Jane

Happy Easter, technical difficulties no end

 Happy Easter!!  It is a beautiful day and for once in a long time, the kids can hunt eggs without getting wet!  It's a good time to set the table with Granny's china and crystal and a whole set of implements.  When I was wandering through the goodwill (waiting for my husband to get a haircut next door). I happened on to a display of an Easter table setting.  I couldn't help myself, I had to fix it. Whoever set it up didn't know how to set a table.  I hope those formalities of life don't get lost in our hectic fast paced casual world.

Setting the table special sometimes and adding a splurge ingredient makes groceries on the cheap more doable.  My mother economized a lot, but we never knew it,  We always ate good for the times.
The culture of food has become more global and a lot more healthy since the 50 s in some ways.  We didn't  have the junk food that kids are being bombarded with, but we also didn't have the access to all the fresh food and vegetables that we get today.  All I remember is bananas and green peppers.  When my aunt lived with us we got grapefruit  and oranges.  I still have the scar to prove it....at 9 I wasn't to good with the knife...the grapefruit won! LOL. We had Melmack , pink and turquoise, and aluminum glasses.  my kids informed me that Alf came from Melmack.  LOL

One of our favorites is blue cheese.  I take a box of roasted red pepper and tomato soup and add basil, milk or cream and blue cheese.  I only get the soup when Costco has it.  At Costco it is about two dollars a box.  At the grocery store it is upwards of four dollars.  I make Mac and cheese using whatever is in small supply in the cheese drawer.  I grate all the bits and pieces and mix them together and add some blue cheese.  I make a topping of breadcrumbs, parm, and parsley.  I use the word parm loosely, it's usually parm, Romano, or whatever the hard cheese I get at Costco for 12.00 a wedge.  The wedge lasts a long time.  I use a microplane to grate it.  A little goes a  long way.  Never buy parm in a box!

You don't need every gadget they make in your kitchen.  but there are a few that really make life easier and are budget friendly...that is, they pay for themselves in a short period of time.

The microwave pasta cooker passive cooks pasta , no watched or stired pot, and drains it in the same pot.

A microplane stretches cheese a long way and hides onions from an non onion eater! LOL

A food processor. Grates cheese, makes pizza dough, makes breadcrumbs...hacento you priced the bread crumbs in a box?  Not to mention they are free if you use the bread that would otherwise go to waste.  Makes short work of chopping veggies or making olive spread.  All,cheaper than buying it already prepped.

Remember, if you spend more time on the front end of the get the  meals on the table train and less
time on the back end, you will be better off.  You get paid for shopping, not for cooking.

 If you are on snap, Save up, look at garage and estate sales and the goodwill, let it be known to family and friends that you want a particular item.  You never know.  I have found blenders, and mixer parts free before.  I found a free food processor too, but it didn't have any safety features on it.  that could be penny wise and pound foolish.  Buying used or free has to be tempered with  a large dose of common sense.  I wouldn't buy a mattress used or get one from someone that wasn't a family member.  YUK.  it, most of our wood furniture is second hand either from antique stores or hand me downs.  My grandaughter has a table and chair set from old kindergarten chairs and a table I got at the goodwill for five bucks.
I digress.  This is about food ! LOL

I can't say enough about the virtues of a slow cooker.  there is something remarkable about a appliance that costs 25 bucks and with a couple minutes of work in the morning, you can have the
smell of a home cooked meal waiting for you when you walk in the door.

Next time my other catch phrase. 4+1=5 !

Thanks for stopping by

Please share. It really makes my day to get comments

Jane



Thanks formsto


,

Leftovers and Garbage

I thought that I would talk about leftovers and garbage.  I try really hard not to throw a lot away.  Some garbage is inevitable.  Leftovers can be kept to a minimum by batch cooking meat and portion controlling.  Leftover  dinner usually becomes lunch the next day if there is any.  There are insulated lunch boxes and bowls that are thermal so they keep food hot a long time.At the cost of lunch out,the  cost is more than justified.

Keeping ahead of stock and rotating cans is a little harder.  Most cans have a three to four year shelf life.  Some dry goods are less.  I have a beer box that has been fortified with duct tape for instant mashed potatoes.  I try to put new stock in the back of the box.  Some can goods are not clearly labeled. My mother used to use a grease pencil to label the date she purchased them on top of the can.

There are bags and boxes that are green and keep vegetables fresh longer.  They too are worth the investment.

Chopping more of what you are chopping for a recipe and freezing the rest in a zip lock in the door of the freezer...is a good way to get a head start on soups and pizza.  ...if your freezer is like mine putting it on a shelf would make it lost forever.  He he .

Vegetable scraps can become vegetable broth.  Chicken bones, chicken soup.  Bananas -- banana bread.  Fruit on the edge can become a smoothie.  It take too much fruit to have smoothies very often on a more  than frugal budget.  Cottage cheese can be in lasagna or stuffed shells.  Milk can be pudding or potato soup.  Baked potato soup is really yummy.  Spinach makes pesto. Top a chicken pizza, fill a flank steak with spinach, cheese and roasted red peppers.  ( thanks. Jan) That's about it.

Thanks for stopping by

Please share.  Comments just make my day.

Jane

Friday Frenzie No. 2

As promised I went to Thriftway at Ballinger.  They advertised eggs for .69 if you  purchased 20 worth of food.  It was very hard to buy twenty dollars worth of food and stay with my target prices.  I found coleslaw for a buck and green beans for 1.69.  They were picking the produce when I was there, something I don't see often at some stores.  I wound up splurging on really good cheese for my husband and some jalapeño bread for myself.  The bread wasn't as good as the bread I get at
TOP's , but TOP doesn't always have it.  And, they didn't give me my eggs for .69.  I had to go back.

The eighty eight cent TV dinners  were 1.19.  Butter was 3.39.  the .78 pasta sauce is 1.49.  The tomatoes I have been finding for .48 were 1.69.  Pasta instead of a 1.00 is 2.19 ( I think that's the change I wrote..over two dollars.  
Needless to day, I don't think I'll be making that trip again.

I did go to the dollar store after that for superglue to fix my shoes.  They didn't have superglue, go figure, but I picked up more French fries.  The quality is fine and a lot less than the sale price of French fries and less than scratch.  They have Ore Ida too.

That's about it.

thanks for stopping by

Please share and comment

Jane

Friday frenzie

I happened on to a new blog.    The "nonconsumeradvocate.com. .  She was talking about living for a specific period of time on what food stamps would be and and donating the savings to the food bank.  

And she goes on about her adventures at the goodwill.  She really has a  sense of humor!  I am not totally of her belief system, but I can  relate to a  lot of it.

  I really don't  want to pay a lot for consumables.  I would rather spend money on something with lasting value.  Especially if it will save me more money.  buying a good set of pans means you never have to buy those again.  Buying some labor and time saving appliances means your quality of life is enhanced.  A good slow cooker will outlast several cheap ones.  money and the environment saved.  we do more than our fair share of goodwill, consignment store and antique store shopping.  lots of times, buying old is the same  price or less and a whole lot better quality.   Real china  far less likely to chip than ironstone or  earthenware.  Now, if you flat  out drop  any dish, even plastic and Corelli, it will break. LOL

And Corelle  will shatter in a zillion pieces...ask me how I know LOL.   I am not, however, willing to use broken pans, or unplug my watch every night to save my dollar store watch battery.  LOL.    most of us could do with a lot less than  we have.  I have been slowly decluttering our house and buying a whole lot less non consumables.  I'm trying to buy only what we really need.  

I purchased a new pair of bedroom curtains at the goodwill.  They we're still in the original box.  they go well with my decor and they were five bucks.  I just had to shop at the goodwill because my husband was getting a haircut next door!  

Now that I have completely gotten off the food subject, I digress.  

I found a "new" store , or rather it found me,  They have. Started putting ads in the small local paper.  

last week, they had no real bargains.  This week they have eggs for 69 if you buy twenty dollars worth of food.  their produce seems cheaper than a lot of other stores and their ice cream  is cheaper I think.    Also, there is a rumor that IGA is going in where Petosas used to be.  I sure hope  so, there are a lot of old folks downtown that relied on Petosas for their food.  

Thanks for stopping by

Please share and comment

Jane

I will post Tommorrow  if we shop.  

The meals from the ads

For  anyone new, I usually do meals from the ads. I make my own meal plans after I shop.  Usually I have enough to make a few dinners before I shop.  heck, at this point in time, we could go for several weeks without shopping....no real milk and fresh veggies, but we could survive.  I plan it that way.  I still spend less than the amount we would get for food stamps...like about half.  I make meal palms after shopping, because I have been shopping too many times when either the specials weren't there, they weren't fit to eat, or something was on sale cheaper or better.

Our  formula for variety is
2 beef
2 pork or chicken
2 vegetarian
1 shellfish or fish

Your formula may be different.

I 'll try to go through my thought process.  First, I'm looking at the fridge and dumping anything that might have gotten away from me and making a mental note of what needs to be eaten soon.

I have cottage cheese, some fresh berries, some hard rolls, grapes, carrots and celery and assorted peppers.

Ham is a buck a pound all over.  Pork loin is 1.99.  I'll go with ham.
I have pork loin in the freezer.
Ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans ,salad
Ham quiche , mixed berries


Spaghetti and meatballs **meat from last week , salad, hard rolls (garlic bread)
Meat pizza...ham, hamburger crumbles. Peppers etc, salad

vegetable bean soup
Mac and cheese, glazed carrots

Alaska cod baked with herbs, baked potatoes, green salad --Safeways 5 buck Friday.
notes, by buying in bulk last week when 7 percent ground beef was 2.75 a pound, you saved 1-25 q pound.  By making meatballs last week, you save a good twenty minutes off your dinner time cooking.  The meatballs can be heating in a can of sauce while you make a salad and bread and cook the noodles.  I use a pasta cooker in the microwave, it's soo easy.
Vegetable bean soup is just sausage and bean soup without the sausage done in the crockpot.
That's about it.  None of it is too time consuming.


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Please share and comment

Jane

The ads

here are the ads ..mostly Easter entertaining.  

Note pork loin and cheese prices.  

QFC

Ham .99
Strawberries 2/4
Tillamock cheese 5.00***
Radishes .69
Pineapple 2.50

buy 5 save 5

Bread,     ice cream,     nabisco crackers,     morning star "meat"
  1.99.       2.69.              1.79.                            2.99

TOP

ham .97
Eggs 2/3 @@@
Butter 1.77@@@
Strawberries 2 lbs 2.99@@@
Crackers 1.88 ***@@@

Ice cream 2.50@@@@

Pineapple 2.49, blackberries 1.99, blues 2.99. Raspberries 3.99
7 percent ground beef 3.99

Notes.  @@@@ means coupon
**** means watch the prices. Information only!







SAFEWAYS

Ham .99
Pork loin 1.99
Apples .99
Strawberries B1G1

Five dollar Fridays

Shredded cheese 2/5. Watch the weight you want 8 ounce bags
Bumble bee tuna 5/5
Alaskan cod
8 pounds oranges




ALBERTSOMS

Butter 1.88
Pie 2.99
Ham .99
Potatoes 8 lbs 1.28
Strawberries 4 lbs 7,96

Crackers 1.99
Ice cream 3.00
Black berries

Terrific Tuesday

Ok, I have a mental block. baby Dear is helping me while her mom is doing her lesson plans,,,not like we wait till the last minute!! on her defense the last kids mom came at 7 o'clock last night. It made for a long day.

Feeding your family on a 1/2 price budget can be a challenge. the rewards are many.

1) there is a smug satisfaction that you have beat the stats.
2) there is a sense of security that you always have food in the house.
3) no child should live with the insecurity of not having food in the house to eat.
4) teaching a child that one doesn't have to eat pudding cups, chips and junk food is a good thing.
You are also teaching your children how to shop wisely and not waste money.

5) If you are lucky enough to have the money you save, you can put that money into something else ..pay down the mortgage, the kids education fund, a much needed vacation. The first time I went to Disneyland was when I was 21 years old. LOL. I survived childhood without it, but it would have been a fun memory. We learned to work. It was a good lesson that has carried me through a lot of hard times.

I am always watching for easy crockpot recipes. I found a new book at the TJ Maxx. A good basic slow cooker cookbook is a good friend in the kitchen. I get some business supplies there because they are fractions of the cost of buying them elsewhere.

My mantra of "spend more time on the front of the Get the meals on the table train and less time on the back" holds true here. A few well spent minutes in the morning saves a lot of headache at night if you have hungry kids when you get home or have to help kids with homework after school.
Remember, you get "paid" for shopping, not for cooking.

My other catch phrase is 4+1=5. Four people, one meal, five bucks. To maintain a 1/2 price budget, you need to average 5.00 a dinner. Some meals can be cheaper, to afford some that are more expensive. We want variety and somewhat healthy--avoiding a lot of salt and fat and incorporating whole grains and fruits and vegetables.



Hearty soups and stews are a great mainstay for the economy budget.Kids need to learn that food doesn't come out of a can or box. My daughter used to teach at a school that was mainly low income students, She sat done to eat her lunch of leftover Mac and cheese. the kids wanted to know if that was ( the name of a box mix) When she said it was scratch, her mom made it they couldn't believe it. It takes no more time to make Mac and cheese from scratch than it does from a box. I love recipes that you can put together and shove in the oven and go on to multitask. the chew calls it passive cooking. Whatever you call it, it's efficient.

If I am going to spend time in the kitchen, I want to be saving money by making my own taco seasoning, breadcrumbs or grinding my own hamburger. When good hamburger is upwards of four dollars a pound, I buy a cheaper cut of roast or steak and grind my own. I can control the fat. Batch or marathon cooking saves a lot of time and puts the cooking chore at a more peaceful time than the hectic " I just got home the mail is waiting to be sorted, the kids are cranky and hungry and you want what? Time.

Precooking means-- I can have

roast beef a jus sandwiches and a salad in 15 minutes flat
BBQ pork sandwiches and coleslaw in 15 minutes or less
tacos and refried beans in 10 minutes

Crockpot meals are less than 15 minutes, I usually cook a brown and serve baguette
Or bread stick. I brush the bread sticks with a little butter and sprinkle them with a little Romano or other finely grated cheese. just a pinch.

Pizza is another when I get crusts for a buck at grocery outlet for two.
I keep toppings chopped and ready to go as I chop something for another dish. We have pepperoni from the dollar store, red and yellow peppers, chicken pieces, black olives, onion, ham cubes, hamburger and sausage crumbles in the freezer. Any number of combinations.

Thanks for stopping by.
please share and comment..what do you put on your pizzas?

Jane

Post note

I always hit the alternative stores when I have to go by them to get to somewhere else. My cutting machine quit cutting some things, After ten years, it just won't cut the edges. I went for a new one, since rollers are not fixable.

Big lots had cooking sauces for fifty cents. The four cheese caught my eye. Thinking that when the baby can't eat what we are eating, she can have a quick Mac and cheese.

Thanks for stopping by

please share and comment

Jane

The rest of the story

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/FoodPlans/2013/CostofFoodFeb2013.pdf


The above web address is for the USDA stats on food plans: Cost of food at home. It is the latest I can find. Note the bottom notes for the bottom line on your size of family. This is what they base food stamps on.

I have been averaging 56 percent of the thrifty plan and that is building a stock. The actual food eaten would be less. I would have an educated guess of 50 percent.

Some other notes. One of the tricks that was brought to my attention, was that when you buy produce in bags. Weigh a few bags. It is hard for them to get exactly measurement of a produce item in a bag. Often times, there are as much as 25 percent more in a bag.

My benchmark for diner is five bucks. 4+1+5. Four people, 1 meal, 5 bucks. This is an average. Some meals cost more, some cost less. By averaging, you can have some more fancy meals and not feel deprived. To do this, you need to try for as close to 2.00 a meal for meat. That pays for a pound of pork loin, almost a pound of hamburger, Sausage, chicken roasted at home. quiche with cheese, pizza with cheese and pepperoni from the dollar store. tuna cassarole, many soups.
I am sure there are more.

If a meal is low on protein, make a pudding or creme brulee for desert to boost the protein intake.

Planning your grocery trips to coinside with other errands keeps the gas bill down. We try to group stores in a tight circle to minimize gas , even though we get 50 miles per gallon on the highway in our car.

Retailers have tricks to entice you to buy more stuff. Read a previous post for more info.

Rock Bottoms:
This is for the Seattle area, and for the things that my family eats a lot of; your family dynamics may be different.

Diced tomatoes .48 is the lowest, Usually .67 cents is more realistic. I usually can get them for .67 when TOP has a sale. Sometimes, when Big Lots is having their 20 percent sale, I can get .48. Many times the .48 is with seasoning...an added bonus, just be sure the seasoning is what your family will eat. We like spicy; not everytone does. They also have mexican spices and italian.

Beans are also .67 when they are on a good sale at TOP.

Pasta sauce is .79 or so at Winco. I got it for .80 at Albertsons. I use Hunts in a can. They peel their tomatoes with steam, not chemicals. I have got it as low as .50.

Pasta is always .88 to a buck somewhere. I try to buy the good name brands, but sometimes get the store brand if it is cheap enough. Safeways had .75 a few weeks ago. Watch you package sizes, some are 12 ounces.

Refried beans ate anywhere from .50 to .78 on sale.

I want taco shells for under a buck. Ditto green chilies.

Sausage is running 7 bucks for three pounds at costco.

I want to pay 2.50 a pound for cheese or less. Grated cheese is less at business costco. Some at regular costco. Brick is harder to find. If you make sandwiches that are heated, you can use the grated kind and skip the bricks.

I want to pay a buck or under for black olives I got them for .88 at Winco.

Green beans are .33 at Winco. They are a smaller cut than some of the others. I buy fresh when they are in season and are less costly.

I want to pay a buck a pound for frozen mixed veggies.

I get high fiber bread for two bucks a loaf. The brown and serve bagettes are less than a buck at costco. Sometimes I find them at the bakery outlet.

I want to pay .75 or less for soups. I get tomato, cream of mushroom, and chicken noodle.

I want to pay 2.00 or so for the tomato, roasted red pepper soup in a box. It sometimes is about that price at costco when they have it.

Coffee is less than 7 bucks at Grocery Outlet. IT is NOT designer coffee. My husband doesn't like designer coffee.

Grocery Outlet has a wide variety of cheese , some at cheaper prices.

Multi coloured peppers are four bucks almost always at Grocery Outlet.

Catsup is always a buck at the dollar store, ditto mustard.

Salami and pepperoni are a buck at the dollar store. The same package is 3.50 at the regular stores.

Big lots has veggie chips for two dollars....less when they run their twenty per cent sales.

I get chicken for .88 sometimes at QFC. I want to pay a buck a pound or less.

I buy packets of instant mashed potatoes. They come in a variety of flavours. I get them for .80 on sale often. Winco is a good bet some of the time.

Hamburger buns are usually cheaper at winco than even the bakery outlet.

I buy some Nallys chili. I want less than a buck a can. Sometimes I get it for .50.

Tea is usually cheapest at Big Lots.

Green chilies are cheapest at Winco. .69

There is probably more, but its three in the morning and I can't remember any more.

I buy any non perishables when they are cheap. I don't buy them again until I find them cheap. If I underetimate the amounts, we use something else until I fnd a sale. Usually, I dont run out. I start looking when the shelf starts to look depleated.

I can average half price or less on most items. Tomates are 1.59 at the regular store. If I pay .48 I have saved over a buck a can. I use two cans in a soup.
I also use two cans of beans in a soup. Sausage bean soup is on an earlier post.

Please feel free to comment in the comment section as to what is on your target list. IF I can tell you where it is cheaper, I will.

Every store has loss leaders to bring you in the store. The trick is to buy the specials and whatever you have to have that never goes on sale, and get out.

Shopping wisely and keeping adhead of the fridge so things dont go bad are the keys to eating on the cheap.

If you save 75 dollars a week, thats about four THOUSAND dollars a year. What can You do with four thousand dollars. Now, I can remember when saving to buy something else was not an option. Saving meant the difference of whether I made it through the month and paid all the bills or not.


thanks for stopping by

PLEASE share

Jane

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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