Tuesday

It's Tuesday. I thought I would talk about comfort foods. Winter is upon us. they are calling for snow in the convergence zone!

SOUR CREAM ENCHILADAS

1-1/2 pounds chicken breasts

2 cans cream soup

1cup sour cream

1-1/2 tsp onion, chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

2 cans chopped green chiles

1/2 cup vegetable oil

12 tortillas

2 cups grated cheese

Serves 6

preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9X13 pan.
Cook the chicken and cut into bite sized pieces

In a large pot, mix together soup, sour cream, onion, garlic and chilis. Simmer 5 minutes.

In a skillet, heat oil. Soften tortillas on oil avout 2 minutes.

Top each tortilla with chicken, and 2 T of sauce. Roll up.

Arrange rolled tortillas in pan. Pour remaining sauce over tortillas.

Top with cheese and baked covered for 20 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.

From Comfort Foods Cookbook.

note. As is, this would be a time consuming and expensive recipe. The secret to low cost cooking, is to adjust accordingly. this recipe feeds six. I would 1/2 it and serve a salad along with it or some rice For four people.

You can use a can of green chill is or pickled peppers that have been rinsed.

The chicken is probably already cubed and in your freezer.

Chicken Breast was a dollar a pound at Albertsons last week. Tortillas I got for a buck.
Cream of mushroom soup is .75 often or you could make a white sauce and use pRt of the sour cream for the milk.

With some substitutions, this can become a low cost dish. Remember, if you replace an expensive ingredient, use something that takes the same space and substitute the same flavors.


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Jane

Monday Madness

And we start the madness all over again. I don't think that I have ever talked about leftovers. When I was in junior high home ec class, the teacher insisted we call them planned overs. LOL. Leftovers are an easy way to give the cook a night off or take advantage of cooking a larger batch of something and have the leftovers for lunch the next day. Last night we had roast chicken breast, mixed veggies, baked potatoes and fruit salad. Today I am making a chicken waldorf salad.

Taco meat can become nachos or a taco casserole or the meat in no brainer pasta. The recipe for no brainer pasta is on an earlier post-- a good cheaper, better, faster alternative to hamburger meal boxes-- more food, less money.

Pot roast can become pulled beef sandwiches.

Pasta sauce is 1.00 this week (ends tuesday) at Albertsons. Pasta was .93 at Safeways just 4 U. If You haven't signed up for it, it is well worth your while. Usually there is a electronic coupon for 3 dollars off 15 dollars off produce--that's twenty percent if you watch your totals.

If a large package is cheaper, take advantage if the cheaper price and freeze some of it, make a concentrated effort to use it up...blueberries can be in banana bread, waffles, pancakes, on top of cereal or use the "green" boxes so they last longer. organize your fridge so that things don't get shoved to the back and forgotten.

A good trick for this is the mid week inventory. Take a quick minute and make a mental note of what's in the fridge and what you can so with it. I usually do that when I am
Putting away the leftovers so that I can think about what to do with them while I am doing the mindless task of the dishes.

I am out of ideas and time...

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Jane

Sweet Sunday

good Mornimg! While researching some non-related subject, I found a video on UTUBE.
it was for a speedy pie. you make a pie, use cooked filling, and "bake" it in the microwave until the crust is done, then bake it at 425 for 8-10 minutes until the pie is golden brown. I haven't tried it yet, Dont know if it is a real time saver or not. She used canned pie filling. Canned pie filling is usually a lot of juice and cornstarch, and a little real fruit!

Brownies are quick and easy. We usually don't frost them. When cooking for a group, chocolate decadence is Devine and it's easy--cooks itself in the crock pot. I found low carb ice cream on sale at Albertsons. You have to look through the flavors to find the ones that are lowest. What's in the product description isn't always a clue. low carb on the label is decieving. My mother used to say she wanted to EAT it, not just smell it! LOL

Yesterday, my husband brought me my grand baby. She had been shopping with her mother, and her mother was unpackimg her car. I asked her what she had on her face, what had her mother been feeding her. I swear she said" canny". now, she only BABBLES and doesn't know what candy is, but it was really funny at the time. she had been given a goldfish cracker.

Yesterday I made banana bread with blueberries. It is a bisquick recipe and has oatmeal in it. Bananas are cheapest at Costco and are pretty steady in price. I make banana bread when they stRt to have black spots. I hear that they are better for you then, something about reducing cancer risk. my family won't touch them then, so I make banana bread. It works and it is quick and easy! LOL

We don't always have desert. We always have fruit in the house.

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Jane

Meals from the ads

We did a grocery shopping trip yesterday. I don't usually go to Albertsons because it is hard to get in and put of and they usually don't have enough good buys to warrant the trip.

In did go this week. The buys were better than usual and a lot more of them. Besides, I needed an embossing folder from Hobby Lobby. LOL

To recap the ads...

Apples were .88 a pound and if you bought the bag, there was a buck more off. They had a large variety of hunts pasta sauce and it was a buck. Pasta was .93 on justn4 u at Safeways. And, shrimp was 5 bucks.

On another note, I happened to open two cans of diced tomatoes to make vegetable soup.
One was hagan brand, one was hunts. Both were good. The Hagan brand had less chunks than the hunts one did. Hunts steam the peels,other companies use chemicals to peel their tomatoes.

Chicken was a dollar a pound for nw grown breasts.

I found tortillas for a buck and ice-cream for three dollars that had 17 grams of carbs.

Roast was cheaper than the good hamburger. We will grind our own.

On to the meal plans...


My formula is 2 beef, 2 chicken or pork, 2 vegetarian, and a fish.
I suspect that this will change when the drought prices truly kick in. We will have to adjust accordingly.


1) spaghetti with meatballs, green salad, French bread
2) tacos, refried beans, rice

3) Chicken Breast, baked potato, green beans, salad
4) pork chops, red cabbage, apple sauce

5) Breakfast for Dinner. Scrambled eggs, hash browns, oranges and grapes
6) Mac and cheese, broccoli

7) shrimp stir fry, rice

I would plan the shrimp and the tacos back to back so I made one rice cooker of rice.
Taco seasoning is on a previous post.


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Please share. With a lot of us taking a two percent cut in pay and the prices of groceries going up weekly more of us, unfortunately, might need it.

Jane

The ads --just in time

The ads

BARTELLS

Chili .99
Pasta .99


TOP

Oranges .53
Apples 1.00

QFC

Broccoli .99
Roma tomatoes . 99
Yoplait .50
Franz bread B1G1
Chuck roast B1G1. Net 3.50
Pork Loin Chops nets 2.49

Cukes . 69
Chicken 1.00

SAFEWAYS

sirloin steak 2.99
Pork loin 1.79
Blueberries 4.99 for 2
Milk 2.59

5 dollar Friday
Shrimp
Boston cream cake
8 pounds oranges


ALBERTSONS

Chicken breast or thighs .99
Bottom round 2.99
Broccoli . 88
Apples .88
Oranges 4/ 1.69
Bread 1.00
7 percent hamburger 3.99

Ice cream 3.00

Hunts pasta sauce 1.00

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Jane

No ads yet

Again, because of the holiday, we have no ads.

Safeways just for u , came in the e mail. They have a few things, but not as good of a buy as before. The three dollars off 15 dollars worth of veggies is still there.
It's not hard to amass fifteen dollars worth of fruit and veggies.
Five dollars off 20.00 of Ranchers reserve meat.

Last night we had sausage bean soup. I was watching the chew, and apparently, bacon is going to take a big leap next year. I suspect alL pork will and we will have to adjust. Kind a like a two percent payroll tax hike. The good news is they left the milk prices alone. LOL

SOUR CREAM AND BEEF TURNOVERS

2 cups flour
1 T sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening ( substitute )
1 cup sour cream
1egg yolk

Filling

3/4 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp EACH salt, oregano
Pepper
1egg
2tsp water

Make dough

Combine fry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Add wet ingredients. Form ball.
Cover and refridgerate two hours.

Filling :

Cook meat and onion and mushrooms until meat is no linger pink and veggies are tender.
Take offnheatnand add sour cream and spices.

On a board, roll dough until 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a three inch cutter. Placena rounded teaspoon on each round. Fold over and pinch edges with a fork. Prick turnovers.

Bake on greased baking sheet. Top turnovers with an egg wash. Bake 450 12-14 minutes.


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Jane

Peanut butter and jelly beans

I decided I would start off the new year with nonsense....The nonsense of children not eating a variety of real food. There are a lot of kids that have a problem with eating real food. It makes budget cooking a challenge. It is also disconcerting to take a child out to someome else's house for dinner and have them fuss over their plate all through dinner.

My mother used to board children during the second world war. The children's mothers had husbands in the military overseas, and they were nurses at Harborview and stayed at the hospital. The doctor that cared for the children told my mother not to make a big deal of children being picky eaters. He said to put a balanced plate of food in front of the child, leave it there for twenty minutes and take it away. Dont give the child any snack foods and repeat the process at the next meal time. Kids will regulate their diet if left to do so without the benefit? Of garbage food.

On another note...

Inspiration for recipes can come from anywhere. There is a recipe on the fall candle that I got for my birthday! Keep your eyes open. When you don't like the sounds of an ingredient or ingredient is pricy, substitute.

Pasta Primavera

12 ounces rotini pasta, cooked and drained
1cup chopped and seeded tomato
2/3 cup chopped onion
10 ounces peas
1-1/2cups cheese cubes, assorted varieties
3 T Parmesan
1/2 cup Italian vinaigrette
Parsley, basil, salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients and serve immediately or at room temperature.
Store leftovers in fridge.



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Jane

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I have actually got the day off. Yesterday we took care of the grand baby and went down to Tulwilla to deliver cards for the troops.
I am going to make sausage and bean soup. Not exactly what some people make for good luck. But it sounds good to me and its easy and cheap.

The recipe is on an older post.

Creamy Carrot Soup (Taste of Home)

3/4 cup chopped onion
3T butter, divided

3 cups chopped carrots
3 cups chicken broth
2 T uncooked long grained rice

1/2 cup cream
1 to 2 T tomato paste
Salt and pepper

1) In a large saucepan, sauté onion in butter.
2) Add the carrots, broth, and rice. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
Or until the carrots and rice are tender. Cool slightly.
3) Process carrot mixture in blender in batches until smooth.
4) return to pan and add remaining ingredients. Stir. Heat until soup is warmed through.

Note. I would garnish with bacon and have toasted cheese sandwiches with it.
If I didn't have cream, I would use just a little less milk to maintain the consistency. A good vegetarian meal without the garnish. Sour cream? Croutons?
Grated carrots? Popcorn?

In remember in junior high home ec, putting popcorn on tomato soup.

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Jane

The rest of the story...

Now, the rest the story.

One thing that I forgot when I was writing yesterday is like in almost any undertaking, you need a plan. Make meal plans after you get home from shopping.

If you have to answer the what's for dinner ? question after a long hard day, it's to easy to say pizza delivery if you don't have plan. It doesn't have to be entailed,just a list of seven main dishes. You don't even have to stick to the plan, just have a plan.

We were going to have salmon for dinner this week. But, I ran out of stock and two trips to Safeways yielded zero salmon.


The other point that I didn't make was that you need to take a mental note of anything in the fridge that is gone, or is old, but not dead and use it up on your plans soon.
If it is to far gone, give it a decent burial. We call this dump everything dead!

If you check mid week and incorporate anything on the edge into your meals or do something with it, this should be at a minimum. bread crumbs, croutons, banana bread, soup stock? Some things should be frozen up front when you buy on bulk.

Another thing worth mentioning again is Almost free pizza. My co worker's first reaction to this was, who's giving away free pizza? LOL No such luck, the operative word is ALMOST ! You keep two zip lock bags in your freezer door and every time you are chopping something that goes on a pizza you set aside a bit for the bag. The same goes for meat...hamburger crumbles, chicken, sausage. In would probably keep them in separate bags. You can reuse the bags if you want to.

When you have enough for a pizza, you make crust (easy food processor crust ist on previous blog). Sauce can be slightly watered down tomato paste with garlic and Italian herbs or some pasta sauce you have held back from another day with added herbs to taste.

I priced the cheese at Costco yesterday. It was all really expensive compared to previous trips. It has been on sale for 5.00 a brick lately. I have even got shredded for 5.00. I haven't checked the business Costco lately. WinCo used to have big bags cheap. We haven't been there for a while, at the rate thing are going it's hard to predict.

When aren't stable, it takes some true diligence. it's not too arduous task if you just commit to your key staples. The things that you buy one or two of a year,don't really impact you that much.

MY LIST AND THE PRICES I WANT TO PAY

Pasta .88 - 1.00 16 oz...pasta has an 8 YEAR shelf life
Canned diced tomatoes .50-.67
Canned beans .67
Re fried beans .78
Pasta sauce (hunts) .75-1.00
Instant mashed potatoes. .50-1.00
tuna 1.00 or less...be careful meat and fish have a shorter shelf life.
Cheese 2.50 a poumd....not that long ago it was 2.00

I keep some CAMPBELLS soup. I want to pay .75 or less.
If I don't find it on sale, I don't buy it.

We like tomato roasted red pepper soup. When Costco has it, it's about 2.00 a box. it is up to 4.00 or more a box at other stores. Only get it Costco. We add fresh basil, some milk and some blue cheese and some chunks of tomato...YUM.

Guess that all the time I have for today. Work is callimg me...

Thanks for stopping by

Please share. I know that there are unemployed, underemployed and people that have had to resort to food stamps. Our economy is not out of the woods yet. My hope is to reach some of these people and help them.

Some people enjoy a new or old recipe, some the time saving tips, some laugh at my bad keyboard skills..not used to two finger typing with a baby at my side "helping" and the auto spell check!LOL. Whatever your reason, I hope you can fimd something you can use in the blog.

Jane

The Nuts and Bolts of Meals on the Cheap

It's the first of the month...almost. Every first of the month I do a review of the
Basic principals of meals om the cheap. I want to pay 1/2 price for food. The USDA has stats on how much you should spend based on family size and ages. It is not adjusted for the drought prices we are experiencing.

Groceries on the Cheap takes a three- pronged approach. Planning and organizing, shopping wisely, and cooking from scratch.

Once you get yourself set up, you should spend very little more time than the average person does without the concept and be a whole lot richer! LOL

If you spend more time on the front end of the. "Get the meal on the table train " and less on the back end and you will be a lot better off. You get "paid " for shopping , not for cooking. If you spend an hour shopping and you save 75.00. Basically you are makimg 75.00 an hour. This is a concept not everyone can see.It's not a virtual concept.

PLANNING AND ORGANIZING

First, compile recipes for main dishes that use inexpensive sources of protein.
Rice and beans, chicken, pork, some beef, eggs, cheese, tuna, some fish. start with seven and expand to 14 to give yourself more variety.

Next, make a list of stock items that you use frequently. At our house that would be diced tomatoes,canned beans, instant mashed potatoes, refried beans, some corn and green beans, pasta, black olives and canned pasta sauce.

Start a small spiral notebook or a spreadsheet and track the price you paid, where you purchased it and when you purchased it.

Page Heading: Green Beans

1/2/12 QFC. 1.59
3/6/12 top. .67

Soon you will see a pattern and know the lowest price. When the price is at it's lowest, buy as many as the store will let you buy, as many as you can afford to buy, or as many as you need to replenish your stock, whichever comes first. If I use something once a week, I keep 24. If I use it once a month, I keep 6 .


SHOPPING

The main idea, is never pay full price for anything. My mother used to call it not paying top dollar.

Take advantage of what meats are the cheapest any particular week. Use the least expensive veggies that are in season. They will taste better too. Roma tomatoes have more flesh and are usually cheaper.

When the weekly ads come out, take a piece of computer paper and divide it into quarters. Mark each quarter with the name of the store. Now go through the ads and write the things that are truly on sale that you use. Forget the ready made junk food. When you are done, cross off anything that is cheaper elsewhere and anything that you have enough of. Now pick the two stores that have the best prices in the things you want. I don't bother to go to two stores if there is only one thing on the list.

Take the ads, your list, and any coupons you have come across. Get in the store, get your list, and get out. The more time you spend in the store, the more money you will spend. The stores have spent a great deal of money researching ways to get you to impulse buy.

I used to work for a grocery wholesaler. There one store that has a 42 percent markup. That is huge. Stick to the large chains. We hit Costco, winCo, Grocery Outlet, and the Bakery Outlet about every four to six weeks. I usually try to hit them when we have other errands in the area or group my stops to make the best use of our gas. I don't advocate going across town for .15 savings. I stock when I go. often I save a dollar a unit--that ads up fast.

When a roast or London broil is cheaper than hamburger, we make our own hamburger.

SCRATCH COOKING

besides going to the specialty store every other day to buy just what you need for two nights dinners, ready made foods and snack foods are the fastest way to derail your budget.

My daughter and I diasected a hamburger meal box. It is on a prior post, it is a real eye opener.

There are ways to cook from scratch almost as fast as using mixes or ready made .
The slow cooker and pressure cooker are your best friends here. Also anything that you can quickly prep and shove on the oven works well too. The microwave is a boon for some things. I really like the microwave pasta cooker. It uses one "pot" to cook drain and don't have to watch the pot. Just use a few less minutes than it calls for, it tends to overcook.

I frequently post recipes that are easy and quick.

I almost always precook my meats the day of shopping, or the next day. buying bulk meat and pre cooking and meal size portioning is a way to waste less and get a headstart on dinner prep. This is especially true of hamburger. I either buy hamburger in bulk, or make low fat myself. Then, I make taco meat,meat balls, meat loaf,and crumbles, or some of the above. I defat the taco meat and crumbles.The meat loaf is baked in a meat loaf pan so that the grease drains, and I cook meatballs in the oven on a rack lined sheet pan. The technique for defatting is in a previous post.

I roast a chicken , pretty much set it and forget it. Then separate it into leg portions, and two breasts. Make stock from the bones. That makes four meals.

Never buy a chicken less than 3 pounds. Every pound over 3 pounds is gravy. Three pounds is the break even point. you don't want to pay for too much bone to meat ratio. A precooked chicken at the deli is usually three pounds. Costco is the cheapest. You are paying 1.67 a pound for chicken. I frequently get good northwest grown chicken for under a buck. It takes about 10 minutes to prep a chicken. It motivates you to scratch cook when you do the math. A six pound chicken is about 4.00 less than two three pound ready made chickens. If it takes you ten minutes to prep a chicken, you are making 24.00 an hour for your labor and you are getting more chicken for your buck.

I take and roast off a beef or pork roast. We have a roast dinner and thinly slice and freeze the rest in meal sized portions for a roast beef a jus or BBQ sandwiches.

There are a few things that are cheaper than scratch to buy, or that are just too much bother to make from scratch. Remember, when we are spending the majority of our time on shopping, rather than cooking.

Pasta, taco shells, mayonnaise(because of health reasons), and refried beans come to mind. I buy canned beans on sale and they are about the same price as dried beans. Rinse them well to reduce the sodium. Beans have a really short fridge life. It's not worth it to cook them from scratch and taking a chance on getting sick. You can cook them in pressure cooker.

Another note, there are storage solutions that keep fruits and veggies longer. They are well worth the investment.

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Please share. I know with stores closing and unemployment there are people that this will help.

Jane
Jane

Suddenly Saturday...

Yesterday I found myself with an hour to kill in north Seattle. I need a box of Kleenex , but no dollar stores have them. I went to the grocery outlet. Coffee is always cheaper. My husband prefers regular instead of designer coffee.

They usually have red and yellow peppers for .50 and Roma tomatoes cheaper than anywhere else. They have designer chicken sausage that my husband actually likes.
Sausage, peppers and red potatoes are really good and not too bad for you when you use chicken sausage!

Some of the canned goods are more expensive than the sale prices at the chains.
I got sweet potato fries and hash brown patties. I refuse to make hash browns from scratch, because I usually have a big, glutenous mess.

They usually have a wide variety of cheeses, some less expensive, some not.

Its a treasure hunt, you never know what you may find.


On to Safeways. The salmon was gone. No surprise. I took advantage of the Friday specials that they have extended to the weekend. I got chicken wings. London broil is cheaper and better fat comtent than hamburger. We'll make our own ground beef.

Next time... The basics.


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Jane

meals from the ads

It's two in the morning. tomorrow is going to be a long day, so I decided that I would get a head start on it.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, prices are going up rapidly I suspect because of the drought. Its going to take some creative meal planning to compensate. But,like our mothers and grandmothers before us during the great depession and WWII, I suspect we will survive. One could hope that the federal government would step up to the plate and give the farmers subsidies, but with the cliff being so rocky, I am not holding my breath.

On to food....

My formula for meals is 2 beef, 2 chicken or pork, 2 vegetarian and a fish.


Safeways has salsa cheaper than you can make it. We tried a few wks ago, it wasn't bad.

Tacos, refried beans.

London Broil, roasted root veggies.

veggie fritata

mac and cheese

salmon ( on sale this weekend at Safeways)

Chicken pot pie

Pork roast , mashed potatoes, green beans and salad

Notes

chicken and pork is from last week . (frozen)
I plan to make ground beef this week out of the London broil that is on sale.
don't forget to de fat it.


Cheese is still a bargain at 2.50 a pound.

if you have been stocking, you have time to regroup and make adjustments to compensate for the higher prices.


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Jane

This weeks ads

We finally got this weeks ads today. I am hoping that the holidays are over and they go back to some real bargains. With what I have seen lately, I wouldn't be holding my breath. LOL

SAFEWAYS

Pork blade steak 1.99
London broil 2.49..bulk alert
Cheese 2/5....watch the size of the package u need 8 oz
Hormel entres B1G1..***
Lettuce 1.00
Salsa 5.00

5 dollar friday
Salmon 5.00


ALBERTSONS

Oranges .48
Lettuce .88
15 percent ground beef 2.49***
tillamook cheese 4.99
New bread mix 2/5

QFC

carrots .89
20 percent ground beef 2.66
Pork shoulder 1.49

TOP
yogurt .60
Beans .69

That's all folks. It's still a dismal week.
There is a lot of ad space taken up with holiday splurge foods. Maybe they will be better next week.

*** notes
London broil is 2.49. It is cheaper, for better quality to grind your own beef this week. The fat content will be less.

Assuming hormel entres are a net of 3.50 or so, they are good hedge on the watsnfor dinner we got home late Delima. With some instant mashed potatoes and a salad,youncan have dinner on the table in literally less time that it takes to call the pizza place!
The sirloin tips are the only flavor we have tried and liked.

There are coupons out there for a dollar off the new bread mix. It isnstill cheaper than buying bread. Can't believe 3.50 for hamburger buns. that warrants a trip to
the bakery outlet. I'm fact, the poor ads should warrant a trip to WinCo. I will be glad when we get one of our own.


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Jane

The calm after the storm

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  We had a very busy, but fun Christmas.  Christmas day was lounging around in our pajamas putting together toys ( put peg A in slot B) and watching our grandchild thorally enjoy herself.   What Fun!

I got a new keyboard for my tablet.  Haven't figured out how to use it yet, so I am using the main computer. 

Turkey noodle Soup 

4 quarts Poultry Stock
1 large onion, chopped
5 large carrots, peeled and diced
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 tsp poultry seasoning
salt and pepper

2 pounds leftover turkey, cut into cubes
1 can corn
1 can white beans

16 ounces of egg noodles

Cook veggies and seasonings in 1/2 of the broth for a half hour. 
add remaining ingredients except noodles  and cook on simmer for an hour. 
Add noodles, and cook 15 minutes or until noodles are tender. 

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Jane

MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Merry Christmas

I am takeing today off to enjoy my family.

I will be back tomorrow.




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Jane

Christmas Eve

It's the day before Christmas all through the house.....

My son baked about sixteen dozen cookies and two pumpkin pies. He has a Pullman kitchen, so he came down and used my kitchen. I am lucky enough to have two ovens so it made the job more efficient. LOL.

My daughter spent the day delivering presents to her friends.

My husband and I decided we would take advantage of having time to ourselves and go Christmas shopping for each other. We are at a point that we have everything we need and would rather spoil our grandchild than buy each other presents. But, my husband felt compelled to get me something.

So, I bought him some gummy vitamins. He finds it really unpleasant to swallow the horse pills he is taking.

He bought me a new glue gun, a T square, and a box for my alcohol pens from the recycle store. I was really excited that he found the box. I have been looking for something that would work. I refuse to spend a hundred dollars for a box to hold markers-- a bit over the top in my book. LOL

Christmas is for enjoying time with family and gifts should be somethimg the recipient really wants, or needs, or never dreamed of ever having.

My sorority made Christmas for a family. I had so much fun! I got 120 dollars worth of stuff on their list for twenty dollars. The boxers for the son were 35.00 and I got a barbie for the daughter and a sterling and gemstone pendant for the Mom. I Thorally enjoyed myself and hope the family has the best Christmas ever!

An inexpensive gift or something handmade for the recipient is much more thoughtful that an expensive present that the person doesn't want or need. Everyone has something that they either don't have time or patience to make for themselves or that they can't bring themselves to buy.

Gifts aren't about the money, they are about the effort and thought that goes into them.



Some of my best Christmases were when we were poor and "made" Christmas--it's all about the memories.

Merry Christmas . I hope you have a blessed and memorable Christmas!


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Jane

Merry Christmas Eve's Eve

Merry holidays are upon is. I have to pick up a couple of things from the grocery store to finish holiday meals, but I am. Pretty much done.

I picked up the Woman's Day magazine for January. It got me with Quick meals .
There are a lot of recipes, bmt not all of them would pass the husband and children test.

I can't reprint the recipes, but I can tell you what they are. If younwant tonbuy a magazine, they are 10 per cent off at joannes and thirty percent off at Costco. Costco has more expensive and yuppie magazines.

Peanut butter and banana pancakes--Elvis is still alive LOL

ravioli with sausage and Brussels sprouts
Pasta with quick meat sauce
Pasta with roasted cauliflower, tomatoes and pepperoni

Spaghetti with bacon, fried eggs and swiss chard
Creamy spinach and broccoli lasagna

Eggs Benedict casserole

No bake hot cocoa cake

Spiced beef and butternut squash stew

Seared salmon with lentil salad

Quick turkey chili
Pork chops with balsamic braised cabbage

Vegetable fried rice


Louisiana Hoppin' John


I like the apple pancakes forma special occasion ( Christmas breakfast!)
pork chops or roast with balsamic cabbage is interesting
Spaghetti
Peanut butter and banana pancakes might be a hit with the kids



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Jane

Suddenly Saturday.

Two days until Christmas eve. I quit baking for Christmas. My son makes cookies and my daughter makes fudge. Consequently, my stress level is at zero! We are bringing food to the family parties, but that's not a big deal.

Christmas morning we have Belgin waffles, bacon, and Christmas oranges. I haven't been able to find real Japanese oranges for several years now,


For the vegetarians,

VEGGIE SKILLET from land of lakes booklet

2.5 cups bow tie pasta, cook and drain.


2T butter
1tsp minced garlic
2med zucchini, cu into 1/2 inch slices
median red onion
1 T fresh basil
1 cup cheese in /2 inch cubes


Stir fry everything except the pasta and cheese until veggies are tender. Stir in pasta and heat through. Stir in cheese. Salt and pepper.


GREEK FRITTATAS

1 medium red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1-1/2 cups spinach leaves
1/2 cup milk
8 eggs
1/2 tsp garlic salt
Pepper
1/2cup crumbled feta cheese

1 can diced tomatoes, warmed with garlic and herbs.


In skillet, cook red pepper and onion 3-4 minutes
Add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted.

In bowl, combine milk, eggs, garlic salt and pepper. Stir in cheese.

Reduce heat to med low and add egg mixture to veggies.
Cook, lifting the eggs on the side of the pan until eggs are set and the top is done.


Spoon warm tomato over at serving time.


One of the ways to beat the rising cost of meat is to eat vegetarian a couple of nights a week. My mother did that before the word vegetarian was in our vocabulary! LOL

I got cheese for 2.50 a pound at top. It is tillamock. I spent more than I usually do, but I picked up some last minute stocking stuffers and it's Christmas. Well go back to frugal after Christmas.


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Jane

Three days until Christmas. Eve

Three days and I'm sure the little ones are waiting with anticipation. Our little one isn't old enough to know what's going on, but I'm looking forward to her squeals .LOL

Last night we had the pork stew that I posted earlier I'm the week. Itvwas really easy to cook the pasta in the microwave cooker and heat the stew and walk away.

On to food.I haven't shopped yet.

Beef Stuffed French Bread

1pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1large baked potato, peeled and cubed
1can cream of mushroom soup
Mushrooms

1 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Pepper


Loaf of French bread
Cheese


1) brown meat and onion until meat is no longer pink and drain.

2) add re sing ingredients except the bread and cheese and simmer for 10 minutes.

3) cut the loaf of bread lengthwise. Hollow out some of the bottom , leaving 3/4 inch shell. Place the removed bread in a blender or food processor and make crumbs. Add 1 cup crumbs to the meat mixture. Add cheese.

4) stuff the bread shell. Wrap with foil. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting.


Notes
I would use already cooked and drafted meat. I don't usually have mushroom,s around because my husband is not fond of them. I might substitute olives and add some Ed pepper just because I like some color . It seems more appetizing to me.


SPINACH MEATBALL SUBS

Add chopped, cooked spinach that has been squeezed dry and Parmesan to your basic meatball recipe. Add red sauce and shredded white cheese. Fill sub buns.



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Jane




2)

Thursday , we have ads

I finally got the ads yesterday. Yesterday we had pork roast, mashed sweet potatoes, green beans and pear and blue cheese salad.

Now, to the ads...

QFC

Ham 1.79

Top roumd roast B1G1. Nets 3.25 a pound
Spiral ham 2.79

Peeled carrots 1.00 pound
Celery 1.00
Sweet potatoes 1.00
Veggies .60


TOP

Spiral ham. 1.97
Butter 2.50 @
snack crackers 1.77 @
Cheese 4.99 @
satsumas 2.98
Vegetables .67
Turkey .69

Green beans 1.79

SAFEWAYS

Ham .99
Coffee 7.99

Sirloin tip roast 2.99
Celery .99

FRIDAY SPECIALS

CHEESE 5.00
bar cake 5.00
Shrimp 5.00


ALBERTSONS

apples .88
Ham .99
Spiral ham 1.99
Coffee 7.99
Yams .79
Celery .89
8 pounds potatoes 1.28



I am not seeing a whole lot of bargaims which is a typical for a holiday ad.


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Please share

Jane