Scratch cooking...the art of spending all day slaving over a hot stove to produce dinner. ~~ not any more. The old days left with the invent of frozen premade meals and components. Now, the tides have turned and to save money and avoid preservatives, we are going back to scratch cooking. Everything old is new again, but with a twist.
The invent of countertop appliances and the ingenuity of five ingredient or less cooking. Scratch can be just as efficient and a lot cheaper than using something out of a box or bag. Buying basic ingredients in bulk is a lot cheaper than buying individual boxes of food.
A box of bread mix is almost three dollars. A loaf of artisan bread is three dollars at winco. A loaf of bread made from bulk flour and bulk yeast cost. Thirty cents and takes ten minutes. And thee ten minutes doesn't t have to be in the same block of time. It can be that ten minutes while you wait for something else to be done. I like to pay a game: what can I get done before the microwave finishes.
I can get the floor swept, unload the dishwasher sans the silverware, or throw the ingredients for pizza dough in the food processer.
When a pizza costs less than driving to little Cesar's, the cost of a food processer just became manageable. It cost 1.40 with pepperoni and peppers. A loaf of bread cost between .22 and .30 cents. That five dollar bag of cooled chicken breast pieces costs about .66 . And takes about four minutes to cook and chop in an insta pot. You are cooking with steam, no fat.
Before I went to almost all scratch cooking, my weekly average was 72.00 ; after it is about 53.00. That more than pays for a insta pot and a food processer. Honestly, I have a kitchenaid mixer, but i don't use it as much as i do the food processer and the insta pot. I use the meat grinder and the slicer attachment more. At twenty dollars a week, it doesn't take long to pay for an insta pot.
When food is going to be wasted because we didn't eat it fast enough, i have been slicing it and dehydrating it. That 1.39 bag of bananas got ripe too quickly. I sliced them and dehydrated them. My granddaughter ate them in two days. She would not have eaten the bananas that quickly. We paid 69.00 for the dehydrator and have used it twenty years. Beef jerky, eggs, carrots, potatoes, fruit. That 40 cents worth of dried bananas would be well over a dollar and took me very few minutes. My husband opens the banana and leaves section of skin on it. Then he can slice it really fast and dump the slices.
No, I'm not getting paid to promote the insta pot, I just love mine. Its three appliance in one, does all of them well. Saves time and money. Beans don't freeze well. They don't hold well. Their refrigerater life is short. Beans and rice spoil fast and I don't take chances on food poisoning. Before the insta pot where I can cook beans in a matte of a few ~ like maybe two minutes , we used canned beans, The difference in sodium and cost is remarkable. Retail on beans is a dollar a can. I can usually find them for 50 cents. The cost of scratch is about 16 cents.
Efficient scratch cooking can save time and money. Invest in appliances that make sense and are workhorses in the kitchen. Develop a binder of five ingredients or less recipes that your family will gladly eat. Take the time to make your own mixes and spice blends. Even at 50 cents taco seasoning is a rip off. Cream of xxx soup is more of a rip off. That hour you spend on a rainy Saturday can save tons of money.
The average family spends 5000 a year more than we spend and probably don't eat any more nutritious. .
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Thursday bullets : small kitchen tools that save time and/or money
Ten kitchen tools that save time /money that are cheap.
- Rubber spatula , get the last bit of product out of a bowl or jar. Betty Crocker ones are at the DT, buy the best you can afford.
- A potato masher, Besides mashing potatoes, you can break up hamburger while frying it. There is a special tool for that, it was over 20.00.
- Jar opener, I have one from the 1920s that is the best, but there are good ones on the current market too,
- A food thermometer, Test bread water, the doneness of meat, and baked products (200 degrees)
- A food scale , Break down packages like for pasta. It you cook the whole package and you don't have a large family, the leftovers will go into the fridge and get shoved to the back until it has hair prettier than yours in a typical family. Portioning out a box of pasta saves a lot of waste. Saving the landfill also saves money,
- Portion scoops. Very inexpensive at Costco business, a restraint supply or on Amazon. Great for making meatballs or cookies uniform size so they all cook at the same time, Great portion control. Filling cupcakes or muffin liners.
- Cupcake lines in silicone , They wash and you aren't replacing them over and over. I paid five dollars.
- A non metal wisk. Saves scratches on pans and bowls.
- Silicone bowl covers save money not buying all that plastic wrap.
- Parchment paper is cheapest at DT especially for smaller jobs.
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Safeways haul.
Again, we went to take care of another errand, and stopped at Safeways. I'm still under budget for the week, but I did well with a 3 dollars off of 20 electronic coupon. The gal there also loaded the Safeway app to my phone for me. It's a lot easier to post your coupons,
I went for as close to twenty dollars as I could. Our ending balance was 16.69
Large coffee
Oreo wanta be
2 -12 packs sparkling water
8 oumces shred cheese
1 lbs butter
I carton ice cream
Grapes
I went for as close to twenty dollars as I could. Our ending balance was 16.69
Large coffee
Oreo wanta be
2 -12 packs sparkling water
8 oumces shred cheese
1 lbs butter
I carton ice cream
Grapes
Chain store ads
There is no QFC ad this week, it was a two week ad last week.
Alberways
Butter 199@@
Ice cream 2/5
Grapes 1.28
Radishes .79
Cantaloupe 2/5
Kraft Singles 1.99@@
Iceberg lettuce each .99
Walla walla onions, .99 lb
Tomatoes .99 lb
Alberways
Butter 199@@
Ice cream 2/5
Grapes 1.28
Radishes .79
Cantaloupe 2/5
Kraft Singles 1.99@@
Iceberg lettuce each .99
Walla walla onions, .99 lb
Tomatoes .99 lb
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Grocery outlet haul
Had to go to a few towns over for the last time for business. Stopped at dollar tree and grocery outlet on the way home.
Chocolate chip cookies l lunchbox size 4/1.00
Hot salsa .99
Kashi bars .98
Designer sausage 2.99
Total 5.96
Chocolate chip cookies l lunchbox size 4/1.00
Hot salsa .99
Kashi bars .98
Designer sausage 2.99
Total 5.96
What tools do you use?
There is a lot of discussion out there about not using a warehouse club and not using coupons to save money on groceries.
Guaranteed, if you order your groceries on line and pay for delivery, you are going to spend a lot more than of you do
the work yourself. I certainly get it that there are disabled people that have no choice because they just can't go to the store, let alone several stores. It's a convenience, and sometimes necessity to order your food, and yes, you are paying for it just like any other time you pay for convenience. I wrote in the 80 s that the word convenience starts with $$$$.
It just makes sense to me that if you use every available tool at your disposal to save money on groceries, you will save more. The caviat here is to do it in a manner that makes sense. The business world has an expression, " return on your investment.
If you use coupons, you can save money, I average about 300.00 a year. Your savings is based on how much you spend on food and how many coupons for real food you can find. If you were to spend 40 hours a week clipping coupons , you would not get much return for your money. Another way to look at it, is saving 300.00 and spending 160 hours to do it nets you 1.88 an hour. Not enough in my book. Spending six hours would mean I am making 50.00 an hour. A bit more rewarding,
Warehouse stores,: First of all, we have a business membership. It costs 120.00. Whooo..... we get 2 percent back on our purchases, Which pays for half if we don't have a major purchase like a television. Gas is anywhere from .30-.50 a gallon cheaper. If we use 200 gallons of gas a year, it
pays for the membership. That's four gallons a week.
Not everything at Costco is a bargain, Not all bulk foods make sense to all families. If you throw away a lot of why you buy, you aren't saving money. The best way to make your membership work is to buy the things that you use frequently and avoid the marketing blitz. Buy what is cheaper than anywhere else. We buy flour, beer, cheese, yeast. Rice, tortilla chips, bananas, bacon, blue cheese, spices and over the counter meds that my doctor has ordered. The meds save a lot of money, for the cost of one copay for us, I can have 1/2 a years meds of a particular medication. As any store, put on blinders for anything you don't have on your list. Get in and get out. Pick your time to go so you aren't waiting too long in line.
Shopping two stores saves a lot of money. You can get your return on your money by using the planning. ,Blinders , in and out theory and planning your trip to maximize your gas, If your two stores aren't close together, plan to shop in conjunction with other errands. If you have to go far, plan your trip , do it monthly, and make it worth your while-- stock non perishable foods you use in a
regular basis. When we had to go ten miles one way to Winco, I would plan what I knew was cheaper, gather coupons, and I always have cooler bags in the trunk.
Ibotta is a rebate site, It takes a few minutes to download to your phone or tablet one time, If you go from a referral. You get money and the referral gets money, Sometimes ten dollars. You scroll threw the store you shopped at, click in the thingsmyou bought, "look" at the 30 second video . Take a snapshot of your receipt and money drops on your account, You can get credit at Amazon, movie tickets and more credits. How much you get depends on how much you buy. It can be anything from tomatoes to wine, Obviously, the wine has a larger rebate.
One thing that came to mind while writing this , is that children are tech savy at early ages. A preteen to teenager can "earn his spending money by printing coupons for what they onowmyou buy and doing the Ibotta thing. They are learning to save money and you aren't giving them an allowance. Just a thought.
Scratch cooking,. This is where I use the return in your money 💰 comcept the most. If it takes too long time to make, it's not going to happen. Do the math. If I'm making .60 an hour unless there is a h u g e health benefit, I'm not going there. Making mixes saves time and money, and has health benefits. Making bread is a ten hands on minute chore and saves 90 percent of the cost. And bread hot out of the oven is sooo good. If it takes ten minutes and I save 2.70 I am making 16.20 an hour. Or 32.40 for two loaves that wouldn't take any longer. No preservatives control the fat. ( there is no fat)
Use time wisely. We save 5000.00 a year over the average grocery bill . Being efficient and spending less time cooking, and more time planning and shopping trips makes it happen while eating home made scratch cooking meals.
Guaranteed, if you order your groceries on line and pay for delivery, you are going to spend a lot more than of you do
the work yourself. I certainly get it that there are disabled people that have no choice because they just can't go to the store, let alone several stores. It's a convenience, and sometimes necessity to order your food, and yes, you are paying for it just like any other time you pay for convenience. I wrote in the 80 s that the word convenience starts with $$$$.
It just makes sense to me that if you use every available tool at your disposal to save money on groceries, you will save more. The caviat here is to do it in a manner that makes sense. The business world has an expression, " return on your investment.
If you use coupons, you can save money, I average about 300.00 a year. Your savings is based on how much you spend on food and how many coupons for real food you can find. If you were to spend 40 hours a week clipping coupons , you would not get much return for your money. Another way to look at it, is saving 300.00 and spending 160 hours to do it nets you 1.88 an hour. Not enough in my book. Spending six hours would mean I am making 50.00 an hour. A bit more rewarding,
Warehouse stores,: First of all, we have a business membership. It costs 120.00. Whooo..... we get 2 percent back on our purchases, Which pays for half if we don't have a major purchase like a television. Gas is anywhere from .30-.50 a gallon cheaper. If we use 200 gallons of gas a year, it
pays for the membership. That's four gallons a week.
Not everything at Costco is a bargain, Not all bulk foods make sense to all families. If you throw away a lot of why you buy, you aren't saving money. The best way to make your membership work is to buy the things that you use frequently and avoid the marketing blitz. Buy what is cheaper than anywhere else. We buy flour, beer, cheese, yeast. Rice, tortilla chips, bananas, bacon, blue cheese, spices and over the counter meds that my doctor has ordered. The meds save a lot of money, for the cost of one copay for us, I can have 1/2 a years meds of a particular medication. As any store, put on blinders for anything you don't have on your list. Get in and get out. Pick your time to go so you aren't waiting too long in line.
Shopping two stores saves a lot of money. You can get your return on your money by using the planning. ,Blinders , in and out theory and planning your trip to maximize your gas, If your two stores aren't close together, plan to shop in conjunction with other errands. If you have to go far, plan your trip , do it monthly, and make it worth your while-- stock non perishable foods you use in a
regular basis. When we had to go ten miles one way to Winco, I would plan what I knew was cheaper, gather coupons, and I always have cooler bags in the trunk.
Ibotta is a rebate site, It takes a few minutes to download to your phone or tablet one time, If you go from a referral. You get money and the referral gets money, Sometimes ten dollars. You scroll threw the store you shopped at, click in the thingsmyou bought, "look" at the 30 second video . Take a snapshot of your receipt and money drops on your account, You can get credit at Amazon, movie tickets and more credits. How much you get depends on how much you buy. It can be anything from tomatoes to wine, Obviously, the wine has a larger rebate.
One thing that came to mind while writing this , is that children are tech savy at early ages. A preteen to teenager can "earn his spending money by printing coupons for what they onowmyou buy and doing the Ibotta thing. They are learning to save money and you aren't giving them an allowance. Just a thought.
Scratch cooking,. This is where I use the return in your money 💰 comcept the most. If it takes too long time to make, it's not going to happen. Do the math. If I'm making .60 an hour unless there is a h u g e health benefit, I'm not going there. Making mixes saves time and money, and has health benefits. Making bread is a ten hands on minute chore and saves 90 percent of the cost. And bread hot out of the oven is sooo good. If it takes ten minutes and I save 2.70 I am making 16.20 an hour. Or 32.40 for two loaves that wouldn't take any longer. No preservatives control the fat. ( there is no fat)
Use time wisely. We save 5000.00 a year over the average grocery bill . Being efficient and spending less time cooking, and more time planning and shopping trips makes it happen while eating home made scratch cooking meals.
The basics,:buying in bulk.
We covered protein, the most expensive part of your food budget. To recap, picking bulk meats that are versatile are your best bet in reducing the cost of protein. Eating a vegetarian meal once or twice a week helps greatly too. Buy bulk meat enough to rotate that meal for a month. In other words, if you want to eat Pork for two nights a week, you will need enough for 8 meals. Portions should be around four ounces. The RDA for protein is 45 grams for women and 55 for men, minimum, for low activity people. There are 61 in a 8 ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast.
Knowing the RBP of rotation meats is key, Chicken breasts should be no more than a dollar a pound. In most places, you can get them for that. Seattle is one of the most costly places to live and I can get chicken breasts with ribs for .88 and cut the ribs off for stock, pick the bones for more meals. Pork loins are between 1.50 and 1.79. Good (7 percent ) hamburger is 3.28 here. Ground turkey a dollar a pound chub in other parts of the country, frozen,
Buying other things in bulk only Makes sense if you use it regularity, There are three of us basically. I can still buy certain things in bulk. Rice is one. Rice has a long shelf life. It is 8.47 for 25 lbs at Costco. That makes a rice serving pennies.
Oatmeal is close to 8.50 at Costco for ten pounds, We eat oatmeal everyday for breakfast and I use it for oatmeal, blueberry, banana bread and oarmeal cookies.
Flour is 6.39 for 25 pounds. 25 pounds lasts us about three months, I make our own baking mix, cream soup base, muffin mix and bread. Bread cost about .25-30 cents a loaf. It takes about ten hands on minutes. Making your own mixes means you can control the fats and avoid hydroginated oils and too much sugar. Cream soup base is a lot less than opening a can of cream of....soup and takes not much more time.
Bulk yeast is a good investment if you are going to make bread. For little more the cost of one packet you can have enough for dozens of loaves.
I don't buy pinto beans on bulk because we don't eat enough to use them up before they are hard to cook. The cost difference is ten cents a pound. I can get 1.5 pounds at the dollar tree for a buck and they are non gmo and grown on the USA.
Our Winco has a bulk food isle and some things are cheaper. . It is especially good for anyone that wants to try something or need just a little bit - yeast comes to mind if you just want to try bread baking. Don't give up, it may take a few loaves to get the hang of it.
We like the chocolate and white chocolate chips. Dry milk, and spices. Look on your area forma bulk isle. Our Kroger has one, but the prices are a lot higher.
Cold cereal in bags are a lot cheaper than in the boxes. We don't eat a lot of cold cereal. I buy chocolate rice crispies for rice crispy treats. Store them in a sealed canister.
Contrary to some opinions out there, bulk buying can be a money saver. You need to exercise caution and buy the things that you use a lot of on a regular basis. One pound of rice at the dollar tree is a buck. Twenty five poumds of rice cost 8.47. For the cost of 8.5 poumds, you can have 25 poumds, That's a remarkable difference, That's almost three times as much.
It just makes sense.
Knowing the RBP of rotation meats is key, Chicken breasts should be no more than a dollar a pound. In most places, you can get them for that. Seattle is one of the most costly places to live and I can get chicken breasts with ribs for .88 and cut the ribs off for stock, pick the bones for more meals. Pork loins are between 1.50 and 1.79. Good (7 percent ) hamburger is 3.28 here. Ground turkey a dollar a pound chub in other parts of the country, frozen,
Buying other things in bulk only Makes sense if you use it regularity, There are three of us basically. I can still buy certain things in bulk. Rice is one. Rice has a long shelf life. It is 8.47 for 25 lbs at Costco. That makes a rice serving pennies.
Oatmeal is close to 8.50 at Costco for ten pounds, We eat oatmeal everyday for breakfast and I use it for oatmeal, blueberry, banana bread and oarmeal cookies.
Flour is 6.39 for 25 pounds. 25 pounds lasts us about three months, I make our own baking mix, cream soup base, muffin mix and bread. Bread cost about .25-30 cents a loaf. It takes about ten hands on minutes. Making your own mixes means you can control the fats and avoid hydroginated oils and too much sugar. Cream soup base is a lot less than opening a can of cream of....soup and takes not much more time.
Bulk yeast is a good investment if you are going to make bread. For little more the cost of one packet you can have enough for dozens of loaves.
I don't buy pinto beans on bulk because we don't eat enough to use them up before they are hard to cook. The cost difference is ten cents a pound. I can get 1.5 pounds at the dollar tree for a buck and they are non gmo and grown on the USA.
Our Winco has a bulk food isle and some things are cheaper. . It is especially good for anyone that wants to try something or need just a little bit - yeast comes to mind if you just want to try bread baking. Don't give up, it may take a few loaves to get the hang of it.
We like the chocolate and white chocolate chips. Dry milk, and spices. Look on your area forma bulk isle. Our Kroger has one, but the prices are a lot higher.
Cold cereal in bags are a lot cheaper than in the boxes. We don't eat a lot of cold cereal. I buy chocolate rice crispies for rice crispy treats. Store them in a sealed canister.
Contrary to some opinions out there, bulk buying can be a money saver. You need to exercise caution and buy the things that you use a lot of on a regular basis. One pound of rice at the dollar tree is a buck. Twenty five poumds of rice cost 8.47. For the cost of 8.5 poumds, you can have 25 poumds, That's a remarkable difference, That's almost three times as much.
It just makes sense.
Monday, July 10, 2017
Winco haul
Sitting at 45.00 a week this week not including the Costco run of long term bulk. That total is 59.00.
Winco
Foster Farms chicken patties 3.99
Blue bunny ice cream 3.50
Jalapeño poppers 1.78
Cucumbers 2/96
Potato salad 298
Hit dog buns .75
Green chillis 2/132
Black sliced olives 2/188
Total 18.51
Winco
Foster Farms chicken patties 3.99
Blue bunny ice cream 3.50
Jalapeño poppers 1.78
Cucumbers 2/96
Potato salad 298
Hit dog buns .75
Green chillis 2/132
Black sliced olives 2/188
Total 18.51
Monday kitchen management - July 10, 17
Kitchen management is when you take a block of time once a week and clean and prep for the week's meals. This hour to two hours saves a lot of time during the hectic dinner hour.
Start with your meal plans, Make notes on them the night before you need to defrost meat,
Recap :
Spareribs, roasted veggies
Pizza
Salmon ( cook from frozen )
Tacos l Spanish rice
Chicken pot pie
Pork chops, oven roasted root veggies
Breakfast 4 dinner
Start with your meal plans, Make notes on them the night before you need to defrost meat,
Recap :
Spareribs, roasted veggies
Pizza
Salmon ( cook from frozen )
Tacos l Spanish rice
Chicken pot pie
Pork chops, oven roasted root veggies
Breakfast 4 dinner
- Straighten pantry
- Sweep and wash floor
- Make something sweet - muffins and/or peppermint pie.
- Clean fridge
- Wash veggies to be ised this week with vinegar and water
- Defrost spareribs for tomorrow
- Cook chicken for pot pie tonight
- Clean counter under coffee station
- Post Winco haul and check ibotta .
Sunday, July 9, 2017
Cleaning out the recipe dump.
I'm not alone ! We all have that binder or box somewhere where we out recipes that we need ormthat we are going to try someday, Someday may never come, I just went through mine and dumped 1/2 of them in the recycle. I did find tue recipes for my moxes all on scraps of paper.
The thought came to me to put them on a vkogmtomsharemandnto out them in my oldest personal cookbook from the 70's that has the rest of my mix recipes.
Pancake mix.
To make pancakes : Water and mix equal parts. Add fruit?
12 cups flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 cups powdered milk
5 Tbls baking powder
1 Tbls salt
Mix and store in airtight container.
Ranch dressing mix
1 Tbls EACH
Dill
Garlic
Onion powder
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp pepper
Baking mix
3 cups flour
1-1/2 Tbls baking powder
3/4 tsp salt.
3 T oil
Mix and stir in container with tight fitting lid
Self rising flour
1 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Onion soup mix
3/4 cup minced onions
1/3cup beef bouillon granules
4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp sugar
5 T equals a 1-1/4 ounce package
The thought came to me to put them on a vkogmtomsharemandnto out them in my oldest personal cookbook from the 70's that has the rest of my mix recipes.
Pancake mix.
To make pancakes : Water and mix equal parts. Add fruit?
12 cups flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 cups powdered milk
5 Tbls baking powder
1 Tbls salt
Mix and store in airtight container.
Ranch dressing mix
1 Tbls EACH
Dill
Garlic
Onion powder
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp pepper
Baking mix
3 cups flour
1-1/2 Tbls baking powder
3/4 tsp salt.
3 T oil
Mix and stir in container with tight fitting lid
Self rising flour
1 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Onion soup mix
3/4 cup minced onions
1/3cup beef bouillon granules
4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp sugar
5 T equals a 1-1/4 ounce package
Sunday : meal plans
Meal plans based on fruits and veggies in season and a inventory of what's in the pantry and freezer, We often purchase in a small bulk buy, things that are nearing their pull date. Often , depending on the product, they will be good for months to come. Still, using them in or beforemthe pull date makes sense. Case in point, I bought 11 packages of mashed sweet potatoes. They were .33 instead of 1.25 each. We have until mid September to use them up. I plan to have pork chops ormxhixken and sweet potatoes once a week through the summer. Buying not yet expired foods that are not typical of the season is a way to cut your food bill dramatically, The food is as good as any other food, it's just not eaten in a traditional way, I also got a desert mix that has a chocolate Oreo type crust and a peppermint filling-- no doubt for Christmas -- it cost.....wait for it........50. The Oreo cookies would cost that much.
Meal plans. I'm going to be taking you through my mindset, nitmbecaise anyine has to follow me. But, rather, to let you see how I reach my decisions.
I got country ribs for 1/2 price yesterday. I will divide the mega pack in three that will allow us three big ribs for two of us. I doubt that granddaughter will like them. I will give her a taste of mine so she experiences the taste. Introducing taste is a way to let children become accustomed to different tastes.
Our matrix for meals is 1 fish or seafood, 1 beef, 3 chicken or pork,and 2 vegetarian
- Spareribs , roasted potatoes and carrots.
- Pizza ( homemade crust )
- Breakfast 4 dinner - pumpkin pancakes, bacon, fruit ( the last of the pumpkin bread mix )
- Salmon, Sweet potatoes, broccoli ( mashed sweet potatoes and broccoli got for .78) use 1/2
- Tacos. Spanish rice
- Chicken pot pie ( biscuits were on sale for a dollar. ) - peppermint desert
- Pork chops. Oven roasted veggies ( I have large radishs from last week and just bought a bag of potatoes).
Using the insta pot, none of these meals will take more than 15-20 hands on time to prepare.
Saturday, July 8, 2017
The basics :meal plans
We have covered the two little things that you can do to cut your food bill and contribute to better health too. We have found ways to get your protein at the RBP and start the journey to build a stock for emergencies, Emergencies can be as little as a snow storm, a sick child, or the flooding of the main road so the grocery stores can't get their restock. Yes that did happen , and it was Christmas to boot.
Let's talk about meal plans. Meal plans save you from the pizza delivery demons. Being organized reduces stress. If things are set up, almost anyone on the family can finish dinner even if you are otherwise occupied.
Have a plan or plan to fail. There are no magic surprises if you have a basic stock of food on hand that you can make meals from . Having a few aces in your hole doesn't hurt either. Always have a few easy, cheap meals in your pantry or freezer. I buy Foster Farms chicken patties when I find them
on sale, If you have pasta and pasta sauce, you have chicken parm.
We always have ground beef already cooked and in portion controlled bags in the freezer. It's a versatile base for any number of meals.
The basis for a lot of this organization is making a list of ten to fourteen meals your family will eat. At least, most of your family will eat, there is always that one holdout. We didn't have that when we were kids, you ate or you waited for the next meal, no snacks there. I digress
After your list is complete and you have analyzed it for budget breakers......this list should be economical meats and sides. A lot of things like asparagus, and water chestnuts are out of reach for a super economy meal. Stick to basics.
Ideas
Spaghetti and meatballs
Mac n cheese
Pork chops and dressing
Nachos
Tacos
Enchaladas
Chilli
Vegetable bean soup
Chicken roasted with garlic bread and oven roasted root veggies
Chicken soup
Chicken pot pie - one crust or Biscuit topping
Chicken stir fry
Breakfast for dinner
Quiche - impossible pie
Sloppy joes
Chicken chimichangas
Now, make a list of ingredients that you need to make these dishes. Note the things that you can buy in bulk and use for several dishes.
In our house that would be diced tomatoes. Other than tomato paste, i don't buy a lot of tomato products. Simplifying your grocery list for things that are versatile makes life and budgets a lot easier.
Pasta sauce and pasta are items you can find coupons for and are often on stock up sales. Being able to match a good sale with coupons, doubles your savings. Planning a buy 5 save 5 type sale can take some time, but it can make remarkable purchases. One time I saved 78 percent. So much for not wanting to use coupons to save .25 cents. Lol.
Potatoes, celery and carrots are a staple here.
I keep one ahead of things like catsup, mustard, and mayo.
Canned green beans, beans ( some) and corn 🌽.
I get dry beans in bulk, not too many they do go bad. And also rice and flour. You can make all kinds of things in a pinch with flour- anywhere from noodles to crackers, tortillas, biscuits.....
Instant mashed potatoes and dry milk are nice t have on a pinch,
Tortillas are versatile, cheapest usually at dollar tree or Costco. You can use them for quesadas , enchiladas, chimichangas, tacos, taco chips for nachos.
It's a lie that shredded cheese is more expensive than brick. A pound of cheese is a pound of cheese. Watch those small bags, they can be a budget killer. If you use a lot of,here's, buy five pound bags at Costco. It does freeze.without harm. I pay close to two dollars a pound. It can be up to seven.
Diced green mild chilies and sliced black olives male things special. Cheapest at Winco here.
All of this is bought at discount, of course, and over time.
Pit groceries for three of us has been less than 55.00 a week. That is about 45 percent of the usda stats for poor people. They call it thrifty. Lol. We eat well. And we don't eat rice and beans,
We also don't get our groceries on line and pay full price with a delivery charge, We don't buy junk food for the most part. We scratch cook efficiently. I rarely spend more ham fifteen minutes hands on time cooking dinner at dinner time. So,e bulk cooking and the insta pot helps remarkably,
Let's talk about meal plans. Meal plans save you from the pizza delivery demons. Being organized reduces stress. If things are set up, almost anyone on the family can finish dinner even if you are otherwise occupied.
Have a plan or plan to fail. There are no magic surprises if you have a basic stock of food on hand that you can make meals from . Having a few aces in your hole doesn't hurt either. Always have a few easy, cheap meals in your pantry or freezer. I buy Foster Farms chicken patties when I find them
on sale, If you have pasta and pasta sauce, you have chicken parm.
We always have ground beef already cooked and in portion controlled bags in the freezer. It's a versatile base for any number of meals.
The basis for a lot of this organization is making a list of ten to fourteen meals your family will eat. At least, most of your family will eat, there is always that one holdout. We didn't have that when we were kids, you ate or you waited for the next meal, no snacks there. I digress
After your list is complete and you have analyzed it for budget breakers......this list should be economical meats and sides. A lot of things like asparagus, and water chestnuts are out of reach for a super economy meal. Stick to basics.
Ideas
Spaghetti and meatballs
Mac n cheese
Pork chops and dressing
Nachos
Tacos
Enchaladas
Chilli
Vegetable bean soup
Chicken roasted with garlic bread and oven roasted root veggies
Chicken soup
Chicken pot pie - one crust or Biscuit topping
Chicken stir fry
Breakfast for dinner
Quiche - impossible pie
Sloppy joes
Chicken chimichangas
Now, make a list of ingredients that you need to make these dishes. Note the things that you can buy in bulk and use for several dishes.
In our house that would be diced tomatoes. Other than tomato paste, i don't buy a lot of tomato products. Simplifying your grocery list for things that are versatile makes life and budgets a lot easier.
Pasta sauce and pasta are items you can find coupons for and are often on stock up sales. Being able to match a good sale with coupons, doubles your savings. Planning a buy 5 save 5 type sale can take some time, but it can make remarkable purchases. One time I saved 78 percent. So much for not wanting to use coupons to save .25 cents. Lol.
Potatoes, celery and carrots are a staple here.
I keep one ahead of things like catsup, mustard, and mayo.
Canned green beans, beans ( some) and corn 🌽.
I get dry beans in bulk, not too many they do go bad. And also rice and flour. You can make all kinds of things in a pinch with flour- anywhere from noodles to crackers, tortillas, biscuits.....
Instant mashed potatoes and dry milk are nice t have on a pinch,
Tortillas are versatile, cheapest usually at dollar tree or Costco. You can use them for quesadas , enchiladas, chimichangas, tacos, taco chips for nachos.
It's a lie that shredded cheese is more expensive than brick. A pound of cheese is a pound of cheese. Watch those small bags, they can be a budget killer. If you use a lot of,here's, buy five pound bags at Costco. It does freeze.without harm. I pay close to two dollars a pound. It can be up to seven.
Diced green mild chilies and sliced black olives male things special. Cheapest at Winco here.
All of this is bought at discount, of course, and over time.
Pit groceries for three of us has been less than 55.00 a week. That is about 45 percent of the usda stats for poor people. They call it thrifty. Lol. We eat well. And we don't eat rice and beans,
We also don't get our groceries on line and pay full price with a delivery charge, We don't buy junk food for the most part. We scratch cook efficiently. I rarely spend more ham fifteen minutes hands on time cooking dinner at dinner time. So,e bulk cooking and the insta pot helps remarkably,
Fred Meyers ad for tomorrow
First, today big lots has 20 percent off everything, 6 pads and 12 toilet tissue were ten bucks.
Freddies tomorrow
Pork loin 1.99 - that's at the top of my rotation cost.
Cherries 1.77
Tomatoes .88 lb
Berries 3.99
Parsley 2/.99
Green onions / radishes 2/.99
Tillamook ice cream 2/6$$
Milk 1.79 gallon
Yogurt 10/5 $$
Sour cream leg 1.99
Zucchini.99
That's about it.
Freddies tomorrow
Pork loin 1.99 - that's at the top of my rotation cost.
Cherries 1.77
Tomatoes .88 lb
Berries 3.99
Parsley 2/.99
Green onions / radishes 2/.99
Tillamook ice cream 2/6$$
Milk 1.79 gallon
Yogurt 10/5 $$
Sour cream leg 1.99
Zucchini.99
That's about it.
Friday, July 7, 2017
Country style ribs in the insta pot.
It ts no secret that I love my insta pot and no, I'm not sponsored. . It's just a very versatile appliance that gives you a lot of bang for your buck. You can slow cook, brown, make rice, and pressure cook, Some of them have yogurt features.
Wednesday, I got country ribs for 1/2 price and then I got another 16 percent off of that aa enough for two of us to have four meals for less than 8.00. I'm not fond of baby back robs because you are paying for a lot of bone and not much meat. This blog is all about. S t r e t c h i n g your dollar.
Of course, you can do the same recipe in a traditional slow cooker.
Country ribs in the insta pot.
1) turn on the sauté feature . Dry the ribs with a paper towel and salt and pepper both sides. Brown the ribs in olive oil . Try to keep a single layer of ribs.
2) turn the Sauté feature off and add 2 cups of broth : chicken or tomato. ( tomato bullion is in a jar- add to water, )!
3) cover, shut vent, process on meat for 30 minutes.
4) de- pressurize naturally. Place ribs on a broiler pan, spread with BBQ sauce and cook at 400 degrees in the oven for 10 minutes or until the sauce has caramelized.
Rice :
Put equal parts of rice and water or broth in the insta pot. Add a pat of butter or a drizzle of olive oil. Stir. Place lid with the vent on seal and hit the rice button. Done. Let it de pressurize naturally.
Wednesday, I got country ribs for 1/2 price and then I got another 16 percent off of that aa enough for two of us to have four meals for less than 8.00. I'm not fond of baby back robs because you are paying for a lot of bone and not much meat. This blog is all about. S t r e t c h i n g your dollar.
Of course, you can do the same recipe in a traditional slow cooker.
Country ribs in the insta pot.
1) turn on the sauté feature . Dry the ribs with a paper towel and salt and pepper both sides. Brown the ribs in olive oil . Try to keep a single layer of ribs.
2) turn the Sauté feature off and add 2 cups of broth : chicken or tomato. ( tomato bullion is in a jar- add to water, )!
3) cover, shut vent, process on meat for 30 minutes.
4) de- pressurize naturally. Place ribs on a broiler pan, spread with BBQ sauce and cook at 400 degrees in the oven for 10 minutes or until the sauce has caramelized.
Rice :
Put equal parts of rice and water or broth in the insta pot. Add a pat of butter or a drizzle of olive oil. Stir. Place lid with the vent on seal and hit the rice button. Done. Let it de pressurize naturally.
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Costco haul for the month.
Hopefully the last Costco run for the month for food. Gas is sooo much cheaper that it pays for the membership.
25 lbs flour. 6.29
Bananas 1.39
Sour cream 3.99
4 lbs butter 10.99 2.75 lb
Mozzarella -5 lbs 10.99 - 2.20 lb
3 lbs tortilla chips 3.59
Blueberries 6.99
Total 44.23
Most of this was bulk that can be split over two weeks to three months.
Twenty loaves of bread at 3.00 per loaf would be 60.00.
A sack of flour costs 6.39
Difference is 53.60
Yeast and salt when bought in bulk are mere pennies.
The savings on bread alone would feed us for over a week.
Hands on time for a loaf of bread is about ten minutes.
Thursday : basics - little steps
Back to basics. Groceries on the cheap takes a different look at traditional grocery shopping. Instead of going to a store and buying a weeks worth of groceries and coming home and planning meals, you go to two stores and buy : a rotation protein, what's in sale that you can make meals from, and replentish dairy and fresh veggies hopefully on sale / and/or in season.
This takes a little time, but the rewards are amazing, You eat better and have enough to take you through the month, No one , especially children , should suffer the anxiety, stress, or insecurity of having no food in the house.
The thought of doing this is a bit overwhelming to some people. Basically, its not hard and not impossible , You think you don't have enough money to do that, But, in actuality you have more than you think. If you buy 1 chicken a week for 1.68 a pound, you get 1 chicken, If you don't buy one this week, and buy 2 chickens for .88 a pound next week, you have 2 chickens, If you know how to stretch that chicken, you can have 8 dinners from those 2 chickens. That's a quarter of the month covered for dinners. Do that will all your food, and you have meals plus a stock built to cover you if you can't get to the store for some reason or an other mishap happens.
In this series, we will take one step at a time. Baby steps. Habits. For many people making a drastic change that takes a lot of time, doesn't work because it isn't sustainable. We eat for a small amount of money and have a back up small stock. It didn't happen in a day; rather, it's been an ongoing mantra for fifty years. I just kept perfecting the concept and adjusting to fluctuating prices and new revelations of foods that can effect your health . Baby steps. They all save. One year and your savings will grow.
This takes a little time, but the rewards are amazing, You eat better and have enough to take you through the month, No one , especially children , should suffer the anxiety, stress, or insecurity of having no food in the house.
The thought of doing this is a bit overwhelming to some people. Basically, its not hard and not impossible , You think you don't have enough money to do that, But, in actuality you have more than you think. If you buy 1 chicken a week for 1.68 a pound, you get 1 chicken, If you don't buy one this week, and buy 2 chickens for .88 a pound next week, you have 2 chickens, If you know how to stretch that chicken, you can have 8 dinners from those 2 chickens. That's a quarter of the month covered for dinners. Do that will all your food, and you have meals plus a stock built to cover you if you can't get to the store for some reason or an other mishap happens.
In this series, we will take one step at a time. Baby steps. Habits. For many people making a drastic change that takes a lot of time, doesn't work because it isn't sustainable. We eat for a small amount of money and have a back up small stock. It didn't happen in a day; rather, it's been an ongoing mantra for fifty years. I just kept perfecting the concept and adjusting to fluctuating prices and new revelations of foods that can effect your health . Baby steps. They all save. One year and your savings will grow.
- Write down and gather recipes if you need to for 10-14 meals your family likes to eat, These meals should be made from low cost sources of protein.
- In our house that would be 1) pork loin that can become chops, roast, or stew cubes; home butchered boneless, skinless, chicken breast; 7 percent hamburger, or home ground low fat hamburger; cheese, beans, and some tuna, shrimp, or salmon.
- Now, find two stores in your area that consistently have the lowest prices.
- Research the prices in your area for those sources of protein. You are looking for the RBP ( rock bottom price ) . In the PNW, I can get split chicken breast , locally grown, for .88 a pound. This turns into boneless, skinless, chicken breast and chicken stick and loose meat. Pork loin is 149-1.69 a pound, this turns out to be roast, chops, and stew meat. Hamburger is 3.28 a pound for 7 percent fat, If a roast or steak is cheaper and has little fat, we will grind our own. Cheese can be purchased for 2.35 a pound or less, and sausage with coupons or at Costco in a chub is around two dollars a pound. I just got rope sausage for two dollars a pound, fry it and de-fat it, and freeze it.
- Protein is probably the most expensive group of foods you buy, starting with it gives you more return on your time,
- Next : what to go with the protein . Remember, baby steps,
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Safeway haul
Safeway haul using a four dollars off of 25.00 coupon.
3 speghetti @ .58
2 cans coffee @ 4.20
10 yoplait @ .34
Country ribs 1/2 price 7.36 ( 3 meals )
10 lbs russet potatoes 2.09
Saved about 46 percent
3 speghetti @ .58
2 cans coffee @ 4.20
10 yoplait @ .34
Country ribs 1/2 price 7.36 ( 3 meals )
10 lbs russet potatoes 2.09
Saved about 46 percent
Wednesday chain store ads
Alberways - a compilation of Safeways and Albertsons because the two stores have identical ads.
Cherries 1.88
Pork shoulder blade roast .99
Eye of round roast. 3.99
Lucerne yogurt 4/1.00@@
Coffee 5.00
5 dollar Friday
Pork loin tenderloins
40 oz jig peanut butter
QFC ( Kroger) two week ad
Buy 3, save 3
Grands biscuits .99. - sometimes coupons
Coffee .99
Jimmy Dean sausage 2.49
Free download - BBQ sauce usually fridays,
Green beans 1.99
Cherries 1.88
Pork shoulder blade roast .99
Eye of round roast. 3.99
Lucerne yogurt 4/1.00@@
Coffee 5.00
5 dollar Friday
Pork loin tenderloins
40 oz jig peanut butter
QFC ( Kroger) two week ad
Buy 3, save 3
Grands biscuits .99. - sometimes coupons
Coffee .99
Jimmy Dean sausage 2.49
Free download - BBQ sauce usually fridays,
Green beans 1.99
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
TUESDAY notes - two easy concepts.
I was thinking the other day.......scary concept in itself. Lol. There are really two major concepts that can cut your food bill drastically just by implementing a few changes. Now, I realize that change is never really easy, but often the rewards are two fold. LOL 😂
Number one
The average cart consists of 1/2 drinks and snacks, Fruit juice, pop or soda , and a dozen packages, especially individual packages of cookies or chips are not good for you or your budget. Save the chips and cookies for special occasions. Fruit juice can have as much or more sugar in it than pop. The bubbles in pop are expected to leach the calcium from your body at certain ages. And, we all know that fake sugar is not good for us as well as sugar. I read where fake sugar is simethingnyour body doesn't know what to do with , so it sticks to the fat cells and makes them larger, Too much meat, sugar, or alcohol are killers of the kidneys. Stick to coffee, tea and water and some milk. It is, no longer recommended that you drink three glasses of milk a day. Check the RDA on milk per age group. A nutritionist told me years ago that giving my daughter an apple was better than giving her natural apple juice. Popcorn air popped is 12.00 for a humongous canister at Costco. I save the canisters to store my beans etc in the pantry shelf. It makes for a more uniform look in the pantry.
Number two
If you are going to one store and buying just what you need for one week, the budget odds are against you. It's rigged, the same as winning at the casino. Did you ever notice that if hotdogs are on sale, the buns aren't. If pasta sauce is on sale, the pasta isn't! No one store has all the bargains. Shopping the TRUE sales and working your meal plan to compensate is a real budget stretcher. Buying the best of two stores and buying more than one of anything that is on a real sale and is a commodity that you eat on a regular basis is also a real money stretcher, Why buy 1 can of green beans at .33 instead of .68 and then buy the next can next week for .68. That makes no sense.
you are buying the same food, you just buy six green beans this week, and maybe four frozen broccoli next week. The end result is the same in quality and kinds of foods, the budget result is remarkable.
We are eating at 40 percent of the USDA stats for thrifty people. We eat good food. We eat fresh fruits and vegetables. We eat meat, and fish, and chicken. And rice, beans, pasta, and potatoes, the same as many other families. We watch salt, sugar, trans fats, hydrogenated oil, and HFCS and buy highest quality I can afford. We just don't pay 💰 full price for our food.
Number one
The average cart consists of 1/2 drinks and snacks, Fruit juice, pop or soda , and a dozen packages, especially individual packages of cookies or chips are not good for you or your budget. Save the chips and cookies for special occasions. Fruit juice can have as much or more sugar in it than pop. The bubbles in pop are expected to leach the calcium from your body at certain ages. And, we all know that fake sugar is not good for us as well as sugar. I read where fake sugar is simethingnyour body doesn't know what to do with , so it sticks to the fat cells and makes them larger, Too much meat, sugar, or alcohol are killers of the kidneys. Stick to coffee, tea and water and some milk. It is, no longer recommended that you drink three glasses of milk a day. Check the RDA on milk per age group. A nutritionist told me years ago that giving my daughter an apple was better than giving her natural apple juice. Popcorn air popped is 12.00 for a humongous canister at Costco. I save the canisters to store my beans etc in the pantry shelf. It makes for a more uniform look in the pantry.
Number two
If you are going to one store and buying just what you need for one week, the budget odds are against you. It's rigged, the same as winning at the casino. Did you ever notice that if hotdogs are on sale, the buns aren't. If pasta sauce is on sale, the pasta isn't! No one store has all the bargains. Shopping the TRUE sales and working your meal plan to compensate is a real budget stretcher. Buying the best of two stores and buying more than one of anything that is on a real sale and is a commodity that you eat on a regular basis is also a real money stretcher, Why buy 1 can of green beans at .33 instead of .68 and then buy the next can next week for .68. That makes no sense.
you are buying the same food, you just buy six green beans this week, and maybe four frozen broccoli next week. The end result is the same in quality and kinds of foods, the budget result is remarkable.
We are eating at 40 percent of the USDA stats for thrifty people. We eat good food. We eat fresh fruits and vegetables. We eat meat, and fish, and chicken. And rice, beans, pasta, and potatoes, the same as many other families. We watch salt, sugar, trans fats, hydrogenated oil, and HFCS and buy highest quality I can afford. We just don't pay 💰 full price for our food.
Monday, July 3, 2017
Why bother with coupons on a meager budget?
I have heard it all......every excuse in the book........I don't have time, it's a waste of time, I'm too busy, why bother it's just for junk food anyway, If you don't want to clip coupons or bother, that's totally up to you. I'm just showing a case senecio of what could happen .
Saegento cheese slices. Retail 3.50 a package - 8 ounces, (1-2 lb) that's 7.00 a pound, I would never pay that . Presliced cheese melts better and is more uniform in size. It's got a better bite. But, I don't want to pay more than 2.35 or so for a pound ofmcheese, I will splurge a little, but not a lot.
Retail 3.50
Sale price 2.50
Less .55 coupon
1.95
Less .50 Ibotta
1.45
That's almost 60 percent off. Or, you can easily get a full pound for the price of a 1/2 pound, You can eat several meals instead of one.
It is never cheap to order your food on line and have it delivered. If you are sick and homeboimd it is a great service. But, it comes at a price. There is a delivery charge, a tip, and the prices are higher and they don't take coupons.
Saegento cheese slices. Retail 3.50 a package - 8 ounces, (1-2 lb) that's 7.00 a pound, I would never pay that . Presliced cheese melts better and is more uniform in size. It's got a better bite. But, I don't want to pay more than 2.35 or so for a pound ofmcheese, I will splurge a little, but not a lot.
Retail 3.50
Sale price 2.50
Less .55 coupon
1.95
Less .50 Ibotta
1.45
That's almost 60 percent off. Or, you can easily get a full pound for the price of a 1/2 pound, You can eat several meals instead of one.
It is never cheap to order your food on line and have it delivered. If you are sick and homeboimd it is a great service. But, it comes at a price. There is a delivery charge, a tip, and the prices are higher and they don't take coupons.
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