Tuesday notes

Hey, the washing machine quit.  We knew that it was on borrowed time.   My hubby and his bro took the old one to the recyclers and my hubby bought a new top load maytag.    I finished all the laundry yesterday while I binge watched ion.  My son took granddaughter to the lake with the rowboat.   She was so excited.  I did do the kitchen management.   LOL.  Having a schedule keeps you going when you not have a job to keep you going.    Otherwise, I could putts around all day and not feel like I accomplished anything.   I grew up with the mantra.that the only right we have is the right to be useful.

At nine yo we started doing the dishes.  My sister washed and I dried.   No dishwasher those days.   I was slow drying.    My sister called me a pedestrian .  I thought it was a really nasty word!  LOL.
That's when we learned to bake too.

At thirteen we got her old iron, and she got a new one.   We got to iron our own clothes.    The clothes those day were cotton.   You put them in a plastic bag with a zipper, wet.   If you didnt get to the ironing fasts enough , they molded and you started over.   Gym shorts were navy blue and you wore a white cotton button shirt that had to be ironed.   The rest wasn't bad, I had two dresses, one blue gingham and one green,  Same style.   I asked for clothes for christmas.   Most kids would expect school clothes in September.   We weren't poor my mother just had priorities.   Clothes and entertainment  and toys weren't on the list.

We grew up not to be disappointed if we didnt have tthe world on a silver platter.  And, I learned how to be frugal.   There are times when frugal is necessary, and there are time when it is a window to getting something you want or a better life.  

Ongoing hauls for the month,

3rd haul.

Winco and Safeway

Winco:
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Grapes
Ham
Ice cream cones


Safeways
Apples


2nd haul :   Fred Meyers dollar sale.

Fred Meyers has a buy 5, price .99 mix and match.   Total spent was 14.99.  Which would put me over by 12.00 on my 25.00 a week budget.   My rationalization :   I bought a months worth of dairy.

2 milk
2 -18 count eggs

Plus
2 4 lb sugar.   For Christmas baking.
2 packages of bars.
Total 8.00


Bought
Eggs, milk, sugar, cookies, bread, water for a treat, and blues.


12 dollar over the 25.00 budget.  
***********

OK, I'm aware that I will go over this week from my 25.00 budget.   Freddies has stock items that are too good a price to pass up and will aid in spending less the following week.   18 eggs for a dollar is like getting three meals of protein for a buck.  You cant beat that with a stick, so a little over will just mean I will spend less the following week.

Hunt , no HFCS catsup 1.96

Green chillies .66

Olives .68

Roma tomatoes .98

Baby tomatoes .98

Strawberries 1.88

Diced ham 2.58

Corn 3/1

Grapes .98

Raspberry yogurt .25

Watermelon 3. 97. Seedless 

Watermelon was the least of summer.  Some of these things are more expensive at FM.   The yogurt is in a case down the front isle.    A quarter a tub is a case price.    Good for back to school breakfasts.   

Kitchen management

Meal Planss for month of no spend.   This is a second attempt.   I took inventory and I am convinced we an do it.    It's a challenge.  

• Chicken Pot Pie 
• Pizza
• Chicken and cheese sandwiches , tomato soup 
• Taco soup 
• Pork chops, sweet potatoes, green beans 
• Salmon, rice mix, veggie 
• Waffles, eggs, fruit 

Meals are not necessarily in chronological order. 

1. Disinfect all counters, sinks, and drains.   
2. Clean out refrigerator and dump anything beyond its useful life, take out anything. The edge and incorporate it into your prep.  
3. Clean the ice maker drain.   
4. It's the first of the month, put the stove fan screen through the dishwasher.   
5. Soak the stove drip pans if necessary. 
6. Mark the meal plan for the day before you intend to use the pork chops so they are put in the refrigerator to thaw. 
7. Cook enough chicken for the chicken and cheese sandwiches and the chicken pot pie in the insta pot.  
8. Wash fresh fruit and veggies with vinegar water.   Don't forget carrots for the chicken pot pie. 
9. Straighten the pantry.  
10. Make muffins for next weeks breakfasts 
11. Organize school lunch basket. 
12. Wash kitchen floor.  

Meal Plans for week of September 3, 2017

Meal Planss for month of no spend.   This is a second attempt.   I took inventory and I am convinced we an do it.    It's a challenge.  

• Chicken Pot Pie 
• Pizza
• Chicken and cheese sandwiches , tomato soup 
• Taco soup 
• Pork chops, sweet potatoes, green beans 
• Salmon, rice mix, veggie 
• Waffles, eggs, fruit 

Notes:  some of this plan is based on things we have an abundance ( more than one) of that needton be used up.   We are now trying to use a minimum of packaged mixes .   There will still be some things because they are either cheaper than scratch, or they are just too labor intensive to make it worth my attention to make from scratch.   

Rice mix is on the blog --a far cheaper alternative than the box with no preservatives.  

Winco haul - no spend - 22.00

Fred Meyers (kroger ) Sunday ad

Sunday ad for Freddies 


2 day sale :    

Hebrew national 2/5 
Watermelon 3.99
Tillamook ice cream 2/5
Corn 2/1
Blues 2/5



REGULAR AD 

Oscar Mayer lunch meat 2/6
String cheese 2/5
Dole fruit bowls 2/4


Ground turkey 3.49
Gala apple .88
Foster farms, boneless, skinless chicken breast 1.97

Kroger cheese , 2.99 lb. watch the size of the bag.   Some are smaller

Grapes 1.99

Buy 5 -must by 5 to get the price , mix or match
Milk .99
18 count eggs, .99
Goldfish .99
Bread .99
Sugar .99

Pumpkin pie 3.99
Zucchini. .99
Cantaloupe 2/4
Pears .99

Brats 3.79
Sour cream 1.25


Note:  one retailer trick is to make the hot dogs cheap, but make it up with the cost of the buns.   The bus are 2/4.   Buns at winco are .75 .   That's a remarkable difference.   It always pays to shop at two stores a week.   Its a basic, easy step to save money.  Pretty much a no brainer.    Sturdy the ads and make a list .   Check your fridge and pantry and go for it.    Don't take children to the store unless they are old enough to help.   I used to give them seek and find game or set them to find which brand was the cheapest.  They are learning to read the per ounce labels and do the math.   In other words, engage them and make it a learning experience.  

2700.00 Grocery Haul....a lesson in contrast.

Honest, no typo.....this's lady on u tube made a 2700.00 grocery haul. I couldnt imagine how much 2700.00 worth of food looked like.     Quite a contrast to our 45.00 a week!  She bought a lot of regular inexpensive food on sale, but also bought designer lunch meat I have never heard of , fancy cheeses, a lot of fast, frozen, ready made food and whole beef loins.   Here regular grocery haul for the week was like 500, the rest was stock up at Sams club and Trader Joe's.  

On to contrast.....I tried to go no spend in August, but found myself buying bulk because the prices are going up and I hate to get stuck with the larger prices before I really have to.    Its the secret to eating well on less money.   So, we are going to try for No Spendtember.   I have stocked the things like honey and vanilla that we were out of and bought a pork loin.   So, I should be able to pull this one off.    I'm trying for less than 30.00 a week worth of perishables.   We do live in one of the highest COL areas of the US.   

There is actually a lady in South Carolina that feeds four of them, including a husband and 2 teenagers for close to thirty dollars a week.   She has a discount grocery store that has outrageous prices.   They also eat a lot of processed and chicken.   She also has to be gluten free for her son.   All things considered, she is remarkable.   

Whatever your budget, this blog is committed to showing people how to eat better for less.

Thursday bullets :Five things

Five things you can make ahead that save time and money .  Its no secret that if there is labor involved its going to cost money.  

• Bread crumbs.   I never understood why someone would throw their bread heels away an then pay upwards of 2.40 a pound for someone else's dry bread.   I used to go out to the deck and grate the dry bread on a box grater on top of a sheet pan.  No mess to clean up.    Now I use a food processor.   No mess, no money, no preservatives.   
• Spice mixes.   You can tailor the spices to fit your families taste and its a lot cheaper than paying up to a dollar a packet for a few minutes of work.   Sometimes spice mixes and sauces for meats can cost more than the meat they go on or in.  
• Drinks:   Cold drinks are expensive.   Iced tea can be well over a dollar for something that can cost as little as a nickel.   The savings are remarkable, and the time it takes to make the tea is minimal.  
• Taco crumbles or sausage crumbles. I saw a little ( like 4-6 ounces ) bag of crumbles at the tore.   It cost more for that bag than making an entire pan full of meat.   Its not rocket science to  put meat in a pan and stir it every so often.   Break it up with a potato masher.    There's a tool for that, but the one I saw was 22.00.    A bit pricey in my book. 
• Muffins :   You can make muffins from just about anything.   Muffin mix is easy to make and take minutes.   That makes muffins literally minutes hands on time.  The cost of some muffins can be up to a dollar EACH.   The cost of making them--about fifty cents a DOZEN.   

Wednesday chain store ads

Alberways

Extra lean (7) ground beef 3.97
Salad .79
Johnsonville dinner sausage 2.99 - just for you coupon
Refresher soda .99 - just for you coupon


QFC  (kroger )
Red, orange or yellow peppers .88
Tillamook ice cream 2/5
Kind bars 1.00


Buy 5, save 5

Ritz crackers 1.79 @@
Cheerios 2.49@@
Jiff 3.49
Goldfish, tortilla chips .99


*****
Yoplait 10/5@@
Pie 2.99

Pint blues 2.99
Corn 2/1
Sweet baby rays 1.00

Tuesday Notes : Inventory and meal plans

Groceries on the cheap takes a different approach to grocery shopping.   Instead of going to one grocery store and buying just what you need for a weeks worth of meal plans, you go to two stores and buy basically the perishables you will need and what's on sale that is on a mater list.  Proteins are simplified and you are buying basics that are versatile.    Its probably not much different than our great grandmothers on the farm.  

This plan sometimes necessitates taking inventory of what is in the pantry.    Once a year I usually do that.    We still have residuals of boxed things from before I decided to make a concentrated effort to scratch cook almost everything.   Its time to incorporate these things into meal plans to use them up and pare down the pantry.   Its a pleasant problem.   Beats not having anything in the house to eat and our food bill is about 40 percent of the USDA stats last time I looked.  


Excess to use up

• Sweet potatoes purchased for .33
• Belgian waffles purchased for 1.00
• Cake mixes purchased for .88
• Mashed potatoes purchased for .86
• Scalloped potatoes purchased for .50. 
• Suddenly salad for .75 

There isn't a large abundance to use up, a month or so should do it.    The difference is that suddenly salad is upwards of two dollars at Safeways, and I paid .75 .    I got almost three for the price of one.    

This is how you can feed a family on less than 4.00 a day.    I have been running about 45.00 a week lately.   Considering that those meals delivered people charge 10.00 a plate, its not hard to see the benefit.   

Monday kitchen management

Meal Plans for week of July 28, 2017

• Pizza
• Breakfast 4 Dinner
• Pork Roast, sweet potatoes, green beans 
• BBQ pull pork sandwiches, cucumber salad  , fries 
• Mac and cheese , peas and carrots 
• Baked salmon , rice medley, glazed carrots 
• Tacos, Spanish rice. 

1. Disinfect counters sinks, drains 
2. Wash stove 
3. Wash refrigerater 
4. Clean ice maker drain 
5. Put stove vent filter through the dishwasher 
6. Mark meal plan to thaw the roast tuesday 
7. Wash carrots, green beans 
8. Make bread dough 
9. Make pizza dough***
10. Make bbq sauce for pulled pork**
11. Wash floor. 

** new pizza dough recipe can be made in bulk and frozen.   Makes once, eat all month.  
** bbq sauce recipe is on www.janefrugalfood.blogspot.com

TIP:   When meal planning, plan to have a couple of really easy meals for those days when bleep happens and you dont have time or enthusiasm to cook dinner. 

Meal plans

Meal Plans for week of July 28, 2017

• Pizza
• Breakfast 4 Dinner
• Pork Roast, sweet potatoes, green beans 
• BBQ pull pork sandwiches, cucumber salad  , fries 
• Mac and cheese , peas and carrots 
• Baked salmon , rice medley, glazed carrots 
• Tacos, Spanish rice. 

Notes : 

• Pizza is a no brainer here.   Cost of a pepperoni or cheese and pepperoni pizza is 1.04 
• Breakfast 4 dinner is another family hit.  
• Pork Roast comes from a pork loin, butchered.   (1.79 a lb) , sweet potatoes were .33.  
• Pulled Pork sandwiches are "planned overs " 
• Mac and cheese, peas and carrots, are scratch using cream soup base. Macaroni was purchased for .50 on sale--barrilla with coupon.    
• Baked salmon, (costco) rice medley is a recipe mix on the blog, glaze carrots with honey and ginger. 
• Tacos made from precooked hamburger that has been de-fatted and the shells we got for .66 at Safeways with double coupons.    ( you can use a store coupon and a manufacturers coupon at many stores.   Spanish rice is made in the insta pot with tomato boullion.   

FYI. Ingredients on DT pizza sauce .

Who ever said that there isn't any good food at the Dollar Tree.  

Francesco Ronaldi pizza sauce.   14 ounces for a dollar.   Cheaper than even winco.

Ingredients
Tomato purée (water, tomato paste, salt, extra virgin olive oil, citric acid and garlic and onion .
No sugar, no things you cant pronounce.  

Fred Meyers ad for Sunday

Peaches, or ectarines .99
Blues, small, 2/5

Boneless Loin chops, 3,99****

Strawberries 2/4
Suddenly salad 1.00 **
Hebrew national hot dogs 2/6
Sweet baby rays 1.00
Fruit pie 3.49


** note:   Boneless loin chops at 3.99.   Cut them from a pork loin and pay 1.49-1.79 a pound.   Less than 1/2 price.  


Buy five , save five, mix and match

You can clean up with these promotions if you can match them with a coupon, and find enough things that you normally buy ( not junk food)

Frosted Flakes, Cheerios, 1.79@@
Jiff 2.99
Tide 4.99 - look for coupons
Bounty paper towels 4.99 -look for coupons
Daves killer bread 3.29
Fiber one or nature valley bars 1.99@@
Kens dressing 1.49 @@

Ritz crackers 1.79@@


@@ coupons out there.  

In the paper , there is a coupon for 1.00 off any dressing 16 ounces or larger.   That makes the dressing .50.

Nature valley bars .50 off of two nets 1.74
Cheerios, 1.00 off of three nets 1.46

Friday recipe: Tex mex burritos in the insta pot.

The insta pot is a three in one cooker that saves money and time in the kitchen.  A virtual work horse in the kitchen.  Recipe can be adjusted to work without the insta pot.


3/4 lb boneless, skinless, chicken breasts , cut into cubes.
1-1/2 cups frozen corn
1 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes with chillies, undrained
2 cups black beans **
1 T taco seasoning **

**. Beans:   Place 1 cup rinsed and picked black beans in the insta pot.  Cover with water up to your second knuckle.   Lock the lid and set the seal button.   Push the bean button.   When cycle is finished, wait five minutes and quick release.   Carefully open lid away from you.  Drain beans and measure 2 cups.

**. Taco seasoning can be purchased or made from scratch.   Recipes on blog.


Place all ingredients in insta pot including the raw chicken cover, and cook on slow cook mode 4-5 hours or until chicken is done.

Remove chicken from pot and shred .  

Return chicken to pot.
Cut 1 package (8 ounces ) cream cheese into cubes.   Add to pot and cook an additional 15 minutes until the cream cheese is incorporated into the dish.

Fill 8 inch flour tortillas with 3/4 cup filling and roll up.    Garish with sour cream, cheddar cheese, chopped tomatoes and/or lettuce.

Beef Enchiladas

Beef Enchiladas

Note :   This is another recipe where cooking your beef in bulk batches saves time and money.

2 cups cooked hamburger (low fat)
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese, divided (1.5 cups )

Slightly warm hamburger in microwave if still frozen.   Add remaining ingredients. Use 1 cup of the cheese .

1 unit of cream soup base
1 can diced green chillies, mild , drained well
1/2 cup of the cheese

Make 1 unit of the cream soup base adding 1/2 of the can of diced chillies, and the cheese at the end.  

8 - 6 inch corn tortillas
Small amount of canola oil

Fry corn tortillas one at a time on both sides for 5 seconds on each side.   Drain on paper towels .

Assembly:

Place corn tortilla on a plate.  Add scant 1/4 cup of meat mixture on each tortilla.  Roll up and place in greased baking pan, seam side down.

Pour sauce over enchaladas.  
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes

Garnish with remaining peppers.  

Thursday : bullets

Hacks to organize your kitchen. Don't let it be overwhelming.   Do it a little at a time.   Clean the cupboard and line the shelves as you go.   I have used shelf paper from the dollar tree, but I have also used wallpaper I got on closeout cheap, and even used wrapping paper.   The dollar tree is full of organizational materials that you can purchase a little at a time.

1. Set zones in your kitchen.   Even a small kitchen can have a designated area for baking.
2. Place your pots and pans where they are used first.   If you use a stock pot a lot, put it near the sink.    The first thing you do with it is to add water to boil noodles or pasta.   
3. Store spices by the stove, but not to close if you have a choice.   The heat isn't the spices best friend.   
4. Store dishes and silverware / napkins etc to set the table in the same place if possible.  
5. Coffee and tea bars are easily set up an make a good addition to the kitchen.  
6. I know some people cant stand clutter, but leaving often used appliances on the counter makes it easier to use them often. 
7. If necessary, make a pantry in another room or the basement.   Growing up, we always had a pantry in the basement, even if it was only shelves under the stairs.   
8. Store baking pans near the oven.   Some stoves used to have a drawer under the oven.   
9. Keep glasses near the sink.  
10. When unloading the dishwasher, stack like kind dishes ( all the plates, bowls, etc ) on the counter , then bring the stack to the cabinet.   It takes no longer to bring a stack than it does for one plate.  Saves a lot of steps an time. 
11. If your kitchen is organized, you will be more likely to do more cooking.   Its faster and easier if things are at your fingertips and you aren't racing around the kitchen to find things.  
12. I have cast iron and ceramic pans.   I leave them on the stove.   They are heavy and I have broken my wrist, so its hard to handle them, but I like the way they hold the heat and that just saves a step not having to put them away.   
13. A tray with olive oil, salt, pepper, vinegar and a slurry bowl on it saves time and energy too. 
14. A urn near the stove or your work counter if you have one is another convenience.   Storing rubber spatulas, wooden spoons, ladle , tongs, etc.  
15. Organizing the pantry and putting food in the same place makes taking inventory a breeze and you can know at a glance when you are running low on something and need to look for a sale. 

Chain store ads

Chain store ads 

QFC 

Raspberries, blackberries 2/4 

Grapes, red 1.48 

Cheese 8 ounce packages : 2.76 a pound if you buy 8 ounce packages **

Buy 5, save 5 sale 

Net prices.   You can mix and match. 

Cheerios or frosted flake 1.79 $$

Nature Valley granola bars 1.99

Tortilla chips .79 (9-13 ounces) 

Daves killr bread 3.49

Jif 28 ounces 3.49

Ritz 2.49$$

GOLDFISH .99

Tide 4..99 -probably a coupon 

Alberways 

Peaches nectarines, apples .97

Whole chicken , unknown origin .87

Just for you 

Coupon for bumble bee tuns .59. Limit 6 

Best foods .199

Canned beans .89**

*** I got cheese at business costco for the target price 

***Target price for beans is 50 cents

Tuesday notes

Organizing.....another run screaming from the building word for some people.  Getting ready for fall and school starting is upon us.  

Being organized is important because it makes our lives easier and less stressful.  

School ideas:

• Make a sign   "Susie's first day of kindergarten 2017"    And take a picture of your child in front of the front door "  its a chronological memory, do it each year.   You can put it in a binder or scrapbook.
• A magazine holder from the dollar store or goodwill is a good receptial for school papers that need to be gone through and sent back to school.  You can use a different color for each child.  In a pinch, you can cut a cereal box, cover it with paper bag paper and let the child decorate the paper. 
• Lay out clothes for five days in boot boxes. On a particular hanger in their closet, or in letter boxes from the dollar store. The kids can still pick their clothes, but finding what goes with what is a lot less hectic in the morning rush. 
• Set up a lunch station.   Non perishables can go in a basket on a shelf the children can reach.  Perishables can be in the refrigerator door or on a shelf in a plastic box or basket.   Some mothers freeze sandwiches for a grab and go.   They don't allow  peanut butter in our school district, so it'll have to be meat and cheese.   
• Betty Crocker has a muffin recipe that sounds to me like it would be the perfect grab and go breakfast.   Its always better if you can sit and leisurely eat a bowl of oatmeal.  There are probably mothers that can make the pancakes and egg lunches, although I dont know anyone that does.   But, face it, there is always that child that dilly dallies......this muffin is full of protein and fat to stay with them, and just a bit of carbs to get them going.    It's made from bisquick, has an apple, cheese , and bacon filling, 
• A coat and shoe rack for coats, mittens, boots, hats near the front door helps too.   
• Load backpacks with as much as you can the night before.    

KITCHEN MANAGMENT

Recap of meals :

• Breakfast for Dinner
• Pizza 
• Chicken enchaladas 
• Pork roast 
• BBQ pork sandwiches. 
• Split pea soup 
• Taco bean casserole
• 
  
• 
  
• This is later because I had an emergency appointment this morning and it was the first day of school!
• 
  
• 
  
• Make pizza dough. 
• Chicken for the chicken enchaladas is already in pieces because it was frozen from the bulk cooking  of  the split chicken breasts.   If you dont have already cut up chicken, cook chicken in the insta pot / or in a skillet and chop.
• Thaw pork roast.  
• Make or buy buns. 
• Chop veggies for split pea soup. 
• Make refried beans.   Make salsa (or buy if they aren't in your pantry.   
• Wash kitchen. Floor. 
• Disinfect countertops, sinks, and drains. 
• Clean out fridge and dump anything dead /make note of anything that needs to be used up soon.   
• Make breakfast muffins for back to school ( Betty Crocker ).