Survival

It saddens me that people that haven’t had to seriously cut corners before have been thrust into the situation through no fault of their own.

On a frecious blog, we talked about getting basics .  Some people already may have some of this, but if they don’t there is a list.  Bulk foods can be purchased at Costco, but if you have a sams club of bjs I’m guessing they have them too.   We only  have Costco here,   

1. 20 # bag of flour 
2. 25# rice 
3. 10# oatmeal 
4. 25# pinto beans 
5. Jar of yeast 

Second 

1. Vegetable oil 
2. Butter 
3. Eggs
4. Salt, baking powder, baking soda 
5. Sugar 
6. Dry milk 

With the basics, a lot of things can happen.

Flour can make : 

Muffins, pancakes, pizza crust, bread, dumplings, biscuits, tortillas, pie crust, impossible pie , and much more . 

Beans and rice make a complete protein. 

Now, set aside a small amount of money per week to fill in and make meals,  work off of the sale ads in the paper.  You are looking for any meat your family will eat for two dollars a pound or less.   Chicken here is .88 for a whole chicken.  I would buy 2, one for this  week, one for next at that price.  Chicken hind quarters are often .59 a pound in ten pound bags.  Here, we find pork sirloin for 1.59 and sometimes pork loin for a dollar.   ( we live on the 7th highest COL in the lower 48) . 

After finding a meat, look for what you need to fill in to make meals.  

Potatoes, diced tomatoes, carrots, celery come to mind. 

The dollar tree has a lot of food, some from China .  They also have a few things that are made in USA and a good buy.   

• Name brand pizza sauce.  Freeze it in an ice cube tray and pop it out intoa zip lock bag for the freezer.  We use 2 cubes per pizza. 
• Tortillas are a dollar, or you can make them yourself. Quesedias take cheese.  Don’t buy it at the DT, though.  It is not real cheese. 
• Gnocchi 
• Pepperoni 
• Barilla pasta sometimes. Note four servings is a half a pound box. 

Ideas 

1. Pizza.  Easy crust in a food processor or by hand. Cost is a dollar a pizza if you use cheese purchased at 2.00 a pound.  2.50 a pound is my target price.  Of it isn’t that or lower, I don’t buy it. 
2. Chicken noodle soup.  I provided four servings at 1.63.  That was based on the Target Store price of .99 cents for noodles and chicken thighs we bought for .78 a pound.  You can make noodles from scratch. Carrots and celery.
3. From a chicken : avoid whole pieces of chicken. You should be able to get two meals from a whole breast, another from the dark meat and one or two from the bones and other meat.  Chicken pot pie, chicken soup, chicken enchiladas, chicken and stuffing, bbq chicken legs and thighs.  chicken pizza. Many more check out Betty Crocker on,one cookbook. It is free and full of ideas.  Remember, just because it calls for a name brand doesn’t mean you can’t substitute scratch.
4. From pork : pork loin can be a dollar a pound.  Cut it up yourself into  roasts and chops,  make stew meat or stir fry out of the tapered ends. 
5. Pork sirloin can be roasted or cut into stew meat or tips over rice.  
6. Cheese and eggs are a good base for many meals. Try for 2.00 a pound cheese, and eggs as close to a dollar as possible. Breakfast for dinner is a good way to cut costs.  Some French toast or pancakes and fruit is good.  Look for bacon ends cheap.  Fruit up and drain it well.  It’s good addition to soups and omelettes. Also vegetable omelettes are good and inexpensive. 
7. Add beans to some ground beef to stretch tacos or beef enchiladas.  Chili is a good stretcher.  Use leftovers to make a baked potato bar.  Kids love it. 
8. Make your own chicken broth from bones. Or use chicken bouillon. It is easy and takes a matter of minutes.  Use a slow cooker or insta pot. 
9. Potato soup is a good stretcher.  Add carrots and celery and use bacon crumbles for garnish or croutons made from dry bread or snipped chives from the garden. 
10. Add biscuits or bread to a soup meal.

Peasant bread takes ten minutes hands on time and costs a quarter.   And, the ten minutes are split nbetween 2 days.