Meal plans

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers!

Meal plans are a necessary tool to help us get through the week with some degree of order. It just makes life easier.   Make a plan, or plan to fail.   We have been try No to introduce 1 new recipe a week to mix things up and try new things,   Boredom is a good thing to avoid.  

• Ham, potato, pepper chowder  soups cookbook from Taste  of Home 
• Pizza
• Breakfast for dinner 
• Black bean enchiladas 
• Roast chicken, bread stuffing, craisens, apples, green beans 
• Baked potato bar 
• Hamburgers, corn on the cob, green beans 

Notes 

1. Some meals are leftover from last weeks list. 
2. Pizza is a family favorite.  A cheese pizza is about a dollar.   
3. Black bean enchiladas are a new recipe from Betty Crocker. Make your own enchilada sauce 
4. Roast chicken is already cooked and on the freezer.  The bread for dressing was fifty cents at GO. 
5. Baked potato bar uses up potatoes before they go bad and is a good way to use up leftovers. 
6. Hamburgers, corn on the cob and green beans uses corn on the cob that was 3/1 at sprouts.   Hamburger patties that need to be used. Cleaning out the freezer.   
7. Breakfast for dinner will use the Jimmy  Dean Sausage we got for free at Kroger.   Add eggs and fruit,   Strawberries have been a dollar and oranges continue to be cheap, as well as apples.  

Using up what you have and making best use of things that need to be used up is a way of saving a lot of money,   It has been said that Americans waste 40 percent of their food,  I don’t think the average family does that ; part of that statistic is farmers plowing food that isn’t perfect.  Another part is buying organic when it spoils so fast. Organic costs about 60 percent more than regular fresh foods between the excess costs and the spoilage rate.  Pesticides are usually water soluble according to what I have read.   Wash your fruits and vegetables with vinegar water and let them dry,   

Concept:: 15 minutes at a time

The main reason for not scratch  cooking is that it takes a big block of time and people are busy or don’t like to cook.   Learning ways to get a home cooked meal on the table by carving out snippets of time can be the solution.  Having a few appliances that make sense helps in the concept of efficient cooking.

The thought of cooking pasta and boiling water, storing, watching the pot, draining the pot while making sauce can be daunting if you  have worked all day on your feet.    But, layering already cooked hamburger, spaghetti noodles, sauce in a pot, pouring water or stock around the edge and closing the lid and setting it to cook is far easier.  You can make a quick salad while the insta pot is coming up to temperature and still have time to sit down with your feet up and watch the news.   I have a timer that I take with me. Spaghetti  needs to be a quick release when done so the pasta doesn’t overcook.

Making the components of meals in bits of time is a good way to make a short meal prep dinner.

• Chicken stock takes about ten minutes split into two sessions.  Saves a lot of money on the scheme of things, 
• Bread crumbs are easy, another five minute trick and saves another bundle of money .  Anything that takes almost no time and cuts your cost by 90-100 percent is a good way to stretch your budget. 
• Artisan bread is another 10 minute trick that makes a loaf of bread a bit more than a quarter instead of anywhere between 2.50 to 3.99 .
• Cooking a bulk batch of ground meat and de fatting it saves up to 17 percent of the fat and a lot of time. Buying your meat when it is at a RBP and buying bulk saves a lot of money.  
• Making a four pizza crust batch of pizza dough cost about 1.25. It costs 1.50-2.00 a dough ball at the store.   A pizza can be anywhere from 5.00 for a good frozen pizza to 20.00 for a delivery one.  A cheese pizza costs a buck.  The cost of a cup of flour has risen 7;10 of a cent, so add a couple of cents to that.  My granddaughter has been putting pizza together from the dough ball to oven ready since she was four years old.   It’s not hard and saves a lot of money.   It’s fun family time and children get experience and self confidence.   

Think of a recipe on hands on cooking time.   That’s not the time when the pot cooks, but, rather the time it takes you to fill that pot.   Slow cooker meals have long been a mainstay in the busy cook’s  bag of tricks.  Now, add the insta pot, food processor, and hot air fryer. 

Tacos can be made in 15 minutes flat when your meat is already cooked and you just add taco seasoning and a little water.   While the meat warms , you can chop lettuce, cut a tomato and gather the cheese and sauce.  Taco kits sometimes  be found at grocery outlet for a dollar.   

The insta pot makes quick work of Spanish rice, or regular rice for that matter when you put rice in the pot. Add an equal amount of water or stock and pit the lid on, set to seal and push the rice button. The cost is .03 a serving and redi rice is about .50 a serving if you get the package on sale. Pitting it on the microwave takes about the same time as setting up the insta pot.   

Canned beans, besides having sodium in them and being in a BPA can, cost anywhere between  .50 and 1.50.   Beans cost .0125 a serving or about .05 for the equivalent of a can.  Again, it is wash beans and pick out any rocks or bad beans. Pit on pot, add water to cover the beans about 1.5-2 inches above the beans, close he pot, set to seal and push the bean button.  Winco foods cans have no BPA. When the BPA was tested in a can of tomato sauce, the BPA was 6 parts per like 2 or 3 billion.  

Put  stew meat in the pot.  Sear  it of you want, or you can put it on frozen right out of the freezer.  
Add potatoes and carrots and stock, put the lid on, set to seal and program.  Use a recipe, but my recipe takes 35 minutes.   

Soups are just about as easy.   Cutting the vegetables are the most tome consuming, using the food processor helps with that.  

The only thing I wouldn’t try again is chili from raw beans.  Cook the beans first or use canned.  

Buying diced tomatoes with seasonings is a good trick.  Saves money and time.   

Anytime I can throw things on a pot and walk away to finish dinner or sit down with a glass of beverage (sparkling water) and put my feet up is a good thing.  Saving money is an added blessing. 

Hauls to May 8

Winco

Apples .98
Roma’s .98
Strawberries .98
Corn .58
Tortillas 3.09
Oranges .88
Green chilies.69
Olives .78
Ice cream 2.98
Cottage cheese 1.98
Hummus 1.98
Chips. 1.18
Grapes 1.98
Yolait  refrigerator 3.68

Total 31.51

Blueberries 4.99

tortillas 4.00

grocery outlet
hunts ketchup , no HFCS .99
vermicelli  .34
brownie mix .50
tea .99
herb stuffing .50
bread .99
taco shells .50
antioxident blend fruits 2# ea 3.00
cauliflower rice .50
bacon 2.99

total 17.78

total 58.28

Almost no money, no time and save 90 percent

Sometimes, it is  just the little things. It’s just a mindset to economize on food without compromising on the quality or taste of your food.

Little things like making your own breadcrumbs.   Why throw the heels of the bread away and then pay two dollars a pound for breadcrumbs.   That two dollars a pound can be hamburger instead.

When I make homemade chicken nuggets, I cut squares of chicken breast into bite sized pieces,   Dip them in melted butter and then in a mixture of equal parts breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan, and chopped  nuts.  Less carbs, more protein.

Breadcrumbs are easy to put in a food processor and  whirl into crumbs.   Put your sheet  pan or cookie sheet pan with sides and put in an oven that has just been used and is still hot.

Another simple way to stretch your food dollar is to make your own chicken stock.   It is lower in sodium and lower in fat.   And,  virtually free instead of 2.44.  It tales your garbage and less than ten minutes.  It can cook while you sleep.

The third thing that saves tons of money is artisan bread,   It takes about ten minutes if your hands on time and a loaf of artisan bread costs about 28 cents. I saw it for 3.99 at Alberways, about 2.50 at Winco.   Many u tubes out there.  Big family Homestead is a good one, but there are many some call it peasant bread.    You can make it on a Dutch oven or on a pizza stone or sheet pan,

Three things that save about 90 percent and take minutes to do.

What a concept !

The best of the ads

Alberways
Milk 1.99@@
Bread 1.49@@
Frozen potatoes 1.99 2#


Sprouts
Strawberries 1.98 2#
Cucumbers 3/1
Corn 3/1
Blues 2/3
Squash .88
Grapes 1.98

QFC
Lean cuisine 1.88
18 ounces blues 4.99
Farmland bacon 2/7


Fred Meyers

Eggs .99
80/20 hamburger 2.79
Peppers, english cucumber .99
Oranges, pears .99
Farmland bacon 2/7
grapes  1.99
Corn 5/2

B5S5
Cheese 2# 4.99
Cereal both some Kellogg’s and some GM 1.99
Kraft bbq sauce .49


Obviously, Fred Meyers is the place for rotation protein....hamburger and eggs.

Basics for survival

Big box store

• Flour 
• Oatmeal
• Rice 
• Yeast 
• Beans 

Next , discount store 

• Bulk dry milk
• Salad oil
• Salt 
• Baking powder
• Sugar

Monday kitchen management

Monday kitchen Management aka meal prep

Kitchen management is a tool that allows  you to prep for your meals when you time is less hectic and real the benefits when it is hectic. Adding some deep cleaning a bit at a time means you keep ahead of the massive all day cleaning.

Meals
Leftovers
Pizza
Ravioli
Pork stew
Roast chicken, dressing,
Black bean enchiladas
Breakfast for dinner

•  Wash the kitchen floor.
• Clean out the refrigerator and dump anything dead 💀.
• Clean and disinfect the counter tops, sinks, and drains.
• Wash the vegetables and fruits with vinegar water 
• Look up the enchilada sauce recipe 
• Put  the stove vent screen through the dishwasher. 
• Grate Parmesan cheese 
• Straighten the freezer. 

Meal plans

There are lots of matrix for meal plans, I ran on to an interesting one a few weeks ago.

Pasta Monday
Taco Tuesday
Wet Wednesday (soup)
Pizza Thursday
Fish Friday
Stir fry Saturday
Sunday supper

Our matrix is
1 fish
1 beef
2 vegetarian
3 pork or chicken

Sometimes lately we have not had  fish,   Finding inexpensive CLEAN fish is hard.

• Leftovers 
• Pizza
• Ravioli, salad 
• Pork stew,rolls 
• Roast chicken , apple, Craisens dressing , green beans 
• Black bean enchiladas , tomato and lettuce 
• Breakfast for dinner 

Notes 

• Pizza dough is on the freezer 
• Ravioli is from the dollar tree...an experiment 
• Pork stew is from meat cut from the end of a pork loin. Carrots, potatoes, peas.   
• Roast chicken from the freezer , dressing was a quarter at GO, green beans .50
• Black bean Enchiladas are Betty Crocker , make your own sauce. 
• Breakfast for dinner used artisan bread from the dollar tree ( orowheat) 

Using a variety of meals that run the gambit from cheap to more expensive allows you to have a variety of meals and still keep a less than 4 dollar a day budget.   Add smart shopping and efficient scratch cooking and you have a winning combination.   

A low budget doesn’t mean just beans and potatoes.   It doesn’t mean canned pork and beans either, or top ramen and potato chips.   You can actually eat better than so,e people that have more money,   It’s a matter of good skills and knowing prices.   A pound of Jimmy Dean  sausage is 6.49 in so,e stores.   It is 2.49 in other stores.   I paid 1.49 in a mark down rack at Fred Meyers.  The lull dare was two days out.  I froze it.   That’s a five dollar spread.  A cake mix is 2.79 some places.   It can also be had for as low as .79 and certainly a dollar many times at other stores.   

It is not mad much WHAT you buy as it is WHEN and WHERE you buy it.   

Concept : cheap meals can afford you some more expensive ones

I started this blog to help people stretch their snap dollars so they could eat well on four dollars a day.   It has morphed into a bunch of frugal ideas for everyone , not just those in dire straights.   I’ve been working n dire straights, without a safety net of snap, but I also realize that a lot of people have been a lot worse off than I was.   Times have changed for us and I wouldn’t see us in any way dire straights.  It’s actually a little t more secure feeling knowing that our income isn’t going to change and we have the luxury of being able to do what we want , when we want to do it.  We still have volunteer positions, but it’s not the same.   I can still help people s t r e t c h their buck at the grocery store and have been for six years now,    I spend time searching for ideas that work and can be incorporated into a efficient way of buying food and cooking it.  The end result is home cooked, efficiently cooked meals that taste good.   I try for low saturated fat, hydrogenated oil,  salt, sugar, HFCS, and caustic soap free food.

This blog is going to be about low cost, good food.   If you can add some comfort foods that are low cost to your meal plans, it affords you a way to have a more expensive meal or two and still maintain a four dollar a day  budget. It’s all in the averaging.

Prices when I can quote them are based in buying your food at the RBP in the Seattle area.   Seattle is one of the highest COL states in the nation.  One might think that was because of the high cost of housing ,  but I research a lot of grocery shopping blogs across the country, and food is higher here. I think it is especially curious that even things grown on the west coast are cheaper in the mid west than they are here.

Four servings

• Chicken noodle soup , cheesy drop biscuits comes in at two dollars 
• Potato soup, artisan bread comes on at 1.50 
• Pizza for cheese, a dollar 
• Waffles or pancakes, fruit, eggs 2.50 
• Spaghetti with red sauce as low as 1.13 add a salad and some Parmesan cheese, or green beans (50) 
• Red beans and rice.  Beans come in at .0125 a half cup serving, Rice is .03 a serving. Cost is nickel a serving plus vegetables and spices. 
• Chicken enchiladas with green sauce 2.28 
• Taco soup 3.00

Notes: 

Chicken stock is virtually free and can be fat and salt free if you make it from chicken bones.   Dry little time involved.

Anything that takes meat pieces instead of a hunk of meat is going to be less expensive per serving,  add beans, rice, or cheese to “beef” up the protein.  If a meal doesn’t have enough protein, consider  adding a protein rich desert. 

Scratch pizza crust, and artisan bread costs about a tenth of what ready made does and it takes literally ten minutes or less.

Consider getting the tools to make cooking faster and easier.   You buy groceries over and over again,  tools you buy once.   They can save a bundle  of money.  The easier something is, the more likely you are to do it when you are tired or things are hectic. 

You’re at the beach......

a few years ago, we went to the beach for our anniversary.  We got cheap lodging with a groupon.   It was abundantly clear soon after we arrived why it was sooo cheap.    There was virtually no clean ( as  food and no kitchen facilities at our disposal.   Clean to us meant food that didn’t  look like it needed to be thrown out.   We had brought some food in a cooler like I always do.  That took care of a breakfast.   The first night we went to the only place that was open,,,a fish and chips that cost 40.00   For fish and chips one drink, , and mine  was ice tea.  

I wound up doing a search on my tablet and finding a subway at a gas station five miles away.  My husband went every night and bought us dinner.   Albeit better than nothing,  

That being said, I decided I would do a blog on what you can buy at the dollar tree that is not made in China and as healthy as it can be. This does mean that you have some basic cooking equipment .   I have for years carried a plastic container with plastic plates, bowls, cups and silverware, along with a cutting board and paring knife,   It has saved us numerous times.  

Dollar tree food you can eat, not necessarily the cheapest place to get it.

Canned chicken
Tuna
Salami
Crackers
Oatmeal
Almond milk
Spaghetti. And noodles
Pasta sauce. ( hunts)
“Parmesean cheese”
Pizza crust
Pizza sauce
Pepperoni
Fake cheese
Name brand Mac and cheese (frozen)
Name brand instant mashed potatoes
Chili
Canned vegetables
Rice
Beans
Tomatoes
Dried tomatoes
Dried fruit
Turkey bacon
Eggs
Tortillas
Chicken stock
Hormel chicken tamales
Peanut bitter
Bread
Bagels (sometimes)
Olive oil


Not that any of this is gourmet food, but in a pinch it would work. And some of it is regular food, but at a more expensive price than  other stores.  

The Hormel chicken tamales, and pizza sauce is actually cheaper .   And some of the tortillas are not so bad fat and cheaper.   Pepperoni is a name brand.  

Hauls to May 1

Sprouts

Strawberries .98

Celery 1.69

Cucumber  2/1

Pears .98

Italian squash .88

Red grapes. 1.98

Roma’s .99

Corn .20

Yellow squash .99

Total 13.01

Fred Meyers 

Milk 1.25

 Cottage cheese 1.49

Sausage 2.50

FF chicken breast (.88) 4.49

Diced ham 2.00

Total 11.73 

Grand total 24.74

Safeways
Potatoes 1.00
Real maple syrup 5.95
Coffee 5.99
Fruit syrup 2.99
Total 15.97

DT
Bread 3.00
Tortilla strips
Hormel chicken tamales 2
Salt
mustard

Totals 8.00

Winco
2 eggs 1.13

******
50.97

The best of the ads. 5/1

Alberways

Berries  BOGO. Bargain?...

THREE  DAYS ONLY. FSS

Pork blade roast 1.49
Roma’s, onions, avocados .99
Sour cream, tortillas .99


Barilla pasta @@.99
Salsa 1.99@@

Only at Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake terrace
Apples .99
Black olives .79


QFC
18 ounces blues 4.99
Milk 4/5

NBH (no bargain here )
2 lb deli chicken 7.99

Chicken breaks even with bone to meat ratio at 3 lbs,
At two pounds, you are laying 8.00 a pound for the chicken
Last week, split chicken breast was .88 a pound at Fred Meyers,
Almost 10 pounds for the cost  of one!

Sprouts

Corn 5/1
Tomatoes .88
Apples .88

Fred Meyers

Berries 2/5
Wishbone dressings 1.79

Digital FRI, SAT, SUN
Shrimp 4.99
Tortillas, chips .99
24 ounce sour cream , cottage cheese 1.29

What we ate April

Meal plans are a road map, sometimes we take side trips.

1. daughter cooks 
2. Clam strips, fries, coleslaw 
3. Hamburger  steak, fruit salad, vegetable salad 
4. Chicken soup 
5. Chicken stir fry 
6. French Toast, oranges, bacon 
7. Chicken soup 
8. Pizza
9. Shrimp salad 
10. Vegetable stir fry with chicken 
11. Waffles, strawberries, bacon 
12. Ham and cheese sliders, fruit salad ( homemade buns) 
13. Tacos, chicken tamales 
14. Pizza
15. Chili 
16. Ham quiche 
17. Chicken pot pie 
18. Spaghetti 
19. Tomato soup. Toasted cheese 
20. Sheet pan dinner, sausage and oven roasted vegetables 
21. Potluck, Broccolli roasted 
22. Potato soup, cheese drop biscuits 
23. Pizza
24. Herb crusted chicken breast, corn on the cob, salad 
25. Chicken enchiladas 
26. Hamburger steaks with blue cheese, vegetable sauté with summer squash, red peppers , tomato, celery, red pepper flakes  and parsley 
27. Baked potato bar 
28. Sausage, waffles, strawberries 
29. Chicken pot pie 
30. Potluck. Refried beans (scratch)

L

Monday Kitchen Management

The joy of Kitchen Management is that you are free to do as much or as little as you want.  Kitchen management or food prep is a tool for getting you out of the kitchen fast in week nights that are sometimes hectic and your plate is full.  

Reminder of meals
Chicken pot pie
Pizza
Breakfast for dinner
Taco soup
Chicken noodle soup
Pork stew

1. Wash kitchen floor 
2. Clean out the refrigerator and dump anything dead 💀.
3. Clean and disinfect countertops and sinks and drains. 
4. Wash vegetables : carrots and potatoes , dry
5. Chicken is already cooked as well as the hamburger for the taco soup. 
6. Check the homemade  mix levels.   Magic mix? Rice? Muffin? 
7. Clean the microwave .

I bought colored tortilla strips at the dollar tree.  I also bought hamburger buns and Texas toast that we need to freeze or use during the week.    

The Texas toast we use for French Toast for breakfast for dinner.  Last night I snuck whole wheat flour into the waffles.   Some people have used hamburger buns for poor mans French bread. Lol. O think I’ll freeze  them for sloppy joes.  Bagels are food for breakfast and we have cream cheese.   

Having muffin mix means you can have muffins made in about 15 minutes at a cost of about .32.   

Add the cost of any flavoring like a small apple or strudel topping 

It costs three cents  a serving for rice.   Adding some chicken stock and some herbs is pennies and far cheaper than a box mix.

Magic mix is basically a mix that makes white sauce with the addition of water.  Faster and easier than scratch.  Add chicken stock instead for green enchilada sauce and add mild green chilies.   These are cheapest at Winco for Winco brand.  Winco canned foods have no BPA in the cans along with being cheaper.   

Dollar tree had Hormel chicken tamales , tortilla strips , orowheat bread including bagels, Texas toast type bread, and hamburger buns,   They also have hints ketchup in a large bottle, a sea salt grinder, pizza sauce (name brand) Chex mix (name brand), sometimes Barilla pasta.   Watch the frozen foods, many are from China,   I have got Ore Ida there before.   I watch for American name brands.  Some things  like cereal, cake mix, pasta sauce, suddenly salad and canned veggies are cheaper elsewhere and  sometimes in a bigger package.  Pinto beans are .67 a pound.  The only place beside buying 25 pounds at Costco that I have found cheaper is in the bulk isle at Winco.    

Sunday, it must be meal plans

Meal plans save time and money and keep you organized along with a prep , kitchen management  day.  We use a protein driven meal plan.

• Chicken pot pie 
• Pizza
• Roast chicken, pear salad , mashed potatoes, green beans 
• Taco soup, chips, cheese, sour cream 
• Chicken noodle soup , cheese biscuits 
• Pork stew, bread 
• Breakfast for dinner. 

Notes 

1. Chicken pot pie is quick and easy and uses magic mix, frozen mixed veggies, and chicken pieces. 
2. Pizza is a mainstay.  A cheese pizza costs about a dollar, five or take a few cents .
3. Roast chicken is frozen, pear salad has blue cheese and walnuts.  Pears were cheap at sprouts. 
4. Taco soup is easy on the insta pot— or not.  Hamburger is already cooked and on the freezer.   
5. Chicken noodle soup uses frozen chicken pieces, cheese biscuits add to the origin and are quick and easy. (Betty Crocker) 
6. Pork stew is on the insta pot for 35 minutes . Stew meat comes from a pork loin end. Potatoes are a dollar at Alberways. 
7. Breakfast for dinner is another mainstay.  Sausage was on sale at Fred Meyers . Eggs were 1.13 a dozen . 

Balancing some cheap dinners with some more expensive ones makes for a better variety of meals. 

Principles of thrift

Basic necessities of food can be inexpensive and are the start of providing good meals for your family.  Trying to keep up with the Jones’ that earn three times your income doesn’t work.   The reality is, you have to make it on what you have. It’s the truth, but you can actually eat better, because you aren’t eating a bunch of preservatives and fat.

Buying your groceries 1 week or day at  a time means you are paying  top dollar for your food. Using a replentish based shopping strategy instead of a panic strategy is key.  Panic strategy is when you have nothing left in the refrigerator but a jar of pickles and you rush out to buy groceries at the nearest store.   Replentish based shopping, replentishes  what you used, yet  you still have food in the house,  It is a lot more relaxing,  you can go to the store at your leisure and take advantage of sale prices at two stores.  You are going to the store for a rotation protein, your dairy, and produce, and to replentish your stock of something  is at a good price.   The price of the same thing, in identical box and brand can have a spread in price of two dollars.   All those two dollars add up fast.  Something as simple as buying frozen instead of fresh can make a big difference.  In actuality, many times the meat you are buying has been previously frozen anyway and the frozen vegetable has been frozen at its peak of freshness.

Ten dollars during spring and summer months at a Sprouts or a farmers market can buy a basket of food.   Not buying organic saves a lot of money.  Pesticides are water soluble.  Wash your produce with vinegar water. Peel it if it makes sense.   There are a lot of storage containers  that keep  the gasses  out and keep vegetables longer.  Organic food doesn’t last as long as regular.   The upshot can be a sixty percent markup from regular food.  My take in that is that I have lived through almost three  quarters of a century with regular food and  they used to use a lot more caustic pestisedes than they do now. I am still alive and kicking!   LOL

Oxy moron. LOL
They say that not buying junk food and pop can save 50 percent of you food budget.  Buying things half price can save 50 percent.  But, somehow that doesn’t mean you are getting your food for free!

• Never pay full price.  My mother used to say that some people could have a bargain get up and bite them in the butt, and they wouldn’t see it.   Don’t be that person . 
• Identify the foods you use in a regular basis.   If they are  on perishable, consider keeping a four to week supply of those foods.   That means that of you eat spaghetti and sauce once a week, you need  to keep four packages of pastah and four containers of sauce. 
• Buying your protein in bulk when it is a “loss leader” and purchasing enough for a four to six week supply, saves money and avoids waste.   Break  the bulk down on meal sized portions.  If you eat ground beef once a week, you will need four meal sized portions. For is, that would be two pounds.   
• Keep fresh fruit and vegetables in stock at home,   Buy produce when in season,   The basics of carrots , celery, and potatoes are year round.   When produce is in season, it tastes better and is cheaper.    
• Dairy usually goes on sale once a month,  most dairy with the exception of milk had a month pull date.  Buy the basics when it is on sale.   Milk can be had usually with coupons or with deals for free pairing cereal and milk,   Use coupons for the cereal.   
• Eggs are a good source of protein .   The prices vary,  again, you have a month pull date.  Buy them when they are cheap and keep a four week supply.   Replentish as you use them and when they are at their cheapest. 
• Know your prices.   If it is something that you can substitute something else for or go without, don’t buy anything unless it is at or below you target price.   
• Portion control is good for your waistline as well as your pocketbook.   Know what the RDA mis for protein and milk.   It just might surprise you. 
• Keeping a four to six week supply means you never have food anxiety,   Food anxiety can actually lower you life span.   This also good insurance against not having  food  in an emergency.   It’s not like you can live without it.  I’m recent years, we have had floods that meant the trucks couldn’t get to the grocery stores; snow, and a government shutdown  .   Grocery stores carry a three DAY supply of food.   In an emergency  situation, you can’t depend on the store to cover your butt.
• Learn to efficiently scratch cook.   If you are stretched for time, spend more time planning and organizing and less time cooking.  Planning an organizing, and shopping wisely saves money, efficient scratch cooking saves time and money. It costs .28 to make a loaf of artisan bread and takes ten minutes of your hands on time.  It costs up to 3.99 for a loaf of artisan bread.    ( Safeways) .   A full pot of potato soup and cheesy drop biscuits cost about 1.50. The same price of a can that serves 1

Finally Friday

Yesterday, we bought a bulk tray of split chicken  breast;  it is Foster Farms.   Last night I de boned 4 chicken breasts. The tray  totaled five pounds that cost about 4.50.

I did this quickly and didn’t try to get real close to the bone.  Each breast was over a pound.  I got four reasonable single serving breasts and   it left a lot of meat on the rib bones.  This morning I placed the bones in the insta pot on the slow cooker mode.  I will have chicken stock and a lot of chicken pieces to make numerous dinners.  This netted 2.75 quarts of stock, 4 chicken breasts, amd a full pound of chicken pieces.   

It doesn’t take a lot of hands in time to de bone chicken and saves a lot of money.  I put corn n the cob in the microwave, made a green salad, and cooked chicken breast in the insta pot.  The recipe I used called for an herb and olive oil paste on a boneless , skinless  chicken breast.  You browned it on the sauté mode , then  removed it, de glazed the pan adding a cup of chicken broth.  Replaced the breasts on the rack and processed it for  6 minutes. I felt the breasts were bigger than normal, so I added a minute to the time.  While the chicken was cooking, I disinfected the cutting board and made salad .   

Today, we are having chicken Enchiladas with some of the meat from the insta pot slow cooker

.   .   

Cooking meat ahead of dinner time goes a long ways to making dinner time efficient. 

1 cup of shredded , cooked, chicken 

2 cups green enchilada sauce 

1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese 

1 can - 4 ounces , diced green chilies (small can is .69 at winco ) 

6 small flour tortillas

• Mix together in a bowl, the chicken, half of the green chilies, 1/4 cup cheese, and enough sauce to bind together,   
• Place small amount of mixture in the lower third of a tortilla, roll and place seam side down in a baking pan that has a small amount of sauce in the bottom.   
• Pour  remaining sauce over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese,
• Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling around the edge of pan,   
• 
  
• Serves 2 adults and two children. 
• 
  
• Enchalada sauce is magic mix made with chicken stock instead of water.   Add green chilies. 

•  
• 
  

Hauls to 4/24

Fred Meyers

7 chili .99
5 butter 2.49
Peppers .99
Blackberries .99
Sour cream .99
Total 25.33

The best of the ads 4/24

Sprouts
Strawberries .98
Tomatoes .88
Mango 2/1
Oranges .88
Pears .98
Squash .88
Blues, blackberries 2/5


Alberways

Chicken , whole or part .99
Ribs, pork 1.99

General Mills cereal. Buy 2, get three free.  -bargain?..

Milk 1.99@@
Bread .79

Dollar sale
Garden salad
Red delicious apples
Roma’s
Peppers
Naval oranges

Corn on cob 2/1
Potatoes 5# 1.00

QFC
.99
Tomatoes
broccoli

Digital coupons
Cheerios 1.79
Milk 4/5

Digital coupons 4 days only Thirsday  - Sunday
Sausage 1.99

Fred Meyers
Very hard to follow ad

Foster farms chicken .88 includes split breast 
Kroger bacon 2.99 # I’m 3 pounds package 
Milk 4/5 
Sausage   2/5 
Sausage 1.99


Digital coupons 
Marie c frozen dinners 1.88
Cheerios 1.79
Yoplait yogurt 10/5
Deli meat Oscar  Mayer 2.49 

Digital thurs -Sunday 
Cheese .99

Note : split chicken breast and cheese at Fred Meyers is a good stock price.   Note vlog on split chicken breast....make the chicken stock pay for the chicken.  

How many things can you make from flour

A 25 lb bag of flour at Costco is now 7.29. That is .29 lb or .087 cup.

Most bakery items and frozen bakery items are marked up by about 90 percent.  Understandably, when there  is someone else’s labor involved, we need to pay for it.  But, when you are economizing it usually means you have more time than money.  Besides the fact that homemade has no preservatives and you control the ingredients.

• Artisan bread 
• Pizza
• Muffins
• Pancakes 
• Tortillas 
• Noodles 
• Dumplings
• Biscuits 
• Cookies
• Pie crust
• Bread
• Doughnuts 
• Fruit crumbles 
• Waffles
• Buns for sliders
• Cake 
• Cupcakes 
• Hoagie rolls 

Monday * the price book

 Price books are a tool to keep track of the lowest prices on your master list.   I have a few things in my master list  and keep it in my head.  You can, however, keep a spiral book and keep t 8n your purse or coupon book.

Small spiral tablets  are about three for a Dollar at the DT.  List the item on top of the sheet, add the date, store and price .  After a few times posting to the sheet, youmwill have a sense ifmwhat the lowest price is.

Canned vegetables .50
Any fresh veggies 1.00 or less
Chicken less than 1.30
Hamburger 80-20 less than 3.00
Pasta sauce 1.00 for canned
Pasta sauce in jars 1.50
Tomato  sauce , 8 ounces 3/1
Ketchup, 1.00
Mayo 3.00
Diced tomatoes .58, , .50 is better
Cream soups .50 or less.
Sugar 4 lbs 1.00
Eggs 1.50 tops.
1/2 gallon milk 1.00
Sour cream 1.00
Pork loin 1.00- 2.00 #
Pizza sauce 1.00
Suddenly  salad  1.00 large box
Pinto beans .67 a #
Cheese 2.00-2.50 lb
Cheese slices 2.19 - real cheese

Meal plans

Meal  plans are a necessary part of an organized kitchen and help us  to stay in track and save money and time.

• Potato soup w ham , cheezy biscuits 
• Pizza
• Black bean enchiladas 
• Beef stew, with carrots, and potatoes 
• Sausage cream pasta ( Big Family Homestead u tube) 
• Salmon, glazed carrots with honey and ginger. Green beans 
• Breakfast for dinner : waffles, fruit, eggs 

Balancing cheap meals with some not so cheap helps to keep you in budget without feeling deprived. 

Notes 

1. Potato soup comes in at less than a dollar.  Ham cubes are left over from another meal.   
2. Pizza is a mainstay.  Cheese pizza comes on at a dollar a pizza.   
3. Black bean enchiladas are a Betty Crocker recipe,  ,ale your own enchiladas sauce. 
4. Beef stew is made a n the inst pot on 35 minutes. 
5. Sauce cream pasta is a skillet meal and quick.   
6. Salmon, glazed carrots and green beans used regular carrots coins and fresh green beans 
7. Breakfast for dinner is another mainstay.  It can be cheap or not so cheap.   Waffles can be healthy with grains and fruit and eggs finish the meal 

What 4.00 a day doesn’t mean

what four  dollars  a day doesn’t mean...

1. It doesn’t mean that your cupboard  is bare at the end of the month 
2. It doesn’t mean eating boxed meals full of preservatives or top ramen 
3. It doesn’t mean you need to work all day in the kitchen 
4. It doesn’t mean you shop at the corner store or the organic store 
5. It doesn’t mean that you have to give up the five food groups. 

1. It does mean you get organized and know the meals you cook on a regular  basis.
2. It does mean that you simplify your list of stock items that help you make a meal anytime you want.
3. It does mean you can have artisan bread 🥖 with ten minutes work anytime you want for a cost of a quarter— give or take a penny, instead of 3.99.
4. It does mean that eventually you will have a stock to carry you through a month if necessary.
5. It does mean that you shop to replenish, instead of shopping in a panic . 
6. It does mean you go to two stores—the best of two stores and cut your food budget in half or more,   
7. It does mean you save the planet by not wasting food and making best use of what you have.
8. It means you actually eat healthier because you aren’t  eating hydroginated oil, too much meat, gmo, HFCS, oreservatives, avoiding trans fats, amd a lot of sugar and salt. 

Introduction

Back in 2012, I started this blog at the encouragement of my children.  My daughter has taught children from low income households for years. Some were lamenting that their SNAP money ran out before the month ran out.  My daughter told one that her mom knew how to stretch a food dollar.

In the early 1970’s I found myself a single parent with more bills than money.  We went through double digit inflation with no raises in three years and my child support was spasmodic at best.  I had no choice but to economize the best I could.  We turned off heat on the bedrooms, I stopped the dishwasher to air dry and I read everything I could get from the library and watched everything I found on our 10 inch black and white tv with rabbit ears.   I already knew some principles from watching my mother.  I just added to it, some things I tried were hits, some things were misses.  It was a learning curve.

Times changed and things got a lot better, but we still economized.  It was a habit by then.  We continued to find new ways to save money on groceries.   I am still learning.  I don’t make money from this blog, my motivation is to help people.

Groceries on the cheap takes a different approach to buying your groceries.  Instead of buying just what you need a day or week at a time , you buy what you need to replenish your supply.  Instead of running out of things and stretching the last week of the month to get by and running to the store the minute pay day comes, you always have food in the house.   Studies have revealed that not  having food in the house lowers your life expectancy.

Having a four to six weeks supply of food is not hoarding and it is a good insurance policy in case of adversity.  We have had roads flood, snow storms, amd a government shutdown on recent years.  Having a four week supply of food takes care of at least one necessity.  It is not hoarding

The basic premice is to buy food when it is at its lowest price and eat it when it is at the highest price.
It is the same premise as stockbrokers use.  And not different than our great grandmothers on the farm, canning food when it was orevelamt in the summer to get through the winter,

This principle allows us to eat well on a four dollar a day budget.   The idea is that if you can do it for four dollars a day, it isn’t hard to spend more. Lol 😂

Unless you have a big influx  of money, this doesn’t happen overnight.  Bit by bit, it happens.   We have had a four dollar a day budget for over two years now.  We strive for low sugar, low salt, low trans fats, non gmo, HFCS, hydroginated oil, and junk food.
We do get REAL Parmesan cheese, real vanilla, real maple syrup, real butter.  We afford this because we don’t buy fake boxes of food.

We talk about the tricks retailers use to get you to buy more,  Pitfalls, efficient scratch cooking, meal plans, basic stock lists, new recipe ideas, old recipe ideas revisited to be healthier, and tools to make life  easier.

I blog everyday.

Hauls to 4/ 17

costco bulk run

Rice 9.79

Flour 7.29

Bomboli 8.99

Oatmeal 8.29

Cottage cheese 4.99

Total 39.35

Sprouts
Strawberries 2/3
Cantaloupe 2.50
Red peppers .98
Grapes .98
Roma’s .88
Yellow squash .88
Total 10.46

Winco
Milk 1.37
Lettuce 1.28
Grape tomatoes 1.38
Total 5.41

Grand total 55.22
Of which 25.37 is long term storage. 

The best of the ads 4/17

Alberways

Shank half ham .99
Spiral ham 1.29
Broccolli, cauliflower.99

Bread 1.49@@
Butter 1.99@@

Pillsbury rolls 4/8$$
Pantry essentials BOGO bargain?...

Foldgers 5.99@@
Cream cheese 1.69@@
Ketchup 2.99@@
Classico pasta sauce 1.49@@


QFC
Spiral ham 1.37
Tillamook ice cream 2/6

B6S3

Cream soup .49
Redi whip 1.99
Healthy choice 1.88
Cottage cheese 1.79
Best foods 2.99
Butter 2.49

Sprouts
Corn 5/1
Green beans .98
Berries 3/5
English cucumbers .98
Snacking tomatoes 2/5
Apples .99


Fred Meyers

B6S3


Butter 2.49
Ritz 1.79
Cream soup .49
Nalleys chili .99
Baby rays sauce .99
Pasta .49
Best foods 2.99
Sour cream .99

*****
Spiral ham 1.27
Blackberries .99
Peppers. Cucumbers .99
Tillamook ice cream 2/6

Military discount Thursday only with coupon

5 budget changing ideas

I was thinking last night...scary idea!  And came up with five change of habits than can save a lot of money and be healthier and safer too.

• Look over the ads and note the items that you need that are a good price. You are  looking for the best two stores.  Going to two stores gives you the best of two stores.  No one store has the lowest prices on everything and going to two stores gives you the luxury of picking the best produce from two stores.   
• Identify your sources of protein,  ours would be beans, rice, cheese, eggs, chicken breast, pork loins and good hamburger.  Buy your protein in bulk when it is a “loss leader “. And buy enough for four to six weeks. IE: if you eat hamburger once a week, you will buy four to six meal sized portions.  
• Identify meals you make on a regular basis and list the items you need to make them,   Sort between shelf stable and perishable.  You want to start trying to stock a four to six week supply of the shelf stable items when you find them at a RBP.  Again, if you use diced tomatoes twice a week, you need enough to make 8-10 meals.   This will take time, but finding the RBP will help.  If you can  buy 2 or 3 for the same price as one, it  doesn’t  take long. 
• Simplify the amount of items  you buy and buy in bulk whenever possible.  It’s cheaper and you have less items in your cart.  Soon, instead of buying just what you need for the week, you will be buying a rotation protein, perishable produce and dairy, and anything on a real sale that is on your stock list and you need. 
• Last one, collect efficient scratch recipes.  This is a way to save a lot of money,   A Costco bag of flour can  save hundreds of dollars.   Artisan bread a quarter, five or take instead of 3.99.  Muffins cost .30 plus a flavor instead of 5.00.  Pancakes fractions of what that bag in the freezer section costs.  Most things save 90 percent and many take ten hands on minutes.   My mother started us baking at 9 yo.  It was good for us, and saves her time.
• Stop buying junk food and pop from your grocery money.  The operative word on SNAP is nutrition .  There isn’t much nutrition in pop and chips.   If you really think you need junk food, take it out of a entertainment bidget.  It will make it abundantly clear how much that stir is costing you.   

7 meals for the A last week of the month,

7 dinners that are super cheap.

1. Chicken noodle soup, cheezy biscuits come on at 2.00 per 4 servings.   NOT 2.00 a serving, 
2. Potato soup, artisan bread comes in at 1.50 for four servings. 
3. Baked potato bar 
4. Spaghetti with parm cheese comes on at 2.00 for four .
5. Chicken enchiladas come in at 3.00
6. Pizza, cheese comes in at a dollar, add pepperoni for an additional .50
7. Scrambled eggs, oranges and strawberries, toast,   3.26

Total 15.00 -

Emergency stretching ideas. 

1. In Washington, chicken leg  quarters are 5.90 for TEN pounds. They are as low as .39 other places on the US. 
2. Potatoes are still cheap and have a lot of nutrients. 
3. A 7.29 bag of flour at  costco can save well over a hundred dollars. 
4. A ten Pound box of oatmeal at Costco makes a serving of oatmeal .085 .  No, here aren’t any decimal mistakes! Lol.  One serving of real oatmeal is the equivalent of 4 bags of that so called instant stuff and it takes a minute and a half to cook.
5. A big bag of rice at Costco will make a serving if rice .03. 
6. The total of the rice, flour and oatmeal is about 25.00 or the price of a good delivery pizza.   
7. Beans are cheaper at Costco, but come on a very BIG bag.  They are .67 a pound at the dollar tree and are grown in USA and non gmo. The last I looked.   They are cheaper at Winco in the bulk department. 
8. Pizza sauce, tortillas, Barilla pasta, and noodles are at the dollar store.  NOT all things at the dollar store are cheaper or as good a quality as one would like.  With coupons , on sale, cold cereal can be lots cheaper.  Many if the frozen  foods are from China.  Know your prices and look for name brands. The pasta sauce is cheaper  at Winco.  Name brand pepperoni is there. 
9. A ten pound bag of chicken legs and thighs can stretch into a lot of meals. 
10. About leg quarters, Place all the quarters on a sheet pan or other pan with sides.  Don’t over crowd the pan.   Make 2 batches of you need to.  Bake at 375 until they are cooked  through and test at 180 degrees. Check several times during the cooking, and remove some of the fat of it is collecting.  Not allowing the fat to re absorb into the chicken is a good thing,   Using a turkey baster can be helpful.  When done, remove from pan and let cool.  Drain it onto a colander that is placed on a pan to collect any fat.  When it is cooled, remove the meat from the bones and save the bones. Bones make good chicken stock.  This makes chicken stock free instead of paying upwards of two dollars a box.  The meat can be used for tons of recipes. 
11. Chicken pot pie, chicken enchiladas, pulled chicken sliders. Chicken noodle soup. Chicken pizza, chicken tacos, burrito bowls. And many more . 
12. Chicken stock can be the basis for chicken gravy, chicken noodle soup, and potato soup and is something that is called  for in many recipes.    It freezes. Pour  your broth in glass jars, refrigerate and when the fat has congealed, scoop it off.   Freeze in bags flat.   

Meal plans 4/15

Meal Plans are a necessary part of eating on a budget of any kind.  They make your life more organized and thus less hectic.

• Chili, tortilla chips and cheese or sour cream 
• Pizza
• Chicken enchiladas with green sauce, salad 
• Pork stew 
• Salmon cakes , oven fries, salad 
• Chicken pot pie, fruit
• Breakfast for dinner, 

Notes 

Pizza and breakfast for dinner are mainstays here. Oirm7 yo has been making pizza since  she was 4.  

Breakfast for dinner is  a family affair, everyone cooks. 

Chili is homemade in the insta pot. 

Chicken enchiladas are homemade and green sauce is easy with magic mix.  Green chilies are cheapest at Winco for their brand.  Winco does not have BPA in their cans 

Pork stew is from meat cut from the ends of a pork loin.   Add carrots and potatoes. 

Salmon cakes are from canned salmon from Costco, 

Chicken pot pie is from frozen chicken and a leftover pie crust, 

Making meal plans that use up what you have is a good way to stretch your food dollar and nit waste food.  He rest of the fresh  Green beans will make their way into the  chicken pot pie.  The green chilies will do double duty in chili and enchilada sauce. 

Freezing your meat in meal sized packages portion controls you meals and saves money and your waistline.  

Strike while the iron is HOT

And old saying that saves a lot of money,    The Kroger stores have been running three and four day sales that are really good prices.   If there are things that you use on a regular basis. It is a good idea to buy them in bulk.   Most of the time their limit is five.   This week it is bacon and la Croix  water.  I buy sparkling water out of our entertainment budget, but allow myself one glass a day. Some  days I just drink ice water,   And usually I find quarts cheaper.

Eating on four dollars a day is totally believable,   Actually the SNAP average on Washington is 4.25 a day.

It is not  what you buy as much as it is when and where you buy it.

Knowing what is the RBP on the things you buy on a regular basis is a good start in s t r e t c h I n g your food dollar.    Make a list of your basic foods you buy on a regular basis,   Que this with the 7-10 meals you make on a regular basis from inexpensive sources of protein. Buy your protein on a rotation basis using the ads to pick a meat that is a so called  loss leader.  This is another easy way to save money and reduce waste.  Buy in bulk and portion control in meal sized bags and freeze.

Some people could have a bargain get up and bite them in the butt and they wouldn’t see it,  don’t be that person.

  Know when something is really on sale, not just for sale.   Not everything in a store ad is on a real sale at a reduced price.  Some things are just featured items.  Checking if there are coupons to go with a sale  item helps too although coupons are becoming few and far between.  If it is a shelf stable item or a freezer one, and you use that item on a regular basis, consider buying up to a months supply.   This saves time, money, and gives you the luxury of always having food in the house in case of an emergency.

No food is going to do your family good of you are feeding it to the garbage disposal.

Buying something the kids should eat, but won’t, does not save money.  Buying organic vegetables that go bad a day after you get them in the house, is not saving money,   Organic ups your cost of that food up to sixty percent.  That’s quite a hit on a four  dollar a day budget.

All good quotes.

On another note, the quote out there that says Americans waste forty percent of our food took on a new meaning when I happened on to a video recently.  I assumed that people were  insuating that we as cooks were wasting that much.  In actuality, it also means that the farmers send food to the landfill and plow some food under becaise it isn’t perfect in size or it didn’t fit into the bag correctly.

That being said, it is a good idea to try to incorporate little bits of things onto another dish,  or morphing last nights leftovers into something  new.

Making best use of what you have is always a good thing .

Lists : little ways to save money

So, you don’t want to go super cheap!  But, who doesn’t like the feeling of saving a little money.  In my lifetime, I worked for several small business people that were multi millionaires.   It probably wouldn’t surprise you that they both watched their pennies.

• Taco seasoning cost a dollar an ounce.   It’s really simple to get taco seasoning ingredients for fractions of the cost in the ethnic isle in bags or in the bulk isle.   90 percent savings for ten minutes of work is worth it. 
• Peasant bread costs .25,  the equivalent loaf of bread is well over 2.50.   Time!  10 minutes spread over two days. 
• Bread crumbs.  Another ten minute chore that saves 90 or more percent, 
• Pancake or muffin mix another few minutes that saves 90 or more percent.  Four large muffins cost 5.00.   A batch of 18 smaller muffins cost .30.   Add a fruit and you are still well under 90 percent profit.   And they can  be hot out of the oven. Yum,!frozen pancakes and waffles are expensive.   
• Cream soup base is pennies instead of dollars for a can of soup. 
• Bread machine bread costs .50 instead of upwards of three dollars.   Again, minutes of your time. 
• Insta pot makes beans in a matter of less than five minutes hands on time.  Dry beans cooked cost .05 instead of a can of beans that cost anywhere from .58 to over a dollar.   
• Rice bought in bulk and cooked costs .02 a serving.  Ready rice is about 2.50 for a four serving bag.
• Conversely, pasta sauce can be as cheap as .88.  It takes more to make it from scratch unless  you have a bumper crop of tomatoes from your garden.  
• Meatballs , especially with coupons, are cheaper to  buy than they are to make.  

• 
  

Best of the ads 4/11

The  best if the ads ... we got them late last night.

  Sprouts 

Mangos 2/1
Strawberries 2/3
Grapes  .98
Zucchini .88
Roma’s .88
Naval oranges .98


Grass fed ground beef 3.99
*********


QFC 

Cream cheese 3/5
Cresent  rolls, grands 2/4$$
********


Alberways 

Meat  sale BOGO. Bargain?????

Ham .99
Spiral cut ham 1.29


Free milk with 4 GM cereal products @4/8—8.00 less 2.00 for milk is 6.00/4 is 1.50 and there are coupons at coupons.com 

Milk 1.99@@
Buns .99@@
Pork tenderloin 4.99@@

@@ means with in ad coupon 
$$ means there are coupons out there. 
*******


Fred Meyers 

Raspberries 1.88
Cantaloupe 3/5

FF chicken breast, thighs BOGO bargain .....??
Spiral ham 1.27

18 eggs 1.49
Cresent rolls 3/5
Cream cheese 3/5

Buy 6, save 3 

Cream soup .49
Pasta .49
Sour cream 1.39
Nalley chili .99

Note senior 55 10 percent sale with coupon 4/16. Only covers private selection food. 

Hauls to 4/10

Hauls to 4/10

Shopping to replentish rather than by panic

Grocery outlet
Foldgers 6.99
Tomato,sauce (3) 1.00
Strawberries 4.99
Sliced cheese 2.19
Homey ham  1# 3.99

Total 25.73

QFC
Sugar 1.98

27.71

Sprouts
As I predicted, prices are going up higher now that the novelty has worn off.  Onions were twice what I pay at Winco, bit I didn’t want to stop just for onions.

Blackberries 1.67
Cucumber .98
Oranges .88
Roma’s .99
Corn .25
Rolls 1.00
Onions 1.98
Total 8.47

36.18

Lists- Pantry

Your  pantry list will probably be different than mine.  You will tailor yours to your families likes.

• Diced tomatoes 
• Pasta sauce 
• Pasta ( pasta has an 8 YEAR shelf life) 
• Corn 
• Green beans 
• Dry beans in popcorn canisters from Costco. 
• Suddenly salad 
• Cake mixes 
• Tuna 
• Salmon
• Chicken 
• Canisters of dry milk
• Flour. 
• Diced mild green chilies 
• Black olives, sliced 
• Canister of rice 
• Tomato paste 
• Salad dressing, ketchup, mayonnaise, bbq sauce 
• Dried vegetables including zucchini 
• Baking supplies in separate cupboard. 

Monday Kitchen Management aka meal prep

Keeping then management is a tool that enables you to make dinner hour easier and keep a head start in the deep cleaning of the kitchen.

Reminder of meals

• sausage and veggies sheet pan dinner 
• Pizza
• Chicken Normandy 
• Tacos, Spanish rice 
• Ham and cheese sliders  ( make rolls) 
• Salmon cakes, oven fries fruit salad 
• Breakfast for dinner 

1. Wash kitchen floor 
2. Clean out the refrigerator and dump anything dead 💀 
3. Wash and disinfect countertops and sinks and drains.
4. Wash potatoes, and carrots and fruit , dry. 
5. Make banana, oatmeal, cranberry bread (use up ripe bananas) 
6. Wash south side cabinets. 
7. Thaw pizza crust, 

1. 
   

Meal Plans

Meal plans

• Sausage, potatoes, peppers 
• Pizza
• Chicken Normandy , green beans 
• Tacos, Spanish rice 
• Ham and  cheese sliders , pasta salad, veggie sticks 
• Salmon cakes, oven fries, fruit salad 
• Breakfast for dinner 

Notes 

• Chicken and basil sausage 
• Pizza is a mainstay, crust made in bulk and frozen 
• Chicken Normandy is from chicken frozen breast, 
• Spanish rice uses the juice from a can of diced tomatoes 🍅 tomatoes used for salsa 
• Slider rolls from scratch,   
• Oven fries are cut, soaked in water and drained, dried off, amd tossed woth olive oil and garlic pepper and air fried. 
• Breakfast for dinner is a mainstay,  everyone cooks. 

This is about chicken

Chicken  is the cheapest priced meat at the moment,  here, it was .90 a pound for whole chicken and it was Foster Farms. It is the best quality including the quality of the butchers in the area.  It always makes sense to buy locally grown chicken.  Perdue is a good brand in the south.  Never buy a whole chicken that is less than three pounds.  At three pounds, you are at the break even point —half your meal bill is laying for bone and 1/2 is paying for meat.   That’s why if you are buying that 6.99 two pound chicken from the deli,you are actually paying 6.99 a pound for cooked chicken.

I bought a 5.5 plus pound chicken yesterday.  It is my intention to take you along as I see how many meals I can get out of a 5.89 chicken.

First

Open bag of chicken and drain off any liquid there may be into a colander placed in the sink.
Place chicken in a roasting pan with a rack.
Place anything you have short of the kids dirty Sox  in the cavity..an onion, an apple., a orange, a lemon,
Wash your hands .
Pour some olive oil over the chicken and pour a little more into a cup.  Rub the chicken down with the olive oil on both sides.
 Place  the cup in  the colander and wash your hands .
Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper,

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes

Reduce heat to 350 and cook an additional 20 minutes per pound.

Chicken should have juices run clear, be at 180 degrees and the keg should easily pull from the body of the chicken .


1  chicken Sunday dinner
2 chicken sliders
3, chicken noodle soup 4
4. Chicken stir fry 4
5. Chicken pot pie 4
6. Chicken enchiladas with green sauce
7. Buffalo chicken pizza 4
8. Chicken Normandy

Friday recipe

Magic Mix

Magic mix is a mix that makes cream soup base for a non preservative cream soup equivalent.  It also makes chocolate pudding .

4 cups dry milk powder (not instant )
1 cup flour
2 stocks butter

Cut in the butter into the dry ingredients
You can use the kitchenaid, or food processer or a
 Pastry tool

Store in refrigerator or freee
To use

1/2 cup mix to 1 cup

You can add seasonings as you like,
Garlic, Italian seasoning celery seed or
Ranch dressing mix



To make  chocolate pudding
1 cup mix
1/2 cup sugar

2:T cocoa
2 cups water

Heat to boiling, stirring
Take off the heat and add 1 tsp vanilla
Cool.

Hauls to 4/4

Dollar Tree

Ravioli. - an experiment

Egg noodles


Sprouts

Strawberries.2.50
Baby cucumbers 2.50
Blackberries .50
Cantaloupe 1.98
Grape tomatoes  2.00

Green beans 1.35
Zucchini .73
Red bell pepper .98
Sweet potatoes.85
Yellow squash .68
Blue cheese 3.99

Bread.  1.99
Bread rolls 1.00
Total 27.49

Grand total 29.49

QFC
5 bacon 2.99
14.95

Grand total 44.46

Winco

Bread 1.18
Beans .48
Olives .98
Cucumber .98
Green onion .48
Bars 1.48
Strawberries 1.98

Total 9.38

Total 53.84

The best? of the ads

Slow ad day this week......I guess they are saving it for Easter.  LOL

Alberways

Lean ground beef 2.99 - FM is cheaper
2# strawberries 4.88
Eggs .99@@. Limit 2
Bread .99@@

Cantaloupe 2/5



QFC

4 days only -thurs-Sunday
Sugar .99
Ground turkey 2.77

*****
Barilla 1.00

NAB stands for not a bargain
Deli whole chicken 6.99 - two pounds.  That’s at best 6.99 for a pound of meat!  

SPROUTS

Grapes  .98
Blues , raspberries , blackberries 3/5
Tomatoes, on the vine .98
Cucumbers, eggplant .98

Friday Saturday, Sunday
Corn 4/1

Fred Meyers
This is a hard one - a lot of restricted bargains

Flat out
80/20 ground beef 1.90 - rotation meat time !
Peppers. English cucumber.99
Raspberries 12 Oz, 3.99
Pork sale BOGO including pork loin.  This may be a good buy , pork loin should be 1.00-2.00 obviously, the cheaper the better.

FRIDAY! SATURDAY ONLY DIGITAL
Pie 3.99
Turkey breast frozen .97

FREE MILK with 4 Kellogg’s specified products
4/8.00 less 2.00 for milk makes the cereal 1.50 each.
Coupons?

FOUR DAYS ONLY THURS TO SUNDAY
Breakfast sausage 1.99
Sugar .99

Lists: what we ate

March meals - nite some of these meals I just write down to main dish, we did have a balanced  meal

1. Chicken Normandy, green beans, mashed potatoes 
2. Breakfast for dinner: eggs and veggie omelette, fruit 
3. Pizza
4. Potato soup cheese biscuits 
5. Chimichanga, salad 
6. Potato soup, cheezy biscuits , strawberries 
7. Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic parm bread 
8. Taco casserole 
9. Pork chops , baked potatoes, mixed vegetables 
10. Eggs, oranges, sausage , rolls 
11. Hamburgers, French fries, lettuce and tomatoes 
12. BLT, fries, salad 
13. Tuna casserole , peas and carrots 
14. Chilli and bread 
15. Eggs, sausage, muffins 
16. Hamburgers, French fries, fruit salad 
17. Crab cakes, Mac and cheese, mixed veggies 
18. Stew, bread 
19. Pizza, salad 
20. Dagwood sandwiches 
21. Roast beef a jus, salad 
22. Sliders, hamburger and bacon, salad 
23. Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, veggie, strawberries and cream 
24. Chicken sliders, tomato salad 
25. Chicken soup, French bread woth parm, bitter and seasoning 
26. BBQ Pork 
27. Roast Beef a jus, salad 
28. Fish and chips 
29. Salad 
30. Stuffed green Peppers. Cheese beer bread 
31. Waffles, cantaloupe and strawberries 

1. 
   
2. 
   
3. 
   

Monday Kitchen Management

Kitchen Management aka food prep is a tool that takes a lot of stress out of a hectic dinner hour amd tackles deep cleaning the kitchen, one small project at a time.  At Management school, they taught us the Swiss cheese treatment.  Of a project is too big amd dauting, break it down into small segments, and it somehow seems a lot more manageable.  Knock holes in the Swiss cheese  and it’s less of a solid mass.

Meal recap
Pizza
Potato soup, cheezy biscuits
Taco casserole
Chicken stir fry
Chicken ala king
Breakfast for dinner

1. Wash kitchen floor 
2. Wash and disinfect countertops and sinks and drains. 
3. Clean out the refrigerator and dump anything dead 💀, 
4. Note anything that needs to be used soon . 
5. Wash fruits and vegetables, clean the green beans for stir frying 
6. Wash potatoes and carrots 
7. Wash the vent screen for the stove. 
8. Mark on meal plan times to thaw food. 

Meal plans

Meal plans are a tool that makes life easier and more efficient,  the more efficient you are, the better and less hectic life becomes.

Our meal plans usually are based on a protein matrix,  beef, chicken or pork, and vegetarian,  sometimes a fish.

• Mom out : daughter cooks 
• Pizza
• Potato soup, cheezy biscuits 
• Tacos, Spanish rice, refried beans 
• Chicken stir fry (Facebook) 
• Chicken aka king 
• Breakfast for dinner, 

Notes : 

I am working on a blog on how many meals can be prepared from a six pound chicken. Some we have already eaten, the rest of the chicken was separated and frozen.   My husband would have squawked if I fed him chicken six days in a row. Lol 

1. Pizza is a mainstay.  Easy when the crust is made in bulk and frozen and the cost is a dollar a cheese pizza.  Add toppings that have been leftover from other meals or not.
2. Potato soup and cheese biscuits come in at less than 1.50 for a total of four servings when ingredients are purchased at RBP.  
3. Tacos are from already cooked hamburger, rice can be batch cooked for Spanish rice and the chicken aka king.  
4. Chicken stir fry is from a recipe on Facebook with the addition of parm, cooked chicken, and maybe some red pepper flakes .  Green beans, and zucchini were both really inexpensive at sprouts.  
5. Chicken  ala  king is an old recipe.  Use magic mix and add frozen peas and maybe some chopped red peppers .
6.  Breakfast for dinner is a mainstay.  Everyone cooks.  It may or may not be economical, depending on what you cook and the amount of meat you serve.  Eggs are cheap.   Fruit in season is always a hit.  

Concept: meals:a master list

Groceries on the cheap takes a different approach to shopping for groceries.   Instead of the panic method, you use a replentishntish method,   This is good  because  you always have food in the house.   Studies have shown that not having food on the house lowers your life expectancy.   It is not good for children.  It is also not good because bleep happens.   Snow, sickness, government shutdowns, layoffs, any number of things can happen  Having a month to six weeks worth of food on the house is not hoarding, it is being responsible.

• Make a lot of 10-14 meals you family eats on a regular basis.  The average cook on a house has that many on their memory.  Now, list the ingredients.  Use inexpensive sources of protein if you are on a budget . 
• Pull out the non perishable things on your list.  The perishables on a separate list,  I have them on my meal plan form. 
• Non perishable list:  estimate how many if that item you will use in a month period.   If you typically use two to four cans of diced tomatoes, do the math.  This is easy on a spreadsheet.   
• Now, when things are on sale at their RBP, buy as many as you can until you get to your self imposed storage number.   
• The average family will have 10-15 items.  
• Things like ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard, I keep one ahead.   When I pull my backup out of the pantry, I start watching for a good price on the backup.  
• Flour, sugar. Yeast. Oatmeal. Baking powder, vanilla, beans. Dry milk I reolentish when I feel I am running low.   
• The basic survival list is part of my regular stock.  It comes in 2 parts of 5 items. One is from a Costco type store, the other is from a dis pint store like Winco.   The size of the packages can be determined by the size of your family,   
• Flour, beans, oatmeal, rice, yeast.  Yeast is close to 3.50 at winco.  A lot lot more at QFC.   
• Sugar, Vegetable  oil, butter, baking powder, dry milk.  
• Organize a closet, pantry, or cupboard so that  things are grouped together and you can tell at a glance when you need to look for a sale. 
• Simplify.  One or two kinds of tomatoes are sufficient.  The more variety you have, the harder it is to shop and maintain stock.   

Mexican stuffed peppers

Green  peppers were .77 this week at Sprouts.

Mexican stuffed green peppers

1. 4 bell peppers 
2.  1 C cooked rice 
3. 1 can mild diced green chilies , drained 
4. 1/2 lb cooked ground meat 
5. 1 T taco seasoning 
6. 1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese, grated 
7. Enchalada sauce (homemade) 

• Wash green peppers and slice top off about a 1/2 inch down from the top.  Take the seeds and membranes out.
• Place in a baking dish 
• Prheat oven to 350 degrees 
• Warm pre-cooked meat with taco seasoning , 1 TBLS of the diced chilies and some enchilada sauce to make the consistency  of taco meat, 
• Add some sauce and chilies to rice just to moisten,   
• Layer meat mixture  rice, and cheese inside the peppers 
• Repeat layers until the peppers are full.  Top with cheese 
• Cover Peppers with their ‘lids’ 
• Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until peppers are tender and filling is hot. 

• 
  

Hauls to 3/28

Fred Meyer

Fred chicken 5.86
Bread 1.34
Onion .91
Cucumber .99
Spaghetti .69



Total 10.48

Fred Meyers

14,24

Lost slip
Sausage, strawberries.

Total 24.78

Potatoes 2.48
Wheat tortillas 3.43
Bread 2.28
Pickles 2.71
Bacon 3.98 less .75
Eggs 18- 1.45
Ice cream 3.83
Roma’s 1.34
Apples 3.82
Pears .65
Grape tomatoes 1.48
Grapes 2.38
Apples 3.96

Total 30.92

Grand total 49.58

The best of the ads 3/27

QFC

Draper valley chicken BOGO- good buy? 

Oranges, apples .88

Cottage cheese/ sour cream 4/5 

Ice cream 2/5

Berries 2/5 (raspberries, blackberries 

Digi, thurs- Sunday 

You can buy 5

Bacon 2.99 $$. .75 coupon out there, 

La Croix 1.99

Wide own bread 1.99

Sprouts 

Blackberries .88

Green beans .98

Cantaloupe 1.98

Walnuts 3.99 lb

Pumpkin pie 3.99

Squash .88

Grapes 1.98

Strawberries, blues, raspberries 2/5

Alberways 

At select stores 

Green beans .99

Russet potatoes 5# .99

Has avocado 5;5

Grass fed chuck  roast 3.99

Regular ad 

Pork shoulder blade roast .99

Mandarins 2.99 3#

Shreds, coleslaw 5/5

GM cereals  3/5 must buy 5$$

Yoplait .38@@ 

Bread 1.49@@

Milk 1.99@@

Fred  Meyers 

Grapes 1.48

Ice cream 2/5

Raspberries/blueberries 2/5

BUY 5, SAVE 5

GM. Cereal  1.79$$

Nature valley bars 1.99

Mayonnaise 2.99

Ritz 1.79

Kraft bbq sauce .49

Thursday to Sunday only 

No coupons 

Sausage 2/5 

Asparagus. 99

Tillamook yougert 3/1

Pan bread 1.99

Lists : what we buy

First, what we buy that may surprise you .  Even on four dollars a day, you can have life’s little luxuries.
Low fat beef

1. Real butter.  The other stuff has nasty things on it.  My opinion is to buy the real thing and use it in moderation, 
2. Real maple syrup.   I found it for five dollars at Trader Joe’s, 
3. Real parmesean cheese. Not the green box that has wood pulp in it, 
4. Real vanilla.   It cost a lot, but it lasts a long time and you use it sparingly.  
5. Real whip cream.   Again, we watch our oils — hydroginated oils are not good for you. The article I read said that they thicken the blood,.
6. Real cheese.   Just real cheese. 
7. Olive oil
8. Quality ice cream
9. Low fat beef 
10. 
    

Monday kitchen management

Kitchen  management takes an hour  so when things are less hectic to prep food for the weeks dinners and do some deep cleaning. In management school, we learned that the Swiss cheese treatment was the best way to tackle a large job.

1. Manage the six pound chicken we cooked yesterday, 
2. Make chicken noodle soup and chicken stock, 
3. Make bread dough 
4. Wash kitchen floor 
5. Clean and disinfect counter tops and sinks and drains. 
6. Clean out the refrigerator and dump anything dead 💀. 
7. Straighten the pantry. 

Meal plans

Meal plans are necessary to make life easier, cheaper, and for a more organized dinner time.

• Roast chicken , mashed potatoes, veggie, strawberries 
• Pizza
• Sausage, cream, penne, peppers. 
• Chicken enchiladas with green sauce, salad 
• Tacos, refried beans, Spanish rice 
• Chicken noodle soup , beer bread 
• Breakfast for dinner 

Notes 

1. Chicken was a dollar a pound,   I bought a six pound one, 
2. Pizza is a mainstay.  Cost of a scratch cheese pizza is a dollar. 
3. Sausage is chicken basil.  Yum 
4. Chicken enchiladas are easy and a way to stretch your chicken.  Remember, you are adding cheese  so you don’t need a lot of chicken .
5. Tacos. Uses already cooked and de fatted meat.
6. Chicken noodle soup is easy on the insta pot and another s t r e t c h of chicken.  Beer or cheezy bread is a good addition and easy, 
7. Breakfast for dinner is a fami,y affair and everyone cooks, 

Back to basics

I have been watching a lot of food hauls.  Some are good use of budget friendly items and some not so much.  Not everyone takes the word budget the same way.

• Shop two stores.   Get on and get out,   Two stores give you the best choice of vegetables and fruit and specials.  
• Buy your protein on a a rotation basis using the RBP principle.   Usually at least one grocery store will have a loss leader on protein. If you buy a months worth of that protein and portion control it, you will spend less and always have food in the house.   Ie: if you eat chicken three times a week , you will need enough chicken for 12 meals,   At a quarter pound serving for four oeople is a pound,   Or, 12 pounds of chicken.  Today, chicken breasts are .99 a pound,   You will spend 12.00.  That’s cheaper than buying three packages of different meats.  You have better portion control and it is cheaper.  
• Groceries on the cheap is not about inferior food.  It’s about getting the best quality you can at the lowest price.  Instead of a panic shopping method—- “It is payday and there is nothing thing in the house or refrigerator “ , you have a replenish method.  It’s buying produce and dairy, your rotation protein, and filling in staples that are on sale and you are depleting. Keeping a specified amount of certain staple items keeps it real.   
•  Making a list of things you buy on a regular basis to complete meals simplifies your grocery list and helps keep you away from impulse  buys.  Some accounts have impulse buys at 70 percent of a market basket.  Impulse buys is what jacks up you grocery bill.   Having a basic list saves time.  We have perishables on the meal plan to check off what we already have. 
• Purchasing foods that are versatile simplifies the buying experience.  We buy a basic of chicken breast, pork loin, amd hamburger.  Add eggs , cheese, beans.  Limit our tomato products to tomato powder, diced tomatoes, and pasta sauce.
• Keeping a basic stock means you will always have food in the house.   Being organized and having a section of pantry or cupboard for each thing means you can tell at a glance what might be running low and you can watch for a sale.  The idea is to buy everything at its RBP.  That means you have to buy more than one of a lot of things. One week it might be 6 cans of green beans. Another week, to might be six bags of frozen vegetables. You will spend less in the long run.  Most refrigerator freezers will keep a months worth of food for a family of four. Food insecurity is a bad thing.  Not having enough food on the house reduces your expected life span.   
• Cook from scratch.  Efficient cooking can save time and a ton of money,   A batch of muffins made from a homemade mix costs .30 plus any flavoring.  Like an apple and some cinnamon.  A Six  pack of muffins can cost 5.00 or more amd you can control the sugar.   A loaf of artisan bread was 3.99 last  week, the cost is .25 and about ten minutes.  The difference between a frozen waffle and scratch is astronomical.  Consider sneaking on some whole wheat flour with your regular flour. You can control the ingredients.  The more boxed meals you buy, the more expensive they are and the more chemicals you are putting in your family. 
• If you are on a four dollar a day budget or less, you can’t be looking at organic and alternative  foods.  Not a popular idea with the younger people, I know. But, organic food costs 38 percent more and add a 20 percent depletion  rate means you are paying almost 60 percent more for your food.  The sad, but true reality is that you have to eat all month.  Running out is not an option. Most pesticides are water solvable.  Wash your produce with vinegar water.  Peel what makes sense to peel.  
• Balanced meal- a protein, a starch or carbohydrate as it’s called, and fruits and vegetables.  
• You have a limited budget don’t waste it on empty calories.  Go for food value.  The back of every box has a nutrition label.   Read labels and ingredients.  Ingredients are listed in order of volume.  Fake cheese.....the first ingredient is emulsifiers.  Then a peleferia of oils, os,e good, some not. 
• Becaise you are buying your food on the cheap doesn’t have to mean it isn’t healthy,   We avoid salt, sugar, trans fats, hydroginated oil, GMO.  HFCS, preservatives and chemicals.  Soap and wood pulp are a good thing to avoid too.   LOL 

• 
  

• 
  

Friday recipe : magic mix

It is all about saving time and money.

Magic Mix - store in the refrigerator or freezer. 

Makes basically a white sauce with adding just water.   

Use for Mac and cheese, instead of cream soups on any recipe. 

You can make by hand, or use a food processor.   

• 4 cups dry milk (not instant) 
• 1 cup flour 
• 2 sticks of butter 

Cut butter into dry ingredients.   Store in container with  a right fitting lid in refrigerator or freezer. 

Use 2/3 cup mix to 1 cup water.  

For the consistency of a white sauce, use 1/2 cup to 1 cup water. 

Lists - things we don’t buy

Now, things we don’t buy ...

• Microwave popcorn 
• Boxed Mac and cheese.  Some  of it has harsh detergent in it. The other has more fat .
• Cold sugary cereals.   Again, some of it has harsh detergent, and avoiding a lot of sugar is a good thing. 
• Fake anything. 
• Pop and sugary sodas.  Water, herbal teas are good iced and hot, milk in moderation, 
• Potato chips  and like junk foods.   Empty calories.  Get more bang for your buck, 
• Premade cookies, cakes, rolls most of the time.  There are recipes that take little time and avoiding a lot of those items is better nutrition.  We almost always have some kind of fresh fruit.  Ready made treats can bump your food bill up a lot, 
• Any canned item that is easier and cheaper to make from scratch.  Winco does nit have BPA in their cans.  
• Southern grown chicken 
• 
  

Hauls to 3/21

QFC

10# cheese @2,00

Strawberries 2/5

Nectarines .99

Bread 1.49

Cottfe cheese 1.49

32.56

Winco 

Paprika 1.59

Garlic 1.02

Onion powder .87

Spinach 1.98(

Chili powder .79

Sausage .98

Pinto beans 2.46

Grapes 2.99

Total 12.68

Grand total 45.24

Ten pounds of cheese at 4.00 a pound is 40.00

It pays to buy bulk when it is on sale of anything you use a lot of.   Cheese freezes.   

Dollar tree
Tamales
Noodles
2.00

Safeways
Mixed vegetables 1.00
Peas and carrots1.00
Crab cakes 4.24
Grapes 3.70

Total spent 1.52
Grand total 48.76


Costco
Bisquick 5.49
Total 54.25

Best of the ads 3/20

QFC
Grapes 1.48

Milk 1.25
Butter 2.50
Sour cream/ cottage cheese 4/5

Buy5, Save 5
Tillamook ice cream 2.99
Dbl cream cheese 2.99


Sprouts

Apples .98
Pears .98
Jumbo avacados .98
Minincucumbers 2/5 -1.5#

Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Blackberries .98
Blues, raspberries. 2/5

Alberways

Apples, oranges .99
Apple juice 1.25

Tuna .59@@
Hot dog or hamburger buns .99@@

Fred Meyers

Oranges 5# 4.99

Sirloin steak 2.97

Peppers, eng cucumbers .99

FF whole, drums, split breasts .99

Milk 1.25

Strawberries 2/5

Note : it is real easy to cut off the rib portion of chicken breast and I use them for stock and chicken pieces by cooking them in a slow cooker.

Lists: Thinking out of the box

Things that are cheaper to watch for.   Sometimes getting something a lot cheaper is just a matter of thinking out of the box literally.  Most boxed food has preservatives and is more expensive than making scratch.  Making scratch doesn’t have to take all day conjuring up memories of I Love Lucy and her flour shenanigans. Lol

• Pinto beans in the bulk isle were cheaper than the DT and a lot cheaper than a regular grocery store in a bag. 
• Pepperoni ends were a lot cheaper at grocery outlet. Pepperoni is pepperoni no matter what shape it is in,   
• Bacon ends were really inexpensive at Winco . I rendered  them down while I cleaned and made muffins, draining off the fat out  of the grill pan as I went with a turkey baster.  This keeps the fat from leaching back onto the meat.  I will use it to season and add protein to dishes.  Green beans and so,e soups come to mind. A little bit goes a long ways 
• Buying nut pieces in the bulk isle when they have them saves time and money.
• Buying seasonal food off season is pennies on the dollar .  The pull dates are still in compliance, the food value is the same.  Being flexible really pays off.  
• Buying spices in the bulk isle is a good price and you can reuse your jars you already have. 
• Making your own taco seasoning is a whole lot cheaper.  Anything that is 90 percent cheaper is worth taking a little time to do. 
• Making a batch of bread that stores in the refrigerator takes minutes and saves a lot . Artisan bread was 3.99 at Safeway's. 3 loaves would cost 12.00.  The cost.....75.   94 percent savings. Hands on time...about 7 minutes a loaf.   
• Muffin mix is easy, it’s cheaper than the box and a whole lot cheaper than than frozen  counterparts.  If you use the frozen ones to save morning time, make them in your kitchen Management day and freeze them in bags,  save the bags and reuse them for the next batch. Waffle mix just adds oil.  You can do the same with them.  
• Magic mix is basically a roux mix.  Makes Mac and cheese in a hurry, or the cream soup that you use for casserole or chicken pot pie and costs less.  Takes not much more time than finding the can and opening it.   

Kitchen Management aka meal prep

Kitchen  management is a good tool to save time and money in the kitchen and make dinner time less stressful.   By doing a little deep cleaning each week, the deep clean job is less time consuming and easier.

• Wash kitchen floor. 
• Wash and disinfect countertops and sinks and drains. 
• Clean out the refrigerator and dump anything dead 💀. 
• Make a note of things that need to be used up.  You can search ingredients on the on line Betty Crocker cookbook for ideas of you need to. 
• Wash potatoes and carrots for stew and chicken pot pie , potato soup 
• Fill cheese containers. 
• Make pumpkin muffins 
• Make pumpkin pancakes and freeze . ( uses a 15 ounce can of pumpkin up) 
• Make a loaf of artisan bread. Oven is still  hot. 

Meal plans

Meal plans are necessary to be organized and save time and money.  Being organized reduces stress and just makes life easier.

• Stew, bread 
• Pizza
• Creamy sausage with pasta 
• Nachos 
• Chicken pot pie 
• Potato soup, cheezy rolls 
• Breakfast for dinner, 

Notes 

1. Stew in the insta pot takes 35 minutes .
2. Pizza is a mainstay.  Easy and a dollar each plus any toppings.   We recently got pepperoni ends cheap. Something as simple as changing the shape of a product can save a lot of money,   
3. Creamy, sausage with pasta (Big  Family Homestead - u tube ) chicken basil sausage .
4. Nachos are simple. Especially  if you have already  cooked hamburger.  
5. Chicken pot pie is easy and uses magic mix.
6. Potato soup is another dollar dinner and cheezy biscuits add to the protein. Quick and easy Yum! We got cheese for 2.00 a pound at QFC.  
7. Breakfast for dinner is another mainstay.  Everyone cooks.