TEN BUCKS A WEEK!

[stayhomemom77]

Time for another soup recipe: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-red-lentil-soup-recipes-from-the-kitchn-212392

I use lemon juice from a bottle and it turns out great! I'm making this for lunch today and I've decided to add some spinach (frozen, cooked, chopped spinach that comes in a brick in the freezer section). I'll let you know how it turns out!

 

[stayhomemom77]

I have decided to go back to using my credit card for groceries. While it did help me to be more frugal in the short run...I've adapted the way I cook, eat AND shop...so I no longer see the savings I did at the beginning. And since I do make more in credit card rewards when I pay with my cards, I think it's worth the savings to go back to that. Plus taking out all that cash was a pain in the butt! LOL I have deposited the remaining cash for this month and will go back to charging the groceries on my next shopping trip this week.

 

[DnA2010]

Time for another soup recipe: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-red-lentil-soup-recipes-from-the-kitchn-212392

I use lemon juice from a bottle and it turns out great! I'm making this for lunch today and I've decided to add some spinach (frozen, cooked, chopped spinach that comes in a brick in the freezer section). I'll let you know how it turns out!

Thanks for this one! I totally have lentils downstairs in pantry that I need to use!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Thanks for this one! I totally have lentils downstairs in pantry that I need to use!

No worries. I totally forgot to add the spinach (whoops!) but I did add some garlic powder, cumin and pepper when I added the salt and lemon juice. This one is a fave...it's crazy cheap and soooo delicious. I eat it as a soup sometimes, and sometimes I spoon it over some jasmine rice. Yum, yum, yum!!

Just remember that red lentils cook faster than other lentils....so if you use green or brown or whatever, you'll have to cook them for longer!

 

[stayhomemom77]

I started doing this new thing for the weekly menu.

I figure out all the dinners (Sundays are usually leftovers) and then I make a soup/stew/chili of the week which I eat for my lunches and then a treat of the week of which everyone can partake. DH picks a protein for his lunches (chicken, pork, sausages, etc) and cooks up 5 lunches worth of the stuff on Sunday afternoon. We've been doing this all month and it's really working well. I make the dinner menu based on what we have in the house, so when I go shopping I can get eggs, produce and dairy and then use the bulk of the budget to stock up on sale items. It's working fantastically!!

So this week's menu looks like this:

Mon-turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, broccoli
Tues-leftovers
Wed-cheese stuffed meatballs http://12tomatoes.com/cheese-stuffed-meatballs/
Thurs-chicken and noodles
Fri-butter chicken, naan, rice and peas
Sat-pizza
Sun-leftovers

Soup of the week: Lentil soup
Treat of the week: Brownies

**Note: I cook the meatballs in the sauce in the crock and I double the recipe. My family LOVES this one and it goes fast. Sometimes we eat it with spaghetti...sometimes own its own.

**Small change to the menu...

Chicken pot pie for tonight
Thurs-cheese stuffed meatballs

I went out for groceries and didn't get this in the crock in time so I pushed it back by a day. It's actually a good thing, since I had to make pork stew in the crock this afternoon so I have something to eat for lunch for the rest of the week. DH is home on spring break and apparently isn't eating low carb...so he's been helping himself to my lentil soup all week and now it's gone!!

 

[DnA2010]

Do you find the meatballs stay together fine? or do you possibly brown them first? that one looks yummy indeed!

 

[stayhomemom77]

You can brown them first but I don't. They stay together just fine for me and the leftovers (if there ARE any) reheat beautifully. It's a great fix-it-and-forget-it meal idea for busy nights or lazy days. I was actually surprised at how DH and DD RAVED over them...they're just meatballs people!! The first time I made them...DD took a generous helping and DH took a HUGE mound of them. I took about 4 (which was a serving size!!) and then wrapped up the other four as leftovers for DH's lunch the next day. DS wanted nothing to do with them and made himself a PB&J. DD wandered back into the kitchen for seconds and was mad they were all gone. I had to promise to make a double batch the next time.

 

[stayhomemom77]

Today's soup recipe. http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth....-corn-chowder-with-bacon-potatoes-and-chives/

This is very similar to the potato soup one that I first posted (same website) but this one is in the crockpot and is half milk and half chicken stock. This is the one that I like the best. I often make it without the bacon so it's meatless (would be vegetarian if I used vegetable stock) just to cut down on the costs. It's a ridiculously easy one and so rich and filling and makes a whole ton!!

I made it today even though I still have several cups worth of pork stew left from last week. Because DH was eating carbs last week on his spring break, he was availing himself of my delicious lentil stew and it only lasted three days. I had to make a second soup on Thursday but he turned his nose up at it and found other things for his lunch after that. I have been working on the stew since Thursday and am getting tired of it so I may freeze the rest tomorrow so I get started on that gorgeous corn chowder!!

DH went back to low carb today and came home starving. Unfortunately for him, this house smelled like delicious double chocolate muffins because I baked the treat of the week today. He's hanging in there though, poor man!

Here's my meal plan for the week:

Mon-ham and egg cups
Tues-alfredo chicken (over noodles for the carb eaters)
Wed-ham and twice baked potatoes
Thurs-turkey pot pie stew
Fri-Shepherd's pie
Sat-pasta
Sun-leftovers

Soup of the week: Crockpot Corn Chowder
Treat of the week: Double chocolate muffins


I cooked up some black beans and froze them early last week. Then I did up some refried beans in the crockpot. http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/easy-mexican-side-dish-recipes-refried-beans/ DH ate some and then I froze the rest. This time I didn't put in the onion and it definitely tastes like it's lacking something. C'mon payday...I need more onions!!

I'm going to try making homemade flour tortillas so I can make bean burritos for the freezer and black bean and corn quesadillas. http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/easy-weeknight-recipes-black-bean-and-corn-quesadillas/

I'll be attempting this recipe here for the first time: http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/recipe-how-to-make-homemade-tortillas-2/

Can you tell I have a mild obsession with Mavis Butterfield and her tasty recipes?

 

[stayhomemom77]

Well he bailed on the low carb on Tuesday <sigh> but we all were sick this week so I guess I can't really blame him. It's just tough to meal plan properly when he goes back an forth like this.

Anyway...

I went out yesterday to take advantage of a sale at Walmart and came home with the following things:

Alfredo sauce at $2 each. I actually got 8 of them.

These were on for $2.99 each which isn't the BEST price but is a good price. I got 4 of them because my six month stash that I got 4 months ago was beginning to dwindle.

 

[barkley]

anyone else w/unseasonably warm weather seeing some non traditional sales these days?

it's still freaking February but feeling like late spring/early summer during the days here so I'm wondering if that's why items that we don't usually see on good stock up sales here for a few months are now being offered.

my time of year to stock up on mustard, catsup, pickles/relish has always been around memorial day and july 4th when they are frequently bogo vs. the not great single item 'sale' prices the rest of the year, but I guess the unseasonable warm weather has the stores thinking bbq so we're seeing all these items bogo now.

same thing with some cuts of meat that ARE in the stores year round but much more present/better sales in the summer-ribs, brat patties....burger and hot dog buns as well.

 

[Arich01]

anyone else w/unseasonably warm weather seeing some non traditional sales these days?.

Yes! A couple weeks ago we were able to get Smithfield ribs on BOGO! That made them about $6 each for a huge slab of ribs! I keep seeing mayo on BOGO too, but it looks like I'm hoarding that already, lol!

My whole munu planning has been out of whack the past couple of weeks and I very much need to get back on track! Mom met me at Disney and we did the Princess half last weekend... she was here all week and we have been eating junk it seems! Lots of eating out and such. She kept justifying that we burned all those calories last Sunday... I think I weigh more than I did before!!! Oh well, hi ho hi ho, back to good food we go!

All I've got so far is a chicken soup or chili in the crock pot tonight. Haven't even decided on a recipe yet, ha!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Getting a snow storm today...it's started already...so I went out last night to stock up on milk, eggs and some produce. Not planning on hitting the stores until March 11th (even though the danger of the storm and it's aftermath won't last longer than a day or two). I used to shop biweekly and then would just get some fresh produce and dairy when we ran out (usually around day 9) just to tide us over. I'm kind of looking forward to not shopping for that long again to see how I like it now. I think I have a good system in place now that would enable me to make the produce last the full two weeks (by buying more of it as well as eating the stuff that doesn't ripen very fast during the second week). I know there are people who only shop once a month and make their perishables last four weeks and I'm going to do a bit of research on that today to see if I can suss out their tips and tricks.

 

[Debbie]

Stay safe and warm! Storm hasn't begun here yet, although last night they predicted 4:00 or so. We'll see. Good luck with the produce every two weeks. We don't do too badly with our shops--usually between 10 and 14 days.

 

[barkley]

I will suggest that anyone who routinely uses olives/olive oil-STOCK UP when it's on sale!

i normally stock up on the little 4 odd oz. cans about every 6-8 months so i didn't know they had shot up in price until i went to walmart yesterday. OMG-SERIOUSLY???? almost $1.70 per can????? thought it might be a fluke so we hit another store where they were on sale-but they still ran me $1.18 each

i did some research when i got home and found out how drought and disease among the plants are making for increased prices that could be going up at minimum another 20% in upcoming months.

canned olives have always been a staple in our pantry-nachos, enchiladas.....at this rate they may become less frequently used.

 

[stayhomemom77]

I will suggest that anyone who routinely uses olives/olive oil-STOCK UP when it's on sale!

i normally stock up on the little 4 odd oz. cans about every 6-8 months so i didn't know they had shot up in price until i went to walmart yesterday. OMG-SERIOUSLY???? almost $1.70 per can????? thought it might be a fluke so we hit another store where they were on sale-but they still ran me $1.18 each

i did some research when i got home and found out how drought and disease among the plants are making for increased prices that could be going up at minimum another 20% in upcoming months.

canned olives have always been a staple in our pantry-nachos, enchiladas.....at this rate they may become less frequently used.

Interesting. I'll have to check that out when next at the grocery store.

 

[stayhomemom77]

In an effort to make up a meal plan for the month, I went and did an inventory of the deep freeze. There was a lot more in there than I thought!

I have...

a loaf of banana bread
2 pounds butter
2-5 pack packages of naan
alfredo lasagna
2 boxes of beer battered fish filets (5-6 count per box)
pepperoni pizza
a 2 pack of chicken parm stuffed chicken breasts
2 lbs thick cut bacon
a 3 pack of small pork chops
2 bags frozen broccoli
1 bag frozen peas
3 whole chickens
3 trays of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (approx 3 lbs each tray)
2 turkeys (approx 10 lbs each)
2 hams (not sure on weight...maybe 6 lbs each??)
2 pork roasts (one is about 1.5 lbs and the other about 2.5 lbs)
a loaf of bread
2 batches chicken stock
2 bags 2x baked potatoes (8-9 per bag)
3-6 packs english muffins
hot dog buns (8 pack)

Then of course, I have the fridge freezer with some tasty goodness and the shelf stable stuff. I just did the meal plan for the rest of the month and barely made a dent in the list above.

I was pretty geeked!!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Apologies for the extended absence...had no intention of being AWOL for so long!

I picked up a few things yesterday (no photo though)

DH has decided to abandon his low carb diet for the month of April (can I get a hallelujah?) so I got:

6 boxes of Life cereal yesterday (although let's be honest...that will last him about two weeks!!)
4 boxes of hamburger helper
about 4 pounds of ground beef
a month's worth of diet pepsi
4 sticks deodordant (2 degree men and 2 degree women)
yogurt was also on sale for $1 cheaper than the sale price I usually pay, so I got two sixteen packs (not sure how long that will last but a good two to three weeks probably)

My official shopping day is tomorrow...but I wanted to take advantage of these things before the sales ended.

I'll try to be more consistent with updates (and photos) next week!

 

[DnA2010]

Apologies for the extended absence...had no intention of being AWOL for so long!

I picked up a few things yesterday (no photo though)

DH has decided to abandon his low carb diet for the month of April (can I get a hallelujah?) so I got:

6 boxes of Life cereal yesterday (although let's be honest...that will last him about two weeks!!)
4 boxes of hamburger helper
about 4 pounds of ground beef
a month's worth of diet pepsi
4 sticks deodordant (2 degree men and 2 degree women)
yogurt was also on sale for $1 cheaper than the sale price I usually pay, so I got two sixteen packs (not sure how long that will last but a good two to three weeks probably)

My official shopping day is tomorrow...but I wanted to take advantage of these things before the sales ended.

I'll try to be more consistent with updates (and photos) next week!

Re: cereal- I find that Costco generally always has the best price, and then after that Safeway, and if you get cereal at Safeway when it's on sale and on an airmiles promotion, you usually get 100 AM! I was able to save enough airmiles in 6 months from cereral and few other main staples when they were on sale at Safeway for a park hopper!

 

[stayhomemom77]

Re: cereal- I find that Costco generally always has the best price, and then after that Safeway, and if you get cereal at Safeway when it's on sale and on an airmiles promotion, you usually get 100 AM! I was able to save enough airmiles in 6 months from cereral and few other main staples when they were on sale at Safeway for a park hopper!

Nice!

Here it varies but generally FreshCo and No Frills are the best ones and then sometimes Walmart.

 

[stayhomemom77]

A few more things today...

8 cans chicken gravy
9 cans campbells soup (was supposed to be 10 but realized one was dented at checkout so left that one behind)
2 more boxes life cereal (we REALLY love Life cereal--I got two boxes of multigrain life for me)

Tomorrow I'm stocking up on two cases Kraft Dinner (12 pack) on at No Frills for $5.97 which is a savings of $10.52!!

Pasta and pasta sauce are also on sale for $0.97 each so I'll be getting at least a few of each of those. My red pasta sauce is completely gone and we are dangerously low on noodles, so the timing couldn't be better!

English muffins are also on for $1 a bag (6 pack) so at least 4 of those will be tossed into the freezer!

No Frills has a ground pork/beef blend on starting tomorrow for $2.75 a pound...so I'll see if my budget stretches to get us some of that. Would be great for meatballs especially.

And finally...the Superstore has whole chickens on sale for $1.77 a pound. I have one or two in the freezer already (going to try and do my monthly freezer inventory tomorrow) but I may get one or two more if the budget allows for it.