A Frugal Life

My kids get up in the morning and pour themselves a bowl of Apple Jacks which cost me 75 cents a box.  They top it with 99 cents a gallon milk.  We have 10 cent Cup of Noodles in the cupboard for a quick lunch.  The freezer is full of  15 pounds of ground beef, purchased for $1 a pound.  It also has 8 pounds of chicken thighs and drumsticks purchased at 79 cents a pound.  All of these items were purchased in the last 2 weeks, and I didn't clip a single coupon.

My trick?  I shop clearance.  All of these items were near or past the sell by or better by date.  Here are a few tips for shopping in this area.  Dry packaged goods like cereal and noodles have a better by date.  It is not an expiration date.  The company just doesn't guarantee it past that date.  The Apple Jacks had a better by date of December 2011, but they taste fine.  Everyone (except me, as I don't care for flavored cereal) has been eating and enjoying it. 

Milk is a bit trickier.  Most stores will mark it down when they have several gallons (or half gallons) that are within a few days of their expiration date.  Most milk will last for 1 week past expiration.  Keep in mind the higher the fat content, the faster it will taste bad.  Also milk in plastic containers will taste bad quicker due to letting light in.  Adding a pinch of salt when you open in will help it taste good longer.  Also, don't be afraid to freeze it.  I often open the container, pour off some milk into a cup or other container for immediate use, add a pinch of salt and freeze it.  The lower the fat, the better it freezes.

Finally, meat is simple.  If it's almost at it's sell by date, or at it.  Cook it up or freeze it.  I have learned that ground beef is the trickiest.  If you are hoping to use some of it in a way that would require you to completely defrost the frozen package first, do that right away.  By that I mean, I froze 2 loaves of meatloaf.  Pre form your hamburger patties, or mix up your meat balls.  You can even just cook it up and freeze the cooked meat if you'd like.  Other meats defrost well, but ground beef can taste off when exposed to air, and the closer it is to the sell by date, the less time you will have to work with the meat.  I often freeze the meat squished thin in the bag so I can just cook it from frozen for meals where it's not formed.

What are your clearance tips?

Who Said Healthy Food Costs Too Much?

I always read articles that say our obesity problem is linked to low socio-economic status.  These poor people with little money just can't afford to eat decent food.  Um, B.S.  Is it expensive to buy organic, or processed all natural products?  Yes.  Is it expensive to eat steak, many types of fish, and chicken breasts?  Yes, for the most part.  It is not expensive to buy fresh meats and produce.  If people buy in season, and buy less expensive cuts that may need more prep work or cooking time, there is no added expense.

The truth: People are lazy.  They can't be bothered to deal with a whole chicken, or trimming the fat of a cut of beef.  I went to the store last night with the goal of refilling our produce drawer.  Our neighbor has brought us several boxes and bags of produce recently from the food bank, but with 4 kids, it's gone in a very short time.  So for proof that buying produce in season isn't expensive, you can see what I purchased last night in the above photo. 
Here is the cost breakdown:
2 Jalapenos $.012
Romaine Lettuuce $0.88
2 Red Bell Peppers $1.00
1.4 lbs Roma Tomatoes $1.09
2 Nectarines (purchased because a twin grabbed and started eating one) $1.12
1 Cucumber $0.44
3 Ears of Corn $0.90
.54 lbs Green Beans $0.75
1.95 lbs Green Grapes $2.50
Grand Total: $9.24


Not even $10 for all of that.  And none of that is in season here yet, we had a late growing season, so this is all up from California.  I expect prices to drop further once we have local produce available.  How do you eat healthy on a budget?

Shredded Beef

Here is a super simple recipe that makes a good 2 to 3 meals.  And different meals at that.
Step One is add a can of diced tomatoes, chopped onion, chopped garlic, a bit of cumin, and a bit of hot sauce  (I prefer using a hot sauce that isn't super hot, and has other spices in it) to a slow cooker. 

Step Two add an arm roast (or was it shoulder?)  Just ask your butcher which roast cut is best to use for shredded meat. 

Cook the meat on low all day long.  Then in the evening, shred it with a fork.  It should practically fall apart for you. 

Meal one:  Burritos with Spanish Rice.  Take 2 cups of the liquid from the slow cooker, and boil it in a pot.  Add 1 cup of rice, turn heat to low, and cover.  Cook for 20 minutes.    Then take your favorite kind of tortillas, add non fat refried beans, shredded meat, rice, avocado and fresh spinach.  Or if your family is less adventurous, just add your usual fixings to it and enjoy!


Meal two: Beef Sandwiches. Put the meat in a pot.  Add about 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce and 3 T of steak sauce.  You don't want to coat the meat and have lots of sauce, you just want to add flavor.  Also add some mesquite or BBQ spice mix.  Heat through.  Serve on hamburger buns with lettuce, pickles, onions, cheese and tomatoes.

Use What You Have Menu Plan

In our home there is someone in charge of the budget.  It's that person's responsibility to make sure there is enough for all the bills and all the extras we may have planned each week.  Unfortunately, that person is an airhead, and sometimes I forget they forget things like fuel or prescriptions in that planning.

This is one of those weeks, so I created a menu plan that will use what we have in the house with only a few $'s spent at the store.  We have plenty of apples to snack on and for cooking.  We also received some more potatoes yesterday, so I may do something more with them.

Sunday: Breakfast Casserole
Monday: Spaghetti, marinara sauce, bread
Tuesday: Tacos, beans and rice (beans and rice are in the freezer, and shredded steak cooked in the crock for the taco meat)
Wednesday: Barbeque chicken, mashed potatoes, and fresh veggies
Thursday: Beans in the crockpot with homemade rolls
Friday: BBQ Pork and fried rice

What we'll need: dried beans, spaghetti sauce, and milk for a total of $5 at the grocery store. 

Lunches are bologna sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, salads, and cheese and crackers for Kaia and Dana.  I eat leftovers.  Breakfast is cereal for the kids and Dana eats cereal alternating with sausage and egg. 

On pay day, I plan to do some stocking up!  Our freezers are empty of meat!  I like to have at least a few pounds of ground beef, some inexpensive steak cuts and a whole chicken in the freezer.  But, as you can see from the menu, we have chicken thighs, 1 steak, and the sausage is in the fridge.  I'm hoping Wednesday's ads have some good prices!

What are you eating this week?

Hungry Planet

My grandma forwarded an email that had photos and information from the book Hungry Planet.  I'm amazed at what we eat, and am also inspired by what can feed a large family.  There is definitely a middle ground where families are eating well, and inexpensively.  There is also the extravagant, and the sparse.  I've placed a hold on the book from my library, and I've been enjoying the photos at Time.com.
What the World Eats

Jumbalaya My Way

This recipe originated in an Emeril Lagasse book. I of course want to use all of the ingredients, so I tweaked it and made it my own. The result is an inexpensive, quick and easy recipe, perfect for a busy evening. At one time the whole family loved this. Now everyone, but Morgan will eat it.

Jumbalaya
2-3 links of andouille or spicy smoked sausage
1 stalk of celery
1 green pepper
1/2 of a medium onion
1 cup of rice
bay leaf (optional)
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper to taste (or use a Cajun seasoning mix)

Chop the first 4 ingredients. First in just a small amount of oil, cook the sausage in a pot at Medium-High heat. As it starts to lightly brown add the veggies. Cook all of it for another 5 minutes. Then add the rice, and stir it in so that it browns a bit, and be sure to scrape up any bits of sausage.

Add 2 cups of water, salt and pepper and a bay leaf. Add a very tiny amount of cayenne or a bit more of the Cajun seasoning. You can always add more later to make it spicier, or leave out the cayenne altogether and let the spiciness of the sausage flavor the rice. Bring to a boil, turn heat to low, put a lid on the pot and in 20 minutes you have a fantastic meal!

Looking Good for Less

Friday night was our annual Pillars Party for United Way. I didn't attend last year, due to the fact that I was nearly due with the boys.  This year, I was happy to go and work as a greeter, but was getting frustrated that my nice dresses (that are appropriate for an October event) were not fitting well with the twin pouch I still carry.

I was pretty discouraged Friday morning, and grabbed two dresses that are ill fitting.  I left for work in a horrible mood, and only smiled when Mo said to me, "Kaia is going to turn 8, the babies are going to turn 1, I'm going to turn 5 and you'll be 18."  I of course agreed with him.

My friend and co-worker Kate brought me a surprise back from lunch.  A black tube dress that has lots of drapey fabric.  She has the same dress in pink, and loves it because when her Crohn's is acting up it helps cover up her tummy.  She gave me the black dress as she had never worn it.  Then on my lunch break, I made a quick run to Target.  I added a blue scarf ($3.24), a bracelet set ($4.39), and a nice set of earrings ($3.48).  I already had a pair of hand me down black heels and some Spanx to help with the twin pouch (both from Kate as well).

I think it was a fabulous look for under $12.  I felt amazing, and that's what really counts.

Sewing

I used to sew a lot.  I made myself skirts and dresses, then I had kids, and pretty much stopped sewing.  Now I have a few items that need re-worked, and I found this blog: newdressaday.wordpress.com.  It's been all over the news, and it is such a fun blog.  I spent well over an hour looking at her creations. 

First I have a cute dress my mom got for free in the locker room at work.  It had been abandoned, and it was my size.  So after a year my mom brought it home. I quickly found out why it was abandoned.  It is poorly constructed.  I'm thinking I will just cut it below the armholes, add a band of elastic, and have a sleeveless tube dress.

The more difficult piece of clothing is a work shirt.  All staff and upper volunteers were given these very nice shirts.  Only problem is, I don't like the way shirts like this fit me.  They are too manly.  Any ideas on some tailoring that could make it softer more feminine?

Super Simple Swiss Chard

The kids and I ate Swiss Chard for the first time ever on Sunday. A large cooler of chard had been brought in and set on the Harvest Table at church.  Kaia wanted to take some home, so I encouraged her to fill one of the small bags.   I looked up several recipes online, and they were all similar.  Saute in olive oil and garlic then add a bit of balsamic vinegar.  I never follow directions, so here is the recipe I created.  I was surprised to find that it tasted really good, and the kids even finished what I gave to them.

1 teaspoon of bacon grease
4 or 5 big chard leaves with most of the stem removed
2 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinaigrette salad dressing
Saute chard in the bacon grease in a pan until the chard is heated and softens a bit.  Then add the salad dressing and enjoy!

Onions and more

I've mentioned our fantastic next door neighbors before, the kids fondly call them Papa and Grandma, Kaia and recently Mo have attended Sabbath services with them, and they are always helping us out.  Recently we've been gifted with an abundance of produce from them.

Their church runs a food bank, and when a large amount of produce is donated, they take what they can distribute before it spoils for the food bank, and the rest is given to members of the congregation (to use and distribute to others).  So Carl and Myke often bring some to share with us.  Recently we've received 2 heads of iceberg lettuce, apples, grapes, yellow potatoes, a big bag of chopped broccoli and 6 onions.

The lettuce we quickly ate, and the apples and grapes go in lunches and are used for snacks.  I love yellow potatoes for frying, soups and casseroles.  The broccoli is easy to use, especially since it's all cut and ready. 

But the onions... I love french onion soup, but don't think I could convince the rest of the family to eat it.  I could make onion rings, but I'm really trying to eat healthier.  Salsa is always a good option, but tomato prices are high.  So tell me, what do you like to make that uses onions?

It's Monday

I have a post all ready to go, I just need the photos I've emailed from my phone to complete it.  They say they have sent successfully, but they haven't. 

I should also be posting a menu plan since it's Monday.  I've come to the conclusion that without a plan, and a shopping trip where I stock up on the items needed for the plan, our spending on food gets out of control.  I make too many trips to the store, where I realize that we could use X, Y, and Z.  Add to that an oops, where I thought I was getting the correct ground beef at Safeway, buy one and get one free.  Turns out I didn't.  Instead I spent over $20 on ground beef.  At least it will last us for awhile.

So any menu suggestions for me this week?

Fun Mail and a Re-worked Recipe

Mail isn't very exciting at our home.  Most days, I'd rather just pretend it's not there.  What's the fun of looking through a stack of bills, the latest offers from Charter and Qwest, or the multiple Cabelas catalogs?  Last night, though, it was fun!   I got home to find my box from My Samples Showcase.  It's full of great samples!  Montreal Steak marinade (Yum), Secret Clinical Strength (just in time, long story but my last "gel" antiperspirant ended up being liquid and leaked all over the counter this weekend), Instant Coffee, Aveeno, BenGay and more... 

After looking through all the samples, I started dinner.  It was a healthy dinner, Pigs In A Blanket.  I really wanted to eat these, but didn't want to blow my calories for the day.  So at the store I bought Kroger reduced fat crescent rolls ($1.69) and Jennie-O turkey franks ($1.00).  Cooked together each Pig in a Blanket was only 160 calories.  So I could eat 2 for 320 calories and add some green beans and carrot sticks for a healthy meal!  We will definitely be having these again some time.  The kids loved them (Mo even ate 2!) and they were easy on the wallet.  They will be even cheaper when Fiesta sells the franks for 1 cent a package. 

Have you re-worked any recipes lately?

Menu Plan Monday on a Budget

My cousin texted me last week saying she could use my help.  Back when we were both at Central Washington University, we'd go grocery shopping together, and I'd always find all the amazing deals to help us both feed ourselves and hubbys on the cheap.  She wanted to start doing more eating at home, and using the extra money for other things.  I enjoyed searching the ads and creating a meal plan for her family, more than I do when I'm just figuring out my family's menu.  The benefit was, we both went shopping together Saturday, and I had created a menu for my family in the process.

Monday: Tacos (hamburger, refried beans, cheese, lettuce, fresh salsa, avocado on corn tortillas)

Tuesday: Sweet and Sour Pork Steaks, rice, salad (pan fry the pork with green pepper chunks, add sweet and sour sauce, and chunks of pineapple)

Wednesday: Corned Beef and red potatoes in the crock pot with fresh veggies. 

Thursday: Roasted Chicken thighs, grilled potatoes and carrots

Friday: Easy Huevos Rancheros

Saturday: Roast Beef with potatoes and Carrots (with half the roast reserved for next weeks meal)

Sunday: Leftovers

Monday:  BBQ Beef Sandwiches (from Saturday's roast) with salad

Tuesday: Pork steaks with cream of mushroom soup in crockpot, served over rice with broccoli and cheese.


I'll complete next week's menu,  next week.  But we still have plenty of ground beef, round steak, chicken, and chicken fried steak patties to use. 

On Saturday I purchased- Roast, avocados, re-fried beans, corned beef, broccoli, red potatoes, pork steaks, spaghetti sauce, bananas, radishes, green onions, lettuce, sweet potato, mini carrots, chicken thighs, tortillas, sausage for breakfast, crackers, cheese, sweet and sour sauce, bbq sauce, cream of mushroom soup and more for about $48.  It would have been more, except I had a WIC check for $10 worth of veggies. 

So have any of you non-menu planners, decided to give it a try yet?

For more menus visit www.orgjunkie.com

Good Things

I've been trying new things to make our lives run more smoothly.  If I can control just a fraction of the chaos we live in, I will have done a good job as mom and wife. 

Here is an idea I got from my Mother in Law, June.  Snack trays.  It is so simple, but several times when I've gone to pickup the boys, she's had a snack tray out.  The trays have been fresh cut veggies, fruit or meat and cheese. 

Yesterday, I made a big veggie tray planning for leftovers.  Even though it was just Dana, the 3 boys and I here, having the veggies out meant we snacked on something healthy.  Now that it's prepped and in the fridge, we'll have a quick go to snack most of the week.  And when I pack lunches, it's easy for me to grab a few veggies to include.  Also I won't forget that half a bell pepper in the drawer and find it after it's rotten, because we've already enjoyed it.

This same idea works with salad.  Buy some heads of lettuce, wash and tear into pieces.  Then have it stored in a container in the fridge.  I read this tip on a finance blog.  The cost difference between bagged salad and lettuce is huge!  I decided to give it a try, and it has worked so well for us.  I can fix a salad in seconds, and we've enjoyed eating salad this last week.

Finally, one last good thing: Menu Plan Monday.  I will be writing up a menu.  Last week was an unwritten, loose plan.  It meant a lot more money was spent on groceries and the meals weren't as healthy.  Lesson learned!

What good thing have you tried lately?

Menu Plan Monday

Last week's menu went as written, except Friday we had chicken enchiladas, brought to us by a couple from church, instead of the chicken noodle soup I had planned.

I'm a little late getting this week's menu posted as I'm battling a cold and couldn't think.

Monday: Hamburger Helper Italiano with peas

Tuesday: Chef Salad using the last of the Olive Garden salad and some ham lunchmeat I found on clearance

Wednesday: Marinated steak mock tenderloins that I found on clearance, broccoli with cheese, and baked potato with sour cream.

Thursday: Chicken franks (on clearance once again) with Bush's Baked Beans and celery and carrot sticks

Friday: Texas Hash

Saturday: Chicken Noodle Soup

Sunday: Hamburgers, california pasta salad, tater tots

For more menus visit www.orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday

Some of you may have received 2 menu plan Mondays via reader. Blogger was having fun with me and re-posted last weeks post first, then this week's post.  This is truly our menu:

 
Last week's menu plan went quite well.  We did decide on Saturday to have burgers and tater tots instead, so the spaghetti has been moved to this week. 

Monday:
Tacos with meat, beans (leftover from Friday) and clearanced salsa from the store.

Tuesday:
Leftovers from my Board meeting.  We almost always have food leftover, so I'm planning on Olive Garden soup, salad and breadsticks. 

Wednesday:
Spaghetti with leftover lasagne sauce

Thursday:
Roast, potatoes, carrots in crockpot

Friday:
Chicken noodle soup (leftover chicken from Saturday)

Saturday:
Hamburger Helper Italian pasta

Sunday:
Beef Pot Pie using leftover roast

See more menu plans at Orgjunkie.   What are you having this week?

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

The menu plan continues to go well.  Monday night though we decided that rather than have Swedish Meatballs, Sweet and Sour sounded much better.  I made these for Christmas Eve and they were a hit.  I  like that with green pepper and pineapple in them, they have fruit and veggie included and this meal is very budget friendly!    Since this recipe has taken me some time to perfect, I thought I'd share it with you.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Ground Beef
Bread or Cracker Crumbs
1 egg
salt and pepper
1 can of pineapple chunks
1 green pepper cut into chunks
1/4 cup of Brown Sugar
1 T soy sauce
1 T cornstarch

Yes, that's the entire list!  First mix your ground beef with some bread or cracker crumbs.  I like to save french bread ends or the heels of a loaf and run them through my food processor.  The amount you use is up to you.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Once mixed in add the egg and mix again.  Roll meat into 1 inch balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Place in 350 degree oven until cooked (10-20 minutes depending on size).

In a saucepan add a tiny bit of oil and saute the green pepper over medium-high heat for a few minutes.  Then add all the pineapple chunks, and most of the juice.  Set aside a small amount of the juice.  Add your brown sugar and soy sauce.  Mix the cornstarch in with the pineapple juice.  Then pour into your saucepan.  Add the cooked meatballs and stir.  Cook for an additional 10-15 minutes until sauce is thick.  Add more cornstarch (mixed with a small amount of cold water) if needed.  Serve over rice and enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday

Last week's menu plan was a success!  I stuck to it every single night, the only variance was on Enchilada night, I was tired and running late so we didn't have any extra veggies.  The red cabbage dish received mixed reviews, and provided some fun when I accidentally added mango vodka instead of lemon vinegar.  Both bottles are next to each other on the counter and both have pour spouts.  Luckily I caught it fairly quickly.  Having a plan added a moment of organization and sanity to our usual chaos and so I present this week's menu.

Monday:
Swedish Meatballs over rice with peas.

Tuesday:
Marinated steak (I'm pretty sure I still have some in the freezer), boiled potatoes (from my friend's garden), wilted lettuce salad.

Wednesday:
Meatloaf, broccoli with melted cheese

Thursday:
Ham (frozen leftovers from Christmas), macaroni and cheese, fresh veggies with dip.

Friday:
Pinto beans in the crock pot, cornbread muffins/saltines with butter.

Saturday:
Spaghetti with meat sauce (frozen from last week's lasagne), salad

Sunday:
Roast Chicken, stuffing (with celery and onion), sweet potato and gravy

See more menu plans at Orgjunkie.   What are you having this week?

Christmas Eve Party Planning

It's our turn to host again.  Actually, we volunteered to host since it's easier to not drag the "twinkies" around town.  I LOVE to plan parties and have get togethers, something I wish I did more often.  I think my lack of housekeeping skills is the main reason we don't do more.

This year I'm all about keeping it simple. The menu is dungeness crab, cold cuts, cheeses, meatballs, and possibly ceviche.  There will be plenty of sweets.  Including Christmas Cookies and orange cake.  I'm also planning to put my adorable cups to use with this spiced cider and cranberry juice recipe.  Those cups were free the day after the church yard sale.  There was a box of 20 something, and I thought they would be perfect for my retro kitchen someday.

What big plans do you have?

My First Frugal Accomplishment

When Dana and I first moved back to Yakima, we rented a 2 bedroom unit in an older duplex.  The fact that it was older is what really drew us to that place.  It had a small yard, and it was in a residential neighborhood.  There were built in bookshelves and a curio display in the front room, and a built in drawers and cabinet in one of the bedrooms.  It was a fun little place that really stood apart from the cookie cutter rentals with their white walls, brown carpets and fake wood cabinets.   It also had baseboard heating and terrible drafts!

Money was almost non-existant for us.  I was doing an internship that was entirely unpaid, and we were relying on Dana's work and me picking up odd jobs.  I mostly cleaned homes for family and friends.  Keeping our house warm was a priority, yet we couldn't afford to just run the heaters and lose all the heat out the door or windows.  We hung a wool blanket (the bright woven kind you find in the Southwest and Mexico) over our large front window, and it definitely helped, but the door was still a problem.

One morning, I had no side job to do, and Dana was at work.  I was picking up and some of our "trash" was small strips of foam.  I swear a lightbulb must have appeared over my head as I held onto that foam.  Very quickly I grabbed the duct tape from the garage and went to work.  In less than a half an hour, I had sealed our door with my invention.  I used the duct tape and foam to create some weather stripping for inside the door jamb.  I also created a small flap that hung at the bottom of our door, that created a nice seal at the bottom when closed, but still allowed us to open the door easily.

It doesn't sound like much, but within an hour I could feel the difference in the temperature of our home.  I think it also helped that I was beaming with pride in my accomplishment.  I had helped make our place a bit warmer, and it cost us nothing!

Things haven't changed too much since those days.  Sure we live in a larger house, and we have 4 kids, but this weekend found Dana and I hanging (ok it was Dana that did the actual hanging) a thermal curtain over the front door to keep our front room warm.  Some day we'll buy a nice door that seals, but it was fun to recapture some of that adventure of making do.