Our Valentine’s Day
Tim and I celebrated a wonderful Valentine’s Day this year. We kept it simple and the best part was the time we spent together, and the lovely flowers Tim gave me. We decided to make a fancy dinner at home to save on costs. Tim was the head chef and I followed his orders. The dinner turned out wonderful. Since we stayed home we also didn’t need to pay for a baby-sitter. I tried to roughly estimate the cost of our dinner below. I only added the cost of the food we ate, not any leftovers we had. I would estimate that this meal would cost at least $12.00/plate at a restaurant.
Menu:
Stuffed pork chops with apple bacon stuffing
Rosemary potatoes
Salad
Garlic Bread (yes, the top was accidentally burned)
Water
Pork Chops: $3.00
Stuffing with apple and bacon: $1.50
Rosemary Potatoes: $1.00
Salad: $1.00
Garlic Bread: $1.10
Total: $7.60
Per Plate: $3.80
We splurged a little and went out for ice cream for dessert and spent a little over $5.00 for high quality ice cream cones (we still used a coupon). Since we rarely have ice cream it was a delicious treat. Our son (who’s allergic to dairy) was happy to snack on grapes while we enjoyed our dessert.
After dessert, we put our son to bed and watched a movie on Hulu then turned in for the night. Overall, it was a terrific Valentine’s Day and we didn’t blow the bank to celebrate.
Weekly Menu: Potato Soup and Bread Bowls
Here is our menu for the coming week. You can read here about how planning a menu saves us time and money.
Monday: Stirfry
Tuesday: Potato soup and bread bowls*
Wednesday: Lentil/Rice Casserole
Thursday: Homemade Hamburger Helper
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Tim’s cooking Valentine’s Dinner with pork
Sunday: Roast, potatoes
We will splurge and go over our grocery budget a little bit this week to buy some ribs/roast/pork chops that Marsh has on sale for $0.99/lb. The pork comes in a 10-12 lb package and should give us many meals. We will use some of the pork for a fancy Valentine’s Dinner and then have some on Sunday when we are having some guests over. Even though we’ll go over a little on our groceries, we won’t be dining out on Valentine’s Day which will save us some money.
We may soon be raising our grocery budget by $20/month. Tim’s been burning a lot of calories at the gym lately and his appetite has grown. I also have a growing appetite as the baby gets larger and I want to make sure I’m eating as healthy as I can for the baby.
*Potato Soup
2-3 cups chicken broth
2 cups chopped potatoes
1 cup celery (opt)
1/4 cup onion
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cheese
1 can corn, drained (opt)
1/4 cup shredded carrots (opt)
1/4 cup crumbled, cooked bacon (opt)
salt & pepper to taste
Combine the broth, potatoes, celery, carrots and onion in large pot and boil 20-30 min or until veggies are tender. In separate pan combine flour and butter and mix together 2-3 minutes over med heat until mixture darkens. Stir frequently to make sure it doesn’t burn. Add milk and continue to mix for 3-5 minutes until mixture thickens. Add milk mixture to broth and vegetables. Add cheese, corn, bacon, salt and pepper and heat through. The soup will continue to thicken as it sits.
This soup is very forgiving and you can interchange many of the optional ingredients.
*Bread Bowls
6 cups flour (I use 1/2 wheat, 1/2 white)
2 cups water
2 Tablespoons yeast (or 2 pkgs)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
1/3 cup oil
Mix yeast, sugar and water and let rise until bubbly (5-10 min). Mix with other ingredients (dough should be a little stiff). Divide dough into 6 balls. Let balls rise until twice in size, about 45 min. Bake at 400 for 12-15 min.
Weekly Menu: Sausage Stew
With a lot of unexpected expenses this month, we are eating out of our cupboards until next week. Here is a look at our menu. I’ll be making slightly bigger batches so Tim can take leftovers to work.
Monday: Spinach rice casserole
Tuesday: Sausage Stew*
Wednesday: Spaghetti
Thursday: Chili
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Potatoes and Noodles
Sunday: Tim’s cooking
*Sausage Stew
6-8 cut potatoes
1 chopped onion
1 sliced smoked sausage
2 cans green beans, undrained
1 can corn, undrained
In large pot combine all ingredients. Cook about twenty minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Add salt and pepper as desired.
The Simple Life: Beans and Rice
I have read many frugal experts who tout the benefits of beans and rice. The dish is cheap, easy, and healthy, especially when using brown rice. The only problem was that Tim and I couldn’t find a recipe that tasted good. Then Tim struck gold.
He found this recipe online that was quick, cheap, yummy and we had all the ingredients on hand (with slight modifications). We served it to our friends who enjoyed it as well. We often put it in homemade tortillas with salsa, cheese, sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes or whatever we have on hand. But these aren’t necessary and invariably drive the cost per serving up.
To make this recipe even cheaper we don’t buy canned beans but instead soak and cook dry beans ahead of time then divide them into ziplock bags and freeze them until needed. I’ll even save some of the water I cooked them in with some beans to flavor the beans and rice. We also have used kidney beans in this recipe. We don’t purchase instant rice either so I’ll throw either white or brown rice in our rice cooker and add it to the recipe at the end.
Although this recipe is simple we enjoy how easy and versatile it is to make. Since it makes a lot we always have leftovers for lunch or another dinner. Now that we found a recipe we enjoy I too can tout the benefits of beans and rice.
Weekly Menu January 12th
Last week didn’t go quite as planned. We consumed some of the leftovers quicker than I thought and had to improvise. I also found some cottage cheese at Krogers that was expiring that day for $0.25. So I made a double batch of baked ziti and put one in the freezer for a day when we’re really rushed. I also forgot that Tim would be on a Scout Camporee Friday and Saturday night, so my son and I changed the menu a little and made some stirfry.
This week we should stick to the plan a little better. But I have to admit I really like flexibility. My menu is mostly a guideline of meals I have ingredients for in a span of about two weeks. This way I’m not tempted to drop by the store 3-4 times/week to pick up ingredients.
Monday: Spaghetti
Tuesday: Homemade hamburger helper
Wednesday: Chili
Thursday: Crustless quiche (we didn’t make this last week)
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Burritos
Sunday: Tim’s day to cook
Weekly Menu
We had friends over Sunday night and made a lot of food so for the beginning of the week we get to enjoy the leftovers. We need to use up our lettuce and tomatoes and so we’ll make tacos and salad. We’ll then finish out the week with some fun food and hopefully use up the rest of our fresh produce.
Monday: Leftovers (chicken pot pie)
Tuesday: Leftovers (beans and rice with tortillas)
Wednesday: Tacos
Thursday: Grilled chicken salad
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Hamburgers
Sunday: Stirfry
Six Dishes To Use Up Potatoes
Since we accidentally overspent our grocery budget by $10 due to bad weather and the holidays (or my lack of planning for bad weather and the holidays), we haven’t been to the store in a few days and we won’t go until the end of the week.
To stretch our food and save money we plan on using up our 10 lb bag of potatoes until we go shopping again. This week we have already made hash browns and I plan on making some potato soup tonight. Tomorrow we will bring some twice baked potatoes to a New Year’s Eve party where our friends are serving chili.
Although the potatoes I have are fresh, most weeks I forget that I have potatoes in my cupboard and when I find them they only have a little time left and so I have to use them quickly. Since I have found lots of recipes that use up potatoes I thought I’d share six family favorites.
1. Twice Baked Potatoes
We will make our potatoes similar to this recipe but omit the bacon, use less sour cream and add ranch dressing. We usually make this as a side dish but we have used it as a main dish in the past.
2. Potato Soup
I will often double this recipe and use whatever vegetables I have on hand. This soup is also tasty with bread bowls.
2-3 c. chicken broth
2 c. chopped potatoes
1 c. celery
1/4 c. onion
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
2 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. cheese
1 can corn, drained (opt.)
1/4 c. chopped bacon (opt.)
1/4 c. shredded carrot (opt)
Mix the broth, potatoes and vegetables in large pot and simmer 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. In a separate pan combine the flour and butter over medium heat and mix 1-2 minutes or until the mixture starts to brown. Add milk and constantly stir 3-5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Combine the milk mixture with the broth and vegetables. Stir in cheese, corn, bacon and carrot and heat through.
3. Potatoes and noodles
This is a Swedish recipe from my grandmother and is my dad’s favorite recipe. We make the mashed potatoes from scratch but to speed up the process we leave the peels on.
Noodles:
1 c. flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
2 c. chicken broth
1-2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken breast (opt)
Mix egg, salt and milk. Add flour and mix well. Roll out thin and cut into noodles with a pizza cutter*. Bring chicken broth to a boil over medium heat. Add separated noodles and let cook 5-10 min. Add chicken. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup cooled water and add to mixture. Let broth boil until thickened, adding more cornstarch if necessary. Pour over mashed potatoes.
*You can also just grab small chunks of dough with a spoon and drop in the broth instead of rolling the dough out. This speeds up the process but the noodles will turn out larger.
4. Rosemary potatoes
This is a simple recipe from the Betty Crocker Cookbook that we have frequently used as a side dish. This dish is a healthier alternative to fries if you use olive oil.
5. Baked potatoes
Baked potatoes are extremely versatile. You can top them with leftover chili, broccoli and cheese, pizza toppings, sour cream and bacon and other variations. We will often have baked potatoes when we want a lighter supper.
6. Hash browns
We will often bake the potatoes the night before and stick them in the fridge to make breakfast easier in the morning.
5-6 large potatoes
1 1/2 Tablespoons oil
Bake the potatoes in the microwave or oven. Let cool and then grate onto large pan or skillet. Add oil and fry over medium-high heat until golden brown.
Since I rarely stick to a recipe and instead use what I have on hand these are an approximation of how I make certain dishes. To make them a little healthier you could cut back on the fat and add vegetables and proteins where you think it’s needed. Don’t be afraid to experiment with potatoes, they’re very forgiving.
Trader Joe $0.49 Pasta
When my budget has a little wiggle room I try to buy whole wheat pasta. The best deal I have found without coupons is Trader Joe multigrain pasta with flax for $0.99.
Imagine my surprise when I saw the price today at $0.49. I stocked up on 10 packages for $4.90 and mentioned it to the cashiers. They were very surprised at the price as well.
One of them asked their manager about it, and they said that they were discontinuing the pasta which is why it was reduced so much.
I don’t know if this price is nationwide or just at my store. But if you’re driving by a Trader Joe I would be sure to check it out.
As a side note, I think this pasta tastes pretty good and very filling. If you need serve it with sauce you won’t really notice that it’s whole grain.
Weekly Menu
Here is our weekly dinner menu:
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Stirfry
Wednesday: Tacos
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: BBQ Chicken Pizza
Saturday: Spaghetti
Sunday: Tim’s cooking
$5.32 Kroger Trip
I went to Krogers today to pick up some sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving and decided to snag some of the great deals going on this week. Here are some of the bargains I got. These deals expire today.
To help you follow my paper trail, whenever I used a clipped coupon I put the date of the paper. My Krogers store will double any manufactures coupon up to $0.50
I also get some of my coupons from Cellfire and Shortcuts, where you can load coupons onto your Krogers card. These coupons won’t double but you can combine them with manufacturers coupons.
Here is my shopping trip:
2 4 pk Cottonelles $.99/ea
-.50/Cellfire
-.50/Shortcuts
-.50/.25 manufacturers coupon (11/16) doubled
=$0.24/ea or $0.48
Sweet Potatoes $1.76/6 lbs
Bananas $0.57 (my son ate 2 bananas before I took the picture)
8 oz Kroger cheese $1.67
-$0.45 Shortcuts
=$1.22
Betty Crocker Frosting $1.67
-$0.50 coupon (11/16) doubled
=$0.67
4 boxed green giant vegetables $1.00/ea
-2 ($0.50/two coupons) doubled (10/5 and 11/16)
-3($.50/2 coupons) shortcuts
=.125/ea or $.50/4
Tax=$0.12
Total = $5.32
Note: I had a $.50/off Betty Crocker Shortcuts coupon that didn’t go through. But I got such a great deal on everything else that I wasn’t too sad. If it had gone through my total would have been $4.82!
