MENU IN REVIEW - Sept. 24 to Sept. 30

Mon. 
Mexican Fiesta! 
Tues. 
Homemade Macaroni & Cheese, Soft Pretzel Bites 
Wed.
Hot Dogs and Potato Salad 
Thurs.
Trying a recipe for Bajio's Green Chili Chicken Salad 
Fri. 
Leftovers...the fridge was full of them! 
Sat.
Subway...thanks, Tony! 
Sun.
Grilled Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Green Beans
(homemade pizza for lunch)

I love when leftovers unexpectedly save me money!

31 DAYS OF STRETCHING YOUR GROCERY DOLLAR

I feed my family of five on $60 a week.  I've learned how to stretch my grocery dollar further than I ever thought was possible and I would love to share how I make this work.  Over the next 31 days, I'll tell you where I shop, what I buy, share my menu plans and recipes.  I thought I would start Day 1 with a recipe, my Basic Veggie Soup.
Thank you, Nester for hosting this 31 day series!

(everyday will be added as it's posted)
Day 2: Having a Plan
Day 3: Pasta Night 
Day 4: Mexican Night & Recipe
Day 5: Making your own Stock (the easy-peasy way)
Day 6: Crock Pot/Hot Dish Night & Recipes
Day 7: Tradition or Doughnuts, a Love Story 
Day 8: Soup, Salad or Sandwiches
Day 9: Pizza 
Day 10: Grill/Wok
Day 11: Family Favorites
Day 12: Real Food + Effort = Savings
Day 13: Recipe Resources 
Day 14: My Secret Ingredient
Day 15: Planning Your Menu
Day 16: Where I Shop 
Day 17:What I Didn't Realize About Cooking 
Day 18: Pork Carnitas
Day 19: Pantry Organization 
Day 20: Leftovers 
Day 21: Homemade Take-Out Noodles
Day 22: Cinnamon Crunch Popcorn
Day 23: Lemony Asparagus
Day 24: Sour Cream Syrup 
Day 25: Roasted Veggies 
Day 26: Potluck Dinners
Day 27: Pumpkin Bars
Day 28: Sweet Potato Gratin 
Day 29: Chocolate Pecan Pie 
Day 30: Pasta Salad 
Day 31: A Budget Friendly Day!

I DID IT!  All 31 days!!!!!  Thanks for joining me!

BASIC VEGGIE SOUP

The best part about this recipe is you adapt it to what you have/want in your soup.  Feel free to adjust all the veggies to what you enjoy.  For example: Mita (my grandma) didn't make her soup without a leek, I rarely add leek because of the cost.  If you're wanting a more hearty soup, just add some chicken or white beans to the soup.
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
4 c. chicken broth
2 c. water
Seasonings: today I chose rosemary, thyme, poultry seasoning, pepper (feel free to use any seasonings you prefer)
6-8 potatoes, peeled and diced
8 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 yellow squash, diced, sliced or julienned (I did a julienne cut)
2 zucchini, diced, sliced or julienned

 I start by heating the pot over medium heat, then adding the EVOO and chopped onion.  Once the onion is softened, add the garlic and stir for a minute.  Next add the chicken broth, water, diced potatoes and sliced carrots and turn the heat up to med.high or high heat.

 

  Bring the soup to a boil, until the potatoes can be easily mashed with a fork.  Turn down the heat to medium and use a potato masher in the soup.  Breaking the potatoes up releases more starch and will thicken the soup.  You don't need everything broken up, just go around the pot a few times. Now it's time to add the squash.  I usually slice them, but wanted to try something new by using the mandolin to julienne them.  You can turn the heat down to low at this point.  You just want the squash to gently cook and let all the flavors come together.

 YUM!!!!

*FYI*

I buy HACO chicken soup base.  My last container was $22.50 and it makes 16 gallons.  That's roughly $1.40/gal. or .35/quart.  It's a large initial cost, but pays off!!! (I just saw the price is now $25.00 which would change the cost to roughly $1.56/gal. or .39/quart)

I purchase my vegetables either at the local grocery store on sale, on sale at Sprout's or the Superstition Ranch Market.  Check out your local farmers garden, grocery ads, or co-op for your best deal.

This was my latest shopping trip to Superstition Ranch Market.

Eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, watermelon, broccoli, radishes, pears, cucumbers, green onions, tomatoes, apples, cauliflower, red cabbage and brussel sprouts.  

All for a grand total of $13.81

LEMON CHICKEN ORZO SOUP

( André Karwath via Wikimedia Commons)

I love soup!  It's delicious, comforting and generally inexpensive.  I make it often throughout the year, even in the summer.  I think my veggie soup is made the most.  One of my sons complains every time I make the veggie soup, he loves, loves, loves chicken noodle. He loved the canned soup, but I don't buy that anymore.  I've tried different recipes to make it for him, but he's always had a complaint or two.  One day I tried this recipe because it sounded good to me.  I wasn't sure anyone else would like it.  With lemon in it, I didn't even consider this would be a chicken noodle soup to appease my son.  Turns out - HE LOVES IT!  I think you will too.
LEMON CHICKEN ORZO SOUP
8 c. chicken broth
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (I put it in straight from the freezer)
3-5 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 onion, chopped
freshly ground pepper
1 c. orzo pasta (I've even substituted cooked rice, just make sure it's fluffy rice before putting it in the soup)
1 whole lemon, juiced
Place all the ingredients except the lemon juice in a stock pot.  Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes (or until the veggies are tender and the chicken is cooked)  Remove the chicken breast and cut into strips or diced.  Then return to the pot, add the lemon juice and stir well to mix.  (taste and add salt if needed)
DELICIOUS!

MENU IN REVIEW - Sept. 17 thru Sept. 23

Mon.
Spaghetti & Garlic Bread, Papa Murphy's Cinnamon Wheel for dessert 
Tues. 
Cheesy Eggs, Zucchini and Chocolate Milk (flying by the seat of my pants.......and loving every minute of it!) 
Wed.
Spicy Cashew Chicken with Rice and Green Beans 
Thurs.
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup & Homemade French Bread 
Fri. 
Maybe dinner out? I've been needing a date night! 
Sat.
Dinner out again...score! This doesn't come out of my budget
(Moving this to next week - copycat recipe for Bajio's Green Chili Chicken Salad) 
Sun.
Spaghetti Bake

Look for my Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup & Spicy Cashew Chicken recipes this week.

PEACHES FOSTER FRENCH TOAST

 (My breakfast.  Delicious!)

I try to buy what the kids want to eat.  For instance, Colton loves peaches and so I bought him two gorgeous ones.  Then he didn't eat them!  In an effort to use everything up, I decided that I needed to do something with them this weekend, before it was too late.  So this morning I made Peaches Foster over French Toast.  It was so delicious and makes my home smell wonderful!  WIN-WIN!

 Sunday morning breakfast with my boys.

(Colton was the only one to try the peaches foster)

PEACHES FOSTER

3 T. butter

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

1/2 t. cinnamon

fresh grated nutmeg, just a dash

splash of vanilla (optional)
2-3 peaches, sliced (peeled, if you choose)

In a skillet/saute pan on med-high heat, add the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Stir mixture as the butter melts.  When all is melted and mixed, add your sliced peaches and reduce heat to medium (or med-low).  Stir peaches in mixture occasionally.  Cook for about 5 minutes, until sauce is thin.  Take off heat and add vanilla if you choose, stir.  Then place on top of french toast, pancakes, waffles, ice cream, pudding, etc.  You could even eat them in a bowl with a little whipped cream on top.  Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE MILK & SYRUP

What makes these boys happy?

CHOCOLATE MILK!!!

We used to always have a huge container of Nesquik in the pantry.  I didn't think Kyler could ever live without it!  With such a low grocery budget, I couldn't justify keeping it on hand.  Occasionally, I would buy some Hershey's chocolate syrup for chocolate milk or making shakes. The only problem: it was gone so quick.  I've seen many copy-cat recipes for "Nesquik" and "Hershey's chocolate syrup" on Pinterest and I finally tried them today.  I'm so glad I did!  Chocolate milk is back, baby!!! (In my best George Costanza!)  The funny thing is they are exactly the same recipe- 1 part cocoa powder & 2 parts sugar.  The syrup just adds water and vanilla to the recipe. 

CHOCOLATE MILK MIX

(pinned from www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com)

2/3 c. sugar

1/3 c. cocoa powder

pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients and store in a sealed container.  It doesn't make a lot, but it's easy to double or even triple the recipe.  It only uses 2 T. for 12-16 oz. of milk.  NOTE: to make it mix easier, add mix to your cup, then add a tiny bit of warm/hot water from the tap, mix well and then pour your cold water in the glass. 

(I like this mix since it can be on the pantry shelf, but I think the chocolate syrup is easier to use.)

 CHOCOLATE SYRUP

(pinned from www.glorioustreats.com)

1 1/2 c. sugar

3/4 c. cocoa powder

pinch of salt

1 c. water

1 t. vanilla

Whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a saucepan.  Add the water and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Once boiling, reduce heat and cook 1 minute.  Take off heat and stir in the vanilla.  Let cool and then refrigerate.  We used 2-3 spoonfuls of syrup in a glass of milk. So much flavor for so little syrup and SO DELICIOUS!!!

(I love how easy it mixes in the milk, but I think I would need the powder mix if we were traveling or camping.)

Now I'm off to dream of Willy Wonka's chocolate river!

BLACK BEAN SOUP

(black bean soup - photo & recipe from Eating Well)

What to do with leftover black beans?  Make a yummy soup!

BLACK BEAN SOUP

(I made a couple small adjustments to the original recipe.  Original recipe found HERE.)

1 T. canola oil

1 T. dried chopped onion

1 T. chili powder

1/2 t. ground cumin

3-4 c. black beans

3 c. water

1/2 c. salsa

1/4 t. salt

1 T. lime juice

(optional: top soup with sour cream and chopped cilantro)

Heat all ingredients (except for the lime juice) in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.  After removing from heat, stir in the lime juice and blend before serving.  (I used my immersion blender)  It was so good!  Next time I'll top with sour cream and cilantro as pictured above.

MENU IN REVIEW - Sept. 9 thru Sept. 16

I wanted to post my weekly menus on Monday, but then life happens.  Inevitably, there's some juggling in our week and meals get rearranged, ditched, or reinvented.  Since I wanted my weekly menus documented (for my future reference) I settled for posting the previous week's menu on Sunday.  

Mon.
Spaghetti 
Tues. 
Black Bean Soup, Nachos 
Wed.
Tony and the boys were busy with an Eagle Project. They grabbed In-n-Out on the way home. I came home and roasted some sweet pepper and an onion, then scrambled 2 eggs for my dinner. (just keeping it real) 
Thurs.
BEAST - so delish!  It never disappoints!!
Fri. 
Tailgating at Colton's Homecoming Game! 
Sat. 
Picnic Dinner between Kyler's football games
NOTE:  Just wanted to add that Asher was at a friend's home Saturday evening and they fed him dinner.  His favorite dinner....STEAK!!!  Thanks to Cindy for feeding him and making his wildest dreams come true. Gratitude, it's the best!
Sun.
Waffles (don't they sound heavenly....and easy!)

Now I need to get busy with the first draft of next's weeks menu!

PUMPKIN POPPERS

PUMPKIN POPPERS (recipe from Domestically Speaking)

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

I used 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. allspice, 1/8 tsp. ground cloves)

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 c. pumpkin

1/2 c. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray mini muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray.  Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl and whisk until combined.  In another bowl, mix oil. brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin, and milk.  Pour in flour mixture and mix until just combined.  Fill mini muffin tins until almost full and bake 10-12 minutes.

Coating: 
(Original recipe called for 1 stick butter, melted  - 2/3 c. sugar - 2 Tbsp. cinnamon Directions: Melt butter in small bowl.  Mix sugar and cinnamon in a separate small bowl.  After poppers cool for a few minutes, dip them in the butter and roll them in the sugar mixture.)
I didn't want to use that much butter so I opted for this:
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
Cinnamon Sugar 
I just brushed the butter on top of the poppers when they were out of the oven and sprinkled them with the cinnamon sugar.

YUM!!!!