DAY 14 - MY SECRET INGREDIENT

 

I've learned many things from the past 2 1/2 years and gratitude is at the top of the list.  I'm grateful that we have a grocery budget, even if it is small.  I'm grateful that I know how to cook.  I'm grateful that I have lots of kitchen appliances/tools to play work with.  I'm grateful that my family doesn't have food allergies.

   

No matter what we've had, it's always been enough.  Just when I needed a little give in my budget, something would always give.  These are some of the blessings we've experienced at those times:

sudden invitation to a friend's for dinner

dinner at a church activity

a family was moving out of state, didn't want to pack their food, it came to us

my cousin received a turkey from work, knew she wouldn't make it, 

passed it on to us

major sale at the grocery store

my mom asked me to make the Thanksgiving dinner and bought the groceries

I've found temporary work at times to help fill in gaps

 

 I've loved finding these statistics.  I've told my children countless times that have more than the majority of the people on the planet.  If you have running water and more than one food to eat every day, you are living in luxury.

 

 Not everyone is dealing with a minimal budget, there are so many difficulties in life.  No matter what we are facing, I'm convinced that gratitude can bless our lives.  It has for me.  It puts whatever I'm facing into perspective.  No matter what is going on in your life...

I truly believe this.

What in your life could benefit from a little gratitude?

My 31 days started here

Fellow 31 dayers here

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!

BASIC COLESLAW DRESSING RECIPE, GRATITUDE & A TIP

 At the beginning of the month, I made these open-faced Philly Cheesesteaks and they were delicious!!!!!  I don't have an exact price, but I will tell you what I used.  I bought the onion, bell pepper & mushrooms on sale.  I bought the bread (12 rolls/50 cents!) at the Alpine Valley Bread Outlet and just pulled 6 rolls out of the freezer for the meal.  I found the meat already sliced thin and sectioned out for individual sandwiches at American Discount Foods for $4/2 lbs.  It was divided out in 7 sections.  We used 4 and have 3 in the freezer still.  I was just going to used sliced provolone, but decided to try Bobby Flay's provolone sauce.  I was on my way to the store for the provolone and decided to stop and visit with a friend first.  She asked what I was making for dinner and I told her Philly Cheesesteaks.   She told me that she had made French Dip sandwiches last night and had some provolone cheese that they wouldn't use....could I use it?  YES, please.  What a blessing....but wait, the blessings don't end there!  My mom brought me a prepackaged broccoli salad from my aunt and uncle.  I thought it would be a great addition to our feast.  I put together my current favorite dressing (recipe below) for the slaw and then opened the bag to empty the contents in the bowl.  Apparently, I didn't really pay close attention to the bag and was surprised to see a smaller plastic bag fall into my bowl with the veggies.  It contained a dressing packet, crasins & cashews packet and finally a crumbled bacon packet.  After the embarrassment passed, I put the packet in the fridge to use at a later time.  (After finding 3 heads of cauliflower for $1 at Superstition Ranch Market, I came home, cut the cauliflower and added the broccoli salad packets to it.  It was actually quite good!!! The best part....it only cost me $0.33!)

BASIC COLESLAW DRESSING
(it's currently my favorite dressing)
1/2 c. mayo
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
fresh ground pepper
Whisk together the ingredients in the bowl you will serve the coleslaw in.  Then add your 4 -6 c. thinly sliced cabbage or broccoli slaw.  Toss well to coat and serve immediately or refrigerate to chill.

and finally......A TIP!

I used to buy the 5 pound bag of shredded cheese at Costco.  Since it was so easy to get out and use, it was used up quickly! It would last our family only two weeks and I didn't have the money to buy a different cheese, so we had to use one kind for everything.  I now buy a 2 pound block of mild cheddar and a 2 pound block of mozzarella from Costco. I love having different cheeses for Mexican Fiesta and Pizza Night.  The boys used to go through tons of cheese for nachos.  Now they grate their own with a little hand held fine grater.  It doesn't take long before they are done "working" for their meal!  On pizza night, I grate up one pound of the mozzarella for all of us to share.  This still lasts for the two weeks, but I've spent less and had more variety....WIN-WIN!  So the tip in a nutshell....

Buying block cheese and making my kids 

grate it themselves uses less cheese and saves me $$$$!

POTATO ROSEMARY PIZZA & A BLOG REVIEW

(I made this!  SO YUMMY!!!!)

We made the MOST DIVINE pizza last week........Potato Rosemary Pizza!  I found the recipe here. 

The ingredients list with my notes in (italics):

2 medium size red potatoes (I used regular russets)

Olive oil

fresh rosemary

fresh thyme (I used dried)

salt and pepper

For the sauce you will need: (I did LOVE this pizza, but I would change a few things)

5 tablespoons unsalted butter (I can't believe I'm saying this, but it was too much butter for me)

1/4 cup minced shallot (I used a regular onion)

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (I used dried)

1/3 cup Chardonnay (I just used water)

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch ground white pepper

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (I didn't have this on hand, I might try it next time)

1 teaspoon chicken base or bouillon (no MSG)

2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese

 

You can view the full directions here.  The blog is called Simply So Good.  I stumbled across this blog last year when I saw her Cookies & Milk reception idea. (I really want to throw a party like this!)  Since then I've really enjoyed this blog.  There are tons of photos with the recipes.  I don't know about you, but I'm much more likely to try a new recipe if I have a lot of details or photos helping me along the way.  I don't know how I would have so happily cooked for the last two years without blogs like this.  It's difficult when your budget is tight.  When you find an inexpensive, yummy recipe, you tend to overuse it.  Being able to look at cooking blogs and either use their recipe as written or adjust their ideas has been such a blessing.  The next three recipes I plan on trying from here are the white bean dip with pita chips, rice pudding (on the stove top), and pain au chocolat (oh, mama!!!).  Tell me what you think about Simply So Good.

TASSAJARA WARM RED CABBAGE SALAD

Lunchtime!  Normally I scrounge in the fridge for some leftovers, but since I used those for dinner (it's summer!) I didn't have anything.  I still needed to grab something to eat and didn't have much on hand (payday's tomorrow....then I can restock the fridge)  I did notice an almost full head of red cabbage in the crisper drawer and starting searching for a recipe.  I decided to try the Tassajara Warm Red Cabbage Salad.

(my cabbage salad, little bit of cottage cheese and two slices of oat bran bread - YUM)

Not bad for an impromptu lunch!  I really did like the salad.  I think I would add a little more rosemary next time.  The orginal recipe is in this cookbook, The Complete Tassajara Cookbook. (Tassajara is a Zen Center in San Francisco, CA)   I found it adjusted at 101cookbooks(dot)com.  Here's what I did:

TASSAJARA WARM RED CABBAGE SALAD

1/2 c. sunflower seeds (you could sub out a nut instead)

2 tsp. brown sugar

(pinch or two of salt, if your seeds aren't salted)

2 Tbsp. veg. oil (or extra virgin olive oil)

1/2 of a yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 head of red cabbage, thinly sliced

1 tsp. dried rosemary (I would use a little more, or fresh if you have it)

1/4 c. dried blueberries (you could use any dried fruit)

1 1/2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1/4-1/2 c. feta cheese

Place the sunflower seeds in a hot dry pan, then sprinkle with the brown sugar (and salt if needed) and stir until the sugar melts and coats the seeds.  Then remove from pan and let dry on a plate.  Next, in a skillet, heat the pan, then add the oil and onion.  Cook a few minutes until soft.  Add your minced garlic, stir and then add the red cabbage.  Toss again and add the rosemary, blueberries and balsamic vinegar.  Toss and cook until the cabbage is as soft as you would like it.  I think I cooked mine for 7-9 minutes at this point.  Remove from heat and toss in the sunflower seeds and feta.  Give a quick stir and adjust seasonings if needed.

I'm so thankful that I found such a great recipe for my red cabbage and that it didn't take too long to make.  I love the saying: Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or Do without!  Today was definitely "Use It Up!"  I had a great lunch and my crisper drawer is almost empty - Win-Win!

LET'S START AT THE VERY BEGINNING.....A VERY GOOD PLACE TO START

Back in April 2010 our income took a big hit.  After the initial shock, we regrouped and made a plan.  We had our fixed bills that would stay the same.  Then the expendable bills, most of those would go.  Finally the variable bills were reviewed.   We decided that the grocery bill would be slashed!  $50 a week to feed our family of five.  In the beginning we had some help.  We already had a pantry and a closet stocked with food.  Though it wasn't quite a complete years supply, it was quite a bit.  This would prove to be a huge help in those first months.  Not only was the pantry stocked, but so was the kitchen.  Nice pots and pans, pressure cookers, wheat grinder, stand mixer, mandolin slicer, juicer, food processor, rice cooker, blender, crock pot, hand mixer, immersion blender and too many gadgets to mention.

As I started out on this mission (that makes it sound better....and makes me think of Mission Impossible....and that makes me think of Tom Cruise..........) I kept my eye peeled on good deals, new stores, outlets, and INFORMATION!  I spent lots of time on the internet trying to find someone doing what I was doing.  Looking for tips on how to make this work.  I was disappointed.  I found single people or couples living on $50 a week.  Occasionally I would find a family, but many of the tips didn't apply to our situation.  I didn't have my yearly budget in my hand, I had $100 every two weeks.  I couldn't, as one person offered, go buy a side of beef to feed my family for the year.  I wanted help in taking $50 cash in hand to the store and coming back with food to feed us for the week. 

Over the past two years, I've made this work.  I've fed myself, a husband, and three sons (two teenagers and a seven year old) breakfast, lunch and dinner on our budget.  We have recently added to our budget and now I have $60 a week to feed my family.  I want to share how we've done this....and are still doing this.  I hope that this blog will help others as they venture out in their own limited grocery budget missions!  I realize that your budget may not be as low as ours, but these tips, store reviews and recipes will help you curb your budget to where you want it to be.

One final thought.....GRATITUDE!  I can't live without this.  I'm thankful for our $50, now $60 a week.  I'm grateful for living in a city with competitive grocery stores.  I'm grateful I can cook.  I'm grateful for the internet.....lots of information, recipes, blogs.  While it's true that gratitude didn't change our budget, it sure helps me to live with it.  Finally, I'm grateful that I have an outlet to share this information.