Menu 11-25

Menu for two weeks beginning November 25

1. (Thanksgiving Day) Pizza and ravioli
2. Thanksgiving dinner
3. Thanksgiving dinner
4. leftovers
5. turkey a la king
6.Clam chowder (freeze some)
8.Elk roast and potatoes
9. mashed potato soup
10 elk roast french dip, with canned fruit or veggies (use whatever is in the fridge) or potatoes au gratin
11.bean burritos and rice

Only a week and four days out of this shopping trip, but I don't dare plan any more because we will run out of milk by then.  I do have a few more recipes that I can use without going to the store; but when we run out of milk, I shop.  I have to, because that's the one thing this family has a really hard time doing without.

Chicken and Rice Soup

I don't really like soup much.  I am finding, though, that it's one of the cheapest meals to make, and it's pretty easy too.  Shawn and the kids love it, so I'm making soup a lot more often lately.

I love the website The Prudent Homemaker.  She has awesome recipes, most of which are made with food storage items, and all are inexpensive.  She gave me the idea to try a chicken and rice soup, and I was surprised by how much I liked it. Shawn and the girls liked it, too.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought about ten pounds of chicken and cut it up.  I cooked it and cut it up, and froze it for use later.  I used some of it for this soup.

Chicken and Rice Soup

Put chicken (cooked or raw) in large pot and cook or brown.  Add
Chicken both, at least one can or two cups
Then add the veggies; I used corn and potatoes.  Carrots would also be good.
Add one and a half cups of rice and three cups water.
Add spices; pepper, salt, basil or oregano
Cover the pot, and let it simmer for at least half an hour.  You will probably need to add more water.

It's not easy

The thing about saving money is, it's sometimes exhausting.

When you cloth diaper, you have to wash the diapers every other day

When you bake bread, you have to....bake the bread

It requires more actual cooking and preparation to make meals, as well as more forethought.
On a related note, we spent sixteen dollars eating out this weekend.  Some of this was planned; we met family members for lunch.  That's fine, and it was fun.  The problem was that I didn't pack enough snacks, so by the time we were headed home that night, we were hungry and had to stop.  Next time; more and better snacks.  It's cheaper than Arby's.

With term papers and projects, and Shawn is sick again, and the rest of the normal pressures of life, it's been a little bit harder to find the time to do some of the things I do to save money.  The thing is, I still like it.  I don't want to go back to store-bought bread and disposable diapers.  I like that we're eating better because I'm planning meals; I don't want to eat frozen pizza.  I hope this attitude lasts through the semester.

Beans and Rice

No leftovers.  The bread is currently in the breadmaker and won't be done for two hours.  What to do for lunch...

I cooked up some rice, and melted a little bit of cheese over the top.  Then I put this on top of black beans, and sprinkled tortilla chips over the top.  The girls loved it.  It cost, like, sixty cents.  I need to remember this one.

Mashed potato soup

I got this recipe from a coworker a few months after Shawn and I were married.  It's pretty easy, it's really cheap, and Shawn and the girls really like it.  It's also versatile; you can use sausage or ham instead of bacon, leave out the onion, leave out the cheese, add vegetables....

5-6 potatoes (it's easiest if the potatoes are already mashed.  Some days I make extra mashed potatoes, and save the rest to make this soup the next day)
Crumbled bacon
Onion, diced and cooked, or onion soup mix
salt and pepper
grated cheese

If the potatoes aren't mashed, cut them into chunks and put in a pot with just enough water to cover them.  Boil them until they are soft.  Use an immersion blender or a potato masher to mash them in the water (you may want to drain off some of the water first, if there is a lot left in the pot).  Add bacon, onion, and salt and pepper.  Heat through.  Top with cheese.

Menu

Did a little "combat shopping," as Shawn calls it, at the grocery store equivalent of Black Friday.  Spent more than I meant to, which isn't good.  I did get a lot of good prices of food storage items, which is good.  I'm going to see how long we can go without shopping again, except for turkey, cranberries, and cool whip for Thanksgiving.

Also, thanks to generosity of Mom and Ted, we have a really big bag of potatoes and a freezer shelf full of meat.  That will help the grocery budget stretch even further.



Saturday: French dip and eggs
Sunday: Mashed Potato soup
Monday: Barbecue chicken and potatoes
Tuesday: Chicken stir fry with carrots, green pepper, onion, rice
Wednesday: Elk crock pot roast with mashed potatoes.  Save some roast
Thursday: Frozen enchiladas
Friday: French dip with leftover elk, homemade bread, au jus, canned fruit
Saturday: omelettes with mushrooms and toastSunday: dinner with family
Monday:  fettucine alfredo with mushrooms and green pepper
Tuesday: baked oatmeal and eggs
Wednesday: taco soup
Thursday: ???
Friday: Thanksgiving with family
Saturday: Thanksgiving with family
Sunday: leftovers
Monday: Chicken or turkey and dumplings

Crock pot chicken and pasta

We got a recipe for chicken cacciatore years ago from Shawn's boss, and the family loves it.

We cut up and cooked the chicken yesterday while making fajitas. This morning, Shawn put a handful of chicken in the crock pot with a jar of Prego (purchased a long time ago during a great sale), and chopped mushrooms. Then I cooked a pound of pasta, and made a loaf of herb bread. It's an easy, relatively inexpensive dinner that everyone loves. Plus, there are awesome leftovers for lunch!

One of these days, I'll remember to grab the camera before we eat so I can post a picture