Our final dinner for Jan.

So today we had our final Jan. dinner - A delicious grilled steak dinner - rice pilaf and a green salad. I saved those steaks so we could all slap ourselves on the back and say,

"Good Job!" to each other!

I had to police the pantry - all month long, hiding certain ingredients to make sure we had them when I wanted to use them for a meal. What a hassle. We still have a few more meals left -

Tomorrow I have to go grocery shopping.  Now on to February...

See you there.

So long, January

January must have been the longest month I have experienced in a long time.  It was hard - we were luckier than most people who are unemployed.  We at least knew we would be getting a paycheck in Feb. (Actually we received it today)

So what did I learn this month?

That 31 days is long. 

I learned to do without many things, I would run to the store for.  Of course one of my favorite pans bit the dust, we need light bulbs, batteries, and other non-food items, that I had to wait on. We squeezed a lot more out of the toothpaste tube - and I dug around in some of my bathroom cabinets and found many unused shampoos.

We did not use any credit cards. But believe me, I was tempted the last week. (and I don't like to shop) I just wanted to get out and make a mindless purchase.  I also struggled with some mild depression. We didn't go anywhere - because we didn't want to use gas. It was a major drag.

I do know that we need to prepare more for hard times - not that I am this PREPPER-TYPE but let's face it, we are living in some strange times. Better to be prepared, according to what you feel comfortable with.

I'd almost like to do this every January. It really is like a fast from all the holiday shopping and spending. I just need to prepare for it better.

So Ta Ta for now 31 Day Challenge.

Good riddance - and don't let the door hit you on the way out!

Better meals are coming...

Craving some sourdough bread

 The last couple of dinners we had:

• Chicken Breast fricasseed with brown rice and broccoli. (I'm getting sick of broccoli)

• I made some Hamburger Pie.  I was out of onions, out of green pepper.  I only had 1 can of green beans and tomato soup. Disappointing but we were all fed.

Photo was taken last year. That one was probably way better. 

I paid the last of the bills for this month - which usually are paid by now but I waited till I could not wait any longer and we had $96 leftover!   I was very encouraged. 

So I made a small list and went to the store to get what we needed - some non-grocery items and a few extras for my diet, to get me through till Friday's BIG BIG humongous grocery shopping day. 

I've never been so excited to go grocery shopping in my life.

I'll need more room than that little handbasket - when I go on Friday!

Not that we've been hungry, although I am. But then again I am on a diet. I did weigh in today and have a 3lb weight loss!

So tonight I am making a big pot of homemade vegetable beef and barley soup. I had the last of the stew meat and while I usually don't use stew meat for soup - I did it anyway and am just slow-simmering the meat longer.  Here I went to the store and I forgot potatoes so there are only 3 medium-sized potatoes in the soup. A lot of carrots, a mixed match of green beans, corn, and some barley. I did have some fresh herbs to throw in as well. It smells delightful.

Wish I had some crusty sourdough bread to go with it. I should have bought some - although now we are down to about $30 till Friday.

Better meals are coming - I'm hoping for some nights out for dinner too!

Ta Ta for now...

5 more days

Last night we had  "jump for the cupboards" or "each man for himself". 

 I stuck to my diet, the Husband had some leftovers - one son went to Taco Bell and another had a chicken pot pie. I am sick of cooking!

I'm wondering if I will end up spending more on groceries since I out OUT of everything. This whole challenge has been a definite eye-opener for me. I'm glad I did it but will be very happy when it is over!

1 week to go

I have had to do a lot of "robbing, Peter to pay Paul" this month. There was just no way around it. We are BROKE! (for 1 more week)

Broke!

We went "looky-loo" shopping, where you don't spend any money - only to price some things we need. And of course, we found some great markdowns - only we don't have the cash. Sure we could have used a charge card but that defeats the whole challenge. I just hope those season-end markdowns, last for another week.

We will have some catching up to do next month and I will have to restock my pantry and cupboards. We are depleted! 

One lesson I can say for sure - had this been a crisis situation - we would have made it. With the exception of complaining about the lack of "goodies" we all survived. Now could we make it another month?  February only has 28 days so, I would not want to do this again, I think we could but we would be really be stretching it.

It will be so nice to finally see some MONEY in our accounts!

Pantry challenge and my own 31 Day Challenge

Since I had to start my eating program at Curves (Complete) this past Monday, it has been hard to stay in the "pantry-zone."  Like the other night, I blew it - by fixing Spaghetti. Since the night before we had breakfast for dinner, I was still hungry when I went to bed. I made up for it, with the spaghetti.

Last night was about me - I fixed the men in my life, homemade Potato Broccoli Soup and cornbread muffins. They weren't thrilled - they want MEAT. Must be a male thing because I am fine to go with meat every now and then.  I can keep it simple - I fixed myself 1 ground sirloin patty, cottage cheese, and broccoli. The 1950's Diet plate in Diners across America!  

I have some new york steaks in the freezer that I have decided to save for the last night of this challenge.

1 more week!!!

I still have some chicken tenders for 1 meal
stew meat
 4-5 lbs of ground beef   ***CORRECTION - 2 lbs of lean ground beef
2 sirloin beef patties
a package of Costco hot dogs (6 hot dogs)
4-5 slabs of fresh-frozen salmon (from late summer)
1 Can of Tuna
5 cans of Costco canned roast beef
2 cans of Costco canned chicken
6 cans of Alaska pink Salmon (Costco)
1 1b package of ground chicken

It's hard for me because I shouldn't eat any casseroles and I am not a fish lover. I'm allergic to shellfish too. I don't eat lamb or veal. Okay okay -I'm finicky. I could very well be a vegetarian only that I do love certain proteins - steak, prime rib, chicken, turkey some fish (cod and halibut)



So next month I am looking for some low Carb recipes for me while cooking for the meat and potato eaters in my family!

Breakfast for dinner

Last night's dinner was a BOMB. We all decided we hadn't had pancakes/bacon and eggs for dinner in ages - and it sounded good to me. We had plenty of eggs, an lb of bacon and I made some pancake batter. Pretty simple right? Not when  2 adult sons are in the kitchen with me, talking and chatting. I don't like to engage in heavy conversation when I am cooking. I listen okay, but please don't ask me about the complexities of life because when I am cooking, that is not where my mind is!

Most of you already know that "breakfast for dinner" is not as easy as it sounds, if you want to sit down with your family, all at the same time, with piping hot food set before you.  I have 3 things going at the same time. My "foodie son" suggested I put the whole pound of bacon in the oven. I don't usually make it this way - So he set the oven at 400 and baked the bacon for 10 minutes.

 Let's just say, the smoke alarms got a good workout!

The eggs were good - they said the pancakes were good. I didn't eat the pancakes because I am trying to cut out my carbs.  I did throw in some chocolate chips in the batter for a few of the pancakes.  The husband does not eat pork -

As a frugal cheap person, it does bother me when we waste food or if a meal totally flops.  Now is not the time to experiment.  My foodie-son, I have to admit, ate the bacon anyway - a true bacon lover. Yuck! We still had to throw out most of it.

Tonight it's going to be Chili (I think) and maybe some cornbread muffins. Sounds good, since it is dreary, cold, and wet outside.

I'm getting weak...

I don't want to do this anymore. But I have to come up with 10 more meals.

Tomorrow I'm going to have to go through the cupboards again and see what I can throw together for 10 days.

I want to go out to dinner - I want to go out for breakfast and lunch and for all snacks!  I'm tired of cooking and cleaning my kitchen.

In my dreams, I have a private chef - a couple of them! A different one for each meal (snacks, too)

I'm not losing any weight because of all the carbohydrates we are eating.

31 days - Are we there yet?

This has been so hard - at first, I thought we were doing great but we're getting low on food and money to pay those final end-of-the-month bills. I'm not yet convinced that I won't be using a credit card to pay a bill or two. I'm so bummed.  I haven't yet! The stress is killing me. I don't want to go late on a bill - so what is worse?

I am craving things I normally don't crave - like I want to shop - for anything. Grocery shopping does not count! I'm taking a lot of walks and staying home. Down to putting just $10 here and $10 thereof gas in the car. 

This is not fun anymore. 

I'm even starting to lose track of time - what is the date today?????  Oh my, we have 10 more days left...

Lord, help us!

2 more weeks of this challenge

Is it February yet?  Usually, in January,  I go through a post-holiday type of depression. Not this year!  Instead, I have had to stay on my toes and make sure we did not go overboard on our military pension, since that is all we received for this month. 

Sure missed being paid and we feel a little left out, not complaining about how high the payroll taxes are.  I just might make this a new-year-January tradition.  It's sure a good time to do this, after the gluttony of the holidays.

My cheap recipes for the last couple of days have been just simple cooking. Nothing new really. I am starting to hit a wall - I'm starting to crave things - I do miss some convenient meals - they stretch the week. I'm also craving to just go out and eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant. 

 *Fried chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, pan-fried chicken gravy, mixed frozen veggies

*Meatloaf, crisscross baked potatoes, broccoli, and cheese,

*Mixed-bean soup with spinach, Parmesan cheese, and garlic bread

*frozen Costco meatballs, frozen mixed veggies w/ mini-bow tie pasta from Schwans

*frozen chicken tenders, green beans, and boxed stuffing mix with cream of chicken soup and Parmesan cheese.

*Beef Tacos and Mexican Rice-a-Roni - I fried up my own tacos shells using corn tortillas.

And I made some brownies! As a San Francisco gal, I love Ghiradelli and I love this particular brownie mix.

I'm in the final stretch...

Grocery shopping

1 gallon Milk 1%         2.93

fresh-squeezed OJ        3.78

2 loaves of bread            1.96

Special K                     3.34

2 cans kidney beans     1.30

pepper jack cheese       4.67

sharp cheddar               4.93

bacon                            2.48

stovetop stuffing            .98

4 maruchan ramen          .80

bologna                         4.88

5 lbs potatoes                1.27

2 lbs carrots                    .94

sugar                             2.14

butter                            2.48

lettuce                            .97

2 Rice a Roni Mexican 1.76  @.88 ea.

frozen corn                   1.68

Roma tomatoes              .27 for 2

Tapatio                          1.08

bananas                         1.26

1 box scalloped pot         .98

chopped dried onions      .61 in the bulk bin

Mexican tomato bullion          2.32

PLUS one of two non-food items

and bag deduction MINUS - .30

---------------------------------------------

                                 

36 items                     $59.41

All total   $ 119.41 for food since Jan. 1, 2013.

Thank God I have meat, poultry, and fish in the freezer or it would have cost us a lot more.

Meals for the week

I have the following meals I could make for this week. I always throw in a couple of alternate meals,  or a JFTC  just in case. And I think I have all the ingredients. 


                 Tonight: Beef Stew - hot rolls and I might make a simple dessert.

1. Tacos and Mexican rice -
2. Chicken Pesto with bow tie pasta
3. Chili
4. Italian meatballs in marinara sauce (over rice or pasta?)
5. fricasseed chicken
6. Macaroni and cheese
7.  Bacon and eggs
8.  Jump for the cupboards
9. Salmon











*NOTE to the Food Police: This is a cheap meal for those who are trying to make ends meet - or who are struggling every month to feed their hungry families. YES we all know how this can be done by making everything from scratch - YES we know that there might not be the nutritional value due to lack of funds for better products. ie. food bank groceries - Like I keep saying, YOU Can't be a food snob when you're HUNGRY!

UPDATE on our 31 Day food challenge

So far this month I have spent $60 in necessary groceries.

Today I do have to get some milk, cheese, fresh veggies, and some fruit. And I am craving breakfast cereal. Now is when I wish I had some coupons. I am missing my bowl of cereal in the morning. My favorite is Special K with strawberries and Post's Great Grains with cranberries and almonds. YUM!

I'm starting to tire of cooking - can't afford to just run out and get some pizza or tacos.  That was a drag for this weekend - I had to get up and cook. I'm going to try and come up with some simpler meals without a lot of cooking.  Just need a break or I will cave!

mixed bean soup with Parmesan cheese

 This weekend I made a simple -  mixed bean soup. I wasn't in the mood for it but made it anyway and everyone but me enjoyed it.  It didn't "do it" for me.

garlic bread

 Of course, I loved the garlic bread - who doesn't?

made some brownies - tasted so good!

We needed a good treat - already had it in the pantry and boy this fit the bill.

I am finding we are not having the leftovers as I had thought we would - everyone must be hungry!

update on the 31 day challenge

We have been so careful about spending any cash,  it even has me wanting to go out and just BUY something fun. But I haven't.

Today I will LOOK at the bills that need paying. Noticed I said, "Look."  I will have to determine what is there left to be paid. Then there is gas money for the car. One thing is that we are using just one car - a 2010 small economy car. The BEAST has not been driven.

There are things we may need before Feb. My dog needs her Glucosamine, but I will buy the cheaper version at Trader Joe's for $9.99. Then there is dog and cat food.

So far cash-wise, on food I have only spent all total:

$60 in milk and necessary groceries
$20 in-car gas
$19 for misc that the Husband needed. 
___

$99 for the first half of the month (not including bills)

However, the freezer and refrigerator are starting to look bare but we do have enough meat and protein left. I am running out of fresh vegetables, fruit, milk, bread, breakfast cereal, and cheese.

Mentally and emotionally, I feel pleased that we have not caved. Even though I would really love to go out to eat or buy something. Heck, even a trip to the thrift store would be something. And normally, when I do feel those shopping urges, that is what I would do.  We're too close to the goal.

I am a bit bored - we are laying low - not going anywhere that would tempt us to spend money.  I am cleaning the house, getting files organized for taxes later, going for walks, and today I will check in at the library for some FREE reading material and video movies. 

Cheap Baked Spaghetti (leftovers)

Leftovers from Spaghetti 3-ways

I had frozen the spaghetti casserole - covered it in foil. Earlier in the day, I took it out of the freezer and topped it with

• can of cream of mushroom soup  
• a generous amount (approx. 1 1/2 - 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese)

Baked at 350 for 45 minutes.

I served a salad, with some sliced onion, cubed cucumbers, and kidney beans and everybody picked the Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. 

* The refrigerator is starting to look bare -

 *NOTE to the Food Police: This is a cheap meal for those who are trying to make ends meet - or who are struggling every month to feed their hungry families. 

 YES, we all know how this can be done by making everything from scratch - 

 YES, we know that there might not be the nutritional value due to lack of funds for better products. ie. food bank groceries - 

 Like I keep saying, YOU Can't be a food snob when you're HUNGRY!

chicken burrito bowl/casserole

We absolutely love Mexican food, Tex-Mex, spicy Southwest, California Fresh-Mex, or Baja-Mex. Yum. I never get tired of it and could eat it every night of the week.  So it's no wonder that I always have the seasonings, just waiting for its turn to make my eyes water and my lips burn!

I made my Chicken burrito bowl/casserole

It was inspired by a local taqueria. I watched them and basically came up with my own and frankly it's just as good.

10 frozen chicken tenders

1 can of black beans

3 cups of seasoned Mexican rice * (see below)

2-3 cups (or handfuls) of shredded pepper-jack cheese

1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar

Your favorite Taco seasoning mix

green onion

cilantro

cut-up Roma tomato

sliced avocado

shredded cabbage

salsa, taco sauce, hot sauce

• I cook the frozen tenders in a small amount of olive oil with some garlic. When cooked through, I chop up the chicken in the pan, add some taco seasoning, and a little water for a slightly saucy sauce with the seasoned chicken.

• In another pan, follow directions for Instant rice.  Bring the water, butter, and about 3-4 tbsp of taco seasoning, and some Knorr bouillon to a roaring boil. Add the rice.  If you have some dried onion - throw it in.  To get my family to eat brown rice, I usually make half and a half and you can buy instant brown rice for this. But I didn't have any last night. I don't use regular rice for this - I want to keep it quick and simple. 

I love casseroles. Mainly because it's easy to have everything there - not a lot of bowls to clean up. So I used a 13x9 cake pan because my other Pyrex was in the freezer with a spaghetti casserole.

• I spread the rice in the bottom of the pan and sprinkled some of the pepper jack cheese on the hot rice.

• Then I spread the black beans

• The seasoned chicken

• the rest of the pepper-jack cheese (save just enough to put on top)

I placed it in a warm oven - while I shredded the cabbage, green onions, cilantro, tomatoes - and cheddar cheese

Then just before serving I topped with the cabbage, and all of the above - and some sliced black olives.

Now my family likes to use flour tortillas and pile the mixture inside the tortilla to make burritos. I like to just eat it without. My version of a burrito bowl.  (fewer Carbs) 

I've done this also with leftover Taco beef meat.

Note: Because I am only using what I have - I didn't have the following:

green onion, cilantro, brown instant rice, avocado.

Pantry challenge

 Thanks to Good Cheap Eats for doing this. I need some fun back in my kitchen!

I might as well - since I already was in my own "challenge".  Misery loves company and here I thought I was the only one, eating through my pantry/freezer and whatever I can find this month.

 Of course, my reasons are different. No paycheck for the month of January and no backup savings account with 3-6 months of income saved away. Oops! Sorry, we were too busy paying bills to save any money! 

So I happily joined on - to see how others are doing it. I already posted my inventories yesterday. 

I meet the nicest people this way - we all share a food bond. 

Spaghetti 3-ways

I believe spaghetti is one of the most frugal of all meals and it's good! You can even invite company over - serve with some green salad and a loaf of San Francisco sourdough -  some green beans with real bacon bits on top and tossed in just enough bacon grease, to give it that yummy taste.

 And if you can afford it, a nice red wine.

 Last night, I made spaghetti and it is a filler - for the budget and it fills up a good-sized appetite. I feed 3 males - and so pasta and those type of fillers, keep them from roaring with hunger.


3 cheap recipes for spaghetti (with ground beef)

There's my easy spaghetti - you know, buy a jar or two of store-made sauce - add a can of tomato sauce - ground beef, onion and green pepper, more garlic, and some Italian seasonings. I'm not a food snob. If it tastes good, so be it. I do try to find good quality and I do have my brand favorites. Check for sales - it can an easy meal - ready in 30 minutes or less.

Homemade - Or I will use either fresh Roma tomatoes or canned and do basically the same thing as above - garlic, seasonings, ground beef, onion, bell peppers, etc. Sometimes I'll add some wine - or mushrooms. You have to cook a little longer and I usually use the crockpot and let the tomatoes cook all day. I think it tastes the same as store-bought but it makes me feel like Suzie-homemaker and let's face it, we all like to do that once in a while.

I like to use vermicelli pasta (it's thinner) instead of spaghetti but we call it spaghetti.

Baked Spaghetti - I usually make the whole 2 lb package. Then I separate it and put the second meal in a casserole. Add the sauce - some mozzarella cheese and bake. (Or you can freeze it for next week) You can also add a can of cream of mushroom over the sauce and before the cheese. Very good.

That old faded red bowl belonged to my Grandma. I still hold on to these things. 

Pantry inventory

Here is a list of dry goods, beans, pasta, rice, etc I have on hand to accompany meals.

2 bags of northern white beans
3 lbs of mixed dried beans
bow tie pasta
salad macaroni (2 salads)
Orzo Pasta
 fettucini
couscous
1 bag of barley
lb whole grain spaghetti
big shell pasta
brown Balsamic rice
short-grain brown rice
small pasta shells
2 pks of yellow rice
3 meals of vermicelli pasta
2 pkg of dried tortellini
2 pks of Spanish rice-a-Roni
2 pks of pilaf rice-a-roni
1 pk hamburger help (beef noodle)
1 pk hamburger help (stroganoff)
1 stove top stuffing
1 pack of scalloped potatoes

3 boxes of chicken broth
1 box of vegetable broth
2 boxes of beef broth

1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken
1 can tomato soup

I have 6 cans of tomatoes
8 cans of green beans

2 jars of Paul Newman's spaghetti sauce
2 cans of sweet and sour
2 cans of green enchilada sauce
1 can of red chili sauce

Frozen vegetables

corn
green beans
stir fry
broccoli
mixed veggies with pasta
spinach

I have on hand about 10 lbs of potatoes
lettuce
3 loaves of bread
6 onions

mozzarella cheese
cheddar cheese
cheese slices
pepper jack cheese
Parmesan cheese

Minute rice

I have stocked piled even more - some boxed cake mixes and 2 frosting tubs, a box of brownies, cornmeal, plenty of flour.

salt, pepper, garlic both fresh and powdered, fresh rosemary in my yard, I have 3 packets of yeast, Italian seasonings - I have almost 2 dozen eggs, milk, butter - and much more. I was pleasantly surprised how much I had stockpiled - never realizing that we would need it. Okay, so we should have had 3-6 months' income banked. But let's get real, unless you are wealthy these days, the "rest of us" have to do what we can to stockpile and prepare. I've always done that, just in case I get sick - I have chicken noodle soup in the pantry (I didn't count that) and my sons have their Top Ramin and boxed macaroni and cheese stashed for themselves.

I'm feeling empowered. I think I'll go now and bake me some of those brownies - I'll even add some walnuts to them - leftover from the holidays.

The cheap life is GOOD!

I think we are good to go. 

Inventory of Food - Meat Proteins

not as packed as it has been but I believe we have enough

 The other day I did my food inventory as I previously noted. I wanted to share with you what we have to work with this month in the way of meat - mostly in the freezer with the exception of the canned chicken, roast beef, and Tuna.

5 lb chubs of ground sirloin
2, 1 1/2 chubs of ground sirloin
4 steaks
4 chicken breasts
A huge bag of meatballs from Costco (2-3 meals)
2 pks of Costco dinner franks
1 pkg of BarS franks that have been in the freezer since summer
2 packages of stew meat
6 salmon cut in half of the length (very large)
1 lb ground chicken
1 turkey carcass (from Christmas)
 turkey meat (from Christmas)
4 ground beef hamburger patties
Costco bag of chicken tenders (4 meals)
4 cans of roast beef
1 can of chicken breast
4 cans of Alaska pink salmon  (2 meals)
1 can of Tuna
 package of sliced ham lunch meat
1/2 package of bologna

kitchen freezer - some frozen veggies, and other misc stuff -

As you can see, just by my natural stockpiling we have more than enough meat/protein to keep us fed for dinner. Plus we don't eat meat every night and we do a lot of jumps for the cupboards.

Inside door of the kitchen freezer -
the breakfast burritos and the frozen meals belong to my son

Now for the condiments and other food products that go into making a meal.