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Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
Now that I completed 9 weeks of my No Grocery Shopping challenge I want to share what is next on my agenda as far as grocery shopping is concerned. I would LOVE to live off my pantry and freezer for the entire year, however, it is getting lower and I need to start shopping for some additional items. I learned a lot from the recent challenge and want to keep my family fed while staying within our budget.Explanation: For the first time ever I am going on a strictly cash system for our groceries. It is my desire to spend no more than $40 per week for my family of 4. I am sticking to just grocery and food related items at this time since I have a separate budget for household, health & beauty. If I find that I still have extra consistently I may decide to roll the other items into this as well. As an additional bonus if I have more than a half of week of “extra” money remaining at the end of the month I want to contribute that money towards my Creative Cash. Although I know I will have days and weeks with hiccups like with any challenge it is my desire to be more accountable with what I have been given. I perceive this budget change to have many benefits over the past systems I have used for example it will allow me the opportunity to buy items on sale but not over do it plus makes me more responsible with the money we have been given, and helps control the spontaneous purchases. Only time will tell how well it works for our family.
Every family is different so you need to decide what is best for your specific family and situation. I am starting this endeavor after several months of thought and prayer regarding our family finances. On a side note I do want to let you know that just because the title says Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4 that does not mean we will never host guests in our home or take a meal to someone in need. Our guests and meal deliveries throughout the month are also included in this budget so the actual number will vary from month to month regarding how many people we feed but for simplicity sake it is Groceries $40 for 4 due to our family size and budgeting.
I hope to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. I hope by taking the extra time to watch my grocery spending it will allow us to feed our family, enjoy life, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Photo by MoneyBlogNewz
Family Recipe: Homemade Egg Noodles
Grandma Willa makes the best Egg Noodles! She received this recipe from her Mom, my Great Grandma Joedemann. If you are wanting some great tasting homemade egg noodles these are amazing. The ingredients are ones you typically have on hand and it is easy to make.
Egg Noodles:
- 4 Eggs
- 1 1/2 cup Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
- Optional – dash of garlic salt or caraway seed
Mix and place on a floured pastry sheet roll out & cut. You may need a little more flour depending on the moisture of the dough. The dough should be pretty thick you want it just enough to roll it out. Use the noodles immediately or let them dry for a few minutes before using with your favorite dish.
Photo by msufal
Save A Lot: Deals for the week of February 23 – March 1, 2011
The deals from last week are continuing again this week, if you didn’t stock up on these great deals already you have another opportunity. Here are this weeks deals at Save A Lot. Sign up for the Smart Shopper Club, by doing so you will get a $5.00 off of $25.00 coupon!
Meats and Seafood
Hillshire Farms (Beef, Polska, Smoked Sausage) – $1.99
Use $1/2 coupon from 1/23 Red Plum (Expires 2/28/11)
$1.49 each after couponFast Fixin’ Chicken – $4.00
Pick 5 for $19.99 promo on going: Pick any 5 specially marked packages of your favorite cuts of fresh, frozen or smoked meats and pay just $19.99 (about $2 per pound).
Fridge and Freezer
Mr P’s Pizza (Supreme or Pepproni) – $0.59
Fisher Boy Fish Sticks – $0.99
Use $0.75/1 printable coupon from Fisher Boy
$0.24 each after couponOcean Market Fish Fillets – $0.99
Morning Delight Buttermilk Biscuits – $0.39
Home Churned Spread – $0.99
Fairgrounds Sliced Meat – $0.50
Armour Lunchmakers – $0.99
McClary’s Singles – $0.99
Deli Pride Sandwich – $0.99
Household
Luster Facial Tissues – $0.99
Ajax Liquid Dish Soap – $0.99
Pert Bath Tissue – $0.89
Produce
Red and Green Grapes – $0.99 per lb
Cantaloupe – $1.49 each
Vine Ripe Tomatoes – $0.99 per lb
Grocery
Frito Lay (Doritos, Cheetos, & Scoops) – $0.89
Maruchan Ramen Cups – $0.79
Red Gold Tomato Sauce – $0.50
Hungry Jack Specialty Potatoes – $1.00
Betty Crocker Hamburger or Tuna Helper – $1.00
Del Pino’s Canned Pasta – $0.69
Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix – $0.39
Portside Chunk Light Tuna – $0.53
Hargis House Vienna Sausage – $0.37
Hargis House Chili with Beans – $0.99
Hargis House Chili without Beans – $1.29
Sundia Fruit Cups – $0.89
Caskey’s Cream of Mushroom Soup – $0.59
J. Higg’s Classic Saltine Crackers – $0.89
J. Higg’s Cheese Bit Crackers – $1.49
Coburn Farms Hot Chocolate – $1.19
Portmann’s Tartar Sauce – $1.39
Kool-Aid Bursts – $0.99
Vista Sandwich Creme Cookies – $0.99
Chef Karlin Potato Pouches – $0.79
Ravella Swift Mac – $0.69
Remember you can use the $5/$25 printable coupon to sweeten these deals! Plus you can earn up to 5 additional $5 off $25 coupons for sharing the coupon with your friends.
For more information about Save A Lot’s coupon policies go here. If you find additional deals or savings please let me know and I will add them to the list.
Recipe: Friendship Bread
A friend, Jan Thornton, gave me my first Friendship Bread at my bridal shower and it was delicious. I have always wondered about the starter for that recipe then a couple years ago Jake’s cousin Mandy gave me another starter recipe. Here’s the starter recipes as well as the steps you need to follow to make the Friendship Bread:- 1 (.25 ounce) package Active Dry Yeast
- 1/4 cup warm Water (approximately 110 degrees)
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup granulated white Sugar
- 1 cup Milk
Dissolve yeast in water and let stand for 10 minutes. In a non-metal bowl combine flour and sugar. Mix thoroughly. Slowly stir in the milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover the bowl loosely and let stand until batter is bubbly. Do not refrigerate batter.
- Consider this Day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature or store in a ziplock bag.
- Day 2 – Squeeze Bag
- Day 3 – Squeeze Bag
- Day 4 – Squeeze Bag
- Day 5 – Squeeze Bag
- Day 6 – Add 1 cup of Sugar, 1 cup of Flour, and 1 cup of Milk and Mix in a Non-Metal Bowl
- Day 7 – Squeeze Bag
- Day 8 – Squeeze Bag
- Day 9 – Squeeze Bag
- Day 10 – Add 1 cup of Sugar, 1 cup of Flour, and 1 cup of Milk and Mix in a Non-Metal Bowl
Scoop out 4 (1 cup) portions for of the starter mixture and put each cup in a separate ziplock bag. Give 3 of the bags to friend and keep one for your family. With the left over starter mixture add the following ingredients:
- 1 cup Oil
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 3 Eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
Mix together thoroughly then add the remaining ingredients to the mixture:
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
- 1 large box of Vanilla Instant Pudding
- Optional Items to Add – 1 cup nuts, Chocolate Chips, Coconut, Raisins and more!
Mix the dough thoroughly then divide into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.
Once you have made the starter (the 1 cup you kept for your family) you can consider it Day 1 and proceed to Day 2 the next day. One of the problems I encountered the last time I did this recipe is that before long you have more Friendship Bread then you can give away. If you are getting too much and want a break from doing Friendship Bread for a couple weeks you can freeze the starter batch measured out into 1 cups for later use. The frozen starter bread will take at least 3 hours at room temperature to thaw before using. This gives you the ability to always have it to restart but also an opportunity take a break for a little bit too! Just remember to pull it out and start the process since it takes several days if you are planning on using it on a specific day! You’ve hear the saying that “Good things come to those who wait…..” this friendship bread is so delicious it is always worth the wait!
Photo by Binder of Daemons
Celebrating Valentine’s Day!
We love Holidays at our house! It is a wonderful time to celebrate with those you love and making more wonderful memories together! We started our weekend of fun on Friday. Jake and I had the opportunity, through swapping babysitting with friends, to go out for our Valentine’s celebration on Friday, February 11th. I will be sharing a little more about our adventure throughout the week. It was amazing time with my man and many great new memories were made. On Sunday we made blueberry heart pancakes with strawberry sauce and had the left overs this morning for breakfast!
Making pancakes with the family! Batter’s ready on for the pancakes, love turning everyday food into a fun celebration for special occasions! If you are excited the whole family will have a blast too!
Brina got a cup full of frozen blueberries all by herself to add to the pancake batter, so exciting! Brina helped get the blueberries out for the batter. She got them out of the freezer, measured the blueberries, and mixed them into the batter before cooking the pancakes. Even better is we talked about the memories behind the blueberries we were using. We picked the blueberries fresh from a friends yard during a fun evening together. Thankful for friends, fellowship, memories, and the opportunity to enjoy such amazing fruit during the winter season.
Frozen blueberries now in the pancake batter! The blueberries are so delicious! The girls always love it when we add them to their pancakes and I like that they are getting extra fruit!
Baking the blueberry pancakes on the griddle! We purchased the heart shaped pancake form at Dollar Tree several years ago and still use them regularly (it came with a star and bear shape as well). The girls enjoy getting super special shaped blueberry pancakes.
The heart shaped blueberry pancakes are ready! The pancakes were delicious with the big juicy blueberries in the shape of a heart!
Flash frozen whole strawberries! We pulled our flash frozen whole strawberries out. The girls and I had a great time picking them at a local farm and froze the ones we didn’t eat right away. One of our favorite ways to eat pancakes is with frozen pureed strawberries instead of syrup, healthier and delicious!
Pureed strawberry sauce for the pancakes! Once the strawberries had thawed for awhile I pureed the strawberries to use as sauce to dip the pancakes into. The family loves it and tastes amazing. We typically just puree the strawberries, if you want it a little sweeter you can add a little bit of sugar or honey.
Fresh strawberry sauce for dipping the pancakes into! Everyone got their own strawberry dipping sauce dish for their blueberry pancakes. Yummy!
Ready to eat our pancakes with sprinkles and strawberry sauce! The fresh blueberry pancakes are ready to eat. For an extra bonus we have hugs and kisses sprinkles as well as strawberry sauce for dipping! Delicious! What a fun way to start off the Valentine’s Day celebrations as a family!
Family Recipe: All American Corn Bread
The All American Corn Bread is my Mother-in-Law’s recipe. She has a lot of delicious recipes that we have enjoyed. The first four birthday cakes for the girls were made by Jake’s Mom. She would take the theme for that year and come up with something creative yet different for each of the girls.If you’re looking for a wonderful corn bread recipe you should check out this recipe. It is a great compliment to a pot of chili, soup, or any home cooked meal.
All American Corn Bread
- 2 cups Biscuit Mix
- 1 cup Half-n-Half
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup Yellow Cornmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 Eggs, slightly beaten
Scald cream with butter, add to thoroughly mixed dry ingredients. Mix in eggs. Pour into greased and floured 13 x 9 x 2 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Allow to stand for several minutes before cutting. Serves 12
Photo by Tristanf
Rice Krispy Super Bowl Footballs
In celebration of the Super Bowl event tomorrow our family has put together Football Rice Krispy treats to share with our family and friends.
Football Rice Krispy Treats with Chocolate Frosting! We used an oval football cookie cutter to make footballs in celebration of the Super Bowl weekend. The chocolate frosting turned out pretty well. The girls had fun helping us decorate and eating the extra rice krispy corners that were not made into footballs.
Rainbow Football Rice Krispy Treats for the Super Bowl! The girls loved the rainbow colored footballs in celebration of the Super Bowl weekend. I recommend staying away from the yellow frosting because it doesn’t show up as well.
Are you doing any special recipes for the Super Bowl festivities?
Be My Valentine: Cookie Surprise!
Window Pane Heart Cookies made with love by the girls and their friends! We made these fun window pane Valentine Cookie Surprises this week. The girls had a blast cutting out the cookie shapes and adding the hard candy to make window panes! They taste pretty yummy too with the variety of flavors and textures. The cookie dough is your basic sugar cookie mix. We added the hard candies in the middle to make the cookies extra special. It was a wonderful baking adventure with our girls and their friends who were spending time over at our house. After having 5 young girls cooking in the kitchen it was a mess but they were so proud of their creations and goodies that it was worth the extra clean up time!
Sugar Cookies
- 1/3 cup Butter or Margarine
- 1/3 cup Shortening
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 20 to 40 Hard Candies (We used a variety of Lifesavers, Root Beer Float Hard Candies & Candy Canes*)
1. Beat butter and shortening on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and a dash of salt. Beat till combined, scraping the bowl so everything is well blended. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually add the flour into the mixture.
2. Cover and chill dough for 1 to 3 hours to make it easier to handle when making cookies or cutouts.
3. Lay down wax paper and lightly flour. Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Use a variety of cookie cutters to make the shapes you want. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
4. Cut out a heart shape in the middle of the cookies. Fill the hole with a crushed hard candy. The candy will melt during baking creating the glass window pane hearts in the middle of the cookies. *We tried using up extra candy canes but they didn’t melt well (they tasted good) but I would stick to the one color hard candies like life savers!
5. Bake at 375° for 7 to 9 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are firm and light brown. Cool until the middle window are set then transfer to a platter.
Surprise Valentine's Cookie - this one had three different flavors! Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Recipes)
I am now wrapping up week number 5 in my No Grocery Shopping challenge! It has been a fun adventure for our family as we continue to find ways to make the food in our fridge and pantry stretch! Some of the recipes over the last few weeks have been a huge hit in our family for years while others were different. We are always looking for ways to create healthy meals that everyone enjoys without wasting the food we have in our home.For those who have been emailing me about what we’ve been eating here are a few of our low budget main dish recipes:
Macaroni & Cheese Casserole
I came up with this recipe a couple years ago when I was trying to use up some leftovers in the fridge. It has since become a favorite at our house. The neat part about this recipe is that it can be easily altered based on the ingredients you have in your refrigerator. We usually have a stock pile of Wacky Mac because we use double coupons at Ingles, Bi-Lo, or Publix plus we get extra money back from Upromise eCoupons which makes most of our purchases of Wacky Mac free plus some overage. Dairy products are regular staples in our house so it makes this recipe fairly easy to make anytime.
Macaroni & Cheese Casserole
The neat part about this recipe is that it can be easily altered based on the ingredients you have in your refrigerator. It is a simple recipe that is almost impossible to mess up.Servings: 8Equipment
- 9x7 Pyrex Casserole dish
Ingredients
- 12 oz Wacky Mac Veggie Noodles (Any shape pasta can be used, but the girls love the mixed shapes and colors of Wacky Mac)
- 1-2 cups Milk (depending on how rich you want it, powder milk works too or add a touch of sour cream to increase the richness)
- 1 cup Velveeta Cheese (cubed)
- 1 tbsp Butter or Margarine
- 1 cup Shredded Cheese (I use up the partial bags in our fridge so it is usually Cheddar, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Colby, etc..)
- 2-3 cups Water (You want 4 cups liquid, if you add more milk, reduce the water)
- dash Salt, Pepper, and Garlic to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add all the ingredients above except the water to a casserole dish.
- The water will be different based on what you add to your casserole. Add enough water to cover the noodles and stir everything together.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees. After 15 minutes of baking stir the casserole than continue baking for an additional 45 minutes. The top of the casserole will be crunchy (everyone’s favorite part) but should not burn.
Notes
I have also been known to cut of cheese slices or put in a couple spoons of cottage cheese. It really is a “use up the leftovers” type of Marconi & Cheese Casserole! If you want you can add a cup of fresh or canned tomatoes that tastes great too.Chicken Pot Pie
After several days of cooking we will often use the meat and vegetable leftovers in the fridge to make a Pot Pie. Our favorite is the Chicken Pot Pie, but we have made several variations of Beef and Ham Pot Pies as well. You can often get Store Brand Pie Crusts on sale or clearance for a great price if you them on hand use those otherwise the recipe below includes how to make your own pie crust with a few basic ingredients.
Chicken Pot Pie
A family favorite, chicken pot pie is a simple way to use up the remaining chicken that doesn't taste like a "leftovers" meal.Servings: 8Equipment
- 9 inch pie pan
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 2 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 3/4 cups Crisco Shortening
- 1 tssp Salt
- 5 tbsp Water (cold)
Filling
- 1 to 2 cups Cooked Chicken (use leftover or canned Chicken)
- 1 to 2 cups Cooked Vegetables (use leftover or canned Veggies)
- 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together the ingredients for the crust until the dough is formed, split the dough in half.
- Roll out half of the pie crust (add more flour if necessary). Place half of the pie crust in the bottom of a 8 or 9 inch pie pan.
- Stir together the Chicken Pot Pie filling ingredients. Add the filling to the pie pan.
- Top with remaining pie crust. Roll the edges of the bottom and top crust together. Cut a few slices in the top of the pot pie, (I usually will do a smile face or Christmas Tree or heart just for fun. The girls are always looking to see the design on the the top prior to eating it.)
- Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Check halfway through and if the crust is getting too dark put a piece of foil over the top to keep it from burning.
Pasta Night
We will often have a “Pasta” night which is a quick and easy meal that our family enjoys. It is one of our “meatless” meals. Many times Pasta nights consists of cooking:
Poor Man's Pasta
Don't let the name fool you. This is a simple staple that is quick and easy to make, yet still a comforting favorite.Servings: 4Cost: $3Ingredients
- 4 cups Elbow Noodles
- 1/2 tbsp Butter or Margarine
- Grated Parmesan Cheese (aka. "Shaky Cheese")
Instructions
- Cook the noodles, drain and add the butter. Sprinkle Shaky Cheese over your noodles and enjoy.
Notes
I add veggies and fruit to round out the meal. It is quick, simple, and inexpensive.Spinach Chicken Casserole
This is another one of those quick recipes I threw together to use up some extra chicken we had in the fridge that was a hit with the family.
Spinach Chicken Casserole
This is a quick "throw together" meal that tastes great and feels like it should have taken more time.Servings: 6Ingredients
- 2 to 3 cups Cubed Chicken (or you can use 2 to 3 frozen whole Chicken Breasts)
- 1 can Spinach
- 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 4 oz Sliced Mushrooms (Optional: Canned works best)
- 2 slices Provolone or Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 cups Rice (uncooked)
- 2 to 4 tbsp Water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Pour the 2 cups of uncooked rice and water if necessary into a casserole dish. Add the Chicken on top of the rice.
- Mix together the Spinach and Cream of Mushroom then add it on top of the Chicken.
- Spread the sliced mushrooms over the spinach mixture.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
- Add the cheese on top 10 to 15 minutes before the casserole is done.
Veggie Beef Soup is another one we put together with items we have on hand.
Along with the main meals we have a fruit and vegetable. We still have chicken and beef weekly as well as fish every couple of weeks to make sure everyone is getting the nutritional meals they need.
I will continue to share with you the challenges and successes so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. As I extend this goal into at least the first part of February I hope to have the opportunity to share more about what we are doing to make it stretch! Let’s see if we can finish yet another week of the No Grocery Shopping challenge!
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (Meals)
A couple questions we have been asked several times over the last month regarding my No Grocery Shopping challenge are – What have we been eating? Do we have any recipes? I am thrilled that we were able extend this challenge into February! The quick answer is the meals have been “simple”. Thankfully my family does not have any food allergies so we can be a little more flexible on what we eat.Here are a few ways we made our pantry stretch:
- Always Eat Leftovers
- Keep it Simple
- Make Meals with Few Ingredients
- Cook 1 Main Meal a Day
- Cut back on Snacks
- Make Meatless Meals
On typical day we eat toast, cereal, eggs, oatmeal or something we have on hand for breakfast. The girls have lunch at school so they are covered for that meal. Jake and I eat left overs for lunch (the left overs are usually from dinner the night before). For dinner I fix a simple, few ingredients main dish to feed our family of four then add fruits, veggies and other sides to compliment the main dish.
The first place I noticed a dip in the pantry was with the snacks. When the kids get home form school they are HUNGRY (they eat their school lunch at 10:30 AM) and are always ready for a snack. If it has been a busy day for me a lot of times they will grab an item from our “snack basket” on the kitchen counter which contains items such as granola bars, pretzels, crackers, etc…. We have noticed a dip in our dairy products too. The girls will often have a cheese stick or yogurt for a snack after school so those have been being utilized. Another snack they enjoy after school is a half of peanut butter & jelly sandwich or peanut butter with honey and veggies which gives them an extra boost of protein.
One of the neat parts about doing this challenge is I have started noticing trends in our family. I have seen what we eat more of as well as the items that get left behind more frequently. It is important to me that we all continue to get healthy meals and snacks, however, I want to eliminate wastefulness.
Along with the main meals we have a fruit and vegetable. We still have chicken and beef weekly as well as fish every couple of weeks. I will be adding the recipes for these items in the next day or two. It is our plan to continue this challenge yet another week!
I will continue to share with you the challenges, successes and what I have purchased so you can keep me accountable or even go through the journey with me by participating and sharing your story. I am thrilled that we can extend this goal and continue to use up the items we already have in our home!
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
