Almonds have been on sale where I live. I decided to make a batch of almond butter for fun. I spread the bag of almonds $3.99 on a baking sheet and roasted them at 350F until the aroma filled the room. Remove from the baking sheet and place in a food processor with 1/4 cup of peanut oil or any other oil you hav lying around the house. Add 1/4 cup of sweetner and puree in your food processor for approximately 5 minutes. You may have to add more oil and push the nuts back into the mixing bowl. when done transfer to a plastic container and stick in the fridge to cool.
The almond butter will firm up when it has cooled. Sometimes you will have to stir it to blend the oils that may have seperated. I like mine on an english muffin.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Day 3 36 Meals for $30
Day 3
The adults started with ¾ cup of quick oats, brown sugar and raisins. To my surprise, there was some extra quick oats. If we ran out of the other foods we could always have a breakfast meal for dinner ( we did it yesterday). For the kids I made a half batch of pancakes (6) and used the last of the home made apple syrup and also brought out the apple slices I had boiled to make the apple syrup. The boiled apple slices were very sweet and can be used to to eat as a topping on pancakes. We have made it through breakfast on the last day and I still have two whole eggs. Lunch was little bit on the lighter side as we had a nice simple but large salad. Most of the leftover vegetables such as iceberg lettuce, green leaf lettuce, carrots, celery, cucumber etc... were used to make the salad.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Day 2 36 meals for $30
Day 2
The morning looked very similar to day one. ¾ cup of quick oats with brown sugar and raisins for the adults and pancakes with homemade apple syrup for the kids. The best part of that morning was I could microwave everything for the kids breakfast which meant a lot less clean up.
Lunch was a huge salad, The oldest did not want to have salad but gave in when she realized it was salad or wait for a late snack before dinner.
Late snack was a nutritious apple.
Dinner started with an appetizer of garlic french fries. My family loves johnny cake and or pancakes and will eat them anytime any place. Last night I combined the two and we had a great big feast of corn cakes. Corn cakes is a simple pancake recipe where you substitute 2/3rds of the flour recipe with corn meal flour and add an extra tablespoon of sugar to the batter mixture. The cooked product is the same as a pancake but the cornmeal gives it a different texture with a slightly sweeter taste from the corn. The only problem is we ate most of the syrup, there was only ½ a cup of syrup left for tomorrow's breakfast.
After dinner I was doing an inventory of who much food we have left as my meal plan changed dramatically without being able to purchase any chicken. Supplies were looking low with only 1 tomato a partial onion and everything else almost gone. I had to remind the family that portion control was going to be essential to having enough food to make this work. Proper serving sizes will help us last one more day.
Last night I made the leftover salad, this basically all the leftover vegetables that is not designated for other meals. My plastic container is now packed with salad for the last day.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Day 1 36 Meals for $30
Pre Day 1
The evening before we started this three day event was going to be crucial. The meal plan had already changed as I was unable to afford chicken that only a few days earlier was $0.66 a pound. The chicken was going to be the base of our meals as a meal, the extra meat would add sustenance to salads and pizza, the rest was be used for a soup.
The night before we started I prepared to make a huge salad that would be stored in a large plastic container. ½ a head of lettuce and red leaf lettuce made the base of this salad. A tomato, and half of all the vegetables I purchased were used to give the salad flavor, texture and color. Everything was put in a large container for future meals.
Next task was to make the home made syrup for the pancakes. 2 cups of water and one sliced apple are brought to a boil and then simmered for a couple minutes before the cup of sugar I purchased at the store is added. I thickened it with some cornstarch and vanilla. This gave me three days worth of apple flavored syrup.
Day 1
Here we go, let the adventure in food begin. The Morning began with the adults eating a combined ¾ cup of quick oats with raisins and a little brown sugar. Since the kids are on summer vacation I let them sleep in for a while. My plan was to make a batch of 12 pancakes which would give them each 3 pancakes with home made syrup. The batch would last 2 days.
Lunch was a simple homemade cheese pizza with salad. The pizza sauce was a combination of 1 tomato, garlic clove, a little bit of red onion, oregano, and vegetable oil. Blend until smooth and spread on the home made pizza dough.
Late snack was leftover pizza slices or an apple. We did make a small loaf of bread during the afternoon to have with our dinner.
Dinner was spaghetti with cooked ground pork seasoned with butter oregano and basil. It was simple and filling.
The Scratch is our newest book about feeding a family on a budget. we have made this free book available to help familes like ours get started with three simple dinner meals. These three meals will help you save big dollars when you are ready to start budgeting.
If you would like a copy all you have to do is email me. I understand privacy is a concern for everybody and I promise that I will not share your email with anyone. Everything we do is done manually. I will check my email a couple times a day and send you a pdf file.
The Book is free and you can share it with anybody you like as long as you do not try to sell it.
Simply put "The Scratch" in your subject line and sent to: rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
Thursday, August 11, 2011
The Grocery List
The end result of our shopping trip was I felt unsure if I could afford everything I had in my grocery cart. To limit the embarrassment in case I had to much food and had to pick and chose what stayed behind and what was going to be purchased I used self checkout. The end result was I had to leave the hamburger behind. We had no meat to eat over the next few days, The chicken was its usual low price and scales in the produce section were not very accurate so the apples cost far more than I had estimated. Some tough choices had to be made at the grocery store that left me feeling like I was not providing for my family.
While the feeling of not providing everything my family needed stayed with me. I tried to over compensate that feeling with the fact I can cook and we will get by.
The grocery list was very short. It required many
their income from two jobs
The Grocery list;
To make the most of my $30.00 budget I had to travel to two stores, the first store was important because they have bulk foods. This allowed me to maximize my dollars by purchasing ingredients in the portions I needed to use for the following three days.
My bulk list was 2.5 cups quick oats, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar, ½ cup raisins. Everything else on my list was going to be purchased at the regular grocery store.
My regular grocery store list was 7 small gala apples, 3 small green apples, green leaf lettuce, iceberg lettuce, 3 bulk carrots, celery bunch, 1 cucumber, 3 tomatoes, 1 red onion, 2 cup bag of store brand shredded Mexican mix cheese, 1 block unsalted butter, 1 gallon 1% milk, 1lb of manager special ground pork, 1lb box spaghetti, 5lbs of potatoes and vegetable oil.
Monday, August 8, 2011
What to Eat???
The plan is to live like it is financially tough for us. The scenario for us is to assume our kitchen is almost out of food. The weeks leading up to this event required some easy planning of purchasing less food at the grocery store to empty out the fridge and cupboards. During the past few weeks we were able to make substantial space in the fridge and cupboard to allow a whole shelf in the fridge for our three days worth of food and one shelf in the cupboard for non perishable foods.
Three food items were able to be brought from our current supply into our three day event. The three items could not be the most expensive shopping items as that would just make this task seem to easy. The foods had to represent items that carry over from grocery shopping week to week. For our family the three items were yeast, baking powder and lemons. This may seem like a strange combination but it will fit into our dietary needs.
How tough is tough? We had $30.00 to feed a family of four for three days. 12 meals and only $30.00 to do it with. When I told my family we were doing this a couple weeks ago they just brushed it off and carried on. Yesterday when I reminded them about this three day event they were kind of upset. But I
explained it as, imagine us running out of money and we still needed to eat until payday. This happens to thousands of families everyday. I would rather learn how to cope while I can afford to eat than learn how to cope because we have no choice. At least we will appreciate what we have.
The shopping trip started with both children going shopping with me. Almost instantly after the doors closed in the first grocery store they asked to get some candy. I reminded them that we are purchasing only what we need for the next three days. The list was small as we planned to purchase only what was needed to feed us for three days. The first stop was the quick oats bulk bin followed by the dried raisins. The kids agreed to eat pancakes for breakfast over the next few days with home made apple flavored syrup. We headed to the bulk sugar bin when the oldest child tried to work her magic asking in her gentle voice if they could get a small bag of gummie bears. I know what she was up to and played the game by asking which meal would she give up so she can have some gummie bears to eat? Her initial response was lunch but after she changed her mind to sacrifice the bears for lunch. We quickly finished getting the remaining items on our list. The first store seemed easy, my list was small and I had relatively a substantial amount of cash leftover.
We left the first grocery store and headed to our last stop where some of the biggest priced items were going to be purchased. The plan was to start with the fresh fruits and vegetables. This proved to be time consuming and difficult. Eat bag of fruit needed to be counted, weighed, and mathematically calculated in my head since I did not bring a calculator with me. The kids disappeared for a while looking for samples to try which really helped.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Loss of Income Creates Changes in How We Eat
We all enjoy watching the cooking shows where only the finest and freshest ingredients are used. Cost is no object for their belief of eating what is considered to be the best. For the rest of us, convenience comes at a price that will easily be justified by marketing that it is healthy and quick. As long as we can afford to fund our beliefs nothing really changes.
But something did change. The economy slowed and many families were not able to keep having a dual income family. For single income families they lost all their income and had to resort to using savings or government assistance.
Change for these groups came fast and hard. These people realized very quickly, wasting food is the equivalent of throwing away good money. Forget about dining out as a form of entertainment or as a way to feed a family. With very little extra income dining out is usually the first expense that suddenly becomes expendable.
The transition to cutting back on food expenses usually takes some time. Non essential packaged foods are still purchased but not as much as in the past. For many people the cost of food is just now being realized as before it was a simple get what we want swipe a piece of plastic and sign on the computer screen.
The reality of food costs really hit home when you find the few snacks and packaged foods you can barely afford to purchase only half eaten. Expensive low nutritional valued being thrown away. When times are financially tough you can realize what many low income families already know.
The limited food budget has to achieve maximum value and quantity. Nutrition must be reasonably balanced and waste must be kept to a minimum.
The Scratch is our newest book about feeding a family on a budget. we have made this free book available to help familes like ours get started with three simple dinner meals. These three meals will help you save big dollars when you are ready to start budgeting.
If you would like a copy all you have to do is email me. I understand privacy is a concern for everybody and I promise that I will not share your email with anyone. Everything we do is done manually. I will check my email a couple times a day and send you a pdf file.
The Book is free and you can share it with anybody you like as long as you do not try to sell it.
Simply put "The Scratch" in your subject line and sent to: rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
Friday, July 29, 2011
$30 to feed a family of four for 3 days (36 meals)
The plan is to survive on $30 for three days worth of meals. The cupboards are almost bare with very little food mostly condiments such as yeast cornstarch and one chicken breast. Many people have great ideas about how they will feed their family on a weekly budget. Most budgets today are based on having enough money to purchase everything a family could need. The more money you have to spend the more outlandish your beliefs can be to justify a budget.
The Scratch is our newest book about feeding a family on a budget. we have made this free book available to help familes like ours get started with three simple dinner meals. These three meals will help you save big dollars when you are ready to start budgeting.
If you would like a copy all you have to do is email me. I understand privacy is a concern for everybody and I promise that I will not share your email with anyone. Everything we do is done manually. I will check my email a couple times a day and send you a pdf file.
The Book is free and you can share it with anybody you like as long as you do not try to sell it.
Simply put "The Scratch" in your subject line and sent to: rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
The Scratch is our newest book about feeding a family on a budget. we have made this free book available to help familes like ours get started with three simple dinner meals. These three meals will help you save big dollars when you are ready to start budgeting.
If you would like a copy all you have to do is email me. I understand privacy is a concern for everybody and I promise that I will not share your email with anyone. Everything we do is done manually. I will check my email a couple times a day and send you a pdf file.
The Book is free and you can share it with anybody you like as long as you do not try to sell it.
Simply put "The Scratch" in your subject line and sent to: rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Filet Mignon
We can all imagine a juicy, pefectly cooked filet mignon being served at a fancy restaurant that none of us can afford. In our home we occassionaly eat filet mignon.
The difference is we have to do a tiny bit of preparation to make it perfect. First we purchase inexpensive sirloin steaks, we do this when our grocery store is having a sale. The steaks usually come in a package of 5 or 6 individual steaks. We also purchase a small 1/2 package of bacon.
As described in earlier posts we will age the sirloin in the fridge for 4 -6 days by wrapping it with paper towel and changing the paper towel each time it becomes moist.
Each piece of sirloin is wrapped in bacon, held in place with tooth picks. All that is left to do is grill your meat.
I find that we can occassionally eat like we are at a fancy steak house by doing it this way and adding a couple veggies on the side.
The difference is we have to do a tiny bit of preparation to make it perfect. First we purchase inexpensive sirloin steaks, we do this when our grocery store is having a sale. The steaks usually come in a package of 5 or 6 individual steaks. We also purchase a small 1/2 package of bacon.
As described in earlier posts we will age the sirloin in the fridge for 4 -6 days by wrapping it with paper towel and changing the paper towel each time it becomes moist.
Each piece of sirloin is wrapped in bacon, held in place with tooth picks. All that is left to do is grill your meat.
I find that we can occassionally eat like we are at a fancy steak house by doing it this way and adding a couple veggies on the side.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Inexpensive Breakfast
If you are like me you have probably noticed the "gentle" increase in the price of cereal lately. Some cereals have gone up by 50% or more.
We have changed the cereal we eat and now we eat Quick Oats as the basis of our hot cereal breakfast. The best part is Quick Oats are low in sodium but high is quality. The cost is 1/4 the cost of regular cereal. In my city I can purchase bulk quick oats for $0.99 a pound.
4 pounds of cereal can feed a family a lot of meals for very little. The problem is quick oats can be a little bland or become boring after awhile. To help make brfeakfast more appealing we change a few things such as;
Cooking with milk instead of water
Adding raising to the milk while it heats up
Sweetening with 1 Tbsp of brown sugar per serving
Adding 1 Tbsp of Maple Syrup (sugar free) to each serving
Topping with fruit (we like banana)
You can even add small pieces of chocolate
For us a $4 purchase of Quick Oats from a bulk store will feed our family for more than 1 month.
We have changed the cereal we eat and now we eat Quick Oats as the basis of our hot cereal breakfast. The best part is Quick Oats are low in sodium but high is quality. The cost is 1/4 the cost of regular cereal. In my city I can purchase bulk quick oats for $0.99 a pound.
4 pounds of cereal can feed a family a lot of meals for very little. The problem is quick oats can be a little bland or become boring after awhile. To help make brfeakfast more appealing we change a few things such as;
Cooking with milk instead of water
Adding raising to the milk while it heats up
Sweetening with 1 Tbsp of brown sugar per serving
Adding 1 Tbsp of Maple Syrup (sugar free) to each serving
Topping with fruit (we like banana)
You can even add small pieces of chocolate
For us a $4 purchase of Quick Oats from a bulk store will feed our family for more than 1 month.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
"The Scratch" Free E-Book
Here is a quote from one of my readers,
This is a great little book! Thanks! It is amazing how many people don't know how to make homemade pasta or homemade bread. It doesn't take much time and it saves a bundle. I recently bought a book from Amazon on how to make Artisan bread. It really only takes about 2-1/2 hours from start to finish and hardly any kneading and the bread is amazing. I bought an electric pasta maker at a secondhand store and you are right ...nothing beats the taste of homemade pasta and it costs pennies.
Keep up the great work!
The Scratch is our newest book about feeding a family on a budget. we have made this free book available to help familes like ours get started with three simple dinner meals. These three meals will help you save big dollars when you are ready to start budgeting.
If you would like a copy all you have to do is email me. I understand privacy is a concern for everybody and I promise that I will not share your email with anyone. Everything we do is done manually. I will check my email a couple times a day and send you a pdf file.
The Book is free and you can share it with anybody you like as long as you do not try to sell it.
Simply put "The Scratch" in your subject line and sent to: rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
This is a great little book! Thanks! It is amazing how many people don't know how to make homemade pasta or homemade bread. It doesn't take much time and it saves a bundle. I recently bought a book from Amazon on how to make Artisan bread. It really only takes about 2-1/2 hours from start to finish and hardly any kneading and the bread is amazing. I bought an electric pasta maker at a secondhand store and you are right ...nothing beats the taste of homemade pasta and it costs pennies.
Keep up the great work!
The Scratch is our newest book about feeding a family on a budget. we have made this free book available to help familes like ours get started with three simple dinner meals. These three meals will help you save big dollars when you are ready to start budgeting.
If you would like a copy all you have to do is email me. I understand privacy is a concern for everybody and I promise that I will not share your email with anyone. Everything we do is done manually. I will check my email a couple times a day and send you a pdf file.
The Book is free and you can share it with anybody you like as long as you do not try to sell it.
Simply put "The Scratch" in your subject line and sent to: rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
Thursday, April 7, 2011
How To Make Pancakes Healthier - 8 Tips
We all love big tall stacks of fluffy white pancakes with crispy golden edges.
Not everyone can eat this kind of pancakes.
Here are a couple easy tips to make your next batch healthier while still keeping the flavor and texture.
1) Make them yourself instead of purchasing pancake mix.
2) Use olive oil instead of vegetable oil in your batter.
3) Use butter flavored non-stick spray instead of oil on your griddle.
4) Whole wheat flour instead of enriched, bleached white flour.
5) Add Wheat germ 1/4cup to a batch of batter.
6) Include Quick Oats to your batter, this should be added to wet ingredients.
7) Make your own syrup by boiling fruit (apples, bananas, pears, vanilla) in water then add sugar to sweeten.
8) Use artificial sweetner to make syrup.
Not everyone can eat this kind of pancakes.
Here are a couple easy tips to make your next batch healthier while still keeping the flavor and texture.
1) Make them yourself instead of purchasing pancake mix.
2) Use olive oil instead of vegetable oil in your batter.
3) Use butter flavored non-stick spray instead of oil on your griddle.
4) Whole wheat flour instead of enriched, bleached white flour.
5) Add Wheat germ 1/4cup to a batch of batter.
6) Include Quick Oats to your batter, this should be added to wet ingredients.
7) Make your own syrup by boiling fruit (apples, bananas, pears, vanilla) in water then add sugar to sweeten.
8) Use artificial sweetner to make syrup.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Aging A Steak - Make It Taste Like It Was Expensive
You can get your free copy of my mini book "The Scratch" It is three great meals you can make your family.
Simply send me an email and I will reply back with a PDF. I am doing this manually and I promise not to share your email adddress.
rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
We all enjoy going out to a steak house for a really good steak. The age the steak to give it a nice meaty flavor and cook it just the way you like it every time. The problem is if you are on a budget like we are, yo can not afford to eat at steak houses.
Rather than do without our family will eat at"Chez Henderson's" Steak House. Really it is fancy for eating good steak at home for a fraction of the cost.
Beside meat you do not need all of items to age a steak other than time. Wire rack, plate, paper towel are all you need.
We purchase some low costing sirloin for this one on Monday, wrapped each piece in paper towel, placed on the wire rack stuck it in the fridge for 24 hours.
After 24 hours we removed the paper towel and wrapped with new paper towel and place back in the fridge. If your meat continues to dampen the paper towel you must keep changing it.
Friday we had the day off work and headed down to the BBQ for a nice steak lunch. Asparagus was on sale and the baked potato rounded out the whole meal.
Simply send me an email and I will reply back with a PDF. I am doing this manually and I promise not to share your email adddress.
rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
We all enjoy going out to a steak house for a really good steak. The age the steak to give it a nice meaty flavor and cook it just the way you like it every time. The problem is if you are on a budget like we are, yo can not afford to eat at steak houses.
Rather than do without our family will eat at"Chez Henderson's" Steak House. Really it is fancy for eating good steak at home for a fraction of the cost.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Oatmeal Make My Morning Go!
After most workout mornings oatmeal is my source of food. I really like making it the old fashion way in a pot. Since it only has to cook for 2 minutes it is the quick hot breakfast meal I prefer. I now use skim milk instead of water, I grab a handfull of raisins (loaded with Iron) and add them to the milk before I turn the heat on. A little brown sugar for sweetness without adding sodium and right after I put the oatmeal in the my bowl I add sliced banana on top (loaded with potassium).
You can get your free copy of my mini book "The Scratch" It is three great meals you can make your family.
Simply send me an email and I will reply back with a PDF. I am doing this manually and I promise not to share your email adddress
rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
You can get your free copy of my mini book "The Scratch" It is three great meals you can make your family.
Simply send me an email and I will reply back with a PDF. I am doing this manually and I promise not to share your email adddress
rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
24 lbs Gone In a Month
Why am I posting this information on a budget blog/
It seems I may have caught a bug, the running bug. Feeding a family on a budget is always tough but now fitness seems to have caught on in our family. Fitness requires food as fuel for the body. Similar to a casr engine, the better fuel you put in the better performance.
We are putting better fuel / food in our bodies and still living within our budget.
So far the whole family has lost 41 lbs!
You can get your free copy of my mini book "The Scratch" It is three great meals you can make your family.
Simply send me an email and I will reply back with a PDF. I am doing this manually and I promise not to share your email adddress
rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
It seems I may have caught a bug, the running bug. Feeding a family on a budget is always tough but now fitness seems to have caught on in our family. Fitness requires food as fuel for the body. Similar to a casr engine, the better fuel you put in the better performance.
We are putting better fuel / food in our bodies and still living within our budget.
So far the whole family has lost 41 lbs!
You can get your free copy of my mini book "The Scratch" It is three great meals you can make your family.
Simply send me an email and I will reply back with a PDF. I am doing this manually and I promise not to share your email adddress
rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
Monday, March 28, 2011
Chicken Roasted Two Different Ways
Roast chicken,
Roast chicken can save w grocery budget when you are trying to feed a family. As a follow up to my last entry. The grocery store had a sale on chicken that was so great I could not refuse to purchase some.
I picked up three chickens for a great deal. I put one in the freezer for future use and cooked the other two at the same time in my giant roaster.
To roast the chicken I decided to do two different styles;
The first chicken was very simple, was pat dry with paper towel and run with olive oil.
The second chicken I made a by combining equal parts 1 tablespoon of garlic powder, onion powder, poultry seasoning. I added ½ tablespoons of oregano and chili powder for some kick and finally 2 tablespoons of brown sugar for sweetness. I found the best way to mix spices is to use your hands.
I repeated the process of washing the chicken in cold water and patting dry with paper towel. I finished the second chicken by rubbing by hand my spice rub all over the chicken.
Here is a picture of the cooked chicken.
The meat has been used for chicken salads, sandwich meat, stir frys, and as part of roast chicken dinner. The bones will go into the slow cooker later for amazing chicken broth / soup
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Sometimes The Grocery Store Will Dictate What You Eat!
I am all for clipping coupons to save money while grocery shopping. Unlike the extremists who can create major savings, my savings come mostly from spend $25 and receive $5.00 off.
Sometimes the grocery stores have loss leaders to get us in their store that are to good to be true. For example my local store had Iceberg lettuce for $1.49 a head. A competitor had the same lettuce for $0.33 and fryer chicken for $0.59 lb.
Without boring you another grocery store had an amazing sale on produce and vegetables.
I could not pass up on these deals, with $25 in my hand we shopped and we will be eating alot of chicken and vegetables this week.
Sometimes the grocery stores have loss leaders to get us in their store that are to good to be true. For example my local store had Iceberg lettuce for $1.49 a head. A competitor had the same lettuce for $0.33 and fryer chicken for $0.59 lb.
Without boring you another grocery store had an amazing sale on produce and vegetables.
I could not pass up on these deals, with $25 in my hand we shopped and we will be eating alot of chicken and vegetables this week.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Lasagna - full of flavor taste and texture
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody.
This Lasagna is flavorful, tasty and the kids end up eating a lot of vegetables.
We like this recipe because it gives us a low fat, low sodium meal that is full of vegetables. The ingredients are very simple but the taste is powerful.
My ingredients are:
Olive oil
Red and yellow peppers
Celery
Garlic
Tomato
Onion
Oregano
1 pound of ground turkey
Grated Cheese
Whole wheat flour
2 eggs
First step is to cook the ground chicken in a non-stick skillet with a fat free spray. while the turkey is cooking begin making the pasta by breaking the eggs adding some olive oil and then the flour mix and knead.
While the dough is resting roughly chop 1/4 of each pepper and a cup of celery, place in a bowl. Cut up two tomatoes and place in a blender with two garlic cloves, onion and oregano. Turn the blender on and add olive oil. Blend until smooth and pour into bowl with chopped veggies and mix.
Begin heating a pot of water to cook the pasta noodle in. roll the pasta dough into thin strips and place in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and oil so it won't stick.
Chop the cooled cooked ground turkey.
Place 1/3 third of the vegetable sauce oon the bottoom of the pan, then a layer of ground turkey, then a layer of shredded cheese, followed by a layer of pasta noodle. Add dollups of home made Greek style yogurt cheese.
Repeat and finally add shredded cheese to cover the top and bake at 350 for one hour.
This Lasagna is flavorful, tasty and the kids end up eating a lot of vegetables.
We like this recipe because it gives us a low fat, low sodium meal that is full of vegetables. The ingredients are very simple but the taste is powerful.
My ingredients are:
Olive oil
Red and yellow peppers
Celery
Garlic
Tomato
Onion
Oregano
1 pound of ground turkey
Grated Cheese
Whole wheat flour
2 eggs
First step is to cook the ground chicken in a non-stick skillet with a fat free spray. while the turkey is cooking begin making the pasta by breaking the eggs adding some olive oil and then the flour mix and knead.
While the dough is resting roughly chop 1/4 of each pepper and a cup of celery, place in a bowl. Cut up two tomatoes and place in a blender with two garlic cloves, onion and oregano. Turn the blender on and add olive oil. Blend until smooth and pour into bowl with chopped veggies and mix.
Begin heating a pot of water to cook the pasta noodle in. roll the pasta dough into thin strips and place in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and oil so it won't stick.
Place 1/3 third of the vegetable sauce oon the bottoom of the pan, then a layer of ground turkey, then a layer of shredded cheese, followed by a layer of pasta noodle. Add dollups of home made Greek style yogurt cheese.
Repeat and finally add shredded cheese to cover the top and bake at 350 for one hour.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Soup Salad Grilled Chicken and Whole Wheat Pasta
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com "The Scratch is about three great super inexpensive meals you can make for your family, the flavors will make you a hit with the family the savings will definetly ease your pocket book.
Privacy statement: I won't share your email with anybody.
What an amazing week!
April 27th I took up running. First day was 120 yards with a break in the middle. Today
I reached my goal of running 100 60yard runs.
The food we have been eating lately has been really health oriented.
similar to pizza salad can be made with anything including grilled chicken, hummus and Greek yogurt cheese.
The bones and skin from grilling chicken wer put into a slow cooker to make an incredible broth. The soups I made with this broth were packed full of veggies. I used half a bunch of celery stock and my kids cleaned out the slow cooker. Good broth is everything!
Picked up a bag of whole wheat flour and made 100% whole wheat pasta, truly it was an amazing meal.
We are still under budget and eating fine.
On a side note the family has dropped a combined 32 pounds in the last three weeks.
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What an amazing week!
April 27th I took up running. First day was 120 yards with a break in the middle. Today
I reached my goal of running 100 60yard runs.
The food we have been eating lately has been really health oriented.
similar to pizza salad can be made with anything including grilled chicken, hummus and Greek yogurt cheese.
The bones and skin from grilling chicken wer put into a slow cooker to make an incredible broth. The soups I made with this broth were packed full of veggies. I used half a bunch of celery stock and my kids cleaned out the slow cooker. Good broth is everything!
Picked up a bag of whole wheat flour and made 100% whole wheat pasta, truly it was an amazing meal.
We are still under budget and eating fine.
On a side note the family has dropped a combined 32 pounds in the last three weeks.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Spectacular Chicken Noodle Soup
Last night we tried the chicken broth from last weeks BBQ chicken we cooked.
The finished product was spectacular. The broth is everything when it comes to chicken noodle soup. It was low in sodium, low in fat but had big time flavor we added lots of vegetables and whole wheat pasta.
The kids at almost a whole slow cooker worth of soup.
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody.
The finished product was spectacular. The broth is everything when it comes to chicken noodle soup. It was low in sodium, low in fat but had big time flavor we added lots of vegetables and whole wheat pasta.
The kids at almost a whole slow cooker worth of soup.
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Soft Cheese Easy to Make at Home
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Soft Cheese the home made way
Simply send me an email and I will reply back with a PDF. I am doing this manually and I promise not to share your email adddress
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Soft Cheese the home made way
Living on a budget of $100 a week to feed a family of four is never easy. This task becomes really hard when you try to eat high quality food. One way we are able to keep the high quality is to make soft cheese. Our family loves to eat cheese and the soft cheese we find in our deli section of our grocery store would easily wipe out our budget.
Our Greek style soft cheese has become a favorite which is great because it is very easy to make.
You will need the following ingredients;
1 Whisk
1 Large bowl
1 Container of Greek Yogurt
Cheese cloth
Plastic container
The first thing is to empty the yogurt container into your bowl and whisk for about ½ a minute.
Spread the cheese cloth over the plastic container and slowly pour the yogurt onto the cheese cloth.
Grab the corners of the cloth and lift so the yogurt forms a ball and tie the top with string or twist ties.
Let this ball of yogurt hang over the kitchen sink for 12 hours (I like to make mine before bedtime and wake up in the morning with my fresh cheese)
Carefully peel back the cheese cloth and there is your creamy tangy soft cheese ready to eat.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
You can nominate our blog
Our blog Feed4forunder$100Week is now listed on http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/dinner/top-100-food-mom-blog-2011-nominate-a-food-blog/index.aspx We would love it if you would go here and like us. we are currently #296.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Mayonnaise You Can Make During T.V. Commercials
You can get a Free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family.
If there is one thing I like better than getting a great deal at the grocery store it is making food during T.V. Commercials. Mayonnaise is one of those foods you can make during commercials rather than watching the commercial (exception would be Superbowl ).
This recipe requires the following ingredients
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1 cup of oil
1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar
Wet dish cloth
The first thing I do is set up all my ingredients on the counter before my show starts.
During the first set of commercials I separate the egg yolks froom the whites and put the whites in another container to for later. since this does not have to be perfect I squeeze the dijon into the bowl until it is the same size as one egg yolk, add a little salt and pepper.Back to watching my show.
Next commercial whisk everything then slowly begin to add my cup of oil while whisking. When all the oil is mixed in begin whisking extra hard for 30 seconds.
At this point you are almost done but if your show is a good one wait until the next set of T.V. commercials to whisk in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice add a little salt or pepper to taste.
Now you have 1 cup of inexpensive home made mayonnaise.
If there is one thing I like better than getting a great deal at the grocery store it is making food during T.V. Commercials. Mayonnaise is one of those foods you can make during commercials rather than watching the commercial (exception would be Superbowl ).
This recipe requires the following ingredients
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1 cup of oil
1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar
Wet dish cloth
The first thing I do is set up all my ingredients on the counter before my show starts.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Feeding a Family - Making BBQ Chicken Lunch Meat
The deli can provide the consumer with an abundance of different meats, flavors, thickness of slice, high sodium, lower sodium no fat, low fat, etc... a perfect place to find the quick and easy fillers for two pieces of bread. Quick and easy also are known to be very expensive. Many deli meats range in price from $7.00 to $9.00 per pound. They come packaged in resealable bags or containers so you can keep your meat fresh for a couple days.
Try making your own lunch meat after reading this blog. If feeding your family good quality food is your goal, then keep reading.
Yesterday I purchase chicken thighs with the leg attached. I like this meat because it cooks well and will be more forgiving even if you over do it a little. The other reason for picking thighs and legs is the price. At my local grocery store this kind of chicken costs $0.74 a pound.
A pound of deli meat will cost approximately $9.89 a pound. My purchased of $9.07 worth of chicken is comparable to the amount of deli meat I used to buy before going on a budget.
I have simply put the chicken on the bbq skin side up to cook on low (275F) for the next couple hours. Try to minimize how many times you turn the chicken, meat tends not to stick to the grill when it is done cooking on one side.
Let the chicken cool is something big without a lid, I used my roaster.
To separate the meat from the bones and skin I just used my fingers, slow roasted chicken will pull away from the skin and bones with ease.
The bone and skin do not go to waste. I put them in my slow cooker with onions, carrots, salt, poultry seasoning. Top the slow cooker with water and forget about it for a couple hours. I leave mine cooking o low overnight and in the morning strain.
This leaves me with 10 cups of chicken broth for soups, polenta, rice, pizza dough, etc... If you are not going to use the broth right away freeze it in containers. Once frozen transfer them to a freezer bag so you can use your containers for other foods.
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
BBQ Pork Pizza
BBQ Pork and veggie pizza with quick oats
Next add two cups of flour and 1/3rd cup of quick oats to the wet ingredients and mix with a fork. When everything is well mixed, you should have a ball of dough, if not add a little more flour. Next, flour the counter with extra flour and run your fingers through the flour to spread it out. Dump the wet ball of dough on the counter and flour your hands so the dough does not stick to you.
Knead the dough to form a nice ball, set aside and cover with damp towel. If you look closely at the picture you will see little flakes of quick oats. These will soften to match the texture of cooked pizza crust when you are done.
I am all about the leftover and today we have leftover BBQ pork which has been cut thin with a good sharp knife. For vegetables, chopped red onion, green pepper and sliced olives.
While the dough continues to rest I use my mini blender to make the tomato sauce. This is real easy, slice a tomato add some oregano, garlic and onion powder. Pour a little olive oil and blend. You will have a nice pink sauce.
Now to work the dough. I do it by hand but I do not toss it like they do in pizza restaurants because the mes would be to big to clean up. I roll it with a rolling pin to create the general shape of the pan I will cook it in. In this case I am using a 14 x 11 cookie sheet.
Oil the cookie sheet with any oil you chose. Place the pizza dough on the cookie sheet and finish stretching the dough to fit. Spread your sauce over the entire pizza using a large spoon then begin adding your toppings. We usually place the meat first, then cheese and followed up with the vegetables.
Bake in your oven at 500F for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400F and wait for the crust to turn dark brown.
After you remove the pizza from the oven wait about 5 – 8 minutess before cutting the pizza so the toppings do not slide off.
All that is left to do is enjoy your home made high quality pizza!
Thanks to everybody who has requested our free copy of "The Scratch"
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Sliced Pork Sandwiches
Used the last of the pork as lunch meat yesterday. I sliced the pork thin with a good knife. Put a little home made mayonnaise on each piece of bread, added a layer of pork slices and some lettuce. The top piece of bread I spread BBQ sauce. Packed the lunches and everybody had a great sandwich.
I find roasts are much cheaper than paying big $$$ for high sodium, high fat content lunch meat.
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
I find roasts are much cheaper than paying big $$$ for high sodium, high fat content lunch meat.
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
Monday, March 7, 2011
Oatmeal and BBQ Week!
The Sun is out and things are startitng to warm up.
Last night I found a great deal on bulk quick oats from my local grocery store. I also purchase a little bit of walnuts, brown sugar and raisins. Oatmeal is so inexpensive at $0.99 a pound. It may take me a couple months to use up the $2.75 worth of quick oats in my home.
The plan is to use quick oats in everything. For breakfast I will substitute 1/3 cup of flour for oats in pancakes and waffles. We will also eat it with brown sugar, nuts, maple syrup or raisins.
I want to get outdoors and bbq everyday but that might be tough. I will add quick oats to polenta and bbq it as a side meal. I will grind it and mix with flour for a coat while baking chicken.
My pizza dough will be altered by substituting 1/3 cup of quick oats to flour dough.
One thing we know for sure, the meals will be hearty, tasty and healthy.
Thanks to everybody who has requested our free copy of "The Scratch"
If you have not requested your copy send us an email at rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
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Last night I found a great deal on bulk quick oats from my local grocery store. I also purchase a little bit of walnuts, brown sugar and raisins. Oatmeal is so inexpensive at $0.99 a pound. It may take me a couple months to use up the $2.75 worth of quick oats in my home.
The plan is to use quick oats in everything. For breakfast I will substitute 1/3 cup of flour for oats in pancakes and waffles. We will also eat it with brown sugar, nuts, maple syrup or raisins.
I want to get outdoors and bbq everyday but that might be tough. I will add quick oats to polenta and bbq it as a side meal. I will grind it and mix with flour for a coat while baking chicken.
My pizza dough will be altered by substituting 1/3 cup of quick oats to flour dough.
One thing we know for sure, the meals will be hearty, tasty and healthy.
Thanks to everybody who has requested our free copy of "The Scratch"
If you have not requested your copy send us an email at rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
Privacy Statement
We will not share your email with anybody
Friday, March 4, 2011
I love finding a roast on Sale!
I found a chuck roast on Sale, the manager had just finished marking down with extreme discount. Normally I would not buy a roast of chuck but I have a slow cooker and was confident it would make the meat tender.
I loaded the bottom of my cooker with the usual carrots onions celery and added a little oregano. Turned it on low and forgot about it until dinner time. As per usual the roast was tender, it broke into three pieces as I lifted it out of the cooker.
The roast has been eaten but it was the star of a couple meals;
Dinner was roast beef with garlic mashed potatoes and veggies.
Breakfast was shredded roast beef and egg sandwich.
Lunch was shredded roast beef and lettuce sandwich.
This weekend will be a bbq chicken weekend!
Thanks to everybody who has requested our free copy of "The Scratch"
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I loaded the bottom of my cooker with the usual carrots onions celery and added a little oregano. Turned it on low and forgot about it until dinner time. As per usual the roast was tender, it broke into three pieces as I lifted it out of the cooker.
The roast has been eaten but it was the star of a couple meals;
Dinner was roast beef with garlic mashed potatoes and veggies.
Breakfast was shredded roast beef and egg sandwich.
Lunch was shredded roast beef and lettuce sandwich.
This weekend will be a bbq chicken weekend!
Thanks to everybody who has requested our free copy of "The Scratch"
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Wednesday, March 2, 2011
March 2nd Breakfast Pancakes with peanut butter Get your Free copy of "The Scratch"
This morning I took two of my kids favorite breakfast foods and combined them. They enjoy pancakes and peanut butter cereal.
I made the pancakes like I usually do but dropped about 9 peanut butter cereal pieces on each pancake before they firmed up.
As I expected they gobbled them all up!
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Simply send me an email and I will reply back with a PDF. I am doing this manually and I promise not to share or spam your email adddress
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I made the pancakes like I usually do but dropped about 9 peanut butter cereal pieces on each pancake before they firmed up.
As I expected they gobbled them all up!
You can get your free copy of my mini book "The Scratch" It is three great meals you can make your family.
Simply send me an email and I will reply back with a PDF. I am doing this manually and I promise not to share or spam your email adddress
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Tuesday, March 1, 2011
March 1st starts with a great meal and Free "The Scratch" Book
Our family can never have to much pizza, we made an awesome pepperoni and sausage pizza with a mixed green salad with tomato, avacado, green onion. The dressing was a white balsamic package from some restauarant we were at months ago.
Tomorrow will be sandwiches as football practice starts early.
You can get your free copy of my mini book "The Scratch" It is three great meals you can make your family.
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Rick
Tomorrow will be sandwiches as football practice starts early.
You can get your free copy of my mini book "The Scratch" It is three great meals you can make your family.
Simply send me an email and I will reply back with a PDF. I am doing this manually and I promise not to share or spam your email adddress
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Rick
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
February 22 Dinner Pizza and Soup
My slow cooker is my favorite kitchen tool, right now as I write this blog my cooker is making pork broth soup with brown basmati rice. I will make some pizza dough and top it off with hand made cheese some olives, onion and chopped pork.
The whole entire meal will probably cost less than $3.00
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
The whole entire meal will probably cost less than $3.00
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
February 22 Lunch Pork Carnitas
Here I am staring at some left over pork and corn tortillas. Carnitas have rapidly become my new favorite food to eat. I guess they can be eaten on a diet I just won't add any cheese. I microwaved three soft corn tortillas added some hot chopped pork, lettuce, lime juice and onion.
Not bad, the pork was moist enough to make this meal satisfying.
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
Not bad, the pork was moist enough to make this meal satisfying.
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
February 22 Breakfast Fruit
On the weekend we helped out some friends by picking fruit from their trees. The kids want to go back to climb and pick some more fruit.
Today we had a nice big bowl of fresh fruit (banana, grapefruit, strawberry and orange). We ate some protein after by having a hard boiled egg for breakfast.
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
Today we had a nice big bowl of fresh fruit (banana, grapefruit, strawberry and orange). We ate some protein after by having a hard boiled egg for breakfast.
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
Monday, February 21, 2011
Happy Presidents Day - Cheese Making Day
Nothing is better than a nice holiday to make cheese. My guests ate all my cheese on home made crackers Saturday. The plan is to make greek yogurt cheese and more milk based cheese. I will look at the spices they roll the soft cheese in a try to copy it.
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Home Made Mayonnaise For Deviled Eggs
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
I had some friends come over for dinner this weekend. One of the appetizers I was going to make was deviled eggs. I had already hard boiled and peeled the eggs before I realized I did not have any Mayo.
I grabbed two eggs seperated the yolks from the whites, added some (1 tbsp)dijon, (pinch)salt and pepper and whisked together for 10 seconds. I put a wet cloth on the counter and placed the bowl on top of the cloth so the bowl did not spin when the mayo thickened. Then I began to slowly add (1 cup) olive oil while whisking. once the mayo was thick and shiny I added a little bit of lemon juice and whisked again for 5 seconds.
I added a spoon full for my home made mayo to hard boiled egg yolks mixed with a fork and stuffed the hard boiled egg whites and sprinked a little paprika on each.
I am glad I ate an egg first as there were no leftovers to try later.
Total cost was $2.69 for 16 half deviled eggs with almost a whole cup of tasty Mayo leftover.
I had some friends come over for dinner this weekend. One of the appetizers I was going to make was deviled eggs. I had already hard boiled and peeled the eggs before I realized I did not have any Mayo.
I grabbed two eggs seperated the yolks from the whites, added some (1 tbsp)dijon, (pinch)salt and pepper and whisked together for 10 seconds. I put a wet cloth on the counter and placed the bowl on top of the cloth so the bowl did not spin when the mayo thickened. Then I began to slowly add (1 cup) olive oil while whisking. once the mayo was thick and shiny I added a little bit of lemon juice and whisked again for 5 seconds.
I added a spoon full for my home made mayo to hard boiled egg yolks mixed with a fork and stuffed the hard boiled egg whites and sprinked a little paprika on each.
I am glad I ate an egg first as there were no leftovers to try later.
Total cost was $2.69 for 16 half deviled eggs with almost a whole cup of tasty Mayo leftover.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Chicken Salad Sandwich
I like to keep meals simple.
A few days ago I purchased some chicken that was on sale for a great price. Thighs and legs are the family favorite when it comes to chicken. To add variety I decided that I would chop up some chicken and add some Mayonnaise, celery and mix together. this become the chicken salad that I would use for todays, sandwich. A little leftover romain lettuce for extra green was included to make a fantastic lunch!
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
A few days ago I purchased some chicken that was on sale for a great price. Thighs and legs are the family favorite when it comes to chicken. To add variety I decided that I would chop up some chicken and add some Mayonnaise, celery and mix together. this become the chicken salad that I would use for todays, sandwich. A little leftover romain lettuce for extra green was included to make a fantastic lunch!
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Fantastic Mediterreanean Style Appetizer
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
I want to share with you a great appetizer I made this weekend.
It was really simple to make. I took a square cracker and put a big enough dab of home made Greek yogurt cheese to hold an olive. I drizzled the cheese with a touch of honey, I put a half black olive ontop of the honey added a small piece of artichoke from a can. Finally I took a small piece of procscuitto ham and layed it over top.
This appetizer was fantastic. My earlier post titled "Making Cheese for the Meditereanean Diet " has instructions about how to make cheese.
I want to share with you a great appetizer I made this weekend.
It was really simple to make. I took a square cracker and put a big enough dab of home made Greek yogurt cheese to hold an olive. I drizzled the cheese with a touch of honey, I put a half black olive ontop of the honey added a small piece of artichoke from a can. Finally I took a small piece of procscuitto ham and layed it over top.
This appetizer was fantastic. My earlier post titled "Making Cheese for the Meditereanean Diet " has instructions about how to make cheese.
The Meat Weekend
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
This was a meat filled weekend, There was a great sale on ground meat that was so good I could not pass it by. I purchase 3.69 lbs of hamburger and 1 lb of ground pork sausage. This resulted in ground beef sausage tortilla for breakfast. Mac and cheese meatloaf for a dinner, meatball subs for another meal, and hamburgers on the bbq.
This was a meat filled weekend, There was a great sale on ground meat that was so good I could not pass it by. I purchase 3.69 lbs of hamburger and 1 lb of ground pork sausage. This resulted in ground beef sausage tortilla for breakfast. Mac and cheese meatloaf for a dinner, meatball subs for another meal, and hamburgers on the bbq.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
To Much Food
A couple days ago I wrote an article about to much food.
Yes we are still on the program of feeding four for under $100 a week.
I opened my fridge door a few days ago and I found a lot of food. I had two types of hand made cheese, there was left over home made pizza from Superbowl Sunday, 4 large Meatballs, 4 BBQ chicken pieces, Ceasar salad dressing and a couple heads of Romaine lettuce. There is more but I think you get the idea. We have to eat all this food before it turns bad. The only way this will happen is to stop buying more food for a couple days. Not buying food equals $$$ savings.
Adding Mediterreanean food to your diet can really help your budget!
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
Yes we are still on the program of feeding four for under $100 a week.
I opened my fridge door a few days ago and I found a lot of food. I had two types of hand made cheese, there was left over home made pizza from Superbowl Sunday, 4 large Meatballs, 4 BBQ chicken pieces, Ceasar salad dressing and a couple heads of Romaine lettuce. There is more but I think you get the idea. We have to eat all this food before it turns bad. The only way this will happen is to stop buying more food for a couple days. Not buying food equals $$$ savings.
Adding Mediterreanean food to your diet can really help your budget!
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
Turkey Chipotle Black Bean Soup
Sometimes I think the slow cooker is the greatest kitchen tool in the world. Today I was looking through my cabinets to do an inventory on shopping day. All of a sudden it hit me. I can use up some left overs and just throw it all in the slow cooker. I grabbed a frozen slab of broth and put it in the cooker. Behind the slap was some turkey from Christmas. It also went in . I grabbed all the left over veggies, celery, onion, garlic and put them into the cooker. I added a touch of salt.
I had used all the left over vegetables sitting in my veggie bowl. In the cabinets I found some black bean, about 2/3rds of a cup. I boiled rinsed and added them plus a chipotle cube. I took the dog for a walk and when I came back inside the house smelled amazing. i grabbed a bag of frozen corn and put 2/3 cup of corn in the cooker.
We will eat great tonight.
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
I had used all the left over vegetables sitting in my veggie bowl. In the cabinets I found some black bean, about 2/3rds of a cup. I boiled rinsed and added them plus a chipotle cube. I took the dog for a walk and when I came back inside the house smelled amazing. i grabbed a bag of frozen corn and put 2/3 cup of corn in the cooker.
We will eat great tonight.
You can get a free copy of our book "The Scratch" by sending an email to rickjhenderson@hotmail.com I won't share your email with anybody. The Scratch is about making three great meals to feed your family for under $17
Monday, February 7, 2011
Superbowl Party for $15.00
What an amazing Superbowl game. Congrats to Green Bay. The commercials were fantastic. More importantly I was able to feed everybody for just under $15. We had sausage and pepperoni pizza, Spicy Garlic hummus with home made greek yogurt cheese, olives, artichokes and crackers. Mixed candy for the kids and four different kinds of pop.
Our free new book "The Scratch" is now available for free. It will show you the basics of three great meals you can use to start your new family budget. It has three great meals you can use to feed a family of four for a combined cost of under $16.00.
To receive your copy send me an email. I will not share it with anyone. I will reply and attach a pdf of "The Scratch". You can share this book with anybody as long as it remains unaltered and you do not sell it.
Send an email to me at: rickjhenderson@hotmail.com with "The Scratch in the Subject line.
The Scratch is our newest book and it is Free.
The Scratch is our newest book about feeding a family on a budget. we have made this free book available to help familes like ours get started with three simple dinner meals. These three meals will help you save big dollars when you are ready to start budgeting.
If you would like a copy all you have to do is email me. I understand privacy is a concern for everybody and I promise that I will not share your email with anyone. Everything we do is done manually. I will check my email a couple times a day and send you a pdf file.
The Book is free and you can share it with anybody you like as long as you do not try to sell it.
Simply put "The Scratch" in your subject line and sent to: rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
If you would like a copy all you have to do is email me. I understand privacy is a concern for everybody and I promise that I will not share your email with anyone. Everything we do is done manually. I will check my email a couple times a day and send you a pdf file.
The Book is free and you can share it with anybody you like as long as you do not try to sell it.
Simply put "The Scratch" in your subject line and sent to: rickjhenderson@hotmail.com
Thursday, February 3, 2011
February begins with no money
The last few days have been very interesting. We purchased a few snacks earlier in the week which left us with under $3.00 for 3 days of meals.
Breakfast has been pancakes and lunch peanut butter sandwhiches. Dinner has been a mix of beef and vegetable soup. I found a package of Asian noodles so I scrambled a couple eggs, added vegetables, chicken broth and combined with noodles to make a nice ethnic meal.
My next few days will consist of planning meals that are really inexpensive to make.
It will be available as a free report in the near future.
Breakfast has been pancakes and lunch peanut butter sandwhiches. Dinner has been a mix of beef and vegetable soup. I found a package of Asian noodles so I scrambled a couple eggs, added vegetables, chicken broth and combined with noodles to make a nice ethnic meal.
My next few days will consist of planning meals that are really inexpensive to make.
It will be available as a free report in the near future.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
January 31 Ceasar salad with basil pesto fettuccine and garlic herbed grilled chicken
This morning we had pancakes with apple syrup. I am not a fan of boiled apple but my son ate all the extra apple pieces used to flavor the syrup. Lunch was simple sandwiches of turkey pastrami.Dinner took a bit of effort. I hand made some fettuccine noodles tossed with basil pesto, grilled some chicken with Weber galic herb seasoning, this was accompanied by a ceasar salad.
The pesto was leftovers from marinating the chicken a couple days ago. The ceasar salad dressing was made by hand over a week ago so this part of the dinner was simple. I really wanted some great noodles to eat so I made them by hand with my pasta maker. "You have to get yourself one."
I sprinkled the chicken with the seasoning and grilled them.
We ate half the chicken so I already have cooked meat for tomorrows meal!
The pesto was leftovers from marinating the chicken a couple days ago. The ceasar salad dressing was made by hand over a week ago so this part of the dinner was simple. I really wanted some great noodles to eat so I made them by hand with my pasta maker. "You have to get yourself one."
I sprinkled the chicken with the seasoning and grilled them.
We ate half the chicken so I already have cooked meat for tomorrows meal!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
The Weekend
The Weekend always is a challenge. Part of the family wants to sleep in, another part wants to go out and do stuff. This morning we had a wonderful Meditereanean style breakfast. We had some garlic and cumin infused hummus with pita pieces, black olives, tomato slices, hard salami, avacado, cucumber slices, honey and our home made cheese.
The best part was everybody sitting around the table talking while making their own mini stacks on pita.
Lunch was very simple. Yesterday we took the watery whey and used it to make a couple loaves of foccacia bread. We ate one of those loaves for lunch with olive oil, Basalmic vinegar and dried oregano.
Dinner was the remainder of the Pesto Chicken and Rice.
Sunday we will keep it simple with oatmeal infused with raisin and walnuts.
Lunch and dinner are unknown at this point as I will go to the store in a couple hours.
The best part was everybody sitting around the table talking while making their own mini stacks on pita.
Lunch was very simple. Yesterday we took the watery whey and used it to make a couple loaves of foccacia bread. We ate one of those loaves for lunch with olive oil, Basalmic vinegar and dried oregano.
Dinner was the remainder of the Pesto Chicken and Rice.
Sunday we will keep it simple with oatmeal infused with raisin and walnuts.
Lunch and dinner are unknown at this point as I will go to the store in a couple hours.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Making Cheese for the Meditereanean Diet
My daughter and I have decided that we would attempt to make cheese for this diet. We walked to the store and picked up the milk and lemons. We talked about how this is eductional under the following subjects. Science by adding acid to a milk, Home economics as we compared the price of 3/4lbs of high quality cheese to our cheese. Nutrition as we used milk and lemons, nothing else.
Either way this should be interesting to eat in about 4 more hours.
The below link is where we found this information.
http://www.mediterranean-food-recipes.com/how-to-make-cheese.html
Either way this should be interesting to eat in about 4 more hours.
The below link is where we found this information.
http://www.mediterranean-food-recipes.com/how-to-make-cheese.html
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Mediterranean Diet Day 1
Went to the gorcery store and bought some food for the beginning of our Mediterranean Diet. I will put my list on at the bottom.
The first thing we did last night was make some bruschetta with tomatoes, green onions garlic, and feta. I love this stuff it is so tasty. Later in the evening we had some mixed nuts with raisins. It turned out to be an awesome snack that kept the stomach happy until morning. I took the same nut mixture and added it to oatmeal for a fantastic breakfast. I just finished having a chicken stuffed pita. I kept it simple, lettuce, olives, basil pesto, and Parmesan chicken that I had left over from a couple nights ago.
tonight I will be using the Pesto to marinate some chicken before I bbq it. Foccacia bread with olive oil basalmic dipping sauce with some rice should make for a nice hearty meal.
My grocery list was the following:
The first thing we did last night was make some bruschetta with tomatoes, green onions garlic, and feta. I love this stuff it is so tasty. Later in the evening we had some mixed nuts with raisins. It turned out to be an awesome snack that kept the stomach happy until morning. I took the same nut mixture and added it to oatmeal for a fantastic breakfast. I just finished having a chicken stuffed pita. I kept it simple, lettuce, olives, basil pesto, and Parmesan chicken that I had left over from a couple nights ago.
tonight I will be using the Pesto to marinate some chicken before I bbq it. Foccacia bread with olive oil basalmic dipping sauce with some rice should make for a nice hearty meal.
My grocery list was the following:
1 jar of artichokes, green onion, 2 loaves of wheat bread, 2 packages of pita bread, walnuts,almonds, pine nuts, spaghetti, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, french bread, fresh basil, ground tumeric.
My total came to $39.51
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
My Kitchen The Burger Challenge
On the weekend I decided to give myself another challenge. Much like the T.V. show Survivor, I added a challenge that I think is appropriate to this blog. The challenge is to recreate a meal that we would normally eat when going out to a restaurant. This recreation could be from a fast food chain to a high end eatery. I have to complete this challenge while staying within my budget of $100 a week to feed the family. This may mean substitutions of things such as filet being replaced with ribeye as an example.
My first challenge was to take on In n Out burger. We normally eat 4 double double combos three with onions. The price tag is $23.00 plus tax. Tax differs from state to state so for this challenge I am only looking at the price.
I went to the grocery store and picked up all the ingredients I needed, hamburger buns, lettuce, tomato, onion, egg, Kraft American cheese slices, 1 pound of 80/20 hamburger, potatoes, 4 litres of coke product.
I made 8 patties using my old tupperware patty maker. We sliced the onion and tomatoes. The thousand island dressing and mayo were such small quantities that I added $0.25 to my final total for condiments. I used a sharp kitchen knife to make the french fries. I already have a fryer with oil so I did not count the oil as an expense.
The end result was we were able to make our double double meal combo for $13.74. This created a significant saving of $9.24 compared to the $23 we would of had to pay. I still like In N out but while on budget this will have to do.
Feel free to comment if you think I could do better or if you have suggestions from your favorite restaurant that I should try.
You can read the details of my Burger challenge at Ezinearticles titled "Having a Restaurant in My Home."
My first challenge was to take on In n Out burger. We normally eat 4 double double combos three with onions. The price tag is $23.00 plus tax. Tax differs from state to state so for this challenge I am only looking at the price.
I went to the grocery store and picked up all the ingredients I needed, hamburger buns, lettuce, tomato, onion, egg, Kraft American cheese slices, 1 pound of 80/20 hamburger, potatoes, 4 litres of coke product.
I made 8 patties using my old tupperware patty maker. We sliced the onion and tomatoes. The thousand island dressing and mayo were such small quantities that I added $0.25 to my final total for condiments. I used a sharp kitchen knife to make the french fries. I already have a fryer with oil so I did not count the oil as an expense.
The end result was we were able to make our double double meal combo for $13.74. This created a significant saving of $9.24 compared to the $23 we would of had to pay. I still like In N out but while on budget this will have to do.
Feel free to comment if you think I could do better or if you have suggestions from your favorite restaurant that I should try.
You can read the details of my Burger challenge at Ezinearticles titled "Having a Restaurant in My Home."
Friday, January 21, 2011
No more food Please
We have been eating the same foods for a couple weeks now. This morning we had pancakes and over easy eggs. Right now my food supplies are getting very low. I have been using leftovers for the last couple days. Running out of food kinda has me excited and nervous. In my feed a family of four for a $100 a week meal plan requires me to use the same ingredients throughout a variety of meals. Running out of food simply means I will be free to change the primary ingredients.
This change will allow us to focus on a new menu. My options are unlimited as I can cook just about anything.
I will head to the store today with 60% of my budget.My stomach tells me Italian and BBQ will enter the food chain.
This change will allow us to focus on a new menu. My options are unlimited as I can cook just about anything.
I will head to the store today with 60% of my budget.My stomach tells me Italian and BBQ will enter the food chain.
January 20th Dinner Turkey Soup
I am getting a little excited as I go through this week. I am trying to use up a majority of the left overs I have accumulated over the past few weeks. This morning I pulled some frozen turkey breast out of the freezer for a turkey soup. I also grabbed a frozen portion of broth. Everything went into the slow cooker for dinner. I added some onion, garlic, poultry seasoning and a chipotle cube. With an hour left I added assoted frozen vegetables. With 20 mminutes left I took the rest of my homemade pasta noodles from the Lasagna and tore them into pieces slightly bigger than my thumb and put them into the soup.
I turned out fantastic. I put a little hot sauce in for some extra flavor.
I turned out fantastic. I put a little hot sauce in for some extra flavor.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
January 20th Breakfast Yogurt
This was a simple one, I had a free sample of Kellogs granola, we mixed it with the yogurt and had a nice breakfast.
I like easy breakfast with not a lot of clean up afterwards
I like easy breakfast with not a lot of clean up afterwards
January 19 Dinner Pepperoni Lasagna
I went for the gusto last night, Pepperoni lasagna, I looked in my kitchen cabinets and fridge for ingredients. I found some pepperoni left over from pizza night and the remainder of a jar of pasta sauce that I had used on the pizza a couple nights earlier. There was also a little Parmesan cheese 1/8 of a regular sized jar.
I went to the store and picked up:
1 pound of sausage
1 container of Riccotta
1 bag of Mozza cheese (2 cups)
I broke out my pasta maker that I received for Xmas and made the pasta dough. I assembled the lasagna just like you would any other kind of lasagna and baked it.
Total cost for me was $6.77 for a 2.5LBS meal. I did notice the grocery store had a 5LBS lasagna for $11.78 which is actually cheaper than mine but I think mine would taste much better.
I went to the store and picked up:
1 pound of sausage
1 container of Riccotta
1 bag of Mozza cheese (2 cups)
I broke out my pasta maker that I received for Xmas and made the pasta dough. I assembled the lasagna just like you would any other kind of lasagna and baked it.
Total cost for me was $6.77 for a 2.5LBS meal. I did notice the grocery store had a 5LBS lasagna for $11.78 which is actually cheaper than mine but I think mine would taste much better.
The Start of a Different and New Week
This week will be different from the other weeks. The family has begun to notice the repitition of food what. While some foods have to be used to keep within budget I am changing what I do with the ingredients.
Follow along and feel free to make suggestions in the comment area!
Eggs we like to eat eggs. Yesterday I hard boiled a dozen eggs to make egg salad for sandwiches. If your eggs ever come out with green yolks then this recipe may help.
1) Fill pot with cold tap water.
2) Poke a hole in each egg with a hole poker.
3) Put eggs into pot
4) Turn burner to high, When water begins to boil set timer for 8 minutes.
5) Replace hot water with cold tap water, repeat every 5 minutes until eggs have become cool.
6) Peel eggs!
My egg yolks are always yellow.
Follow along and feel free to make suggestions in the comment area!
Eggs we like to eat eggs. Yesterday I hard boiled a dozen eggs to make egg salad for sandwiches. If your eggs ever come out with green yolks then this recipe may help.
1) Fill pot with cold tap water.
2) Poke a hole in each egg with a hole poker.
3) Put eggs into pot
4) Turn burner to high, When water begins to boil set timer for 8 minutes.
5) Replace hot water with cold tap water, repeat every 5 minutes until eggs have become cool.
6) Peel eggs!
My egg yolks are always yellow.
January 15th - 18th meal plan
This week has so far been the same as other weeks so I did not blog anything. We did go on vacation to San Diego for a couple days and were still able to stay in our budget by grocery shopping there.
Friday, January 14, 2011
January 14th Breakfast
The Cheerios are gone, the peanut butter and chocolate flavored cereal is gone. I had toast with peanut butter.
I will have to go shopping again. Tomorrow we will do the "Chez Henderson" restaurant breakfast thing.
I pretend to be a restaurant and cook them a meal as if we went out to eat. Saves me a bundle!
I will have to go shopping again. Tomorrow we will do the "Chez Henderson" restaurant breakfast thing.
I pretend to be a restaurant and cook them a meal as if we went out to eat. Saves me a bundle!
January 13th Dinner Steak Fajitas
These were awesome. I stir fried some onion, peppers and shredded some of the beef from yesterdays roast. Added some taco seasoning and some shredded cheese on the side with diced tomatoes lettuce and baked tater tots.
This was a feast I have left over tortillas and fajita meat. I will use it for a hot lunch.
This was a feast I have left over tortillas and fajita meat. I will use it for a hot lunch.
January 13th Lunch PBJ
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We ate them off paper plates, no mess and only a knife to clean later!
January 13th Breakfast Cereal and Toast
We are a big eaters of peanut butter.
This morning it was on our toast, my daughter had peanut butter and chocolate flavored cereal and the youngest had honey nut Cheerios.
Simple, easy and not alot of clean up afterwards
This morning it was on our toast, my daughter had peanut butter and chocolate flavored cereal and the youngest had honey nut Cheerios.
Simple, easy and not alot of clean up afterwards
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
January 12 Grocery list
For the next three days our flexible meal plan included steak fajitas, roast beef with veggies and mashed potatoes, Some salads and a pudding desert. Cereal will be the theme for this week coming up and the left over beef will make a very nice stew.
Here is my lastest grocery list.
2 LBS Apples
1 Yellow Onion
1 Green Onion
1.2 LBS Roma Tomatoes
2.5LBS Navel Oranges
1PKG store brand Flour Tortillas (12)
1 flat of 30 large eggs
3 loafs of Store brand wheat bread
1 loaf Honey Oat Bread
12 Store brand yogurts
1 Beef Roast
I PKG Chicken Thigh and Leg
1 Gallon of Milk 1%
1 Bottle Olive oil
1 Bottle pancake syrup
1 Box Honey Nut Cheerios
1 Box Store brand Fusion cereal
1 jar Store brand Peanut Butter
1 PKG store brand Walnuts
1 PKG store brand sugar free instant pudding
Total cost of groceries $59.27
Here is my lastest grocery list.
2 LBS Apples
1 Yellow Onion
1 Green Onion
1.2 LBS Roma Tomatoes
2.5LBS Navel Oranges
1PKG store brand Flour Tortillas (12)
1 flat of 30 large eggs
3 loafs of Store brand wheat bread
1 loaf Honey Oat Bread
12 Store brand yogurts
1 Beef Roast
I PKG Chicken Thigh and Leg
1 Gallon of Milk 1%
1 Bottle Olive oil
1 Bottle pancake syrup
1 Box Honey Nut Cheerios
1 Box Store brand Fusion cereal
1 jar Store brand Peanut Butter
1 PKG store brand Walnuts
1 PKG store brand sugar free instant pudding
Total cost of groceries $59.27
Janaury 12 Breakfast Variety
The adults had oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar.
One kid had Corn flakes the other had one eggs scrambled with shredded cheese left over from the tacos with the last slice of chopped ham.
One kid had Corn flakes the other had one eggs scrambled with shredded cheese left over from the tacos with the last slice of chopped ham.
January 12 Dinner Stir Fry
Deep in the back of my cupboards sits a package of noodles I purchased at an Asian store a while back. I thought to myself this would be a good time to mix noodles with a lot of different left over foods in my fridge and cover it with a sauce.
I boiled some water and began cooking the noodles.
I chopped most of the onion, some celery, garlic, carrots and put them into a fry pan. when they were almost done I add some fish sauce then the noodles.
Let them cook in the pan for a few minutes until well coated and it ws dinner time.
They loved it.
I boiled some water and began cooking the noodles.
I chopped most of the onion, some celery, garlic, carrots and put them into a fry pan. when they were almost done I add some fish sauce then the noodles.
Let them cook in the pan for a few minutes until well coated and it ws dinner time.
They loved it.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Janaury 11 Inventory / left overs
I looked at my food supply and noticed I have a whole lot of little items sitting in my fridge and cupboards.
It is time to get creative. I can hold off for possibly another day if I plan out my meals based on what is left.
The slow cooker will come into use and possibly a stir fry with those left over chicken nuggets.
I love a challenge, so follow along with us!
It is time to get creative. I can hold off for possibly another day if I plan out my meals based on what is left.
The slow cooker will come into use and possibly a stir fry with those left over chicken nuggets.
I love a challenge, so follow along with us!
January 11th Breakfast Toast and Cereal
We had toast with peanut butter, jam or honey and the last of the Honey nut Cheerios,
This is Tuesday the last day of the week. I took a brief accounting of what is still around for food and there is a lot of partial packages of food.
This is Tuesday the last day of the week. I took a brief accounting of what is still around for food and there is a lot of partial packages of food.
January 10th BCS National Championship Meal
I had to go to the grocery store for this one. I took all my left over money with me about $11. I knew I needed Pepperoni for pizza. I was hoping to find some sort of chicken wing or nugget and I need a desert.
the result was I found some pepperoni, chicken nuggets and store brand ice cream all for $7.01
I walked the groceries home made the pizza by hand ( my first pizza post has the recipe) cooked it in the oven with 30 out of the 50 nuggets (this leaves me something for a latter date). We washed it down with sugar free grape drink and completely polished off the whole pail of ice cream at half time.
Great meal, great game with a lot of quality family time for only a couple bucks.
the result was I found some pepperoni, chicken nuggets and store brand ice cream all for $7.01
I walked the groceries home made the pizza by hand ( my first pizza post has the recipe) cooked it in the oven with 30 out of the 50 nuggets (this leaves me something for a latter date). We washed it down with sugar free grape drink and completely polished off the whole pail of ice cream at half time.
Great meal, great game with a lot of quality family time for only a couple bucks.
January 10th Lunch Buffalo chicken sandwich
I like it spicey every once in a while for my sandwich. I had picked up some buffalo flavoured chicken lunch meat. I had this with some lettuce and tomato. I looked just like the fast food chains make but tasted better. I cooled my mouth off with a yogurt.
January 10th Breakfast
Oatmeal with raisins and walnuts for the adults Honey Nut Cheerios and toast with peanut butter and honey.
Nice and simple!
Nice and simple!
The Weekend
The weekend is an anything goes when it comes to meals.
I had done some baking a little while back. i used bisquick to make a dough that I lined in a 12unit muffin tin.
The filling I used was beaten eggs with chopped ham and peper jack cheese. first I baked the crust until lightly golden brown. Let cool then added my egg mixture and baked again. Once they had cooled I put them into a freezer bag.
Sunday morning we popped them into the microwave and feasted on them.
Lunch was macaroni and cheese, not from a box
Dinner was hamburgers again with a corn tortilla soup.
I baked some frozen kernals of corn in my toaster oven, while they were baking I put a little oil in a pot added some chopped onion garlic and annato seeds. Added the baked corn the left over chicken broth from earlier in the week with a little water. I peeled and diced up two potatoes added them with the old corn tortillas that I had dried out earlier in the week. Brought this all to a boil and then let simmer for 10 minutes.
Tasty!
I had done some baking a little while back. i used bisquick to make a dough that I lined in a 12unit muffin tin.
The filling I used was beaten eggs with chopped ham and peper jack cheese. first I baked the crust until lightly golden brown. Let cool then added my egg mixture and baked again. Once they had cooled I put them into a freezer bag.
Sunday morning we popped them into the microwave and feasted on them.
Lunch was macaroni and cheese, not from a box
Dinner was hamburgers again with a corn tortilla soup.
I baked some frozen kernals of corn in my toaster oven, while they were baking I put a little oil in a pot added some chopped onion garlic and annato seeds. Added the baked corn the left over chicken broth from earlier in the week with a little water. I peeled and diced up two potatoes added them with the old corn tortillas that I had dried out earlier in the week. Brought this all to a boil and then let simmer for 10 minutes.
Tasty!
January 8th Dinner Burgers
Our family loves hamburgers. I decided that we would have hamburgers with Pastrami. The way I like to make the meat patties is pretty simple. In a large bowl I put one beaten egg with 1LB of ground meat. mix together with my hands and form four 1/4LB patties. Occasionally I will add other seasonings but for the most part that is how we do it. Lettuce, tomato onion are the toppings.
I grill the burgers and add any cheese in the fridge to the patties right after they come off the grill.
Then we eat!
I grill the burgers and add any cheese in the fridge to the patties right after they come off the grill.
Then we eat!
Monday, January 10, 2011
January 8th Lunch Pasta and Meatball
We love to eat pasta in our family, some days I make it from scratch other days like today it comes out of a box. I use Tyler Florence recipe from one of his shows. I soak a couple pieces of bread in milk for approximately 10 minutes. Squeeze the milk out and drain. Add the 1/2 pork and 1/2 hamburger, this is usually 1LB packages. mix it all together and makes 8 loarge meat balls. Don't forget to stick your finger right through the middle of the meat ball so it can cook all the way through.
I cook the meat balls by browning them on the outside. I foolow this by adding the sauce and continue to cook on low heat if I use non-stick or in the oven at 350 if I use a heavy duty pan. I cook the pasta in a pot of water and give everybody a plate with 1 large meat ball.
the other 4 meatballs I freeze for another meal.
I cook the meat balls by browning them on the outside. I foolow this by adding the sauce and continue to cook on low heat if I use non-stick or in the oven at 350 if I use a heavy duty pan. I cook the pasta in a pot of water and give everybody a plate with 1 large meat ball.
the other 4 meatballs I freeze for another meal.
January 8th Grocery list+ a Decadent Snack
I had to go to the store to get a couple things, the main item i needed was milk and yogurt.
I walked into the store and headed to the self checkout where they I always find a hand held basket.
I grabbed the following items.
6 yogurts
Nestle Morsel chocolate chips
1 Gallon of milk
Total bill was $7.01
Every once in a while the family needs something decadent to snack on. the chips will be used to make biscotti later today.
I walked into the store and headed to the self checkout where they I always find a hand held basket.
I grabbed the following items.
6 yogurts
Nestle Morsel chocolate chips
1 Gallon of milk
Total bill was $7.01
Every once in a while the family needs something decadent to snack on. the chips will be used to make biscotti later today.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
January 8th Breakfast Time for a Change
Eggs, home made shredded hash browns, chopped ham and toast. The breakfast great days are built on. For us, this is almost the same thing we eat everyday except substitute hash browns for pancakes. I think part of the secret for sustaining a budget like this is to not always cook the same things week in week out.
January 7th Dinner Butter Chicken "Bust"
Normally I would post what we had for dinner. This dinner was an adventure into something new. In my head, the plan was to take all the left over rice from two previous meals and combine them with fresh rice this rice would be covered with yummy butter chicken. I made the unfortunate mistake of using Chinese five spice instead of garam masala. the taste was completely off. We still ate the meal but I won't be doing that again without all the proper ingredients.
Friday, January 7, 2011
January 7th Breakfast Cereal and Toast
Everybody had something different but easy for breakfast
- 1 bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios
- 1 bowl of mixed Hoeny nut Cheerios and Corn flakes.
- 1 bowl of Oatmeal
- 2 pieces of toast and honey
January 6th Dinner Fried Rice
HEat some canola oi, sesame oil and chili oill in a pot add chopped onion annato seeds ( tumeric works aslo but add after rice) then garlic. Sweat onions until almost clear. Add the 1.5 cups of rice and stir unti coated. Add 3 cups water heat until boiling then turn off heat keep the lid on. When Rice is almost fully cooked add 1/4 cup fish sauce.
In a frying pan add oil onion, tomato, celery, green pepper and saute. Add two eggs then your favourite leftover chopped meat (turkey). Continue to cook until everything is hot.
Spread Rice on plate and cover with stir fry.
The desert was simple, Jello pudding that I made earlier during the day. I made one batch of chocoalte and poured it into white wine glasses and let set. Then I made a second batch Banana and poured on top of the chocolate pudding and let set
In a frying pan add oil onion, tomato, celery, green pepper and saute. Add two eggs then your favourite leftover chopped meat (turkey). Continue to cook until everything is hot.
Spread Rice on plate and cover with stir fry.
The desert was simple, Jello pudding that I made earlier during the day. I made one batch of chocoalte and poured it into white wine glasses and let set. Then I made a second batch Banana and poured on top of the chocolate pudding and let set
January 6th Lunch Egg Salad with Yogurt Parfait
We enjoy this simple lunch all the time.
Whole wheat bread, a couple hard boiled eggs with chopped celery and ollive oil Mayo. The yogurt parfait is one yogurt cup and 1/4 cup of honey almond granola. Simple quick and easy!
Whole wheat bread, a couple hard boiled eggs with chopped celery and ollive oil Mayo. The yogurt parfait is one yogurt cup and 1/4 cup of honey almond granola. Simple quick and easy!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
January 6th Grocery list
A lot of great meals will come out of this grocery list. Plus the food that is already in my cupboards, fridge and freezer from previous weeks.
5LBS Flour
12 Yogurts
2LBS Rice
Baby Carrots
Colby Jack Cheese shredded 4 cups
Mozzarella Cheese shredded 4cups
1 yellow onion
1 red onion
1 bell pepper
grape sugar free powder mix
flavored coffee cream 40 oz
2 jello puddings
half and half cream 1qt
1 mountain 2litre
1Pepsi 2 litre
Coffee
1LB turkey pastrami
1LB chopped ham
Garlic clove
Roma tomatoes
Dozen eggs
Total cost of groceries $54.65
5LBS Flour
12 Yogurts
2LBS Rice
Baby Carrots
Colby Jack Cheese shredded 4 cups
Mozzarella Cheese shredded 4cups
1 yellow onion
1 red onion
1 bell pepper
grape sugar free powder mix
flavored coffee cream 40 oz
2 jello puddings
half and half cream 1qt
1 mountain 2litre
1Pepsi 2 litre
Coffee
1LB turkey pastrami
1LB chopped ham
Garlic clove
Roma tomatoes
Dozen eggs
Total cost of groceries $54.65
January 6th Breakfast
My kids love pancakes, They could eat them every day if I let them. I make them from scratch with my large electric skillet which cooks 8 at a time. Total cost is about $2
2 eggs beaten
11/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil mix all together.
11/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients together with whisk
Pour 8 pancakes on hot greased skillet
When cooked, remove and keep warm (usually right under skillet) big pat of butter add 4 slices of your favorite ham and eggs)
Serve
Sometimes I make my own syrup
1.5 cups water bring to boil add sliced banana and cook for 3-4 minutes remove banana pieces and add 1 cup sugar without stirring and a little vanilla. cook for 3 minutes or until almost starts to turn brown. turn off heat transfer to measuring glass for easy pouring! Try it with your kids favourite fruit they will like it!
2 eggs beaten
11/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil mix all together.
11/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients together with whisk
Pour 8 pancakes on hot greased skillet
When cooked, remove and keep warm (usually right under skillet) big pat of butter add 4 slices of your favorite ham and eggs)
Serve
Sometimes I make my own syrup
1.5 cups water bring to boil add sliced banana and cook for 3-4 minutes remove banana pieces and add 1 cup sugar without stirring and a little vanilla. cook for 3 minutes or until almost starts to turn brown. turn off heat transfer to measuring glass for easy pouring! Try it with your kids favourite fruit they will like it!
January 5th Dinner Soup & Pizza
I always have broth from my slow cooker sitting in the fridge. I simply put it in the slow cooker in the morning on low. When I get home I turn it to high. Grab a bowl and scramble three eggs and add 1 cup of parmesian cheese and mix well. Add this to the soup, stir gently turn off slow cooker and let sit for 5 minutes. Soup is ready to serve.
It is amazing how cheap pizza is to make. You have to learn how to make pizza dough which really is not that hard here is the recipe.
1 cup warm water, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of yeast. I normally add 1/4 cup of flour to the wet mixture and wait 5 minutes. Then I add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time until I get a nice sticky but firm ball of dough. Knead it for 3 minutes on a floured surface and roll out onto baking sheet aand let rest for 10 minutes.
Next I spread pasta sauce that I saved from Pasta night all over the dough. Add my 6 chopped ham slices, cover with store brand shredded cheese and finally put any other topping I might like or find in the fridge. Bake in oven at 450F until golden brown. take out of oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before cutting.
Truly a fantastic dinner. If you want to slurge a $3 Cabernet Sauvignon goes very well with the soup!
It is amazing how cheap pizza is to make. You have to learn how to make pizza dough which really is not that hard here is the recipe.
1 cup warm water, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of yeast. I normally add 1/4 cup of flour to the wet mixture and wait 5 minutes. Then I add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time until I get a nice sticky but firm ball of dough. Knead it for 3 minutes on a floured surface and roll out onto baking sheet aand let rest for 10 minutes.
Next I spread pasta sauce that I saved from Pasta night all over the dough. Add my 6 chopped ham slices, cover with store brand shredded cheese and finally put any other topping I might like or find in the fridge. Bake in oven at 450F until golden brown. take out of oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before cutting.
Truly a fantastic dinner. If you want to slurge a $3 Cabernet Sauvignon goes very well with the soup!
January 5th Lunch Turkey Pastrami Sandwich with Yogurt Parfait
We enjoy this simple lunch all the time.
Whole wheat bread, a couple slices of Turkey Pastrami, lettuce and spicy brown mustard. The yogurt parfait is one yogurt cup and 1/4 cup of honey almond granola. Simple quick and easy!
Whole wheat bread, a couple slices of Turkey Pastrami, lettuce and spicy brown mustard. The yogurt parfait is one yogurt cup and 1/4 cup of honey almond granola. Simple quick and easy!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
January 5th Breakfast Pancakes
My kids love pancakes, I make them from scratch with my large electric skillet which cooks 8 at a time.
2 eggs beaten
11/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil mix all together.
11/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients together with whisk
Pour 8 pancakes on hot greased skillet
When cooked, remove and keep warm (usually right under skillet) big pat of butter add 4 slices of your favorite ham and eggs)
Serve
Sometimes I make my own syrup
1.5 cups water bring to boil add sliced banana and cook for 3-4 minutes remove banana pieces and add 1 cup sugar without stirring and a little vanilla. cook for 3 minutes or until almost starts to turn brown. turn off heat transfer to measuring glass for easy pouring! Try it with your kids favourite fruit they will like it!
2 eggs beaten
11/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil mix all together.
11/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients together with whisk
Pour 8 pancakes on hot greased skillet
When cooked, remove and keep warm (usually right under skillet) big pat of butter add 4 slices of your favorite ham and eggs)
Serve
Sometimes I make my own syrup
1.5 cups water bring to boil add sliced banana and cook for 3-4 minutes remove banana pieces and add 1 cup sugar without stirring and a little vanilla. cook for 3 minutes or until almost starts to turn brown. turn off heat transfer to measuring glass for easy pouring! Try it with your kids favourite fruit they will like it!
January 4th Dinner Tamales
Take your 1/2 Ribeye pork roast, spanish rice and pork broth out of the fridge.
Soak 10 corn husks in warm water for 10 minutes
Gently heat pork broth
In a mixing bowl add dry ingredients; pinch of salt and tablespoon of baking powder and 2 cups of instant masa corn flour.
Combine with liquid and set aside.
Cut the pork roast into small slices
Flatten the corn husk, grab a handful of the dough to place on corn husk. Sprinkle some pork meat on dough and roll up (like sushi) put into steamer, I use a pasta pot with a perforated insert. repeat and set timer for 60 minutes.
With 10 minutes left on the timer I reheat the remaining Rice and a can of refried beans.
Plate the rice, beans, take the tamales out and unroll them onto the plate (2 per person)
Soak 10 corn husks in warm water for 10 minutes
Gently heat pork broth
In a mixing bowl add dry ingredients; pinch of salt and tablespoon of baking powder and 2 cups of instant masa corn flour.
Combine with liquid and set aside.
Cut the pork roast into small slices
Flatten the corn husk, grab a handful of the dough to place on corn husk. Sprinkle some pork meat on dough and roll up (like sushi) put into steamer, I use a pasta pot with a perforated insert. repeat and set timer for 60 minutes.
With 10 minutes left on the timer I reheat the remaining Rice and a can of refried beans.
Plate the rice, beans, take the tamales out and unroll them onto the plate (2 per person)
January 4th Lunch Turkey Sandwich with Spinach Salad
Turkey Sandwich with Spinach Salad
Hard Boil three eggs
Put whole in each egg and place in pot add cold water and place on burner (high) once water comes to a boil set timer for 8 minutes. When Timer buzzes, drain and add cold tap water and let cool down repeat this three times until eggs are cool. (This technique keeps the yolks yellow instead of turning them green).
Slice
Add spinach, olives and dressing
Turkey Sandwich
2 slices of grain bread, 2 slices of Turkey ( I get mine cut a little thicker than normal) lettuce I add substantially more lettuce if I am not having the salad, tomatoe plus a little mayo and mustard.
Hard Boil three eggs
Put whole in each egg and place in pot add cold water and place on burner (high) once water comes to a boil set timer for 8 minutes. When Timer buzzes, drain and add cold tap water and let cool down repeat this three times until eggs are cool. (This technique keeps the yolks yellow instead of turning them green).
Slice
Add spinach, olives and dressing
Turkey Sandwich
2 slices of grain bread, 2 slices of Turkey ( I get mine cut a little thicker than normal) lettuce I add substantially more lettuce if I am not having the salad, tomatoe plus a little mayo and mustard.
January 4 Breakfast Scrambled Eggs with Toast and Ham
Scrambled Eggs with Toast and Ham
6 eggs whisked in bowl with 4 oz of milk,
Heat non stick pan to medium high add pat of butter or margarine pour in eggs cook for a minute reduce heat to low plate justbefore eggs are fully cooked (they will continue to cook while on the a plate).
Put anther pat of butter in the pan and lightly cook sliced ham and serve.
(Hint) I put bread in toaster right before the eggs go into the pan, usually the toast is ready right after the eggs, but I take toast out of the toaster as the ham cooks)
6 eggs whisked in bowl with 4 oz of milk,
Heat non stick pan to medium high add pat of butter or margarine pour in eggs cook for a minute reduce heat to low plate justbefore eggs are fully cooked (they will continue to cook while on the a plate).
Put anther pat of butter in the pan and lightly cook sliced ham and serve.
(Hint) I put bread in toaster right before the eggs go into the pan, usually the toast is ready right after the eggs, but I take toast out of the toaster as the ham cooks)
January 3 Dinner Tacos with Spanish Rice and Refried Beans
Made a nice Mexican dinner last night
1.5cups uncooked rice with half can of whole tomatoes with ½ cup of mixed frozen veggies
1 can of refried beans
12 hard tacos
10 soft corn tortillas
½ bag shredded cheddar
shredded lettuce
1/3 bunch of Cilantro
Ribeye Pork roast (small one for under $4)
- Marinade Pork roast in left over cold coffee for 4 hours with a pinch of salt
- Cut up half onion into big chunks plus three cloves of garlic mashed
- Take pork out of marinade and place into slow coocker on top of onion. Add water until covered turn on low cook until internal temp reaches 180F. 4 Hours or more depending on your crockpot.
- Rice takes approximately 20 minutes. So time accordingly.1.5 cup of rice to 1 cup of water.
- Put half can of whole tomatoes in blender add tacos spice seasoning 2-4 tablespoons Puree.
- When water begins to boil added blended tomatoes and ½ cup frozen veggies. Wait another minute for water to boil again reduce heat to low and simmer.
- Take pork out of crock pot and let rest.
- Chop lettuce, chop Cilantro and plate with shredded cheese.
- Pork should be ready to slice. Cut the roast in half and put ½ away in fridge for another day. Slice the remaining pork thin and put some in each hard and soft taco.
- Put 3-4 tacos on a plate with a scoop of refried beans and a scoop of Mexican rice and serve.
Keep the broth from the slow cooker in a storage container for another meal!
You should have half the rice leftover, put in storage container for another meal!
You should have half the rice leftover, put in storage container for another meal!
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