The next step in the preparation for grocery shopping is to negotiate the list. For me, that means asking my family what they want. This is like any business negotiation. I have them bring to the "table" five meals and five items that they want. This gives them a voice in the shopping and a chance to help plan some of the meals. If they give me five meals each - that's ten meals that have been planned with little hassle. I don't mean that they have to plan the entire meal - more just give me entrees. Have they been craving mac and cheese? Do they really miss having stroganoff? Would they kill for the summer's last watermelon?
More importantly, it gives them some feeling of control. When the budget is tight, meals can get boring fast - pots of soups, beans or days of the same meals over and over again because you can make a huge batch for so little cost. That may feel like a solution but it's not a good long term solution. What we are looking for is a long term solution. You don't have to skimp always and I will talk about splurging and when and why I do it at a later date. If you have a good basis then when the money is less tight you can stick to your plan but add to it.
Yesterday I talked about meal planning some. When planning for a month of meals, plan for back-ups. You may envision making amazing time consuming dishes because they are the least expensive and you have the time. Except life happens, these are the times when it's far too easy to order a pizza or slip off to McDonalds because you can't think about what to make for dinner. You have to plan for back-ups. For us, pasta is a back-up plan. When we can't think what to make for dinner we have spaghetti - sometimes marinara and sometimes carbonara. Sometimes I make fried rice or bean burritos. This is easy because we always have the ingredients in our pantry (and I know they are there because they are listed on my Kitchen Inventory).
What happens when what your family wants doesn't meet your budget? I never say "no", I say "what can I make to substitute?". My husband loves soda. It's not in the budget and it's not really healthy so I can't justify buying him soda. Last month was his birthday so he used the Walmart gift card from his family to buy his soda but there's no windfall this month. We talked and decided that Kool-aid would be a good substitute. I made sure to add Kool-aid (.10 each) and extra sugar ($5 and change for 10 pds) to the list. Now the price of the sugar is a little steep but it allows me to make more than just Kool-aid. As we go into winter, we're going to want more baked goods. It cuts a little from my shopping this month but I can make up for it next month.
My son loves milk. Right now we're doing powdered milk but I always by a fresh gallon during my shopping trip. I got to thinking about the previous month and shortfalls. A two pound brick of cheese didn't last the whole month. We were given a brick of cheese from my dad but it's Velvetta-like cheese and my son hates it. I use the cheese in sauces and he doesn't mind but he's commented on more than one occasion that he really wanted real cheese. So I went to him - what would you prefer a gallon of milk or an extra brick of cheese? Now - it's more for the cheese than the milk but the cheese would last longer so I felt it was a good trade off. He thought for a minute and said he would prefer extra cheese to the fresh milk.
After talking with my family, I make my list. It's never a very long list because the goal is to cut down the shopping cost. I look for things that can be stretched over several meals, like the cheese.
Now as I head to the store, I don't keep my list rigid. I allow for other negotiations to occur. I may have hamburger on my list but, at the store, find that it's far more expensive than my budget allows for. At that time, I have to have a back-up plan. Can I alter the menu ideas using less expensive ingredients or is there something else I can drop to make up for the extra expense?
Tomorrow, I'll talk about what to do when you actually make it to the store that will help maintain your budget and your plan.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Easy Breadmachine Bread Recipe
I couldn't believe how easy this was and how nicely we ended up with a loaf of bread. The only problem I ran into was that I wasn't patient when it came to cutting the loaf. I should have waited for it to cool before cutting. Hot bread is great for eating with butter - not so great for slicing for sandwiches (we ended up eating open face sandwiches because the bread was so thick).
We have a borrowed breadmaker from my cousin so I wasn't quite sure how it was going to work. The recipe was a little small for the maker and ended up cooking the crust darker than I would have liked. However, that is adjustable so I will make sure to cook the bread on a lighter setting. I thought about altering the recipe to make a bigger loaf but I think the size was perfect for my family - remember homemade bread does not have the same preservatives as store bought bread and will go bad faster (that is if you don't devour it while it's still hot). Feel free to substitute the honey for sugar but do not leave it out (the yeast needs sugar to make the bread rise). You can split the AP flour with some wheat but it won't be the same bread and you may need to alter the liquid. I'm gonna try it with Whole White Wheat and see if it comes out without too much trouble.
Sandwich Bread
1 cup warm water (should feel comfortable to the touch, not too hot)
2 TB oil or melted butter
2 TB honey
3 cups AP or Bread Flour
2 1/4 teas yeast (or one packet)
Staring with the water, layer the ingredients into the canister of a breadmaker. Set on white bread and let run. In about 3 1/2 - 4 hours (depending on maker) you'll have a loaf of bread. Remove from maker and tip canister upside down on clean counter or plate to remove bread. Let cool before slicing.
We have a borrowed breadmaker from my cousin so I wasn't quite sure how it was going to work. The recipe was a little small for the maker and ended up cooking the crust darker than I would have liked. However, that is adjustable so I will make sure to cook the bread on a lighter setting. I thought about altering the recipe to make a bigger loaf but I think the size was perfect for my family - remember homemade bread does not have the same preservatives as store bought bread and will go bad faster (that is if you don't devour it while it's still hot). Feel free to substitute the honey for sugar but do not leave it out (the yeast needs sugar to make the bread rise). You can split the AP flour with some wheat but it won't be the same bread and you may need to alter the liquid. I'm gonna try it with Whole White Wheat and see if it comes out without too much trouble.
Sandwich Bread
1 cup warm water (should feel comfortable to the touch, not too hot)
2 TB oil or melted butter
2 TB honey
3 cups AP or Bread Flour
2 1/4 teas yeast (or one packet)
Staring with the water, layer the ingredients into the canister of a breadmaker. Set on white bread and let run. In about 3 1/2 - 4 hours (depending on maker) you'll have a loaf of bread. Remove from maker and tip canister upside down on clean counter or plate to remove bread. Let cool before slicing.
Grocery Shopping 1: The Plan
Having a grocery shopping plan is not the same as having a list. A list helps but there needs to be more if you are going to keep your shopping with-in your budget.
One tool I have been using is my Kitchen Inventory. Quick recap from the post about that - KI is an excel spreadsheet broken into areas in my kitchen and food groups that gives me a fairly accurate account of what I have or do not have stored, along with the last price I spent. I made a mistake this past month in not printing the KI after I had inputted prices. I had taken the document with me as I shopped but I didn't have the prices to compare (and was shocked at how drastically some changed). That won't happen again since I am finally understanding how best to use this.
What the KI does, aside from price comparison, is tells me what we use and gives me ideas how to combine new items with the old to make a meal. For example, staples - tortillas, cheese; ingredients at home - diced chiles, green salsa. If I buy a can of refried beans, we could have bean burritoes or I can buy some meat and make tacos or different burritoes. There's no second guessing about what we have and what we don't have.
I mentioned that tortillas and cheese are staples. Using the KI, I can determine what foods are necessary in my family and what we don't use as fast as I thought and what we don't really use at all. I make notes on my KI so I know when we didn't like something or a brand. That will save me money because I am not buying something we won't use.
For us - staples are pasta, tortillas, cheese, flour, sugar, eggs, peanut butter, Nucoa, rice, yeast and garlic. With those items in our house, we will always have something to eat. They are also what I replace before I replace anything else.
Then I plan meals - I don't do a hard plan like: 1st Roast chicken with mashed potatoes, green beans; 2nd meatloaf, green salad; etc. I take what I know we like and think of additional meals we might like to have. We love pasta so I plan for spaghetti with marinara, pasta carbonara, mac and cheese. Note: I don't buy processed foods. They may feel like a bargain but in the end they are not. I may be able to purchase a box of mac and cheese for 50 cents but it could take as many as 3 boxes to feed my family without taking in account the milk or the butter. For $1 I can buy a pound of elbow macaroni, use powdered milk (free), 1/2 stick Nucoa (.20), flour and 1/3 pd of cheese (.86) making the whole amount 2.06 vs the cost of the box mac and cheese. That might not feel like a bargain compared to the 1.50 but think of this - the homemade mac and cheese will be more filling and more nutritious. There's less sodium. I can easily alter either mac and cheese to include veggies and meat but with the homemade - I can make extra sauce to use for lunches or dinner the next night. That extra .50 can make a big difference. More importantly, all the ingredients for the mac and cheese are included in my staples so I don't have to really think about what to make.
The last Plan tip I'm gonna share today: traditional American meals of meat, vegetable, starch are expensive and lack nutritional variety. Think past the traditional dinner and start thinking one dish meals. Not everything we eat is one dish but when you start thinking in this manner all sorts of things open up. Meat and fresh produce are some of the most expensive items in the grocery store. Shopping in season and sales will help but I find that creative one dish cooking helps more.
One tool I have been using is my Kitchen Inventory. Quick recap from the post about that - KI is an excel spreadsheet broken into areas in my kitchen and food groups that gives me a fairly accurate account of what I have or do not have stored, along with the last price I spent. I made a mistake this past month in not printing the KI after I had inputted prices. I had taken the document with me as I shopped but I didn't have the prices to compare (and was shocked at how drastically some changed). That won't happen again since I am finally understanding how best to use this.
What the KI does, aside from price comparison, is tells me what we use and gives me ideas how to combine new items with the old to make a meal. For example, staples - tortillas, cheese; ingredients at home - diced chiles, green salsa. If I buy a can of refried beans, we could have bean burritoes or I can buy some meat and make tacos or different burritoes. There's no second guessing about what we have and what we don't have.
I mentioned that tortillas and cheese are staples. Using the KI, I can determine what foods are necessary in my family and what we don't use as fast as I thought and what we don't really use at all. I make notes on my KI so I know when we didn't like something or a brand. That will save me money because I am not buying something we won't use.
For us - staples are pasta, tortillas, cheese, flour, sugar, eggs, peanut butter, Nucoa, rice, yeast and garlic. With those items in our house, we will always have something to eat. They are also what I replace before I replace anything else.
Then I plan meals - I don't do a hard plan like: 1st Roast chicken with mashed potatoes, green beans; 2nd meatloaf, green salad; etc. I take what I know we like and think of additional meals we might like to have. We love pasta so I plan for spaghetti with marinara, pasta carbonara, mac and cheese. Note: I don't buy processed foods. They may feel like a bargain but in the end they are not. I may be able to purchase a box of mac and cheese for 50 cents but it could take as many as 3 boxes to feed my family without taking in account the milk or the butter. For $1 I can buy a pound of elbow macaroni, use powdered milk (free), 1/2 stick Nucoa (.20), flour and 1/3 pd of cheese (.86) making the whole amount 2.06 vs the cost of the box mac and cheese. That might not feel like a bargain compared to the 1.50 but think of this - the homemade mac and cheese will be more filling and more nutritious. There's less sodium. I can easily alter either mac and cheese to include veggies and meat but with the homemade - I can make extra sauce to use for lunches or dinner the next night. That extra .50 can make a big difference. More importantly, all the ingredients for the mac and cheese are included in my staples so I don't have to really think about what to make.
The last Plan tip I'm gonna share today: traditional American meals of meat, vegetable, starch are expensive and lack nutritional variety. Think past the traditional dinner and start thinking one dish meals. Not everything we eat is one dish but when you start thinking in this manner all sorts of things open up. Meat and fresh produce are some of the most expensive items in the grocery store. Shopping in season and sales will help but I find that creative one dish cooking helps more.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Lentil Sloppy Joes
I recently got a recipe in my email for Lentil Sloppy Joes. The concept was so simple I couldn't resist - cook lentils and carrots until tender and add Manwich Sloppy Joe Sauce. We didn't have canned sauce so we opted for a package of sloppy joe seasoning (.44 at the local store) and 1/2 quart of home-canned tomatoes. The result was so good that my husband exclaimed after every bite (and a lot of comments about how it tasted just like hamburger sloppy joes). It's easy and a really inexpensive meal.
For those of us in the Palouse, lentils are often given away. We are the home of the Pea and Lentil Commission and when they attend fairs and festivals it's always with the little bags of free legumes (usually three types of lentils - brown, mini brown and red). They also sell big bags of lentils for a good deal (something like 10 pounds for $12 or 12 pounds for $10 - sorry I can't remember but it's still a good deal).
Lentils are still inexpensive in the grand scheme of things - I "budget" $2 per meal for protein. I don't spend that much on every meal but that's my ceiling. Unless I am making something really special, my protein choice can not cost more than that. A single pound bag of lentils falls into this category at the grocery store and 1 pound will make two pots of lentil sloppy joes.
According to the recipe this will make 8 sloppy joes, I found that to be fairly accurate. We feed 4 people at dinner and had enough left over for my brother when he got home from work. It doesn't look like a lot of food but it was plenty. Serve on buttered toasted hamburger buns for an authentic sloppy joes.
Next time I plan on trying a variation without packaged seasoning.
Lentil Sloppy Joes
1 cup dry brown lentils, sorted and rinsed (sorted means looking for rocks, twigs, etc)
4 cups water
1 cup chopped carrots (about the size of the lentils)
1 can sloppy joe sauce (or tomatoes, tomato sauce and sloppy joe seasoning)
1 TB packed brown sugar
8 hamburger buns
Combine lentils and water in saucepan. Cover, bring to boil over med-high heat. Add carrots. Reduce to med-low and cook 20 minutes or until tender. Drain excess water. Stir in sloppy joe sauce and brown sugar, simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Use about 1/2 cup lentils on each bun.
For those of us in the Palouse, lentils are often given away. We are the home of the Pea and Lentil Commission and when they attend fairs and festivals it's always with the little bags of free legumes (usually three types of lentils - brown, mini brown and red). They also sell big bags of lentils for a good deal (something like 10 pounds for $12 or 12 pounds for $10 - sorry I can't remember but it's still a good deal).
Lentils are still inexpensive in the grand scheme of things - I "budget" $2 per meal for protein. I don't spend that much on every meal but that's my ceiling. Unless I am making something really special, my protein choice can not cost more than that. A single pound bag of lentils falls into this category at the grocery store and 1 pound will make two pots of lentil sloppy joes.
According to the recipe this will make 8 sloppy joes, I found that to be fairly accurate. We feed 4 people at dinner and had enough left over for my brother when he got home from work. It doesn't look like a lot of food but it was plenty. Serve on buttered toasted hamburger buns for an authentic sloppy joes.
Next time I plan on trying a variation without packaged seasoning.
Lentil Sloppy Joes
1 cup dry brown lentils, sorted and rinsed (sorted means looking for rocks, twigs, etc)
4 cups water
1 cup chopped carrots (about the size of the lentils)
1 can sloppy joe sauce (or tomatoes, tomato sauce and sloppy joe seasoning)
1 TB packed brown sugar
8 hamburger buns
Combine lentils and water in saucepan. Cover, bring to boil over med-high heat. Add carrots. Reduce to med-low and cook 20 minutes or until tender. Drain excess water. Stir in sloppy joe sauce and brown sugar, simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Use about 1/2 cup lentils on each bun.
Changing Focus (just a little bit)
This blog is a passion of mine and over the last week I took time to really decide what was best for me and the goals I have. With that, I have decided to change the focus of this blog, slightly. I have always favored low cost meals with keeping nutrition and special diets in mind. Over the last six months, my family has learned how to survive on a plan that gives us about $100 a month for groceries. We get $88 in food stamps and then pick up items now and again as we have needs or extra funds (never resulting in that much more being spent). We are a family of three - one being a 14 year old boy.
It's work to keep us well fed but I have learned a lot of tricks over the years and thought it might be a good time to really share how I make it work. So in addition to recipes and the few things I spatter here and there, I will share the techniques I use to keep our budget low.
A few disclaimers:
I have the world's largest stockpile of powdered milk. Because I make bath products and powdered milk is often given in commodities, friends have given me thier supply of powdered milk because they couldn't use it. This has come in handy lately because we no longer are buying milk.
The other thing I use is my family. I often tell my mom I shop at her house. When she moved recently she uncovered a pantry so full (okay multiple pantries) so we inherited a good deal of canned goods and we keep offering to take more off her hands. This has helped get us through some tight spots. In return, I send things to my mom and dad like baked goods, canned goods or bath products so maybe it's more of a barter system than an all out gift.
Some of the things I will be sharing in the following days/weeks: how I meal plan, how I shop, protein choices, foraging, canning, and, of course, recipes. With this, I will potentially have two posts in a day on occasion as I share a tip and a recipe.
It's work to keep us well fed but I have learned a lot of tricks over the years and thought it might be a good time to really share how I make it work. So in addition to recipes and the few things I spatter here and there, I will share the techniques I use to keep our budget low.
A few disclaimers:
I have the world's largest stockpile of powdered milk. Because I make bath products and powdered milk is often given in commodities, friends have given me thier supply of powdered milk because they couldn't use it. This has come in handy lately because we no longer are buying milk.
The other thing I use is my family. I often tell my mom I shop at her house. When she moved recently she uncovered a pantry so full (okay multiple pantries) so we inherited a good deal of canned goods and we keep offering to take more off her hands. This has helped get us through some tight spots. In return, I send things to my mom and dad like baked goods, canned goods or bath products so maybe it's more of a barter system than an all out gift.
Some of the things I will be sharing in the following days/weeks: how I meal plan, how I shop, protein choices, foraging, canning, and, of course, recipes. With this, I will potentially have two posts in a day on occasion as I share a tip and a recipe.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Hot Chocolate
It might be early in the season for hot chocolate but here in Washington the night's dip to really cold temperatures and hot chocolate becomes the perfect evening treat (especially with some homemade bread). We were big on the instant hot chocolate because it was easy, then my father suggested I make some from scratch (he stopped buying instant because it was going too fast).
This recipe is adapted from the Hershey cocoa powder box and is just as easy as making instant except I haven't come up with a microwave version. It cooks on the stove but only takes as much time as it takes to heat the milk.
Hot Chocolate
1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups milk
3/4 teas vanilla
Pour milk into saucepan. Add cocoa and sugar. Stir with a whisk. The cocoa will float on the top of the milk until it heats up a little but this is not a problem, just keep whisking now and again until it all combines. Stir occasionally but do not leave unattended. Do not let the milk come to a boil. When hot, remove from heat and add vanilla. Whisk quickly and serve.
Great with whipped cream or marshmallows. (if serving with marshmallows and you like them melty, heat the milk up hotter than drinkable and let cool with marshmallows on top).
For a kick, add a little cayenne pepper.
This recipe is adapted from the Hershey cocoa powder box and is just as easy as making instant except I haven't come up with a microwave version. It cooks on the stove but only takes as much time as it takes to heat the milk.
Hot Chocolate
1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups milk
3/4 teas vanilla
Pour milk into saucepan. Add cocoa and sugar. Stir with a whisk. The cocoa will float on the top of the milk until it heats up a little but this is not a problem, just keep whisking now and again until it all combines. Stir occasionally but do not leave unattended. Do not let the milk come to a boil. When hot, remove from heat and add vanilla. Whisk quickly and serve.
Great with whipped cream or marshmallows. (if serving with marshmallows and you like them melty, heat the milk up hotter than drinkable and let cool with marshmallows on top).
For a kick, add a little cayenne pepper.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Bourbon Dinner Rolls
This recipe is from Bread For All Seasons by Beth Hensperger. I love this book - the recipes are so fun and range from really easy to only slightly difficult. I have been amazed at the simplicity of some of these recipes especially when they don't look simple. The end results are beautiful masterpieces.
I used a combination of Seagram's Whiskey and Amaretto because I didn't realize how much alcohol this recipe took and had little baby bottles. The dough takes a 1/2 cup which is 2 baby bottles and the filling takes another baby bottle (not bottles for babies but the itty bitty bottles you get in hotels and airplanes).
The rolls ended up tasting like rolls with a hint of sweetness. No flavor of alcohol really came through which I thought was a little strange but it didn't prevent the rolls from being inhaled (18 rolls, 5 people and no leftovers).
Also, we used soy milk and Nucoa making these rolls dairy-free
Bourbon Dinner Rolls
1 TB yeast
pinch of light brown sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup bourbon whiskey
2 TB light brown sugar
2 TB unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teas grated orange zest (didn't use)
2 teas salt (didn't use)
4-4 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour
3 TB melted butter mixed with 3 TB bourbon
Prep the yeast by mixing with warm water and a pinch of brown sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit 10 minutes until foamy.
Scald milk in small saucepan with bourbon (I did this in microwave). Add 2 TB brown sugar and butter. Stir until butter is melted and remove from heat and cool until just warm. In a large bowl combine milk, orange zest, salt and 2 cups flour. Add yeast and beat until smooth and creamy. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough is formed. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface, adding flour 1 TB at a time to prevent sticking. Knead until satiny and elastic, about 2 minutes. Should be a very smooth dough.
Place in a deep container that has been oiled, turn to coat the dough and let rise until doubled, 1 - 11/2 hours.
Turn raised dough onto work surface and divide into 3 equal parts. Roll out each portion to an 8 inch circle. Brush with melted butter/bourbon mix. Cut into 6 equal sections (I ended up cutting into 8 sections so I guess I had 24 rolls instead of 18). Beginning at wide end, roll each section toward the point. Brush tops with more butter and place on a baking sheet (I covered mine with a silicon mat).
Let rise until doubled (about 20 minutes). Preheat oven to 375.
Bake in the center of preheated oven for 18-20 minutes. Immediately remove from baking sheet to cool.
Serve warm with more butter or a good rich gravy (like we had, yummy yummy).
I used a combination of Seagram's Whiskey and Amaretto because I didn't realize how much alcohol this recipe took and had little baby bottles. The dough takes a 1/2 cup which is 2 baby bottles and the filling takes another baby bottle (not bottles for babies but the itty bitty bottles you get in hotels and airplanes).
The rolls ended up tasting like rolls with a hint of sweetness. No flavor of alcohol really came through which I thought was a little strange but it didn't prevent the rolls from being inhaled (18 rolls, 5 people and no leftovers).
Also, we used soy milk and Nucoa making these rolls dairy-free
Bourbon Dinner Rolls
1 TB yeast
pinch of light brown sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup bourbon whiskey
2 TB light brown sugar
2 TB unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teas grated orange zest (didn't use)
2 teas salt (didn't use)
4-4 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour
3 TB melted butter mixed with 3 TB bourbon
Prep the yeast by mixing with warm water and a pinch of brown sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit 10 minutes until foamy.
Scald milk in small saucepan with bourbon (I did this in microwave). Add 2 TB brown sugar and butter. Stir until butter is melted and remove from heat and cool until just warm. In a large bowl combine milk, orange zest, salt and 2 cups flour. Add yeast and beat until smooth and creamy. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough is formed. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface, adding flour 1 TB at a time to prevent sticking. Knead until satiny and elastic, about 2 minutes. Should be a very smooth dough.
Place in a deep container that has been oiled, turn to coat the dough and let rise until doubled, 1 - 11/2 hours.
Turn raised dough onto work surface and divide into 3 equal parts. Roll out each portion to an 8 inch circle. Brush with melted butter/bourbon mix. Cut into 6 equal sections (I ended up cutting into 8 sections so I guess I had 24 rolls instead of 18). Beginning at wide end, roll each section toward the point. Brush tops with more butter and place on a baking sheet (I covered mine with a silicon mat).
Let rise until doubled (about 20 minutes). Preheat oven to 375.
Bake in the center of preheated oven for 18-20 minutes. Immediately remove from baking sheet to cool.
Serve warm with more butter or a good rich gravy (like we had, yummy yummy).
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