More Cheap Eats!

People frequently ask me for my recipes for inexpensive meals.  I really struggle with this because I don't have very many "standard go to recipes".  I "create" a lot as I go based on what I have or can get cheap or free.  I must say, I've cooked with and tried foods that I had to consult the internet about, and some have become new favorites.  I grow my own herbs and use lots of spices like smoked paparika and rich flavors like balsamic and specialty vinegars, worcestershire sauce, cooking wines and soy sauce.  These let me hide a lot of specifics from my kids! 

We frequently receive donated foods from various sources that are a real blessing. Plus I shop with coupons and ads SO I often feel a bit like the Iron Chef.  Only my challenge sounds more like, "You were given 2 pounds of ox tails, 5 pounds of venison, a case of mustard greens, 2 cases of chick peas and 3 dozen eggs. You bought with a coupon on sale the following: sugar, salad dressing, flour, oranges, bananas, dry egg noodles and potatoes.  You got kohlrabi, green peppers and squash from the garden.  You bought green beans, onions and zucchini at the farmers market. Now cook for the week or longer!"  Obviously, I try to plan menus, but when something gets dropped off as a donation and needs used ASAP...well, I have to be flexible and creative!

So let me share a few low cost "gems" that I've been given, tried and loved along the way.

Venison:  Cube it. Apply a generous sprinkling of apple pie spice and some fresh cracked black pepper to taste (like a teaspoon or more of apple pie spice per pound) and then use it as you would any super lean beef.  Cubed venison is especially good in the crock pot on low with a cup or so of New York Steakhouse A-1 Marinade, which is frequently on sale and has had lots of coupons so I can usually get it for $1.25.  (Yes, you read this right, "a-p-p-l-e pie spice" and sometimes I add a little fresh ground ginger, which is much cheaper at the whole foods store than at the grocery store and it is a favorite of mine.) 

Oxtails:  Oxtails are BEEF, don't freak out.  They were a staple during the Great Depression because of their high nutritional content (especially high in iron) and their low cost.  Campbell's even used to sell Oxtail Soup! I frankly hate to tell you about oxtails because I might not get them given to me so often if people knew that they make extra tasty stews and soups.  I sear the oxtails first in some olive oil and then slow cook them to get the great flavorful stock!

Ham hocks:  These are awesome in a pot of pinto beans, but my favorite recipe is by the Pioneer Woman. It is Black Bean Chowder.  I've taken this to several school luncheons and to friends in need of some awesome comfort food.  It is a FAVORITE and I've picked up some un-deserved fans of "my" cooking.

Pickled Beets with Hard Boiled Eggs: 
Tasty & Pretty & Cheap!

Beets:  People apparently grow beets, but don't like to eat beets.  When I'm given beets, I love to make Pickled Beets with Hard Boiled Eggs!  Its a big treat.  I make 4 or 6 times the recipe below, but this is a size for typical folks. 

3 pealed and sliced beets that have been boiled
1 red/purple onion thinly sliced
6-8 hard boiled shelled eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp of pickling spice tied in a cheese cloth bag

Place the liquid off the boiled beets (about a cup) in a pan and add sugar, vinegar, and bag of pickling spice.  Bring to a boil and simmer at a low boil for 15 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Layer beet slices onion slices and eggs in a jar.  After the liquid cools so it is just warm, pour it over the layers. Put the pickling bag in the jar too.  Cover the jar.  Shake or stir twice a day to mix the contents.  Let it sit 3 to 5 days before serving.  (BTW-This is an awesome snack or as a side for a salad or mustard greens.)

Garbanzo Beans/Chick Peas:  There are hundreds of ways to use garbanzo beans, but apparently few people in the Mid-West know them.  I get lots of canned garbanzo beans given to us.  Garbanzo beans can be roasted for a highly nutritious snack.  Our kids love hummus which can easily be made if you have two things: 1) food processor and 2) tahini (sesame seed paste).  I can't believe that I used to think that garbanzo beans were just to add to veggie soup!

Mustard Greens & other leafy things:  Mustard greens are much milder than spinach and they can be easily seasoned with sauteed onion and ham hocs.  Kohlrabi leaves, collard greens, mustard green are such are amazing in a hearty veggie soup.  A favorite is Balsamic Reduction-Glazed Garbanzo Beans served over mustard greens or other leafy things like fresh baby spinach with some crumbled feta and seasoned walnuts.  But its all about what's in the house already so if I don't have feta, I might put some other cheese or some drained mandarin oranges or whatever strikes my fancy.  Some of it turns out better than others, but with 12 hungry mouths and visitors, it usually all gets ate!

A favorite low cost "Pioneer Woman"
 dessert is "Prune Cake"

Sometimes I end my blog with a Bible verse or two, but this blog entry would probably be most appropriately ended with a Bible story from Numbers 11.  The food that is given to our family and that is purchased at low prices are seen by my husband and I as gifts from the Lord, much like the manna in Moses time.  While it is true that we could ignore the budget and buy other foods, we feel that would not be acting as good steward of the gifts we are given.  We often share our surplus of gifted and bargain foods with others, but we try to use all that we need with contentment in our hearts.  When I find myself wishing for something else, I remember that my children are being exposed to more variety of wholesome foods than most children and I pray for God to make me content with His generosity.  (Its amazing how often the next few weeks yields something I was secretly hoping for!  I'll never forget wanting to buy steak for Mr. Workman for Father's Day a few months after the we added the 4 boys to our family.  It would have busted the strained budget!  But I prayed for contentment and planned to fix lasagna, but two days before Father's Day some friends started a fast and gave us two huge steaks from their freezer that were tempting them!) 

Sales You Shouldn't Miss

People often wonder how I find good sales, match them with coupons & plan a menu.  So I'm going to give you some examples, from ads in my area from my shopping this week.

First Price Cutter (good until closing on 8/30/2011)

Don't miss the following!

Breakfast:
Kellogg's Frosted Flakes 17-23 oz for $1.99
       & use with coupons from Kelloggs to bring it down to $1.49-1.74 per box.
Post Cereals 9.5 to 20 oz $1.69 each (I got Honeycomb)
Cheerios Asst types 8.9-12 oz $2.00 each
        & use with coupons from places like Box Tops & Betty Crocker so I paid $1.30 to 1.50/box
Ocean Spray Juice 64oz.  $1.99 each
Hiland 1/2 gallon OJ  $1.89 each

Meat:
Tyson Split Fryer Breast (boneless) $1.29/lb
Boneless Pork Roast $1.89/lb
Corn King 12oz Bacon $2.79 (if you have a Save-A-Lot..better deal at Save-A-Lot)
Black Angus Ground Chuck Patties $2.89lb

Fruits & Veggies:
Green Giant Veggies LIMIT 6 for $.49 each
Pictsweet Steamers 10-12oz 5/$5
California Red Seedless Grapes $.99/lb (ALSO at Save-A-Lot for same price on any color grapes)

Starches:
5lbs potatos $1.99

Sweet Stuffs & Treats:
C& H Sugar 4lbs 2/$5
       & use 2 $.50 off coupons from All You Magazine for 2/$3 because these DOUBLE!!
Hiland Sour Cream or Dip 8oz. $.89
Hiland 56oz Ice cream $1.79 plus use 2* Sundaycoupons for $.55 each = $1.24
Lunches
Dole Fruit cups 4/4.3oz 2/$4
        & todays paper saves $.75 off 2 so 2/$3.25
Oscar Mayer Lunch Meat 4/$5

Second, Save-A-Lot (good until 9/10/11)

First, if you haven't already, go to the web site & sign up so you get a $5 of $25 coupon.  Then print their in-house coupons.  Currently there are 4 & one is for a free party pizza.  The ad is also online.

Malt-O-Meal bag cereal $1.88 each

       & buy 3 use coupon from MaltOMeal for $1.00 off        $5.64-$1=$4.64

Campbell's Chunky Soup 2/$3

        & buy 10 use 2 of Campbell's web site for $2 off 5        $15-$4=$11.00

Hunts Snack 4 Pk pudding $.99 each

        & buy 2 use 2 $.45 off coupons from All*You Mag   $1.98-$.90=$1.08

Snack Pizza Bagels 40ct $4.99 -$1 Save A Lot Coupon      $4.99-$1=$3.99 

8 pk Juice Drink Boxes $1.49-$1 Save A Lot Coupon         $1.49-$1=$.49

Sugardale Bacon 12 oz                                                               $1.99

12 oz cod, talapia or pollock                                                       $2.99      

               TOTAL is 26.18+free party pizza-$5coupon=$21.18 plus tax

Plus check out their prices on fresh produce!



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Oh & enter to win a year's worth of groceries at

 http://www.itpaystoeatpasta.com/sweeps/index.cfm?u=F07F8AE3-4967-4A8C-B36A-4A396068775F 

If one of us win, then that is the ULTIMATE SAVINGS!

*Thanks to Aunt Doris..I had two of these coupons.  This month I bought 2 All*You Magazine & 2 of the newspapers from the 28th due to the quality of coupons.

Food

Many people ask me, "How do you feed them all?" I am always unsure if they mean how to we afford it OR how we physically put food on the spoon and in the mouths of 4 kids who cannot yet feed themselves OR how we get it cooked OR how we get it from the pan to their plates. In this blog I'm going to talk about the food budget. Next time I'll talk about shopping; and later cooking.

In a typical month, I spend $600 on food & $300 more on cleaning supplies, baby food, wipes, bottle liners, formula and diapers. I budget $1000, but usually spend $900 by the time I use the ads, coupons and/or coast along out of the pantry if there aren't any good deals. I do make up a menu, but I don't insist we follow it exact so we mix up the days and meals based on what the kids want.

I clip coupons, print online coupons, buy coupons on ebay, match the coupons with advertised sale items for more impact. This usually saves 20% of the total receipt. We shop at the farmers market for seasonal bargains. I know when certain store items will be at their lowest prices and I buy enough for the year. Some examples are the following:

• apple sauce will soon be at its lowest price
• In November-pumpkin, broth, au gratin potatoes, boxed stuffing, cranberry juice, and green beans
• In December-flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and summer sausage
• In January-Cheez Whiz, Velveeta, chips, pretzels, soda pop and soup
• In February-laundry soap and dishwasher liquid
• In March-cabbage, ham and some paper products
• In April-diapers, wipes, and baby food
• In May-chicken, paper products, chips, soda pop and fruit juice
• In August-canned pastas and soups, pasta, pasta sauce, ice cream, pizza rolls, mac n cheese, frozen pizzas, snack crackers, popcorn (and even though its not a food...this is when underwear is cheapest!)

When I do the BIG shopping trip, I try to do so the third week of the month, when the sales are usually most impressive.

Lastly, I have a very small container garden to supply our lettuce in the Spring and Tomatoes and Peppers and Herb in the Summer and Fall. Friends and family give us samplings out of their gardens too. A few friends and family bless us with meat from butchering from their farm or hunting.

I have some pet peeve BUDGET BUSTERS when I shop which include the following:

• Being asked to send monthly snacks to school for 22 to 24 kids that must be individually wrapped and not homemade (and without nuts)...I do this for 3 classes. We don't eat convenience items like that in our home so I resent being asked to donate something that is usually outside of our budget and lifestyle...if we need snacks at home, they come in a jumbo bag or I make them.


• Food allergies: I am often forced to buy higher priced brands due to allergies and sensitivities in our family. By the time I get no MSG, no milk and no citric acid, then the top brands tend to be the only option.


• Deals like Angel Food Ministries can be BIG budget busters. We only order 1 or 2 times a year and usually it is near the holidays for the cases of fruit. I do not generally order because the packages are loaded with one time convenience foods, and meats that we may not be able to use due to it having bones, being too tough or too spicy.


• Single frozen items are a waste for us.....I end up opening small package after small package so I buy jumbo family size or commercial sizes, split it in 1/2 and store it.

Today's after school snack is an affordable easy treat. Corrine helped me today. The recipe is from my great aunt Wanita.

No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Cookies

½ cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats

1. Add the first four ingredients (through the cocoa powder) to a 4-quart saucepan.
2. Bring to a rolling boil and let boil for 1 minute. (If you don't get a good boil for 1 minute,

then the sugar doesn't fully dissolve and the cookie are kind of gritty.)
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth, then stir in the oats.
5. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto wax paper-lined baking sheets.
6. Let cool until set.

Yield: 2 to 3 dozen cookies or bars

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do,

do all to the glory of God.--I Cor. 10:31