So far, I've found it daunting to serve meals that are 1) cheap 2) nutritious 3) are meals, rather than a collection of ingredients on the same plate. If you look at what we've eaten, most of our dinners are protein, starch, vegetable. Little has required an actual recipe or involved multiple ingredients. I tested the frugal waters with last night's Lower-fat Chicken Divan. It tasted good, didn't cost a lot and the boys ate it. So tonight I got creative again. I also decided that if I was faced with permanently living on a $400 monthly budget, I would still have my spice rack and I should use it. I decided that for every meal that I use spices from my existing supply, I should charge myself a 50 cent "Spice fee." I can't imagine a way to measure and price a dash and a pinch, so I want to be fair, but also encourage myself to try some of the recipes that I've found.
I have gotten a lot of great recommendations for low-price meals, and I definitely will try to make my own stock and chicken soup in the next week. I will update this post with recipes as I find them and I hope you'll share recipes for me to try.
Braised Carrots --From the Joy of Cooking
Since Grant is too young to eat raw carrots, this is a simple, delicious, and great way to use up any half-used bags of carrots in the refrigerator. I don't even think it matters if the carrots are old and dry looking because they're cooked in water which should rehydrate them! I used a bag of baby carrots, 1 Tbsp. margarine, and 1 Tbsp. brown sugar. Cost of the entire dish was $1.11
1 pound carrots, peeled, quartered lengthwise and cut into sticks (or a bag of baby carrots)
1/2 C. water or stock
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 tsp. sugar or brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Simmer, covered over medium heat until the carrots are tender, 15-20 minutes. Then uncover for a few minutes more. If you want, add chopped fresh parsley, chervil, tarragon or thyme and ground black pepper to taste
Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Banana
This combo sounds more like a Stage 2 Gerber meal than "people food," but it is pretty good, and Grant devoured it. Rachel Ray and Paula Deen have delicious-sounding full-fat recipes that would make any Thanksgiving table proud, but here is my lower-fat, lower-cost version.
4 sweet potatoes
1 banana
Juice of one orange, and zest of one orange
1 Tbsp. margarine
1 Tbsp. sour cream
1 ounce milk
salt and pepper to taste
Nutmeg, cardamom, and clove to taste
Peel and cube potatoes and place in a pot of salted water. Bring water to a boil and cook until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes, depending on size of potato pieces. Drain potatoes and put back in warm pot. Add orange juice and mash together until liquid is almost absorbed. Add peeled banana, orange zest, margarine and sour cream. Mash together. Add milk if mixture isn't creamy. Season with salt, pepper and spices to taste.
5 Bean Taco Soup
I learned this recipe years ago at a Weight Watcher's meeting. I have made this many times for friends and family and it is SO easy to make, really delicious, healthy and it makes a gigantic quantity of soup tso the cost per serving is very low. The hardest part of this recipie is opening all of the cans! We will be having this next week.
5 undrained cans of any bean (I always use 2 cans of black beans)
2 undrained cans of diced tomatoes
1 undrained can of corn
1 envelope of Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing powder
1 envelope of McCormick taco powder
Pour all cans into a big pot, pour in both envelopes of powder. Stir and let simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Cool slightly and serve! The soup can be "dressed up" with cheese, sour cream, taco chips, etc., but add-ons may deminish the low-fatness of the soup and raise the cost.
Easy Corn Muffins
I have grossly underestimated the wonders that can come out of a Jiffy Corn Muffin mix! I made super-cheap corn muffins that were delicious and while it's not the sweet, dense-as-a-cake cornbread that I remember from my college days, I will definitely make it again and again.
Basically, follow the instructions on the side of the Jiffy Corn Muffin mix but add either 1/4 Cup canned corn or 1/4 Cup creamed corn to the batter. Make sure to let the batter sit for a few minutes before re-stirring it and dividing it into 8 muffin liners. Bake according to box instructions and enjoy! Entire websites are devoted to the recipes that can be made with Jiffy boxed mixes, all of which should be budget-friendly, so Jiffy should definitely be a part of your thrifty pantry.
Here's what we ate today
Breakfast
- S 2 Servings of cereal with 4ounces of Milk, Orange
- KC&G Oatmeal with Brown sugar
- C&G Milk
Total $0.80
Lunch
- SKC&G 1/2 can of leftover mushroom soup, 1/2 can of leftover chicken soup, 20 Crackers, 3 ounces of cheese, 2 string cheese, 12 ounces of milk and 2 oranges
- C&G String cheese, leftover carrots and milk
Total $1.39
Dinner
- SKC&G pork chops, mashed sweet potatoes with bananas, apple sauce
- $0.50 "spice fee"
- C&G Milk
Total $5.70
Dessert/ Snack
- C&G Banana & milk
- S&K Cookies
Total $0.53
Total Spend $8.42
Tomorrow, Eating without an Ego
Your experiment is changing the way I look at every meal I make, everything I eat, and every grocery list I plan. I think our expenses will go down just because of my awareness. Wouldn't it be cool if everyone who was affected by your experiment all took a month to track the difference between what they usually spend and what they can bring it down to with even a little effort and then donated the difference to a charity for those not lucky enough to have a choice? I think I just found your next project, Kellie... :)
ReplyDelete"How will we survive and what will we eat?" Seriously? And two of these four are under age six? You need a better angle, honey--you just sound like a spoiled suburban housewife with too much time on her hands. Try for $200 and then you won't be alienating half the country.
ReplyDeleteRoger Z.,
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the population of U.S. Adults that's overweight or obese was 68% in 2008. I assume they didn’t get that way by spending only $400 dollars per month to feed a family of 4. (Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm)
Next, According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 16% of the average annual costs for a 0-2 year old are for food. In 2008, that annual cost per child was over $1,600 or $133 per month, per child for food alone. (Source: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/CRC/crc2009.pdf)
Finally, According to The USDA, the average monthly cost for an adult male is $270 and female is $230. (Source: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/usdafoodcost-home.htm)
I’m sure you’re at least intelligent enough to add all those numbers up and once you do, I’m confident you’ll realize how wrong you are. I also wanted to point out that I’m at work right now managing to multi-task and post a comment on this blog. Perhaps while you’re sitting at your own computer telling people to do something better with their time than save their family money and raise 2 kids, you’ll take your own advice and find something better to do than comment on blogs at 2:38 in the morning.
Additionally, if you'd taken the time to look through the other posts (and not just the caption on the top), you'd have already seen that the average American household spends around $800 for a family of four.
ReplyDeleteI know there are families that have to live off a lot less, but, by definition of average, that means there are an equal number of families living off a lot more.
What Kellie is doing is something she decided to try for herself and her family and to share with other people who are interested. If you're not interested, don't read. It seems unnecessary to attack someone, especially using accusations which are completely unfounded.
New blog follower here and just want to say how much I agree with Kristal!! Roger can take a walk for all I care--I think what you're (Kellie) doing is awesome and I plan on taking some of what you do and applying it to my own family :)
ReplyDeleteDid Chirois4kids change her name to Roger Z?
ReplyDeleteNope! I already know that I am smart, so I don't feel the need to make anymore comments. - Chirois4kids
ReplyDeleteMy friend Sara sent me this recipe for Jiffy Corn Casserole. It sounds delicious (and cheap)!
ReplyDeleteJiffy Corn Casserole
Preheat oven to 350.
1 lg onion, chopped
6 tb butter, melted
2 eggs (stirred)
2 tbs milk
1 can cream style corn
1 can regular corn
1 pkg Jiffy cornbread mix
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 small can of diced jalapeno peppers or green chilis (depending on taste) - red hot or any hot sauce can be used too.
Mix all together - put in greased 13x9x2 pan and bake for 40 minutes, uncovered.
I just made the 5 Bean Taco Soup. Very good. Thanks for the recipes.
ReplyDeleteCheese Puffs
ReplyDeleteIngredients
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (Or margarine)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup finely shredded Cheese
• Chicken salad, sautéed mushrooms or other filling, optional
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 2 large baking sheets.
Bring 1 cup water, butter, salt and pepper to a boil over medium-high heat. Add flour; beat with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a ball.
Transfer dough to a large bowl. With electric mixer on high speed, add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each. Beat until mixture is smooth and has cooled. Beat in cheese.
Drop spoonfuls of mixture 1 inch apart on baking sheets. With dampened fingers, smooth tops. Bake until puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on pans on wire racks. Slice off top third; discard doughy centers. Fill, if desired, and replace tops.
Lemon Chicken Salad for Cheese Puffs
ReplyDeleteIngredients
2 cooked chicken breasts, diced
1 apple, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 scallions, white ends sliced
1/2 Cup mayo
zest of 1/4 lemon
juice of 1/4 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients and refrigerate. Fill cooled Cheese Puffs with Chicken Salad mixture.
Potato Nests with Bacon Scallion Sour Cream
ReplyDeleteIngredients
• 1 1/2 pounds large russet potatoes
• 4 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 dices green ends of scallions, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pinch black pepper
Preparation
In a large saucepan, bring unpeeled potatoes and enough cold water to cover to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer potatoes until just cooked, about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes, let cool and then refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until cold.
Meanwhile, Mix finely chopped bacon, 1/2 of scallion greens, and sour cream. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve. Reserve remaining scallion for garnish.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly grease 32 mini-muffin-tin cups. Peel and coarsely grate potatoes. Gently toss potatoes with salt and pepper in a bowl. Place about 1 heaping Tbsp. potato mixture into each muffin cup and press against bottom and up sides, allowing some mixture to extend above rim. (Do not spread mixture too thin or holes will form while baking.)
Bake potato nests until edges are dark golden, about 25 minutes. Cool nests in pans for 10 minutes. Carefully remove nests from pans and place on a baking sheet lined with paper towels to set. (Nests may be made up to 4 hours ahead; leave at room temperature.)
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place potato nests on a clean, large baking sheet and bake until heated through and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer potato nests to a platter. Using a small spoon, dollop about 1 tsp. sour cream mixture into each potato nest and top each with a piece of reserved scallion green. Serve right away.
Oven-dried tomatoes
ReplyDeleteI love Sun-dried tomatoes, but they can be pricey. My friend Sara sent me this easy and tasty recipe for oven-dried tomatoes. Yum!
Halve or quarter Roma tomatoes and toss in a bowl with Olive Oil, Kosher Salt and Pepper. Place on a cookie sheet vut side up (I added parchment paper in case they stuck). Bake in a 200 degree oven for 4 hours. Enjoy!
SNOW ICE CREAM
ReplyDeleteThanks to Kathy for sharing this recipe with me. So easy! (From familycrafts.about.com)
Ingredients:
•1 cup of milk
•1/2 teaspoon vanilla
•1/2 cups sugar
•CLEAN Snow
Preparation:
Go outside and get 4 - 5 cups of fresh, clean snow. Don't pack the snow! Bring it in the house and set it in the freezer until you need it.
Mix together the milk, vanilla, and the sugar. Stir this mixture until the sugar is dissolved. Slowly add the snow to your mixture, stirring constantly, until it is as thick as ice cream! Eat up!