Tonight was a 15-min meal. I had plans to include an extra veggie (bok choy), but got home late due to some huge work ordeals. I also didn't bother cooking the broccoli stems, though I do love them.
I have been trying to work more veggies into my toddler's diet. He likes eggs, so this was a method.
Scrambled Eggs:
4 eggs (0.50)
1.5 cups broccoli florets (0.19, from discount rack)
1/4 cup chopped onion (0.10)
1/2 Tbsp olive oil (0.05)
1 slice American cheese (0.15)
salt and pepper
Total: 0.99
Chop and steam broccoli in microwave for 3 min. Meanwhile, chop and saute onion in olive oil until beginning to brown. Add broccoli and mash up with a fork (you don't want the kiddo to be able to pick it out!) Stir fry a few minutes until broccoli begins to carmelize a bit.
Beat eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper. Add a little milk (optional). Add eggs to broccoli and onion, cook until eggs are set. Break up American cheese and stir in to melt.
We served this meal with some homemade bread (2 slices, 0.06 each), 1 T light margarine (0.03), and an avocado, sliced (free from a friend's tree).
Dinner total: $1.14 for three people.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Lasagna
So Sunday was "The day of the lasagna". I'd offered to make dinner for friends who recently had a baby (boy, there are a lot of them). Lasagna is usually a 2-person job in my house, but my husband woke up sick. So, it was left to me. Luckily, my 2-year old took a 3.5 hour nap.
Lasagna (makes two 9x13 pans)
12 cooked lasagna noodles (0.70)
4 cups cottage cheese (3.49, on sale)
2.5 oz grated parmesan (0.60)
2 eggs (0.25)
1 bunch kale (1.00)
1 bunch chard (1.00)
1 lb ground sirloin (2.00 on sale)
2 small zucchini, diced (1.00)
2 carrots, diced (0.15)
2 green bell peppers, diced (1.33)
8 oz sliced mushrooms (2.00)
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes (0.70)
About 1-2 cups tomato paste, I eyeballed it (1.00)
italian seasoning, basil, salt, pepper, oregano (0.25)
2 T dried parsley (0.05)
1 large onion, diced (0.25)
3 cloves garlic, pressed (0.10)
3/4 lb mozzarella, shredded (2.25 on sale)
Total: 18.13 for two pans, $9.07 per pan, $0.60 per piece (15 pieces per pan).
Cheese layer:
1. Steam kale and chard. Cool. Squeeze dry. Puree in food processor. Move to bowl.
2. Puree cottage cheese in food processor. Add to kale and chard.
3. Beat eggs. Add to bowl. Add 1/2 cup grated parmesan and 2 T parsley. Stir together.
Sauce:
1. Brown ground sirloin. When beef is almost no longer pink, add onions.
2. When beef is fully cooked, add diced mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, and garlic. Add spices to taste.
3. Cook well until vegetables are cooked and the water has mostly evaporated. Add diced tomatoes and paste. Mix well.
4. Add water to the mixture until the right sauce consistency evolves. Should look like spaghetti sauce with a lot of stuff in it. Taste & adjust seasoning as necessary.
Heat oven to 375.
Put a small amount of sauce in the bottom of each pan. Layer 3 noodles on top of sauce in each pan.
Layer 1/4 of the cheese mixture on each of the two noodle layers.
Top with 1/4 of the sauce mixture on each of the two noodle layers.
Top with 1/4 of the mozzarella on each sauce layer. Add a little bit of parmesan.
Repeat layers (cheese, sauce, cheese).
Bake at 375 for 30 min covered with foil and 20 min uncovered. You can refrigerate the lasagna before cooking. If so, bake 35 min covered and 20 min uncovered.
We had this with cauliflower found at the produce store in the discounted section. $0.49 for a large head!
Cauliflower: 0.49
2 T olive oil: 0.21
Total: 0.70 for about 8 servings (1/2 cup each)
I also made a loaf of part whole wheat no-knead bread, about 6 cents per slice, with 3 cents for butter.
Grand total per serving: $0.87 per adult
0.18 for cauliflower
0.60 for lasagna
0.09 for bread
If I had any energy at all after cooking, dishes, toddler, I would post pictures of my food. Maybe someday.
Lasagna (makes two 9x13 pans)
12 cooked lasagna noodles (0.70)
4 cups cottage cheese (3.49, on sale)
2.5 oz grated parmesan (0.60)
2 eggs (0.25)
1 bunch kale (1.00)
1 bunch chard (1.00)
1 lb ground sirloin (2.00 on sale)
2 small zucchini, diced (1.00)
2 carrots, diced (0.15)
2 green bell peppers, diced (1.33)
8 oz sliced mushrooms (2.00)
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes (0.70)
About 1-2 cups tomato paste, I eyeballed it (1.00)
italian seasoning, basil, salt, pepper, oregano (0.25)
2 T dried parsley (0.05)
1 large onion, diced (0.25)
3 cloves garlic, pressed (0.10)
3/4 lb mozzarella, shredded (2.25 on sale)
Total: 18.13 for two pans, $9.07 per pan, $0.60 per piece (15 pieces per pan).
Cheese layer:
1. Steam kale and chard. Cool. Squeeze dry. Puree in food processor. Move to bowl.
2. Puree cottage cheese in food processor. Add to kale and chard.
3. Beat eggs. Add to bowl. Add 1/2 cup grated parmesan and 2 T parsley. Stir together.
Sauce:
1. Brown ground sirloin. When beef is almost no longer pink, add onions.
2. When beef is fully cooked, add diced mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, and garlic. Add spices to taste.
3. Cook well until vegetables are cooked and the water has mostly evaporated. Add diced tomatoes and paste. Mix well.
4. Add water to the mixture until the right sauce consistency evolves. Should look like spaghetti sauce with a lot of stuff in it. Taste & adjust seasoning as necessary.
Heat oven to 375.
Put a small amount of sauce in the bottom of each pan. Layer 3 noodles on top of sauce in each pan.
Layer 1/4 of the cheese mixture on each of the two noodle layers.
Top with 1/4 of the sauce mixture on each of the two noodle layers.
Top with 1/4 of the mozzarella on each sauce layer. Add a little bit of parmesan.
Repeat layers (cheese, sauce, cheese).
Bake at 375 for 30 min covered with foil and 20 min uncovered. You can refrigerate the lasagna before cooking. If so, bake 35 min covered and 20 min uncovered.
We had this with cauliflower found at the produce store in the discounted section. $0.49 for a large head!
Cauliflower: 0.49
2 T olive oil: 0.21
Total: 0.70 for about 8 servings (1/2 cup each)
I also made a loaf of part whole wheat no-knead bread, about 6 cents per slice, with 3 cents for butter.
Grand total per serving: $0.87 per adult
0.18 for cauliflower
0.60 for lasagna
0.09 for bread
If I had any energy at all after cooking, dishes, toddler, I would post pictures of my food. Maybe someday.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Good deals of the week
Well, my master plan (new) is to spend $50 a week. I have spent all but $2 for this week. I need to buy a few more items. So I guess my new plan will be to get cash on Friday at lunch, and have the next week start officially then. It's simply easier for me to do some shopping on Friday afternoons than to wait until Saturday morning "just because".
This weekend we are making a couple of pans of lasagna...one for friends with a new baby. I found a good deal on cheese, and it saved me a trip to Costco: Yesterday's trip:
$5.00: 3 pkgs of 6-pk applesauce cups (18 4-oz cups)
$2.00: two 24-oz applesauce (2 for $3, with a $1 off coupon)
(applesauce is important when you have a toddler!)
$3.08: 1/2 lb deli ham and 1/2 lb turkey($3/lb, this was part of an amazing 8 hr sale, we rarely buy this)
$3.49: 32 oz cottage cheese (for the lasagna)
$2.49: lemon cookies (not on sale, just a treat for dh)
$3.00: two 8-oz packages of mozzarella
$19.06 total
This weekend we are making a couple of pans of lasagna...one for friends with a new baby. I found a good deal on cheese, and it saved me a trip to Costco: Yesterday's trip:
$5.00: 3 pkgs of 6-pk applesauce cups (18 4-oz cups)
$2.00: two 24-oz applesauce (2 for $3, with a $1 off coupon)
(applesauce is important when you have a toddler!)
$3.08: 1/2 lb deli ham and 1/2 lb turkey($3/lb, this was part of an amazing 8 hr sale, we rarely buy this)
$3.49: 32 oz cottage cheese (for the lasagna)
$2.49: lemon cookies (not on sale, just a treat for dh)
$3.00: two 8-oz packages of mozzarella
$19.06 total
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
This week's menu
Sunday: chicken with artichokes, couscous, salad
Monday: chili mac and salad
Tuesday: stir-fry tofu and green beans
Wednesday: leftover chili mac, steamed beets, spinach balls
Thursday: leftover black bean stew (from freezer)
Friday: was going to be black bean stew, but I'm running a 10k on Saturday morning. So I think I'm going to go with tortellini with tomatoes...more carbs, less fiber. Don't want to be desperate for a bathroom.
Monday: chili mac and salad
Tuesday: stir-fry tofu and green beans
Wednesday: leftover chili mac, steamed beets, spinach balls
Thursday: leftover black bean stew (from freezer)
Friday: was going to be black bean stew, but I'm running a 10k on Saturday morning. So I think I'm going to go with tortellini with tomatoes...more carbs, less fiber. Don't want to be desperate for a bathroom.
$50 challenge
I decided to recommit to my grocery budget. I tend to pick a budget, stick to it for a few weeks, then give up.
My new budget is $50/week, cash. This does not include $20/week for the CSA. For two adults and a toddler, that's $70/week, almost $300/month.
I'm only in week one. I'm at $30, but I have another $10 to spend before the end of the week. My master plan is to save $10 a week & set it aside for Costco. We only buy a few items there, but they are all about $10.
The biggest part of this is just not shopping. I'm doing pretty well there.
Unfortunately my dh just spent $420 on four new tires today, on our 2-year old car. Who knows why they wore so poorly...though I wouldn't put it past the dealer to do that to get business for repairs. We just replaced four tires on the old car a few months ago. Sigh. I realize the two aren't related (grocery bills and car repairs) but still it sucks to save $100 on groceries and toss out 4x that for tires.
Next on the agenda: switch to a cheaper gym (saving $600/year), start carpooling 3x per week (saving 3 gallons of gas per week, $12 a week).
My new budget is $50/week, cash. This does not include $20/week for the CSA. For two adults and a toddler, that's $70/week, almost $300/month.
I'm only in week one. I'm at $30, but I have another $10 to spend before the end of the week. My master plan is to save $10 a week & set it aside for Costco. We only buy a few items there, but they are all about $10.
The biggest part of this is just not shopping. I'm doing pretty well there.
Unfortunately my dh just spent $420 on four new tires today, on our 2-year old car. Who knows why they wore so poorly...though I wouldn't put it past the dealer to do that to get business for repairs. We just replaced four tires on the old car a few months ago. Sigh. I realize the two aren't related (grocery bills and car repairs) but still it sucks to save $100 on groceries and toss out 4x that for tires.
Next on the agenda: switch to a cheaper gym (saving $600/year), start carpooling 3x per week (saving 3 gallons of gas per week, $12 a week).
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Bean and Spinach Patties
Bean and Spinach Patties
This recipe came courtesy of a yahoo board that I am on. It originated with Nava Atlas:
http://vegkitchen.com/recipes/bean-main-dishes.htm
It's been adjusted a tiny bit. I made it tonight and it was delicious. Vegan, tasty, and it's inspiring me to try it with different bean/flavor combos (black bean and southwestern, and kidney bean and italian).
1/3 c. oatmeal (0.06)
2/3 c. boiling water
1/3 c. wheat germ (0.70)
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry (0.60)
15 oz can cannelini or northern beans, drained and rinsed (0.70)
2 scallions, minced (0.20)
1 tsp dried thyme (recipe called for dill, didn't have it)
1 tsp all purpose salt-free seasoning (I used steak seasoning)
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, pressed (0.10)
Combine oatmeal and boiling water in a bowl. Let stand 5-10 min. (There was leftover water for me, so I scooped out the oatmeal and left out the water).
Mash beans very well in a mixing bowl.
Add oatmeal, squeezed spinach, and rest of ingredients. Mix well. Form into patties.
Heat nonstick skillet to medium high. Add oil. Saute 6 min on each side until browned.
This made 7 patties for me, at about $2.50 when you add the oil. So that's $0.36 each. But I ate two, as did my spouse. Toddler ate 1/2.
This recipe came courtesy of a yahoo board that I am on. It originated with Nava Atlas:
http://vegkitchen.com/recipes/bean-main-dishes.htm
It's been adjusted a tiny bit. I made it tonight and it was delicious. Vegan, tasty, and it's inspiring me to try it with different bean/flavor combos (black bean and southwestern, and kidney bean and italian).
1/3 c. oatmeal (0.06)
2/3 c. boiling water
1/3 c. wheat germ (0.70)
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry (0.60)
15 oz can cannelini or northern beans, drained and rinsed (0.70)
2 scallions, minced (0.20)
1 tsp dried thyme (recipe called for dill, didn't have it)
1 tsp all purpose salt-free seasoning (I used steak seasoning)
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, pressed (0.10)
Combine oatmeal and boiling water in a bowl. Let stand 5-10 min. (There was leftover water for me, so I scooped out the oatmeal and left out the water).
Mash beans very well in a mixing bowl.
Add oatmeal, squeezed spinach, and rest of ingredients. Mix well. Form into patties.
Heat nonstick skillet to medium high. Add oil. Saute 6 min on each side until browned.
This made 7 patties for me, at about $2.50 when you add the oil. So that's $0.36 each. But I ate two, as did my spouse. Toddler ate 1/2.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Moroccan Lentil Soup
This recipe comes courtesy of BigDan on The Simple Living Network. It's a vegan pressure cooker soup that he says costs less than a buck. I made it, it cost me $2.05, but it was 6-8 servings.
Now, I'm not a fan of soup. I wish I were. It's healthy. But I do like stew. So on night #1, this soup was okay. By night #2, it had thickened & the flavors had melded, and it was awesome.
Moroccan Lentil Soup
1 cup lentils (0.30)
6 c. water
1 onion, diced (0.25)
3/4 tsp salt
pinch cayenne
1 carrot, diced (0.20)
1 celery rib, diced (0.13)
1 red bell, diced (0.97)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/8 tsp turmeric
4 cloves garlic, chopped (0.15)
1 T. grated fresh ginger (0.25)
8 oz diced tomatoes (canned) (0.25)
2 T cilantro
Sort and rinse lentils. Toss into pressure cooker. Bring to boil. Cover, bring to high pressure, cook 7 min. Let pressure reduce naturally.
Now, I'm not a fan of soup. I wish I were. It's healthy. But I do like stew. So on night #1, this soup was okay. By night #2, it had thickened & the flavors had melded, and it was awesome.
Moroccan Lentil Soup
1 cup lentils (0.30)
6 c. water
1 onion, diced (0.25)
3/4 tsp salt
pinch cayenne
1 carrot, diced (0.20)
1 celery rib, diced (0.13)
1 red bell, diced (0.97)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/8 tsp turmeric
4 cloves garlic, chopped (0.15)
1 T. grated fresh ginger (0.25)
8 oz diced tomatoes (canned) (0.25)
2 T cilantro
Sort and rinse lentils. Toss into pressure cooker. Bring to boil. Cover, bring to high pressure, cook 7 min. Let pressure reduce naturally.
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