Ingles 4 Under $40 - Thanksgiving2012

Yay for a week (mostly) back to normal. Of course, normal for us means still in the throes of a den renovation (I’ll post pics later) and laundry piles up to my ears, but we are home and we are blessed. I look forward to Thanksgiving more and more every year. It’s such a peaceful time for us to reflect and celebrate Christ, and all he has graciously chosen to bless us with. But, I still have a family to feed. (Unfortunately they’re going to want to eat more often this week than only Thursday.) So here’s an easy 4 Under $40 to get you through the chaos!

Monday

Make a big pot of chili tonight. Use the ground beef that may or may not still be in your freezer and the beans that you may or may not have picked up on previous store excursions. If there’s no beef on ice, go with extra beans or add in some rice (brown even) to make it plenty filling with less fat and more fiber. Thanks to the sales last month this meal for me is $0 out of my pocket this week. Keep what you buy under $10 and you’re good to go.

Tuesday

I found this Sausage Cheddar Quiche recipe and thought it look amazing. Since nearly every single ingredient is on sale I figured we should give it a shot.

9in Pastry Crust (Sure, make your own if you want. I will buy the pre-packaged suckers for $2 – Pillsbury)

1 lb pork sausage (Jimmy Dean $2.50/lb – I like it “Hot”)

4oz can of sliced mushrooms (entirely optional)

½ c chopped onion

¼ c chopped green pepper (if you buy a small bunch you’ll use them tonight and tomorrow)

½ t dried basil (Ok, the small “t” is teaspoon; the capital “T” is Tablespoon)

1 ½ c sharp cheddar cheese – shredded

2 eggs beaten

1 c milk

Paprika

1.    Prick the pie crust with a fork and bake at 400° for 3 min. Remove, re-prick, and bake another 5 min.

2.    Brown and drain sausage then mix with mushrooms, onion, pepper, and basil and spoon into pie crust. Sprinkle cheese on top.

3.    Combine eggs and milk and pour into pie crust and sprinkle with paprika.

4.    Bake at 350° for 50 min or until set. Let stand 10 min before slicing.

Voila! You may end up with this meal for $5 or less if you have what you need on hand. If not it should still be under $10.

Wednesday

I’m thinking “light” tonight since tomorrow will be a throw-down (at least it is at the THREE family events we will have). Boneless/skinless chicken is $1.98/lb so if you don’t have some in the freezer grab a small package (<$4) and cook it however you prefer. Throw it in a bowl with some sliced green grapes ($2.98/lb), spinach (+/- $3), celery ($.88 ea), one box spiral pasta ($.88 ea DaVinci - cooked per package directions), one jar ¼ marinated artichoke hearts ($3 +/-), 3 green onions chopped, and a large can of mandarin oranges ($.98 ea – Laura Lynn). For the dressing mix ½ c EVOO, ¼ c sugar, 2 T white vinegar, 1 t salt, ½ dried onion, 1t lemon juice, and 2 T parsley.  If you don’t have most of this on hand you’ll pay more than $10, but it might be worth it. Of course have fun substituting what you do have for some of these recommended ingredients. What what’s in my stash I’ll probably pay about $5 for this one.

Thursday

Enjoy Thanksgiving with your family. Post in “Comments” the things for which you are thankful. I’d love to see what you have to say! This year I am thankful for this blog, poor though it is, for helping me develop discipline and to feed my family well without spending lots of money.

Friday

Easy-peasy is the plan for Friday. (That and lots of fiber!) It’s about time for black-eyed peas ($1 lb) and greens ($2.50 bunch) around here. (Of course, for the same $5 I may grab a can of Glory Seasoned greens and save myself the trouble of making my own!) We’ll have a bit of corn bread too, but this meal will pack a punch at under $5. Depending on what leftovers you may have, soup is a great option too. Of course, you may not need to make a meal at all depending on the leftovers at hand. $6

Conclusion

There’s this week’s 4 Under $40. Make sure you don’t miss out on the free turkey from Ingles if you have 6 or more “Turkey Points” (I’ll be grabbing mine tomorrow). This is also a great time of year to stock up on pantry staples as LOTS of great stuff is on sale (sugar, flour, spices, etc.). Check the sale paper for more awesome ideas. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

~Megan