4 Under $40 for 30 Sept 2012

Confession – I got a bit ambitious with my plans for this week. Now, my totals for the meals as I had planned is still only $47.55, but that is not less than 4 for $40 so I'm going to take a do-over and change the schedule. The ribs have to go. Though on sale, the $11.22/rack and sides was just more than this budget could handle.

Monday
Stay with the Shepherd's Pie today. It will be a super warming meal on this yucky, rainy day we've had. If you are still eating through the 10 lb bag of potatoes from 2 weeks ago you've brought your total even lower. If not, go for the 5# bag of golden potatoes for $2.50 and save the rest for an amazing Leek and Potato Soup next week.

Tuesday
My family loves chicken legs and though I don't love the way they taste I LOVE the way they are often priced. The $0.98/lb price is on the smaller packages so you'll probably need 2. And with this recipe you have a (nearly) 1 dish meal. (We leave mushrooms out of recipes around here so they were not included in my pricing.) If you have rice and cream of mushroom soup in your stash then you save money. If not, go for the Success Rice. At $1.78/box it's a steal and your rice will be finished and fluffy in under 10 minutes. Success Rice also makes a brown rice if you want to up the health/fiber factor. Laura Lynn Cream of . . . Soups are priced at $0.75 ea so stock up on these while you can.

Wednesday
!!Church!!

Thursday
Salmon and Thai Rice Noodles is tonight's dish. Now, if your family doesn't love Asian cuisine then you might want to use some of your extra ground beef and go for the Sloppy Joe's or Chili. Use what should be in your pantry from the last couple of weeks and you eat for the cost of a pound of beef only - $2.48lb this week! Otherwise here is a fabulously delicious and healthy recipe with extra veggies and it's one of my favorites –
Prepare 1 box of Thai Rice Noodles ($2.38) per box directions. Sprinkle with sesame oil so they won't be sticky and set aside.
In a small bowl wisk together 4T honey and 4T soy sauce. Put 1 lb salmon filet ($4.98) into dish with honey and soy sauce, flip to coat and let sit 5 min. Broil in an oiled baking dish for 6-7 min. Retain remaining sauce.
In a large skillet over med/high heat toast 2T sesame seeds until golden brown. (Watch closely!) Place into separate bowl. Into skillet place 2T coconut oil, 6 sliced green onions ($1), 2 chopped red bell peppers ($3) and 2 cups spinach ($2.84). Saute 3-4 min. Add noodles and remaining honey/soy sauce. Toss until heated through. Serve with salmon sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Like I said, this is a favorite and super yummy. Let me know what you think. Even if you don't go with the noodles and veggies the simple honey/soy sauce is great for a quick salmon broil.

Friday
Tonight, take advantage of the DiGiorno Advantage Deal and eat for $4.98. You can use some of the spinach you didn't use last night and serve the pizza with a salad or just eat the pizza alone. I noticed that Jell-O and Jell-O puddings are on sale for ($0.75) so grab a box and even have dessert.

 
Conclusion
While I am sorely disappointed about the ribs I'll be more careful next time. At only $7 over budget I was tempted to go for it anyway, but a $40 budget is a $40 budget. Besides, if you decide to do the salmon and need new pantry staples like Sesame Oil or Coconut Oil those will run you from about $6 to $9 per bottle/jar. Soy sauce is on sale in several different brands/sizes. $1.88 for 10 oz was the best deal I found. Don't miss out on the ground beef sale and buy extra before it goes back up to over $3/lb. (Ew.)
Below is the Grocery List. Enjoy!

 
~Megan

Meat	Per Lb Price	Quantity	Total
Ground Beef	$2.48	1#	$2.48
Salmon	$4.98	1#	$4.98
Chicken Legs	$0.98	3#	$2.94
Produce	Price	Quantity
Gold Potatoes	$2.50	5#	$2.50
Onions	$1.50	3#	$1.50
Green Onions	$1.00	2	$2.00
Red Bell Peppers	$3.00	2	$3.00
Fresh Express Spinach	$2.84	1	$2.84
Dairy	Price	Quantity
LL Sour Cream	$1.34	1	$1.33
LL Cheese	$1.67	2	$3.34
Freezer
DiGiorno Pizza	$4.48	1	$4.48
Grocery	Price	Quantity
DelMonte Green Beans	$0.70	1	$0.70
LL Cream of . . . Soup	$0.75	1	$0.75
Success Rice	$1.78	1	$1.78
Thai Rice Noodles	$2.38	1	$2.38
Kraft BBQ Sauce	$0.98	1	$0.98
Grand Total			$37.98

30 Sept 2012 Recipes

This week I'm getting creative with Ingles' sales - and we are eating like kings! Tonight I'm linking 3 of the recipes I'll be using, but I'll post the grocery list and a super-fab salmon recipe tomorrow. All of these links come from the "Tasty Kitchen" site - my FAVORITE place to find good, sensible recipes. Enjoy!

Monday: Shepherd's Pie

Tuesday: These Chicken Legs or These Chicken Legs

Wednesday: Church

Thursday: Salmon

Friday: Baby Back Ribs

~Megan

*Yes, I fully realize that the "These" and "These" of Tuesday's chicken legs are different sizes, but they don't want to fix and so you get two different theses tonight.  (And we will not discuss whether or not "theses" is a word.) Thank you. :o) 

4 Under $40 September 23, 2012

If you remember from last week's post my meal plans are based on what the Ingles supermarkets have listed in their sale paper. I am an Ingles' shopper out of convenience. Other than the Walmart, a Piggly Wiggly (lacking in produce) and a discount grocery our rural community is not a shopping mecca for foodies. Thus, out of necessity, Ingles is our grocery of choice. So, here's my plan for the week of September 23, 2012. Their prices are not necessarily always lower than a store like Walmart, but if you watch the sale papers you can do pretty well sans coupons.

Monday

Chicken Pasta Salad

If you picked up extra pasta last week, you are going to do even better, but don't despair because Barilla pasta is still on sale at 4/$5. I prefer the tri-color rotini for this dish, but any pasta will do, just cook according to package directions, drain and put into large bowl. Cook your boneless, skinless chicken breast ($1.98 lb) as preferred and chop into bite sized pieces and add it to the bowl. (If you buy extra, boil it, chop it and freeze a couple of breasts and broth for next week you have the start of chicken noodle soup.) Grab a bag of Fresh Express (2/$4) baby spinach and add it to the pasta. Now you can have fun and add whatever you desire. If you like it more savory add Italian dressing (Kraft 8 oz dressings $1.97 ea), black olives and artichoke hearts. Prefer a sweeter salad? Try chopped apples ($2.98/3 lb), grapes ($2.48 lb), dried cranberries and a sweeter dressing. Depending on what you already have on-hand you are looking at a family meal for under $6.

 

Tuesday

Taco Soup

Check out yesterday's post for this easy, delicious Taco Soup recipe. If you don't keep many canned goods around tonight's meal could be the most expensive of the week. But, if you use what you have then you could come away with a meal for merely pennies. The total here is coming from purchasing everything at the store; ground beef and all canned goods. Notice on the grocery list that I just added the Luck's Chili Beans that were on sale and the LL Red Kidney Beans. Either will work and chose the one you'd rather have. I'll also just use a can of RoTel or another can of tomatoes rather than tomato sauce. Getting creative is the BEST part about soup making! Instead of chips (which are becoming outrageously expensive) think about using the tortillas that you got on sale last week or pick some up this week (still on sale) and don't miss the Old El Paso bonus. The same goes for the canned DelMonte veggies. Total if you purchase everything new this week $15.

 

Wednesday

Dinner at church!

 

Thursday

Cube Steak (Country Fried Steak)

Cube steak (country fried steak) is the biggie this week. (Recipe here.) Trust me; you are going to want to try this at least once. It is totally worth the effort, I give you my word! Cube steak ($2.98 lb) and new (red) potatoes ($1.98/5 lbs) are the heart of this meal. Even better - you could use some of the 10 lbs worth of potatoes you bought last week and do them mashed. You can go for a side salad and use the remaining lettuce (Fresh Express 2/$4) or try a new veggie. I love asparagus ($2.98 lb) and it happens to be on sale this week too. I usually give it a quick steam in a sauce pan and salt it when finished, but they're nice roasted in the oven too. Bakery French bread is BOGO ($1.88/2) or, if you prefer, Pilsbury Crescent rolls (2/$5). Meal total here is anywhere from $8 - $12.

 

Friday

Pintos and Cornbread

Pintos and cornbread is probably the cheapest, most filling dinner we eat around here. This week you can get dried beans for $1 lb (Note: the sale is on 2 lb bags). I recommend you stock-up. Does anyone need a recipe for pintos? Let me know and I'll post that as well. If you have to buy cornmeal ($2.88/5 lb) then you're per-meal price will rise above $1, but if not your entire family will eat for $1 today! (Also, if you season your beans with side meat or bacon your price will go up. There are ways to get great flavor without the pork!)

 

Conclusion

If you purchase every single ingredient listed for this week's meals, then your total is going to be nearly $70. However, you will get some pantry stockers and freezer meat for this price. I chose these meals because I have many of these items already in my pantry (some from last week's sale) that I won't have to purchase again. In fact, I'm looking at these meals costing me under $20! Figure out how exactly this works for you and let me know.

 

~Megan

 

Grocery List

MEAT	PRICE/EST	QTY	TOTAL
Boneless/Skinless Breast	$1.98/lb	2-3 lb	$5.94
Ground Beef	$3/lb	3 lb	$9.00
Cube Steak	$2.98/lb	2 lb	$5.96
PRODUCE
Gala Apples (bag)	$2.98/3 lb	3 lb	$2.98
Grapes	$1.28/lb		$2.00
Fresh Express Bag Salad	$2 ea	2	$4.00
Red Potatoes	$1.98/5 lb	5 lb	$1.98
Asparagus	$2.98/lb	1 lb	$3.00
Bakery French Bread	$1.88	1	$1.88
GROCERY
Barilla Pasta	$0.80	1 or 2	$1.60
White Lily Buttermilk Cornmeal	$2.88/5 lb	1	$2.88
Taco Seasoning	$0.80/free	1	$0.80
LL Pinto Beans	$1/lb (2lb bags)	1	$2.00
LL Cream of . . . Soup	$1.08	1 or 2	$2.16
Ranch Drsg Packet	$1.00	1	$1.00
Kraft 8oz Salad Drsg	$1.97 ea	1 or 2	$3.94
DelMonte Can Veggies	$0.80 WYB 10	10	$10.00
Luck's Beans (Chili Beans)	$0.60 ea	2	$1.20
LL Kidney Beans	$0.78	2	$1.56
LL Evaporated Milk (sm)	$0.73	1 or 2	$1.46
GRAND TOTAL	----	---	$65.34

Recipes for this Week's Meal Plan

As I am preparing my 4 Under $40 meal plan for this week I wanted to send out a head’s up. Here are a couple of recipes that you are going to need before I post the grocery list. The Taco Soup recipe came from my sweet cousin, Marcy. It’s one you can probably find most anywhere and I love to give it some variety with what I have in my pantry (and what’s on sale this week). The other is hands down the BEST Cubed Steak recipe ever. Now, this one won’t be done in 30min, but the slow cook time makes it absolutely worth the trouble. If you feed a family of meat-lovers then this recipe should be a go-to in your repertoire.

TACO SOUP

1.5 lb ground beef

1 med onion – chopped

15 oz can tomato sauce

28 oz can diced tomatoes

(2) 15 oz cans kidney beans – drained and rinsed

(2) 15 oz cans yellow corn – keep juice

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 pkg ranch dressing seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili powder

Brown ground beef and onions. Drain. Return to pot and add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil then simmer for 1h. (Mine usually doesn’t make it an hour once it’s warm through!)

CUBE STEAK/Country Fried Steak

Let me give props to former Carrollton Mayor, Gerald Pilgrim, for a country fried steak recipe so good it gets “Slap Yo’ Mama” status.  If you are local and don’t have one of the Recipe Bouquet cookbooks created by the Tallapoosa Garden Club in the 90’s (I think), then you must find a copy. It is a fabulous cookbook and one of the most often used at the Hatchett house. This particular recipe from Mr. Pilgrim can be found on pp. 87-88.

1.5 lbs cube steak

1 can mushroom soup

3 evaporated milk cans water

2 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp Carnation milk (evaporated milk)

3 Tbsp Crisco

Salt & pepper

*Note: I substitute most of the water for the rest of the small can of evaporated milk that I use as it is unlikely I’ll need a small can minus 1T of evaporated milk for anything else. And I also find that 3 cans of water make too much gravy to fit into the cooking dish I use.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Salt and pepper steak generously and then batter in flour. Heat Crisco to high in skillet and brown steak quickly. Place steak in an oven safe, covered dish. Put 2 Tbsp flour in grease and brown. Add soup to mixture and evaporated milk and more water (as desires). Pour gravy mixture over steak and bake at 300° for 1 hour. Decrease heat to warm (175 - 200°) and continue baking for 2 hours. This will be the most tender cube steak you will EVER eat and it also works great on cube vineson - you won't even know it's not beef!

~Megan

This week at Ingles . . .

Dinner time is a stressor for me. I find that as 4:30 rolls around around every day, I am in a panic, searching my kitchen for something "appropriate" to feed my family. If I am not prepared then I succumb to the delicacies of corn dogs and peanut butter sandwiches. In my effort to become more disciplined I am undertaking renovations of family dinner time. Now, I used to be a couponer, but since my coupon buddy went back to work full-time over a year ago, couponing has lost it's joy and become a burden for me. However, I am still a money-saving-mama and find that if I spend some quality time on Sunday night with the Ingles' sale paper I am in a great position to save money AND provide my family a much more healthy dinner than would otherwise be the case.

So, here's the Hatchett Family Meal Plan for this week:

Monday - Spaghetti 

You know how to do this. Shake it up by using pasta in a fun or different shape.
Barilla pasta = 4/$5
Classico Sauce = 2/$4
Fresh Express Salad = 2/$4
-without bread your total meal for a family of 4 or 5 is $5.25. That's barely a dollar per person!

Tuesday - Mexican Chicken 

Pop your chicken breasts in the your crock, cover them with the Rotel and cook until done. Just make sure you carefully remove the chicken when complete to make sure there are no small bones that come dislodged and remain in your chicken.
Bone-in-Breast = $0.98/lb or about $2.94 for 3 lbs.
Rotel Tomatoes = 10/$10
Zatarain's Rice (Spanish) = 10/$10
-before adding in tortillas this meal comes to $4.94!

Wednesday - 

Thank Goodness for Wednesday night meals at church. This is a blessing to Mom's everywhere. If your kiddos are not involved in a Wednesday night children's program then the mere fact that most serve dinner is reason enough to get them there!! One day I will write "An Ode to the Wednesday Night Meal." Thank you.

Thursday - Pork Chops

This one is the budget buster for the week, but in my house Thursday is usually the night I can go all-out in the kitchen. I try to do my Beloved a big favor and fix him something really nice. I'll most likely do this one in the crock as well. Dust chops with a mesquite seasoning and put into the crock. Add potatoes and onions and cook until done. Fresh veggies on the side and VOILA!
Chops = $2.98/lb or $8.94 for 3 lbs.
McCormick Seasoning Packets = 10/$10
Potatoes = 10 lbs for $2.98 is about $0.90 for this meal
Onions = $0.78 per lb and about $1.56 for this meal
Bird's Eye Steam Fresh Veggie = 5/$10
Total for this meal is $14.40. A bit more than I like to spend for the other meals during the week, but still a good sight less than what we'd get a heart-attack in a bag for elsewhere. And even though you can steam these veggies in the bag, I generally opt for a glass bowl in the microwave or a quick spin on the stove-top. Fewer creepy plastic parts sealed into my otherwise healthy veggies that way.

Friday - Football Night Manwich

My crew likes to go to the local high school football games (and pray) so I try to have something quick and easy to clean. Thankfully, my Beloved likes Manwich so this is a super easy choice for us.
Manwich = 10/$10
LL Pretzles = 10/$10
Grapes = $1.68/lb so about $3.36
Buns and ground beef were not listed in the paper this week so I'll have to price them in a bit, but thus far you're looking at $5.36. Choose a fruit other than grapes and you may be looking at less. Either way, this price still won't be near Thursday night's total.

If you go into Ingles with only this plan today, you'll spend less than $40 for 4 nights of food for your family. Not too shabby on the pocket book and you aren't slacking in the substance of meals here either. 

LUNCHES

I am looking at the Progresso 10/$10 soups and deli turkey on sale for $4.98/lb as likely lunch candidates this week along with left overs. With an extra bag of salad you can turn Tuesday's chicken into a spicy lunch salad for Wednesday. There are also good deals on cheese sticks and apples (both organic and non) to keep on hand for snack time.

OTHER
There are some GREAT 10/$10 deals at Ingles this week so also look at stocking up while there. I like to keep a stash of the McCormick seasoning packets for chili and pot roast and whatever else I see they are offering. (I love little helps that make my job easy.) My baseball players are always in need of sunflower seeds and at 10/$10 I'll be stocking up on those this week too. It's a good time to add extra spaghetti fixings to the pantry stash for a quick meal in another week or so. And I always look for the family deals in the meat department. It's often much cheaper to buy several pounds of ground beef or a big package of chicken legs (organic is on sale too and I will be buying to freeze until next week) than smaller servings. Better to divide and freeze than spend your extra money on something as unexciting as dead animals. ;o)

Have a Wonderful Week!
Megan
*Follow the Ingles link to their weekly sale page and make/print your list from there.

UPDATE: Including the $11 worth of ground beef, my meal total this week was $40.95 (including tax - even though I'm still not sure how grocery tax works). That just leaves one problem - the other $100 I spent NOT on meals for this week! How on earth did that happen?!?! LOL The story of my life.

Work While you Work . . . .

I set out this week to write about the new school year and how all our school books came in and we’re ready to begin. But, while working around the house this morning another thought struck me . . . as I reflect on the past year I am amazed by how much I’ve learned. Oh yes, my babies learned and learned and learned some more and it is awesome to watch those little sponges soak in everything this marvelous creation has to reveal to them, but truly I am amazed by what I learn as their teacher. 

Last Friday I scrubbed the house down well and we’ve managed to keep the chaos to a low roar so I didn’t think I needed to do the cleaning job I did last week. I thought, “Well, I’ll just wipe down a few things and be done.” And you know what I discovered? This little poem we learned in school last year (and that I quote to my babies probably too often) is correct about life in so many ways. 

                                Work while you work.

                                Play while you play;

                                This is the way to be happy each day.

                                All that you do, do with your might.

                                Things done by halves

                                Are never done right.

The best part is that if you just do the work, often the job is easier and takes less time. In my morning wipe down I realized that the “easy” cleaning wipes were causing me to work twice as hard as if I’d just cleaned the bathrooms the way I normally do.

The Preacher working very hard!

I suppose that, yes, I should know this life lesson. I suppose that I should have learned at least this easy one by now. But, no. I am finding that it’s only been in the last few years that I am really learning and growing and acting like the adult I’m supposed to be. Too much of my life I’ve spent playing . . . I’ve played because playing is more fun, because it’s what I wanted to do, and because I wanted to avoid work. But the truth is - work is the life, the real life in which we all want to live and find joy. We forget that it’s only when we’ve exhausted ourselves in work that true play and relaxation and refreshment can take place. Without the work all is hedonism and there is no joy in hedonism.

I am reminded that God, in his graciousness, has set work before us; to both empty and fill. There are few areas in life that bring more genuine satisfaction than a job well done. The Bible reminds us in 2 Thessalonians that if a man doesn’t work, then he shouldn’t eat, but also shows us again and again the precept that hard work is an acceptable gift to the Lord. I am thankful that my Heavenly Father has seen fit to teach me and given me a spirit of willingness to learn so I’ll not waste more years on seeking the futility that is pleasure for pleasure’s purpose. And next time I am tempted to take the easy route, I’ll remember the poem I taught my children, the one that is teaching my own spirit the importance of working well.

~Megan

Why I ate Chick-fil-A Today

The recent political and moral outcry over the Biblically sound words of Chick-fil-A president, Dan Cathey, has weighed heavily on my heart. As a Christian, I find that I am both encouraged and appalled by the responses from both ends of the spectrum. I feel that most professing Christ have missed an amazing opportunity to share the true gospel with a world absorbed completely in its own sin.

  Christians taking a stand on biblical marriage must do so on the strong foundation of scripture that demands purity and holiness in every aspect of sexual life – not just the area pertaining to same-sex acts. If you choose to stand for Biblical marriage then you are choosing to make a statement about the appointed place of divinely created sexual activity and the recognized responsibility that sexuality bears. The resounding call for recognition of biblical marriage is first and foremost a call to Christians, to those who actually claim to be followers of Christ, to flee sexual impurity and to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy  of the gospel of Christ. We cannot afford to adopt the “Que sera’ sera’” attitude that seems to be pervading the Facebook posts and blogs. We cannot say, “You’re free to sleep with whomever you want to as long as you don’t tell me I can’t say what I want.” That is utter foolishness and is certainly not what taking a Biblical stand on marriage means.

 I am saddened that many of you are angered more because your freedom of speech has been questioned rather than realizing that the true, effectual stand to be holy and righteous in ALL our actions has been woefully neglected by the church as a whole these last hundred years or more. Beloved ones, this is tragedy in its truest form. I see that many of you are willing to trade this opportunity to repent and scrub your lives clean of sexual immorality because you would rather “speak your mind” and have no one find fault with your personal actions. Why in the world are we acting as though an angry response to a Biblical stand is surprising? We should expect the world to have something unfriendly to say about righteousness. As Christians, persecution is our lot in life. Jesus himself reminded us that the world hated him and it will love us no more. (John 15:18&19 explains this explicitly.) I find that not only are we surprised by any amount of negativity (I’ll not call angry posts on Facebook persecution), but our response is little better. We want to whine and cry that our freedom to speak our minds is being squashed. Beware of believing your freedom to speak is more important than your freedom to be a slave to Christ and of not using this opportunity to become more like Him.

 

My dear family, let us not forget that it wasn’t so long ago that we were the ones practicing sexual misconduct and any number of depraved and vile acts. We were separated from God by our sin, but thanks be to God for the glorious life, death and resurrection of his son, Jesus, by which we are free from all practices that separate us from Him. Are you born homosexual? I believe it’s probable seeing that we are all born in sin and not one of us is righteous. I was probably born angry with a terrible temper. Oh yes, we all have our struggles, and most of us, if honest, will confess to having some kind of struggle with sexuality. Guess what? As children of the King we are all called to the same righteous and holy standard of purity, regardless of our sin of choice. This is glory of salvation through Jesus that, in-spite of our pasts and who we were born to be, in Him we are NEW CREATIONS and we are made Remarkably Whole.

~Megan