Make it stretch, one month at a time part 2

As I said before it usually takes me several days to menu plan , and make a grocery list . This month however didn't take as long for whatever reason . I did inventory , menu planning and my grocery list all in two days . When I went through everything I realized I had quite a bit to work with, but my meat stock was getting low . So instead of buying only one meat a month I ended up buying ground beef , chicken , ground turkey , ground sausage and pork . Still I did pretty good given that I had to buy more than usual . I was able to come up with quite a few meals for the month of August and beginning of September and I really didn't spend a whole lot . I ended up with 36 days worth of meals .
This is how our menu plays out this month . I also included the cost per serving, how many servings , cost for the whole meal, and the amount that I paid minus the veggies , and any other ingredients that I may have already had (just to show how much a garden and using what you have can cut down on meal prices) , and if I can the recipe because I know I'm always looking for new recipes and to show what we eat on such a small food budget . If you would like any of the recipes that aren't listed feel free to ask .

Week 1

1 .Skillet Macaroni and Cheese- This recipe can be found here : http://www.momswhothink.com/quick-and-easy-dinner-recipes/skillet-chicken-mac-and-cheese-.htm

cost for the meal : 6.85 What I paid : 4.70 Cost Per Serving . This usually makes 6-8 servings but I usually add more macaroni . 

2 . Vegetable Beef Soup over Mashed Potatoes : The recipe can be found here : http://www.food.com/recipe/old-fashioned-vegetable-beef-soup-58901

I tripled this recipe, and leftovers will be divided up and frozen for future use .

cost for the meal : 10.78 What I paid : 7.28 Cost per serving . 35  There is usually about 6-7 servings per batch .

3 . Taco's- Cost for the meal : 4.86 What I paid : 3.21 Cost per serving : .53. There is usually about 11-13 servings which usually leaves extra's . I will use ground turkey instead of ground beef which usually keep the price down and you can't tell a difference . I also sometimes mix a little rice in with the meat to make it stretch farther . I have also heard oatmeal works very well too .

4 . Breakfast Burritos- Cost for the meal : 7.23 What I paid : 3.97 Cost per serving : . 66 This usually makes about 8 burritos which is MORE than plenty . Usually there are leftovers for breakfast the next day .

5 . Goulash, Garlic Bread, and Salad- Cost for the meal: 7.03 What I paid: 2.54 Cost per serving: .42 There are usually about 7-8 servings. Usually there are plenty of leftovers with this. I use ground turkey with this as well.

6 . Pepperoni Pizza Quesadilla's , Salad- Cost for the meal : 5.38 What I paid : 0.00 this was leftover from last month's menu . Cost per serving : .57 This usually makes 5 quesadillas that I quarter. It's usually more that enough for us . 

7 . Fish Sandwiches , Corn on the Cob , Sweet Potato French Fries- Cost of the meal: 5.86 What I paid: 4.87 Cost per serving: .81 I usually make enough for 6 servings . 

Week 2

1 . Tenderloin Sandwiches , Homemade Macaroni and Cheese , Green beans , squash and zucchini - Cost for the meal : 7.10 What I paid : 4.85 Cost per serving : .80 This usually makes about 6-7 servings . There is always leftover macaroni for lunch the next day or dinner later .

2 . Homemade Chicken Pot Pie- Cost for the meal : 3.96 What I paid : 2.91 Cost per serving : .48 There are usually 6-7 servings in this recipe .

3 . Pumpkin Pancakes , Sausage Links- Cost for the meal : 3.26 What I paid: 0.00 because I already had everything . Cost per serving : .46 if I had to buy it . There is usually about 7-8 servings of two pancakes a piece,  leaving leftovers for the next days breakfast .

4 . Mexican Cornbread- Cost for the meal : 4.53 What I paid : 0.00 because I already had everything. Cost per serving: .41 if I had to buy it . There are usually about 10-11 servings in this . I always have leftovers .

5 . Aunt Sue's Potato Soup-Cost for the meal : 3.28 What I paid 0.00 because I had everything . Cost per serving : .19 This is a double batch , so it makes about 14-16 servings for a double batch . I always freeze the leftovers and use them later .

6 . Homemade Pizza and Salad-  Here is the recipe I use for my pizza crust :http://trickschefs.com/showthread.php?tid=1177  Cost for the meal 2.43 What I paid : 2.00 Cost per serving : .33 There is usually about 6 servings in this . 

7 . Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake -This recipe can be found here : http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/cheesy-chicken-and-rice-bake/  Cost for this meal : 4.92 What I paid 3.05 Cost per serving: .38 This usually makes about 8 servings .

Week 3
1 . Chicken Stuffing Skillet- Cost for the meal : 5.27 What I paid : 4.07 Cost per Serving : .67 There are usually about 6 servings .

2 . Oatmeal Pancakes , Sausage Links . This recipe can be found here : http://duggarfamily.com/content/duggar_recipes/30467/oatmeal_pancakes

Cost for this meal :  3.58 What I paid : 2.54 Cost per serving: .36 This recipe usually makes about 7-8 servings .

3 . Tuna Noodle Casserole-This recipe can be found here :  http://www.campbellskitchen.com/recipedetail.aspx?recipeId=24254
Cost for this meal: 3.98 What I paid: 2.18 Cost per serving : .36 This recipe usually makes 6-7 servings . I do not use the pimentos that the recipe recommends . I also use the Aldi 's brand cream of mushroom soup rather than Campbell's .

4 . Homemade Salisbury Steak , Mashed Potatoes and Gravy , Peas and Carrotts- This recipe can be found here : http://www.food.com/recipe/the-very-best-salisbury-steak-56694 This isn't the exact recipe that I use but it's very close . I add in mushrooms and I use dry onion soup mix rather than the actual soup. Cost of this meal: 5.92 , What I paid: 4.02 , Cost per serving : . 57 This makes about 6 salisbury steaks.

5 . Chimichangas, Salad -Cost for this meal : 7.60 What I paid : 5.60 Cost per serving : .80 This usually makes about 8 chimichangas and usually leaves leftover meat . I use ground turkey with this as well.

6 . Ham and Bean Soup , Homemade Cornbread-http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com/2009/04/ham-white-bean-soup.html  Cost for this meal : 4.39 What  I paid : 0.00 I had all the ingredients already. Cost per serving: .43 This is a double batch and total makes about 10 servings . The leftovers will be frozen for future meals . This recipe is very close to what I use. I don't use the leeks, or the bay leaf. Here is my cornbread recipe as well . This is the best cornbread ever : http://allrecipes.com/recipe/golden-sweet-cornbread/

7 . Homemade Pizza, Salad- Cost for this meal : 2.43 I paid 2.00 Cost per serving : . 33 There is about 6 servings in this recipe .


Week 4
1 . Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff- You can find this recipe here : http://www.campbellskitchen.com/RecipeDetail.aspx?recipeId=50426&ref=%2fSearchRecipeTypeResult.aspx%3fRecipeTypeSearchId%3d5%2c96%2c356%26page%3d13  Cost of this meal : 4.75 What I paid : 4.08 Cost per serving : .59 Makes 8 servings . I use ground beef instead of the steak suggested in the recipe .

2 . Ham and Cheese Sliders , Chilled broccoli and cauliflower salad , Potato Salad- The recipe can be found here : http://4peatssake.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/ham-and-cheese-sliders/ Cost of this meal : 7.87 What I paid : 6.45 Cost per serving : . 53 This makes 12 servings . I am not planning on making the poppy seed topping .

3 . Lasagna, Salad and Garlic Bread-This recipe can be found here : http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/simply-lasagna-69196.aspx Cost of this meal : 8.31 What I paid : 5.56 Cost per serving : . 69 This makes about 8 servings .

4 . BLT's and Fruit Salad- Cost of this meal : 3.51 What I paid : 2.31 Cost Per serving: . 46 I make enough for 5 servings .

5 . Scrambled , Eggs , Fruit Salad , Homemade Banana Bread-Cost of this meal : 3.83 What I paid : 1.98 Cost per serving: .39 This makes 5 servings .

6 . Hamburgers, French Fries, Onion Rings, Baked Beans- Cost of this meal : 7.33 What I paid : 6.23 Cost per serving : 1.05 This makes 6 servings with leftover french fries and onion rings .

7 . Barbeque Pork Chops, Corn on the Cob, Potato Salad- This recipe can be found here :http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/barbecue-pork-chops/ac2e0742-663a-485c-a938-e9feb96786c8
Cost of this meal : 5.77 What I paid : 2.99 Cost per serving : .49 This makes 6 servings .

Week 5

1 . Crescent Chicken , Mashed Potatoes and Gravy , Carrotts and Green beans- The recipe can be found here : http://comfyinthekitchen.com/2011/02/crescent-chicken/  Cost of this meal : 6.94 What I paid : 4.74 Cost per servings : . 79 This makes about 6 servings .

2 . Barbeque Sandwiches , Baked Beans , Potato Salad and Chips- This recipe can be found here : http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-pulled-pork/ Cost of this meal : 9.59 What I paid : . 39 this was leftovers from a pervious meal . Cost per serving : . 39 This makes about 10 sandwiches .

3 . Fried Chicken , Zucchini Casserole , Green beans- Cost for this meal : 5.11 What I paid : 3.96 Cost per serving : .66 This makes about 6 servings with leftovers of the Zucchini casserole .

4 . Honey Chicken and Fried Rice- This recipe can be found here : http://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/news/honey-chicken  Cost of this meal: 5.60 What I paid: 4.25 Cost per servings : .70 This makes about 6-7 servings.

5 . Sausage and Egg Crescent Ring- This recipe can be found here : http://www.navywifecook.com/search/label/Crescent%20Rolls Cost of this meal : 5.55 What I paid : 4.89 Cost per serving: . 81 This makes about 6-7 servings . I usually double this recipe .

6 . Blueberry Breakfast Cake , Eggs- This recipe can be found here : http://www.alexandracooks.com/2011/06/29/buttermilk-blueberry-breakfast-cake/ Cost of this meal : 3.06 What I paid : 2. 26 Cost per serving : . 32 This makes about 7 servings .

7 . Homemade Sloppy Joes , Potato Salad , Baked Beans and Chips- Cost for this meal : 4.35 What I paid: 3.35 Cost per serving: .47 This makes about 7 servings with leftovers of the Sloppy Joes

Deserts for the Month
1 . Homemade Peach Crisp
2 . Apple Salad http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1743,144173-248201,00.html
3 . Applesauce Cake http://chicagoist.com/2008/01/21/eating_in_guilt.php
4 . Reese Krispies http://www.ohsweetbasil.com/2011/11/reeses-krispies.html
5 . Strawberry Jello Cake

After all was said and done I ended up with 41 pounds of meat , lot baking necessities like flour , baking powder , pepper , and yeast , a few vegetables , a few house cleaning necessities like windex , fabric softner , tooth paste , deodorant , paper towels , a loaf of bread,  2 cases of poweraide , a gallon of milk , 2 bottles of juice , some cheese , several canned goods , and snacks for my kids .

The total  damage done was :
Wal-Mart: 120.43
Alid's 85 .62
Total : 206 .05
Money saved just by shopping at Alid's 26 .45

I will still have to make a couple trips to the store this month for bread , milk and produce . We usually go through about 2 gallons of milk , 1 large bottle of juice and 1-2 loaves of bread a week . It usually ends up to be about 10.00-15.00 or so spent every week . The month's total should be around 250-260 .

This picture doesn't show all of it . There are 2 cases of Poweraide , a gallon of milk , a 6 pack of protein drinks, a 12 pack of diet soda . You also can't see the food piled on the two chairs towards the back . Things were piled up , and the table was full .

I hope this can help others to live more cheaply, and to give you some ideas for meals . It really doesn't cost of fortune to feed a family well, large or small . It just may take a lot of planning and more time to prepare than something you can just pop in the oven or the microwave .

Making it stretch, one month at a time

Over the past year or two I have been asked by several friends and family on how we can afford to buy groceries for our growing family , as well as our two furry children. Most people are shocked to hear how little I spend , and how little I shop . I've even been told it's impossible, to spend that little we must be starving or eating grass . A lot of people ask how I do it , what do you eat, how do menu plan a month at a time . Which is the reason I am writing this blog , to answer those questions .

I use to be a person that just went to the store every week with a vague list and bought whatever sounded good, and usually ended up spending around 300-450 dollars a month  and was just for me and my husband . Half of the stuff I bought didn't get eaten and usually went in the trash before I could use it . A few weeks before our first child was due I quit my job waiting tables . I was just getting to large and it was hard being on my feet for that long everyday . When the money wasn't there to spend that much every month I had to make adjustments . If I wanted to stay home it was time to learn how to do things differently. So I decided to start menu planning , at first it was just a week at a time , then eventually 2 weeks at a time . One month I menu planned for a month at a time and was amazed how much money it saved us . Our grocery bill dropped from 300-450 a month to 150-250 a month . It has stayed about the same ever since, even after adding 3 soon to be 4 children to the family .
In my opinion the reason I'm able to feed my family so cheaply is because :

#1 Menu planning . I don't plan breakfast and lunch , although I do buy things that are suitable for those meals and just kind of wing it . If I know we will be having company on a certain day for lunch I will plan that lunch but just for my family it's just whatever sounds good that day . I mostly plan dinners and desserts . I menu plan for a month at a time .  I do one BIG, usually 3-4 hour grocery trip a month . I usually hit 3 stores : Aldi's , Wal-Mart and Sam's . I know it sounds like a lot but shopping at all three saves us alot of money, especially shopping at aldi's . That alone saves me about 50 dollars or more per trip . Then I do one trip a week for fresh produce , milk and bread . I buy a different meat every month , and I buy in bulk . I buy beef one month , chicken the next , pork the next and fish as needed . My mother in law bought us a Sam's membership a couple of years ago and it saves us alot of money . Especially on meat.

#2 My garden and my canning! I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love gardening and canning . It saves us huge amounts of money every month . We can our own beans , carrotts , corn , cream corn , applesauce , tomatoes , spaghetti sauce , pizza sauce , peaches , pears , sweet potatoes , jellys , jams , tomato soup , potatoes , pear sauce , pickles and the list goes on . I never have to buy veggies and most fruits . The only things that I regularly buy is banana's and sometimes blueberries and strawberries . I also freeze things like squash , zucchini , green peppers , diced onions , shredded potatoes for hashbrowns and many other things .That way I always have it and never need to buy it .

#3 Cooking from scratch saves us a ton of money. I make all of our pancakes, about 25% of our bread, biscuits , cornbread , cookies , and brownies from scratch . I do use a mix for cakes though, just haven't mastered that one yet :) .I will occasionally do frozen biscuits or rolls for a quick addition to breakfast or dinner .

#4 Leftovers save a ton , but I never plan them into my menu . You just never know what will be leftover and when it will happen . So if we have it one night a week is leftover night . If we have leftover soup or meat from a meal it gets frozen and used later .

#5 I do NOT coupon on a regular basis . From my experience most coupons are for processed food that I never use . Why use coupons on things that you won't use . The only reason I might use a coupon is if it was already something I was going to buy , and that coupon would make the brand name item cheaper than the brand that I normally buy anyway .

Preparing for a Grocery Trip

Getting ready for a grocery trip can be a long ordeal . Depending on how motivated I am it can take anywhere from a couple of days to a week . Which isn't easy with 3 little kids , especially when I can only really plan during nap time or when they are in bed at night . I was always start by doing what I call inventory . Meaning I go through what we already have , and make a list of what's in our two refrigerators, deep freeze, and our two pantrys . That way I know exactly what I have on hand. I will look through that list and see what I can make out of what I already have . A lot of the time I can make quite a few meals out of what I already have without spending a dime . Other times I might be lacking an ingredient or two but that's much cheaper than paying for the whole meal . This month I was able to plan these meals without needing to buy anything, or almost nothing :
Goulash, Salad and Garlic bread-the only thing I will have to buy is the sauce . I had the meat on hand, the noodles, and the bread .
Homemade Pizza- I just have to buy yeast to make the crust. I already had the sauce and toppings and this is  on the menu twice this month .
Oatmeal Pancakes- I didn't have to buy anything .
Chimichangas and salad- I just had to buy the refried beans and tortillas. I already had the meat and enchilada sauce and the veggies for the salad .
Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup over brown rice- I just need to buy the meat and the broth .
BLT'S- I will just have to buy or make the bread, and buy the bacon .
BBQ Pork Sandwiches- I had to buy nothing because it was frozen leftovers from another time when we had this for dinner .
Ham and Bean Soup and cornbread- I had to buy nothing . I had the beans , veggies and the ham was leftover from a previous meal .
Potato Soup- I had to buy nothing . It was frozen leftovers from a previous meal .

After I do that , I plan the rest of my meals around what I have . I might only have one ingredient needed , but that's one ingredient I don't need to buy . I buy as little as possible . The routine around here is we have breakfast for dinner once a week a least , one really nice meal with a homemade dessert a week , and Friday's are always pizza night . So I first put that into the equation and then fill in the remaining days with cheap meals , and casseroles . I always try to fill the meals with vegetables from our garden , because that's free . We eat a lot of vegetables with most meals .
I almost always every month use new recipes that I find in cook books , and mostly ones I find online. I just get tired of the same old thing all the time . I usually mix new and old recipes together, and it makes for a menu full of variety .
After the grocery list is made it's time for the hard part, the shopping . Which believe it or not I enjoy because I almost always get to do it by myself . One of the few times where I can go anywhere by myself  :)