My Library Trip

It's been a really long time since I've been to the library. I had forgotten how much I love it. It's like getting presents, except you have to return them in three weeks. I could have spent hours and hours looking at books, but I had left the kids home with Ben so I had to come back eventually. These are the books I got today.

Feed Your Family for $12.00 a Day by Rhonda Barfield - I skimmed through it briefly and in the first part of the book it looked like it had a bunch of shopping tips. I might already know most of these but I figure if I learn just one new thing then it's ok! The back of the book has recipes.

All-New Hints from Heloise A Household Guide for the 90's by Heloise - When I was little I used to read the Hints by Heloise section in the newspaper all the time. I loved it and was so excited when I saw this book at the library. In fact, the people on the computers behind me might have heard me say "Oh, sweet!".

Favorite Brand Name Slow Cooker Recipes - I LOVE my crock pot and am always looking for new things to do in it. I've got a few books already but I figured looking through a new one won't hurt. Having a crock pot with three small children is a life (and dinner) saver.

150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken by Tony Rosenfeld - I have been thinking more and more about transitioning to buying almost exclusively whole chickens since they are cheaper that way and most of the time I use shredded chicken. So why pay more for a package of breasts when I will get the same result with a whole chicken? I will just use chicken breasts for special things where I want whole pieces. The first part of the book was brines and how to roast the chicken. I had a conversation with the very nice librarian about how she had roasted her first chicken the other day and that it was amazing and that I had to try it. So I will have to try something from this book and report back to her.

I'm so excited about what I found! I think the best part about getting books from the library is that you can read the books, gather your favorite parts, and then take them back so that you don't have to find space for them. At least that's nice for me.

Maybe I will do some sort of review for the books once I am done with them.

What's Cookin': Sticky Chicken and Potatoes

My mom in law gave me this recipe awhile ago. The first time I tried it it came out too salty (might have been user error), so today I messed with it a little bit and it turned out great. No picture today. I forgot. My price for spices is a little high since I'm just going off of the prices on the Vons website. I buy my spices for cheaper but I can't remember the exact prices. This is just an estimation.

Sticky Chicken & Potatoes

2 1/2 lbs chicken breasts or tenders - 4.23
2 tsp salt - .00 (Salt doesn't become .01 for me until I use a Tablespoon)
2 tsp onion powder - .20
2 tsp paprika - .46
2 tsp thyme - 1.20
1/2 tsp garlic powder - .01
1/2 tsp pepper - .00
1/2 tsp chili powder - .05
5-6 potatoes, individually wrapped in foil - .42

Mix spices together and rub over chicken. Place wrapped potatoes in bottom of crock pot. Lay chicken over potatoes. Set on high for 6-7 hours.

Total: 6.57

Variations: Her recipe called for cayenne rather than chili powder, but I was out so that's what I used. Also, hers called for 4 tsp salt, but like I said I cut it in half. I was thinking today that it would be good with either lemon zest added to the rub, or lemon slices placed on top of the chicken while cooking.

The potatoes turned out the best I think. Some of the juices from the chicken seeped into the foil while cooking and flavored the potatoes. They were excellent. I served this with a salad for our veggies, which added maybe 2 dollars more. This fed all of us until we were stuffed and I have half the chicken left over for a second meal later in the week as well as two potatoes for Ben's breakfast.

What's Cookin': Mexican Pasta Bake

Ok, the only thing about this that makes it "Mexican" is the seasoning packet. But I needed a name and that worked. If anyone comes up with a better one, pass it along! This is my own recipe I made up tonight and it turned out super yummy. Even the boys asked for seconds - and getting them to eat anything other than cheese, crackers and apples has become almost impossible. So I say it was a very huge success.

Mexican Pasta Bake
1/2 lb ground turkey (or beef, turkey was on sale) - 1.25
1 lb pasta - .89
1 bell pepper, chopped - .75
1/4 C onion, chopped - .06
1 Chicken Taco seasoning packet - .98
1 C tomato sauce - .24
1 C shredded cheddar cheese - 1.44

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package. Be sure to adds lots of salt to your water to flavor the pasta. While that's cooking, heat a large pan and either spray with cooking spray, or coat with oil. Add your turkey and cook until browned. Drain if there is too much extra liquid. Add the peppers and onions, cooking until they are tender. Add seasoning packet, along with any water the packet calls for.

When pasta is done, drain and return to pot. Stir in turkey mix, tomato sauce, and about half the cheese. Spread in a greased casserole dish, top with remaining cheese and pop in the oven for about 20 - 30 min, or until the cheese is just starting to bubble and crisp.

Total: 5.61

Variations: Like I said, you can use beef or whatever's on sale. You could also make it with shredded chicken or pork. Or try some extra veggies. If you like spicy you can add hot sauce or a can of hot diced chilis. All these would increase the price of course, but would be good in any variation.

This made enough for two helpings for me (I was hungry), two helpings  for each of the boys (comes out to two adult size portions) one for Ben and plenty left over for lunch for everyone tomorrow. I would say 8 or more portions, depending in the size. 5.61 for two meals worth!

What's Cookin': Potato Soup & Buttermilk Biscuits

Welcome to What's Cookin'! This will be my recipe portion of the blog where you'll find out what's coming out of my kitchen and how much it cost me to do it. My goal is $5 or less -inspired by $5 Dinners. Sometimes I do it, sometimes I don't.

I will try to start taking pictures, but don't have one tonight for two reasons: One, we are still out of batteries. Two, I just plain forgot (even if we did have batteries). So imagine a steaming hot bowl of potato soup with fresh homemade biscuits...

Potato Soup
1 Tbs. spread - .02
6 (ish) russet potatoes (about 2 pounds) - .19
1/2 onion, chopped - .12
1/4 water - I don't count this because it's almost impossible to calculate for us
3 C milk - .42
2 C water - .00
1 tsp salt - .00
2 tsp instant chicken bouillon - .08
1/4 tsp garlic powder - .00
1 bay leaf -  .13
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese -1.44
1/4 lb bacon, fried and crumbled - .82

Melt spread in a large pot over low heat and add onions and potatoes. Cook until onions are tender. Add 1/4 cup water, cover, and cook about 10 minutes, until potatoes are starting to get tender. Add everything else but the cheese and bacon. Bring to boil over medium heat, cover, reduce to low and simmer for about 30 minutes. Using a potato masher, mash some of the potatoes so it becomes creamy. Or you can use a food processor and blend half the soup for chunky, or all of it for smooth. I just didn't feel like washing mine tonight. Add cheese and stir until melted. Serve with bacon and biscuits. I just put the bacon on the table so you can choose how much you want.

Total: 4.74

Variations: You can omit the cheese and save almost a buck and a half on this meal. You can also omit the bacon. The recipe I used called for chopped celery to be added at the beginning with the onions. Ben doesn't like celery so I try to stay away from it, but it is good with it. It also called for 4 Tbs butter, 4 cups of half and half and 1 cup milk - I changed that to the 1 Tbs spread, 3 cups milk, 2 cups water for price reasons and it turned out just fine. But if you're feeling luxurious go ahead! It's deliciously rich with all the cream

This is the first time that I've made biscuits from scratch (gasp!). I just always used Bisquick because it was around. Came to find out, Ben hates biscuits made from the mix. Doesn't like the taste. So I made these and he kept saying how great they were! Total success and I'm thinking I might keep these on hand.

Buttermilk Biscuits
2 C flour - .38
4 tsp baking powder - .12
1/4 tsp baking soda - .00
3/4 tsp salt - .00
2 Tbs spread - .04
2 Tbs shortening - .14
1 C buttermilk, chilled - 1.36

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Cut in spread and shortening until dough resembles small crumbs. Use your fingers, it won't kill you and they do a better job than any tool. If you squish the dough together in your hand and it holds the indentation but crumbles under a small amount of pressure then it's ready. Add the buttermilk and stir until just combined (you can use a spoon for this part to avoid "club hand"). It will be sticky. Knead on a floured surface a few times until it's easy to handle. Pat out to about one inch thick, cut out biscuits with a biscuit cutter* and place on cookie sheet. Combine your scraps, pat out again, and cut as many as you can get. Repeat until you don't have enough dough for any more. Smoosh up the last bit and make a frankenbiscuit - don't throw it away! Bake for about 15-20 minutes.They're ready when they've puffed up and have turned a delicious golden color.

* Don't go buy one. I used an evaporated milk can that I had cut both ends off of. Worked perfectly.They were on the smaller side, but if you want bigger biscuits find a bigger can!
Total: 2.04

Variations: I used "baking" spread instead of butter because it's what I had. Butter will make it taste, well, buttery-er. Yes that's a word, I just made it up. You can also use plain milk instead of buttermilk (I believe you would need to reduce the amount to around 3/4 C though), they just won't be as tangy. The recipe said it makes 12, but I only got 8 and a franken. I think my problem was I didn't pat it out thin enough. But it was plenty for us. We ate 4 with dinner and have 4 left for later.

Total for the whole meal was 6.78. But this actually made two meals since I was able to fill a quart zip bag with the leftover soup and put it in the freezer as well as the extra biscuits which will go with breakfast tomorrow. So all in all, about three and a half bucks for tonight. Not bad!

Old Dog, New Tricks - A Story

When I was growing up I lived in a house with a grandmother* who liked to spend money and had a knack for being paranoid about "what ifs". (What if there was an earthquake/flood/fire/locust swarm and we couldn't get to the store?). Food was never an issue. We always had plenty and then some. I learned to buy more than you could possibly need because you never knew what might happen. Since that was the way I was raised, that has been how I've shopped since Ben and I got married. Having a pantry and fridge so full of food that you can't get anything else in always seemed to be a source of comfort for me. Good for being prepared. Bad for the budget.

Now, as things get a little tighter and we're trying to pay things off, the only thing left to really cut down on is groceries. This means retraining myself and being realistic about food. I've always budgeted $300 a month for food since the boys were born. This is supposed to cover 4 people - 5 once the little man starts eating - and should be enough. About a week ago I sat down with our financial software and realized that, on average, we were spending about $600 a month on food. Not acceptable.

How it happened: I thought we were doing great by going to the store once a month and doing a big trip. I'd plan meals for 4 weeks and stock up. The problem was the little trips in between for milk, eggs, that thing we forgot... Oops. It really added up. So now, since we can't just "let it slide" anymore, I'm making an effort to shop once a week (maybe every two if I can stretch it) by watching the sale flyers and planning around those.

"Easy enough." I thought. Shouldn't be a problem. Flyers come in the mail every Wednesday. So yesterday I sat down and figured it all out with what's on sale plus the things we need to get and can't wait on a sale for. Went great! Until I added up the price of everything I thought we needed. No way I was going to spend half our monthly budget in one week. So I grabbed my pencil and started reworking.

My biggest downfall is meat. I looked at what I had put on my list. Did I really, seriously, need 14 pounds of meat?? That was the "be prepared" gene screaming out. I also had to remember that this was for one week, not one month. Wow. This is harder than it looks. So I scratched things out. 2 pounds of chicken breast, rather than six. 2 packages of ground turkey, instead of 4. I don't really need that pork loin from Vons if it's the only thing I'm going to buy there. And Savemart is way too far to drive to get one whole chicken, even if it is .77/lb.

Much better. Still going to be a little more expensive for this trip because we're out of a lot of stuff. But it's a little bit less ridiculous now that I've cut out some extras. Going to take a lot of retraining, but maybe I can do this.

*Before I get in trouble I have to say that I have a very sweet grandmother. She'd give us the moon if she could and I'm very thankful for all she's done for us. I just think she's a little crazy sometimes. :)