How To Strech Your Meat Purchases - WFMW

Here's another good question....

Hi Gayle,

I was noticing that you don't buy meat (and by "meat", I mean raw, needs to be cooked meat - not canned chili, tuna, etc) very often, to the tune of "rarely". This year you've purchased meat 17 weeks out of however many we're up to so far. Ok, so I noticed that some of those weeks you got alot, but most weeks you got just a little - like 5 lbs of beef, or 9 chic. legs, or a pack of hotdogs...

So I'm wondering how you make it stretch?

Miriam (My Country Cupboard)

Well....you noticed right. I don't buy a whole lot of meat. What I DO buy is protein. Sometimes it's in meat form, sometimes it's beans, cottage cheese, tofu, eggs, nuts, nut butters, soy products, dairy products and seeds.

According to the USDA, adult men and women need 5-6 ounces of protein per day and children up to age 18 are between 2 -6 ounces. (See chart HERE.) That can come from baking with eggs and milk, peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, or straight from meat or beans.

And since the cost of meat is so outrageous I make the most of the other sources of protein.

But when I do purchase meat I like to stretch it as much as possible.

When I buy 5 lbs of hamburger, instead of splitting it into 1 lb packages for recipes I would probably stretch it into 3/4 lb packages for my freezer. Who says you need to use the full pound in each recipe?

When I buy bone-in chicken, which is SO much cheaper than boneless skinless breasts, I not only make a meal out of my initial purchase but I can also get 2 more meals out of it by boiling the meat off the bones to save for another recipe and then using the broth for a homemade soup night.

So even though we are eating our protein through various sources, I only use meat once or twice a week as our primary source.

Which saves me a bundle and keeps my budget intact.

Go visit Rocks In My Dryer for other great ideas.

Ok Guys, I'm Gonna Need Your Help On This One

Hi Gayle -

Still loving the heck out of your blog! One question, though: does your family have pets? If so, how do their needs fit into your weekly budget? Or do you consider pet supplies to be a separate category from groceries?

I'm single and have no children (yet!), but I have a Chihuahua and three cats (and I'm not even a cat person! I'm just a big ol' sucker), and I am here to tell you, they are BUDGET-RUINERS! Pet food and cat litter eat a HUGE hole in my weekly shopping budget. So I'm VERY interested to see how you or your readers handle this.

Keep up the awesome work, and God bless!
-- Kelly

If there was a "Stump Gayle" day then this would be it. We've never been big on pets in our house. When I was a kid they were great because my mom did all the work but now that I'm the mom, the romance has worn off. We've had lizards (died), fish (died) hamsters (yup, died) and a dog (gave it away before it joined all the other pets).

And I have to admit to being tempted lately by all the cute kittens and dogs I've been seeing as well as how my kids look so sad when they talk about wanting a pet of their own.

So sad.

But there is no way I could fit the food and vet bills into our budget right now. So maybe there is something that you know that I don't. Well, I'm sure there is a lot of that but I mean pertaining to frugal pet ownership.

So here's your chance to jump in and give Kelly and I both some tips on how it can be done.

Weekly Shopping Trip

Franz Bread Outlet

2 loaves of bread

2 bags of Hoagie Rolls

1 bag of english muffins

Total $4.70

S & S Grocery Liquidators

Soymilk $.49 (almost past date)

2 boxes of bouillon cubes $.98

Curlz Rock Hair Gel $3.99 (Normally $15!!)

2 cans refried beans $.78

2 cans cream of mushroom soup $1.18

Total $7.42

Grocery Outlet

40 flour tortillas $5.49

Smoked Ham lunchmeat $1.99

2 lbs grated cheese $6.99

White Rice $1.49

Cotton Balls $.99

Low Fat Sour Cream $.99

Low Fat Cottage Cheese $1.99

2 boxes of Cream Cheese $2.58

Chicken Drumsticks $3.26

Total $25.77

Win-Co

2 cucumbers $1.16

Green Leaf Lettuce $1.78

Tomatoes $1.63

Apples $2.02

Bulk Corn Starch $.41

Bulk Instant Milk $2.88

Nasal Spray $4.04

4 boxes Mac and Cheese $1.28

Total $15.20

GRAND TOTAL $53.09

I also managed to wrestle a few mini cucumbers and cherry tomatoes from my elk-ravaged garden this week. It looks like I might be able to get a bit of broccoli and some green beans too.

Menu Plan Monday

Here's what's cooking this week in my $60 for 6 people budget. Check back tomorrow to see the results of the shopping trip.

Breakfasts

Leftover Lemonade Muffins

Pancakes

Orange Julius Smoothies and cinnamon toast

Bed and Breakfast Baked Eggs and fruit

Oatmeal

Blueberry Breakfast Bars

Poached eggs and toast

Dinners

Soup and Bread from the freezer

Creamy Burrito Casserole (doubled for food ministry), green salad

Pan fried Tofu w/ Spicy Peanut Sauce, steamed rice (My first tofu experience)

Inexpensive Lentil Burritos

Crock pot Potato Chowder and Cornbread

Delicious Drumsticks, green beans, Homemade Rice-a-roni

Leftovers

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap - The Girl Made What?

Ok. I don't know why stuff like this excites me so much but it does. I'm just geek enough to admit it. I've always been a bit overwhelmed at the thought of making certain things. Bread for example. But no more. It's amazing how actually giving something a try can dispel all your fears.

This week I conquered my fear of home yogurt making!

I always thought it was going to be complicated or that I'd give my family some funky dairy-bred-bacteria poisoning or that I'd have to buy one of those expensive special machines that makes 6 very tiny (and not enough) yogurt cups for my large family.

But if you're thinking those same things let me just blow them out of the water for you.

THIS STUFF IS UNBELIEVABLY EASY TO MAKE!

We use yogurt a lot. We use it for smoothies, yogurt parfaits, when someone has an upset tummy, to counteract yeast infections if someone is on a medication, in place of sour cream in recipes, and a gajillion other things. So making my own supply to fill our demand is something I've wanted to do for awhile.

So without any further ado....

Homemade Yogurt For Those Paralyzed By The Fear Of Trying It

You'll need....

1/4 cup starter yogurt (any plain yogurt but it must say LIVE ACTIVE CULTURES on the container)

A clean glass jar big enough to hold a quart of yogurt

1 3/4 cups instant powdered milk

3 3/4 cups cold water

Whisk together your water and powdered milk. It's a stronger than usual ratio of instant milk to water because the richer the milk, the thicker the finished project.

Whisk in your yogurt.


Pour into the glass jar.


Heat oven to approximately 100 degrees and then turn off the oven and turn ON the oven light. The oven light will keep a nice warm temperature for the yogurt to incubate and the incubation process is what causes it to thicken and set. Place jar of yogurt inside the oven and let sit for 8-10 hours undisturbed or until yogurt is thick like store bought yogurt. Mine didn't set up as quickly as it said it would but I just left it in until it DID thicken. I put this in the oven about 8PM and let it sit until morning.


When your yogurt is thick enough, put it in the fridge to stop the incubation process and get it cool enough to eat.

Seriously. That's it.

To sweeten it up I stirred in a little honey and some vanilla when we were just going to eat it straight without using it for cooking. And you can use some of this batch as your starter yogurt for your next batch.

So that' s my contribution to the recipe swap this week. What's yours?

To Participate:

• Post a recipe on your blog with a LINK BACK HERE.
• Fill in the Mr. Linky with your name and recipe title and on the second line put the link directly to your recipe post, not your general blog address.
• Then go look at all the other links and get great ideas for next weeks menu.

The Powdered Milk Question

I got this e-mail question in my inbox...

Hello,

I just have a quick question about using dried milk for drinking. I want to try mixing store milk with the powdered stuff, but how long does it stay good? If I mix up a batch does it last a week or closer to 48 hours. Everyone I have ask says I should use it with in 24 hours! If you occasionally mix it with regular milk for drinking it must last longer then that. Thanks for any help.

Lara T.

I scoured the internet because I wanted to know the answer too! And the sum of what I found is this...

Dry milk is just like liquid milk. When it's dry and sealed in an airtight container in a dark cupboard it can last months. But when it's reconstituted and turned back into its liquid form it reactivates and lasts just as long as store bought gallons do.

Store bought liquid milk usually has a sell date on it and can last up to 7 days past the sell date. If it passes the smell test it's still good.

It takes approximately 6 days to get from the cow to the store and then the sell by date is usually 4 to 6 days after that. Then if your milk can last up to 7 days past the sell date, we are looking at 17-19 days from cow to human before it goes sour, as long as it's been properly refrigerated.

And even if it does go sour you don't necessarily have to throw it out. Just google "sour milk" and you'll see that lots of people use it to bake with or let it curdle to make cottage cheese.

But the question of price comes up so I did a little figurin'.

An average gallon of liquid milk is between $3.50 and $4.50. (Does that sound right for your area?) It costs me $2.50 to buy enough powdered milk in the bulk section(12.8 ozs) to make a gallon. To me, that's worth it

Weekly Shopping Trip

My mantra this week for my groceries was “use what you have.” I was determined to get my weekly spending down…down…down. I know it’s not practical to think that every week can be this good but it affects my overall monthly average and that gives me a bigger picture on what I’m spending.


Grocery Outlet

Corn Chips $2.99
2 lb Elbow Macaroni $1.49
Smoked Ham lunch meat $1.99
2 disposable casserole dishes (for food ministry) $1.99
16 oz low fat cottage cheese $1.99
32 oz vanilla yogurt $.99
2 Firm Silken Tofu $1.98


S & S Grocery Liquidators

3 cans Pork and Beans $1.00
2 cans diced tomatoes $.78
2 cans chili $1.18
100 tea bags $1.99


Franz Bread Store

5 loaves of bread $4.70


Win-co

Bulk Rolled Oats $.57
Bulk Granola $1.74
2 boxes margarine $1.70
3 lbs Bananas $1.76
¼ lb Bulk Cran-cherries $.84
1.38 lbs Bulk Chocolate Chips $3.80
40 Bulk packets of Equal $1.20
½ lb Bulk Shelled Walnuts $2.41
Frozen Lemonade Concentrate $.78
1 orange $.61
2.87 lbs apples $2.53
1 pint strawberries $2.48


GRAND TOTAL $43.49!!!!!!

I’m doing the happy dance right now!

This week I have big plans to try a few new homemade things. Things that I never thought I'd try at home, but I'm willing to give a shot. I'll keep you posted with pictures.

Menu Plan Monday

Ok, is it just me or are the weeks flying by? Almost October? Sheesh!

So here's what's cookin' this week.

Breakfasts

Muffins from the freezer
Skiers Swiss Cereal
Breakfast Parfaits (layered yogurt, granola and fruit)
Amish Cornmeal Mush with Maple Syrup
Eggs and Toast
Lemonade Muffins
Pancakes

Dinners

Soup and Rolls from the freezer
Amish Macaroni and Cheese with green beans
Crockpot Chicken, rice, and salad (from last weeks menu)
Taco Soup
Baked Potato Bar
Lentil and Brown Rice Casserole, with Veggies.
Leftover Night

Stay tuned tomorrow for the shopping trip results. Trying to keep it under $60 this week. Keep your fingers crossed.

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

Hi everyone! It’s Friday already…again and time for another recipe swap.

My contribution this week was my very own concoction that I drummed up and the family voted it a major success. As some of you may remember, my sister passed on her lifetime supply of lentils and I’ve been trying to creatively use them up. Not only are they extremely cheap to buy but they are full of all kinds of great nutrients that I can't remember right now but trust me, they are in there.

Nacho Casserole

3/4 cup dry lentils
3/4 cup dry brown rice
4 cups water
4 beef bouillon cubes (or chicken, vegetable)
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup sour cream ( I use fat free)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 can sliced olives
Fresh diced tomatoes
diced onion (optional)
Corn chips

1. Dump first 8 ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Turn down to simmer and cook covered until rice is done., stirring every 5 minutes to keep it from sticking to the bottom.
3. Preheat oven to 350.
4. Spread mixture in the bottom of a 9 x 13.
5. Layer sour cream, cheese, olives, tomatoes and onions on top and bake for 20 minutes.
6. Serve with corn chips.
   
   
   To Participate:

• Post a recipe on your blog with a LINK BACK HERE.
• Fill in the Mr. Linky with your name and recipe title and on the second line put the link directly to your recipe post, not your general blog address.
• Then go look at all the other links and get great ideas for next weeks menu.

Have a great weekend!

WFMW - Stretch The Life Of Your Groceries

I’m a nut about saving money by making things at home instead of buying them. But there are some things that either I would rather just buy than make it or I can find it at such a big discount that it would cost me more to make it at home.

And even though I buy some things that are pre-made I still like to stretch every penny I can out of them.

I’ve found that the suggested usage size that the manufacturer puts on containers is the size that they prefer simply because it makes you use it up faster….so you have to buy it again sooner…so the company makes more money. It’s not necessarily the most frugal amount you can use to have the results you want.

I’ve tested this time and time again and have realized that, as a rule, I can use half of what the company suggests and the products always seem to work just as well and lasts me twice as long.

This works with store bought laundry detergent (before I started making my own). You know those little cups they put in the boxes or the lids that have the measuring lines on them? You really only need half of what they suggest. My laundry still came out clean and smelling good.

This also works great for dishwasher detergent. I spoke with a dishwasher repairman recently and he said that we really only need about a Tablespoon of liquid or powder dishwasher soap to get our dishes clean.

And all this time I’d been filling up both sides of the container in the door. What a waste!

And you know those little scraps of bar soap you have left and you normally just toss away? Well if you get the scrap all soapy and then get a new bar all soapy and rub them together piggyback style, when they dry they cement into one big bar again and you don’t have to throw your scrap away. You’ll use every tiny little inch of your store bought soap.

Another idea to make my groceries last longer is when I buy a gallon of milk and it gets about half empty I mix up a batch of powdered milk and pour it back into the gallon jug. My kids have NO IDEA that they are drinking a re-filled jug of milk. They can’t even taste the difference.

When baking recipes call for an egg I substitute one heaping tablespoon of soy flour and 1 tablespoon of water for the egg. This has the same effect the eggs does for a fraction of the price. I save the fresh eggs for other things. Don’t lick the batter though because it will taste funny. But when it cooks, it tastes just the same as if a real egg was used.

And last but not least, When a recipe calls for a pound of hamburger I use half a pound of meat and then substitute the other half with Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) just like the fast food restaurants do and it makes my meat last twice as long.

So those are just some ideas to make your store bought items have a little bit longer life and your paycheck stretch even farther.

And don’t forget to go check out Works For Me Wednesday for more great ideas.

Weekly Shopping Trip

So, yesterday you saw my menu and today you’ll see the results of my shopping trip.

S & S Liquidators

Lemon Scented Dish Soap $.50
Double size can of pumpkin $.99
Caesar Dressing $.25
2 Duncan Hines Cake Mixes $1.00


Grocery Outlet

Sour Cream $1.49
Can of Sliced Pineapple $.79
Double Size Can of Sliced Peaches $1.29
3 lb Bag of Coffee Beans $7.99


Win-Co

2.56 lbs of Apples $3.28
Large can of Olives $.98
Vegetable Oil $1.95
4 Pkgs of Pita Bread (guests for dinner) $6.00
5 dozen eggs $4.97
2 onions $.60
Bulk Oats $1.64
2 boxes margarine $3.96
Sausage Links $2.69
5 lb ground beef $6.08
Whole Fryer Chicken $3.23
Blueberries $.99
Ham Lunchmeat $.99
2 lb Cheddar Cheese $5.48
Corn Tortillas $1.56
Grapes $1.82
Cucumber $.69
Roma Tomatoes $1.43
Vanilla Pudding $.47
Bananas $1.29
Pickles $2.98
Strawberries $2.48

Total $69.86

I’m not real happy with my totals lately so I decided to go back and get an average of what I’ve been spending each month to see if I could shed some light on my rising grocery costs.

June averaged $54.67 per week with 3 meals provided for guests or as part of a food ministry I belong to
July averaged $60.42 with 5 meals provided for others
August averaged $71.60 with 2 meals provided for others
And September to date is $63.28 with 3 meals (so far) provided for others

So for my family of six and the various guests or food ministry commitments, I’m satisfied with these stats.

Satisfied but not thrilled.

So I went to the USDA to find out what the government says about the cost of food. They say that under the thrifty plan, and I consider myself pretty thrifty when it comes to feeding my family, a family of four should be averaging $120 - $138 per week.

And we’re a family of six averaging $54 - $71 per week and still able to give meals away.

And suddenly I feel much better.

Menu Plan Monday

Whew! The triple birthday party is past as well as some other stuff so I’m hoping to be able to breathe this week.

Stress…glorious stress.

I’m only going to post my menu plan today and then tomorrow I’ll post my shopping trip. It’s going to be a financially tight(er) week this week so I’m going to take advantage of things I’ve doubled and stuck in my freezer for just such a week.


Breakfasts

Amish Baked Oatmeal
Smoothies (fresh picked berries) and cinnamon toast
Ham and Cheddar Omelet Roll with Sausage Links
Pumpkin Muffins
Leftover Muffins and fruit
Scrambled eggs and toast
Old Fashioned Oatmeal


Dinners

Baked Chicken,rice, salad (Moved forward from last weeks menu)
Crockpot Falafel(from freezer stash)
Chicken and Bean soup with Peasant Bread (freezer stash)
Nacho Casserole (freezer stash from leftover lentil burrito mixture) with corn chips
Ground Beef Gyrosand Fruit Salad(company for dinner)
Leftovers
Roast Crockpot Chicken,Salad, Peasant Bread

Come visit tomorrow to see how the shopping went.

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

Hi Everyone,

It’s been a crazy week thus the lack of posting and tips. Back to school week, a birthday party for all three of my boys a speaking engagement, and a few other commitments have knocked me on my butt. But I couldn’t miss out on the recipe swap.

I hope to be back to regular posting next week. I’ve got several ideas brewing around in my fuzzy head. But until then I’ll leave you with my favorite lowfat-super moist cornbread recipe.

Cornbread

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup fat free/sugar free plain yogurt or low fat sour cream
1 egg

Mix all ingredients in bowl. Pour into greased 9 inch square pan. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until edges are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

To participate:

Post a recipe on your blog with a LINK BACK HERE.

Fill in the Mr. Linky with your name and recipe title and on the second line put the link directly to your recipe post, not your general blog address.

Then go look at all the other links and get great ideas for next weeks menu.

Have a great weekend!

Menu Plan Monday and Weekly Shopping Trip

I got lots of questions from last weeks menu and one of the most popular question was where all the hamburger meat came from. So I tracked it down to a purchase on July 14 of 6 lbs of hamburger which I divided into 8 packages and froze individually. They came to about ¾ of a pound each. It took me all this time to use it up and as you’ll see by this weeks shopping trip, I had to replenish my meat supply. Other than that all I have as far as meat in my freezer are some drumsticks I found for a bargain a few weeks ago.

I’ve had to be creative this week. I didn’t plan very well and I agreed to take meals to two families that are either ill or recovering. I also volunteered to bring treats to a meeting on Thursday night and was assigned to bring soccer treats on Saturday.

So you’ll notice that I didn’t buy a whole lot. I’m using a lot of what I already have on hand and stretching my leftovers to create new things. Tonight’s dinner is a soup made from the leftover cabbage casserole from last week…which was amazingly good and even my kids didn’t know there was cabbage in it.

So here we go…

Breakfasts

Amish Baked Oatmeal
German Pancakes
Snickerdoodle Muffins
Poached eggs and toast
Regular Oatmeal
Gingerbread Cookies (one of the b-day boys requested this for breakfast)
Pancakes

Dinners

Soup made with Leftovers, Peasant bread
Ground Beef Casserole, salad, buttery bread machine rolls (I’ll triple this and give two away and keep one for ourselves)
Brown rice and lentil casserole, salad
Crockpot Baked Potatoes with chili, sour cream, salsa or cheese for toppings
Baked Chicken, rice, garden veggies
Homemade chicken noodle soup (made with last nights leftovers) Peasant Bread
Leftover Night

Treats

Cupcakes for soccer team since it’s Malachi's birthday that day
Cinnamon Cookies for a meeting we are going to

A reader asked that I post where I got my groceries which I thought was a really good idea so that’s why you’ll see things broken down a little differently today.

S & S Grocery Liquidators

12 double rolls of Toilet Paper $4.99
3 Packages of Jello $2.07
2 cans of chili $1.18
3 cans diced tomatoes $1.17
3 cans Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup $1.77
Vegetable Steamer Spice Bag $.79

Grocery Outlet

20 lbs Gold Medal Flour $4.99 WOW!
25.5 oz Extra Light Olive Oil $4.99
Frosting $1.39
2 bags Pasta $1.58

Win-co

5 lbs hamburger $8.63
Bulk Cinnamon $.92
Bulk Sugar $.88
5 dozen eggs $4.97
Bulk Garlic Powder $1.09
Bulk Cocoa $1.73
Cupcake Sprinkles $1.98
Bulk Chocolate Chips $5.47
Lettuce $1.78
3 Green Peppers $1.14
Apples $3.63
Lemon Juice $1.38
4 onions $1.30
2 lb cheddar Cheese $5.48
2 cucumbers $1.16
Bananas $1.66
Chili Powder $1.59

Total $69.71

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

There are the BEST apple dumplings in the world and my contribution to this weeks recipe swap. Go check them out and then post your favorite recipe below.

Generic Birthdays

One of the perks of sticking to a Frugal Homemade Food policy is that your kids like simple things for their birthdays. Take for instance my youngest who turned 5 today who's only birthday request was, and I quote, "I want a box of that cereal with the little marshmallows in it."

Another perk is that they are just as happy with generic as they are with brand name because they don't even know the difference. Mwahahaha!

And yes, we got him more than generic lucky charms for his birthday....but I spent less than $20 on it.

Weekly Shopping Trip

What a day. I can’t even begin to explain the craziness. Every time I turned around either my doorbell was ringing, my phone was ringing, or a kid had sprayed breath spray in their eyeball. But I finally managed to get to the grocery store by about 2PM today. We have the first of the three boys birthdays this week so you’ll notice a few “extras”.



2 vanilla soymilk $3.56
1 plain yogurt $1.88
Paper napkins $1.88
Bulk corn flakes $.55
Crunchy PB $2.98
Bulk Rice Crispies $.78
Margarine spread $1.98
Cupcake papers $.68
4 boxes jiffy frosting $2.32
Vanilla extract $1.24
2 boxes B-day candles $1.42
5 lb potatoes $1.88
Bulk Elbow Macaroni $1.09
Bulk Pearl Barley $..26
Bulk Spices Ground Cumin $.47
Bananas $1.38
2 Yellow Onions $.66
Sliced Mushrooms $1.48
Canned Olives $.79
Cottage Cheese $1.99
1 lb Mozzarella $3.69
1 lb Cheddar $3.49
3 loaves of Bread, 2 bags of hoagie rolls $4.70
1 bag of mini bagels and 2 bags of jumbo bagels $5.00
1 FREE box of donuts that didn’t make it home for the picture. Hello PMS!
2 large cans of Spaghetti Sauce $.98
3 cans tomatoes $1.17
2 cans pumpkin $.98
1 jar of sprinkles .99

Total $50.27

That Total Rocks!

Oh, and as a PS - we thought the Creamy Banana Maple Syrup cream of wheat was yuck-o but the Cottage Cheese Casserole was Divine! (see yesterday's post for recipe links)