GCC Shopping Round Up

I visited a few stores this week that I hadn't been to in a while. I've been in a Win-co rut and decided it was high time to go back and check out my old haunts. This is what I gathered today.

Franz Bread Store

5 loaves of bread
1 bag of rolls $6.00

Dollar Tree

3 packs of TP
Dish washing Powder
2 toothpastes
2 Toilet bowl cleaners
foil
garbage bags
conditioner
deodorant
Cotton swabs
sponges $14.00

Win-C0

Cabbage $1.32
green beans $.64
4 onions $1.27
Zucchini $.73
bulk dried beans $.94
grapes $3.14
nectarines $1.07
milk $2.36
2 bags tater tots $3.56
ketchup $2.50
2 bags buns $.96
4 cans beef broth $2.52
5 dozen eggs $6.59
sugar substitute $1.37
tomato paste $.44
margarine $.88
bananas $1.15
2 packs hot dogs $1.28
5lb carrots $2.28
Bulk Oats $.98

Sub Total $35.98


Grand Total $55.98

Would you like to tell us about your shopping trip? Please link directly to your post not your homepage and please include a link back here to the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu Monday: Roast Sticky Chicken

We have a full week on the horizon: Orthodontist, final school prep, and my youngest son's 8th Birthday. Here's what is cooking at our house.




Breakfast:

Choice of: oatmeal, fruit, peanut butter toast, freezer muffins

Dinners:

Egg Salad Sandwiches with veggies
Veggie soup and homemade rolls
Roast Sticky Chicken with roasted root veggies
Crock pot Ham Bone and Beans
Hot dogs and tater tots
Birthday Dinner
Leftover Buffet

Check back tomorrow to see how much I spent this week.

GCC Recipe Swap

I'm rushing around this morning trying to get out of the house so I'm going to leave you all to it. Knock me out with your awesome recipes! Here's the rules....

If you have a recipe you'd like to share please link directly to your post, not your homepage and please include a link back here to the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Have a great weekend!

The Zucchini Solution

If you’ve ever known someone who had a garden, chances are you’ve had them come to you trying to pawn off their overabundance of zucchini. It’s the one plant that can make the blackest of thumbs turn bright green yet leave the backyard gardener a little bit panicked as they begin to realize that the few seeds they planted in spring have turned into epic proportions by summer. Me…I’m not a big fan of anything from the squash family unless it’s whipped up into a creamy pumpkin pie or camouflaged into sweet zucchini bread. But as a novice gardener I just can’t resist a vegetable that makes me look and feel like I actually know what I’m doing. So for that reason I’ve learned to adapt my dislike of squash into a way to feed my gardening ego. And as a result, I’ve found some amazing recipes that transform zucchini into something I actually enjoy eating. So if you find yourself drowning in these prolific veggies, these recipes might help you and your family find a new way to appreciate them.

Parmesan Zucchini Strips

• 1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 4 small zucchini quartered lengthwise
• 1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, combine bread crumbs and cheese. Dip zucchini strips into egg, then into crumb mixture. Place on baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and tender. Serve with ranch or marinara dipping sauce.

Frosted Zucchini Bars

Bars:

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup canola oil (or applesauce for a healthier version)
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 (3 ounce) package softened cream cheese
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• milk, as needed

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease/flour a 13x9-inch baking pan. Beat eggs; add sugar and oil/applesauce. Add the zucchini and vanilla; stir to mix well. Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the egg mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until done. While the bars are baking, whip the butter and cream cheese until light; add vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat until fluffy, adding a little milk as needed if frosting is too thick. Spread frosting on top of the bars when they are cooled.

Zucchini Lasagna

• 2 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick to resemble lasagna noodles
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• 2 small tomatoes, diced
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1 teaspoon flour

Cook zucchini until tender, drain and set aside. Fry meat and onions until meat is brown and onions are tender; drain fat. Add next 8 ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered 10 minutes or until reduced to 2 cups. In small bowl slightly beat egg. Add cottage cheese, half of shredded cheese and flour. In (1 1/2-qt.) baking pan, arrange half of the meat mixture. Top with half of the zucchini and all the cottage cheese mixture. Top with remaining meat and zucchini. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

GCC Shopping Round Up

You'll be so proud. I actually used a coupon this week! I had one for something I'd actually use so I got a deal on Almond milk for my two lactose intolerant people. Here's the rest of what I got.


Win-co

3 loaves of bread $2.85
milk $2.36
cheddar $4.98
strawberry preserves $3.48
baking soda $.57
tomatoes $1.18
kalamati olives $4.45
mushrooms $1.78
Bulk angel hair pasta $2.86
Spinach $1.78
2 sweetened condensed milk $2.76
bulk penne pasta $1.29
soy sauce $1.15
cucumber $.58
3 avocados $3.84
bulk cous-cous $1.23
bulk cashews $1.59
grapes $4.35
lemon juice $.50
teriyaki sauce $1.22
eggs $6.59
Parmesan $1.88
romaine lettuce $1.88
feta $4.18
almond milk (with coupon) $1.99

Grand Total 61.32

Would you like to share your bargains? Please link directly to your shopping post and please include a link back here to the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu Monday: Funky Chicken with Sesame Noodles

Last week there was one dinner on the menu that I never got to so it's my starting meal for this week. We also have a family favorite.....Funky Chicken with Sesame Noodles. One of the few meals that EVERYONE likes. Here's what is cooking at our house this week.

Breakfasts:

Choice of oatmeal, farina, fruit, smoothies or pancakes. Help yourself kids!

Dinners:

Brown Rice Veggie Casserole
Funky Chicken with Sesame Noodles
Naxos Island Salad
Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
Grilled cheese and garden veggie tray
Egg Salad Sandwiches
Leftover Buffet

GCC Recipe Swap - Sweet Lemon Iced Tea

We drink lots of iced tea around here. I usually have a pitcher in the fridge ready to go at all times. Usually the kids leave it alone and it's all for me....until I started making this recipe. Now I can't keep the pitcher full. Every time I reach for it in the fridge there is about a half cup of dregs in the bottom. At least I know it's a winner. So here is a great recipe for summer and beyond.

Sweet Lemon Iced Tea

• 4 cups boiled hot water
• 1 cup sugar (honey, organic, splenda...whatever)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (takes the bitterness from the tea)
  
• 8 tea bags (Orange Pekoe is the best although I've used Green too)
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1 gallon jar

Measure sugar and place in large mixing bowl with 1 cup lemon juice and baking soda. Stir to blend Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and place tea bags in the pan to steep for no more than 5 minutes. Remove the bags and discard being sure not to squeeze the bags. This can release the tannin which causes your tea to taste bitter. Pour hot tea into sugar/lemon mixture and stir to mix well. Transfer into one gallon container and fill to the top with cold water. Refrigerate and serve over ice.

Do you have a recipe you'd like to share? Please link directly to your post, not your homepage and please include a link back here to the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Have a great weekend!

BlogHer Book Club: A Good Hard Look

I've got a new book review up at the Blogher Book Club. Head on over and take a look!

The Most Asked Question!

I get lot's of email questions and I try to get back to as many as I can in between all the other responsibilities I have. If you've asked me one and don't get a response right away I'm just bogged down, but keep trying! Probably the most frequently asked question I get is "What do you do about lunches?" So if you're curious, here's a link to the answer. If that didn't answer your question you can always check under the FAQ's link in my left lower sidebar. Hope that helps!

GCC Shopping Round Up

This week I did a little stock up on some meat. When you buy the larger "family packs" the price per pound is so much cheaper. So when I get home I divide the pack in half, put it in the freezer, and then the next week I won't have to buy any meat. It jacks up my weekly spending a bit but in the long run it helps me stick to the budget. Right now I have a freezer with a whole chicken, (from two weeks ago when I bought a package of 2) a meals worth of thighs and breasts, and a giant meaty ham bone just waiting to be used when I need it. Here's what I got this week.


Win-comilk $2.36
3 cans spaghetti sauce $2.94
vanilla $1.08
apples $6.16
yogurt $1.98
strawberry jam $2.72
almond milk $3.49
4 crescent rolls $6.72
margarine $.80
soy sauce $1.15
chicken breasts $5.98
cascade $4.37
bulk chocolate chips $6.42
Italian dressing $3.88
onions $.56
bulk cashews $3.36
pepperoni $2.36
mozzarella $7.28
2 chili $1.88
cauliflower $1.58
bulk popcorn $2.38
potatoes $1.98
garlic $.96
Parmesan $1.88
bananas $.86
tomatoes $.83
chicken thighs $7.59

Grand Total $83.55

Would you like to share your shopping trip? Please link directly to your post, not your homepage, and please include a link back here to the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu Monday: Pizza Crescents

School is fast approaching around here and it can't come soon enough. The kids are bored out of their minds which means there is a lot of bickering going on. I'm thinking we'll do a slow start next week and I'll be spending this week pulling together some lessons plans for the first month of school. In the meantime we gotta eat! Here's what's cooking...

Breakfasts:

choice of: fruit, freezer pancakes, eggs, peanut butter toast or oatmeal

Dinners:

Traditional Chicken Divan
Italian Sausage Florentine for the Crock pot, over pasta
Baked Potato Bar
Pizza in a Crescent
Zesty One Pan Chicken and Potato Bake
Brown Rice Vegetable Casserole (using garden goodies)
Leftover Buffet

Check back tomorrow to see how the grocery shopping went!

GCC Recipe Swap

Happy Friday Morning. I'm getting ready to drag my sorry butt off to aerobics but thought I better put up this weeks recipe swap. My little girl is nearly 15 but I can remember the toddler years of trying to brush her hair while she cried and wiggled like it was yesterday. This was my lifesaver (and hers). If you have little kiddos with tangly hair, this will make your life so much easier and save you the big bucks for the name brand bottles.

Instant Hair Detangler

In a clean, empty spray bottle add 1/4 cup hair conditioner (even $1 store works for this) and 2 cups warm water. Shake to stir and then spray on your child's wet head. Combing through should be easy now. In fact it they are screamers, they can come it through themselves and see how easy it is.

Do you have a recipe you'd like to share? Please link directly to your post, not your homepage, and please include a link back here to the Grocery Cart Challenge.

3 Easy Dishes to Make When It Seems Like the Cupboards Are Bare

Every once in a while, usually right before payday, I catch myself standing in front of the fridge wondering where all the food went. That’s a pretty unsettling feeling when its 5 o’clock and you have four kids asking what you’ll be cooking for dinner. If I were to tell them I had no idea, it could very nearly cause a riot. So instead I assess what I do have and then pull out a few of my basic recipes to whip up a one of a kind, healthy meal. In fact, some of our family favorites were meals I created from a little bit of this and a little bit of that. So if, like me, you ever find yourself with a minimum of ingredients but plenty of hungry people, look no further. These sure fire recipes will put a delicious dinner on the table in no time.

Basic Quiche Recipe

A great way to use up bits of leftover meats, veggies or small pieces of leftover cheeses.

1. Choose a Crust:

• Simple Potato Crust: Wash about 2 potatoes, slice in ¼ inch thick slice and layer around the bottom and sides of 9 inch pie dish.

• No Roll Quiche Crust: mix 1 cup flour and ½ teaspoon salt with fork. Beat ¼ cup olive or canola oil and ¼ cup ice water with whisk to thicken. Pour into flour and mix with a fork. Press along bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie dish.

2. Make your Quiche:

• 5 eggs
• ¾ cup milk
• 1 cup of grated cheese (cheddar, American, provolone….)
• 1 cup veggies (tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, Swiss chard, shredded zucchini, onion, garlic…the sky is the limit)
• 1 cup cooked meat (diced lunch meat, ground beef, diced chicken breast, seafood, bacon, ham…)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat eggs and milk. Stir in all your cheese, vegetables and meats. Pour into unbaked crust, place pie dish on a cookie sheet and bake on the middle oven rack for 45-50 minutes. Quiche is done when top is browned and a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Basic Pasta Salad Recipe

• Cook up any odds and ends of pasta shapes you have and run under cold water to chill. Or if you have leftover pasta that is already precooked that works great too.
• Mix in any variety of your favorite uncooked vegetables (cucumber, onion, peppers, olives, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, etc.)
• Mix in a protein. (canned beans, tuna, leftover bits of steak, ham or poultry from another meal)
• Mix in cubed pieces of cheese, feta, or whatever cheese you have on hand.

• Stir in a dressing. If you have a bottle of dressing that can work great or you can make your own whisking together 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, ¾ cup red wine vinegar, ¼ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.

Basic Soup Recipe

• 4 cups water with bouillon added or 4 cups broth
• 1 cup of your favorite combination of veggies (potatoes, carrots, green beans, spinach, onion, garlic, etc.)
• 1 cup of leftover diced meat
• Other possibilities: canned beans, leftover mashed potatoes can make a thicker soup, A handful of pasta shapes
• Spice it up! If you’ve added more Italian ingredients, be sure to add some basil or oregano to the mix. If its chicken based I like to add a little curry powder. If you like it spicy don’t forget tobasco, creole seasoning or red pepper flakes.

Bring to a boil and simmer until pasta and vegetables are done. Remember to taste test frequently to get just the right flavor.

For more great ideas visit Works For Me Wednesday.

GCC Shopping Round Up

I went a bit over budget this week but I'm hoping that it will all balance out by the end of the month. Here's what I got today. Oh, and check out the previous menu plan post because the Broccoli Beef Stir-Fry we had for dinner tonight was incredible!

Win-co

Tortilla chips $2.58
salsa $3.98
balsamic dressing $3.18
diced tomatoes with chilies $.98
coffee $8.98
milk $2.36
whipping cream $3.38
mustard $.53
cauliflower $1.43
bulk oatmeal $.98
carrots $2.28
spinach $1.78
bulk baking powder $1.53
corn $.63
4 cans tuna $2.36
bulk tortellini $5.54
salt $.38
white sugar $2.29
onion $.42
margarine $2.28
Monterrey Jack cheese $6.06
apples $3.61
olives $1.19
strawberries $1.98
tomatoes $1.04
feta $2.48
pears $2.56
beef $7.02

Grand Total $83.59

Would you like to share your shopping trip? Please link directly to your post, not your home page and please include a link back here to the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu Monday

We spent the weekend doing some home remodeling projects that left my husband and I aching and exhausted. Getting old kinda stinks. But I'm so ready to start a new week and get my house back in order. School will be starting before you know it and I have tons of planning to do. I also picked up a free rice cooker this weekend from Freecycle so you'll be seeing a rice theme in most of my cooking as I learn to play with my new toy. Here is what's cooking this week.

Breakfasts: choice of...

Oatmeal or Farina, freezer pancakes or muffins, fruit


Dinners:
Beef and Broccoli Stir-fry
Mexican Vegetarian Casserole
Confetti Tortellini Salad
Tuna sandwiches and veggie tray
Quiche Lorraine and fruit salad
Fried Rice with leftover meat and veggies
Leftover Buffet

GCC Recipe Swap- Freezer Fries

I've been busy working on home improvements this week. We are painting the dining room and ripping up old carpet...then moving on to the living room. In the meantime people still eat around here. So here's a great recipe to keep in the freezer for when you're hungry kids are wanting a junk food kind of snack and you're busy painting...or whatever. Shhh. Don't tell them these are actually good for them or it might take all the fun out of it.

Homemade Frozen French Fries

Potatoes
Olive Oil
Seasoning (cajun, seasoning salt, or whatever your family likes)

Peel potatoes and cut into french fries. Put raw potatoes in a ziploc bag with seasoning and oil and shake to coat. You could also just use a bowl and stir it all together. Bake on a cookie sheet at 425 until done. Let cool and then place whole cookie shot in freezer until frozen solid. Remove from cookie sheet and store in a ziploc bag or plastic container. To reheat, scoop out the amount that you want, and reheat at 425 until done. (about 15-20 minutes). A $3 bag of potatoes makes several batches versus one pre-made store bought bag that cost about $3 for one serving. Can't beat that!

Do you have a recipe you'd like to share? Please link directly to your post, not your homepage and please include a link back here to the Grocery Cart Challenge.

The Answer To The End Of The Month Crunch

At the end of the month we sometimes find ourselves squeaking by. With a budget as tight as we have, even little surprises can leave us scrambling to make ends meet. One of the biggest ways I have to offset a zero-balance-end-of-the-month budget is a full freezer.

To some, a full freezer means intentionally stocking it with extra groceries. But my version is a little different. I mean, if I had extra money, of course I'd try to fill it with surplus groceries. What I normally find myself having extra of... is leftovers.

Almost every home cooked meal in this house has leftovers. Spaghetti, casseroles, soups and stews usually get returned to the kitchen after a meal with a little bit left in the dish. While the kids are doing the dinner dishes (because in our house the cook NEVER has to clean up) I make sure that the leftovers get placed in containers, labeled, and dated and packed into the freezer. No more shoving it in the fridge only to be found later after it's started growing a beard. And we can build up quite a smorgasbord of meals in there after a while.

Then at the end of the month, when inevitably money is tight, I don't need to buy near as many groceries. At the end of last month we had sloppy joes from the freezer for lunch a few days, I even had some leftover pulled pork, chicken barley stew and several other things in there that got pulled out, warmed up and given a new life. Not only did it offset any lack in our budget but it saved me tons of time in the kitchen.

It's a simple thing to do if you just incorporate it into the after meal clean-up and requires no extra time or money on your part.

So if you find yourself with leftovers after dinner tonight, pack them away into your freezer for a night when funds are low and appetites are high. You will be glad that you did.

GCC Shopping Round Up

Shopping on the first of the month is a test in patience. Come to find out I'm not the only one who gets paid on the 1st and is out of everything. So as I wound my way around all those people BLOCKING THE AISLES (sorry, I lost it there for a minute) this is what I got.

Win-co

TP $5.97
Truvia sweetener $2.71
tomatoes $1.76
4 loaves of bread $3.80
nectarines $2.21
flour $3.26
carrots $2.28
soy milk $2.73
mayo $2.43
eggs $6.72
sour cream $1.28
cream cheese $1.38
whipping cream $1.88
feta $2.48
margarine $.78
bananas $1.23
avocados $3.92
spinach $1.78
Parmesan $1.88
tortillas $2.08
2 pasta salads $1.96
2 whole chickens $8.69

Grand Total $63.21

Would you like to tell us about your shopping trip? Please link directly to your post, not your homepage and please include a link back here to the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu Monday

I'm spending the day getting the two older kids (and big eaters) ready to ship off for their Grandma-cation at the beach. That means I have less mouths to feed this week and I need to try really hard to make smaller meals. I'm so adapted to feeding the masses that it's hard for me to scale back. Some day it will be just the two of us again. ( sigh) Here's what is cooking this week.

Breakfasts: Oatmeal, farina, fruit, smoothies or freezer waffles

Dinners:

Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo
Crock pot Whole Roasted Chicken
Pasta Salad with rolls
Tuna Salad sandwiches
Lentil Burritos
Garden salads with french bread
Leftover buffet