Tyler and Ina

Check out the left side bar on websites. I've added two new favorites. Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa has a website and has some menus posted on it. Very fancy, it seems to a down to earth girl like me, but I like browsing through them none the less. Good inspiration for holidays, I would think especially. Also, if you're a big Tyler Florence fan, which I am, there is a website through AOL where he has these little mini video cooking sessions. Check it out, they are really fun to watch.

Menus with what's on sale for Sept. 23- Sept. 30

Sooooo...after having spent the week caring for, or being cared for, if I can come up with a menu plan other than applesauce, toast and jello, consider yourselves lucky. Mr. B.M. (Budget Menu) said that I should make a shopping list of Advil Cold Medicine, Tylenol, cough drops, sprite and juice for this week. Silly boy.



Here goes, the brain is still fuzzier than usual so forgive me if the math doesn't add up completely. I think that it does. I tried hard to include everything and add right. And you can TOTALLY make this grocery list sing for around $67 down to $65 if you are a coupon clipper. See my sidebar for couponsense the website, not couponsense the blog. Well, you can see the blog also. If you want to.

$69.46

Breakfast
1-Cold cereal, juice
2-Cold cereal, peaches
3-Yogurt, cherry vanilla granola parfaits. Cantaloupe chunks
4-French toast
5-Cheese omelettes
6-Eggs, toast
7-Cold cereal, juice

Now, I must tell you that I had breakfast tacos listed at first on one of the days, but had to pull it as it cost too much this week. The sausage was Kroger sausage at Fry's for $1.99 and Mission Flour taco tortillas at Bashas for $1.99. Pulling those items got us under the $70 mark.


Lunch
1-Tuna sandwich, grapes, hard boiled egg, Capri Sun drink
2-Ham sandwich, carrots/celery, cookie
3-Tuna sandwich, crackers, carrots/celery stix
4-Lunchmeat sandwich, carrots/celery, cookie, Capri Sun drink
5-Lunchemat sandwich, cookie, cantaloupe chunks
6-Pizza, grahms
7-Ramen Noodles, cheese toast


Dinner
1-Chicken Broccoli rice casserole, jello.
If you feel like making rolls from scratch for this meal, I have a great recipe below. Ingredients are not added into the budget but if you're a baker you probably already have them anyway. Recipe link for casserole is http://www.classiccasseroles.com/Casseroles/ChickenBroccoliAndRiceCasserole.htm
NOTE: When I've made my version of this before, I've put the chicken in the pan, then the broc, then combined the rice, sour cream and soup and put that on top. I don't imagine it really matters the order of thing. I never add cheese on top either, so if you want to save your cheese for something else, do it here. The topping with the soup, rice gets all golden and yummy on it's own. I never add the mayo to the rice mix either, so just add a little more sour cream if you want, or not, instead of the mayo if you don't have it or are one of those people who thinks it's gross.

2-Pork Chops, applesauce, canned vegetable

3-Mac & Cheese, pineapple chunks

4-Chicken, mashed potatoes or oven roasted potatoes, canned vegetable, rolls

5-Ham Fried rice, canned vegetable. Make rice with some of the ham sandwich meat cut into dices, and some diced onion, can use some of the carrots and celery cooked in the rice as well. Season with garlic powder and soy sauce.

6-Spaghetti, salad

7-Leftovers. OR Baked potatoes with sour cream or supplement the leftovers with baked potatoes. Or might be a great time to pull the extra gr. beef or pork out of the freezer from the past two weeks.

Desserts: Pudding, Cheesecake Pie (see recipe on side bar)
You could easily make rice pudding if you wanted to, if you're not sick of rice, by adding a can of sweetened condensed milk and using this recipe http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1842,147169-245203,00.html
Just make sure to do an egg count, my head is spinning, I can't count the eggs used right now.

Smart's Sunday Dinner Rolls-Carol Smart
I've made these on Mondays and Saturdays and they turned out just fine. Again do an egg count before you start. I make these without the eggs all of the time though. It's up to you.

2 C. milk
4 Tbls shortening or butter

Put these in a glass bowl in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or to just before a boil(scald). Let cool to lukewarm.

In another bowl add 1 T. yeast, 1/4 C. warm water and 1 tsp. sugar. Let it grow.
Then after 10-20 minutes or before it grows over the bowl, put it in the mixer with the milk and melted butter.

Add:
2 eggs, beaten
3 Tbls. sugar
2 tsp. salt

Add 2 C. flour and beat thoroughly. Gradually add enough flour to make a dough that can be stirred with a spoon. Knead. (You want enough flour in this so that you have a smooth elastic dough with only a slight amount of tackiness to it. Grease a bowl and the top of dough, cover and let rise to double. Make 24 rolls (when I make them I have enough to fill a 15x10 inch baking sheet) and let double again. I usually put a little oil on tops or it's on my hands when I'm shaping them to keep them from drying out. I put saran wrap on top and to let them raise. Bake at 350 till golden brown. Aprox. 15-20 minutes. Keep a close eye on them in the oven.



Grocery List:
Albertsons
Albertson's chunk light tuna, .69, buy 2
Albertson cream of chicken soup, .69, buy 1
Del Monte canned vegetables, .69, buy 3
Red greapes, .69 lb., buy 2 lbs.

Bashas
Split chicken breast, .87 lb. I am aproximatley guessing, since I have been quarantined, LOL, to home that the package size would be around 5 lbs., but I don't know, I have not done my research this week, also another reason this is coming out two days late than the ads. 5 lbs would put us at $4.35

Utah Peaches, yum, .79, buy 2 lbs.
Food Club yogurt, 3/$1, buy 4 or however many is in your family but add $ to the total if you go past 4
Blue Ribbon long grain rice, 2 lbs., .99
Food Club applesauce, 2/$3, buy 1
Maruchan Ramen noodles, 6/$1, or .16, buy 2 at .32
Value Time med. eggs, .88, buy 2
Value Time mac & cheese, .36
Celery, .79
Bashas cour cream, $1.99

Fry's
Kroger mini carrots, .88
Dole Premium classic salad, .88
Assorted Pork loin chops, .88. Again, I've not checked this out yet, let's presume that they are in 5 lb. packages, total would be $4.40
Del Monte Gold Pineapple, $1
General Mills cereal, $1.77, buy 2
Bar S ham, $2.99
Fry's milk, $1.99, buy 2 (this seems to be the price for milk at most stores this week)
Kroger Value bread, .88, buy 4 for $3.52. There are 20 slices of bread in each loaf
Kroger Value spaghetti, .88
Kroger Value spaghetti sauce, $1.15 (If you hate this, buy Ragu or Prego, add extra $ to budget)
Land O Frost Premium lunchemeat, $2.99
Kroger Value cookies, $1.15
Grahm crackers, I've allowed for $1.99
Seet onion, .88 lb., I've allowed for one at .44

Buy 10 Mega event
1-Philadelphia cream cheese, .89
2-Philadelphia cream cheese
3-Jello pudding, .89
4-Jello gelatin, .89
5-DiGiorno Pizza, $3.99
6-Capri Sun drinks, $1.39
7-Wheat thins snack crackers, $1.49
8-Juicy Juice, $1.99 (find a coup and it's only .99!)
9-Kraft shredded cheese, $1.39
10-Kraft shredded cheese

Sprouts
Broccoli crowns, .99 lb.
Sweet cantaloupe, 2/$1, buy 2
Idaho russet potatoes, .99 for a 5 lb. bag
Cherry Vanilla granola, $2.49 lb., buy $1 worth

Other great buys this week:
Lg vine ripe tomatoes, .49 lb.-sprouts
Extra lean gr. beef, $1.99 lb.-Sprouts
Sno-white cauliflower, .99 ea-Sprouts
Boneless Beef cross rib steak, $1.88 lb.-Fry's
Green onions or radishes, 2/$1-Fry's
Romaine lettuce, $1
Campbell's chicken Noodle soup, .69-Albertson's
Shasta soda, .69-Albertson's
Iceberg lettuce, 2/$1-Albertson's
90% lean gr. beef, $1.77 for 4# or more-Bashas
Assorted pork chops, .97 lb.-Bashas
Food Club cereal, $2.50-Bashas
Mission soft taco shells, $1.99-Bashas
Pillsbury cake mix, .99-Bashas
Juicy Juice drink boxes, 2/$4-Bashas
Value Time soft white bread, .88-Bashas
Bashas milk, $1.99-Bashas
Food Club whipped cream, $1.99-Bashas
Food Club tater tots, $1.99-Bashas

Items not on the list:
Butter
cream
sugar
sweetened condensed milk if you decide to make the rice pudding
yeast
flour
salt
soy sauce
garlic powder
Mayonnaise
salad dressing
powdered sugar

HUH?

Not everyone shops for groceries that they are going to use that week weekly. HUH? There are those who shop for exactly what they need for the week that they are going to use it. They make out a plan and then shop for their needs for the plan. Then there are the stockpilers. The ones that shop for what's on sale and create a stockpile of it in their pantry/freezer. When planning menus or planning dinners they plan accordingly to what they already have. It may surprise some of you to know that I am more of the latter than the former. I actually am of the opinion that you can incorporate weekly grocery buying and menu planning with the stockpile approach. To get the ultimate bang for your buck you actually need to. But not everyone has the resources financially or the space to make the stockpile approach work. Or maybe you do but you need to change your way of thinking and everything your mother ever taught you (or didn't teach you?) about meal planning. Because...if you've ever read the $50 Stockpile (see side bar) you've already figured out that $50/week is cheaper than my $69 or there abouts per week. When you stockpile for a couple of months, then you have most everything you need to create the 21 meals that you need per week. You'll figure out which strategy works the best for you and your family.

Petticoat Junction

Check out these adorable pettiskirts and tutus! http://kimmysbarefootcreations.blogspot.com/ or at my sidebar for future reference.

Menu for what's on sale Sept. 16-Sept. 22

Rock bottom prices on chicken and grapes this week. Doesn't look like a grand sale week but apples, oranges, eggs and some other things that my morning brain is not remembering right now were really an execeptional price. I finished the first draft of the menus at $63.0-something and went back and added another cheese, some more apples and oranges for good measure and the lasagne noodles that I had forgotten. That hardly ever happens. Usually I am crossing items off like crazy to get to a price that you and I can live with. You may want to buy less of some of the fruit, depending on what your family needs, and buy some kiwi for 4/$1 and carrots at 2 one lb. bags for $1 at Albertsons. Or some Hass avocados at Sprouts at 4 for $1. I've been told that the avocados freeze up nicely and that you can halve them, scoop out the flesh from the peels with a spoon, leave the pit in, put them in a ziplock bag with other guacamole fixins and freeze. When you take out, thaw and then mash the bag in you hand, squeeze the guac out of the bag and viola!---chip ready guacamole. And kiwis are full of vitamins, I was also told, this week as a matter of fact, that we are the only nation that peels our kiwis before we eat them. The peel is full of good stuff. A little fuzzy for me though. I have to be told to buy kiwis, I just never think to do it on my own.

Here is the final menu, at $70.85

Breakfast
1-Oatmeal
2-French toast
3-Oatmeal
4-Cold cereal, apple wedges with peanut butter
5-Cold cereal
6-Eggs, bacon(save some bacon for the chicken wraps, lunch idea #4)
7-Oatmeal

Lunch
1-PB&J sandwich, orange, Capri Sun drink
2-Chicken salad sandwich, grapes
3-PB&J sandwich, snack crackers, apple, Capri Sun drink
4-Chicken wrap(chicken pieces or slices, a strip or two of cooked bacon, lettuce, tomato and dressing of choice wrapped in a flour tortilla, wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper), grapes
5-PB&J sandwich, apple, if any are left. Or oranges. Whatever is left.
6-Hot dogs, snack crackers
7-Grilled cheese sandwich

Dinner
1-Chicken enchiladas or chicken enchilada casserole, green salad/dressing. Cook one of the chickens and use the meat for the casserole and then for chicken salad sandwiches on lunch idea #2 and chicken wraps on lunch idea #4. Enchilada casserole and enchilada recipe below.

2-Crockpot/slowcooker lasagne or regular oven baked lasagne, green salad/dressing. Pudding for dessert. You will be using the ground beef for Lasagne and sloppy joes. Freeze the remainder to use next week for something. Or form into burgers for a weekend lunch. Lasagne recipes below.

3-Oven-fried chicken, steamed or sauteed zucchini, canned corn. Cook the second chicken here. see http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/cutupchicken.htm for info on cutting a whole chicken into pieces for fried chicken. See side bar for the Oven-fried chicken recipe. If the thought of cutting a whole chickie is too much for you, or if you're dangerous with sharp knives, like I am, then you have my permission to not do oven fried chicken and bake it whole instead cutting it up for eating once it's cooked.

4-Leftovers

5-Grilled cheese sandwiches. Ice cream for dessert.

6-Deli baked pizza(call Bashas deli first so that it is ready when you pick it up, it says on the ad that it takes 30 minutes.), jello, ice cream for dessert. This would be a great dinner for a softball or soccer or football practice or swim meet night. Just swing by Bashas on the way to the field or pool and you can eat once you get there. Eat your jello and ice cream when you get home.

7-Sloppy joes, canned vegetable. (Note: if you don't want to buy the sloppy joe sauce, use some ketchup, mustard and brown sugar to taste, maybe some worcestershire sauce if you have it to taste.) Use leftover buns for garlic toast or cheese toast or for hamburgers with the leftover ground beef.




Slowcooker Lasagne (MaryAnn D.)
Can I just say before you read this recipe that this is the recipe that changed my life?
I haven't met anyone who has tried this who did not think it was the best thing since
sliced bread. I know it sounds weird, but it absolutely works.

12 uncooked lasagne noodles
1 jar (28 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1/2 diced onion or 1 diced shallot, cooked in the microwave in a little olive oil for 30 secs.
1/2 to 1 lb. of browned ground beef
1 pint cottage cheese
2 C. shredded mozzarella
1/4 C. of water
some dried oregano and powdered garlic if desired
Nonstick cooking spray

Spray your crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Break noodles in half or smaller and place half of the noodles int he bottom of a 4 quart slow cooker. Spread half of the meat over the noodles. Over the beef, layer half the sauce and water, half the cottage cheese and half the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layer. Cover and cook on low heat 4 to 5 hours. Do not cook more than 5 hours.

Note: With my crockpot/slowcooker, sometimes I will cook this 4 hours on low, then the last hour or two, if I am home and preparing the rest of the meal, on high. I think that the noodles are more tender that way.






Lasagne-oven baked

9-12 cooked lasagne noodles, depending on the size of your pan
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 C. cottage cheese (or more, depending on your likes)
1-2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 lb. browned ground beef
1/2 diced onion or 1 diced shallot, cooked in a little olive oil in the microwave for 30 secs. or more(don't leave too long, it will burn)
some dried oregano and powdered garlic if desired

Drain the cooked noodles on some paper toweling, then you have to work quickly. Put a small amount of sauce on the bottom, layer 3 or four noodles into a 9x13 pan, add some cooked gr. beef, cooked onion, you may want to add a pinch of oregano and garlic powder to the meat, some sauce, some dollops of cottage cheese. Then repeat the layers starting out with more noodles. If you want lots of mozzarella, then add it to each layer. If not, then end with the mozzarella. I sometimes will add the mozzarella at the end of the cooking time so that it is not rubbery when we go to eat it. Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and let stand for 20-30 minutes. I think that this is better the next day, so make it ahead of time if you want to.

NOTE: the last time I made this I added a small can of tomato sauce to it to make it saucier.



Chicken Enchilada casserole (Dottie's Kitchen Store)

I have adapted Dottie's recipe to the way that I cook. I don't get out sauce pans and heat stuff that I am going to bake anyway. And I usually do a half of her recipe, so this is the quantity that you will have ingredients for if you shop from the grocery list that I made for you.

1/2 chopped onion, softened in the microwave in a bowl with a little olive oil, 30 secs.
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 soup can of milk
1/2 can (4 oz., so 2 oz.) chopped green chilis
1/4 to 1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 C. green chile sauce (oops, guess that I never read the recipe good before, I never add this, so do what you want)
taco size corn tortillas, you can use flour, since I have you buying flour tortillas
shredded or diced chicken meat
shredded cheddar or mexican blend cheese

Mix together onions, milk, soup, chilis, sour cream and green sauce. Then I take a 8x8 pan and spray nonstick cooking spray on it. I tear up(Dottie's recipe says to layer the tortillas, I tear them up) around 3 or 4 and put on the bottom of the pan. I then spread some chicken on top of that, some sauce, some cheese, then repeat layers ending with cheese. Bake at 350 for around 30 minutes until cheese melts and it's hot and bubbly.

When I do a full recipe, or enough for a 9x13 pan, to take to a party, I follow the recipe more closely and this is what I do:

Sauce:
1 onion, chopped and sauteed
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can full of milk
1 (4 oz.) can of diced green chilis
1/2 C. (I probably add more) sour cream
1 C. green chili sauce (I have never added this before and my kids gobble it up)

Other ingred.:
Corn or flour tortillas
chicken
shredded cheese

Mix up sauce ingredients. Layer the corn tortillas(you have flour tortillas) in a 9x13 pan treated with nonstick cooking spray or oil, or tear up like I did in the smaller version. Layer with chicken, sauce, cheese, repeat layers until the casserole is full or you run out of ingredients. Bake at 350. I usually garnish if I'm taking to a potluck with chopped tomato, green onion slices and sliced black olives.

NOTE:you will have all but the can of cream of mushroom soup to make the larger version.




Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

This version is a rolled enchilada. For 8x8 pan follow this recipe. For 9x13, double.

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 C. sour cream or more
some diced green chilis
diced or shredded chicken
shredded cheese
flour tortillas

Mix the soup and the sour cream together. Spray the bottom of an 8x8 pan with Pam or nonstick cooking spray. Take a flour tortilla and add meat to it, a small amount of sauce if you want and roll it up. Place in the pan. Continue until you have 4 or 5 enchiladas rolled. I then like to cut the enchiladas in half. Spread the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and top with cheese. Or wait until the last minutes of baking to spread the cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Double this recipe if you want to have enough for a 9x13 pan.

Here's the grocery list for this week:
Bashas'
Fresh whole chicken, .49 lb. Buy two chickens at aprox. 4 lbs. each, total, $3.92
Fresh ground beef with four lbs. or more, $1.77 lb. buy 4 lbs., at $7.08
Iceberg lettuce, .69 ea., buy 2
Gala apples, .49 lb., buy 4 lbs.
Large cheese pizza from the hot deli, $4.99. Allow 30 minutes for it to cook, call ahead
Farmland bacon, $1.99
Food Club cheese singles, .99
Food Club peanut butter, .99
Del Monte vegetables, .58, buy 2
Bashas sour cream, .99
Bashas cottage cheese, .99
Mission flour tortillas, $1.99
MP diced green chilis, 2/$1, buy 1
Food Club instant oatmeal or oats, 2/$1, buy 2
Cream of chicken soup, allowed for $1.99
onion, allowed for .50, buy 1
Food Club lasagne noodles, allowed for $1.39
Del Monte sloppy joe sauce, $1.00

Fry's
Mega 10 event
1-Kraft shredded cheese, $1.39
2-Kraft shredded cheese
3-Kraft shredded cheese
4-Nabisco snack crackers, $1.49
5-Jello instant pudding, .89
6-Jello gelatin, .89
7-Kraft salad dressing, .99
8-Oscar mayer weiners, $1.49
9-Dreyer's ice cream, $2.49
10-Capri Sun drinks, $1.39

Fry's large eggs, .77, buy 1
Fry's milk, .77 half gal., buy 4
Green seedless grapes, .67 lb., buy 2 lbs.
Zucchini, or yellow squash, $1 lb.
Kroger Value cereal, .99, buy 2
Kroger Value bread, .88, buy 4(there are 20 slices in each loaf)
Hamburger buns, allowed for $1.50, buy 1
Hot dog buns, allowed for $1.50, buy 1
Kroger Value Spaghetti sauce, $1.15

Sprouts
Navel oranges, .88 lb., buy 3 lbs. at $2.64
Vine ripe tomatoes, .88 lb., buy 2 lbs. at $1.76

Other great buys this week:
Hass avocados, 4/$1-sprouts
Lg. green pepper, 3/$1-sprouts
Breyers Ice cream, $1.99-Albertsons
Carrots, 2/$1-Albertsons
Kiwi, 4/$1-Albertsons
Fresh ground beef, .99 lb, 5 lb. chub-Fry's(if chub meat doesn't gross you out)
Kroger boneless, skinless chicken breasts, $1.57 lb., 3 lb. bag-Fry's
Bashas sandwich bread, .99-Bashas
chuck Roast value pack, $1.37 lb.-Bashas

Items not on the grocery list:
butter
jelly
mayonnaise
Pam or nonstick cooking spray
Parmesan cheese
green salsa or chili sauce

Contest WINNER!!!

Contest winner of the Fry's $20 Gift Card is.....drumroll please........Susie Waldrom!
Congratulations! Stay tuned for more fun things to happen as the holidays get closer.

Some thoughts on stockpiling

Yeah, when I woke up this morning, I didn't know that my thoughts would turn to this. But...trying to make cookies promised for today and knowing that I didn't have a car to go get ingredients needed that I thought I had when I started out...well, you know how it goes. I decided on Chocolate chip cookies and ended up with about a 1/4 of a cup of brown sugar more than I needed left in the whole house. That is if the recipe yields 6 dozen, and I think that it will, if I don't get all consumed in this post and burn a pan. And I can make more brown sugar, I have plenty of white sugar and molasses....but I don't want to have to. Then the chocolate chip situation. In my head I feel that I am always buying chocolate chips and when I need to use them there is always just one bag and a partial bag left. Maybe I am forgetting where I am stashing them? But that would mean that I was old and forgetful and we all know that I'm not. I need to get some lima bean or cauliflower bags to store them in when I put them in the freezer. Then they might be safe from teenage boys craving chocolate. Remember that one line in the movie "17 Again" where Zack Efron(as a 17 yr. old boy) is talking to his friend while consuming all kinds of "stuff" layed out on the kitchen counter and the friend says, "Dude, what are you eating?" and Zack Efron says, "I don't even know, all I know is that I'm HUNGRY ALL of THE TIME"? That line has come to mean so much to me. So, I had one full bag of chocolate chips and a partial bag of mini chips and then a full bag of white chocolate chips. So enough to make something out of but kind of more rustic a look than I wanted. So I found some snack bags of M&Ms and some Hersheys nuggets in the fridge. So I chopped up some nuggets and put those with the milk chocolate chips that I had in the cookie dough. And if I need to make more dough I can use the M&Ms. But I think that I'm in good shape now. But all this got me thinking about stockpiling. Last November when sugar and baking goods were low, low, low priced I stocked up and I may have bought some more brown sugar and powdered sugar around Easter time and Passover when baking goods were cheap again. I am now just this week running out of powdered sugar, cocoa and brown sugar. And the chocolate chips would have held out if I didn't have chocoholics living here with me. I still have lots of flour and white sugar left but will rotate that with the new stuff I plan to get when the sales come. So get ready for the holiday baking season sales and frenzy that will hit the stores in a couple of months and plan to stock up for the whole year. Save some $ for it now if you need to. And start clipping coupons for flour and sugar now because you will get so much bang for your buck if you do, even if just in the baking area of food alone. And use up that Halloween candy you'll be getting soon enough, make cookies out of the chocolate kinds. For great stockpiling secrets, tips and motivation, see my side bar for Mindy's blog, the $50 stockpile. Her ideas are terrific. And I'm not just saying this because she wrote about me yesterday. Okay, well, had better go clean up the cookie mess in the kitchen and see if the sharpie pen stain came out of the white tee shirt that I treated with hairspray. And in case you were wondering...I came out 4 1/2 cookies more than I needed. YES! That means that I can consume some of the M&Ms in their pure form after I get things under control.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Glenda Nielsen

1 lb. real butter
1 1/2 C. white sugar
2 C. brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
6 C. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
6 C. or 2 bags chocolate chips
2 C. chopped nuts

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Menu for what's on sale for Sept. 9-Sept. 16

So late in the sales week, but better late than never. Remember that you have until Monday night, Sept. 14th to enter in the Fry's $20 GC giveaway. See my post way down there, under the "Announcing.." headliner.

Here we go...$69.12 this week

Breakfast
1-Cold cereal, sliced peaches
2-Hard boiled eggs, toast
3-Cold cereal
4-French toast, cantaloupe slices
5-Cold cereal
6-Cold cereal
7-Eggs, toast

Lunch
1-Tuna sandwich, cookie
2-cottage cheese/canned fruit salad, celery sticks
3-Pork sandwich, apple wedges (keep some apple for the Spinach Salad for dinner idea #3)
4-Egg salad sandwich, tortilla chips, cookie
5-Tuna sandwich, strawberries
6-Chicken Noodle or tomato soup, leftover corn muffins
7-Macaroni and Cheese, Soda

Dinner
1-Macaroni and cheese, canned vegetable of your choice

2-Pork roast, canned vegetable of your choice, bread dressing, see http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Celery-Stuffing/Detail.aspx for recipe for bread dressing. Cut the pork loin into 3 pieces (or more?). One for the roast, one for the strips for stir fry and one to freeze for next week or the week after. Leftover roasted pork can be used for sandwiches. I did not put an onion down on the grocery list for the bread dressing, so if you need onion in this dish, add it to your grocery list.

3-Spinach Salad, french bread. See recipe below for Spinach Salad.

4-Pork stir fry with Ramen noodles. Use pork strips, broccoli and mushrooms for stir fry.

5-Taco Soup, corn muffins. Tortilla chips, sour cream and avocados for toppers. See recipe below for the Taco Soup

6-Bacon and tomato sandwiches. Add $1.28 to the week's food budget and buy some Kroger Value french fries to go with it if desired. Peach Raspberry Crisp for dessert. See side bar to take you to the entry that has the link for the recipe.

7-Spaghetti, sauce, garlic bread

Spinach Salad (Beth C., who gave it to Ginna B., who gave it to me)

Fresh spinach, washed
shredded or thinly sliced cabbage or some cole slaw mix
sliced strawberries
diced apple
Brianna's brand poppy seed dressing
(halved grapes, but the budget did not allow for grapes this time)
(Toasted amaranth and cooked quinoa are also added as are sugared cashews but I did not allow for them in the budget this time. Also adding cooked chicken or pork is good.)



Taco Soup (Kathy G., who gave it to Margie M., who gave it to me)

1 lb. of ground beef or ground turkey
1 small to medium onion, diced
1 can of corn with liquid (15 oz.)
1 can of black beans or pinto beans, with liquid (15 oz.)
1 can of diced tomatoes (28 oz.), or two smaller cans (15 oz.)
2 cans of tomato sauce (8 oz. each)
1 C. of water
1 package of taco seasoning

Brown ground beef. Drain grease. Sautee onion or cook in a bowl with a small amount of olive oil in it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Combine everything in a pot, heat until hot. Serve with toppers.

Toppers:
Shredded cheddar or Monterrey jack cheese
jalapenos, pickled or fresh
sour cream
sliced olives
sliced or diced avocado
sliced green onion
tortilla chips or corn tortilla strips fried in oil and salted. Or you can bake them.

(serves 4-6)

Now for the Grocery List:
Albertson's
Calidad tortilla chips, .99
Albertson's french bread, .99, buy 2
Hunt's diced tomatoes, .99
Jiffy corn muffin mix, 2/.79, buy 2
Bunch spinach, .69, buy 2

Bashas'
Boneless pork loin, $1.27 lb., aprox. $11 for one (cut into 3 pieces. Use one for a roast, one for pork stir fry and freeze one piece for next week or the next week)
Utah peaches, .79, buy 5 lbs, aprox., at $3.95
Strawberries, $1, buy 2
Bashas' large eggs, .88, buy 2
Del Monte vegetables, .69, buy 3
Lawry's taco seasoning, 2/$1, buy 1
S&W black beans, .75
Shamrock Farms sour cream, $1.39 (use a coupon and pay .39 for this)
Celery, .79
Broccoli, .99
Dole mushrooms, .88
Brianna's poppy seed dressing, I've allowed for $4.70 for this
Del Monte fruit, .75
Hamburger, $2.49 lb., $3.50 per package, aproximately
Cabbage, I've allowed for $1 for this
Large tomatoes, $1.99 lb.

Fry's
Fry's milk, $1.39, buy 2 (you can also buy the milk at the same price at Albertson's)
Driscolls raspberries, $1, buy 1
Gala apples, .77 lb., buy 2 lbs.
Campbell's chicken noodle or tomato soup, .49, buy 3
Maruchan Ramen noodles, .10, buy 2
Bumble Bee chunk light tuna, .47, buy 2
Fry's chicken broth, .50, buy 2
Fry's tomato sauce, .15, buy 2
Fry's macaroni and cheese, .29, buy 3
Big K soda, .47, buy 1
Kroger Value cereal, .99, buy 3 (or you can buy the Malt O Meal cereal at Albertson's for .99 each)
Kroger Value cookies, $1.19, buy 1
Bar S bacon, $1.99
Kroger cottage cheese, $1.18
Kroger Value bread, .88, buy 4 loaves
Fry's spaghetti, .88
Kroger Value spaghetti sauce, $1.19

Sprouts
Chilean Hass avocados, .49
Cantaloupe, .99

Items not on the grocery list:
oats
sugar
flour
butter
herbs and spices
onion

Other great deals this week:
Gala apples, .69 lb.-Safeway
Lucerne milk, $1.39-Safeway
Fresh and Easy shredded cheese, $1.99-Fresh and Easy
Yoplait yogurt, .40-Bashas'
Macayo diced green chilis, 2/$1-Bashas'
Malt O Meal cereal, .99-Albertson's
Albertson's milk-$1.39-Albertson's
Land o Frost Deli Shaved lunchmeat, $2.50-Albertson's
Albertson's sour cream, .99-albertson's
Kroger Value sugar, $1.69-Fry's
Kroger sour cream, $1.19-Fry's

The Utah peaches at Bashas. My friend was telling me that her friend takes the sliced, peeled peaches and puts them in a ziplock baggie. Then she puts that in a pie plate and freezes it so that it forms to the pan form. She then takes out the pan once the peaches are frozen and stacks them. Then when she wants peach pie, she takes out a bag of pie form peaches and plops them into a pie crust.

Be patient

Be patient with me. For those few of you still checking in. The die hard BM fans. Ha. I will go through the ads tonight and come up with something to post for menus tomorrow. We had a BBQ-swim thing at our house today so I have been busy getting ready for that. So now that the burgers and hot dogs are put away and the real dogs are let out to roam around the house again, I can rest and then put my initial thoughts and ideas down on paper. And....congrats to Mr. Budget Menu(you can call him Mr. B.M.) and I since today is our 18th wedding anniversary. Hooray for us. Don't know how he put up with me for so long.

Spell It Out Giveaway

Check it out! Go to my sidebar and click onto "Spell It Out Designs". She is doing a contest, a fabulous giveaway...well, don't listen to me...go...run...to her blog and enter TODAY! Contest deadline is Sunday. Also go to the "Announcing" post and enter in MY fabulous contest! Now! Do both of em now!

Menu for what's on sale Sep. 2-Sep. 8

Remember to enter the $20 Fry's GC contest by putting your name and email in the comment section of the "Announcing..." post below!!!!!!

This week:

$69.09

A good week to stock up on meat. My friend Mindy over at the $50 Stockpile blog (see my sidebar) has some good ideas for how to use $50 for meals this week.

Breakfast

1-French toast, bacon (reserving bacon for baked beans)

2-Breakfast tacos (eggs, sausage crumbles wrapped in a flour tortilla)

3-Cinnamon toast, cantaloupe chunks

4-French toast

5-Egg biscuit

6-Cinnamon toast

7-Breakfast tacos

Lunch

1-PB&J sandwich, celery sticks

2-PB&J sandwich, goldfish crackers

3-Bagels, cream cheese, carrots

4-PB&J sandwich, cantaloupe chunks

5-PB&J sandwich, watermelon chunks

6-Grilled cheese sandwich, leftover potato salad

7-Grilled cheese sandwich, potato chips

Dinner

1-Potato Cream Cheese Soup. Find recipe at http://www.recipezaar.com/Paneras-Cream-Cheese-Potato-Soup-150863

2-Hamburgers or meatloaf, green salad

3-Hot dogs, baked beans. The recipe for the baked beans on Pioneer Woman Cooks is below. I allowed for a half recipe for the beans. Otherwise it serves 18. So if you want to make the full recipe and use some for labor day, that would work. I allowed for 3 fifteen ounce cans of Pork & Beans in the grocery list.

4-Labor Day Menu. Spareribs, Potato Salad, Celery and carrots, Potato chips and dip, watermelon. If enough eggs will be left for the rest of the week, make some deviled eggs. Cheesecake pie for dessert. Cheesecake pie recipe below. If you have leftover cream cheese from bagels this week, a good dip can be made creaming the cheese, adding some milk to make creamier and some garlic salt to taste.

5-Leftovers.

6-Southwestern Chicken Caesar salad. A couple of options here. A recipe http://www.recipezaar.com/southwestern-chicken-caesar-salad-wchipotle-dressing-380694 or make your own dressing by adding a couple of dashes of green tabasco to bottled caesar dressing. You could try the red kind if that's all you have. Or let's go crazy and even say to try a small amount of taco seasoning. Try just a little in a small amount of dressing first to see if you'll like it. Or buy the Caesar salad kits on sale at Fry's this week. Making your own would be more cost effective though. If you choose to use the recipe, use one cob of corn for this salad, if you decide to buy some black beans for it, you will have to allow for extra in the food budget.

7-Grilled chicken sandwiches and corn on the cob. Here's what my hubby does. He bakes the chicken breasts in the oven at 350 or lower temp(I'll have to ask him now which it is) until they are almost done. Still inedible though. He then slices the breasts in half, so that you now have double the amount of chicken breasts, but thinner, and easier to eat as a sandwich. A really good $ stretcher idea for BBQ's and parties. He then puts BBQ sauce on them and BBQ's until they are done, not very long. Ice cream for dessert. If you want to use the leg quarters instead for this night, then cook the meat, take off the bone, and use as BBQ chicken sandwiches.

Quick Southern-Style Baked Beans

recipe by Pam Anderson
serves up to 18
as posted by the Pioneer Woman Cooks

8 slices bacon, halved
1 medium onion, small dice
1/2 medium green pepper, small dice
3 large cans(28 oz. each), Pork and Beans (or 6 small cans)
3/4 C. BBQ sauce
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. distilled or cider vinegar
2 tsp. dry mustard or 2 T. Dijon mustard

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Fry bacon in large, deep saute pan skillet until bacon has partially cooked and has released about 1/4 C. drippings. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Add onions and peppers to drippings in pan and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans and remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer(If skillet is not large enough, add beans and heat to a simmer then transfer to a large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients. Pour flavored beans into a greased 13-by 9-inch (or similar size) overproof pan. Top with bacon, then bake until beans are bubbly and sauce is the consistency of pancake syrup, about 2 hours. Let stand to slightly thicken.

You may want to halve this recipe and only use 3 small cans of P&B's. Adjust the other ingredients.

Spareribs

3 lbs. spareribs
2 T. butter
1 Onion, medium, diced
1 clove garlic or comparable amount of garlic powder
1 C. celery, chopped
3/4 C. water
1 C. ketchup
2 T. vinegar
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. worcestershire sauce
2 T. brown sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Melt butter; add onion, and cook until translucent, add remaining ingredients and cook 20 minutes. Enough sauce for 3 lbs. of meat. Simmer spareribs in sauce for 3-4 hours. (my mom always cut them into separate ribs or chunks of 2-3 ribs before cooking in the sauce.)



Cheesecake Pie (Angela N.)

2 bricks cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 C. heavy cream
2/3 C. powdered sugar
1 grahm cracker or shortbread or oreo pie crust

Mix cheese, cream (or less milk if you don't want to buy cream, start with 1/4 C.), powdered sugar, with an electric mixer until creamy. Pour into a cracker crust, refridgerate four hours. Serve with canned pie filling or fruit jam. Strawberry or Raspberry freezer jam is an excellent topping for this.

Albertson's

Albertson's is quadrupling coupon values this week

Cantaloupe, .99, buy 1. You may want to buy the cantaloupe at Sprouts for the same price.

Van Camp's Pork and beans, 2/$1, buy 3 cans. Food City has them for .25 if you have one close to you.

Bashas'

80% ground beef, $1.38 lb., 4 lbs. or more, aprox. $5.52

Bashas hot dog or hamburger buns, .88, buy 2 hamburger, 1 hot dog buns

Food Club cheese singles, .99

Food Club slice bacon, $1.99, buy 1. Fry's has Kroger Value bacon every day for $1.77

Bar S meat franks, .28 with shocker! coupon from the Wed. ad, with additional $20 purchase

Blue Bunny ice cream, $1.48 with shocker! coupon from the Wed. ad and additional $20 purchase

Kraft mayonnaise or Miracle whip, $1.98 with shocker! coupon from the Wed. ad and additional $20 purchase

Russet potatoes, .99 for a 10 lb. bag, buy 1

Whole seedless watermelon, $1.99

They have Pork and Beans here for .75 if you don't want to run to Food City or Albertson's

Eggs, I've allowed for $1.49 per doz., I forgot to check real prices last night, buy 3 dozen.

Green bell pepper, .99, buy 1

Yellow onion, $1 lb., buy 2

Fry's

Pork spareribs, .97 lb., one rack was a little over 4 lbs., or $4.23. I know they're cheaper at Bashas' this week. I couldn't find a pack to price and you have to buy a twin pack. I figured that this might be cheaper in the long run but if you have extra $, buy spareribs at Bashas'.

Boneless/skinless chicken breast, Kroger Value brand, $1.67 lb., aprox. $3.92. You can go with leg quarters at Bashas' for $3.80 for a 10# bag. Your choice. (Just turn meal idea #7 into BBQ chicken sandwiches instead of grilled chicken sandwiches.)

Lay's potato chips, $1.47

Kroger shredded cheese, .97, buy 1 for the top to the soup or for the breakfast tacos or to top with the Caesar salad. You may choose to buy another package of cheese depending on how many items you want cheese in this week.

Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, .88

Kroger cream cheese, $1.25, buy 4 packages

Kroger Value canned biscuits, .46

Kroger Value peanut butter, $1.29

Kroger dip, .97

Celery, $1

Organic mini peeled carrots, 2/$3, buy 1

Mission taco tortillas, buy one, get one free, $2.69 for 2

Grahm crackers, I've allowed for $1.99 for this. This is to make the pie shell

Fry's milk, $1.99, buy 1

Pepperideg Farms goldfish crackers, 10/$10

Kroger bagels, $1.25

Kroger Value bread, .88, buy 5 loaves. You will need 80 slices of bread minimum this week. Four loaves is 80 slices. The fifth loaf will give you security if something burns. Rollover into next week if you don't use it.

Farmer John sausage links, $1, buy 2

Fry's chicken broth, .89, buy 2

Romaine lettuce, I've allowed for $1.50 for this

Sprouts

Sweet corn, 10/$2, buy 5 ears

Large vine ripe tomatoes, .99 lb., buy 1 lb.

Other great buys this week:

chilean avocados, 2/$1, Sprouts

Green beans, .99 lb., Sprouts

Blue Bunny ice cream, $1.88, Albertson's

93% br. beef, $1.77 lb., 5 lbs. or more, Albertson's

Dole salad kits, .97, Fry's

Bar S jumbo franks, .57, Fry's

Kroger Value bacon, $1.77, Fry's

Popsicles, .88, Fry's

Broccoli or cauliflower, $1, Fry's

Hunt's pasta sauce, 4/$5, Fry's

Kroger apple juice coctail, $1.29, Fry's

Fresh pork spareribs, .88 lb., Bashas'

Boneless top sirloin, $1.99 lb., Bashas'

Cook's Ham, .99 lb., Bashas' (makes for a cheap lunch meat)

Fresh chicken leg quarters, .38 lb., in a 10 lb. bag for $3.80

Things not on the grocery list:

brown sugar

ketchup

garlic powder

worcestershire sauce

ground mustard

Dijon

tobasco