12/06/2012

SPAGHETTI GOES A LONG WAY

80% LEAN 20% FAT, GROUND BEEF (1lb) ($2.99)
RAGU SAUCE 8OZ (1LB)ea ($2.00)
DA VINCI SPAGHETTI ($2.19)
YELLOW ONION (.79)
($7.97)

I used ¼ of the onion, 1lb the beef, 1lb of Ragu and ^1/6th, Spices.

Between me and Robert we only ate about half of what I made. I canned the remaining meaty Ragu sauce back into the jar & stored it in the fridge (after I let it cool of course).
The next night we had Spaghetti again. There was still some left over :/ so I took 2 of the Multi-Grain tortillas I bought yesterday (2/$4) and rolled up the remaining meat and noodles and wrapped it up in tinfoil and gave it a bake. This would make a good snack later on or maybe lunch tomorrow.

So 7.97 fed two people for two nights. (& remember you should still have spaghetti noodles and onion left (depending on how much you love onions/how big your onion is).
That should be about $3.98 per person.
& for two days it equals out to be about $1.99 per plate. Trust me! It’s filling! I feel stuffed!

I also had side with my dinner last night (half corn on the cob + cheese bread). I just love white corn, I don’t care that Robert makes fun of me for it. It amuses him because there are little to no nutrients in it, oh well it’s delicious. J

The French bread loaf I bought yesterday was $2.15 and the 1 cob of corn is $1. (.50 Each) (5/$5)

I do my shopping at Tops, the local grocer here. Really the only place I’ve found to do my shopping for food but that’s okay. Great store, great employees. Fair prices…for the Valley (Surrounded by mountains..real mountains you guys.. not 100ft hills Floridians would consider a mountain.

12/01/2012

On the first day of Christmas..

 

So this December is going to be my "Recovery Month". December is perfect! Its cheery its merry! & you are constantly reminded that ITS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY! So to kick of my month I thought it would be a wonderful idea to bake my first pie!

I planned this out a week in advance. I even bought half the ingredients a week early ( nothing, and I mean nothing was going to stop me from baking my pie ). This pie was more than just a homemade baked pastry to me. The thought of making a pie scared me. Making the dough and insuring a perfect consistency, choosing the best ingredients for the filling, so on. It was all sort of nerve racking. I had to tackle this challenge head on. I had to do this, my soul needed it.

If only.. I could explain why I needed his. Why I need this recovery month. It all sounds selfish but I've been so unselfish for so long. . .

This is no epic pie story.

I got up Saturday morning kind of sluggish. I didn't feel well. I ate too much the night before I think (thanks to my dad who sent me $100 to keep food in my belly) ((side note: I mention my dad sending me money more often than note.. this is because I have a very supportive father who wants to make sure I'm okay. It hurts me to take anything from him, but Its not like I'm buying drugs or alcohol or fun things with it, I'm buying food..and it should only be for now. My sister is helping me make a resume and cover letter so Robert and I can go off applying at places next week *fingers crossed* I never thought I'd be this broke, sitting on so much marijuana>.<))

I didn't start putting the pie together until about 3o'clock. I prepard the dough two days in advanced ( by accident I thought the 1st was on a Friday so I made it on Thursday.

The scariest part to me was the dough. I literally felt like I was suffocating at some point. But my baby, God I love him, popped in Julie & Julia (as corny as it may be) and it actually eased my anxiety. I sat and watched some of it with him and when Julia flips the egg and it spills out of the pan she encourages the viewers not to worry & ensured us it didnt matter if it wasn't perfect.

This is before I put it in the fridge for two days.
I ended up having to wet my hands to work the dough (it was too dry)

xoxo \ back to the kitchen and I starting beating and rolling the dough. I didn't have a rolling pin so I had to use a combination of my hands, a glass jar and finally a elongated plastic cylinder container. Once it was rolled out and shaped how I liked it I put it in the fridge while I worked the top pieces of my pie. (I put the disk in-between two pieces of wax paper ((which is not cheap by the way)).

 I told myself I would have a braid on my pie and I did not lie. It was actually really fun and really easy!

Sparing details from lack of inspiration this is what my finished pie looked like :)

 

  & after a bake in the oven and a special glaze ontop this is the beautiful pie I birthed on the first day of Christmas :-D *glee*

 

  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

12/05/2012

Trying to surive off $50 a week sounds really hard.
But I'm willing to tackle the challenge. Especially now during our time of poverty, its smart to plan your meals ahead of time. After some light reading on a few different blogs about dinners on a budget I got frustrated and set out on my own.
I for one didnt like half the things that were being suggested to me. I'm still a plain Jane I believe. But thats alright! My food taste far from plain anyway.

This is what I ended up spending (setting a goal of $50)

FROZEN VEGGIES (5/$5)
2/10oz Broccoli, Rice, and Carrots
1/12oz Cut Green Beans
2/12oz Mixed Vegetables

BESTYET BRAND
4-BOIL IN BAG WHITE RICE/$2.65
2/1lb Unsalted Butter/$6.00

MCCORMICK BRAND (3/$3)
MIld Taco Seasoning/$1
Hot Taco Seasoning/$1
Chicken Taco Seasining/$1

MEAT
BONELESS PORK ROAST (1.16lb) 2.69lb /$3.12
73%LEAN 27%FAT (2.31lb) 3.29 a lb /$7.60
F/;P CHICKEN BREASTS (2.33lb) 2.99lb / $6.97

PRODUCE:
LEMONS 4/$1

MISC:
(2/$4)
MISSION ARTISAN STYLE TORTILLA- FLAX SEED AND BLUE CORN 8CT($2)
MISSION ARTISAN STYLE TORTILLA- MULTIGRAIN 8CT($2)
EGGS-LARGE($2.49)

SUBTOTAL:42.06
TOTAL TAX:.00
TOTAL:42.06
CHANGE:.00

NUMBER OF ITEMS 22

PRICE SAVINGS:15.47
THAT IS 26% TOTAL SAVINGS.


HOWEVER before I planned on trying the $50 a week I had already visited the store earlier in the day. Bellow is what I bought and spent. The sphagetti should last a while! (just got done cooking it, plenty of left overs.
EARLIER IN THE DAY:

OLD HOME WHAT BREAD($1.09)
OLD HOME WHITE BREAD($1.09)
FRENCH BREAD($2.19)
80% LEAN 20% FAT , GROUND BEEF (1lb) ($2.99)
RAGU SAUCE 8OZ (1LB)ea (2/$4)
BESTYET SEEDLESS BLACKBERRY PRESERVES($3.89)
JIF NATURAL AND CREAMY (4.29)
DA VINCI SPHAGETTI 2@2.19 ($4.40)
ANGEL SOFT 4 ROLL ($2.49)
RUFFLES (2/$5)
SUBTOTAL: 31.41
TAX TOTAL: .18
NUMBER OF ITEMS 13
PRICE SAVINGS: $7.06
THAT IS A TOTAL OF 18% SAVINGS.


OVER AT CVS

5 2 LITERS OF MT.DEW @ .88 EA. ($4.40)
+.10 BOTTLE DEPOSITx5 (.50)
($4.90)



:) *pleased* 
We will see how long this lasts.

12/02/2012