Recipe for a week of meals for 4 for $100.

As a woman who has had to stretch a paycheck or two on occasion, I have been thinking of sharing a menu for a family who has little to spend on the weekly grocery bill. I used a budget of $100 for the whole family of four for the week.  I tried to make somewhat balanced meals with fruits, veggies, dairy, and meats everyday. Many of the items on the shopping list can be purchased more cheaply, and you can always find ingredients for more.  I used an average price you would find at a California store in 2015 for most of the ingredients.

This menu is assuming you are starting from scratch as if there was no pantry.  If you have some staples like spices and flour, you are really far ahead of the game. Use this as a loose guide and improvise and improve as needed.  Please send comments and any corrections you see that need to be made.

Shopping List:

24 Eggs	$6.00
1.25 lb ground turkey	$3.50
1 lb ground beef	$3.50
1 lb of chicken breast	$4.00
2 cups fresh spinach (about 16 oz)	$2.50
1 bag panko crispy bread crumbs	$2.50
1 red onion	$0.75
1 bulb garlic	$0.50
Salt	$1.00
2 pears	$1.00
Black Pepper	$1.50
ketchup	$1.75
Pack of Burger Buns	$2.00
10 lb Sack of Potatoes	$4.00
Bag of Rice	$2.00
Box of cherry or grape tomatoes	$3.00
4 Apples	$2.00
8 Bananas	$1.75
2 cans of soup	$3.00
Spray oil (like Pam)	$2.25
1.5 - 2 Gallons of Milk	$5.00
1 lb Butter unsalted	$3.50
Old Fashioned Oatmeal canister	$3.00
Brown Sugar	$2.00
White Vinegar	$1.00
2 Tuna Cans	$4.00
Sliced cheap wheat bread	$1.50
Mayo	$2.00
Box of Corn Flakes	$2.00
Cheddar Cheese Bar	$3.00
Broccoli Crowns	$1.50
Bag of whole Carrots	$1.00
1/2 lb of sliced turkey	$3.50
3 lb chicken thighs	$4.00
5 lb Bag of flour	$2.50
1 lb bacon or turkey bacon	$3.00
Ranch dressing	$2.50
Romaine Lettuce	$2.00
Yogurt Cups 2 for a dollar	$2.00
Baking powder	$1.50
Splurge - 2 liter of soda or bag of chips	$1.00
	$100.00

Day 1

Breakfast

2 Apples sliced for all to shareOatmealBrown SugarMilk

Lunch

Egg Salad Sandwiches (4 eggs)Home made potato chipsCarrot sticks

Dinner

Meatloaf Cupcakes with Home Made Mashed Potatoes instead of packaged potatoes (use soy sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce).Home Made Mashed potatoes are: about 1-2 pounds of potatoes, 1/4-1/2 cup of milk, 2-3 TBSP of butter and salt as desired.  Boil potatoes for about 20 minutes or until soft.  Drain water and mash up potatoes with other ingredients.Meatloaf recipe makes 6 servings (2 cupcakes a person) - eat 8 cupcakes at dinner and reserve 4 for a brown bag lunch.

Day 2

Breakfast

Toad in the hole (4 eggs cooked over easy in a piece of toast with the center cut out.)

Lunch

Meatloaf cupcakesHome made potato chips - preheat oven to 450 degrees F, slice 3-4 potatoes very thin. Boil the potato slices in water for 3-5 minutes. Drain the water and sprinkle with salt and pepper (add chopped garlic if desired). Spray oil a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or so until chips are golden brown. (eat half, save half for tomorrow).

Dinner

Rice and soy sauce1/2 lb Chicken with sauteed spinach and garlic 

After Dinner Snack (dessert) 

Muffins

1-3/4 cups of flour

4 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 Cup milk

1 egg

4 tsp unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 2. Spray a 24 cup mini-muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray (I use a silicone pan with spray)3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.4. In a small bowl combine egg, milk, and butter. Pour over the flour mixture and stir, just until blended (do not overmix).5. Spoon the batter into the cups, only filling the cups until they are just to the top, not over the sides.6. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Day 3

Breakfast

Corn Flakes (with brown sugar if desired) & Milk

Lunch

Wheat Bread and Tuna Sandwiches (2 cans of tuna, mayo, 1 hard boiled egg)Carrot sticks with Ranch

Snack

Leftover Muffins

Dinner

Baked potatoes with butter, broccoli and cheese topping.Romaine lettuce salad with a few tomatoes, a little shredded cheddar, and thin sliced carrots.Bananas sauteed in butter for dessert

Day 4

Breakfast

OatmealBrown SugarMilk

Lunch

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (Wheat bread, buttered, cheddar, and tomatoes)1 can of soup2 Apples sliced for all to share

Snack

Any leftover muffins

Dinner

1/4 lb Burgers made with garlic, salt, pepper, soy sauce served on buns with lettuce.Homemade french fries with KetchupCarmelized 1/2 Red Onion.  Try simplifying a gourmet recipe like this: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_caramelize_onions/ by using what you have on hand, spray oil, white vinegar

Day 5

Breakfast

Jiffy Corn Muffins (need 1 egg +1/2 Cup milk)Yogurt cups

Lunch

Cherry tomatoesSliced turkey and mayo or ranch with lettuce sandwiches on hamburger buns or sliced bread.2 pears sliced and shared

Snack

Splurge items like soda or chips or if you did not have that extra dollar, try a simple rice pudding with rice, milk and brown sugar.

Dinner

Chicken Adobo - Recipe here - maybe make half if the chicken thighs are not cheap.  Borrow a bay leaf from a friend or skip it.rice 

Day 6

Breakfast

Corn Flakes with sliced bananas & Milk

Lunch

Rice and Soy Sauce, leftover chicken adobo

Snack

Biscuits - Here's a recipe http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013741-all-purpose-biscuits

Dinner

Quiche - Pie crust + 1/2 lb bacon, 5 eggs, milk, any spinach, broccoli, tomato and onion that is left over

Day 7

Breakfast

Spinach, tomato, and egg scramble (Spray oil into the pan, saute spinach and tomato until spinach is wilted.  Scramble up 4-5 eggs, a little milk, salt, pepper into the pan.  Cook until fluffy.)Toast with butter

Lunch

Bacon and Cheddar slices of whatever cheese is left on last of the hamburger buns, biscuits, or sliced bread - with mayo or ranch dressing. 1 can of soup

Snack

If you have enough butter left you can make shortbread cookieshttp://amydouglass.blogspot.com/2011/02/butter-brown-sugar-flour.html

If not, and you are hungry, have some oatmeal with brown sugar and milk.

Dinner

Carrots cooked in brown sugar and butter1/2 lb Chicken, sliced, dipped in a little milk and 1 egg, and coated with a mixture of panko crumbs, salt, and pepper.  Spray a lot of oil into a pan and cook or spray a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees F, 10-12 minutes on each side or until cooked through.Mashed potatoes or baked potatoes with butter.

Proud Saver

I will admit, I do not love the scrimping and saving, as I've had to do lately, but today I worked the system so well, I can't help but to be a Proud Saver. In the grocery store I bought $203.35 worth of food for $109.07. By using a combination of coupons, bonus cash, and grocery store specials I managed a $94.28 savings on the trip and in addition scored a "Rewards Voucher" of $20.00 to be used on a future trip. If you include the voucher, I saved more than I spent.

Included in the trip were plenty of staples, meats, diapers, treats for the Dog,and enough Diet Coke to serve Husband of Food and myself for several weeks, which my friends, is a lot of Diet Coke.

Some of the coupons came from the Sunday paper, some from grocery store mailers, and some from the sources found in the blogpost Food and Grocery Coupon Conglom-o-rama This trip made me appreciate my thrifty side. I wish you all your own proud savings.

Taking Stock

In our modern world of convenience, certain culinary standbys have gone by the wayside. One such staple often found in yesterday's kitchens is Chicken Stock or Broth. With the ease of bullion cubes, boxed stock, and canned soup, one might never even think to make homemade stock. With the economy the way it is, more and more people are realizing that there might be more to that chicken long after the breast or the drumsticks are gone. "Waste not, want not" is a popular notion these days. My Brother wrote a terrific post about some more advanced things to do with stock called "Too Good to Throw Away," but how does one get the stock in the first place?

When I make my broth, I like to start with two things, the recipe laid down in Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen and the leftover carcass of a chicken from the grocery store.

I will paraphrase my own version of this recipe to follow along with my pictures, but I highly recommend you get your own copy of this brilliant book. The country biscuit recipe alone is worth the cost, plus I just noticed that on Amazon, there are used copies for under a dollar.

Put these next items into a large pot.

An onion into quarters,

A clove or two of garlic, cut into a few pieces

A rib of celery sliced up

A carrot or any leftover veggies to add flavor

Add the Chicken to the pot and cover with cold water.

Bring pot to a boil.

Then cover the pot with a lid and simmer for 4 - 8 hours adding a little water every so often if the soup gets too low. You are going for a quart of stock at the end.

After the soup has cooked, strain it to get just the broth. The way I do this is to put a large bowl under a colander and spill the soup into that. If I am making soup, I reserve the matter in the colander so I can add some meat and veggies back into the soup. If I am storing the stock for later use, I put the broth into freezable containers and toss the rest.

This latest batch of stock I turned into Matzo Ball Soup and to celebrate the Jewish new year, I will share that preparation with you.

After the good pieces of meat were added back into the stock, I seasoned the soup with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Then I followed the recipe for Matzo Balls found on the can of Matzo Meal. Manischewitz won't mind, if I share it with you, right? After all it sells more matzo meal....

2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

2 Large Eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 Cup Matzo Meal

1 tsp Salt (if desired)

2 Tbsp Soup Stock or Water

Blend vegetable oil, eggs, matzo meal, and salt together.

Add soup stock or water and mix until uniform (delete this step if you prefer harder matzo balls.)

Cover and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Bring soup to a brisk boil. (The original recipe says to boil in water, but the stock makes the balls better)

Reduce flame and drop balls approximately 1 inch in diameter formed from refrigerated mixture.

Cover pot and cook 30-40 minutes.

Enjoy a lovely bowl of homemade matzo ball soup!

Dean Supply

A dear old Friend has brought the Family of Food Blog to a cook's supply heaven which I must share with all of you. It is called Dean Supply, located in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and now on the world wide web. For those of you who are looking for those professional chefs tools, so hard to find at reasonable prices, Dean Supply is for you. All those supplying your restaurants, all the cooks out there with burgeoning catering businesses (I'm looking at you MandiCrocker), and all of those thrifty foodies who do it themselves, Dean Supply is for you.
Watch the video, you'll get the idea.



I am so proud to share this with all of you. This is a real service oriented family business that has been around for over 50 years. Any restaurant supply you need, you can get it at Dean Supply. Now with their developing website, you will be able to get their items around the country and I suppose, around the world. If you have any questions about cooking, catering, equipment, etc., just call them up and talk to a real person. Maybe the person you talk to will be my dear old friend.

www.shopatdean.com


Dean Supply - Cleveland
3500 Woodland Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44115
1-800-ASK-DEAN
Local: (216) 771-3300
Fax: (216) 781-5992

email: info@shopatdean.com

Dean Supply - Pittsburgh
3300 Penn ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
PH: (412) 683-8500
FX: (412) 683-8550

email: dsavinda@deansupplypgh.com

30 Dollars and Change at the Ralphs

Ralphs has got some great "Loss Leaders" going right now. A "Loss Leader" is a product sold at lower than cost to attract customers into the store so that they will buy more profitable items while they are there. If you are careful, you can feed your family with the cheaper foods, while avoiding the more marked up items.

Here is what I got at Ralphs this morning for about $30 and change. I used my Ralphs Card but did not use any coupons.

2 1/2 Gallon Bottles of Apple Juice
2 Gallons of Skim Milk
2 Cans of Green Beans
18 Eggs
6 Bananas
5 Plums
4 Nectarines
1 Pint of Blueberries
1 Half Pint of Blackberries
2 1.25lb Packages of Tender Cut White Meat Chicken
1 Whole Grain Baguette

Hello Family of Food Friends!

Do you remember our very useful money saving post Food and Grocery Coupon Conglom-o-rama? Here is another link for you. Read Below!

Organic Valley eCoupons Now Available

Dear Organic Valley Farm Friends,

We've recently loaded up our web site with a new set of e-coupons worth $8 to help you enjoy the best of health and delicious goodness from our farmer-owned cooperative. Go to organicvalley.coop/coupons/ and follow the instructions to print them out.

The cows are in the pasture and Organic Valley family farms are working hard to bring the very best organic milk to your local retailer. Thanks to your support, the finest milk available is traveling the shortest distance to you! That means fresher milk and less fossil fuel. And the kids on the farms are growing up to learn the ways of farming in harmony with nature's wisdom for the future of your family and our planet.

You've been fantastic to us, and we'd sure appreciate it if you'd also thank the grocer where you buy our milk. Pat 'em on the back, send a letter, or fill out a comment card. We're all in it together, and your acknowledgment really makes a difference.

Thanks to you, our citizen-partners, for protecting the future of healthy farms and healthy food choices.

In cooperation,
The Farmers of Organic Valley

Easy, Inexpensive, Low Point, Low Calorie, Healthy Meal

The slow cooked Chicken and Salsa recipe worked, I think...

I made a classic slow cook mistake, associated with my particular crockpot. I will try and upload a picture later, but if you look below in the last post, you may notice that the knob on my slow cooker is missing. We are still able to use the cooker, but the controls don't quite match up with the text on the pot. The dish looked great at the end of the day, however instead of switching it to warm while I waited for my husband to come home, I switched it to high by accident. An hour later, when I checked on it, the food was dried out and overcooked. The dish was still edible, but not as good as it might have been. As easy as it was, I will surely make it again and do better next time.

Here is the whole recipe as I made it:

Cut up some chicken,
put it in the slow cook pot
Cover with salsa (I used a fresh made type)
Add 3 cloves of peeled garlic
Cut up a yellow pepper and add it to the cooker
Stir.

Cook all day on low.

Serve over rice.

The Verdict: Very Easy, Low Calorie, Healthy Slow Cook Meal Number Three

It worked! Sure, it could have been better with more effort, but this dish worked as it was. There was approval every member of the family. What was it? Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas.

Here is the recipe. Cut up about a pound of chicken. Put it in the slow cooker. Cover with enchilada sauce. Cook all day on low. When you are ready to eat, wrap some of the mixture in a tortilla. Cover with more of the mixture. That's it!

Here is the enchilada sauce I used. I got it at Costco, three for $5.39, I used one which is $1.79.

I got the chicken at Costco, too. 12 breasts for about $19, I used 2 which cost about $3.17.

The Tortillas I used were La Tortilla Factory Low Carb, High Fiber Tortillas 16 for $5.69 of which we used 6, which is $2.13

$7.09 cents for dinner for a family of 4. We even had a bit left over.

We did add rice and a couple of garlic cloves to our meal which may have added a dollar to the entire cost. This meal could have cost even less if I wasn't also watching my calories. Those La Tortilla Factory Tortillas are comparatively costly. Also, I used chicken breasts, when dark meat would have worked just as well and probably would have tasted better. It was another choice made for the calorie output.

Here is some nutritional information for this recipe as served(4 servings total):

Chicken breast 120 calories, 3 Weight Watchers Points

Enchilada Sauce 48 calories, 1 Weight Watchers Point

La Tortilla Factory Low Carb High Fiber Tortillas, 80 calories, 1 Weight Watchers Point (split 1 and 1/2 per person = 120 cals, 1.5 points)

288 calories per serving

5.5 Weight Watchers Points per serving

The verdict stands! Dinner for less than $2 a person, for less than 300 calories, for less than 6 Weight Watchers Points, for less than 10 minutes prep time, what more could a working Mother of Twins want? ...Maybe someone to clean up, this enchilada sauce is messy! Thank goodness for Husband of Food.

Staving Off Hunger

Folks are finding it hard to make ends meet these days. Some people are finding it hard to eat out like they used to and buy the quantities of fresh foods they took for granted when times were better. Some people just want to know... what does it take to make it when you have very little.

I collected a few links to the experiences of those trying to live on on a budget for various reasons. Their experiences may help you if you are trying to tighten your belt.


Hillbilly Housewife $40 Menu
This menu complete with shopping lists and recipes has been around a while. Food prices in my area are much higher than on the list, but the basic principals still hold up. Hillbilly Housewife has also made a $70 dollar menu which is a bit more healthy for a family of 4.

Congressional Food Stamp Challenge
This page chronicles the challenge that many congress people and civic leaders took to try a month of eating on a Food stamp budget, $21 a week.

$5 a Day Food Stamp Diet
A reporter tries to live on $5 a day and fails.

One Dollar a Day Diet
A couple tries to live on a dollar a day each. They are able to do it, but not without a cost to their health.

Family of Food's Grocery Coupon Collection
Here is a link to our post about saving money at the grocery store.

Donate to the Family of Food Online Food Drive
Help those who really need it. Donate to the Family of Food Drive today!

Sorrento Italian Market

My five dollar lunch from Sorrento

I've mentioned Sorrento Italian Market before. This is an example of why I love them. For lunch I got a large turkey and provolone sub with Sorrento's delectable tomato sauce at the sandwich counter. That was $3.95. Near the checkout I picked up a bag of about 16 plums for a dollar. Delicious, nutritious, and cheap; what more could you want from a lunch?


Sorrento Italian Market
5518 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 391-7654

Coupon Results

After my last post, Food and Grocery Coupon Conglom-o-rama, I gathered up my coupons and went shopping at Ralphs. The results... I still spent just as much at the store, however I bought a heck of a lot more for the money. My trip included non-food staples like diapers and dog food as well as a full load of groceries. I am hoping not to have to do a major trip for at least a couple of weeks.

I saved over $67 by using the coupons, which is nothing to sneeze at. Many of my coupons were combined with in store sales and then doubled adding to the savings. The shopping took about twice as long, but in time I hope I can get more organized with it. The best coupon I had, get one free Arm and Hammer Fabric Care (laundry soap FREE!), the worst I had was $.65 off Naturally Preferred Cage Free Brown Eggs, they only had white and I wasted too much time looking for the brown.

Food and Grocery Coupon Conglom-o-rama

Last night my husband and I paid the monthly bills and we realized something entirely shocking, we’re broke. We are going to have to tighten our belts, count our pennies, and yes… clip our coupons.

Because it is fashionable these days to be low on dough, I have collected a group of coupon links for all of us little people struggling to stay afloat in this economy. Save a penny, earn a penny, right? Coupons are a great way to slow the hemorrhage of cash going to the grocery store as food prices rise. Just be careful of how you use them. Coupons are enticing advertisements designed to lure you to certain products, so try to use them to buy things you would buy otherwise.

These links are somewhat Southern California Centric, so if you have suggestions for other coupon sources, please leave a comment with your tip. I have put a Bookmarker at the bottom of the post so you can check back to this post whenever you need coupons.

Whole Foods - This link lists Specials at the market. The offers are limited, but you can still save money at Whole Foods by sticking to the “365” house brand for staples, cooking fresh foods instead of buying prepackaged, and by checking the following websites for manufacturer coupons.

Organic Valley - Coupons are good for organic dairy.

Organic Prairie - Coupons are for organic meats.

Earth’s Best - Coupons for baby and toddler foods.

Kashi - You have to join MyKashi to get these Kashi coupons, but who knows… maybe you’re a big Kashi eater.

Trader Joes - Their legendary “Flyer” is like a travel magazine complete with pithy stories and hand drawn illustrations. New products and specials are highlighted in the Flyer. Also on the site is a radio Flyer which has Trader Joe’s Staff talking about their products, this will only likely make you spend more dough as you are tempted by the stories.

Bristol Farms - Get the weekly specials for your local store with this link, though generally Bristol Farms is not the place to save.

Coupons.com - This site is easy and loaded with brand name savings, but you have to install printer software which keeps track of the coupons you print so you don’t abuse the system.

Smartsource - This is a general coupon site. Unfortunately you have to install printer software here, too. The following stores seem to use the Smartsource coupon engine, so you may want to stop here first.

Ralphs

Albertsons

Von’s / Safeway

Kroger - Ralphs is a Kroger store, so is Food 4 Less, Smith’s, Bakers, and others. If your Kroger Store isn’t listed, check the corporate site here.

Safeway - Vons is a Safeway Store and so is Pavillions, check this site for local Safeway stores in other parts of the country.

Supervalu - Bristol Farms and Albertsons are Supervalu stores. Check for local chains here.

Stop and Shop - An East Coast favorite, check the Circular for bargains before you shop.

Target - No special software required, just pick your coupons and print. Target is so nice.

Smart and Final - Click on Store Specials Button for the local circular. If you haven’t been to a Smart and Final, it is like a Small Club/Bulk Store, but you don’t have been a member to shop there. Lots of great bargains to be found, but some items are limited, for instance they carry no baby supplies.

For Baby Supplies try this Momsview.com link. They’ve got a long list of offers and coupons for your perusal.

Here’s to us all saving a few bucks. Just doing tests for this post I found $15 dollars worth of coupons for things I need and if I take them to Ralphs or Vons, those coupons with be worth $30, since both of those stores have Double Coupons. Check your local stores for Doubling since the savings can add up quickly that way.

Good Luck and Happy Saving!

Kabobs in the Valley

Adventures in the Valley...
For a few weeks I've noticed a place with a couple of signs out front claiming the title to the best Kabobs in LA. It didn't look like much, but I like a good kabob, so last night I checked it out.

The Superior Kabob Factory on Oxnard in Van Nuys is a small neighborhood grocery specializing in Armenian/Mediterranean foods. In the back there is a meat counter filled with prepared and marinaded meats ready for cooking into kabobs. You can order the meat to go by the pound, or have them grill it for you there. Four Kabobs are a pound and they will make a combo of different types of kabobs for an extra fifty cents.

I was in the mood for Loula or Koobideh type kabobs, so I got two lamb and two chicken kabobs grilled for me there. Both kinds were very good, but very similar, so I'd probably pick one type next time. I liked the lamb slightly better. I also picked up lavosh, a jar of tahini, and a large chunk of good Greek Feta. All of my purchases, enough to feed my family of four and have plenty of lavosh, tahini, and feta left over for other meals, were $14. It was a lot of quality food for the money. I am sure I will be exploring more of the kabob choices soon.

Superior Kabob Factory
13670 Oxnard St
Van Nuys, CA
(near the Oxnard exit on the Metro Orange Line)

Saving Money at Costco

For once, I actually saved Money at Costco! No really, I managed to go to Costco, buy food and leave with out spending all of the money I had. Costco is one of these places that you go to with good intentions, "I'll just buy a year's worth of toilet paper and then I'm outta there," and then, you notice, that a huge box of note paper is only $6.99, and that bag of Chex Mix big enough to serve a middle school is on sale for $3.99, and twelve canisters of salt are only $4.99,! Before you know it you've spent three hundred dollars and your pantry is stuffed with enough table salt to clear a Cleveland street in February after the biggest ice storm of the century.

Check this out. I went to buy meat and chicken for the Labor Day Weekend and I walked out pretty much with that. I spent less than sixty-four dollars and bought enough chicken, steak, and turkey burger to last long past the weekend. It was a miracle. The Costco check out clerk said it was the smallest bill of the day. My secret? I bought no beverages and concentrated on mostly unprocessed foods. Oh, and I bought nothing that wasn't food, despite the fact that they had a 320 gig hard drive for only ninety-nine bucks!

I have an unofficial way to check myself when I go grocery shopping. I figure out how many adult dinners (main course only) that I can make out of the food I buy and then divide the total of my bill by that number. Anything less than $10.00 a meal is cheaper than eating out... I live in LA, it's pricey to eat. So if I buy $100 worth of food, and I can make 20 dinners out of it, then my meals are worth about $5.00 each. I think that this Costco trip made(at best guess)26 adult meals consisting of quality meats for about $2.50 a meal. Try it next time you go to Costco and maybe you'll leave with some of your money left in your pocket.