Mar 4, 2013 |
Ever since WinCo discovered my WinCo Wins and Meal Planning posts, we’ve had a wonderful relationship. They let me share my Food and Savings posts. I get to share their incredibly low prices. It’s a Win-Win situation for everyone!
For the last two months, I’ve strived hard to provide hearty, healthy meals for my family while saving money.
One benefit I’ve discovered is when I eat healthy, I eat less. I can pack in two cheeseburgers, a large fries, and a Shamrock shake in fifteen minutes or less when I’m hungry. My breakfast of choice will always be the McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin with Egg.
My Favorite From McDonald’s
But when I eat healthy, the nutrition fills me up so I don’t blimp out. Being an unofficial spokesperson for WinCo makes me more aware of my food budget. I want to do them proud! After all, WinCo is responsible for these great savings.
For March, I took inventory of my pantry and freezer and realized I needed to buy very little. With plenty of frozen meats and leftovers from the previous Meal Plans, the bulk of my food shopping went to healthy lunch items.
How does lunch for under a dollar sound to you? It sounds like a Win-Win to me!
WinCo Wins!
I bought five dozen eggs for $5.84. That’s less than $0.10 each! The string cheese? $0.12 each. Flour tortilla: $0.20. Celery and carrot: about $0.15 total. And the yogurt? This is the most expensive item, ringing up an entire half dollar. Where else could you get such a healthy, delicious, filling lunch for less than a buck and change?
Oh, the coffee? Not to worry. I use my recyclable Starbucks cup and fill it from home.
Protein. Dairy. Veggies. Grains. And coffee.
As you can see, This Girl is all about the savings without giving anything up.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Jan 28, 2013 |
On the heels of a somewhat-successful January Meal Plan, I’m keeping with the motion and starting to plot out my Meal Plan for next month.
This one will be different. I don’t have a $100 gift card to shop at WinCo. But because I was unable to keep to January’s plan in its entirety, I still have plenty of food in my pantry and freezer.
*Here’s where I give a HUGE shout-out to my Mom who’s let us eat much of her food because, well, we’re pretty much living with her until the new furnace unit is installed. And let’s face it… I’m not keen on staying in a cold house even with the cat wrapped around my head at night.
Pillow Thief
For starters, I have a list of meals to make, but I’m not putting them on a schedule. Considering the difficulties in the last two weeks, it’s easier sometimes to have a selection available without an actual Plan.
With that in mind, my February Meals planned consist, so far, of the following:
Ratatouille
- Slow Cooker Ratatouille, 3 days
Veggie Pizza
- Ratatouille Pizza, 2 days
Ratatouille Frittata
- Ratatouille Frittata, 2 days
Bowl of Chili
- Slow Cooker Turkey Chili, 3 days
- Texas Hash, 4 days
That takes care of half the month.
I always keep frozen chicken and salmon filets. I have three favorite ways cooking each of these: citrus baked, breaded, and blackened. That’s six different meals right there, and if only half offer leftovers, that’s three more meals.
There’s a happy chance we’ll be eating at Mom’s at least twice a week. Okay, more than a chance. We get together even if it’s just for toast and peanut butter. So there’s that.
There’s still plenty for lunches and breakfasts, too. The only foods I should have to buy in February are milk, eggs, and cat food for the fur-family. Which, if you ask me, is a really great savings!
And that is my UnPlanned February Meal Plan.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Help me to reach my funding goal before February 1st!
Just click on the photo below and click “BACK THIS PROJECT” to pre-order YOUR copy of The Unemployment Cookbook, Second Edition!
Jan 27, 2013 |
I write this with a downcast keyboard.
I have failed my January Meal Plan. I cheated. I strayed. And I failed.
But not completely. And, looking at making lemonade out of these lemons… now I have that much more in my freezer to get us through the month of February. So, you know… there’s that.
Fresh!
In a nutshell, my Meal Plan was waylaid by a broken furnace, leftovers at Mom’s, and a funeral. With all of these happenings I had little need to keep up with my Meal Plan.
Twice more I found myself at a local drive-thru, but I made better choices than I used to. For instance, instead of a full meal, I ordered the cheaper cheeseburger and instead of a soda I took an iced tea or smoothie. I needed something warm to offset the chill in the air.
I did make my Slow Cooker Turkey Chili on the 16th and that’s held us for a few days. There’s even some left, still, for February’s freezer selection.
Bowl of Chili
In the midst of a colder house and little motivation, we opted for the ease of one of our “extra” meals. My favorite stand-by, La Choy Chow Mein.
January Extras
And a few days later on the 22nd, I brought home a treat: a DiGiorno’s self-rising frozen pizza. Hey. It was the last episode of my beloved FLASHPOINT. I needed something special for the occasion. I also came home that evening to a very sick Dot.
What with the cold house (again) and the inclement weather and the back-and-forth of staying intermittently at Mom’s house… my poor Dot ended up with a virus. The good news is that while she was down for the count, it was a short count. 24 hours later she was ready for the world again.
A new furnace has been ordered, which conversely adds to my stress level because… well, did you know furnace units are expensive? Like I wasn’t having enough problems with the budget… At least I’ll be warm in my worries. But because in SoCal, furnace units either go on the roof or on the side of the house it can’t be installed until the current round of winter rains stop. Which should be in another 2 or 3 days.
In the meantime, have I mentioned how I love living so close to my Mom? Yup. We’ve invaded her home, her kitchen, her life.
She has the most amazing tea shelf. Today’s all about the chamomile.
Cozy Chamomile
So if you’ll excuse me now… I have some popcorn to eat and a movie to watch. Oh, and some new recipes to write.
Possible 2nd Edition Additions
Happy Eating!
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Help me to reach my funding goal before February 1st!
Just click on the photo below and click “BACK THIS PROJECT” to pre-order YOUR copy of The Unemployment Cookbook, Second Edition!
Jan 23, 2013 |
As I start this, I just know it will end up on Shell’s “Pour Your Heart Out” Page. I’m thankful for her keeping that weekly link up open so I can spill my emotional vomit and not be the only one doing it. Misery loves company, right?
Okay, so it’s not all miserable. But it’s a lot of what I can’t, or won’t, normally write. Today’s post is about life. And death. And a few things in between.
The last week has been a mixture of endurance, sorrow, mourning, and sickness. The details don’t really matter. My Blog friend, Jenn, nailed it when she said this is “vague blogging”. Not so much a fan of teasing y’all… but there really are some things I just can’t say. Ever.
Except today I’m sad. I’m just utterly sad and tired and worn out… and, of course, hopeful. Because regardless of how bad things are (and I thought they were bad a month ago… boy was that just a prelude!), nevertheless, I’m still loved. And sheltered. And cared for. And breathing. So it’s okay.
That’s the part I’m choosing to remember. The parts that turn the bad stuff into Something Good. That even my worst is someone else’s best. I’m blessed, I’m rich, I’m healthy. Even when it doesn’t seem like it.
And I could sit here giving myself a Pity Party. I choose not to. That doesn’t mean I’m not tired or worn out or feeling down. It just means I can still smile about it. And if all I know is only that, it’s still enough.
I can’t even say life goes on… for some, it doesn’t.
It’s completely strange yet comforting that most of my tears fell at the end of FLASHPOINT. It wasn’t just the end of this wonderful series that got me. It was the catalyst that allowed me to face the pains inside. It gave me permission to cry. It was a bit confusing… and a bit cathartic.
It was symbolic of so much. The highs and lows of the last week. The beginning of some things… and the end of others.
And then there are the stories I can’t tell, because they’re not mine to tell. The stories that leave a pain in my soul that isn’t easily healed. So I hold on to hope that this, too, shall pass.
Dot is under the weather tonight. I’m hoping she just needs a good night’s sleep. We’ve been house-hopping to Mom’s for a few days because the furnace is out. Again. The fifth time since Christmas. And it’s finally been given its last legs, a new one has been ordered. It was suggested that we get a carbon monoxide detector “just in case”. While it hasn’t sounded an alarm yet, there’s that keyword yet. I’ll be sleeping less peacefully until the new one is installed on Saturday.
We’ve been intermittently staying at home in the cold, staying at mom’s in the warmth, and thankfully, the furnace is working just enough tonight for us to stay home comfortably. I expect it to go out again tomorrow, as that seems to be its pattern. At least the cats are happy to have us home. But the turmoil hasn’t been good for Dot, and now she’s feeling ill. I hope it’s not the flu. She has so much on her plate, that’s the last thing she needs.
And a Momma never stops worrying about her babies, no matter how old they are. My mom and I are evidence enough of that!
I’m waiting to exhale when the Cookbook Project is finished. I don’t understand how I could believe in something so completely and not be successful at it. But that glimmer teases me. It’s not over yet. One more week. I have one more week. And, as the last week has evidenced, anything can happen. Even the unexpected. Be it good or bad. I believe it will be Good. But getting there is terribly stressful.
Mostly, tonight, I can’t shake the feeling of sadness over one small thing:
I never hugged Grandpa Jack.
He’s not my Grandpa. He’s the father-in-law of my dear friend. She’s been a motherly-mentor to me for nearly two decades. We were at their house for Thanksgiving, and the whole family was around. And when it came time to leave, I was selective in my affections. And I awkwardly never hugged him. Because after knowing the man for 18 years, I still didn’t know him. And I was embarrassed by my shyness. So we left. It was the best time we’d ever had together at the Great Turkey Shoot. I told myself I’d hug him at Christmas.
But I didn’t see him again.
And now he’s gone.
I never hugged Grandpa Jack. And that horrible thought haunts me. Because now I never will.
I don’t know what to do with all this pain… except sleep on it and know that tomorrow I’ll wake a bit more refreshed. A bit more warm. A bit more optimistic.
Because Shell let me get it out of my system. Sometimes, all we need is a friend to say, “How are you, really?” and mean it. Even if it’s just on a Blog.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote.
Help me to reach my funding goal before February 1st!
Just click on the photo below and click “BACK THIS PROJECT” to pre-order YOUR copy of The Unemployment Cookbook, Second Edition!
Jan 16, 2013 |
Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
I love chili. I especially love chili when I can just put it in the Slow Cooker and come home to a wonderfully aromatic kitchen. Sometimes, I prefer overnight cooking. Talk about your sweet dreams! Let’s face it, a Cooking Girl’s favorite perfume is onion, right?
My Slow Cooker Turkey Chili is an extremely easy, inexpensive combination of meat, canned goods and a chopped onion. It’s also one of my favorite recipes, and the reason I included it in The Unemployment Cookbook.
For less than $10, this fills my 4-quart Slow Cooker and offers up bowlful after bowlful of hearty, hot, and healthy eating.
Bowlful of Goodness
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 lbs. ground turkey
- 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 can white or Great Northern beans, drained
- 1 can black beans, drained
- 1 can kidney or chili beans, with liquid
- 1 can tomato paste
- 1 can crushed or diced tomatoes, with puree
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- Seasonings (1/2 TBS chili powder, 2 tsp oregano, 1 tsp paprika, salt and pepper to taste)
DIRECTIONS:
- Put 2 lbs of ground turkey in the bottom of the Slow Cooker. Break apart.
- Separately, mix together the canned goods and chopped onion.
- Separately, mix together the seasonings.
- Add 1/2 seasonings mix to the canned goods mixture.
- Top ground beef with canned goods mixture.
- Top with remaining seasonings.
- Cook on low for 6 – 8 hours, or on high for 3 hours.
The best part is that you can change this recipe anyway your taste buds want. For a meatier dish, change the kidney beans to a can of chili with beans and meat. Or add diced tomatoes seasoned with garlic and onion. Through in a packet of taco seasoning mix. Omit the corn or replace with a can of mixed veggies.
However you like your chili, let the Slow Cooker do the cooking for you. You’ll have more time with your family, your favorite book, or just your favorite chair.
As always… Happy Eating!
Bowl of Chili
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Help me to reach my funding goal before February 1st!
Just click on the photo below and click “BACK THIS PROJECT” to pre-order YOUR copy of The Unemployment Cookbook, Second Edition!
