Winco Wins

Dec 31, 2012 | 4 comments

I went to Winco this afternoon. Not gonna lie… so very glad my Mom wanted to go shopping, too. This was my first time back since September’s Stalking incident. With my mom and iPhone, today was a much better shopping experience.

Winco Win

Winco Win

I kept to my January Meal Plan. If it wasn’t on the list, it wasn’t in the cart. This was a little tricky, because I only wrote “lunch/bento” on the Grocery List. As you can translate, I wasn’t sure until I arrived at the store exactly what our January lunches would consist of.

The first item I picked up was the Eggplant for my Slow Cooker Ratatouille. It was so big yet inexpensive, I instantly opted to double my meal. I can easily cook twice as much and freeze half of it for later in the month, which means a second Frittata as well. Eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, green pepper, tomatoes and fresh garlic.

Look at the size of that Eggplant!

Look at the size of that Eggplant!

I had budgeted $10 for one batch; yet will be able to make two for $8.90. Already I saved $3.10, and have extra garlic, onion, and 1/2 green pepper.

For the Ratatouille Pizza, I bought 4-Cheese Spaghetti Sauce and 4-Cheese blend of shredded cheese. While I budgeted $7 for these two items, it cost only $2.89. Bam! $4.11 saved here, folks! And there will be leftover sauce and cheese as well.

Now I’ve got almost all the ingredients for my Baked Frittata (vegetables, cheese). To make sure I had enough, I bought fresh eggs and milk. I planned on $6. I spent $5.75, saving a quarter. Of course, I won’t use all the eggs and milk for Frittata, so a little here goes a long way there!

Frittata Necessities

Frittata Necessities

Then I choose an assortment of beans and vegetables for my Slow Cooker Turkey Chili. I found this great Jennie-O Taco Seasoned Ground Turkey. Can you imagine the flavor that’s going to add?

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Even with the more expensive ground turkey, I saved $1.03 off my proposed $8.

For my Potato Chip Casserole, I didn’t have the Cream soups in my pantry, so I needed to buy those. But the canned chicken was half the expected price, which led me to buy enough for two casseroles. I planned on $5, but spent $9.32 over, for a total of $14.32. For twice the food, $4.66 extra per casserole isn’t bad.

Potato Chip Casserole

Potato Chip Casserole

I planned to spend just $4 for my Texas Hash, but needed to get a can of tomatoes in addition to the ground beef. The total of $4.92 was less than a dollar more than expected.

Texas Hash

Texas Hash

Because the tomatoes also have diced green pepper mixed in, that extra 1/2 green pepper from the Ratatouille will be more than enough.

The breakfast budget was $6.02 less than planned. The oatmeal is less expensive, and I didn’t get any yogurt. For $6.98, these three boxes will give us quite a nutritional start to our days!

Breakfast on a Budget

Breakfast on a Budget

We still have a few oatmeal packets and Malt-o-Meal at home. These additions, with the extra eggs, should be all the breakfast we need for the month.

Now we come to the lunch selections.

January Lunches

January Lunches

Since Dot’s on winter break, I wanted to give her a variety. She loves the frozen burritos and Dinty Moore Stews, so those were easy choices. Basic peanut butter sandwiches will be complimented with the variety of jams, jellies and preserves already in our pantry.

I love the healthy choices of fresh vegetables, spinach wraps, and yogurt sticks. For those cold days, a cup of soup. And for that little extra touch, a variety of Jell-O.

My $50 lunch budget came to $32.41… a savings of $17.59.

The best part? Treating myself to my favorite fast meal, and another pantry staple.

January Extras

January Extras

Let’s recap, shall we? I planned 12 dinners, 30 breakfasts, and around 20 lunches for $103. I ended up with over 25 dinners (double the Ratatouille and Potato Chip Casserole, plus extra leftovers), 30+ breakfasts, and at least 20 lunches for $91.78.

Oh, and I saved $0.24 for using my four recyclable, reusable grocery totes… making the grand total $91.54.

Now that’s some tasty savings, dontcha think?

And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!

[To pre-order your copy of The Unemployment Cookbook, click here.]

Sweeten my tea and share:

Today I’m Going to Read

Dec 30, 2012 | 4 comments

The TV subscription is cancelled. It’s not my favorite moment, and I’m looking forward to a few months down the road when I can afford to resubscribe. But since I’m having trouble paying even just my regular bills, I can’t see my way around paying for TV and not paying, say, the telephone bill or car insurance.

Instead, we spent yesterday watching DVDs that we haven’t seen for a while. Then I delighted myself with Season 1, Disc 1 of FLASHPOINT. Not just any DVD, either. This one is special. This one came straight from the producers in Toronto. I’m gonna miss this show!

We undecorated nearly all of the Christmas decorations. But I’ve an ear infection or terrible head cold or something, which made balancing (like, just standing up) a true circus act, and even my thinking cap wouldn’t stay on.

This morning I feel a little better. Just enough to have my wits about me and not have to ask my brain to turn down the ringing in my ear. It’s hard to hear myself think with all that raucous going on!

With just two days left in this awful year, today I plan to clean my kitchen, put away the rest of the holiday decor, plan an emergency budget for January, drink tea… and read.

IMG_1322IMG_1321So I guess I could keep writing here… but Pages are calling me.

I’m going to learn how to build a Better Blog. For your benefit, and mine. And I’m gonna share with you each step. So you can boost your Blog, too. It’s a win-win.

But first… I have some Dragons to meet.

And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!

Sweeten my tea and share:

My January Meal Plan

Dec 29, 2012 | 3 comments

I received a gift card for Christmas. I’m so very excited. Some people think gift cards are impersonal. I think gift cards are Potential. I plan to use this one for my January grocery budget.

The Unemployment Cookbook by Molly Jo Realy

I’m on a mission to save money and still feed my family well. I’m taking a page from my Cookbook, and starting with the recipe that started it all: Slow Cooker Ratatouille.

For just around $10, I’ll get the vegetables I need. I always keep olive oil and seasonings in the pantry.

Jan. 1: The Ratatouille will feed myself and Dot for two dinners.

Jan. 3: Drain the liquids and put half of the remaining seasoned vegetables on top a pizza crust. I always keep a frozen crust, so I’ll only need sauce and shredded cheese, about $7. This will feed us two dinners.

Jan. 5: Add the rest of the Ratatouille to my Baked Frittata. I usually keep eggs and milk in the house, but when I need to buy them, it costs close to $6 for both. I’ll already have shredded cheese from the pizza. The Frittata will feed us brunch and dinner for Saturday, and breakfast leftovers on Sunday.

Frittata

Frittata

Jan. 6: My Slow Cooker Turkey Chili. I’ll need to buy just one pound of ground turkey, two cans of beans, and three cans of vegetables, near $8. I keep spices and onions in my pantry. This will feed us for three dinners, and I can take a serving for lunch.

Jan. 9: Potato Chip Casserole. I’ll need to buy the chips and chicken, approximately $5. I always keep milk and cream soups in my fridge and pantry. This goes fast, usually allowing for just one dinner and lunch leftovers.

Jan. 10: Texas Hash. I have all the ingredients except ground beef, average $4.I usually also need a green pepper. But I’ll have an extra pepper from the Ratatouille ingredients. I’ll use my FoodSaver to keep it fresh until I need it. Texas Hash will feed us at least three dinners.

And there I’ve scheduled 12 days of dinners for less than $40.00. Feeding two, sometimes three, adults. That’s less than $1.50 per person per meal.

For breakfasts, one box of Malt-o-Meal ($4), two boxes of instant oatmeal ($2 each), and a few yogurts (10 at $0.50 each). $13 total for a month of breakfasts.

I’m going to try new Bento lunch ideas (send some thoughts my way, Rachel!). Dot is on winter break for the month, so I’ll have some sandwich fixin’s for her, too. Each Bento averages $2. Lunches for the month should run us close to $50.

And that’s my Mojo Meal Plan for the first part of January, and then some. I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry!

And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!

Sweeten my tea and share: