Beans, Beans...

Beans, beans...
The magical fruit...
The more you eat 'em...
The more your body gets used to 'em... (i.e. less gassiness)

We had a delicious dinner last night of Great Northern Beans with ham and cornbread...  Enough to serve 4 for a total of $3.42.  That's $ .85 cents per delicious serving, folks.  What a winner!

Cost Analysis: Homemade Key Lime Pie vs. storebought

Remember a few weeks ago when I posted about Key Lime Pie? 

I want to share a cost analysis of a homemade Key Lime Pie versus a store bought one.  It's a mind-blowing price difference!

Ingredients:
11 graham crackers, crushed with rolling pin or in food processor- $ .65
3 tablespoons granulated sugar $ .40
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted $ .56
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (12 to 15 key limes or 3 to 4 common limes) $ .75
4 teaspoons grated lime zest (included in above cost of limes)
4 egg yolks $ .40
1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk $ .89
*Majority of items purchased while on sale or at Aldi

Total cost of a homemade Key Lime Pie:  $3.65

Cost of a grocery store bakery Key Lime Pie : $7.99

Homemade is a considerable savings, huh?  It's worth having a few go-to dessert recipes so that you don't have to spend an arm and a leg when you take dessert to a potluck or have friends over.

Now you can have your pie and save money, too!

Potato Pierogi With Sauteed Cabbage and Apples

If you read the weekly menu that was posted this week then you're aware that the Spartan family had Potato Pierogi With Sauteed Cabbage and Apples for dinner this evening.  (Well, really I snuck away and had dinner with some ladies from church at our "Crochet Boot Camp", but I made this dinner for my family before I left!)  Anyhow, I picked up the ingredients at Aldi primarily, and WOW--what a frugal meal this is--and healthy and tasty, might I add!

Here's the rundown:

Potato Pierogi With Sauteed Cabbage and Apples from Real Simple magazine

Ingredients

1 16.9-ounce box frozen potato-and-cheddar pierogi ($1.79)

2 T butter ($ .16)

1 small yellow onion, cut into rings (Left this out because James dislikes onions)

1 crisp apple (such as Braeburn or Gala), cut into 1/2-inch pieces ($ .66)

1/4 small head green cabbage, shredded ($ .50)

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar ($ .5)

Kosher salt and black pepper (I consider these items to be free!)

Directions:

Cook the pierogi according to the package directions.
Meanwhile, heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the apple and cook for 1 minute.
Add the cabbage, vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, until the cabbage is slightly wilted but still crunchy, 2 to 3 minutes.
Divide the cabbage mixture among plates. Serve with the pierogi and sour cream on the side if desired.

 

The entire recipe cost $3.16 to make--that's $ .79 per serving!  I'd say that's a steal.

 
I'll definitely make this satisfying and inexpensive meal again.  Will any of you be adding it to your repertoire?
 
P.S. Sometimes I make my own pierogi with this recipe and store them in batches in the freezer.  Other times I purchase them like I did for the recipe above.  They're a delicious and convenient food to have on hand!

Bean and cheese quesadillas

Yesterday afternoon James came home for lunch and I threw together a quick meal of bean and cheese quesadillas.  As we ate, I told him "you know, this is a pretty inexpensive lunch".  Of course, I wanted to know just how inexpensive it was, so I tallied up the cost--are you ready?? 

The recipe I created came to a grand total of $2.41 for 6 quesadillas--that's about 40 cents for each quesadilla.  No joke! 

Wanna make a cheap (and quick) lunch, too?

For 6 quesadillas you'll need:

1 can fat-free refried beans ($ .69/can at Aldi)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese ($1.12 for this amount, 2.99 for 4-cup bag at Aldi)
6 8" flour tortillas  ($ .99 cents for a 10-pack at Aldi, 10 cents each)
A spritz of non-stick cooking spray

On 1/2 of a flour tortilla, spread 1/4 cup refried beans and sprinkle 1/4 cup cheddar cheese.  Fold tortilla over, creating a half-moon shape.  Spritz each side of quesadilla with non-stick cooking spray.  Cook over medium heat in a non-stick skillet for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until cheese is melted and tortilla is lightly browned.  

If you add a generous 1 oz. scoop of sour cream for dipping, you add about 6 extra cents--assuming you buy your sour cream at Aldi like I do. Less than 50 cents for a filling lunch? Cool, huh?  James and I each ate one quesadilla and were filled, and sweet Elliott ate 1/2 of a quesadilla alongside a juicy nectarine.  There are even leftovers in the fridge for today's lunch--bonus!

Tip: Store any uneaten quesadillas in the refrigerator and reheat leftovers in a skillet for best texture.  I would not recommend re-heating in the microwave if you like a crisp tortilla.

Please, leave a comment and share any inexpensive meals you create for yourself and your family--leave a link if you have one! 

Homemade Maple Syrup

Last Thursday night, James asked for waffles for dinner.  I'll admit, waffles are not a favorite of mine so they're rarely on the menu--but ask and ye shall receive!  I have never found the "perfect" waffle recipe so I have also lacked motivation in the waffle department knowing that most of my waffles are a disgrace.  I tried a new recipe for Belgian Waffles and have found my winner!

Anyhow, being that we so infrequently consume waffles (and even pancakes, for that matter) I didn't have any syrup on hand.  But I did have maple extract left over from my bout with the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls--so I did what any mom would do--improvise. 

All you'll need to make a 16 oz. bottle of maple syrup is:

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 tsp maple extract

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, bring water and sugar to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Let simmer for one minute and then remove from heat.  Add extracts and stir to combine.  Voila, maple syrup!

To me, this was fantastic syrup and tasted just the same as if I had purchased it.  I normally purchase Log Cabin brand syrup because it's one of the few brands that does not use high fructose corn syrup.  At this point I also feel obligated to say that I am a "food snob" about many things--but not syrup.  I just can't stomach the cost of real maple syrup when I use it so infrequently.

How about a cost analysis?

Log Cabin syrup costs $3.49 for a 24 oz bottle. (roughly $ .14/oz)

My homemade syrup?  $1.18 for a 16 oz. bottle (roughly ($ .07/oz)

Ounce for ounce, my syrup is a better value, offering a 50% savings over the middle-of-the-road "fake" syrup.  Plus, there's the added satisfaction of knowing the ingredients and having created something from scratch! 

Veggie fried rice

My husband swears he doesn't like rice.  Just doesn't.  Weird, right?  What's not to like about rice?  But the man LOVES it when I make fried rice.  (This is also the man who doesn't eat onions but eats onion rings, so go figure!)  It's a simple dish to make and has a short ingredient list that most of us probably already have in the house. 

Vegetable Fried Rice

For 4 servings, you will need:
3 cups of cold/leftover rice *please see note below
4 T butter
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced celery
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup soy sauce or Tamari

Melt 2 T butter in a non-stick skillet and add carrots and celery.  Cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.

Add frozen corn and peas, continue to cook for a minute or two. 

Add rice and gently mix all ingredients together until well-blended, keeping over medium-low heat.  Add soy sauce and continue to gently toss the rice to allow the soy sauce to color all of the rice. 

Add 2 T butter and stir until melted. 

Tonight I served this with some sauteed salmon, simply seasoned with salt and pepper.  (How's that for alliteration?)

Here's our dinner:

And how about a cost analysis for the fried rice?

Rice - $ .56
4 carrots - $ . 20
3 stalks celery - $ .25
1 cup corn - $ .33
1 cup peas - $ .33
4 T butter - $ .24
1/4 cup tamari - $ .48

$2.39 for the whole recipe, or $ .60 per serving! 

I purchased 4 frozen salmon fillets for $3.99, so each is only a dollar, bringing the cost per serving to $1.60.  You can't beat a price like that! 

*About the rice-- 3 cups is typically the yield if you start with one cup of dry rice.  You can use any type of rice you like--long grain, brown, etc.  I use Jasmine rice when I make this meal because I love the taste and texture of it.  In fact, it's the only white rice I like to use.  Cold rice is important for this recipe because if you use freshly made/warm rice, it is still pretty glutinous and can lead to sticky/gummy fried rice (yuck!) so this recipe is a great way to use leftover rice.

Enjoy!

Weeknight Dinner Menu

It's Monday so today I planned out our weeknight meals and grocery shopped.  I used some coupons at Publix and spent $16 and saved $25!  $16 for $41 worth of groceries is pretty awesome, especially when you consider the fact that in this trip I purchased vitamins and milk and a few other "non-coupon" items.  Anyone else have any bargains to share?

Here's what we'll be having for dinner this week:

Monday: Chicken with mushroom pan sauce over egg noodles and roasted carrots
Tuesday: Salmon with fried rice and steamed edamame
Wednesday: Muffaletta sandwiches, cole slaw, pineapple
Thursday: Corned beef, potatoes and cabbage
Friday: Date night!  We're going out while the little one stays with Yaya and Poppy.

I hope to post instructions for each of these meals this week as the week goes on!  But for tonight, here are the instructions (and a cost analysis) for Monday night's meal!

Chicken with Mushroom Pan Sauce over Egg Noodles
For this meal to serve two, you will need:

• 1 chicken breast
• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 3/4 cup chicken broth (homemade, canned, cartons or even bullion cubes--whatever you have!)
• 4 oz. Egg noodles, 1/3 of a standard 12 oz. package, cooked to package directions
• Pantry staples: butter and olive oil, a wee bit of flour, and salt and pepper, of course!
• Optional additions: garlic, diced onion, 1 T heavy cream

Split the chicken breast into two pieces like so:

Why didn't I just use 2 chicken breasts?  Well, neither James or I typically finish a whole chicken breast, and meat serving sizes should be about 3 oz., which is more like half of a chicken breast than a whole.  Better for our waistlines and better for our pocketbook.

Pop some plastic wrap over those bad boys and pound 'em out!  I don't have a meat mallet, so I just use the bottom of my skillet.  It gets the job done.  They should look like this:

Now is the time to season with salt and pepper, and dredge in some flour.  Be sure to shake off the excess flour.

Add 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil to a medium-hot skillet.  Once butter has melted, add chicken breast halves.  Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, then remove and set aside.  (Don't worry if it's not yet fully-cooked).

Add sliced mushrooms to pan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until they shrink down a bit. (If you're adding the optional garlic and/or onions, now is the time!)

Add 3/4 cup chicken broth to skillet, and be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan for all those little bits of flavor from the chicken.

Add chicken back to skillet and simmer, covered,  for 5-10 minutes or until sauce has thickened a bit.  If you want to add some extra richness, then add 1 T of heavy cream.  Serve over egg noodles.

Roasted Carrots

For 2-3 servings, you will need:

1 lb. carrots, peeled and chopped into 1" chunks

2 T olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.  On a baking sheet, toss all ingredients together and spread out in pan.  Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring once or twice during for even browning.

Yumm!  What a great way to eat carrots--I actually made twice the amount I listed above because these carrots make good leftovers! 

And here's dinner tonight:

Yumm, right?  Are you ready for the best part?

Price breakdown:

1 Organic Hormone/Antibiotic Free Chicken breast - $1.11

8 oz. Mushrooms - $1.29

4 oz. Egg Noodles $ .25  (Sale/coupon at Publix)

1 lb. carrots $ .25 (2 lb. bags of carrots are $ .49 at Aldi this week!  Reg price is $ 1.29/lb at Publix)

3/4 cup chicken broth $ .28 (Sale/coupon last week ended up with 32 oz. cartons for $1.50)

Cost of meal per serving:  $1.59 

Wow.

5 Dollar Dinners

Cost Analysis: Spaghetti Squash with Spaghetti Sauce

As promised, here is a price breakdown of a meal from this week's menu.

• 2 cups mozarella cheese $2.52
• 1/2 lb. ground beef $1.30
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce (bought on a BOGO offer) $1.29
• About 2.5 lbs spaghetti squash $1.58

Total: $6.69

There are 4 servings for this recipe, so for each portion it will cost you:

$1.67!

I didn't stick to the menu exactly, so James and I had corn with this meal rather than a salad like I had intended. The cost of the corn (because I bought it on sale WITH a coupon) was only 30 cents. So, I am adding fifteen cents per serving, rounding each meal out at a cost of $1.82!

Monday Night's Meal in Pics and Dollar Breakdown

If you recall, Monday night's dinner was Center cut pork chops with fruit salsa, Spanish rice and grilled asparagus. I thought it would be interesting to do a cost analysis of this delicious meal for two.

2 Boneless pork chops $2.50 ($1.25 each; I bought a pack of 12 pork chops for about $15)
Strawberries, 1 cup $ .64
1 Mango $. 99
Asparagus $1.32 (This is the cost of 2/3 lb @ $1.99/lb--I reserved the remaining 1/3 lb for another meal)
Mahatma Spanish rice mix, 5 oz. size $ .69

Total cost: $6.14

Cost per meal: $3.07

Can you get a dinner combo at a fast food drive-thru for $3.07? Can you name any restaurant where you can get such a healthy and quality meal for $3.07?



Cooking at home can be delightful if you keep it simple. Bonus: from start to finish, this meal was less than 25 minutes (cough, cough, eat that Rachael Ray)!