WE MADE IT!!!

First of all, I have to apologize for the fact that I have been absent for 5 days! I'm so sorry guys! Things have been extremely busy!

So here we are! It's the 25th of the month which for us means the start of a new month with our budget. Confusing right? why not just start the month when a new month actually starts? Well, just as a side note, we started it that way 3 years ago when we started Dave Ramsey's FPU, it's just how it fell when we did our first cash flow budget. Anyway...

Here is a recap of the past 5 days...

*We had leftover chicken noodle soup that I had frozen from a previous meal.

*Grilled Italian marinated Chicken with squash that was given to us from someone garden and the last of the frozen broccoli (I used the breast meat from the whole chicken I bought).

*An odds and ends night where we just kinda made a meal based on what each of us wanted out of the fridge.

*My Mom and Stepdad took us out to eat at Zaxby's one day.

*And my Mother-in-law bought pizza the day/night that my hubby picked her up from the airport.

So there you have it...

However, I have a surprise.... WE TOTALLY BLEW IT ON PURPOSE!!!!!!!

Yep, that's right... last night we totally could have done one more meal from the rest of the whole chicken that I had bought. However, as a special surprise for my hubby I decided to surprise him with his favorite place to eat... It occured to me that throughout this challenge there was pretty much no red meat involved, and sometimes no meat at all. That is very hard for my hubby honestly. He could eat a burger every night (thank God he married me so that doesn't happen! LOL). So when he came home from work we went to 5 Guys Burgers and Fries as a celebration for the fact that we made it.

So here is what I have learned from this challenge...

* We are blessed beyond measure and though it was hard to eat on pretty much only $100 this month, we had more that enough to eat even if it wasn't what we wanted.

* You don't always have to sacrifice nutrition because your budget is low. Many times it's cheaper to buy fresh fruits and veggies than it is to buy the packaged stuff.

* Incorporate more meals without meat. I think it would be a great idea for us to eat at least one meatless meal a week. Some of the ones I made were so yummy!

* NEVER throw out food! ALWAYS eat your leftovers!

* Plan, plan, plan your meals!

* Look for discount fruits, veggies, and meats!

Words cannot express the changes in my heart and perspective that have happened because of this experience. Unless you go through it, it is hard to explain or understand. You definitely learn to appreciate what you have and although you feel like your a person who lives frugally and on little money to begin with, you realize really quick how much you really didn't appreciate what you were blessed with. I would like to pass off this challenge to someone else. Or at least do one similar. It's definitely something worth trying with your family just so you can gain better perspective into your own lives and more importantly your hearts. Thank you for reading and encouraging me through this experience.

I hope you continue to follow this blow. It will have a new name in the coming days and will continue to have new things added and changed to become a site about frugal living, spending, recipes, etc. You will still be able to access all the Food Challenge links under the tab at the top of the page.
Have a great night and God bless!!!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I used to make my own powder laundry detergent, however, I never could really get the granules of soap small enough to dissolve completely. I had read several tutorials about making a liquid version, had bought another bar of soap to make it. And now, one year later I am finally getting around to it!  I am running low on laundry detergent anyway and obviously don't have it in the budget to get more this month. Although I can make it through the month without running out, I still wanted to make some.

The recipe for it is from the Duggar family website.

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm and Hammer Super WASHING soda (NOT BAKING SODA! THERE IS A DIFFERENCE)
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores. Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

Here are a few pictures of the steps to make it! :) 

You can find these ingredients at most Kroger's.

Boiling the soap

My 5 gallon bucket I got at Lowe's for $2.69

It's gellin'! 

Done!!! I had kept one of my empty laundry bottles from before.

So there you have it! It's super easy! Although it may take a little more time you have to think about the fact that you won't have to buy laundry detergent for a REALLY LONG TIME! It works really, really well too! You can just store the big bucket out in your garage. 

Days 23 and 24: Dinner recipes

Today's post includes dinner from last night and tonight. Before we get to dinner, I did go to the store. We have only a 1/4 gallon of milk left, however, last time I went to Food City a "Kid's club" coupon printed out and said "good for 1 free Food Club milk." Well, of course it's not a full size milk, but it was a 12oz one and that makes me happy! Plus, it was FREE!!!

While I was there I needed to get meat. I was planning on getting a cheap cut of meat like thighs or legs, however, they had the all natural whole chickens on markdown for $2.73!!!! That's only $.69 a pound! So that and the milk only cost me:

Total: $2.93

Total so far: $99.91!!!! Hopefully we won't need anything else! 

Now, onto dinner. Last night I needed something quick and I did a "no, no" and strayed from the meal plan... I had carrots, onions, a little bit of broccoli, and 2 chicken tenders left so I decided to do some stir-fry. While I was cooking the stir-fry I had rice cooking. 

Quick Stir-fry

2-3 chicken tenders or 1 chicken breast 

3/4 cup broccoli 

half an onion, chopped

1/4 c Teriyaki sauce

1 carrot, chopped

pinch of brown sugar

choice of oil for cooking (olive, vegetable, etc)

Heat 1 tbs of oil in a wok or skillet (I used a wok). Add the chopped carrots along with just a pinch of brown sugar over them. Cook until they start to turn bright orange and get a little crisp. Remove the carrots and set aside for later use. Heat another tbs of oil. Once the oil is heated add chicken to it. Let it cook for a few minutes until the underside is white than flip. Take the chicken out of the wok and slice it into chunks. Add the chicken back to the wok along with the broccoli, onion and the carrots that were set aside earlier. Pour 1/4 cup of Teriyaki sauce over the top and cook until tender-crisp. 

Tonight I made a crockpot meal. I love using my crockpot, however, I knocked the lid to mine off the counter a few weeks ago and it broke into a billion pieces! Right now my mother-in-law has been so kind to let me use her crockpot. 

Cuban Black Beans and Rice (adapted from "Busy Family Recipes")

5 cups chicken broth (I didn't have chicken broth, but I did have bouillon so I used 5 cubes in 5 cups of water)

1 1/2 c uncooked brown rice

1 onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (I didn't have one so I didn't use it, plus, my 2 year old is eating this so I don't want to burn him up)

1 tbs garlic powder

1 tbs cumin

1 tsp salt

2 cans (15ozs each) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tbs fresh lime juice

(optional sour cream and green onions for toppings)

Mix broth, rice, onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic, cumin, and salt into the crockpot. Cover, and cook on low for 7 hrs. or until rice is tender. After rice is done, stir in the beans and lime juice. cover for 15-20minutes. Last garnish your rice with sour cream, green onions, or whatever you like. 

Frugal Ideas for the Homestead

Here are a few projects I worked on last night:

1. A remedy for loose grocery bags:
I was getting tired of opening my cabinet under the sink and being bombarded with plastic bags so I decided to fix it. I like to keep a few plastic grocery bags around because we use them as small trash bags in our bathrooms so I don't want to just get rid of them. We had a few empty baby wipe tubs that I held on to "just in case" so I used one of those for my plan.
Just stuff it full of all your plastic grocery bags and there you have it, an easy way to keep them put away but still in easy reach! :)

Works great! :) 

2. Reusable cloth baby wipes-
I thought we were running low on baby wipes when I did this project last night. I kept thinking we had tons of wipes but I couldn't find them in the top of the boys' closet when I went to get them down. Come to find out later, after this project, Hubby had moved them to one of the organizers in their bedroom. Anyway, I like using these when changing "dirty" diapers with my 5 month old. I use 1 regular disposable wipe first than use the reusable after. When your done, just throw it in the wash. Easy as pie! :)

You will need a wipes tub (or some sort of container), baby oil, baby wash, and boiled warm water.

I had tons and tons of wash cloths (no joke, over 20) so I decided to use some of those, however, you can use an old flannel receiving blanket cut into equal size sheets.

* Fold all the "wipes" and place them on top of each other in the empty baby wipes tub.
* Next mix 1 1/2 cups of water boiled hot water with 1/4 cup baby oil and 1/4 cup baby wash.
* Mix well and pour over the top of the "wipes"
* The wipes will soak in the mixture and you will have some great reusable wipes! :)

CAUTION: PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WAIT TILL THE WIPES HAVE COOLED BEFORE YOU USE THEM ON THE BABY. IT COULD CAUSE BURNS!

Now, go wipes some baby bottoms! :) 

Tomorrow I will share a post on our dinner tonight and another great household budget saver! Stay tuned and have a GREAT night!!! :)

Day 22: Could smaller food budget= healthier eating?

Today we are just having leftovers so we are going to look at one the huge benefits that I found during this challenge. 

Since our budget challenge started I have lost 5 pounds! I attribute this weight loss completely to our change in eating. We have always eaten very balanced meals, however, we have had to cut down on the size of portions and eating out.

One of the BIGGEST areas to save money and calories is by cutting how much you eat out. Instead of going out with friends to eat, why not have a fun dinner party, pot luck, or progressive dinner? We did a progressive dinner in college and had so much fun! Each host house offers a different part of the meal and it makes for a VERY fun evening! For appetizers you go to one person's house and they offer little starters and finger foods. You begin your eating adventure by just sitting back and enjoying everyones company. Than everyone moves on to the next house where the main course is served! Again, food and fellowship! Than last to end your night, move to the next person's house and have desert! It's always fun to finish this part up with playing games. The progressive dinner obviously might not save you calories, but it can save you money and offers a really fun experience with friends!

FACT: Just because you are ordering a salad at a restaurant doesn't always mean you are ordering healthy... If you don't believe me, check out the nutrition information on your favorite one. Most of the time we eat the whole salad, however, the serving size might only be half the salad so you can potentially be ingesting over 1,000 calories!

Remedy this by making your own salad at home. You will be able to cut your calories, fat, and sodium way down. Plus, you will know exactly what is going into your salad. No more mystery or hidden ingredients you didn't know about. And again, save some money by doing this! The average restaurant salad costs around $10!

Now, onto portion size... Did you know your meat portions are only supposed to be about the size of the palm of your hand? How many of you like to eat an 8oz steak? You should really only be eating about half of that. Fill the rest of your plate up with steamed veggies, healthy whole grains, and fruits.

In America especially, we have this attitude and thought system that bigger is better... bigger budget, bigger food portions, bigger houses, bigger cars... Speaking of bigger houses, lets venture off for a second. My hubby and I live in a 1,000sq ft. condo. Sometimes it feels like the 4 of us are bursting this house at the seams. Lets take a look for a second at a few pictures my Mother-in-law took this past week in Nicaragua of a home they are helping to fix up.

Here is a picture of their house. As you can tell it's VERY small... More like a shack.

This is the inside of the house. As you can see, there is one large bed where the mother sleeps and the mesh hammock above is where her 2 young children sleep. 

Here is a side view and a good view of the walls that are partially plastic (That is one of the things they are fixing on the house). 

Now, after seeing that, how can I complain? See why this food journey started to begin with? This is what they eat on a good day when my in-law's ministry provides food at the feeding center. 

Here they are with bowls lined up waiting to eat. 

Food at the feeding center. It's full of healthy veggies. This is going to feed 125 children!

If you are interested in learning more about Haven of Rest Ministries and the amazing work they do, click here! Haven of Rest

Have a blessed day!

Day 20 and 21: Going Meatless!

Sorry for the delay in posts lately. I have been getting scheduled a lot more at work so I don't get home sometimes until late :) 

Anyway...

Sunday- 

After church our Bible Fellowship class went to Panera. Thank God I still had $12.85 on a gift card the PTO got me from school! $12.85 doesn't go far at Panera so here is what we did... For Tan-man we got a kids melted turkey sandwich with yogurt (3.99) and hubby and I split the pick 2 combo. He got the sandwich part and I got to eat the salad (which was a fabulous avocado chicken salad!). I brought along some tomato and the remaining bit of rice chips to go with mine :) I had to pay a difference of $1.27.

After lunch we did have to make a trip to Aldi... We are getting down to the last bit of cash guys... I bought:

Milk

Bread

Bananas

Can of Black Beans

Green pepper

Total at Panera: $1.27

Total at Aldi: $6.21

Total so far: $ 96.98

For dinner, I was at work. I have to say though, I was soooo proud of my hubby! He fixed dinner ;) Now, even though dinner was a pretty easy fix and just a last minute idea, he still did a great job. We're talking about a guy who's claim to fame is egg sandwiches and hotdogs... :)

So anyway... I found a random jar of Alfredo sauce so I asked hubby to put it to good use. He made some egg noodles, dressed up the sauce a little, added some broccoli, than cooked a couple of the chicken breast tenders that were left and threw them in too! :) It was actually pretty good for something so simple!

Today- We went MEATLESS!!!! :) 

Yes, meatless! As Stacy, at one of my favorite blogs calls it, "meatless Monday!" 

Today I made Meatless Sloppy Joes in the Crockpot. Here is the recipe... It was quite good :) 

This was served on buns with sides of broccoli and the little bit of frozen corn that was in the freezer. I included a few pictures, however, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product! 

Crockpot Meatless Sloppy Joes

1 small onion cut into thin slices

1 green pepper chopped

1 15oz can of kidney beans 

1 8oz can of tomato sauce

2 tbs ketchup

1 tbs yellow mustard

a few shakes of garlic powder

1 tsp chili powder

First, drain and mash the kidney beans, than combine all ingredients into the crockpot. Cover, than cook for 5 hours on low or until all the vegetables are tender. Then, eat just like any other sloppy joe! 

My slices were a little think, but it still turned out yummy!

Squishing the beans. I mashed mine in a colander over my crockpot so when I was mashing the bits that were squeezing through went into my veggie mixture. 

So there you have it, a completely meatless meal! You could very easily use meat in place of the beans and just have homemade crockpot sloppy joes! Doesn't it feel better knowing what exactly your family is eating rather than just buying a can of sloppy joe sauce? :) 

Day 19: Our "Great Depression" meal

For lunch today we had one of the meals that I discussed in a previous post about Great Depression cooking. I had just a bit of peppers left over and needed to use the rest because they were starting to go bad. I also had only 4 eggs left so it worked out perfect to make sweet little Clara's recipe for Peppers and Eggs... Watch and enjoy :) I love her stories she tells about growing up in the Great Depression.

It was actually really good, even my 2year old ate it (however, he picked the peppers out)! My husband ate his on bread, I just ate mine by alone and with sides of applesauce and fresh sliced tomatoes. YUMMY! :)

Days 17 and 18: Ways to trim a grocery budget

So Days 17 and 18 were pretty uneventful. We had leftover nachos last night and than tonight my amazing Mom sent hubby and I on a date :) THANK YOU MOM!!! Lunch was a blessing today because I didn't have anything for my Hubby to take ("Tan-man" and I just had brunch with waffles and eggs with a little fruit) and it turned out they had a picnic for them at work today. Now that we are getting down to the wire I have been thinking, reflecting, researching, etc on how to save more money. There are many ways to decrease your monthly spending on groceries. One way I highlighted in a previous post was meal planning. I have always used a variety of different ways to reduce our food bill since the beginning of our marriage but there are a few new ones I have learned. Here some ideas that might help you guys! :) If you have some that help you, please share in the comment section below! :)

Ways to trim your grocery budget:

1. Meal Plan-
Meal planning can help you avoid buying ingredients you either don't need or from buying ingredients you already have. It will also keep you organized, especially on those hectic days when you are trying to come up with something to fix for dinner.

2. Shopping the markdown meat and produce-
Buying meat close to the sale-by date is a great way to save money. You can either cook the meat and freeze it to add for quick meals later, or you can divide the meat into freezer containers and freeze meat in meal portions to thaw when you are ready to eat it. I buy this type of meat all the time :) Produce is the same way. Although it doesn't really have an expiration written on it, you can tell by it's ripeness. For example, the other day I bought a bunch of 6-7 bananas that were in the discounted fruit section because they were beginning to get a little bit of brown spots on them. We ate them within just a few days so it was a great savings for us! You can also do things like slice discounted peppers and freeze them to use for recipes later, use bananas for banana bread, pudding, or zucchini to make yummy zucchini bread. The possibilities are ENDLESS! :)

3. Couponing-
I used to coupon like crazy! However, since having my second son and changing a lot of how we eat, I don't have the time to coupon near as much. There are some GREAT sights to help you learn. My favorite is Southern Savers. You can get many things for free or hardly any cost like; deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc. Jenny, at Southern Savers even has online tutorials on how to do it! It takes some times but can be very, very worth it.

4. Shop sales-
This one is pretty explainitory. For example, when shredded cheese is on sale for buy 1 get 1 free, get a few extra packs. It will stay good for a while and cheese is an ingredient used a TON of meals. However, beware that sometimes those deals aren't the best. If the cheese, for example, comes out to be around $1.50 or less each, that is a pretty good deal. If not, don't buy extra. Pay attention to the price of products that are bought often so you know when to spot a good deal.

5. Don't buy junk-
This can be a hard one sometimes... Buying empty calorie things like chips or sodas can weigh your budget and yourself down. If you cut the chips or soda and substitute for tea healthy sides like fruits or raw veggies it can help.You will find that you will fill up easier eating fruit rather than chips. And tea is way more economical than those sodas that cost so much. At our house we rarely drink anything but water and milk.

6. Go Homemade-
Make your own things like biscuits, bread, waffles, etc... If you aren't going to coupon, put in a little extra time like our grandmothers did and make your own things from scratch. Not only will it help you cut costs, but it will bring a little nostalgia to your home, pass down recipes to your children, and can leave beautiful memories for your family. My favorite memories growing up were with my Grandma making Christmas candies, pies, bread, etc in the kitchen... :)

7. SHOP ALONE!!!!!-
I don't think I need to explain this one moms! LOL I try to go when I don't have the kids. It's almost therapeutic and acts as my mommy time :)  A lot of times I go at 8 after we have eaten, had our family time, and put the kids to bed.

8. Go when you have the time-
Don't rush in the store, you are likely to forget things or get flustered to where you can't think sales and budget clearly.

9. Try new recipes-
Sometimes trying new recipes can help with budgeting. Maybe it is something that requires little ingredients, that can help with costs. However, beware of recipes that require special and sometimes expensive ingredients.

10. USE CASH!!!
This one is my favorite and part of Dave Ramsey philosophy. Use cash when you go shopping. You will find it a lot harder to let go of your money when you are paying cash for all of it rather than swiping a card. You will be less like to buy the extra items you don't really need that are piled in your buggy too.

So there you have it, a few ways to help you cut some costs! :) If you have some great ways to help us out, leave a comment below in the comment box! Have a great day!!!

Day 16: Meal plan

So yesterday I promised a meal plan for you guys... Recipes will come as I make the meals. Here you go! :)

Meals: (Order of the meals is subject to change)

Chicken Fajitas (no extra ingredients needed)

Chicken Fajita Nachos (no extra ingredients needed)

Meatless Sloppy Joes (will need 1 green pepper)

Peppers and Eggs (Great Depression recipe; no extra ingredients needed)

Cuban Black Beans and Rice (might need 1 jalapeno (I may not use one), 1 can of black beans, and 1 lime)

Slow Cooker Chicken Dinner (no extra ingredients needed)

Chicken Noodle Soup (leftover and frozen from Day 11)

Some of these meals will be eaten as leftovers the next day so it will actually be more than 7 dinners. I guess technically I can mark off the Chicken Fajitas because that is what we had for dinner tonight. Sorry I don't take any pictures tonight, I was in a hurry to leave for work! They are SUPER easy!

Quick and Easy Chicken Fajitas
  
2 tbs of World Harbors Fajita Marinade (SOOO yummy!)
2 sliced peppers of your choosing (I still had these from my 4pack of peppers in my original pantry inventory)
1 onion, sliced
3/4-1 pound of chicken breast sliced or chunked (I used 4 breast tenders)
Tortillas (I used corn because of the gluten thing)
optional: sour cream and shredded cheese for toppings

Drizzle just a little oil (I use olive oil and just enough to make the pan nonstick) into a large skillet and let it heat up. When oil is ready add the raw chunks of chicken and saute. When they are beginning to turn white on the outside add peppers and onions and add fajita marinade. Saute until chicken is done and peppers are beginning to get a bit tender. "Dress" your fajitas and ENJOY! :) 

We had half of the fajita mixture leftover to recycle as the nachos for another dinner! :) Have a GREAT night!  
 

Days 14 and 15: Delicious dinner

Yesterday I didn't post because it was just a day of leftovers. However, I did make a super quick store run and got some great deals on stuff! Here is what I bought:

1 white peach (random I know, however, I had a coupon that printed out last trip to get a free one)

2 huge sweet potatoes

2.5 pounds of chicken breast tenders

a pack of hamburger buns priced at .50

6 discounted bananas (they were starting to get just a few spots on them, but spots just mean their sweeter and we LOVE them that way ;) )

 1 store brand Mtn. Dew (we have been drinking all water or milk at home so just a little caffeine was needed!)

Total: $8.54

Total thus far: $89.50 (Looking like we might not make it but now it's time to get creative!)

 Now, on to today!

Dinner tonight was fabulous! My husband and I were laughing and saying it felt like we were having a feast! We had delicious grilled chicken tenders, baked sweet potato chunks (sort of like fries), fresh green beans, biscuits, and fresh sliced tomatoes. The tomatoes came from a sweet couple at church. They brought a ton of them to give out at church from their garden and they are SOOOOO yummy!!! The biscuits... well... here comes the funny part. I had a coupon for a free chicken biscuit a little while back. I went to get my biscuit from Chickfila and since they were switching to serving lunch they had tons of leftover plain biscuits. The girl jokingly asked if I wanted them because they were just going to throw them away. I unjokingly said, "YES! I will take them ALL!!!" She loaded me up and I took them home and put them in the freezer. I popped one for my hubby and one for my 2yr old in the oven tonight for a few minutes and WOW! Hubby said they tasted fresh. :) Next time you are there ask if they have any! :)

So here is what I did for dinner:

Fresh Green Beans: (This is how my grandma taught me to make them and I LOVE them!)

*String and break 1 1/2- 2pounds of beans
*Place in a large pot and cover with water, make sure there is 2 inches more water than beans
*Let them boil/simmer on the stove covered for about 20mins than drain and place back in the pot with just enough water to cover the beans half way.
*Add 1 1/2 cubes of chicken bouillon crumbled and let the beans simmer and cook covered until the water is almost all gone and the beans are very tender.

"stringin'" my beans!

Baked Sweet Potato Bits

*1 very large sweet potato, peeled, and chopped into large bits, or you can slice them.
*Than add just enough olive oil to barely coat the sweet potatoes.
*lay the bits out onto a large pan and sprinkle with just a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
*Bake at 350 just long enough to make tender.
(You can also adapt this to make them a little crispy. To do that, you will need to increase the amount of olive oil and slice the sweet potato into very thin slices.)

Delicious and Easy Grilled Chicken Tenders: (They taste almost like the ones at Cracker Barrel)

*Mix about 1/3 cup of Italian dressing in a ziploc bag with 1Tbs of honey.
*Add 1 pound of chicken breast tenders to the mixture and let it marinate in the refrigerator for about an hour.
*Cook the chicken either on the grill or on a George Foreman style grill until done. About 15 mins.

So there you have it! Dinner! :)
Join me tomorrow as I plan our menu and stay tuned for some creative dishes to help us stay within our budget :)

Day 13: BBQ!!! :)

BBQ chicken on a baked potato with butter and sour cream, Coleslaw, and oranges :)

Today I made barbeque chicken, coleslaw, and baked potatoes. A while back some good friends of mine introduced me to eating bbq on baked potatoes and since I can't have wheat it works out just perfect! :) Just dress your potato with what you like (mine is butter and sour cream) than put bbq on top and enjoy.

Pulled/chopped BBQ Chicken
About 2 lbs of Chicken or desired meat
1 onion
optional garlic
1/2-1 bottle of your favorite bbq sauce

I took the remainder (which was also the majority) of the whole chicken I bought on my last grocery trip and put it in the crock pot with a whole sliced onion. I put a few cloves of garlic in there but I think the only thing it really did was just make the house smell stinky... LOL :)
I cooked it on low all night (8hrs). Than in the morning before church I took the bones out. The chicken will literally just fall apart when touched so the bones are super easy to get out, just make sure you get them all out! After you debone the chicken chop it (again, really easy because it's so tender).

After that empty half a bottle or whatever the desired amount of bbq sauce is into the crockpot of chopped chicken. Mix and enjoy :) I just put it in the fridge for after church.

Easy Coleslaw
1 bag of coleslaw mix
1 cup of lowfat mayo
1/3 cup of sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
Fresh cracked pepper

Mix all ingredients but the coleslaw mix in a bowl. After the ingredients are mixed to make the dressing, pour over coleslaw and mix. Crack some fresh pepper over the top and mix more. Than enjoy! :) I personally don't add the whole amount because I like mine just a little wet, otherwise it's too sweet for me. This is just a rough quick recipe that I use sometimes :)

Day 12: Leftovers and a little Nostalgia

Today was a leftovers day. We finished the deli meat at lunch time and moved on to our chicken noodle soup leftovers for dinner. As I was thinking and planning for this next week's meals I came across something interesting... Here is a little background and something about me first...

I grew up on my grandparents farm and was always surrounded by fresh foods. In the spring and summer they grew a garden and worked to can and freeze enough for the winter. They had cows, and chickens for eggs and meat. I loved following the chickens around the farm with my sister to find where they were laying their eggs. Many times it led us to the barn and up into the bails of hay. This than led to a playful little game of jumping hay bails (if you have never done this, you are soooo missing out ;) ). The farm that my grandparents have has been in our family for years and years and belonged to my great grandparents who's old "home house" as my granddad called it, was ordered from a Sears catalog. They lived and worked hard to make a living and to have food for their family. I love to hear stories from the past and one thing that is really intriguing to me is recipes and cooking styles handed down through generations.

It's interesting to look back and see how our cooking and eating has evolved just in the past few decades. Tonight we are going to look at the simplicity of food from the great depression and this week we will dawn our mouths with the flavors of one of it's meals. I want you guys to watch a great video of sweet little Clara. She is in her 90's and has a recipe book full of her family's old Depression recipes. The video tonight is showing you how to make salad from a "weed." I have always heard of Dandelion salad and even seen it on a menu at an expensive restaurant but I have never had it myself. I think I might have to actually experiment with this. Please watch, enjoy, and appreciate the simplicity of food tonight. :)

Day 11: "The Stomach Bug..."

So today was a GREAT day! We went to visit my Daddy, Stepmom, and my little brother and sister. After we had lunch I took the boys to my Grandma's house and spent a fabulous afternoon there! :)
As soon as I pulled out of my Grandmother's driveway my 2year old got sick.... I will spare you the details beyond that point but what an ending to the day...

So even though I had barbeque planned for dinner, it was time to improvise... I had all the ingredients except a few to make some yummy chicken noodle soup. I had to go to the store anyway to get milk and bananas so off I went. I guess the barbeque will have to wait until tomorrow night but in the mean time here is on of my chicken noodle soup recipes when it just needs to be quick and easy! :) Enjoy!!!

Easy Speedy Chicken Noodle

1 tbs of butter
1 small chopped onion
1/2 cup of celery
1 cup of chopped carrots
49ozs (1 large can) of Chicken Broth
14.5ozs (1 regular size can) of Vegetable Broth
1/2 pound of cubed or shredded cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups of dry egg noodles
1/2 tsp of Basil
1/2 tsp of Oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Mix in carrots, onions, and celery and cook until they are just a little tender. Next pour in the chicken and vegetable broth along with the noodles, chicken, oregano, and basil. Salt and pepper it to taste (I do just a pinch of sea salt and a couple grinds of pepper). After the soup gets to a rapid boil, turn it down to a simmer and let it cook for 20mins. Enjoy! :)

Yummy veggies :) I love the colors!!!

Time to enjoy! Delicious!!!!

So there it is, some fabulous chicken noodle soup :) I am going to freeze half of it in a gallon ziploc and save it for another night toward the end of the challenge. Now for the rundown of what I got at the store:

1 gallon of milk
1 large can of chicken broth
1 regular can of vegetable broth
a pack of egg noodles
a jar of peanut butter
6 bananas
a pack of cherry tomatoes that were marked down to .50!!! :)

Total: $14.63
Total spent so far: $80.96 (Yikes!)

Days 9 and 10: Cookouts and Tuna Melts :)

I hope everyone had a happy 4th yesterday! I didn't post yesterday because we weren't home all day. We had a fabulous time with friends at their cookout! :) No meals yesterday other than cereal for breakfast (which we are now out of milk...).
Day 10 we had cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch (mine was a quesadilla style sandwich on corn tortillas), and dinner was Tuna melts. Our family LOVES tuna melts and they are soooo easy! :)

Easy Tuna Melts

Ingredients:
1 can of tuna
2 tbs of mayo
1/2 cup of mozzarella

Bread
Butter

Drain your can of tuna and mix meat with mayo and cheese. Butter one side of each piece of bread and make sure the butter sides are on the outside. Place tuna mixture between the two slices of bread and toast in a skillet over medium heat. ENJOY! :)

So there is the post for Days 9 and 10... Sorry it's short and boring, I promise there will be some of more interest soon :) Have a great night!

Day 8: Reflection...

"Give us this day our daily bread..." Matt. 6:11

We are now 8 days in to the $100 food challenge. So far, as you have seen, my whole purpose for this is to focus meals mainly on what I already have. This challenge has come as a direct result of my convictions. What convictions? The conviction that I am not thankful for the blessing of food that God has given me. Tonight I want you to reflect on yourselves... How many times is the food "just not good enough" to satisfy your taste pallet? Just not good enough to fill your stomach to the point that it hurts because you ate too much? Just not good enough because it's not what you were really craving or wanting for dinner tonight?
I'm sure we are all guilty of these thoughts or actions, I know I am. However, I am seeing that food, which I feel is one of the things we take advantage of the most in life, is something that is very easy to take for granted. A blessing that God has given us that we likely complain about most. It's also one of those things that you probably completely overlook as being ungrateful for. How many times do you bless your food before you eat and really mean it? I'm talking REALLY mean it? ... Now do you see why I was convicted about it?
My in-laws are missionaries in the third world country of Nicaragua. They have a feeding center set up in one of the poorest communities. The community is actually a dump, literally! Families are in the dump digging through it, and trying to find food to eat or things to sell to get food. Their children walk around barefoot and unclothed in trash. They know poverty like NO ONE here knows. Then, I think about how they would probably love to go through some of the "trash" I throw out here and it makes me sick to my stomach. This is why I feel convicted. I don't deserve what I have. Yes, I work. Yes, I pay my taxes. Yes to a lot of things... But here I am, ungrateful and so unworthy of one of the biggest blessings God has given us... Food.

"You (God) satisfy me more than the richest of foods." Psalm 63:5 (NLT)

Please know that I am not posting this to preach to anyone. I myself am merely reflecting on my own convictions and sharing them with you. If you identify with them, than I pray that you can work through your convictions as well. If you don't, than that is fine too. I just hope and pray that this post brings light to a situation that many of us take or have taken for granted at one time or another.

Have a great night and God bless!!!

Day 7: "These are a few of my favorite" FOODS!!!

In today's post I am going to introduce you to a meal that includes some of my favorite foods! We had it for dinner tonight and it is AMAZING!!! I found the following recipe on Pinterest from a blog called Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life. Most of the ingredients I had already but some of them were bought during my shopping trip today which we will get to later! :)

Chicken, Sweet Potato, & Spinach Quesadillas 

Ingredients:
 1 large sweet potato (YUMMY)
1/2 cup of red wine vinegar (LOVE this stuff!)
1/4 cup of sugar
A few dashes fresh ground peppercorns
1 medium onion sliced
4 large tortillas (wheat, flour, or corn)
Chicken breast cooked, cubed or shredded about 1 1/2 cups
Baby spinach
1/2 cup Mozzarella

Begin by microwaving your potato until done. Make sure that it is wet and has holes poked in it before putting it in the microwave (it cooks better). While your potato is cooking combine the red wine vinegar, sugar, and peppercorns to a boil in a small sauce pan until the sugar has dissolved. Have your onion slices ready in a bowl and pour the hot vinegar mixture of them, let it sit for at least 10mins (I usually toss them around halfway through). Drain and set them aside. Next, your potato should be done. Cut it in half and set is aside to cool.

Get all other ingredients ready to start assembling the quesadillas. Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough, remove the skins and mash the "meat." After it is good and mashed half the mixture and smear it really good onto 2 tortillas. Next top with spinach, pickled onions, chicken, and cheese. Lay a plain tortilla on top. Heat a large skillet and use either cooking spray or olive oil to ready the pan. Lay the quesadilla into the pan and cook on either side until almost crisp (not burned) it should only take a few minutes.  A good little trick I do for flipping a large quesadilla like this hold a plate over the pan and flip the quesadilla onto it than slide it back into the pan to cook the other side.

Once your quesadilla is ready, slice and enjoy!!!! This is truly one of my FAVORITE meals! There is no need to add other sides but you can if you wish. This meal is SUPER filling and has all your food groups :) Below you will find some pictures. I made a few changes due to the fact that I am trying to save money. You will see the changes I made.

During my grocery shopping today I bought a whole chicken again. Since this recipe called for cubed chicken I decided to use a few pieces from the chicken, 2 wings and a leg. Chicken breast works better but on a $100 budget it doesn't quite work that way :)

I LOVE onions but pickled onions... WOW!!!

All the ingredients laid out.

It was SOOOOOO good! :) I love these things! The cheese didn't get melted enough in this picture.

 So there you have it, a few of my favorite foods combined into the same meal... It equals AMAZING!!!

Now, onto our shopping trip for the day... My meal plan is short this week. We are having the same old things for lunches, sandwiches unless there are leftovers. Dinners: Spinach, Sweet Potato, and Chicken Quesadillas, BBQ Chicken, and Tuna Melts. The BBQ chicken will likely be repeated as leftovers and will use a whole chicken.

Here was what I came out with:
Baking Potatoes
6 Bananas
3 Navel Oranges
a can of tuna
1 cucumber
a bag of onions
a whole 5 lb chicken
Turkey lunch meat
sour cream
coleslaw
Mayonaise
Blue Bell Ice cream... (I know, it's a splurge but we love it, it was on sale, and well, it's summer)
Chips
and Cereal

Total: $26.30
Total spent so far: $66.33 (Yikes!)

Thanks for stopping by!!! :) 

Day 6: Answer to the question: "What do you do for snacks?"

Here we are on Day 6... Tonight will be a short post and will answer a question I was asked about snacks. Before we get to the snack question, we'll look at how today went. I did spend money today. This Sunday our Bible Fellowship class was in charge of providing breakfast so I bought grape juice for $2.56. Lunch was provided by our after church picnic. For dinner hubby bought a pizza and took it over to have dinner with our Bible Fellowship leader who just had knee surgery, and since I had to work tonight, I ate some of the leftover spaghetti. The pizza was a great deal... Right now Papa John's is running a special that I learned about on one of my favorite savings sites, Southern Savers. Right now through July 4th if you order pizza online you can get 1/2 off your order! There is a promo code, PARTY50 that you enter as you are checking out. You can only use it on regular priced menu items.
So total today we spent: $9.10
This month's total so far: $40.03 (Yikes... Looking a little scary but I think we can make it)

Now, on to tonight's post... SNACKS! :)

I have been asked what we do for snacks. Since I have a 2 year old, you know snacking is bound to happen ;) There are a variety of things we do. Usually it's something like cheese crackers, a banana, pretzels, grapes, yogurt, carrots/celery dipped in ranch dressing, or my personal favorite celery sticks and peanut butter!!! There are tons of other things we do sometimes for snacks as well, there are just the ones we have been eating lately.
So there you have it, plain and simple!

Tomorrow we go grocery shopping for this week's meal plan!!!

Day 5: How to meal plan

Meal planning is probably one of the most cost effective ways to reduce a grocery bill. If you don't plan you either wander the grocery aisles deciding what's for dinner there, buy ingredients you already have, or you forget items and have to return to the store later. There are many ways to plan and organize your meals and I am going to share mine. Before I get to the planning I will share quickly what our meals were for the day... again... a boring meal day. Same old lunches, however, dinner was ground chicken spaghetti with salad. The only ingredients that were bought ingredients were the ground chicken and the spaghetti sauce I bought on my trip to the store the other day.

Now to my meal planning... My husband and I have been married for 5 years now and I have been meal planning since we got married. Here goes...

Step 1: Survey the Pantry
Check out what you already have to get ideas on meals and to start your list.

Step 2: Look at store ads
Proteins can be some of the most expensive parts of a meal so I always look at the ads to see what proteins are on sale. Look for other items like cheese that are common ingredients. After I figure up proteins I start to plan my meals.

Step 3: Decide on Meals
One of my favorite things to do is recycle/domino meals. I recycled a meal in the previous post when I used the leftover taco meat from the night before, added peppers and onions and turned it into "garbage nachos" the next night. You can find another way to do this below in the example meal plan.

When I decide on my meals I list EVERY ingredient I need for each underneath the meal title. You will see why I do this in a little while...

Step 4: Survey the Pantry again
This time take your list and a highlighter with you. If there is an item that you do not have in your pantry, highlight it on the list. When you are done you now have your shopping list!!! :)

I know it seems like there is a lot of steps to meal planning but really it doesn't take much time at all. I assure you, you will see a big difference in monthly expense as well as less stress throughout the week when you meal plan. With that being said, do your best not to stray from your plan. If you want to switch your meal order around that's fine but make sure to make the meals you have bought ingredients for. 

Example Meal Plan: (This is one from a while back but I reuse them from time to time)

Monday-
Breakfast: Cereal and milk
Lunch: Bread, lunch meat, carrot sticks, chips, and banana
Dinner: Crock Pot chicken- Whole chicken, spices,
potatoes,carrots, and onion. Sides- veggies from the crockpot, crescent
rolls,and green beans.

Tuesday-
Breakfast: Cereal and milk
Lunch: Left over Crockpot Chicken
Dinner: Spicy Chicken soup- left over chicken pulled from bones from crock
pot meal, onion, garlic, jar of salsa, 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 1 can whole
tomatoes, 1 can tomato soup, chili powder, 1 can of corn, 2 cans of chili
beans, 8oz sour cream.

Wednesday-
Breakfast: Cereal and Milk
Lunch: bread, lunch meat, carrot sticks, chips, and banana
Dinner: Left over soup for a quick meal before church

Thursday-
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Bread, peanut butter, jelly, yogurt, orange
Dinner: Spaghetti- ground turkey or ground beef, sauce, noodles Sides: Salad (lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, Italian dressing) ,garlic toast 

Friday-
Breakfast: Cereal and milk
Lunch: Left over spaghetti
Dinner: Italian Chicken- 2 chicken breasts cut in half, pepper, salt, Italian
dressing, bag of frozen veggies, basil Sides- veggies already in the meal and rice

So there you have it... If I have left anything out or if you have any questions just comment below! :) Have a great night! 

 

Day 4: Recycling leftovers!

So here we are, day 4 and I am happy to report no money was spent. Tonight we used leftovers from the night before to make a new meal. I call it recycling leftovers and it's one of my favorite things to do! Somehow, I swear, the second meal always turns out better. haha

Remember dinner from last night? It was just tacos. As yummy as they were I wanted to do a little something to mix it up so I raided the pantry/fridge again. One of the things I already had in my fridge was a package of peppers (2 reds, a yellow, and an orange). I decided I was going to make the hubby super happy tonight and make it a "Garbage Nachos" night! I sliced one of the red peppers and threw it in a skillet to saute it. After a few minutes I tossed in some onions from the night before. When they started to get a little soft I poured the leftover ground turkey in, gave it a few stirs, and put 1 more tablespoon of that amazing fajita marinade from the night before. Next, I heated up the leftover refried beans as the skillet of goodness was still sizzling a bit on the stove. After your beans are warm take a brownie pan or pie pan and fill it with tortilla corn chips. Plop the beans on top of the chips, than add the mixture of peppers, onions, and meat. Next, sprinkle a little cheese on the top (I chose some of the colby jack I bought yesterday). Pop your pan into the oven on about 350 just until the cheese starts to melt good, than take it out. Last but not least put a plop of sour cream on top and get ready to chow down!!! I know, I know... Taco night, than nacho night? Sounds like we are eating terribly! However, I have to say, 93% lean turkey, corn tortilla chips, fresh onion, fresh red pepper, a little bit of low fat sour cream, a little bit of cheese, and some beans don't really come out all that bad. I think they look a lot worse than they are ;) With our nachos we threw in a big bowl of grapes because they were getting close to going bad. It turned out to be a fabulous Friday night meal! :)

Meat+peppers+onions= pure deliciousness!!!

Dinner is served! Hubby and I just ate straight out of the pan! As you can see I made a mini burrito out of the nacho mixture for my 2year old. The nachos are just too messy for him to handle just yet ;)

Toddler approved!!! He ate it all!

So there you have it, our delicious recycled leftover dinner :) I will have a post soon about meal planning, recycling, and "dominoing" meals.

As for the other meals today? Same old boring lunches... But totally YUMMY!

Breakfast: I was bad and didn't have breakfast, however, my toddler had a banana and some dry cereal.

Lunch: The kiddos (my son and a friend's daughter I kept) had dino pb&j's with apple sauce, half a cheese stick, and spinach leaves with a little ranch dressing. I had a bowl of chicken salad on multiseed crackers with my favorite Australian style yogurt! :)

Aren't the little dinosaur sandwiches cute? :) My mom got me that sandwich mold last year and I finally used it! (sorry Mom!)

I LOVE that yogurt! And those crackers... And the chicken salad... I just loved my lunch ;) 

So there you go... The end of day 4! I feel like things are going well so far. There are still many meal possibilities left in the pantry. If you would like to suggest any ideas post your comments at the bottom! :) And don't forget to stay tuned for the upcoming post on meal planning! :)