Momstoppable

Baby Steps Challenge- Baby Step 2

2009-12-05T15:41:00.000-08:00

If you've been following along here and here, I've been discussing how you can make major long term adjustments in your food expenses and the way you shop by taking very small steps that are not difficult to do.

I asked you back in November to just start making a list of the items that you use regularly in your household.

Now, I'd like you to look at that list. I'm sure it's not a definitive list. Especially if you're like me and got caught up with other stuff :) But you should have some solid basics that you use regularly in your meals, regardless of the week's meals, based on your family's tastes. Here's what a list of basics looks like for us:

whole wheat pasta
refried beans
black beans
chicken
bacon
eggs
skim milk
flour tortillas
tortilla chips
sugar
flour
ground beef
frozen corn
frozen broccoli
canned green beans
boxed stuffing
canned turkey chili
crackers
breakfast cereal
coffee

This is not a definitive list for us, but certainly a good starter list of things we use regularly and always like to have on hand.

Your next baby step is to get a spiral notebook and write each item on a page. Yes. One per page. Take that book to the store with you every time. Every time. Seriously. When you buy one of those items, write down the price, the store, and whether it was a sale price or regular price. What you will have after a while is a natural list of high and low prices for the items you use. That will get you ready for your next baby step.

Happy note-taking!!

Easy Make Ahead Meals- Sirloin and Mushrooms in Gravy

2009-12-05T10:57:00.000-08:00

As we head into the last few weeks before the holiday, it seems it is especially crazed around here. I have a TON of deadlines at work, along with client parties and other things that will have me away from home more often. So as I gear up for the next couple of weeks of shopping, baking, and all of the aforementioned work stuff, I want to have dinners ready to go as much as possible.

I will be sharing some of the recipes along with my menu plans as I go. I like to use fresh unprocessed ingredients as much as possible, but in times like this you will see me use a few convenience items to help cut the prep time down. This is one of those recipes. It uses a jar of beef gravy. I'm the first person to tell you to make your own gravy, but in this case, it helps me put this recipe together much faster, and right now, I'll take the time!

I made this dish in about 20 minutes this morning. It will go into the freezer, and then later this week, all I have to do is thaw, heat, and serve over egg noodles. Mashed potatoes work too.

Sirloin and Mushrooms in Gravy

3/4lb. sirloin, cut into small bite size pieces ($2.50)
10 oz. container white button mushrooms, sliced ($1.00)
1/2 onion, chopped (.15)
2T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (.10)
salt and pepper
1T worcestershire sauce
1T sherry
1 jar beef gravy (.50 after coupons and holiday sales- I stocked up)
3T chopped fresh parsley (optional but adds a lot) (.15)

In large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, mushroom and garlic, and saute, about 4 minutes, until onions are translucent. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper here. Add sirloin, and continue cooking until beef is no longer pink. Add gravy, worcestershire, sherry and parsley, and heat through. Serve over egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

With egg noodles, this dish comes in right around $5.00 for me. Easy and economical for a beef dinner!

****This post is linked to Simple Saturday

Have I showed you my early Christmas Present?

2009-12-05T06:22:00.000-08:00

Isn't she pretty?!?!?!?! I have been seriously drooling over these for years. In fact, I generally have strayed away from recipes calling for a mixer because I disliked mine so much. So hubby surprised me early, figuring (correctly) that this could get a LOT of use over the holidays!!

He did his homework, and got me the 600, at a better price than I've seen anywhere, and I got a ton of attachements: can opener, food grinder, shredder/grater, pasta plates, plus the pasta roller and cutters.

I've used the mixer several times for cookies/cakes/mashed potatoes, etc...and I've started using the attachments. I feel a little silly about the can opener. I love the convenience of an electric can opener, but I never liked having one on the counter, so I've always used a hand opener. This gives me the best of both worlds, because it stores in the drawer when I'm not using it. The graters are GREAT for cheese, and I've been able to do large amounts in just a short period of time.

This weekend I start playing with the pasta roller. I've been told it's best to just have a few trial runs that you don't plan to eat so you can figure it out, so I'll be doing that this weekend.

I'm also going to make my first attempt at pizza dough this weekend. Wish me luck :)

I am on record in this blog as saying I'll probably never be someone that makes all my own bread. I still think that might be the case, but the mixer has me thinking about making some bread at least a little more often.

I am amazed at how one appliance can radically impact your time in the kitchen. If you've been like me and been thinking about this, I can tell you I have no regrets...only that I didn't get it sooner!

The tree

2009-12-02T19:18:00.000-08:00

I took this yesterday morning at 4am when I came down the stairs and discovered hubby left the lcd's on overnight. It was pretty breathtaking in the dark quiet house at such an early hour.

Menu Plan Monday Week of 11/30

2009-11-30T11:09:00.001-08:00

Going to be working ahead on this week's meals as I did last week, as I'll be out of town Wednesday and Thursday, and want to make life as easy for hubby as possible. Boys are already begging for McDonalds while I'm gone, so I've just written off Thursday night, knowing that while Mom's away, the boys will play :) Besides, better they eat it when gone than to be tempted by French Fries.

No price breakouts this week (gasp). I'll get back on that wagon next week :)

Monday 11/30
Cheeseburgers
Potato salad
Sliced apples

Tuesday 12/1
Slow Cooker chicken tacos
Corn

Wednesday 12/2
Spaghetti and meatballs
Wheat rolls
Green beans

Thursday 12/3
Boys eat out

Friday 12/4
Homemade Pizza Night
salad

Saturday 12/5
Smoked sausage
Sauerkraut and potatoes
Salad
Applesauce

Sunday 12/6
Slow cooker chili
Salad
cornbread

Getting the house decorated

2009-11-29T12:48:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite part of Christmas...getting the house decorated! We've done quite a bit this weekend, with more to come. I will share pictures as we go, including the tree, which is almost done. Here's the mantel-

Mexican beef and rice

2009-11-29T08:47:00.000-08:00

Last night we had originally planned to have leftovers from the week's "non Thanksgiving" meals. I apparently underestimated the impact my inlaws would have, though, because we ended up with just a few odds and ends, and really not much to speak of. Still plenty of Thanksgiving stuff, but I knew hubby would balk if he had to eat stuffing again.

I did have half a can of black beans leftover from a nacho lunch we enjoyed Tuesday, along with half a bag of leftover steamed corn, so I kicked into action and started pulling things together that I could make a skillet dish out of. I used sliced sirloin steak that I had already prepped in the freezer. You could use ground beef or even chicken, I think. This would be very flexible for what you have on hand. If my family liked olives I think I would have put sliced black olives on top. Heaven.

3/4lb. sirloin steak, or whatever meat you have, chopped into small bite size

1 cup rice ( I used white basmati, normally we would use brown)

1 can diced tomatoes (I used Muir Glen's new petite diced adobo tomatoes and that was perfect. You could use Rotel or any other tomatoes you have)
2 cups chicken broth (I used the turkey stock I just made)
1 cup diced onion
2T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2t salt
1 cup black beans
1 cup corn
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In small saucepan, bring rice, broth, tomatoes and salt to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer according to the cooking time on your directions.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in skillet on medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent. Add steak and continue to cook until beef is browned. Add corn and beans. Once rice is completed, add to skillet, and stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup of sour cream and stir in thouroughly. Turn off heat, sprinkle cheese, cover, and let sit 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Eat. Then eat seconds (I did, anyway!)

Using up cranberry sauce

2009-11-28T07:48:00.001-08:00

We ended up with a TON of cranberry sauce this year! My step MIL wanted to make cranberry orange relish, which was fine, but I wasn't sure if the boys would eat that, so I made a batch of cooked cranberry blueberry sauce as a fall back. Which means we've had lots of leftovers. I find the easiest way to use up cranberry sauce is in baked goods. The leftover cranberry blueberry sauce is now baked into a batch of yummy muffins for the boys' breakfasts. Just use your favorite muffin recipe or baking mix.
That relish is going to be combined with a box of orange cake mix I've been wanting to use up. I'll probably bake it in loaf pans.

Our Christmas Tree

2009-11-28T07:06:00.000-08:00

We got our tree yesterday. Today we will trim, decorate and add the tree skirt. I'm especially excited as we have not had a tree for the past 2 years. After Big K showed his ability to eat glass ornaments (!), I was more than a little reticent. (Although we did learn you can eat a piece of glass the size of a quarter and it won't hurt you. Info I wish I didn't have)

This year we're confident he's old enough, and the dog is more mature as well, so I think we're safe. (I hope!)

Time to start freezing up the leftovers

2009-11-27T13:52:00.000-08:00

We feasted yesterday! Wonderful turkey and all of the fixins. Today, we start the process of freezing and using up all the leftovers.

Tonight we'll have a repeat of yesterday's dinner. The rest of the turkey is already in the freezer, and the frame is in the stockpot with veggies and herbs making a nice broth that I will freeze. Leftover mashed potatoes will be made into mashed potato rolls that I can bag and freeze for multiple meals. I'm pondering using the stuffing in eggrolls, and turning the leftover cranberry sauce into a dipping sauce for the eggrolls.

This is always the time I start experimenting, so I will certainly share the results as I go!

Fully Belly. Happy Heart.

2009-11-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

I hope that you've had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We were so blessed to have Hubby's Dad and Stepmom here for the holiday. We've enjoyed the week together, and hubby's dad helped him finish a long overdue project in the garage. Today we made entirely too much food and now we're being lazy while contemplating all the things we have to be thankful for.

For me-

-they caught my Mom's lymphoma at an early stage and it's Hodgkins, which is very treatable
-she's handled the chemo incredibly well
-I have two incredibly sweet, smart and healthy little boys
- I have a very caring and loving husband
-I am blessed to have a great job and good job security
-I am able to provide for all of our monetary needs as the sole earner in the household.
-we had family here to share our day with
-we have a wonderful home and many good friends

So many things to be thankful for. Hope you enjoy your time to reflect as much as I have.

2009-11-26T07:00:00.001-08:00

Nice Walgreens trip today

2009-11-22T14:33:00.000-08:00

I actually had taken a bit of a Walgreens break. There wasn't anything I really needed and the prices weren't that great. Back today though with the $5 off $25 coupon, along with capitalizing on some other great deals. Here are just a few highlights:

Coffeemate Creamer- $2.49 BOGO and I had $1/1 and $1.50/2 coupons, so I got 6 for $2.49.

Vanity Fair Paper Plates- $3.79 BOGO. I also had the BOGO coupon from All You, so got them both for free!

got a bunch of really cute tins for 2/$1 to put gifts in

My final tally was $51.35 worth of stuff for $25, and I got $8RR. Not too shabby.

My to do list- Part 2

2009-11-22T12:32:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I laid out the menu plan for Thanksgiving and started outlining my to do list for today and tomorrow here. Today the house smells of roast, turkey and pasta sauce. I have a lot of the cooking and chopping done for the quiche as well. If I get all done and ahead of myself, I may go ahead and do that today as well. We'll see how it goes.

Tuesday
Make mashed potatoes
Make cake bars
Make green bean casserole

Wednesday
Make stuffing
Make pumpkin pie
check turkey and make sure it's thawed

Busy Week- My to do list, part 1

2009-11-21T16:04:00.000-08:00

This is going to be one of those weeks where I have a LOT to accomplish, and I find that I have to write it all out day by day to stay on top of it and not feel stressed out. My in laws will be here on Tuesday, and R's buddy will be coming over for dinner on Monday, so it's even more important that I stay on task. Here's the Thanksgiving Menu:

Turkey
Sausage Stuffing
mashed potatoes
gravy
sweet potato souffle ( Nonny making)
cranberry and orange salad (Nonny making)
waldorf salad (Nonny making)
green bean casserole
rolls
pumpkin pie
chocolate chip cake squares

Here's the next couple of days...I'll post the to do list through Thanksgiving when I post my menu plan for the week.

Sunday-
Make Bakers, Walgreens and Aldi trips
bake extra turkey
cook italian beef in slow cooker for Tuesday
make pasta bake for Monday
make potato casserole
freeze turkey in portions
save carcass for Monday

Monday-

Make chicken sour cream quiche for Wednesday
make turkey stock

Menu Plan Week of 11/23

2009-11-22T11:55:00.000-08:00

This weekend I'm working full steam to get meals done for early in the week so that I can turn my attention to Thanksgiving foods on Tuesday and Wednesday. This is a TON of food and I suspect we'll be eating off of it well into next week, along with extras that get stashed into the freezer.

Sunday 11/22

Steak $5.00

Potato casserole $2.50

Salad $1.00

$8.50

Monday 11/23

Italian pasta bake $3.50

Salad $1

Dinner rolls with butter .75

$5.25

Tuesday 11/24

Italian beef sandwiches $5.00

Fries .75

$5.75

Wednesday 11/25

Sour cream chicken quiche $3.50

Asparagus $1.50

Salad $1.00

$6.00

Thursday 11/26 Happy Thanksgiving!!

See this post for the menu plan

(cost of the dinner and desserts just over $28)

Friday 11/27

Leftovers .00

Saturday 11/28

Leftover pasta bake and Italian beef sandwiches .00

Sunday

Turkey croquettes $1.00

Potato casserole (in freezer from last Sunday) .00

Corn .40

$1.40

Grandma's Pumpkin Pie

2009-11-22T11:46:00.001-08:00

This is my husband's Grandma Elsie's recipe.  It's the family favorite.  

1/4 stick butter melted
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
3 eggs
1 3/4 cup pumpkin (fresh or use 1 can)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon ( I use a little more)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 cups milk

Mix ingredients.  Turn into pie shell and cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce oven to 375 degrees 
and cook for 45 minutes.

Sausage Stuffing

2009-11-21T11:17:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite way to prepare stuffing. The recipe has evolved over the years and reflects both my mother's love for decadence and flavor, and my desire to trim excess calories and fat when I can, without losing flavor. You could cut back fat even more by using just egg whites or egg substitute.

I am cooking an extra turkey this weekend. With the carcass I will be making a ton of turkey stock for both this recipe and my gravy. You can also use chicken stock, either homemade or canned. (I have to say, though, it's worth making your own. More flavorful, and much less salt!) I will freeze the turkey for meals later this winter. At 29 cents a pound, it's worth stocking up.

I don't stuff the turkey because of health reasons, so you might be able to cut back the liquid just a bit if you plan to. I make this the day before, and it keeps just fine in the refrigerator.

1 french bread loaf from grocery store bakery, cubed
1 bag of stuffing mix, like Pepperidge Farm
3 eggs, beaten
7 cups stock
2T olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
8oz. mushrooms, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb. turkey breakfast sausage, crumbled and browned
1T dried sage
salt and pepper to taste

Place bread cubes and stuffing mix in large bowl, In skillet over medium heat, add oil, then saute onion, celery, mushrooms and garlic until onions are translucent and vegetables are tender. I like to sprinkle my sage in here, along with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Add veggies to bowl, along with sausage, broth and eggs. Mix together with spoon, or get in and get dirty with your clean, ringless hands. Place stuffing in a greased 9X11 casserole dish, cover with foil and put in refrigerator overnight, or bake in 375 oven for 40 minutes, removing foil for the last 15.

Baby Steps Challenge- Baby Step 1

2009-11-16T17:10:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend I blogged here about making changes one small step at a time. So here's your first baby step. I know you can do it. If you don't already menu plan, I'm not asking you to. I just want you to write down everything you eat for the next week. Can you do that? Just try to jot the main entrees down before you forget each day. We're going to use that information next week for our next baby step.

Tomato Avocado Salad

2009-11-16T16:53:00.000-08:00

I crave fresh salads, vegetables and fruits all year round. Since I grow so many things fresh in my garden during the summer, it can be pretty rough making the transition in October and November back to store purchased tomatoes. You do find some yummy ones from time to time, and when this happens, I celebrate with a simple favorite- Tomato Avocado salad

3 ripe medium sized tomatoes, chopped ( I used romas)
2 avocados, peeled and diced
1/2t sea salt
2T lime juice
2T red wine vinegar
3T olive oil

Toss. Eat. Bliss.

Menu Plan Week of 11/16

2009-11-15T15:08:00.001-08:00

We ate very well this week despite the fact that I was very sick with a sinus infection. No eating out, but because of ease and cravings, I did alter the menu for a few days, so you will see a few repeats from last week that we didn't get to.

Sunday 11/15
Pork Fried Rice (using leftover pork and rice) $1.00
Asian Coleslaw $1.00
Potstickers $2.75
$4.75

Monday 11/16
Tostadas (this recipe, no chicken, add black beans and veggies) $1.25
tomato avocado salad $1.25
corn .35 (thank you great sales and coupons!)
mango $1.00
$3.85

Tuesday 11/17
Spaghetti and Meatballs $3.00
green beans .40
salad .75

Wednesday 11/18
Turkey Sausage $1.50
Sauerkraut w/ potatoes $1.50
apple slices .50
$3.50

Thursday 11/19
Chili Beer Pot Roast (from freezer-no potatoes-serving on noodles) $4.00
noodles .25
salad .75
$5.00

Friday 11/20
tacos $3.00
cinnamon apples $1.00
$4.00

Saturday 11/21
cheeseburgers $3.00
fries .75
$3.75

Sunday 11/22
Lil Cheddar Meatloaves $2.50
baby carrots w/ cinnabutter .75
garlic mashed red potatoes $1.00
$4.25

Freezing asparagus for later

2009-11-15T11:33:00.000-08:00

I love asparagus. Love love love it. The boys call them "trees", and I love using them in soups, pasta, salads, and on their own roasted or tossed in a lemony vinaigrette. What I usually don't like is the price. So when it goes on sale at a decent price ($1.99/lb at Target this week), I like to stock up.

Thank you Schwans for inspiring the way I freeze them. First, add about 3-4 inches of water to a large pot and bring to a boil. While that is heating, prep your asparagus. Wash, dry, and take 1 stalk of asparagus, holding each end with one hand. Bend the asparagus until it snaps. That is the place where the stalky part ends and the yummy part starts. I just put that shorter piece next to the rest of the bunch, and cut them all to that length.

Once the asparagus is prepped, and the water is boiling, coat a cookie sheet with a piece of foil or wax paper. Drop the asparagus into the boiling water for 1 minute. After a minute, drain, rinse in cold water, and let drip dry for a few minutes. Arrange the asparagus on your cookie sheet and place in the freezer.

After the asaparagus is frozen, drop into a zip bag and label. Now, whenever you want asparagus, you can grab the exact number of spears out that you want because they won't all be stuck together. Reseal and place the bag back into the freezer for the next time!

Incorporating frugal changes into busy lives

2009-11-14T06:09:00.000-08:00

I am the breadwinner of my family. Since my position is a management position over several departments and around 30 people, my work week is often 60+ hours. 13 hour days can (and do!) make other family responsibilities difficult. Despite this, I manage to sit down with my family 7 days a week for a home cooked meal (we typically only eat out for special occasions, and almost never eat fast food). I menu plan, coupon, stockpile, garden, can, and make many meals ahead of time and freeze for easy reheating later. I have managed to purge many items, like canned chicken broth, from our house completely. Foods like macaroni and cheese are made from scratch here, not out of a box.

Many of my friends, family members and co-workers are constantly surprised at some of the things I have incorporated into my schedule to help our family save money, eat healthier, and be more organized. It is a common assumption that couponing, meal planning and cooking meals from scratch are very time consuming.

No lie. Some things are. But many are not, and even a few of the things that take a little more time might make sense to do if it helps substantially in another area. The key is to find what works for YOU. And to start small. It's kind of like a diet. You are much more likely to succeed in changing your eating habits if you start small, like cutting out soda, or adding one more vegetable every day. I've tried those no fat, no calorie, no fun, nothing like your regular lifestyle diets before, and yes, I've lost weight, but I couldn't keep up with the changes because there were too many at once, and I gained the weight back.

Making changes to be more frugal are exactly the same. It's incredibly unrealistic to think if you have a monthly food budget of $1000 a month for your family right now, that you can suddenly cut it to $300. If you eat out 4 times a week, cutting to zero might feel like that diet. No fun.

What you can do, though, is begin adding small steps that you can live with, one at a time. Instead of trying to cut back all eating out, just make a decision to eat out one less time a week, and STICK TO IT. If you spend $25 on your family that one night a week, and can instead feed them at home for $10, you just saved $15 a week. That's $780 a year. Pretty cool, huh?

You find the things that work for you. I make many things from scratch, but one thing I'll probably never do is make all of our bread from scratch. Not that I wouldn't love to, and not that I haven't from time to time, but this is one thing I find time consuming and very difficult to fit into my schedule. It's not worth the time I lose for other things, like family. That's just what works for me.

When I started this blog, I wanted to be able to show people that you can work, spend time with your family, and still be able to do things like cook, coupon and eat healthy unprocessed food. In the coming weeks and months, I will be posting a series of articles on very small changes you can make one at a time, just as I did.

If you have posted any articles on subjects like this on your blog, or would like to guest write on a topic you are passionate about, please reach out to me! I would love to show lots of different ideas, and spotlight some of the amazing blogs out there!

Creamy Spinach Orzo

2009-11-10T05:21:00.000-08:00

This is one of those moments where I get to feel like I'm Sandra Lee. fWe have progressively moved to having fewer and fewer processed foods, but I do keep some things on hand for when I really need to cut the time down, but still have real nutritional value.

This side dish is sooo yummy and easy! The boys eat it up, too.

1/2 box orzo pasta
1 bag fresh spinach, chopped
1 cup of prepared alfredo sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2T lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
3T fresh grated parmesan

Bring water for pasta to a boil. Add pasta, and cook according to directions for al dente. With 4 minutes left in cooking, add spinach to pasta. Drain pasta and spinach, and return to pot. On low heat, add alfredo sauce, garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Heat through, about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with parmesan, and serve.

This recipe is linked to Our Krazy Kitchen's Simple Saturday. Check it out!

Totchos

2009-11-12T17:02:00.000-08:00

I've been battling a sinus infection all week...and it's crazy, because it's truly the sickest I've been in a long time. Overnight fevers of 103+, along with all the other unpleasantries.

Hubby today was suggesting foods I might like since I've been feeling so bad. I tend to crave certain foods when I feel this bad, and NONE of them are good for me :) Usually it involves a greasy Culver's cheeseburger or something along those lines. No surprise then, that I altered this week's menu to include a variation on nachos. Not on chips. On tater tots. I'm so naughty. And happy.

Bake tater tots according to directions. When close to being done, spread 1 can of already warmed turkey chili with beans across the top. Garnish with finely chopped onions, peppers, olives and any other veggies you might like. Then top with 1 cup grated cheddar cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Top with sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, or whatever else you crave when you feel like crud :)

Not proud. But content. Oh, and shocker. The boys ate all their dinner.