Being Betty Stewart

Menu Planning Monday

2010-08-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

Back from the lake. The only thing I hate more than unpacking is washing the piles of laundry that come with it! So I am going to keep Monday easy on me.

Monday - Frozen Meatball Subs, Creamy Italian Salad

Tuesday - Beer Can Chicken, Wild Rice, Steamed Green Beans and Fresh Tomato Salad

Wednesday - $5 Dinner Summer Squash Quesadillas

Thursday - $5 Chicken and Bacon Florentine Pasta

Friday - Wing It Homemade Pizza

Saturday - Grilled Salmon, Strawberry Salad, Homemade Bread

Sunday - Baked Corn Dogs, Garden Salad

Offically My Best Night of Grocery Shopping EVER!!!

2010-08-05T22:23:00.000-07:00

With my wonderful friend Patsy by my side, we it the town tonight to reek havoc on two grocery stores. We felt a bit like Thelma and Louise, or perhaps the Ikea lady who yelled "Start the car!!! Start the car!!!". I spent a grand total of $69.27. With that, I came home with 6 boxes of cereal, 4 boxes of fruit snacks, and 5 boxes of pasta FREE!!! Not to mention I snapped up 4 packages of hot dogs at 13 cents a piece. In my home we don't normally consume this much processed food, but I couldn't pass up the deals. This stash will certainly last us a long time. Plus, soda is always good to have around for company. And with school around the corner, cereal will be the breakfast item of choice.

Plan B Skipping the Tuna Noodle Casserole for Turkey Tacos

2010-08-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

Today, my friend Laura stopped by and brought me this basket:

So I decided to make salsa, and serve turkey tacos for dinner.

Salsa:
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 jalapenos, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
the juice of one lime ($0.20)

1. Mix together and chill.

Ground Turkey Tacos with a Secret:
1 lb ground turkey ($0.99 clearance)
1 cup grated zucchini (free from a friend)
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese ($0.75)
1 cup grated lettuce ($0.10)
2 tbsp taco seasoning ($0.15)
1/4 cup ketchup ($0.15)
1/4-1/2 cup water
Taco Shells ($1.00)
Tortilla Chips ($0.50)

1. In a medium skillet cook ground turkey and zucchini until cooked through. Drain fat.

2. Add seasoning, water and ketchup to skillet and stir. Reduced heat to medium-low, and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Assemble tacos with remaining ingredients.

$3.85 Serves 4

Menu Planning Monday

2010-08-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

Easy Week for me, yeah!

Monday - Tuna Noodle Casserole

Tuesday - Salmon Burgers and Cucumber Salad

Wednesday - (Out to eat) 35 cent wings!

Thursday - BBQ Beans with Baked Potatoes, Chives and Sour Cream

Friday through Sunday - Spending the weekend at Bass Lake with friends!!!

Chrispy Chicken Thighs with Corn, Zucchini, Basil Saute

2010-07-31T15:38:00.000-07:00

Chicken
1 3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken thigh cut in large strips ($1.68)
1 egg, whisked with a dash of water ($0.08)
1 cup bread crumbs (free, made from the ends of bread loaves)
2 tbsp Italian Seasoning Mix ($0.15)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a cooking spray bottle

Salad (Recipe from Everyday Foods episode)
4 ears of corn (free from a neighbor)
1 clove of garlic, minced ($0.15)
2 cups zucchini cut into half circles (garden, free)
Handful of Basil (garden, free)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil ($0.10)

1. In a medium bowl mix bread crumbs and seasoning together. Dip chicken into egg mixture, and then into the bread crumb mix. Place chicken in a foil lined glass 9X13 pan that has been sprayed with olive oil. Repeat with all of the chicken. Then spray all of the chicken in the pan with a little extra olive oil. Bake in a 350 degree until cooked through - about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat olive oil on medium high heat. Add zucchini and cook for one minute. Add garlic and stir. One minute later add corn. Heat and stir until corn is cooked through. Add whole basil leaves. Serve immediately.

$2.16 Serves 4

Green Works All Purpose Cleaner

2010-07-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

A total SCORE!!! In the clearance section of my small local grocer, I found two bottles of Green Works All Purpose Cleaner. Sadly, most of people in my community could care less about being green. This is perhaps why this cleaner ended up being marked down to $1.89. Normally I make my own all purpose cleaner from vinegar, but in this case, the Green Works is cheaper.

If you use two teaspoons of cleaner and the rest water to one spray bottle, you will get 84 bottles of all purpose cleaner. That works out to be a little more than 2 CENTS a bottle. Can't beat that!!!

Pink Pasta

2010-07-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

I have a love affair with $5 Dollar Dinners. Erin is amazing. She has inspired me to keep all of my family's meals under $5. I have a "Wing It" approach to most of my meals. This means, use what I have available, or what is on sale for my recipes. This dinner was no exception to the rule. Unconventional, but successful.

1 pkg. turkey breakfast sausage, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces ($1.00 clearance)
1 box Ronzoni Smart Pasta (free with coupon)
1 cup chopped green and red peppers ($1)
1/2 cup chopped onion ($0.25)
1/4 cup whole milk ($0.10)
1 tbsp butter ($0.10)
1 large can of diced tomatoes ($0.80)
1 tbsp corn starch ($0.05)
dash of garlic powder ($0.05)
1 tbsp rosemary (free from garden)
1/4 cup Parmesan ($0.25)

1. Cook pasta according to box directions.

2. In a large skillet, warm butter on medium/high heat. Add onion and peppers. Cook 1 minute.

3. Add chopped sausage. Heat until cooked through.

4. Add milk and drained diced tomatoes to meat mixture. Cook 5 minutes.

5. In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup of juice from meat mixture with corn starch. Whisk. Pour into meat sauce. Continue to still until thickens. Add garlic powder, rosemary, and Parmesan.

6. Drain pasta, place in bowl. Pour sauce over pasta. Sprinkle with a little extra Parmesan. Serve.

$3.60 Serves 6

Submitted to The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Wordless Wednesday (Sweet, that was easy!!!)

2010-07-28T19:05:00.001-07:00