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| homemade crystalized ginger |
Friday (cost for 4 -- about $1.20)
scrambled eggs with garden chives
steamed carrots
apple wedges
rhubarb muffins
small amount of leftover rice and refried beans, topped with seasonings and cheese
Saturday
went to a dinner party
Sunday (cost for 4 -- about $1.95)
beef and bean burritos
cole slaw (homemade dressing on shredded cabbage)
chocolate covered strawberries (I used dipping chocolate bought on clearance after Christmas)
Monday (cost for 4 -- about $2.05)
Mexican-inspired soup, made with leftover taco meat, refried beans, canned corn, canned tomatoes, Swiss chard, onions, and seasonings, topped with a small amount of shredded cheese and some fried tortilla strips
toasted homemade rye bread with butter
fruit salad of banana and strawberries
Tuesday (cost for 4 -- about $1.10)
leftover soup from the previous night, just plain tonight
homemade whole wheat toast with butter
(Three members of the family went out to the movies as a gift to their dad. The kids paid for treats at the movies, so that cost is not factored into my budget. However, the additional treats meant I didn't need to cook as much for dinner.)
Wednesday (cost for 4 -- about $1.05)
rice, pinto bean, and vegetable medley (using cabbage, carrots, onions, and chives)
Thursday (cost for 4 -- about $1.45)
Swiss chard, onion, and mozzarella frittata
steamed carrots
homemade whole wheat toast with butter
Once again, this was a week that was low on meat consumption. I used a grand total of 1/2 pound of ground beef for the burrito filling and Mexican soup. However, we did have cheese (which is just as expensive as meat) on 3 nights. We continue to use the inexpensive or even free fruits and vegetables, such as rhubarb (free), Swiss chard (free), chives (free), whole carrots, cabbage, and onions. The one exception was the purchase of strawberries -- 2 lbs of strawberries at Sprouts for $1.98.
We spent $8.80 on family suppers this week. That left $19.42 for breakfasts, lunches, and snacks for 4 people for the week. That's achievable if using less-expensive basic foods and what we can gather from our garden, combined with cooking from scratch for 95% of what we consume.
Breakfasts this week consisted of crockpot steel cuts oats, toast from homemade bread, homemade yogurt, rhu-sins (dried, sweetened rhubarb), scratch pancakes, raisins, bananas, granola, and milk.
Lunches included leftover soup, eggs, various sandwiches (using homemade bread, bean spread, and peanut butter), yogurt, various concoctions of fruits and vegetables (which included carrots, rhu-sins, raisins, bananas, juice, Swiss chard, cabbage, chives, onions), and ramen.
A few experiments this week:
- dehydrated carrot pieces to make single servings of instant soup
- sprouted lentils (thanks, YHF) to use on sandwiches and in soups and salads
- made crystalized ginger (using some aging and wrinkled fresh ginger) to use in baking
What was on your menu this week? Do you like experimenting in the kitchen, or do you prefer to use the same set of recipes?
