Did you do anything special for Cinco de Mayo?

Our Cinco de Mayo dinner on a budget

The dinner menu was chips and salsa, shredded turkey tacos, refried black beans, and carrot sticks. Nothing fancy, I'll freely admit, but festive nonetheless.

I used store-purchased corn tortillas to make both the tortilla chips and the taco shells. Corn tortillas keep for a long time in the fridge, so I buy the most economical package at the Cash & Carry (72-ct, for $2.18, that works out to 36 cents per dozen tortillas).

To make the chips:
I oil-fried wedges of the tortillas in a shallow skillet, until crisp, turning once, then drained on a paper bag. A pinch of salt is optional, and that's about it!

A word about frying oil and corn tortillas. The oil picks up the corn tortilla taste and this flavor goes very well in the rest of the Mexican dinner. I fry the tortilla chips first, then use some of that oil in the refried beans and the turkey taco filling. It's quite delicious.

To make the salsa:
This is budget, food processor salsa. I used canned, whole tomatoes, tomato paste, chopped fresh onions, garlic powder, lemon juice, lime juice and/or vinegar, chili powder, red pepper flakes, cumin, dried oregano, salt and frozen hot peppers. I run all of this through the food processor till desired texture. I allow the salsa to sit for an hour, for the flavor to develop.

The taco filling was made from frozen, cooked white-meat turkey (from our most recent roasted, whole turkey), simmered with onions, chili powder, salt, and garlic powder. (I also add some of the tomato liquid from the canned tomatoes to the taco filling -- mentioning this now, as I don't add the tomato juice to the refried beans.) I fill the corn tortilla, fold over and oil-fry in the same pan in which I previously made the chips. Top with cheese and salsa and we're good to go! (*tip* corn tortillas can be a bit dry and crack when folding. I zap them in the microwave for 7 seconds each, to make them pliable, just before filling with meat, and folding into tacos.)

Refried beans are well, refried beans. I had some cooked black beans in the freezer (pinto beans would seem more authentic). I simmered these beans similarly to the turkey taco filling, in onions, oil, spices and water. I also add some of the black olive juice from the can, for a bit of flavor. When the onions and beans were quite soft, I used a potato masher on all. Top with shredded cheddar-jack cheese and some sliced olives. Yum!


Yesterday was another one of those super busy days. So, I didn't have time to put much together. No banners, decor or other festive atmosphere. The best I could do was Youtube some Mariachi music on autoplay, and get out my colorful Portuguese pottery.

How about you? How do you throw together a festive dinner on little time and on even littler budget?

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April 2015 Grocery Spending Journal

For the month of April, I have $155.23 for groceries. I'll continue to work extra hard at controlling my spending.

April 1. Eggs, lots of eggs. A comment was left anonymously on one of my posts that eggs were on sale for 99 cents/dozen at Target. One daughter was needing mascara, and I buy ELF cosmetics for some items (a deal -- $1 for mascara, and $1 for under-eye concealer for myself). So, off to Target (and Kohl's next door to use my $10 off coupon for new socks for daughters, another real deal, 6 pairs of Gold Toe socks regularly $14, on sale for $12, used my $10 off coupon and spent $2.19 including tax, that's less than 40 cents/ pair).

Okay back to groceries, I bought 17 dozen eggs, to go with my 3 dozen eggs from last week. I now have 20 dozen eggs in the house! I'll start the freezing process later today. I plan on freezing at least 8 dozen. Total spent on eggs, $16.83

April 1. Walgreen's to use my coupon for cream cheese (99cents -- 8-oz, limit 3), also buy 1 bag of jelly beans for 67 cents. spent $3.64

April 2. Walgreen's for cream cheese, 99 cents each, limit 3 with coupon. Bought 3. Also found 7 packages of marked down ham luncheon meat to add to the freezer, at 99 cents for 9-oz packages. Total spent $9.90

April 3. Once more by Walgreen's. Buy 3 packages cream cheese, 99 cents each, 2 dozen eggs, 99 cents each, and 3 more bags of jelly beans (to use later in the year), 3/$2. spent $6.95

April 3. Country Farms produce stand. 1 10-lb bag of small oranges (great size for lunches), $3.99 (40cents/lb),  1 bag of marked down bell peppers (2 green, 3 yellow) for $1.29, 1 bundle of celery (about 2 lbs, 89 cents), 5 red delicious apples (50 cents/lb), 3 small avocados, 25 cents each, and just over a lb of asparagus at $1.99/lb.  Most of what I bought fell under the 50 cents/lb price limit I've got going right now, with exception to the asparagus (for a holiday meal), and the avocados and peppers, I'm not sure, as they're usually sold per piece, anyway, but got good deals, nonetheless. Spent $10.24

April 3. Cash & Carry wholesaler, for 50-lbs white flour ($13.38), 50-lbs granulated sugar ($21.37), 29 oz cans of coffee ($5.98) and decaf ($7.95), 1-gallon jar of mayonnaise ($4.95), will be decanted a pint at a time, 5-lb bag of shredded cheddar-jack cheese (this was mostly cheddar, by looking at the bag, will be good for mac and cheese and cheese sauces -- $9.98), and 5-lb bag of carrots ($2.09). Spent $65.70

Spent to date -- $113.26

We are well-stocked right now. The only items that I'm REALLY wanting to buy are dried lentils and/or dried pinto beans. I'm going to have to resist spending, unless I find fabulous deals.

April 5. Stopped by Albertson's to buy a container of vanilla bean ice cream for Easter dinner (because what would pie be without a scoop of ice cream on top?!) spent $3.49. Month-to-date spent
$116.75

April 9. Cash & Carry wholesaler for 50-lbs whole wheat flour ($12.99), 5-lb bag shredded cheddar ($9.98) and 50-lb bag of potatoes (grade #2, $5.95). Spent $28.92 for a total of $145.67

April 9. Fred Meyer, found 1% milk on markdown for $1.49/gallon (bought 4, enough to get through the month), also 24 oz containers of cottage cheese for 99 cents (bought 3). I can use the cottage cheese in the filling for lasagna. I use about 16 oz per pan of lasagna, so each pan will cost 66 cents for the cottage cheese part of the lasagna. Enough cottage cheese for 4 pans of lasagna. What I don't use in the next few weeks will freeze for future cooking. Spent $8.93, for a month to date total of $154.60.

So, it's April 13, and I'm checking in here. I'm down to enough soy milk for one more cup of tea. I like milk in some flavors of tea but not all, and never in coffee. So, I'm drinking the fruitier flavors of tea this week, as I take these black with a bit of sugar. Sometimes, I use a plain dollar store tea bag with a spoonful of cherry preserves or a tablespoon or two of red currant drink syrup. Either one makes a good cup of tea for me. Otherwise, we're doing okay for the week without going grocery shopping. I still have greens in the garden, a 3-lb block of frozen spinach, some cabbage, carrots, onions, shallots, potatoes, oranges and an avocado. Plus the canned veggies (pumpkin, and various tomato products), and lots of frozen fruits from last summer. I'll need produce next week, which will put me over our limit. But not by a whole lot.

There's nothing on sale this week that I can't live without. That's a good feeling. I should be able to get this budget back in line by the end of next month. No holiday meal to plan for. No major sales expected. And we're fairly well stocked with the basics.

April 14. Dollar Tree. buy 1 quart of soy milk. spent $1

April 14. Fred Meyer, find 16 oz boxes of whole, small mushrooms, marked down to $1.89 each. I buy 2. Spend $3.78.

April 19, find 1 gallon skim milk marked down to $1.50. spent $1.50

Total spent for the month, $160.88

April 23. My step-mom is visiting and I wanted to make lasagna for one night. I'd actually thought about making the pasta by hand. I've made fettuccine on many occasions, so thought lasagna would be pretty simple. But I just ran out of time. So Dollar Tree for 1 box of lasagna noodles, spent $1. Will have to make homemade lasagna another time.

Total spent for the month, $161.88

April 24. Cash & Carry has some spices on sale through the weekend. I don't want to miss the opportunity to pick these up. Large canister ground mustard powder ($2.37), Large canister chili powder ($3.25), large canister cinnamon sticks ($1.88), large canister whole cloves ($4.12), large canister ground cumin ($3.46). spent $15.08

April 30. Cinco de Mayo sales on spices at Cash and Carry, cellophane bags of dried peppers (99 cents), ground paprika ($2.78), and garlic granules ($2.48). Spent $6.25


Done for the month of April. Total spent for the month -- $183.21, over my allotted amount by $27.98. That amount will be deducted from May's grocery budget, giving me $147.02 for May.

Cinco de Mayo: saving money by buying spices in ethnic markets or sections of your grocery store

We all know about shopping the bulk spice department of local markets, right? You can buy your spices for a fraction of the price of those small vials in the baking section of your local supermarket, if you scoop out what you need from bulk containers. You can also buy large canisters from warehouse clubs and restaurant supplies. These are a tremendous deal, as well.

I have another favorite place to buy some of my spices. And this is very time applicable, right now, with Cinco de Mayo just around the corner.

Cellophane pouches of herbs and spices are about $1 or $2 cheaper than even the large-size, (10-14 ounce) commercial canisters sold at warehouse clubs.

Some of my favorite spices are available, sold in pouches, not containers, in the Hispanic section of stores (wholesalers as well as grocery stores), AND in local Hispanic markets, AND online at sites like Amazon.com.

When we're driving around our own towns, we often don't notice the variety of ethnic markets lining the sides of highways and major streets. But take a look. You don't need to live in an "ethnic" section of town to have ethnic markets nearby. In our area, we have Hispanic and Korean markets. These stores are much smaller than traditional grocery stores, so often just go unnoticed.

But also, your own grocery store has a section with foods and ingredients from other cuisines. In the Hispanic section, you'll often find these pouches of certain spices. Dried peppers, cayenne pepper, garlic granules, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, etc.

Can I tell you a little secret? One of these brands, El Guapo, is owned by McCormick. That's right, McCormick & Co stands behind the El Guapo brand.

El Guapo has an extensive line of individual herbs and spices as well as spice blends, from spearmint leaves, oregano, cumin and cinnamon sticks to curry powder, chili powder, and Menudo spice mix (Menudo is a soup, but this mix is also excellent for making carne asada). All of these are sold in cellophane pouches, for a dollar or two cheaper per pound, than even the warehouse store 10 to 16 ounce canisters (which are a great deal in themselves).

Storing these spices at home for maximum freshness

You need your own canister, once you get these home. But a canning jar works, so does an olive jar (those tall slim jars). In a pinch, I've transferred contents to freezer bags.

When I've thought the pouches looked too big to use in about a year, I simply repackaged some, to store in the freezer. I've found that herbs and spices don't often go "bad" in a year or two, as much as they lose their potency. I buy spices in 16-oz containers and bags from our wholesaler. I repackage 2/3 for the freezer, and pour the other 1/3 into a canister for the kitchen. My spices have kept their potency for a few years at a time, this way.

But local Hispanic markets, your grocery store and Amazon also carry El Guapo (and other ethnic brands) in smaller household sizes that you may be accustomed to, like just a couple of ounces per item.

What do I buy in El Guapo packets? Well, this week, Cash & Carry has their selection of El Guapo on sale, for Cinco de Mayo. Yesterday, I picked up paprika, garlic granules and dried peppers (my enchilada sauce recipe starts with dried peppers). My price for these items, on sale, was about half the price of the commercial-size canisters of the same ingredients, also sold at Cash & Carry.

Anyway, if you happen to be in the area of an Hispanic market, stop in and take a look at their spice offerings. Or, when at your local grocery store, wander down the ethnic cuisine aisle, and see what herbs and spices they carry in cellophane pouches. (Know your price per pound on various herbs and spices, and compare.)

Especially this weekend, with Cinco de Mayo on Tuesday, this is a good time to check your local grocery store (could be running a sale on Mexi ingredients).

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