Day 5 - 6 Tips on Keeping the Pantry Stocked and Buying in Bulk

One thing I love to do is to keep my pantry loaded with the staples I need to keep the family fed, and to be able to do that without HAVING to go to the store.  That is when having a well-stocked pantry is essential.  We live out in the country 15 minutes from the grocery store.  That's not too terribly far, but factor in the $4.19/gallon gas and a trip to the store to grab a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk adds $7-$8 to the price!

We try to keep on hand a lot of the staples and a variety of other foods so if we can't make it to the store for a week or two it's not the end of the world.

1.  Keep track of prices:  Buying in bulk is one way we try to keep the cost down and our shelves well-stocked.  One of the best things grocery stores have done in the last decade is to put a "per unit" price on the shelf labels of foods.  On this label for peanut butter you see a per ounce price in the orange box.  If you multiply it by the number of ounces it should come out to the total price.  If you keep an eye on the per unit price you can compare brands and sizes of the products.  My kids have gotten good at this, too, and usually remember to compare the prices.  And when it comes to groceries, bigger is not always better. 

Source

2. Make bigger batches:  When it comes to things like beans, grains, and anything dried I try to buy the largest amount I can fit in the budget.  That way I can keep enough on hand and cook ahead if I want.  Making large batches of beans or bread frees up time later on that can be spent blogging, eating chocolate, or reading a book.  Just sayin'.

3. Eat in season:  If that means buying pears for 29 cents a pound and eating the heck out of them, then freezing and/or canning the rest, you will have nutritious and tasty food now and later.

 4. Plan ahead: When I have leftovers from one meal that are not enough for a second meal (we have 6 people in our family) I will try to plan a meal to use up the leftovers, and if I have time I will package it all together.  Which brings me to my next tip.

5. Don't let anything go to waste!  If you think that your family will not finish that 20 pound bag of carrots before they start growing hair then prep and freeze a few quart sized bags.  See the chicken stock below?  Every time I roast a chicken I make homemade LOW-FAT chicken stock with the bones.  I just put it in a big stock pot and cover with water, then I might add some celery, onion, and carrots.  Don't chop up any good ones, just use the scraps because you'll strain them out later and you just want the flavor.  When you're done boiling for an hour or so, drain through a colander in a large bowl  to get all of the bones, meat that is left on the bones, and veggies out.  Refrigerate overnight and remove the fat that settles on the top.  Then freeze in bags or containers.

6. Organize your shelves so you know what you have: Put like items together.  Pretty self-explanatory, but when you're looking for something that you just KNOW you have but can't find it because it got put away in the wrong cupboard it's frustration CITY!

Well, there are still some more things to cover, so I'll make this To Be Continued.  Tune in tomorrow for the second part of buying in bulk and stocking the pantry.  I'm thinking there might be a giveaway involved!

Want to see the rest of the posts in my 31 Days of Preparing Properly series?  Click here.

I'm Sharing Here, too:  

What's for Dinner, January Week 3

I skipped week 2.  Just like that.  I was a little busy working on other projects and we flew by the seat of our pants as far as dinners went.  One of those projects was cleaning out the freezers and inventorying what was left. I made a list of what is in there and moved items I wouldn't be using up in the next few weeks into the larger extra freezer.  While I was at it, I prepped some things to make cooking a bit easier:

1. All of the bread crusts that were stashed were put in the food processor with some Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese and then put it in a mason jar and popped it back into the freezer.  
2. Boneless/skinless chicken breasts: 1/2 were baked in the oven for a future meal and the other half I cut into 1/2 inch cubes and cooked in a pan on the stove then added taco seasoning.
3. Black beans were cooked, half of them made into refried beans, then frozen for burritos along with the chicken with taco seasoning.
4. Leftovers were consolidated and put into labeled containers for Crock Pot Leftover Stew.
5. Vegetable stock was made in the crock pot and frozen in quart sized bags.

My plan is to cook mainly from my pantry and freezer the rest of this month.  I'll have to shop for produce and dairy, but I've got meat/grains/pasta/canned covered.  This will be a great budget saver!  I'm even using the bread machine for bread, and I used up some open cereal and marshmallows to make some homemade cereal bars.  Mine were made using Kashi cereals and regular Cheerios with dried cranberries.

And here is what I threw together with a small piece of roast hidden in my freezer.

Easy Beef Stew in the Crock Pot

1 pound beef cut into 1/2-1 inch pieces

1/2 package onion soup mix 

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

 

2-3 tomato cans of water

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 large potatoes, or 4 smaller potatoes, peeled and diced

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Put all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 -10 hours.  That's it!

Menu Plan for January, Week 3

Monday:  Tuna Casserole, Green Salad and Sweet Potato Fries
(I have peas, milk, and sweet potatoes to use up)

Tuesday:  Pasta, Broccoli, Salad, and Breadsticks
(Frozen pasta dish already stashed in the freezer.  Add cheese to the top and bake it with the breadsticks.)

Wednesday:  Roasted Turkey, Potatoes, Stuffing, Brussels Sprouts and Salad
(Yep, we've got a couple of turkeys in the freezer and bags of stuffing to use up)

Thursday:  Crock pot stew with homemade bread
(Natalia has back-to-back basketball games tonight so something easy that can be eaten when we're ready instead of when it's ready)

Friday:  Pizza!

Saturday:  Polenta and Stew with Salad
(Stew is in the freezer, polenta in the pantry)

I'm linking here:  Menu Plan Monday

Tasty Tuesday 

Planning...Day 13 of 31 Days of Creating with Meaning

Some ideas for taking the stress out of the holidays  
{Updated post from a couple of years ago}
Worship and Service:
-Plan your church worship and other Christmas services to attend.  We always go to the community Creche festival on the first weekend of December.  We also watch the LDS Christmas Broadcast on the first Sunday in December.
-Plan to do some service for another family or charity, or even for your own family.  Bake cookies and take a plate to the fire station or the Dr’s office or to a nursing home.  Sing some carols while you’re there!  If you’re really organized you can plan a 12 days of Christmas for a neighbor or friend.  Pick a tag off of a “giving tree” and donate something.  Donate to Toys for Tots.  If your budget won’t allow for extra purchases then donate your time to a good cause.  We are celebrating the birth of Christ, and charity is the pure love of Christ.  So make it a Charitable Christmas!

Gifts:
-Make a budget and stick to it. Do a little bit of shopping each trip.
-Have a set number of gifts that are given to each child.  Some use “3” gifts like the wise men brought to the baby Jesus.
-Choose names and set a price limit. Instead of buying gifts for all siblings and cousins, you’ll end up spending a lot less!
-Let grandparents and other relatives know children’s gift lists, and what you think is appropriate. They’ll usually listen.
-Shop on-line and take advantage of free shipping or gift-wrapping.
-If you are making homemade or handcrafted gifts, get going on it!  If you haven’t started, make a list of the supplies you need and collect or buy them.  Set up a corner in the living room or somewhere convenient to keep the projects out so you can work on them as you have time.
-Take turns with friends watching each other’s children for Christmas shopping.
-Make sure you have tape, tags, and wrap.  Have the kids hand-stamp tags or plain kraft paper for inexpensive wrapping.
-Wrap gifts as they are purchased or have a gift-wrapping party with friends. Have children help wrap gifts. They love to be involved!

Cooking or Baking:
-Make your Thanksgiving Menu and your Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Menu, or if you have a potluck assign dishes to be brought.
-Throughout November and December cook double for dinner when you can and freeze the extra portions. When you have a busy day, dinner is ready to be heated up.
-Cook or prepare ahead any dishes that will freeze and reheat well.
-Shop ahead of time for non-perishable food items for Christmas meals and baking.
-Host a cookie baking day or cookie exchange with friends.
-When you have a free block of time, mix up a batch of cookie dough and freeze it. Then bake when you have time.

Christmas cards:
-Schedule picture appointment.
-Instead of doing newsletter yourself, have each person write a paragraph or draw a picture.
-Purchase stamps and cards ahead of time and address a few each night, or have older kids help.
-Or skip Christmas cards altogether and send a Christmas e-mail!

Decorating:
-Get rid of decorations you don’t use or love!  Call and inquire about donating them to a nursing home or other facility.
-Pack up knick-knacks from house into Christmas boxes while decorations are out.  Your house will look less cluttered.

Entertaining:
-Wash china or holiday dishes ahead of time (or use paper and plastic)
-Do you need anything dry cleaned?
-Make sure to buy film for cameras, or clear out your card, and charge up video camera.

Homemaking:
-Plan and do a fall cleaning.  Break it down by room, and then shampoo carpets.
-This is a great time to replace worn out towels and washcloths before guests come to stay.  Shop black Friday sales or white sales.
-Go through and donate toys that the kids have grown out of or do not use anymore before the new Christmas toys are in the mix.
-Go through and donate any clothes that are not being used.  Then you’ll know what needs replacing for Christmas lists.

Having a holiday plan can save a lot of stress. Especially if you're a procrastinator like me.  Most of all, the holidays are about faith, family and fun.

And don’t forget, Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance.

Paperless...Day 5 of 31 Days of Creating with Meaning

Everything is paperless nowadays.  Paperless billing.  Paperless bank statements.  I get the draw!  A major source of stress in my life is paper.  Not the pretty paper that I use in my scrapbooking and other crafting, but the stacks of paper from school, work, bills, and everything else that seems important at the time but needs a HOME!  And just like yesterday with the grocery list that needed to be simple, I need paper organization that is ultra-simplified.

This is what my computer desk looks like right now.  Well, little snapshots of the paper piles, anyway.  

 This one is blurred to protect the innocent.

I've always had problems with paper.  I'm sure there are books written and diagnosis' given about my particular issue, but


Here's one of my solutions for the all of the paper the kids bring home from school.  Works OK, but only if I don't try to make it hold too many papers at a time.  I found that out the hard way when I had papers, a driver's training book, and Scout information all in one clothespin.  Let's just say it died a hero's death.

One thing I need to do is cut down on the paper, which means transferring pertinent information to where it needs to go, then ditching the papers.  I also realized I need to go vertical.  And I've admired the "dry erase boards" similar to Kristy's @ Next to Heaven.  Then I thought that maybe I'd like to customize them to match the seasons, but be able to switch them out easily.  Then I remembered the stack of frames that my sister-in-law gave me when they were redoing their house.



I saw Peter Walsh the organizing guru talking about going vertical.  Getting things off the flat surfaces and on to the walls.

So for next-to-nothing I made the first frame.






It happened to be raining, so I rigged a little spray paint box in the back porch.  It took at least half a dozen thin coats to cover.

 Then I made a simple insert from white cardstock set off with scrapbook paper, and a simple "BOO" banner to drape over the corner.

Now I can write notes, grocery lists, to-do-lists, and reminders on the glass and wipe off when I no longer need them!  This is an 8x10 frame, and I'm making the other 4 to hang with this one.  I don't want it to get lonely.  And I need all the help I can get.

Linking up here:

Shopping...Day 4 of 31 Days of Creating with Meaning

One of my reasons for planning out my menus is to get the best bang out of our buck.  Even though food costs are really at a high right now, I still think that the food budget is a place where money can be saved.

When I sit down to make my menu and list, I have the store ads, my coupons, a calculator, a pencil, a stapler and the calendar.  The reason I have the calendar is to see what nights we might be out with sports or church and school activities and I can plan dinner accordingly.  No 3 course gourmet meals on PTS night!  Or ever!

Then while I'm looking through the ads and coupons I can match the coupons to sale prices.  For example, Safeway had Healthy Request Select Harvest soup on sale for $1.29 last week in their Mix and Match sale.  I matched that with a $1.00/3 coupon and paid 96 cents each.  By spending a little bit of time, usually less than an hour, (even with interruptions!)  I can have my menu planned, list made by store, and coupons sorted by store.

The reason I say by store is because that's the way I shop, and the way my brain works.  We are lucky to live near a city that has all of these stores within a couple of miles of each other so I don't burn a lot of gas going from store to store and I can usually get all of my grocery shopping done in one day.  This wasn't always the case.  When we lived in Missouri I did most of my grocery shopping at the Wal-Mart SuperCenter because it was the most convenient and usually the cheapest.  I'd supplement with Aldi and the local market for certain things, and bought all of my bread at the Sara Lee breadstore for $1.00 a loaf, cheaper than what I could make it for.  List making was super easy with fewer stores.

In my web-surfing moments I have come across TONS of cute, organized, grocery lists, printed them out, then never used them.  They might be functional for the person who made them, but with the way my mind processes things they don't work for me and end up being scratch paper, or I use the back for my list.

I have to keep things simple or I get overwhelmed and the system doesn't do any good, anyway.  So I've kept it SUPER simple for my one-page list.  I just listed the stores with space below.  I can list what I'm buying, add a price if I want, and I circle the item if I have a coupon in hand for it.  Then I group the coupons for that store together and staple it to the back in of the page in the same order the stores are in.   I know it is almost too basic, but it works for me!
Grocery List by Store

What's for Dinner This Week?

This week's menu was a bit of an experiment to figure out exactly how much our dinners actually cost.  I try to make tasty, not too complicated, and thrifty meals.  I cook most everything from scratch because that is usually the cheapest way to cook, and I can control what my family eats; less salt, no MSG, etc. 

I spent a few days with my Aunt when I was back in Missouri the beginning of September, and she wanted more info on how I keep my grocery bill so low...I told her I can feed the family for $100 a week.  Now I have to put my money (and menu!) where my mouth is.

One way I keep my food budget in control is buying my staples in bulk and by alternating weeks for certain purchases.  This takes some organization, of which I'm a bit hit-and-miss in.  I've broken these dinners down by cost.  Most of the prices are what I would buy if it is on sale.  But, a little disclaimer here, I usually spend even less than this per meal because I use coupons and plan my menu with the sale ads, my coupons and other deals.

Monday

Roasted Chicken (Costco has whole fryers in a two-pack for 99cents a pound, average price is $8-$10 per 2-pack) Cost of one Chicken: $4-$5
Spinach & Pear Salad Cost of Spinach: $1.00, Cost of 2 pears: 25 cents, Homemade Vinaigrette:  25 cents
Rice with Mushrooms Cost of 3 cups of rice: 30cents, 5 mushrooms: $1.00

Total Cost for Monday's Dinner:  $6.80 to $7.80 to feed a family of 6 (depending on cost of chicken)

Tuesday

Taco Salad Tuesday (This is actually one of my more expensive meals because of the meat and dairy, but sometimes I make it meatless.)

Cost of Taco Salad: 1 lb. Hamburger: $2.00 (Bought in bulk and cooked in bulk) Taco seasoning:  25 cents, Lettuce:  75 cents, 1 cup shredded cheese: $1.00, 1 can corn: 50 cents, 1 can beans: 65 cents, 2 tomatoes: 50 cents, 1/2 onion: 25 cents, salsa: 50 cents, Sour cream:  75 cents, Chips:  $1.00, Ranch Dressing:  50 cents

Total Cost for Tuesday's Dinner:  $8.65 to feed a family of 6

Wednesday

Sausage and Lentil Soup (CrockPot)
Adapted from Sausage and Lentil Soup recipe from Rachael Ray's October 2011 Magazine
1 package Jenny-O Smoked Turkey Sausage (or similar brand) $2.00
1 onion, diced  50 cents
2 large carrots, diced  10 cents
2 cloves garlic, minced  10 cents
1 pound yellow lentils, rinsed  75 cents
4 cups homemade chicken stock (made from the roasted chicken on Monday!)  50 cents
2 tsp. dried rosemary  10 cents
10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed $1.00
Salt and pepper to taste  Freebie
4 cups water  Freebie

Rinse the lentils and put in crockpot.  Add the diced onion and carrot, minced garlic and rosemary.  Add the water and chicken stock.  Slice the sausage in half lengthwise to make a half circle, then slice into 1/2 inch pieces and add into crockpot.  Stir in the spinach, salt and pepper.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Bread Sticks with dough made in the Bread Machine  $1.00

Total Cost for Wednesday's Dinner:  $6.05 to feed a family of 6

Thursday

Chicken Tetrazzini
 Adapted from Turkey Tetrazzini recipe from Rachael Ray's October 2011 Magazine
1 lb. linguine 75 cents
1 lb. chicken  99 cents
4 T. Butter  50 cents
1/2 lb. mushrooms $1.25
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning  10 cents
3 T. flour  5 cents
2 c. milk  40 cents
1 1/2 c. chicken stock  25 cents
1 c. parmesan cheese $1.50

2 c. frozen peas and carrots  50 cents

Spray a 9x13 inch pan and preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente.  
While past is cooking, cut chicken into bite sized chunks and season, (or use leftover chicken) and cook in a large skillet until browned.  Remove and put in the 9x13 pan.  Dice or quarter mushrooms and cook in skillet with 1 Tablespoon of butter for 3-4 minutes and add into turkey.  
Melt the remaining 3 Tablespoons butter in the skillet.  Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Whisk in the milk and chicken stock then bring to a boil and simmer for 2 or three minutes until thickened.  Stir in 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper.  
Add the pasta and peas and carrots to the chicken and mushrooms in the 9x13 pan and pour on the sauce, tossing to combine.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup parmesan on top and bake until the top starts browning and the sauce is bubbling, 12-15 minutes.

Serve with Green Salad Cost: $1.50


Total Cost for Thursday's Dinner:  $7.80 to feed a family of 6

Friday

Homemade Pizza  I haven't figured out the cost for this yet, but will be working on it! With homemade crust and sauce, the big ticket items are the cheese and meat since the veggies aren't all that expensive.  I think I can keep it to my usual $6-$7 for the meal.


Saturday
Hamburger Stew (CrockPot)
1 lb. hamburger  $2.00
5 carrots, diced 25 cents
5 mushrooms, diced 75 cents
2 stalks celery, diced 10 cents
1/2 large onion, diced  25 cents
1 lb. potatoes, diced 40 cents
1 can condensed tomato soup, 60 cents
3 soup cans of water (or more if it looks too thick)  Freebie
3 Tablespoons flour  5 cents
2 beef boullion cubes 10 cents
1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning  10 cents
Salt and Pepper to taste  Freebie

The bluriness is steam because it's so hot!!!

Brown hamburger (can be done in the crockpot in bulk ahead of time and then use some for other meals) and add into the crockpot along with the diced vegetables.  Empty the soup into a medium sized bowl and whisk in the water, flour, boullion, Italian seasoning and a teaspoon of pepper.  Pour over the meat and veggies in the crockpot and stir.  Cook on low for 8 hours.



With Bread Sticks or Bread,
Total Cost for Friday's Dinner:  $5.60 to feed a family of 6



Grand Total Cost for 5 days worth of dinners to feed a family of 6: $34.90 (Pizza night isn't included)


I left out Sunday, because we usually have leftovers on one day and shift the menu accordingly.  I'll also add a dessert or treat one or two nights a week, so that will up the ante a smidge.  And I did not spend that $34.90 this week.  Most of what I used was in the pantry or the freezer, so weekly grocery cost for the dinners was basically spent on the perishables like fresh produce, the whole fryers, and the dairy.  Then when the meat and frozen foods are on sale for a great price I'll put some more in the freezer, and stock up on canned foods as I find them.   

I'm linking here: Gooseberry Patch Recipe Roundup

Dining With Debbie

Plant a Garden! Inflation's gonna getcha.

I was listening to the news today, and one of the news items was that the CEO of Wal-Mart has said that inflation is going to be serious.  He said that Wal-Mart has "already seen price increases among dairy and cotton productions, and that more increases are coming in transportation-related products like paper."  He said "inflation could start to affect the retailer later in the year."  In June we will really be seeing the prices go up, even more so than they already have.  We've seen the prices on milk go up 35cents a gallon, and the other dairy will soon follow.  Gas prices are hovering right around $4 per gallon.  Gulp.

I don't know about you, but we have NO leeway or room in our budget to pay more for ANythING.  

The beautiful Missouri sky~perfect gardening conditions.

One of the things that has always helped us is eating the produce that we have grown ourselves.  There have been summers that we've basically lived on tomatoes, basil and zucchini!  The kids were so tired of zucchini, since we had it in bread, as fried as pancakes, sauteed with dinner, in brownies, and even in cookies.  I am really going to miss my grandpa and dad's garden this year, let me tell you.  We've got plans for a garden here, and some pots on the porch, too.  We are also going to try these home-made topsy-turvy planters for some tomato plants on our front porch.  (for other tutorials just google it, there are tons!)  There is nothing like eating tomatoes picked from your own garden.

Rare Seeds has a huge variety of heirloom seeds, and they are very inexpensive.  Especially if you order with a friend or two and split the packs.


We've started basil and oregano in eggshells.  I just cracked the top off, emptied the shells to use, filled with starting soil, and popped in some seeds.  Monkey helped with that part.  We've been keeping them watered and have little one-inch sprouts.  I've also cut water bottles off about three inches from the bottom.  We're using the bottom cup part to plant more seeds in for starting, zucchini and cucumbers, nothing exotic.


So, for just a few dollars, some recycled containers, and time (then patience to wait for the growing plants) we've got our garden started.  I'll do a post with pictures later since I have a camera with dead batteries.


Get your garden planned and planted, and you'll be pleased as punch!

Winding up for Christmas...

Well, here we go.  The FIRST day of December!  I know I say this all the time, but I really don't know where November went.  Or January, for that matter.  The year has flown by! And saying "2011" doesn't sound OK.  Not OK at all.

As I'm sitting here in the early-morning quiet, the calm before the storm of everyone waking up, I can't help but think about all that needs to be done and feel a bit anxious about it all.  I guess we'll just take it a day at a time, but still plan ahead.  We like to keep Christmas simple, and that will include visiting the Creche exhibit on Friday and picking out a Christmas tree on Saturday. 

I really pared down the Christmas decorations when we moved, so I'll have to go through them to determine what our tree will need in order to look halfway decent.  We also must put lights on the outside of the house, we have the perfect front porch for it!  So the bulk of our decorating will come from lights, and the kids and I will be making some decorations for the tree to keep the cost at a minimum.

We still haven't taken a picture for the Christmas card, so I'm hoping to get that done in the next few days, get them ordered and print labels to mail them out.  I have been VERY lax about this in the past few years, so I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things and send them out every year again.

I hope you all have a Wonderful December, a Merry Christmas, and a Prosperous New Year!  I'm so appreciative that you take time out of your busy day to visit our little corner of the blogosphere! 

I'll leave you with my new favorite quote from Elizabeth Barrett Browning:
 "God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame."

And to the person who knocked on our door last night and left a huge, gorgeous bag of mandarins, I apologize for being asleep on the couch, cuddled up with my two little boys and a snoring dog, while pretending to be watching a movie.  When I woke up from my little snooze, they informed me that someone had been knocking on the door.  Thanks for the heads up, boys.

These are a few of my favorite things...

The kids were watching "The Sound of Music" last week. I love the simple list of things in the song "Brown paper packages tied up with strings, Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes", etc.

With Christmas ON THE HORIZON, I was thinking of some of my favorite things.

When I was a kid, Christmas was really a simple holiday. Lots of baking and visiting, singing carols and circling all of the toys we wanted in the Sears Wish Book. I actually don't recall getting any of those toys that I actually indicated I wanted, but it never bugged me at all.

Some of the favorite gifts that I DID receive were books. I would read whatever I could get my hands on! The best gift ever was the boxed set of Little House on the Prairie books. I was about 8 or 9 years old, and I read them all, one by one, then started them right back over again! I still have them; they're sitting on my dresser right now. Thanks, mom!

Anyway, I'm always looking for tips to make Christmas easier, more simple, and cheap. Here are some tips that I've come across this year.

The US Catholic site has this post: ’Twas the fight before Christmas : A survival guide to a fairly happy holiday. Of course, what's a family get-together without a little drama?

I love homemade gifts, so etsy is a great go-to website to find unique gifts, and support the indie crafters at the same time. This is one of my faves right now. It makes me laugh. And it's cheap, too!

Here are a few ideas on Mahalo, and BellaOnline has some frugal Christmas ideas, too.

Craftbits has some cute and simple crafts for gifts and decorations. I think I'll try out the stamped candy bar wrappers. Cute, yummy, and cheap! (I think I see a pattern forming.)

And when all else fails, Martha Stewart will always come through with ideas and inspiration.

Casseroles as a sign of an economic downturn?

I just heard on the radio that with the economy the way it is, more and more people are cooking casseroles. Because of that, cooking magazines are now featuring more recipes for casseroles. Hmm. Is it because a casserole is considered comfort food, or because they tend to be budget-friendly?

I like casseroles as well as the next person, but you can’t mention the word to Andy without him reminiscing about his mom putting a 1970’s crushed chip covered concoction on the table, and his dad then getting up to get the Cheerios out. Mention the word “casserole” to Andy’s brother John, and he’ll tease me about “Tater Tot Hot Dish”, which was a cheap and easy dinner my mom made for the family when I was growing up.

I like casseroles for a couple of reasons. 1. You can usually make it ahead of time. 2. Many recipes are actually a one-pot (or pan) meal; veggies, meat, and maybe a starch all in one.

This calls for a casserole recipe. I found this recipe in a Hoard’s Dairyman magazine waaay back when I was in high school. And I used the Hoard’s Dairyman to study for my Dairy Cattle judging team in FFA. But I digress. Here’s a yummy recession-proof chicken divan casserole recipe. I’ve tweaked it a little bit more to make it even easier.

Easy Chicken Divan

2 - 10 oz. Packages frozen broccoli
2 cups diced, cooked chicken (about three breasts)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. Lemon juice
½ tsp. Curry powder
½ cup shredded sharp cheese
½ cup breadcrumbs or cornflake crumbs
1 T. butter

Cook broccoli in microwave or on the stovetop. Drain and place in a 9x13 pan along with the chicken. Just jumble them all up in there. Combine all other ingredients except the crumbs and butter. Spread over chicken and broccoli in the pan. Sprinkle buttered crumbs on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through.

Cooking on a Budget

Allrecipes has a webpage called "Cooking on a Budget". This is their winter edition, which includes some slow-cooker recipes and a menu that includes these recipes:

Baked Ziti I
Green Salad with Creamy Italian Dressing
Soft Garlic Breadsticks
Blushing Cranberry Pears

Yum! Pasta is always an inexpensive choice for a meal, and we always try to pair it with a salad or green veggie like brocolli. Pears are a fall fruit, so they are a great price now. Even our super Wallyworld had some bosc beauties in the produce section. If one of your new year's resolutions is to stick to a budget(or in our case have enough to even worry about a budget :D) planning a menu is a great way to keep your food costs down. One of my favorite frugal moms is Jonni McCoy, author of Miserly Moms. She has some great ideas for keeping the grocery budget in check. Click here for some of her Frugal Recipes!