Econo Shopping Food Tips

[Megadodo]

Originally by Mrs. Hoppes:


Having a once a month income, I do once a month menu planning, once a month shopping, and once a month cooking.

My monthly grocery budget is $200.

We feed
A diabetic husband
A lactating, pregnant, GD me
A growing, active, sensitive to processed foods, hollow legged 4 year old
And an active milk allergic 1 year old.


My November 2006 menu:


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a373/MrsHoppes/scan.jpg

[Crystal]

I try to do things from scrach and make things in bulk.

Some of my bulk recipies:

Bisquick:

8 cups Whole Wheat flour
1 1/3 cups powdered milk
1/4 cup baking powder
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 1/2 cups shortening (I use Olive Oil)

Mix it till coarse crumbs.

Use as you would for any Bisquick recipe. Store in air tight container. Keeps for 6 months on a shelf or 1 year in the fridge.

Pancakes and waffles:

2 cups mix
1 cup water
2 eggs


Chocolate chip master mix:

9 cups whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp Sea Salt
3 cups brown sugar
3 cups sugar
4 cups shortening (Or Olive Oil)
8 cups chocolate chips

Mix it all together. Store in air tight container. Keeps for 6 months on a shelf or 1 year in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 375*
4 cups mix
2 eggs
splash of vanilla

makes 2 dozen


Creamed Soup Mix

2 cups powdered milk
3/4 cup corn starch

1/3 cup mix to 1 cup water. For “condensed” soup, 1/3 cup mix to ½ cup water. Add frozen broth cubes or soup base for flavoring.


Cake Mix:

Basic cake mix

11 cups whole wheat flour
7 2/3 cups sugar
3 1/3 cups shortening (Or Olive Oil)
5 Tbs baking powder
3 Tbs Sea Salt

Mix together and store in an air tight container. Keeps for 6 months out or 1 year in fridge.

To bake a cake:

3 1/2 cups mix
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
splash vanilla

Pour in 2 round or 1 square greased pan and bake at 350* for 30-40 minutes.

Chocolate cake: Add some cocoa powder and a splash more milk.



Quick Bread:

12 cups whole wheat flour
6 Tbs baking powder
2 tsp Sea Salt
2 cup shortening

Zucchini or cucumber
3 1/2 cups mix
1 tsp cinnamon (or nutmeg)
1 cup shredded zucchini or cucumber
1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup milk

Banana
3 1/2 cups mix
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup mashed banana
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk

Pour in loaf pan and bake at 350* for 30-40 minutes.

Turkey Sausage:

1# ground turkey
1 1/4 tsp ground sage
1/4 tsp red pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper

Form into patties and freeze flat on cookie sheet. Once frozen, store in freezer bags and take out however many are needed.


Brown sugar:

1 cup sugar
2 T molasses


Margarine:

equal parts butter and olive oil. Put through blender.


Onion soup mix:

2 cups powdered milk
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup beef bouillon crystals
2 Tbs onion flakes
1 tsp basil leaves

Mix 1/3 cup mix with 1 to 1 1/2 cup water for soup or 1/3 cup mix with a container of sour cream for onion dip.


Italian Dressing Mix:

2 tsp oregano
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp basil
2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp garlic powder
6 Tbsp sugar

Use 3 Tbsp mix with 1 1/2 cups olive oil and 1/2 cup vinegar.





Pudding Mix:

1 ¼ cups powdered milk
1 ¼ cups cornstarch
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp salt

Mix and store in airtight container. Makes 1 quart dry.

½ cup mix to 2 cups milk. Heat on stove stirring till blended. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Stir constantly till thickened.
Remove from heat and add a splash of vanilla. Cool and serve.

To make chocolate pudding, add a bit of cocoa powder and a splash more milk.



Laundry Detergent:

1 cup Super Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
1 bar soap.

5 gallon bucket

Shred bar of soap. Put in pot and add half gallon of water. Heat and stir till soap is melted. Fill bucket with 4 ½ gallons HOT water and mix in Borax and Washing Soda. Add in melted soap and water. Stir. Ready to use immediately.




I have others beyond this, but I never got around to typing them out. They are still stored in my brain.

[Crystal]

Aldi's:

Whole Wheat Pasta (spirals) 4 @ 0.99 $3.96
Mama Cozzi 12" pizza 10 @ 1.99 $19.90
White Tortilla Chips 4@ 0.99 $3.96
Yogurt 36 @ 0.33 $11.88
Cheese $2.99
Cheese $2.99
WW Ritz Crackers $2.49
Veg Ritz Crackers $2.49
Margerine $1.19
Mushrooms 12 @ 0.49 $5.88
Salsa 4 @ 1.49 $5.96
Pasta Sauce 4 @ 0.99 $3.96
Saltines $0.69
Saltines $0.69
Oats 6 @ 1.39 $8.43

TOTAL $80.54


Bread Store
4 pkgs Blueberry Bagels Total $3.00


Sam's Club
Eggo Waffles $7.68
Eggo Waffles $7.68
Vinegar $3.06
Vinegar $3.06

TOTAL $21.48



Baesler's
Lentils $0.84
Lentils $0.84
WW Flour $3.14
WW Flour $3.14
WW Shells $2.09
WW Shells $2.09
WW Shells $2.09
WW Shells $2.09


TOTAL $16.32


GRAND TOTAL.... $121.34 for the month of November.

[Crystal]

But what about meat or eggs or ______?????

We raise chickens for eggs and meat.

We also buy bulk. We buy ground turkey by the case at Aldi's. We have enough ground turkey to last the month of November. We will need to buy a case in December and it will last 2-3 months depending on what I plan for the next few months.

A case of oj and apple juice will lst 4 months or longer. We don't drink a lot of juice and a can will last a week. Some weeks we don't even make the juice up.

Fresh produce:
I freeze during the summer so I have fresh frozen through the winter. We will be having a fairly large garden in the spring.
Also, we have a farmer's market where I can get fresh fruit and veggies on a weekly basis. The ONLY weekly shopping I do.

By the end of November, I will have spent around $160.

That leaves $40 to add to the $200 for December. (Cell Phone companies gave me the idea for "roll overs")

This helps with the bulk shopping when I start running low.

[Crystal]

Meatloaf Mix Plan:

10# Ground Beef (Ground Turkey works just as well.)
1-2 cans bread crumbs. (Depending on size of cans)
6 eggs.

Mix well.

Makes 5 meatloaves and enough meatballs for about 6 meals.

Bake meatballs in the oven. Meatloaves can go straight in the freezer.

Swedish Meatball Sauce:
2 can cream of mushroom soup
2 can cream of chicken soup
Thin with milk (one to two cans worth)
(I keep a master mix of cream sauce on hand instead of using canned, but for convenience, this is easier for most people.)

Pour mix into gallon sized freezer bags with cooked meatballs. (How ever many would feed your family. This would be 2 to 3 meals)

To serve, dump the bag in the crock pot and let it simmer all day. Cook up rice and serve over rice.

Sweet and sour meatballs:
1 Cup brown sugar
2 Tbs. cornstarch
2 cans pineapple chunks
2/3 cup vinegar
5 packets soy sauce (the things you get from the Chinese restaurant that collect in the fridge...)
2 green peppers

Pour into bags (as described above including the meatballs)

To serve, follow directions as above. This makes 2 meals for my family.









Cooked ground beef (Again, ground turkey works just as well.)

Before going to bed the night before, pull out your crock pot. (I have 2)

Dump 5# in each and set it on high to cook all night.

Stroganoff
2 cups beef
2 cans mushrooms (If you use fresh, sauté them first)
2 cans beef broth. (Or beef base mixed with 2 cups hot water)

Mix together and separate into meal sized portions. Freeze.
To serve, thaw, heat up on stove, cook up egg noodles, stir in heated mix and 1 cup sour cream.


Tacos:
4 T minced onion
4 T chili powder
2 T cornstarch
2 T crushed pepper
2 T minced garlic
2 T cumin
1 T oregano

Makes enough for 6 cups of beef. Mix it all up and freeze. Thaw and heat for taco night.

Enchiladas:
5 pkgs Flour Tortilla wraps
5 Cans Spaghetti Sauce
1 Block Velveeta cheese cubed
5 Cans refried Beans
5 Cups Ground Hamburger seasoned with the same seasoning used in the tacos.
¼ Chili Powder

In a stockpot, dump all the cans of sauce. Add cut up cheese and chili powder. Let it cook stirring occasionally.

Lay out the wraps. 1 can of beans per package of wraps. Scoop out the beans and spread on wraps dividing evenly among each wrap. Follow by a spoonful of beef. Wrap up and place in pan. Cover in sauce. Cover with foil and freeze.

Thaw and heat at 350* for 30-45 minutes.










Sloppy Joes:
3 cups beef
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 green pepper diced
1 clove garlic minced
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 cup ketchup
1 can tomato paste
1 spoon beef base
1 1/4 cups water
3 T brown sugar
small splash vinegar
pepper
paprika
dry mustard

Mix, separate into family sized portions and freeze.

To serve, dump in crock pot in the morning and at diner time, serve on hamburger buns.