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Saturday, April 13, 2019

This Week in my Frugal Kitchen


Sunday

Breakfast this morning consisted of Cheese Grits, Sausage, Cantaloupe (not pictured), and Toast. 


Grits are very affordable and therefore make a great frugal food. Kroger regularly has this two pound bag on sale for 10 for $10.00, so $1.00 for two pounds of grits.  One serving of grits is 1/4 of a cup, which at this price costs about 5¢ per serving or what you see in this bowl. 

I made four servings, ate one and put three in the fridge for breakfasts later in the week. 

What I love about grits is they are very filling. It saves us money to eat foods low in cost and then we eat less of the more expensive foods like the sausage, which brings our overall total cost of breakfast lower. 

For dinner I decided to make some meatballs. I had several heels of bread in the freezer, so I started out by making bread crumbs out of them. I used about one cup's worth in the meatballs and put the rest of the bread crumbs in the freezer. 




The meatball recipe was just a basic one with one pound of ground beef, the bread crumbs, one egg, a small grated onion, salt pepper, worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder. I rolled them into balls and baked them at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Dinner on Sunday was Meatballs, Acorn Squash, Green Beans with Onions, and Cantaloupe. 




Monday

On Monday I was called to sub at the last minute, which made me happy as I have car insurance due at the end of the month, so another day on my paycheck is always good. 

For breakfast I took one of the bowls of grits with me to eat when I got hungry. 

For dinner I wanted to make a chicken pot pie since I knew I had a can of chicken in the pantry, but I was going to have to make due with some other items. 

There was no pie crust, so I made one with flour & shortening. I didn't have any mixed vegetables, but I had a can of potatoes in the pantry and took the carrots out of a bag of frozen California blend vegetables.  It tasted different from my ordinary Chicken Pot Pie, but Bailey loved it, so it worked. 

I also had red beans soaking from Sunday that I made in the Instant Pot. We didn't eat these today, but I wanted to make them for this week. I put them in the refrigerator for meals this week. 

Tuesday

Subbed again today, so I took a bowl of the cheese grits for breakfast when I got hungry. I also had cantaloupe that I brought with me. 

For lunch I packed a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, along with some carrots sticks and water to drink. 

Dinner was Little Smokies with BBQ sauce, Green Beans with Onions, Acorn Squash, and Rice and Cheese. I also had to make a fresh gallon of iced tea for dinner. 

Wednesday

I was called to sub at the last minute on Wednesday too. Breakfast was the last bowl of Cheese Grits that I made on Sunday and Cantaloupe. Lunch was pb&j. 

Dinner was the last of the Little Smokies with BBQ sauce and the last of the green beans with onions. 

Thursday & Friday

The red beans I made earlier in the week came into play for dinner tonight. I ended up making chili for dinner tonight and there is plenty left over for dinner on Friday night too. 

This week, like last week, we've been using what we have on hand to make meals, so they may seem boring and/or repetitive to some readers. If you recall I had an added expense last month and needed to be careful with our funds for the time being. 

So you can say we are in "use it up mode", which can get pretty interesting at times. 

On Saturday I woke up at four a.m. wide awake. So, I decided to make the best of it and prepare the food we were taking with us to yard sales. 

I cut up two cantaloupes and put some in a smaller bowl for the road, cut the granola bars I made on Friday night, and made a couple of wraps to take with us. I also made a gallon of tea as the pitcher in the fridge only had about 1/3 left.  
 
For dinner when I get home I'm going to use the last of the chili and make Chili Tacos for dinner. 

Belinda
~ Living within our Means ~

12 comments:

  1. I do Red Beans and Rice often. This is the recipe I use, but I'm flexible with the meat, sometimes smoked sausage, sometimes ham, or a smoked pork chop, even pulled pork. Whatever is cheapest and in hand.

    https://pin.it/gqphmyfcq4vsgr

    Nichole

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Nichole. I like Red Beans & Rice too. I used to eat a lot of rice and beans with greens on top. And smoked sausage is so good to go with it, in fact any of the meat you mentioned is good.

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  2. I love how economical your week was. Using what you have and being able to easily alter your plans, makes for frugal week.
    Grits are truly a frugal and easy meal.
    It all sounds yum.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Cheryl. The grits are so inexpensive. It's like eating for free. LOL

      Delete
  3. I love grits__unfortunately they are not in my keto plan so not in my current menu. TheHub loves them and cooks them for breakfast often. We don't even put cheese in them, just grits and a pat of butter. Now this makes me hungry for shrimp and grits!

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    Replies
    1. Oh yes, they are good with just butter too. I was hoping to entice my daughter to them with the cheese, but she wasn't willing. LOL

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  4. Wow three days of subbing, that is great, plus always saving money with your food. I have never tasted grits.

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    Replies
    1. THank you, Kim. Maybe someday you'll get to try grits and see if you like them or not.

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    2. NEVER HAD GRITS!!!???
      Well now, you've given me a mission. Guess who is cooking you grits in October? lol

      Delete
    3. LOL...Kim is in for a treat!

      Delete
  5. First time I was served grits, I was in FL on vacation. I was 10-years old and would not eat them. L. O. V. E. grits!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That sounds like Bailey. She doesn't want to try them ether. It took me a long time to get her to try Crab Rangoon and now she loves it.

      Delete

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