And I do mean cheap.
Due to posty office closings and whatnot with Bill's job, our food budget has been not just slashed, but eviscerated. We have less than $100 for 2 weeks worth of groceries and household essentials like soap for three adults, a pile of pets, and a baby on the way. I cannot articulate how utterly thrilled this makes us, but here we are.
So, in an effort to save some green, Laura and I did some price-comparisons at our local grocery stores (all within a couple of blocks of each other) and have learned that Aldi's is about 1/3 the price on almost everything. There are a few items that are the same or slightly cheaper at our local (Iowa/Midwest) chain stores, but just about everything costs lest at Aldi's. I know the quality isn't always the best, but beggars can't really be choosers. When we went shopping on Friday we actually came in under budget, so there's money left for more milk or whatever else we might run out of.
I'm making some things (like tortillas) from scratch. Heck, I'm making almost everything from scratch, other than sliced bread because, try as I might, I am not a good bread baker.
Here are some supper items we're having over the next couple of weeks:
Tacos (stretched with rice to leave enough leftover for...)
Burritos
Cheesy bacon soup
Leftovers fried rice
Spaghetti, er, pasta with red sauce
Cheesy broccoli rice with chicken
Beans with bacon
Stuffed baked potatoes
Bill has requested that we have more 'rice things' than 'pasta things' so rice it'll be. I can buy a 5 lb box of 'bacon ends and pieces' for $9 and have a LOT of meals using chopped bacon as the meaty condiment. Frozen veggies were on sale for a buck a bag, and they add a little nutrient and color. Beans. Pasta. Potatoes. Rice. I don't like using a lot of carbs, but they fill us up and make a little meat really stretch.
If anyone has super-cheap-and-filling main dish ideas I'd love to hear them! We're pretty much stuck in poverty-eating mode until we sell the house.
You're doing a lot of what I did when we had a round budget (as in, no corners left to cut). I also used to do soups and stews in the winter with the meat cut in really small pieces. I could feel all 4 of us on 1 large chicken breast when it was cooked in a tomato base with lots of veggies and some pasta. I made my own spaghetti sauce, mac & cheese, Mexican rice, refried beans, hot pockets, and burritos. (Yes, these were our south TX days.) Most of it was freezable, making it easy for lunch since we also homeschooled at the time. I pretty much based my menus on what was on sale, which I'm sure you're already doing.
ReplyDeleteOh, and we went through a cloth napkin phase. I know how you love your Bounty Select-a-Size, and that might help stretch them.