Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Cash Budget Menus

So with our new cash budget, I'm trying to push myself to spend less, but it is a fine balance with food, I'm finding. Since we are basically not going out to eat on the new budget--I suppose we could once per month, but we are using that to buy cheap pizza a few times per month rather than go out at this point--the meals at home can't be too austere. We eat a lot of beans anyway, but I find myself doing things like not buying vanilla. I don't use it that much, and do the kids really need vanilla in their oatmeal cookies? Craig is now cooking dinners on Sunday, so that is turning out to be our "special" dinner night. Here's this week's menu:

Monday: rice and bean tacos
Tuesday: chili and cornbread
Wednesday: homemade veggie burgers
Thursday: shepherd's pie (farmer's pie? I'm using local, grass-fed ground beef)
Friday: homemade cheese/veggie pizza
Saturday: bean and veggie soup and homemade bread
Sunday: risotto and brie stuffed chicken (brie was marked down to 99 cents!)

We usually eat dinner with steamed brocolli, cauliflower, or green beans, with carrot sticks or frozen corn now and then. I do salads for myself for lunch since the kids don't like them.

And a note on lunch: I made the best cheap lunch yesterday. I cooked up a batch of black eyed peas and a batch of quinoa to have in the fridge (I added them to Silas's muffins to ramp up the nutritional value since he's on a carb kick; I will use them for the veggie burgers) so I took a scoop of that and leftover brocolli and diced sweet potato and heated it in the microwave. Then I made a quick peanut sauce and drizzled it on top. So wonderful, and something I would have paid $9 for at Northstar.

10 comments:

so yung wilson said...

I miss Northstar! Love that place! Great food and great business philosophy - pay the service staff up front a good wage so no need to tip!

Troy and I have decided that YES, the boys need vanilla in their oatmeal cookies. I will send you a bottle.

TroyW said...

But everything else sounds good! Yum. MISS YOU GUYS!!!

Ser said...

Gee, Try and So Yung, I think I'll write a post next about how all our towels are fraying and the boys can just use the rug to dry off after their baths. Then you can include some towels in with our flatware and our vanilla. Seriously, they don't have refined palates. So long as the cookies are SWEET, they don't care. And don't worry, I'll never sub shortening for butter.

Anonymous said...
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Mara said...

Um... I think you should block anonymous posters. Ew...

But your food sounds divine!
My dinner meals:
Sunday- homemade cheese pizza
Monday- Black beans and rice
Tuesday- Chili
Wednesday- Chili
Thursday- Chili
Friday- Chili
Saturday- Sigh... make more beans and rice to turn into chili.

Anonymous said...

That's an impressive menu - frugal, healthy and creative. Thanks for sharing! Love the peanut sauce lunch idea. Look forward to more menus and the recipes in the future!

Anonymous said...
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so yung wilson said...

I'm trying to imagine cookies without vanilla and I come up flat. I should do taste test. I'm sure the difference is subtle. But if you're not skimping on the butter, then I'll rest easy knowing the boys are not being deprived :-)

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