Besides the potential added health benefits just think of all the money you will save cooking at home! Now I don't cook everything straight from scratch but I do try my best to stay away from heavily processed foods. We eat a ton more fruits and veggies now that we are using the co-op and I am buying their breads now too which are 100% all natural and only $2/loaf for the sandwich breads and $2.50-$3.50/loaf for the artisan breads. The breads come from here:
and here:
Here's what we ate this week. I've also figured how much each entire meal cost. Remember I coupon, shop sales, use rebates, stock up when things are free or almost free, use a co-op etc.
Monday - Hamburger Soup
This is something my grandma and mom made all the time! It is a family favorite and full of flavor. I served this with homemade biscuits.
Hamburger Soup
1lb ground beef browned
1 yellow onion chopped (I brown about 1/4 with the meat)
2 cans or 1 quart stewed chopped tomatoes (do not drain)
1 can tomato sauce
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
3 cups diced potatoes
1 cup green beans (optional and I used fresh)
1 can or 2 cups frozen corn
2 cups water
3 beef bouillon cubes
salt and pepper to taste
Total cost for this meal including the biscuits was $2.99. It served all 5 of us with a couple having seconds. Plus it served 3 of us lunch the next day.
Tuesday - Chicken & Stuffing, Italian Squash, garlic bread
1lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/4 cup sour cream
1 box Stove top or other packaged stuffing
1 1/2 cups water
Mix water and stuffing mix. Set aside. Place raw chicken in casserole. Mix soup and sour cream and pour over chicken. Pour now moist stuffing on top of chicken. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.
Squash dish
2 cups Sliced squash (I used Mexican Gray)
1/4 cup sliced onions
1 tomato diced
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
Top with grated cheese. I used Colby Jack.
Bake in the oven with the chicken dish until squash is tender.
Garlic Bread - Self explanatory I hope. :)
This meal was a little more processed but still healthier than some.
Total cost for this meal $2.64. It served 5 with leftovers.
Wednesday - Chili Verde & Spanish rice
I used this recipe:
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chile_verde/
I served it with warm corn tortillas, sour cream, lime and Spanish Rice.
This meal took quite a bit of prep and cooked 3 hours but it was sooo yummy! Total cost $4.40. It served 5 plus lots of leftovers.
Thursday - Mini Pizzas
1 batch of bread dough or Rhodes roll dough
Spaghetti sauce, grated cheese, toppings.
Bake at 375 until crust is browned and cheese is melted
These are a favorite at our house because the kids get to make their own. They are so much healthier than frozen or pizza delivery. If you are into baking your own breads I have found yeast is the cheapest at Macey's. You can get instant yeast for $2.50 for 1lb!
Total cost for this meal $3.57 and made 12 mini pizzas.
Friday - Breakfast for dinner
Blueberry & Lemon Muffins - I even used fresh blueberries I had frozen from the co-op
Scrambled Eggs
Hash browns
Applesauce
Sausage
Total cost $3.53. We had 12 muffins leftover for tomorrows breakfast and 1/2 lb of sausage.
Total cost for 5 dinners $17.13 and we stayed home and didn't get exposed to any germs!
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