Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Okay, so $10 is the goal, and I go over once in a while. Basically, I have $400 per month to buy groceries, cleaning supplies, and OTC drugs. Y'know, the stuff you normally get at the grocery store. So, if I keep the food to around $10 per day, that leaves around $100 for the other stuff.

Granola (my breakfast) costs about $1.50 per day.

This week we had/are having --
Sun - Spanish-Style Braised Lentils with Sausage -- $2.17/serving
Mon - Baked Manicotti Puttanesca & Caesar Salad -- $3.96/serving (too spendy, need to whittle)
Tue - Leftover Manicotti (had a root planing that day, decided to eat something soft)
Wed - K'tiao (pork and shrimp soup) -- $4.13/ serving (but it shares some costs with a stir-fry we had last week)
Thur - (first day w/ houseguest) Lasagna Bolognese and Caesar Salad -- $4.20/ serving
Fri - Oven Fried Fish, Roasted Squash -- $5.29/serving (ouch)
Sat - Tomato Soup and Monterey Melts -- $3.62/serving

I should also add that we usually have small portions of last night's dinner for lunches, so if I keep dinner to $3/ serving or under, we do pretty well. I also don't really know what a dish is going to cost until I've made it. CI and CC's recipes, in particular, seem to have ginormous serving sizes, so I don't really know the per serving price until I know how much we'll really eat. Monday's dinner came out to $3.96/ serving but, once I realized that we get about 10 servings out of a full batch, rather than 8, it became more like $3.33/ serving. If I can get ricotta on sale, then that particular meal will fit into our budget.

Jesbelle,

BTW, if you make your own granola, it's very cheap, and generally better than store-bought.

Actually, I do make my own granola. This week is Tropical Fruit Granola. My own blend, but CI's method.

Tropical Fruit Granola

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup banana chips
½ cup dried papaya, diced

1. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 325°. Mix oats, nuts, and coconut together in large bowl.

2. Heat agave nectar and brown sugar together with oil and salt in small saucepan, whisking occasionally, until warm. Add vanilla; pour mixture over dry ingredients; stir with spatula until dry ingredients are thoroughly coated. Turn mixture onto 11x13-inch jelly-roll pan, spreading into an even layer.

3. Bake, stirring and respreading mixture into an even layer every 5 minutes, until granola is light golden brown, about 15 minutes. Immediately turn granola onto another jelly-roll pan to stop cooking process. Stir in dried fruits, then spread granola evenly in pan; set on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Loosen dried granola with a spatula; store in airtight container.

Servings: 7
Yield: 6 cups

Much better than store-bought and more nutritionally dense. Not however, really any cheaper.

Kati,

I applaud your efforts and will follow this thread closely, and regale you with tales of how I almost make my budget goals.

There are two of us, but we feed two of Greg's coworkers at least 3 meals per week. (In return, they take us out to dinner once or twice a week, so theoretically the food costs are returned to us.) I try to keep the food, cleaning supplies, and pet supplies (for 6 cats) to $100/week, but I exceed it occasionally. This week I spent about $113, but I bought Parm/Reggiano that will last a month, and I stocked up on four pounds of butter at $1.50 per pound. I also spent more on meat than usual because we discovered a great meat shop about 10 miles from here that smokes their own bacon, makes sausages, etc., and I splurged on two pounds of bacon (should last a month), two pounds of ground beef, some red pepper brats and some "dried beef" that has the texture of pastrami. Plus I got some neat "ring bologna" (an upper Midwest thing for sure) that is also smoked. All that meat only cost $26, so I don't feel too bad. (BTW it costs us $2.00 in gas to get to and from this place, which I factor into the grocery costs.)

Tonight we had double butter burgers and garlicky oven fries (CC). This was surely not a health fest. I haven't tried to calculate the per serving cost - I just rely on achieving my weekly budget goals. Kati, how do you factor in costs for herbs, spices, condiments, etc.?

Darcie,

Wowsers. I told Geekboy that the cats (we have 4) were no longer part of the household budget since they managed to break it every month. I also don't really factor gas in. I do try to manage the shopping trips to keep that cost down, though. We go to Meijer most weeks since it's next door to where I work. We go to Holiday Market -- where we get our meat -- every other week. And we go to Whole Foods on the weeks we don't go to Holiday. That's why I plan menus 2 weeks in advance.

Living Cookbook figures the cost of each meal. So long as it know that I paid $x for 4 oz of oregano, it can figure how much I use per dish. It's not perfect -- I often use so little salt in a dish that it comes out as $0.

Here is how it breaks down Marilyn's Toffee:

Recipe Cost
Recipe: $19.68
Serving: $0.82

Cost Per Ingredient
1 lb unsalted butter $4.99
½ teaspoon salt $0.01
2 cups granulated sugar $1.26
3 tablespoons water n/a
1 cup slivered almonds $2.69
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate $5.62
2 cups lightly toasted pecans $5.00


The serving cost is based on my mostly arbitrary guestimate of 24 servings per batch. It also thinks I use organic butter, but if the cash ain't there, I don't.

My granddad loves that ring bologna. I don't think any of the stores where he lives carries it anymore. Maybe I should look around for some before I visit next time.

Jes,

I love this thread. It makes me realize I can cut way down on what I spend for groceries!

Manicotti Puttanesca sounds wonderful. Where did you get the recipe? Thanks.

trink.

Trink,

Thanks. The recipe is on CI's website. I liked the version from C&B better, though.

I am also enjoying this thread & will follow closely. Soups are also a great way to cut costs. Both for lunches & dinners.
I probably make soup about once a week.
Kathy

Wow, thanks. We still have Houseguest Harry this week, so some of these meals are a bit splurgy. Mostly, it's the fact that I am including desserts that makes them so. For S&G, I thought I'd include the beer pairings, too (though not the prices, suffice it to say, they are eating up a fair share of my cushion). Harry and I love beer, but it's not really something I can indulge in on a regular basis due to the budget. You can bet I'm making up for some lost time now.


Sun - Leftovers -- Geekboy is at the Geniusmoot tonight and Harry is visiting his sister for dinner. I'm taking a night off and relieving a bit of stress on the fridge shelves.

Mon - Seared Salmon in Balsamic Glaze, Ten-Minute Root Veggies, Dill Biscuits, and Chocolate Pots de Crème - $5.39/serving - Chambly Noire by Unibroue (originally slated for V-day, but we are going out, instead.)

Tue - Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew and Caramelized Pears with Blue Cheese in Black Pepper Caramel Sauce - $2.24/serving - no beer, I have another root scaling that day and may not partake of adult beverages

Wed - Poulet en Cocotte, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Creamy Peas with Ham and Onion, Pumpkin Pie - $7.32/serving - Saison d'Erpe-Mere

Thur - Harry cooks his famous Baked Potato Soup!

Fri - Potato-Cheese Pierogi, Kielbasa, Sweet and Sour Coleslaw - $2.54/serving - 1554 by New Belgium Brewing

Sat - Dinner out with Harry and another couple


Just realized that's a whole bunch of taters. Well, we only get Harry once a year, Geekboy might as well enjoy starchfest while Harry and I consume the brews.

Your menus are amazing. Would you share the pear recipe, that one really speaks to me?

It is astounding what you are producing on your budget, give yourself a big pat on the back. And a beer.

Mary