Quick Meals July 30, 2008

Sometimes I don’t have enough time in the day to cook elaborate meals that take hours.  I believe it is advantageous for all stay at home moms to have a few meals up their sleeves that are both nutritious and quick.  Here are a few suggestions:

Crockpot Meals

1. Chicken and Campbells’ Golden Mushroom Soup- Simply put 3boneless skinless chicken breast in crock pot with frozen diced onions and green peppers, salt and pepper, and can of golden mushroom.  Cook on low for 6 hours.  Extremely tasty!  Serve over rice and a veggie or salad.  You can also use Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup also.  A favorite in my household.

2. Roast Beef- Put Roast in crockpot, add frozen onions & green peppers, handful of baby carrots, cut up 2 potatoes or throw in a few red potatoes, add packet of Roast beef seasonings from McCormick or any roast beef seasoning packet in crockpot add a 1/2 cup of water.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

3. Roast Chicken- Whole Chicken in crockpot stuff it with an onion and celery, season it with paprika, adobo, black pepper.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve with rice.  You can also add carrots and potatoes if you want.

Stove Top

1. Spaghetti- The best and quickest meal to make on a busy day.  Boil water for pasta while browning beef.  I add Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, my good ol’faithful  frozen onions and green peppers, can of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce. Once pasta is done combine with sauce.  Serve with bread and salad

2. Homemade burgers or Sloppy Joes-lean ground beef, salt pepper, Worcestershire sauce, garlic or garlic powder, make patties and put on George Forman Grill while precut fries are in the oven.  Pack burger with romaine lettuce, tomatoe, pickles, and slice of low fat cheese.

3.Taco- I usually follow directions on box

4. Grilled Chicken Salad- Marinate chicken in italian dressing for a hour and salt.  Grill on George forman while making basic salad (romaine lettuce, tomato, carrots, cucumbers).  Place chicken on top of salad

5.Pasta Salad and Eggs- Boil eggs with pasta, drain pasta and egg, run cold water on both.  Take pasta and add italian dressing diced tomatoes and cucumbers, some salad supreme by mccormick and slice eggs on top of salad.

I have a few more ideas for quick stove top cooking but I’m going to move on to oven cooking.

Oven Cooking

1. Easy bbq chicken- preheat oven 325 degrees.  Clean wingettes and put them in a baking dish.  Add a little Lawry’s season salt and cover chicken with bbq sauce and cook for about an hour.  We usually eat Easy Mac with this and some can green beans.  Again remember these are quick/easy meals that don’t require being in front of the stove all day or alot of prep work.

2. Easy Macaroni N Cheese- Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Boil noodles and drain. Put noodles in oven safe dish add pinch of salt and pepper, already shredded sharp or mild cheddar cheese.  In a small bowl mix 2eggs and milk.  Should be enough to almost cover noodles.  If not add more milk to pasta.

I can go on and on about quick meals.  I might just do a part 2 to this post but for now I must say so long:)

Does Buying in Bulk Really Save You Money? June 30, 2008

I’m a bulk shopper (when I can afford to be) and sometimes I wonder if I’m actually saving money when I go to Sam’s Club.  Since today is Money Saving Monday I went on a little investigation to see what others are saying about bulk shopping.  I came across this article by Matthew Pryor from Sound Mind Investing (a Christian newsletter) and here are his findings as he compared the two (bulk vs grocery store).

By Matthew Pryor

© Sound Mind Investing | March 2006

The idea of saving money by buying in greater quantities is also the appeal made by warehouse clubs. These huge member-only warehouses claim to offer great savings, partly due to the fact that you’re buying in bulk (and partly due to the no-frills environment). But are the savings more than offset by the fact that I may buy more than needed? And is buying in bulk really a money-saving strategy? I went on a crusade to find out!

I started my quest at Sam’s, the dominant warehouse club locally. I thoroughly enjoy walking down aisle upon giant aisle of everything from tube socks to hot sauce. I mean really, who couldn’t use a 48-bottle case of Tabasco? With apparent bargains all around, it’s hard not to love the clubs.

I decided to primarily focus my research on goods one would buy regularly from the grocery store. Though it wasn’t mandatory for the items to be food, the food items I did pick were in a quantity that would not quickly perish. So with my clipboard in hand, I wrote down the prices of 175 items at Sam’s, and then went to two of our leading grocery chains, Kroger and Meijer, and wrote down the prices for those same 175 items.

Most of the time, I was able to compare items of the same container size. In other words, if a package of four 32-ounce bottles of Mott’s Apple Juice could be purchased at Sam’s, I priced the same Mott’s Apple Juice, but in a single 32-ounce bottle from the two grocery stores. When this was not possible, I wrote down the price of a comparable size. After crunching the numbers, I found that a great majority of the items were indeed cheaper at Sam’s. On average, the savings amounted to 31%, more than enough to easily offset the $35-45 annual membership fee.

To see if there were patterns to where the savings would be found, I broke down the data into categories: baby, can goods, cereal/bread, cooking/baking, dairy, frozen, health/hygiene, household (cleansers, paper and plastic products, etc.), snacks, soup/sauce, and other (peanut butter, stuffing, salad dressing, etc.). The big winners: cereal/bread, cooking/baking, snacks, and other averaged nearly 40% savings. Still not impressed? Buy some raisins, syrup, bottled water, and sandwich bags and you can save an average of 66%.

And it doesn’t stop there. You can rack up even more savings by buying generics in bulk, where I found savings of up to 83% on items like aspirin and hand sanitizer.

So how does this translate into your daily life? It may never have crossed your mind that your child’s glass of OJ could cost you a quarter more than necessary. You shrug off a quarter? If you’re determined to get Junior’s daily dose of vitamin C in, you would be shrugging off about $90 a year.

Or, how about this—you can save 20 cents a bowl on Raisin Bran. What’s 20 cents? For a family of four that has a bowl every weekday, it’s $208 a year. That’s $208 that could be paying off a debt (and the high interest rate that comes with it).

“I don’t eat cereal,” you say. Oh no? Do you eat chicken? Do you like snacks? Do you use tooth paste? Hopefully you answered “yes” to at least one of these questions, in which case you can save an average of 38%. (And none of these examples include the additional savings on sales tax!) To take the study a step further, I compared the Sam’s price of an item to the cheapest current sales price available at the grocery chains. The warehouse club still wins, saving you 22%.

Savings aren’t necessarily limited to groceries. In his book, Saving Money Any Way You Can, Mike Yorkey cites warehouse clubs as being great places to shop for small appliances, car tires and prescription eyewear. And I personally have saved money when buying books, computer software, and even flowers for my wife. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when shopping at a wholesale club:

• Not everything at warehouse clubs is sold in bulk. You can buy a single gallon of milk or one ink jet printer. In those instances, the savings may not amount to much, so be sure to compare prices first.

• Strangely, some items cost more in bulk (and even at the grocery store, I came across a number of items that cost more per unit of measurement when bought in the bigger container).

• The variety is limited.

• I surveyed items that wouldn’t perish quickly. You’re not saving money if the product goes to waste.

• You might save some money buying items you use less often, like cat shampoo, but you’d be tying up money that would probably be better used elsewhere.

• Depending on how you categorize items, you may experience different category savings as some items could be in more than one category.

• When the grocery chains came out ahead, often times it was because there was a sale. Their advantage can disappear when the promotions end. Furthermore, keep in mind that grocery prices are regional—what’s cheaper for me in Kentucky may cost more where you live, or vice versa.

• You have to account for storage of these items.

Even still, warehouse clubs are a great place to find really good savings. But to truly win at the cost-cutting game, you’ll need to investigate the pricing patterns of the chains in your area. And you never know, you might bump into me one of these days—I’ll be the one with the clipboard and case of Tabasco.

Matthew Pryor is SMI’s Director of Operations and a contributing writer and researcher.

Catching Up June 16, 2008

Sorry I didn’t write a post the last couple of days but I’ve been real busy.  Ok let me catch you up on everything.

Saturday-Autism Walk -Great event, everyone had fun and my church family really came through for me as far as attendance and donations.  Wanted to blog but was so tired from the walk and literally getting 4 hours of sleep that I took a Benadryl (Oh yeah allergies flared up) and was pretty much knocked out.

Sunday- Father’s Day- Still tired from yesterday but wanted to give hubby a break.  So I really took “Charge” of the kids yesterday.  Found a babysitter at the last minute to watch the kids so I can take hubby out to dinner at his favorite restaurant, Macaroni Grill.  At the restaurant my chicken tasted funny so the kind waitress gave me a new entree but it was a little cold (I guess they didn’t heat it up thoroughly in their attempt to get my food to me quickly) so I ended up getting my chicken entree to go (because it was still deliciouso) and the waiter brought me a huge chocolate cake on the house.  I only took three small forks of the cake when I came home so that I won’t deprive myself of the goodie but kept in mind my weight loss goal. 

Today-Cleaned house, spend time with girls, oh yeah I walked on the track today, jogging 2 out of the 6 laps so my dreams of jogging is becoming a reality.  It was great.  I emailed a few friends to see if they are interested in starting an organic food co-op and now I’m blogging and I’m about to give you my menu ideas for this week.  I am making roasted chicken today because I was suppose to make it yesterday but opt to take hubby out.  So below is a quick list of my menu for this week.  Please excuse any grammatical errors because I am typing quickly before I have to get my son off the bus (half day at school).

Monday- Roasted Chicken Potatoes, Veggies

Tuesday-Spaghetti and meatballs, salad, bread

Wednesday-Bar-B-Q Chicken Spanish rice, veggie

Thursday- Homemade cheeseburgers, homemade fried

Friday-Grilled Chicken, Pasta Salad

Saturday- Leftovers

Sunday-Roast Beef, Mash Potatoes, Veggies

Organic Coupons June 12, 2008

This and That Thursday (Product Finds and Resources)

Today’s “product find” comes from a dear friend and Sister In Christ.  Her blog is House of Titus (you can find the link on my sidebar).  Some of the ladies from our church are transitioning to more organic and natural products but the cost of healthy food is atrocious.  So ”House of Titus” emailed us the link to Mambo Sprout’s website where we can find coupons for organic and natural products.  Check out the website and be sure to sign up to receive your coupons by mail or you can print them out.  God Bless:)

 www.mambosprouts.com 

Mashed Potatoes June 11, 2008

                                         

 

Welcome to Recipe Wednesday!

Today I’m going to share a very simple recipe that helped me snag my man

You know how they say, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”  Well its very true.  My husband never had homemade mashed potatoes so the first meal I cooked for him (and his favorite till this day) was Fried Chicken (Southern of course:) ), mashed potatoes, and sweet corn.  Hubby loves homemade mashed potatoes.  My brother in laws also request mashed potatoes when they come over.  They joke around and tell me that they’re not use to Soul Food (because my husband is Haitian, Sake pase? To all my Haitian readers) and it makes them sleepy because the food is so heavy.  Anyone who knows me knows I like to feed folk…heehee.  Enough said here is my infamous mashed potato recipe.

2 lbs of potatoes (about 6 medium)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more for cooking the potatoes
4 to 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 to 1 cup organic whole milk
Freshly ground black pepper

 

1. Peel and Wash Potatoes. Cut in chunks

2. Bring water to boil

3. Add Potatoes cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 40 to 45 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander in the sink.

4. Put potatoes back in pot and add warm milk (usually put milk in a mug and warm in microwave for 40 seconds.

5. Mash with masher or whip with electric mixer (I use the mixer). Add salt, pepper, butter (to Taste)

 Serve immediately.

This recipe serves about 4 people.

Restaurant.com June 9, 2008

Save on Dining Out

I know that sometimes you just have to give in on this eating out thing. Maybe you’re like my husband and I (parents that just wants a little quiet dinner and adult conversation) or special anniversary night out? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!

 

If you really need a break or are planning a special occasion, and decide to eat out, at least save money! I’ve come across alot of restaurant coupon offers that turned out to be more than you bargain for.

You know the kind I mean. The ones that require you to complete an offer or several offers to get the coupon or gift card. Well, I finally found the real deal. No Strings Attached!

 

Restaurant.com offers $25.00 off restaurant certificates for $10.00. That’s more than half off! I was surprised to learn there were no strings were attached. There are limitations for some restaurants.

For example, some restaurants don’t honor certificates on holidays, most only allow one certificate per visit. Nothing sneaky or evasive, just some expected guidelines.

 

Locate a restaurant close to you at Restaurant.com 

Money saving Tip:These can make a great gift also.

Sunday Menu Plan June 8, 2008

Below is my menu for this week.  I use the same template and just rotate the dinner section

(I have about 3 weeks worth of dinner rotation) and I try to leave two days out of the month to try 

 new recipes if I have some in mind.  Also, you can click on the names of the main entree to find the recipe.  FYI I substitute recipes using low fat, organic, all natural products and you can do the same there is hardly a difference in taste but a HUGE difference in caloric intake and quality:)

 

Monday- Curry Chicken, Rice, Cabbage, Kombucha Tea             

Tuesday- Grilled Steak, Baked Potato, Garden Salad, Kombucha Tea

Wednesday- Macaroni and Cheese, Vegetables,  Kombucha Tea         

Thursday- French Toast, Turkey Bacon, Fruit, Kombucha Tea

 

Friday-  Okra & Beef, Rice, Bean Sauce(I don’t use ham in recipe),

 

Saturday- Leftovers or Take outSunday- Roast Chicken, Potatoes, Carrots