Is it really that hard?

[Bettacreek]

For sides, I do a lot of mac and cheese (when we were younger we did a lot of milk and butter noodles, basically mac and cheese without the cheese, lol), corn, greenbeans, salads, etc. Easy to just throw some sides in there to vary stuff. Chicken is awesome, you can do so many things with it... I do a lot of "one dish wonders" with chicken... Shred it up and put it in the mac and cheese, throw BBQ sauce on it and put it in the oven, put it on a cookie sheet with some season all in the oven, throw it on the grill with season all, boil it and make chicken gravy (can make hamburg gravy too, which is pretty good), etc. Whatever leftovers you have, just shred it and toss it in a salad for a quick lunch, or cut it up and put it on a sammich. Granted, if you have kids (or husbands) who are used to eating a certain way, eating on the cheap takes a little bit of getting used to... My kids will actually beg for a salad. They love broccoli too, and if you buy frozen, it's a little cheaper than fresh. To go along with my one dish wonder style of cooking, you can toss that with chicken into mac and cheese and you've got an awesome meal. Mashed taters, ground beef and corn/peas... layer them in a baking dish and you've got shepherd's pie, which will take forever to eat all of it (make it in a smaller dish for smaller families, we were feeding seven out of a regular cake pan and had enough for two meals). Umm... Ham pot pie is a famous one here... It costs a lot for a ham ($20ish for a Sugardale, bone-in ham), but with flour water salt and pepper (and lard if you want) and maybe some potatoes, and you've got a meal that will feed an entire family (my siblings and everyone) once plus left-overs for a week... Make one up for a small family, freeze smaller one meal portions and you can eat ham potpie twice a week for the month at least. Take the juice, add a few chunks of ham, add greenbeans and some more potatoes and you've got ham green beans and potatoes, another yummy dish here. Ground beef... You can do anything with that! Hamburg gravy, sloppy joes (add brown sugar, ketchup and mustard), 'ghetti, goolash (noodles, ground meat, cheese and 'ghetti sauce). I like ground sausage for a lot, but on the cheap, it's not as much of an option. I prefer ground sausage over ground beef, but ground beef is cheaper. Ground turkey USED to be a LOT cheaper than ground beef, but now that stuff is just crazy, it's just as expensive, if not more than ground beef. :/

 

[ORChick]

For sides, I do a lot of mac and cheese (when we were younger we did a lot of milk and butter noodles, basically mac and cheese without the cheese, lol), corn, greenbeans, salads, etc. Easy to just throw some sides in there to vary stuff. Chicken is awesome, you can do so many things with it... I do a lot of "one dish wonders" with chicken... Shred it up and put it in the mac and cheese, throw BBQ sauce on it and put it in the oven, put it on a cookie sheet with some season all in the oven, throw it on the grill with season all, boil it and make chicken gravy (can make hamburg gravy too, which is pretty good), etc. Whatever leftovers you have, just shred it and toss it in a salad for a quick lunch, or cut it up and put it on a sammich. Granted, if you have kids (or husbands) who are used to eating a certain way, eating on the cheap takes a little bit of getting used to... My kids will actually beg for a salad. They love broccoli too, and if you buy frozen, it's a little cheaper than fresh. To go along with my one dish wonder style of cooking, you can toss that with chicken into mac and cheese and you've got an awesome meal. Mashed taters, ground beef and corn/peas... layer them in a baking dish and you've got shepherd's pie, which will take forever to eat all of it (make it in a smaller dish for smaller families, we were feeding seven out of a regular cake pan and had enough for two meals). Umm... Ham pot pie is a famous one here... It costs a lot for a ham ($20ish for a Sugardale, bone-in ham), but with flour water salt and pepper (and lard if you want) and maybe some potatoes, and you've got a meal that will feed an entire family (my siblings and everyone) once plus left-overs for a week... Make one up for a small family, freeze smaller one meal portions and you can eat ham potpie twice a week for the month at least. Take the juice, add a few chunks of ham, add greenbeans and some more potatoes and you've got ham green beans and potatoes, another yummy dish here. Ground beef... You can do anything with that! Hamburg gravy, sloppy joes (add brown sugar, ketchup and mustard), 'ghetti, goolash (noodles, ground meat, cheese and 'ghetti sauce). I like ground sausage for a lot, but on the cheap, it's not as much of an option. I prefer ground sausage over ground beef, but ground beef is cheaper. Ground turkey USED to be a LOT cheaper than ground beef, but now that stuff is just crazy, it's just as expensive, if not more than ground beef. :/

Grind your own? I was at the supermarket yesterday, pricing the items on my shopping list for my own *$35 challenge*. Whole chicken was 79c/lb, ground beef was $3/lb. I have a small family - just us two - so a whole chicken will make several meals, and one breast piece is enough for both of us. I intend to use the second piece as ground meat for something (not yet decided), maybe mixed with ground beef. I used to do this a lot; the chicken stretches the beef, but those not informed in the matter never know it, if you don't use too much (more than half). I used to also buy a cheaper cut of beef, and grind my own (and would do that still, if I didn't trust the butcher). For this cheapie challenge I won't, because $3 for ground was the cheapest beef I saw. I do generally buy a piece of bottom round and cut it for stew rather than buy *stew meat*, which is usually more expensive (though I didn't check that yesterday). It is often cheaper to buy a larger cut, and cut/grind it as you want it - not always, but often. I never buy chicken pieces - though I have heard that sometimes legs are cheaper than whole birds ... but not around here. So I just cut up the whole bird, and have the extra bits for stock.

 

[Bettacreek]

Around here, you can get them to grind the beef, but not the chicken, and unfortunately a grinder isn't a device that I have yet. I've seen some cheapy ones for like $40, but I'm half afraid that they'll break with one use. I bought 20lbs of london broil for $1.99/lb, and wish I had gotten more to can a ton of it. I could've bought a ton of that stuff for dirt cheap, canned it (or with a grinder, I could've ground it up) and saved a fortune. I've been looking at the meat chickens at the auction... Cornish X that are full size, going for about $3... I've really been thinking hard on it (honestly, what's the difference between buying it there or at the store? You don't know what store birds were fed either). Maybe once I get something going here and have more canning jars, I will slink to that. Anyways, I'd LOVE to have a grinder to grind my own chicken and such. If I get a deer this year, I'll definately have to make that purchase.

 

[ORChick]

Bettacreek, check your local antique/secondhand stores. Yes, I know, a lot of it is overpriced junk. But often there are kitchen implements going for a song (and often they are going for the whole opera, but those you learn to leave on the shelf ) I have seen quite a few manual food grinders at such places - some better and/or cheaper than others, but still, there are quite a few of them around. I got a small one for $8, and a larger (#22) at a rummage sale for $10. The large one is the one I use mostly, so it is unfortunate that I saw the smaller one first . New the big one would be in the $60 to $120 range, so I think it was $10 well spent. I do admit that I was looking for quite awhile before I found what I was looking for. A lot of such stores have the price so close to what it would be to buy it new that it wasn't worthwhile for me to think about it.
Here is a link to a company that sells them new - http://www.sausagemaker.com/manualmeatgrinders.aspx - You probably do not want to buy from them, but it is a way to see what is out there. Also, they have spare parts, in case what you find is missing anything.

 

[Bettacreek]

I've been looking at the local thrift stores (and of course, I'm a yardsale junkie, plus CL and a state-wide classified list), but haven't found one just yet. I did find a really nice crank shredder. It was $12, but ya know? I bought it. Probably about the price you'd pay on ebay, but oh well, I didn't have to worry about it breaking in transit or anything, and it is actually a nice one. Nice and heavy. I bought it mostly for doing my laundry soap, but plan to use it for shredded cheese as well, to help save money. I figure in the savings on block cheese instead of shredded cheese will easily pay for this sucker.

ETA: Even for $99, that's not too terrible (should check shipping rates though), especially if you consider that if I get a deer, the meat would be free, but to have it processed, I'd help pay for the cost, plus being able to grind chicken and such, that would help to save money as well. At $1.99/lb for chicken breasts, it'd really save some money to cut it in with $3.89/lb ground beef... PLUS the fact that I can get cheaper cuts of beef and grind it, further reducing the cost. I'll probably keep an eye out until about hunting season, then if I get a deer, just pay for a new one.

 

[BACOG]

I am definitely in for this challenge. Will stick to the $35/week limit even though I live by my self.

 

[Bettacreek]

Awesome! I'm curious to see how much more difficult it will be for a one person family.

 

[pinkfox]

ill be doing a journal for my average monthly (my food budget is $25 a week for one) but wont be starting it unitll july, with my parents comming out the budget will be skeed and i only rely do 1 big shop a month so july would work better.
its certinaly not that difficult for a single person, but sometimes "bulk" packs re too expensive when your shopping for 1 sure there cheper in the long run but if you also want something other than chicken, a bulk pck eats a big chunk...when your working on a per person with multiple people, its easier to justify spending $10+ on one pack of meat one week because the budget is a little more forgiving over all...
also when your single, budgeting in freezer bags or freezer paper to seperate and store those bulk packs does dd into the equation.
(though ill behonest and say ive eten freezer burnt meat and with enough salt pepper and garlic or a crock pot, you can hide alot of "flaws"

Mine wouldnt realy be a "challenge" because its how i live each month, $100 total to feed myself and hopefully put something in the frezzer/pantry to slowly build up my reserves but i think journaling it, sharing recipies ect is a great idea and gain im definatly looking forward to getting some new ideas for meals.
I always keep rice, beans and pasta on hand as they "fill out" easily, BUT i cant eat them too often (or much of them)
its funny, beofre surgery mac and cheese were go toos, now i cant even stand the smell...
and anything in the "gasy" family of veggies, (grean beans, some dried beans, cabbage, broccoli ect doesnt even get to come into the house)

 

[BACOG]

Awesome! I'm curious to see how much more difficult it will be for a one person family.

What ever I save can go into the hunting fund.

 

[Bettacreek]

Investments... Save money on food now and put it towards getting some game! I like that idea, lol. I need to put some money into my archery stuff again... Since my arrows were destroyed and my brand new target was given away. Still seething about that a little bit.