bluemtnrunner

Any thoughts?

Ok, I know there are a lot of thoughts out here... we are trying to come up with a grocery budget and weekly meal plan. For those who don't know, we have A LOT of teens at this house.
Basic run down: Dinner for 4 Mon, Tues, Thurs every other Fri- Sun.
Dinner for 6 Every Wednesday.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks for 7 every other Friday-Sunday (this includes 4 teenage boys and one teenage girl)

They are sick to death of spaghetti, tacos, chicken noodle casserole. They are really good eaters and like variety. They eat a lot of food.

One thing I do is make about 20 bean and cheese burritos on Saturday mornings and these make a great snack throughout the day for about $4.
Any other ideas?

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Quit whining and RUN!!

scooterbug44

Would they eat pasta salad? Pasta is pretty cheap and filling and you could just make a big tub and leave it in the fridge.

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"I hate to break it to you, but this year (and probably the next few) was going to suck even if Jesus himself was president. These problems were not created overnight and they aren't going away overnight." -Jdarg

Franny

I make a big pot of chili and freeze in smaller containers. You can use with hot dogs, nacho's....Also bisquicks chicken pot pie is simple and easy. go to bisquit.com for recipes.

seagrovegirl

Cook a turkey and eat off of it for a few days. It makes great sandwiches for school lunches too! When the bird has been picked clean, boil the carcass with onions, garlic and herbs for a great soup or freeze the broth for another use.

I bought a fresh ham yesterday and plan on doing the same as above. I too have a large group almost every night!

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"The only thing worse than being stood up is dating." NoHall

"If you are going to be stupid, you better be tough".
Sunspotbaby

seagrovegirl

I've noticed that Wednesdays are the best days for sales and the best prices around are at Winn Dixie by Carillon Beach. I usually find many "buy 10 for $10." sales and stock up. Also, the managers meat specials have blown my mind! Great prices for meat and it isn't old stuff!

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"The only thing worse than being stood up is dating." NoHall

"If you are going to be stupid, you better be tough".
Sunspotbaby

bluemtnrunner

When the kids were little and we were poor poor poor, I used to get a chicken, carrots, onion and celery. We'd eat the chicken and then make soup with homemade noodles. All week long I kept adding water, celery, carrots and more dang noodles. We could eat all week for $4 but man, I swore I would never eat homemade chicken noodle soup again.
Now that things are not quite so dire, maybe it wouldn't be so bad though.

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Quit whining and RUN!!

elgordoboy

Go to publix.com and winndixie.com look at the circulars and buy what is on sale or bogo that week and plan the meals around those items. It forces variety and saves money. I just bought a 10# pork loin for $20.00 (lots of schnitzel or piccata, or stuff it and roast) at wd and they have london broil bogo and chicken breasts as well I believe, Publix has a pasta brand Ronzoni bogo and Hellman's mayo (though it is so expensive it is nearly as costly as the other brands still). I don't like the Miramar WD but the one at 98 and Front Beach is ok. I much prefer Publix but I pick and choose what is ok at Winn Dixie on a per item basis. Buy the roasts that are really on sale and braise them as the weather is cooling, or roast different cuts in the oven. Chicken quarters are on sale at one of the places for .59$/lb..cook chicken with 40 cloves serve it with rice/noodles and sauteed or roasted "whatever veggies were cheap that day". I like roasting cherry tomatoes, little mushroom caps, and slivered onions tossed in olive oil and salt for 25 minutes or so at 425.
http://www.epicurious.com/
Put an on sale ingredient in the search field and out comes a recipe, and then create a buying list with the sale items from the circulars.

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Haters gonna hate, Ballers gonna ball

SWGB

I wish I had the website of the woman I saw on CNN. Basically the site tracks all known and unknown sales at various grocery stores along with coupons. They then have a "D-Day" that you go and purchase certain things on your predefined list. The woman on the news bit bought like $250.00 worth of groceries for around $30.00. It also involves a lot of buying when prices are low on longer lasting items and storing them. I wish I could remember just two or three keywords from the news. At the time it seemed like a lot of work, but for savings like that I'll start clipping.

P.S. She wasn't just buying generic and already low cost items. She had about 30lbs. of t-bones in the cart when she checked out.

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Ocean Lover

I sure hope you enjoy cooking.

I also buy what's on sale and center meals around that. My daughter was never a picky eater but now she's decided she doesn't like certain things. The other night I made pork chops in the oven with stuffing and gravy. She comes home and announces she doesn't like pork chops. Since when??????? I think she's just tired of the basics too. Can I just say I adore my husband for eating anything and never complaining.

Have you made meatloaf lately? Maybe try a different recipe to change it up a bit. A friend of mine adds a whole can of Cambell's tomato soup along with ground beef and sausage onions and green pepper. It was actually very good...not the usually firm consistency but really flavorful.

Here's a pasta recipe that I made last week. Samantha loves anything with pesto in it. It was fairly quick and easy and delicious.

Creamy Chicken Penne

1 (16 ounce) package penne pasta

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into thin strips
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup pesto
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken and garlic until chicken is almost cooked. Reduce heat and stir in salt, pepper, cream, pesto and Parmesan cheese. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside. Stir in cooked pasta.

bluemtnrunner

These are great ideas. I do love to cook and since I work from home, I can get stuff going during the day while I am working. After 20 years (holy crap I'm old) of cooking, I'm as tired of it as the kids. I could live on a handful of grapes and a beer or two but no, they want food.

We have been making meatloaf lately and they love it. So does the new puppy who discovered that he was tall enough to reach the counter and has a mouth big enough to accomodate an entire meatloaf. He is a big fan!!!


I think going to WD in PCB then across the street to Publix is a great idea. I love the canned good sales at WD and meat sales when it is good but then things like juice and milk seem to be ridiculously priced. Velveeta can be $3 more at Publix than at WD, how ridiculous is that!!!

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Quit whining and RUN!!

SWGB

Not as rediculous as admitting in public you use Velveeta.

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Paula

Mexican lasagna is a great way to use up stale nacho chips. Just layer the chips with salsa, cheap cheddar or Mexican cheese, and a can of beans and put in the oven. I sometimes add a can of black beans and left over chicken. Keeps nicely in the fridge for lunches, too.

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Paula

bluemtnrunner

Don't think that didn't cross my mind several times, finger poised over the backspace key....but what do you know about me????How many kids in the house????? 6 (well, now down to 5 but still)...they consume mass quantities of mac and cheese and grilled cheese samiches darn it

My dad used to get the generic processed American cheese food....NOW THAT IS . Although it did keep us from eating much cheese.

__________________
Quit whining and RUN!!

SHELLY

http://www.couponmom.com/

.

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But hey...Top Ramen tastes a whole lot better when you eat it off of a Granite Countertop. (Mr & Mrs Too Much Homebuyer)

Florida State Flower

SHELLY

Assign each teen a budget and give them each a day of the week to plan and prepare a menu.

.

__________________
But hey...Top Ramen tastes a whole lot better when you eat it off of a Granite Countertop. (Mr & Mrs Too Much Homebuyer)

Florida State Flower

Johnrudy

oh, I saw that. It was amazing and I thought I might start clipping too.
(I'll see if I can find it.)

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scooterbug44

Don't be a Velveeta hater - it has its uses - even I eat it sometimes!

__________________
"I hate to break it to you, but this year (and probably the next few) was going to suck even if Jesus himself was president. These problems were not created overnight and they aren't going away overnight." -Jdarg

ckhagen

Hence the reason I will never touch another corn flake ever again. Ever, ever. I would rather starve.

We shop at Publix for anything that has an expiration date (meat, cheese, veggies, fruit, etc...). I only buy it if it's on sale. Meaning, if the chicken is on sale, we eat chicken all week. If the beef is on sale, it's beef for this week. Anything that comes in a box that is not on sale at Publix, I will pick up at Wal-Mart when I happen to be out there.

If you're not in the least bit health conscious (lol!), this recipe is mmmm good.
I cut the amount of chicken quite a bit and just spread it out, but I've got a much smaller family. Our entire grocery budget is less than $80 a week, not by choice, but since my boys are still small we make it work.

King Ranch Chicken

• 6-8 chicken breasts
• salt & pepper
• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) jar Cheez Whiz
• 1 (11 ounce) bag cheesy plain Doritos or other corn chips, crushed
• 8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
• 4 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
• paprika, to garnish

1. Steam or boil the chicken breasts until cooked through (I use my steamer and find it makes the chicken perfectly moist and tender).
2. When cool, dice into bite-size pieces.
3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix the soups, onion, Ro-tel tomatoes and Cheez Whiz until blended.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
5. Layer the bottom of a greased 9x12 casserole dish with crushed chips.
6. Next, layer half the chicken pieces.
7. Top with half the sauce.
8. Sprinkle with half the cheddar cheese.
9. Repeat the layers, but top with the Cheddar and Mozzarella.
10. Sprinkle paprika over the top to garnish.
11. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

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CK

SWGB

Eww generic processed orange sheets. I agree

We eat a lot of cheese too, but I just buy the big bag o' shredded cheese at Publix, I think it's even the same weight. You can still make grilled cheese with it.

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beachmouse

If you've got a recipe where you need something other than mozerella or like a queso blanco to melt without getting too oily, mixing a little bit of Velveeta in with your normal cheese of choice helps prevent that from happening.