Recipes and Remains

No Money March is coming to an end.  We are heading into some interesting meals.   Our strangest meal has been our “Finish off the Appetizers” night. It included mozzarella bites, smoked salmon on crackers with cream cheese, and deviled eggs.  The only thing left in our freezer now is two Klondike bars, ice cubes, and a fourth of a bag of frozen blueberries.  It was packed so tight before I don’t think we even realized we had Klondike bars!

Planning out our menu at the beginning of the month was the best method.  Even with menu, I miscounted the number of canned chicken we had, so we might be a few meals short.  Digging through our remains, I was very tempted to buy some turkey.  In the far back of the pantry I found a can of turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, and the last can of green beans.  Looks like we’ll have an “unturkey” meal for Easter dinner!

The most exciting thing about this month has been that I have used my beautiful cookbooks.  They have not just been a decorative stack on my shelf, but a resource for meals with limited ingredients.  I have found Quiche is the easiest, what-ever-you-have, go-to meal.  I have used a large supply of Bisquick for everything from piecrusts and pizza dough, to pancakes and biscuits.  I wish I had more in my stockpile.    I made a homemade substitute but it did not perform as well when baked. 

Last but definitely not least, here is a list of the ingredients I will keep in good supply in my pantry: Bisquick, pasta, rice, canned chicken, sugar, flour, cornstarch, baking soda, chicken and beef bouillon, and canned tomatoes.  It is amazing what you can make with these ingredients and a few spices.

Well, I am off to plan our meal for tonight.  Looks like a cheese and bacon quiche is on the menu!  Do you have a go-to meal?  How do you reuse your left overs or use simply what’s left in the freezer?

Time Warp Wednesday

While mid-month approaches on our No Money March Madness, I have been learning and remembering.  We still have plenty of food and are enjoying new recipes.  I have learned to make Quiche, Eggplant, and homemade Pizza Dough.

I have also found myself remembering habits of my grandmothers and my husband’s grandmother.  Well, not just remembering more like resembling.  Yes, I will admit it.  I washed freezer bags that I just couldn’t bring myself to throw away after one use!  The one thing I wish I had stocked up on and stashed away?  Freezer bags!

I have been using freezer bags for leftovers.  I made plans for those little bits of meat and veggies for future meals.  With half the month to go, I realized, I will run out of freezer bags.  Since the object of No Money March is to spend as little money as possible, I washed my freezer bags this week. Our grandmothers truly knew how to save money!  They also knew they could depend on their neighbors.

I learned I could depend on my neighbors too!  I was given an “extra” eggplant and taught how to cook it.  I had to “borrow” some cornstarch for homemade fajita mix.  I was also given some extra dog shampoo from a family who is moving back to the states.  All of these became examples of my time warp.

I felt I had gone back in time to an era, where neighbors shared their gardens, borrowed staple ingredients, and gave to others.  I could picture our grandmothers’ dish drainers stacked with plastic baggies after they had been washed.  I thought of the stacks of fresh vegetables and fruits dropped off at their doorsteps.  Through this adventure, I am beginning to resemble a past era of saving and giving.  Perhaps this will be the greatest lesson of the month or maybe just a lasting memory for our children.  Either way, saving and giving are important habits for every generation.

Planning is the Name of the Game...

           We are six days into No Money March.  I looked into my pantry and freezer.  Then I decided I better find some low cost recipes.  I already plan out our week’s worth of meals.  I try to buy groceries on sale, but also have my staples.  I occasionally try new recipes.  However, I never thought that spending less would give me the opportunity to tackle new dinner recipes! 

            I began looking at cheaper living websites like www.frugalvillage.com and www.frugalliving.about.com for inexpensive dinner recipes.  Then I hit the panic button.  They all began their conversations with how they plan the month’s menu.  I really hadn’t planned at all.  I was just thinking, sure, we’ll eat everything we have in the pantry.  During recent discussions with neighbors and friends, the conversation raised the questions, “What if there were a disaster? How long would our food last?”  Then, I began to plan.

            On Friday, I made two apple pies; usually I cut off the edges of my crust.  I either let my kids play with the dough, or I toss it.  Not this time!  I saved it, and will be use it tonight as the bottom layer of our quiche.  Quiche sounds fancy, but really it’s egg with a toss of other ingredients.  I realized that I have spinach about to go bad.  At this point, to throw out anything would be sacrilege.  We’ll be having a ham, cheese, and spinach quiche. 

            I also made baked potato slices with cheese and bacon on Friday.  Normally I would have tossed the ends of the potatoes I had cut off.  Not this time! I plan to use the ends for another meal.  Baked potato skins will become a nice side dish to a later meal.  Finally, my last example, we had Roast last night.  I saved the left over roast and will use it for Vegetable Beef Soup later this month. 

            Anyway, you get the picture.  I planned our entire month’s menu using what we had in the pantry.  I counted every can of beans, chicken, and corn.  I aligned the boxes of rice and pasta.  Right now, I think we can make it until the 29^th without having any strange meals.  Sure we’re going to have some meatless meals, and our meals may have less meat than usual.  Maybe it will be better for us in the long run.  It will definitely be better for our wallets!