Friday, October 2, 2009

Getting $tarted

I went to the store on the way home and picked up some things for next week, so it's time for the first receipt! We are aiming for $40 a week for two people, and so far, we are on track...

I bought a pizza for dinner tonight (too tired to make from scratch) for $3.50, a gallon of milk ($2.99), loaf of whole wheat bread ($1.93), some frozen veggies and spinach ($1.56 and $0.64 respectively), some butter for baking ($0.64), a bottle of wine ($8.79), some oil ($2.18), a can of beans ($.0.68) and two cans of diced tomatoes ($1.38). The frozen veggie blend and spinach and beans and tomatoes will go into a minestrone tomorrow, if neccessary. Otherwise, it will hang out until we use it on our own. Technically, the pizza was for this week and the wine is not counted in groceries, but since the total is pretty low, I might keep them in and see how we do for an extra challenge!

I passed up a 5 lb. bag of whole wheat flour for $3, and am thinking of getting a little from the bulk section instead. We have about 1.5 cups left in the pantry, and I like having plenty around for pizza dough, crepes, pancakes, and I NEED a cup for muffins mid-week, so I might scoop up a cup or so and pay a little less.

I'll keep posting throughout the weekend. We seriously need some produce in this house!

2 comments:

J-Momma said...

Hey Laura! Here are the squash recipes that are some of our favs.
Leek, squash and tomato gratin:
2 Acorn squash, steemed, cut into 1/2" slices; 4 Tbsp Olive oil; 1.5 lbs of roma tomatoes, skinned abd thickly sliced; 1/2 tsp ground, toasted cumin seeds ;1 lb leeks cut in thick diagonal slices; 2C cream; 1 dried red ancho chili julienned; 1 garlic clove, finely chopped; 2tbsp parsley; breadcrumbs; parmesan to be sprinkled on the top and salt and pepper (S&P) to taste.
1. Steam the squash slices over boiling salted water for 10 minutes.
2.Heat half the oil in a frying pan and cook tge keejs gently for 5 minutes until lightly coloured. Try to keep the slices in tact. Preheat your oven to 375.
3. Layer the squash, leek tomato slices in an 8 cup gratin dish ( I use my pyrex 8X8 dish), arranging then in rows. Season well with S&P and cumin.
4. Heat the cream in a small pan with the chilli and garlic. Bring to a boil and pur over vegetables, thoroughly scraping the contents out of the pan.
5. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the gratin is bubbling and the veggies are tender. Sprinkle parsley and breadcrumbs on top and drizzle over emaining oilve oil. Add parmesan cheese on top. Then bake another 15-20 minmutes until the breadcrumbs are browned and crisp. YOu can als place them under the broiler for about 5-10 minutes, depending on your oven.
I like to sub potatoes for the squash when the squash are out of season and it's just as fab. Hope you get to try it and enjoy! Love ya! J momma

J-Momma said...

Jenna's Squash, broccoli and rice casserole:

1 Acorn squash, steamed over salted water; 1 Fresh bunch of Broccoli flouretes (broken down into 1" pieces), steamed over salted water; 2 C colby cheese shredded; 1/2 C (uncooked)organic brown rice.


1.Steam veggies over salted water.

2.Cook brown rice according to instructions ( I use a rice cooker)

3.Take a medium non stick saucepan ( on very low heat) and add the broccoli, squash and cooked rice and mix gently until well mixed. Add shredded cheese to mixture 1/2 C at a time until cheese is melted.