I believe it is important to boost your iron levels in winter and steak is always a good way to do this. Yet it is so expensive to get this into your budget so I'm giving this recipe a go. It is made with flank steak but you can use any steak that is on sale - I got mine for $5 but only got 1/2 lb - but I will add a lot of vegs and couscous to make it go further.
1/2 lb Flank Steak (cut about 3/4 in. thick) ($5)
1 small red pepper (cut lengthwise) ($1.29)
1 onion (cut into wedges) (70 cent)
1 can of tomatoes (you can use any kind) ($1)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp chilli powder (10 cents)
1/2 cup Couscous (any kind) ($1)
1/2 cup hot water
Method
1/Add everything to a slow- cooker (if you don't have one you can use a stock pot on very low heat). Cook on low for about 7- 8 hours.
2/ Place couscous in a bowl, add water and cover - fluff with a fork.
Update
I have to change this recipe a little - I find it best if you put cut steak in a bag with about 1/2 cup of flour and a little salt - shake to coat and then brown in skillet of medium-heat first. Then I put slow-cooker on high for 30 mins. Then low for about 6 hours - just before you remove to serve - mix 1 Tablespoon of flour and 1/4 cup warm water and stir into slow-cooker - this will thicken up the stew.
You can also add cubes of potatoes, carrots instead of tomatoes and peppers and serve with rice.
Serve the steak over the couscous.
Total Cost $9.10 approx
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Cottage Pie - Husband's Special
I love this recipe in winter - it fulls everyone up and is so easy to make - well my husband makes it - even better. Plus you can change it up to use leftovers etc.
2 tablespoons oil
2lb of beef mince (I had this in freezer as brought a lot while on sale)
2 onions chopped
1 celery stick, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 tomato paste
2 bay leaves
Topping
5 potatoes diced
pat of butter
1/2 cup milk
Method
1/Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat and add onion, carrot and celery. Cook until softened about 5 mins. Add beef and cook for 7 mins. Add flour and cook for 2 mins. Add sauces and bay leaves and simmer over low heat about 30 mins. Let cool and remove bay leaves.
2/To make topping boil potatoes for 20 mins or until cooked, drain and mash with butter and milk.
3/Preheat oven to 350 F and lightly grease a ovenproof dish. Spoon beef mixture into the dish and top with potatoes. Fluff potatoes with a fork and bake for about 25 mins.
ENJOY - you will love it - you can add different sauces and spices to your liking. Or add leftovers vegs.
Total Cost: Approx $8. Plus it makes enough to have for lunch the next day!!
Most the sauces you will have already - this week I did have to buy soy sauce but it will last for about 3 months and if you can match it up with a coupon or in store special - can save you a lot of money.
2 tablespoons oil
2lb of beef mince (I had this in freezer as brought a lot while on sale)
2 onions chopped
1 celery stick, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 tomato paste
2 bay leaves
Topping
5 potatoes diced
pat of butter
1/2 cup milk
Method
1/Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat and add onion, carrot and celery. Cook until softened about 5 mins. Add beef and cook for 7 mins. Add flour and cook for 2 mins. Add sauces and bay leaves and simmer over low heat about 30 mins. Let cool and remove bay leaves.
2/To make topping boil potatoes for 20 mins or until cooked, drain and mash with butter and milk.
3/Preheat oven to 350 F and lightly grease a ovenproof dish. Spoon beef mixture into the dish and top with potatoes. Fluff potatoes with a fork and bake for about 25 mins.
ENJOY - you will love it - you can add different sauces and spices to your liking. Or add leftovers vegs.
Total Cost: Approx $8. Plus it makes enough to have for lunch the next day!!
Most the sauces you will have already - this week I did have to buy soy sauce but it will last for about 3 months and if you can match it up with a coupon or in store special - can save you a lot of money.
Monday, December 19, 2011
weekly groceries under $60 - 1st week attempt
Well did my shopping on Saturday - very busy day to do it but I had the time.
My groceries come to $88 so a little disappointing - I have a $5 bottle vouchers so $83 cash.
As I said it will cost a little to get started as I need to build up my stock pile plus I didn't use any coupons as I need to build them up too. I did mainly shop for stuff that is on sale so that helped too. My must haves come to $53.27 which I believe is what I will use this week. The other $29.73 is stuff that will run over into the following week so will come off my next weeks bill. (not counting Christmas of course). The way I did it is work out what meals you are going to cook during the week and cost them out. Get meat that is on sale really helps or buy in bulk so you can freeze for the following week. Check out my roast chicken meal for $5. Plus I will be posting other meals that I cook this week so you have an idea of easy and cost cutting meals. Tonight is cottage pie (great on a cold winter night - plus you can add left overs to it). So be sure to check back as I will be adding to this blog all week! Next week I hope to get a little closer to my $60 mark - I will be doing a special shop for Christmas Day so will go shopping on Monday or Tuesday. Plus I will have the kids home from school all week so will be lunches added too it. May even have family coming to visit!!
One more entry before I go - yesterday lunch I made omelets - very easy - eggs, butter, cheese (can add vegs like peppers, tomatoes etc) another cheap meal.
Plus this is a tip from my husband - I can't believe I never thought of this - buy your cheese from the deli - I got a pound for $2.99!!!! In the dairy section it is $6-$8 - huge saving!!!!
My groceries come to $88 so a little disappointing - I have a $5 bottle vouchers so $83 cash.
As I said it will cost a little to get started as I need to build up my stock pile plus I didn't use any coupons as I need to build them up too. I did mainly shop for stuff that is on sale so that helped too. My must haves come to $53.27 which I believe is what I will use this week. The other $29.73 is stuff that will run over into the following week so will come off my next weeks bill. (not counting Christmas of course). The way I did it is work out what meals you are going to cook during the week and cost them out. Get meat that is on sale really helps or buy in bulk so you can freeze for the following week. Check out my roast chicken meal for $5. Plus I will be posting other meals that I cook this week so you have an idea of easy and cost cutting meals. Tonight is cottage pie (great on a cold winter night - plus you can add left overs to it). So be sure to check back as I will be adding to this blog all week! Next week I hope to get a little closer to my $60 mark - I will be doing a special shop for Christmas Day so will go shopping on Monday or Tuesday. Plus I will have the kids home from school all week so will be lunches added too it. May even have family coming to visit!!
One more entry before I go - yesterday lunch I made omelets - very easy - eggs, butter, cheese (can add vegs like peppers, tomatoes etc) another cheap meal.
Plus this is a tip from my husband - I can't believe I never thought of this - buy your cheese from the deli - I got a pound for $2.99!!!! In the dairy section it is $6-$8 - huge saving!!!!
Roast Chicken Dinner for 4 people under $5
I love this recipe and so does my family - so a real winner and only approx $5!!
1 large onion (cut into wedges)
4 carrots (cut into sticks
4 medium potatoes (cut in quarters)
Veg oil
Salt and Pepper
4 chicken legs//4 chicken thighs
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Heat oven at 425 F. Toss onion, carrots and potatoes in oil and salt and pepper - transfer to baking dish and roast for about 30 mins.
Season chicken with spices and salt and pepper add to baking dish with vegs - roast until chicken is cooked through and vegs are golden brown and tender about 30 - 40 mins.
Cost
Chicken $3.49 (shopped for a tray of legs, a tray of thighs and still have enough for 2 more meals)
Onion 59 cents
Carrots 33 cents
Potatoes 50 cents (on sale especially this time of year)
Spices approx 5 cents (always look out for coupons)
Total $4.96
1 large onion (cut into wedges)
4 carrots (cut into sticks
4 medium potatoes (cut in quarters)
Veg oil
Salt and Pepper
4 chicken legs//4 chicken thighs
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Heat oven at 425 F. Toss onion, carrots and potatoes in oil and salt and pepper - transfer to baking dish and roast for about 30 mins.
Season chicken with spices and salt and pepper add to baking dish with vegs - roast until chicken is cooked through and vegs are golden brown and tender about 30 - 40 mins.
Cost
Chicken $3.49 (shopped for a tray of legs, a tray of thighs and still have enough for 2 more meals)
Onion 59 cents
Carrots 33 cents
Potatoes 50 cents (on sale especially this time of year)
Spices approx 5 cents (always look out for coupons)
Total $4.96
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Creating a Greener Family: Peppermint Bark
Creating a Greener Family: Peppermint Bark: Years ago I was in Philly for a work trip and brought peppermint bark. I have loved it ever since, but could not find it. So I decided like ...
Friday, December 16, 2011
Weekly groceries bill under $60
Time to reduce the household bills so ends don't just meet they overlap - I'm going to start with my groceries and see if I can get it under $60 per week for a family of 4 - including my 2 teenagers. I have done a base list of must haves for the week - which is basically cheap meals so I can spend more money on building up my stock. Plan is to spend $40 on musts for the week and $20 on stock or things that will last longer than the week so I don't have to purchase them within the next weeks budget. Plus I'm going to search items on sale and coupons to help me out. Once I have done the shop (Saturday) I will post my list and recipes that I plan to cover. It will be tough the first few weeks (Christmas day shop will not be included). Plus I will be cooking with ingredients that I have in stock so that will help me out. Currently I'm spending about $100 + on groceries so that has to stop. If you know of any really good cost cutting recipes that I could use, please post them. My children both buy lunch at school so I don't have to buy lunch stuff for them but my husband takes his lunch with him. I will be looking at children's lunches down the road but everyone has to start somewhere - plus we have a dog so will be including dog food as well.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Christmas Shopping
How do you do your Christmas shopping - all at once, through out the year, last minute, online? I have very few to buy for and tend to leave it to the last minute - I would love to do it earlier but usually budget plays a big part, so have to work it around this. Plus get all the goodies for Christmas Dinner etc. This year I have got one gift so far and the budget is very slim - I'm going to have to be a little creative - maybe you can to. Doing homemade gift vouchers - not a lot of fun on Christmas Day but at least it is something that they can redem once the budget gets a little fatter. Or if they have a special trip or event coming up next year you could give that in the form of a gift - Just make a little voucher up saying pocket money for basketball camp. I know it looks like the cheats way out but sometimes you don't have a choose. Plus you could go to a dollar store or Walmart and spend $20 to make a really fat stocking! Lots of candy will do that. What ever may happen I hope you have very happy holidays and remember it is not about the gifts it is about happiness and togetherness so enjoy.
Creating a Greener Family: Coffee Creamer
Creating a Greener Family: Coffee Creamer: I had dinner parties for years with two of my dear friends. We would go to each others place and one of us would cook all the dinner. Three ...
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Saturday - Blog Research
Today I'm working on my blog and reading blogs - What blogs do you love reading? Can you suggest your favorite blogs to follow? I love reading so therefore I love blogs - you can pick up so much information on everything. If you have never read a blog start today - it is easy and free to follow your favorite ones and believe me you learn so much - from cooking, travelling, housekeeping, holidays and much much more. Better still you can start your own blog - it is a great way of share what knowledge you have weather it be photo's, art, tips, food etc.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Friday Housecleaning Day
I'm not great at cleaning the house - so the best thing for me to do is choose a day to clean the whole house at once. I like Friday's as you will have a nice clean house ready for the weekend - if you work during the week you may like to choose Sat morning or one night during the week.
I grab all the tools I need so I'm not going back and forth etc. I start upstairs in the main bedroom.
Bedroom
1/ strip sheets, pillowcases etc - put in hallway
2/ put away anything that is out of place.
3/ dust - I grab a sock, pop it on my hand and dust away - start on higher items and move down.
4/ clean light switch, handles etc with a damp cloth.
5/ vacuum.
Move onto other bedrooms - clean in the same order.
Now that your hallway is a mess - collect up all the sheets and start washing them.
I like to have a coffee break for about 10 mins now - but if you don't have time keep going.
Bathroom
1/spray sink, vanity, shower down with an all-purpose cleaner.
2/spray down the toilet, clean with brush and wipe down outside of toilet and tank.
3/ clean mirrors
4/Now wipe down sink - scrub tight spots with toothbrush.
5/Wipe down shower and tub - take down curtain and put in hall with towels (only need to wash curtain every couple of weeks)
6/Mop the floor
Continue for all bathrooms - wash towels etc
Kitchen
1/Load dishwasher and start
2/Declutter - put everything away (if you don't know where it should go maybe you don't need it).
3/Wipe down counters
4/Wipe down appliances
5/Vacuum and mop floor.
Living Room
1/Declutter - once again put everything away - recycle old papers/mags etc
2/Dust - start high and work down
3/Window clean all the windows, wipe down lights switches etc
4/Vacuum
Almost done! Other rooms you can follow the living room steps. Give hallways and Entrance way a good vacuum and mop.
Take trash out - make sure you recycle what you can.
Now during the week it should only take you about 10 mins to make bed/wash dishes etc each day.
Well I must go and get the rest of my house cleaned!!
I grab all the tools I need so I'm not going back and forth etc. I start upstairs in the main bedroom.
Bedroom
1/ strip sheets, pillowcases etc - put in hallway
2/ put away anything that is out of place.
3/ dust - I grab a sock, pop it on my hand and dust away - start on higher items and move down.
4/ clean light switch, handles etc with a damp cloth.
5/ vacuum.
Move onto other bedrooms - clean in the same order.
Now that your hallway is a mess - collect up all the sheets and start washing them.
I like to have a coffee break for about 10 mins now - but if you don't have time keep going.
Bathroom
1/spray sink, vanity, shower down with an all-purpose cleaner.
2/spray down the toilet, clean with brush and wipe down outside of toilet and tank.
3/ clean mirrors
4/Now wipe down sink - scrub tight spots with toothbrush.
5/Wipe down shower and tub - take down curtain and put in hall with towels (only need to wash curtain every couple of weeks)
6/Mop the floor
Continue for all bathrooms - wash towels etc
Kitchen
1/Load dishwasher and start
2/Declutter - put everything away (if you don't know where it should go maybe you don't need it).
3/Wipe down counters
4/Wipe down appliances
5/Vacuum and mop floor.
Living Room
1/Declutter - once again put everything away - recycle old papers/mags etc
2/Dust - start high and work down
3/Window clean all the windows, wipe down lights switches etc
4/Vacuum
Almost done! Other rooms you can follow the living room steps. Give hallways and Entrance way a good vacuum and mop.
Take trash out - make sure you recycle what you can.
Now during the week it should only take you about 10 mins to make bed/wash dishes etc each day.
Well I must go and get the rest of my house cleaned!!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Snowing today
Well if you are in the North East you may have woken to snow today - just a lite dusting so not enough for a snow day. Does look very pretty all the same. Just a short post as I will be out the rest of today in the snow!
My question for today is - what part of Christmas do you enjoy the most or hate the most???
My question for today is - what part of Christmas do you enjoy the most or hate the most???
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Rainy Day
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Welcome
Hi I love to talk, read and research on the computer, so I thought I woud write a blog (just like talking to the computer) so I could share with everyone what I have read or learnt of late. Plus I welcome your thoughts as well so I don't feel like I'm talking to myself!! I must ask, now that we are at the end of 2011 - how was it for you?? Are you glad to say goodbye, will it go down in history as best or worst year yet? Prehaps a wedding or birth of a child!! For me it was a year of ups and downs - wouldn't it be good if I could leave the downs in this year !!
What about Christmas - do you have your tree up? I put mine up just after Thanksgiving - couldn't wait, this year I received a lot of new decorations from a friend - so it was a lot of fun! Christmas is always an expensive time of year so I go with a fake tree so no extra costs for something so beautiful!!
What about Christmas - do you have your tree up? I put mine up just after Thanksgiving - couldn't wait, this year I received a lot of new decorations from a friend - so it was a lot of fun! Christmas is always an expensive time of year so I go with a fake tree so no extra costs for something so beautiful!!
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