What to do with leftover tough roast

I'm writing this post mostly because I cooked a roast yesterday and even though I thought I had done everything right, it turned out tough. Gosh I hate tough roast. I would rather not eat meat at all than eat tough meat. The problem is, I am not a waster. You probably aren't either. So, I thought I would peruse the web to find out what other people do with leftover tough roast.

Well, to my dismay I found practically nothing. Most people posted on their blog that they would try to re-cook it a different way to tenderize it. If you have been cooking for any length of time at all, you will know this won't work. Once it's done, it's done. All you can hope to do now is find a way to use the meat that is palatable.

Now I will interject a note here. I did find 1 or 2 comments on how to use the leftover meat. Some said that you could slice it thin against the grain and make meat sandwiches. That does help somewhat, but my kids won't eat chewy meat and if you can imagine taking a bit into that meat sandwich and when you pull your mouthful away from the sandwich, the bread, tomatoes, etc stays in your mouth but the tough meat just yanks itself back into the sandwich. You know what I mean. My kids won't touch that. I won't either.

A suggestion to cube it and use it in stew will work with some meats, but if the cubes are too tough to grind between your teeth, you can imagine the empty soup bowls being handed back to you with all the discarded meat remaining in the bowl. Not a success.

Well I will tell you what my dad used to do with leftover tough or dried-out roast. He had a meat grinder. You know, one of those that clamped to the side of the table and you put the food down into the hopper and then you turned the handle while the food was forced past a cork-screw shaped blade and came out the other end in tiny little pieces resembling fine-crumb cooked hamburger. It would all fall down into a strategically-placed bowl on the table. Then, he would run a dill pickle or two through the meat grinder. The dill pickle would then get stirred into the meat, and mayonnaise added to make a nice sandwich spread consistency.

I remember this so tasty and we just loved it in our sandwiches. I think I have an old meat grinder somewhere in the basement...but the truth is, it's so much easier to do it with a food processor and still works great. Most people don't have one of those old meat grinders anyway.

So here's what you do: Take the meat and cube it into chunks for ease of processing. Drop them in and process into it's small tiny shreds of meat. You choose how much to process, but don't go overboard and process it into powder.

There is a lot more you can do with it than just make meat sandwich filling. If you do want sandwich filling, only chop enough pickles to make what you can use right away. Don't process your pickles; they will turn to water. Just mince with a knife. Then add the mayo.

If you have a lot of meat shreds after processing, separate into 1/2-cup or 1-cup baggies and freeze some. Here is a list of ideas of what you can do with this transformed-to-lovely, already-cooked meat:

• sandwich spread
• taco meat
• add to casseroles
• add to soups/stews
• add to spaghetti sauce
• add to chili
• make into hash
• add bbq sauce for beef on a bun
• make a beef pie
• use your imagination

Have fun with this. It is a great way to use a piece of meat that just didn't want to melt in your mouth.

Packed lunches

Whether you have 1 lunch to pack every day, or 7, you will love having a quick, easy and cheap way to get this done!

The first thing to do is plan ahead. Make a list of items you need. Lunch kits, containers for food, thermos, water bottle, etc. Also, you need a plan of what to pack into that lunch kit. You can save a ton of time and money buy not buying prepackaged convenience foods to pack into the lunches.

I keep a couple of great lunch cookbooks handy as well as a list of lunch food ideas I have made myself.




This great cookbook will keep a fabulous assortment of quick easy cheap meals right at your fingertips. This book receives a 5 Star rating from me for it's easy, kid-friendly foods. Being vegan makes it easy on the budget as meat is often the expensive trump card. However, protein is very important and high quality non-meat proteins are used.

If you're really going cheap on packing lunches, I don't recommend the lap-top lunch boxes (pictured on the front of the cookbook) because they really do cost more money. However, if you are in this lunch-packing business for the long term, then I suggest you do invest in good quality lunch kits that will last a LOOOOONG time.

If you are interested in learning more about the laptop lunchbox system, you can find it through this link:

Laptop Lunch Systems

Preparing as much of your packed lunches as you can the night before will really save you time in the rush of the morning. Have family members all participate in peeling carrots, buttering bread, filling water bottles, etc. Gget the family into a routine the night before or (after school if evenings are busy), so that they expect to be helping to pack lunches. This way they also get more input as to what and how much they will eat. This saves a lot of food going to waste. And saving money is what we're trying to accomplish here, while serving and eating nutritious food.

For more ideas including which lunch kits are the best for your time and money, see Kids Healthy School Lunch Ideas here:

http://kids-healthy-school-lunch-ideas.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-lunch-kits-hands-down.html

A Slight Change of Plans

We have reached the #21 meal of our 100 meals under $10. I am going to digress for a short while, and revisit this goal later. I would like to cover some other topics, such as easy weeknight meals, soup meals, favorite meals, big meals, real meals (we'll find out what that means later!), winter meals, and a plethora of other meal topics that I am just itching to write about.

I will not forget the promise to deliver 100 meals under $10. In fact, I will continue to post several recipes for that category each month.

I have taken a long holiday from posting here, as you can see, and with the kids back in school I want to really ramp things up.

I would like to hear feedback from readers who have tried the ideas on this page: Join A Cooking Club

I reply to every response, and if you would like to vote on your favorite way of organizing a cooking club, I will post the results.

$10 Dinners part 14

21. Pizza potatoes, jellied salad, garden-fresh greens
Pizza potatoes are easy to make. You start with a "crust" of mashed potatoes. You will want to use a 9x13 pan and put them in 1-1 1/2 inch deep. You can either use leftovers, or make some fresh, or mix from a package. Then you layer on your favorite pizza toppings. You can use tomato sauce if you wish but we usually skip it. Layer on sliced meat or leftover bits of meat, sliced onions, tomatoes, grated cheese, mushrooms. Whatever you have. Then pop it in the oven long enough to melt the cheese and warm the potatoes if they're cold.
Jellied salads aren't our favorite to eat very often but sometimes, especially on a hot day, we enjoy lime salad set with grated carrots in it. Add a bowlful of garden-fresh greens if available.
This yummy meal is very inexpensive, and fills hungry tummies at the same time.
Cost is approximately $7.00-$8.00 depending on toppings and amount of cheese.

$10 Dinners part 13

19. Curried Lentils with Cucumber sticks and Biscuits

This is a new curried lentil recipe I received the other day and it was fantastic! Lentils are a powerhouse of nutrition, very filling, and very cheap! Just how we like it!

Shopping List:
Lentil Curry ingredients: 1 medium onion, 1 carrot, 1 stalk celery, 1 apple, 1 clove garlic, 1/2 cup lentils, 2 cups water, 1/2-1 tsp curry, dash of fennel seed. Also 1-2 large cucumbers, and biscuit ingredients or package mix.

Combine the Lentil Curry ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes.

While that is cooking, make up the biscuits and slice the cucumbers into long fingers.

The lentils can be scooped up with the biscuits or eaten alongside.

Total = $6.00

Note: There are countless other ways to prepare lentils if curry isn't your favorite. We often enjoy a hearty bowl of lentil stew. Basically you can add lentils to any favorite stew combination to make it more filling and stretch the meat farther. They also add a very interesting texture sensation. Lentils can also be used to make lentil loaf and lentil patties.

20. Easy Quiche and tossed salad

This makes one pie plate of quiche. If you have a family of hungry appetites, or want to have some planned left-overs, then make double the recipe to make two pies. This is a good use-up-whatever-you-have-recipe!

Shopping List: Handful of mozzarella and/or cheddar cheese, grated; Cooked, chopped chicken or ham (or leave out), chopped veggies as desired, or leftover frozen. 3 eggs, 3/4 cup Bisquick (or make your own), 1 1/2 cups milk. For tossed salad: Use or buy whatever you want to make it colorful and interesting. Salad dressing to pass with salad.

Put the cheeses, meat, and veggies in lightly greased pie plate. Toss together. Mix the eggs, bisquick and milk in a blender. Pour over the cheese mixture and bake @ 350 degrees for 1 hour.

While that is cooking, make your tossed salad. Use whatever you have and serve dressing on the side.

Total: $4.50- $7.50 depending on what you put in your quiche.

Join a Cooking Club

A cooking club, did you say? I have run across several definitions for a cooking club. Here are my 2 favorites:

1) A group of friends gets together once every two weeks or once a month and makes a number of meals for each group member to take home to their freezer. For example, you have 2 friends. The three of you get together and make a menu. You want to have 5 different dinners each to take home, so you agree on 5 recipes.

They might be: lasagna, chicken casserole, roast beef with potatoes and gravy, ham with scalloped potatoes, and stew. You go out and do the shopping, split the cost, go to someone's kitchen, make the food, help clean up, and go home with 5 dinners each. You could divide out the jobs as well, so that one of you does the shopping, one of you hosts the event in their kitchen, etc.

For the above menu, you would want to each bring 4- 9x13 pans to put the entrees in, and one empty ice cream pail to put the stew in.

If you have several crock-pots between you, you could bring those too. Someone could prepare the scalloped potatoes in one or two large ones, the stew in 1 or 2 more. Put those on to cook while you are making the lasagna. The roast beef and ham could also be put in crock-pots. The group can plan it out and see how it would work best.

2) The second type of cooking club I like to dub the "casserole group."
In this cooking club, your group of friends and you do your own cooking at home. On the planned day, you get together and swap a pre-determined number of frozen casseroles. For example, my three friends and I have chosen the last day of the month to swap food, and we have chosen to use a square foil pan size. There are two large families in our group and two small families. The two small families need only 1 of the square pans for a meal; the two larger families need two.

We agree that each person in the group makes 8 square pans of casserole to take to the swap. That way, each person will also go home with 8. They will have 2 pans each of four different kinds of casserole. I know this is confusing so here is a detailed example:

The group consists of 4 people: Me and 3 friends.
I make: 8- 8x8 foil pans of spaghetti and meatballs and cover and freeze them.
Friend #1 makes: 8 square foil pans of chicken enchiladas, covers and freezes them.
Friend #2 makes: 8 square foil pans of beef burritos...
Friend #3 makes: 8 square foil pans of sweet and sour chicken balls with rice...

Because we know a month ahead that we are swapping on the last day of the month, we can do our cooking on any day that is convenient to us. Then we wrap, label and freeze. The work is all done.

We bring our pans with us to one person's house. Each of the 4 people (me and my 3 friends) go home with 2 pans of spaghetti, 2 pans of enchiladas, 2 of burritos, 2 of sweet and sour with rice.

The casserole club is actually my absolute favorite of all the cooking clubs. I like the flexibility of cooking on a day that works for me. I like bringing home entrees that are already frozen and ready to put in my freezer. I just love it. If your group lasts a long time, you may want to consider investing in some better pans than the foil ones because they wear out over time and develop little cracks and holes.

Have fun with this. Hopefully your cooking chores will be lightened and your heart will be also.

Fresh hot meal...cooked and delivered!

What sounds better than that? It's almost supper time and everyone is hungry. A knock on your door signals everyone to jump up and answer it. Someone is standing there, holding... your fresh hot cooked meal! How can this be? It's too good to be true. (Well, almost.)

You can make this true if you start a dinner swap club. Find 4 other interested families about the same size as yours. The 5 of you get together and plan a dinner swap. Here's how it works. On one day of the week, one family cooks for all five families and delivers their dinner hot and ready to their front doors. On the remaining 4 days, that family sits back and waits for a hot cooked meal to be delivered.

It's a ton of fun. Of course, you need to lay some ground rules. The rules consist of when dinner should arrive, keeping in mind each person must make 4 deliveries on their night. Also, there must be some agreement as to menu. It wouldn't work for one person to deliver mac & cheese and weenies while someone else delivers lasagna and salad. You get the idea. In fact, the 5 families can plan the meals together if you like.

A group of 5 would give you 2 days of the week to cook for yourself. You may find that more than 5 families makes for an almost unmanageable delivery night, and it also depends on how far apart you live, for travel time.

STUDENTS!! This is a perfect program for you. Find others in your apartment building who want to join this with you. Deliveries would be a breeze!

Another twist on this idea is for the families to come and pick up their supper from you. Again, that only works if you live close.

If your group needs a little micro-managing, here's another tip: in order to balance out meal size, the group decide together on certain containers to use for the meals. For example, a certain size pan holds the main course, another holds the sides, another the dessert.

30 or so meals in one day

I must admit, I have never tried making 30 meals in one day. I would love to watch someone do it. Is it really possible to make enough food for a month for dinner for 7 people? Or are these programs geared to a family of 4? That means I would have to DOUBLE everything! Gosh, that means I would effectively be making 60 meals in one day. (I think I'm going to faint...)

I have, very successfully, made 4 or 5 extra meals in one day. It was a little more work but not bad. I sure loved having the dinners ready to pull out and use.

I think my favorite way of making food ahead is a little at a time. When I am cooking supper, I cook more than we need and freeze the rest for another meal. I do this about once a week. Then I should have 2 or 3 dinners in the freezer at any one time to choose from. (Remember to rotate!)

With summer coming on, we need to start thinking about quick easy cheap meals that are prepared without heating up the kitchen.

Personally, I only like eating jello about once or twice a year, so summer meals at our house usually do not include jello.

One of my favorite things to do in the hot summer months is to take advantage of a cool or rainy day. On those days I will do a bunch of baking, cooking, etc. Then on those sweltering days, I can sit back and put my feet up (just kidding!!)

$10 Dinners part 12

18. Menu: Potatoes with ham and corn
This is one of our favorites and I make it in the electric frying pan for convenience.

Shopping List: 1 cup leftover diced ham, 12 medium potatoes, olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, celery (optional), milk or mushroom soup, can of corn (or frozen.)

Heat oil in pan; add chopped onion and garlic (and celery if desired). Cover and let soften while you slice up the potatoes. Add potato slices, and stir to mix. Pour in about 1/2 cup milk or 1 can mushroom soup and mix again. Cover and let cook while you warm up the corn. Cook about 30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked and crispy around edges. I turn the dial to about 255 farenheit. Experiment and see what works best for you.
Cost: $1.5o potatoes, $.50 onion and garlic, .05 olive oil, $1.00 ham, $.70 corn, .65 soup.

Total = $4.40

This fed our family of 7 with as much as we could possibly eat.

$10 Dinners part 11

17. Menu: Garlic toast, pasta anything and veggie anything.
What a strange menu, you may say. What's with the "anything," anyway?
Well, 0n this menu alone I could probably spin out thousands of permutations and combinations. The real deal is that pasta is cheap. Do you like spaghetti? Prefer tuna casserole? How about Mac & Cheese even? Pick a different pasta recipe each time you make this menu.
What about the veggies...try a salad. If you don't have fresh produce, open a can of green beans.

Here's the honest truth about this meal...it's the garlic toast that makes everything else taste great! What kind of garlic do you have to use? Anything from garlic powder (NOT garlic salt...too salty!) to creamed garlic in a bottle to fresh garlic. It all works wonders.

There are many different ways to fix the toast. Some people wrap it in foil. It's great that way but I don't. I lay out slices of bread on a large flat baking pan. Preheat oven to about 375. Butter the bread, spread or sprinkle the garlic, and pop in the oven until the outside edges turn golden. Remove and serve.

If you're feeling wealthy, sprinkle parsley flakes and parmesan cheese on the garlic toast. Nice but it isn't necessary. Make plenty of toast for everyone. The aroma in your kitchen will make everyone hungry!

The garlic toast is the gem in this meal because its wonderfully delicious and superbly cheap. Make your bread or buy discount.


Shopping List: Bread, butter, garlic powder, pasta & sauce, veggies
Cost: $cheap

I will post pasta recipes if you want. Just leave me a note. Thanks!

Today I want to talk for a minute about saving money by collecting and organizing. You can get a lot of things for free, that is true. I am mostly talking about good recipes here. However, I do have a few favorite recipe books and I think it is worth making a collection of recipes and recipe books which you can refer to often.

Having your collection organized is really the key to quick easy cheap meals. For example, I often make some type of quick bread for breakfast. Instead of thumbing through cookbooks to find the one I want, I have made a binder of breakfast recipes. In that binder I have a section for quick breads, for oven-baked pancakes (dutch baby), etc. Then all I have to do in the morning is grab that binder and start baking. It is wonderfully fast and easy.

When my grandmother passed away, I inherited all her cookbooks. What a treasure! Not only could I now re-create old favorites I enjoyed at her house, but it added to my variety of recipes and my cooking knowledge. These are not very organized, however, and I must spend some time going through them and figure out how to organize them so that the ones I want to use are quick and easy to find.

$10 Dinners part 10

Well, its been a few days since I posted, and I figure I better get back on the ball here. I promised 100 recipes and I plan on delivering!

Today I had about 1 hour until supper and 3 pieces of cooked leftover chicken. I put those 3 pieces on to boil and called 2 of my kids into the kitchen to help make noodles. There are many noodle recipes and I'm sure everyone has a favorite, but the simplest egg noodle recipe is just eggs and flour. A pinch of salt if you really want it is also added. A chef taught me this one. You make a pile of flour on the table or in a bowl, crack 1-2 eggs into the center of it, whisk the eggs with a fork and start incorporating the flour. I would guess about 1 egg to every cup of flour. It depends on the size of your eggs and the moisture content of your flour. I used whole wheat flour. Then when you have a ball that isn't too sticky, start rolling it or putting it through your noodle maker. I have an old hand-cranked one which I really love. Drop noodles into boiling water or broth and boil for 7-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your noodles. These are so cheap they're almost free! (And the taste is fantastic!)

Anyway, back to the pot of water boiling with the 3 pieces of chicken in it. After about 20 minutes, I took the chicken out and stripped off the meat. I returned the meat to the pot, added bouillon cubes (I use the kind with no MSG), chopped carrot, onion and celery, and 1/2 cup frozen peas. In about 6 minutes the veggies were tender so I started adding the noodles. Add them 1 by 1, so that the water continues to boil. If you dump them all in at the same time, they may stick together and create a big stuck-together mass.

This recipe is very cheap, but hard to put a price to. The eggs I buy are 10 cents each (from a farm.) The flour probably 10c. The chopped veggies and peas probably 50c. The chicken probably 1.50 and the bouillon cubes probably 20c. That makes a grand total of $2.50 which sounds hard to believe, but the water in the soup carries all the flavors and helps to fill up tummies. I made peach cobbler for dessert (see March 21, 2009 post). The approximate cost to that is $3.00

Let's put it all together:

16. Menu: Chicken soup with homemade noodles and peach cobbler
Shopping List: 3 chicken pieces or leftover bones with meat on, 1/2 cup each chopped onion, celery and carrot, 1/2 c frozen peas, 1-2 eggs, 1-2 cups flour, peach cobbler ingredients (see March 21, 2009 post)

For soup and noodle instructions, see above. Make cobbler and put in oven to cook while you're eating. After the hearty soup, the cobbler will be done and ready nice and hot to eat. Total Cost = $5.50

Now how's that for a great meal with very little cost? I hope you like it too.

$10 Dinners part 9

14. Menu: Mexican cornbread squares and salad
Shopping List: 2 Cornbread mixes (or make your favorite recipe), milk & eggs, 1 lb ground beef, chili powder and/or cumin, 1/2 c chopped onion, 1 1/2 cup salsa, bag of lettuce salad(or make your own.)

Pre-heat oven to temperature on cornbread mix. Scramble-fry the ground beef and onion, adding a little chili powder and/or cumin to taste. (We use 1 tsp each.) Using a sprayed 9x13 pan, cover the bottom with ground beef and then layer the salsa over top. Mix up the cornbread batter using eggs and milk. Evenly spread over the salsa and meat. Place in oven and bake until cornbread is done.

Take out of oven and cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge to release from pan. Place a flat pan or plate large enough to cover the cornbread over top and grab each end of both pans with potholders. Carefully and quickly flip (invert) pans so that the cornbread squares come out of the pan and onto the plate for cutting and serving. This makes a very nice presentation. Serve with salad on the side. Pass the dressing.

Alternate Method: Place half of the cornbread batter in greased pan and then sprinkle with ground beef. Layer in the remaining cornbread batter and then bake. When squares are removed from pan the ground beef will be in the middle layer. Serve with salsa on top. Total Cost: $7.95

15. Menu: Chicken Dinner Quick (To buy on your way home from work)
Shopping List: BBQ chicken, 1-2 pkg refrigerator biscuits, 1 can gravy, (For the fruit or vegetable, just use something you already have at home; froz veg or can of fruit or fresh veggies in fridge that need to be used up.)

Method: Make biscuits while setting table and warming gravy. Prepare your fruit or veggie. Serve chicken with hot biscuits and gravy to go over top and veggie. Ready in a snap. Total cost: $8.80

$10 Dinners part 8

12. Menu: Sausage-Pepper-dogs and macaroni salad
Shopping list: Italian spiced beef sausages, hot dog buns, 1 red pepper, 1 sweet onion, butter, mustard, boxed macaroni salad mix (or make your favorite recipe.)

Make macaroni salad according to package directions; refrigerate. Meanwhile, cook sausages. Drain pan and use a dab of butter to saute red pepper strips with sliced onions until soft and golden. Serve sausages in buns topped with pepper and onion mixture. Serve macaroni salad on the side and pass the mustard. Total cost = $8.90

13. Menu: Vegetarian bean soup and toast or crusty bun
Shopping list: 2 small zucchini, sliced, 1 cup each of chopped onion, celery, carrot; 2 tbsp oil, 5 cups vegetable broth, 1 can great northern beans, rinsed and drained, 1 can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained (beans are approx. 15 oz cans), 1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes or stewed tomatoes (don't drain tomatoes), 1/2 tsp each thyme and oregano. Pepper to taste.

Use oil to saute onions, celery, carrots and zucchini in large pot. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes. Serves 7. Pass the toast or rolls. Total cost = $6.00 or less for soup. Make your own buns or buy discount.

$10 Dinners part 7

11. Menu: Beef Soup in a Hurry, biscuits
Shopping list: 1 can beef stew, 1 can stewed tomatoes and their juice, 1 can condensed vegetable-beef soup, undiluted, 1 can whole kernel corn, drained, 1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce. Homemade biscuits or made from a can of biscuit dough. Total cost with homemade biscuits: $6.40

Open cans and add together; heat. Make biscuits. Serve both nice and warm. Feeds 6.

$10 Dinners part 6

How to get a lot out of poultry: There are a lot of ways to buy poultry these days. I'm referring mostly to chickens and turkeys, as cornish hens, duck and goose are too pricey for everyday fare, and require specialized cooking.

You can buy skinless, boneless chicken. You can choose whole chicken, uncooked or whole BBQ chickens. You can choose cut-up chicken pieces. You can choose breaded or unbreaded chicken strips. You can choose chicken patties- cheap but not exactly all real chicken. Of course, there are also chicken nuggets. You may be wondering which of these choices gives you the most for your money. I really think that depends on how you prepare them, how much you serve per person, and whether you shop for the deals.

Some people swear by the skinless, boneless chicken. The cost per pound is greater, but there's no doubt that it is quick and easy to use and there is absolutely no wasted parts. Chicken pieces on the other hand, appear to be cheaper per pound but you don't eat the skin or bones. (Well, let me retract the "you don't eat the skin" part because I know that some people do. But we know its not as healthy as the meat.)

I have often noticed that the whole BBQ chickens that you can buy cooked and warm and ready to serve are cheaper than buying a whole chicken and cooking it yourself. So, to choose between these two options, you need to compare costs, and also ask yourself how you wanted to cook the chicken. If you wanted to stuff it and bake it with certain seasonings, for example, you would want to purchase it raw and cook it at home. If you just want cooked chicken, you might choose the BBQ chicken. They are very tender and juicy.

Sometimes I buy those processed chicken cutlets- you know the breaded ones, that are made out of a combination of chicken meat and soy protein. They are seasoned and only need warming as they are pre-cooked. They are like a large flat chicken nugget, almost. My kids enjoy these in a hamburger bun, with fixings inside like tomato, lettuce and pickles to make a chicken burger. They are quick to prepare and are inexpensive. The drawback is they are processed, and thus contain additives and preservatives. So don't eat them too often. Serve with citrus fruit which helps to negate the effects of the preservatives.

When I want to buy and serve turkey, I just go for the best deal I can find. I don't buy a certain brand or anything. I have never bought them pre-stuffed so I don't know how they compare in price.

Here are my tips on how to get a lot out of your poultry purchase:

1. Skinless, boneless chicken: Because it is a high quality meat with no waste, you can serve less per person and still make it cost-effective.
2. Bone-in whole chicken: You can make 3 different meals out of it. 1) Bake it and serve pieces cut off of the bird, like you would with turkey. Do the same with chicken (don't give each person a whole piece because you are going to use the bones) 2) Strip away as much remaining chicken as you can for chicken salad, chicken wraps or chicken casserole. 3) Boil the bones to remove as much remaining strands of meat and flavor as you can for chicken soup. This is the biggest reason I usually buy bone-in chicken. Price is better and I can get 3 meals out of one chicken (even for 7 people.) When the BBQ chickens go on sale I buy those. Even though they are generally smaller birds, the meat is supreme and I didn't have to cook it, which saves energy (mine and electrical) and time.

Enough of the rambling and on to the $10 recipes for today.

9. Menu: Chicken burgers, lime & carrot salad
Shopping list: chicken patties (1 each), hamburger buns, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, relish, mustard, etc (whatever you like in a burger), 2 pkg lime jello, 3 large carrots, shredded fine. Total Cost = $9.50

Warm precooked patties by placing in 325 oven covered with foil for about 20 minutes or fry in a frying pan. Serve with buns and fixings. The jelly salad is made ahead of time by preparing 2 pkgs of lime jello according to package directions. Stir in finely shredded carrot. Let set.

10. Menu: Taco Rice and tortillas
Shopping list: 1/2 lb ground beef, 1/4 c chopped onion, 1/4 c chopped celery, 1 pkg taco seasoning, 1 1/2 cups cold water, 1 c frozen corn, 1 c frozen peas or mixed vegetables, 1 can tomatoes or stewed tomatoes, 1 1/2 c uncooked instant rice, 1 c grated cheddar cheese, 1 t chili powder, 2 Tbsp sliced canned jalapeno peppers (optional.) Corn or flour tortillas, sour cream. Total Cost = $9.00

Brown ground beef with onion and celery. Add taco seasoning, water, corn, vegetables, spices and peppers. Bring to boil. Add rice and stir. Simmer covered for 7 minutes. Turn off heat, add cheese and recover for cheese to melt. Serve on a warmed tortilla with a spoonful of sourcream on top.

$10 Dinners part 5

What to do with all those colored Easter eggs? Today we made a cobb salad.

8. Menu: Cobb salad with toast and jam. This served 8 people.
Shopping list: Lettuce (I used 3/4 of a large head of iceberg), 1/2 large green pepper-chopped, 2 carrots shredded, 2 large tomatoes chopped, 3 stalks chopped celery, 4-6 thin slices of ham (cut into thin strips), 1/2 cup chopped onion or 6 green onions chopped, 5-7 hard boiled eggs-peeled and chopped. Variety of salad dressings to serve on the side. Bread and jam.

Shred the lettuce and add all other ingredients. Slicing ham thin makes it spread around the salad and looks like there's more than there really is. Add chopped eggs last and gently toss so yolks don't disintegrate before it's served. We had run out of onions so I served it without but I sure wanted them. We ate toast and jam for "dessert." Total cost = $6.40 salad only.

$10 Dinners part 4

Today I am only going to post 1 dinner rather than the usual 3. It's Easter weekend and I have really enjoyed having my kids home from school.
I have been trying to clean out my pantry and not spend too much money on new groceries until I find some more work. I am self-employed and I do research and editing. I had been employed by someone more than 10 years and just got let-go a month ago when he lost several of his big contracts.
We put together a meal mostly out of cans the other day and it was really good, so I wanted to share it.
We named it Beans-a-roni on toast. This size fed 7 of us.

7. Menu: beans-a-roni on toast, sliced fresh vegetable (whatever you have)
Shopping List: 2-28 oz cans beef-a-roni, 1 regular-size can pork & beans, bread for toasting and margarine, 1 fresh vegetable (cucumber, carrots, etc.)
Open beefaroni and beans. Combine and warm. Make toast. Slice cucumber or carrots or whatever. Serve warmed "beans-a-roni" on toast with cucumber on the side.
Total Cost = $6.00

I think it would have tasted good with some pineapple tidbits mixed in. I will try it next time.

$10 Dinners part 3

In $10 Dinners part 2 I broke down the shopping list into each item needed and listed the prices separately so you could see how the dinner value is calculated.

Because we want to generate 100 of these $10 dinners, in the interest of time from now on I will only indicate the total cost of the dinner. Remember that is my cost and hopefully you can match or beat that cost, and save yourself even more money!

In these times when people are looking for ways to make more money, we can't forget to try to save as much of the money we are making as we can. The extra money you save on your grocery bill could be put towards savings, debt payments to pay them down faster (and save you interest!), or other items you need.

Try to have as much fun planning meals on a budget as you can. Think positive about this and you will do well and can be very proud of yourself. Remember health is important and we are trying to make nutritious meals which cover a wide range of the food groups.

Today's $10 Dinners:

4. Menu: (Mock) BBQ beef on a bun, coleslaw, orange wedges
Shopping list: 3 cans of well-drained tuna in water
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 1/2 cups of bbq sauce (homemade works great)
Combine the above ingredients in non-stick skillet. Heat thoroughly for about 10-15 minutes. Serve on discount or homemade buns.
6 cups shredded cabbage
1 shredded carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
coleslaw dressing- bought or homemade
Combine coleslaw ingredients and blend well.
Orange wedges- 3 or 4 per person
Total = $7.98

5. Menu: Vegetable BBQ Couscous, cucumber and tomato slices and sausage patties
Shopping list: 1 lb bulk pork sausage meat
1 package frozen veg mix (corn, black beans, broccoli and red peppers)
1/2 bottle bbq sauce
1 box couscous
1 english cucumber
2 tomatoes

Make couscous according to package. Cook frozen veggies, drain and add bbq sauce. Heat together. Form sausage meat into patties and put onto cook in skillet with lid. Meanwhile, slice cucumber and tomatoes. Arrange alternate slices on a plate. Turn sausage patties over and cook on other side.
Serve veggies over couscous, with sausage patties on the side and a plate of cucumber and tomato slices.
Total cost: $7.80

6. Menu: Pinto Beans and Cornbread
Shopping List: 1 lb. dry pinto beans
1 large can tomato sauce
ham pieces or bone
one clove garlic, chopped
spices: pepper, onion powder, cayenne, garlic powder, etc.
1-2 pkg cornbread (or homemade)
Salad dressing

Directions:
Soak beans overnight in water. Drain and rinse. Put all ingredients except salad in crockpot. Add a variety of the spices if desired. Cook for 12 hours on low. Salt as needed after beans are cooked. When beans are ready, cook cornbread and serve. Leftover beans can be used in burritos the next day or frozen.
Total cost: $5.40

I hope today's recipes give you some new ideas for cooking within your budget.

$10 Dinners part 2

Okay, Here is the beginning of our list of Dinners for $10 or less.

1. Menu: Spaghetti with scrambled hamburger, salad, canned peaches
Shopping List: Spaghetti (1.85), sauce (1.00), 1/2 lb hamburger (1.25), salad (2.00), peaches(3.00)
1/4 bottle of salad dressing (.75) TOTAL = $9.85

2. Menu: Beans and meatballs with crusty rolls, carrot, celery and cucumber sticks
Shopping List: 1 Tbsp Oil, 1 onion(.20) 2 cloves garlic(.05) 1/2 cup ketchup(.15) 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp mustard, 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans(1.50), 1 can (15 oz) pork & beans(1.50), 16 small meatballs- use 1/2 lb ground beef(1.25) Crusty rolls-discount or homemade (1.00) carrot, celery and cucumber(3.00) TOTAL = $8.65

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large saucepan, warm oil and add onion and garlic; cook til tender. Add ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Bring to simmer.

Drain kidney beans and add with pork and beans to onion mixture; mix well and remove from heat. Add meatballs and pour all into 2-quart casserole. Bake 40 minutes or until bubbling.

3. Menu: Chef salad and garlic toast
Shopping List: 1 large head lettuce, iceberg or leaf (1.50) 4 eggs (.50), 6 slices thin-sliced ham (1.50), 1 shredded carrot (.20), 8 chopped green onions (.75), 1 cucumber (1.00), 2 tomatoes (1.50), discount or homemade bread(1.00), garlic powder, parmesan cheese(.50), margarine(.25), 1/2 bottle ranch dressing(1.00) TOTAL= $9.95

Directions: Hardboil eggs; cool, peel and chop into 1/8ths.
Cut ham into thin strips, shred carrot; chop green onions and cucumber. Cut tomatoes into 1/8ths. Toss salad ingredients together.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread each bread slice with margarine, sprinkle on the garlic powder and parmesan cheese. Bake in oven till crispy around edges but still soft in middle, about 5 minutes.