Week #4 for Eating on $350 a Month

Again, all breakfast and lunch ideas can be found here.

Groceries

• ground beef (cheap at Walmart, about $2.50 for 1lb in the sausage roll looking packets)
• taco kit (right now $2.99 at no frills, normal price $3.49)
• chicken fingers ($17.99 for a box at M&M or make your own with the recipe at the end)
• Thai sauce ($2.99 No Frills)
• Ribs (we get St. Louis Style, at Walmart for a large rack which feeds 2 people easy $8-$10)
• 3 romaine hearts or bag of lettuce ($2.54 at No Frills)
• Spaghetti box
• can of crushed tomatoes ($.88 at No Frills right now, stock up, or buy no name, same stuff!)
• garlic cloves
• can of pork and beans (or any kind of bean you want, I just like the additional of the sauce)
• a few large baking potatoes
• bag of fillet fish (on sale for $4 at No Frills right now!)
• bag of coleslaw
• coleslaw salad dressing (no name brand tastes just as good and is cheaper, or you could add mayo, vinegar, and pickle juice to make your own)
• carton of whipping cream (cheaper then buying the premade stuff)
• pancake mix (Costco $8 LARGE BAG you will just use from the pancake mix you bought in the beginning)
• tenderloin (you should have some left over from your Costco purchase)
• Kaiser buns (4 for $1 at Walmart in bins)
• BBQ sauce (preferably chicken and rib from Kraft, so good)
• onions
• sour cream (should have some left over from other week)
• cheese (should have some left over, just need it for tacos this week)
• rice 
• carrots
• tomatoes (fresh)
• salsa
• frozen strawberries (earlier Costco purchase, LARGE bag, $9)
• 1 green pepper
• bean (big bag you have in the freezer still from Costco)

Meal #1
Beef Tacos/ Taco Salad

• 1-2lbs ground beef
• sour cream
• salsa
• cheese
• taco kit
• lettuce shredded
• tomato diced
• olives (optional)

Follow recipe on the taco kit for cooking and seasoning beef.   Serve on shells or wraps.  If you want to feel a little healthier and fill up, grab a large bowl, fill with tons of lettuce, tomato, and olives.  Add your beef and toppings for a great salad.  Take a hard shell, crush and top.

Meal #2
Thai Chicken Fingers

• either bought fingers or homemade ones
• Thai sauce
• rice
• carrots

Bake or deep fry your chicken fingers (find homemade recipe at the end of this post).  While baking, make rice and boil carrots (cut up sticks or use baby carrots).  When carrots are done drain water and add 2 T of brown sugar and a T of honey, parsley on top to look pretty!  Once fingers are done, cut into smaller strips about 1/2 inch thick.  Put into a large mixing bowl and pour about 1/4 C of Thai sauce on top and mix around.  Serve on top of rice.

Meal #3

Fall off the bone Ribs

• ribs
• salad
• beans
• baby potatoes
• BBQ sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• med onion cut into large pieces
• little olive oil, butter, and salt

Take out your crock pot around 10am (or the early morning if you work).  Put in ribs and fill with water till covered.  Add 1/4 C of Worcestershire sauce and the onion.  Let cook till dinner time (or if you start early like at 8am, let cook on high for 6 hours).  40 mins before dinner start cooking potatos by cutting into quarters, put some olive oil and butter in the dish with them, salt and bake for 30mins at 400 or until soft.  Boil beans on stove for 10 mins or till desired crunchy.  Take out a large cookie sheet and heat the oven for 400 at BROIL.  Take out ribs and lay on sheet, cover ONE SIDE ONLY with BBQ sauce.  Put in oven for about 7 mins, take out and flip over, cover the other side with BBQ sauce, broil again for 7 mins.  Serve with potatos and beans.

Meal #4
Meatless Spaghetti

• can of crushed tomato
• dried basil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1T of olive oil
• finely diced onion
• 1T of sugar
• can of pork & beans
• spaghetti 
• salad

Start cooking spaghetti.  Take out your pan and put in olive oil.  Once hot, add minced garlic and onions.  Cook till onions are clear.  Add can of crushed tomatoes and T of sugar along with basil and can of pork and beans (or any beans, this will be a boast of protein as well as keeping you fuller longer).   Make salad, we do Cesar on spaghetti night.  You could also have garlic bread either homemade (just slices of bread with butter that has garlic powder mixed in, broiled) or bought.

Meal #5
Fish & Chips

• pancake mix
• fish fillets
• large baking potatoes
• large skillet with 1.5 inches of veggie oil covering the bottom and up/ or deep fryer
• coleslaw 
• coleslaw dressing

Take large potatoes and cut up into french fries.  Put on large baking pan and drizzle with olive oil, mixing it around so all are covered.  Then sprinkle desired spices, salt, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, and place in oven at 425 for 30-40mins.  Heat your oil.  Make sure you stay around medium heat, you don't want to have a kitchen fire.  Make your pancake batter (extra so you can use the rest for tomorrows dinner) and get out your fish fillets.  Make sure you dab both sides of the fillet to get rid of any water.  Cover both sides of fish with flour then dip into your pancake mix.  Place into your grease, please watch

Meal #6
Waffles & Strawberries (Breakfast for Dinner)

• pancake batter (made from yesterday) or mix
• frozen strawberries thawed
• whipping cream carton (500mL works good at my house, we have leftovers usually)
• 1/3 cup sugar

Make up batter.  Grill up some waffles or pancakes if you don't have a waffle machine.  While doing that, also get out a hand mixer.  Pour out your whipping cream into a mixing bowl and start mixing.  After about 2 mins on high, add sugar, and continue to mix until fluffy and peaking.  Enjoy!

Meal #7
Pulled Pork Sandwiches

• tenderloin
• BBQ sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• ketchup
• mustard
• salt
• pulled pork crock pot sauce packet (if you don't want to make your own)
• onions diced
• green pepper diced
• Kaiser buns
• coleslaw

Take out the crock pot again.  Place in tenderloin and cover with water.  Cook on high for 5 hours.  Drain water after 5 hours and shred.  Add onions, green peppers, sauce packet OR 3/4 cup BBQ sauce, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup ketchup, 3T of mustard, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1t of salt.  Also add 1/2 cup of water.  Cook on high for an additional 3 hours.  Serve on Kaiser buns with coleslaw on the side.


Total for these meals comes to about $80 if you make your own chicken fingers and if you were following the meals for the previous weeks.  Total comes to just over $350 for all 4 weeks but I allotted a lot for lunches and breakfasts.  And this is if you ate at home every night.

I know in our house we have a budget for eating out and we eat out about 3 times a month, this includes coupon meals and $5 pizzas.  Once a month we try and eat at a sit down restaurant but we only have one child so families with more then one kid that is older then 3 may consider not doing this due to cost.  OR go out with your husband for a date night at LEAST once a month and make that night your sit down meal!!

Homemade Chicken Fingers

Thawed chicken breast cut into halves long ways.  In a bowl add 2 cloves of garlic smashed, 1 bay leaf, 1/4 t of thyme, 1 cup of buttermilk, and some hot pepper if you like a kick.  Place chicken in bowl and let marinade for an hour.

Grab some corn flakes, no name to save money, and crush.  Take out marinaded meat and cover with crushed flakes, both sides.  Bake at 400 for 15 mins.

For those of you who are new to buttermilk, it's a low fat milk that has a tangy taste.  It lasts for a while in the fridge and is great for a lot of different sauces, recipes, and homemade cake mixes!