My goal for this past week was not to spend any money at the grocery store and to enjoy a “no spend week.” All was well until I remembered my total commitment to visiting 52 bakeries in 52 weeks this year. 😉 Although I spent $8.75 there {I’ll tell you all about it soon} I think I did a pretty skippy job of using what we had in the pantry and freezer to make meals this week. Including the delicious quinoa and butternut salad pictured above.
Beans and rice, rice and beans. My secret to making the beans taste so good is to add a little corn and salsa to the beans just before pouring them over the rice. If everyone would eat beans and rice as a main meal just once a week… I’m convinced it would help their grocery bill.
Mrs. HB and I got together and made meatloaf. I had originally planned for it to be a freezer meal but it was a new recipe and I really really wanted to try it. The HH said it was the best one I’ve made yet. Little did he know what the secret ingredient was. ANTELOPE. Seriously. Who makes meatloaf with antelope in it? Mrs. Hillbilly. That’s who.
I also tried out a new cookie recipe. It was a winner.
I don’t think a week ever goes by without some sort of stir fry around here. Sadly though I am now out of fresh vegetables {well, except carrots and onions} and need to stock up. Big time. I’ll be over in the Tacoma area this week so I think I’ll pop by Winco again. The produce prices there rock.
Mrs. HB and I also made quiche. {I’ll tell you more about it in my next post but it was freakin’ awesome.}
Also The Girl wanted me to tell you that iBotta has a bunch of Wet n Wild makeup rebates available right now and they make for some pretty inexpensive makeup deals. Especially for those of you who are not brand specific and on a budget.
Well, that’s it for this weeks grocery budget update.
Now go forth and save!
~Mavis
- Total Spent This Week $8.75 {I had to so I could keep on pace with bakery goal}
- Total Spent in Janaury on Groceries $56.53
- Total Spent in January on Take Out, Date Nights, and Bakery Treats $22.05
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
Rosaleen says
Hi, Mavis,
We wouldn’t make it on your menus, as delicious as they look, as among the family, we have too many dietary restrictions. That said, I’m trying to use more beans, and have read that there are ways to reduce their gassy after-effects. The last batch I cooked up I tried several suggestions which did seem to help. First I gave the beans an overnight soak in cold water, then gave them several days to sprout, rinsing at least twice per day. It’s been cold, so my kitchen is not very warm. As expected, sprouting was slow. Once most of the beans developed a tail (sprouted), I brought the beans to a boil twice, changing the water reach time, then cooked them slowly in a crock pot, adding a little fennel and a piece of nori (seaweed). Once done, we tried a small amount plain with Beano, then over the next few days had a potato/kale/navy bean/kielbasa soup with Beano and had probably the least after-effects ever.
The process was time-consuming and tedious, but doable. Considering the time involved, I plan to freeze or dehydrate future batches to have ready to use beans available.
The salad looks awesome!
Laurel says
A friend told me to simply wash the beans till no suds appear. Really simple and works. I also soak my beans overnight. Rinse the next morning…cook removing the foam. Then when I rinse them prior to making a dish I rinse till mo sudsy bubbles.
Karen says
Mavis, I have never “cooked” beans, only used canned. How do you make a big batch of beans. Also, how do you make that nice sticky rice, is it a specific kind of rice?
tia in boise says
i am thinking that a video of the 2 of you in the kitchen (referencing what i think was spilled flour…) would be a cool and hilarious thing!
Diana says
In my home country we eat a lot of beans always cooked from scratch. The beans are left in plenty of cold water at least 12 hours then washed and put in a pan with cold water, brought to boil and water changed again with cold water. Again, water is changed and let them boil until nearly tender. Then they are ready to be used in dishes.
Rosaleen says
Karen-
Look at my post, read up online, or check a cookbook. One of the bean sites where I was reading said beans do better with long, slow cooking. I had been using my pressure cooker but went with my crock pot on low. The beans took a very long time to be done. I think I started them one night and they weren’t done until the next afternoon, but I’m not sure about that. Different brands cook in different times, which is one reason I suggest you look this up. Dry beans are much cheaper than canned and some people believe that the can lining leaches chemicals into food.
Karen says
Thank you Rosaleen. I will do a little research and try the crockpot. 🙂
Rosaleen says
You are welcome. If your family is bothered by gas, do try changing the soaking and cooking water several times. Some of the B vitamins and maybe some minerals can be lost, but if your diet is good, you should be OK. If you get into cooking dry beans from scratch, you can always consider also sprouting the beans before cooking them. Sprouted beans are purported to have more nutrition as well as getting rid of some of the undigestible sugars that cause flatulence.
Tammy says
That quinoa salad looks delicious!
Leslie says
Sounds like you area stir-fry pro, Mavis. And I’m a rookie, but I love a good stir-fry! Any tips you might have would be appreciated!
Shelle says
Tell The Girl I thank her for the Wet-n-Wild/Ibotta tip! I don’t wear a lot of makeup but I have been trying to kick my nail-biting habit and keeping my nails looking nice and painted has helped a TON so I was on the hunt for nail polish anyway. Our Rite Aid had a few W-n-W polishes clearanced at $1.94 (the good gel polishes too!). I picked up a pretty light pink and got the $1.00 Ibotta rebate. Winner Winner!
Kim o. says
Any chance of posting that chocolate cookie recipe?