Day 7 of 2 week budget dining plan

Technically, it's day 7.

Since I haven't gone to bed yet, it's still day 6, but there will be rehearsals in NJ for faire and then Bung's Tavern afterwards.

Lunch:
Chicken and corn chili - $ 1. 33 per serving
Cornbread gems: $ .25 per serving

Which is good, since I'm planning on getting pulled pork afterwards when we all go out ($ 10.00). Dining splurge of the week but worth it after we spend all day outside in the rain!

Day 6 of 2 week budget dining plan

Forgot about food. Oops. I'm working on a paper for class and the whole "making dinner" thing slipped my mind.

So while I finish the paper (taking a break at the moment!), I am enjoying a half-serving of tomorrow's chicken-corn chili ($ 8.00 for 6 servings) with a handful of chips, some cheese, and sour cream. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Day 5 of 2 week budget dining plan

Simple and quick, because I have a ton of homework to do.

2 servings

Purchased pre-made chicken cordon bleu (low sodium)

Broccoli spears

Homemade mashed potatoes 

Chicken: $ 2.50

Broccoli: $ 1.00

Potatoes: $ 1.70 (made with sour cream for some umph, upping the cost a bit)

Total: $ 5.20, or $ 2.60 per serving

Not the least expensive, but healthy and fast! The potatoes boiled while the chicken baked. The broccoli heated up while I mashed the potatoes.

I love to cook, I really do, and I envy those people who can blog about their inexpensive gourmet meals they spent hours making. But I'm a divorced mother of a 21 year old. I work full time, take 10 credit hours with PSU, and rehearse for a renaissance faire on the weekends. Time is a precious commodity! Some day there will be wonderfully creative meals once more - this will probably happen in November, after the seasons are over for both of the faires in which I've been cast!

Day 4 of 2 week budget plan

Pesto pasta night - aka Really Cheap Dinner night

1/2 box wagon wheel pasta  - $ 0.49
1/2 jar of pesto sauce - $ 1.25

Total: $ 1.74, or $ 0.87 per serving

Not much to say about this. Filling, yes, but lacking in things like vegetables.

I was curious to see what the total dinner cost has been for 2 servings for the last few nights. Here it is:

Per serving:

Monday: $ 1.78
Tuesday: $ 2.16
Wednesday: $ 1.25
Thursday: $ 0.87

$ 6.06 per person for 4 days worth of dinners, or an average just over $ 1.51 per person per day for dinner.

I recently had a conversation with a friend about how hard it is for people who subsist on food stamps to have a healthy, satisfying menu on such limited funds, but I think this may prove that it is possible without resorting to all packaged junk as I did the last time I tried one of the food stamp challenges. Yeah, I didn't last long on that one, which limited participants to $ 4.72 per day for all food and drink per person.

Day 3 of 2 week budget plan

Tonight's dinner - 3 servings

Ham steaks  - $ 1.99
Brussels sprouts - $ 0.99
Rice-a-roni - $ 0.79

Not the healthiest meal, but it's not fast food and it's not expensive. And hey, veggies! I love veggies!

Total: $ 3.77, or just over $ 1.25 per serving

Day 2 of 2 week budget plan

Breakdown of tonight's dinner - serves 4 (there will be leftovers for lunches!)

Thin-sliced sirloin: $ 5.82
Cheddar pasta with broccoli: $ 0.99
Broccoli and cauliflower: $ 0.99
Texas toast: $ 0.85

Total: $ 8.65, or just over $ 2.16 per serving

Considering I can easily spend $ 6.00 - $ 7.00 for soup and salad at work for lunch, this is a bargain!

Last night's meal made 3 servings, which I forgot to post!

Chicken breasts: $ 3.15
Potatoes: $ 0.75
Green beans: $ 0.79
Dressing: $ 0.65

Total: $ 5.34, or $ 1.78 per serving

Soon there will be photos. I just seem to have misplaced my camera!

Menu planning on a budget

Planning the next two weeks' worth of menus. The only things I need to purchase: rolls and the right kind of beef for stew next week. Not too bad!

Monday	Chicken, potatoes, green beans (an okay meal, but the potatoes could have used more time!
Tuesday	Steak, pasta, garlic bread
Wednesday	Ham steak, vegetables, rice
Thursday	Pesto pasta
Friday	Chicken cordon bleu, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Saturday	Tilapia, rice, Brussels sprouts
Sunday	NJRF Rehearsal day – Chicken-corn chili for lunch; Dinner at Bung’s Tavern
Monday	Pork chops, couscous, asparagus
Tuesday	Black bean chicken and salsa
Wednesday	Spaghetti
Thursday	Sloppy joes
Friday	Sausage biscuits and gravy
Saturday	Beef stew, rolls
Sunday	NJRF Rehearsal day - Leftover beef stew and rolls for lunch; Dinner at Bung's Tavern

There is little to purchase for this menu - not a bad deal right now. I need to stock the freezer well over the next month or so, but that will take time as well as money. With my roommate's change in employment, things are going to be extremely tight around here for a bit, so I want to make sure things are stocked and taken care of.

Hooray for upright freezers!