As I was making muffins & bread last night, I had a thought. It had been a long long time since I had made bread, or even muffins or anything, and ever since I have been complaining about how much groceries cost. So this is what I’m doing; for the rest of the month, I will not buy anything in the groceries I cannot easily make at home.
I’ve been spending way over $150 a week on food, with most of it gone by the next week and people still hungry. (plus I gained 5 pounds over the summer. Oy!) Okay, they are not starving, but the junk doesn’t stick with you.
When we’re done, we will hopefully have some extra money to spend on other things, like new clothes or birthday presents. Who wants to join me in the challenge???
You giving out cooking lessons?
I HATE the cost of groceries. It is awful.
I’m game. I don’t know if I’ll be *super* strict about it, but I’ll definitely give it a good honest try! Wheee! You’re gonna post recipes, right?
Count me in…I’ve been trying to avoid buying that kind of stuff anyway – I even have some neat cracker recipes. Pretzels, etc. Shouldn’t be THAT hard!
Sounds like fun. I say we all post recipes that we’re using in our blogs. Whadda ya think??
I’m game! My budget only allows me to spend $100.00 a week on groceries to feed myself, Maggie (18 mo.), Blake (8) and Brandon (15) who happens to have a hole in his stomach, because he never feels full. He could eat all day if he had it his way.
Tomatoes are in season here, right now, and I have so many recipes that call for a tomato-sauce base. So, I’ve made two batches of this EASY recipe (the blender does most the work.) Of course, it isn’t worth the work if you can’t get tomtatoes at a reasonable price. . .
Spaghetti Sauce for Canning
Ingredients :
1/2 cup salad oil (I use olive oil)
4 x cloves garlic
4 med onions (quarter)
4 x green bell peppers (wash, quarter, deseed)
20 lb tomatoes (wash, remove stems, don’t cut!)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tbl oregano leaves
2 tbl salt
3/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp basil
2 x bay leaves
Method :
Use the blender to liquefy tomatoes, onions, garlic, and peppers. (NOTE: Let the blender do the work for you! Use the oil or leave some sauce in to provide enough liquid for whirring.) Put in large kettle. Add other ingredients. Cook until desired thickness. (INOTE: I let simmer all day, and can at night after kids are in bed.)
(NOTE: The ratios in this are safe for canning–add citric acid and process for tomato based sauces. I freeze it, because I’m not super confident with the Ukrainian canning methods yet. If you freeze, you can add mushrooms and more veggies.)
Makes 10 pints.
Marilyn Crandall (Notes by Alexandra)
Hope this helps!