Markdown Meat Purchases

 

I almost always look for sales, discounts, manager's specials or marked down meats every time I go into a grocery store.  This is the only way I can afford to buy meat on an extremely low grocery budget and I've managed to fill a chest freezer in my garage quite nicely by doing so.

 

I got all of this for half price!  There are several meals here

Last month I picked up three packages of meat - a large package of chicken leg quarters, four pork chops and two cubed steaks.  As soon as I get home I "process" these packages of meat by either cooking them or repackaging them for freezing.  This time I put one of the leg quarters into my small slow cooker seasoned with lemon pepper and that is enough for me to have for two meals.  I placed the other leg quarters into quart sized freezer bags, labeled them with the date and cost, for tracking purposes, and then into the chest freezer they went.  I placed the pork chops into freezer bags, two each, labeled them and placed them into the chest freezer as well.  The cubed steaks were cooked the very next day and were delicious.

 

This makes it super simple to prepare a meal

When I am repackaging meats I try to do it in meal sized portions with the idea that I will get two good meals out of each one.  That way I have just the right amount to prepare.  By adding the date I am able to rotate items and use things up before freezer burn can ruin them.  By adding the cost of each item I'm able to control how much money is spent preparing each meal and that helps me to stay on budget as well.

 

Cubed steak and a nice big garden salad

My stores have no problem taking back any discounted item that may be spoiled so I don’t have to worry about the freshness of an item.  I've only had to return something once in the past five years, it is very rare for me to buy something that is past its prime.  Buying markdowns helps keep food out of the landfill, saves me a lot of money and allows me to have cuts of meat, especially steaks, I otherwise would not purchase or get to enjoy.

 

What I Spent On Groceries - October 2022

 

I have been on a mission to use up what I already have in my kitchen freezer, the pantry, as well as to make do with what I already have on hand before I head out to the grocery store to get something else.  A couple months ago I had stocked up on frozen vegetables and picked up a couple heads of cabbage, carrots and celery which keep a good while in the refrigerator.  To begin the month I really had quite a bit on hand to start with.

 

I love green olives and these low carb queso dips are great on vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower.
I didn't care for the  alfredo sauce, but the avocado sauce is wonderful.  Definitely would by the Herdez items again.

At the beginning of the month I popped into the grocery outlet just to see if they had anything of interest.  I picked up some sauces with decent ingredients to had a little "spice" to my life.  It is nice to have some variety from time to time, especially if I can get things at a discounted price.

Just a handful of fresh items to supplement what I already had on hand plus some cream for my coffee

Mid month I did a tiny produce run to pick up a head of lettuce, a few bananas, an avocado and a three pound bag of mandarin oranges.  I also grabbed a quart of heavy cream for my daily Keto coffee.  I spent less than $20 that trip and was set for quite a while.

 

A beef patty with cauliflower con queso & a side salad with blue cheese dressing

Since I had done a big meal prep at the end of September I didn't do a whole lot of cooking last month.  Instead I did a lot of reheating of freezer meals and averaged actually cooking a meal only about once or twice a week.  Not bad!  Meal prepping is a great way to free up time while making really good use of the food I buy.

 

I scored some great deals on meat in the markdown bin

My next grocery trip near the end of the month I headed off to Albertson's just to pick up a few items I had some digital coupons, which fortunately included produce, as well as a handful of items on sale.  I found three packages of meat on markdown so I added that to my cart as well.  Marked down items are a terrific budget stretcher in my opinion.  Digital and paper coupons are as well just so long as you only buy items you actually use and not items just because it seems like a good deal.

 

I carefully track my grocery spending on a spreadsheet

My final tally for the month came in at just $47.55.  I was quite happy with that to say the least.  My goal is to stretch these purchases as far as I can into delicious and healthy meals, minimize food waste to the best of my ability and try to spend as little as possible next month to supplement what I already have on hand in my freezer and pantry.  I think I can manage that.

 

Making Soup Stock Is Economical & Easy

 

Whenever I prepare vegetables I save my scraps and keep them in a gallon size Ziploc bag in my freezer.  Onions skins, carrot peels and the ends of those carrots, parsley stems, celery trimmings,  cabbage cores, etc., it all goes into the bag.  Sometimes I'll have bones or chicken carcasses leftover from a meal too and I will place those into a bag and freeze them for making broth as well.

 

The other day I took out my very full bag of vegetable scraps and some saved pork bones and placed them in my largest slow cooker.  I added some dried herbs and peppercorns from my spice cabinet and filled it up with water.  I let it cook on high for six hours until I had rendered all of that goodness from the bones and vegetable scraps.  I allowed it to cool for a while and then strained the broth into a large bowl.  It looked and smelled delicious.

 

The strained broth was divided up into plastic freezer containers, labeled and placed into the freezer to be used in recipes later on.  Anytime I have a recipe that calls for broth or if I want to make soup I'm all set.  The best thing about making your own broth is that you know exactly what is in it.  The best thing about making broth this way is that it is practically free, made out of things most people would have just tossed into the trash.  With the rising costs of groceries right now I'm not willing to waste anything.  And if I don't have to spend my money on purchasing a carton or can of broth, even better.

 

How I'm Keeping My Grocery Budget Low, Low, Low

 

I literally watch the grocery sales ads like a hawk and shop seasonally.  When I find what I want at a super low price I stock up.  This time of year is a good time to stock up on nuts because baking items start going on sale.  I was out of pecans so I picked up a couple bags on sale for $3.99 each.

 

Anytime cheese goes on sale I will usually buy it.  It stores for quite a while but it also freezes well too so if I have more than what I can use right away I just tuck it into my freezer.  I almost always have grated cheeses in my freezer.  This time around I also had store coupons to use so the cheese ended up costing me only 99¢ per package.

 

I watch for markdown items, especially in the meat department.  This time I found some uncured smoked sausages.  These are package as a twin pack with four sausages each so I froze one and put the other in the refrigerator.  At a $1.29 these were a great buy.  I also picked up a large package of sliced ham and turkey which I'll divide up and freeze most of it.  I thought it would be nice to have on hand for Cobb salads and to make sandwiches for picnics and hiking trips.  This ended up being the only meat items I bought during the month of September.

 

Fruits and vegetables are at their best price if you only buy them seasonally.  Most vegetables are available year round, but fruit tends to be more expensive in the winter than during spring and summer.  When it is high I will often turn to frozen berry options instead of fresh.  Most of the time I take stock of what I already have and fill in with just what I need.  In this case it was green onions and some fresh cilantro.  The cilantro is mostly for our bunny, but she shares.  In turn I share carrots.

 

I picked up mandarin oranges on sale, $2.98 for a three pound bag.  I don't get them often, but they make a nice sweet treat every once in a while and they work great in a pack for when I'm out hiking.

 

The price of cream went down a bit and by doing the math it was much less expensive to buy pints at $2.29 instead of quarts at $5.49 this time.  The dates are far out there into December so I grabbed three to keep in the back of my refrigerator until I need them.  Butter was on sale for $1.88 a pound so I picked up two pounds and added those to my freezer.  I try to stock up on that whenever it goes on sale too.

 

At the beginning of the month I stocked up on fresh and frozen vegetables.  I picked up a head of green and a head of purple cabbage as well as some kale and carrots for chopped salads.  These vegetables keep for a good long time in the refrigerator and I can use them in a lot of other recipes.  A couple onions, some bell peppers, a large bunch of parsley (again most of it was for our bunny), a large of avocado and a head of iceberg lettuce.  I used up the peppers and avocado first so they didn't go bad, but everything else kept me going through to the end of the month.

 

I also keep plenty of frozen vegetable options on hand so I didn't need to make extra trips to the grocery store.  Frozen broccoli and cauliflower florets are a mainstay at my house.  I can use them in so many different ways.

 

A simple meal of roasted vegetables with chunks of meat seasoned with minced garlic & soy sauce

I keep my meals pretty simple so my grocery lists are pretty simple too.  The majority of what I buy is produce and frozen vegetables.  Some meat and dairy. By keeping it simple and only shopping the sales I keep my grocery spending quite low.

 

Chocolate Brownie Cookie Bars

 

Halfway between a brownie and a cookie these bars are a delicious low carb Keto sweet treat.  A healthy way to satisfy that chocolate craving or pesky sweet tooth.

 

Chocolate Brownie Cookie Bars 

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

6 eggs

3/4 cup sweetener, of your choice

2 Tbs. cream mixed with 2 Tbs. water

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup sugar free chocolate chips (optional)

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional

 

In a large mixing bowl thoroughly mix butter and cocoa powder.  Add eggs, sweetner, cream and water, and salt, stirring to combine.  Add coconut flour, chocolate chips and nuts and stir again until well combined.  Batter will begin to thicken.  Lightly oil an 8" X 8" baking pan.  Pour batter into pan and evenly spread.  Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 20 to 25 minutes until center is firm and springs back at the touch.  Allow to cool and cut into four pieces.  Store leftovers in an airtight container.

 

These bars are approximately 2 grams of carbohydrates each.  Less if you omit the chocolate chips although I can't imagine why one would want to do that. 😏

 

What I Eat In A Day #8

I was busy running errands the other day but I thought I'd go ahead and share what I ate that day.  Even when I'm busy I can still pull off some really good and healthy meals.  Since I needed to be out of the house fairly early I went ahead and made my morning Keto coffee and took it along with me.  Once home I enjoyed a simple lunch of two poached eggs on a single slice of buttered toast made with Keto bread.

 

Speaking of Keto bread, while I was running my errands I picked up two loaves at my neighborhood Dollar Tree.  $1.25 a loaf beats $6 a loaf at the regular grocery store any day!  I was super excited to see it in stock so I grabbed these and got them into my freezer so I'm well stocked right now.

 

I opened a jar of pork verde I had made and canned quite some time ago.  Healthy fast food in my pantry is very much appreciated.  I put it in my little slow cooker on low along with half a package of cream cheese.  A few hours later I stirred it all together to make a delicious creamy sauce.

 

I shredded iceberg lettuce to serve it on adding grated cheese, diced avocado, some olives and a nice dollop of sour cream.  You can serve this on rice cauliflower too.  I like the iceberg lettuce here for the crispness and because it hold up well under the pork verde.  Lots of good flavors going on here.

 

Also, one of my favorite snacks from time to time is almonds and a square of 90% dark chocolate along with a nice cup of flavored hot coffee.  Perfect treat as the weather is cooling now and Fall is definitely in the air.

 

What delicious meals have you been enjoying lately?

Stuffed Mushrooms You'll Want To Make Again

 

I like to change it up every once in a while and prepare these as a main course in place of the typical piece of steak, pork or chicken.  They are super easy to make and don't cost a lot either.  Use large button or crimini mushrooms and nice big portabellas work well too.

 

Stuffed Mushrooms

1/2 lb. ground pork sausage

2 Tbs. finely diced onion

2 tsp. dried basil

1/3 cup grated parmesan

6 - 8 large button mushrooms

 

Clean mushrooms, removing stems and setting aside.  Use a spoon to remove the gills from the mushroom caps.  Place mushroom caps into a lightly oiled baking dish.  Finely dice the mushroom stems.

 

In a skillet sauté pork sausage, diced mushroom stems and onions until pork is cooked through and onions and mushrooms are soft.  Add basil, stir to thoroughly combine.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  

Once cool add parmesan and stir until meat mixture begins to thicken. 

 

With a spoon fill each of the mushroom caps making a mound of filling over each one.  

Bake at 375° for about 15 minutes until mushrooms are soft and the tops are crisp.

 

The parmesan takes the place of traditional bread crumbs keeping this recipe completely Keto friendly and low carb.  This is a very flavorful dish if you enjoy stuffed mushrooms.  Use smaller mushrooms and these make great appetizers, especially at the holidays or for parties.  You can easily double this recipe too.