February 2011 Controlled/No Spend Thread

[dakota4600]

Shan- I understand.

AZmom- I'm not SES, but I've frozen enchiladas. (Must put this on my list of things to make soon.) I made a large batch and froze one batch after rolling the enchiladas, but before baking. (I didn't put the cheese on just the sauce). Then I froze them in the pan (then vacuum sealed it into a bag and just put the whole thing in the fridge to defrost when I wanted to use them. I have read about ways to freeze them in the pan, using aluminum foil (I think) to create a sling so you can transfer the frozen food out of the pan and into a freezer bag, then just pop it back in the pan when you want to cook it. That way your baking dishes aren't all in the freezer all the time. I haven't got that industrious, but just may try it this weekend. Lasagna is another good one to make multiples of and freeze.

[sheilaincali]

Update: 3/20 $0, 3/25 NEO, 14 lbs lost

Received a call a couple of hours ago requesting the certified pay reports for a project. They decided to request them after not asking for them all summer. So yeah, I didn't do them all summer since I didn't think they were required. All by hand, 3 to 4 pages per report and they were there for close to 25 weeks. I have 4 weeks done Going to be a long weekend.

Red: Congrats on staying strong. We have been working out 3 times a week or more at the gym lately. My dad is going to join us today on a guest pass since he is considering joining as well. Sadly the Boy kicks our butts every day. We run/walk on the track as part of our workout. Really annoying every time he laps me!

[kcgal]

Success at Weight Watcher down .8 pound. Good deal considering the snow storm. If you recall I am the one whining about shoveling the snow for the umpteen time. Time for me to eat humble pie. (I'd rather eat M&M's)

3/nsd 2cs 2 moans

[redwagon]

Thanks Sheila! I walk about a mile and a half daily just during lunch and en route to work, and I try to do something at night, whether it's the gym or zumba or dance kinect (which is quite the workout). I'm walking to the bar/restaurant after work, and that's about a mile or so. Every bit counts. I do need to do more of the higher-intensity gym workouts though. But at least I'm starting to get my food under control. Kind of. haha. I'll never be perfect and that's okay.

[ses]

AZmom--just a quick reply for now and I will think about your questions. My top favorites for freezing are chili, pasta sauce and enchilada sauce. I used to make the enchilada sauce only when I made a batch of enchiladas. But that meant 8 servings, so I could only make it when I would have guests. Last winter I had guests coming who had to cancel at the last minute and since I hadn't rolled up the enchiladas yet I decided to try freezing the sauce. I used ziplock bowls because I had them on hand--8 one cup bowls. Then I just toss a frozen bowl of sauce in the fridge to thaw when I want an enchilada. Once thawed I spread some of the sauce on the bottom of a glass plate, roll up a couple of ounces of shredded cheddar in a tortilla, spread the rest of the sauce on top, sprinkle a bit of shredded cheese and microwave at 80% for two minutes and I end up with a bite of heaven. This sauce recipe is for one pan (8 servings) but could be easily doubled, and freeze half.

1 lb browned hamburger
1 medium onion, diced
1 can enchilada sauce(about 20-28 oz)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 oz)
1 can diced jalapenos (4 oz)
Cook it all together and let simmer for about 30-45 minutes. It is better if you don't use previously browned hamburger so the flavors cook into the meat. Using a stick or emersion blender will help make it smoother.

8 tortillas
1 lb shredded chedder
In a 9x13 pan spread some of the sauce on the bottom of the pan. Roll about 2 oz of shredded cheese in a tortilla, (I use the large burrito size, but you may want to use the taco size and make twice as many--easier for small kids to eat) and line them up in your pan. Pour the rest of the sauce over the top and sprinkle with some shredded cheese. Bake in the oven 350* for 15-25 minutes. Long enough to melt the cheese and heat every thing through. This can be frozen after cooking or freeze the sauce separately.

In your case I would recommend freezing the sauce in a gallon freezer bag, spread flat to take up less space in the freezer. Same thing for pasta sauce and chili.

As you start doing more of this type of cooking you should save a plastic ice cream tub for when ever you bone and skin your chicken to save the bones and skin in (much cheaper to get a whole chicken and cut, skin and bone it yourself) when it gets really full, it all in a stock pot, cover with water and simmer for an hour or so, toss in a carrot and a celery stalk if you want, Skim off the "foamy gunk" that boils to the top frequently. Strain off the broth and pick through the bones for any bits of cooked chicken which you will toss back into the broth. Allow it to cool and freeze. I like to use a 4 cup ziplock screw top jar or a canning jar. Be sure to leave about 1" space at the top for expansion during freezing. In another plastic tub start saving any leftover veggies, just toss them in on top of each other (or any limp-almost-past-it veggies). When your tub gets full, the veggies and the broth in a pot and simmer, season to taste and you will have a delicoius soup and a FREE meal.

Do you have a separate freezer or just the fridge freezer? A freezer is a very good investment for a growing family. What about a crock pot? They are miracle machines for a busy mom.

I will look through my recipes for some that are good for advance prep and freezing and get back to you. Probably a personal message so I don't hijack the thread.

Any questions just ask. Cooking cheap but healthy is sort of a hobby of mine.

[ses]

Oh, yes, lasagna is wonderful. Just so huge I seldom make it. But it freezes beautifully. A vacuum sealer is a wonderful assist!

Anything you see in the supermarket freezer cases are worth trying.

ETA: I generally don't freeze cooked pasta or rice since it is so quick to cook up, and I like the flavor more if it is fresh cooked. Unless it is part of a cooked caserole.

[constanz22]

Today ended up being a spend day. Woke up with a sick doggie and had to make a visit to the vet. So, that leaves me at:
1 NS, 2 CS

[reeneejune]

I've decided that if I'm going to be a mini-Startsmart, I'm going to have to get my backside in gear this weekend and get some organizing done. Because unlike out dear Startsmart, I've never in my entire life forgotten to eat. ;D Which means that I need to spend some time grocery shopping and meal planning, as well as doing some plotting so that I can balance my now increased work responsibilities with my volunteer responsibilities. I don't think I've mentioned this, but I'll be doing costumes for The Miracle Worker which takes stage in April at the local community theater. I really enjoy doing costumes. Not only is it a challenge, I enjoy the community. Anyway, so I need to schedule time to work on my own projects, costuming projects, work and other work. All possible. I just need to be organized.

[startsmart]

reenee- aww you're too sweet. if you need help with calendaring time for yourself, for work, for costuming, for dinner let me know!

Work is going really well, hired minions #2 and #3 this week and looking forward to kicking this into high gear!

[reeneejune]

Oh, and for those of you wondering, I did call HR this morning. It's looking like a clerical error on their end, but I may have a clerical error on my end as well, they're saying my balance is $500 not $700. So I think it's all going to work out in the end being paid off at the same time as I had planned. I just get this lovely break to invest in some things for my future apartment (while I can get things super cheap at work!). And make an extra payment on my loan ;D you didn't think I'd forget that, did you?

[spruby]

azmom - I know you asked SES - but I'll chime in too! Especially in the non-summer months DH and I like to cook in batches and freeze. Generally we try to cook so that the meat is moist enough - or there is a sauce/liquid that will keep it moist when reheating. Like SES - we do pasta & rice fresh each time - although I do make & then freeze in portion controlled sizes mashed potatoes!

When we put away the cooking - let it cool a little - and the into the freezer. We use microwave safe glad ware & if the freezer is too full - or we run out of glad ware - we put a frozen item in a freezer ziploc.

We tend to freeze lots of crock pot recipes (stews, chilis, cooked meats), my homemade pasta sauce, roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, meatloaf muffins (again great portion control!), and a lemon veggie cod recipe that freezes amazingly well.

We are both Type 2 diabetics - so having a pre-set portion thawed in freezer really helps avoid the drive-through and eliminates the "i'm too hungry" to cook excuse (not always - but a lot). Plus - I've always cooked low salt - and find lots of pre-cooked stuff wayyyyy to salty for me - so this is better!

We just tried a new crockpot dish - a super easy apple bar-b-q chicken breast - we made sure there was apple/bar-b-q sauce in each container for reheating, and have served it over pasta and w/mashed potatoes (different times ) - super yummy!

[ses]

spruby--will you share your apple BBQ chicken recipe? I can always use a new chicken dish!

[mizbear]

Shan- I don't think that at all. I could tell you some stories- and those are just the ones about family.
Today was a controlled spend- hitting CVS and RA for necessary products- but I went deeper into my budget than I would have liked. I also ended up paying for treats when I went to pick my nieces up (took the DM with me)- I don't buy treats anymore- DM won't say no, but conveniently left wallet at home since I was driving- did manage to get half my money back.

[spruby]

ses - here is the recipe - from the fix it & forget it cookbook - diabetic version (tons of good recipes - especially if you ignore all salt!) - I'll put the whole thing in and put my modifications in [bold]

They say this is original is 4 servings (half a chicken breast per serving) - we can get 6 servings :

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
salt to taste [no salt added]
pepper to taste [we added some!]
2 cups applesauce - unsweetened [we used about 3.5]
1/4 cup barbecue sauce [we used about 3/4 cup]
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Put chicken in crockpot. Pour applesauce on top. Combine other ingredients, mix well, cover chicken.
Cook 2-3 hours [we did 3]

You'll notice we use more "wet" ingredients than called for - this made the chicken very tender both straight from the crockpot and when reheated (in the microwave) after being frozen and then thawed in the frig.

[3catslady]

startsmart; I didn't send you an e-mail either? I am so sorry. Yes I got your package and am using the coupon folder/grocery list notebook for my spending this month just to see how it works. I don't use coupons that much but I do use them. The cookbook and recipe book are great and the book for recipes is now holding my Mom's recipes that I got. Thank you very much and again I apologize for not thanking you before.

[ses]

spruby--crockpot on high or low?

[spruby]

ses - high!

Sorry!

[cathysmom]

Well, being iced in for four days has been good for me. I now have 4/10NS 0/18CS and 3/15MOAN days.

I also had time to update all of my financials and spending info from December and January and discovered that my January spending was WAY out of control. Somehow I spent $727 on groceries in one month??? My target is about 350-400. Even in my out-of-control months I usually only spend about $550-600.

No more trips to Central Market where I spend $50 just on produce! The kids are just going to have to eat more canned fruit this month, and we'll do more frozen vegetables, too.

I need to have all of my February spending come in under-budget to help dig out of the hole I created last month. That's going to take a lot more discipline than I've shown lately.

Freezing meals: I've had really good luck freezing pans of unbaked enchiladas and lasagna. I even skip thawing them and just bake them from frozen. I just cover them with foil for the first half hour in the oven and usually add some grated cheese on top about 15 minutes before they are done. Quick and easy meals with no preservatives, and they're cheap, too!

Last time I made enchiladas I had more filling than I had tortillas or pans, so I froze it in pint containers. It speeds up the enchilada-making the next time but it's not nearly as easy as a finished pan that's ready to go.

[azmom]

Freezing Meals: Thank You girls so much. This is really going to help me not only stretch my dollar (I am so super excited to start giving this a try) and it will help as our family activities calendar begins to get even more hectic.

My three year old has pink eye-perfect since we have a super bowl party to go to tomorrow. She is on day 2.5 of it and seems to be getting better. If she wakes up tomorrow with any junk in her eye her and I will stay home.

Have a great weekend and Happy No Spending

[moneysquirrel]

Update: 3 NS days & 1 CS days = 4 NS/CS days (as of Friday 2/4)
Forgot to update last night. I have no idea what today brings. I am moving pretty slow today but have several things to do so I have to get the body in gear.

sbruby - I hope to try that BBQ recipe also. Sounds yummy.

I am slowly adding to the meals in the freezer on weekends and then pulling at least one out per week to use up. It really helps me when I cook on the weekend and than I can just reach in and grab something on school nights.

Will try to check in later tonight. Have a good day all!

[muttleynfelix]

Freezing Food - When I was pregnant with Ben, the last 2 months if I was making a casserole, I put together 2 and the froze the second one. It worked really well that way.

Because it was snowing when DH and DS picked me up from work yesterday, we decided to quickly hit walmart on the way home even though we didn't have a list. I made up the list and we came up with a few meals that I could come up with the ingredients on the way to the store. I really wanted to get some eggs so we could have a real breakfast today well they were 100% OUT of eggs!!! UGH. They were also out of chicken breast. We have just 1 left. FOrtunately, I have a turkey breast in the freezer that I think I will cook and we can substitute that. All that led to me asking DH if we could PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go down to the truck stop for breakfast. So, we did. It was so so good. Well worth it. DS had this glassy eyed look on his face when we came home. He loves it when we go out to eat. He tried to climb on the table once the food arrived which was pretty funny. Anyway, on the list today is to wash the floors and I think I'll make some stuffed pizza for supper. So, I need to get the bread out of the freezer. Somehow we still spent too much at Walmart. I spent about $10 buy supplies so my Sunday School class can make Valentine's for the nursing home this Sunday and then Valentine's for church members and family next Sunday.

[mizbear]

spruby- do you use no sugar added or natural apple sauce in your recipe? Sounds yummy.
Well, my CSs are being cut by at least 1 this month. I am sick and can't go out tonight. I am going with my mom to do her shopping in a bit and then coming home and hibernating. Even though I spent more than I wanted to last night, I realized I will make up for it over several months and I saved more than my OOP at CVS.

[spruby]

mizbear - I use the applesauce labeled "unsweetened" - so no sugar or sugar substitute has been added - so the only ingredient listed is "apples"

[3catslady]

another freezing rain and I have to work.

[mizbear]

Spruby- Thanks!

[sheilaincali]

A few more of my auctions have ended- I am at $982 with items sold or being bid on currently. That's insane. DH is all motivated now to try to do this as a side thing. I have my reservations and want no more than $50 at any given time invested in inventory. But some things tend to sell really well. Spent $3 on some vintage brio trains and wooden little people at a garage sale last year- they looked cool in the big vintage jars that they came in. Mostly I wanted the jars. Sold the toys on ebay for $31. Pretty decent return on my investment, plus I still have the big old jars that I wanted

Today is a spend day. Taking DH out to dinner for his birthday tonight (his b-day is tomorrow). Baby sitting my buddy Miss Pants today. Took the 4 year olds (Pants and my nephew T-Rex) to their ice skating lessons. T-Rex started bawling at the 10 minute mark and wanted to quit. I talk him down and encourage him to keep trying. 5 mins later he was grinning from ear to ear and having a blast. Last week my sister took him, he has a small melt down before the lesson started so they packed him up and took him home. Really made me mad that they let him quit right away like that.

He got home and his mom asked him about skating today and he said "My auntie Sheila is Super proud of me!" little turkey.

[ses]

AZmom--do an on-line search for "once a month cooking" and you will find dozens of family tested recipes that freeze and store well. Pick one or two and try them. You might find this type of cooking a good way to smooth out both time crunches and cost pinches.

[MittenKitten]

I have the Apple BBQ Chicken and SES's enchilada recipes up on the controlled-nospend.blogspot.com blog

SES or azmom or anyone: Do you have a recipe for enchilada sauce or do you just used canned? I find the canned so expensive I would love to have a recipe for myself.

Whenever I make lasagna I make a 2 pans at least and freeze one. The stuff stays in the freezer a long time. I did some of the freezing of recipes but have gotten out of it. Now my freezer is full. Of course the 2 turkeys in it are not helping the space issue!

On a good note I hopefully will need very little from the grocery store for awhile. Already deep into Feb's budget money. But I did stock up on Pizzas, chicken nuggets and a couple turkey loafs. I need quick and easy foods for us. I really need to learn to budget my meals.

[ses]

MK this is a recipe I used to make a bunch of sauce with a friend for her sons to use at a church camp, maybe Boy Scouts?. We increased it a bunch and I seem to remember she put it in quart jars for transport. I'm sure you could use something like the 4 cup ziplock screw top jars. Leave some head room for freezing. If you have a canning pot or a pressure canner I don't know why you couldn't can it in ball jars and save your freezer space, like you would regular tomato sauce? Making your own in bulk would be really economical--especially during tomato season.

This is a recipe I got from from Allrecipes, I think. Since I like a smoother sauce I used a stick blender at the end. And I have a note on my copy of the recipe to add more tomato sauce to thin it. How much more I didn’t write down. Duh

Enchilada Sauce
Original Recipe Yield 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1/3 cup chili powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
Directions
1. In a medium saucepan combine tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, chili powder, oregano, paprika, cumin, pepper, salt and garlic. Cover and cook over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute onion for about 4 minutes; stir into sauce. Cook sauce for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in bell pepper and cook 10 more minutes.

[ses]

MK--you might like this


CRISPY CHICKEN BITES (AKA CHICKEN NUGGETS)
Chicken breasts (boneless/skinless), cut into bite-sized pieces
Crisped rice cereal (about 6 - 8 cups)
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Crush the cereal in a ziploc bag.
Pour crushed cereal into a large bowl, and add spices of your choice.
In seperate bowl or pie tin, combine eggs with water and beat well.
Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture, then dredge in cereal mixture.
Arrange on greased cookie sheet, or on a sheet of kitchen parchment for easy clean up. Bake 350° for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serve these with different sauces to dip them in.

To freeze: Allow to cool, and freeze on flat surface. After frozen, place in freezer bags and store. To serve, simply reheat and eat! A great "emergency" or "I forgot to thaw" meal.