Ever bought a Cow?

I have always wanted to buy a cow from a farmer since I moved off the farm.  I would have a butcher process the meat for me so that I can have fresh meat without any hormones.  My boyfriend is actually going to buy a full cow and give me half after he processes the cow.  He normally only get's half a cow but to help me out he is going to get a full cow.  Half a cow for a family of 2 or 3 who has beef a few times a week may be able to make it last 6 months to a year.  I am so excited about this.  I have an almost full chest freezer already from the freezer meals so I definitely have to find a larger one for the cow but it will be worth it to save on the cost of beef at stores.

Day 2: Freezer Meals

Chicken Broccoli Rice

total time ~3 hours

Total cost = $18.67/8 meals ($2.34 an 8*8 pan)

makes 8 8*8 pans worth

10c cooked white rice - this is about 3 1/3 cups dry rice ($5.97/10lbs bag at Aldi, ~$1.50 used)
4c cooked chicken, cubed  ($1.89/lb and used one $9.54 package)
4c lightly steamed broccoli ($1.89/pk and used 2 packs)
2 cans Cream of Mushroom ($.49/can at Aldi)
2 cans Cream of Chicken   ($.49/can at Aldi)
4c Shredded Cheddar ($1.89 a 4c bag at Aldi)

Combine in a large bowl and mix well.  (I tried to mix by hand but it was too much.  My Kitchenaid worked well and it also shredded the chicken and broccoli into fine bits which I like)

Divide into 4 ziptop freezer bags and freeze flat.  (I always freeze flat to save freezer space and make storage easier)


To Serve:
Thaw in fridge ~8 hours
Put into a greased casserole dish.  (The way I portioned it out with 4 huge scoops per bag, 1 bag will fill an 8*8 pan so 2 bags would work well in a 9*13 dish.)  Sprinkle with extra cheese on top if you would like too as you can never go wrong with more cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes and enjoy!


***This recipe is approved by my toddler.

Here is the "mixture" after being blended with my Kitchenaid.

Here is 1 bag's worth in a 8*8 pan

 If you use the glass from a blender without the top or bottom it will hold your bag up nicely without getting anything in the seal area.

Day 1: Freezer Meals

Chili and Shepherd's Pie

Chili 

total time ~30 minutes

total cost = $4.28 

($6.73 if I had to buy all the items)

My chili recipe I already have posted on here even though I never follow a recipe.  This time I tossed in the below ingredients.  I sprinkle cumin and chili powder across the top in a light layer and stir in.  A few hours later if it is not as "chili" tasting I add more cumin and chili powder.  Do not be fooled.  It is the cumin that give chili the taste you are used too and not the chili powder.

3 cans kidney beans - 15.5oz (WIC from many months ago)
cumin (had on hand)
chili powder  ($1.79 for the entire container at Publix.  used prob $.01 worth)
1lb ground beef ($11.59 for 5.06lbs = $2.29 from Aldi)
2 cans crushed tomatoes - 28oz ($.99/each at Aldi)
2 cans sweet corn - 15.25oz (WIC from many months ago)

This made 3 freezer bags full ranging from 3.5 cups to 5 cups each.  Being made in the slow cooker I was able to make other freezer meals while this was cooking so I did not spend a lot of time on this meal.  I would say total time for prep, mixing, and bagging was less than 30 minutes.

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Shepherd's Pie

total time ~1 hour

total cost = $3.21 for the entire 8*8 pie

1 lb ground beef ($2.29 total, from Aldi)
1 can corn ($.49 from Aldi)
4 tbs butter ($1.89 for 45oz at Aldi so less than $.05 used in this recipe)
4 Russet Potatoes ($1.89 for 10lbs at Aldi)

Peel, cut up, and boil potatoes.  Brown the meat in a pan.  Drain potatoes once they are fork tender.

Add butter, milk, salt, and pepper to potatoes.  Beat them until smooth.  (I used my Kitchenaid mixer for this part and it made them super smooth.  Do not over cook them.  I got caught up in the chili and they got a little too soft.)

Line an 8*8 pan with foil to be able to freeze and still have the pan to use again. Place the meat on the bottom, then the corn, and then top with the potatoes.   Once frozen you can remove the pie from the pan and just leave it in the freezer.

To cook it:
Thaw in the fridge and then bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes until the top is brown.


***side note***
I have never had Shepherd's pie but from what I was told it was just beef, corn, and potatoes.  I am going to make a few more to freeze but will add carrots and peas to beef it up a little.

Here is what it looks like before I completely spread the potatoes over the meat and corn.

Freezer meals for under $300

I am working on making freezer meals over the course of this week to have meals for my daughter and myself for the next 3-4 months.  My total budget is $300. I will be mainly shopping at Aldi but have gone to Publix for a few things. I would love to use coupons but I do not have a printer currently.
I made two meals today in around 2 hours but that includes time to get juice for my toddler or helping her with a messy situation.
I will be listing the recipes as well as what I paid for the items so you can get an idea of what can be done.
A few of the planned meals:
Chili (recipe on this blog already)
Sheperd's Pie
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Sweet Potato Casserole (side dish)
Chicken Pot Pie
Stuffed Shells
Mini-meatloafs
Lasagna
Cinnimon Rolls for breakfast (a maybe)

Here is some of the ingredients I bought for these meals.  

I will update it again with photos of the meals after they are made and frozen. 

(with a toddler running around the table this is the best I could do.  The big package in the upper left is the 5lbs of ground beef.)

Shortbread Cookies - Super Easy and Only A Few Ingrediants

On my quest to find the perfect cookie for my daughter's birthday party this Saturday I came up with two recipes. This is the only recipe that I liked but I am super picky!

**I used this recipe in my cookie press but it will work without a cookie press too.**

Beth's Shortbread Cookies 

1C butter, softened
1 1/2C All-Purpose Flour
1/2C Confectioners Sugar
1/4tsp Vanilla extract
1/2C Corn Starch
2tbsp Granulated Sugar (not normally in shortbread but after I mixed the ingredients together I was not happy with the taste so I added sugar)


Preheat to 350F.

Cream the butter, confectioners sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Stir in the flour and corn starch.

Press into the cookie press and press onto ungreased cookie sheet. (If it is greased or has foil/parchment paper on the sheet it will not allow the dough to grab the sheet and come out of the cookie press.)

Bake 8-10 minutes until the tops are golden.

Half the recipe above made about 3 dozen cookies about 1" in size and flower shaped.

These are melt in your mouth good and taste similar to my mothers wedding cookies she makes.

They are blue since I added some blue neon food coloring to the batter to go along with the Cinderella theme my daughter asked for.  The other half will be pink.

The cookies came out two ways.  One when I held the press down for 4 counts it made them a little bigger and fluffier.  When I held the press down for 3 counts the cookies turned out like the 3 in the bottom right hand corner of the photo.

Pork Chops, Carrots, and Mashed Potatoes Budget Meal ($2.40/person)

Shopped at Publix: 7/24/2013

Boneless pork chops: on sale $3.99/lb till tonight. 4 per package. Total cost was $5.15. I simply covered them in Adobo and grilled on my Charbroil Infrared grill for about 10-15 minutes on med-high.

Carrots: $1.69 for the bag of mini carrots.  Normally I would have grabbed the $.89 a bag regular carrots but I was in a rush so I did not want to take the time to find my peeler since I just moved 3 weeks ago and to cut them. I used maybe 1/8 of the bag. Added a little brown sugar and 5 tsp of water, wrapped them in foil, and placed on the grill.

5 jumbo red potatoes: $1.49/lb = $4.57 total and there are tons left. Could have just used 2 jumbos but I am used to using the small ones. Washed, cubed, and boiled till fork tender then put in the kitchenaid with a little butter, crazy salt, and sour cream.

Cheap, easy, and healthy dinner!!!!

 $5.15

$1.69/8 = $ .21 portion used

($4.57/5)*2 = $1.83 portion used since I have left overs

= $7.19 total cost of items used / 3 people

= $2.40 per person!!!!

Chicken meal on a budget (~$5.48-7 meal for 3-4)

Ingredients:
1.24lb Boneless chicken breast (9 pieces) - Winndixie BOGO ~2/$7 ($3.50)
1.5lbs red potatoes (or potatoes of your liking) - Winndixie 3lbs bag is $2.99 ($1.50)
1 can Cream of Chicken condensed soup  ------  had in pantry, less than $1 at the store last time I checked
.5 bag of Publix Greenwise Carrots (or carrots of your choice)  ------- my mom gave me when they went back home from the condo, not sure of this pricing at the store
1/4-1/2c milk ------  free thanks to my sister, $3/g
~2tsp butter ------ had in the house already, apx $2 for 4 sticks (~$.06 for 2tsp)

If your chicken is frozen thaw it first.  Preheat the oven at 350. I used a 9*9 pan for my chicken.  Spray the bottom with oil or butter.  Rinse your chicken to get any of the bad stuff off of them then lay the chicken in the pan with a little space between them.  Scoop the Cream of Chicken soup over the chicken and spread it around.  Cover with foil.  Place it in the oven for 30 minutes.

While that is baking go ahead and start prepping the side dishes.  To be easy I put my carrots in a microwave safe container with water and some brown sugar.  I then put it in the microwave on High for about 7-8 minutes until tender.

For the potatoes: since I use red potatoes I peel half of them and leave the other half with the skin on.  Wash the potatoes.  Cut your potatoes any way you would like so that they are in smaller pieces.  I normally make my sections about 1.5".  Add salt if you would like to your water and then place the potatoes in the water.  Boil on High for about 10 minutes until tender.  I have a Kitchenaid mixer so they are really easy to make.  If you do not have a Kitchenaid just use a hand held blender or hand mix the potatoes.  I start with 1/4 cup of milk and 2 tsp of butter and add in the potatoes.  Mix until creamy texture.  Since I used red potatoes with some skin the mashed potatoes will be lumpy which is how I like mine.  If you do not like lumpy remove all the skin before you boil them.



*prices are based off of my chicken and potatoes cost.  Since 3 of us are eating this will make 2 meals which further reduces the total cost from $5.48 down to $2.74 for the 3 of us to eat!!!!  That is only $.91 per person!!!  Beat that fast food, lol.

If timed correctly everything should be done at almost the same time.  Serve and enjoy!!!

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I did not have any foil to use so I covered my chicken with parchment paper.

Mashing the potatoes in the Kitchenaid

Getting the chicken out of the oven. It was bubbling!

  My 29m old downed her dinner in less than 5 minutes.  This was around the 3 minute mark.

My plate/portion.  I love potatoes but this was actually a little much for me.

Crockpot Beer Bread

I made this a few days ago.

start with 2C flour (self-rising is best but if you do not have it like I did not you can use all purpose and just add 1tsp baking powder and 1/2tsp salt)
12oz can of beer (I used Michalob Ultra Dragonfruit Peach...YUM, but any cheap beer will do)
1/2C sugar

Mix all ingredients.  If it is sticky keep adding flour.  It was a little runny so I kept adding flour until it was dough-like.  Put a sheet of wax paper in your crockpot covering the sides and bottom.  Place your dough in the center.  Bake on high for about 90 minutes depending on your crockpot.  I checked it with a knife to see if the center was cooked.

Let cool and enjoy.  The bread was amazing with the peach flavoring.  I ate some with just butter on it and others with peanut butter and nutella (or honey).  This is something I am going to make over a weekend and freeze so I always have it ready.

Sugar Cookies

I cannot remember the recipe I normally use so I just whipped this up.  I finally found my recipe book that I kept all the family recipes in so I will start trying them out over this year.  I just got a beater blade for my kitcheaid and it is awesome!!!

2 cups flour (I used all purpose so that is why I have the baking powder and salt below, omit both if you use self-rising)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, room temp
1 egg
1 1/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar and butter and then add the egg and vanilla, mix well. Add the baking powder and salt.  Lastly add flour, mix well.  Bake for apx 10 minutes until turns golden brown.

 I decided to roll them in sugar. :)