Budget Crunching

Well, I briefly mentioned about the challenge Mary over at Owlhaven has presented and how I was going to try to do it this month. Now Mary spends $75 a week for everything, if I read that correctly...shampoo, etc...I am not sure if I will cut that far...but I think $75 a week for a family of 7 is a worthy challenge, so that is what I am aiming for...
Now this week, we are living on whatever we have or whatever we can get from Gleaners...Our Gleaner organization gets things from local grocery stores that they can no longer sell and we bring it back and it gets distributed among 80-ish families and let me tell you...it is a BLESSING! Yesterday, I was able to get milk, orange juice, lots of veggies and breads...things we will really use this week FOR SURE! One unexpected find was KALE...well, no I am not a Kale freak, but Kale works beautifully in Green smoothies, which I need to get back to, so we will be enjoying that...I will post the "recipe" below...they are SO good for you!
So, for your info, I will post our plan thus far...I am not very far into the plan...I need to so that today...
So yesterday we had:
B:- It was an on your own morning...granola bars, yogurt, baked spaghetti...
L:- Leftover Taco Soup, fritos and peaches (Had all of these)
D:- Clam Chowder and rolls- We got the leeks, milk and rolls from gleaners and had all the rest.
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9/2-
B: French Toast- bread, milk and eggs from gleaners
L: Mac and cheese for children- good ole blue boxes...we have these...I think I got them from Gleaners...I will add veggies and fruit...whatever we have on hand...and I think I will have a green smoothie...
D: Chili and Cornbread...raw veggies...we have all of this...

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9/3-
B: Scones, Lemon Curd and something to balance the sugar...not sure...maybe bacon, maybe yogurt...we are not big egg people...
L: Leftover Clam Chowder and bread- We need to thicken this, so when we do that, I will need to get some cream....I will do that later...Bread from Gleaners
D: Baked Spaghetti, Salad or green beans and Garlic bread...
We either will get this from gleaners, already have it or will buy some lettuce...I haven't decided yet....
That's my plan thus far...such as it is...

Okay, a couple of recipes

Green Smoothies

40% green leafy things...spinach, kale, chard, parsley, etc...we usually use either spinach or parsley...if you use spinach and get the proportions right you cannot taste it...
60% fruit...I always use a banana or two...this sweetens it...we use frozen bananas for this...no need for ice if you do...I also balance seeded fruit ( Berries) with unseeded (Bananas, peaches, plums, etc)...too many seeds and I don't care for it as much.
We add a little water to get it all blending in the Vitamix, you could use juice if you like...sometimes we add a little coconut milk or oil if we have it...and that is it.

Lemon Curd...this is SO easy and delicious...much better than a store bought jar...
I usually use bottled juice if we have it and it tastes fine..I also do not add the zest...I don't like that texture in it...and I have not noticed a noticible difference in the taste with vs. without...

Grated peel of 4 lemons
Juice of 4 lemons, about 1 cup
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter, cut in small pieces
2 c. sugar

In the top of a double boiler , combine zest, juice, eggs, butter and sugar. Place over simmering water and stil until sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until thick and smooth. Strain through a sieve to remove bits of egg that cooked. Chill. The recipe says it lasts a couple of weeks...I think they are lying...mine never lasts that long! ;-)

Enjoy!
C~