$276 Worth for 1 Penny!

I've been in the kitchen lately cooking up more pasta (of course!), stir-fry, grilled chicken and veggies, and breakfast. Cheap and pretty nutritious meals, but nothing that you haven't heard or know about! Nothing too groundbreaking. It's been costing me (if I hit the sales right and stretch meals to the max and making rice and beans when I'm low on other options) to do those meals for about $150 a month which can feed about a family of four. Wednesday and Thursday nights (because of our schedules and savings which come from it) tend to be our leftovers or rice and beans nights.
One idea I'd like to share when making your rice and beans is to mix in a can of tuna. This makes the meal stretch even further, adds that extra protein, and may sound disgusting, but if you like tuna it's actually good. Top with hot sauce and no joke it really hits the spot! A filling meal for a couple of bucks.
My meals haven't been too groundbreaking as I mentioned earlier; so the reason I must speak to you is the inspiration I got this morning on "Good Morning America" that truly is groundbreaking! I was flabbergasted when I saw this married mother of two and the way she grocery shopped! I am going to try to learn her method. I mean she could make millions on her technique if she wanted to; it is incredible! Some of you may have seen her.
I call this blog "The Pennyless Cook" for a reason. I hope to challenge myself and others to make inexpensive, but still delicious meals on a small budget, but what this woman has done is on a completely different level! She feeds her family of four on literally pennies a week! I am not exaggerating! Her monthly cost on groceries is roughly $4.00 a month! And she's even buying seafood when coupons allow! It's not just Ramen Noodles, because even those are $0.28 a piece. On her shopping trip that aired this morning she bought $276.00 worth of groceries, and with the many coupons she handed the cashier the price continued to drop with the speed of light. The final total was (drum roll please)..... 1 penny! Did you hear me?!?!? 1 PENNY!!!! CRAZY!!!! My mouth dropped wide open when I saw this! That happened to be a record-breaker for her. As I stared at the piles of groceries crowding the trunk of her vehicle I just could not believe what I just saw!
Some of the methods she uses includes finding out the rules for all stores on double-coupons, rules on combining double manufacturer coupons and store coupons (CVS allows this for example), and buying free or close to free items such as 1/4 pound of seafood which costs $1.00 with a $1.00 off coupon. She works hard at this and goes to the grocery without children, I noticed, so she can concentrate and calculate with accuracy. Check it out on www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/. Happy shopping! And happy it will be if you can master this skill! Let me know if you do.

Butter Make Everything Better

Okay, Okay yes I am still feeding my family, but here's what has happened since the last time we talked. We had planned a trip to Atlanta and then a long weekend with the family; so from October 1 till now we ate all the food that was going to expire, and stretched all the groceries from September through the first week of October till our trip. The food that I concocted during those weeks was kind of scary and not fit to even tell you about, but it was definately the "pennyless" way and then some Taco Bell $.89 tacos as well. Now I am finally back in the kitchen!
After grocery shopping at the esteemed, brand new Super Target (they have whole wheat pasta for a buck)we now have a fully stocked fridge and pantry. Tonight I stuck to another simple pasta dish, which was at tribute to Julia because of the key ingredient, and a thank you to Rachael Ray for the sauce. Pasta is such an incredibly affordable dish and it will continue to show up on The Pennyless Cook. Not only does it cost a couple of dollars for an entire dinner it actually can be easily eaten for two meals and is extremely filling, and can be quite nutritious.
Tonight was Angel hair pasta in a brown butter sauce with roasted vegetables. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter (sounds like a lot but it's for a pound of pasta) on low to medium heat with 2 teaspoons of salt. Keep a close eye on the butter, stirring for about 5 minutes until it browns. Be sure not to burn the butter I overcooked the sauce myself just a bit. Then add 1 teaspoon of fresh sage chopped. Any herb would be good here I used thyme. When butter has browned add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream, which I replace with whole milk and take immediately off the heat. Toss in pasta until sauce is absorbed and add 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. We ate with a side of roasted red peppers, carrots, and artichokes tossed in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt and pepper. This dish was divine! I wanted sit on the couch in my sweat pants with the entire pot of pasta, a fork, and a spoon in my lap! My son though, didn't ask for seconds....he asked for thirds! Julia would have been so proud!

Mac and Cheesy Goodness

I was craving macaroni and cheese so I combined in a casserole dish cooked spiral pasta, a 15 ounce can of drained chopped tomatoes, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of oregano, and black pepper to taste. I baked the pasta at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Served with a side of broccoli and all I gotta say is tasty!

Potato, Patoto, Frittata, Frittato

Last night I made yet another pasta dish made in the garlic-and-oil sauce, but added broccoli for a healthy kick. Tonight to stretch the leftovers of that same pasta dish I made a frittata. A frittata is an easy egg dish that you can put practically anything in it.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In an oven proof skillet melt a tablespoon of butter. Whisk enough eggs together to submerge the leftover pasta. Add pasta and egg to the oven proof skillet, top with Parmesan cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until brown. Serve with a spinach salad. This is a great meal for none other than the "penyless" cook.

Not your boring ole' beans and rice....

Leftovers were filling our fridge, so that's been filling our plates the last few nights. Tonight though it was back to the kitchen. I've had some requests for more beans and rice recipes so that's what I cooked for tonight's dinner.
Beans and rice is one of the most inexpensive meals you can make. When you work with a tight budget for groceries like we do this is my go to meal, but just beans and rice can get kind of boring if you have it every night. So here's yet another way you can make this money saving meal.
It's so simple, sautee in Extra Virgin Olive Oil garlic, two onion, and two green peppers until soft and carmelized. Cook two cans of beans in Extra Virgin Olive Oi with Oregano, Cumin, and black pepper. Mash the bean as they cook down; this makes the beans thick and meaty. Cook 2 cups of rice according to directions. Top rice with beans and vegetables, and my version of Mexican alfredo cheese sauce*. Serve with chips and salsa and you have the perfect change up to a typical beans and rice dinner. It's heavy on flavor, but light on the pocket book!

*See older story below for exact recipe.

Dig Deep

At the end of some months I have to get creative in menu planning. Depending on what our lives looked like that month or how well I planned. This month is one o those months where I am going to have to be very creative and dig deep into our pantry. That's what I did tonight with what I call Southwest Pantry Soup.
Start with a large pot on medium heat and add a couple of tablespoons of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. Next, add a 1/2 tablespoon of chopped garlic, 2 medium chopped carrots, 1 small onion and let sautee for about 10 minutes or until tender. Next add 32 ounces of chicken broth, a can of diced tomatoes with juice, 2 cans of black beans drained, a can of corn drained, a couple dashes of hot sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of oregano, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes. Top with sour cream and you have a soup that is great for any season and any budget, oh yeah and tasty.
Try searching your own cabinets and fridge to make your own pantry soup. When you think you don't have anything to cook you probably have a fabulous creation just waiting to be discovered.

Scary little fish

Since I'm obsessed with pasta I made it again. Don't be scared when I share with you the special ingredient that makes this particular sauce stand out above any other pasta I've had....anchovies! Thanks to Rachael, Rachael Ray that is, I made another sauce that I can't take credit for, but I can share with you. This is one of her favorites and it has quickly become mine.
I know anchovies, you're thinking ewwww gross! You're thinking the smell makes me want to gag and there's no way I'm making this, but I promise if you tough it out and give it a chance you will come out of that kitchen an anchovy lover. When you cook these tiny fish they take on a completely different flavor; almost like a nut.
So to begin boil a pound of spaghetti in salted water till al dente. While pasta is cooking, heat a skillet on medium heat with four big splashes of Extra-virgin olive oil. Lower the heat and add six anchovies to the hot oil, eventually the anchovies will melt right into the oil. Add six cloves of chopped garlic, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Stir the sauce occasionally to let garlic cook a minute. When pasta is cooked, add a cup of the pasta water to the sauce. Let simmer for another minute or so and add a couple handfuls of chopped parsley. Drain pasta and toss in sauce. Stir until sauce is absorbed and add more black pepper. I topped it with Parmesan, but it's not necessary.
For those of you skeptics my two-year-old son asked for seconds! Seconds! For pasta with anchovy garlic-and-oil sauce! I on the other hand had thirds.