Shut Up And Eat It

That's going to be my new mantra for the next couple of weeks. After paying my share of the bills, which included some extras this time ($75 for a high school parking pass, $80 for the yearbook, $29.95 for pictures, $5 for badge, $22 for Spirit wear, etc., etc., etc.), I was left with $433 for food for the pay period (three weekends, two full weeks and a couple of days) for a family of four. Considering I usually spend $250-$300 per WEEK on food, this is quite a challenge.

First thing to do is plan a menu . . . and stick to it. That's a challenge during the week when work schedules are capricious, taekwondo is fixed and immutable, and my imagination fizzles by Thursday. It helps to have a list.

Tossing gourmet items like tenderloin and scallops off the list, I tried to think "cheap, nutritious, and easy to prepare." I also thought about the best way to obtain the food -- some supermarkets are cheaper than others, and no supermarket has the best prices on everything. I went to Fiesta Mart for my vegetables, a $7.99 box of mussels and an $8.88 package of six little frozen tuna steaks. Those would provide a couple of meals, and seafood in this hot season is always welcome. Fiesta has the BEST prices on vegetables and a great seafood selection. I also purchased leeks (vichyssoise -- great light lunch).

From Fiesta Mart, I went to Wal-Mart Neighborhood Grocery. I really love shopping at Albertson's, where I know every aisle and can usually find everything I need, but they tend to be expensive, so if I really and truly care to save money, I'll go to Wal-Mart for most of the canned goods and prepared foods. The entree items I picked up there were a large package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (kung pao chicken, chicken fried rice, balsamic chicken, grilled chicken nachos), a whole chicken (Kirby's chicken recipe or grilled chicken) and a package of hot Italian sausage (spaghetti or lasagna).

The last stop was Albertson's, because there are some things I just can't find anywhere else, and I wanted a ham. Cook's Ham (get the butt, because there's more meat on the butt than the shank, even though the shank is cheaper by the pound, and it's more fun to ask the butcher if he has a bigger butt in the back) is usually pretty cheap and makes one lovely dinner and lots of lunches, not to mention a quiche, which is what I have in mind for it.

Total cost: $176. A bit over what I was hoping to spend, but that included the $32 of preemptive school supplies that I had to buy at Target. Plano ISD provides rigid lists of school supplies required all through elementary grades, but those helpful lists sort of trail off in the upper grades, so Jennie and Jackson (grades 11 and 9 -- I can't believe it!) have to wait until school starts before knowing what they will need. However, they feel more prepared with a couple of packages of notebook paper, pencils and pens to start off with.

Dinner tonight consisted of homemade foccacia, grilled tuna, baked potato, salad, and mussels and a bottle of the Marqués de Cáceras Rosé. Tomorrow I'll make the ham for a proper Sunday Dinner -- it's a good recipe, and I will share!