Gramma's Stew.

My gramma raised 6 children through

the war and has always been my hero.

While my grampa was away fighting

for freedom, she was stretching small

dollars to feed a big family. She had

to develop recipes using very little.

Gramma created this sausage stew using

veggies from their garden and cheap

sausages from the butcher. Our budget

is not as frugal but we are so careful of

what we have and what we spend, so

many of our recipes are based on this.

Not my favorite dinner but on a cold,

rainy and windy night, it was a comfort

to cook up gramma's old receipe for us.

I think she would be proud we did.

Crock Pot Dinners.

One of the gifts we received as newlyweds

was a Crock Pot. At the time, we were

both working full time and it was a great

gift to come home after a long day at

work to a fully cooked meal. Even after

we started having children and I was home

for decades, we still used it a lot. It was

great to have time with my little ones

and as they got older. To not be standing

all day long in the kitchen was such a

bonus. Dance classes, music lessons,

football practice and art sessions were

our priority but feeding our family was

also important. Having time and good

meals was and continues to be just what

we need to manage this busy life.

So here we are 32, almost 33 years later.

We chatted one day that with the amount

of use of our Crock Pot and the age, it

was probably time to replace it, even

though we've not had any issues. But we

wouldn't want to take a big risk. That

very weekend we were in the Big City.

And guess what was on sale? Yup.

Great price, free small dipper pot and

now we have a new toy. Our first meal

was a roasted chicken. So good. Second

meal was a big pot of chili, perfect on a

snowy Sunday afternoon. Trying to figure

out what our next meal will be. I feel safer

now with a new Crock Pot and am very

thankful for such a very frugal amount.

Frugal Food.

 For years, we used a device that created bags to

store meat, fruit and veggies in our fridge and

freezer. The concept was to buy food in bulk

and then store them in airtight pouches, insuring

the produce and meat would last longer. We

loved having this handy kitchen gadget and

when it quite working in the Fall, it was time

to look for a new one. We estimated ours

was approximately 24 years old at the time

it "died" .... a small investment that lasted a

very long time and likely saved us thousands

of dollars over the years. A great savings for us.

After some research, we chose to buy this new food

saver from Costco. It was $170.00 but we had just

over $95 in coupons, so our cost was a sweet $75.

It came with a set of pre~made bags and a roll too.

We found a great sale on chicken and pork this week.

6 big packs of meat for $60. After making smaller 

packs for just the 2 of us, we ended up creating 16 

meals at a cost of $60, which breaks down to $3.75 

per meal. Not bad at all for our frugal grocery budget.

And the smaller packs fit much better in the freezer.

We'll be set now until mid February as we before

we have to buy any meat again as I also bought a

good sized ham to roast then cut up and we already

had some fish in the freezer. We're not big meat

eaters at all, just some extra protein in our meals

here and there. We love stir frys and casseroles

but also eat soups, sandwiches and salads as our

main meals. Hoping we get 24 years out of this one.

Do you have a device like this?

How do you save on meal costs?

Sunday Dinner.

When I was growing up, Sunday Dinner was a very special meal. We lived in a different community then, in a different province and had family all around us. Each week, we rotated between going to my grandparents homes and our home. Rarely, was it at our home and if it was, my dad would BBQ. But at my grandparents homes, dinner was always a "roasted" affair. My dad's parents loved to make a beef roast each time, with mashed potatoes and veggies. The only thing that I didn't like about visiting there was that my grandmother did not believe that I had food allergies, and she made me eat at least one spoonful of potatoes each time. The rest of the meal, I would try to gulp down my food over a very swollen throat. Potatoes are so bad for me now, my throat will actually swell closed. But I did enjoy the company, the warmth of their small house and the routine off helping my grandfather rewind the big clock before dinner and then watching Walt Disney and the Walton's before we headed home. We were the only grandchildren in town during this time on that side as my cousins were living overseas. Lots of attention for just my brother and I, and my mom and my dad.

Going for dinner at my other grandparents home was much louder, very busy with all the cousins, aunties and uncles, and tons of smoke in the air. Yes, they both smoked and that was the only thing I had a hard time with during those visits. Yuck! I still can't stand the smell and look away when I see someone smoke (thankfully, a rare sight these days). But the fun of playing with my cousins, exploring the garden and having my youngest uncle, who was still living at home at the time rough house with us more than made up for the smoke. My grandmother had a tea cup from England for each of us and after dinner, we'd get to have a cup of real tea, not just milk with a drop of tea in it! Dinner was often either a few roasted chickens or a turkey or goose. And no one made me eat potatoes. No sore throat, just itchy eyes from the cat and smelly clothes and hair from the smoke.

As our family grew, we've tried to create our own Sunday Dinner tradition. My dh came from a family that didn't have this experience and in my own small family, after we moved from one province to this one, we didn't have family dinner as often. I used to think how sad it was that our dining room wasn't used that much. I'm thankful that we've had a dining room in our last 4 houses and each was and has been used quite a bit. Our kids grew up knowing the dining room was a special place and we've had many hours of laughter and good food around the table. I hope this do this with their own families one day. With all of us spread out, we can't have them all over each week but it's nice to even have a dinner by Skype. Or when their is a special holiday.

Sunday Dinner was always a great place to try out new recipes. Some were hits, some, not so much! But at least our kids would try them, even if they complained. We've gotten in to a routine in our new house of having roast chicken each Sunday and it's fun to come up with new side dishes. This one we tried recently came from a Facebook post and when I went that day to buy some fresh brussel sprouts, the grocer had to go to the back to get some for me. He commented he had never seen brussel sprouts leave the store so quickly. He had actually refilled the bin 4 times just that morning and was worried he'd run out by noon. I told him about the FB post and he laughed saying it wasn't the first time a receipe online has depleted their stock. Here's the link if you want to try this delicious dish. Highly recommended.

It was pretty easy to make and so tasty. We had it

again this past week when our son was here to visit.

Browning onions makes my kitchen feel so cozy

and so "fall like" ~ very homey and warm.

All mixed together. This was before I had put the

cooked bacon back into the dish. Made it colorful.

Warm chicken gravy with spices and drippings from

the pan. So tasty and worth the time to make it.

There's the brussel sprouts all ready in the back with

the bacon added in. And the seasoned chicken, ready

for it's gravy, stuffing, potatoes, salad and fresh buns to

finish off this very scrumptious and easy Sunday Dinner.

Do you have traditional Sunday Dinner?

Or special dinners throughout the year?

A Week of Dinners.

We're taking some time in between packing & purging to do some planning for our meals over the next few weeks. Still waiting for our Possession Letter that will state our actual move in date, so we're keeping busy & trying to be proactive so we'll be ready once our time frame has been identified. For the week of April 18th to April 24th, here's what we have chosen to create to nourish our busy souls: 

Saturday, April 18th, 2015: 

Parmesan Chicken with Steamed Veggies & Wild Rice.

Sunday, April 19th, 2015: 

Annie's Organic White Cheddar Pasta with Kale Salad.

Monday, April 20th, 2015: 

Boneless Pork Chops with Mashed Purple Cauliflower.

Tuesday, April 21st, 2015: 

Stir Fry with leftover pork & Veggies.

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015: 

Swedish Meatballs with Brown Rice & Pickled Beets.

Thursday, April 23rd, 2015: 

Turkey & Cranberry Buns with Ginger Carrot Soup.

Friday, April 24th, 2015: 

Baked Salmon with Dill Sauce & Coleslaw.

We bought groceries today & spent a total of $64.06. That gave us all the ingredients we need up to Thursday. Then we'll need to buy the turkey, the buns, the beets & the salmon for Friday night. We'll also need milk by then & a few small things to add to lunches. Not sure the cost yet but we try to keep our groceries to around $150 for the week. Right now, I'm trying to use up what's in our freezer & what we have in the cupboards so we aren't having to pack up food to move or throw away. A very good start.

How is your meal planning coming for this week?