Week of Easter Menus

For our family, the center of the dinner is always ham, and it is always accompanied by candied sweet potatoes and asparagus.  The sweet potatoes are easy and delicious... but definitely not calorie friendly. The recipe is simple.  Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices and rinse them off.  In a large skillet place 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of sugar.  Add a pinch of salt. Add the sweet potato slices and cook for about 45 minutes, occasionally turning the slices.  You want the sauce around them to be simmering, and these are at their best if they are just short of being burnt.  The sauce caramelizes around them. I use an electric skillet to free up some space on my stove top.

One thing is for sure, around here, where ham is the dinner centerpiece, and many many hard boiled eggs exist from all the Easter egg hunts, recipes for the next week revolve around ham and eggs.  in PA dutch country, pot pie is actually more like meat and homemade noodles, than a deep dish pie.  This dish uses us leftover ham broth, ham, and a half dozen eggs.  The other popular item to hit the menu is picked red beet eggs (one of our classic 7 sweets and 7 sours, though I have lived in PA dutch country all my life and have yet to see a table with 7 sweets and 7 sours).  Again, this is simple recipe:  1 cup sugar, 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 1c red beet juice (from the cans) and if you don't have enough juice, add water to get it.  For a dozen eggs, I use about 3 small cans of whole red beets.  Peel the eggs, and place in a large container with the beets.  Top with the sugar/beet juice/sugar mixture. This is best when it can sit a few days.  These eggs are great on their own, chopped into salads, or sliced and put on bread spread with some mayo.

Prices will follow later, but I will let you in on where some of the best deals are:

Target:  Eggs, 99¢ a dozen
Aldi's: Ham, shank portion 99¢/lb, butt portion $1.19/lb., sweet potatoes $1.19 for a 3 lb bag.
Giant: Butter, $2 a lb.

I will also being using canned beets I purchased for 45¢ a can from a store near my parents several months ago.  It helps to let others know you are bargain hunting.  This grocery store is far enough away that it doesn't make sense for me to go there, but my parents alert me of awesome sales and will pick up for me what I want.  I'm also not shy about asking for coupons I want that come out in the paper (I don't use many coupons from the paper, believe it or not). If I know a coupon is out there, generally putting a post on Facebook gets me the coupon from someone not using it.

And, I am still using cabbage from stocking up near St Patrick's day.  Wrapped in plastic wrap, heads of cabbage last for months in the refrigerator.  

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
oatmeal with brown sugar	bagel with peanut butter	yogurt w/fruit	1/2 PB&J sandwich	oatmeal with brown sugar	Ham, eggs, and toast	Homemade Latte
Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning
Banana	Carrots	banana	carrots	banana	NA	NA
Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
Red Beet Egg Sandwich	Ham Salad Sandwich	Red Beet Egg Sandwich	Ham Salad Sandwich	Red Beet Egg Sandwich	Cook Out w/friend	EAT OUT
carrots	pickled red beets	carrots	pickled red beets	carrots	grilled hot dogs
orange	banana	orange	banana	orange	baked beans
					veggie, brownies made from a box
Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner
PA Dutch Ham Pot Pie	Judy & Bob's Beans and Rice	Ham and Green Beans	Ham Fried Rice	Ham and Sauteed Cabbage	Scrounge for leftovers	Chicken Corn Soup
coleslaw
Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack
yogurt w/fruit	yogurt w/fruit	yogurt w/fruit	yogurt w/fruit	yogurt w/fruit	NA	NA
Cost	Cost	Cost	Cost	Cost	Cost	Cost
Total cost per week:

If you happen to be in the Gettysburg PA area this weekend, I'd love to have you visit my church, Freedom Valley Worship Center.  Services are listed above, and the church is located at:  3185 York Road (Rte 30), Gettysburg PA

Easter Dinner

I am in the process of putting together my Easter Menu.


Lunch:
Ham (Aldi's, 99¢ a pound)
Candied sweet potatoes (3 lb sweet potatoes for $1.19 at Aldi's, butter quarters at Giant for $2 a lb)
Asparagus (need to go buy it yet)
Pickled Red Beets and Eggs (egg 99¢ a dozen at Target, red beets 45¢ from Jerry's several months ago)
Cole Slaw (mom is bringing)
Pineapple Stuffing (pineapple 70¢ a can at Target)
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (mom is bringing)

Supper:
PA Dutch Ham Pot Pie.

I nearly had a melt down this am when I ran into my local Giant to pick up my ham (I had no room for it earlier this week when I went to Giant) and the sale price of $1.19 a lb did not come up. It turns out, I would have had to make a $25 purchase to get the ham on sale. I decided this was so outrageous that I left my entire purchase behind.  I came home and sent Giant a letter. I've always hated items that required a $25 purchase to get an item at a certain price, but to me, making the cornerstone piece of many Easter Dinners subject to this was just too much, and I left them know.

At any rate, I did much better at Aldi's after work.

Aldi's also has bags of baby carrots for 49¢ a 1 lb bag, which is a really great price. I stocked up!

Mission Trip to Haiti. Lesson on Abundance and Gratitude

This was the pantry

We had the most fabulous juice at every meal.... hand produced!

This was the stove

This lady can cook!  Everything that came out of her kitchen was delicious!

Soup with dumplings, and rice and beans

 In June of 2013, I had the privilege of traveling to Charrier, Haiti to participate in a medical mission trip.  This village is about a 3 hour ride from Port Au Prince, up many mountain roads, and was pretty remote.  There is no such thing as electricity out there.  We were fortunate that the mission compound included a western style toilet.  It was very hot and humid, but we bathed in water that was piped down off of the mountains, and it was so cold it made you gasp when it hit you, even though it was so refreshing.

There is nothing like visiting a 3rd world country to show you how much we have in America.   We had two meals prepared for us each day... one more than is typically served in a Haitian home.   Each night, after we ate, our leftover were scraped from our plate and divided up between those village children who had not had a meal yet that day.  It was heart wrenching.  When I came home, I made a pot of Pennsylvania Dutch Pot Pie, and literally stood  sobbing with tears streaming down my face because I had eggs to put in my pot pie... it was that easy, I could just open my refrigerator, and there they were.

How blessed I am to be able to choose to spend less on food each week.  What privilege life I lead.

Do you feel blessed and privileged?  Tell me why!  Post your comment below!

This was our first mornings breakfast.  A hot soup that seemed to have some sort of pumpkin or winter type squash  as a base, along with a vegetable that was something like a potato.  I am not sure what it was, but I enjoyed it.  The bread was very dense, and served at every breakfast.  A woman would walk up the road with a box of bread on her head, selling it. . 

One of our dinners.  I believe it was stewed goat.  I'm not sure.  It was tasty. Fried plantains were on the side. 

This was our going away feast.  The doughnut on top was not very sweet, but lightly flavored with anise, and very dense.  It was yummy, but next time I am taking stuff to make glaze!  Rice and beans were served every other night... it is a Haitian staple.  The black stuff is meat cooked in a highly seasoned broth. Tasty but hot and spicy.  Much of the stuff I ate, I had no idea what it was.  

Some of the children drew in my journal for me... at my request. 

The children of the village were an absolute delight.  I was very sick with a respiratory infection, and spent a lot of time in bed.  They sung their hearts out every evening, and it kept me entertained!

6 Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God.  Romans 14:6 NLT

Crock Pot Beef Stew

This is another favorite, easy recipe.

1 lb stew beef (Target)
one onion, quartered (Aldis)
4 carrots, cut into large chunks (Aldis)
4 potatoes in large chunks (Amelias)
1 c frozen peas (Target)
1 can condensed  cream of tomato soup (Target)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (Target)

Add beef, onion, carrots, potatoes, and peas to crock pot. Top with soup and 1 can full of water (or use half red wine and half water if you wish).

Cook on low for at least 8 hours or until meat is tender.

With the awesome Target deals, this came out to $1.08 a serving

Two frugal easy meals that freeze well: Crock Pot Taco Soup  and Cranberry Chicken

Crock Pot Taco Soup

Almost all of the ingredients for this soup came from Target, and the crazy good deals I got there this week.

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, diced
1-16 oz can chili beans
1-16 oz can northern beans
1-11oz can creamed corn
1-8oz can of tomato sauce
1-28oz can of diced tomatoes
1 package taco seasoning
1/2 cup water.

Brown beef with onion, drain excess fat.
Add all ingredients to crock pot (including liquid from beans and corn).  Cook on low 8 hours.

Makes 8 1 c. servings at 87¢ each

This is a great soup to make double and triple batches of, and freeze the cooked soup.  It can be simmered on the stove top as well as the crock pot if you wish.

Cranberry Chicken

This is my absolute favorite freezer recipe.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (Target)
1 can cranberry sauce (Amelia's)
8 oz Catalina dressing (Target)
1 package of onion soup mix (Aldi's)

Mix cranberry sauce, dressing, and soup mix together.  Pour over chicken.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until chicken breast is cooked through.

If you wish to freeze, place raw chicken breast in family sized portions in a freezer bag, top with cranberry mixture.  To cook, remove from freezer the night before and place in refrigerator to thaw.  Bake as above, adding 10 minutes if it is still partially frozen. It is wonderful to make double and triple batches to freeze. This sauce works well with pork as well.

This came out to $1.62 per serving when all the ingredients were sourced at rock bottom prices.

Second Target Grocery Haul of the weekend.

I used the mobile $10 off of $50 yesterday, today I used the one in the ad in the Sunday paper.

$58.18 originally, $23.08 after all discounts and coupons... and now I have FRESH FRUIT!  This did cause me to change up my menu somewhat and substitute some bananas for oranges.

Here is the updated menu with costs... just under $25 for the week, thanks to the crazy good deals at Target.  My grocery expenses should be a good bit lower the next several weeks, as I did a lot of stocking this weekend.  I am not hard and fast that I spend no more than $25 a week.. it is that I average $25 a week.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
1/2 bagel w/ pnt btr, 12¢	1 c. oatmeal, 10¢	1/2 egg sandwhich, 21¢	1/2 bagel w/ pnt btr, 12¢	1 c. oatmeal, 10¢	ham & egg breakfast sand, 56¢	Eat Out
Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning	Mid-Morning
yogurt w/fruit, .50	cheese stick, 33¢	yogurt w/fruit, .50	cheese stick, 33¢	yogurt w/fruit, .50	N/A	N/A
Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
Ham Sandwich, 83¢	1/2 ham sandwich. 42¢	tuna salad sandwich, 43¢	1/2 ham sandwich. 42¢	tuna salad sandwich, 43¢	1/2 ham sandwich. 42¢	Company Lunch:
sugar snaps and carrots, 62¢	1 c taco soup, 87¢	sugar snaps and carrots, 62¢	1 c taco soup, 87¢	sugar snaps and carrots, 62¢	1 c taco soup, 87¢	Pork Tenderloin, 91¢
Banana, 15¢	Banana, 15¢	orange, 40¢	Banana, 15¢	orange, 40¢	Banana, 15¢	Au Gratin Potatoes, 0¢
						Broccoli 18¢
Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner
Crock Pot Taco Soup, 1.5 c, $1.30	Cranberry Chicken, $1.62	Crock Pot Beef Stew, $1.08	Spaghetti w/ meat sauce, 87¢	Chicken Thighs, 76¢	Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie	Order Pizza
Frozen Vegetable, 25¢	Brown Rice, 20¢			Sauteed Cabbage, 26¢	mixed vegetables, 25¢
	California Meledy, 25¢			Baked potato w/ butter, 36¢	slice n bake cookies, 50¢
Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack	Snack
carrot sticks, 18¢	yogurt w/fruit, .50	carrot sticks, 18¢	yogurt w/fruit, .50	popcorn (from kernels), .50	popcorn (from kernels), .50	N/A
Cost	Cost	Cost	Cost	Cost	Cost	Cost
3.95	$4.44	$3.42	3.26	3.93	$4.12	$1.09
Total cost per week:					$24.21