Made a mid-week grocery run on Wed. night to beat the winter storm. You might remember that there was only $3 left in my budget for this week. I didn’t anticipate running out of eggs, but I should have known better. When I say that eggs are a staple in our home I’m making a ridiculous understatement. We go through 30+ a week when there are three adults here! Silly me thought we could make 18 work this week, but nope. :)
So got my dozen eggs and a $1.48 bag of coleslaw veggies for Wed. night dinner:
I sometimes purchase items at the end of the week to use the next week or later if they are on sale and just subtract them from the next week’s budget.
Anyone else? I made a non-food related stop at Target that night and saw that Annie’s Mac & Cheese was on sale for $1/box!!!! That’s Kraft prices, friends!!! I had to stop myself at 10 boxes!! How do you guys feel about my little splurge? Did I go “over budget” or did I just do a little shopping ahead? How strict are you with yourselves? I imagine that if you use a cash/envelope system you don’t have much “choice” when it comes to staying within the limit you’ve set. Our checking account is also our savings account (we get 4% interest) so there’s always plenty in it. It would never work for me if I were single – I am *not* that disciplined – but I am blessed with a very self-controlled husband who looks at every item on the statement so I’m plenty accountable.
On to the recipe!!! I had some udon noodles hiding in the back of my cabinet and some ginger in the freezer that I purchased for juicing half a year ago and only used a tiny bit of that I needed to use up so I went rummaging through my cookbooks and came across a recipe that at least provided meal inspiration. The recipe was for Grilled Asian Chicken and Noodles (from Healthy Eating During Pregnancy) and it used both of those ingredients but was for a cold salad. Did I mention that we are in the midst of a winter storm??? After a little brainstorming, I decided on a simple stir-fry with a yummy sauce. If I would have had frozen pre-cooked chicken this would have been a 10 minute meal! Super easy! Let me know if you try it out sometime!
Chicken Udon Stir-fry
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (boneless or bone-in if it’s all you have)
8 oz. package of udon noodles
14 oz. bag of coleslaw mic (cabbage and carrots)
sauce:
1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
2 tbs. sesame oil (olive oil works too)
2 tbs. rice vinegar (I used brown rice vinegar)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
Combine sauce ingredients in medium size bowl.
Preheat oven to 350.
Cook Udon noodles according to package directions, drain an set aside.
Place chicken breasts in baking dish without cover and brush sparingly with some of the sauce mixture. Bake until breasts reach meat-thermometer shows 170 degrees inside, brushing with liquid that comes off of chicken every 5 minutes or so. Set aside until cool enough to handle, cut into cubes/strips.
Empty coleslaw mix and remainder of sauce into a wok or very large saucepan on stovetop and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes.
Add noodles and chicken and cook for another 2 minutes while stirring continually.
Serve and enjoy!
I saw that Target sale on http://www.moneysavingmom.com. I would have picked some up, but I'm already squeezing myself on the budget right now. We budget monthly instead of weekly, and we've found they both have their pros and cons. Having a monthly grocery budget allows me to stock up without having to dip into next week's stash, but it's a challenge sometimes to get to the end of the month and not have to go over because I spent too much on frozen corn and we have no milk or eggs. I'm actually considering starting to do my menu plan 2 weeks or a month at a time, instead of just a week at a time. I'm not officially doing the pantry challenge, but it would definitely be a good mindset for me to get in. I have to remind myself that there will always be more great deals and sales–it's okay to take a break from spending and eat what we have!
April, that's exactly why we switched to a weekly budget! We've only been doing it for 2+ months now and it seems to be working better so far. I would always find myself with 10 loaves of bread in the freezer and nothing but pb&j to send Rob to work with. :)
Now there will be nothing but mac n cheese!
Hey Anjanette….question….do you recommend a site or something to help a family who currently eats primarily fast, pre-made or box/frozen/canned meals (eat a lot of fresh fruit, though) but is looking to start making more from "scratch" & build up pantry? I love your site but I currently have hardly any extra stuff around (besides staples) to just throw together a meal like you can. My hubby works evenings so it's just Eli & I for dinner, which is also a challenge because getting my hubby to take leftovers to work is difficult. We own a crock pot & items like that, but nothing fancy. I do have about 30 recipes I started to collect pre-Eli but haven't added to them much since. We have very simple tastebuds & prefer American, Mexican, Italian, style foods. Any tips on how to even get started? Plus I work part-time posing yet another challenge! Thanks!
Just posting again to check the "email follow-ups" since I forgot to on first one :)