12/28/13
I really dislike poor grammar. But, it's late. And I cooked all day. Please forgive any errors.
This morning, I opened the freezer and noticed that I was about to cook my last pre-made meal. So, I took an inventory of the pantry/fridge/freezer and set out on a mission to prepare a month’s worth of meals at no more than $100. It was a challenge I really didn’t think I could accomplish because my husband and I insist on local and/or organic foods whenever possible. I did end up compromising that standard some...we live in a tiny town with few options at the store and I couldn't bring myself to drive all the way to the market (30+ miles) just for groceries.
In the end, I was able to make almost one month worth of meals for less than $70 (in addition to the groceries I already had on hand). I realize this is hard to replicate since we all have different items in our pantry (which is why exact recipes are not offered). But, here’s the process I created to be able to put together 42 meals (61 servings) at $1.14 per serving. It all took 8 hours, start to finish.
I take left-overs with me as my lunch at work, so many of the meals are calculated to include that little nugget of information. Servings are calculated based on how much I know my husband and I will eat---nothing scientific here, folks!
The first thing I did was check out what foods I already had on hand. Here was my inventory:
- 1/2 bottle salsa
- Condiments and spices galore!
- Approximately 9 ounces of various cheeses
- 2 wheat tortillas
- Quart of pesto
- 1.5 heads of cauliflower
- 1/2 bag of peas
- 1/2 cup leftover cheese fondue
- Dried black beans
- tomato juice
- 1 can vegetable broth
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1/2 box of lasagna pasta
- 8 sheets phyllo dough
- 3 T cream cheese
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 cup chickpeas
- A ridiculous amount of wine and beer leftover from the holidays
Then, I went to the grocery story and bought the following groceries:
- 2 cans corn
- 10 cans diced tomatoes
- 5 lb bag of potatoes
- 1 bunch cilantro
- frozen ravioli
- Cottage cheese
- Greek Yogurt
- Ricotta Cheese
- 2 dozen eggs
- carrots
- slow cooker liners (yes, I cringe that I bought these, but I was short on freezer creativity)
- 8 yellow onions
- 2 cans vegetable broth
- 1 bag fresh spinach
- 1 bag brown rice
- Unsalted butter
- 2 cans tomato paste
- 2 containers of mushrooms
- 10 wheat tortillas
- various bell peppers
- broccoli
- bananas/apples*
- cereal*
GROCERIES = $69.71
This is the (Mostly) Vegetarian Menu Plan I created:
2 Lasagna/Lasagna Roll-Ups
Shepherd's Pie
Veggie pot pie
12 Burritos
14 veggie stuffed potatoes
Roasted Chicken Breasts *
2 Pesto Ravioli Casseroles
Chili
Minestrone
Black Bean soup
2 Broccoli Chickpea Curry Casseroles
12 Mini Meatloaf
Veggie Pot Pie *
Spinach Pie
*I realize these are not vegetarian---but, my husband had some meat in the freezer that needed to be used up.
PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Tips for getting set-up:
1- Place the crock from your slow cooker near your chopping area. As you discard vegetable pieces, place them in the crock. When done with your cooking, cover everything with water and cook on low overnight. I did this and ended up with 1 gallon of delicious veggie broth (plus I kept waking up to the most amazing smell)!
2- Clear your dining room table. We have a tiny kitchen, so I use that as the staging area for all of the items on this list that direct you to "set aside."
3- Plan and prep tonight's dinner first because, as soon as you finish all of this work, someone will ask, "What's for dinner!?" and you will NOT want to think about it.
4- COMPOST! Seriously. Have your compost crock set-up next to your chopping area. Don't even think about sending those valuable resources to the landfill!
Step One: Wash 15 potatoes, prick with a fork and place in the oven at 350 degrees. Set timer for one hour (when that timer goes off, check the potatoes for doneness and turn off the oven, but keep the potatoes in the oven as it cools).
Step Two: Place 6 cans diced tomatoes, 1.5 cans tomato paste and 1 cup tomato juice in a large pot, allow to simmer, uncovered, for approximately 10 minutes. Season with pesto, salt, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano.
Step Three: Dice 7 onions and sauté with olive oil until translucent. Set aside. Sauté mushrooms in butter. Set aside.
Step Four: Dice and separate into bowls: red pepper, green pepper, yellow pepper, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower. Place frozen peas in a bowl to allow to thaw. Place frozen spinach in a bowl and allow to thaw. Set aside all bowls of prepared vegetables.
Step Five: Rinse and pick through 2.5 cups of dried beans. Place in a pressure cooker and cover with 9 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 T oil. Bring to pressure, cook on high for 10 minutes and allow to release pressure naturally.
Step six: While beans are cooking, boil lasagna noodles until al dente.
Step Seven: Combine full container ricotta cheese, 2 T pesto, 1/2 container cottage cheese, 2 eggs, 2 ounces shredded cheese and salt/pepper/oregano to taste. Mix lightly.
Step Eight: Lasagna: Assemble the Lasagna by layering tomato sauce, noodles and ricotta mixture. When complete, set aside and allow to cool before placing in freezer.
Step Nine: Ravioli Casserole: Assemble ravioli casseroles by layering tomato sauce, frozen raviolis and fresh spinach. When complete, set aside and allow to cool before placing in freezer.
Step Ten: Using an electric mixture, combine 3 T softened butter, 2.5 cups flour, 1 t salt, 1 t baking powder, 2 T oil, 2 T water until a soft dough forms. If dry, add more liquids. Roll out dough to 1/8” thickness. Line the Shepherd’s Pie dish with 2/3 of the dough. Use the remaining dough to cut a top layer of crust for the pot pie (you can get an exact size by using the bowl as a guide...see picture below).
Step Eleven: Place 1/2 of the cooled mushrooms, 1/4 cup onions and one can of vegetable broth in a blender and puree until smooth.
Step Twelve: Place 1/2 the peas, 1 can corn, 1.5 cups onions, 1 cup broccoli, 1 cup carrots and 2 cups cauliflower in a pot with oil. Saute for 5 minutes. Remove 1/2 the mixture and set aside (you’ll use it in Step Fifteen). Sprinkle remaining mixture with 2 T flour and mix until well combined. Add the broth from the blender and cook until thick.
Step Thirteen: Scoop 1/2 of the vegetable/broth mixture into the prepared Shepherd’s Pie crust.
Step Fourteen: Veggie Pot Pie. Return the remaining mixture to the stovetop and add leftover cheese fondue until well mixed. Add 1 T pesto. If dry, add milk/cream as desired. Place contents of the pot into the Pot Pie dish. Cover with prepared pie crust, place 2-3 slits on the top of the crust. When complete, set aside and allow to cool before placing in freezer.
Step Fifteen: Stuffed Baked Potatoes. Remove the baked potatoes from the oven. Cut 15 pieces of aluminum foil, approximately 8”x8”. Cut each potato in half, lengthwise, and scoop out half of the potato’s meat. Fill the potato with the sautéed vegetables from Step Twelve, close and wrap tightly in aluminum foil. When complete, set aside and allow to cool before placing in freezer.
Step Sixteen: Shepherd’s Pie. Mash the leftover potato with one teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt. When smooth, scoop mashed potatoes on top of the Shepherd’s Pie. When complete, set aside and allow to cool before placing in freezer.
Step Seventeen: Black Bean Soup. In the pot used for the veggies (don’t wash it yet!), mix 1/2 cup onions, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp paprika and 1 can diced tomatoes. Allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Add 2-3 cups beans, 1/2 cup vegetable broth, 1/2 jar salsa, 4 T cream cheese and 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt. Mix well and then, using a potato masher, mash 2/3 of the soup. When complete, set aside and allow to cool before placing in freezer.
Step Eighteen: Spinach Pie: Butter a pie pan. Layer the phyllo sheets on the pie pan (no need to butter between layers). Melt 2 T butter. In a large bowl, combine 2/3 of the thawed spinach (Step Four), 2 eggs, 1 t salt, remaining cottage cheese and seasonings of your choice. Place on top of the phyllo sheets. Wrap the phyllo sheets to the top of the spinach (will not cover the spinach completely). Brush the melted butter on top of the phyllo sheets. Cover with aluminum foil. When complete, set aside and allow to cool before placing in freezer.
Step Nineteen: Broccoli Chickpea Curry: In a large bowl, combine the remaining broccoli and cauliflower. Add one cup of canned chickpeas, 1 T curry powder, 1 cup almond milk, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 cup onions. Line two bowls the size of (or smaller than) your crockpot with crockpot liners. Divide the vegetable mixture between the two bowls and place in freezer until set (once frozen, you can remove the mixture from the bowls/liners, place in freezer bags and they’ll be ready for you to cook them in the crockpot.).
Note 1: I also placed a few dried chilis on top...I had a ton left over from my garden this fall and dried them. They're perfect for crockpot meals! It adds a little spice and depth to the meal.
Note 2: You may also choose to add some lentils and water to this dish...I think I will do that the day I cook it....it wouldn't fit in the bowls.
Step Twenty: Mini Meatloaf: Mix 1 lb. ground beef with 1 T pesto, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup corn, 1/4 cup spinach, 1/4 cup onion, 1/4 cup BBQ sauce and 1/2 cup breadcrumbs. Place in silicone mini-bread molds, pat down, cover with BBQ sauce and allow to freeze.
Step Twenty-One: Minestrone: In the still-dirty veggie pot, combine 1/2 cup onions, 1 cup carrots, 4 T pesto, remaining tomato juice and remaining vegetable broth. Simmer for 15 minutes. When complete, set aside and allow to cool before placing in freezer.
Step Twenty-Two: Chili: combine 2/3 of each of the bell peppers, 1/2 cup onions, 1 cup beans, 2 T chili powder, 1 T turmeric, 1 tsp salt, remaining diced tomatoes, and red pepper flakes. Allow to summer for 15 minutes. (Feel like cracking open a beer? Yeah, a lovely stout or Christmas Ale would complement this dish nicely. Go for it). When complete, set aside and allow to cool before placing in freezer.
Step Twenty-Three: Burritos: combine remaining bell peppers, remaining onions, remaining beans, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili and other seasonings as desired. Saute for 10 minutes, until tender. Wrap each tortilla with cheese and 1/4 cup of the bean filling. When complete, set aside and allow to cool before placing in freezer.
Step Twenty-Four: Mushroom Risotto: Open a bottle of wine under the guise of making risotto. Line a bowl (that fits inside your crockpot) with a crockpot liner. Fill liner with 1.5 cups brown rice, remaining mushrooms, 3 cups broth or water and 1/2 cup wine. Freeze. Once frozen, remove from liner and store in a freezer bag (reuse liner).
Step Twenty-Five: Pour a gigantic glass of wine and put on your favorite music, because you have a lot of cleaning to do... On second thought, don't dirty another glass; drink straight out of the bottle.
Cooking and Prep Notes:
1 Lasagna (3 servings): Be sure to prepare this in an oven safe container. Take out of freezer and bake at 350 for 60-90 minutes (less time if thawed.)
Lasagna Roll-Ups (2 servings): Be sure to prepare this in an oven safe container. Take out of freezer and bake at 350 for 60-90 minutes (less time if thawed.)
Shepherd's Pie (4 servings): Be sure to prepare this in an oven safe container. Take out of freezer and bake at 350 for 60-90 minutes (less time if thawed.)
Veggie pot pie (3 servings): Be sure to prepare this in an oven safe container. Take out of freezer and bake at 350 for 60-90 minutes (less time if thawed.)
12 Burritos (6 servings): Remove from freezer, unwrap (if you individually wrapped them in foil) and microwave on high for 3-4 minutes.
14 veggie stuffed potatoes (7 servings): Remove from freezer, unwrap (if you individually wrapped them in foil) and microwave on high for 3-4 minutes.
Roast chicken breasts (1 serving): Remove from freezer, allow to thaw overnight in the fridge, pat dry, cover in oil, sprinkle with seasonings, bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.
2 Pesto Raviolis (5 servings): You can prepare this to either be cooked in the oven or prepared in the crockpot. I chose the crockpot method this time. I lined a dish that is the approximate size of my crockpot with a crockpot liner, assembled the dish, allowed to freeze, then removed from the dish and placed in a Ziploc bag. On the day you wish to prepare this meal, take it out of the freezer before you leave for work and plug your crockpot into a timer that is set to start 5 hours before you arrive home from work. Set your crockpot to low and allow to cook while gone. When you get home from work, remove the lid and allow to cook an additional 20-30 minutes.
Chili (4 servings); Remove from freezer and cook for 5-6 hours on low (either in the crockpot or stovetop).
Minestrone (3 servings): Remove from freezer and cook for 3-4 hours on low (either in the crockpot or stovetop). You can store this in large pyrex dishes. This time, I stored them in the freezer in mason jars. Leave at least two inches of headspace to allow for freezing.
Black Bean soup (2 servings): Remove from freezer and cook for 3-4 hours on low (either in the crockpot or stovetop). You can store this in large pyrex dishes. This time, I stored them in the freezer in mason jars. Leave at least two inches of headspace to allow for freezing.
2 Broccoli Chickpea Curry (6 servings): I lined a dish that is the approximate size of my crockpot with a crockpot liner, assembled the dish, allowed to freezer, then removed from the dish and placed in a Ziploc bag. On the day you wish to prepare this meal, take it out of the freezer before you leave for work and plug your crockpot into a timer that is set to start 6 hours before you arrive home from work. Set your crockpot to low and allow to cook while gone. When you get home from work, remove the lid and allow to cook an additional 20-30 minutes. Serve over rice.
12 mini meatloaf (6 servings): Remove from freezer, place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 until cooked through.
Veggie Pot Pie (3 servings): Be sure to prepare this in an oven safe container. Take out of freezer and bake at 350 for 60-90 minutes (less time if thawed.)
Spinach Pie (4 servings): Be sure to prepare this in an oven safe container. Take out of freezer and bake at 350 for 60-90 minutes (less time if thawed.)
1 Mushroom Risotto (2 servings): Place frozen risotto in crockpot on low for 5-6 hours, checking frequently (I've never made this one before, so please note that these instructions may change).
*You'll note that I bought more eggs than I needed, plus apples, bananas and cereal that are all not utilized in the recipes above...that is because those are our breakfast food items. The cost and servings of those items are not factored into my final number...but, were included in this list so you could see that we have breakfast, lunch and dinners all planned for the month!
Admittedly, this is not the most diverse menu plan! We usually have a number of Indian, Mediterranean and other veggie-based, uber-healthy dishes. Plus, there were a few unsustainable items purchased purely out of the decision NOT to drive all the way to the next town over (has more grocery options). The next round will be more eco-friendly. But, those will have to come on another day….for tonight, I am going to finish my wine and go to bed.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Prep your carrots and ginger by grating them with a fine grater or zester. This takes a bit of time, so put on some good music and don't cave into the temptation to use a larger grater....the fine grate makes all the difference in this cake. 
- Divide your batter evenly among your cake pans. Note: I used 2 six-inch round pans for a smaller cake and then baked the remaining batter in 6 jam jars. The jam jars cook beautifully, creating transportable cupcakes. Just let them cool, fill to the top with frosting and cover with a lid! These are a perfect car-trip snack.
