Canned chicken

Have you ever used canned chicken? I never even knew such a thing existed until we got it in a food box one troubling year. But in a pinch or in a hurry, it often saves the day. When you just need to add that protein but don't want to spend what feels like forever cooking a bird, or the troublesome package that you bought last week that just doesn't smell quite right now. 

But the thing is, canned chicken is stupid expensive for what you're getting. Mostly because you're paying for convenience. Anytime something is more convenient, it comes at a cost. So for a while, whenever we would make a trip to Costco, which often isn't very often, I would get the rotisserie chicken for 4.98. Shred it up and use it for a few meals. Great. But that doesn't happen very often. For the best use of the dollar, we would get a tray of breasts usually on sale for anywhere between $5 and $8 for 6 breasts. Toss them in the crock pot shred, and store. 

But I have to admit I really like the rotisserie chicken better. That's when I noticed the Walmart cold rotisserie chickens were often on sale for only $2.02. They were the day-olds put out early in the morning. I'm not a fan of Walmart, but because of its location, we end up there more often. Pulled apart and shredded, remove the wings and legs for a sheet pan dinner where I usually pair with diced potatoes and green beans, add a dipping sauce, cover slightly with aluminum foil so they don't dry out and you got an easy dinner. After shredding the rest of the bird, I usually have about 4 cups of meat that I portion into freezer bags for later. They make the perfect topper for a salad, tossed in with some rice and beans for a burrito or countless other quick meals. Then boil down the remains, and you're left with a few cups of fresh chicken broth. 

 Meals-to-money breakdown:  

Today was 2 hens for a total of $4.04 

8 servings of shredded chicken 

4 leggs & 4 wings 

4 - 8 cups chicken broth

12 oz can for $2.82. So roughly $1.88 per 1 cup serving. 

I had 8 which would be $15.04

Legs and wings you can buy for about $8

Chicken broth is $1.50 for a 32 oz container / 4 cups. 

So for $24.54 worth of product, I spent $$4.04 and a little time and effort. And have enough for 10 meals. 

Rabbit Hole - break down of curry soup from scratch vs store bought

 Join me on my rabbit hole of the day.

So I was searching for meat that was on sale. Side note I didn't find any and got way off track. I kept seeing adds for Misfit Markets. It was everywhere, adds on insta, adds on youtube, adds in my sidebar. So after seeing it for the hundredth time, I finally decided to give it a look. Let me save you the trouble. Unless you are looking for strictly organic (in which case I have no clue) it's absolutely not worth it. Most of the products are more expensive than our local WinCo (at least what I came across). But as I was purusing, I saw a ready-to-eat meal for coconut curry. $4.19 for a 2oz container of soup. 2 oz! That's 1/4 cup. Ok oz doesn't always transfer clean, so let's go with the other info 57grams ok that's closer to 3/4 cup. But that's still $4 for about 1 ladle of soup.

So the question is, what would it cost to make this at home? Let's give it a shot. 

I went roughly off this recipe. Now, the best part is I had everything I needed, so it didn't cost me a single cent. Just helped me use up some stuff sitting in my pantry. And with a sick teen, I figured the extra garlic, onion, and turmeric would probably be good. 

Ingredients (all prices are from walmart.com and generic) 

▢1 cup chopped onion $1.88/7 = $0.27

▢1 cup chopped carrot $1.92/2lb so $0.25

▢1 tablespoon (30 g) finely chopped garlic cloves (2 or 3 cloves) ) $0.64/3 = $0.21

▢⅓ cup (80 g) Thai red curry paste, ( I used the powder so $0.05) 

▢½ teaspoon ground turmeric

▢¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

▢Salt

▢1 cup (205 g) red lentils $2 for a dry bag / 1/4 - $0.50

▢3½ cups (1 l) vegetable broth, or water

▢1 13.5-ounce can (400 ml) coconut milk (not light)  $3.65

Total $4.93 But we also added rice $1.77/32 oz /4 = $0.44

So, rounding up this dish cost about $5.50 and it made 8 cups of soup. Added bonus, my house smells amazing! 

Tip: 

• Don't be scared of using dry beans. Toss them in the crock pot and let them cook all day. Drain and freeze in single portions for later. It's like canned but half the price. Also you can pressure can dried beans and forgo the cooking altogether. Dry beans are way cheaper and don't have any extras. 
• Broth is so easy to make, either use bullion or boil down those chicken bones from the last meal. I just grabbed a $5 chicken from Costco (can't pass it up). Crock-pot the bones all night with other veggie scraps and there is your own broth at no cost.
• The paste definitely has a much richer flavor than the powdered curry. It's only about $4 and you only use a little at a time so totally worth it. 
• Most any recipe will work with what you have on hand if you are just a little creative. 

So where is your favorite place to get ground meat besides the forest? 

MEATBALLS 

is it worth it?

So I found this recipe for baking meatballs. I've always found it to be more labor-intensive than I was up for. But if this works, it could be a game changer...I think. My whole house loves meatballs, toss them in pasta, in sandwiches, in soups, even just heat and eat on their own as a little appetizer. But with the prices of meat skyrocketing I'm just curious, is it worth it. Today the obvious answer is yes, because I have left over groud beef that needed to be used up and wasn't sure what to make with it. But would I go out and buy it? I'm going to break it down here. 

This is the recipe I was looking at. Meatballs in a Muffin Tin

Though I often shop at winco or costco I'm going to be price checking on walmart just because their website is easier to navigate and the prices are very similar, usually. 

1 pound of ground beef - $5.50 - 8.00 depending on fat level

most of the other ingredients are things I would normally have on hand or are easily substituted.

1 pound of meatballs - $8.47 for 32count  but that's a 2 pound bag. 

The math ain't mathin' because I just made 24 with some left over of about a pound. None of these are very big... The only thing I can think of is that being froze caues them to weigh more? 

The thing about making it from scratch is you know exactly what's in it. But for the prise it's a hard beat especially because where I buy them, they are often on sale for $4 a bag. So I think this one is still up in the air. Either way with a house full of hungry teenagers, it's a good thing to have on hand. 

Spiritual Leaders

Imagine; a group is on a journey. Everyone has a different God given role that they were designed for with a purpose in this journey. Everyone works together, has a specific value and is necessary to fulfill the mission.

There is the leader, this person is in front, choosing which roads to take, which obstacles to overtake, and in general leading the way. 

There are those just along for the ride, learning from their leader and being encouraged by the helper. 

The helper is holding it all together, making sure things are taken care of, nurturing hurts and wounds, bringing nutrition and wisdom.   

While this can be a natural battle it is often a spiritual battle. And while those are often soldiers, they are also the family unit. In a relationship the man is called to be the spiritual leader. They must have a strong relationship with God, have integrity, be proactive, ready to guard and defend. This image has fallen out of cultural norms. More often than not it's the woman who leads in the spiritual realm. But it is a weight she was not designed to carry. To be both the leader and the helper means she will become exhausted at some point. This is why so many woman experience high levels of depression and anxiety.

I am currently very blessed that my daughter has found a suiter that has his own faith and one that he is passionately pursuing on his own accord. I find this to be so uncommon in this day and age and am very grateful for it. She equally has the desire to follow him through it and support his decisions regarding it. Though her faith is strong on her own and she is versed in the scriptures much more, she does not feel the need to lead. I am excited to see how their journey progresses.

Suggested reading:

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/EPH.5.NLT

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/men/why-should-men-be-the-spiritual-leaders-in-the-home.html 

DIY Pampering

For many reasons growing up I never got into the self-pampering things that most girls I know love. The ideas about spa days sound anything but pleasant. I would much rather be gaming with my hubby, making graphs/charts, planning or working in my garden or anything else that keeps my hands busy. Not to mention we haven't always had the disposable income for such things. However, having three daughters, there are some skills we need to learn if we don't want to spend on some self care treatments. 

Learning how to cut hair has been easy but I would love to learn some new tricks for cute dews. 

However, today I want to learn how to do a nice manicure/pedicure. Something a little more than your basic nail clipping. 

https://www.marthastewart.com/853529/diy-manicure-and-pedicure-tips?slide=169f5fe2-1168-4e36-8486-f8691d7289a4#169f5fe2-1168-4e36-8486-f8691d7289a4

Think it's time for me and my girls to learn some self-care. Thankful for the opportunity. 

I think the main thing is skin hydration, everything says to soak your hands and feet. Then a nice buffer over the nails, also the cuticle solvent is something to try. Well, wish me luck lol. My hands are going to be digging in the dirt soon but I still want them healthy.

Get out of the kitchen - Get some fuel and move on

It's nice when eating doesn't take up your day. I grew up in a fashion that you sat around the table an ate for an hour or so. That involved a lot of food. I'm doing some cutting. Short simple and back to action.

Breakfast

Toasted coconut yogurt and berries.

No sugar added. Warm berry mix with some cold greek yogurt, it's so yummy I want a second helping but that isn't nessisary so I just get back to work. By the way the price on this. $0.88 (berries are $1.98 for 16 oz. we only used 1/4 cup or 4 oz) $0.49. So breakfast under $1.50

                    Whoever says eating healthy is expensive just wants an excuse. Try a little harder.

                    Lunch

Easy peasy taco no salad.

1/2 cup ground beef

1/2 cup moz cheese

1/2 an avocado

salt and pepper

Could easily add some spinach and lettuce to bulk this up but this is nice simple and warm. 

Dinner

Cauliflower        $1

Broccoli            $1

Sausage             $3

Veggie Mix     $1

$6 dinner, fed our family of 5 with some leftover. That's $1 a plate.

Lotta greens, good protein. Fix it forget about it, don't have all day to spend in the kitchen type of person. I mean for starters the longer I stand in the kitchen the more I'll find to eat and snack on. Kinda adds to the bill and the waistline. We got more important things to do anyway.  Houses don't run themselves. 

Now go write your grandma a letter, she still doesn't understand emails and you can prove to your kids you still know how to address an envelope. 

 

 

 

Liven Lovely on Scraps

Yeah for making affordable healthy food!

So here's a little secret.  I don't do cereal.  It's my food crack.  My kids act like wild banchies when they eat it, much goes to waste and if you think about it.  If thats all we're having for breakfast (not only are we missing a large amount of nutrician but) that's about $3 a box. So $6 + milk at $3 a gallon.  That adds up a little too fast for me.

That being said, I am ok with and really like granolla (just not as a regualar breakfast).  Maybe as a cereal, maybe as a snack, top some yougurt or bake it into muffins.  It's good stuff.  You know what it is? Baked oat's.  That's it!   So why is it ssssoooooooooooo expensive? 

We do however go through a good deal of oatmeal, so much so that we buy it in bulk.  My only problem this round was that I didn't get the whole oats.  That's a problem and wont make as good granolla but it's a start.

I'm not that great at photo pics so sorry about that.  Anyhow it's this simple.  Pour 2 cups of oats on a baking sheet, mix with a little vanilla then drizzle a little honey and olive or coconut oil, and a pinch of ground sea salt over the top.  Bake at 300 for 10 minutes, a little longer if your using a small pan like mine.  It all depends on the thickness and how crunchy you like your oatmeal.

You can also mix in nuts, seads, dried fruit in with the vanilla if you like.  I don't have any right now so plain and simple is how we roll.  
Store in an air tight container for a week or two.  

I would break down the cost but I can't this time.

Oatmeal I bought in bulk several months ago and 2 cups out of 25 pounds isn't much.

The honey and the olive oil was a gift from our neighbor who was moving.  

So this is really bits and scraps of what we already have.  No spending necessary.