Eatin' on the cheap

Monday and Tuesday I added up what our dinner cost, as well as the calorie count.

Monday I had a variation of Mother Hen's beans with rice, some leftover pineapple, and carrots and cauliflower (raw). It cost about $4 for all of us to get quite full, and have leftovers. How did I do the beans? I used navy beans, which are white (huh?). I put half a package in lots of water to soak for 8 hours, then rinsed, put more water (I used too much, as navy beans don't soak up so much) and brought to a boil, then simmered for 2-3 hours. It smelled like bacon. I added a couple spoons of fajita seasoning, and then some garlic powder and chili powder. Meanwhile I cooked brown rice with chopped spinach. To serve, we got a pile of rice, spooned some beans over, topped with shredded lettuce, salsa, and shredded cheese. It was like a burrito without the tortilla. The boys also mixed the pineapple in with theirs. We all liked it, and Cedwryck and William don't traditionally like beans of any kind.

Tuesday our dinner cost about $5.50. I made a variation of "beef chow mien" that I got from an old "hamburger cookbook." I browned a pound of ground turkey (cheaper than beef), adding a chopped onion and a diced potato about half-way through. Then I added a large can of chopped tomatoes, a can of pineapple chunks, a can of chinese stir-fry vegetables (can use just water chestnuts), some brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, and soy sauce. I tried to make some "bean thread" noodles, but it turned into some funky looking gelatin stuff, so I served the meat over macaroni noodles. We had corn and green beans on the side. Yummy. There were also leftovers Tuesday.

Today I was gonna see about using that leftover baked sweet potato to make some rolls... better get on with it.