Urban Pioneer

• Feb. 24, 2006 - Uninspired - a whine post and a cry for help!

I am trying to make menu's for next week, so I can have my grocery list ready for tomorrow's shopping trip (I strongly dislike shopping on a Saturday, but since we currently only have one working vehicle...that is the way it goes). I am so sick of deciding on some ground beef dishes (because it is cheap)...Here are some of the ground beef dishes I have made in the past month at least once....hamburger gravy, poor man's beef stroganoff, spaghetti, baked ziti, baked ritoni, lasagne, texas one dish, taco bake and beef fried rice and shepherds pie. I could make sloppy joes, but it really isnt popular in our house. My husband is a bit on the picky side. *sigh* He's not crazy about mexican (I love it), he hates anything that is in the legume family or the squash family. We are not really soup people..we like potato soup, chicken soup (every great once in a while) and canned tomato soup and I like chili. DH is not crazy about chicken either, but the children and I love it...so I alternate it with other meals.

Since we are also trying to eat healthier that cuts out some of the favorite recipes like cheeseburger casserole and any other bisquick recipes...I want to try making wholewheat bisquik, but I am trying to make sure my flour is freshly ground when using it, and that eliminates the convenience of bisquick *sigh*....so here is what I have so far for next week and the only reason I have two of the three items is because of my daughter's actual birthday and her celebrated birthday:

Meatloaf with oven browned potatoes (I boil them first then put tons of butter and broil them til they are crispy on the outside) and veggie

Sweet and Sour Chicken, brown rice

Baked Ziti, bread, salad

Any fresh, cheap, yummy suggestions that doesnt have any processed foods, legumes, squash or soup recipes?

Thanks ......kayinpa

Oh...did I mention that we dont eat pork or pig products?

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• Feb. 24, 2006 - :)

Posted by Galatians69

You can make your whole wheat biscuit mix and then freeze it to protect it from going rancid. We always save any leftover freshly ground grain or mixes in the freezer. Large clear plastic containers work well for mixes ... easy to scoop out of. :)

The cake was delicous!!!

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• Feb. 24, 2006 - Some Ideas

Posted by Katiecakes

We love a good stirfry. It's always quick and relatively frugal if you can get the frozen stuff in the winter and super cheap from your garden in the summer. We always have ours over brown or wild rice and simply use Braggs Liquid Aminos and some ginger for the sauce, but you can find some wonderful oriental sauces in the stores but they aren't usually frugal.

Pizza is another thing we love. I make pizza crusts from scratch, cook and freeze 'em. I simply pull them out of the freezer in the morning and they're ready for dinner. I do buy an organic pizza sauce from the store (generally one can is enough for 2-3 pizzas for us) then I top with whatever we have on hand, usually: onions, green peppers (I always have some chopped in the freezer) and mushrooms. You could easily add cooked ground meat to pizza - we've done it on occasion.

Hope this helps!

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• Feb. 24, 2006 - Untitled Comment

Posted by HaphazardHomesteader

What about homemade pizza, using fresh whole wheat crust that you make? You could make sections, or have individual sized pizzas, and everyoone could pick their own toppings, so you'd all be happy. (We cheat and use whole wheat english muffins . . . nobody has time to make bread!)

Um..... roasted whole chicken with veggies? (Potatoes, carrots, onions, whatever).

As for ground beef, my parents used to make these hoagie sandwiches with browned ground beef, leftover potatoes (those cruncy ones sound perfect) and then a little melted cheese on top.

I don't know what I'd do if my family didn't like beans! We eat them all the time, I love the South Beach Black Bean Soup in Nigella Lawson's "How to Eat" cookbook (which I highly recommend, she's all about fresh food).

I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

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• Feb. 24, 2006 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Sunflowermama

I was also going to say pizza. My kids love hm pizza. I love your blog! Oh, and yes if my kids get the chicken pox stop on by!

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• Feb. 24, 2006 - Chili

Posted by haras

I just posted a chili recipe on my site today, better than Wendy's. It makes enough for me and Hubby to eat on for days, plus I usually give my grown sons some of it to take home. They all love it. I don't know if your hubby would like it, since it does have pinto and kidney beans. Maybe take his beans out? :)

Sarah

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• Feb. 25, 2006 - Menu Ideas...

Posted by lancelotacres

www.hillbillyhousewife.com has some great ideas for cheap menu items. Check out their recipe section.

I was going to suggest stir fries as well. We eat them three or four times each week...they are very frugal and healthy. I buy my produce on sale, and we have meat in the freezer already. Even without meat in the freezer...one chicken makes at least two stir fries, sometimes three. You can really stretch them out by adding more veggies to the dish.

Chili is also a favorite over here. Ghoulash too. Tacos, Taco salad, baked spaghetti. All cheap and yummy.

I love having a weekly menu. Things just fall apart if I don't have one. LOL

Hugs,
Lisa

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• Feb. 25, 2006 - Recipes

Posted by motherearth

I hate months that I get stuck and can't think of something to feed my family....I'm searching through my plethora of recipes and books to help you out...Here is what I've come up with so far.

Purchase whole roasts, like Chuck roasts (something you would make a pot roast out of.) it is a little bit tougher meat so it makes the list of frugal meats.

Cut it into strips, kinda like fajita bite pieces. And separate into how ever many pounds you'll need for your family per meal.
Be creative with those strips, you can make stir fry, you can cut them into chunks for beef stew, whatever your family likes.
It is more economical to purchase a whole roast and cut into what you want, then it is to purchase stew meat, cube steaks, and stir fry meat, this cut of roast is what the butcher is cutting the above list from anyway.

More tips to help.....

I'll post my stir-fry recipe on my blog, along with a few others.

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