Shopping for Vacation on a Budget

     This year we are heading out on our first summer vacation in two years, needless to say, we are super excited!  We are going to Virginia Beach in just a few short weeks, so while the kids are in school still, I am planning and shopping for our trip!  
     10 hours in the car with four kids can be a bit overwhelming, and since we don't want to stop that frequently, it is my job to make sure that everyone has what they need.  We don't generally allow any eating in the car, but for long trips such as this, it cannot be helped.  To avoid stopping and eating along the way, we will be eating both breakfast and lunch in the car on the way down.  In order for meals to run smoothly in the car, with four kids, I have to plan really simple, mess-free, food options.  This might seem hard, but really, it is very easy to do! 
   The first thing that I do is plan what we will eat, then I will shop and try to find the items I want for the best price.  On the list, Go Go Squeeze.  If you have not tried these amazing snacks, you must, but they can be expensive and I'm on a tight budget, so I look for them at Big Lots.  Sure enough, today, Big Lots had several varieties of the healthy, mess-free applesauce 4 packs for just $1.25!  I grabbed six.  That is 24 Go Go Squeezes for our trip for just $7.50!  
   Big Lots had a lot of great items today for our trip.  In addition to the Go Go Squeeze, I also got a 2 pound bag of pretzels for just $2.20.  I will divide that into "kid sized" portions and hand them out as we go.  
   I picked up a 34 oz can of peanuts for just $5.00, my husband loves peanuts!  I will portion those out as well.  
   I grabbed a box of Honey Nut Scooters (cheerios) for $1.50 to take along, they had Musselman's Applesauce cups, 18 for $4.00 so I grabbed those, and two boxes of Wheatables crackers for $1.20 each.  Altogether the total was $22.60!  
     Shopping trip #1 is done.  I will be going out a few more times over the next few weeks looking for more deals, but for today I'm so excited that I was able to stock up for such a great price!   

***Today's shopping trip was done at the Big Lots on Fairport Rd, in Fairport NY***

It was an awesome day at Big Lots today!

Recipe Review #1

Periodically I will be testing new budget friendly recipes and then posting the results.  We are not foodies in our house, but if it is something that we end up really liking than I'm happy to send the recipe on to other families to try.  This recipe came to me from the Jul/Aug 2005 edition of Taste of Home magazine.  I altered the recipe a bit based on our tastes and the size of our family.

Baked Spaghetti Casserole (Serves 12)   

1 1/2 pounds of angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion chopped
1 1/2 jars of traditional spaghetti sauce
2 eggs
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
3 tbsp butter melted
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese (small curd)
8 oz mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet, cook the beef with the onion until the beef is brown and the onion is tender.  Add the spaghetti sauce.  In a large bowl, beat the eggs, Parmesan, and butter.  Add the cooked spaghetti and mix until it is well coated in egg mixture.  Pour half of the pasta into a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish.  Spread the 3/4 of a cup of cottage cheese on the spaghetti, spread 1/2 of the meat sauce over the cottage cheese and then sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella over the sauce.  Repeat the layer.  Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes uncovered, take the foil off and bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  

Here's how it added up...

Meat $2.69 (73% lean, browned and drained well)
Sauce $1.49
Cottage Cheese $1.77
Mozzarella $1.99
Parmesan $0.59
Eggs $0.28 ( I got my eggs last week at Save-a-Lot for $1.49 a dozen)
Spaghetti $1.49

This works out to be $0.86 per serving!  

My kids LOVED this recipe, all four (including my picky one) ate two helpings!

This recipe will definitely be going on our meal plan regularly.  

Simple Fried Rice

This recipe is one that we have come to rely on, if I cook it without meat, it makes a fabulous side dish or lunch.  If I choose to add the meat, it is an awesome, quick dinner that my family loves!  

Simple Fried Rice (Serves 4)

1 1/2 cups rice, cooked

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup chopped onion

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp sesame oil (optional)

1 egg, partially scrambled

1/2 pound of cooked, cubed, chicken or pork (Optional)

1 tbsp oil

In a large skillet, cook the veggies in the oil until just tender.  Add the rice, egg, soy sauce, chicken or pork, and sesame oil and cook until heated through.  Approximately 20 minutes.  

Lost Meal Plan...

     I know that Sunday's can be a really busy day at the grocery store so I usually try to go on a weekday when the stores are a little less crowded so that I don't feel so rushed.  But yesterday I had to go to the grocery store because this week was starting to fill up (end of school year activities) and I didn't want to wait and then have to run out multiple times (because then I would spend more money...), so I packed up Grace and Adam and we went to Aldi.  A typical day at Aldi is kind of crazy to begin with, they don't have a "traditional" store set up so finding things can sometimes be a chore (especially if it is a limited edition item), but a Sunday in Aldi is somewhat insane.  The small store is crowded with people, children, and lots of shopping carts.  Sometimes it is hard for me to keep my head above water while I'm in there (especially when I have all four of my children with me!)  
     Yesterday was no exception.  The place was mobbed and so I took my detailed list and meal plan in with me so that I could remain focused.  Thankfully, my friend Jen went along to grocery shop for her family (she is trying out some of my meal planning tips) so she took my daughter with her so that I only had to contend with Adam (who is amazing in a store!) while I was shopping.  We made our way quickly through the store and I was checking things off of my list easily.  Thank goodness I had my list because I would have lost my mind otherwise.  The people were not overly pushy or rude, it was just so busy and I was tired, so I just wasn't in the right frame of mind for the crowd.  I was done first, so I went through the checkout and bagged my items while Jen finished her shopping.  I had my notebook on the bottom of the cart and a really nice lady reminded me to take my notebook so that I wouldn't accidentally leave it there (I would be lost without it!) so I said a grateful, "thank you", and shoved my notebook into one of my bags. Jen was just entering the checkout, so I decided to take my groceries out to the car while she was finishing up.  
    Then I hear those familiar words that we (as mom's) love to hear (not!) "I have to go potty."  Of course you do, I thought to myself.  In the last six years since my oldest has been potty trained, I have never been able to go anywhere without hearing those words.  So I put out things in the car and then we made our way back into the store so that Adam could use the restroom.  Jen was bagging her groceries so I asked Grace if she had to go too, and she nodded so I took them both (might as well get everyone out of the way, right?)  The bathroom was occupied so we waited while Jen packed her things.  Grace decided she was thirsty so she went to the drinking fountain and proceeded to get water down the front of her shirt, the bathroom never became available, and the kids were starting to scream "I have to go potty!!" as loud as they could (so then I feel everyone watching me).  Jen packed up the last of her items into her cart and I finally convinced my kids that they could hold it until we got to Walmart for our last 2 items and we hurried out to the car.  
     By the time we got to Walmart, my kids had totally forgotten that they even had to go potty (go figure) and I didn't get a shopping cart (because I only needed 2 things), we went to the deli and got our free cookies and then Jen asked me to help her find Quinoa for a recipe that she was making, and while we were looking, my two kids decided it was a good time to have a race up and down the aisle.  Now on a weekday, this wouldn't have been a problem, but because it was Sunday, it was pretty busy, so I was getting a little frazzled.  Needless to say, by the time we left the store, I was more than a little tired.  When I got home I unpacked all of my bags and reached for my notebook to check it and make sure I hadn't missed anything on my list, and when I did, I realized that my completed meal plan for the week was missing!  What was I going to do?  I had such a nice plan for week and now I would have to try to remember everything from the top of my head, and after the day I had, that wasn't going to be easy to do.  
     But then a miracle happened...my husband made dinner, a complete dinner was ready and on the table when I got home from shopping!  We sat down to dinner as a family, a nice quiet Sunday dinner, and I was able to relax.  I put my shopping woes aside and after all of the kids had a bath, I sat down with them and watched a movie.  It was a very nice, relaxing evening with my family.  
   I am not too worried that I lost my meal plan, at least I know that there is food in my house to prepare!  I know it will come back to me and I learned that I need to relax more and have faith!  Everything works out in the end!

Stopping the Cereal "Bleed"

How do I stretch 2- 8 oz yogurts and feed four kids?

When I realized that we were going through 4 gallons of milk and 4 boxes of cereal a week in our grocery budget, I knew that I had to put a stop to the cereal "bleed" in our house.  My four children were eating a box of cereal every two days!  It was out of control!  When I did the math and realized that we were eating through $20.00 a week to feed four kids cereal, I knew that I could make healthier choices for our kids and save money at the same time.  

Making a change from cereal to oatmeal was easy.  My kids love oatmeal and I can serve it many different ways (check out my oatmeal cup recipe!), but we also needed other alternative breakfast options to not only save money, but to give my kids the variety they deserve.  

I came up with yogurt.  It is a healthy alternative that offers them more than a simple glass of milk.  But yogurt can be expensive, and even at $0.39 a cup, I have four kids so those costs add up quickly.  So now I stretch the yogurt.  I have it on the menu once or twice a week, I serve it with 1/3 cup of homemade granola, a glass of milk, and a banana.  They love the crunch of the granola and each child gets a half a yogurt instead of a whole.  This allows me to offer it more than once a week and all of my kids get a healthy breakfast!

It may not seem like enough food, but once I put the yogurt and the granola together, I realized that it was the perfect serving size.

In addition to serving yogurt, I also make a double batch of pancakes on the weekend and reheat them on a busy morning, and occasionally I will make the kids a cheese omelet or scrambled eggs for breakfast as well.  All of these alternatives help us to cut down our cereal purchases to just one box a week!  We still go through 3 gallons of milk a week, but just shaving 1 gallon from the budget saves me almost $3.00 a week which I can then spend on more fresh produce.  

Little changes can make a big difference when you are living on a budget!