A YEAR’S WORTH OF MENUS

January 26, 2012

Some folks think I’m certifiably crazy. I announced at the first of the year I was going to do a year’s worth of menus all three meals a day and in doing so I would save hundreds if not thousands of dollars out of our grocery budget doing so. The idea grew out of my success with going without a freezer in December.

Learning to plan my menu without depending on a free standing freezer has made it where I can see the big picture of the value of long term menu planning not only for money savings, but for nutrition and food storage.

I’ve been doing it since the first of the year and it is really working out nicely for us. It has pretty well done away with the annoying nightly “What’s for dinner” discussion. A huge plus.

I’ve mentioned on various yahoogroups I’m on that I am doing this and there have naturally been a lot of questions about how to do it. I’ve also been asked to post my year’s worth of menus. After much thinking I’ve decided rather than clog those lists up to post the journey through the year here, along with the how to’s and recipes to do it.

So this first post is about the “HOW TO”, “HOW IT WILL SAVE YOU MONEY” and. “HOW ABOUT WHEN LIFE HAPPENS?”

HOW TO

I have to admit that when I first decided to do a year’s worth of weekly menus for three meals a day, plus snacks I thought it was a huge mountain to try to climb. Then I remembered the old joke “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer of course is “One bite at a time.” So that’s the way I moved forward.

I started with planning my dinner menu for the first week of the year. I did this because then I could schedule leftovers for breakfasts and lunches for the same week.

I also decided with our grocery budget I could only afford to purchase one meat a week. That was a scary realization. As the regular readers of my blog and list posts know we are on the Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom plan and that means we have a zero dollar based budget with a set in stone amount for groceries each week.

Unfortunately we’d got away from our established $100 a week for our family of three over the last few months of the year and in November I spent over $1,000 rather than the scheduled $400. This was a serious lack of control on my part. A mistake that slowed our gazelle way down on its race to avoid the debt cheetahs.

So with the beginning of the new year I was determined to stay at or below that $100. This meant one bulk meat purchase a week, and a lot of planning to keep variety in our meals, especially as grocery prices are escalating.

The idea was a follow up on my previous post of living without a freezer. Buy one meat, use it for 2-3 meals during the week and then can the rest for future menus. This would build up my food storage, while feeding us well on a small budget.

We eat a LOT of ground beef, so I determined that doing a ground beef menu every other week would be the best pattern for us, at least in the beginning. That first week we started with ground beef and our favorite Many Way Meatballs Master Mix.

I put the menu together for dinners first. Then in my Master Cook program I entered the recipes for EVERYTHING we’d need to eat that menu for the week. This gave me the exact measurements I’d need of each ingredient.

I then constructed my grocery list, including the exact measurements needed, from those menus. From that grocery list I then put the same measurements in a spread sheet to be totaled to show how much I will need for the entire year for each ingredient. This is important for the “How It will save you money” segment.

I then repeated these steps with the breakfast and lunch menus. I now had a complete grocery list for the week and it was time to “shop”. I started with my food storage. I checked every single item, not trusting my memory for anything. I verified that I had the required amounts for the week on hand. If not then it went on the “to buy” list.

Once the “to buy” list was built I checked the sales ads and my price book to find where it would be best to purchase those items AND anything that was a true loss leader that I would need for future menus that I could afford in my weekly budget. (more on this later.)

Next stop was my coupon box. Where I pulled the coupons I needed for those purchases.

Armed with the list and my coupons I did all my grocery shopping for the week, my ONLY visit to the grocery store for the week.

Once home things were prepped and stored properly. It was nice to know I had everything I needed on hand for well planned out meals for a week.

HOW IT WILL SAVE YOU MONEY

First of all if you have a menu plan you KNOW what is for dinner and there is no rushing out for fast foods. You can cook far better burgers and pizza at home for less than half the price and with pre-planning you can actually get the meal faster than loading the family up, driving to the restaurant, waiting for them to cook it, listening to other people’s kids screaming and then driving home. Oh and you aren’t tempted to stop and shop somewhere along the way. This can add up to huge savings right there.

By hitting the grocery store only once a week you save fuel, time and money. Yes money because you aren’t tempted to do impulse buying if you aren’t in the store.

Because the meal plan is there for the entire week you can also “bulk cook” a lot and save money and time. Because if you need browned ground beef for three meals, or for canning, you can brown it in one pan all at once. It will take the same amount of energy to do it all at once as it would to do a single meal of it. So you save by not having to heat the stove up for that browning the rest of the time.

You also only have to clean up once, thus you save on water, energy to heat the water, wear and tear on your dishwasher, dish soap, and your time. And we all need more time.

With creating your annual grocery list you can clearly see how many of non-perishable foods you need for the year. So if there is a great sale on that item and your food budget has room in it, grab your coupons and stock up at the lower price, so your overall grocery expenditure for the year goes down and your food storage goes up.

A friend gave a good example of this with a purchase she recently made. She serves Hamburger Helper one day a month to her family of nine. She recently found a loss leader sale that when combined with her coupons made it $.49 a box. This is versus the normal $1.50 to $2.00 per box. She verified the “best if used by date” and then picked up enough boxes for the year. This made her savings huge.

At this point there is usually someone that says “but I don’t have room for food storage.” Having lived in a one room efficiency apartment for a long period of time I can tell you there is ALWAYS storage room, you just need to know where to find it. I’ll do another post later on about where to find the room to store and tips on making sure nothing gets forgotten.

A side note on nutrition. I have found that by writing down a complete daily menu for a week at a time it has allowed me to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into our daily diet. This is a very good thing.

Let’s be truthful, when you eat out a lot, be it fast food or a sit down restaurant or you slap something together at the last minute you tend to eat less than healthy. By taking the few extra steps at first to plan your meals you will find that good for you foods will filter more and more into your diet.

This can lead to future savings on medical and clothing bills.

The same friend who purchased the Hamburger Helper decided it was best for her to do a month’s worth of menu plans for her family and then multiply that times 12 to get her annual menu. This works well for her. We like trying different foods too much to be this limited, but for many families this is the best way for them to plan their menus.

She then followed the steps to figure her grocery lists and when consulting her price book for the best sale prices (which generally rotate about every six weeks) she discovered that by doing the annual grocery list and shopping accordingly she would save 75% on her annual grocery bill based on current grocery prices. That folks is a HUGE savings. What could you do with that 75% savings? How many debts could you pay off? She’s using the savings to pay her house off early. Who wouldn’t want to own their home?

HOW ABOUT WHEN LIFE HAPPENS?

One of the most popular questions is “Do you allow for diverting from the menu plan?” The answer is a resounding YES!

Life happens, Suzy has a school play, it’s Joey’s birthday, Mama is sick, Great Aunt Ethel dies, Dad is going out of town on business for a week, the garden produced a million more zucchini this week than planned on or the loss leader of the week is a great buy for a meat that is not on that week’s menu. These and many other things happen, including your hubby just flat does NOT want turkey this week.

In fact I’m not dead on schedule with my menus right now because I sometimes re-arrange the meals to fit what is going on in our life on any given day. The menu is a guide not a dictate. All meals from the menu eventually get eaten, they just might be done in a different order or on a different week. But they all get used as close to the schedule as possible to help keep the domino action of the pre-planning going.

An example: On a recent week we had a ground beef week scheduled and the next week was scheduled to be whole chicken. Only my husband, who really doesn’t care for chicken, was going to be gone for a week for work on the ground beef week. My son and I love chicken, so I moved the chicken forward a week and we’ll have two ground beef weeks in a row. It took moving leftovers around a bit, and doing a little extra canning to keep meats fresh from the previous week, but it worked out well. We stayed on budget and all were happy with their meals.

Speaking of leftovers, this is another way you can save big. There is currently a series of commercials running where it shows the people throwing away half of the foods they purchase because the leftovers go bad, or the meat isn’t stored properly.

With the menu planning you incorporate the leftovers into your meal plan each week, or you can/dry/freeze them for future meals. By cutting that 50% waste from your grocery budget you save big time. Unfortunately little Suzy won’t have science experiments in your fridge for the annual science fair as a result. But then is food mold REALLY that good of a science fair project?

So that is the plan. Posts on the implementing of it, including recipes, storage tips and much more will follow.

Jan who thinks this is going to be a challenge for her family but can really see the long term benefits in OK

PART 3--MASTER MIX RECIPES AND BULK COOKING

As I have mentioned on more than one occasion I LOVE, absolutely LOVE having meals prepared in advanced, especially when we are busy on the road. So while home I once again hit the kitchen hard. I roasted a turkey, made a roast and all the general things of that nature. When I wasn’t cooking Gary was, have I mentioned before both he and Sean are excellent cooks? If not, let me put it on the record right now that they both are. It’s a good thing too because if they weren’t often we’d go hungry due to my lack of organization on certain days.

Gary made up the Moo Gurgle recipe, which after all was originally his, and Sean made up individual meals while we were home. We alternate cooking and cleaning and the system works well for us.

On my cooking days I also made up some Master Mixes both to take along in the camper and to leave at home for Sean to use. This round I made Cream Cheese Crust Mix, Lemon Pie Filling and Shortcake Master Mix.

I made lemon tarts one night with the first two and strawberry shortcake with the third another night.

So here are the recipes to share:

Cream Cheese Crust Mix

2 8 oz pkgs of cream cheese (I used 1 lowfat and 1 regular to help cut calories)

5 sticks butter

6 cups flour

Bring the cream cheese and butter to room temperature so they soften. Then blend the two well together. Add the flour and cut in until well mixed. Divide it into 9-10 balls. Individually wrap, label and freeze. This will keep about 6 months easily in the freezer. Each ball equals one pie crust.

To make it into a crust you thaw the dough then row it out as you normally would for a pie crust. If it’s a little dry you can add a small amount of water, but it generally is not needed.

USES:

Tarts of all types

To make individual tarts of any type I mash the dough into muffin tins and then fill and bake at 400 for about 15-20 minutes or until light brown.

Pie Crusts both single and double layer

Layered cookie bases, just add your favorite topping to a layer of this crust for bar cookies and bake.



LEMON PIE FILLING:

2 ½ C presweetened with sugar lemonade mix,

1 C cornstarch

1 ¼ C sugar, more or less for sweeter/tarter flavor

1 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients together well and store in a labeled airtight container in a cool dark place. Shelf life is about 6 months.

VARIATIONS:

Use any presweetened drink mix, limeade, koolade, whatever for unusual tarts, pies and sauces.



USES:

Lemon Pie or tarts

1 ¼ c pie filling

2 ½ c water

3 egg yolks (or 2 whole eggs if you don’t mind the strings from the whites in your pie)

2 tbl butter

In a large saucepan combine the pie filling mix, ½ c water and the eggs. Mix until smooth and the slowly stir in the remaining water as you cook the mixture over a medium heat. Stir constantly for about 4-5 minutes or until it is thickens and is bubbling.

Pour into prepared and baked pie crust or several baked tart shells. Top with whipped cream or meringue if desired.

HOT LEMON OR OTHER SAUCES

1 c water

¼ c pie filling mix

2 tbl butter

In a small saucepan stir the water into the pie filling mix as you heat it to boiling. Remove from heat and add the butter, stirring until the butter is melted.

This sauce is good over a variety of desserts it and variations there of can be used for a sweet/sour sauce on just about anything you can think of.

Now on to the Shortcake Master Mix recipe…



I adapted this recipe from my old Betty Crocker cookbook (circa 1969 publication) for a single recipe of shortcake to be a master mix that calls for just adding water. It’s great to take along in the camper for quick desserts, especially when we find great produce at road side stands as we go. I like it as a master mix because I can make just the amount we need when we need it by adjusting the pan size. I’ve even done it in muffin tins to make individual ones.

Shortcake Master Mix

Makes 48 servings—with recipe for 6-8 serving usage to follow

12 c flour

¾ c sugar

6 tbl baking powder

2 tbl salt

2 c powdered milk

2 c shortening.



Mix all the dry ingredients together in a 20 c capacity bowl (pan, roaster whatever—I use a big metal popcorn bowl).

Cut the shortening in well, until it looks almost like cornmeal.

Store in a labeled and dated airtight container in a cool dark place for up to 6 months, longer if you want to store it in the refrigerator or freezer.



TO USE: makes 6-8 servings

Mix roughly 2 ½ cups of the mix with approximately 1 c of water, using more or less of either to achieve the consistency of a sticky drop biscuit dough. Spray one or two 8 inch layer pans with cooking spray. Use one pan for a thick less crusty shortcake, use two for more crust the choice is yours. We prefer the lightness of the thicker one. Dot with butter.



Bake in a preheated oven at 450 for 12-15 minutes for the thinner layers approximately 20 for the thick one. You want a golden brown crust (like biscuits).



Serve warm topped with sweetened fruit and a dollop of whipped cream.



To use it for cobblers simply drop the dough on top of the hot fruit filling and cook as you normally would. I sometimes will add a little cinnamon, nutmeg, or other fruit type spices to the dry ingredients before adding the water for a bit of variety.



Jan who has a goal to simplify her cooking life by having all her master mixes made up at once and doesn’t see it happening for a long, long time in OK

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN, JIGGITY JIG

July 10-July 18, 2009

Well we stayed out longer this last time then before, but once again the lack of work forced us home to regroup. Luckily this visit was a brief one and we managed to pick up several jobs while there.

While home I took time out to make up a few things to add to our food stores for both home and on the road.

A very large pot roast was cooked with the leftovers being shredded or ground, and frozen for future meals. So that roast and the uses I could have for the leftovers are the subject of this segment.

A pot roast is a very simple thing to cook. For those who don't already have their own favorite recipe here's ours.

POT ROAST

1 large arm or chuck roast, which ever is on sale–get a big one and plan to use the leftovers

potatoes one for everyone that will be eating and one for the pot–in my case that makes 4

1 to 2 yellow onions

2-3 carrots

1 turnip if desired, I like them the guys don't.

Flour to dredge meat with

meat tenderizer

cooking oil

water.

Beef bullion, if desired.

Decision time once again. Crockpot, top of the stove, campfire or pressure cooker whichever you prefer.

The basics are the same for all versions. Only the length of time really changes.

Heat a small amount of oil in either a fry pan if you are using the crockpot, or in the cooking pan for all others.

Sprinkle the roast with meat tenderizer and pierce the meat with a fork Then dredge the meat with the flour. Brown in the hot oil on all sides.

If using a crockpot, place the browned meat in the bottom of the crockpot. If using a pressure cooker remove the meat from the pan add the pressure cooker rack and place the meat on the rack.

Peel and cube or chunk all the vegetables and add to the cooking utensil of choice. Add enough water to cover, or to the proper level for your pressure cooker. Add bullion if desired.

Cook until done. Crockpot: high 4-6 hours, low 5-8 hours; stove top or campfire on medium heat 4-6 hours; pressure cooker 1.5-2 hours–per manufacturer's instructions.

Planned leftovers:

HOT ROAST BEEF SANDWICHES, make a brown gravy with the broth and serve open faced over toast.

COLD ROAST BEEF SANDWICHES, try a variety of breads and spreads to make your lunch sandwiches with thin slices of the leftover roast.

ROAST BEEF SPREAD SANDWICHES. Grind, finely chop or shred roast beef. Add 1or2 finely minced boiled eggs, a dash of Worchestershire sauce, minced onion, a dash of prepared mustard and enough mayonnaise to moisten well. Mix well. Best if it is chilled for a while to meld the flavors.

BBQ BEEF SANDWICHES simply shred or grind the roast and add your favorite BBQ sauce to taste–my favorite BBQ sauce recipe follows.

BEEF AND BEAN BURRITOS grind or shred the cooked roast beef. Heat thoroughly. In the middle of a flour tortilla add a layer of refried beans, a layer of the roast beef, cheese, onion, pico de gallo, picante or other burrito fillers of choice.

ROAST BEEF HASH cube the cooked roast beef and any leftover roast potatoes and vegetables. Heat a thin layer of oil in a skillet then brown all the cubed ingredients along with a couple of dashes of Worchestershire Sauce, and garlic salt to taste. Heat through and serve.

QUICK BEEF SOUP OR STEW cube all the leftover vegetables and roast place in a stew pot. Add water, beef bullion to taste, any other leftover vegetables, rice, pasta, potatoes etc from the fridge or freezer, as well as a can of tomatoes.

BREAKFAST BURRITOS shred or grind the leftover roast. Chop desired vegetables for the burrito. Suggestions would be mushrooms , onions, bell pepper, jalapenos, spinach, Swiss Chard (you may saute these if you prefer).

In a skillet that will allow your flour tortilla lay flat melt 1-2 tbl of butter (or dairy free butter). While the butter is heating beat 1-2 eggs as you would for scrambled eggs.

Once the butter is melted lay your flour tortilla in the skillet and top with the vegetable, scrambled eggs and shredded cheese. Cover and cook on medium low heat until tortilla is brown and egg is set. Remove from heat and serve with picante, sour cream, guacamole or other favorite toppings. Great anytime of day.

BBQ SAUCE RECIPE–Like so many of my foods I fix this in bulk. I then can or freeze it until needed. Refrigerate any containers after opening.
1 gallon catsup
3/4 liquid smoke
3/4 c soy sauce
1 c Worchestershire sauce
2 sticks butter or non dairy butter
2# brown sugar
2 c water
½ to 1 tsp chili powder OR I usually use Williams Chili Seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp black pepper

Mix well and simmer for 1-2 hours, then either can or freeze.