$65 A Week Challenge, Week 3!

You can see how this week's shopping went at the bottom of this post.  In the meantime, here's what's been cooking lately.

One night for dinner I made brown rice pasta with ground venison and added veggies to my canned pasta sauce.  No recipe for this, just a simple quick dinner to put on the table.

Total cost for me to make this meal: about $4

Last week a friend and I hosted a Valentine's Day party for the little kids in our area.  We had a great turn out and it was lots of fun.  I was responsible for cookie decorating so I made a couple of batches of sugar cookies and some frosting and the kids had a blast decorating them and were able to take them home.  

I searched pinterest for a sugar cookie recipe that didn't need to be refrigerated and found this really good recipe over on In Katrina's Kitchen.  It is titled 

Best Sugar Cookie Recipe EVER and I'd have to agree that these were pretty much perfect for what I was wanting.  Go check out the recipe!  Since I was able to get butter for $2 a pound last week, these cookies weren't too expensive to make.  Two batches cost me about $3.25 to make, extra for the frosting.

One of the nights that my husband was out of town last week I made homemade pizza for the kids.  They loved it!  Pizza is always a special treat!  I topped the kid pizza with Antelope sausage that my husband and I made during hunting season along with cheese and olives.  It was super good!

My pizza was a bit more adventurous.  It has the sausage and olives along with zucchini, garlic, green bell peppers, onion and mushrooms.  Then I topped it with fresh tomato after it baked.  SO GOOD!  

Total cost for our 3 big pizzas: about $7

Here's a good pizza dough recipe:

Pizza Dough:

2 1/2 C. Medium Hot Water
1 Tbsp. Yeast
2 Tbsp. Sugar
3 Tbsp. Oil
1 tsp. Salt
6 C. Flour (you can do half all-purpose and half white wheat or 100% whole wheat)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
1. Pour medium hot water in mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top and allow to dissolve.
2. Add sugar, salt, and oil. Gradually add approximately 6 cups of flour.  Let mix in electric mixer for about 6 minutes.
3. Place dough on sprayed cookie sheet or pizza pan and press to fill pan, top with sauce, cheese and your favorite toppings.
4. Cook for 12 to 14 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust is cooked through.
 

Makes 3 to 4 pizzas.

Now onto this week's shopping.  My husband pointed out to me that I wasn't technically over budget last week since the week before I was actually under budget!  So, I stuck to my $65 budget for this week.  Everything I purchased for this week is pictured above.  The total for this week's groceries was $64.71!  So, I stuck to budget and got a few things I wasn't even planning on getting.  

Here's what I got:

5 dozen eggs, 2 gallons milk, twirly lollipop (not pictured), ham lunch meat, 3 packages shredded cheese, Cinnamon Toaster cereal, celery, 8 oz mushrooms, mayo, 2 liter soda, sliced cheese, taco bell hot sauce, saltine crackers, fresh salsa, tortillas, 1.1 lbs roma tomatoes, strawberry syrup, 1 lb brown rice pasta, 1.79 lbs broccoli, 3 avocados, .61 lbs banana chips, .65 lbs mixed nuts, 2.13 lbs tangelos, 2 lbs carrots, 1.20 lbs yellow delish apples, 2.44 lbs bananas, 2 lbs green cabbage, raisins, hot dogs and Smucker's jam.

I'm so used to buying a FULL cart of groceries every time I go shopping, so I'm getting used to only getting what I need and leaving with a very empty cart compared to what I'm used to.  But, I think it's been going pretty good so far!  

How did you do on your grocery budget this week?

Chicken Stuffed Shells

When I first saw this recipe I thought it was kind of a weird combination to combine stuffing and pasta, but I decided to give it a try since it sounded so easy. I'm glad I did, because my kids love these stuffed shells!! They have a comfort food, homey feel to them. Try them out and see how your family likes them!

Chicken Stuffed Shells

½ package giant pasta shells, cooked & drained
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
1 (6 ounce) box chicken flavored stuffing mix, prepared according to box
2 (10.5 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
½ soup can milk (use an empty cream of chicken can)
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Cook and drain pasta, set aside. Prepare the stuffing mix and place in a big bowl. Combine chicken, prepared stuffing, one can of cream of chicken soup, mix well. Stuff shells with chicken mixture and place in a 9x13 inch baking pan that has been greased. Once all of the shells are filled, mix the remaining can of cream of chicken soup and ½ can of milk together along with the dried parsley. Pour the soup mixture over the shells, cover with foil and bake in a 350° F oven for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

This pasta was so yummy! If you love chicken Alfredo and also like a little kick, you'll love this pasta! We eat a lot of pasta in my house, simply because it's filling, makes a lot of food (which equals leftovers for my hubby's lunch the next day) and it's cheap. As I've said before, I shop sales and then stock up on items so that I don't have to pay full price later. This is exactly what I do with pasta! About once a year pasta goes on sale for 50 cents a pound out here. That is when I stock up! I buy tons of it and then store it all in a big Rubbermaid tote in my food storage room. At 50 cents a pound, you can eat good and cheap! So, I have to be creative with pasta since we eat it so often. And if you know my husband, he's a meat and potatoes kind of guy, who isn't actually all that fond of pasta. But, he understands that we're on a budget so he eats what I make regardless. This recipe was easy to put together using some store bought help and my husband raved over it!

You could easily make this recipe into a food storage friendly recipe by using canned chicken chunks, dried garlic and instead of the cream cheese using another half a jar or so of the Alfredo sauce. And, don't forget about powdered milk, it's a great substitute for regular milk in recipes!

Cajun Chicken Pasta

1 pound linguine pasta (or other shape pasta)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into slices
2 teaspoons Cajun season salt
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or leave it out if you don't like too much spice)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained (or fresh)
1 (15 ounce) jar creamy Alfredo sauce
¼ cup milk, plus more if desired
8 ounces cream cheese
paprika & dried parsley for garnish

Cook pasta according to package directions, once cooked, drain and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat olive oil over high heat. Add chicken breast slices, seasonings and garlic and cook until chicken is no longer pink. Add drained mushrooms and mix well. Pour jar of Alfredo sauce into skillet, mixing well to coat all of the chicken. Measure out milk and then pour it into the empty Alfredo sauce jar and shake around to get any extra Alfredo sauce out, pour into skillet along with all of the other ingredients. Break small pieces of the cream cheese off and place them into the skillet, stirring well so that they are evenly distributed and can melt evenly. Stir until cream cheese is completely melted. Add the cooked and drained pasta into the skillet and toss well. If the pasta is too dry for your liking, simply add a bit more milk until you reach the consistency that you like. Garnish with sprinklings of paprika and dried parsley on each individual plate.

Creamy Homemade Macaroni & Cheese

You'll never want to eat the stuff out of the box again after making this recipe! My family LOVES this mac & cheese! My husband prefers his macaroni and cheese to not be baked, so that is how I make this recipe. But, I have baked it before and I still think it's great that way too. You can decide for yourself!

Creamy Homemade Macaroni & Cheese

1 lb. elbow macaroni (in this picture I used large elbows)
½ cup butter
½ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
3 ½ cups milk (evaporated milk works great!)
1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded for the top

Preheat oven to 350° F, if you like your macaroni and cheese baked, if not skip this step.
Boil the macaroni noodles according to the package directions. Meanwhile, in a saucepan melt butter over medium high heat. Add flour, salt and pepper and stir until flour is cooked, about one minute. Slowly add in milk and stir with a whisk to ensure that there are no lumps in the sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and then add the Velveeta cheese and stir until melted. Mix pasta into sauce and enjoy as is for a super creamy mac and cheese, topping each serving with a bit of the shredded cheddar cheese. If you like your mac and cheese baked, pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish sprinkling the cheddar cheese on top. Bake in 350° F oven for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Sausage Artichoke and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

This pasta is one of our favorites!! My kids even like the artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes in it! I sometimes use turkey Italian sausage instead of pork and it works out great for a lower fat version! Try this one soon!!

Sausage Artichokes and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

¾ cup sun dried tomato slices
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
1 (15-ounce) can water packed quartered artichoke hearts
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can chicken broth
1lb. rotini pasta
½ cup shredded Parmesan, plus additional for garnish
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoon dried parsley
8 ounces mozzarella, cubed
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat a large skillet over high heat, add sausage and cook until brown, breaking up the meat into bite size pieces. Add the artichokes and garlic to the skillet, and sauté over medium heat until the garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and sun dried tomatoes. Boil over medium-high heat until the sauce reduces slightly, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Drain the pasta and add to the skillet along with ½ cup Parmesan cheese, basil, and parsley. Toss until the sauce is almost absorbed by the pasta. Stir in the mozzarella. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Have you tried this recipe? If you have, head on over to Tasty Kitchen to rate and review it!