Hi! I’m back. We had a wonderful weekend with my husband’s parents. We drove all over Pittsburgh, saw the sights, and they even taught me how to play Euchre. Many people have tried to teach me how to play but failed. But they were able to get through my thick noggin well enough for us to play.

Last week, if you might recall, I spent $10.62 for all of my groceries. That ended up being my only trip for the week, except I bought more milk later on. We ended up going out to eat a few times this weekend, so that’s why I didn’t need tons more groceries. Still, I want this week’s menu to be made with things I have on hand.

Here’s the plan:

1. Lasagna $7.11 or .59 -.71 per serving
2. Chicken satay and rice (I didn’t make it last week) about $3
3. French toast, scrambled eggs $0.92; .46 per serving
4. Rice & tuna salad $1.15 or .29 per serving
5. Leftover chicken noodle soup $4.40 for a huge pot; $0.29-.37 per serving
6-7 All other leftovers

Lasagna

• Ground beef $1.79
• Marinara sauce $0.84
• Lasagna noodles $1
• Cottage cheese $1.19
• Mozzarella cheese $2.29
• Total: $7.11 (Ouch! Good thing I’ll get a lot of servings out of this)
• Serves 10-12 ($0.59-.71 per serving)

French toast & eggs
4 slices of bread $0.12
2 eggs $0.20
sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon, splash of milk

6 scrambled eggs $0.60
Total: $0.92

Rice & tuna salad

This is a new recipe for us. I found it in the Better Homes and Gardens “Good Food on a Budget” cookbook, which I got at the library sale.

• 2 cups cooked or leftover rice $0.10
• 1 6 or 7 oz. can tuna, drained and broken up (Got a free package at Target with coupon!)
• 1 cup shredded carrot $0.20 ? (I don’t know how many carrots it will take to shred to one cup)
• 1 cup diced celery $0.25 (Same thing)
• 2 T chopped onion $0.05
• 1 cup salad dressing or mayonnaise $0.55
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Total about $1.15

1. Combine rice, tuna, carrot, celery and onion; toss lightly.
2. Chill.
3. Combine salad dressing, curry powder, lemon juice and salt; mix until well blended. Chill.
4. To serve, toss mayonnaise mix with tuna mix. Makes 4 servings.

Chicken noodle soup
I made this a few days ago, but there’s a ton left over, so I’ll pull it out of the freezer. This recipe is somewhat my own, so that’s why the directions are a little vague.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts $2.30
5 carrots $0.60
5-6 celery sticks $.65
2 onions $0.10 (I got a bag of yellow onions for $1)
12 cups water
12 tsp. chicken base $0.25
bay leaf
salt, pepper, etc.
egg noodles (half a bag or less) ($0.50
Total: $4.40
Serves 12-15 (at least) $0.29-$0.37 per serving

• Add a little bit of vegetable oil to a stockpot.
• Cook the chicken in a stock pot. Cut into bite size pieces as it cooks, or before you put it in the pot. Season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning or whatever suits your fancy
• Add a few splashes of wine (this time I used red wine, the last time I made it I used white) and let it cook down
• Once your chicken is cooked (no longer pink) add 12 cups of water and bring it to a boil
• Add chicken base and bay leaf, return to boil
• Add onion, chopped carrots, chopped celery, cook to slow boil and then simmer for awhile
• Add egg noodles, cook for about 15 minutes more or until noodles are tender.
• Remove bay leaf and serve

Be sure to check out other menus at OrgJunkie.blogspot.com