Meat. It’s a centerpiece of most American meals, including ours. While at one time I was a vegetarian and now only eat small amounts of poultry, my husband is a meat eater. Every meal needs to have meat. But being on a budget, sometimes a very tight one, I’ve had to learn some strategies to keep our meat costs down.

First off, we have our staple meats:
- Whole chicken
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders
- lean ground turkey
- lean ground beef

And then we have our splurge meats:
- beef roast
- beef tenderloin (filet mignon)

Now others I have talked to about this think I’m slightly crazy to buy the lean ground meat and the boneless, skinless chicken, but I have found that by strategic shopping and buying the meat on sale  or from the grocery store that offers the best price, I get more actual meat (vs fat & bone) from which I can make a wide variety of dishes; My family is eating healthier; and I can still make my budget.

For chicken, both whole and boneless, skinless, I watch the sales. Grocery stores (in the U.S. anyway) have their sales on about a 12 week cycle. And I know that there’s a surplus of chicken in the Spring and the Fall, so prices are consistently low for a few weeks during that time.

I also know what my “buy price” is per pound. A buy price is the price that I know is low enough for me to buy it. For example, if I know that the stores around here usually carry boneless skinless chicken breasts for $2.99/lb or more. But when it goes on sale, the price is usually $1.99/lb or less. So when I see boneless, skinless chicken breasts  for $1.99/lb or less then I know it’s time to stock up.

Now, each area is different and each item (and family) has a different buy price. But by paying attention to what we are buying and paying, we’ve been able to strategically lower our food bill, especially for meat.

In my next post, I’ll share how I  prep meat for the freezer so that when it’s time to cook, I don’t have hardly any prep time.

Other Posts in This Series:

Save Money on Groceries: Meat – Part 2

Saving Money on Groceries: Meat – Part 3

For weeks I’ve been craving chili. Because I can only eat Turkey or Vegetarian chili, my options in the grocery store are limited and unfortunately not as healthy as I would like.  So I gave in this week and made up a big batch of chili in my Crock-Pot (slow cooker).

I have several recipes, depends on what I have on hand. But this Turkey Chili recipe is one that nearly everyone in my family of picky eaters likes. Adapted from a Tex-Mex Chili recipe found in the Hands of a Child’s Texas lapbook project pack, it’s a little spicier than my mild crew usually eats, but with sour cream and shredded cheese they really like it.

I make chili in as big of a batch as I can (doubling or tripling the recipe) and then package it up in snack and lunch sizes and keep it in the freezer for quick meals later on. (See below for some serving ideas.)  If I make a big enough batch, I’ll also freeze another meal size portion and have it on hand for those nights that I’m too busy or tired to cook.

Turkey Chili

1 pound lean ground turkey* (I use 93% fat free)
2 14 oz cans red kidney beans**

1 cup chopped celery (optional)
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper (optional)
½ cup or more of shredded or minced carrots (optional)

1 pound can of diced or pureed tomatoes
10 ounce can of tomatoes with green chilis (Mexican style or Rotel work)***
1 can of V8 vegetable juice (or another brand that is available to you) (optional)
6 ounce can of tomato paste

3 cloves minced garlic
4 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, sauté the onion in olive oil until translucent. Then brown meat with the onions.
2.  Pour mixture into slow cooker.
3. Add all other ingredients and mix together.
4. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

Serving ideas:
- Serve in a bowl with shredded cheese and sour cream available for toppings.
- Serve with corn bread
- Serve on top of baked potatoes with cheese and sour cream.
- Serve on top of steamed rice
- Use to make chili nachos with tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, and olives.

Substitutions:
*Instead of ground turkey, you can use 90% or better lean ground beef. Try to stay with the lean ground beef to keep the fat content down.

** I’ve also used ½ kidney beans and ½ pinto beans with success.

***If you can also use a 10 ounce can of canned tomatoes with 1 small can of chopped green chilis.

A note on optional items:
If I have these itmes on hand, I put them in, especially since they boost the nutritional value. But I have children who don’t like to recognize hunks of vegetables in their food, so I cut these as small as I can or shred them. By the time they cook down, they aren’t recognizable and my crew will eat them with no problem.  (They don’t care that the vegetables are in there, they just don’t want to see them when they are eating them – go figure)

Cost savings tips:

• Buy dried beans and make them up ahead of time and keep them in the freezer for later use in Chili and other dishes.

 

• Buy lean turkey (or beef) on sale and/or in bulk, package it in the sizes you need, and keep in freezer for later use in chili and other recipes. I’ve found by shopping around that Sam’s Club in my area has the best price on lean ground beef and lean ground turkey.  In another area we lived, we had another store that offered 10lb bulk packs of lean ground turkey for a lot less than buying it in smaller amounts.

 

• If you have fresh tomatoes in your garden, use these instead of canned tomatoes. They add wonderful flavor, especially if you mix the types of tomatoes.

 

• Buy canned products when they are on sale and, if you have them, with coupons. Then keep them on hand for when you are ready to make up a batch of chili. (If you don’t have a pantry, try storing canned goods in unused spaces, like under beds.)

 

• If you don’t have the spices on hand and don’t usually use these particular seasonings, look for them in bulk spice bins and buy only the amount you need.

 

Dining out is our biggest budget buster, so I keep an arsenal of really easy and fast recipes (and their ingredients) around. Here’s one that is great on nights I just don’t want to cook. It goes together quickly and comes out yummy.  Serves well with rice and salad. And, all four kids like it (amazing!).

Italian Chicken

3 boneless-skinless chicken breasts, de-fatted and cut in half (to make six
pieces)

½ jar of your favorite pasta sauce

Shredded mozzarella cheese to taste

Parmesan cheese to taste

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven 425 degrees F

2.  In a 9×13 glass baking dish, pour a small amount of the pasta
sauce, just enough to lightly coat the bottom of the pan

3.  Place the six chicken breast pieces in the baking dish

4.  Pour the remaining sauce over the chicken so each piece is covered
with sauce.

5.  Sprinkle a little mozzarella and parmesan cheese on each breast. (a
little goes a long ways)

6.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake in oven for 35 to 45 minutes.
Note: I usually keep already de-fatted and cut up chicken breasts in the freezer, and that works wonderfully. No need to defrost, just use the frozen chicken breasts and increase the baking time to 1 hour.

5 yr old making pizza

Pizza is a staple in our house. Every Friday night is pizza night.  I usually make up dough on Friday afternoon for Friday night pizza. But we love pizza and calzones for snacks and quick meals as well. 

Here’s our favorite pizza sauce recipe along with a few easy ways to serve up quick pizza snacks:

Favorite Pizza Sauce Recipe

1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
6 oz. water
1 tsp of powdered garlic (for garlic lovers – fresh chopped garlic is wonderful as well)
1 tsp of Italian herbs
Honey to taste (1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon, depending on your taste)

In a bowl or saucepan, combine tomato paste, water, garlic, Italian herbs, and honey. If you are in a hurry, use immediately. If not, heat over low-medium heat to infuse flavors.  Freeze any extra for future use.

Pizza Snack Ideas:

Bagel pizzas: Smear on ½ bagel or mini-bagel and sprinkle with cheese. Heat until cheese is melted

French bread pizzas: Slice French bread open horizontally. Spread sauce over bread. Sprinkle with toppings and cheese. Heat until cheese is melted.

Calzones: Use left-over pizza dough - or other premade pizza dough. Spray a pan with non-stick spray or a light dose of olive oil. Break dough into about 2 inch balls and flatten each with the heel of your hand. On one half of each, place 1T of pizza sauce, cheese, and other favorite topping ingredients. Fold over and pinch the edges together. Cook in a preheated oven at 450 for about 15-20 minutes (depends on the size of your calzones).

(These supposedly freeze well but I’ve never been able to try it because they get eaten so fast at our house.)

One of my favorite flavor combinations are bananas and chocolate. And consequently, I find different ways to put these two together – like this Banana Chocolate Chip muffin recipe. It’s adapted from The New Laurel’s Kitchen cookbook, modified to meet my needs, depending on what I have on hand. 

These are yummy and healthy (especially if you use 60% cocoa dark chocoate chips instead of milk or semi-sweet chocolate).  And they freeze well.

Ingredients:
3 very ripe bananas (~ 1 cup mashed)
Juice of 1 lemon (I use 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice)
1/3 cup oil or butter (I use butter or olive oil)
1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup wheat germ

~ 1/2 of a 12oz bag of chocolate chips (60% cocoa dark chocoate is the healthiest, but I’ve also milk chocoate and semi-sweet, depending who I’m making them for and their preference.)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375F.

Mash bananas and mix them with lemon juice until smooth. (If you have a
stand mixer – just mix the whole bananas and lemon juice until smooth)

Cream butter or oil and sugar together and add to the banana mix, stirring
well. (I soften the butter and put it in the mixer with the sugar and banana
mix and stir well.)

Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix in wheat
germ. (I just mix it all together in a separate bowl.) Add to banana mix.
Stir until mixed (DON’T OVERSTIR – just mix together until all ingredients
are moist.)

Gently stir in chocolate chips.

Makes 12 cupcakes (cook for 30 minutes) or 1 loaf of banana bread (cook for 45 minutes)
To test for doneness, insert a knife into the loaf or cupcakes. If it comes
out clean, it’s done.

Tip: When you have left over bananas that are starting to turn, just throw them into the freezer peel and all for the next time you want to make this or another banana bread/muffin recipe. Then when you are ready to use them, use the microwave to defrost them up so you can peel and mash the bananas.

Another Tip: To increase the fiber factor in muffins, try replacing 1/4 or 1/2 cup of the flour with Bob’s Red Mill Organic High Fiber Cereal mix. I’ve been doing this with pancakes, waffles, muffins, and rolls with great success and it really boosts the fiber content and adds the Omega-3s from the flax seed. Yummy and healthier!