Sweet Sandwich Bar--Easy Kid-Friendly Lunch!

I have four kids.  Making sandwiches is a chore.  Usually, Lukas and Keanna like peanut butter and jelly, Koda likes peanut butter and honey, April likes just honey.  Then all of a sudden Keanna doesn't want a sandwich, Koda wants just peanut butter, and April wants whatever *insert sibling name here* is having.  They eventually revert back to the usual, but I never know.  During the school year, you eat what Mom packs.  You can make requests, but there are no guarantees.  So I've been trying to mix it up this summer to make lunches more fun.

Last week I had a brilliant epiphany:  a kid-friendly sandwich bar!  I got out a variety of sandwich ingredients and let the kids decide what they wanted.  I then put the ingredients on their plates and let them construct the sandwiches themselves.  They loved it!  Lukas came back for a second sandwich and asked for a third (which I didn't let him have, but he did eat more fruit).

Lukas's plate:  peanut butter, apricot jelly, bananas, apple,
strawberries, and honey.

I put out peanut butter, strawberry preserves, apricot preserves, honey, apple slices, banana slices, strawberry slices, and pecans.  That's just what I happened to have that day, but there are many more possibilities:  raisins, dried cranberries, peach slices, cut grapes, granola, maple syrup, blueberries, raspberries, apple butter, pear slices...

Mommy's sandwich:  peanut butter, apple slice,
strawberries, and apricot jelly.  Super yummy!!

Everyone is happy.

Grilled Veggie Sandwiches with Garlic Spread

With summer here, it means I actually have time to cook.  And not just frozen chicken nuggets.  Real cooking.  With real food.  Summer also means a lot of great produce.  Sadly, I was too busy this spring to get my garden going, so I'm relying on neighbor Jerry's generosity and the WinCo produce section.

This week I loaded up on vegetables.  Thursday's dinner was grilled veggie sandwiches with homemade garlic spread.  Last night we had my dad over for dinner and threw some hot dogs (ok, that's not real food, but it was fun) and veggies on the grill.  Afterward, we let the kids roast marshmallows.

I don't really have a recipe for grilled veggie sandwiches.  I buy whatever vegetables are reasonably priced.  This time I ended up with onions, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes.  I really like red bell peppers, but at over $1 each, I can do without.  The eggplant cost more than I like to pay for produce, but I knew it would be so good.

The veggies would be best cooked on the grill, but I usually stick them under the broiler.

Kimiko made a similar sandwich a few years ago.  You can find it here.

Roasted Veggie Sandwiches

Veggies (onions, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, etc.)

Oil for brushing (I use vegetable)

Salt and pepper

Bread

Garlic spread

Slice veggies and place on broiler pans.

April helped me cut the zucchini and squash.  Otherwise,
I would have cut it lengthwise to fit better on the
sandwiches.

Brush both sides with oil; season with salt and pepper.  Place under broiler until veggies start to turn golden.  Turn; brush with more oil.  Return to broiler until second side is cooked as desired.

Meanwhile, toast sandwich bread and make Garlic Spread.  When veggies are done, spread garlic spread on toasted bread and top with veggies.

Garlic Spread

2 ounces Neufchatel cheese, softened (softened cream cheese will work)

1 clove garlic (more or less as desired)

Pinch kosher salt

2-3 Tbsp. mayonnaise

In a small bowl, cream Neufchatel; set aside.  On cutting board, finely chop garlic.  Add a pinch of kosher salt.  Using side of chef's knife, press down and drag knife toward you over garlic to pulverize.  Run knife blade through garlic.  Wipe off knife and pulverize again.  Repeat process until garlic is a smooth paste.

Mix into creamed Neufchatel.  Mix in mayonnaise until smooth.  Yield:  makes about 3 sandwiches with spread on both pieces of bread.

I'm Back!

Wow!  It's been a long time since I've sat down to write a blog post!  I have been busy and a lot has changed in my life.  I will be back tomorrow with a recipe, but I just wanted to take a moment today to update you on what's going on.

Two years ago, we decided that we needed to increase our household income.  It wasn't working out financially for me to stay home full time.  And it's not because we're big spenders or irresponsible.  We just live in a high cost-of-living area and there are six of us.  Within a week, I had two job prospects:  part-time nanny and part-time office lady for our school.  But before either of those panned out, Robbie was approached by the principal at our school.  One of our part-time junior high teachers was not able to return due to health problems.  The principal asked Robbie if I would be willing to go back to teaching part time.  While this was definitely not a job I sought out, God threw it into our laps.  I accepted the job and haven't looked back since!

Yes, I would much rather be at home---that's where my heart is.  But if I have to work outside my home, I cannot think of any better situation than to work with my husband at the school where all four of our children go.  And I really enjoy teaching and interacting with the junior highers, especially the girls.

This coming school year is going to bring additional changes in that I will be full time.  I am really going to have to work on organization and time management!

In the time since I last wrote, my kids have all grown so much!  Keanna is now 10, getting ready to go into 5th grade.  Lukas and Koda turned 6 this spring and will be in 1st grade.  One of them will get to have my 1st grade teacher!  April will turn 4 next month and is looking forward to being in prekindergarten in the fall.

In addition to taking care of my family and getting ready for school next year (teachers don't really take the whole summer off), I will also be starting an online class in a few weeks.  All that to say, my posting definitely will not be as regular as it was before our 18 month hiatus, but I am determined to keep at it as I get immense joy out of it, and I want to be able to help others who are looking to feed their family frugally.

Thanks to all of you who have been asking us about the blog during our silence.  We appreciate your loyalty and are excited to be a continued part of your lives.

By the way, the gorgeous pictures of my family were taken by the amazing Hannah.  If you are in the East Bay and looking for a photographer, you can find her at Hannah Rose Photography:  hannah.rose_photography@yahoo.com

Weekly Menu and Shopping Trip

Monday: Chicken pot pie (using broth from last week's chicken) and salad
Tuesday: Breakfast (pancakes, eggs, and fruit)
Wednesday: Red beans and rice, salad
Thursday: Left-overs
Friday: Bean burritos (made with homemade refried beans), Mexican rice, chips, salsa
Saturday: Manicotti, garlic bread, Caesar salad
Sunday: Left-overs

This was a pretty uneventful shopping week for me.  I bought what I needed for our meals, plus I did stock up on a few things.  The tomato sauce was a little more than I normally pay for it, but I was running low and the price was decent, so I bought a few.  I also stocked up a little on cheese.  I typically prefer to buy blocks of cheese, but it's hard finding cheese for under $4/lb these days, and that's what these were ($2/8 oz), so I bought a few to throw in the freezer.  I came in quite a bit under budget, so I'll have a little extra to use in the future, whether it's to stock up on ingredients or to buy some more expensive items that normally don't fit into our budget.

Store 1: Food4Less

Tomato sauce: $0.25 each
Natural peanut butter: $2.99
Cake mix: $0.99 each
Cantaloupe: $1.07
Cheese: $2.00 each
Dried garbanzo beans: $1.50
Croutons: $1.19
Tortilla chips: $1.50
Cottage cheese: $1.79
Eggs: $2.79
Total: $23.81

Store 2: Sam's Club 

Milk: $2.75
Baby carrots: $3.98
Romaine: $2.58
Total: $9.31

Store 3: Valley Produce Market

Broccoli: $1.52
Pitas: $0.79
Red onion: $0.26
Iceberg: $0.69
Red bell pepper: $0.87
Cucumbers: $0.39 each
Carrots: $0.50
Nectarines: $1.41
Onions: $0.58
Total: 7.40

Grand Total: $40.52

Weekly Meal Plan and Shopping Trip

Last week was a very unusual shopping trip, but this week was more of a normal week.  Even though I plan out my meals for the week, I don't always follow my plans exactly.  For example, we were supposed to have left-overs last Tuesday, which normally would have worked out, because my husband had a meeting and wasn't going to be home for dinner.  What I forgot, however, was that he actually was going to be home for dinner because I needed him to watch the kids while I went to an appointment before his meeting.  We didn't have enough leftovers for all of us, so I resorted to plan B.  Thankfully, I had some quick, easy meal options on hand so we didn't have to spend money eating out.  I'll have to post about some things I keep on hand at another time, but this time we had noodles and a jar of marinara sauce in the pantry. These ingredients make for a super easy and quick meal whenever I'm in a pinch, saving us from having to eat out.  Another change to our menu was that Saturday's meal provided enough leftovers for Sunday, so I was able to move the quiche to this week.

Monday: Ham and Potato Quiche, English muffins, pineapple

Tuesday: Chicken Tortilla Soup, salad

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Chicken Spaghetti Casserole (make half/freeze half), broccoli

Friday: Southwest Chicken Roll-ups, Spanish rice (recipe to come!)

Saturday: Date night!

Sunday: Left-overs or breakfast

Whole chickens were on sale this week, so my menu is largely based off of that.  I'm hoping to use the meat from a chicken for the soup, casserole, and southwest roll-ups.  I may not have quite enough, but I will supplement with boneless, skinless chicken breasts as needed.

Store 1: Valley Produce Market

Broccoli: $1.34

10 lbs potatoes: $1.19

Romaine hearts: $1.99

Pineapple: $1.69

Grapes: $1.58

Cucumber: $0.33

Acorn squash (for baby food): $0.70

Gala apples: $1.21

Pitas: $0.79

Total: $10.82

Store 2: Ralphs

Sour cream: $1.50

Tortilla chips: $1.79

Whole chicken: $4.25

Total: $7.54

Store 3: Food4Less

Diced green chilies: $0.79
Enchilada sauce: $1.00 (I was planning on making my own enchilada sauce, but this was cheaper than            the ingredients I was going to use for homemade)
Baby oatmeal (I would prefer to make my own, but baby is picky about texture): $1.25/box
Pinto beans (bulk): $2.01
Red beans: $1.79
Sweet potato (for baby food): $1.29
Baby carrots: $0.99
Red bell pepper: $0.79
Frozen corn: $1.99
Frozen green beans (for baby food): $1.00
Total: $14.15

Store 4: Sam's Club

1% milk: $3.28
Skim milk: $2.75
6 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts: $11.98
Heavy whipping cream: $4.17
Tortillas: $3.68
Total: $25.86

Grand Total: $58.37

I came in $0.68 cents above budget, and I still have to buy one more ingredient for a special (secret) Father's Day treat, but I was $4 under last week, so I'll be using that excess to cover this week's overage.

Our New Budget, Meal Plan, and My Shopping Trip

According to the USDA, the average weekly cost of groceries in April for a family the size of mine (2 adults, 1 child, plus a baby who is now eating some foods, which I didn't factor into this equation) was as follows:

• Thrifty Plan: $106.20
• Low-cost Plan: $135.10
• Moderate-cost Plan: $167.60
• Liberal Plan: $208.80

The amount we had determined for our weekly grocery budget is $57.69, about half of what the USDA has determined to be a thrifty plan.  Is it possible?  Yes!  But it does, at times, require some creativity.

Let's take a look at our first week! But first let me warn you that this is a very unusual shopping week for me.  I didn't need too many ingredients for our meals this week and we didn't need very many staples, leaving me with some extra money. I happened to come upon some amazing sales and coupons, so I was able to do a major cereal stock-up with that excess.  

Also, if you'll notice, my meal plan is only for dinners.  I don't typically plan breakfasts and lunches. However, our typical breakfast options are oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, toast, and eggs.  Lunches consist of leftovers, quesadillas, salads, PB&J, deviled eggs (my daughter's absolute favorite!), and bean and cheese burritos.

Meal Plan

Monday: Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken, rice, roasted broccoli

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: BBQ Chicken Salad

Thursday: Spicy Chicken Risotto, salad

Friday: Eat at friends'

Saturday: Pinto Bean Casserole

Sunday: Potato and Ham Quiche 

(Note: I've put links to items we've already blogged about.  I'm hoping to eventually have all recipes posted or linked at some point.)

This week the sales were pretty spread out, but my 7-month-old daughter was being quite cooperative while I shopped, so I was able to hit up quite a few stores in order to get the best deals.  Typically, I only go to 2-3 stores each week.

Store 1: Sprouts
I neglected to get a picture of my Sprouts purchase, but I bought 2 lbs of bulk oatmeal for $0.69/lb and seedless grapes for $0.98/lb.  Total: $3.07

Store 2: Food4Less
I do most of my shopping at Food4Less.  Usually I don't buy my produce there, because I can get it cheaper elsewhere.  This week, I just bought it all there because I needed to hit up some other stores I don't normally go to.

BBQ sauce: $0.99

Butternut squash (for baby food): $2.07

Baking powder: $1.99

Yellow onions: $0.59

Romaine lettuce: $0.99

2 Green bell peppers: $1.58

Green onions: $0.33

Broccoli crowns: $1.25

Red bell pepper: $0.99

Pasilla chilles: $1.00

Iceberg lettuce: $0.99

Tortilla chips: $1.89

2 lbs strawberries: $1.98

Total: $16.64

Store 3: Pavilions (Safeway affiliate)

This is where my shopping trip was highly unusual.  They had many of their General Mills cereals and Nature Valley granola bars on sale for $1.49 each when you buy them in multiples of 4.  I had quite a few high value coupons for cereal and granola bars, and when combined with the sale, I scored a lot of food for a little bit of money.  We are all stocked up on cereal for a little while.  :)

2 boxes Cheerios: $1.49 each

4 boxes Honey Nut Cheerios: $1.49 each

3 boxes Multi-Grain Cheerios: $1.49 each

4 boxes Kix: $1.49 each

3 boxes Nature Valley Granola Bars: $1.49 each

Prego: $1.79

Total after coupons: $12.83

Store 4: Ralphs (Kroger affiliate)

Honey Bunches of Oats: $1.88 each

Eggs: $1.88 (plus a coupon for a free dozen)

Total: $7.52

Store 5: Sam's Club

Milk: $2.85
2.5 lbs cheese: $9.48
Total: $12.33

Grand Total: $52.39

We Still Have a Blog???

I guess it's been about a year-and-a-half since we last posted anything.  Don't worry.  We're still here.  It's just that we're both quite busy these days.  However, blogging has been something we've both wanted to get back into, so here I am, attempting to get back into the swing of things again.  I can tell you that the posts still won't be coming as regularly as they once were, but we hope to be posting more often than every 18 months!

I recently decided that when I did start blogging again, I would share my weekly meal plans and shopping trips. We have recently revamped our budget and I figured blogging about my weekly shopping trips will not only help keep me accountable and on track, but it may also encourage others who are on a low grocery budget.  In addition, we'll also be posting new recipes!

Check back tomorrow for my first meal plan/shopping trip post!