DAY 9: 31 DAYS OF (ALMOST) NO SPENDING

Day 9: 31 Days of (Almost) No Spending

Did I forget to mention that we are spending money on gas and bills, but that is all (besides $30 milk-and-egg money)?

I had to break down and spend almost $10 last night.  Well, DH actually went to the store at my direction.  Milk, eggs and coffee.  I know coffee is not a need.  That's the one non-necessity we chose to spend money on this month.  So now we have spent about $16 so far.  Not much, but a lot when you think about the $30 budget I set --- and today is January 9! 

Dinner Plans:

I looked in my pantry, freezer and fridge and jotted down main dish possibilities.  I still have a lot of food in there!  I know I will run out of fruits and veggies.  If I had planned this, I would have bought frozen (and canned) ones.  But we will live.  This is only for 1 month.

Here is my list of possible main dishes.  This list is just from glancing in there; I'm not making a list of everything I have.

POSSIBLE MAIN DISH MEALS FROM MY DWINDLING SUPPLY:

1. Chipotle-Style Burritos (enough for 2 meals)
2. Beef & Bean Enchiladas
3. Leftover Ham Sandwiches on Rolls w/Mac n Cheese and Salad
4. Buffalo Chicken Pizza (enough for 2 meals)
5. Beef-Lentil Stew with Hummus and Homemade Flatbread
6. Chicken & Noodle Casserole
7. Chicken Chili
8. Crockpot Beans & Sausage
9. Seasoned Tilapia with Rice
10. Turkey & Dressing (enough for 3 meals)
11. Chicken and Wild Rice
12. Beef Stroganoff (Hamburger Helper!)
13. Spaghetti
14. Pork Chops & Sauerkraut
15. Chicken and Gravy over Biscuits (a la king?)
16. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches & Minestrone Soup
17. Tamales w/Chili Sauce and Rice (enough for 2 meals)
18. Petite Steaks
19. Ham (I have a whole extra ham left from Christmas - enough for many meals)
20. Chicken Quesadillas

That's really enough for 30+ main dishes considering I have enough of some for 2 or more dinners.  This doesn't completely deplete my supply, though.  I have meat and fish for more meals.  If I get so far as to use up all of this food, I can go to the next level of creativity and come up with some more meals.

The thing is, we live in a mindset of how things are.  We see things as we are used to seeing them.  It is not until we challenge ourselves to try something new that we start realizing there is more to something than the eye can see.

For instance, if I REALLY ran out of the food mentioned above, I can dig deeper.  For instance, the three of us are not going to eat an entire ham in one meal.  I can come up with a lot more main dishes with the ham and other canned items.  I can use some of that ham to scramble with eggs.  I have more canned biscuits not accounted for on the list.  There is another meal - Scrambled eggs with ham and biscuits - breakfast for dinner.  (Biscuits is such a WEIRD word!)

Breakfast & Lunch plans: 

Breakfast:

Without being exhaustive, I known I have a large container of oatmeal, several boxes of cereal, a dozen eggs, several cans of biscuits, and a half box of pancake mix, to which I add a banana and some walnuts for Banana Nut Pancakes (omgsh, so good - I just had some a little while ago).  I also have lots of dried fruits and nuts.

Lunch:

Most of the time the dinner meals are big enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day.  Some make enough for a second MAIN meal.  I am blessed with a DH who doesn't mind eating leftovers.  He also eats lunch at work every day, so we have not had that expense at all for almost 16 years (he is a counselor in the prison system).  I have a teen DS who turns his nose up at just about anything I cook these days...well, never mind...he does manage to stay alive and reasonably healthy.

Miscellaneous:

Other things I can cook for which I have ingredients:  Mawmaw's Homemade Cornbread, cookie and cake mixes, Homemade Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Waffles, and Homemade Bread, etc., etc.

I'm going to start my Recipe page soon.

I will be adding the actual recipes for some of the items listed above.

In the meantime, a dear friend is picking me up to go to PartyFest at Dallas Market Center.  She knows of our no-spend commitment this month, but she really wanted me to go with her.  This is very humbling for me, but she insisted on paying my entrance fee.   What a gal!

Sherry