S**T has hit The Fan And You Have $40 left For The Week For Food & Fuel

Surviving on a Budget, $30 Grocery List

Has this happened to you? 
Following several harrowing hours of balancing the checkbook, making payment agreements with various creditors, you sit back and look at the balance in your checkbook and realize you have about $40 left for the entire week. Somehow, with that measly $40, you have to put gas in your car for work... and still buy groceries to feed the family.

So how do you do it?

You put $10 in your car & spend the other $30 on groceries... and you eat for the entire week.

How can someone eat on $30 a week?

Here is a list of groceries that can be purchased for approximately $30.

1. Baking Powder (MYO!)
2. Eggs
3. Flour
4. Fruits (on sale)
5. Hamburger
6. Rice or  Noodles
7. Margarine
8. Milk
9. Potatoes 
10. Salt
11. Vegetables (on sale)
12. Tuna (1 or 2 cans)

What's For Breakfast?

* Scrambled eggs in a Biscuit
* Fruit Smoothie, Hash Browns
* Muffins, many kinds...
* Pancakes, Fruit
* Potato Pancakes
* Tortilla with scrambled or fried eggs inside
* Donut Muffins
* Rice Pudding

What's For Lunch/Dinner?

* Tortilla with anything you have on hand in it.
* Tomatoes/onions/hamburg etc.
* Shepherds Pie (Hamburger/gravy over mashed potatoes/corn)
* Veggies in gravy over rice
* Baked Potato and Vegetables
* Scalloped Potatoes and Vegetables
* Oven Baked French Fries & Salad
* Vegetable Soup w/ or w/o Rice
* Tuna/ Pea Wiggle (serve over toast or biscuits or saltine crackers)

* Scalloped Potato/Tuna Casserole
* Popovers fill with: tuna pea wiggle recipe or   gravy/veggie mix
* Chicken Pot Pie
* Pizza Pasta

Although the above menu is very limited, this grocery list is for extremely tough times and is meant to help you get through the week, not to base your diet on for any length of time! 

Recipes:

Tuna Pea Wiggle

3 T. Margarine
3 T. Flour
dash of salt
1½ c. Milk
1 can Tuna, drained

1 can Peas, Drained or 1 c. frozen peas

Melt butter, add flour, mix till pasty, cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. 
Add milk and whisk constantly over medium heat until thicken and bubbling slightly, (do not bring to a rolling boil). 
Add the tuna and peas. 
Stirring constantly until bubbling. 

Serve over toast or biscuits or  crackers.

Scalloped Potatoes

Make your own creamy scalloped potatoes for a fraction of the price of boxed scalloped potatoes, with twice the flavor with this simple, yet dirt cheap recipe. 

1 Large Onion, cut in rings
3 T. Butter
3 T. Flour
Salt & Pepper
1 c. Milk
1 c. Chix Broth (make a little with bouillon)
3-4 Medium Potatoes, washed

Preheat the oven to 350F

Cut the scrubbed potatoes into thin slices and toss'em in a 9"x13" pan. 
Place the onion (cut into rings) all over the top of potatoes, set aside

In a saucepan over medium heat, Melt butter. Add flour, stirring constantly until it becomes pasty and then forms a ball. 
Cook for about 1 minute, continuing to stir. 
Add broth and milk (together) into the flour/butter mix, whisking constantly until creamy and thick (cooking over medium heat), but do not boil.

Pour the thickened sauce over the potatoes and onions sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, If you'd like you can sprinkle on some fresh or dried parsley for colors as well.
Place in the oven. 

Bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the sauce is lightly browned.

Variations:

Add chopped up leftover meat, veggies, etc. to sauce before pouring

Add 1- 2 tsp of Crushed Red Pepper Seeds for a little Southwestern Kick

Chicken Pot Pie:

You can serve it with a side salad and some cranberry sauce.

1/3 C. Chopped Onion
1/3 C. Flour
1/3 C. Margarine
1 bag peas/carrots blend or a big can of Veggie Blend (drained)
1¾ C. Chix Broth
2/3 C. Milk
1 1/2 c. cut up cooked chix (or any leftover meat)

Melt butter, add onions- sauté for a minute, add flour, mix till pasty, add broth and milk. 

Stir constantly until creamy and thick ( cooking over medium heat), Add veggies & chicken. Dump into a prepared pie crust, bake 40-50 minutes at 350º.

Shepards Pie

A hearty layered casserole of perfectly seasoned meat, corn and fluffy mashed potatoes makes a fast, dirt cheap meal in under 30 minutes.

500g ground beef or turkey
1 pkg frozen corn
Mashed Potatoes (Great way to use leftovers, or peel, boil & mash 5-6 medium potatoes, add a pat of butter, and
a dash of milk)

Beef Gravy:
1 T. Flour
1 T. Butter
1 c. Beef Broth
1 tsp Steak Seasoning

Brown the meat in a pan, drain any extra fat that accumulates. 

While the meat in browning, prepare the gravy. 

Melt butter in a small saucepan, add flour. 

Cook for 1 minute, add beef broth and steak seasoning. 

Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly, reduce heat simmer 1 minute. 

Pour over browned meat.

Transfer seasoned meat to a 9x9 oven safe dish. 

Add a 1 package of frozen corn.

Top generously with hot mashed potatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Muff-Nuts

Muff-nuts are donut bites that are baked in a muffin tin- these tasty morsels are our a healthier version of "fried" donuts, but with all the flavor of fresh cake donuts.

You'll Need:

2 C. Flour
1/2 tsp Salt 
3 Tsp. Baking Powder 
1/2 C. Sugar 
1 or 2 eggs
1/4 c. Melted butter 
1 c. Milk 
Chopped Nuts if you have some 
1/2 tsp of nutmeg 

In a medium bowl add flour, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and sugar, mixing well. 

Then add eggs, melted butter and milk, mixing until moistened and most lumps gone. 

If you'd like add a handful of chopped nuts!

Spoon into greased muffin tins, & sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar - bake at 400 for 12-17 minutes

Or
Spread in a buttered 9x9 pan and sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar. (Or Muffin tin) Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes.

If you want to make these ahead of time as a homemade convenience mix, simply place all of the dry ingredients in a baggie and add a label that states:

Directions: To contents of bag- add 2 eggs, 1/4 c. melted butter & 1 c. Milk , mix and bake

Tortillas:

Tortillas are a very forgiving, basic "bread" recipe that requires very little effort or experience. 

This traditional Mexican thin flatbread is often used to make dishes such as burritos, enchiladas and baleadas. 

You can make your own at home for just pennies with this simple recipe . . .

You'll Need:
4 cups All purpose flour (or half white, half wheat)
2 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Salt
3 Tablespoons Solid Vegetable shortening 
2-1/2 cups Hot water

Place the flour, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a mixer, Mix well. 

Add shortening and mix until the mixture is crumbly. 

Mix on low while slowly adding water. 

Mix on low for 90 seconds or until well mixed. 

Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a floured surface, knead until smooth, then Divide it into 2 equal portions. Cover with plastic wrap, set aside at room temperature for 20 minutes to let the dough rest. 

Divide each half into 8 equal portions. 

(If you're in a hurry, you can skip this step!) 

Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin.

Roll each ball into an 8-inch round. Stack rounds on baking sheet with plastic wrap between each tortilla. The plastic wrap helps keep the dough from drying out while giving it a chance to rest. 

Heat a skillet or large frying pan over medium heat and fry each tortilla lightly on each side until bubbles, remove from heat, fill with your favorite filling and enjoy!

Alternatively, once rolled out, these can be cut into small circles with a biscuit cutter and then deep fried to make Tostada Bites

Variations:

• Sun Dried Tomato Wraps- add 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes that have been finely chopped, 1 tsp sweet paprika and 1 tbs oil to the above recipe