I am wife to a magnificent man and mother to five wonderful children. Three of my children were born in the Northwest and two were born thousands of miles away in Liberia, West Africa. Birthplace is no matter, all of my children were born in my heart. This is our journey.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

The Economy

Times are getting tough and I have been reading many articles online about the status of the economy. I recently saw one about a family feeding their family of four for $105/week. This got me thinking because a lot of months we do that for our family of seven. I have been asked how we do it so I thought I would post about some things we do. Today I purchased two large chickens, five pounds each and some supplies to go with including: tortillas, noodles, cheese, and sour cream. I first boiled off the two chickens. My mother-in-law asked if I would make her some chicken soup as she has been ill for a few days. I made two quarts of stock, chicken and noodles for her.

I then made five, one serving pans of creamy chicken enchiladas for her for her freezer. We like to do this every once in awhile as a gift knowing that cooking for just one isn't always easy. I also made one large pan of enchiladas for dinner and another for our freezer for a busy week later.

I was then left with almost three quarts of stock and chicken that I will add noodles and garden carrots to for dinner tomorrow evening. I will also make a batch of crescent rolls to go with it. Total for my supplies for the soup, enchiladas and bread came to approximately $24.

11 servings of soup + 19 servings of enchildas = 30 meals = $.80/meal

We as a society have become dependent on things being ready instantly. We have gone away from making things from scratch in the name of convenience. Canned soup, frozen entrees and the like. I believe that it costs us more to do that long term. Saving money on meals takes planning and a little extra effort. But in my opinion, if you have the time, then the payoff both financially and health wise are worth it. And so is my family.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good job girl! If you can feed your hubby and 5 critters for .80/meal that adds up to $117.60 for the week.
[.80 x 3 meals x 7 people x 7 days]

Would it be possible for you to pick up a loaf of that gluten free bread for Grandma before you come Sunday?

Brooke said...

You have taught me alot with your wisdom and expertise. This is one of them. I am blessed to be able to call you a true friend. Share anymore money saving tips you may have.