Easy Holiday Dinner on a Budget

We successfully hosted our first Thanksgiving dinner and now I am eager and inspired to host Christmas dinner as well. Our meal fed 10 and we have a ton of leftovers. Thanks to glass casserole dishes with a lid both prep and clean up were a breeze! In the end we had:

• a lovely dinner for 10
• leftover for 8 meals (5 different meals and 4-5 portions/meal) ---> 40 servings
• All for $30!
• That's $0.60/serving! 
• Stress-free clean up -- no clean up the next day! Everything was taken care of in the evening.

Here's how we did it...

The Shopping List:

Most shopping was done at WalMart and all prices are in Canadian dollars. We didn't use everything so this then factors into our monthly shopping as well.

- 1 x 12lb turkey, $15
- 1 package x Ground Pork/Sausage, $2
- 1 x batch carrots, $1.47
- 1 x batch onions, $1.47
- 1 x bundle celery, $1.47
- 1 x box stuffing, $0.77
- 5lb bag of potatoes, $3
- 2 x large yams, $1
- 3 x canned turkey gravy, $3/3
- 1 x canned cranberries, $1
- 2 x canned corn, $1
- 1 x canned creamed corn, $1
- 1 x small bag frozen peas, $1.47
- 1 x red pepper, $0.50

Other ingredients on hand:
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cinnamon
- Brown Sugar
- Olive Oil
- Parmesan
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Lemon juice
- Chicken stock

The Menu:

• Roast turkey with Gravy and Cranberries
• Baked yams with cinnamon and brown sugar
• Bake potatoes with Parmesan (I was going to add sauteed spinach but opted out at the last minute)
• Mashed potatoes
• Stuffing
• Creamed Corn
• Corn Niblets
• Peas
• Carrots 
• Rolls/Croissants
• Raw veggie platter: carrots, celery and peppers
• We had so much food, I also opted out of a spinach salad but it would have added good colour to the table.

The Dishes:

• We use glasses dishes with lids to make for seamless prep, re-heating and clean up. These dishes made a HUGE difference for a stress-free meal. They have been worth the investment, for sure!
• Additional: tinfoil

The prep & "cooking"... 

it was so simple, not sure I can fully call this cooking:

1. Peel and dice the yams - toss with olive oil, 1tsp cinnamon, 2 x tsp brown sugar; cover with tinfoil; bake in oven at 350F for 60 minutes; remove from oven and let sit until reheating.
2.  Peel and dice potatoes; dice onions - toss with olive oil, salt/pepper & diced onions; cover with tinfoil; add to oven, bake at 350F for 45 minutes ; remove from oven and let sit until reheating. (Just prior to reheating, add Parmesan). 
3. Peel and dice more potatoes, boil in chicken stock for the mashed potatoes
4.  Prep the turkey - remove the innards, scream as you do... cube some onions, add a dash of lemon juice, 2 x tsp rosemary and 1 x tsp thyme.... toss this combo into the bird's cavity; tie the legs and coat the bird in olive oil. 
5. Once the yams and potatoes are done; remove from oven and let sit. Turn oven down to 300F and let the bird cook.
6. Pending timing, you can start cooking the sausage meat for the stuffing before prepping the bird. I timed it so one item came out of the oven and the bird went in.
7. Dice onions and celery; add to the sausage meat.
8. In a separate pan, prepare the stuffing from a box as per the box instructions.
9.  Once the sausage mixture is cooked, layer on the bottom of a casserole dish; top with the stuffing form a box mixture. Let stuffing sit until reheating just before guests arrive.
10. Open the cans/bag and separate out the peas, corn, creamed corn, cranberries & gravy
11. When you remove the turkey to let stand before carving; turn the oven to 325F and heat up yams, potatoes & stuffing. I microwaved the peas and corn.

The left-overs:

Turkey soup: 

Made 3 x family portions (15 servings):

1. Cover the carcass with water, brought to a boil on the stove and transferred to the crockpot to simmer overnight.  
2. Strain the juice; the meat from the carcass as best as you can
3. Dice some of the left over turkey, carrots and celery; add to soup.
4. Before serving, I added 1 pack of Lipton chicken noodle soup to a family portion. The remaining was set aside before adding the noodles and put in the freezer.

Turkey Leftover Casserole:

Essentially a reverse shepherd's pie... made 1 x family portion in the freezer

1. Layer mashed potatoes in bottom of casserole dish; add layer of turkey meat; add layer of stuffing mixture.
2. I have in the freezer as is; with thaw and bake at 350 for 30 minutes; top with gravy and serve with peas. 

Turkey Enchilada Casserole:

1. Prep the tortillas
2. Prep the enchilada sauce -- we always have this homemade version on hand
3. Layer: turkey tossed in enchilada sauce; cheese; tortilla; cheese; turkey tossed in enchilada sauce; cheese; tortilla; enchilada sauce; cheese. 

Turkey Corn Chowder:

This is a suggestion as I didn't cook up the full 5lb bag of potatoes. If I had, I would have also made turkey corn chowder which is an excellent one-pot meal! Substitute out the chicken from this recipe with turkey for that amazing meal! 

Additional Notes:

• Our guests brought the rolls/croissants, wine & dessert.
• We did have dessert on hand as well: $5 pumpkin pie & some cool whip... We sent one of the guests home with the dessert they brought for their family dinner the next day as we just had too much.

Review:

• The yams were a hit and we will definitely make them again! 
• I will batch up more mashed potatoes next time to make some turkey corn chowder as well. 
• The value in products, makes me offering up to host Christmas dinner as well. It was so easy and my freezer is now well stocked for the month.  
• Having the guests bring the rolls, wine and dessert helped make a huge difference on keeping the meal to a budget and all details accounted for. I need to acknowledge that! 
• Overall, it was a great success --- most noted but the eager willingness to host the next family dinner.

Cooking on a Budget: Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada sauce is a favourite in our home. It's easy and affordable. Simply toss the ingredients that you likely have on hand in the Blendtec and then portion out to have available any time you desire!

Ingredients:

• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 4 tsp Cumin
• 2 tsp Chili Powder
• Garlic, optional
• Chicken stock powder to taste, optional

 Method:

1. Combine & mix well. I blend in the Blentec for 15 seconds and that's it! 

We use freezer bags to portion out and then add to nearly any Mexican style dish we are making, i.e. enchilada casserole being our fave but also for fajitas, burritos, pork carnitas...YUM!!!!

Meal Planning 101

We like to enjoy traditional family dinners. Traditional in the 21st century that is. You know - chaotic: music in the form of my 4 year old giggling at the top of his lungs while continuous pretending to "accidentally" burp and make other eloquent noises while simultaneously having to pee every 3 minutes... fortunately though, the chaos is minimized to at the table and not in preparation. My secret: meal planning. Today I am sharing a little bit on how I do it. I will come back to this post and continue to add different meal plans for the week so be sure to bookmark or pin this page... more simple weekly meal plans and plenty of recipes to come!! 

The How:

•  Schedule it. For me, that's Sunday. Sunday is our reset day for the week. It's time to re-group, get re-organized and re-prioritize.

• Current stock in house. How can I use up items that may otherwise spoil this week? --- side note: this is a great way to discover new recipes. The acid in over-ripen tomatoes makes an excellent base for a this pasta dish!  

• What can be batched up on the weekend to stock the freezer and make use for future meals? I survive by batching up recipes and taking advantage or "freezer to oven" or "freezer to crockpot cooking"... stay tuned as I feature more of these recipes on this blog. 

• How can I add variety in meals while using the same ingredients? --- I find this is most easily accomplishment by cooking "international cuisine" and rotating the theme, or simply alternative the main between chicken one day and pork the next. We also try to avoid two pasta dinners back-to-back.

The Why:

• Saves time. Front one-two hours and take advantage of batch cooking to have dinners for a month organized over a short period of time. The daily meal prep during the week then becomes 1-2 minutes as opposed to 30-40minutes. Who has 30-40 minutes during the week to spend in the kitchen?! Between work and the kids, their activities and the remote possibility of 15 minutes for myself, I can certainly make better use of that time than in the kitchen during the week. // The greatest timer saver though might actually be with the dishes...

• Saves money. No need to eat out. A single meal eating out as a family of 4 is easily $40. $40 can make 5 dinners in our house (depending on the ingredients). I will get a post together about eating on a budget as I get asked about this a lot in our real life. We keep our family food budget to $500 including pull ups and cleaning products and always get asked how. Stay tuned and I'll let you in on our secrets. :)

• Minimizes/eliminates waste. This goes slightly hand-in-hand with saving money but also, I hate the feeling of not making use of all products and food spoiling when there are so many people that go without in the world. This cuts into my ethics and morals... "waste not" is a philosophy we live by. 

• Less stress. I like some structure and removing the uncertainly of "what's for dinner" support this aspects of my personality and that has a trickle-effect onto the all members of the family. 

• More variety. Meal planning guarantees we don't have the same thing back-to-back which is lovely for your taste and fueling your body appropriately.

Sample meal plan:

Note: as I get the recipes listed below posted, I will be sure to link back so please stay tuned!

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Quesadillas & Spanish Rice	Spaetzle, Schnitzel & Veggies	Spaghetti & Meatballs	Chicken Corn Chowder	Chicken, Bacon Pasta	Toasted Chicken andwiches & Salad	Stroganoff & Veggies

What is on your menu this week? Comment below! Until next time... xo

_____________________________________________________

Interested in learning more about our family? We're on You Tube, too! Watch the video below to hear why we started this journey; stay tuned for updates and join us on our adventure! 

If you are interested in really helping out this small You Tuber gain a little traction, please let our playlist run and enjoy a few laughs along the way! 

5 Minute Meal: Chicken Quesidillas

If you're looking for a quick and easy meal that can be made in under 5 minutes, you've found it! These CHICKEN QUESADILLAS are absolutely delicious and fool proof... my 4 year old makes them, too!

Gather your ingredients:

Shredded Chicken
Graded Cheese
Diced Peppers
Tortilla Shells
Sour Cream (optional)

Method:

1. Warm a pan on the stove (medium heat)
2. Fold the tortilla is half to give you "the mid-line". Place a thin layer of cheese, chicken; peppers; a little more cheese.
3. Fold the tortilla over (half moon shape). Place in microwave for 30 seconds.
4. Place from microwave to pan for 1 minute; flip for another 30 seconds.
5. Section into quarters with a pizza slicer & enjoy!

You can serve with a basic garden salad for some fresh crispiness or a side of cucumbers.  The quesadilla is surprisingly filling.

Kid-friendly and even quicker, my 7 year old is a fan of the plain cheese quesadillas made solely in the microwave. Add some cheese to a tortilla, heat for 45 seconds and voila! Your meal is set.

Are you interested in more 5 minute meals? Comment below!

Helpful hints:

• Keep shredded chicken in your freezer. Place 8 frozen chicken breasts into a crockpot with 1 cup chicken broth, let cook on low for 8 hours or overnight. Shred. After cool, portion out into Ziploc freezer bags so it's ready whenever you need it.
•  Do the same with cheese. We buy cheese in bulk from Costco and use an electric grater to grate en mass. Portion out for future recipes and it's all set when you need it. 
• These can also be frozen prior to any heat if you want to batch up a ton and have them on hand straight from the freezer. To freeze, simply wrap in saran wrap tightly and then layer in an airtight container for the freezer.

Until next time... have a wonderful day! xo

_____________________________________________________

Interested in learning more about our family? We're on You Tube, too! Watch the video below to hear why we started this journey; stay tuned for updates and join us on our adventure! 

If you are interested in really helping out this small You Tuber gain a little traction, please let our playlist run and enjoy a few laughs along the way! 

Recipe: Chicken Quesidillas

Switching the tone after my last post and back to sharing another recipe. Is that how parenting works? --- one minute consoling a child, the next minute - getting dinner on the table, the next minute - reading stories, the next minute...

I let you know I am a huge fan of easy and cost-effective recipes that are family-friendly. Here is another great one!

I am keen to choose a base ingredient that is prepped in advance, can be used in multiple recipes and suits the freezer-to-stove top or freezer-to-oven style of cooking. I am also keen to batch up a single recipe so that I can then easily rotate through meals during the month. Not only is this more cost effective but it is significantly more effective on the clean up.... saving time and money sounds good to me; how about you?!

Shredded chicken offers just that! I throw chicken breasts in a crockpot overnight with a small amount of chicken stock... shred in the morning and divide out for a variety of different recipes. Today, let's talk about delicious chicken quesadillas!

Family-friendly chicken quesadilla

Ingredients:
- Shredded chicken
- Sour cream
- Grated cheese
- Tortillas shells
- Cumin

Method:
1. Mix shredded chicken with sour cream, dash of cumin (as needed for your taste) and small amount of grated cheese
2. Fold tortilla in half to give you "the line"
3. Spread approx 3 tbs of chicken mixture on half of the tortilla; top chicken mixture on tortilla with grate cheese
4. Fold tortilla over and wrap tightly with saran wrap. For good measure, I then groups and store all wrapped quesadillas in a Tupperware container.

Re-heat/Cook:
1. Unwrap portions; thaw/heat for 30 seconds; turn; heat for 30 seconds in microwave
2. Pan fry in a non-stick skillet

We serve with Spanish rice or a taco salad.

The cost breakdown on this (based on current Canadian dollars) - 20 quesadillas:
Chicken: $10
Tortilla Shells: $10
Grated Cheese: $5
Sourcream: $3.50
Cumin: $3.50

Keep in mind, you'll have sour cream and cumin for plenty of other recipes based on this grocery list (you may even have chicken left over as well!), $1.60/serving.

Until next time... have a wonderful day! xo

Cooking on a Budget: Rice

Extending your buck. That's how I try to live life both because of a personal desire but also, out of necessity. I am sure you might be able to relate.

My friends are always surprised at how we keep our monthly food (including toiletries, etc.) to $500 for our family of four. We do so through meal planning and relying on a few core staples. Rice is one of those staples. As I begin to share some of my favourite - quick and easy and cost-effective (relatively healthy) - recipes, I thought I would start with a basic...

Rice. Now, slightly contradictory with the healthy comment I just made but using the "it could be worse" thought, we make use of Jasmine Rice. A $30 bag from Costco lasts 2 months and can be batch cooked in a set it and forget it approach. There are a few "wins" for this Momma there so, I am taking it. Of course, I am sure you can make use of your favourite brown rice with a higher fiber content should you prefer.

The basics...

No matter the quantity, the method for "plain rice" is the same:

1. Briefly "roast" stove top your desired rice, dry, in olive oil to enhance its flavour. This can be as quick as 2-5 minutes. Remember how many cups of rice you have scooped in!

2. Add water - the ratio is 2:1... 2 cups water for every 1 cup rice.

3. Cover; bring to a boil. Let boil for 5 minutes.

5. After 5 minutes, let simmer for another 20 OR, simply turn off and remove from heat. I use the latter if I am heading to work so I come home and the rice is set! Fluff the rice just once to keep it from turning to mush.

Now, what to do with this mass of rice you have just made?!? Let it cool and store in Ziploc freezer bags. I layer (and flatten) the bags, flat, on a cookie sheet maximize use of space in our freezer.

When the dinner-of-the-day calls for rice, I pull a bag and let it sit in the sink for the day. When I get home, in just 5 minutes, I can have it warmed - stove top.

I make use of this plain rice as a base or side for butter chicken, curried recipes (I used cream of chicken instead of cream of mushroom in this recipe), pork chops or shredded pork... I'll share these recipes later and hope to connect back to update the link. For now though, I have linked you to a few of my faves from All Recipes.

Jasmine Rice is a great base!

Spanish Rice...

So easy and always hits the spot! Perfect as a side or a base in a Mexican casserole dish, burritos, fajitas, etc.

Ingredients:
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 4 tsp Cumin
- 2 tsp Chili Powder
- Garlic, optional
- Chicken stock, optional
- Prepared Rice

Method:
1. Blend (we use a Blentec and love it!) the tomatoes, cumin and chili (I keep the ratio as 2:1 but you can modify for your preferred taste). Add garlic and chicken stock powder to preferred taste. With the Blentec, I blend for all of 20 seconds. This sauce also makes a great enchilada sauce!

2. Warm your desired amount of rice and add sauce. I typically use 2 cups rice with a 1/2 cup sauce.

The Spanish rice and be cooled and frozen as well for added ease in the future. The extra sauce can also be frozen in a Ziploc freezer bag.

Spanish Rice/Mexican Rice

Fried Rice...

If you're not sensing a theme yet, "quick and easy" hits again! We make use of fried rice as a main or a side depending on the extent of ingredients we add.

Ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Onions (1 small, finely chopped)
- Garlic (3 cloves... we make use of the prepped fresh garlic from Costco and add 2-3 tsp)
- Sliced Mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
- Bacon Bits (I use the real bacon bits from Costco as the price is right for the amount... alternatively, cook bacon (oven or stove top - I always cook bacon in the oven for ease and chop)
- Prepared rice (approx 4 cups)
- Peas/corn/diced carrots, optional
- Chicken or pork - shredded or dice, optional (I only add chicken when make this a meal in itself)

Method:
1. Sautee the onions and garlic*
2. Add mushrooms  - if adding carrots, add them first
3. After about 5 minutes, add bacon
5. After about 5 minutes, add/combine rice
6. Add soy sauce, cook for approx. 5 minutes
7. Add peas or corn, cook for another 2 minutes... enjoy!

*Note: If adding additional protein (beyond the bacon), warm your shredded or finely diced chicken or pork in a separate pan with a dash of soy sauce as you begin to sautee the onions and garlic.

Basic Fried Rice

 

To re-cap, if you want to make all rice bases in this post and batch up for 20 meals, below the potential cost breakdown. Keep in mind, you'll have plenty left over for other recipes from this grocery list! Based on current Canadian prices.

• Jasmine Rice: $30 
• Frozen Peas: $3
• Soy Sauce: $3 
• Bacon Bits: $12
• Onions: $1
• Garlic: $1
• Olive Oil (I buy the 4litres at a time from Costco so this lasts awhile!): $20
• Diced tomatoes: $1
• Mushrooms: $3
• Chicken stock (powder base): $5
• TOTAL: approx. $80 ($4/meal; $1 per serving)

Until next time... Have a wonderful day! xo