Frugal Meal Series: Butter Bean Coconut Curry Over Rice (Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free) $1 Per Serving!

Welcome to my series aimed at helping families on a budget with some new and cost effective ideas for meals! I aim for around $5-7 per meal while trying to highlight dishes from scratch, meatless options, common ingredients, and whole grains. My typical weekly grocery bill for 4 was $50-60 just a few years ago, but with the current economy and inflation it has increased to about $80-100/week. This series shows you my average family dinners including cost breakdown, links to recipes, and other details to help inspire you!

Step 1 of saving money on your grocery bill is to MAKE A MENU! Once a week I sit down and write out a dinner menu for the next 7 days. I take into account what I have in the freezer, what our schedule is like for that week, what the weather is (hot/cold), and any leftovers. It also stops everyone from asking "What's for dinner??" From this you can easily make your shopping list to only get the items you need while keeping an eye out for any markdowns/clearance items you can stick in the freezer for a different meal. I do 90% of my grocery shopping at Aldi as I find that they have the best prices on most items. For a few other remaining items I go to Walmart.

Some meals I make are easy, some are more complicated. I mostly stick to tried and true dishes that I know everyone likes, but occasionally I like to try out a new one and experiment! I cook many style from American to Italian, Chinese, Mexican, and lots of Tex Mex. Variety is the spice of life!

For my cost breakdowns I will show real or estimated prices of items (based on current prices in western NY), but I don't include typical pantry ingredients i.e. spices/oil/butter/milk etc. unless it's a significant amount.

For this meal I made Butter Bean Curry

Total cost of meal for 4: $4.75

Cost per serving: $1.19

Price breakdown and recipe:

3c cooked butter beans with liquid....$0.50 (I cooked mine from dried, canned is more expensive for 2 cans)

2 medium onions, sliced thinly....$1

3tbs tomato paste (can sub for can of petite diced tomato)....$0.50

1 can coconut milk.....$1.75

4 servings cooked rice.....$1

1tbs curry powder

1/2tbs garam masala

1-2tsp salt (to taste)

1tsp coriander

1tbs minced garlic

If needed, start rice cooking first. Cook onion slices in skillet for approx 10min until starting to carmelize. Add minced garlic and all spices, reduce heat and mix well. Add beans/liquid, tomato paste, and coconut milk. Stir to mix, then bring to simmer. Cook on low for 5-10 min, adjust seasonings to taste. Serve over rice with optional naan, pita, or bread. A dollop of plain yogurt is extra delicious as well!

If you are new to curry dishes, this is a great frugal and healthy one to try. The recipe is very flexible, and you could even sub the coconut milk for whole milk to cut the cost way down! It is not spicy however you can add your favorite spicy spice to kick up the heat.

Baked Oatmeal Brownie (Gluten Free, Egg Free, No added sugar)

How good does this look?? It is intended as a "breakfast" which it very well could be, but in this house I also use it as a dessert because CHOCOLATE! My kids love it. There is also NO added sugar however there is maple syrup which yes is "sugar" but you know what I mean. Guilt free in my book! And yes you have permission to eat it for breakfast as well.

2c milk (use plant-based milk to make it dairy free!)

1/2c maple syrup

1/3c peanut butter (can warm to make it easier to mix)

1tsp vanilla extract

2c rolled oats

1/4c cocoa powder

1tbs flaxseed meal

1 tsp baking powder

1/3c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8x8 pan. Mix all ingredients well except for chips. Pour batter into greased pan then sprinkle chips over top. Bake 40-50 min until toothpick comes out clean in center. Cool and serve!

The oats, flax, and pb make for some high powered plant fiber and protein source to keep you feeling full and energized longer that most simple carb breakfast or dessert foods. You can add more syrup for a sweeter flavor, or swap for honey if you choose. Let me know if you like it!

"Almond Joy" Chia Pudding (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, No added sugar)

Have you ever made chia pudding? Does that sounds weird to you? Well it is weird, but it's so delicious, and also super healthy! There are endless varieties of flavors you can make and it's the perfect snack or even breakfast that you can whip up to have ready in the fridge any time. This recipe is a great imitation of those indulgent Almond Joy flavors we all love--chocolate, coconut, and almonds.

PUDDING:

3tbs chia seeds

1 tbs maple syrup OR honey

1tsp vanilla extract

3/4c coconut milk

1tbs cocoa powder

TOPPINGS:

sliced almonds

coconut flakes

mini chocolate chips

Mix all pudding ingredients and let sit x5 minutes. Mix again to break up any clumps. If too thick, add a little bit more milk. This will thicken more as it sits. Divide up into portion sizes and top with layers of the toppings as you like. Store in fridge. Best to wait a few hours before eating.

So yummy, and so simple! Chia seeds are oh so healthy for you and full of much needed fiber that has many benefits for your body. Let me know how you like this one!

Easter at Home

This Easter we had a couple of friends over for a nice dinner and enjoyed our holiday traditions with the boys. The weather was nice and sunny so they got to have their egg hunt outside!

We started off the morning in our pjs with their treat baskets! Full of special snacks, chocolate, and candy of course.

I got started on our big ham dinner and our friends arrived around 11:30am. We enjoyed their company and ate some delicious food, then played a card game while we waited for our stomachs to have some room for dessert. After dessert they headed home and Nick and I snuck outside to hide the eggs for the hunt!

We hid 68 eggs around the front of our backyard, and I think they found *most* of them!

Then they got to open each one up and enjoy some treats.

Look at these spring beauties that have popped up!!

We relaxed the rest of the day, and the boys actually had the next Monday off school as well so they had lots of time to enjoy their treats! It was back to school after that. Hope your Easter was nice as well!

Jacob Turns 10!

This big guy is now in the double digits! He STILL loves Minecraft, and it was perfect timing for the movie to come out!! I took him and his big brother out for a fun afternoon together. First we stopped at McDonalds for some Minecraft happy meals...

...then off to the small theater by us for the movie! The boys have only been to a theater a few times before so this was a big deal. We were first in the room so we got to pick the best seats. Evidently it's a thing for kids to shout quotes and funny things and clap and cheer at certain parts?? They had fun.

After the movie we came back home and he got to open his presents. He got some fun stuff from us, a Lego present from Uncle Eric, and cards with money from some family.

His special birthday dinner request was just "creamy mac and cheese" so I delivered on that of course!! For dessert he wanted a yellow cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles, and cookies n' creme ice cream.

I think he had a fun time, he stayed up till almost midnight playing with his new circuit kit and toys. This week the kids are off school for spring break so he gets extra time to enjoy his new gear!

Girls Beach Weekend Getaway

Another trip you say? My answer is YES. Because why not? This one was inspired by a sale on plane tickets to Florida and a couple of fun ladies who are always up for adventure. 3 nights on the beach with a roundtrip direct flight for only $400 each? Sign me up!

With all the craziness in the news recently about crashing planes and drama on the runways, I was happy to see my plane intact and ready to take us on the 3hr flight to Ft Lauderdale. I was even more happy to arrive in one piece and not upside down!

I found us a cute little studio with a kitchen just a block from the beach. We arrived with enough to time to freshen up and walk around in search of dinner and snacks.

It wasn't far to walk to the pier where we found many pelican friends to take pictures of!

After this we grabbed some yummy dinner then rested for a bit at our room. We had heard there was a free outdoor concert that night so when the sun started to set we grabbed the shuttle and headed back to the main beach area where we lived with some great classic rock on the beach! 

After awhile we were alerted to the amazing moonrise happening so we wondered down to the waterside and watched the red moon riding up slowly over the waves. Then we enjoyed a night time beach walk as we headed back to our room to share a bottle of wine and relax.

The next morning we gathered up our beach gear and filled our drinks then schlepped everything down to the water's edge for way too many hours in the sun!

I think we were there for somewhere between 5-7 hours? Who's counting? Anywho...we failed on the sunscreen reapplication as you can see from my lobster skin! That however did not stop us from returning the next day for our last afternoon of beach vibes. We were much more diligent with our sunscreen 

We ate at some great places, did some shopping, and polished off an impressive amount of Tito's. For our last evening there, we enjoyed a sunset beach stroll and I honestly think we walked all the way from Pompano Beach to Ft Lauderdale beach! 

There were tons of these Portuguese man o' wars washed up on the shore! Thankfully their stinging tendrils were mostly missing but we still watched very carefully where we stepped.

The last day there we woke up at the ungodly hour of 4am to get dressed and meet our Uber to the airport for our 7am flight. By 10am we were landing back in Buffalo! Home sweet home.

Jacob's First Band Concert

My littlest little started learning to play the clarinet this school and after just a few short months of instruction he participated in his first band concert this week! The 4th and 5th graders played a few short songs, then the middle school band played a couple nice songs, then the high school band did an amazing job on a couple more complicated songs and the concert ended with all grades playing the ending together!

We are very proud of him for doing so well to learn this instrument, and being able to get thru his fear and anxiety of everything involved with the performance. He has another one in May that we are looking forward too, and just maybe he'll stick with the clarinet for 5th grade!