Day one - Eat on $30

Yesterday was the first day of the Eat on $30 challenge, and I spent the weekend at my parent's house so my ability to track the budget was, we'll just say, a bit skewed. I woke up to the smell of sausage strata and coffee wafting through the house (I will post this recipe soon, as it is one of the yummiest brunch dishes around). While I did feel slightly guilty that I was receiving a delicious, free meal, let's be honest, not that guilty.

We discussed this challenge through our entire brunch. My mom and Heather offered meal suggestions that were both cost effective and delicious. Occasionally my dad would chime in with, "elk stew." Man loves his wild game. Our conversation was one that isn't entirely foreign to the Hodges household -- food is a very common theme. In fact, my mom has turned into a canning maniac this summer. Her pantry is stocked full of fruits and vegetables that she has lovingly canned for darker days this winter. They are fortunate to not only have the farm to supply them with endless vegetables, but they also have a garden in their backyard. With a little foresight and effort, your summer bounty can reward you in February when grocery store produce is more than lackluster. Canning your own fruit, vegetables, salsas and sauces is also cost effective. Mom, Goddess of Canning, if you are reading this, would you please share your thoughts on the topic?

On to adventures in budget shopping. Heather and I didn't make it out to the store last night until about seven o'clock. We had a general menu/grocery list in mind, we also had COUPONS in hand. Without Heather's keen eye for coupon-clipping in the weekend's paper, we would have lost out on $13.24 in savings. We shopped at Alberstons, which isn't my favorite store, but based on the week's ads, they proved to be our best ally.

Our first issue was that we were both starving. We drove by a Little Caesars on our way to the store and both had the same thought: $5.00 cheese pizza! We snapped out of our low blood sugar induced mania and proceeded to kick our budget's ass. We had a coupon for buy one get one free chicken breasts and were dismayed when we learned they were bone in. That's what butchers are for -- removing bones. Pork chops were also on sale, buy one get one free. Heather immediately thought, pork and sauerkraut. We bought two packages of pork chops, three each, for $3.39, respectively. We also bought a package of beef for stew for $3.24. Thank you meat isle.

On to produce. We do live in Idaho so one would suspect that one could get a good deal on taters. One guessed correct! We bought a FIVE POUND bag of potatoes for $.79! I was so pleased I carried the bag around like an infant for the duration of our shopping spree.

My second moment of anxiety was my gravitation towards fresh herbs, more expensive vegetables like leeks and shallots, and organic produce. Sacrifices had to be made, and this was an area that made a big impact. We bought staples that I couldn't cook without, garlic and onions, salad fixings, a few apples, and a handful of other veggies you'll see through the week. I tend to spend a majority of my budget in the produce isle, but I used restraint and bought canned tomatoes with herbs.

Some other random items included fresh and dried pasta, string cheese (my breakfast staple), cheese, milk, eggs, green tea (coffee proved quite problematic and expensive so this will be a serious test).

We caught ourselves a few times aimlessly walking around wondering what else we could do, but then a discounted item would catch our eye and spark an idea. All told, we spent $42.57; we saved $2.72 on bonus buy items, $14.16 with our preferred card, and $13.24 with store coupons. We walked out with grocery bags in hand, heads held high and huge, mischievous grins on our faces. It was almost as if we had done something naughty by saving that much money. Then we realized we'll never be able to go back to our old ways of shopping. We've been saved. We're born again coupon-clippers! Oh lord.

I tried to take a picture of our dinner last night, but my camera battery died. It included a package of fresh linguine at $2.29, one can diced tomatoes with italian herbs at $1.50, 1/2 cup of cream at approximately $.75, one garlic clove at $.5?, handful parmesan cheese $1.69 for the entire bag so we'll say $.40. $5.44 for the meal, $2.72/person. We even had leftovers for lunch today. Not bad.

Right now pork and sauerkraut is stewing away in the crock pot. I'll post today's meals and my lack of coffee tomorrow. So far so good. Talk to you tomorrow.