the 3rd isn't soon enough

[hsingscrapper]

I'm not proud of myself. We're on food stamps. We have one week until we get them again.

 

I'm stressing as we have $2.60 in stamps (even though it's on a card) and $2.60 in cash. I already know that $2.50 has to be used for milk. Probably all of it will go for milk.

 

We won't starve but I need ideas/advice to stretch what we do have. We have some chicken tenderloins but not many. Lots of par-boiled rice. A small lean roast that is destined for beef and noodles. I also have a decently stocked spice cabinet and baking supplies but no eggs. I also have some jiffy baking mix, possibly enough for one go of biscuits or pancakes (2 or 3 cups). Also have 2 pounds mild bulk sausage and 2 pounds of hot bulk sausage. Frozen peas and carrots as well as frozen mixed veg.

 

Help!

[starwarsmomma]

I don't think you should be ashamed. Times ARE TOUGH!!!

 

Let me think about this, and I'll post some ideas.

[Trresh]

You could use the roast for vegetable soup. Soups go a long way. The sausage could be put into a casserole. Do you have any potatoes?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Personally, I would forego the milk, drink water and buy some eggs. But I have to admit that we don't drink milk in our house, and never have.

[hsingscrapper]

Don't have potatoes. The milk is for (mostly) our youngest.

[regentrude]

what baking supplies do you have? Can you bake a few loaves of good bread? All you'd need is flour, yeast, water and a pinch of salt.

I'd cook soup. You could use some of the sausage for soup meat. Add some rice for starch if you do not have potatoes, and frozen veggies..

Edited August 27, 2012 by regentrude

[Stayseeliz]

I would chose eggs over milk too!

[Slartibartfast]

I would probably do eggs over milk as well.

 

Do you have soy sauce? You could make fried rice.

 

Do you have flour?

Edited August 27, 2012 by Sis

[hsingscrapper]

Baking supplies: yeast, white flour, wheat flour, bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, cornmeal.

 

Forgot to mention that we have frozen corn, frozen peas, wild rice, and a bread maker.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Oatmeal for breakfast? Any raisins to add to it? (If you like raisins with your oatmeal)

 

Any bread or ability to make bread? Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch?

 

Beef and noodles sounds good.

 

You could cut up the chicken in small pieces and stretch it with the frozen veggies for a stir-fry of sorts. Eat that with rice.

 

Any dried beans? Beans and rice is a cheap, protein rich meal.

[regentrude]

Baking supplies: yeast, white flour, wheat flour, bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, cornmeal.

 

Forgot to mention that we have frozen corn, frozen peas, wild rice, and a bread maker.

 

Sounds like you're all set for bread. That would go well with soup.

Any leftover bits of peanut butter or jam in your cupboards?

 

If you have rice: stir fry, with veggies and a bit of meat. This help stretch the meat because you won't need that much.

[Jean in Newcastle]

The sausage and corn could be used in a casserole together.

[CalicoKat]

I don't think you should be ashamed. Times ARE TOUGH!!!

 

Let me think about this, and I'll post some ideas.

 

Agreed. Can you find a food pantry to supplement?

[hsingscrapper]

No peanut butter. I wish we had some.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

:grouphug: People are giving you good ideas. I just wanted to give you hugs, because I know that feeling of trying to make it all last until the next pay. :grouphug:

[Jean in Newcastle]

:grouphug: People are giving you good ideas. I just wanted to give you hugs, because I know that feeling of trying to make it all last until the next pay. :grouphug:

 

Me too. :grouphug:

[Carol in Cal.]

I'd get the milk. You don't want to mess with that.

 

Is there a food bank available locally? This is exactly what they are for. At the one I help with, they register people for weekly or biweekly pickups, but they also never send anyone away without some food to get by. They will want to know how many are in your family and also your zip code. If you bring in an envelope addressed to you, like a water bill, it's helpful.

 

At most of them, if you volunteer you can take extra home with you. Some of them require volunteers to be 14 and up, but at ours, your 13 yo could volunteer if you were there also.

 

I wish I lived closer and could bring you over some eggs. We have too many.

[elegantlion]

We do a lot of rice. I put butter or sweet and sour sauce on it.

 

Cut up the chicken tenderloins and serve it over rice. Add some peas to the mix.

 

What about noodles? We sometimes do egg noodles with Italian dressing.

 

I find we're using a lot more spices and condiments to stretch our budget.

 

You can do pancakes without eggs, not quite as good. Add a side of sausage.

 

Do you fish? We've have been fortunate that there are a quite a few free stocked ponds in our area. Dh likes to fish, and it's good for our freezer.

 

Can you buy some powdered milk and still have some money left for eggs?

 

:grouphug:

[hsingscrapper]

The sausage and corn could be used in a casserole together.

 

Elaborate, please?

[hsingscrapper]

As for food pantries, we have to wait until Wednesday. I will have to get milk tomorrow.

[elfgivas]

so that is a week until next monday....

 

you have enough meet on hand for at least a pound a day. a pound a day gives the recommended daily requirement for four people. so that is the good news. i'm guessing that you or dh could take turns being the one who shares their amount with the two year old? the not so good news is that one or two of you may need to be "two meal a day" folks on the weekend.....

 

7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 6 dinners.

 

i think you need eggs. if you had eggs, you could do pancakes/waffles/muffins for breakfast each morning. if you can get a small package of powdered milk, that might tide youngest over, and leave you enough for eggs. an egg can also be cracked into soups to add protein. or made into a breakfast sandwich. or for your kids you could make "toad in a hole" for a breakfast.

 

do you have any sugar? the yeast will need sugar to work.

 

here is a link to a bagel recipe that doesn't use egg.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/boiled-bagels/. you could make bagels for breakfast one morning..... but we also use them with chicken tenderloin to make sandwiches that are hearty enough for a dinner. we thinly slice the chicken so that each person gets ~ 2ounces. we add in any fresh veggies we have, sliced cheese, anything at all..... but they are good with just chicken, ketchup and bagel, too.

 

lunches: soups (pea soup, italian sausage soup, chicken soup with veggies and if the roast has a bone in it, that can make great soup stock) and homemade bread

 

dinners:

1) beef and noodles

2) left over beef as sandwich filling

3) chicken and rice

4) left over chicken and bagel sandwiches

5) sausage soup or casserole

6) whatever is left (each person may end up with something different)

 

hth,

ann

Edited August 27, 2012 by elfgivas@yahoo.com

[Carol in Cal.]

How to make fried rice:

 

Cook white rice. Chill overnight.

 

Take a little bunch of green onions, and cut in into half inch pieces. Stir fry briefly in oil in a large fry pan. Add 3 cups of chilled rice, and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and a little more oil. Toss gently so that the rice is heated, the onions are mixed in, and the rice is coated with the soy sauce to a uniform color. You can add another tablespoon of soy sauce if you want. Then add a beaten egg, slowly, mixing it into the pan. What will happy is that the egg will separate and cook into little yellow strings mixed into the rice as the rice continues to cook. After that you can add a little bit of any cooked meat and warm it up. Sausage is particularly good--just make sure to dice it really small.

 

You can vary this with mushroom halves, stirfried carrot slices, a can of water chestnut slices or bamboo shoots if you have them around, or some peas or snowpea pods.

 

This is filling and a great way to stretch your protein. The egg is really not essential, but it's traditional. If you have peanut oil use that for the stir fry oil. A little sesame oil is good added at the end--maybe 1/2 teaspoon.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Elaborate, please?

 

Brown sausage. If you have onion, saute that too until translucent.

 

Put browned meat and frozen corn in a casserole dish. Add 1 tbs. chili powder (or how much you like in your family), add 1 tsp. cumin. Do you have any tomato paste? or tomato sauce? or diced tomatoes? or even ketchup? If you have it, add 1 or 2 cans of tomatoes and 2 tbs. of tomato paste. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 min. - 20 min. (I'm guessing on this because I'm sort of making up this recipe from a couple of other ones.)

[DianeW88]

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com She has emergency meals and ways to make something out of what seems like nothing. :grouphug:

[Susan in TN]

:grouphug:

[MissKNG]

I would definitely buy milk and eggs. Stretch the milk but giving it to your youngest in portions with water refills.

 

I would make as much bread from scratch as I can get and use that Jiffy mix to make pancakes. I like the stir fry idea because you can use what you have to make different combinations without using it all up. And use all that bread you made as a side filler with the stir fry.

 

I would thaw the sausage and make patties, you can eat those for any meal.

[Jean in Newcastle]

You can stretch any milk you get with a 1:4 ratio. If you do that, perhaps you can get less and also have enough for eggs?

[Parrothead]

www.hillbillyhousewife.com She has emergency meals and ways to make something out of what seems like nothing. :grouphug:

I was thinking the same. Here is the actual $45.00 menu

 

I'd get eggs instead of milk. Do you have friends you could borrow some frozen veg from?

 

You need 18 meals, 6 of them are breakfast. You need eggs.

[Susan C.]

If you can spare $1 get a small bag of dried beans. There will be a lot to use over a few days. Soak in water in frig. overnight, then put w/cooked rice and spices.

[CountitallJoy]

Brown sausage. If you have onion, saute that too until translucent.

 

Put browned meat and frozen corn in a casserole dish. Add 1 tbs. chili powder (or how much you like in your family), add 1 tsp. cumin. Do you have any tomato paste? or tomato sauce? or diced tomatoes? or even ketchup? If you have it, add 1 or 2 cans of tomatoes and 2 tbs. of tomato paste. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 min. - 20 min. (I'm guessing on this because I'm sort of making up this recipe from a couple of other ones.)

 

:iagree: You could probably even pour a cornbread topping over this and it would bulk it up another notch.

[cjzimmer1]

Is your little guy on WIC? If not I'd call today if you still can. They have always gotten me in within a day or two and they issue coupons on the spot. You would get milk, cereal, peanut butter, eggs, whole grain product, juice, and coupon for veggie/fruit of your choice.

 

May not help you get milk for tomorrow but if you know you can get coupons a day or two later, maybe you can just by a really small container of milk tomorrow.

 

But I would have to agree with getting eggs over milk. Or use your cash for a carton of eggs.

 

Definitely get some bread made. Even if you have to eat toast for breakfast it's better than nothing.

 

Make a soup with the sausage and whatever veggies you have on hand. Serve with bread and you should easily be able to get several meals out of that.

[Aunty Social]

.

[bugs]

Our church collects food from its members every week and takes this food to the food bank once a month. If someone comes to the door needing emergency food, we give it to them (might not be a lot of choices). We also provide $25 gift cards to the local store. So my point is, you can also go to local churches (or yours for that matter).

[Parrothead]

NM :D

Edited August 27, 2012 by Parrothead

[Mama2Many4]

Our church collects food from its members every week and takes this food to the food bank once a month. If someone comes to the door needing emergency food, we give it to them (might not be a lot of choices). We also provide $25 gift cards to the local store. So my point is, you can also go to local churches (or yours for that matter).

 

 

:iagree: Our parish has their own food pantry and also gives out gift certificates to local supermarkets. I would certainly check in with them if you belong to one. Even if you don't, make the call to a Catholic church for sure! I know that they'd help you. We've helped many non-parishioners out with food and bills.

[melissad2]

:grouphug:

I wish you lived near me...you could come get what you needed out of my pantry.

[MissKNG]

Do you have butter or olive oil? You can cut the ends of your homemade bread to make homemade croutons for a soup.

[hsingscrapper]

We have both.

[ktgrok]

I'd buy a bag of beans, usually less than a dollar, and use the beans and sausage and rice together, like a dirty rice kind of thing, that would be yummy and very filling.

[Ali in OR]

Any money in kids' piggy banks? We pay the kids back with a little interest when we need to borrow from them. Check under couch cushions, the car, dh's dresser, etc.

 

With prices here you have enough for a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs. Check your newspaper adds to see if any have deals on those--our Kroger-owned chain had half-gallon milk for $1 last week.

[MissKNG]

We have both.

 

I used olive oil. Cut the ends into cubes and coat lightly with olive oil and toss with seasoning...I used Itailan Seasoning. Then put in an ungreased skillet and cook on medium for 4-7 minutes until they are lightly browned. I just made these and the girls gobbled them up as a snack!

[Excelsior! Academy]

I agree with stretching the milk with water. It won't hurt for a few days.

 

When times were lean growing up my stepmom would go to the grocer and get soup bones and old vegetables "for our dogs." Everyone knew they were for us, but legally stores can't sell certain things that are still safe to eat, and it kept pride intact. You can always inquire.

 

I second the stir fry idea. The beef and noodles idea is great, too. You could also make a pot pie with either beef or chicken. Chicken and dumplings is good and filling. Pancakes is our go to meal when the budget is tight. The kids really like it and don't realize we are scraping the bottom of the barrel. If you do get milk you can make a cream soup. We like corn chowder.

[sparkygirl]

http://www.harvesters.org/_FileLibrary/FileImage/FoodStampChallengeRecipes.pdf

 

Check out the above link for balanced nutritious meals using food stamps.

 

Recipe Type: Quick Bread, Native American

Yields: 4 servings

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 8 min

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup unbleached flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon powdered milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup water

Vegetable oil for frying

Extra flour to flour your hands

[MiniBlondes]

I get that the milk is a big deal for little man. Get a half gallon of milk and stretch it with water. Get some eggs (even if only a half dozen), and if possible some peanut butter and/or a bag of dry beans. The eggs, peanut butter, and beans will give you some much needed protein to stick to ribs in the meantime.

[HollyDay]

can you use powdered milk instead of "regular" milk. Dh doesn't like it, but we have used it when the budget is just stretched too far. I chop up chicken a lot to make it go farther. We had chicken quessadillas tonight. 4 of us ate 1 chicken breast. I chopped up the chicken and mixed it with cheese and heated it in a soft flour tortilla. You could use the chopped chicken with rice and a veggie or 2 as well to make a quick easy stirfry. I've been stretching quite a bit using rice and beans. My oldest can't eat eggs so I use substitutes quite a bit (ground flax usually) so I can't help you there. Chopping chicken and mixing it with rice, cheese, misc. veggies is stretching our budget quite a bit. It makes a nice taco. Last week, I mixed cooked lentils with a bit of ground beef, rice, and some veggies. It was very tasty.

Edited August 27, 2012 by HollyDay

[Girl Power]

http://www.harvesters.org/_FileLibrary/FileImage/FoodStampChallengeRecipes.pdf

 

Check out the above link for balanced nutritious meals using food stamps.

 

Recipe Type: Quick Bread, Native American

Yields: 4 servings

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 8 min

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup unbleached flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon powdered milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup water

Vegetable oil for frying

Extra flour to flour your hands

 

 

Do you have instructions for this:bigear:

[Desert Rat]

Me too. :grouphug:

 

Me, too. And please consider checking out a food pantry. I used to work for one and many, many people came in once in awhile at the end of the month when they couldn't stretch to the next payday or food stamps.

 

Hang in there!

[Truscifi]

I saw a few people had mentioned WIC for your little guy - I would call them first thing in the morning. If they can see you same day, they can give you your first checks immediately, which would cover the milk. And you should easily qualify if you are already getting food stamps, as the WIC limits are higher. That way you could use the stamps and money you have for eggs and beans.

 

Good luck. :grouphug:

[ktgrok]

I saw a few people had mentioned WIC for your little guy - I would call them first thing in the morning. If they can see you same day, they can give you your first checks immediately, which would cover the milk. And you should easily qualify if you are already getting food stamps, as the WIC limits are higher. That way you could use the stamps and money you have for eggs and beans.

 

Good luck. :grouphug:

 

Good point! I know here that if you get food stamps you automatically qualify for WIC. And it is a decent amount of food for sure.

[sparkygirl]

Do you have instructions for this:bigear:

 

Opps...mix all ingredients, heat oil in skillet, make small balls of dough, flatten gently and fry. Flip over and fry on opposite side. They make great tortillas, fluffy and more filling. They are high in fat so not an every day food but came about because of the commodity foods provided to those living on reservations.