Mission: Eat Right, Eat Good but DO it Cheap!

One of my biggest challenges is feeding a family of 6, and often more since we always have guests, on a tight budget. Call it maturity or whatever you want to call it, but I realized that alot/most of our "extra" money was being spent on FOOD!! Our hard earned cash all gone to food! I thought, 'what a racket?...If I could cut our food bill by $50 or more that could really add up or help in other areas in our financial budget that has a need.' Unfortunately, it took tight times to force us into this more disciplined nature of resourcefulness but the Lord used this as an opportunity to show me that this is an area that we as Christians are to focus on and me/we were in desperate need of a makeover. We are called to be resourceful, whether there is a current pressing need or not. We are to learn to be good stewards as God expects His people to use the resources of time, money, abilities, and spiritual gifts to the best possible advantage in their pursuit of excellence in ministry.

Luke 16:10-11 "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?"

So I made it one of missions for 2010 to be a better steward of the money that we do have. One area I could immediately modify was to work at cutting our grocery bill by $50-$100 a week! Yes, I said a week and yes I said work at! And I will say that so far so good. If you would like to strive to do the same, follow me as I am going to start posting the strategies that I have learned, from so many others willing to share, and use to accomplish this monstrous task.

Proverbs 24:3-4
Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms shall be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

I am going to start a little out of order but today I felt compelled to share a recipe that I found that is SO resourceful and looks so yummy!

Today's Tip: Find recipes where the majority of ingredients can be found amongst your pantry staples and then purchase the supplemental ingredients.

Here is a recipe that I found in All You Magazine that is healthy and will cost me barely anything to make and feed our mass family.

Black-Bean Burgers
Prep: 10 min.
Bake: 20 min.
Serves: 4
Cost per serving: 67 c.

*2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
*1 stalk of celery chopped
*1 onion chopped
*1 clove garlic, minced
*1-15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
*1 large egg
*1 Tbsp. Cumin
* 1/2 c. plain bread crumbs
* Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees; lightly grease a large rimmed baking sheet.
2.Warm oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add celery and onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minutes longer.
3. Our beans into a large bowl and use a fork to mash into a thick paste. Scrape vegetables from skillet into bowl. Stir in egg, cumin, and bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper and use your hands to form 4 patties. Place on baking sheet and bake until firm and set, about 10 minutes on each side.

Per Serving: 215 cal., 9g Fat (1g sat.), 53mg. Chol., 7g Fiber, 8g Pro., 28g Carb., 821mg Sod.

Kitchen Tips:
*Do the mash. The burgers turn out better when the beans are well mashed. use a food processor if you prefer.
*Add extras. Present the burgers just like regular hamburgers. Add a slice of cheese just after they come out of the oven, if desired.

YUM and SO HEALTHY! I carry all but beans as staples in my kitchen so all I have to get is the beans!! This meal will cost me under $10 for 8 to eat and we'll probably have left overs!

ENJOY!!

xoxo Halley