Cheap Meals: Crockpot Chili & Cornbread

Cheap meals are good.  Really easy, cheap meals are even better.  With fall comes a craving for chili 'round here, so I put on a crock full of my regular recipe before bed Monday night.

I was feeling adventurous, though, and tried a little something different.  To be honest, I wasn't sure it would even work.  I mean, theoretically it should work, but I had lingering doubts. 

Could I throw some cornbread batter on top of the chili and bake it in the Crockpot?

Yes, yes I certainly could.



Crockpot Chili & Cornbread
serves 6-8

Turn a 5qt or larger Crockpot on low heat.  Add 1lb of ground beef straight from the freezer.
Yes, you can put frozen ground beef in a Crockpot and it doesn't screw anything up.
Add two 14.5oz cans of diced tomatoes, juice and all. 
If you prefer no beans or canned beans, add two tomato cans of water.  If you want to have flavorful beans that simmer with the meat and seasonings, add 3 cups of water and 1 cup dry beans.
Add a chopped up onion.
Add 2 - 3 tablespoons of chili powder, 2 shots of Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, a tablespoon of cumin, a tablespoon of cocoa powder, a teaspoon of oregano, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, a shake of cayenne pepper, and a teaspoon of salt.  If you like your chili spicy, add minced hot peppers, hot sauce, or additional cayenne & some red pepper flake to your preference.
Stir it up as best you can. Put the cover on the Crockpot and let it cook on low for 8 hours.  It's best to do this right before you go to bed.
After 8 hours, stir the chili well to break up the beef and if it looks a little dry add some more water.  If you're using canned beans, add a can of those now.  Add a package of frozen corn (or a can of corn, drained), stir well, and taste to see if it needs any more seasoning.  A pinch of salt or maybe some more hot sauce is usually all you'll need.
Now the chili can sit there and cook for 8-10 more hours just fine if you need to go to work or something.  So go ahead and do that, but if you're using dry beans add another cup of water to be on the safe side.

An hour before you want to eat the chili, get yourself a box of Jiffy cornbread mix and prepare it according to the directions on the box.  Add 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese to the batter.

Then just take a spoon and plop the batter directly on top of the chili in your Crockpot.  Try to put in on there somewhat evenly, but it doesn't have to be perfect.  After another hour cooking on low heat, the batter will have spread out to create a delicious cornbread crust over top of the chili, nicely browned around the edges and soft and moist in the middle.

Scoop the chili into bowls with the cornbread part on top and enjoy!

Price breakdown for non-heavy coupon use:
1lb ground beef:  $1.99-2.19 (as always, buy on sale in bulk and freeze in 1lb portions)
2 cans tomatoes: $.50-2.00 (buy on sale when you can, but you can usually find these for about a buck each)
1 cup beans or 1 can beans: $1-1.25
1 package frozen corn $1-1.50
Spices/seasonings/onion: $1.50-2.00
Jiffy mix prepared with milk and 1 egg: $1.25-1.50
1/2 cup cheese: $.10-.50
Total cost: $7.34-10.94, per serving cost $1.22-1.82 (six servings) or $.92-1.37 (eight servings)

You shouldn't need much more to round out this meal since it's got the cornbread cooked right with it, but some saltine crackers ($.25-.75 for a sleeve) or a nice green salad ($2-4) wouldn't hurt.

I love using the Crockpot, and I especially love it when you've got a recipe like this where all the cooking is happening while you're asleep or at work/school.  I also love recipes where you can tinker with them as needed.  Don't want the cornbread on top?  Don't do it.  Want to use some bell pepper instead of corn?  Go ahead!  Beans vs. beanless?  Your choice!  Mild vs. blow-your-face-off spicy?  Just omit any of the hot stuff or add a crapload of habaneros or some Dave's Insanity Sauce.  Don't have all those spices on hand?  Use a packet of chili seasoning from the spice aisle, I won't tell.

Cheap Meals: Cheesemaking

Anyone with a stove and two brain cells to rub together can make cheese at home. 

We'll take a look at two different kinds today, both of which are made with everyday ingredients, everyday equipment, and in many cases can be a means to use up leftover dairy.

You'll need three items to get started: a good sized soup pot, sauce pot, or other large cooking vessel; a colander or strainer; and a finer straining medium.  For the last one, you'll see a lot of recipes telling you to use cheesecloth.  Hey, that makes sense, right?  It's right there in the name!  CHEESEcloth! 

Well, look.  Not everyone will agree with me here, but since I don't keep cheesecloth sitting around, I don't use it.  Instead I use either non-printed paper towels or coffee filters.  I have those, and if I don't they're significantly cheaper to buy than some cheesecloth.  For these two simple recipes, you really don't need to spend the extra money; use what you've got.


Let's start with the simplest of the two: yogurt cheese.

Have you ever bought a carton of plain yogurt to use in a recipe and found yourself with a bunch of extra yogurt you have no idea what to do with?  Before you throw it in the bin or feed it to the dog, invite some friends over for poker night and serve them up some gourmet snacks.
Take your colander/strainer and line it with cheesecloth, paper towels, or coffee filters.  Place the colander over a bowl of some sort to catch the drips.  Dump your excess plain yogurt right into the lined colander and stick everything in the fridge overnight.  If you want to get real fancy, mix in some garlic, herbs and/or spices to the yogurt before you start.
In the morning, you'll have a tangy, spreadable cheese in the colander that's like a soft cream cheese.  Serve it with crackers or veggies.  Brag about your amazing kitchen skills.
You can also use fruit yogurt, or add cinnamon and a little sugar to plain yogurt, and use the resulting cheese as a spread for muffins, cake, banana bread, biscuits, or anything that could use a little extra sweetness.


The second type is a fresh cheese that's similar to ricotta.

If we happen to have milk that's hit its expiration date, or if it's starting to smell a little off, I turn it into cheese.  If your milk has gone chunky just pitch it, but even slightly sour milk is safe and tasty to use.
Line your colander with cheesecloth/paper towels/coffee filters and set it in the sink.
Take your milk and measure how many cups you're using.  Pour it into a good-sized pot, and heat it over medium heat.  Stir it periodically, scraping the bottom of the pot as you go.
While the milk heats, measure out one tablespoon of vinegar for each cup of milk you used and set it aside.  You can use whatever kind of vinegar you've got on hand - I've used malt, cider, regular white vinegar.  It doesn't really matter.
Watch the heating milk carefully, and once it hits a simmer - that is, when bubbles just start to break the surface - move the pan off the heat, add the vinegar all at once, and stir it well.  Let it sit for 5 minutes and stir again.  You should see lots of white cheese curds floating on top of a yellowish or tan colored clear liquid (whey, as in curds and whey).  If the liquid isn't clear, put the pan back over the heat for a few minutes until it is.
Carefully pour everything into your lined colander.  Make sure you scrape out any cheese bits still in the pot!  Let the cheese drain for 30 minutes to an hour.
(Just a note for easy cleanup - as soon as you empty the pot, fill it with warm water and set it aside to soak for a little bit.  Some of the milk will coagulate on the bottom, and it's a breeze to clean off if you soak it for an hour or two.)

Once drained you should have a lump of crumbly, soft white cheese.  Sprinkle a little salt on if you'd like and store it in the fridge for up to two weeks.  Use it the same way you would ricotta or queso fresco.  Add a little to any pasta dish - or add a lot to a lasagna!

Grocery week wrapup: $373 of groceries, health & beauty for $112.77

Our first stop was Rite Aid.
We got 5 bottles Gain dish soap, 6 Renuzit pop up air fresheners, 3 tubes Crest toothpaste, 6 boxes General Mills cereal, and 1 20oz Diet Pepsi (I was thirsty!).


Everything but the cereal was done in one transaction.  We received $5 back in +UPs (Rite Aid reward dollars) which we used to pay for part of the cereal.

Rite Aid trip:
Shelf price: $52.60
Cash paid: $18.18
Remaining rebates: $2
True out of pocket cost: $16.18 for a savings of 69.24%

We get a $2 rebate for buying the cereal, which is an odd thing to get a rebate on but I'll take it!
(yes, this was a bit of a change from my original plan at Walgreens, but this worked out to a better deal overall.)


Next we hit the grocery store.
Now folks, I'm not exaggerating here.  We each had a cart.  We were pushing two big grocery carts around the store and we LOADED THEM THE HELL UP.  Poor Andy, who was Cart Number One, was in serious danger of losing items from his overflowing buggy.  Seriously.  I rolled some OYNOs so each cart was a separate transaction, but everything wouldn't have fit in a single cart regardless.  When we finally headed home, the entire trunk of the car and the entire back seat of the car were both packed full of bags.
This was monstrous.

It was so monstrous I couldn't fit everything in the photo.

Not pictured or partially pictured: 17 cans diced tomato, 4.5lbs ground beef, 2 gallons milk, 1 carton sour cream, onions, Romaine lettuce, 5 bottles Diet Pepsi, 6 packages Ziploc storage containers, 16 bags frozen veggies, 20lb bag of cat food.

In the grocery category we've got 15 boxes pasta*, 8 boxes cereal, 4 bags Pepperidge Farm cookies, 8 packages Pillsbury Sweet Moments*, 2 cartons Greek yogurt*, 1 bottle Sierra Mist*, 1 package Tic Tacs*, 3 pouches tuna*, 1 package taco seasoning*, 2 enchilada sauces, 2 boxes taco shells, 6 boxes pizza rolls, 5 4-packs of yogurt parfaits, 1 bottle ketchup, 3.5lb bag Iams cat food

In the health & beauty category we've got 8 boxes sinus medicine ($.50ea!), 11 tubes toothpaste*, 6 sticks deodorant*, 2 boxes Playtex*, 1 bottle Advil*, 1 bottle Tide stain treatment ($.99!), 5 bottles Gain dish soap*, 6 Renuzit air fresheners ($.33ea), 1 bottle conditioner*

*Free after sales & coupons

And, honestly, I'm pretty sure I've forgotten some of it.

Prepping for this week's mega-shopping experience

In a previous post I mentioned that the deals didn't seem very awesome for the new grocery week.

I was wrong.  Very wrong.  So wrong that Chairman Meow is shocked at my wrongness.

Granted we don't have the "spend $15, get $5 back" deal going on, but a little creative thinking, judicious coupon use, and two transactions are adding up to a pretty impressive haul so far.  This week, to make things easier, I'm waiting on Sunday's batch of coupons so I can get everything done at once.  Tomorrow morning when we've got the newspapers I'll clip the ones I need, and we'll head off to the grocery in the afternoon to load up two carts' worth of stuff.

The highlights:
15lbs pasta: FREE
8 tubes toothpaste: FREE
8 packages Pillsbury Sweet Moments: FREE
2 cartons Greek yogurt: FREE
6 Speed Stick deodorants: FREE
2 36ct Playtex: FREE
1 bottle Advil: FREE
17 cans diced tomatoes: $.67ea
16 bags frozen veg: $.31ea
6 boxes pizza rolls: $.50ea (shush, guilty pleasure!)
5 multipacks yogurt parfaits: $.50ea
4lbs ground beef: $5
8 boxes sinus medication: $.50ea
4 Purex laundry detergent: $.99ea
1 Iams cat food: $.99
6 multipacks Ziploc storage containers: $1ea

There'll be some assorted other items, obviously, but that's the good stuff.  The only things without coupons we're planning to buy are two gallons of milk, some diet Pepsi, and some produce.


Then we'll head to Walgreen's where we'll pick up:
6 bags Halls cough drops
4 Crest toothpaste
which we'll get not just for free, but for a profit of $1.04


Not too shabby, eh?

Grocery week wrapup: $400 worth of groceries for $53.38

We took one more trip to the grocery to catch the last of the deals I wanted to get in on.  That's three trips for the sale week with 8 transactions total made.  It will probably be a little while before deals that good crop up again; there's something worthwhile every week, but to the extent that I'll need to make three trips and ring through eight separate transactions?  Not right now.


Today I took advantage of some freebies, some random super cheap stuff, and the perishables.
Now, before I break down the shopping trip, let me explain something real quick: I'm not a fan of Hamburger Helper.  I don't recall the last time I bought the stuff.  It's not that it's godawful - it ain't great, but I've had it before and it's not disgusting.  It's just...well, I can make a skillet meal with noodles and beef and sauce cheaper than the $1.75/box it costs.  A pound of beef is a pound of beef; for a buck or less I can turn it into something much like Hamburger Helper.

That said, in the cart today was 12 boxes of Hamburger Helper.
It was free.
They were on sale for a buck.  I had coupons for $.75 off three.  If you bought 6 boxes, you got a $3 OYNO.
Six boxes: $6 - $3 in doubled coupons - $3 OYNO = free.  Since it lasts forever, I got 12 boxes.
Also free: 5 tubes of Colgate toothpaste.  It was on sale for $1.50, and I had $.75/1 coupons.  Those doubled to $1.50 off.
Also free: a can of Glade air freshener because I had a coupon for a free one.

Nearly free: 4 cake mixes, 4 tubs of frosting, and one cookie sheet.  Grand total = $1.  I'll probably donate the frosting to a food pantry because I don't use it, but it was part of the requirement to fulfill this deal.
You can buy any 4 frostings and get a free Wilton cookie sheet or cake pan (same deal as last trip with the cookie mixes and the free pan).  I had coupons for $.75 off when you buy a Betty Crocker cake mix and frosting tub.  Buying 4 frostings also generated a $3 OYNO.  To top it off, both items were on sale; it was $2.50 to get a frosting and a cake mix.
Four mixes & frostings: $10 - $6 in doubled coupons - $3 OYNO = $1, plus a free cookie sheet.

I ran one transaction with six boxes of Hamburger Helper, the cake mixes & frostings, and the pan - total $16.  After coupons my total was $7.  I paid with $6 of OYNOs from Saturday's trip and a dollar bill.
I received two more $3 OYNOs back, which still left me with $21 in OYNOs total.

I then ran a second transaction with everything else.  There was the other six Hamburger Helpers, five Colgate toothpastes, a can of Glade, another small bottle of Tabasco sauce, three bottles of Dawn dish soap, a pack of scouring pads, two gallons of milk, three pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts, and four pounds of ground beef - total $56.91.  After coupons it was $33.91.  I paid with $21 in OYNOs and $12.91 cash.
I received one more $3 OYNO back.

And that was it.  We were done for this crazy week of deals.

Today's shelf price: $82.65
Cash paid: $13.91
Remaining OYNOs: $3
True out of pocket cost: $10.91, for a savings of 87%

And the total for the sale week 9/30-10/6
Shelf price: $400.08
Out of pocket cost: $53.38, for a savings on the week of $346.70, or 86.7%

I spent about 5 hours clipping and organizing coupons and we'll say another 3 hours on the shopping trips including driving time and putting stuff away at home.  My eight hours of work amounts to $43.34 per hour.

I stocked up on a year's worth of hot dogs and bologna and six to nine months' worth of toothpaste, coffee, cheese, and mayonnaise.  There's two months' worth of treats in the cookie and cake mixes.  We have enough meat and prepared food for lunches (thanks to the soup and frozen meals) for two weeks.

This was all done using manufacturers' coupons from the Sunday paper and the weekly mail circulars.
This is not impossible.  Anyone can do this.  You don't have to buy coupons on Ebay (it helps, but it isn't necessary!), you don't have to do anything shady or underhanded, and you don't have to go to any great lengths.  You just have to be willing to set aside a little time to gather your materials and to do a little bit of math to figure out how to get the most for your money.

Midweek multitasking

When I say 'midweek' I don't mean the real middle of the week.  This is midweek for my grocery store's sale period.  I've got two days now to finish up any last minute deals I want to do on last week's gravy train and two days to start laying a framework for the deals I'll get when Thursday's new sales begin.

Here you can see my work area on Sundays.  Yes, I clip, sort, and file my coupons in bed.  I'm not actually in bed, per se, just sitting on it with my circulars, stacks, envelopes, coupon file, and other weird sorting devices surrounding me in a fashion that only makes sense to me and would probably stupefy anyone else who might come across it.

I've mentioned before that I have a little accordion coupon file.  This has expanded slightly; the file contains the bulk of my coupons, but now all coupons that are being used on my next shopping trip go in a re-used envelope.  The coupons for the shopping trip after that go in one section of my file, and all other useful coupons are filed in their sections.  I have another envelope for products we don't regularly use but that I'll get if they're free or nearly free.  I have another envelope for all baby coupons to give to my sister.  I used to have an envelope for coupons to trade with others, but that overfilled quickly so I've moved on to a nifty cardboard box that used to house Wheat Thins snack stick thingies.  The "baby" envelope and the "only if it's free" envelope fit inside the box neatly and the box sits out of the way on a corner of my desk.  My ever-growing file and current-coupons envelope stay in my purse at all times.  Needless to say, I carry a large purse with many pockets.

So, last week.  Adding up the two trips, my no-sale, no-coupon shelf price total came to $317.43.  Our out of pocket cost was $42.47.  This amounts to a savings of $274.96, or 87%!
Oh, and a note: when I was looking over the receipts for my first trip, I realized that the deductions are calculated weird on said receipts.  I went through line items to determine the true shelf price and I did edit the 9/30 post to reflect my accurate 89% savings.

I have one more trip to make tomorrow to take advantage of a couple more OYNO Catalina deals and a bunch of freebies.  This is where we'll pick up some chicken, granola bars, a little produce and maybe some beef or pork with the remaining OYNOs I have.  After that, no more shopping until Friday or Saturday when I start in on next week's sales.

Next week isn't as great as this current one, sale-wise.  The standout for me is dirt cheap frozen veggies - 8 for $8, and you get a $3 OYNO which translates to 8 packages of frozen veg for $5.  That's a good price for non-coupon use, but I also have some $1/2 and $1/3 coupons which, if my math is correct, will net me 16 packs of frozen veg for a grand total of $5, or $.31ea.  Vegetable soup, anyone??
It also looks like there might be some free pasta and yogurt for $.125ea along with Energizer batteries and sinus medicine for a buck.  I'm eying dollar deodorant and $.50 toothpaste with interest.

I did a little trading last week and hope to have a few stacks of coupons in hand before Friday.  There should be at least a few I can use on this week's sales; maybe I'll find another fantastic deal or two.  Yes, people trade coupons.  I have no use for shaving cream (Andy's the bearded type), but someone else might be willing to send me canned tomato coupons in exchange for shaving cream coupons, or whatever products we don't use; rather than letting the savings go to waste, crazy coupon ladies trade amongst themselves.  Andy gives me funny looks and often outright laughs at me when I get all coupon-weird like this, but he does acknowledge that the amount of money we're saving is no laughing matter.

Now if only I could find some good trash bag deals!

Another grocery trip, another 84% off

A girl could get addicted to getting food for pennies on the dollar.  Really.

For today's trip I finished up the Kraft deal so I got everything done in two transactions.  Not too much overall craziness, though I have officially reached the "full" point in our freezer and have taken over a shelf in my mom's stand-up freezer for the overflow.

We were a little more relaxed in the store today.  We browsed a couple aisles and caught a few extra deals doing so including some unexpected free stuff!

First transaction: 6 squeeze bottles Kraft mayo (2 regular, 2 light, 2 olive oil), four packages Oscar Meyer hot dogs.  Total $25.56.  I handed the cashier three $1/2 mayo coupons, two $1/2 hot dog coupons, and three $5 OYNOs (from Thursday's trip).  Total $5.56.  I received three more $5 OYNOs back.


Second transaction: 14 bags (!!!) Kraft shredded cheese, 2 packages Kraft singles, 6 Healthy Choice frozen meals, 2 bags Gorton battered fish, 2 cartons store brand ready-to-eat soup, 1 cake mix, 4 pouches Betty Crocker cookie mix, 1 Tabasco sauce, 1 Wilton cookie sheet, 2 bottles wine.  Total $87.85.  I handed the cashier a $5/5 Kraft cheese coupon, three $1/2 shredded cheese coupons, two $1/3 Healthy Choice coupons, two $1/1 Gorton's coupon, one $.75/1 Tabasco coupon (doubled), four $.50/1 cookie mix coupons (doubled), 2 coupons for FREE store brand soup, three $5 OYNOs, and since I bought four cookie mixes I got the cookie sheet (worth $5.49) for FREE.  Total $41.95.  I received three more $5 OYNOs back.

Shelf price (no sales or coupons) for all the above items is $168.21
Cash paid today: $47.51
Remaining same-as-cash OYNOs: $21
True out of pocket cost: $26.51, for a savings of 84%