Since football seasons is over, it’s time to switch from tailgate food to actual meals, and that means it’s also time to remind readers that I’m new to this whole “writing down recipes” thing.
I’m just a single mom doing my best to feed myself and my three great kids on a budget. By the way, professionally, I’m blessed to be the executive director of the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley. Financial stability is an issue for the majority of people in our communities because we live in a paycheck-to-paycheck world.
So, in addition to simple recipes, I’m going to try to pass along some grocery shopping tips to help stretch your dollar.
If I woke as a kid and up DIDN’T realize it was Sunday morning right away, I would have known it was Sunday by the smell of instant coffee and the sound of scissors in the kitchen. My dad would grab the Sunday morning paper and sit at the kitchen table clipping coupons. After shopping trips to Riesbeck’s, he would come home and tell my mom about the deals he snagged combining sales with newspaper coupons.
When I started a family, I took this valuable tool and ran with it. I respectfully say that the student has now become the master because I do not pay full price for things … but it took some time to get there.
Your first tip? Start buying food you can freeze or shelf-stable food when it goes on a good sale. Check your grocery store inserts in the paper, download the apps that most stores have available. Ground beef, chicken breast, pork … all go on sale for more than 50 percent off and that’s when it’s time to grab what you can afford. When meat you like goes on sale, buy it, use some, freeze some. Once you get enough food in your pantry and freezer, you will no longer be dependent on a grocery trip to make meals and THAT is where the true savings comes into play.
If you’re one of those people that says, “I want ‘X’ for dinner” and then you go to the store and buy the ingredients to the meal, you’re going to have a hard time buying it all on sale. My freezer and pantry are full of items for which I paid less than 50 percent. I’ll talk more about this in the weeks to follow.
To start off the “meals” portion of this column, I’m going to start with one of my go-to, heathy, most simple and least expensive meals out there. Omelets are underrated considering their mass potential. Get the just-passed-ripe $1 baskets of veggies from Jebbia’s, grab your choice of protein from the freezer and your favorite cheese that is often on sale at area grocery stores like Riesbeck’s or Kroger.
Simply, use eggs as the vessel and chow down.
I laugh every time I see the meme that states, “I’m just gonna flip this omelet right here and … scrambled eggs it is.”
Ha! It doesn’t have to be Instagram worthy to be delicious. You can rebound from a poorly flipped omelet. Also, practice makes perfect! If it scares you, spray a casserole dish and dump everything in there and bake for 45 minutes or until center is firm … boom! … crustless quiche.
The combination of ingredients are endless. I’ll include some of my favorites.
Three-Egg Omelets
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- Tbsp. of Butter
- Protein of choice (or not)
- Veggies of choice
- Cheese of choice
My favorite options:
Sausage, onions, tri-color peppers, cheddar, leftover taco meat, cheese topped with salsa and sour cream, mushrooms, green pepper, onions, feta cheese
Instructions:
- Cook the protein.
- Sauté veggies.
- Heat butter in a pan on medium heat.
- Crack and scramble the three eggs.
- Make sure butter is covering the pan and pour in eggs.
- Once the eggs start to firm, use a spatula and flip the flat eggs over to the uncooked side.
- Add all the cooked ingredients to one side of the egg/pan.
- Add cheese and fold the empty side on top on the ingredients.
- Remove from pan.
- Optional … top with more cheese, hot sauce, sour cream or salsa.
