Day 1

Yesterday was Day 1... proving that $300 is MORE THAN ENOUGH money to feed a family of 4.


I love the .99 Cent Store!   Seriously.....I get a good amount of groceries there.   I only buy brands I am familiar with, and produce if it is top quality.   


You do have to spend time looking, but great deals can be found, so don't pass up the dollar stores for good deals.   Just know that some things can be even less expensive at local grocery stores, so its good to know your prices.






DAY 1


Breakfast    Total:  $2.78


Pancakes w/syrup (Bisquick  .99 Cent Store) (made 12)                  1.15
     Ate 6.  Other 6 went into the freezer for another meal
Hormel Breakfast Sausage Links (.99 Cent Store)                            1.00
Applesauce (homemade from Moms apple tree)                               Free
Kids:  Milk                                                                                          .44   
Mom:  Coffee                                                                                      .20








Lunch         Total:  $ 1.99


Grilled Cheese Sandwiches                                                               1.09
Pretzels                                                                                                .25
Watermelon                                                                                         .45
Iced Tea/Lemonade                                                                             .20




Dinner     Total:  $5.36


Crockpot Tortilla Chicken Casserole                                               4.86
Roasted Veggies (Zucchini, Onion, peppers from garden)              Free
Drinks:   Iced Tea and Milk for Kids                                                .50




DAY 1 TOTAL:    $10.13








For the tortilla casserole I used onion from my garden, and canned green chile sauce that I canned last year from tomatillos/onions I grew in my garden.



Tortilla Chicken Casserole


12 Corn Tortillas
2 C. roasted chicken breast, cubed*
1 onion, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 8 oz. can Herdez Green Chile Sauce**
2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
















**My recipe used home-canned green chile sauce from tomatillos I grew last year.  FREE

$300 A Month Grocery Test!

I have this amazing friend (lets call her Diva) who I adore.  She is funny, successful, and beautiful.  I hate her!    No, I'm kidding.  I only hate her when she says she's 'fat' because her size 7's are feeling snug.  See what I mean.....




Anyway, Diva and I have this ongoing debate about gardening, and cooking from scratch...all of which she will NEVER do.  Ever.   She just doesn't see the value of it, and wonders why I 'waste' so much time on these activities when I can just buy it at Whole Foods.   Hmmmm




Well, last week we were chatting and I let it 'slip' that I NEVER, ever spend over $400 a month on groceries.   In fact, about $300 would be sufficient, if I didn't do any stocking up for my pantry and freezer.   She totally did not believe me!  "IMPOSSIBLE", she said.   Whatever.  So when she said that her family of 4 spends about $700-800 a month at a minimum, you know my head almost exploded.




After a good 30 minutes of both of us thinking the other one was completely crazy, I decided I was going to prove to her that with a little bit of effort given to gardening and planning, A FAMILY OF 4 CAN EAT WELL ON $300 a month!  




A few rules:   
$300 is for food only.   This does not include paper goods, or personal hygiene items like shampoo, soap, etc.  Nor does it include dog food or chicken feed.



Some ingredients like spices are very hard to calculate, so I will save time and just add .10 for each spice that I purchased.  Many of my herbs come from my garden.




I consider produce from my garden free.  YES, we spend a miniscule amount of money watering the plants.   But, all of my plants are heirlooms, grown from seed that I saved from previous year's gardens.  I compost garden scraps, and that serves as fertilizer.  Yes, my time is worth something, but for this purpose, we are talking about dollars spent only.

July has 31 days, so my daily budget is $9.68

I love you Diva....and I'm about to prove you SO WRONG!

Welcome friends!

Welcome to our little urban homestead!  

We are your everyday, suburban family of four who are attempting to create a little homestead right in our backyard.

My hopes with this blog are to post our progression from your everyday suburban backyard, to a thriving, more self-sufficient little urban homestead. 

It should be fun.  Well, hopefully. 

Shannon