Summertime twitter chats continue. This week the topic is Freezer Cooking. Wondering how to save money and eat well all while making crazy good use of your freezer?

Join me @fishmama, Tricia from Once a Month Mom, and Stephanie from Mama and Baby Love when we talk about freezer cooking and how it equals good cheap eats.

Follow the conversation through the #goodcheapeats hashtag on Thursday at 1pm PST. Hope to see you then!

Come Chat with Us About Freezer Cooking is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Popsicles are probably pretty cheap as far as things go. With a coupon, you can probably get them for a song. But, if you’ve read the ingredients label, you know that they are far from healthy. You might as well feed your kids water and corn syrup with a little food coloring thrown in for good measure.

Homemade ice pops, on the other hand, are pretty easy to make, plus, they’re healthier, too.

I’ve been experimenting with different mixtures of fruit and honey to make our own popsicles. With sweet, ripe fruit, you don’t need to add much more. I even let the kids eat them for breakfast!

You can use whatever ripe fruit you have on hand. Simply sweeten to taste with honey. You can even layer the mixture with yogurt if you like.

Recipe: Homemade Plum Ice Pops

Ingredients

• 6 plums, pitted
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, puree the plums until very soon. Add the honey and vanilla extract. Adjust sweetener to taste.
2. Pour the mixture into ice pop molds. Freeze until firm.
3. Once firm, remove from molds. You may need to run the mold under warm water for a bit to help it loosen from the mold. Serve immediately or store in the freezer.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

Homemade Plum Ice Pops is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

We’re at the grandparents today. We’re not sure when were going to head home. It’s kinda nice to be spoiled. I slept in until 8:30 this morning while other folks supervised children and made breakfast. It was pretty sweet.

I might never go home.

We honestly haven’t decided when we are heading back south, either Monday or Tuesday. It’ll be a short week since my dad’s 70th birthday party will be on Saturday, so we’ll be gone then, too. Yay for summer!

I’ll be back to reality by Tuesday night for sure, so here’s the meal plan for when I do.

Our rotation for breakfasts and lunches is still working, so why change?

Breakfasts for Summer

All served with seasonal fresh fruit.

• Wednesday: Breakfast Sliders, Egg (cookbook recipe)
• Thursday: Not Soggy Oatmeal with Toppings
• Friday: Pancakes
• Saturday: out of town again

Lunches for Summer

All served with seasonal fresh fruit and veg.

• Wednesday: Burritos or Tacos
• Thursday: Pasta Salad
• Friday: Chili or Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
• Saturday: out of town again

Dinners for the Week

All served with seasonal fresh fruit and veg.

• Wednesday: Burgers and Chips
• Thursday: Grilled Fish and Potatoes
• Friday: Pizza Night
• Saturday: out of town again!

Meal Plan for the Week of June 16 is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

I’m flabbergasted that the week has gone by so quickly. I’ve been swamped with stuff. My inbox is above 200, something I rarely allow. It’s going to take awhile to dig out. Thankfully, it was all good stuff I got swamped by.

This was birthday week at our house with my eldest and my third sons both celebrating birthdays. We ate out more than normal. I purchase things that might not have been on sale in order to make much of my little men. I’m okay with that. If we go over target this month, I’ll call it birthday money well spent.

Here’s how the shopping went down:

Ralphs

Early in the week I took FishBoy15-16 shopping for his birthday meals. I indulged him with some of his favorite things including pop and chips, which I rarely, rarely ever buy. The boy loves to eat and I knew that having a few treats would make his day special. he was thrilled.

He was also quite humble about it. I had to insist that he pick out more than one bag of chips. As the oldest, he rarely asks for his due, let alone more than that. I’m humbled by that.

We spent $79.

Abundant Harvest Organics

Here’s the produce box for the week. It was quite lovely. I am very thankful for that box. If only the peaches didn’t go bad so quickly. Bummer!

Total spent: $38 (the price went up recently)

Sprouts

I went by Sprouts for a few things, but apparently I took no pictures. I don’t even remember what I bought besides chicken and fresh produce.

Total spent: $20

Weekly total: $137

MTD total: $674

Grocery Geek: Birthday Week is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

This past weekend, I cooked for twelve. Our friends Devin and Jessika and their two kids came to spend a couple days with us. Ours is the kind of friendship where the dads like each other, the moms like each other, and the kids all like each other. That means there’s little tension and lots of fun.

Part of the fun is eating. Of course.

Thankfully for me, part of the fun is cooking, too. It turns out I have a reputation for putting my guests to work in the kitchen, which Jessika and Devin both did quite graciously.

One of the meals we shared together was a hot dog and sausage bar. My kids can eat hot dogs and brats like nobody’s business, so I knew the meal would be a hit, even if I served it with simple mustard, ketchup, and onions. I decided to fancify it just a bit with an array of toppings.

Three Steps to a Great Hot Dog and Sausage Bar

Pretend you’re running the best hot dog truck in town. You’ve got great meats (no mystery links here) and fresh rolls. Plan a spread to please anybody and everybody. It’s really not that hard.

1. Offer a variety of sausages. Consider different meats and spice levels. Offer a vegan or vegetarian option. Grill them well and keep them hot. You can even make them in the slow cooker.

2. Have plenty of fresh rolls. I usually bake my own, but I knew that if I were really going to let each of my kids eat his fill, then there’s no way I could keep up with the supply. I bought two different kinds of buns in bulk at Costco so we didn’t run out.

3. Let your imagination run wild with the toppings you choose. There are so many tasty ways to top a dog, you don’t need to be limited to bottled condiments. Think outside the box and offer lots of choices.

Some toppings we liked:

• various mustards and bottled condiments (who are we kidding?)
• chopped onions
• sauteed peppers and onions
• homemade salsa
• cole slaw
• guacamole
• homemade chili
• shredded cheese

I’m sure that I’ve missed some great toppings.

What would YOU add?

Serve a Hot Dog and Sausage Bar is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Don’t forget! Join me (@fishmama), Laura from I’m an Organizing Junkie (@orgjunkie), and Lynn from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures (@lynnskitchenadv) to chat all about menu planning for an hour on Thursday, June 13th at 1:00 pm PST.

Please join us by tracking the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #goodcheapeats.

Let’s Chat about Meal Planning is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

A few months ago I told you about a new ebook that my friend Carrie wrote.

From Garbage to Gourmet helps you think creatively about how you shop, store, and serve food so that you waste less and want not. I love how Carrie methodically analyzes a host of ingredients and provides you with the knowledge (and the recipes) to make the most of them.

Through Wednesday, From Garbage to Gourmet is available for half off its regular price. You can get your copy for $4.99.

Save More by Wasting Less is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

We’ve got two family birthdays as well as summer vacation and a few outings in the plan this week. So, it’s imperative that I have a meal plan. I went without one this week and while it wasn’t horrible, it certainly could have been better.

Especially when fielding the “What’s there to eat?” question.

By Friday night I was feeling OVERWHELMED by life and spent awhile contemplating a run for fried chicken. I thought about the expense. And then I thought about the junk that they put into it. So, I picked myself up and went to fight the good fight in the kitchen. The result was the tacos you see above.

It all worked out fine, but if I’d had a meal plan, I would have had to fight with frozen ground beef in the skillet, and I would have had a ready answer for the myriad of folks who asked me, “What’s for dinner?”

I’ll be hosting a twitter chat later this week with Lynn and Laura. We’ll be chatting about meal planning and how it benefits us so much. I hope you’ll join us! Follow me @fishmama and check the #goodcheapeats stream at 1 pm PST on Thursday.

In the meantime, here’s the plan for the week:

As you know I’ve created a meal rotation for breakfasts and lunches. This worked fairly well last week except for the days when we had run out of a key ingredient. Note to self: shop better.

Breakfasts for Summer

All served with seasonal fresh fruit.

• Monday: French Toast
• Tuesday: Breakfast Bar
• Wednesday: Breakfast Sliders, Egg (cookbook recipe)
• Thursday: Not Soggy Oatmeal with Toppings
• Friday: Pancakes
• Saturday: Waffles

Lunches for Summer

All served with seasonal fresh fruit and veg.

• Monday: Turkey Sandwiches
• Tuesday: Sunbutter and Jelly
• Wednesday: Burritos or Tacos
• Thursday: Pasta Salad
• Friday: Chili or Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
• Saturday: Hamburgers or Hot Dogs and Brats

Dinners for the Week

Includes two birthday dinners and one outing. All served with fresh fruit and veg.

• Calzones
• Pasta with Red Sauce
• Baked Chicken
• Dinner out
• Spicy Grilled Fish
• Dinner out
• Tacos

So, that’s our meal plan for the week.

What are YOU having?

Don’t forget! If you struggle with meal planning, there are a dozen free meal plans with grocery lists over on LifeasMOM. Print one and get cooking.

Meal Plan for the Week of June 9 is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

When I went shopping this week, I realized why. We’ve run out of a ton of stuff. I spent a lot this week, replenishing the items that we’ve used up: lots of spices, vinegars, condiments, baking products, etc. Plus, I’ve done some canning so there was sugar, etc. Add to that upcoming birthdays, recipe testing for an upcoming book, and house guests who we want to love on.

Plus, feeding my kids before they eat us out of house and home.

It feels very odd to be sharing these grocery purchases — and the total — when we’re only one week into the month. One week!

I anticipate that we could be in danger of going over the budget this month. (In case you’re new, the target is $800 a month to feed 8 people at home, excluding my husband’s lunches and the occasional dinner out for the family.)

So, anyway, here’s how it went down for me, the big spender:

Trader Joe’s

I probably could have kept shopping at Trader Joe’s, but the cart was full and I was by myself. I replenished our stock of oils and vinegars, baked goods, fish, snacks, rice, bread, bagels, bacon, cream cheese, pasta, sunbutter, meat, milk, flour, etc. It seems like we were out of a lot of things.

I love Trader Joe’s and especially love their guarantee for their store brand items.

Total spent: $222

Walmart

I cruised by Walmart to stock up on other things like canned tomatoes and beans, hominy, enchilada sauce, coffee, tortillas, sauerkraut, sugar, noodles, and ziploc bags. It added up fast, even though Walmart is the cheapest game for these things.

Total spent: $62

Sprouts

If I have to buy produce, I prefer to shop at Sprouts. Their sale prices are pretty amazing. I got sweet potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, cilantro, bell pepper, avocado, Italian seasoning, cornmeal, and buttermilk.

Total spent $17

Abundant Harvest Organics

The produce box was beautiful this week. I wish I could say I had a fabulous use for the basil and lavender, but I didn’t. The green beans disappeared in a flash. The rest will be gone soon. It’s so nice to have this resource. Unfortunately, the price has gone up by a buck fifty. That adds up over the month. Bummer.

Total spent: $36

Costco

I’ve avoided Costco for awhile. Interesting to note that since I talked to Lynn on the phone during my entire shopping trip, I mostly stuck to my list. I did splurge on Nutella thanks to birthdays and company.

That’s a pretty nice excuse, don’t you think?

Again, I ended up replenishing things that we were out of: meats, cheeses, milk, juice, cream, spices, peppers, stickies, maple syrup, bread.

Total spent: $150

Sprouts

I was back at Sprouts to top off our fruit supply and to buy a bunch of sausages for a weekend party.

Total spent $50 (half of that was sausages)

Weekly total: $537

Ouch, eh? I was hoping to do a big load of freezer cooking this month, so I’m not sure how we will swing it and still buy milk and fresh fruit. I’ve got $263 left in my budget unless I borrow from other categories, which I just might do. We’ll see.

June to date total $537.

Grocery Geek: Hey Big Spender is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

I’m a salad girl. Ever since I was counting birthday candles in single digits, I’ve been a lover of the greens. My roommate in college always shook her head at my fascination with salads at meal times.

My husband has just learned to humor me.

Over the years I encountered restaurants that really made great salads: Brigitte’s Caesar, Chichi’s Italian, and Cahoots’ House. After five years living in San Diego I haven’t really found a restaurant salad to really make my heart sing. So, I make them at home.

With a prolific produce box and a few great toppings, I can make a homemade entree salad for about two to three bucks which is a far cry from the $8 to $10 that restaurants charge. So, it’s probably a good thing that I can’t find a great restaurant salad. I can make more great homemade salads for the same price.

This salad is one of my go-to salads, especially in summertime. One, the weather is warmer, and I don’t feel like eating something heavy. I often go meatless as a way to eat light. Summertime is also the time when I am more cognizant of my eating habits and trying to trim down. I know that with an ounce of cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, some avocado, and all the vegetables I desire, I can stay in a reasonable calorie range as well as eat well and healthy.

It’s good cheap eats, all dressed up.

Recipe: The Go To Salad

Summary: these proportions serve one person

Ingredients

• two to three handfuls salad greens
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 1/3 cup garbanzo beans
• 1/2 tomato, chopped
• 1/4 cup bleu cheese or feta crumbles, or other favorite cheese
• a handful black olives
• one scallion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Layer the greens, avocado, beans, tomato, cheese, olives, and scallion in the order listed.
2. Drizzle the vinegar and oil over the top.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 1

The Go To Salad is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher