Mmmm, Mmmmm, Good

In an effort to continue to reduce our outgoing money, we headed toward the food budget. It is the last place we are working on and I started my search online, of course. I found lots of cheap recipes that sounded about as tasty as a pizza made of cardboard and a lot of "tips" that really didn't give me any kind of actual information. Then I came across http://dollaradaymeals.com. My first thought was, seriously? Then I started looking at the recipes and they actually looked really good. They sounded a lot better than the boxed meals we had been eating, and, according to the site, cheaper! I talked it over with Adam and we decided to give it a go. The deal is that it should cost $1 per day per person. That should bring our grocery budget from $160 a month down to $90. Having only tried 2 of the recipes and liking them both, we jumped right in and at the beginning of the month we purchased our whole month's groceries. We are almost entirely positive that we over bought, since we haven't actually made them all yet, but our total was just under $130! Once we have a real feel for how it all works out and find the best places and times to buy the things we need we should be closer to the $90. So far we have loved every dish we have tried. I am really impressed with the menu. They all taste very distinct and flavorful. It does take a lot more time than the boxes did, what with making our own bread, tortillas, and everything from scratch, but I have more time at home now and can take the time to do it. Today we had Alfredo with a side of broccoli and carrots. Adam couldn't believe I had made the Alfredo sauce myself and Jayne even requested his leftovers instead of cookies or crackers for a snack. My family is actually excited to have dinner now and Jayne thanks me for making such tasty food quite frequently. I definitely recommend the site to anyone interested in doing it or at least adding a few thrifty menu items to their list. Adam's favorite is the Chicken and noodles, Mine is Crusty tuna patties, and Jayne seems to like the tortilla crackers quite a bit as well as the broccoli (ours was fresh).