Pop, goes the budget!

Round and round the Costco aisles,
Leslie chased the bargains.
Stood in line and paid the bill..
Pop, goes the....

Well, not quite blown yet. But it is always amazing how quickly groceries add up.
 I talk to many people (friends, family co-workers) who all mention the increases in the grocery bills over the year. Or, you head to the store for 'a few things' and come out with a hundred dollar food bill and a dazed feeling like you had an out of body experience while you were in there. The way grocery stores are laid out and the music they play are all part of the marketing plan to make you buy more. Which is fine if you use the food and if the food is good for you.

I came away with 6 2L bottles of apple juice, 3 loaves of bread, 12 salmon fillets, 4 pounds of broccoli, some hummus, 2kg of bananas, dog food, milk and some pharmacy items for 93.34. Some of these items will last a few weeks. I've included some items which are not part of the food statistics kept by the last government survey, but I thought it would be interesting to see if we could get by on the budget including those non-food grocery items.*

Start budget:       430.00
todays spending:   93.34
left for the month: 336.66*


* areas to insert laughter

Tonight for dinner will be a curry chicken dish which makes a lot of left-overs which is great for lunch.(serves 6)

3 chicken thighs/boneless

in an 8 by 8 pan place 1 1/3 cups Basmati rice, 1/4 cup sliced almonds, 1 TBSP raisins, and place chicken on top.

on a sauce pan heat 1TBSP olive oil or ghee, 1/4 chopped onion, 1 heaped tsp curry powder until fragrant. Add 1 cup rice milk and 2 cups water and heat until steaming, not boiling.

Pour hot mixture over chicken and rice, cover with foil and bake at 350F for about 40 minutes or until cooked and liquid is absorbed. Sometimes I leave it for 50 minutes. Tonight I will serve it with some bok choy I have, but you can serve it with any veg you have in the house, or add the veg right to the casserole to bake. Cauliflower and broccoli work best.

Recipe adapted from Bette Hagman (the Gluten Free Gourmet, my apologies to her for changing it)

All of these ingredients are staples I keep in the house.