Series: Cooking from the Pantry, Budget Update + Recipe!

How are you doing with your monthly grocery budget? As it is approaching the end of the month, it's time to check in on my budget, so I thought I would take a moment to update you on my Cooking from the Pantry progress and my new weekly budget of $20. The envelope system has been working because I feel like I am more cautious of what I am spending and it is keeping me on track with my budget. It is so easy to "swipe" your card and not realize how much we are spending on groceries. This system has forced me to be more mindful of what I am buying and how much I am spending.

Monthly Budget for November: $80
Spent so far: $69
Amount Left: $11

I am pleased with where I am at right now because this includes already purchasing all my ingredients for my Thanksgiving feast I will be cooking on Thursday, I already grocery shopped for this coming week, and I have lots of items stock piled that will last me the remainder of my month. I plan on spending the last of my budget on last minute things for the big day on Thursday. While I was actually hoping to come in under budget with money leftover, I will just settle for actually staying on budget and aim next month to challenge myself to spend less. I will be posting about prescription transfers soon, because I was able to get extra money to spend for my Thanksgiving dinner by transferring prescriptions!

I will leave you all with a recipe from my Cooking from the Pantry series that utilized my stock pile paired with fresh ingredients for a very frugal, but delicious meal!

Chile Relleno with Saffron Rice (serves 2)

Ingredients:
-One large green pepper
-Tomato paste
-1/3 pound of ground turkey or beef
-Spices (chili powder, salt, pepper)
-Mozzarella Cheese
-Saffron rice packages, cook as directed or any other rice on hand

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cut pepper in half to create two bowls. Gut insides and put on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and then roast in oven for about 20 minutes. While peppers are roasting, brown the ground turkey or beef in pan on the stove. Add a couple table spoons of tomato paste and spices to taste.

Take the peppers out of the oven and stuff with the meat mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and return to oven for another 10-15 minutes.

Pair with rice, and enjoy!

Cost:
Chile: 99 cents
Meat: $1 for 1/3 lb
Rice: Free from triple coupon's
Other ingredients: Already had these on hand!

Final Cost: Just over $2 total!

Enjoy,
--Savvyteacher