Week 4 $70 menu for family of five

This week wraps up my month of $70 menu plans.

As I planned the menu this week, I noticed I had more space in the budget for things like fresh vegetables and spices because of all the leftover ingredients from previous weeks. This is the first week the $70 menu has afforded things like garlic, onions, ginger and spices, so that was pretty exciting, especially since all of those ingredients will last for several more weeks and service many more meals.

I couldn't see any affordable red meat options this week so we're back to chicken, which we'll get every scrap of goodness out of by making chicken stock for soups and other purposes.

Chicken stock is a superfood in my books. There's a reason we're always feeding chicken soup to people when they're sick, so if you haven't got in the habit of making chicken stock out of your cooked chicken bones, I highly recommend you do so.

Like with the previous three weeks, I've based all my prices off this week's Countdown pricing, which gets updated every Sunday. If you can find any of these ingredients cheaper, like at a fruit and vegetable store, buy at the cheaper price to get even more wiggle room in your budget.

I hope you've enjoyed this series and found something useful to take away from it. I've certainly been challenged by making it, and discovered a few new frugal recipes for my repertoire. We really enjoyed the homemade tortillas last week, so I'll be cranking those out more often for the whanau and have included them again in this week's menu.

Shopping List (Total $70.04)

• Apples Envy ($3.50/kg) 1.25KG = $4.37
• Oranges Navel ($2.50/kg) 1.2KG = $3
• Cucumber = $2
• Carrots ($2.50/kg) 500g = $1.25 (Save all carrot peels and tops and ends to make chicken stock. Store in a bag in the freezer until you're ready to make stock.)
• Broccoli = $1.50
• Ginger ($8.99/kg) 0.10kg = $0.89
• Lettuce Traditional Iceberg = $2
• Onions ($2.00/kg) 400g = $0.80
• Essentials Garlic Minced 250g = $2.29
• Sun Harvest Gherkins Sandwich Stackers 670g = $2
• Homebrand Mixed Frozen Vegetables 1kg = $2.29
• Countdown Chicken Whole 1.5kg = $10
• Farmer Brown Eggs 20-pack size 6 = $5.00
• Homebrand Sandwich Bread x 4 = $4 (save the bread bags for storing/freezing food)
• Countdown Shaved Ham 200g 2 for $5 = $5
• Meadowfresh Sour Cream 125g = $1.40
• The Good Taste Sundried Tomato Hummus 200g = $3.00
• Countdown Peanuts and Raisins 200g = $1.80
• Real Food Corn Thins Crispbread 150g = $1.99
• Greggs Spice Ground Cumin box 40g = $2
• Greggs Spice Ground Turmeric box 40g = $2
• Essentials Diced Tomatoes 400g = $0.80
• Homebrand Peach Slices in Syrup 415g = $1.19
• Homebrand Baked Beans 420g = $0.80
• Signature Range Salsa Mild 300g = $2.99 
• La Costena Mexican Refried Pinto Beans 400g = $2.69
• Sun Valley Foods Lentils Brown 500g = $2.69

(Items leftover from last week - tomato sauce, half a 1kg block of cheese, rolled oats, brown sugar, milk powder, high grade flour, rice bran oil, pearl barley, potatoes, Worcestershire Sauce, soy sauce, Raspberry Jam, .)

Menu

Day 1 Breakfast (Get two chickens out of freezer to defrost for dinner)

• Poached eggs on toast. (5 eggs, 5 pieces of bread. Sprinkle eggs with a light dusting of turmeric if desired. I always do because turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory.)

Day 1 Lunchbox fillers and snacks for five people

• Sandwiches - Cucumber, lettuce, gherkins, grated carrot. (Save carrot top and peel for making chicken stock with tonight's chicken.)
• Apple wedges - Cut two apples into wedges and divide between five lunchboxes.  (Remove stalks and pips from cores and freeze apple cores to save for apple sauce).
• Peanuts and raisins.

Day 1 Dinner - Roast chicken, roast potatoes, gravy and 1/2 head broccoli

• Roast chicken in a large oven tray following these directions, which only use salt and oil for seasoning. Baste chicken two or three times during cooking, with fat drippings from the bottom of the tray. 
• While chicken cooks, prepare and cook roast potatoes following these instructions. When draining the blanched potatoes, save the potato water for making gravy. 
• Move cooked chicken to chopping boards or large plates to rest and use the chicken drippings in the bottom of the oven tray to make gravy, following these instructions and using the cooking water from the potatoes and half the broccoli you are simultaneously going to cook by cutting into florets and boiling for two minutes.
• Serve chicken with tonight's dinner and shred leftover meat into two portions for future dinners this week.   
• Like week's 1 and 2, save all the empty chicken bones to make chicken stock. Place chicken carcasse and the carrot scraps from lunch into a large stock pot or two large saucepans filled with water. Simmer on a low heat for several hours. Strain liquid into one ice cream container, a 1-cup portion and a 4-cup portion for future meals this week. Freeze any excess chicken stock for future weeks.  Place chicken bones back in the saucepans, cover with fresh water and repeat process to make more chicken stock. The goal is to make as much stock as possible out of the bones. (The chicken stock recipe I usually make also incorporates vegetable scraps and vinegar to draw out the gelatine from the chicken bones. Use this recipe if you have those ingredients in your kitchen, as it is even more nourishing and will stretch your bones further.)

Day 2 Breakfast 

• Porridge made with rolled oats, water and milk made with a mixture of water and milk powder. Serve with brown sugar if desired.

Day 2 Lunch - Leftovers from dinner or lunchboxes filled with:

• Sandwiches - 1/2 pack ham, cheese, cucumber, lettuce, grated carrot, gherkins.
• Orange wedges - Cut two oranges into wedges and divide between five lunchboxes.  
• Corn Thins and hummus - 2 per person

Day 2 Dinner - Mexican rollups

• Make 8 tortillas following this recipe (it uses 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3/4 cup warm water and 3 Tablespoons oil).
• Make 8 Mexican rollups following this recipe (use the tortillas you just made, baked beans mixed and smooshed with 1 teaspoon ground cumin, one portion of shredded chicken from Day 1's dinner, 1/2 the jar of salsa and grated cheese)
• Serve Mexican rollups with a simple side salad of lettuce, cucumber and carrots.  

Day 3 Breakfast (soak 1 cup pearl barley for tonight's dinner now)

• Poached eggs on toast. (5 eggs, 5 pieces of toast.)

Day 3 Lunch - Lunchboxes filled with:

• Sandwiches - 1/2 pack ham, cheese, cucumber, lettuce, grated carrot, gherkins.
• Apple wedges - Cut two apples into wedges and divide between five lunchboxes.  (Remove stalks and pips from cores and freeze apple cores to save for apple sauce)
• Corn Thins and hummus (two per person).

Day 3 Dinner - Chicken Barley Soup

• This is a double recipe - save half for Day 5's dinner. In the morning, soak 1 cup pearl barley in four cups of water and leave to soak all day, then rinse and strain. At dinner time, saute 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables in 2 Tablespoons rice bran oil for several minutes and then pour over the ice cream container of chicken stock and an additional 4 cups water. Stir in the rinsed and strained pearl barley and cook on a medium heat for at least an hour, or until the pearl barley is cooked through. Just before pearl barley has finished cooking, add one portion of shredded chicken from Day 1's dinner and simmer until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste if you have it.
• Serve with toast cut into strips and sprinkled with a little grated cheese.

Day 4 Breakfast (soak 1 cup brown lentils for tonight's dinner now)

• Porridge made with rolled oats, water and milk made with a mixture of water and milk powder. Serve with tinned peaches if desired.

Day 4 Lunch - Leftover chicken barley soup or lunchboxes filled with:

• Sandwiches - Cucumber, lettuce, grated carrot, gherkins.
• Orange wedges - Cut two oranges into wedges and divide between five lunchboxes. 
• Corn Thins and hummus (two per person).

Day 4 Dinner - Dal Bhat and Tarkari

• Make Dal Bhat and Tarkari following these instructions. (Use brown lentils, 1 cup mixed frozen vegetables, potatoes, tinned diced tomatoes, 1/2 head of broccoli, fresh ginger, minced garlic, onion, turmeric, cumin, 4 cups chicken stock, rice - make a double portion of rice and save half for Day 6's fried rice.)
• (Save tops and tails of carrots and onions in a bag in the freezer for the next time you make chicken stock.)

Day 5 Breakfast

• Poached eggs on toast. (5 eggs, 5 pieces of toast.)

Day 5 Lunch - Lunchboxes filled with: 

• Sandwiches - Lettuce, carrot and gherkins. 
• Apple wedges - Cut any remaining apples into slices and divide between five lunchboxes. (Remove stalks and pips from cores and freeze apple cores to save for apple sauce).
• Peanuts and raisins.

Day 5 Dinner - Chicken Barley Soup

• Chicken Barley Soup - use the other half of the soup made on Day 3. Serve with toast cut into strips and sprinkled with a little grated cheese. 

Day 6 Breakfast

• Porridge made with rolled oats, water and milk made with a mixture of water and milk powder.
• While porridge is cooking, make apple sauce out of the apple cores saved during the week. Simply place cores (which have had the pips removed) into a small saucepan with 2 Tablespoons water, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon if you have it. Cover and simmer cores on a low heat until soft. Mash with a potato masher and swirl through porridge if desired. 

Day 6 Lunch

• Leftover chicken barley soup served with toast, or sandwiches
• Carrot sticks
• Orange wedges - Cut two oranges into wedges and divide between five lunchboxes. 
• Peanuts and raisins

Day 6 Dinner - Chinese Fried Rice

• Use this recipe to make the fried rice with the other half of Day 4's rice, rice bran oil, soy sauce, 2 eggs, 1 half packet of ham and 1 cup mixed frozen vegetables.

Day 7 Breakfast

• Boiled eggs smooshed on toast. (Use remaining 3 eggs, 5 pieces of toast.)

Day 7 Lunch

• Ham sandwiches (use remaining half pack of ham) or cheese pizzas made with tomato sauce, cheese, ham and bread. 
• Use up any leftover snacks - apples, oranges, carrots, corn thins and hummus or jam, peanuts and raisins. 

Day 7 Dinner - Quesadillas

• Make 8 tortillas following this recipe (it uses 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3/4 cup warm water and 3 Tablespoons oil).
• Make quesadillas using the tortillas you just made, refried beans, salsa leftover from Day 2's dinner and a sprinkle of cheese. Serve with sour cream and carrot sticks. 

Find Week 1's $70 menu here.
Find Week 2's $70 menu here.
Find Week 3's $70 menu here.