Why spend alot to eat well?

We have made the decision to eat as healthy as possible but I want to make my dollars stretch of course. Here is the first (of many I hope) recipe I am posting for you all to try. This is a quick cheaters butter tofu n veggies in lieu of butter chicken. My daughter has decided to try living a vegetarian lifestyle ( and is doing quite well I must say) and I have decided I need to cut back off my meat products as much as possible if not all because they don't make me feel very good.... My inexpensive butter tofu (in place of butter chicken) that cost less than $5 CAD to make for myself, husband and teenager (babies aren't old enough for this.. so they ate their baby things.. haha).
Anyways, here it is with cost for item as much as I can estimate and remember..

Quick Butter Veggies N' Tofu Recipe

Ingredients:

-1 package of firm tofu- I got it on sale for $1.50 at my local Superstore and used about 3/4 of the package so =$1.14 for this meal
-1 package of  prepackaged butter chicken spice mix (or your own mix)- I used the clubhouse seasoning bogo (buy one get one free) coupon and they were on sale for about $1.80 ( I believe it was at No Frills but not 100% sure on that one) each so=$0.90 for this meal.
-1/2 of a head of broccoli, cut very small, which was on sale for $1 each (3 for $3) at my IGA so =$0.50 for this meal
-1/3 of a 1lb bag of baby carrots diced very small . I got them at my IGA for $1 a bag (10 for $10 sale) so = $0.34 for this meal
-1/2 of a cooking onion diced. I got them for $1 a bag at no frills here in town. There are approx 9 onions in a bag so for this meal it would cost about $0.06.
-1/3 c of tomato sauce. I used Hunt's tomatoe sauce which was priced at about $1.80 and I got $1 off with a coupon so portion for this meal approx= $0.25
-salt and pepper
-1/3 bulb of garlic (got it for $1 for a 3 pack on sale ( I think IGA) so for this meal =$0.11
-2cups of Carnation Evaporated Milk. ( I use this to replace cream fats). I got them for $0.25 a can due to a sale and coupons combined. So approx $0.25 for this meal (give or take.. lol)
-about 3 tsp of olive oil. I'm estimating the cost is less than $0.25 for this meal.
-2 c of basmati rice cooked, which I got on sale for about $9.50 for a 10 lb bag. I estimate the two cups would cost about $0.60 for this meal (without going and weighing two cups of course).

Ok so grande total of the approximate cost of this meal for two adults and a hungry teenager with leftovers the next day: A whopping $4.91!!!


To make:
-cut the tofu in small strips about 1 cm wide and 2 cm long anddry fry the tofu about 8 mins on each side. marinade the tofu for about 2 hrs in a little of the garlic, pepper, a touch of vinegar or lemon and some pepper .
-fry your diced onions, garlic, carrots and broccoli until veggies are tender and onions and garlic are starting to turn brown.
add your tomato sauce and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add your butter chicken spices and tofu.
-once butter chicken spices are stirred in well, add your carnation milk and simmer to your desired thickness ( I left it for about 15 mins). You may want to add tomato or carnation depending on your personal taste.

Pour the butter tofu n' veggie mixture onto your warm cooked basmati rice and enjoy!

Kicking it off!

I keep having discussions with friends and family about this new life my family and I have been living. You see not so long ago, my husband and I decided that we should try to have one of us home with the our three kids as we felt it would benefit them more to have a parent around in the end.  You see we have two young children under the age of two, and a 16 year old at home who is homeschooling and working (another great choice we all made together). In order to do that we needed to find ways to make our dollars stretch.
Between learning the art of couponing, bargain hunting, experimenting with food,  and many other ideas we have put together, we have made it work thus far.
A friend of mine suggested I should share my discoveries and ideas with others in a blog. Although I am not a "professional blogger" by any means, I thought I would give it a try.
I will be posting recipes, sales, ideas to share with you all so you can join me on my journey.

Welcome Aboard!