Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Next month several bloggers are tackling the challenge of creating nutritious meals that stay within the budgetary constraints of what a family of four receives on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) which is $5.53 or $16.60 for the day. Yes, really. Challenge accepted. For my first attempt at the challenge, I made Frugal Tuna Pasta with Roasted Brussels Sprouts that rang in at total of $5.13. With some of those leftover ingredients - the pasta and the sauce - I created a second recipe with canned sardines as my protein and a tossed green salad as the side dish. can of sardines, cost $1.29 pasta, package serves 8, so I used half (will use for another meal), cost $0.89 = $0.45 marinara sauce, used half (will use for another meal), cost $1.99 = $1.00 parmesan cheese, used one-third, cost $2.35 = $0.78 olive oil for pasta, cost negligible = $0.25 salt and pepper, cost negligible = $0.05 mixed salad greens, used one-third, cost $2.99 = $1.00 olive oil f...

Next month several bloggers are tackling the challenge of creating nutritious meals that stay within the budgetary constraints of what a family of four receives on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) which is $5.53 or $16.60 for the day. Yes, really. Challenge accepted.  For my first attempt at the challenge, I eschewed my usual grocery stop and headed to our local Grocery Outlet. There are good options there, including organic produce but it's not a consistent inventory. So I never know what I'm going to find. But, if you hunt, it's not bad...and it's a highly affordable option. I picked up ingredients to make a tuna pasta and roasted Brussels sprouts. The grocery bill was $5.66. And while I did add half of an onion, olive oil, salt, and pepper from my pantry and fridge, I went with serving sizes and only used half of the pasta package and half of the jarred sauce - which I will use for another meal. Plus we had enough leftover that my ...