I'm Broke but I Don't Mind

I'm broke this summer.  More so than I thought.  I've been broke before and I know it takes some creativity to survive.  I decided to start with food.  I will be making all of our meals at home for the next month until my financial situation improves.  I checked all the ads for our local grocery stores and made a grocery list based off what was on sale.  I color coded the list so I knew which foods were on sale at which grocery store.  I didn't buy anything just because it was on sale, but because I knew I could use it.  I don't normally buy a whole lot of meat, but I did this time because it was cheap and I can make it go a long way.  All I need to do now is get a new crock pot because mine decided to crap out on me yesterday.

For Sunday breakfast, I made what was supposed to be an egg casserole, but it ended up being exactly like a quiche without the crust.  I'm really not sure what the difference is between a casserole and a quiche.  Either way, it was surprisingly delicious and cost maybe $1 per serving.  I haven't made a nice breakfast in quite awhile so this was nice.

Here is a picture and the recipe:

Serves 8

Ingredients:
8 eggs
8 slices cheese about 1/8" thick
4 slices fairly thin sliced ham
1/4 c milk
1 small onion, diced
2 cups vegetables such as mushrooms and bell pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9" pie plate
2)  Line the bottom of the pie plate with the sliced ham
3)  Evenly arrange the onion, vegetables, and cheese on the ham
4)  Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until thoroughly beaten
5)  Pour egg mixture into pie plate
6)  Bake 30-40 minutes or until center is no longer runny

This turns out to be cheap, quick to prepare, tasty, and pretty healthy.  If you use lean ham and skim milk, it ends up being around 180 calories per serving and it's packed with protein.

I really enjoy cooking but don't do it much because I don't like cleaning up.  I got burned out after cooking for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter and my family helped clean up those messes!  I'm going to have to suck it up and do it anyway.  Even if it means doing dishes and cleaning things up 4 times in one weekend.  My Great Grandma did this every single day.  I should quit being a pansy and do it.  Homemade food is healthier, cheaper, and provides family bonding time when we eat together.