Okay, I said that I'd post a comment. I've been admiring those who really take on this challenge. For me, it seems really hard to contemplate doing this with kids, or even another adult member of the household who doesn't "buy in" to the idea that money needs to be doled out precisely according to the plan, as I'm sure happens a lot. Meanwhile, what has really got me thinking is what we take for granted that people on food stamps have no way to deal with - the drug store. Not so much the medicine, although of course that's a whole other discussion. But the deodorant, the acne cream, the tampons, the vitamins, the makeup. How do people on food stamps manage this? It's overwhelming. I'm very grateful not to have to go without such things, or to have to buy the cheapest possible thing at the dollar store no matter how nasty. So, true confessions, we have not eaten on the food stamp budget at all this Lent. We did make some more conscious choices because of Lent, and we have talked about the cost of food and supplies a lot, and the idea has made us more mindful of our food spending. And more grateful. So thanks for your example.

We had guests all weekend and I completely blew the whole thing. When we ate at home, we ate high on the hog. When we ate out, well, just eating out makes $1 meals a joke. I'm back on the wagon again. Lesson learned was that being hospitable in the way we wanted to was a privilege that people who really do live on food stamps don't have. I know we could have stayed home and eaten frugally, but not these guests, and not this time.

When I was in Virginia last week I made a grocery run to "Sharp Shopper" store that has better deals than Save-a-Lot. I was able to get large cans of chopped tomates for $.50. So I took a can of the $.99 Chicken, Sausage Gumbo soup I bought there, added some leftover sausage from the previous day's $1/person meal, a can of tomatoes, 1 carrot and some chopped cabbage and additional spices. I enjoyed the soup. That was the day I did a whole day for $3.00/per person. What I experienced was that I could prepare the meals for the day but I was not able to totally get through the day without snacking and that is what took me over the budget. I also experience that it takes time and energy to figure it out. I suspect Patricia, you've experienced that. I think about the working single mother with children and how exhausted she must be after a day's work, retrieving children after the work day, coming home and needing to put food on the table. I think I have a new appreciation for the things I've read about children going hungry during the summer when school is not in session.

St Patrick's Day: Oh those Irish. Corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. Corned beef is out of my price range, but potatoes and cabbage, that I can deal with. So, dinner is potato soup, cabbage salad (thanks to Alonna's recipie, minus the celery which I didn't have), and the not- so- Irish leftover quessadillas. Just a little cabbage makes a whole lot of salad. We're going to be eating it for another day or so. And another 'thanks to' for Jenny Ann. Thanks to her tip we now have a supply of whole chicken breasts at $1 a pound from Acme.

Pizza is a wonderful thing. You can take whatever is in the fridge and turn it into dinner, named say, Hawaiin White Pizza. I have a great pizza crust recipie that I can remember to make at 5 pm, and the pizza is out of the oven at 6:30. Another lovely feature is that the cook can make exactly what she wants, and can accomodate the wishes of the rest of the household as well. I always want lots of onion on my part. In this pizza we had 1/2 a can of pineapple in the refrigerator, red bell pepper, a small piece of frozen pork (easy to slice in it's frozen state), and an open jar of alfredo sauce, which is better on pizza than pasta. Not to mention mozzarella, and the onion. I brown the pork first, while the pizza dough is on it's first 7 minute bake to avoid the dreaded soggy crust. All in all, delish.