Eat on $30 Project - Day 1 {Pulled Pork Nachos w/Corn, Avocado, Tomato & Black Bean Salsa}
Sunday Day 1….Eat on $30 project!
Pork, Pork & more Pork…Hope you like pork : ) If you didn’t read the introductory Eat on $30 post click here & it will let you know all about it. Otherwise, you’re going to be wondering WHY I’m breaking down EVERY single thing we drank & ate! Just sayin’!
I started this challenge a little out of sorts today. My plans for the day were already out of whack straight out of the shoot….Which leads me to Observation #1. Things are not always going to go according to your Budget Plan. You’ll read all about that below.
BREAKFAST:
Pancakes with Syrup, Fruit & Coffee. This morning for the kiddos: PANCAKES. My bambini love pancakes & since I’m NOT a morning person I do buy them frozen (stop gasping, to make up for my lack of morning motivation we do normally whip up a big breakfast on Saturday morning - just sayin). I found a bag of 24 large already buttered Pancakes for $3.28. That’s .14 each. Not bad.
I buy my Maple Syrup from the ginormous wholesaler so it’s really cheap so I’m going to guesstimate a few cents for the maple syrup they used. I had a cup of coffee in my fancy schmancy coffee maker. It makes each cup fresh & grinds the beans individually so it only uses what you need. I, of course, MUST add sugar & creamer to this so I’m going to estimate my coffee at .25 cup. A bag of my Espresso beans last a long time (thank goodness).
Here’s where my monkey wrench came in..Today I have an expense that I only have every few months & that’s to take a breakfast food to church to share. Just my luck it’s during budget week - LOL. I had originally planned on making Homemade Nutella Cinnamon Rolls to take, but the dough didn’t get finished in time & I had to put it in the fridge. AUGH! So I had to suck it up and go to the grocery this morning. I settled on fruit, which for the most part was on sale. (but good news we’ll be enjoying homemade Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast the next few days LOL)
Consumed:
- 7 pancakes at $.98 plus syrup .10 = $1.08
- Coffee (with cream & sugar) =$ .25
- Fruit to take to Church =$7.76
- The hubs & I ate Fruits & Banana Bread (covered in expense above & banana bread was gratis)
Breakfast Total: $9.09 (yikes, I’m a little nervous already
LUNCH:
Pulled Pork Tacos, Refried Beans & Cheese & Spanish Rice I found a great big Pork Butt on sale for $7.21 for (7lbs) - which is going to be the star of at least 4 meals. So that’s a whopping $1.80 per meal. Crockpot here we come! We cooked it with a few spices in the crockpot overnight. Low & slow. So it was ready when we got back home. Dee-lish. We decided the first meal would be Pulled Pork Tacos.
- Tortillas were $2.08 for a package of 16. Making them $.13 each.
- The bag of Mexican cheese was $1.98 & we used about 1/4 of the bag.
- We used Rice, Spices, Beans & a Tomato from our Pantry which I’m estimating costs on.
Consumed:
- Pork =$1.80
- Tortillas 6 x .13 =$ .78
- Spices from Pantry= $ .50
- 1 cup Rice =$ .50
- 1 tomato = $ .50
- 1 can refried beans =$ .50 (used 1/2 can)
- Mexican Cheese =$ .50
- Water = gratis
Lunch Total: $5.08
SNACKS:
Cupcakes x 6 =$ .66 (4 - 24 cupcakes)
DINNER:
Pulled Pork Nachos with a Black Bean, Corn, Tomato & Avocado Salsa on top
Consumed:
- Pork =$ 1.80
- Tortillas =$1.00 (used 1/2 a bag)
- 1/2 can of Corn =$ .30
- 1/2 Avocado= $ .85
- 1/2 can of Black Beans = $ .30
- Mexican Cheese = $ .50 (used 1/4 of bag)
- Water = gratis
Dinner Total: =$ 4.75
GRAND TOTAL FOR DAY: = $19.58 ($1.85 UNDER our daily budget of $21.43!)
Okay all this math is making my head spin, WOW seriously, I’m just a cook & not a mathematician This is killing me, but it’s for a good cause. LOL
What you’ll need:
1/2 bag of Tortilla Chips
*1 cup (ish) Pulled Pork (leftover from Slow Cooker Pork Butt)
1/2 can of Black Beans - Drained
1/2 can of Kernel Corn - Drained
1/2 Tomato - Diced
1/2 Avocado - Diced
1/4 cups Mexican Cheese
* {Slow Cooked Pork Butt:}
Pork Butt - 5-6 lb
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
2 tbsp Paprika
s/p
What to do:
To cook Pork: In a bowl mix the Spices along with s/p for Rub. Pat your Pork Butt dry & then rub the spice rub completely over the pork. Spray your Crockpot with cooking spray & place your Pork inside. Cover & cook on 180 degrees (or low) for 8-10 or until Pork falls apart. Drain fat. Return to Crockpot.
Arrange your Tortilla Chips onto a oven or microwave safe serving plate. Distribute your Pulled Pork ontop. Add the corn & black beans. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Place into microwave or oven long enough to melt cheese. Garnish with the chopped tomato & avocado!
Buon Appetito!
This is a SlimCado! Have you ever heard or seen one of these? Well I had not. Another Observation I have made is that I spend A LOT more time in the grocery looking through sale bins & comparing EVERY single item. Avocados were no exception. In my local grocery a regular Hass Avocado was $1.50 (HELLO) and then I looked up & saw these massive Avocados that were listed as Slimcados for a whopping $1.79 EACH. They were the size of my open hand. No kidding. Which I’m guessing equals to about 3 regular Avocados. They touted themselves as having 30% less fat than a regular Avocado. Well I wasn’t as concerned about that as I was the price so I picked her up & threw (gently of course) her into the buggy! She was delightful!
See what a little comparison shopping can do for ya?
Great job! Even buying all the fruit for your group you came in under budget.
You’re off to a great start! I love pulled pork, we had it last night.
I am loving the pull pork nachos. great idea!
Nice healthy post, I too always watch my budget but things are getting more & more expensive lately. Can’t do much about it!
I want to do the challenge by eating at your house!
Thanks Wendy! It helped that they had green grapes on SALE ; ) & I picked up Bananas of course. I splurged on the Strawberries. But it was a nice good amount of fruit.
Ciao Gina! Thank you. You’ll be seeing many more meals this week for me with that Pulled Pork! It was an ah-mazing $7.21 for the amount of meat we got and it’s already fed us 3 different meals! It was a good purchase.
Thanks Penny! I luckily found a large piece of Pork for a great price so I had to get “creative” with lots of meals so it didn’t go to waste.
Yes, food prices are rising. I compare with friends from other states & am amazed at how much difference there is (with not that many miles in between us)
We have a big table ; ) No worries!
That pulled pork dish looks GREAT! Well done on day one.
Thanks Betty! Stay tuned lots more Pork dishes coming LOL I’m making Pasta today. It’s time!
Love that first dish. Looks awesome!
Ah, thanks Jen! I’m honored, considering YOU’RE such a fab photographer! I REALLY enjoyed reading your post (& naturally seeing all of those drool worthy pics!)
Wow - you’re doing a great job! Sorry I wasn’t able to join in this time around. I think I have seen the slimcados at the farmer’s market before, although not with that name. I will keep my eyes open for them next time!
Ciao Jen! I am sure the fab Tami will be organizing another one. Thank you. It’s been EYE OPENING. I could not believe the size of those Slimcado’s. They were HUGE I tell you! Def NOT as creamy as a regular Haas but it was tasty & most important in my BUDGET : )
Nice! I love this concept of 30 dollars a day and thankfully I am pretty sure I am usually under that since I just eat yogurt for breakfast, leftovers for lunch, and then make dinner. Although there are the few sneaky expensive meals. Plus the no kids thing really works in my favor.
Also, great minds think alike because I was thinking nachos would be awesome with the roasted chicken leftovers.
LOL, I knew I liked you! BUT it’s $30 for the ENTIRE WEEK….much harder (& that would include your beverages Mr. Shively) Just sayin’….
What did you think of the slimcado? I tried one and it seemed like it had no flavor….coulda just been the one I got tho.
Hi Cathy! Well they’re def NOT as creamy as a Haas but they were good. I had them mixed in with lots of other flavors though: tomatoes, black beans, corn, etc. Not sure how I would feel perhaps making a guacamole. Guess I’ll have to give that a go. I purchased more for budget reasons this week.
for a challenge you managed to make a wonderful meal! that first photo looks scrumptious!
Thank you Jessie! Everybody really loved them & best off, they were easy & BUDGET FRIENDLY to make!
Great Challenge. You were very creative!
Thanks so much Dawn. You really HAVE to be on this budget
great job for your first day. I am still sorting things out here so I am particularly impressed that you made it under budget for the day.
Ah, thanks! Stay tuned. I’m sure it’s not going to work out that way every day.
Good luck with the challenge - looks like you are going to be doing some wondrous things. Beautiful!
Ah, thanks a bunch! Mwah!
Ah you found our Florida secret, SlimCados. Forget the gucamole - leave these beauties to top a salad, sandwich or a soup. Much lighter in taste
Great job, Paula! Even with the unexpected expense you still came under budget! =)
Thanks bunches Leyla! My goal is to have come in a little under on the next few days so we can actually splurge for a dessert one night
Hi Sam! They are def much lighter in taste & they go a long way, which I really appreciate.