This is an excellent example of a well flavored meal made by frugal hands. Every item was free, homemade, or discounted. In the case of the rice, I could have used the same exact microwaveable wild rice by Uncle Ben's that I had gotten from Aldi (which is a reasonably-priced store) but the rice from my parents was a month or so older. I do try to follow the "first in, first out" concept from accounting class. The brussel sprouts were 50% off instead of "buy one, get one free". Obviously, the price would have been the same. The difference is I wasn't forced to buy two if I only want one. That type of buying is wonderful. Since Paul isn't a great fan of brussel sprouts and I am not a fan of peas, I bought a bag of each and we agreed to eat each others' choice "just this once". Fortunately, I also got to share the peas with Paul's parents.

Even if buying a bottle of onion or garlic powder, seasoned salt (which often has those powders in them) or basil breaks the budget for the week, these seasonings come in handy so often for making meals extra special. My mother has taught me to use them on a variety of items like on baked potatoes and in homemade salad dressings.

Please, see a previous post for my recipe for roasting sweet potatoes ironically, it's from the day we had the peas.

Recipe for Brussel Sprouts

The brussel sprouts were the "steam in the bag" kind, but I am still a bit nervous about the effects of microwaving plastic. Instead, I poured the brussel sprouts into a Corningware bowl and added 1 tablespoon butter, 6 whole leaves dried basil, a good teaspoon or more of onion powder, and two coarsely chopped cloves of garlic. I still microwaved them according to package directions (about 5 1/2 minutes), stirring in between. They were truly simple.

Cost to Make

• $1.79 Wild Rice (Free from parents who didn't want it. Purchased from Publix; cost estimated.)
• $0.43 Sweet Potatoes (Publix sale, sliced and frozen)
• $1.24 Brussel Sprouts (Publix, 50% off)
• $0.08 Garlic (Costco)
• $0.25 Seasoned Salt (Make-your-own or purchase)
• $0.10 Olive Oil (Publix, buy one get one free)
• $0.06 Butter (Costco)
• $0.10 Onion Powder (Costco)
• $0.05 Salt (Publix)
• Free Rosemary (fresh from our herb garden)
• Free Basil (from our herb garden, dehydrated by me)
• $4.10 Total

This meal fed two of us with no leftovers. However, my stomach at the moment wished there had been leftovers. I'm sure it easily feeds three people acceptable servings and can spread to four with a few crackers on the side.