OP, do you qualify for food stamps or can you get groceries from a food bank? Hope you are doing ok.

Pp again - what about Walmart? If we send a gift card there, would you be able to get it?

Op - so sorry you are going through this. I just called the Brentwood Giant and they won't take payment for a gift card over the phone. I thought that might expedite getting it to you. I am not familiar with her neighborhood (moved to the area recently). Is there a restaurant nearby? I'm thinking they might charge my credit card a certain amount and then op can order some food to carry her over. Any ideas?

OP here. I did check at my local Giant and no gift card was available yet. I will check again. Surprisingly, things got a bit worse, but we are surviving. DD had a bday party sleepover to attend, so I was off the hook for dinner and the following b'fast. I just nibbled on some shredded cheese I found and rice. I was not able to spend my $20 on food as I thought I could. Someone was suppose to bring DD home from sleepover (on other side of town) and couldn't so I had to get her (had to use gas I wasn't planning on, had to then put about $5 to hopefully make it to Thurs. Nope, gas light is on, have to put another $5 in), then I realized that it's now Dec, and she needed a new student metro card for school. Didn't have the $30 so I put $12 on metro card for her to get back and worth. So, wasn't able to buy any food. Told DD she HAS to eat the school lunch regardless of how horrible it tastes. Made fried rice with my rice, egg, onion and soy sauce. That was Sun and Monday. Tonight I'll give her the spaghetti noodles with sauce and some of the canned green beans. Someone had a party at work today so I filled up there so I'm good until tomorrow evening. While I was not able to try any of these great ideas, I again want to thank everyone. I will check again at Giant tonight to see if gift card is there. We are almost at the end. This has made me realize just how close to being "homeless" I really am. This food crisis was because my car battery died and it costed me $121 for a new one (obviously not in the "budget"), and stuff just went downhill from there.

Hope all is well OP. I went to second (or third) all of the lentil recommendations. Barefoot Contessa has two other non-meat lentil recipes so that you don't need to spend money on bacon. Also, by any chance, do you have a bread machine? Or a neighbor with one? We have a really old one from our wedding eons ago that we never used. A couple of years ago we were in a not so great place and I pulled it out. I found that I had most of the ingredients we needed and just had to buy yeast for $0.79. We made two loaves of bread, a sweet and a savory. My kids thought it was a special treat. I've found when resources are low, we can get really creative very quickly, and it's also a great time to clean out the pantry of whatever is left.

We also buy boneless skinless chicken thighs when they go on sale, and they a really long way and are far less expensive than chicken breasts. They are great for chicken tacos, chicken stir fry (with noodles), etc.

Anonymous wrote:OP, here is an article/recipes about black beans from the NY Times. The recipe to make the black beans is the last link at the bottom. They are really good! http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/series/recipes_for_health/blackbeans/index.html

I also make a tortilla soup which can be made with either chicken or veggie broth. It makes A LOT and is really filling. You could always add some rice or pasta to it. Avocado (on sale at Safeway right now, 10 for $10) make it more filling as well. I always have cumin and chili powder since I make this pretty often.
4 14oz cans chicken or veggie broth
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1 small can green chilies, drained
1 small bag frozen corn
2 cans fire roasted tomatoes
1-2 peppers (red, green, whatever is cheaper) chopped
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 Tbs cumin
2 Tbs chili powder
Salt and pepper

Sauté garlic, onion, peppers, cumin, and chili powder in 2 Tbs olive oil about 10 minutes.
Add tomatoes, chilies, broth, corn, and salt to taste.
Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add black beans and cook 5 minutes
Serve with toppings/additions of your choice

This thread definitely shows the good side of DCUM!

I'm the pp who posted the recipe above. I did it from memory, and realized I made a few mistakes!

It should be 2 cans of broth, not 4
4 tsp of cumin, not tablespoons
No chili powder

Stock poster here. Someone started a spinoff stock thread: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/0/276263.page#3017999

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/

cheap nutritious menus for a month or so on not much money.

This is the best thread I've ever read on DCUM! It really makes up for the nasty trolls that often populate the forums. I'm a single mom with a teen DD too and while we've never been this short of cash I make only a fraction of what many of you on here earn so I can really relate.

Good luck OP. I'm rooting for you!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay, I've been trying to find an e-gift-card that can be e-mailed and also used in-store, plus that doesn't require a gift recipients' name (unfortunately Giant wants the name of the person picking up the card, who needs to have photo ID to retrieve the card). The only one I can really find is Walmart. There is a Walmart near you in Landover Hills, but unfortunately the reviews are pretty awful for that store.

OP--if I were to send you an e-gift-card for Wal-Mart, would you use it? Let me know and I'll e-mail you a gift card.

I wanted to send a Giant card too but don't want her to have to wait 4 days (obviously, the photo id is an issue too). I will do the Walmart card too if that will work. Please let us know. I know OP said that she has to go to the library to check the internet. I don't know if DC libraries are open on Sunday (mine in MC is not). Op, if there is a store close to your work, please let us know that too.

I did see the specifics about the Giant gift card. I sent OP an email outlining what I said in the notes, I really hope she is able to pick up my gift card. Maybe if people really want her to get a Giant gift card or other card, you can email her and she will at least provide a first name.

The Amazon wish list is a great idea!

What if OP did an Amazon wish list? Would that work better then e-gift cards?

Anonymous wrote:Okay, I've been trying to find an e-gift-card that can be e-mailed and also used in-store, plus that doesn't require a gift recipients' name (unfortunately Giant wants the name of the person picking up the card, who needs to have photo ID to retrieve the card). The only one I can really find is Walmart. There is a Walmart near you in Landover Hills, but unfortunately the reviews are pretty awful for that store.

OP--if I were to send you an e-gift-card for Wal-Mart, would you use it? Let me know and I'll e-mail you a gift card.

I wanted to send a Giant card too but don't want her to have to wait 4 days (obviously, the photo id is an issue too). I will do the Walmart card too if that will work. Please let us know. I know OP said that she has to go to the library to check the internet. I don't know if DC libraries are open on Sunday (mine in MC is not). Op, if there is a store close to your work, please let us know that too.

The responses in this thread are awesome!

OP please let us know how you do.

Okay, I've been trying to find an e-gift-card that can be e-mailed and also used in-store, plus that doesn't require a gift recipients' name (unfortunately Giant wants the name of the person picking up the card, who needs to have photo ID to retrieve the card). The only one I can really find is Walmart. There is a Walmart near you in Landover Hills, but unfortunately the reviews are pretty awful for that store.

OP--if I were to send you an e-gift-card for Wal-Mart, would you use it? Let me know and I'll e-mail you a gift card.

BTW, don't let teen DD give you any grief about cooking bones for stock. It's not "cooking poor." Chefs and restaurants do it--it's behind every good soup and sauce. Tell her you saw it on the Cooking Channel and you're trying it out.