Category Archives: Groceries

5 Things Friday

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  1. The weather continues to be very different.  This week has brought 2 days of beautiful snow (Wednesday and Thursday).  Both the kids and I had a remote day on Wednesday. I had a second remote day on Thursday while the kids had a total day off.  The good news was that it was a very dry snow and mostly melted so we all returned to school on Friday.
  2. Our electric bill was significantly higher than usual this month. It was over $300 to be exact $319.  This is likely due to the cold weather so there is really not much I could do about this.
  3. Speaking of cold, we have realized that both my office and the living room are much cooler than the rest of the house.  We set up small thermometers in both room and have discovered that overnight the temperature drops to 63 degrees in both rooms with the heat pump set at 67* After discussion this is likely not a new problem but something that continues to happen and with the colder temperatures means increasing bills. We have purchased two small heaters to use in these rooms when we are in them.
  4. The 2025 gardening season has started.  We planted pepper seeds and broccoli seeds last Saturday. We actually have a couple of broccoli plants starting. These will likely go outside in the next couple of days.  I am planning to get out and try and straighten out the greenhouse later today. The next big project is to prune both the rose bushes and fruit trees hopefully next week this will be possible.
  5. Kendall and Zach have been participating in a weekly Bible study with some other from our youth group.   They have been meeting at Starbucks but this is expensive and hard to hear. We offered our house and we will be providing drinks and snacks.  This will affect our grocery bill but both Matt and I agree that we don’t want to change this so a higher bill will be the expectation.

Saving on Saturday- Food Edition

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Food is always a huge expense for us, and I am constantly trying to find ways to save money on this expense. The biggest way to save money on groceries is to not throw away food.  We are fortunate to have chickens that pretty much like anything and what they don’t eat they poop on which can be used for fertilizer to grow more food.   I should also mention that yesterday was Valentine Day which added a bit of “celebrating” to this post.

We typically have a special or meal out for Valentine’s Day, but I did not want to deal with the crowds yesterday. Matt offered to pick up take out, which was a great idea. We have been going to the same local Chinese restaurant for at least 20 years so that was my choice for dinner.  We have discovered that recently, ordering out actually gets you more food than eating in. We ordered a Sesame chicken combo dinner which included rice and a soup, and a large shrimp lo mien, total $21.75.  This actually was enough food to feed 4 people dinner and one lunch!  Matt and I headed out early this morning to attend Braxton’s basketball game, we planned to head to Costco to do a stock up trip as I had over 15 items on my Costco list.  I had purchased gift card for a couple of restaurants last year with my Costco reward certificate, so this was a perfect time to use the remaining $25 one for Bad Daddy’s.  Matt and I ate for $8 including tip after the gift card, and we decided to add a Starbuck’s just for fun. Total cost for “Date Day” not including Costco $25! ($8 was to enter the ballgame).

Now on to more food content, I purchased a rotisserie chicken for $4.99 at Costco.  For dinner today, we chopped up some and made chicken and rice, this will also probably be enough for at least 1 more meal and a couple of lunches so that is enough for 10 people to eat, I also will be making a double batch of chicken enchiladas, one for this week and one to freeze, another 10 meals.  That means we spent approximately 25 cent a meal on meat.  But to make this an even better deal, I currently have my roaster oven going with a huge batch of chicken stock with I will can tomorrow!

We have some mini cinnamon and raisin bagel that we purchased a couple of weeks ago and 5 are left, which are beginning to become stale, I have cut these up and will be using for a French toast casserole for breakfast in the morning!

Finally, I have a couple of ears of corn left in the fridge along with a small portion from a can, this will get used for a new honey corn hamburger casserole this week!

I don’t mind food going to the chickens but I prefer to use what we have!

Pantry Challenge Success or Fail?

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This actually depends on how you are determining success or failure.

The quickest way to look at pantry challenge is based on money.   I completely failed at this as we spent $771 on groceries in the month of January. But wait this is still almost $50 less than our budget of $820.  But significantly more than my goal of $300.  I actually spent some time researching and checking out numbers today.  The only other time that I have spent over $500 during a pantry challenge was in 2019.   The year the world imploded so this does concern me a bit!

I also did some checking into what the US government is using as a standard.  Based on the numbers from December 2024 we should be spending $1309 on food. Or this is what food stamps would be based on for our family of five.$1309 is considered the “thrifty” amount so this is the lowest amount that the government thinks we could survive on.   Looking a bit deeper this amount indicates an increase from December 2023.  Another interesting fact is that for the year 2020 to 2023 the amount stayed the same! I had thought and even mention increased the amount to $1200 for grocery spending for the first three months of the year.  Now I am leaning toward using the $1309 amount.  Can I feed our family of five for 3 months for the thrifty amount that the government has set? In reality between some stops  at the grocery store already this month and our Amazon subscribe and save our current total for both January and February would be $984, leaving $325.   That may definitely work, I think I just talked myself into this amount.

The other method I could look at the success of the pantry challenge would be to look at the goals I have set.

1.Purchasing items that we are completely out of that are staples such as diary as well as buns or other items that will help use items we already have. Total spending for the three months of the 2025 will be less than $1309.  Discussed above!

2. Use at least one “meal/meat portion of the meal” from the stand-up freezer each week. (This is where most of the meals are)  have been consistently doing this and I can start to see a difference and the ability to re-organize this freezer prior to the summer stock up period.
3. Use at least 3 jars a week from the canning pantry. I am beginning to see several lines of empty shelves and I am thinking about ways to use items. I currently have enough empty jars that I could use up pears that have been vacuumed sealed to make pearberry sauce and do a large batch of beef broth.  Again this has been a success!
4. Use one item a week from the connivence freezer in my room. This is also starting to show. My goal would be to completely empty this freezer prior to May in order to organize and use it more efficiently this summer.
5. Each Monday after menu planning provide a list of how I followed the guidelines for the week.  This also has been consistent.

So based on goals I am successful with the pantry challenge to date!   I am going to continue with this challenge using the same guidelines except for increasing the spending for the month of February.  I may need to re-evaluate at the end of February to determine if it is sustainable for the month of March?  Only time will tell but I am at least seeing a benefit.

Monday Menu Post

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Last week turned out to be different than expected with lots of weather involved.  I did not cook on Thursday, so the Bacon Cheeseburger pizza is moved to this week. I wanted to use up more of the leftovers so we could stay on track.  Both the kids and I are out of school today for the holiday, so I did a bit of extra cooking today.  I also went to the grocery store this weekend and started to purchase food for our annual junk food Sunday.

Breakfast- Saturday-Lily brought home bagels from Panera. Sunday- Dad’s Breakfast Casserole Monday- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Friday– find it (breakfast burritos, muffins, oatmeal, cereal and milk, French toast sticks, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs. We are really low on eggs, so I have purchased some instant oatmeal and grits to add to breakfast.

Lunch- Saturday-leftovers   Sunday-Dinner out with Friends (CHRISTOS) Monday- corn on the cob and bacon Tuesday, – soup Wednesday- eat out or leftovers Thursday- soup. Friday- eat out.

Dinner- Saturday- Copycat Olive Garden Chicken gnocchi soup and breadsticks.   Sunday- Left-overs    Monday- Corn chowder (using frozen corn from our freezer) Pear sauce cake in the crockpot.  Tuesday- Burritos using Taco Rice in the fridge.    Wednesday- Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza (everything from the freezer) Thursday- Eat on the way to swim meet Friday- Parmesan Chicken (we have an excess of chicken in the connivence freezer)

Pantry Challenge
1.Purchasing items that we are completely out of that are staples such as diary as well as buns or other items that will help use items we already have. Total spending for the three months of the 2025 will be less than $900   Current total $514.46. This week we received an Azure order (first one in 18 months) and I started to gather items for our Junk Food Sunday. I also pulled out cash to use for groceries for the remainder of the challenge. I currently have $220 left to meet the goal of $900. Not sure this is entirely possible but even keeping that budget for 2 months would mean $800 in savings.
2. Use at least one “meal/meat portion of the meal” from the stand-up freezer each week. (This is where most of the meals are) Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza. I also pulled out 3 packs of frozen corn on the cob, 2 of which I will use this week for meals. This corn is from at least 2 years ago so I am very proud to be using it up.
3. Use at least 3 jars a week from the canning pantry. I pulled a pint jar of pear sauce and will be using at least 3 jars of chicken broth this week for cooking. My plan is to also use a jar of spaghetti sauce for the chicken parm on Friday.
4. Use one item a week from the connivence freezer in my room. I ended up giving my mom a bag of Chicken nuggets this week and I hope to use some of the chicken patties to make the chicken parm. on Friday.
5. Each Monday after menu planning provide a list of how I followed the guidelines for the week.  Done!

5 Things Friday

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  1. The weather has remained extremely cold. Today is the first time in a week the temperature has been above 45 degrees.  We are actually expecting even colder weather next week with the temperature to remain below freezing from Sunday night until Thursday. There is also a chance for snow as well.
  2. Zach and Kendall have attended school 4 days in 2024 and if they are able to continue with the schedule they plan. Then they will go 2 out of 5 days next week which will put them at 5 full days in the month of January.
  3. On Wednesday this week, I picked up a foster dog who may become a permanent part of our family. He appears to have some hound dog in him and some pit bull.  We decided to go the foster route just to make sure that he will be a good fit for us. So far, he appears to be very sweet but is having trouble remembering to pee outside.
  4. I am continuing to work on some budget items and plans.  I want to make a significant dent in our overall debt but I also realize that we can’t cut back to a bean and rice budget due to the kids and I want my kids to enjoy their high school years not think about what they can’t do.  Look for a post in the next week or so with some more specific details.
  5. I am staring to look ahead to our junk food Sunday!  I plan to purchase at least the chicken wings we need this weekend along with some bacon and sausage that we are currently out of.   The pantry challenge may be a bit more of a challenge as we look and plan ahead.

Monday Menu Plan / Pantry Challenge

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Things are starting to get back on track.  I am so thankful for the extra time at home due to weather over the past week!  I am actually feeling almost better and ready to dive in to a more normal routine.  You will notice that we did not eat out this weekend due to the weather as well.

Breakfast- Saturday-Pancakes or French toast from freezer. Sunday- Baked oatmeal Monday- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Friday– find it (breakfast burritos, muffins, oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs. I have added a rice cake with peanut butter to my list of things to eat.

Lunch- Saturday-Lily made meatballs Sunday-My Dad’s chicken stew Monday- leftovers Tuesday, – soup Wednesday- eat out or leftovers Thursday- soup. Friday- eat out.

Dinner- Saturday- Chicken and rice or meatball and rice.   Sunday-Hamburger and French Fries   Monday-Cowboy beans and cornbread    Tuesday- Chicken Fried Rice and eggrolls   Wednesday- Million Dollar Spaghetti Pie Thursday- Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza Friday- Eat out before the swim meet.

Pantry Challenge
1.Purchasing items that we are completely out of that are staples such as diary as well as buns or other items that will help use items we already have. Total spending for the three months of the 2025 will be less than $900   Current total $289.89
2. Use at least one “meal/meat portion of the meal” from the stand-up freezer each week. (This is where most of the meals are)  Million Dollar Pie, Hamburgers and Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza.
3. Use at least 3 jars a week from the canning pantry. We have used 10-pint jars for meals so far this week and probably another 10 cans from the store pantry.  I did add 8 pint jar of chicken stock to the closet.
4. Use one item a week from the connivence freezer in my room. We used hamburger buns from the connivence freezer and a couple of rolls of sausage. Lily found some shells to use for her lunch.
5. Each Monday after menu planning provide a list of how I followed the guidelines for the week.  Done!

Snow Weekend/Pantry Challenge

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With all our sickness this has been a great week for weather related events.  I had a 3-hour delay for a workday on Monday, a two-hour delay on Tuesday and a remote learning day on Friday. This allowed me some extra time at home to start to get things back in order and prepared. On Friday, after finishing work I was able to immediately get started on getting things done around the house.  Dinner was already going as I had started in the crockpot during my lunch.

The soup on Friday was a new one to us. Everyone enjoyed and we placed some in the fridge for later meals.  One of the things I am trying to do is when I make a pot of soup, put some in containers for easy lunches but also freeze a container that can be used for a quick and easy meal later.  But this did not allow us enough for the freezer.  I was also able to pull out and make a breakfast casserole for Friday morning, using up things that we already had. It actually was a hit and will be a do over!   I even pulled out eggs from the freezer so that we did not use our precious egg supply right now.

One of the hardest parts of starting straight back to work after returning from a trip is the lack of food preparation that is done. This week, I knew I had canned a couple of soups so I used that for my lunches. We also had very simple dinners that basically included heat and eat. Lily also cooked on Thursday night and Saturday lunch which was a huge blessing! My goal for the weekend which I knew ahead of time was to try and get some meals made that first used up ingredients from our pantries and freezers but also that provided options for lunches for the next week.

Lily made meatballs for lunch on Saturday, which were great!  Hot dog buns were used for sub rolls and we pulled out a jar of spaghetti sauce along with BBQ Sause to use as a topping.  I ended up making cranberry meatballs for my dinner on Saturday night with enough left for at least one lunch this week.  Matt and Lily headed to Costco for some car stuff on Saturday as well. They brought back a rotisserie chicken which was enjoyed for dinner by others as well. I had also made a pot of rice for a dinner later this week which most of us added to the protein.

I pulled all the chicken off the bones and put in the fridge to use for our soup today. My Dad’s chicken stew which is most like a Brunswick stew has been on my short list.  I threw the bones and skins in the crockpot with water to make chicken stock. This cooked overnight and was ready for use this morning.  I was able to pressure can 8 pints of chicken stock which are now shelf-stable for future use.

I was able to use frozen onions and celery, along with a couple of expired cans of mixed vegetables along with cans of corn, tomato and green beans to start a big pot of chicken stew. We will be eating this for lunch as well as freezing one portion for future use and having 4-5 bowl available for next week as well.

My current plan is to have hamburgers for dinner, using buns from the freezer!  I am going to start a batch of cowboy beans in the roaster in the morning which will be another lunch options along with a batch in the freezer and other lunch choices as well.

I think we are good for both using pantry items and having prepared meals now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Things

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  1. This has been a better week for me. I have been able to enjoy work and am actually staying somewhat caught up.  I hope to continue this routine as the first of this school year has been rough and I am glad to not dread coming to work.
  2. We are headed to Florida for Thanksgiving. We have travel alot more years than we have stayed at home on Thanksgiving. My only disappointment is the temperature in Florida are suppose to be in the 70s , I was hoping for 80s.
  3. Thanksgiving is late this year, the last week of November so I have decided to go ahead and decorate!   I hope by the end of the weekend to have all the decorations that I am going to use both inside and outside in place.
  4. Zach has already started practice for Baseball in the Spring,  He is continuing to swim.  This means that staying at home all evenings was short lived but much enjoyed. I am glad that he finishes baseball around 4:45 instead of 5:45.
  5. I think we have settled our plans for Christmas/ New Years so now I definitely need to get my plans together for the beach next year!

Successful Saturday

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Today was an awesome day!  I have been behind and feeling overwhelmed for a season, so I need to celebrate even small wins!

Today Matt was able to get the new permanent light up and working on the house. He was able to get a couple of new electrical outlets placed last week so that puts up finished up with another one of the projects we have taken on.

I decided that we needed to pull up a flower bed on the side of the house under my office window. We have attempted for at least 5 if not 10 years to get something to grow in this area.  It only gets probably two hours of sunlight a day.  Zach spent a couple of hours removing the bounder and scrapping up the mulch.  I purchased two bags of grass seeds; Zach was also able to get the seed out in the yard and in the area where he removed the “no grow bed”   Hopefully we will get some pretty grass from this attempt.

I was able to get our Halloween box of decorations and outfits packed up and put away as well. I also did some food rotation in order to keep up using what we have and reducing the need to purchase more food.

I got meal prepping done, including our soup for dinner for tomorrow. I also planned the meals for the week.

Amazon returns have been done.

Suitcases have been unpacked and returned.

The house is not dirty but not clean and I am finally starting to feel like we can breathe!

Saving on Saturday

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Finally an entire day at home to focus on not only cleaning and finding my house again but on preserving and preparing food.

The first way I saved today is that I have managed to plan and cook three meals for today and breakfast for tomorrow.  We also did some refrigerator clean out and that saves us food for the chickens.

Next I focused on chopping a bunch of veggies. These will be used for salads for lunches next week as well as in preparation for my preservation project of the week.

I was able to fry up 4 # of sausage, one pound is for breakfast in the morning and the other was used in the 20 omelet bags that I prepared. I also made 10 bags using bacon crumbles.  I decided to use up the Nutrional yeast I purchased several years ago by placing a tablespoon in each of the omelet bags. This should add cheese flavor without the diary in addition to just clearing out my pantry.

We were able to wash and hang out our bed sheets between Friday and today which saved money on the electricity bill. It also eliminates the need for fabric softener or scent beads as well.

I made a menu plan for next week that I will share on Monday as well as just generally straighten and clean parts of the kitchen.

I caught up on the laundry which is a major accomplishment.

Matt with help from Zach did some auto repair which did not save me money but did save both Kendall and Zach money.

The kids were able to use our shredded paper in the chicken coop which will become compost as well as reduces the smell.

Not bad for a Saturday spent in my nightgown!