Last Days of February, Beginning of March

I know I say this repeatedly but it was tough making a plan this week. I really feel worn out emotionally between the funeral some family drama and sick kids so focusing on this and picturing the week was a strain.

Sun Feb 26th:
Dinner: fend for yourselves.

Mon Feb 27th:
Breakfast: bagel with cream cheese
Lunch: out with coworker
Dinner: Beef Stroganoff using the leftover ground beef from tacos last week

Tue Feb 28th:
Breakfast: bagel with cream cheese
Lunch: out with coworker
Dinner: fish sticks and mac-n-cheese. I could not find pork chops in the freezer although I swore they were there when I made the menu plan.

Wed Mar 1st:
Breakfast: bagel with cream cheese
Lunch: frozen dinner, strawberries and a cheese stick
Dinner: Crustless quiche from A Pretty Life's blog. I made it using the leftover ham and some spinach.

Thur Mar 2nd:
Breakfast: bagel with cream cheese
Lunch:strawberries, cheese stick, pretzels
Dinner: Hasselback potatoes from Damn Delicious blog. Served with biscuits. I intended to make a salad but the lettuce was turning so I skipped it. I went with hasselback potatoes because the ones I have on hand were too small to be baked potatoes on their own.

Right before I went in the oven

Fri Mar 3rd:
Breakfast: bagel with cream cheese
Lunch: out with former coworkers
Dinner:At Phillip's request we had spaghetti

Sat Mar 4th:
Dinner: Pizza

Books Jan 24th Through Feb 27th

First category of books for me was audio books. I had to recheck it but I did finish White Trash: 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, I have since recommended this book to all my Facebook friends. It was a long listen but ultimately worth it, it was well researched and interesting. After finishing this one I listened to All There Is: Love Stories From Storycorps which is another I would recommend! It made me ugly cry several times. I immediately started FoxCatcher: The True Story of My Brother's Murder, John Du Pont's Madness, and the Quest for Olympic Gold which completely the opposite of the other book's is not one I would recommend. It is not that the story is bad but it was not what it was billed as. If Mark basically wrote an autobiography that included the story of his brother's murder and that is what title and blurb should have said. I have just an hour left in this one and should finish it up while driving home tonight.


I reread a couple of Kindle books this month and then another in a series I have been reading came out. I finished Blaze in one day, it was good....not as good as some in the series but good.


In the world of print books I finished The American Way of Eating: Undercover at WalMart, Applebee's, Farm Fields, and the Dinner Table. The subject matter was interesting and informative but I am not a fan of the author as a researcher or storyteller. After this one I fell back on an author I like, Ann Lamott. I read Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith and as expected enjoyed it. Ann does tend to repeat some stories from book to book but it feels like talking to an old friend. I am currently reading 2 books at the same time due to the fact 1 of them will not fit in my purse to read while I am out and about. Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of  Correspondence Deserving a Wider Audience. I really think this is a book I want to own. I have loved reading the letters from various people and learning history through these letters. The other book I am reading is Becoming China's Bitch: and Nine More Catastrophes We Must Avoid Now. I am not very far into the book yet but like the author's centerist views and find his research to be thorough.

Fourth Week of February

Cleaning up drafts on the blog and I accidentally deleted this original post so here we are again!!!

This week had a couple of days where I did not make plans because we would be with family.

Sun Feb 19th:
Lunch: Something I do not normally fix but we did not go to church I winged a pasta dish.

I cooked down some bacon pieces, used some of the grease to cook some mushrooms and garlic. I then added a can of diced tomatoes. Once all that had simmered together I added some cooked penne and the bacon.

Dinner: Pulled pork tosatadas

Mon Feb 20th:
Lunch: Leftover pulled pork tostadas
Dinner: Wake with family

Tue Feb 21st:
Lunch: Food with the family after the service
Dinner: Grilled Cheese

Wed Feb 22nd:
Lunch: pulled pork tostadas
Dinner: Tacos but used ground beef instead of leftover pulled pork

Thur Feb 23rd:
Lunch: pulled pork tostadas
Dinner: Brinner!!! We had pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs

Fri Feb 24th:
Lunch: out with coworkers
Dinner: I broke from the meal plan and made chicken pot pie

Sat Feb 25th:
Dinner: Brown Sugar ham, strawberries and green beans

There was a lot of ham leftover and so I stripped it off the bone and then put 1 portion in the fridge to use this week and the rest in the freezer for future meals including the bone.

Third Week of February

I have not made a meal plan for this week and there is too much unknown to even try at this point. Phillip was originally was supposed to be out of town at a conference this week but we found out this morning that his 49 year old uncle had a heart attack and died last night leaving his wife and 2 kids age 8 and 4 behind. We are not sure when the service is or what we will be needed to do so I can not even make myself address the issue of a meal plan at this moment.


Sun Feb 12th:
Leftover lettuce wraps, Phillip was still sick and just ate plain rice.

Mon Feb 13th:
Breakfast: donuts and kolaches
Lunch:The remaining lettuce wrap filling
Dinner: Casserole with penne pasta, the rest of the broccoli, Velveeta, The sauteed mushrooms, and grilled chicken.

Tue Feb 14th:
Breakfast:biscuit
Lunch: Leftover casserole from dinner the night before
Dinner: Enchiladas, rice and beans out with former coworker who was recently widowed.

Wed Feb 15th:
Breakfast: donut
Lunch:Frozen dinner and chips
Dinner: Hot dog with steamed corn

Thur Feb 16th:
Breakfast: Biscuit
Lunch: Frozen Dinner
Dinner: leftovers

Fri Feb 17th:
Breakfast: donut
Lunch: lunch out with former coworkers
Dinner: Leftovers

Sat Feb 18th:
Dinner : Pulled Pork from A Mind "Full" Mom's blog served with cinnamon apples and steamed corn.

Last Trip Was a Fantasy

Sooo my goal of staying away from the store died last night....

Kroger Trip:

1 gallon milk   $1.59
3lbs rice    $.99
2 pkgs razor replacement blades   $7.98
1 can tomato paste    $.39
1 pkg mushrooms    $1.19
~1&1/2 lbs bananas   $.86
1 loaf bread    $1.00

Total: $14.66

Last Grocery Trip for February "Crossing Fingers"

I went out on Saturday and did what we call my "big" shopping for the month. Which this month especially means I am done, I picked up all I thought we would need to get through this month.

Target Trip:

1 case diapers     $21.99
1 pkg diapers      $8.99
1 pkg wipes        $1.97
1 veggie/cheese plate   $2.29
1 sunscreen       $2.54

Total: $38.37



Winco Trip:

4 gallons apple juice    $13.12
2 gallons milk     $3.03
3 (6) packs Powerade    $11.34
2 boxes honey buns   $2.60
1 pkg goldfish    $1.68
1 box pancake mix  $.48  ( brought this to work for our food pantry)
2 boxes cheese and crackers  $3.96
1 box sandwich bags  $1.14
1 box freezer bags   $2.17
1 box cereal      $2.00
1 box snack cakes   $1.30
1 can ro-tel  tomatoes   $.52
1 jar peanut butter  $1.81
2 cans refried beans  $2.76
1 Dublin root beer   $1.28
1 bottle Teriyaki sauce   $1.58
2 packs fruit cups   $3.56
1 bottle laundry detergent    $5.48
2 bottles kids bath wash   $1.86
1 pkg fish sticks    $2.98
2 pkgs string cheese   $5.96
1 pkg frozen corn    $.95
1 pkg fajita chicken  $4.98
1 pkg mixed veggies  $.88
1 skirt steak   $4.73
2 pork roasts   $8.95
~2&1/2 lbs grapes   $4.71
1 pkg bacon pieces   $2.73
1 pkg pepperoni  $3.09
2 pkg shredded cheese  $1.96
1 pkg sliced cheese  $2.58
3 cans biscuits   $5.55
1 can bean dip   $1.88
~.05lbs ginger root  $.09
1 bag cheetos   $1.88
1 pkg spinach    $1.98
2 bags tortilla chips   $1.36
1 pkg sliced cheese   $2.58
1 head butter lettuce  $2.98
1 bag fritos   $1.88
1 bag cereal   $3.00
~1/2 lbs nordic fish   $.82
~1/4lb cinnamon gummy $.36
~3/4lbs raw sugar  $.70
~1/4lbs banana chips  $.49
~3/4lbs shell pasta    $.55
1 bag wavy lays  $1.98
1 loaf bread  $.93
1 bag BBQ chips  $1.98
1 pkg tostada shells $.98

 Total: $135.16

SubTotal for the month $268.63

Second Week of February

Sun Feb 5th:
Emergency visit to Grandma's house to fix a sink so no organized dinner

Mon Feb 6th:
Breakfast: leftover donut
Lunch:Chicken wrap
Dinner: fish sticks with mac-n-cheese

Tue Feb 7th:
Breakfast: mini donuts
Lunch: Friend treated for lunch, we had BBQ
Dinner: Baked Eggplant Parmesan from Gimme Some oven's Blog. I like this version the best out of all of them we have tried. I was able to use up leftover spaghetti noodles and marinara sauce from late last week. I also used up the rest of the sourdough bread making garlic toast.

Wed Feb 8th:
Breakfast: biscuit
Lunch: Chicken and Cheddar sandwich with yogurt
Dinner : Crazy Slow Cooker Pork from Key Ingredient and Baked Garlic Parmesan Fries from SkinnyPoints . There was mixed reviews, the pork chops had an odd  sweet taste likely from the onions. The fries on the other hand were amazing!

Thur Feb 9th:
Breakfast: donut and kolache with Logan
Lunch:Chicken and cheddar sandwich with chips
Dinner: Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps from Domestic Superhero. I used the leftover pork from the night before as well as cooked it on the stovetop. This is a popular recipe served with steamed rice.

Fri Feb 10th:
Breakfast: honey buns
Lunch:Pizza out with coworkers
Dinner: Phillip picked up pizza on his way home after we got our taxes done.

Sat Feb 11th:
Dinner is hodge podge, Phillip is feeling under the weather and the boys have been grazing all afternoon.

February's Grocery Tally

This month I am going to attempt the pantry challenge again. I need to restock the freezer but other than a few items that the boys can not do without I think I can pull it off. I am going to try to shop this weekend and then stay away from the stores the rest of the month.

Trips I have made thus far

 
Sprouts Trip:

~3/4 lbs broccoli  $.62
1 eggplant   $.50
2 pineapples   $1.96
~1lb fuji apples   $1.07
2 half pints blueberries   $2.50
mini watermelon   $1.98
~1&1/2 lbs opal apples   $1.40
~1&1/4lbs Braeburn apples  $ 1.15
1 pkg soba noodles $1.69
1 pkg garlic and herb chicken lunch meat   $2.37
~1/4 lb gummi bears   $.87
~3/4lb pistachios  $4.01
~1/2lb trail mix  $1.50
~4lbs bacon  $12.08
1pkg bacon "ends" $1.84
1 pkg beef stew meat $4.44
1 pkg boneless pork chops  $3.42
~3lbs grass fed ground beef $ 11.93
4 Chocolate Chip Muffins   $3.29
1 loaf sourdough bread  $2.99
1 bottle facial cleanser $4.00
1 lip balm $1.65

Total:::: $67.58



Winco Trip:

3 (6) packs of bottled soda     $5.34
1 pkg diapers   $5.81
1 bottle apple juice   $3.28
2 boxes snack cakes   $2.96
2 cans refried beans $2.76
1 box honey buns  $1.30
~2&1/4lbs bananas   $.83
1 peach pie  $.88
1 loaf wheat bread  $1.18
2 pkgs sliced apples $3.26


Total: $27.52

SubTotal for the Month: $95.10