Last Week of September

I am still feeling under the weather, this just seems to be hanging on which means we are still having a lot of comfort foods. This is coupled with the fact that it is the end of the month so we are working with the end of the groceries on hand.

This week's CSA share. I traded off the cucumbers and gave away the squash and pepper.

Lunches

So far on this blog I have stuck with posting dinners which paints only a part of the picture. Once I made the decision to make a budget every month and do my best to stick to it lunches have played a major role in the success or failure of this goal. Phillip traditionally uses part of his lunch to work out and then has a protein shake. I pack Logan's lunch each morning as he is terribly picky and even though his school offers free breakfast and lunch he will not eat it. The sitter provides food for Clark during the day and a snack for Logan after school so I do not have to count that into the food budget. If I have something extra like the time I had 3 watermelons I pass it on to her and really do not figure it into any line item, it is more preventing waste. My lunches are a lot more complicated so they are a line item in the monthly budget. I allot $40 each month for lunches and while I do my best to stick to it I sometimes go over. The thought was eating at work 4 days of the week and out with friends/coworkers 1 day. I figured most lunches out cost $10 including tip so the $40 allows me once a week. Now if we decide to go fast food I have extra for the week and carry it over. The 4 days I eat here I either bring leftovers or enough sandwich stuff at the beginning of the week to cover me. I will start adding these into my weekly menu blog so you can see where some of the leftovers go and help keep me accountable to the $40 a month.

Starting May Off On the Right Foot, Hopefully

I continue to attempt "challenges" in the hopes of changing my habits. The saying is if you do or do not do something for 30 days it will become habit. I have found the pantry challenge ended a lot of my need to buy items from the grocery store just because I wanted to shop. I noticed I have an easier time heading for what I need, checking out sales and making decisions based on need not just price. I admit that I do still stockpile sale items but only if I know I will use them in a reasonable amount of time. This month I am challenging myself to use up a lot of the condiments that are clogging up the door of my refrigerator without replacing them yet.

I see an immediate change in my focus when the grocery store is not a replacement for lost shopping opportunities. Over the last couple of weeks I have been able to work on our yard each evening and get more accomplished than I think I did all of last year. Now avoiding the grocery store does not account for all the time spent outside but between having a meal plan and avoiding stores I do have more time to be outside with the boys.

This month's shopping thus far ( which I hope is nearly all of it)

Kroger Trip:

1 Dublin soda
1 loaf Velveeta
1 pkg toilet paper
1 pkg sliced ham
1 pkg mushrooms
1 lemon pie
5 pkgs (1&1/2 lbs each ) bacon ( it was on clearance for a price I could not pass up)

Total: $26.85

Sprouts Trip:

~1&1/4lbs fresh green beans
4 pints blueberries
2 watermelons
9  pints yogurt
~1/4 dark chocolate raisins
~1/2 lb gummi bears
~1/4 lb gummi worms
1 whole chicken
4 muffins

Total: $25.17

Winco Trip:
2 gallons milk
1 case Dr Pepper
1 case powerade
3 gallons apple juice
12 containers muscle milk for Phillip
1 half gallon of cranberry juice
~1/4 lb peppered turkey lunch meat
1 pkg shredded cheese
~1/2  lb ham
1 pkg sliced cheese
~1/2 lb flank steak
1 half gallon orange juice
1 large container Nutella
1 Dublin bottling works root beer
3 Pillsbury cinnamon rolls
3 boxes honey buns
1 box instant oatmeal
2 boxes fruit snacks
2 pkgs pepperoni
1 pkg bacon pieces
1 pkg chorizo
1 pkg mini boxes of raisins
1 lb strawberries
~2 lbs bananas
~1/2 lb penne pasta
~3/4 lb pasta shells
1 lb peanut butter
1 pkg chips
~3/4lbs sunflower seeds shelled
~1/4lb dried mixed fruit
~1/2 lb raisins
~1/3 lb raw sugar
~1/2 lb dried cranberries
~1/3 lb dog biscuits
~1&1/4 lbs pancake mix
1 kitchen gloves
1 wetwipes
1 watermelon
2 packets marinade
1 spice blend
1 CLR mildew cleaner
1 pkg tostada shells
1 pkg snack size chips
3 loaves bread

Total: $116.72

Rebate $5.80
Subtotal for the month:  $162.94

April Totals

The last shopping trip for the month of April was at Winco

2 gallons milk
1 gallon apple juice
2 boxes honey buns
1 Dublin bottling works soda
3 quarts strawberries
1 moonpie
1 pkg pepperoni
1 bag chips
~2&12lbs bananas
4 donuts
2 loaves bread

Total : $21.09

Grand Total for April: $301.19

Over budget by $109.19

Savings Accounts and Looking Toward May

Next week I will write out my May budget but that is not what sparked the plan I want to put in place. I received a rebate check in the mail over the weekend from one of my grocery apps. Normally I would put this money back in my checking account to put toward whatever bills I have coming up, to purchase more groceries or to just spend. Today as I looked at the check I made a different decision. I deposited the amount into our vacation account. I drove to Florida with Logan 4 years ago to visit my family and brought my mom back with me for a couple of weeks. Logan loved it so much that he kept asking when we could go to the beach again. I told him we would have to save up for it as we do not have the money to just drop and go. Since then I have put $5 a month in a vacation account which of course puts something away but it is not enough to go often. I want to take the boys next summer to see my family and so I decided for the next month that any rebates or extra money will go into the vacation account. I am hoping that will add enough with the monthly deposits to comfortably drive down there and see whatever we want to. After next month I may sock the money away into another account or go back to the current mode of operation.


As for other challenges  I will continue trying to use up items at home but not do any formal pantry challenge starting next week. Menu planning will continue as this has made my life infinitely easier especially during the week.

Week 4 Finale to Pantry Challenge

This week started out cold and with me breaking the rules for a jar of jam! I owned up to that and posted a picture in the last post.  The produce I have to work with this week from the co-op is pictured below.

I knew we would not eat the guava, avacados, cilantro or onions so I put them up for trade on BBT. She was supposed to swing by today with a trade so I will see what I received in trade. Other than the slip up at Winco on Saturday I am happy with myself and the ability to cook without constantly going to the grocery store. At the end of this I am going to take a picture of the cabinets, freezer and refrigerator. Other than the lack of meat I honestly think I could go another month on a pantry challenge.

With that being said this is what this week's menu plan looks like:

Things may get shuffled around due to Phillip's birthday and meeting friends for dinner 1 night.
Here is what has actually happened:
Sun Mar 20th: leftover beef stew over steamed rice

Mon Mar 21st: I thought we might go out as it was Phillip's birthday but we stayed mostly on the plan. I baked the chicken and started some stock. This was served with the broccoli with cheese sauce and shells with white cheddar. I know it was a lot of cheese but it was Phillip's birthday and those are among his favorite sides. I also made a red velvet cake to go with it.

Tue Mar 22nd: Chicken nachos, there was much drama with this one that I have blogged about in this post.

Wed Mar 23rd: Cheesy chicken broccoli rice

Thur Mar 24th:  I meant to take a picture of the soup. It was quite yummy even if there was only a whisper of chicken in it. I used some of the stock from earlier this week with celery, carrots and garlic to start. I then added some tomatoes and black beans because tortilla/southwest soup sounded good to me and because I thought this would bulk it up and disguise the thin amount of meat. I added the chicken near the end since it was already cooked and then right at the last minute added spinach. I topped mine with some shredded cheese. 

Fri Mar 25th: We had pigs in a blanket with green beans 

Sat Mar 26th: Way off course for this one.....we had spaghetti. 

Week 3 Update From Pantry Challenge

I started out week 3 thinking I was over the shopping hump. I went to Target with Clark to pick up some diapers I had coupons on as well as a couple of items for projects at the house and felt no need to roam through the grocery section. There was a sense of euphoria that I had passed that hurdle and then we went to Winco for milk. Being in the midst of a grocery only store brought all the desires back. I wanted to check out the sales and stroll the aisles looking for good deals and dinner ideas. I managed to refrain but really had to work at it.

Winco Trip:
~3lbs bananas
2 gallons milk
1 pkg sliced cheese
1 pkg shredded cheese
1 pint blueberrues
1 lb strawberries
1 loaf wheat sandwich bread

Total: $14.02

 I was still on the mend over the weekend and trying to get a couple of projects done so I neglected to make a menu up until Monday.

It was harder to make one up as the meat stores are getting low and so I am trying to come up with more meatless dinners that are appetizing to the others in the house.

Sunday Mar 13th: Grilled hot dogs and potato chips ( totally healthy I know)

Mon Mar 14th: bean burritos with leftover tortillas and beans from Sunday lunch out after church. I added a can of refried beans to the leftovers and it was plenty with a smidge to spare. Logan will probably eat them Tuesday.

Tue Mar 15th: Veggie stir fry using snap peas, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, and noodles served with some pre-made dumplings and egg rolls.

Wed Mar 16th:  Pizza Ring which was good but I overlapped it too much which led to a couple of gooey spots. I will have to be careful next time when originally laying it out.

Thur Mar 17th: Grilled cheese! Served with fruit smoothies, using up some of the frozen fruit we have on hand.

Fri Mar 18th: I made slow cooker beef stew using this recipe. The changes I made first were: Cut the salt since I was using bouillon and soy sauce. I also used frozen lima beans because that is what I had and let them cook in the juice for 1 hour before serving. I also used only potatoes and carrots since I did not have the other suggested root veggies. Now the review: it was just ok. I generally do not like beef stew and so made this hoping I would grow to like it and to use up some stew meat I had in the freezer.

Sat Mar 19th: chicken nuggets and corn on the cob. I was making pies for Sunday's potluck and the whole chicken was still frozen so we went off plan. The pies turned out great!

On Saturday morning after produce pick up I went by Winco to pick up some milk and actually broke the rules. There was an awesome jar of blackberry jelly which is my favorite on the clearance rack. I ended up buying it.

Winco Trip:
2 gallons milk
1 pack of Best Damn Cherry Cola
1 jar of blackberry jam
2 tubes deodorant
~4 lbs bananas
~1&1/2 lbs grapes
6 donuts
2 lbs strawberries
 Total: $22.19

Week 2 Update From Pantry Challenge

A meal plan for week 2 was hard for me but it was truly a blessing later in the week that I had made a plan. I picked up a co-op basket on March 5th and used that with existing items to make up the plan for the week.

Clark was not feeling well on Saturday although he was a trooper on all of our errands and played outside while I planted some stuff we bought at the nursery. Sunday morning was a different ball of wax. Clark was coughing but up and going strong. I, on the other hand felt horrible and started having some of the same symptoms the boys had over the past couple of weeks. The drainage was going strong and my eye was starting to mat shut. Due to this Phillip ended up not taking the roast he had smoked to the church for potluck. As the week went on I felt increasingly worse and ended up at Care Now. I had a sinus infection, ear infection and pink eye. Once the meds were on board I have been slowly getting better. This is the reason I was glad that I had a meal plan in place and did not have to think about the meals. Above is the plan, below is what actually happened.

Sun Mar 6th: smoked roast with Crispy Parmesan Asparagus

Mon Mar 7th:  tostadas ( JBF pick up but boys did not panic this time)

Tue Mar 8th: Beef Stroganoff with leftover roast

Wed Mar 9th: Taco soup which I had put in the crock pot that morning with leftover tostada ingredients. ( no panic from the boys this night either even with me at Carenow)

Thur Mar 10th: Baked potatoes ( I had a sweet and Phillip an Idaho) with salad and Easy Cheesy Pull Apart Rolls

Fri Mar 11th:  Dinner was a disaster waiting to happen. I got started on the waffles when I got home. They did not turn out as I plugged in the waffle iron and thought I turned it on. I had turned it on but not hot enough to cook the waffles.....it has a waffle setting which I just did not use. I gave up on that and started pancakes. For some unknown reason my pan was sticking despite being seasoned and using butter. I ended up with 5 pancakes which I fed to the boys. Phillip had scrambled eggs and bacon and I ate a bowl of cereal and some bacon.

Sat Mar 12th:  I had not taken the chicken out to thaw so I went with Creamy Pasta with Asparagus and Bacon which allowed me to use up the leftover bacon from the night before.

Pantry Challenge Catch Up

I started the last post at the beginning of the month when I had barely scratched the surface of this marathon of not grocery shopping.  This weekend I actually thought I was over the need to grocery shop and then I had to go into Winco for some milk and the desire to shop was hard to resist. Seeing good deals lining the aisles was really hard to resist but I made it out of there without breaking the code of dairy, milk and bread only.

The first week I was on a high with starting something new and despite urges to stop at the store I made it through fairly easily. I was still working from the previous produce pick up and this is what the menu looked like:

 And what actually happened was:

Sunday Feb 28th: pancakes with bacon ( always a winner here)

Mon Feb 29th: pizza ( had JBF drop off and the boys panicked so they bought pizza)

Tue Mar 1st: Corn Dog Mini Muffins which ended up looking like:

 not really like the recipe picture and did not taste as good as the option in the corn bread pan so I will probably never make them this way again.

Wed Mar 2nd: Grilled ribs and baked sweet potatoes

Thur Mar 3rd: Mushroom Florentine Pasta which was ok. I thought it clumped together too much due to the cheese, would have worked better as a casserole. Served this with the garlic breadsticks I bought on my last Winco trip before the challenge started.

Fri Mar 4th:I made a version of Baked Eggs in Ham Cups using my cast iron biscuit pan. They turned out good although it is really just another version of a quiche.

Sat Mar 5th: I took the Mushroom Florentine recipe and  browned some hamburger meat with jarred spaghetti sauce. I mixed that with the leftovers  and covered it with mozzarella and some Parmesan. Phillip did not realize it was a leftover remake. He thought it tasted like an alternate version of lasagna and really liked it. 


I made a trip to Winco on the 5th to replenish milk. It was really, really difficult to not buy anything other than the agreed upon items but I managed it. Clark was with me and the need to get out of the store quick helped with this. 

Winco Trip:
1 case diapers
2 donuts for Clark and I to eat while out and about
2 gallons milk
1 pkg wipes
1 loaf wheat sandwich bread
bar soap

Total: $32.12

How Has the Pantry Challenge Been Going?

How has the Pantry Challenge Been Going? In a few words......it has been tougher than I thought. Using the ingredients I have on hand has been something I have always tried to do but staying out of the grocery store has been incredibly hard for me.

I will got back to this past weekend. I made the decision to try the Pantry Challenge and took myself to Winco to get the items I knew the other people in my house could not do without.

Winco Trip:
 2 gallons whole milk
3 bottles apple juice
2 cases dr.pepper
1 case root beer
1 case gatorade
6 boxes snack cakes
1 package bottle nipples
1 box beef bouillon
2 bags fritos
2 containers nutella
1 bottle stir fry sauce
2 bottles gatorade
2 cans tomatoes
1 dublin root beer
1 pkg ham
1 pkg garlic bread sticks
2 pkgs pepperoni
3 pkg cinnamon rolls
1 bottle soy sauce
1 container gorgonzola cheese
1 pkg egg rolls
1 quart whipping cream
~1&3/4 lbs grapes
~1 lb baby spinach
1 pkg sliced swiss cheese
1 pkg crescent rolls
1 quart strawberries
~.07 lbs dried kiwi
~3/4lbs raw sugar
~.18 lb yeast
~1&1/4lbs baking soda
~1/2 lb banana chips
1 loaf sandwich bread
3 pkgs pecan rolls

Total: $86.28



More to come!!!

Over the Limit and New Recipe Fail

I left work last night a little earlier than normal so I decided to swing by the store and pick up some hamburger for the recipe I wanted to try. I realized after I arrived at work yesterday that I did not have any on hand, and really did not want to change the menu I made for the week since it used up most of the ingredients I had on hand looking to be used. Long story short, that stop put me over the limit this month

Target trip:
1 container sour cream
2 boxes of yogurt
2 pkgs cheese sticks
1 bag dog food

Total: $27.01


Sprouts trip:

~.05lbs ginger root
4 lbs mandarin oranges
3 lbs ground beef
muffins

Total: $14.09

I did get rebates back on these items and am nearly at the tipping point to get $40.00 back but again can not count it until it is money in the bank.

Feb Total: $228.87

Dinner as on the menu was supposed to be these awesome Shepherd's Pie Potato Skins but the skins on my potatoes started peeling off as soon as I took them out of the microwave so I ended up making a more traditional pie and served it with garlic bread. It tasted fine, I was just disappointed that it did not work in the potato skins for me.

I am contemplating a Pantry Challenge for next month. A friend shared a  post from Good Cheap Eats on eating out of your pantry for a month. I read her post on having a pantry challenge and think I could pull it off. As always the trick for me is staying out of the grocery stores and if I get my produce through the co-op that would limit my exposure to the store. I have enough stuff at home between the pantry, fridge and freezer to cook a lot of meals. She gave herself produce and dairy to be purchased which makes sense. If I do the co-op I would only need to give myself a pass for dairy. I am pretty stocked up on cheese and sour cream right now so I am thinking milk would be my only dairy purchase. The money I would save if I could just run in and get milk would go a long way towards either my student loans or towards taking the boys to Florida to visit my family.

I will confirm in the next couple of days if I am going to do the challenge, as I have just managed to get a menu down for the week and hopefully stick to it.

2 More Stops at the Store...Hoping for No More

I can not even tell you why I stopped at the grocery store on the 19th, we did not "need" anything. I am beginning to think I was going through withdrawal.

Winco Trip (19th):
1 box honey buns
4 Terry's chocolate oranges (clearance rack)
1 can baked beans
~1/2 lb black forest ham sliced lunch meat
1 package slice turkey lunch meat

Total: $7.08

Last night I did run by Sprouts because of their produce sale

Sprouts Trip:
1 pint blackberries
3 pints blueberries
~1&1/2 lbs   pink lady apples
1 pint raspberries
~1/2lb yellow onion
1 container Greek yogurt
~1/4lb pistachios
~1/16lb raisins
3 muffins

Total: $14.95

 Grand Total: $178.51

I did receive a $20 rebate check yesterday from one of the app I use. I have chose to put the $20 somewhere else in my budget rather than back in the grocery fund.

Jan 19th: Baked Corn Dogs, the last time I made these I did not use a box mix cornbread and they held up better. I had received some jiffy in a trade so I decided to use it and I am not sure if that was the issue or we should have allowed them to cool more. They fell apart but still tasted good. Served with baked beans.

Jan 20th: The boys voted for grilled cheese or girl cheese as Logan thought they were called so that is what we had.

I bought all the blueberries because Clark really likes them. I threw in some raspberries this time thinking he would like them also but he would not even try them. I even mixed them in with his blueberries but he picked them out and lined them up on his tray and would not eat them. Rather than waste them as they are not my favorite either I put them on to dehydrate last night. This morning I put them up to use in baking or granola. I tried one and it was not horrible, because I tried it Clark decided to but after a little bit in his mouth he spit it out. 

New Year New Method

The new year usually brings a lot of resolutions that we do not keep. I have been guilty of making these every year and this year I am sure is no different. There is a wedding I am supposed to go to in June and I am hoping to be a little lighter before then. The resolutions that I am hoping to keep are cultivating better friendships and changing my grocery shopping methods. On the first it is not that I do not have friends or even good friends but I feel like I am not as good a friend as I should be. I also do not slow down enough to just chat with friends. It seems that I always have something going on and they are accessories not the center as they should be. The second goal is to not shop once a month anymore which since having Clark has not worked. The boys drink more milk that I can store from the first of the month and these extra trips were really adding up because of additional items picked up. My new plan is to look at what produce I get in my produce co-op baskets every other week and then make a rough menu using these items. I will then shop weekly with $50 cash for items we need for this menu and staples. This will really be a change for me as I have literally shopped on the once a month method since I moved out of my parent's house at 18. Getting this zebra to change it's stripes will be something to see. The budget will go back to the $200 a month as before Phillip had been laid off since he has gone back to work and we will no longer qualify for SNAP or WIC.

Hope everyone has a wonderful new year and that you make resolutions for a happier you.

Just no Title for this Weekend

As my post of Friday afternoon alluded to it was going to a busy weekend and it was. The kids certainly made me laugh but were not helping my sanity.  Headed home after work with the plan to get dinner and start on my to-do list. Dinner happened, to do list not so much.  Decided to make Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake for dinner so as soon as I got home I shucked the ears of corn I had left and got them on the stove. I used up the leftover black beans, Spanish rice, a partial can of ro-tel, some sour cream and the leftover pork loin. Once the corn was done I took it off the cob and stirred it in also. Threw it all in the oven and despite the substitute of pork for chicken it came out great!

Friday night is also when Phillip and I discussed our July budget which was stressful for both of us. We are trying to make it without robbing the small amount I have in a "vacation" account which really looks like the money I will need to go home for a funeral as I have a few very sick relatives. I also do not want to touch the money in the kids accounts. Anyway this discussion led to us deciding no sitter days this month for Phillip unless he is going to an interview. Even with this and paying the minimum on my student loans rather than the extra we were about $500 short. A suggestion on my part to sell an older camera we had worked out and with an extra lens Phillip netted $300 so this left $200 that needs to be earned/found over the course of the month and nothing in the budget can be deviated from.

This of course necessitated hurrying up on the section of the list which was take pictures of items and list them on ebay, craigslist, FB sale groups and items to trade on my trade group's page. Friday night I started getting messages about items. Trades were scheduled and a couple of sale meetings set up.

Both kids went to bed ok but the tiny one decided Saturday morning would be a great day to wake up at 5:30am.....the only day of the week  I can sleep past 6 and he was wide awake at 5:30am. This meant that breakfast, laundry and play time were taken care of way before normal. I got the car loaded up, a shower and the kids ready and then headed out for errands while Phillip went to weedeat the church's lawn. First stop was the post office to mail an item sold on ebay and then to drop items in the overnight drop at the library. After these 2 we headed to Lowe's for the build and grow and for once we were early and waited to get started. After leaving the build and grow Logan started pushing all my buttons. He said he was hungry, really really hungry and wanted McDonalds.  It was early enough that McDonalds was not serving lunch yet, they start at 11 on the weekend in case you ever wanted to know. Logan did not want breakfast so we got out of line and we went to Chick-Fil-A. This is where the child frustrated me to the point of screaming. He DID NOT EAT ANY OF THE MEAL!!!! We got to his friend's house/my friend's house for a playdate and the entire meal was still sitting there. He said he was going to save it until after we were finished playing. I had to take many deep breaths and just enjoy the visit with a friend. After leaving their house which was refreshing but which the children never want to leave we headed to the grocery store for a few items they had on sale. This visit ended up being $23.14 which I will add to the total and post as my June final tally. Clark in this time has fallen asleep which was nice although I would have preferred he slept that morning! After Winco I ran by the house so Logan and I could potty and put the refrigerated stuff away. We then hit the road again and tried to complete a trade. My trade partner had forgot to set the stuff out and she was out of town but since she lives on the way to the library there was really not much fuss. We headed back to the library now that they were opened and checked out some stuff. After leaving the library I completed another trade I had set up and then we headed home. I might mention that Saturday was also my mom's birthday and we spent until I was trying to complete the last trade playing phone tag with her. We finally got her and Logan sang her his happy birthday song which never ends. He just does not know how to end the song and he keeps going and going and going until you cut him off. After we got home and the car was unloaded I just wanted to sit and collapse but moms just do not get that luxury. Logan was finally hungry enough to eat his meal and Clark wanted to eat also. I put more loads of laundry on and went to work cleaning out the refrigerator. I managed to get the fridge cleaned including the drawers and started with at least getting grapes into the dehydrator. Dinner was up after a little bit and that was a steak I found in the freezer and had put in the fridge to thaw. Threw that on the grill after a short marinade and made some mac and cheese.  Once dinner and baths were complete kitchen clean up began.  By the time this was done more laundry needed to be done and Clark was going down for the night. Phillip took his medicine and was down not long after. I was still working on some stuff on the computer so Logan came in with me. He wanted me to rock him which was not really possible in the office chair so I just held him and then he wanted me to sing to him. He decided on the sunshine song which I sang and then he wanted the dinosaur song. After I asked what song that might be I was informed it was the dinosaur train song. I ended up just pulling up youtube and played a video of the song. Once I finished my stuff we went to bed. 

The List at the end of Saturday night

Sunday morning the tiny one slept until 7:30...blessing I guess. It was at least better than the night before but still an hour earlier than we needed to be up. I went ahead and got up and got going on the stuff for church. Once Clark's bag was ready, breakfast was ready and Logan was up and getting ready I checked the stuff in the dehydrator. Grapes take a long time to dehydrate! Phillip got up and took his shower and then I got mine. Because we were up and ready earlier than normal I went ahead and put the cleaning paste on the shower walls and in the toilet before we left for church. This gave it time to work and meant I could just rinse it off when we got home. After church and lunch with friends we headed home. The kids of course woke up as soon as we got home so no nap for me. Phillip laid down and tried to take a nap while I worked on the house some more. After chasing Clark around while I was trying to get stuff done I just put him in the high chair and started giving him some of the fruit I was cutting up for the dehydrator. I really hate to waste and some fruit was getting a little too ripe to just eat. In addition to the grapes that were already on there I cut up a tray full of cherries which Clark loved, some strawberries, 2 apples, a pear and a nectarine. After I got those going and the peels/pits out to the compost bin I finished cleaning the kitchen. I put Crock Pot Chicken Tacos on for dinner but they ended up not looking like they were going to be done in time. I ended up making pigs in a blanket with ranch style beans for dinner. After Phillip woke up I went to work on the bathroom which was a challenge with Clark trying to touch everything. He was trying to lick the plunger and play with the trash cans. Phillip finally had to come get him so I could get finished. Phillip also had to keep up with him while I vacuumed and steam mopped the house.  I was soo ready for them to go to sleep and Clark definitely was exhausted. He went down without any fuss and I read a couple of books to Logan before he fell asleep.

 

List at the end of Sunday night

I had to be quite and get the chicken out of the crock pot and just put in the fridge for the rest of the week before I went to sleep on Sunday night. It was a productive and exhausting weekend.

Amazing Dinners From This Weekend....Pictures are not Good

Sooo considering how close to the end of the month and end of the food in the freezer we are at my house I think we had some pretty good meals over the weekend.

Saturday night we had teriyaki marinated grilled pork loin. I used this method for grilling the loin and it was amazing! It had a nice char to the exterior and the interior was moist and perfectly done. I served this with baked sweet potatoes. Below is a bad picture of the yummy dinner taken from my cell phone.

Sunday we had brunch at church to celebrate Father's day and tried to get naps when we got home but that did not work out. I worked on my list which I will post later to show how little of that I managed to get done. Dinner was a stir fry using up some of the leftover pork loin. I found these amazing noodles at Sprouts, they were listed here from my first of the month grocery shopping trip and they really made the meal.

I started with some butter and olive oil in the pan, once the butter was melted I threw in an egg and then "scrambled" it. After the egg I put some chopped baby carrots we had hanging out in the fridge on to cook since I knew they would take the longest. The next addition was some mushrooms that needed to be used up so they would sweat down. After those cooked for a little bit I added some leftover steamed broccoli and then the chopped up pork loin just to warm. Meanwhile the noodles were blanching in a pot of boiling water to soften them up. They were the next to last addition to the pan. Final addition was a little bit of teriyaki sauce and we had this yumminess! The left overs came to lunch with me the next day and disappeared quickly.

Last night I was trying to come up with something to use up the last of the pork loin and just had nothing. Looking at things I have made in the past and liked I came back to this recipe for baked gnocchi with bacon, tomatoes and mozzarella. There was some bacon leftover from the brinner we had a few nights ago, at least I thought. Once I got home and started looking for it I was told it was consumed. I was fixated on the recipe so I just got some more bacon out of the freezer and cooked up 4 more slices. The picture below is again not so great since it was taken with my cell phone.

The leftovers went in the fridge and if Phillip did not eat them today then they will be coming up here with me for lunches. Today I brought another of the leftover hotdogs trying to eat them all  before they need to be tossed.

I have been thinking about dinner tonight as I need to use up the remaining pork loin and over the next couple of nights I will have to cook the rest of the package of bacon I opened. There are also a few more mushrooms that need to be used and a smidge more tomato sauce that I do not want to waste.

It seems odd but when I need to get creative with dinners and ingredients we seem to eat better. Might be because I dig out recipes from books and pinterest or just that these are the type dishes we really like. All I know is I need to get 8 more dinners with the left over pork loin, 8 chicken thighs, a package of salmon and a package of hot dogs. Let the creative juices flow!

Taking Kroger off the List

I have been loyal to Kroger for a lot longer than I should have been. They were my first employer and I just felt a "kinship" with them. That has come to a painfully slow stop and I will not be shopping there anymore. The store in my neighborhood has just become more and more ridiculous and the policies do nothing to serve the customers. The service has been bad enough that I have written and called corporate only to have them throw a couple of dollars at it but nothing changes on the store level. Standing in line at customer service to get something fixed every time I go to the store is just a complete waste of my time. Also having the cashier announce out loud every time I check out that such and such was on WIC is just insulting and unnecessary. I know what is on WIC, that is why it was in my cart in the first place. Last night the nail in the coffin was being told I could not use a rebate check because I was not "paying" for the items. So because I am using SNAP I am not allowed to use rebate checks? Soo, I should spend more money than necessary because the cashier thinks it is not "my" money? This after the same cashier told me I could not use coupons on the sale items. Just done.

Want to also point out that when I say I am not going back somewhere I do not go back. I have not been to Auto Zone in 13 years, Best Buy in 12 and Wal-Mart in 5. Kroger has now been added to this list. There is no shortage of other stores to grocery shop at in my area so I will patronize them and the farmer's market in the future.

New June Totals and Sprouts Shopping Trip

I stopped by Sprouts on the way home last night to do the majority of this month's grocery shopping. I have decided Wednesday is the best day to go because they overlap ads on Wednesdays. The downside is this happens to be one of their busier days because of the double ads. 

Sprouts trip:
1&1/2 pounds cherries
~3 pounds pink lady apples
~1 pound pears
1 head garlic
1&1/2 pounds peaches
1/2 pound fresh green beans
2&1/2 pounds grapes
1/4 pound jalapenos
1&1/2 pounds nectarines
1 pound sweet potatoes
1/2 pound oranges
8 ears corn

1 pkg soba noodles
2 bags potato chips
1 bag tortilla chips
2 chuck roasts
1 pork tenderloin
1 loaf garlic bread

1 bottle dish detergent
1 fabric softener
1 laundry detergent
1 bar soap

 subtotal:                                          $48.48 SNAP
                                                         $14.55 Cash

Totals:     $48.48 SNAP
                $64.43 Cash

I need to work on my menu using all the fruits and veggies I have purchased. Tonight I plan on cutting up the pineapples and washing the other fruit as well as working on the menu.

Originally forgot to post that I ended up making Jolean's Chesse Potato Smoked Sausage Casserole last night with 3 of the smaller potatoes, the leftover cheese sauce and the leftover sausage I had on hand. I skipped the first few steps because I had the cheese sauce and I omitted the paprika. I am not sure why but it was especially good served with garlic bread. There was only a smidge leftover.

June Totals and Menu Items

The totals for June stack up as follows:

Target: (visit on Friday when I picked up RX)
2 boxes of fruit snacks from clearance rack                                       
Package of 4 fresh turkey burger patties also on clearance                
subtotal:                                                                                                $5.75 

Kroger: (Sunday visit)
2 jars of baby food
1 pkg candy(Free Friday download)
2 pkgs pecan rolls
1 pkg fresh broccoli and carrots 
1 bottle of lemonade tea (Free Friday download)
3 boxes baby cereal
1 pkg lunch meat sliced chicken
4 cases soda ( I know bad for me and unnecessary)
1 case water ( Logan's snack day)
subtotal:                                                                                               $25.74

Kroger ( Tuesday visit)
4 boxes fruit snacks ( Logan's snack day)
42 jars baby food
1 bottle of saline nasal spray
2 pineapples
1 pkg mushrooms
1 pkg flake coconut
1 pkg smoked sausage
1 bunch of mixed fresh herbs
subtotal:                                                                                               $18.39

Total thus far:

cash: $49.88
SNAP: $0


Monday night I was trying to use more of the rotisserie chicken so I fixed this  Creamy Tomato Spinach Pasta dish but added the chicken right before the cooked pasta since it just needed to warm. It was just a touch tangy but it was good, other than cutting the tomato paste I am not sure how I would get rid of the tang.  There was a bit of chicken left and I decided to just give it to Turbo our dog. The next day I regretted that decision because it was enough that I could have made chicken salad for my lunch. Live and learn though.

Tuesday night I cooked the smoked sausage I purchased earlier in the evening and steamed the broccoli from the fresh broccoli and carrots mix I had purchased on clearance Sunday. I made a cheese sauce to go over the broccoli which is always yummy. Phillip ate all the broccoli so none of it to make over but I am thinking of making a version Jolean's Cheese Potato Smoked Sausage Casserole tonight to use up the leftover smoked sausage and the cheese sauce I overmade. I have some of the gifted potatoes to use before they start turning and think this is a wise way to use it all up.

Before you ask yes I did separate out the broccoli and carrots even though I bought them as a mix. It was a pre cut item that was on clearance for 50 cents in the produce section. I bought it because I never could purchase both fresh veggies for that price and bonus I did not have to chop these. Phillip likes to snack on the carrots during the day with some ranch dressing so I kept them out for him and just steamed the broccoli for dinner.

Day off Work with Logan and the busy weekend.

Friday I had asked off work to go to an outdoor event Logan's school was going to have that morning. The event was postponed for the second time because of the rain but since it was the last time for quite awhile I was going to have relief at work I still took the day off. Up until that morning my plan was to take Logan to school and I would go use my birthday money to get a pedicure and grocery shop. I would then pick up Logan from school and we could go do something together. That morning however Phillip asked if I was going to keep him out and initially I said no and then he said I thought you were going to take him on a "field trip". I caved and kept Logan out only I did not initially tell him or we would have never left the house. Actually I told him we needed to hurry so we would have time to go get donuts. He hurried surprisingly and did not seem to notice at all when we left the house without his backpack.

We finished at the donut place way past when he needed to be at school but he was still clueless. Sometimes not having a watch has benefits. As we were pulling out of the parking lot and headed in the opposite direction of his school he finally asked and I told him he was having a mama/Logan day without Clark. It was exciting news for him and so we continued to our next stop which was the unglamorous Winco since it was still too early to go to the museum and I figured we might as well knock an errand off the list. He helped me pick up the items we needed/that were on an amazing sale plus a box of fruit snacks that he wanted. After checking out at the store, which in case you are wondering I did have a cooler bag with an ice pack in it in my trunk for the 1 item (cheese) we bought that needed to be refrigerated. After leaving here we ran next door (practically) to the Racetrac so I could fill my cup. I have more than paid for that cup 4 times over at this point and we still have 2 months to go on the promotion. After that quick in and out of the gas station we headed toward the museum. Getting there went faster than I thought so we went to the botanic gardens and walked around even though it was misting a bit. I snapped this awesome picture of Logan peering in the pond looking for frogs. He calls the lilypads, lilyfrogs which I find cute.

We were only in the gardens for a short period of time and then we went to the museum. He was excited as he kept asking to go to a museum before he knew what one held. I went ahead and added IMAX tickets to our purchase so we could watch a film on tornadoes, something else that he loves. The museum we went to had some great hands on exhibits for the kids which he loved. We played construction worker and train conductor.

After I pulled him away from the trains so we could see the snakes they have and another favorite thing DINOSAURS!

I could go on and on with the exhibits he loved but you get the idea. There were 2 things I discovered about my child that I did not know until this point which also pointed out that he is sooo my child. He is afraid of heights as I am. I discovered this when I was trying to show him some fountains from the second floor windows of the museum. He told me that I was trying to push him out the windows and he was scared so we had to talk about that. This is something I understood so when passing the windows the rest of the day I put him on the inside of me. The second was he was afraid to walk down the stairs, this is because of the fear of heights. I am usually ok unless I can see through the stairs and then I start to panic that I am going to plummet to my death as the stairs somehow give way. Talking through this with Logan as we walked down the stairs helped both of us I think. He almost wanted to bail on the movie because of the stairs and how loud it was at the beginning. He toughed it out though and enjoyed the movie which I knew he would since he has a deep fascination with tornadoes. After leaving the IMAX we went to the planetarium show since I love those normally and Logan likes to look at the stars. This show was seriously disappointing and I will have to find a better one to take him to. By the time we had done all of this is was late afternoon and we were both hungry so on to Chick-Fil-A we went. This allowed him to eat and play some more with other kids while it allowed me to eat and read a good portion of the book I had in my purse. We left the restaurant and then went to Target to pick up a prescription I had called in and a couple of hotwheels for him. After Target we went to the library and he played on the computer for a little bit and then talked to his favorite librarian. Leaving the library we completed one more stop at Kroger to pick up some bananas and some food for the tiny one. While there we discovered they had marked their Florida's natural orange juice down to 99 cents a container so I stocked up on that! I also decided that I was worn out so I picked up a rotisserie chicken, which by the way you can not use SNAP to purchase because it is hot and is considered prepared food. It does not matter that it is the same price as an uncooked chicken and that I can still make upwards of 5 meals with the meat and stock from the bones...I still have to pay for it. At this point I did not care, I bought the chicken and we headed home so he could tell dada about his day and I could get dinner ready. While out a trade had been completed on the porch. I loaned one of Phillip's suit jackets out for a couple rolls of paper towels which were pretty desperately needed.

Dinner was chicken, steamed corn and a green salad. The chicken was immediately broken down and the carcass was put into the crockpot along with some water, carrots and celery still hanging out from my last basket and some herbs. I let the stock cook overnight and strained it on Saturday evening. It produced 8 cups of really richly colored stock that I put up in the freezer for future use. I put it up in (2) 2 cup containers as well as (1) 4 cup container.

Saturday we got up and did a few things around the house while Phillip went to test with another department. After a bit the kids and I went over to a friend's house so she and I could visit and Logan could play with her son. They were having way too much fun and getting Logan to leave was not the easiest thing ever. Of course it was past lunch time and we had not eaten so I took the to McDonald's for a cheap meal and more play time for Logan and even Clark. Clark is now mobile enough to cruise around the tiny tot area with the other kiddos while Logan plays with the older kids. After leaving McDonald's we did a drive by drop off at the library. Phillip had finished his test and was out weedeating the church's property. By the time he got home he was in pretty intense pain so he tried to just shower and take it easy. Logan had napped after the day's adventure and so he helped me make some popsicles from the orange juice we bought and then he was off to play some more. For dinner that night I used some of the chicken from Friday night as well as the leftover corn, a couple of eggs, some frozen asparagus, snow peas and broccoli as well as some dried onions and garlic to make a stir fry. It was actually stir fried rice as I cooked some brown rice and put it in the pan also. It was good although the brown rice does give it a chewier texture than white rice.

Sunday morning we went to church and had lunch with Loralee's family as usual and then headed home. The kids and I decided to go outside so Logan could write on the driveway with chalk for a few minutes and then he wanted to go for a walk. I need more exercise in my life but I am never sure where to fit it in so this was a good idea to me. Off on the walk we headed! Once home I left Logan watching a show on lions and took Clark to Kroger with me to do a return. We of course ended up picking up a couple of items because I randomly remembered Logan's last snack day of pre-k is Wednesday. The evening was pretty normal once we got home and got the stuff from Kroger put up.

May Totals

I am going to post this one as it's own little post...it feels like it needs that.

May's totals of course are more than I budgeted, it ended up being $224.73 instead of the $189.00 it should have been.

I can give a ton of excuses the main one being the tiny one is still using formula for the next couple of months and despite coupons, rebate checks and the clearance racks at every store I know of it is expensive. He will start weaning next month so I just need to do the best I can over the next couple of months.