This Week on The Dining Table

The "Better Late Than Never" Edition......

Tomatoes from the Garden, as far as the eye can see........

 Here's what was planned last week--

Sunday--Hot Dogs on rolls(leftover), homemade Pickles
Monday--London Broil sandwiches with mushrooms and onions, Salad
Tuesday--BLT Sandwiches(garden tomatoes)
Wednesday--Leftover London Broil & Green Bean stirfry
Thursday--Eggplant Parmesan, Caprese Salad
Friday--Tacos, Corn
Saturday--leftovers or Fend for Yourself Night

And here's what actually got eaten--

Sunday--Hot Dogs on rolls(leftover), homemade Pickles
Monday--London Broil sandwiches with mushrooms and onions, Salad
Tuesday--BLT sandwiches(garden tomatoes)
Wednesday--? what Hubs ate, I didn't eat-too tired.went to bed early
Thursday--Chinese take-out
Friday--leftover Chinese take-out with leftover green beans
Saturday--chili dogs on rolls, Me BLT sandwich and bagged spinach salad w/strawberries

So Wed., Thur., and Fri. meals are moved yet again to this coming week

  

As for food spending last week.....I spent $76.03 on groceries at 2 stores. 

As for food waste, we had to throw out a small amount of watermelon that got mealy and old.

  

Leftovers going into this week? Still 1/2 a loaf of homemade bread, a hunk of London broil, a  butt load of green beans and tomatoes from the garden and 4 cups of broccoli florets.

Here's this week's meal plan---
 

Sunday--Hamburgers, Green Beans, Roasted Potatoes and Onions
Monday--Cheddar Broccoli Soup(garden broccoli)
Tuesday--Tacos (I  had leftover roasted potatoes and onions instead.)
Wednesday--Eggplant Parmesan(sauce using garden tomatoes), Caprese Salad, Garlic Bread(leftover bread)
Thursday--Roasted Chicken, Carrots, Onions, Stuffing
Friday--London Broil/Green Beans Stir fry, Rice
Saturday--Fish fry, Beets, Coleslaw

On the shopping list......fresh mozzarella, maybe fish(have to check the bowels of the freezer compartment), cabbage(for coleslaw), milk.  If I buy fish it will be a 3lb. bag and run $20 so we'll have more than we need for this week.  Fresh Mozz is $6.99 lb., milk $2.00 and cabbage about $2 a head.  We have apples I bought last week and canned fruit so I'll pass on fresh fruit this week and I'll pass on deli meat for lunches-I have leftover soup, some bacon for a BLT left and I can use leftover chicken from Thursday's dinner for Friday's lunch.    Groceries should run about $40 this week.

That's what's appearing on the kitchen table this week here at Chez Sluggy. 
  

 What's getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Sluggy

December Food Spending Week 1, Meal Plan Week 2

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Leftovers(Pot Roast)
MONDAY--Taco Bell
TUESDAY--Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, Salad
WEDNESDAY--Chicken Casserole, Sugar Snap Peas
THURSDAY-- Leftover Tacos or Taco Salad, Mandarin Oranges
FRIDAY--Chinese Take-Out

SATURDAY--Leftovers or Fend for Yourself

As I was knee deep in eBay last week, we had take-out food twice and leftovers thrice.  

We had chicken two days in a row.  My chicken breasts didn't thaw in time so I ran up to the ShurSave market to use my last $10 Reward and bought some breaded cutlets for the Parmesan.  

The following night I used up the leftover Thanksgiving stuffing by pan sauteing the now thawed chicken and concocting a Chicken and Stuffing Casserole.  I use to make this a lot when Hubs and I were newly married....come to think of it, I don't think I've made this since the kids were born.  To make it properly you start with dry stuffing mix, fresh onions/celery/etc.  I just deleted the large amount of chicken stock it calls for(to rehydrate the dry stuffing mix/bread)and heated it up until it was nice and bubbly.

Anyway, I think the only Turkey day leftover we still have are a few rolls and I will polish those off the next few mornings for breakfast unless some one else here gets to them first. ;-)

Total for all the food shopping last week came to $23.22.  Hubs picked up a gallon of milk.  I went to Weis and used a $2 Catalina Q that was expiring and bought burritos, ice cream and corn chips.....just a bunch of garbage I know!  

I had to use the last of my ShurSave Reward money by 11/30 so I spent $1.56 OOP on $14.52 worth of food using that. I'm counting this 11/30 receipt in Dec. bills since I forgot to add it into November's total.

My savings percentage was 54.12% last week, as the reg. retail was $50.61 on the groceries I brought home. 

My running total spent for the month is now at $23.22.

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Subway
MONDAY--Chili, Cornbread or Biscuits

TUESDAY--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

WEDNESDAY--BBQ Chicken Legs, Sweet Potato Fries, Broccoli
THURSDAY--Seafood en Croute, Veggie Melangé

FRIDAY--Kielbasa on rolls, Boston Baked Beans
SATURDAY--Leftovers

Items needed for this menu.....Salad Greens, Puff Pastry Shells and Rolls.

I haven't even looked at the grocery ads for this week yet.  And I have everything I need to make these meals until I get to Thursday's so I have time to get to the store to shop.  I need easy to reheat type stuff the next 3 days as #2 son has pit orchestra rehearsals until 9pm until Wed. (The play is Friday/Saturday so those nights I need quick meals as well.)

The following week is Christmas Band Concert rehearsals and the show so next week we'll be living large on fast food and quick slop too. lol

 I was toying with an idea in regard to my food spending for the year.  I am $227.15 from hitting the $3K mark spent for the year.  That's pretty close to my usual $250 monthly food budget.  Maybe I'll tighten up December's food budget and try to go for staying at or under $3K for the year?

I've already spent $23.22 this month, so that would put me at $203.93 left for December.  With the kids coming home and Christmas?.....I don't know.  I don't want to make Christmas a chore by not fixing some favorite foods for the crew but staying under $3K for the year is sweet, right?

What say you dear readers?

Should I torture my family and only spend $203.93 more this year.....or just spend whatever I want?

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday....November 22nd Edition...Gobble, Gobble

I won't be employing my BPLS system(=Browse/Plan/List/Shop)this week.
*Most weeks, I see what leftovers I need to incorporate into this week's meals, then I Browse the sale ads for the store, Plan a menu, Make a List of what you need for that menu and THEN go food Shopping.
Since I have an overflowing freezer/fridge this week, I'll be incorporating leftovers and shopping from what I have already on hand to come up with my meal plan.  The Thanksgiving foods were all purchased last week in advance of the holiday.

Here's what I will be serving our family of 4 this Week.....our household presently consists of 2 adults and 2 teens at home. (Except we will serve 6 on Thursday.)  No children under 14.

SUNDAY--Marinated Ginger Catfish, Garlic Mashed Taters, Stir Fried Mixed Veggies
MONDAY--Beef Enchiladas, Refried Beans, Guacamole and Salad
TUESDAY--BBQ Chicken Breasts, homemade Macaroni and Cheese, Veggie(to be determined)
WEDNESDAY--Homemade Boston Baked Beans, Hot Dogs, leftover Veggies from Sat.-Tues.
THURSDAY--Turkey Day
FRIDAY--NOT COOKING!  Plenty of Leftovers to graze upon
SATURDAY--Meatloaf, to be determined leftover side dishes we need to finish up from this week

How am I being frugal with this menu?

Sun.--The Catfish was bought on special, stockpiled taters, veggies on sale $1 a bag.
Mon.--I have leftover taco meat to use up so I'll add some fresh ground beef, onions and respice it all.  Plus I'll make my own Enchilada Sauce for pennies.  Beans from the stockpile, avocados were on special for $1 last week so I picked one up to make the guac.
Tues.--Chicken breast from Sat. on special, leftover alfredo sauce to use up I'll use as the base of the mac and cheese sauce along with shredded cheese in the freezer, pasta in the stockpile and frozen veg. also in the freezer.
Wed.--Bag of yellow eyed beans I got in Maine and stockpiled bacon for the BBBs, Hot Dogs in the freezer, Bread Outlet rolls to use up and leftover veggies.
Thurs.--Discount prices this last week on traditional Thanksgiving foods I bought along with stockpile foods make this as frugal as you can get for a big honking meal.lol
I'll be serving Turkey, stuffing, rolls(free after MIR), gravy(homemade), sweet potatoes, rutabaga, roasted fall root veggies, deviled eggs(used BOGO eggs coupon last week), pumpkin pie with whipped cream and key lime w/meringue pie.
Fri.--The ultimate in frugal cooking.....serving a leftover buffet. ;-)
Sat.--Meatloaf fixings in the freezer/stockpile and using up leftovers.

LAST WEEK'S FOOD SPENDING
I spent $85.29 last week on groceries.  I have $37.08 left in my $250 monthly food budget until the end of November.

The only purchase for this menu is possibly some bread for the stuffing on Thanksgiving.  I'll head over to the Bread Outlet tomorrow for that.

FOOD WASTE REPORT
Nothing went bad, nothing wasted last week. 

Check out ORGANIZING JUNKIE to see what other Home Cooks are serving this week.

Sluggy

JUNE Food Stamp Challenge....Days Eighteen & Nineteen

Well the last 2 days of the Food Stamp Challenge were pretty quiet.
Sorry for the lack of photos but my camera is having issues.  It shut down on me again while taking shots of the garden progress on Friday, telling me to change the batteries.  I just changed the batteries last week!!  I think it's on it's last legs.....sigh
 
We did a quick run to the store for hot dog rolls=$1.00.  That was all the shopping that was done on those 2 days.

On Day 18-Friday-I fed #2 son and his friend pigs in a blanket in the afternoon.  Costs for items I already had going into June....$.95(5 dogs), $.50(roll of whack dough), $.05(mustard), $1.00(can of chili)=$2.50

We deviated from the meal plan this week and cooked dogs out on the grill also that evening.  Hebrew Nationals on rolls with fresh cut-up Cantaloupe.  As it was too hot to cook inside and a big heavy meal was out of the question, this hit the spot.  Cost of things already bought before June...$1.13(6 more dogs), $.25(condiments).  Total spent for Friday=$4.88

**In case anyone is wondering how come my Hebrew Nationals only cost me .189¢ ea.....I stock up on them in the spring when they go on sale seasonally.  With the sale and the coupons I usually get them for $1.50 a package(sometimes lower).  8 dogs in a pack=$.189 ea.  I usually buy enough to last us until the next Spring and then stock up again.  We usually go through 16-20 packages a yr.
Since I have various neighborhood teens eating through the house in the summer I do buy 'lesser quality' dogs too for that purpose.  I don't buy the really low quality kind but I can usually find 'good' quality dogs in the markdown case for around $1.00 a package.**

We had additional food expenses later that evening when 3 teens decided they needed feeding after some time in the pool.  I served them hot cocoa(made with milk) and a small cake(used a cake mix to make 2 small cakes, 1 went into the freezer for later).  I couldn't believe that they fit 1/2 the bag of marshmallows into their mugs with the cocoa!lol
Costs--$.50(marshmallows), $.00(milk already accounted for this month), $.25(4 envelopes cocoa mix), $.50(cake mix), $.75(frosting)=$2.00
Friday's costs...$7.88

On Day 19-Saturday-we had homemade Chinese Food.  My version of Sesame Chicken.  Besides the chicken I also sauteed a bag of frozen "Stir-Fry Assortment of Veggies" with some sesame and olive oil.  Steamed up some white rice and then put it all together with a generous handful of cashew pieces on top.
Good eats at a homemade price(chicken $.99 for a lb., bag of veggies $1.00, rice $.75, nuts .50¢, ingredients for sauce and oils $1.00)=$4.24 to feed 3 people.
Saturday's costs....$4.24

Both Days combined costs....$12.12 


Spent to Date....$167.33
June Food Budget Left....$243.39
Days of Challenge Left....11



Sluggy

GREEN & THRIFTY THURSDAY...the Most Green & Thrifty

There is something most anyone can do that will make you extremely Green & Thrifty.

It doesn't involve giving up bathing.

It doesn't involve going off the grid(=giving up electricity).

It doesn't involve selling your car and walking or biking instead.

It doesn't even involve giving up meat.

Very simply, it's this....

Go plant something that will provide you with food to eat.

One of the best things you can do for this old Mother Earth and for your own financial bottom line is to grow some of your own food.

Just take a trip down the produce aisle of your local grocery store.

See those squash, bags of lettuce, green beans?

See what those things cost??

With a little bit of a financial investment in some seed, and some time, you can grow your own and stop giving some of your money to the grocery store!

It's almost as good as having a Money Tree growing in your backyard!!

It doesn't matter where you live in most cases, you can grow food.

If you have some land, cultivate as much of it as you can take care of.

If you are planted in a suburb, convert a piece of your lawn or commandeer a flower bed to put in some crops.

If you live in a townhouse with no or little yard, get some pots and make a container garden.

If you are a city apartment dweller, chances are there is a community garden in your town that you can participate in. If there isn't, there SHOULD BE, so get out there with some friends and make one happen!

When I moved to this little subdivision in rural Teeny Tiny Town almost 9 yrs. ago, NOT ONE House here had a garden! Some homes had flowers outside in the flower beds(not many) but nobody grew food.

My motto is.....if you have a choice between growing something that's nice to look at or growing something that's nice to look at AND it can feed you, grow the one that feeds you!

Get some seeds.

Put then in the ground.

Water when & if it's needed.

Watch the plants grow, flower & produce food.

Pick the food.

Eat it.

Anyone can do it.

EVERYONE should at least try!

But what if you've never grown anything before?

Just do it!

Ask for help from someone who has done it before or find help from any of the many online resources.

And don't be afraid to fail.

That's how we learn. Failure often is the best teacher!

I've had seasons where things got washed out, or the birds or other little critters ate my seeds or starts, or bugs munched on the food before it got picked or it was too cold or not enough sun or the plants got some disease.

Yep, everyone has those things happen.

But don't let what might happen keep you from trying!

But I live in a community that restricts what I plant, or won't let me plant a garden?
Then go Commando! Sneak a pepper plant here, a tomato plant there amidst the 'proper' shrubs and flowers. No one will be the wiser....
Do like me and rip out the nasty overgrown landscaped shrubbery and put in a garden bed.....or rip out a chunk of lawn and convert the space to a melon or bean patch.
Be the subject of neighborhood conversation!

You might just start something GOOD happening in your town.

Sluggy