This That & the Other Thing

Today is yet another dreary rainy grey day in the Northeastern part of the USA.

After the winter we just had with not many 'Snow Events', we sorely need this rain! But combined with the low temps, this continuous rain pushed back our planting dates here. We were finally able to plant last weekend but this week's rain & cold is keeping my seeds from reaching out their tender shoots from beneath their snuggly dirt blanket.

The only things I have above ground are the transplanted tomato and pepper plants. They are looking a bit scraggly still but I hope to see them make strides toward vigorous health by the end of the month. We have 3 veggie beds planted and these are the only things growing so far.

My little Lemon Magnolia Tree bloomed about a month ago. It was early by our standards, due to a 2 weeklong heat wave here in early May. I never got the camera out in time to snap a photo of it in full bloom, darn it! Then the cold weather came back and we had frost one night. My poor little tree dropped it's flowers and most of it's leaves have shriveled up. It looks like heck now. *sigh* I hope it will recover...

The only thing in bloom now is the Collossal Rhodedendron. I keep hacking it back and it keeps taking over the side flower bed. It overgrew the little fir tree next to it to the point the fir tree's growth has been stunted on one side. It's the bully of the bed & I've been at war with it for years.lol



I've been trying to clean the house, as hubby's sister arrives early Sunday for a week long stay. Hubby's other 2 siblings and the kid's cousin will be here on Monday too for the Graduation Festivities. It's been difficult planning a family party, as the graduation is at 6pm & then there is something called a LOCK-IN from 10 pm to 8 am at the school for the Seniors. It's an all-night party to keep them off the roads/away from alcohol, so there are no Graduation night drinking/partying deaths on the roads. A great idea but the timing leaves me no time to have a family get-together. Well I could have it AFTER the graduation but the Guest of Honor-the Graduate won't be here.lol

I can't wait and do it on the weekend because all but 1 sibling will be gone, as they don't live in state, much less in town here. I'll be hosting a late lunch BEFORE the graduation exercise instead.

At any rate, I have to clean this pigsty up by Sunday am. Remember all that stuff I bought in April AND May from Price Chopper as part of those 2 Unilever Cat Promos?
Guess where all those items I bought are still sitting?
Go ahead.....I dare ya!

Yep.....covering my dining room table!LOL
We haven't had a reason to use the big honking table since Easter dinner, until NOW!
I just put off having to make room in the stockpiles for those things since it wasn't in anyone's way where it was.
Well, NOW it IS in the Way!!!lolol

If ya'll don't read from me by next Wednesday, send a Search & Rescue Party out to PA, k?

Here's a pic of the graduating Senior after the Awards Ceremony that the school held on Tuesday. He won an Academic Award(some ugly pewter plate with a name plaque-no Cash Monies dang it!lol) and got a Pin for Academic Honors(since he already won a Letter & Jacket for Athletics last year, they don't give duplicates of those for Academics even if the kid earns them, so he gets another pin). He then got a different pin at some ceremony during school on Wed. for something he didn't tell me what, and 2 pins for Wrestling. #1 son is gathering quite the collection of Bling before he leaves high school.lol They did the big class photo with everyone in their robes this morning, so he is officially D-O-N-E! except for 'the walking'! ;-))

Gee, it is usually ALOT MORE BORING around here! I can't stand all the excitement and forgive me for rambling on & on. I'll try to be more boring next time.

Ok....I'm off to vacuum & then move cereal and spaghetti sauce and peanut butter and shampoo and body wash and bandaids.........

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

Recipe-CHEESY CHICKEN BROCCOLI RICE CASSEROLE

Here's an easy crockpot recipe.

It's my take on a Schwan's product I use to buy, back when I spent too much money on things. It was called Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole, or something like that.

I can't find this item listed on their website anymore but it came premixed in a bag. You just had to dump it into a bowl and microwave or heat up in the oven.
They now sell the ingredients separately. They have a 'recipe' on the website that is similar to that product, that you can make, using their purchased ingredients.

It was a Chicken & Broccoli Casserole with Rice in a Creamy Cheesy Sauce. I think it went for about $7 a bag. I use to buy 2 bags to feed the 5 of us. That was $14 per meal for us 4 yrs. ago. So add for inflation and the cost now would be around $18-$20 if they still sold this item.

To make this Dish you need....

1 small Whole Chicken
1 Can of Chicken Broth
1 Can of a Creamed Soup(Cream of Chicken)
3 Cups of Rice(Any Type)
1-2 Bags of Frozen Vegetables
1 Block of Cheddar Cheese
1 Cup of Milk

To make my version of CHEESY CHICKEN BROCCOLI RICE CASSEROLE, get out your crockpot and a small whole chicken. I like to use about a 3-3.5 lbs. bird. You can use a bigger bird if you want more chicken in your casserole.

Basically, turn on your crockpot to high or med. high, rinse off your chicken and place it in the crock. You can season &/or pepper it if you like. You really don't need to salt it, as the cheese and chicken broth you add will make this dish salty enough.

Put the lid on your crockpot and let the bird cook until it is tender, fall-off-the-bone done. My crockpot takes about 4 hours to get the chicken to this point.

When done, remove the chicken.

There will be alot of juices from the chicken in the crock. Leave the juices in there!

Add 1 can of chicken broth. You can also use chicken bouillion & the appropriate amount of water instead.

Fill your now empty chicken broth can with rice.

You can use any type of rice you prefer. Empty the can of rice into the crock. If you like more rice, add another half of a can of rice and 1 full can of water or more bouillion. Replace the lid and let it cook for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, remove lid & stir your rice.

Now add your frozen vegetables. I had broccoli and cauliflower mixture on hand, so that is what I added. I also put in a partial bag of crinkle-cut carrots. You can basically add whatever vegetable(s) you like to eat.

Add at least 1 bag, more if you like alot of veggies.

Debone your chicken and tear or cut the meat into chunks. Put chunks into the crockpot with your rice/veggie mixture. Replace the lid and let it cook for another hour.

After 1 hour, remove lid and stir the mixture. Turn off the heat, replace lid.

Open and add 1 can of Creamed Soup to a mixing/serving bowl(or into a sauce pan if you prefer to heat this on the stove). I use Cream of Chicken. You could also use Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Celery or Cheddar Cheese Soup if you prefer. Fill the can halfway with milk & add to soup.

Stir & heat over medium on stove or in microwave.

Grate 1 block of Cheddar Cheese.

Using a wisk, integrate grated Cheese into your Creamed Soup a handful at a time. This keeps the cheese & milk in your sauce from separating.

When the Cheese is thoroughly incorporated into your Soup, remove from heat and add to the Chicken/Rice/Veggie Mixture.

Stir and Serve immediately.

My cost breakdown for this meal.

1 Chicken on sale $3.52

1 block of cheese $1.00

1.5 bags of veggies $1.75

Rice-1/3 of a bag $1.33

1 Can of Soup $1.00

1 Can of Chicken Broth $.54

1 Cup of Milk $.25

Total $9.39

Makes 8 Generous Servings.

$1.17 per Serving

I was rushed toward the end of making this, as we had to attend #1 son's Awards Ceremony at the High School, so I didn't have time to take pictures of the last few steps and the finished product. I'll take some photos the next time I make this dish and add them to the recipe post.

Sluggy

Surprises Today...Beagle Seal of Approval!

So I'm out in the garage, trying to organize and take photos of some of the stockpile, and the UPS truck pulls up to the driveway.

Gee, whatever could this be??

My local friendly UPS man pulls a HUGE box out of the truck and lays it at my feet.

And after cutting the tape, I opened it to find.....

A 22.5 lb. bag of DOGSWELL DRY DOG FOOD!!

I had totally forgotten I had send away for one of these through their Bow-Wow Bailout(no longer available).

Also in the box was a Coupon good for $5 OFF an 11lb. or larger bag of Dogswell.

I will most definitely have to find a store around here to use this before it expires! Dogswell does have a website where you can purchase their products online if there are no stores that carry the line near you. It can be found Here.

I'll let everyone know what the doggies here think of this brand as soon as they give me the paws UP or DOWN.

Did anyone else send for this?

Sluggy

$60K Savings Challenge MAY Totals...Getting Traction on Saving!

I have posted my MAY End of Month 60K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I am once again able to say that we finished up MAY in THE BLACK!
Hoo-rah! It's not anywhere near my $5000.00 monthly target but it's all good. Every dime saved is a dime NOT SPENT!

While 1 month's of savings may not look like much when you are putting those dimes away, when you get some months of putting them away under your belt, and look back, it adds up quickly!

$11K can accomplish alot if needed....a new roof(which we need), a "new-to-us" replacement car for commuting(hubby's car has 'issues'), a repair of the ceiling in the kitchen or the walls in the bathroom(which we can also use), or almost enough to pay for a full year's college tuition at a state school. That's our list of how to spent the Savings, I am sure you have a similar list. The "To Spend" items may be different but it's filled with needs that are no less important to you.

The MasterCard bill(which is paid off each month-NO BALANCE EVER!)was just over $800 this month. This is delightful but with some big unusual purchases like the CAR RENTAL(while my van was in the shop due to daughter's accident), the purchase from the local nursery for the garden and a few other things like #1 son needing all new jeans & pants(that boy is so compact that I haven't bought him clothes in 1.5 yrs!) added to the usual gas station fill-ups and hubby's online purchases, etc., June's bill is looking 'big scary'. bleh....

We had a bit of rolled coins as usual, but you will notice there is NO eBay income again for May. eBay is still not worth the effort/expense. Financially it is more advantageous for me to either sell the stuff at a garage sale or donate it & take the tax write-off. That may change in the fall, so I'll be holding off doing eBay until I can re-evaluate the situation at that time.

The only 'other' income I've been able to realize since stopping eBay selling is any rebate money that comes in during the month. The Staples rebates on all that printer paper helped boost the Rebate total this month.

A big Annual Vet Visit Bill for the 3 doggies & a $441 car repair for hubby's vehicle brought the NON-Credit Card, out of the ordinary expenses for May to $900.

On the recurring utlities front, we saw a $76 reduction in the cost of the electric bill since the heat has been turned off & no A/C is needed yet. The water bill went up by $21, as hubby has been dealing with opening the pool, meaning the use of more water for that. Gas purchases went up, as the price of gas at the pump rose.

The Food Budget costs for May are in another post, which is located Here. Those are still high but I am determined to bring them down in June. No or little stockpiling is necessary this month and if I can keep out of the grocery store, I should be successful in reducing the Food bill.

Five Months into this Challenge, & so far we have a Savings Total of $11,206.16 for the year.

Now is the PERFECT time to start saving money if you aren't already. Get started today!
Just doing 1 thing will get the ball rolling.
I'll be putting up a post concerning practical ways to save money later this week. Check back for that about Friday. I'll put a LINK to it in this post when it's up.

Check out Money Saving Mom's Blog May Financial Update Post to see how others are saving money and living more frugally Here. (Looks like Money Saving Mom's Financial Check-Up Post isn't up yet....give her a few days and then check the link.)

Sluggy