Groceries and Eating-Out, The Balance

Our August Eating Out totaled $123.42.  Most of that was just take-out meals but 1 meal while traveling that technically happened late July but was on the August credit card bill.  I like to stay under $100 per month(unless there is something special going on that month-holiday, vacation, etc.)so this month was a win.

So far for September the Eating Out totals $280.62.  4 meals of that was going out to eat with family or friends, 1 meal was going out after leaving the ER late at night and we hadn't gotten dinner beforehand.  The rest of that was take-out while I was unable to walk and cook.  Totally understandable since Hubs doesn't really cook.  He could make a few things if pushed but his work has been nutso lately and he hasn't been inclined so we bite the bullet and order out.
We still have the family reunion trip coming up and there will be at least 5 meals eaten out during that excursion-lunch on the way, dinner at the motel, dinner the night of and breakfast the morning after(plus the dish I have to make to take to the lunch at the FR).  We'll probably skip lunch on the way home and will eat when we get back here as there will be leftovers sitting in the fridge to use up.
The meals out, if we also need to pay for our eldest son's meals, will run at least $150 total.

The up side of high eating out totals is having spent little on groceries in September as if you aren't cooking you don't use up the groceries you already have, right? lolz

I went to Weis(PMITA)Markets Thursday after my PT appointment as the ad started that day.

Here is a photo of what I bought............

I didn't even browse the clearance meat or produce deals as I wouldn't have time to deal with them before leaving town.
I will go back next week sometime to get two items--pork ribs for $1.97 lb. and whole chickens for .87¢ lb.
Since the weather is still warm I want to smoke some ribs soon.  I might throw in something else too like a hunk of salmon or one of those whole chickens if there is room and we can eat off that too next week.

I did want to get that Must Buy 10 BC/GM foods Deal, Get $5 off Instantly.
The 8 cans of Progresso soups and the 2 bags of Chex Mix were part of that deal.
Soup and Chex Mix were both $1.25 can/bag, so $12.50 total before discount and $7.50 after discount.
Then I had 2 x $1/3 Progresso items IPQs, making my OOP $5.50.
I also have $1.50 electronic Qs in my Saving Star account($1/3 Progresso and .50¢/2 Chex Mix)so after those rebates I'll be out $4 for all 10 items.

I like to have some canned soup on hand for cooking emergencies, "sick person food" and for lunches.  I can also enhance some of these with more veggies/sodium-free stock to make them healthier or use them as a base for a sauce of sorts.
I'm not a big fan of Chex Mix but we can use these as snacks for the road trip or I can pack them off to College Boy.

They also had Jif cornbread mixes for .60¢ each so I stocked up and bought 6.  This item never gets down below .67¢ here anymore(so anything less than that is my buy price).  I remember when they use to run 4/$1. sigh
This mix is a bit sweet for eating(it's a Yankee formulation after all)but sometimes it's just right(like when I make my Beef Pie).

I saw that the large containers of plain Greek Yogurt was finally on sale again and grabbed one.  It would have been nicer if I had a Q for it but I won't complain.  I used this to substitute or cut with sour cream in some recipes, as well as eat it with honey, seeds and nuts some mornings for breakfast.

So I spent $13.09 at Weis, on $32.19 of regular retail price goods, saving 59%.
After my $1.50 rebates the savings rate jumps to 64% for today's shop.
I am up to $139.74(counting the .87¢ I've spent at Rite-Aid too this month)spent of my September grocery budget of $350.  I have $210.26 left for the month.

So if you add in the Eating-Out and the Grocery Monies Spent in August we ended with $593.38 spending for both categories.
At this point for this month, take the $280.62 with the projected $150 yet to spend on Eating-Out and pair it with the Grocery spending of $139.74 and we are at $570.36 for September's outlay.
Basically we are at the same amount of spending for both months.

October will be another high Eating-Out month for us due to more traveling so I am conscience of getting the grocery spending down to balance it all out.  While not on the road I'll try to cook and have us eat at home and stay away from the Take-Out, but also try to spend less on the grocery budget.  We have sufficient stockpiles of groceries here to just eat from the pantry in October except for what is absolutely needed for a particular recipe.

Sluggy
 

Random Stuff with Photo Porn

Just some stuff that's been happening around here this week or so.

*  I picked the first "real" tomato from the garden on Monday.  "Real" meaning, not miniature sized, not buggy and/or didn't rot immediately after picking.  It had started turning so I beat the deer to the punch and plucked it before they fount it.

*  You will also notice in the photo above I colored my roots on Monday in preparation to going to the Family Reunion.  That's about all the fancying up and prettifying I do for it.  ;-)

*  This month has been crazy expensive with eating out.  Between having company and taking folks out for meals and the take-out food we've been buying while I was unable to stand to cook we've spent $280.62 on eating out/take-out at this point in September. bleh.  But then again I've only spent about $125 on groceries so far this month. lolz

*  This PT is doing nothing for my foot.  What helps is elevating it during the day and putting heat or ice on it and wearing shoes all the time(hate that!).  It feels better with good support.  It's probably something that will heal up on it's own with tender loving care.
Despite the PT I am off the cane now and bicycling shall resume next week, albeit wearing shoes.  rah!

*  I've paid all the bills for the month(besides one crazy ass bill the eye doc sent that makes no sense....their billing system is SO screwed up!)and have closed the books for September(except for any interest that will show up on non-retirement accounts on 1 October).  Even with assorted medical bills and the school taxes being paid in September we'll have a nice hunk of cash leftover to throw into savings.  Next month is the 3rd paycheck month(yeah!)but all the medical co-pay bills for the medical testing and other nonsense that happened in September will be arriving, as the EOBs from the insurance company have already been streaming in. ugh.  Other than that and credit card spending(some vacation charges coming up in October)we have no large bills left this year to pay.....just the usual suspects of utilities, medical drug co-pays, etc.  Of course Christmas is coming in 3 months so there is that too, although we don't go hog wild spending at the Holidays and we certainly don't put anything on credit that can't be paid off in January!

*  I have been doing a fair amount of sewing the past 2 weeks.  Already completed are 4 pairs of pajama pants for various offspring. 

These are projects that have ben languishing in my sewing piles for years now!  They still need elastic in the waist and hemming but I need the bodies here to measure and cut the hems and adjust the amount of elastic for that.  These bits are easily done.

On the top is also a flannel nightgown I made for myself.  It's got 3/4 sleeves even though it's flannel because I just HATE long sleeves! lolz

*  I found my cousin Melanie on F/B yesterday and sent her a friend request.  I've been trying to track down my cousins for 2 years now since I had a phone call from my aunt in late June of 2013.  She wouldn't tell me and never wrote back to me their mailing addresses or phone numbers and of course my girl cousin got married so I couldn't even find her name now! lolz
But due to my mad genealogical detective skillz I found her last name, etc. and 2 of them are on F/B.
We were never close with my only cousins growing up partly because we lived in VA and they lived in MA.  This photo is from one of the only time we visited them up in MA at their house.  I don't even know the year but it's around the mid 1960's.

*  After PT the other day I went to Rite-Aid to get some free/cheap stuff...........

2 Transactions(1 on each card).  The body wash was free after IPQ Qs and In-Ad Qs were stacked.
The Watkins lotion was also free using up a rain check from a Black Friday deal last year(they finally got it back in stock!lol).  The Mentos were $1 for all 4 after earning $1 in Plenti Pts.  The single chocolate candy was because the Qs brought me into the negative at the register so it's a filler item.
Total spent OOP .30¢.
I used $2 in Plenti Pts. on the Mentos transaction, earned $1 back so 1 card has $11 in Pts. the other has $21 in Pts.

*  We finally hauled a load up to Salvation Army on Sunday as well.  Here are a few shots of some of what left the house............

Hubs had a fair number of "guy" things to take since he cleaned out/organized his garage workbench this month.  I had some odds and ends and a small stack of fabric to contribute, as well as clothing from his mom that's been in the garage for years now.

I tell you, it's getting very difficult to find stuff to declutter at this point.  Spending 12 years decluttering your life in conjunction with not buying new crap to take it's place for a large number of years kind of has that affect on your life. lolz
There IS more left to get rid of but not the sheer volume like before.  I am so glad I am not waiting until I kick the bucket and leaving a big mess for my kids to deal with.  8-)

*  We'll be going to the family reunion very soon.  This is the group shot from last year's shindig courtesy of Cousin Gary's daughter(sorry I don't know her name!).  I hope the weather is good again for the upcoming get together.  Then we see my mom's cousin's family from her dad's side for dinner that same evening.  This year my son who lives in Fredericksburg is coming too so that will be nice.

If you are a Baker/Vassar/Foster/Snead/Hamilton/Hudson/Womack/Redmond/Etc. come on down!

Sluggy

Chicken Taco Filling Recipe

Because Linda requested it, here is the chicken taco filling recipe my Daughter gave me.

Take deboned/skinned chicken(whatever parts you like, I used boneless skinless breasts)and put it into a crockpot/slow cooker. 
Add a can of cream of chicken soup.
Add a small jar of good salsa.
Turn on the crockpot.
Cook.
Since it's chicken you don't need to cook it very long(3 hours?)to get it to be fall off the bone/able to easily shred.
You can eat on corn or flour tortillas with the "fixings" you prefer.

Now when I prepared this recipe as given to me I noticed 2 things.

1. It was very soupy.  I obviously needed to add way more than 2 chicken breasts to this amount of salsa/soup to have this be the right consistency when done.  Daughter never told me the correct proportion of chicken to liquids was.
 This way would make nice enchilada filling, not so much a taco filling.  If I make it again, I'll cut the amount of soup and salsa in half.

2. It was very bland.  I used a mild salsa so hot sauce was needed when plated to serve.  I figured it would be very bland so I added cumin(lots!)to the crockpot at the beginning of cooking. But other than that I didn't alter the recipe the first try.
We like our taco filling more complex so next time I'll add more things, like extra garlic, onions and chili powder.

This is a good recipe for people who don't neccasarilylike authentic Mexican flavors(kids, old people, people with no taste buds lol), or people who can't cook/aren't good cooks, or have few ingredients to use, or people who are too busy to cook, or people who have salsa and chicken soup to use up.
It has it's place in the world of cooking but it won't be making my rotation unless the stars align just right again unless I want to doctor this recipe up and ramp up the flavors.

Sluggy
 

This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "Getting a Jump on Winter" Edition--

This flyer arrived in my mailbox before August was over with.....an ad for snow blowers!
Really?....In August??

Come January I may regret making fun of this ad. lolz

Onward to the meal planning!

 

Here's what was planned last week.......

1. Sunday--Kielbasa on Rolls, Collards(leftover)
2. Monday--Chicken Tacos(using a crockpot recipe Daughter gave me)
3. Tuesday--Fish, Squash and Onions
4. Wednesday--Spaghetti(leftover)for Hubs, Broccoli Soup for me
5. Thursday--Beef Pie(depending on how well I feel)
6. Friday--Chili(leftover)for Hubs, Broccoli Soup(leftover)for me
7. Saturday--Leftovers(either Chicken Tacos or Beef Pie)

 

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Kielbasa on Rolls, Collards(leftover)
2. Monday--Chicken Tacos(using a crockpot recipe Daughter gave me)
3. Tuesday--Leftover Spaghetti for Hubs, Big Salad w/Feta Cheese for me
4. Wednesday--Steak and Salad
5. Thursday--Beef Pie
6. Friday--Leftover Beef Pie(I also had last of leftover Collards)
7. Saturday--Leftovers(Hubs had chicken tacos, I had a big salad)

I didn't make the soup and the rest of the chili went into the freezer for later.
 

As for my grocery spending last week......a couple of impromptu trips and then back again to fix cashier mistakes saw us spend $103.86 total.  I have spent $124.02 for the month with 9 days left in the month.
I have $225.98 left in the food budget for September.  I do believe I'll stay under budget for food this month....yay! 8-))
 

Here is this week's food plan--

1. Sunday--Beef Stroganoff, Mixed Beans & Carrots(Noodles for Hubs)
2. Monday--Fend for Yourself Night
3. Tuesday--Chicken n' Dumplings w/Carrots
4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself Night
5. Thursday--Leftovers-Stroganoff, Chicken filling from Tacos, Chicken n' Dumplings
6. Friday--Eating Out
7. Saturday--Eating Out


What I need to buy for this menu?......just some milk.  I got the mushrooms and carrots last week and I have everything else to make this menu.
Not that it's much of a menu since there will be lots of eating out and 2 nights hubs won't be home for dinner so I am on my own so not cooking a big meal.
The nights for myself  I'll either make a big salad w/feta cheese in it or eat some leftovers.

I didn't get around to making the broccoli cheddar soup so it will have too wait until next week now because I started thawing a whole chicken for chicken n' dumplings this week.

The weather here has started to cool off finally so I am more than ready to start cooking up soups and stews again...woohoo!
 

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?    

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten that week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week? 

Sluggy

Recent Visitors to Chez Sluggy & I Suck...Again!

September has seen three visitors to Chez Sluggy.

First off, Kim, from Out My Window Blog, and her Hubs, Joel, stopped by for an overnight stay while they were touring the East Coast.
I think they fit me in somewhere in between Colonial Williamsburg and the Liberty Bell in Philly. ;-)

Anyway, they arrived mid afternoon and we sat and talked and talked......

I do believe some of y'all ears must have been burning that day because of our chattering. lolz
Yes, we solved everyone's problems and the world's as well in one afternoon of our think tank chats....at least in our heads.  ;-)

With my foot issue I wasn't up to taking them around to sightsee here(not that there is much to look at that is noteworthy anyway)so we just sat and entertained ourselves.  Eventually the party moved to the back deck since the weather was so nice that day.

Then Hubs came home from work and we talked and talked some more.
And soon it was time to go out to dinner at Logan's Roadhouse.
It was a delightful evening full of good eats and good conversation and no one was harmed in the fight for table rolls.  ;-)

After an evening spend in the "Toiletries Room", Kim and Joel supped on a homemade breakfast supplied by moi, and then they were out the door South to Philadelphia for another jam-packed day of touring.

But before they left I made them take a "selfie" with me......

This was Joel's first ever selfie.
Gee, I am honored to be his "first". hehehe

Then they were gone in a flash.  I gave them a jar of my secret special recipe pepper relish(I hope they got it on the plane without any trouble)and Kim brought me this..........

20 lbs. of fudge!
What little I've had was yummy but I do think she bought it for herself but then had remorse about all those calories and the sugar and decided to regift it. lolz
That's ok, it won't go to waste here....unfortunately.  8-P

It was great to finally meet y'all in person!
And I can say for a fact that Kim is a tad over 4 feet tall and a ball of non-stop energy......where does she get it from???  I haven't a clue....unless it's all that fudge. 8-)

Then at the end of that week my Daughter arrived for a week long visit late Sunday night.
My foot was not improving by then so it really cut down on what we got to do together while she was here.

Monday Hubs was off so he and the Daughter took a ride to Nimble Hill Brewery/Winery in Tunkhannock PA for a tasting and they brought home some growlers of goodies.

We had a Labor Day cook-out/eat-in later that afternoon.......

Daughter and the Hubs "cooked" and I just ate for a change.  That was certainly different.

Nothing fancy just burgers, dogs, beans and grilled yellow squash.  Mostly stuff I already had here so no shopping required.

On Tuesday Daughter left to spend a couple of days out in Western PA with her summer camp friends, plus a side trip to Rochester NY to see another of her camp friends.
I think she enjoyed the break and these are people she hasn't seen since moving to Louisiana 2+ years ago.

On Thursday she was back by dinner time and we had some deep conversations into the night.

On Friday, since my foot was still hurting, she carted me to the doctor's appointment.
Afterwards we had lunch at Red Robin(I had a gift card left to use up.)and then she carted me up to the hospital for two more ultrasound tests on my foot.

That evening Hubs took us to Breaker Brewing and they each did a flight of craft beers......

I had a glass of this one......

I don't even remember what it was but it was dark and rich, like I like my men.  ;-)

Then we ordered Panini for dinner.  Mine was turkey breast, smoked gouda and blackberry jalapeno jam.  Daughter got that one too and Hubs got something with an assortment of Italian meats on it.

I must say that the food has improved by leaps and bounds since that first weekend they served food and I got that greasy, oily soggy potato mess that still makes me nauseous to think about it!

A "turtle pose selfie" with the donkey out front and then a proper picture of my drinking companions.

Saturday the activity was the Oktoberfest at Berwick Brewing.
We got there at 1 and the activities didn't start until 3.  Oh well.....they was still craft beer to enjoy, right?, so all was good.

More flights of beer for both Hubs and the Daughter........

The piece of wall behind them had album covers from actual vinyl records covering it.  I think I checked and I have/had owned about 9 of the ones on that wall.

I had my usual brew, Grumpy Bill's Porter. 
Yummo!

Saturday the weather was rainy all day so it pretty much put a kybosh on partying in the Bier Garden outside at Berwick.........

A root beer chaser for my Porter as is usual.

We decided not to eat at Berwick this time so we headed out after a couple hours......

The requisite "family selfie" before leaving.

We headed over to Christo's a Greek Diner for a late lunch as I had a gift certificate to use.  I had a massive Greek Salad, Hubs had the Spanakopita platter and Daughter had the Gyro platter.  Mmmmm!

Afterwards Hubs wanted to go to the K-Mart next door to look for some organizing things for his workbench supplies.  Gotta put all those loose nuts, bolts and screws somewhere, right?

So I hopped on the electric cart thingy and set about leaving a path of destruction behind me in K-Mart.
I don't understand why the store had this electric cart for disabled shoppers yet put displays and bins out in the aisles and made the pathways around shelving so tight that you can't possibly drive this thing without bashing into all their merchandise!

I may have knocked a whole row of underwear off a display, a shelf of plastic containers off an end cap and I may have toppled a display of cases of Pepsi.  It has been reported but I can not confirm nor will I deny the rumours.  lolz

And it didn't help that I had had ONE BEER and the Daughter had to keep telling me how if a cop was here he would have most certainly issued me multiple DUIs due to my reckless electric cart driving.  ;-)

While forging my path of destruction in the K-Mart, I passed the vacuum cleaner section so I decided this was the perfect time/place to buy a new vacuum.

We selected a less than sturdy model(all plastic parts!)and took it to the register to find out it was on sale for the bargain price of $59.99(+ tax).  Not wanting to spend a king's ransom on a new sucky machine I bought that baby home.  It was a Kenmore so how bad could it be?

My new toy, well, once the foot was well enough to let me use it......

The first thing I did was use it on the short-pile throw rug in the upstairs hallway......

My expensive Oreck vacuum was so bad(I had vacuumed this rug not a week early with that Oreck)that this is what the new sucky machine picked up on that little 5x7 rug.......a full container of filth.

Look at all that nastiness!!!
There is probably 3 years of dog hair and dirt/dust in that thing!(And our dogs have been dead for at least a year now. lol)

And the black border around the edge of the rug was BLACK again!  It has been so long since it was clean enough to see, that I had forgotten it wasn't light gray. lolz

The next morning, Sunday, at dark o'thirty Hubs took Daughter back up to the airport for her ride home to Louisiana.

We never did get to the casino(stop crying Sonya Ann!)while Daughter was home.  The casino is only 15 minutes away from my house and has been there for what? 3, 4 years now, and I have yet to step foot inside.
Oh well....maybe next time.

It was good to have the Daughter home for a visit since she left 2+ years ago.  Not so good was writing that check to pay for her plane ticket.  ;-)
She's got lots going on in her life right now and has many decisions to make so I hope our chats help her make the choices that will be the best for her.

It's nice to have a couple of weeks with stuff going on and visits from family and friends.
I treasure those times.

Now it's back to the boring same old, same old here at Chez Sluggy.

Sluggy