Cheap & Cheerful posts show, week by week, how a budget of $135/month for groceries works out for our family of 4
Friday
baked Mediterranean chicken leg quarters (relying on info from this page for seasonings)
brown rice with gravy
spaghetti squash
Saturday
chicken, vegetable, lentil, and noodle soup
toasted cheese sandwiches
Sunday
lentil and cheese burritos in homemade tortillas
sauteed chard and onions
tomatoes in vinaigrette
rustic blackberry pie
Monday
homemade cheese pizza (using this crust recipe and this pizza sauce recipe)
leftover spaghetti squash
tossed garden salad
Tuesday
chicken nachos (daughter was making the nachos and she wanted to use potato chips as the base, so she bought those for us)
carrot sticks
blackberry tart
Wednesday
tacos - beef (once again relying on the page on cuisines and their seasonings), beans, cheese, garden lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream (other daughter making dinner and wanted pre-made taco shells and sour cream, so she bought those for us)
grapes (daughter bought)
Thursday
baked beans
acorn squash
fresh-baked French bread
tossed salad of garden lettuce, watercress and tomato, plus avocado in homemade dressing
rhubarb and blackberry sauce (last of the rhubarb for the year)
The Dwindling Garden and Chilly Weather
I'm in the last handful of weeks that harvesting from the garden will be possible for this year. The vegetables and fruit dwindle a bit each week. Our neighbors just across the street have had frost on their roof the past few mornings. I've added extra quilts and blankets to the bed each night, only to have the next night even colder. As I type this, I'm a little anxious to go out and check the garden once the sky is light. Yesterday when I was out there, I could tell that the cold air was affecting our produce. I brought 2 of the pots in which I have lettuce plants up to the kitchen door. I'm hoping to keep lettuce going for another couple of weeks. The kale, sorrel, watercress, and chard should be okay in the garden.
As I was popping my dish of beans into the oven, yesterday afternoon, I was reminded of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. The dish of beans combined with the dwindling garden made me think of her book The Long Winter. I pray that is not in our forecast, of course. The simple foods of beans, garden produce, and fresh bread are very appreciated on a chilly evening.
A Couple of Treats
Perhaps you've noticed that my two daughters like to treat us to a few items that are not in our current budget. If this is what they really want to do, then we'll happily accept their generosity. This week we were the beneficiaries of potato chips, taco shells, sour cream, and grapes.
Monthly Grocery Spending
We enjoyed the company of some last-minute, out-of-town guests this past week. It was lovely to catch up with them. I did spend extra money from our grocery budget, money that I had not anticipated spending for October -- $14.63. We needed some food items beyond what our current pantry, fridge, and freezer could offer. The good news is that we didn't get take-out or eat in restaurants but instead, we cooked all our meals at home. The $14.63 spend brings my total spent for October up to $133.13 for the 4 of us (and guests). I'm still below the $148.31 allocated for the month (the $135 budget plus residual budget amount from September).
Breakfasts and Lunches
Breakfasts consisted of homemade granola, overnight steel cut oats, toasted French bread, homemade yogurt, eggs, and assorted condiments.
Lunches were frequently leftovers, an occasional egg, peanut butter on homemade bread, fresh and frozen fruit, tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, and kale, and blackberry tart (I baked a couple of tarts this week).
Hallowe'en on the Horizon & Budget Treats
Here's my "stash" of Hallowe'en goodies. The 22-count fun-size M&Ms were on markdown for $1.49 a couple of months ago but are still within their expiry date. And the glow bracelets (14 left in the container) were bought at Dollar Tree last year. We only get 12 to 20 trick-or-treaters each year. I think we have enough treats to hand out.
The candy corn was on markdown right after Easter. Can you see the carrot shape of the plastic bag? Fred Meyer had a bunch of these left at the tail end of their Easter clearance, selling for 33 cents per "carrot" bag. We'll use these when we make our Jack o' lantern cookies next week.
So, not much of a Hallowe'en stash. But what we have will do. I am thankful that we won't have a lot of extra candy leftover. Although, I think my daughters and husband will be more than a little disappointed in that.
And that's about it for my week. How was your week? What was on your menu? Are you ready for Hallowe'en? Do you get trick-or-treaters at all?
