Cheap & Cheerful Meals for Mid to Late May

Friday (cost: about $1.40 for 4)
bean burger patties, made with pinto beans, bread, egg, salt, chili powder, garlic, then fried in ham fat and oil
rice (mix of leftover brown rice and some freshly cooked white rice)
mushroom gravy (from a packet) over the bean burgers and rice
Swiss chard (from the garden), garlic, canned tomatoes

Saturday -- cook-out (cost: about $1.05 for 4)
hot dogs in homemade buns
cole slaw (cabbage from purchase around St. Patrick's Day)

Sunday (cost: about $2.00 for 4)
leftover ham, chard, and cheese quiche plus blueberry coffeecake from brunch
ramen soup with added dehydrated carrots and chives

Monday (cost: about $1.90 for 4)
baked pinto beans with diced ham
asparagus and green beans with cheese sauce (leftover asparagus and cheese sauce from brunch)
roasted potatoes, carrots, and onions
bread pudding (made with a failed batch of muffins), topped with leftover, hardened, homemade caramel sauce

Tuesday (cost: about $1.10 for 4)
Swiss chard quiche
bananas
oatmeal, rhubarb, white chocolate bar cookies

Wednesday -- rushed meal prep as I had to leave for an evening meeting (cost: about $1.75 for 4)
meatloaf
brown rice
peas

Thursday (cost: about $1.25 for 4)
carrot soup
ham salad sandwiches on homemade whole wheat bread (ham leftover from Easter)
homemade sugar cookies

Meals from this past week seemed very ordinary to me. Despite that, they did their job and we all were fed. Breakfasts continued to consist of homemade granola, overnight crockpot steel cut oats, yogurt, toast, juice, bananas, rhu-sins, peanut butter, bean spread, and milk. I didn't know until Thursday that I would have a large supply of eggs to work with, so eggs were not a common part of breakfasts. Lunches used leftover baked beans, sandwiches filled with bean spread, peanut butter, or egg salad, ramen, juice, milk, tea, bananas, rhu-sins, carrot sticks, lentil sprouts, cookies, and homemade frozen yogurt.

We had our family gathering for Mother's Day this past Sunday (instead of actual Mother's Day). My preference was for a brunch, as I like brunch foods. So, my 2 daughters put together a nice brunch, using mostly what we had on hand. They did buy asparagus and strawberries, however. The menu was a ham, cheese, and Swiss chard quiche, roasted asparagus with cheese sauce, blueberry coffee cake (using blueberries from the freezer), chocolate-covered strawberries, orange juice, and a large pot of tea. My daughters did an awesome job, making everything from scratch, setting a lovely table, and serving us all.

What was on your menu this past week? Have a lovely weekend!

Grocery Planning for June

One week left in May, which means that I am planning what we need for the month of June.

I have 90 cents leftover from May, which means that I have $125.90 for June’s grocery budget. I’m including a couple of Father’s Day menu items in the budget, which squeezes things a little, but I think that we’re okay. The stock-up items for June are 50 pounds of sugar, 15 dozen eggs, and 25 pounds of brown rice. The sugar and eggs were on special, while the brown rice is a regular item for us, and I typically buy this in 25 or 50 pound bags. In about 2 weeks, I'll freeze about 10 dozen eggs to use in July and August.

It’s really good to see that my pantry is looking a wee bit more stocked these days. The garden is producing enough for us that I don’t need to buy much at all in the way of produce. In June, I should be able to harvest Swiss chard, kale, lettuce, snow peas, sorrel, strawberries, rhubarb, beet greens, and lentil sprouts. (You’ll notice that I skipped the raisins this month, as we’re using the dehydrated rhubarb in its place.) Plus, I still have some canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. I’ll be adding more rhubarb to the freezer throughout the season, plus I’ll make several jars of vanilla-rhubarb jam to add to refrigerator storage.

This morning, I compared 6 stores online as I made and then whittled my list. I didn't have to make as many compromises as I have had to in the previous 3 months. In this list, I am $1.52 under budget, so I have a tiny bit of spare money this month.

June Grocery list (124.38 out of 125.90 budget)

SmartFood Service Cash and Carry (71.59)

White Satin granulated sugar, 50 lbs, 21.98 stock-up item

Golden International mushroom soy sauce, 3.09, 5 lbs

First Street almond extract, 16 oz, 5.98

Simply Value imitation vanilla 2.99

Simply Value whole tomatoes, #10, 2.89

First Street large loose eggs, 15 dz, 8.30 (55 cents/dz)-- limited availability, stock-up item

yellow onions, 10-lb bag, 4.84

First Street medium grain brown rice, 25-lb, 10.97, stock-up item

First Street mozzarella cheese, 5-lb, 10.55

WinCo (12.19)

lentils, 4 lbs. 3.32  83 cents/lb bulk

soybeans- $1 worth

garlic granules – $1.15 worth (1/4 lb)

chocolate chips- Winco 1.68

graham crackers, WinCo, 1.68

bananas 8 lbs, WinCo/Walmart, 3.36, 42 cents/lb

Fred Meyer - senior discount day, (23.26)

hot dogs, 3 packs, 75 cents ea, (2.25)

milk, 10.43, 5 gals, (get 1 whole, rest 2 %)

butter, 2 lbs, 2.51 lb (5.02)

orange juice- FM 1.61,

smoked sausage, Father’s Day, 3.50

biscuit dough 45 cents, donuts on Father’s Day

Walmart (12.44)

Great value decaf, 3.52 (or 2 at Dollar Tree)

Gold Leaf chicken leg quarters, 10-lb Walmart $5.98

Great Value cocoa powder, 8-oz, 1.98

Great Value marshmallows, 96 cents, 10-oz

watermelon, Sprouts or Country Farms, 49 cts/lb 10-lb (4.90)

I pre-spent/purchased the sugar and eggs, as they were on sale or of limited quantity at a very low price. Since we're not using these two items at all in May, I am still counting these them as part of June's budget. This month, we'll be trying mushroom soy sauce for the first time. It worked out to be less expensive than the regular soy sauce, so we'll see how we like it. 

For meat, I'm buying chicken leg quarters, smoked sausage, and hot dogs. I still have ham, two chicken leg quarters, ground beef, and smoked salmon in the freezer and cans of tuna in the pantry. I have green beans, peas, spinach, blackberries, strawberries, cranberries, tomato paste, whole tomatoes, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, onions, carrots, orange juice, apple juice, pineapple, raisins, and corn for fruits and vegetables in the pantry, freezer, or refrigerator. In grains, I have all-purpose and whole wheat flour, coarse corn meal (polenta), steel cut and regular oats, barley, popping corn, and quinoa in the pantry. And I still have a lot of pinto beans left from April's shopping.

I have a separate budget for the reception after my daughter's graduation, and I expect there will be some nice treats leftover, including some fruits and vegetables, meats, and cheeses to round out our supplies. Knowing this in advance gave me some freedom in making out this month's grocery list.

That's about it for June's grocery list.