One of my daughters did something really nice yesterday . .

. . . she put together a cook-out for the family. I'm sure part of this was a bit of self-interest, as she wanted a cook-out for the hot dogs and s'mores. And I also think she really wanted an evening of the family together.

Her menu:

• hot dogs cooked over the outdoor fire ring
• buns, for those who wanted one (I skipped the bun in favor of more potato salad)
• potato salad
• cole slaw
• strawberries
• carrots (she nixed the carrots at the last minute, on my suggestion, we had plenty of food otherwise)
• s'mores, using a homemade chocolate frosting/ganache in place of chocolate candy

She surprised me with how well she thought out a menu using only what we had on hand. She even made potato salad for the very first time, and it was delicious (I had seconds). She asked about making hot dog buns, but I suggested we just use whatever we have in the freezer, which ended up being hamburger buns. Works just fine.

The cook-out was fun, just sitting around the fire afterward. Although, the mosquitos ate me alive. We're in a bit of a heat-wave, here. The forecast is 93 for today, 87 for tomorrow. When you don't have A/C, that's pretty hot. How was your long weekend? Did you BBQ or have a cook-out? Or did you use the time to get a project done, or just relax?

Have a great day!

Homemade candy bars -- this winner may make it to holiday sweets platters

Last Thursday, I did a major shopping at Cash & Carry. While I knew my flatbed cart was full, it still shocked me that I went over $100, but did not buy meat or any super-large bags of staples. So, I was feeling like I needed to keep the remaining spending for at least a day or two to nothing (or less, if that could be possible).

Later in the afternoon I had a serious craving for a candy bar. I even thought about getting in the car and driving to the nearby drugstore just for a candy bar. Then it hit me, why not just make some candy bars? I went online in search of a good recipe and found one for homemade Almond Joy. The recipe calls for minimal cooking (just melting the dipping chocolate and toasting the almonds). In addition, the ingredients could all be found in my pantry and fridge. "This could be a winner," I was thinking. And it proved me right. I had a daughter as a partner in crime, to share in the fun of making these.

My total cost was just under $2 for a batch that made 12 good-sized pieces, at least as large as 6 full-size candy bars. The chocolate coating is much thicker than a real Almond Joy bar, and the flavor of the filling is better in this homemade version compared to the commercial bar. They smell amazing. Even the next day I could smell them in the kitchen.

Here's a link to the recipe that I followed Copycat Almond Joy.
This recipe is double what I made -- just to emphasize, I made a half-batch, as I really didn't want a full batch sitting around for me to consume.

I used real butter (a must for favor, IMO), and toasted some whole almonds in the oven on a tray at 350 degrees F, until lightly toasted (if you can smell the almonds in the oven, they are done). For the chocolate coating, I used the Kroger brand of what I think is Candiquik, a dipping chocolate that is typically found in grocery stores during the fall/winter baking season.  Wilton chocolate melting wafers would also work, as would any other dipping chocolate. Although the package of chocolate did not say to add Crisco shortening, I found I needed it to keep the chocolate thin enough to coat well. (When melting chocolate pieces for drizzling or dipping, I add a tiny amount of Crisco shortening to the chocolate. It makes the melted chocolate a bit thinner, but hardens up when the chocolate is cooled.)

For future batches, I'd like to try adding a couple of drops (like 2 or 3 drops) of almond extract to the coconut filling. As an alternative, a couple of drops of vanilla extract would also be a good flavor enhancer. I also think 2 almonds per bar (instead of 1) would be nice.

After forming the coconut filling, the bars needed to be kept chilled to hold their shape, until dipping in the melted chocolate. I dipped 4 at a time, and kept the rest in the fridge while dipping those 4. After the chocolate hardens, they can be kept in a cool pantry, in a tin for probably a week or two, with no problems with remaining firm. These were delicious and gone in 3 days in my house.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers in Late August

Whole chickens were on sale this past week at several stores for 87 cents per pound. While that isn't a stellar price, this late in the summer it may be close to the best price I'll see for a while (chicken, whole or parts, seems to be at its lowest in late spring in my area). I like whole chickens for their ease of cooking. You just rinse it out, sprinkle with seasoning and bake. When running errands on Saturday I picked up 6 whole chickens. That is about how many I can fit in the freezer right now.

On Sunday we roasted 1 of the chickens, and had just plain roasted chicken, with carrots and potatoes, and fresh blackberries. Right after dinner, my husband picked the meat of the bones, and I put the bones, skin and fat into the crockpot to simmer for a day.

On Monday I turned some of the chicken meat into soft shell tacos, using the last of the flour tortillas, garden tomatoes, lettuce, olives, lentils, cheese and a small container of taco sauce.

Tuesday, I made a chicken soup, using the last of the chicken meat, and the stock that I had made in the crockpot, plus leftover lentils from Monday's tacos,

By Wednesday we had finished off the whole chicken and I needed to cook again. Or do I? I polled the two kids in the kitchen in the morning and they voted unanimously (how unanimous can a polling group of two really be?) for the lentil soup in the freezer. I partially thawed it in the microwave, then dumped it into the crockpot for the day. Late in the afternoon I threw together a no-mayo cole slaw, creating a dressing of soy sauce, vinegar, oil, peanut butter, ginger and sugar. I also sliced fresh figs and baked some rosemary focaccia. Focaccia is one of those low-rise yeast breads that I love for its speed. It's basically just a pizza crust without toppings. I mix and briefly knead the dough, then press out onto a baking sheet, top with oil and seasonings and bake. The only rise-time is while the oven is pre-heating.

Thursday night I pulled marinara out of the freezer, along with ready-made meatballs. I cooked some bargain spaghetti and fresh cauliflower. I also made some garlic bread, using hoagie rolls.

For tonight, I have some leftover marinara sauce, so I'll make a cheese and meatball pizza for dinner. And maybe a green salad to go with the pizza.

That was our week of suppers. What was on your menu this past week? Any big plans for the long weekend? I've got a "date" with one daughter for some clothes shopping. She needs some clothes that will be more appropriate for her student teaching this next year, and is cashing in on a birthday offer/gift from me this past spring.

Have a wonderful weekend!

August 2017 Grocery Spending Journal

Surplus from last month, $80.27.

Aug. 6. After church a quick stop in at Albertson's for a few very basic necessities. I bought 1 small jar of peanut butter ($1.99), a dozen eggs ($1.39), 1 gallon of whole milk ($1.79), a loaf of bread ($1.50), a large head of Romaine lettuce (99 cents), and 3 bunches of bananas (about 15) for $3.26. Total spent $10.92.

This should get us through several days. I hope to go grocery shopping on Wednesday and do a good stock-up.

Aug. 9. Fred Meyer -- I'm going out of town for a week and I want to leave a good stock of easy to fix foods behind. This won't be cheap! I find a large box of mixed variety donuts on markdown for $2.29, a package of hot dog buns (for tonight's dinner) for $1.25, 2 loaves of wheat bread for 89 cents each, large bag of tortilla chips for $1.25, package of hot dogs for 89 cents, package of Black Forest lunchmeat ham for $3.49, 2 dozen eggs for 79 cents/dozen, 5 jars of peanut butter (1 free with coupon, 4 for $1.49 each), 2 chicken strip frozen dinners for $1.29 each, 2 Marie Callendar frozen turkey pot pies for $2.50 each, a large veggies tray marked down to $4.99, and a smaller veggies tray with dip for $4.49, a deli bean, pepper and salsa dip bowl for $5.99, a box of frozen fish sticks for $5.79, a bottle of Ranch salad dressing for $1.67, a large bottle of vegetable oil for $2.29,  half-gallon of skim milk marked down to 89 cents, a 5-lb bag of carrots for $2.99, about a dozen bananas for 59 cents/lb. Total spent -- $57.14

A lovely facebook friend sent me a 10% off Friends and Family coupon (Thank you!) which I had every intention to use today. I printed it out (along with some other papers), put the coupon and other papers into my purse as I was getting ready to leave. At the last minute, I grabbed my purse and saw all of those other papers and thought "I don't need those with me right now, I'll leave them on the bed." Well, of course, I'd forgotten about the coupon until I drove into the FM parking lot. At that point I figured it would cost me about as much in gas as I'd save with the coupon, and I was short on time. So I missed out on using that coupon. Frustrating.

Spent for the month, so far -- $68.06

Aug. 21
When I got home there were actually a few things left from the convenience items I had bought, even a couple of donut halves -- kind of stale, but a quick zap in the microwave and a stale maple bar becomes edible. I do need to get out for a good stock-up of basics and produce. I decided to go to Cash & Carry, where I splurged on produce. I bought a 5-lb bag of frozen green beans ($3.89), 3-pack of celery ($1.32), 4 lbs of strawberries ($6.28), 3 lbs of red grapes ($4.28), 4 bundles of bananas (49 cents/lb), 2 heads of Romaine lettuce ($1.49 each), 3 pack of English cucumbers ($3.37), head of green cabbage ($1.18), 5 lb bag of baby red potatoes ($4.78), 32 oz of frozen cranberry juice concentrate, enough to make a gallon of cranberry juice ($1.99), an institutional-size can of Stagg chili ($9.87), 5 lbs of frozen beef meatballs ($11.89), 5 lb block of mild cheddar cheese ($11.69), 2 gallon box of 2% milk ($4.87), 12-pack of hoagie rolls ($2.72), 1 gallon of soy sauce ($5.69). Total spent $81.23.

What a contrast in shopping weeks, right? I came home from my week away determined to eat as healthy as I can, even if it means spending more on produce than I would normally. And I also wanted to build in some conveniences, and that's where the hoagie rolls, canned chili and pre-made meatballs come in. The chili weighs about 6 lbs. It could easily feed our entire family for 3 meals, with maybe a little leftover, and very little work for me. I have this can tucked away in a closet for now. My plan is to pick up several institutional-size cans of chili, soup or stew this summer and fall, to make for easy meals later on. The meatballs will be added to some homemade marinara sauce, pre-made in large batches, and kept in the freezer, for spaghetti and meatballs or meatball subs (with the hoagie rolls, already tucked in the freezer). The hoagie rolls will serve as buns for pizza subs, meatball sandwiches and a base for garlic bread. I froze them so they wouldn't get gobbled up as snacks.  The baby red potatoes were a real splurge for me, at almost $1 per pound. But again, these are a convenience item. They are pre-scrubbed, small, and ready to give a quick rinse, prick and microwave. One or two of them are just right for a quick addition to my lunches, or chopped and added to an otherwise meager dinner if topped with some butter, or added to a salad. And I wanted them.

I had wanted to pick up some cocoa powder, but at Cash & Carry it's overpriced unless you buy a 5-lb bag. So I also made a stop at Trader Joe's, where I bought a 9 oz canister of cocoa powder ($2.49) plus a 1 lb package of applewood smoked bacon ends and pieces for $4.49. I also enjoyed tasty samples and free coffee.  Total spent $6.98.

Total spent for the month so far -- $156.27

Aug. 26 Running errands, spending time with one daughter, going to the farmer's market (way overpriced, here), window shopping, we stopped by Fred Meyer to pick up whole chickens on sale for 87 cents/lb. I picked out 6 chickens, bought 1 loaf of bread for 89 cents, and got a free box of Annie's mac and cheese. Spent $28.36.

Total spent for August -- $184.63. I had $230.27 available to spend this month, which leaves me with a surplus of $45.64 to roll over to September.

What I bought

Meat

1 package hot dogs
1 lb ham lunchmeat
2 frozen dinners
2 frozen pot pies
family-size box fish sticks
5 lbs meatballs
1 lb bacon ends and pieces
6 whole chickens

Produce

3 heads Romaine lettuce
45 bananas
2 veggie trays
1 bean, salsa, pepper dip bowl
5 lbs carrots
5 lbs frozen green beans
3 bundles celery
4 lbs strawberries
3 lbs grapes
3 large cucumbers
1 head green cabbage
5 lbs baby red potatoes
32 oz frozen cranberry juice concentrate

Dairy

3 dozen eggs
3  1/2 gallons milk
5 lbs cheddar cheese

Pantry

dozen donuts
4 loaves bread
1 package hot dog buns
1 large package hoagie rolls
1 bag tortilla chips
6 jars peanut butter
1 bottle Ranch dressing
1 bottle vegetable oil
large can of chili
1 gallon soy sauce
1 canister cocoa powder
1 box of macaroni and cheese (freebie)

It doesn't look like a lot of food, does it? We're still using up all of our surpluses in the freezer and pantry, and getting a smidge out of our very poor garden. I may go shopping later this morning, or I may just try and wait this out until Senior Shopping Day on Tuesday. For the month, I stopped at stores 5 times (with 2 of those times on the same outing), which tells me that I am not spending a whole lot of my time grocery shopping these days.

I hope that summer has been easy on your grocery budget!

Foods that we are now out of, and what I am doing to get by:

• fresh milk  -- mixing up powdered milk from the pantry
• sliced bread -- baking biscuits; making pancakes; making an occasional batch of focaccia, plain and seasoned
• bananas, grapes, other purchased fresh fruit -- using wild blackberries, and figs from our trees
• mayonnaise -- making dressings with oil and vinegar instead; using individual packets of salad dressing which contain mayo
• eggs (not quite out, down to 2 eggs, so saving those last two) -- using egg substitutes

Coffee hour treats

I serve at our church's coffee hour on a rotational basis. In addition to pouring juice and making coffee, we provide the snacks for the hour. Snacks mostly come in the form of a baked good, like cookies, cupcakes, donuts, and quick breads. Sometimes there is cheese, crackers or fruit.  This past Sunday was my turn. I baked and frosted some cookies, using a mix and canned frosting that I picked up on clearance late last winter (cookie mix was 42 cents, frosting 37 cents).

The mix made 3 dozen cookies, exactly, and I needed another 2 dozen treats of some sort. I had thought I would swing by Cash & Carry early on Sunday and pick up a container of fresh strawberries to put out for the remainder of the my treats. I ran short on time and energy, and I really wanted to just use what I had on hand. In looking for something healthy in my fridge I found some red grapes and a large block of cheddar cheese. In about 15 minutes, I made 2 1/2 dozen mini-kebabs of cheese and grapes.

I saved time, energy and money by choosing to do these instead of buying strawberries. And they went over very well.

My dumb-phone life

I have a pay-as-you-go phone plan for my $4.99 cheapo phone. When I load minutes, I check online for coupon codes to enter at check-out. By doing so, I wind up with an extra 40 or 50 minutes of free airtime. It takes about 60 seconds to find a coupon code, and I get enough extra minutes for about 80 brief texts. Since I mostly use my phone for texting my daughters concerning when they'll be home each day, this is like getting a month of free end-of-day texting for my phone. I don't want to be responsible for sending someone to a "bad" site, but if you google your phone plan company + "coupon codes" your search should bring you to a site with listings of active codes, plus some reviews or comments to get an idea of whether or not the codes will work. Sometimes a coupon code is expired or only designed to be use once. When that happens, I simply back-up and try a different code. Within one or two tries I find a working code. Last Thursday I added airtime and used a code for 40 free minutes. My minutes cost me about 7.8 cents each, so I got $3.15 worth of free airtime for 60 seconds of work, or an hourly wage of $189.00. Not too shabby.

By the way, I love my dumb-phone. It does what I need it to do for under $10 per month, and I have a nice pic of my kids as my screen saver every time I turn it on. Everyone else in my household has a smartphone, but I am really okay with not having one. The money that I save by using a non-smartphone goes to things that matter more to me, like travel.

Mini-update -- after mentioning I'd added minutes to my phone to one daughter, she told me that she had wanted to buy me a smartphone as a belated birthday and Christmas present. Very sweet of her, but I declined. I honestly am just fine with my dumb-phone. By the way, I'm not trying to convince anyone else to want what I want. My point is that knowing what we want and what we don't want saves money and simplifies choices.

Preparing meals when I don't feel like it

One of the difficulties with depression is that every last chore feels like so much more work than it ever did before. For me, putting on shoes felt like a lot of work. (That's hard to imagine, isn't it?) So, for most of winter, spring and summer, if I didn't need to go somewhere I just wore slippers all day, even outside in the garden, in the yard, or on the deck. It was just simpler.

Now if this is just shoes, can you imagine what cooking feels like? It's been a struggle to make high-quality meals while not feeling myself, and while taking on some added work in the form of classes and seminars to prepare to go back to work and/or start a business. However, I do like to eat.

My solution has been to take the simple route as much as possible. We've had a lot of hot dog dinners. I have been buying bread and buns instead of baking regularly. I'm not scavenging in the garden as much, but buying produce instead. And side dishes for meals are simple but delicious foods.

Some for instances of simple but delicious sides this week. . .

fresh figs from the garden to top cut up fruit

a dressing to top a green salad -- pureed basil, cherry tomatoes, garlic and the tail end of a vinaigrette, using a stick blender in a cup to puree

blueberry coffee cake, where the tiring part was picking the blueberries; otherwise, to make coffee cake, I add less liquid and more sugar to my standard scratch pancake recipe, then top with a cinnamon crumb topping -- no recipe or cookbook to get out.

just plain strawberries, delicious, fresh, but plain. It is so unlike me to not even slice the strawberries.

I have had to be selective in how I use my time and energy. Good food matters, but fancy food does not.

Not every day has been hard. I don't go around with a glum look on my face all of the time. And I do think that I am having more positive days than I had been.

A different take on my Cheap & Cheerful menus. What was on your menu this past week? The summer fresh foods will be yielding to autumn comfort foods soon. Is there any particular summer food that you will miss? Have a great weekend!

The Two-fold Benefit of Not Wasting the Fat

Yesterday, I cooked a couple of pieces of bacon at breakfast. Doing so left me with several tablespoons of flavorful bacon fat. I poured off the fat into a custard cup to use later, and afterward sauteed some onions in the greasy pan. I didn't have immediate use for the sauteed onions, so I scooped them onto the top of a large container of frozen soup. They'll add flavor when I reheat this as supper some evening.  I typically do this when I cook bacon, pour off what I can and then saute onions or celery in the greasy pan, to add to something later, freezing if I need to (great for doing the onions and celery ahead of time, for stuffing).

I do this (make sure I use every bit of the flavorful fat) for two reasons. When you buy bacon (or any meat, for that matter) you are paying for the fat as well as the lean portion. In frugal terms, it makes sense to use the fat as well as the lean (obviously, health issues trump frugality). I don't want to waste something for which I have paid good money.

After pouring off most of the fat, it only takes about
1/2 cup of diced vegetables to de-grease a pan.

In addition, I have to wash that greasy pan. Cooking some vegetables in the greasy pan removes some of the fat from the pan. This means that not only is my washing chore easier, but I use less detergent, hot water and elbow grease. It's a win all around.

So, what's going on with me?

You know the joke -- "enough about me, let's talk about you. What do you think of me?" Anyway. . .

I knew that at some point I would write this post. I just wasn't together enough to actually write it, until now. So, what is going on with me? I am struggling terribly with depression these days. Not the blues, not just a bad day or string of bad days, but full-blown depression. It began to settle in about a year and a half ago. One of my daughters made a comment about my lack of joy, no smiles, and no laughs last summer. I couldn't pull myself out of this and knew I couldn't continue to live in such emotional pain. I began seeing a therapist a year ago. She had me see my doctor and rule out several medical possibilities. I have addressed one medical situation and continue to do as instructed with that. But the depression has persisted. I can't make it go away, but I can work on uncovering the thought processes and behaviors that I continue with, that cause me to allow other people to treat me poorly. It's no coincidence that several people in my life treat me poorly. It is how they say -- we teach people how to treat us.

This past year I've felt utterly broken. And now I am beginning to put the pieces back together and forge a different path for myself. I feel better getting this out there, and letting you all know why I am not always engaged here. It's not you, it's me. So, yeah, the big D, depression. It's really nasty stuff. But oddly, I am grateful for it. As through addressing depression I have begun to find peace and acceptance of myself, instead of always scrambling after love and acceptance from others.

Anyway, that's what's going on with me. I am working hard to get it together. The week away that I had did wonders for my perspective. I continue to work on my issues, and work towards a future. I apologize if my disappearing a few times this past spring and summer caused any concern for you. I'll be okay. Hope all is well for you.

Cucumber Water

Last week I drank copious amounts of cucumber-lemon water. It was delicious and the perfect thirst-quencher when hot. Yesterday, I made a quart for myself. I didn't have a lemon at home, but do have cucumbers. I took about 1-inch of the end of a cucumber (including the stem bit that I would normally toss), and sliced it very thin to expose as much surface of the cucumber as possible. I dropped the cucumber slices into a glass, one-quart jar (glass is important) and filled with filtered water from the fridge. The water picked up the cucumber flavor within minutes.

When I am done with this one-inch section of cucumber I'll puree it into a vegetable drink. Nothing wasted.

Eclipse-mania

The Pacific Northwest is enmeshed in eclipse-mania today. It's all anyone was talking about at church yesterday. I know people who have traveled to Oregon to get a sighting of it in its totality. Those "special glasses" are sold-out throughout the Seattle area. The solar eclipse begins just after 9 AM and is complete by about 11:30 AM, in my area. Will you be in a spot to catch this eclipse?

Update: !0:20 AM
The yard is eerily darkened. Everywhere there is semi-shade from trees, there are these crescent-shaped light patches. I noticed them first in the back yard, then went out in front and the same thing on the driveway and the lawn. thought I'd share --

Obviously, I'm photographing them from different angles. IRL, they are all aligned the same direction.

Cold Meal for a Hot Day

We are in the middle of a heat wave, here in Seattle. No A/C, just a couple of floor fans, and it is very warm in the house. Not wanting to heat the house when making dinner yesterday I took a suggestion from the comments a while back on using canned tuna. I made a macaroni-tuna salad. It was very tasty, refreshing, and used the odd bits of this and that without feeling like a "leftover" meal.

To one can of tuna I added 2 ounces of cheddar, diced, 1 boiled egg, chopped, about 10 ounces of dry macaroni, cooked, 3 green onions, some lettuce and kale, the last of the green olives, 5 large cherry tomatoes, mayonnaise and lots of sweet pickle relish. I didn't have enough leafy greens to make beds under the salad, so I just chopped the greens and added them to the macaroni. It worked well. I prepared the salad early in the day and left it to chill until serving. No overheated kitchen for me!

Tonight, I'm making microwaved baked potatoes, topped with chopped, microwave-steamed kale, some diced ham and a cheese sauce. It should all go together quickly, and not create too much kitchen heat.

How about you? What are your favorite heat wave suppers?

July 2017 Grocery Spending Journal

July 1. Safeway. I have a coupon for hot dog buns at 50 cents a package, plus blueberries and cherries are on sale. (Safeway is just around the corner, and I needed to get out of the house, anyway.) I bought 2 packages of buns, 2 18-oz containers of blueberries for $2.99 each, and a little over a lb of Rainer cherries for $2.99/lb. Total spent $10.15.

July 4. Senior Discount Day at Fred Meyer. I bought 1 gallon of whole milk (for yogurt) at $1.79, 2 gallons of 2% milk at $1.61 each, large can of coffee and large can of decaf for $5.39 each, 8 packages of 6-ct fun size Baby Ruth, on clearance for 49 cents each (Halloween candy and some treats for us), 3 10-ct packages of flour tortillas, 89 cents each, 7 loaves of wheat bread, 80 cents each (freezing most for later in the month), 1 lb of butter for $2.24 (limit one with coupon), 2 packages of hotdogs, 80 cents each, 1 package of Hebrew Nationals, $2.50, 1 box of saltine crackers, 90 cents, 4 15-oz jars of peanut butter for 89 cents each, 2 half-gallons of almond milk, $1.85 each, 24-oz ketchup, 90 cents, 2 lbs of cherries, $2.99/lb, 4 reg. bananas and 14 baby bananas for 39 cents/lb, 2 lbs of broccoli crowns, 99 cents/lb, 3/4 lb of sunflower seeds, $1.79/lb, 1 box of artificial sweetener at 99 cents, 4 family packs of bone-in chicken breasts at 87 cents/lb.  I also got a 5 oz. package of gummi bears as a freebie. Total spent -- $72.97.

July 6. I had a long appointment earlier in the day, and afterward checked out the produce stand in their parking lot. The prices felt too high, so I didn't buy anything. However, I knew that cherries were on sale at Albertson's for $1.88/ lb, and Albertson's would be on my way home. I stopped in and bought a bag of cherries. $4.15

July 9. On the way home from church I once again stopped at Albertson's for cherries. This will be my last batch as they're just not as good as the first few batches, from early in the season. $4.55

This is where I found myself too busy to document what I spent on what. However, in looking at my credit card statement, I can give you an idea of what I spent on groceries for the remainder of the month.

On July 11 I went to QFC (a regular grocery store chain in our area. They have kinda high prices, but I do well checking the markdowns there. I spent $24.22 and bought blueberries, coffee, carrots, bananas, and broccoli, trying to only buy the sale produce items and stay as close to $20 as I could.

On July 19 I went back to QFC and found a lot of markdowns. I bought several boxes of breakfast cereal, Kashi granola-type bars, watermelon, peaches, plums, stir-fry mix, carrots, a bag of baby carrots/broccoli/cauliflower, cabbage, bananas, a box of 6 donuts, milk and maybe something else that I can't remember. I spent $49.20.

On July 30, a quick stop at Albertson's on the way home from church and we bought more bananas (they're cheap and highly portable), eggs, milk, potatoes, cheddar cheese, green onions, lettuce, and more carrots (carrots are a bargain staple for us). I spent $24.26.

Forgive me if I don't update my complete list below, with the last 3 store trips. What I know, though, is that I spent $189.48. Not too bad, considering I didn't shop as I usually do. Today is August 1, and Senior Shopping day at Fred Meyer. I decided to skip it this month. I just got a huge project turned in an hour ago, then took care of bills, and now it's hot today, and I'm tired and just don't want to go out. I'll stay cooler overall if I stay in.

My super-duper busy period is coming to a close. Yay! I've got about a week's worth of hard work to get through, and then . . . I'm taking a vacation. Yep! "I'm leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again" (well, yes, I do, I have a plane ticket with a return date, so I do in fact know when I'll be back). I am sooooo looking forward to this vacation. After I return I think I'll have more time to post regularly again. And until then, I'll be here as often as I think I have anything relevant to say. I hope all is well with you, and that you're enjoying your summer.


What I Bought:

Produce
36 oz. blueberries
1 lb Rainer cherries
2 lbs red cherries
4 regular bananas
14 baby bananas
2 lbs broccoli crowns

Meat

Dairy
2 gallons 2% milk
1 gallon whole milk
1 lb butter
1 gallon almond milk
22 lbs of chicken breasts

Pantry

2 packages hot dog buns
1 can coffee
1 can decaf
48 fun size candy bars
30 flour tortilla
2 packages cheap hot dogs
1 package Hebrew Nationals
7 loaves bread
box of saltine crackers
4 jars of peanut butter
bottle ketchup
3/4 lb sunflower seeds
small package gummi bears (freebie)

Cheaper Than Take-out!

Last night's dinner was a treat for me after getting a major job completed. I was in the grocery store in the late afternoon picking up some fruit and I came upon these stir-fry bags on markdown. This one is snow peas, broccoli and bok choi with a sesame pepper sauce packet. At $1.49 I thought it was worth a gamble. Once home, I added some diced chicken breast and marked down mushrooms. I served this over brown rice, along with a fruit salad consisting of berries from our garden, grapes given to me and 2 marked down bananas. All-inclusive, dinner for the entire family cost about $5. That's really not too bad. And it was quite delicious. The sauce packet was flavorful enough even with chicken and mushrooms added. I didn't need to add a single extra thing.

And this is for Carol -- quickie marinara from tomato paste.

• tomato paste
• olive oil
• garlic powder or granules
• dried oregano
• minced basil
• cayenne or other ground red pepper (optional)
• salt
• water
• microwavable bowl

I stir this all together in the microwavable bowl, heat and either toss with pasta or use as pizza sauce. 

I haven't been frugal this past week,

but then again, I haven't been not frugal (if that makes any sense).

I'm still here, just busy with a big assignment, taking care of the home and arranging repairs, and being a mom.

When I'm really busy, spending money on anything takes a back seat for a while. Shopping is time-consuming. We've eaten mostly from our supplies at home, with one very brief grocery shopping trip to pick up vegetables and fruit. If I had had more time, I might have browsed the store longer and found items that I thought we needed, and spent more. But as it turned out, we really didn't need more than some bananas, blueberries, carrots and broccoli to get through the week. I also didn't shop for anything for the house or personal stuff. Just no time. So there is an upside to being especially busy.

Simple meals at home often take less hands-on time to prepare than driving out to pick up dinner at a restaurant. My simple meals are not at all in the gourmet-league, more like fried hotdogs with rice and plain veggies, or ramen noodle soup enhanced with chicken and vegetables. Tonight it will be some sort of quick pasta dish, making a quickie marinara sauce from tomato paste, herbs and garlic powder, then poured over cooked noodles. A few more weeks and I will have more time for better meals again, and blogging more, too!

I hope all is well at your end.

I won't be around much for the next week. . .

I have a lot going on this week, and I'm struggling to do it all. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

It's Been Another Busy Week

I did not record any meals this week, again. With the 4th of July, Senior Shopping Day (which is an exhausting shopping excursion for me), a 3-hour meeting yesterday, and trying to get some other work taken care of meant that I got meals on the table, but not much time to record. I do have a pretty good memory, though.

What we ate (but not in this order) --

• baked chicken breasts, with rice pilaf, and leftover jello salad
• hot dogs cooked over a fire, s'mores, red, white & blue jello salad, potato chips, steamed broccoli, sparkling pear cider and 7-up
• chicken, black bean, Swiss chard and onion wrap sandwiches (using the leftover chicken from the baked chicken), fruit salad of blueberries, strawberries and baby bananas (these were marked down to 39 cents/lb, along with other aging bananas)
• ham and lentil soup, cheddar bay biscuits, lettuce and cabbage salad
• ham and scrambled eggs, green beans, brown rice
• peanuts and garlic noodles, deep-fried rhubarb, carrots and onions
• lentil burritos, cole slaw

On Senior Discount Day I picked up about 22 lbs of bone-in chicken breasts, at 87 cents/lb. The breasts are large, in total 16 of them, so over a pound each. I found that 2 baked breasts were enough meat for all of us, with some meaty bones remaining. Right after serving dinner, I popped the meaty bones into the crockpot, covered with 2 cups of water, and set to simmer overnight. By the next morning, the meat was falling off the bones, leaving me with about 1 1/2 cups of meat, and 2 cups of stock. This leftover meat was plenty for making 7 wrap sandwiches. I may be able to get 22 meals out of the chicken that I bought.

The other things that I bought on Senior Day included 7 loaves of bread (to freeze for later this month), more hot dogs, more flour tortillas, peanut butter, and several packages of fun-size candy bars (some for the family as a treat, and some for Hallowe'en). These candy bars were being discontinued by the store, so marked down to 49 cents/ package of 6. Believe it or not, October is only 3 months away!

I hope you had a wonderful week! What was on your menu this past week? Have a great weekend!

Substituting Herb Vinegar for Lemon Juice in a Chicken Recipe

I was making a Mediterranean-inspired baked chicken dish last night, the recipe for which calls for lemon juice. Maybe you recall, about a month ago I discovered that my jug of lemon juice no longer looked or smelled quite right, so it was allocated to cleaning supplies. I have yet to replace that jug.

So, thinking about pie recipes which were flavored with vinegar in the olden days, I thought maybe a variation on the vinegar would work in this recipe. I went online and found that yes, indeed, vinegar is used as a substitute for lemon juice in some instances. The cooks which suggested this often suggested half as much vinegar as a recipe would call for in lemon juice. that sounded a bit strong for me, so I went with about 1/4 to 1/3 of the amount of an herb vinegar, than what I would have used in lemon juice. This particular herb vinegar was made last summer using rosemary from my garden. The flavor was compatible with the other flavors in the dish that I was making.

The result -- it worked well. I did not taste like lemon, but it had that nice tang that lemon juice will give to a dish. In a pinch, this did work. Other substitutions which were offered for lemon juice included lime juice (of course), white wine, orange juice, and sherry. I also think that unsweetened, white grape juice might make a good substitution for lemon juice. The choice of any of these would depend on the type of dish one was modifying. And it helps to keep in mind that you are essentially creating a new dish, with new flavors, and not simply replicating the old one.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the vinegar substitution worked in the marinade for the baked chicken and the subsequent gravy.

Here's My Red, White, and Blue Jello Salad

Is it a salad if it tastes like dessert? Blue jello with fresh blueberries on the bottom layer, topped with whipped cream that I had frozen in mounds since late fall, then smoothed after thawing, and finally fresh strawberries from our garden. It looks pretty, I think. And it was simple to make. Here's a side view, too.

Happy 4th!

Wishing you a safe and sane holiday! I made a blue jello salad, filled with blueberries, and will top with whipped cream, and fresh strawberries from the garden, later today. The blue jello had been lingering in the pantry from some event 6 years ago! And the whipped cream is in the freezer, leftover from late fall. I did splurge on the blueberries, though. It was the best thing I could think of to use the blue jello. 

And of course, I'll get out my Liberty Blue dishes, and patriotic table runner. My plan is to set up a long table on the deck for dinner, then we can sit around the fire to toast marshmallows afterward.

Any special plans for you and yours? Stay safe!

Happy 4th of July!