Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for an early September week

Again, trying to remember what we had from last weekend.

All I remember from Saturday was cole slaw, because I remember the bowl on the table.

Sunday -- lentil and cheese quesadillas, with carrot sticks
Monday -- pasta, meatball, marinara, spinach, mozzarella layered casserole, with steamed cauliflower core juliennes, and a tossed green salad (with lettuce cores, too)
Tuesday -- leftover pasta casserole (I made a lot), nectarine slices, frozen green beans
Wednesday -- pumpkin soup, French bread pizza sandwiches (using hoagie rolls)
Thursday -- family dinner: roasted chicken, stuffing, cranberry sauce, frozen peas, pumpkin snack cake (this cake, with the pumpkin variation) with butterscotch chip icing

The cake from last night was so tasty. I was in a hurry to get it finished and chose to use a butterscotch chip topping, by dumping a cup of butterscotch chips on top of the hot cake out of the oven. Only, butterscotch chips don't melt like chocolate chips do (see the sad photo of unmelted chips on the cake).

So I scooped them off the cake, and into a custard cup, and along with some Crisco shortening, melted them in the microwave in short 15 second bursts, for a total of about 30 seconds. Then stirred like mad until it was a nice melty mess.

I quickly spread the melty mess on the cake, and it set up very quickly. It was a little extra work, but it smelled and tasted autumnal.

What was on your menu this past week? The weather is definitely cooler, here. How fast it all changed! I'll be volunteering all day tomorrow. I hope you have nice plans for the weekend!

Mug cake to the rescue

Rough days call for drastic measures, or at least a dose of mug cake. In case you don't know a mug cake is a single serve cake, baked in the microwave, with or without eggs, and ready to eat in just a couple of minutes.

Here's what I'm eating right now:

individual chocolate cake topped with plum jam

Chocolate Mug Cake with Fruit Jam Topping

The cake:

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons butter
• scant 5 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

TOPPING (choose one)

• 1 tablespoon chocolate chips, or
• 1 tablespoon jam, or
• 1 tablespoon nutella

In a microwaveable mug or individual-serving baking dish, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces as you add to the dry ingredients. Microwave for 10 seconds, so the butter can me stirred into the dry ingredients.  Stir in oil, milk, and vanilla.  Microwave for 1 minute on HI. Immediately top with chocolate chips, nutella, or fruit jam. Share with someone you love (or hog for yourself, whichever).

Okay, I feel fortified enough to get back to work. Onward and upward!

Using the central core from heads of lettuce

Along the lines of using cauliflower cores and leaves . . .

You know the core of a head of leaf or Romaine lettuce? That, too, is edible.

After peeling off all of the leaves, I trim any unsightly oxidation rust marks. Then I slice the core in half lengthwise (to make half-moon pieces, once sliced). Finally, I slice the long core pieces, thinly, across the grain. I add these to a tossed salad and no one is the wiser (or else they are just accustomed to my quirky ways in the kitchen, and this is no surprise).

Dollar store autumn decorating

I mentally need something to get me geared up for fall. A good place to start is a quick trip to Dollar Tree for a few pieces of autumn decor. I bought 20 items (spent $20 plus tax). That amount helped me spruce up the kitchen entry, front entry and living room, with very little effort.

Here's what I bought:

I thought these candles had appeal that goes beyond autumn decor.

The faux green apples looked the most realistic of all of the faux
 fruit at DT. I bought 7 for $7. Amazon sells a set of 6 for $13.99

I have a glass door at the entrance to the kitchen.
Window clings are the way to go, there.

Faux flowers and an autumnal pick for pots in the front.

I'll show you pics of what I did with all of this, soon. I hope you had a lovely weekend!

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for the cook who doesn't want to put a lot of effort into meal prep

So another easy week of meals around my house. I must sound like the laziest cook around! Not lazy, just prioritizing other things over cooking, for the time being. I'm writing this from memory and I can't remember what Sunday was.

Saturday -- curried vegetables and chickpeas over fry bread, blackberries
Monday -- hot dogs over a fire, potato salad, cole slaw, strawberries, s'mores
Tuesday -- lentil soup from the freezer, garlic toast using hoagie rolls, cauliflower and mushroom saute
Wednesday -- egg salad sandwiches, pasta salad, green salad, fruit cup
Thursday -- meatball subs (using frozen meatballs and marinara sauce, in hoagie rolls), frozen green beans and applesauce

Tonight? Hmmm, I'll be out all day, with one of my daughters. Dinner will need to be fast and easy. I bought a 15-dozen case of eggs a week ago, so I think I'll do an egg-based supper. It might just be scrambled eggs and toast, with bananas and frozen peas.

One of my daughters and I are exploring business possibilities. So today is fun research. I don't want to talk about it too much, just yet. We need to firm up some ideas first. But I can say this much, today will be a very fun day for the two of us.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and you are out of range of Irma, where ever you may be. If you happen to live in the hurricane's path, stay safe, and may God protect you. I'll be praying for you.

Using cores and leaves of cauliflower

Because I've had to buy a lot of vegetables this summer, my grocery costs have been higher than normal. To address this, I've made sure that nothing is wasted.

Last week I bought a head of cauliflower. A lot of folks just use the tender flowerets. The cores and leaves can also be used in cooking. They tend to be tougher, so need some special attention, but nothing too complicated.

To use the leaves, thin slice them and chop fine. To use the cores, slice them into thin "coins," then julienne the coins into slivers. With both the leaves and cores sliced/chopped thin, you can saute these pieces to add to stir-fry. To ensure they are tender, add to the stir-fry early in cooking, and cook completely, with a little liquid, if possible.

The other night I stir-fried cauliflower (flowerets, leaves and core) along with sliced mushrooms, to which I added garlic and soy sauce. It was a delicious side dish and no one was even aware that I had used the core and leaves.

Cores and leaves of cauliflower are fibrous. The key is to slice across the fibers, reducing the length of each fiber significantly, and you'll have a tasty, edible extra portion of cauliflower that might have otherwise gone into the garbage.

Doing the math will save money

There are some traditional frugal activities that will save money, if all of the circumstances are right, such as canning a bounty produce. However, this venture requires a few things, in order for it to be indeed frugal, like having the canning equipment and a source of cheap or free fruits or vegetables. Most autumns I have a free source of apples, my own backyard. This year was a poor year for our garden and fruit trees. The weather just did not cooperate. I have only a handful of apples this year. That means that if I want applesauce I either have to buy apples to make it, or buy ready-made applesauce.

The last couple of weeks I have been craving applesauce, so I thought I would buy some apples and make my own. But I needed to do a price comparison between making my own and buying ready-made.

Best price on fresh apples this week is 88 cents/lb, in my area. Although the peels and cores are waste, that cost if offset by water that is added to commercial applesauce. So, I figure those as a wash in costing this out. My estimated price per pint is 88 cents, for homemade applesauce, right now, not factoring in fuel to run the stove.

At Fred Meyer I can buy the store brand of unsweetened applesauce at 10% off on Senior Discount Day (yesterday for this month). The regular price is $2.19 for 46 ounces. My cost after discount was $2. I found a digital coupon to load to my loyalty card, bringing the cost down to $1.70. That works out to 59 cents per pint.

Buying the ready-made applesauce was the money saver, this time. I went ahead and bought applesauce, instead of doing the traditionally frugal thing of making my own.

How about you? Have you ever found that DIY didn't save money after all?

I recognize that there can be other factors to consider in one of these equations, such as flavor, or organic vs. not organic. This time around, I was satisfied with the product I would have if buying the ready-made product. And now I have an idea of the price per pound that I need to find on fresh apples, to make applesauce for less than store-bought. The bonus is that I freed up valuable time to do other frugal or income-producing activities during my work hours.

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!

June 2017 Grocery Spending Journal

June. 4. Picking up a daughter late on a Sunday. She needs her bus pass filled so we swing by QFC. Their bus/customer service desk is closed. Rats! I'll have to get up early tomorrow and take her to the transit center before she needs to get on a bus for class. Oh well, while here, I'll check some aisles. I buy milk, four 1/2 gals (99 cents each), 1 half gallon of almond milk (1.99), 12 "baking" bananas, 49 cents lb (I dug through all of them and found two bundles still in the okay-for-eating stage), and 1 large loaf of bread for $1.25. The price on bread is way too high, but we need bread, and I won't have time for even the simplest bread this evening. Bread, milk and bananas -- a person could live on that for a couple of days, if need be. I also bought some birthday candles for fall birthdays, on clearance. Total spent on food -- $9.26

June 6. Senior Discount Day at Fred Meyer. First thing, they brought back the coffee and cookies for seniors. They hadn't been offering that for the last several months. Having it again was a pleasant surprise. What I bought -- 10 half-gallons of milk, for 89 cents each, 1 half gallon almond milk, $2.25, 3 packages of store brand hot dogs for 80 cents each, 2 packages of Hebrew National hot dogs for $2.99 each (saving these for the 4th of July and maybe another cook-out), 1 package of hot dog buns for 80 cents, 1 16 oz can of frozen orange juice concentrate for $1.35, 15 bananas at 39 cents/lb, 1  1/4 lbs of strawberries for 99 cents, 4 dozen eggs for 89 cents/dozen, 3 packages of flour tortillas for 89 cents/package, 1 bag of sour chewy candy for free (a Friday Freebie), 4 5-ounce cans of tuna for 62 cents each, 2 bags of potato chips for $1.69 each, 3 boxes of graham crackers for $1.35 each, 1 box of saltines for 89 cents,  4 packages of ramen soup for 25 cents each, and 1 16-ct box of frozen corn dogs for $3.37.  Total spent -- $47.15

Yes, that was my shopping cart, and no, I haven't completely lost my mind. A couple of prompts for this diversion from my regular shopping. I noticed a week ago that one daughter had bought herself some ramen for a quick to make lunch. So I thought I would just keep some on hand for her. I also thought saltine crackers might be nice to have on hand to go with homemade soup or salads, or to make PPJ on crackers (always a favorite), or melted cheese on crackers, again quick lunch thought. The tuna was for easy to make sandwich dinners. I'm not a huge fan of tuna, but the rest of the family will like it, and tuna sandwiches or tuna salad on garden lettuce would be a quick and easy dinner. The graham crackers, potato chips and Hebrew Nationals were a special this week, so I thought I'd stock up for holiday BBQs (4th of July just around the corner). And the corn dogs were a great deal for super quick dinners that I know my family would love. After coupon and discount, they came out to 21 cents each. About as fast as getting any sort of take out, but a fraction of the price. A change from my regular shopping. But I think I should be able to stay within my spending allotment, even with this shopping. I'll make a run by the produce stand or ethnic market for produce soon.

June 12. Desperate for produce, but struggling with fatigue this week. I chose to go to Cash & Carry for produce as they have most of what I want, at okay prices (better than supermarkets, overall). I could have run to several stores, but the way I've been feeling, that just would not be sensible. I bought 50 lbs of yellow onions for $7.95, 10 lbs of potatoes for $1.57, 3 lbs of dried cranberries for $7.37, 18 oz of fresh blueberries for $4.28, 4 lbs of fresh strawberries for $5.98, 10 lbs of cooking carrots for $3.98, 5 lbs of baby carrots (snacking) for $3.28, 5 lbs of frozen peas for $3.99, 5 lbs of frozen green beans for $3.99, 2 lbs of frozen broccoli for $2.27, 1 head of Romain lettuce for $1.18, 2 head of green cabbage for $1.38 each, 12 bananas at 47 cents/lb, 5 lb block of mild cheddar for $11.18, and 25 lbs of salt for $4.59.

Yes, you read that last one correctly, 25 pounds of salt! For the past two senior discount days (May and June) I have had salt on my list, but somehow have spaced out and totally forgotten it. We have been using the popcorn salt, the pickling salt, the Kosher salt, all of the expensive salts, for ordinary cooking. When I got to Cash & Carry I thought I'd just pick up the salt there. But it was over a dollar for a canister (26 oz)! I'm used to paying 55 cents for a canister. So, I wondered, what's the price per pound on salt in the big bags? And how long would a big bag take us to use?  I got out my phone and used the calculator function to figure the cost per 26 oz, same as a canister. In the 25 lb bag, that much salt is 29 cents. That's a little over half price of buying salt with my discount at Fred Meyer. As for how long it would take us to use it all, I figured we would go through this much salt in no more than 3 years. I'm still in the "lots of baking and cooking from scratch" phase of life, so this is probably pretty accurate. And salt keeps indefinitely, plus I have the space.  Anyway, total spent at Cash & Carry -- $67.73

Total spent so far this month -- $124.14

June 14. My daughter suffered a concussion at work this week. The doctor recommended she eat a very healthy diet, while recovering, and especially blueberries.  She finished off the fresh blueberries bought 2 days ago, so I went out to buy frozen ones for smoothies. I went to Dollar Tree and bought 6 10-oz bags of blueberries, for $6.

June 15.  My husband and two of the kids are meeting the kids' aunt downtown for dinner. The third kid has a concussion and is resting so stayed home with me. I asked what she would most like for dinner and she agreed that burgers would be great. I picked up a large burger and large order of sweet potato fries for us to share. It's an expensive burger place but about the only fast food burgers that I like. $9.37 for our dinner.

June 16. One daughter wanted a ride to Fred Meyer after church to pick up something for her dad for Father's Day. While she was getting what she needed, I picked up a loaf of bread ($1.25) and 2 dozen eggs (79 cents/dozen). Total spent $2.83

June 23. After dropping a daughter off at work my son and I went by Fred Meyer. Eggs are on sale for 79 cents/dozen. My son got 2 dozen eggs, and I bought 2 dozen eggs, plus a loaf of bread (89 cents), 4 very ripe bananas at 39 cents/lb, 1 bottle of sparkling iced tea (freebie), 1 package of beef jerkey (freebie) and 1 large bottle of Ocean Spray juice (freebie). Total spent $4.71.

After we picked up our groceries at Fred Meyer, I went to Starbucks and bought an egg white-spinach wrap, and met my son at Five Guys where he got a burger, fries, water, and the free peanuts. Total spent $14.72. I grabbed the bottle of sparkling iced tea that I got for free at Fred Meyer and the two of us had a long lunch together on the lovely patio outside of Five Guys.

Total spent this month -- $161.77

June 24. Out running errands. I stop at Trader Joe's to buy bananas. I bought 14 bananas at 19 cents each, spending $2.66.

I also stopped at Grocery Outlet, to pick up Epsom Salts. I also bout an 11.5-oz can of vanilla-flavored coffee, for $1.58, and 3 17-oz bottles of sparkling flavored water, for 50 cents/each. (These last ones are a favorite treat of mine. I've gotten them as freebies from Fred Meyer on several occasions.) Total spent $3.08

This month, I used the grocery money to buy a couple of fast food meals to have with kids, on a one-on-one basis. It seemed like an appropriate time to do this. Financially, it worked out fine. I just hope this won't come back to bite me later.

June 26. One daughter and I spent a good part of the day at Pike Place market, in downtown Seattle before she went to her studio to paint for the afternoon. We snacked on all of the free samples and then bought ourselves some lunch. We stopped at a specialty cheese shop and bought the smallest package we could find of the smoked flagship cheddar, then went to the bakery and each chose a pastry, and finally stopped at a stand with fresh cherries and bought a tall cup of fresh cherries to share. We picked up free cups of ice water at every place that we went. I didn't track prices, but I started with a $20 bill, and I think I have about $2 and change leftover. So, I spent about $17.50. A "meal out" with each of my kids this month.

Total spent for June -- $185.01

What I bought

Produce
57 bananas
1 large can of orange juice concentrate
5  1/4 lbs of strawberries
50 lbs of onions
10 lbs potatoes
3 lbs dried cranberries
18 oz blueberries
10 lbs cooking carrots
5 lbs baby carrots
5 lbs frozen peas
5 lbs frozen green beans
2 lbs frozen broccoli
1 head Romaine lettuce
2 heads green cabbage
1 33 oz bottle of mixed flavor juice (freebie)
60 ounces frozen blueberries

Dairy
12 half gallons 2% milk
2 half gallons whole milk
2 half gallons almond milk
10 dozen eggs
5 lbs cheddar cheese

Meat
5 packages hot dogs
4 cans of tuna
16 corn dogs
a package of beef jerky (freebie)

Pantry
3 loaves of bread
30 flour tortillas
1 bag of sour chewy candy (freebie)
2 bags of potato chips
3 boxes of graham crackers
1 box of saltine crackers
4 packages of ramen soup
25 lbs salt
1 bottle sparkling iced tea (freebie)
small can of flavored coffee
3 individual bottles of sparkling flavored water

Other
3 meals out, 1 with each kid


The meals out with my kids were expensive for my budget, but worthwhile, for them and for me. I can afford it for right now. When I can no longer afford these, I'll figure something else out for one on one time with them.

I still had a surplus of $154.76, and a regular amount of $150, giving me a total of $304.76 for June available to spend. I spent $185.01, which leaves me with $119.75 in surplus to roll over into July.

Cheap & Cheerful Meals This Past Week

I didn't record what we ate, but I can remember most of it.

Over the weekend. . .

Entrees

rice and black beans

scrambled eggs

Side dishes

cooked carrots

cole slaw

brown rice

hashbrowns

green salad

During the week. . .

Entrees

baked ham (two nights)

ham, peas, macaroni and cheese casserole

bean, rice and cheese burritos

black bean pie (bean burger mixture baked in a pie pan)

Side dishes

sweet potato souffle

green beans

broccoli

fresh strawberries and bananas

brown rice

macaroni and broccoli in olive oil and garlic

green salad

Desserts all week

chocolate ice cream

brownies

vanilla pudding

caramel popcorn

The only desserts that I made was a large batch of vanilla pudding when it looked like some milk might turn sour soon. Someone else made the brownies and caramel corn, and the ice cream is from a purchase of buckets of ice cream in spring. The ham was in the freezer for a year and a half. It was mostly okay, but parts of it tasted more porky to me. The strawberries and salad greens are from the garden. I thought I also cooked some snow peas from the garden this week, but I don't remember how I served them. 

I'm already thinking toward the 4th. I've asked one daughter to work with siblings to make dinner that night, as I've got projects that I'm working on, and frankly, I need a break. She agreed. All they'll have to do is come up with a couple of side dishes. I have hot dogs in the fridge, and I'll buy buns. I have a bag of potato chips and everything needed to make s'mores. Sounds simple enough, right? For those of you in Canada, will you be doing a cookout on Saturday, for Canada Day?

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and if you're traveling, stay safe.

Successes With Making Yogurt After a Long Break

I hadn't made yogurt in at least a year. I just lost interest in making it, and my family wasn't eating it as readily. But in cleaning out the freezers, I found a few containers of homemade yogurt to use as starter. Combine that with early in the month I had picked up a gallon of whole milk. So . . .

The other day I did make yogurt, again, and had several areas of success that I thought I'd share.

• using old starter --the starter in my freezer was about one and a half years old, and it still worked! Who knew the starter would stay viable for so long?!
• chain yogurting for years -- the starter that I used this week is a direct descendant from my original container of Yoplait, bought in July of 2012. I think that's incredible. I never expected my starter to last for all of these years. Every few batches, the day after making yogurt I pack several small containers to use as starter for future batches, and keep in a 0 degree F freezer. It just keeps on going.
• incubating part of the yogurt for less time, to have some of it ready sooner -- I like to leave the yogurt to incubate overnight, but one daughter was asking if any would be ready for her to pack in her lunch, before morning. In that moment, I was thinking, well no, as I'd be leaving it in the incubator overnight, and then it would need to set up in the fridge for several hours. And then it occurred to me that I don't have to leave all of the jars in the incubator overnight. I could take one out after 3 or 4 hours and refrigerate, but leave the other 3 jars to incubate the length of time I prefer, for flavor and thickness. While this doesn't seem like such a monumental thing, it was to me as I was thinking outside of the box and doing one thing with part of the yogurt and another thing with the other part. When I think outside of my own boxes it makes me feel like I am opening up new opportunities for myself.
• adding milk powder to add extra nutrients to the yogurt -- two of my kids are not eating as much as they should (for completely different reasons), so I wanted to add a few extra nutrients to the foods that I prepare. I added dry milk powder to the heating milk. This isn't new or novel. A lot of yogurt-makers do this to thicken skim or low-fat milk in yogurt. But I've not done this before, and I was pleased with how well it worked. No noticeable change in texture or taste, except it is slightly thicker.

For anyone interested in my original attempts with making yogurt, this post covers what I did in July of 2012, along with a couple of follow-ups to that post.