An afternoon reception

my entry porch decorated for summer -- going for an Americana look

So I'm hosting a little shindig for my daughter's graduation. We've invited friends from church as well as friends from her university. We have no idea how many folks will show up. It could be a lot (maybe 50), or it could be just a handful. We left it as an  afternoon, open house-style reception, which is good when you don't know who or how many will come. No one is expecting a sit-down dinner. Plus, I am doing the food by myself. Both daughters will be very busy in the days leading up to the reception, so my usual spare hands won't be available.

Here's my menu, so far:

a meat and cheese platter, with split mini croissants and split mini Hawaiian rolls, plus sliced pickles and a mayo-mustard mix in a squeeze container.
an antipasti tray of cheese cubes and olive mini kabobs, rolled salami, and pepperoncini
baked (actually microwaved) brie topped with apricot preserves and chopped toasted almonds, along with crackers
hummus and pita chips
rosemary-garlic cream cheese spread and crackers
a vegetable tray of cherry tomatoes, radishes, baby carrots, broccoli florets, with dip
a platter of strawberries, with whipped cream dip
cookies
chocolates
mixed nuts
mini cupcakes

blackberry lemonade
water


My menu needed to be all finger food, and things that could be eaten while standing. No silverware, and no worries about finding places for people to sit.

Basically, I was thinking of everything that I could make with the greatest ease. The vegetable tray will be put together by me, but with already washed and cut vegetables. I have some ranch dressing mix to make the dip.

The strawberries will be easy, just rinse, dry and set on a tray. I'll whip the cream and sweeten in the early afternoon. This sounded easier than putting together a fruit platter with cut fruit.

I thought of pre-made small sandwiches, but I think a do-it-yourself meat/cheese/bread tray will save me time, and should be easy enough for guests to help themselves. Opinions on this? The sliced meat and cheese is a good price at Cash & Carry. I can assemble a tray myself in 30 minutes or less, for half of what a meat/cheese tray from the grocery store deli charges.

The brie is a super easy thing to do, but tastes amazing and looks "gourmet."

I will buy the mini cupcakes and cookies. And the chocolates will be drugstore boxed chocolates set on a nice tray. (I think Russell Stover's is pretty good for a drugstore chocolate, and the boxes are buy one get one free at several stores right now.)

I can buy already cubed cheese at Cash & Carry, so the mini kabobs will be easy.

Having only cold beverages eliminates my need to make more or reheat coffee/tea throughout the afternoon. The blackberry lemonade will be homemade, using bottled lemon juice and frozen blackberries. The water is bottled spring water which I bought in a large dispenser, but will decant into 1-litre repurposed glass sparkling cider bottles, and chilled (looks nicer than a large plastic dispenser on the table).

Even though I'm using mostly prepared foods, my overall costs are a fraction of what it would cost to cater a reception. And I think it will all be lovely and delicious. One money-saving tip -- veggie trays are cheap, and so are crackers. Make a couple of veggie trays to set in different locations. Ditto on crackers, especially if using a less-expensive spread or dip, like homemade hummus or cream cheese spread.

I have 4 food stations planned for the house: the kitchen table, the dining room table, a side table in the living room, and the game table in the family room. This should prevent a bottleneck around the dining room table. I'll set up a beverage station on either the dining room or the kitchen table.

In addition to planning the menu I have been sprucing up the place, and removing unnecessary furniture to allow easier movement with a crowd. I finally got some art work hung, found lightbulbs for every fixture with a burned out one, rearranged some seating, and did up the front entry to the house. I've been using this reception as an excuse to get our house all gussied up for summer. What's been on your calendar lately?

May 2018 Grocery shopping journal

May 1. Senior shopping day. It took me 3 and 1/2 hours from leaving my house to finishing putting everything away.

4 boxes whole wheat saltines, $1.07 each, cake mix (using a coupon), 75 cents, 5 boxes vanilla wafers, $1.43 each, 1-lb frozen wild blueberries, $3.14, canned biscuit dough, 45 cents, 12-oz frozen orange juice concentrate, $1.34, 18-ct box granola bars, $2.69, 7 8-ct packages hot dogs (for weekly cookouts, beginning this week), 75 cents, 5 boxes graham crackers, $2.15, 5 packages turkey bacon, $2.06, 1-lb butter, $2.20, 24-ct string cheese, $3.59, 2 boxes 12-ct granola bars, $1.81, 2 10-ct flour tortillas, 89 cents, 5 loaves whole wheat bread, $1.38, 30-ct corn tortilla, $1.16, 4 qts fruity yogurt, $1.34, 6 individual soy yogurt, 89 cents, 2 qts soy yogurt, $6.49, 5 dozen eggs, $1.79/dozen, taco seasoning, free, 3 48-oz bottles vegetable oil $1.49 each, 3 jars applesauce, $1.79, 1/2 gallon soy milk, $1.57, 4 packs top ramen, 25 cents, 3 bags oyster crackers, 71 cents, 3 gallons milk, $2.33, 32-oz maple syrup, $12.14, 16 bananas, 49 cents/lb, The "one thing" that each of us chose for ourselves included: a box of funfetti cake mix, for 75 cents (one daughter really wants to have cupcakes all month long), a package of salami, for 90 cents, a package of thin-sliced turkey lunch meat for $1.57, and 3 pot pies for $2.67.

Total spent $140.98


also bought whole wheat burger buns, $1.07, 10-ct homestyle burger patties, $8.10. This amount came out of a Mother's Day budget, in lieu if eating out.

I was tempted to buy boxed donuts or some other bakery treat. Instead, I bought a bag of frozen wild blueberries for making scratch blueberry muffins, waffles or pancakes 3 or 4 times. I saved some money over buying a ready-made treat, but more important to me was that I will be able to control the ingredients in scratch muffins. You might have noticed a lot of crackers this month. I had coupons to use on top of sales. I stocked up and hopefully will have a couple months' supply.

May 17. Getting a gallon of white vinegar ($2.29) at Fred Meyer. While there I also buy 1 gallon of 1% milk marked down to $1.29. Total spent $3.58

May 25. Dollar Tree for marshmallows and Hershey bars for making s'mores over the weekend. Spent $3

Total spent for May -- $147.56

I had a total of $173.93 for the month of May. I came in under by $26.37. That will roll into June's budget.  I won't write down what all I bought by category. I'm too tired.

I'm still here. I'm busy, stressed, tired, and old. I'll write more about what I'm up to very soon. I have a busy, busy week next week -- one daughter is graduating! Yay! I'm super-duper proud of her.
I hope you're all doing well. Have a great weekend!

Working soil from dead potted plants into my vegetable garden beds

You know those pots of soil laced with the dried-out root systems of dead plants, sometimes former houseplants, sometimes last year's annuals? I recycle the soil from these dead potted plants into each season's vegetable garden. Our garden soil is clay-like, here, while potted plants often have a loose soil structure. The nutrients may have been leached out, but texture of these pots of soil is good for my garden. I dump the pots out onto turned soil, add whatever coffee grounds we have for the week plus 2 large handfuls of plant food. I use a shovel to turn this all in, breaking up the root systems as I go, and rake it smooth for planting.

If perchance a pansy or geranium were to come to life in my veggie garden I would count that as a bonus. But for the most part, this is just a soil texture amendment. My garden needs some sort of texture amendment every year. My alternative would be to buy soil amendments for the garden. So I save a few dollars by recycling the soil from my dead potted plants.

Another bonus, my chives are about to come into full bloom. I'll begin making chive blossom vinegar over the weekend. Just in time for salad season! If you grow chives in your yard, be sure to use some of the blossoms. They have a delightful garlic-onion flavor and are wonderful broken over soups and salads.

Making a couple of gifts of thyme vinegar while I wait for my lunch to cook

I've mentioned making herb vinegar before, using garden fresh herbs, white vinegar, and repurposed bottles. Today I'm making small bottles of thyme vinegar. These 8-ounce bottles are from sparkling apple cider leftover from a wedding at our church where I served dinner and washed dishes. I usually make herb vinegar in larger bottles. This time I thought I'd make a couple for gifts for friends, and 1 for our household. The smaller size seems very gift-able, don't you think? The labels on the bottles came off easily with a soak in warm water, then rubbing with a dish rag. To seal the bottles, I'll use corks. As the bottles are repurposed, and the herbs are perennial in my garden, my only cost was the white vinegar, which was bought in a 1-gallon jug.

Tackling a chore outside of my area of experience

I am so proud of myself for attempting to fix something that is completely outside of my area of experience. I had to rely on myself this morning to take care of something necessary. One of my headlights has been out for a few weeks; I have been avoiding driving at night as a result.

Whelp, I couldn't avoid taking care of this any longer as I promised my daughter I would attend a theater thing, then give her a ride home late at night afterward. I changed the burnt out headlight bulb on my own. This may not sound like much of a feat for some folks, but for someone who lacks car-stuff experience, this was very good for me. According to RepairPal I saved between $26 and $56 in labor, and likely a significant up-charge on the part had I gone to an auto repair or the dealership to have this bulb changed. Who knows? Now that I have done this small task with my car, maybe I will tackle something even more intimidating next time.

Making a frozen block of spinach more user-friendly when I need just a little

So, I buy those jumbo 3-lb blocks of frozen spinach which are packaged for institutional use. And I may be the only person, here, who does that. But, I think this tip might be useful with those family-sized 10-oz blocks of frozen spinach.

I like to keep several small chunks of frozen spinach, wrapped individually, in the freezer. After chopping/sawing a 3-lb block into 4 12-oz chunks, I then take 1 or 2 of those chunks and cut into 2-3 ounce pieces. The same could be done with a standard-sized, 10-oz frozen package of spinach.

This smaller size is ideal for adding to a pot of vegetable soup, a casserole, or a frittata for the family. A bread knife works well for sawing frozen spinach. Then I wrap the small chinks in plastic, and pop back into the freezer.

April 2018 Grocery Journal

Last month I was over by $36.07. So, for my $210 budget that means that I have $173.93. I'm an optimist, so I think we can do this. We'll see.

March 30. I already calculated last month's spending, so this will go into April's budget. 6 lbs of butter on sale at Fred Meyer, for $1.99/lb, and 5 bananas for 49 cents/lb. I also picked up a freebie of a nutrition bar. Total spent -- $12.85.

April 3. Senior Discount day at Fred Meyer.I stacked coupons, both paper and e-coupons, on top of the discount. I bought 4 18-ct cartons of eggs (1.88 each), 2 cans of biscuit dough, for making mini donuts (45 cents each), 1 package of hot dogs for a cookout ($1), 4 half-gallons of milk (89 cents each), 2 large jars unsweetened applesauce ($1.39 each), 3 12-oz cans of frozen orange juice concentrate ($1.34 each), 15 store-brand individual yogurts (36 cents each), and 1 Oui yogurt (free with coupon), half-gallon of soy milk ($1.47), 3 large containers soy yogurt ($5.17 each), 4 individual soy yogurts ($1 each), 24-oz string cheese (4.49), 12 large Satsumas ($4 total, about 4.25 lbs), 2 boxes graham crackers (2.51 each), 1 box of 12 granola bars ($2.06), 2 boxes whole wheat saltines ($1.34 each), 1 18-ct box of granola bars ($2.69), 5 loaves of whole wheat bread ($1.35 each), 1 package whole wheat hot dog buns ($1.07), 1 rope of kielbasa sausage ($2.25), 3 packages of turkey bacon ($2.06 each), 2 packages ramen noodles (25 cents each), 2 10-ct packages flour tortillas (89 cents each), 3 bags of oyster crackers (71 cents each), 3-lb bag of yellow onions ($1.29), 1 head of Romaine lettuce (1.49), 10 bananas (49 cents/lb), 2 cans tuna fish (71 cents each), 1 large cucumber (79 cents). Also, I allowed every one to choose 1 thing just for themselves, again. One chose 3 Cliff bars (90 cents each), another chose Capri Sun drink pouches (2.59), the third chose a box of cereal, Rice Crispies (1.61), and the last chose 3 meat pot pies (89 cents each). Total spent today -- $104.35
I also bought next years Easter candy at half off, but that comes out of a different budget.

Total spent so far this month -- $117.20

April 22. Out of milk, mayonnaise, fresh produce, and a bunch of other items. I had put off that drive to Cash & Carry long enough. At C & C I bought 2 5-lb bags of pink lady apples ($2.68 each, or 53 cents/lb), 3 heads of green leaf lettuce ($1.29 each), 1 gallon mayonnaise ($6.98, equivalent to $1.64 for a 30-ounce jar), 2 3-lb bags of boiling onions (86 cents/bag), 3-lb box of frozen spinach ($3.08), 5-lb bag frozen green beans ($4.58), 5-lb bag of white rice ($3.29), 5-lb block of medium cheddar cheese ($10.98), 32 oz bottle of imitation vanilla extract ($2.99), institutional-size packet of Ranch Dressing mix, enough to make 2-gallons (but not all at once! That would be a lot of Ranch dressing/dip -- spent $2.67), fresh cauliflower florets, 3-lbs ($5.98), fresh broccoli florets, 3-lbs ($4.98), large head of green cabbage ($1.43), 3-lb box of grape tomatoes ($4.08), 4 19-oz blocks of tofu ($1.59 each), 4-lb bag raisins ($9.37), 2-lb box of strawberries ($3.98), 17 bananas, at 59 cents/lb, 2 gallon box of 2% milk ($4.73), 10-lb bag of potatoes ($1.86), 10-lb bag of carrots ($3.58). Total spent -- $93.50

Total spent for the month -- $210.70

What I bought:

Meat
1 rope kielbasa
1 package hot dogs
3 packages turkey bacon
2 cans tuna fish
3 meat pies

Dairy Case
6 lbs butter
6 dozen eggs
2 cans biscuit dough
4 gallons milk
1/2 gallon soy milk
16 individual yogurts
3 large containers and 4 individual containers soy yogurt
24-oz string cheese
5 lbs cheddar cheese
4 blocks tofu

Produce
32 bananas
2 large jars applesauce
36 oz frozen orange juice concentrate
12 Satsumas
9 lbs onions
4 head lettuce
1 cucumber
10 lbs apples
3 lbs spinach
5 lbs green beans
3 lbs broccoli
3 lbs cauliflower
1 head of cabbage
10 lbs carrots
3 lbs grape tomatoes
4 lbs raisins
2 lbs strawberries
10 lbs potatoes

Pantry
nutrition bar (freebie)
3 Clif bars
1 package hot dog buns
5 loaves of bread
30 granola bars
2 packages ramen soup
20 flour tortillas
3 bags oyster crackers
2 boxes saltines
2 boxes graham crackers
1 box cereal
1 box juice pouches
1 gallon mayonnaise
5 lbs white rice
32 oz imitation vanilla extract
very large package of Ranch dressing mix

Saving money when shopping

You know what this is? This is 20 cents. Many municipal areas now enforce a ban on free bags given with a purchase. In Seattle, merchants must charge a minimum of 10 cents per bag. If it's just a small item that I'm buying I can put it in my purse, and skip the bag. If I am grocery shopping I bring a bunch of bags with me. But if I am out on foot, like in the city, or hopping from store to store in a large shopping complex, I am unlikely to be carrying a stack of bags with me. And if I am buying more than I can easily manage in my hands, or that will fit in my purse, I need a compact way to carry a couple of plastic bags. 

The above photo is of 2 plastic grocery bags, folded very flat with air pressed out, and kept in a ziploc baggie. All together, this bundle is the size of a deck of playing cards, and tucks nicely into the side pocket of my small purse. I just keep them in my purse, so I don't have to even remember to bring a bag when I'm running errands.

Even when I'm not in the city, many suburban retailers offer a credit of 5 or 6 cents per bag that you bring in yourself. I was in Target the other day picking up a couple of necessities, and I saved myself 5 cents for using one of my own bags. The inspiration for this compact bag storage was those net shopping bags, which come in their own pouch and sell for $7 or $8. Using what I already have, I made my own version. True, not the pretty colors of the net ones. But these are free, and that's a good thing.

Cheater's pecan sticky buns

A yummy Saturday breakfast treat for a rainy day.

I used 1 can of biscuit dough, cinnamon-sugar blend (1/4 cup sugar to 1 teaspoon cinnamon), 1/4 cups raisins, 1/4 cup chopped pecans, 2-3 tablespoons butter, and 1/4 cup brown sugar.

Butter an 8 X 8 baking pan. 

Cut each biscuit into quarters, and dredge in the cinnamon-sugar. Place in the baking pan.

Sprinkle with the chopped pecans and raisins.

Melt the butter. Stir together with the brown sugar. Spoon over the biscuit dough.

Bake at 350 F, for about 20 minutes. Ovens vary, so check a minute or two before, or you may need to go over by a minute or two. Mine took about 19 minutes. They are done when you can cut into a center biscuit and see the biscuit has a baked, not doughy, texture.

Allow to sit in the baking dish for 5 minutes, then loosen the edges with a knife and turn out onto a plate.

A different birthday (yes, we have a lot of spring birthdays, here)

This time, it was my birthday, a little over a week ago.

A few weeks ago we talked a bit about frugal beauty. If you wear cosmetics (or like to try nice skin care products) and you have a Sephora nearby, they have a birthday club. During the entire month of your birthday you can go into one of their stores and pick-up your birthday freebie. You usually get to choose between a cosmetic sampler or a skin care sampler. I usually choose the cosmetic one. It's totally free, and at least at the store near me, there is never, ever, any pressure to buy anything.

You simply go up to the cashier and give them your identifying information (phone number or email).  They hand you a nicely packaged gift bag with tissue and wish you a happy birthday. You need to sign up, online or in the store, well in advance of your birthday, so that you are in their system. Then once you've signed up, your good to go for as long as Sephora continues this freebie.

In past years, I've received lip stick, lip balm, mascara, blush, lip pencil, and eye pencil. This year, the cosmetic option was a lip stick, lip pencil, and those two small pellet-looking things are a lip scrub and a lip balm.

Of course, they are hoping you will like the products enough to buy full-sized versions. And, yes, that did happen for me once. I really loved the mascara that came in one year's birthday gift, enough to ask for a Sephora gift card the following year for a Christmas present so I could buy more. So, with a gift card, I have purchased something in their store. In addition, I have also purchased gift cards to give to women in my family. I guess you could say they've made a customer out of me through this freebie.

It's always fun to get some new make-up for free!

We had another birthday in the house

So, a while back we talked about using gift bags that have a tear in them as gift wrap. I wanted to show you just how much of a torn gift bag I was able to rescue. I didn't think to take a photo before cutting the bag up. But here is what I salvaged.

This was a large bag with two tears near the bottom of one side section. I cut the bag along that torn side, and cut the bottom completely off, leaving me with one large sheet of decorative paper.

The body of the bag was in large polka dots (used for the large package on bottom), and the top 4 to 5 inches was a coordinating striped trim (used for the small package on top). In addition to enough wrap for the 2 packages, the little gift tag that comes with the package had not previously been used, so I used it this time, with the wrapped gifts. And that cord that is tied around the small package is one of the rope "handles" to the gift bag.

Gift bags turned gift wrap makes one last use of something destined for the recycle bin. I am slowly cleaning out my stash of gift bags and wrapping paper, while saving a bit of money at the same time.

Easter dinner without any additional trips to the grocery store

I am not a fan of grocery shopping right before a major holiday. I can imagine the stores are mobbed the one and two days before Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. Count me out of that experience, please.

So, here I am, creating an Easter menu without extra trips to the store. Fortunately, I did pick up our Easter ham 9 days ago. If I hadn't bought the ham my plan had been to roast a whole chicken. That's what we did for Thanksgiving and it was tasty and plenty for the 6 of us. So, all I have to come up with are the sides and dessert. Should be very do-able. Listing my on-hand ingredients helps me generate creative combinations.

What I can use:

Produce
carrots
raisins
peas
cabbage
yams
pumpkin
canned tomatoes
onions
orange juice

Starches
potatoes
cornbread stuffing mix
brown rice
pasta

Extras
pecans
almonds
cream cheese
olives
sparkling cider
baking staples
canned crescent roll dough
pickles
cheddar cheese

And what I came up with:

Have a happy Easter!

March 2018 Grocery Journal

I was over last month by $25.08. I'm going to need to readjust our budgets and come up with more for food. We're cooking and eating a bit differently, and this just costs a bit more. I have increased our grocery budget to $210 per month. So, in theory, I have $184.92 for March.

March 2. Cash & Carry. I bought 10 lbs carrots ($3.75), 1 gallons canola oil ($7.29), 64 oz salsa ($4.49), a pint of toasted sesame oil ($2.28), 5 lb bag of fuji apples ($3.19), 3-pack of celery ($1.67), large bag of corn tortillas, I think 72-ct ($2.37), jar of chicken soup base ($3.18), 5-lb loaf of mild cheddar ($11.19), 3 19-oz containers of tofu ($1.59), 2 5-lb bags of petite peas ($4.48 each), 3-lb bag of dried cranberries ($7.59), 1 head of cabbage ($1.52), 6 bananas (59 cents/lb), 4-lb bag raisins ($9.37), 1 lb bag cumin ($5.69), 15 lbs red potatoes ($2.25), 50-lb sack all-purpose flour ($11.59). Total spent -- $91.97.

March 6. Fred Meyer for Senior Discount Day. (so disappointed, they no longer bribe me with free coffee, cookies, and flowers on Senior Day!)What I bought: 4 12-oz cans frozen orange juice concentrate ($1.35 each, enough for 192 ounces juice), 2 gallons milk ($2.34 ea), 2 10-pks flour tortillas (89 cents ea), 2 large jars applesauce ($1.79 ea), 2 heads of cabbage (49 cents/lb), 2 boxes of graham crackers ($1.79 ea), 1 18-ct box of chewy granola bars ($2.69), 3 1-lb boxes whole wheat saltines ($1.52 ea), 1 12-ct box of crunchy granola bars ($2.06), 2 half-gallons soy milk ($1.62 ea), 8-ct whole wheat hot dog buns ($1.06), 7 loaves of whole grain bread (79 cents ea), 2 half-gallons chocolate milk (89 cents ea), 8 bananas (49 cents/lb), 2 10-oz bags oyster crackers (71 cents ea), 2 large cucumbers (69 cents ea), 2 jars peanut butter ($1.61 ea), 3 cans tuna (59 cents ea), 4 packages ramen soup (25 cents ea), 2 packages hot dogs (80 cents ea), 2 "ropes" kielbasa sausage ($2.25 ea), 2 packages turkey bacon ($2.06 ea), 24 oz string cheese ($4.14), 16 individual yogurts (34 cents ea), 1 tube crescent roll dough (67 cents), 3 large containers soy yogurt ($5.84 ea), 1 lb asparagus ($1.49/lb), 3 18-ct cartons eggs ($1.87 ea), 8-ct box donuts (99 cents), Clif bar (freebie), Lindt truffle egg (freebie), bag of jelly beans (90 cents), .11 lb of dried blueberries for oatmeal ($1.65), 3-lb bag clementines ($4.99), 5-lb bag onions ($1.49), and something for each member of the family. I told every family member that they could choose 1 item that was theirs and they didn't have to share. 2 chose lunchmeat (salami, 90 cents/package), 1 chose a head of lettuce ($1.49), and 1 chose 3 cup noodles instant lunches (3/$1). Total spent today -- $111.48.

March 17. I had to go to Fred Meyer for gas and gift cards, so also thought I'd pick up a green pepper (79 cents) for fajitas and tortilla chips which were a freebie. I also bought a container of layered guacamole/salsa dip on markdown for 79 cents (will go well with the free tortilla chips). Total spent on food -- $1.58


Total spent so far this month -- $205.03

March 22. Fred Meyer to get our Easter ham. $1.27/lb for spiral sliced ham (spent $14.91). I also bought 6 bananas, at 49 cents/lb, and picked up my freebie of an Oreo Cookie Bar. Total spent -- $15.96

Total spent for March -- $220.99, which is $36.07 over my budgeted amount. I think I will come closer to budget next month, though, as we have a lot of leftovers going into April.

We're at the end of the month and one of our freezers is looking bare, another about halfway filled, and the third is still packed to the gills. I will take this month's list of what I bought and modify it to create next month's shopping list. A few of the things I won't need to buy again (like the Easter ham), but much of what I bought in March will also work for April. In addition, there are a couple of items that I will need to buy, coffee (and decaf), for one. I may tweak the amounts a little, such as by buying about 5 extra pounds of long-keeping fresh fruit, such as oranges or apples, and 1 extra container of tofu. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for April.

What I bought:

Produce (foods that are primarily produce, or that we use to fulfill fruit and vegetable requirements)
10 lbs carrots
64 oz salsa
5 lbs apples
3 bundles of celery
10 lbs green peas
3 lbs dried cranberries
3 heads green cabbage
20 bananas
4 lbs raisins
15 lbs potatoes
48 oz of frozen orange juice concentrate (enough to make 192 oz of juice)
2 large jars applesauce
2 large cucumbers
1 lb asparagus
.11 lb of dried blueberries
3 lbs clementines
5 lbs onions
1 head lettuce
1 green pepper
1 container of guacamole/salsa dip

Dairy Case (where in the store I find the items, not that these are all dairy foods -- I think I realize that tubes of crescent dough are not "dairy")
5 lbs cheddar cheese
24 sticks of string cheese
3.5 lbs of tofu
2 gallons milk
1 gallon chocolate milk
1 gallon soy milk
16 individual yogurts
3 large containers soy yogurt
1 tube crescent roll dough
4.5 dozen eggs

Meat
3 cans tuna
2 packages hot dogs
2 ropes kielbasa sausage
2 packages turkey bacon
2 packages salami
11.70 lbs of ham

Pantry (shelf-stable foods)
1 gallon canola oil
pint sesame oil
72 corn tortillas
20 flour tortillas
jar of chicken soup base
1 lb ground cumin
50 lbs all-purpose flour
2 boxes graham crackers
3 boxes whole wheat saltines
2 bags of oyster crackers
30 granola bars
8 ct. whole wheat hot dog buns
7 loaves whole grain bread
2 small jars peanut butter
4 packages ramen soup
8 donuts
Clif bar (freebie)
Lindt truffle egg (freebie)
bag of jelly beans
3 Cup of Noodles instant lunches
1 bag of tortilla chips (freebie)
candy bar (freebie)

Getting extra mileage out of a gift bag

four white chocolate rabbits and four chocolate-coconut egg nests

Do you ever cut up gift bags to use as wrapping paper? Sometimes a gift bag will have a tear in it, but much of the bag is still in good shape and makes nice gift wrap. Other times, I figure I can wrap several smaller gifts with one bag, by cutting the bag into squares and rectangles. That's what I did with one of the cellophane Easter bags -- cut up and wrapped chocolate-coconut egg nest candies. I was able to cut one small cellophane bag into 4 pieces, just enough for the wrap for 4 candies.

For some of my gift bags, I feel they are just too nice to cut up, and prefer to keep them whole to reuse multiple times. But some bags seem more single-purpose, and suited for cutting into gift wrap. For this job, wrapping candies for gifting, I thought the cellophane had a nice, finished look.

Making more Easter candy

I use these copper bunny molds as decoration in spring, but they also double as candy molds. I've had them for about 15 years, and gotten a lot of mileage out of them.

I prefer making white chocolate bunnies over milk or dark chocolate ones, as the white chocolate doesn't show "bloom" (that whitish coating that sometimes develops on homemade chocolates).

It can happen on commercial chocolate, too, but is more likely to happen when DIY without sophisticated equipment.

Tips for making molded chocolate:

• measure the volume of a mold by filling a mold with water, then pouring that water into a measuring cup
• throughly wash and dry the molds
• after melting chocolate, fill each mold and use a table knife to push the chocolate into the corners of the mold 
• top off thin areas, then put the filled molds into the fridge to harden

Okay, so mildly entertaining for you, right? But without cute bunny molds you're out of luck, right, for making molded chocolate. Here is another way that I have made chocolate bunnies, using an unbroken Hershey chocolate bar and a mini bunny cookie cutter.

that's a tiny rabbit cookie cutter on top of the Hershey bar

Unwrap the chocolate bar and place it, printed side down (smooth side up) on a sheet of waxed paper. Soften the bar, very, very slightly (but not melted) in the microwave, about 10 seconds. The chocolate should be "cut-able" with a firm downward push on the cutter. Work quickly to cut out as many shapes as you can. I have had to re-soften the chocolate in the microwave for about 5 seconds, part way through making small rabbits. As you make the bunnies, push them out of the cutter onto a sheet of waxed paper, then allow to harden. If you turn the bunnies upside down, you'll see part of the Hershey name and the markings for squares. My kids never minded that. 1 regular bar yielded 5 mini bunnies for me.

Alternatively, you can melt some dipping chocolate and spread onto a sheet of waxed paper, allow to firm up, then cut with a cutter, in lieu of using a Hershey bar. Anyway, when my son was small, and I didn't want to buy large bags of chocolate just so I could put a few pieces into his Easter basket, these homemade miniature, Hershey bar chocolate bunnies were a pretty good deal. At that time, I could buy a chocolate bar for about 39 to 49 cents on sale. I would use the same cookie cutter to make him a baggie full of bunny graham crackers.

For the white bunnies, I rummaged through my stash of Easter-related bags and papers and found these cute cellophane bags. As you can see from a mold placed into one of the bags, they are just the right size.

Back to the white bunnies that I made -- after chilling in the fridge for about 30 minutes I find they pop out of the molds best if I then put them in the freezer for 10 minutes. Freezing helps the chocolate pull away from the sides. If one breaks, it's usually because I forced it out of the mold or didn't allow it to freeze long enough. With a metal mold, hardened chocolate should fall out of the mold when it is tapped on the backside. With a broken bunny, I simply remelt the pieces and try again for that one.

here's a finished bunny

Forgot to mention, these were 3 ounce bunnies. Since I already had the molds, each one cost me 35 cents to make, plus the cost of the plastic bag (got these at Dollar Tree a couple of years ago -- 30 bags for $1, or 3 cents per bag).

Cheap & Cheerful suppers for the last 10 (oops, make that 11) days

noodle bowls from Friday

Tuesday
Tuna casserole (I used 2 parts cooked brown rice to 1 part cooked noodles, as I had leftover rice to use)

Wednesday
overnight French toast casserole (I used the last of a bunch of fry bread, the last of the jam-flavored cream cheese, some jam, and instead of syrup I melted some jelly for a topping -- very delicious. The bread was hard so allowing to stand in the egg/milk overnight really helped.)
turkey bacon
tangerines

Thursday
baked beans (from the freezer) topped with hot dogs
corn bread stuffing (using a leftover piece of cornbread combined with some packaged cornbread stuffing mix, along with onions and celery sauteed in the fat from Wednesday's bacon. I kept the sauteed veggies in a container in the fridge overnight.)
sliced cucumber topped with ranch dressing
assortment of pickles

Friday
chicken and vegetable soup (from the freezer) to which I added leftover cooked rice, tofu, garlic, chives and sesame oil
oyster crackers

Saturday (birthday celebration dinner at home)
fajitas
tortilla chips and guacamole/salsa
carrot and celery sticks and 1000 Island dip
birthday cake and ice cream
sparkling apple cider

Sunday
sausage and vegetable soup
biscuits
leftover cake

Monday
leftover soup
cheese and crackers

Tuesday
tuna sandwiches
leftover soup

Wednesday
toast
boiled eggs
applesauce

Thursday
chicken and dumplings (from the freezer)
sliced cucumber salad

Friday
meatball noodle bowls

Easy all the way this past week and a half. Do you make noodle bowls? These are so easy, take about 15 minutes tops, and rather cheap. They require a skillet and a small saucepan. For 2 servings, I used 1 package of ramen soup, 8 frozen cooked meatballs, some cabbage, onion, and green peppers. I seasoned the noodles with about 1/4 of the seasoning packet that came with the ramen, and the veggies with some garlic powder, ginger powder, splash of soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons of plum jam (going for the plum sauce taste).

I used the frozen meatballs because I had them, and they're quick to cook. But you could also use potstickers, chunks of rope sausage, any leftover meat, or tofu added to the veggies, or a fresh egg topping each bowl or sandwiched between the noodles and veggies. Any veggies that you would normally use in a stir-fry will work. I used the cabbage, green pepper, and onion because that is what I had.

Here's how it all went down.

In the saucepan, I used just a portion of the water called for with the noodles, about 3/4 cup of water (a packet of ramen soup calls for 2 cups of water). I brought the water to a boil, then added the package of noodles and 1/4 packet of the seasoning.

While the water was coming to a boil, I sauteed the onion, pepper, and meatballs in a little bit of oil in the skillet. When the meatballs were heated through (these were previously cooked and frozen) I added the garlic and ginger powders, splashes of soy sauce, and plum jam, stirring all together. When mixed in, I added the sliced cabbage, and cooked until just tender.

When the noodles were cooked (about 3 minutes of boiling), I scooped them and their liquid into  individual bowls. I topped the bowls of noodles with the cooked veggies and meatballs. I like a noodle bowl that is not so soupy. If you prefer more liquid, then use 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water, and about 1/2 of the seasoning packet.

I had made one of these for my late lunch on Friday. I thought it was good enough to make for my husband and one daughter for dinner that night. Both of them thought it was delicious, too. Something that is cheap and easy, using supplies from an end-of-the-month pantry and fridge.

It's been 2 1/2 weeks since I did my big, monthly stock-up shopping, with 1 1/2 weeks until my next big stock-up

. . . and I think I may have bought just the right amount of most things. I was afraid that we would plow through the produce and boxed items (crackers and granola bars), but we seem to be pacing ourselves. I tucked away a portion of the treat items, and brought them out just this week (at the half-way mark). And I did go to Fred Meyer on Saturday to pick up a green pepper (while there also got a free bag of tortilla chips, and bought a marked down container of guacamole -- 79 cents), and again this morning to get our Easter ham, 6 bananas, and a freebie candy bar. That's just 6 items (2 of which were freebies) picked up in the last 2  1/2 weeks. No other grocery shopping since my stock-up. Variety will surely dwindle as the month nears its end, but I think we'll do okay. We even have enough milk to get through till the next shopping.

Overall, this is very good news. I have our Easter ham, and enough other ingredients to put together a nice Easter dinner. I also have a good sense of what I need to buy at April's stock-up shopping.

The last week of the month is a stretch for many. It seems that the variety dwindles and we have to get creative to make interesting dishes. And sometimes meals just have to be less-interesting, and that's okay, too. Do you have a favorite tip for making that last week of meals interesting, when variety in your supplies is all but gone?

Very "old-school" frugal stuff, but fun and saved me some money

You know when you've just about scraped out most of a tube of lipstick, but there is still some left in the very bottom?

One day, a few weeks ago, frustrated that it was such an ordeal every time I went to put lipstick on, I decided to get that last bit out, using a table knife and toothpick (yes, I did get every last bit out), and turn the remaining lip color into lip gloss. I put the salvaged lipstick into a small glass bowl, along with several slices off a tube of clear chapstick. 

I melted this in a short microwave burst, and stirred together. Since I had intended to make lip gloss I also stirred in some Vaseline (petroleum jelly). I scraped all of this into a tiny screw-cap container.

Voila! Homemade lip gloss. The container is from a cosmetic sample from Nordstrom. It's just the right size for something like lip gloss. It fits into a pocket or cosmetic bag in my purse, and the screw-on lid means it doesn't leak. Here's an indication of just how small it is. Lipstick on the left, "new" lip gloss on the right.

I really like the mixture of the 3 ingredients. The lipstick adds the color component, the Vaseline creates some shine, and the chapstick keeps the gloss from becoming too sloppy and bleeding onto the rest of my face, while maintaining the color longer. I used roughly 1/3 of each ingredient. Since I like sheer color on my lips I have really been enjoying this gloss. Again, like I said, kinda "old school" but I thought you might like to see that I am frugal in many areas of my life, not just grocery shopping!

Making a funfetti cake without a mix

My cost for the cake portion, including eggs and butter, was about $1 for this funfetti cake. I used this butter cake recipe for the batter base.

After the batter was blended together, I used a rubber spatula to fold in 1/3 cup of rainbow sprinkles. (I bolded the "fold in" part on purpose. If you use a mixer at this point you'll break the rainbow bits up and it won't look so nice.) That's all it takes. For a batch of batter that makes 2 8-inch layers, you need about 1/3 cup of sprinkles.

The batter looks sparsely populated with rainbow bits before it is baked. During baking the sprinkles all "explode" and give much more color to the cake.

The cake could have been about 40 cents cheaper if I had subbed margarine for the butter, but I happen to really like the flavor that butter adds to a vanilla cake. So I went with the real deal. I bought the rainbow sprinkles at Win Co in the bulk section. Much less expensive to buy them from bulk bins than in small containers in the baking section.

We have a family birthday this weekend . . .

. . . and I think that I can pull together a celebration meal and cake with foods that we have on hand. I am thinking of doing a Mexican-inspired dinner, followed by a scratch vanilla "funfetti" cake (using some of the rainbow sprinkles that I bought in January in the cake batter as well as on top of the frosting). We have a container of ice cream in the freezer, and soda pop in the pantry, if anyone in our group is interested. My daughters have chosen to go to the movies instead of a meal in a restaurant. So we will eat at home, and divert the money which would have been spent in a restaurant to cover the cost of movie tickets.

As you likely know, when you want to see a specific movie, on a specific day, tickets can be expensive. To bring the expense of the movie tickets into the price-range of what I had budgeted for a restaurant meal, I used the internet to carry out some research. I checked a variety of locations and times for the specific movie my daughters want to see. My research turned up 3 theaters within a 20-minute drive from our house, with cheaper tickets in the mid-afternoon at 2 of those theaters. The theater closest to us had the most expensive seats, with no afternoon discounts. (This one is in a mall and they likely have no trouble filling seats on a Saturday afternoon.)

For a 15-minute drive each way, (which will cost under $2 for additional gas compared to driving to the nearest theater), we can save $18 on the cost of tickets for our group. The mid-afternoon showing will finish in time to have us home for our simple birthday dinner and cake. Saves money and fits our schedule. I can't believe my little girls are now women -- they'll be 23 on Saturday! Where has the time gone?!

Anyway, those are our plans for this weekend. Anything going on in your area? Have a wonderful weekend!

Cheap & Cheerful meals for this past week

It's been a while since I made one of these meal posts. That's a large part due to the hodge-podge nature of meal-planning in our house for the last couple of months. But, here goes. I think I've remembered this past week's meals.

Saturday
cheddar cheese pizza
cole slaw

Sunday
roasted chicken
roasted vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions)

Monday
chicken on fried corn tortillas, topped with cheese and salsa
green peas

Tuesday
chicken and vegetable soup
focaccia (using leftover dough from Saturday's pizza, kept in the fridge)

Wednesday
chicken, vegetables, and dumplings

Thursday
stir fry of smoked chicken sausage, tofu, asparagus, celery, carrots, and garlic, with a liberal amount of toasted sesame oil (very, very delicious meal)
steamed brown rice

Friday
baked beans
cornbread
baked carrots
pickled beets (turned out to be spiced cranberry jelly -- I should really label these things!)

Saturday
barley and lentil salad
fry bread
gifted, leftover cake

Sunday
sausage and veggie soup
cheese quesadillas

Monday
leftover soup
fried corn tortillas
baby carrots and dip

A week and a half of very basic meals, based on basic ingredients (with the exception of the asparagus).

Conventional frugal living wisdom says to make your week's meal plans, then go shopping for ingredients. This type of thought process is especially helpful for the individual who doesn't know how to shop for basic meal ingredients which can be transformed into many different dishes.

Imagine if you were completely new to shopping for a household's groceries, and you didn't have a good grasp on what a family might eat in a week, or what ingredients would go into family favorite meals. You might wander up and down each aisle trying to decide what you wanted to eat, there on the spot. (BTW, this was exactly how my husband and I used to shop when we were first married. When you're poor newlyweds, grocery shopping easily becomes "date night.") This could be disastrous to your budget (which is was), and may not be enough meal ingredients to get through a week (which happened to us on many occasions), necessitating those extra stops at the market mid-week. So, planning a week's meals, then deciding what you need to make them, does make a lot of sense for households that just don't have a grasp, yet, on what a kitchen needs to be well-stocked.

However, I would hazard to guess that most of us, here, already know what our pantries need to have in them so that we can make several meals. This is how I shop. I keep my pantry filled with meal-making supplies, then I plan what we'll eat based on what I have. I like to think that this is the way people have made meals since the beginning of cooking. They ate from what they found, trapped, or hunted. They didn't create elaborate meal plans based on foods they didn't have, then go out hunting and searching for these foods. It's not an efficient use of energy to begin a meal plan with a dream, instead of ingredients on hand. Imagine the poor cave man who got sent out to find squab in caribou-hunting season, all so his lovely cave-bride could perform her culinary miracles over the open fire, and serve up a delicate and romantic meal under the stars.

Anyway (getting way off topic) the meals that we make in our house are almost always on the humble side, so humble that when there is a "very, very delicious" meal of a stir fry, it really stands out. I hope that your meals have been equally simple and satisfying in your home.

A mid-afternoon protein boost

Lately I've felt like I needed more protein in my day. I've turned to something that I read about in Prevention Magazine 15 years ago -- a tofu-orange drink. It's a bit like an orange Julius in flavor, more so with added sweetening.

to make one drink, I use:

4 1/2 ounces of tofu, rinsed
6 ounces of orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
honey, stevia, or sugar (optional)

Whirl all ingredients in a blender and serve.

The texture is smoothest, and flavor the mildest, if using silken or soft tofu. However, firm tofu has a higher protein content, so I often opt for that, and just "deal" with the texture.

For one glass of tofu-orange beverage I get 11 grams of protein (that's equal to almost 2 boiled eggs, or 1 chicken drumstick), 273 mg of calcium (about the same as in a cup of milk), 4 mg iron (the same as in about 2/3 cup of cooked spinach), and 540 mg potassium (about the same as in 1  1/4 bananas).

It's just what I need to get through the afternoon slump. The taste is good and it's easy to make. One serving costs about 60 cents in my kitchen (most of the cost is the tofu).

I know soy is a controversial food for many people. If it's not your thing, I understand. If it works for you, here's another way to use it.

A 10-minute Easter treat -- good for Easter baskets or just a surprise for loved ones

Milk Chocolate Egg Nests

Including taking photos, these took me 10 minutes to make, start to finish. Many years ago, I made all of the treats for my kids' Easter baskets. I made molded chocolate bunnies, marshmallow Peeps, egg-shaped decorated sugar cookies, mini animal graham crackers, mini chocolate rabbits, fudge eggs, and these egg nests.

Russell Stover's sells a single coconut nest for about 33 to 39 cents. I don't think they even have the "eggs" in them any longer, just the coconut and chocolate. I made these for about 14 cents each.

The melting chocolate I bought on markdown, last spring, for $1.89/lb. You could also use chocolate chips (with about a teaspoon of shortening or coconut oil added to the melting), or a regular Hershey bar (again with a small amount of shortening for it to melt better), or you can use white "chocolate." With the white chocolate and milk chocolate bar, like Hershey's, you will want to melt slowly (a double-boiler, or if in the microwave, in short bursts of time -- 20 seconds -- with vigorous stirring in between. The high sugar content of both of those can scorch). Anyway, my price may be met using chocolate chips, if unlike me you do not happen to have coating chocolate in the pantry ;) My coconut was simply a bag of WinCo coconut that I purchased a year ago, and the jelly beans I bought for Easter egg hunts. But in calculating my cost per item, I included the cost of chocolate, coconut, and jelly beans.

Here is how easy they are:

I used about 4 ounces of chocolate, melted in the microwave according to package directions, stirring often between bursts of microwaving.

After melted, I stirred in 1/2 cup of coconut flakes.

I scooped the chocolate/coconut mixture into mounds on a sheet of waxed paper.

Using the back of the spoon that I stirred with, I formed the nest shape, making an indentation for the eggs.

I placed 3 jelly beans into each nest, pressing in slightly. Then I just let them sit and firm up on the counter. If I was in a hurry I might have put them in the fridge at this point.

So, this batch with 4 oz of chocolate and half-cup of coconut made 5  1/2 nests.If I had not been in such a hurry, I could have taken more time to divide the chocolate evenly, and made exactly 5. But this way, I get a little treat later today! You know, "quality control" sampling is allowed, and has zero calories.

I shared this idea because of all of the Easter treats that I have made over the years, these are one of the very easiest.