Planning the Grocery Shopping for this Next Month

As it is now the beginning of a new month, I am preparing a master shopping list of necessary items. This will be a tighter month than previous ones, as I have depleted much of my stock of canned goods and long-keeping produce. In addition, March is a 31 day month -- more days to feed us all. On top of this, March is a birthday month for my two daughters. I have all I need to bake a cake, and I even think there may be ice cream in the freezer. I will still need some festive foods for the celebration dinner. It looks like I will need a plan to get though this month.

This is a basic list, there are no luxury items on this list.

1/2 lb cocoa powder

1 gallon vinegar

10 lbs apples

10 lbs oranges

45 bananas

10 to 15 lbs carrots

5 to 10 medium dozen eggs

10 lbs potatoes

3 peppers

3 bundles celery

a few heads of red and green cabbage (should be good deals on cabbage this month)

50 lbs brown rice

2 large boxes frozen spinach and collards

1 gallon soy or almond milk

4 or 5 gallons dairy milk

vegetable garden supplies
4 lbs raisins
2 lbs sunflower seeds
3 dozen flour tortillas
large package corn tortillas
whole chickens
lettuce (at the end of the month when the produce stand opens)
asparagus (at the end of the month, when the produce stand opens)

As I find deals on butter, meat and cheese, I will pick those up, too.  I will evaluate other "deals" as I find them.

How to Stick to a List

In addition to making my shopping list, I also spent some time, yesterday, planning how I would stick to a tight budget. I have a technique for this type of think-time. I brainstorm various ideas, and then after the brainstorming, I sift through my lists and formulate my plan. 

This is how I brainstorm:

I ask myself, "what can I do to make this happen?" Then, I randomly  list all the things that come to mind that I can do to plan for a tight month, even listing those items that I may not do after some thought. Here's my list.

• make a meal plan for all dinners
• make a suggestion list for all lunches
• bake and prepare lots of breakfast items ahead of time
• keep homemade bread in stock
• keep homemade treats in stock
• avoid buying luxuries/non-necessities
• take advantage of sales on milk, produce, meat and eggs
• use up pantry items, while waiting for better sales
• use oil instead of butter in most baking, save butter for bread, blend oil with butter for spreading, use olive oil for dipping/drizzling instead of butter for garlic bread or bread and butter with dinners
• use cream cheese for toast and muffins in place of butter
• make all of my own convenience foods for the month, by preparing ahead several dishes on weekend afternoons

Okay, so now I have a list. Next, I scrutinize the list, and put the items in order according to my estimated dollar savings, most to least.

• make a meal plan for all dinners
• make all of my own convenience foods for the month, by preparing ahead several dishes on weekend afternoons
• keep homemade bread in stock
• take advantage of sales on milk, produce, meat and eggs
• avoid buying luxuries/non-necessities
• keep homemade treats in stock
• use up pantry items, while waiting for better sales
• bake and prepare lots of breakfast items ahead of time
• make a suggestion list for all lunches
• use oil instead of butter in most baking, save butter for bread, blend oil with butter for spreading, use olive oil for dipping/drizzling instead of butter for garlic bread or bread and butter with dinners
• use cream cheese for toast and muffins in place of butter

These items are my stepping stones to meet my overall goal of reining in the spending for the month of March.  Having the list prioritized tells me what to focus on. Clearly, planning dinners in advance is something I value right now. Also, having pre-made meals ready and waiting for the week ahead is something that I think will help me save on groceries. The priority list is based on my needs for right now. Your priorities might be different.

With this list in hand, I can ask myself what I could do, today, to meet a stepping stone goal. Today, I can bake a large batch of whole wheat bread and some cookies. This priority list also means that if someone in the family offers help, I will know right off the top of my head, what would be beneficial.

Clarifying My List Items
In addition to making the lists, I often need to clarify some things for myself, such as defining list items. Maybe I need to define what those pre-made breakfast items should be, given what my ingredients on hand are. Or, what would be easy casseroles to make for the freezer over the weekend, given my on-hand ingredients. Or, what are my current luxuries?

I tackled that last question, and came up with this list: crackers, soup mixes, lunch fixings and take-out lunches, ready-made food items (unless on a great sale, like at Thanksgiving prices), prepared sweets, commercial bread, and candy.

Does this sound like extra work? It took me about 30 minutes, including thinking through some of my options. However, by making out this list, I stand to gain about $25 to $30 in savings on prepared foods or treats, lunches from takeaway places, and buying ingredients that I could make-do without. So, for 30 minutes of my time, a savings of $25 to $30, yields an hourly wage of about $50 or more. That's a pretty great wage, I think.

What's your takeaway from all of this? Maybe nothing. Or maybe, it might give you some ideas on thinking through your own budget woes. This brainstorming technique works for all manner of issues. You can transfer this idea to how to save for your next vacation, or how to lower your electricity usage, or how to make retirement more affordable. At the very least, having a typed out plan is comforting; every time the worry monster creeps in, you have an actual list that you can refer to, to allay those worries.

Anyway, I thought I'd give you a peek into my mind and processes.

February 2017 Grocery Spending Journal

Silver white winters that melt into spring . . . okay now, so when does this melt into spring, here! Yep, woke up to snow, again.

Feb. 3 WinCo after an appointment in that area of town. I forgot to check my wallet for cash until I was in the waiting room for my appt. Yikes! $6 and coins. Luckily, I had a calculator with me. I tallied everything while I shopped, and made estimates on produce items. I bought 5 dozen medium eggs, for $4.48; 3 avocados at 58 cents each; 1 Roma tomato (for lunch that day), 21 cents; and 6 bananas for $1.25. Spent $7.68. As I was leaving the store, I counted all of my remaining coins -- 67 cents. I put my bag of groceries into the car and went back into the store to buy cocoa powder from the bulk bins. Spent 46 cents. (It is difficult to estimate the bulk items; and I didn't want to go over my 67 cents. What could I say -- "can you put 1 tablespoon of this back in the bin, please?") Total spent at WinCo -- $8.14

Next stop, Cash & Carry. They do take credit cards, so I had no need to keep a running tally while I shopped. I wanted the ground beef that was on sale for $19.90, but they were completely out of those 10-lb packages. Instead, I went ahead and bought the beef top sirloin, at $2.58/lb. It is a large piece that weighs 11.36 pounds. Yes, it is a lot of beef!! I have it in the garage fridge until I can cut it into 2-lb chunks for the freezer. Restaurant cuts of beef are sealed in airtight packaging, and keep for a couple of weeks, if refrigerated. I also bought 10 lbs of carrots; a 3-pack of celery; a 5-lb loaf of medium cheddar; 1 quart of soy milk; $1.58; 12.5 lbs of popcorn, $7.09; 1 gallon of vegetable oil, $6.59; 2 lbs of yeast, $6.97; 1 large head of green cabbage, $1.50; 1-lb box of cornstarch, 99 cents; and another 14 bananas at 47 cents/lb. At Cash & Carry I spent $75.02

Feb. 5. I needed gas, plus I had a coupon for a Freebie about to expire at Fred Meyer. So, off to get gas and run into the store. I actually had 3 Freebie coupons on my card that I could use. So, I picked up my can of soup (free), my Power Bar (free) and my box of Annie's macaroni and cheese (free). I also needed one loaf of bread to get us through 2 days until I could bake a large batch ($1.67). Total spent at Fred Meyer's -- $1.67

Month to date spent -- $84.83

Feb 7. Fred Meyer for Senior Day discount (I can't miss these opportunities). I need milk, and it's on sale for 89 cents/half gallon; I buy 10, the limit. Natural-style peanut butter is on sale for $1.50/15-oz jar; I buy 4 jars of chunky. (This goes on sale often enough, and I have some at home, still, so 4 jars seems like a reasonable amount for us. Four jars will last about 6 weeks in our house.) I buy three 8-packs of mixed meat hot dogs for 80 cents each. Hickory smoked almonds are on sale through this month for $4.99/lb (my price, w/discount, $4.49/lb). I still have lots of raw almonds, but smoked will be a nice change for snacking. I buy 1.45 lbs. I need alternative milk. I've been drinking almond milk. Today I find soy milk marked down for $1.25/half-gallon; I bought 2. The expiration date is in a week, but it should keep for a week beyond that date. I'll freeze one of the cartons to use later in the month. I found Pillsbury Cookie Mixes marked down to 42 cents/box; I bought 4 boxes. They also had cans of Pillsbury frosting marked down to 32 cents/can; I bought 8 cans. I'll be able to use the frosting on cakes this spring, summer and fall. I had a $10.83 reward from the fall reward's cycle to use. My total cost for today, $20.12

Month to date spent -- $  104.95

February 17. We are completely out of whole wheat flour. This is significant to our household, as we are accustomed to eating our baked goods made with about half whole wheat, half white flour. So I made a point of getting more ww flour today. I stopped at Cash & Carry, and dragged a 50-lb sack of stone-ground whole wheat flour on to the flatbed cart ($18.99). I also picked up 22 bananas, at 42 cents/lb (they worked out to 16.2 cents each), a 3-pack of celery ($2.33), a 25-lb bag of onions ($7.00), and a 10-lb bag of oranges ($7.73). The oranges are almost twice the price per pound that I prefer to spend, but I thought they'd be nice to have, now that we have gone through all of the orange juice. I'm okay with splurging when the foods are healthy. Total spent, $39.62

February 17. Also on my errands list was Fred Meyer, to pick up a prescription for my husband. While waiting for the rx to be ready, I used my 2 freebie coupons and got 1 Hershey's candy bar, and 1 container of Chobani yogurt, for free. And of course, I couldn't help but stop at the table of marked down Valentine's candy. It still seemed overpriced, except the bags of cherry-milk chocolate M&Ms, at $1.49/bag (the bags are about 9 ounces). I only bought 2 bags, in case they're not very good. I think that I'll save one bag till next year, and make sweet little bags of M&Ms for the Valentine's candies that I give the kids and husband. The other bag will be for cookies at some point. Total spent, $2.98

For the month, so far I've spent -- $147.55

I'm doing pretty well for grocery spending, this month. I had a surplus of $121.20 coming into February. When I add that to our monthly budgeted amount of $190, I have $311.20 to spend.

February 19. One daughter is going out of town for the week, for a theater thing. Most of her expenses will be covered; but $30 will not. I took $10 from the grocery budget and gave to her. That is roughly what I calculate for what I spend per person, per week, for food. Spent $10.

For the month, so far I've spent -- $157.55

It's now the 22 February. I am trying to hold out on spending any more on groceries for the month, in part just because it gives me a thrill to underspend, but also I really want to force us into using supplies in the freezer and pantry.  It's also good to just stay out of the stores during peak flu season.

Feb. 28. So, this is where the shopping month ends! I spent $157.55 for the month of February. I had $311.20 to spend, including the carry forward surplus from the month before. I have $153.65 left over! That amount will carry forward into March, and as March is a longer month, I will likely spend into it.

What I Bought

Dairy

5 dozen medium eggs
5 lbs of cheddar cheese
1 quart of soy milk
2 half-gallons of soy milk
10 half-gallons of milk (mixed 2% and whole)
1 small yogurt (freebie)

Meat

11.36 lbs beef top sirloin
3 12-oz packages of hot dogs

Produce

3 avocados
1 tomato
42 bananas
10 lbs of carrots
6 bundles of celery
1 head of green cabbage
25 lbs of onions
10 lbs of oranges

Pantry

.15 lb of cocoa powder
12.5 lbs of popcorn
1 gallon of vegetable oil
2 lbs of yeast
1 lb of cornstarch
1 can of soup (freebie)
1 box of macaroni and cheese (freebie)
1 Power Bar (freebie)
1 loaf of bread
4 15-oz jars of peanut butter
1.45 lbs smoked almonds
4 boxes of cookie mix
8 cans of frosting
50 lbs of whole wheat flour
1 Hershey candy bar (freebie)
2 large bags of M&Ms

Lunch Meat for Less

Are you a fan of the lunch meat sandwich? I do enjoy a nice meaty sandwich every now and again. However, I'm not a big fan of some aspects of deli lunch meat. I really don't care for not knowing what parts of the meat went into the chopped and pressed deli meats. The preservatives and additives are some of those questionable issues with cured meats of any kind. And then there's the price of deli-style lunch meat. Fortunately, there are a few alternatives which side step all of the above.

The traditional meatloaf sandwich is one of the least expensive of the meat sandwiches -- it never disappoints.

Leftover roasted turkey, chicken, pork and ham make mighty tasty sandwiches, and are a fraction of the price of deli meat.

And then there's one of my favorites, for its leanness, price, lack of extra ingredients, and ease of preparing -- the baked boneless, skinless, chicken breast.

I buy the boneless, skinless chicken breasts when I find them priced around $1.50 to $1.75 per pound. This is usually in the value package; so, when I get them home, I divide them into one and two breast mini-packages for the freezer.

To use, I thaw one or two, and then prepare for baking. I lightly butter the baking tray. Next, I drizzle about 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil over the tops, and turn to coat completely. Then, I season with a bit of salt, garlic powder and chili powder. I bake at 350 degrees F, for about 20-25 minutes, or until done. That's it. Easy-peasy. Once chilled and sliced, I have lunch meat for several days.

For a cost comparison, recently when I have bought deli lunchmeat, I've spent in the neighborhood of $3.75 to $6.00 per pound, depending on variety and sales. For home-baked chicken "lunch meat", my cost is under $2.00 per pound, including the seasonings and electricity for the baking.  The bonus is that I know what is in my meat, and I control sodium, fat and preservatives.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers the Last Week of February

This week went by in a blur, so I'll try to remember what we had for dinner each night. What I do know is that it was frugal. I wouldn't have had time to rush out for takeaway meals.

Friday

• turkey, vegetable and barley soup
• toasted cheese sandwiches
• orange wedges

Saturday
husband's night to cook

• wrap sandwiches
• carrots and celery sticks and bleu cheese dressing

Sunday

This was the night that we had leftovers from the fundraiser that I work.

• leftover assorted sandwiches
• leftover chips
• leftover fruit salad
• tossed salad made from leftover lettuce, cucumber slices and half of a tomato, topped with bleu cheese dressing
• a mix of the leftover egg salad, potato salad and cole slaw
• leftover cookies

Monday

• egg salad sandwiches
• soup from the freezer, turkey, vegetable and barley
• bananas

Tuesday

• soft tacos, made with 1 chicken breast, cooked onions, lettuce, black beans and salsa (really yummy!)
• canned corn
• cookies -- those jam-filled ones that I shower to you earlier this week

Wednesday

• black bean and lentil soup
• cheese quesadillas
• tossed salad (lettuce, cucumber slices, olives, bleu cheese dressing)
• cookies

Thursday

• pancakes, with real maple syrup (a treat that we are enjoying tremendously)
• scrambled eggs
• pumpkin souffle (I had canned pumpkin in the fridge needing using, and this sounded good with what else was planned)
• blackberry-rhubarb sauce from the freezer

I made it through the week. My back hurts from hunching over papers, as I edited. I'm exhausted and just want to go for a vacation on a tropical island. But I'm not quite done. I have to put together a portfolio for review. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?

Besides that, my one daughter comes home tomorrow morning. I'll be picking her up, with my other daughter with me. The three of us will do our galentine's thing, Saturday AM. We missed it on Valentine's, but aren't going to let this opportunity slip away from us. 

This past week, I think one of the tastiest things that I ate were the soft tacos. I'm usually not a big fan of flour tortilla tacos, preferring the texture of corn tortillas, but those chicken tacos were delicious. They were a hybrid between soft tacos and fajitas. We didn't add cheese, or sour cream or any usual taco toppings, but had the lettuce, olives, black beans, along with strips of cooked chicken and grilled onions. If I had had any peppers in the house, those would have made the tacos over the top!

This next week, I will finally have time to cook from scratch, again. As it happens, there is now room in the freezer for some prepared meals and soups. So, I'll get busy on the casserole-making and soup simmering. I've enjoyed not having to cook as much this winter.

The other thing that I am really looking forward to is flowers. Who else is ready for spring? I still have crocus bulbs in the fridge that need planting out. It shouldn't be too late. And I need to get started on some seeds this week. Oh, and then there's taxes. It is looking like a busy couple of weeks, but a nice change from everything that I've been working on.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Saving Crumbs (Now That Sounds Thrifty!)

In that tiny, hard to reach cabinet above the refrigerator, I stash the practically empty bags from potato and tortilla chips. Yes, we do occasionally receive bags of chips. These are most often freebies to us, either through a Friday Freebie coupon from Fred Meyer, or as a leftover from the fundraising luncheons for which I serve.

Today, my cupboard is hiding a bag of potato chip crumbs and a bag of blue corn tortilla chip bits. I keep these bags in this seldom used cabinet as they are less likely to be found, being out of the main pantry area of the kitchen. If they are not found, then no one will mistakenly think they are empty and trash them. Even in my frugal home, someone could toss out perfectly good potato chip crumbs. The nerve!

Why on earth would I hang onto the crumbs? These crumbs and bits make great toppings for salads and soups, in place of croutons. And as I don't buy croutons, having the crumbs on hand means that I don't have to go to the trouble to make croutons as often. No waste and it saves time.

Soft Tacos and More Jam Cookies

I know that I am overtired, this week. I believe that is contributing to my current funk. However, I was able to make significant progress, yesterday afternoon, on my work, which is a huge relief. I do wonder why I set myself up for such hard work, sometimes.

When planning a quick to fix dinner, I find myself beginning the mental prep work while I'm fixing my breakfast. By doing this early in the day, I can rummage through the freezers and pantry to find suitable ingredients, and still have time for them to thaw. Yesterday morning, my thoughts ran to Mexican food. Fortunately, I had flour tortillas, raw chicken, and cooked black beans in the freezer. Add a can of corn, some olives, lettuce and the last of the salsa, and I think we're in business. Soft tacos and corn -- simple, satisfying and delicious.

I did take a few minutes to make a sweet treat. This is yet another simple way to make jam cookies. Instead of balls, you cut rolled out dough into squares, dollop with jam, and fold the points in toward the center on two sides, then bake. After Christmas, I found several packages of sugar cookie dough, pre-rolled out, on markdown. I paid 55 cents per package, even though the tag says 69 cents.

This is really very handy cookie dough. I don't know if I would pay full price, but if I see it marked down in the future, I will buy it again.

I cut the dough into squares.

Topped each with a spoon of jam.

Folded the corners in to the center.

Baked. And here's what they look like once done.

Yesterday Was a Really Long, Hard Slog of Work

I am finishing up my writing course, but I tell you, yesterday was grueling.  A lot of folks had the day off from work. Not here; not me. I worked, and edited and revised, and edited some more, and examined what I had revised, and finally conked out, too tired to think with any remaining clarity. I'll need to get right back to that project later this morning, hopefully with a fresh (and capable) mind.

One of my daughters is away from home for the week. (Yes, I'm sad on top of tired.) The other daughter was also busy with classwork all day long. She misses her sister. The two of us commiserated, heartily. Neither she nor I had time to cook dinner for the four of us. And no one else was stepping up to the plate. So, I pulled a container of soup out of the freezer, added egg salad sandwiches and bananas, and that was dinner.

I'm tired and sad today. I hope that I am out of this funk by tomorrow. I do have a goal in sight; and the thought of that goal is driving me forward. I know that many of you understand this feeling, of pushing yourself through a tough time in order to reach a much-desired goal. Wishing you success as you reach for your stars.

Have a great day, friends!

The Weekend's Blessings

One daughter and I worked at a fundraiser luncheon over the weekend. Afterward, the woman in charge blessed us with enough leftovers for our Sunday dinner.

We enjoy working at these fundraisers. The work gives us time together, and with other women who we admire and respect. The work would be pleasure enough.  So, it's a bonus that they bless us with the leftovers.

Sunday night, I had enough of this month's leftovers to put together an entire meal for five people. We had assorted sandwiches, tossed green salad, a mixture of small amounts each of egg salad, potato salad and cole slaw, fruit salad, cookies, and potato chips.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for Valentine's Week

Friday

• pumpkin, chicken and potato soup (this was very good, so good there were no leftovers to freeze for Wednesday)
• cheese and avocado quesadillas
• cookies

Saturday

husband cooks

• brown rice
• marinara sauce
• cheese quesadillas
• carrot sticks

Sunday

• pot roasted beef
• carrots
• potatoes
• olives and pickles
• sparkling cider
• cookies

Monday

• quick beef and veggie stew made with the leftovers from Sunday dinner, plus some celery and canned peas
• fresh-baked whole wheat bread

Tuesday

• homemade cheese pizza
• canned green beans
• carrot sticks and bleu cheese dressing for dip
• canned pineapple chunks
• cookies

Wednesday

• leftover cheese pizza
• slaw made from green and red cabbage and celery, in a dressing of marked down bleu cheese salad dressing, blended with mayonnaise and chive blossom vinegar
• sweet potato casserole topped with mini-marshmallows (I'm not entirely sure if this was a side dish or dessert -- yummy either way!)

Thursday

• turkey, brown rice, celery, and cream of mushroom soup casserole (I used the turkey legs that I had frozen right after Thanksgiving)
• canned green beans
• leftover sweet potato casserole
• pumpkin cake

We rearranged our weekend plans, as my son's fiancee wasn't feeling well on Saturday. As a result, we had our celebratory dinner on Sunday. I had been thinking that I would bring something in for dinner, maybe take-out pizza and bagged salad (so I could work on a writing and advertising project which was due).  However, every time I opened the refrigerator, I saw an 11-pound hunk of beef that needed dividing into freezer portions.  This inspired me to make a simple pot roast, with potatoes and carrots. I saved us about $15 on the take-out, and was still able to pull together the dinner, although a little late. I'm glad that I made the changes that I did, as the beef was very appreciated by all.

I am steadily using up my supplies in pantry, fridge and freezer.  The canned goods have been extreme time-savers for me this winter. Looking at last night's dinner, I used a canned item in 4 different dishes. I am looking forward to the day when I can see everything in the freezer and pantry, without having to rummage around.

What was on your menu this past week? Do you typically have Valentine's dinner at home, or is this an eating out occasion for you? Have a wonderful weekend!

This Sounds Strange, but It Did Work

I was a little short on cheese for Tuesday night's pizza-making. So, I improvised just a tad. Those white blobs are not mozzarella, in case you were thinking along those lines. Those lumps are cream cheese. I had no idea how this was going turn out, or taste. It wasn't just for 1 pizza, either. I was making pizza for two dinners. You could say that it was a bit of a gamble. However, my family is a group of risk-takers, when it comes to my cooking.

The cream cheese did not melt into the rest of the cheese; but it did taste great. After baking, I topped the whole thing with lots of dried, crumbled garden basil, which maybe hid the whiteness of the cream cheese a little.

Part of this package of cream cheese had some dried out portions. those would normally get tossed. The other night, though, I just added them to the pizza. No one noticed. Anyway, sounds strange, but cream cheese on a pizza did work.

Storing the Big Bags of Yeast

I buy active dry yeast for baking in 2 lb bags. It takes us about a year to use this much yeast. When I open a new bag, I pour about 4 ounces into a small glass jar (it's actually a really old yeast jar. The expiration date is something like 1998). This is the yeast that I access on a regular basis. I keep it in the refrigerator.

With the rest of the bag of yeast, I fold down the top and secure with a rubber band, then put the opened bag into a gallon ziploc. I keep this yeast in the refrigerator, as well. It still works, even a little over a year later.

I made pizza last night with the tail end of my last bag. It still turned out nicely with a puffy crust.
I have also read that you can store active dry yeast in the freezer, for up to 2 years with success. Just an FYI if you don't go through yeast quickly enough.

Where do you store your yeast?

Raspberry Fingers

This is the recipe for the cookies that were pictured on my blog this past Friday. In the photo above, I used leftover scraps of sugar cookie dough. However, I think the recipe that I'm posting today is a better base for the cookie. It's crisper and holds up to the jam better, IMO.

I love jam thumbprint cookies, but I dislike the extra work of rolling individual balls, and putting jam into multiple thumbprints. This method for "fingers" is simpler. And I believe, "jammier". I hope you enjoy them!

You bake the cookies in two segments, one without the filling, and the other after adding the filling. (The filling is simply jam, by the way.)

Ingredients:
1 cup of butter, softened
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2  1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 tablespoons water, as needed

raspberry jam (other flavors of jam also work well, such as plum or blackberry), about 4-6 ounces


Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Stir the flour and salt together. Add to the creamed butter/sugar/egg/vanilla, 1/3 of the flour at a time, mixing well between additions. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed, until the dough is workable, but not too soft. Roll the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and chill 20 to 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into quarters. Roll each quarter into a long rope that is the length of your baking sheet. Lightly butter a baking sheet, or use a non-stick baking sheet. Lay 2 ropes onto a baking sheet, and press a trough down the center of each rope.

Bake at 375 degrees F, for 10 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven, and fill the dough troughs with jam. Return to oven and bake for 9 to 12 minutes longer, or until light golden brown.

Cool on the baking sheet, set on a wire rack. Cut on the diagonal, while on the baking sheet, then remove to a rack.

Makes about 3 dozen.

If you want to make them look fancy, make a thin white icing and drizzle over the tops of the cooled cookies, like this (they'll be finger-shaped, however):

Or, sprinkle with powdered sugar, for this look (again, as above, they'll be finger-shaped and not rounds):

Senior Shopping Day Last Week

I bought all of this for $20.12 I am amazed, myself, because this is a month's supply of milk for the family, 4 jars of natural peanut butter, soy milk for me, about a pound and a half of smoked almonds, hot dogs, cookie mixes and canned frosting.

It was Senior Discount Day, so 10% was taken right off the top for any of the house brands, and natural foods. The milk was on sale, already for 99 cents each, plus the 10% discount on those. The soy milk was on markdown, plus 10% off, as it is one of Fred Meyer's house brands. The smoked almonds were on sale for $4.99/lb, and they also received the 10% off, as they come from the natural foods' section. As I was about to check out, I saw these cookie mixes and canned frosting on markdown, the cookie mixes for 42 cents/box, and the canned frosting for 37 cents/can. I could not pass those up. Even though I prefer scratch products for myself (digestive issues with packaged foods), these are perfect for when it is my turn to serve at coffee hour (which happened to be this past Sunday).

If you are a math whiz, you have probably figured out that surely this must have cost more than $20. I also had a $10.83 reward to use before March, from the autumn reward's cycle. And that brought my grand total down to $20.12.

Sadly, what was not in my cart that day was produce. I did pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables a week ago, Friday. Those items will have to do for the moment.

Anyway, I was incredibly pleased to spend so little.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for Early February

cookies made with scraps from rolled out sugar cookies, formed into a log,
 smashed flat, and filled with raspberry jam -- really delicious

Friday

• turkey noodle and vegetable soup
• cranberry sauce muffins

Saturday

Husband's night to cook

• scrambled eggs with cheese and onions
• hash-browned potatoes
• stewed tomato
• canned green beans

Sunday

• spaghetti pasta
• tomato, vegetable and meat sauce
• braised red cabbage
• carrots sticks
• blackberry cobbler with whipped cream

Monday

• leftover spaghetti casserole
• canned green beans
• leftover blackberry cobbler

Tuesday

• baked potatoes, topped with butter, cream cheese and cheddar cheese
• steamed carrots
• canned corn
• slaw made from red cabbage and sliced celery
• olives
• toffee bar cookies

Wednesday

• black bean soup, topped with cheddar, avocado and broken tortilla chips (bottom of the bag from December)
• French bread
• canned pineapple chunks
• cookies

Thursday

• leftover turkey-noodle soup from last Friday
• cranberry sauce muffins (also leftover)
• slaw made with red cabbage and celery, in a dressing of mayo, bleu cheese dressing and vinegar
• cookies

This has been a great week for soup. I've had soup for lunch a couple of days and we all had soup for dinner on three evenings. Cold weather = soup. 

Our primary vegetables continue to be canned, or fresh carrots, celery and cabbage. I got lucky at WinCo last Friday and found avocados for 58 cents each. I only bought three. We have been enjoying them, though. The canned vegetable supply has been dwindling. I am hoping that it will hold out through March, when late in that month I should be able to harvest kale, sorrel, watercress and parsley from the garden. Those last items will supplement continued purchases of fresh carrots, celery and cabbage, as well as whatever I find at the produce stand, which will open the last weekend of March. I can hardly believe it, but spring is nearly here!

My pre-planned menu has worked very well, thus far. I've only strayed from the plan a couple of times; which must mean that this has been a success. It runs through the end of this month. So, I will need to plan March and April's menus, soon.

What was on the menu at your house this past week? Do you have a plans for the weekend? We'll be celebrating Chris and Angie's engagement on Saturday evening. On Sunday morning, I'll have heart-shaped pancakes for brunch for everyone, after church. 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!

Easy-to-Make Heart-Shaped Pancakes for Valentine's Weekend Breakfast

A couple of things, today. First, some photos of how I make heart-shaped pancakes, with Valentine's just around the corner. The full post showing two ways to make heart-shaped pancakes, right here. 

These are easy to make. You can pour the hearts out with batter, off of the tip of a large spoon, or cut hearts out of round pancakes with a cookie cutter. It's a fun, and free, thing to do for your loved ones on Valentine's Day, or the weekend before.

Or . . . . . . .

My "other" thing, heart-shaped pancakes are a definite item for our menu this weekend, at some point, because. . .

my son, Chris, and his girlfriend, Angie, got engaged this past week!!!

Using Every Last Bit of a Bundle of Celery

When I buy a bundle of celery, I do something, right away, that ensures the flavorful tops will not get tossed into the compost or frozen for making stock.

With everyone making their own lunches, now, I noticed on a few occasions that some leafy celery tops made their way into the compost bin. My reaction -- Yikes! That's real food that you are tossing out!

Anyway, I had to find a work-around on this one, as nagging does not inspire compliance.

When I get those bundles home from the store, I "decapitate" the entire bundle. I chop off the top portion, just beneath the main joint where the long stem meets the leafy branch. I leave all of the stems, in tact, on the bundle and unwashed. There are decay issues if you wash the bundle without pulling the stems off; and leaving the stems still attached to the bundle keeps them fresher, longer.

After cutting all of the tops off, I wash those parts, and chop to add to a pot of soup.

Problem solved.

Whoever Said the Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen are in Seattle was Not Here Yesterday

my front yard, yesterday

my back yard

A Game Changer

This was last night's dinner, spaghetti pasta, topped with meat and vegetable tomato sauce, braised red cabbage and carrots sticks. I deliberately made double the pasta and double the meat and vegetable sauce.

Our family has always topped the pasta with sauce, instead of mixing it all together. It is what I grew up with, and it is what I prefer.

In the past, I would have taken the leftovers and placed each separately into food storage containers. As of late, I've been packaging up these deliberate leftovers as a meal.

As I was cleaning up the kitchen last night, I put the pasta and sauce in a casserole dish, tossed together, then topped with grated cheese. Tonight, regardless if I am busy or not, dinner is made. All someone -- anyone -- needs to do is heat it through. It's the convenience of a Stouffer's-type meal, without the cost. And it did not take any more time to package the meal this way. This sort of thinking ahead, while I clean up the kitchen, has been a game changer for my meal preparations.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for Early February

Friday

• pumpkin and ham soup
• breadsticks
• choice of leftover fruit dishes (canned pineapple, rhubarb sauce, stewed prunes)

Saturday

• brown rice, topped with
• curried lentils, black beans, almonds and canned tomatoes
• chutney

Sunday

• assorted sandwiches left over from a luncheon for which I volunteered on Saturday
• tossed salad made from veggies, also leftover from Saturday's luncheon
• baby carrots, leftover from Saturday
• grapes, leftover from Saturday (do you see a trend here?)
• canned cream of mushroom soup
• cookies, a Friday Freebie

Monday

• pastrami and melted cheese sandwiches on croissants (pastrami from freezer and croissants given to us over the weekend)
• vegetable-barley soup, using odds and ends from the fridge
• blackberry-rhubarb sauce from the freezer

Tuesday

• pastrami sandwiches on croissants
• a 9-cent packet of Top Ramen (on markdown, had a tiny tear in the package), split 3 ways (1 family member out, another didn't want any)
• cole slaw made with half green, half red cabbage
• cookies from Christmas

Wednesday

• leftover pumpkin-ham soup (frozen, from last Friday)
• crackers and bagel halves, with cream cheese
• baby carrots (given to us over the weekend)

Thursday

• blue corn tortilla chips (freebie), topped with
• canned refried beans (freebie), cheese and salsa
• carrot sticks
• canned green beans
• blackberry cobbler with whipped cream

I am still managing to get dinner on the table, daily, despite a busy week with my writing class. That's the good news. The bad news is that I'm using up my stash of packaged foods that make many of these meals easy. Oh well, the busy time will soon be over and I can prepare more meals from scratch again.

What was on your menu this past week? Anything yummy, or fast and easy? Who made something elaborate this week? Anybody else here, get through the entire week without buying any take-out?

I hope all is well with everyone. Have a great weekend!

Past the Sell-by Date

In case you find yourself in a similar position . . .

I just had not managed to whip and freeze all of the whipping cream that I bought on markdown in early January. Yesterday evening, while the soup was heating, I whipped up a pint that was six days past it's sell-by date. It still tasted fine. I'll whip one last pint tomorrow, to freeze for future desserts, and then I'll be all caught up.

Little Old Lady Habits

I call these my little old lady habits. There the sort of things that I do that I imagine a little old lady, living on a fixed income, does in the privacy of her own apartment to make the money stretch. Things like saving the used tea bag in the fridge, to use again for tomorrow's cup; or carefully washing a sheet of foil, to use again and again; or airing out a sweater after wearing, before folding and putting away to wear again next week, in lieu of washing with each wearing.

My little old lady (the who who lives in my head) does all of these things with grace and style. She may be reusing a tea bag, but her tea is drunk from a lovely tea cup. Her sweater may be old, but it is a beautiful and classic one, lovingly cared for to extend its life another decade.

What makes this little old lady so lovely is that with the money she saves by keeping all of her habits, she is generous at the red bucket during the holidays; and in church when a little more is needed for new hymnals; and with the homeless man on the highway corner needing money for a sandwich. She gives with all of her heart.

My little old lady habit, today, is how I portion out my butter. It's one of those quirky things I have done for years. As my bread is toasting, I take the butter from the refrigerator, measure my portion, and slice off.  I use about half-tablespoon of butter, total for 2 slices of bread. It's enough, without being wasteful of our dwindling supply of an expensive commodity. Most of the time, I am not terribly precise with measurements; but with my morning butter I am. I set the butter, in two portions, on the plate, and put the butter dish away while I wait for my toast.

You may call it a quirk or a little old lady habit. With my mind's eye, I picture a little old lady performing the ritual of morning toast-making, just in this manner. She's careful with her home-keeping supplies. She's never wasteful; but always manages to enjoy what she has. This is the little old lady that I hope to become.

January 2017 Grocery Spending Journal

Dec. 29 (I closed out December's budget on the morning of the 29th, so this goes into January's budget) QFC, next door to the tire place, when I got my tires replaced. We found almond "egg" nog (no egg, vegan) in quarts for 79 cents each. I bought 4 quarts. Also found 6 bananas on markdown, for 49 cents lb (still in fantastic shape, but had been separated from their bunches), and we bought 1 apple fritter to share, to have with the free coffee and popcorn, at the tire shop for our "breakfast". Spent $5.08

With the almond nog -- it was delicious, and I wished, later, that I had bought more. I can drink this non-dairy stuff, so a bonus for me. But the rest of the family enjoyed it, too. As I told my son, if you're willing to try something different, you can save a lot of money, and find new treats to enjoy.

Dec. 29 Fred Meyer, looking for a plant to take to my father-in-law. While there, of course I cruised by the markdown areas! We found whipping cream in pints for 99 cents each (I bought 6 pints). The sell-by date is at the end of January. I also found slabs of the Pillsbury sugar cookie dough (pre-rolled out sheets, for cutting with cookie cutters), I bought all 5 packages, at 55 cents each. And I found brown and serve dinner rolls for 89 cents, to serve on New Year's Day. I thought these were a bit of a disappointment. When you bake from scratch, you become selective concerning what constitutes a good bread product. total spent $9.58

I know, I could easily make my own cookie dough for sugar cookies. But this stuff is freezable. I get called every few months to contribute cookies to coffee hour at church. I knew my time was coming up, so I figured I could do heart-shaped cookies, just before Valentine's Day. This will be a time-saver, and probably cheaper than baking from scratch, given the price of butter.

December 31. We stop at a market to bring ice cream to go with the cake I baked for my father-in-law's birthday. Spent $3.99

January 3. Fred Meyer for Senior Discount day. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are on sale for $1.47/lb. I bought about 9 lbs. I also bought a half-gallon of almond milk for $2.25, 4 bottles of bleu cheese salad dressing, on markdown for 71 cents each, a package of ramen soup for 9 cents (markdown) a head of cabbage at 49 cents/lb, a box of pumpkin spice tea on markdown for $1.69, a box of Yogi herb tea on markdown for $1.88, and a 100 bag box of generic decaf tea for $2.24. My freebies this time were a16-oz bottle of Ranch dressing and a bottle of some sort of nutritional drink Body Armor. I spent $25.66

Sometime in December, I bought some peppermint oil for making peppermint patties. I forgot to list this last month. I used a coupon at Michael's and paid $1.99

So far this month, I've spent $46.30.

January 6. I stopped at WinCo and bought 5 cans of Del Monte pineapple chunks for 98 cents each, 5 lbs of carrots for $2.28, some vegetable soup mix, plus tortellini to add to it, and bean soup mix for quick soups at home, enough for about 10 servings of almost instant soup for my lunches on super busy days, at a cost of $3.41, or 34 cents per lunch. I also bought 1  1/2 lbs of broccoli crowns at 98 cents/lb, 2 green peppers at 48 cents each, 5 dozen medium eggs for $3.98 (80 cents/dz), and 4 double-size, individually-wrapped fig bars for 98 cents. Can you tell that it's now lunchtime? WinCo is not near my home, but near where I had an appointment from 11 AM to Noon. Total spent $17.84

Also stopped by Cash & Carry and bought 10 lbs of carrots for $4.09, 1 #10 can of tomato paste for $5.29, a super large head of red cabbage (I'd guess it's close to 4 lbs), for $1.24, a package of 3 bundles of celery for $2.39, 16 bananas, at 47 cents/lb, 5 lb bag of mandarin oranges for $6.88, 25 lb bag of lentils, for $22.57. Total spent $45.13

January 8. At Dollar Tree where I find bags of Christmas chocolate candies for 25 cents each 5-oz bag. I buy 5 bags, to save for making s'mores. Spent $1.25

January 13. Fred Meyer to get a prescription filled for my husband, buy milk, get gas, pick up freebies, and use a $2 off coupon before it expires. Interesting thing, in our area this past week, with the big storm in Portland, the trucks that bring milk to our Fred Meyer stores haven't been able to make it, here. So, when I got to Fred Meyer, today, they were nearly sold out of milk, with exception to some skim milk. That was all that was left. So, I bought 7 half-gallons of skim milk, with the intention of blending it with whipping cream, which I have at home, bought on markdown, still good. The milk was 99 cents each, plus I bought 3 half-gallons of orange juice, same price. I picked up my can of refried beans (Friday freebie) and my bag of blue corn tortilla chips (Friday freebie). I also bought 1 lb of mushrooms on markdown for $1.79, and 4 bananas at 49 cents/lb. My plan with the $2 off coupon is to get myself some lunch. It was after 2 when I finally had time to take a break for lunch. I went to the deli and picked out some kale salad (56 cents) and chicken-cranberry salad ($2.30), plus I splurged and box an individual serving bag of Pepperidge Farms shortbread cookies, for $1.19 (I did refrain from buying soda pop, however, so I wasn't completely indulgent). After my $2 coupon, my lunch cost $2.05, not terribly bad, I think. Total spent at Fred Meyer, $14.43

So far, this month, I've spent $124.95

January 21. My daughter and I stopped and bought donuts, on our way to the beach, for my second day visit. Not the wisest money spent. At least I'll never wonder what a maple-bacon donut is like. Total spent $3.98 (yes, those donuts are almost $2 each!! Yikes!!)

Total spent for the month of January --  $128.93

I had a surplus of $60.13 coming into January. Add that to my budgeted amount of $190, and I had $250.13 to spend for the month of January. Having only spent $128.93, I now have a surplus of $121.20 to roll over to February.

What I bought:

Produce

26 bananas
1 head of green cabbage
5 cans of pineapple chunks
15 lbs of carrots
1  1/2 lbs of broccoli crowns
2 green peppers
#10 can of tomato paste
1 head of red cabbage
3 bundles of celery
5 lbs of mandarins
3 half gallons of orange juice
1 lb of mushrooms

Meat

9 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts

Dairy

4 quarts of almond eggnog
6 pints of whipping cream
2 quarts of ice cream
1/2 gal almond milk
5 dozen eggs
7 half gallons of skim milk


Pantry

1 apple fritter
5 packages of pre-rolled sugar cookie dough
1 dozen brown and serve dinner rolls
4 bottles bleu cheese salad dressing
1 bottle ranch salad dressing (freebie)
1 package of ramen soup
3 boxes of tea
an individual serving of a nutritional drink (freebie)
peppermint oil
instant vegetable soup mix ingredients, enough for 10 servings
4 individually wrapped fig bars
25 lbs of lentils
1 can of refried beans (freebie)
1 bag of blue corn tortilla chips (freebie)
2 individual servings of deli salad, plus an individual bag of shortbread cookies, using a $2 off coupon to cut price in half, for my lunch.
2 maple-bacon bar donuts

So, yeah, there are a lot of treat items in this past month's grocery shopping. That just shows you how effective stocking up on staples in the months of November and December can be. We had enough of the staples to get us through this month, so well, that we could afford a couple of treats.

Going into February, we're running low on yeast, whole wheat flour, vegetable oil and eggs. I will also need some fresh produce to supplement the canned produce. our supplies of meat are beginning to go down, with exception to whole ham and whole turkey. Guess I'd better get the roasting pan out again!

How did your month's shopping go? Was this as lean of a month as you had intended?

Celebrating Success

I was so proud of myself on Friday. I had an appointment in the morning, lasting until just after noon. I got in my car to drive home, and I kept thinking about picking up lunch somewhere. After about 15 minutes (the drive is about 30 minutes), I changed my thinking from "where could I get something delicious, but healthy?" to "what could I make at home that would be fast, delicious and healthy?" Delicious seemed to be most important!

I did come up with something. And it was delicious. And it didn't cost me anything extra! I made a quick, 2-cup batch of soup with the bulk bin items from WinCo, a piece of cinnamon toast and a glass of orange juice. Easy, healthy and yummy!

I was so pleased with myself about that lunch. I have renewed interest in prudence with our spending. I was watching a video about a woman photographer from the late 1800s to early 1900s. It was not only the story of her photography, but also of her life and attention to detail. I have met my match in her, I am convinced. This woman was so careful in documenting all of her correspondence, all of her expenses and all of her income. Really remarkable. I was inspired by how she took life on, just as it came to her.

Her name was Evelyn Cameron. The title of the video is Evelyn Cameron: Pictures from a Worthy Life. It aired on Montana PBS in 2009, and may be available through your library.

I will continue to be thoughtful with my spending, opting for long-term goal realization over short-term enjoyment. And I'm celebrating my successes, one after another!

When was the last time you celebrated one of your successes? Tell me all about it.