I already disclosed the ad hoc shops that DH did last week, and that is fine. The guy works hard and if he wanted food that was not already in the hosue, I'm not that much of an ogre that I'd pitch a fit over it. I'll just work it into my tracking and move on. I can't fault him entirely though. I too strayed away from the not quite no shop February, but the extension between shops February. I had no sense of timing on Thursday afternoon for my daughter, and I wasn't sure how lousy she was going to feel so didn't want to be rustling up a meal and making noise in her kitchen. I also wanted some snacky provisions. So my low spend month a of 2/13/2022 is at $65 for groceries, household, health and beauty. Granted we needed a few expensive items like kitchen garbage bags, dishwasher detergent, and more of pups canned dog food and he picked those items up, and I can't think of anything else really needed non-food wise the rest of the month. I still hope to keep the overall spend to around $213 this month, or 50% of my new low monthly average target for 2022. These are purely goal, and I readily admit I have the luxury of increasing the targets at any time. Here's what we ate.
- Sunday-Ham and corn chowder, Dutch Oven Bread
- Monday-Goulash
- Tuesday-Chicken, rice, broccoli, and cheese hotdish
- Wednesday-Frozen Pizza for DH, Leftovers for me (I may have had a slice of pizza too)
- Thursday-Leftovers, snacks at my daughters
- Friday-Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup (I should have cut slices of the Dutch oven bread before freezing. It really got crumbly after thawing)
- Saturday-Out with Friends
For this week, I'm digging a bit deeper into reserves, and will probably do a decent shop at the end of the week, but only after I fully clean the kitchen fridge and freezer and do a good tidy of the pantry shelves. No need to be doing shirt hairs (did I use that expression right) and trying to go all austere about not spending, but no need to overload for two people either.
- Sunday-Chili with elote bicuits or Applebbe's pick up*
- Monday- Chicken tenders, with cheddar broccoli rice
- Tuesday-Tuna noodle hotdish with steamed carrots
- Wednesday- Crock pot pasta prima vera
- Thursday- Sausage, apple cheese meat balls, steamed vegetables, shells and cheddar
- Friday-Chili with elote biscuits or Applebbe's pick up*
- Saturday-Chicken and vegetable stir fry over rice
I'd love some egg rolls to go with the stir fry and the massive bag of of frozen vegetables has been great, but I'd like variety with some different vegetables, so don't be surprised to see a little spending before next week. I'm also just about to the end of the huge bag of basmati rice, which I'll save for the stir fry. I haven't had chili in a while, so either today or later in the week. I'm trying to think if I even made it since my $3.00 meal challenge. Speaking of that, I have something up my sleeve for the week of February 20th. I might even win over a critic or two, but who knows if grocery prices will make it doable by then, but it'll be close. Overall though, I think I am sticking to the spirit of the "stretch my foods well into February" challenge-rogue husband aside.
I like to shout out blogger friends that give me good vibes. Check out Lori's blog, and this fun post the other day at Culinary Adventures With Lori
I popped a 23 pound turkey in the oven this morning. Not a traditional super bowl meal but that’s okay with us! We’ll have a few days of leftovers and it makes a nice space in the freezer with it gone. Ground beef is on sale this week so I plan on stocking up on that with the room. A coworker shared a recipe and samples ;) of a crockpot chicken recipe using Buffalo Wild Wings garlic Parmesan sauce and it was restaurant quality. I’m craving stuffed peppers. I’m the only one that likes the pepper part so I’ll just make the porcupine balls and throw some frozen sliced peppers in the crockpot that I got as a substitution in a Walmart order. JoAnn
ReplyDeleteI'd be happy with a roasted turkey. We ended up with chili, and had hoagie rolls to use up. Now ai have tons of chili left. My porcupine meatballs never turn out.
DeleteThank you for the shoutout Sam! I'm glad I send good vibes and I'm thrilled that I found you and your blog.
ReplyDeleteYour meals all sound delicious. Chili is one of my favorite dishes during the winter. You're doing great on your food challenge. With prices the way they are we all have to be even more mindful of using what we have. It's getting crazy. I really worry about how young families with a limited budget are doing.
Enjoy your Sunday!!
The chili was good, eaten at halftime. Groceries are going up, but people are simplifying I think.
DeleteI've heard it before as a "hair shirt", but it's not a phrase I use with any regularity, so don't take my word for it. :-)
ReplyDeleteYour menu sounds great. We again have two dinners out this week (another family birthday, plus an end of the season soccer team dinner). It's a very busy/social time for us! I'm trying to enjoy it, and not worry about the budget, and/or the damage to my diet.
Obviously not used by me, and when I try, incorrect. I thought it was being martyr like austere. I had too much baked goods today.
DeleteIt's "hair shirt," and a phrase I use frequently when I feel someone is beating themselves up over something at which they tried their best.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing fairly well for my challenge. Eldest and youngest son took DH out for lunch at his favorite Mexican place yesterday, so that broke my no-spend. It was much needed for DH, however. They had a good time, but since we've been eating out so infrequently, both DH and Eldest complained a bit about their stomachs.
I do an interesting thing during extended no-spend which you may want to apply to your DH--if I declare a moratorium on eating out, I also loosen my purse strings in the supermarket, figuring that even at full price, I can serve, say, a New York strip dinner, complete with salad, vegetable, potato and dessert, to the whole family for less than the cost of one meal at a restaurant. In fact, after they returned from lunch yesterday, DH declared he wouldn't feel up to eating dinner, so Eldest and I went to a trade show. On the way home, we swung by the supermarket, where I "splurged" on a tray of cocktail shrimp which I knew DH would enjoy. I set it out with some nice cheese, (Kerrygold Dubliner) crackers, and chocolate truffles lurking from Christmas, and popped a frozen cheese pizza I had lurking in the oven. (DD and I split that) Out of pocket was $10 for the shrimp tray, but 6 people were fed last night, with a minimum of fuss.
We have steaks set to grill tonight, and also some ground beef in the refrigerator. I will see who is up to grilling. If I get no takers, the ground beef will be turned into stuffed cabbage or a crock pot full of cocktail meatballs. Beyond that, I have no plan. I'm sort of taking things as they, quite literally, come out of the freezer and pantry!
He went and got ice cream, two containers, and a cheese cracker thing for the game. So be it. My challenges are my own. Your treats are terrific. Holding onto Christmas chocolate!
DeleteI was feeling exceptionally lazy last night so ordered in pizza. There was a coupon available that got me 2 for 1, and I figured there would be enough for a couple of days since there is only my son and I. Got up this morning, and he has eaten almost an entire pie. Lots of the one I like left, though I'm not sure he will eat much of it. I guess I'm cooking tonight. :)
ReplyDeleteSeems to me you're doing well on your challenge, it's almost the middle of the month.
All sounds good Sam, you are doing well! I think I've done pretty well so far this month. I'm at $163 which included our surf and turf celebration dinner that I made last week and everything I'm making for the super bowl this evening. Other than those two special occasions I've only had to buy fresh produce and cat food. Everything else has been from what I have on hand. I know I'll be able to go at least another week before I need to buy anything, and hopefully longer. Have a great Sunday!
ReplyDeleteI buy little, anyway, and will continue to buy fruits and vegetables and milk. It would be hard to cut back much more. All meat comes from the freezer, some breads, fruits, vegetables. The only time I will buy meat is if bscb are too good to pass up.
ReplyDeletehair shirt--for penance
I try challenges, but I don't have to do them. It's can luxury I know. Thanks for the definition.
DeleteI gave a lot of food from the freezers and cupboards to my daughter when she moved out on Friday, so my stocks are depleted now. Despite that, I'm aiming not to shop much, but to use up things that have been languishing in the depths, and then switch the garage fridge freezer off.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure she appreciates getting a start on her pantry. I don't use the garage fridge and freezer much at all anymore.
DeleteSounds like a good menu. What are elote biscuits? Yes, I could look them up, but more fun to ask you. :)
ReplyDeleteThey may not work, but I was going to flavor Bisquick type biscuits with Trader Joe's Everything but the Elite s seasoning, sort of a Mexican inspired flavor blend.
DeleteYour menu sounds very good.
ReplyDeleteI do not count TheHubs recreational shopping in my budget unless he picks up something I asked him to get. His purchases are from his walking around money.
I could do that, but just haven't. Today's recreational shopping produced two containers of ice cream. Mind you, I rarely eat ice cream, and never strawberry. It's all for him.
Delete