Thrifty Thursday: Another Month Glides On By

Friday:  Thursday evening meal:  Lasagna (from freezer), Salad, Garlic Bread

We've puttered around the house today.  I did my usual Friday/Shabat cleaning and then I did a few tasks extra.  John stirred himself to go outdoors and do a bit of work, after he'd done all the laundry today.

When I cleaned out the buffet on Wednesday, I had a huge stack of cloth napkins that looked dingy and grey and didn't smell very nice, even though they were all clean and had been put away freshly washed.  I had read of others boiling dishcloths and tea towels and I thought I'd try that with my napkins.  I put them into a tall, heavy bottomed stock pot (an Aldi find some years ago which has lasted very well...Hint:  Don't snooze on the Aldi Crofton cookware offerings!).  I filled the pot with water and baking soda.  Later, when it had begun to 'stew' John and I glanced in the pot and were shocked at how filthy the water looked.  Honestly, you'd think I'd started with dirty mop water, not freshly drawn water!   

After they'd been in hot water for about two hours, I dumped the pot, rinsed the napkins and found dirty water still ran from them, but the white stripes on two sets were definitely looking white once more.  I started the washer with bleach and detergent and put the napkins into the washing machine.  They're out on the line now where they will stay overnight and through the day tomorrow so the sun can work its bleaching and disinfecting effects on them and the fresh air will dry them, and incidentally give them an amazing fresh aroma.

One set of napkins will likely go into my kitchen cloths basket to be used to wrap vegetables I plan to store in the fridge.  One set will be donated and the other will go back into the napkin drawer of the buffet.  They are good thick, sturdy cotton napkins and have lots of use left in them.  Now they look nice once more, I don't mind continuing to use them.

What I didn't do today: dust the living room.  I'll move that to next week's schedule of work.

We received our gas card bill.  All summer long we've run that bill at half the rate we'd typically spend on gasoline.  For one thing, our small groups closed down for summer.  For another, we've stopped running to Warner Robins as often.  With John busy mowing, it's meant we're home more and

Meals today were kept very simple.  Not one of them was on the menu plan and that's okay.  We ate well and we used what we had.  We didn't go for takeout or run to town to buy anything extra.  

Meals:  Pancakes with Bacon

Chicken Tenders and box Mac n Cheese (which apparently recently expired, so go me), homemade Lemonade

Cubed Steak Sandwiches, Chips, shared Candy Bar

Saturday:  I took the kids out to the library today where Millie and Isaac did the crafts and Josh opted to get on the computer.  We stayed a little over an hour and I kept thinking how pleasant it was.  I was a little worried about the kids when an elderly patron came in, but she was unbothered enough by the children that she sat down next to one and proceeded to fold the letters she'd come to print off...and Isaac was in the midst of a rather messy sand art project at that very moment.  

Lunch was reasonable enough, but I'm sure I can do this for less next time we opt to have a picnic.  

After I came home, I was a bit drained, lol.  Josh had a fall that resulted in a lot of nasty raspberries and one deeper scrape on one of his knees.  All I did the rest of the afternoon was sit in my chair and drink lots of water and read blogs for the week.  

I picked up steaks while in the grocery today.  I paid less than $10 for the 2 steaks.  When I came in with them, John said, "Oh great!  I was wishing I'd told you to go buy some..."  Great minds, I guess.   I'd purchased a bag of ice so I could keep the meat cold which served the dual purpose of giving me a cup of ice to pour my lemonade drink over.  I sipped that while I was sitting in the park watching the kids play until our sudden departure.

I bought potatoes today at the grocery because a 5-pound bag was $1.99.  In our area we seldom see potatoes at less than 60c a pound and often they are nearer 80c a pound.  I had been thinking I'd grab a bag of fries and a packet of instant potatoes for the week ahead, but I looked at the 5-pound bag and realized I had the option of baked, hash browns, fries, mashed potatoes, etc. right there in one bag.  Moments later I passed a display, and the generic off brand instant potato packets were $2.99 for a 4-serving package.  The last time I priced French Fries (one area where I do buy name brand if I'm purchasing fries) the bag was under 2 pounds in weight and cost almost $6.  I definitely got the best buy with the 5-pounds of Russets.  I'm half tempted to go back and get another bag!

I wanted Onion Rings to go with our supper tonight, but I wasn't even tempted to buy frozen ones.  I learned ages ago that pancake mix with 2/3 the water called for and a sprinkling of salt makes a really good batter for Fried Onion Rings.  I even mixed up my own branded restaurant style dipping sauce using ingredients I had on hand.  And you know, I had just 1/2 cup of pancake mix in the cabinet that happened to be near expiration.   

Meals: Bagles/Croissants

Lunchables with the children for me, hot dogs for John.

Steak, Baked Potato, Fried Onion Rings, Sliced Tomato.

Sunday:  John wanted to see Caleb after church.  I'd asked to get my air trimmed.  He suggested we get haircuts, pick up deli sandwiches for lunch and then go to Kate's.  When she discovered what John wanted for lunch she placed her order for a sandwich.  She said she'd been craving a sandwich for weeks.

I'm not going to tell a tale. Ya'll that proved to be a mighty expensive lunch.  Talk about things being higher at the grocery store.  The same sandwiches I paid about $7 for a few weeks ago were now $11 each.  I bought chips to go with the sandwiches.  We also picked up a bottle of Beano's Sub Sandwich dressing and a container of chewing gum to keep in the car (the only place we ever chew gum).  Everything fit into two bags and cost $70! Fortunately, I had the funds in my entertainment sub account.

When we walked out of the store, I told John, "Enjoy this...It isn't happening again any time soon!"  Zowie.  Yes, we were feeding 7, but goodness.  And no, all seven didn't get a full sandwich each.  I had the deli worker slice the sandwiches in half, plus I halved another half sandwich for the little kids.  

Anyway, we enjoyed the meal, and it was a treat for Katie as well as for us, but please understand I was stunned when I saw the total today.  And here I'd been thinking the fried chicken meal was pricey...Nope.  It's a doggone bargain!

It is added incentive to keep my grocery purchases down to eggs, lettuce and sale priced produce this next week.

Meals:  Peach Muffins, Smoked Sausage

Deli Sandwiches, Chips.

Creamy Tomato Basil soup for me, Split Pea with a Turkey Sandwich for John.

Monday:  I must say that after the downward trend of our account at the end of last month, I have been very diligent about watching spending.  And it's paid off!  Our account balance is higher, and we still put money into sinking funds for upcoming bills.  Mind you, I can't afford to relax my diligence in this area.  We've another five weeks between pay periods from September to October so I'll just stay on my toes and keep a close eye on things!

I made a big breakfast this morning.  John is always pleased over that.  I won't serve big breakfasts in the next couple of days.  That will balance the budget a little better.

I happily pulled milk and butter from the freezer to replenish our fridge. I like to be able to pantry shop at home. I know I will be going into the store sometime this week since we must have lettuce and eggs but I'm kind of waiting to see if there are any specials I should take advantage of.  I have two more half gallons of milk in the freezer and just opened the last 2-pound block of cheese (that was tucked at the back of the fridge, so it was out of sight.  

Do you ever 'hide' food in your home to keep others from getting into it?  I find it's necessary if we already have a plethora of snacks, crackers, chips open.  John will see the new bag, often something we don't have already, and he wants that item right away.  He does the same with cereal and so I've gotten accustomed to tucking those items away in places he doesn't look or can't readily see them.  That's why the extra block of cheese was hidden away at the back of the fridge, behind the meat drawer.

And you know, it's really amazing that he can find the new things because he can't see any of the other things that are right in front of his face, even with me telling him right where they are...

I wanted to run a load of dishes really early this morning but made myself wait until the dishwasher was closer to being full.  It was full enough to run after I loaded the breakfast dishes in.

After doing housework this morning, I dusted the living room, sorted out one bookcase and then decorated my mantle using only what I had on hand already.  Most of the pieces were in different areas of the living room except for the Imari plate that inspired me this year.  I had that tucked in the buffet and the moment I found it I thought how lovely it would be to use for Fall decor.

Then I pulled out the velvet pillow covers I bought last year, that I'd had on my bed, plus the Turkish rug patterned covers I'd bought for the living room last year and swapped them for the cotton summer covers.  It's hot outdoors and we've nothing but hot weather ahead of us but that little foretaste of Autumn coolness hooked me hard.

Meals:  Eggs, Grits, Sausage, Toast

Pigs in Blankets.  I don't like canned crescent rolls and never buy them.  I mix up my own biscuit dough and use that to wrap the hot dogs that are stuffed with cheese.  The rest of the biscuit dough was cut into biscuits and baked alongside the Pigs in Blankets.

Ham, Potato Salad, Greens.  The greens are a mix of canned and a container of frozen ones I'd put up last fall in the freezer.  I put a ham bone that appeared might be meaty into the slow cooker this morning.  I got about 3 cups of ham slices off it.  I put the bones right back in the slow cooker, along with about 8 cups of water.  Then I dug around in the freezer and pulled out that other ham bone I knew I had in the freezer and plopped it in the slow cooker, too.

Tuesday: I didn't get up late, but we had a late breakfast, so we kept it light.  I had an open box of Raisin Bran, but I want to make some Raisin Bran muffins (must find the recipe) to put in the freezer, so I set that aside and opened a fresh box of cereal which pleased John.  I ate the last half of a jar of homemade yogurt.  I have one left which means it's time to make fresh yogurt.   

I also want to make some Granola, even though all I have at present is quick oats.  When skimming through the book, Food in Jars, she offered up four separate recipes for Granola, only one of which needed refrigeration due to the use of butter instead of oil.  I love Granola, would rather eat that than any bought cereal I can name (except Cornflakes which I never buy).  Of course, it's not something I've done to actually save just yet, but Granola is on my radar for this week, as is yogurt.

I cooked the ham bones all night long in the slow cooker.  This morning, I pulled the second bone out and pulled all the meat from it.  I was shocked...Between the two ham bones, I'd wager I've gotten about 6 cups of meat.  We ate ham of the first bone and had 2 cups leftover last night and I think I got 3 cups more this morning.  And I have a quart of broth.  I plan to make some beans or soup (or both) with the broth and some of the ham meat, but we'll have plenty of meat for another meal for us.  

I made Pimento and Cheese for our lunch.

I so much wanted lemon cake last night but have no eggs at present.  Instead, I did something I used to do long ago.  I took a box of instant vanilla pudding and added lemon extract to it.  I used to add coconut or other extracts to pudding all of the time to make different flavors.  Sometimes I just forget what I used to do.

I took note of sales at the grocery store this week and I told John there were several things I'm thinking I might go ahead and pick up.  We always have a steak dinner while on vacation, but they won't be on sale then...They are on a good sale this weekend for the Labor Day holiday.  I know I can freeze them and carry with us in the cold pack bag.  The savings would be substantial to us if I'd do this.  It would be a good weekend to also buy beer rather than wait until vacation.

And speaking of taking note of the sales, aside from picking up a few items for vacation...I'll just go to the discount grocery to do my shopping this week for eggs, bread, cheese, chicken, and discounted produce.  

Meals:  Cereal and Toast

Pimento Cheese Sandwiches, Sun Chips

French Onion Chicken and Rice, Broccoli with Cheese

Wednesday:  I took the stuff to donate today.  I was so ready to get it all out of my car.  We'd meant to take it by the place on Sunday after we'd visited Katie but just plain forgot it.  Ugh.  So, an additional trip but it played out well enough for me since I had to get to the grocery, too and there's a Publix across the street from the donation center.

I had a list.  I stuck to my list.  In fact, I didn't pick up a couple of items on the list and the only added item was a package of Sticky Buns that John wanted.  I don't like Sticky Buns, but he does and while I can make them, he would rather buy them.

I walked down the meat aisle looking for the sale priced steaks.  I had planned to pick up three or four items that I could freeze or were shelf stable and on sale to put up for our vacation trip.  Well, the sale prices were marked on the shelves but not one package of meat was marked at the sale price!  Not. even. one.  I finally took up a package of meat, carried it to the window and asked the butcher to put the correct price on it.  That short little walk of about ten feet saved me $27...  But I noted that the story of meat not correctly priced carried on all the way down that meat counter.  If it was meant to be on sale, it was all marked as full price and not one package had a sale price on it. 

I will admit, I swallowed really hard when the total came up at the register...I priced every single item on my list, I watched as she scanned each and the things meant to be on sale came up as sale priced.  I told John the consolation was that we at least had three more bags, and bigger bags at that, than the two we walked out with on Sunday when we paid half as much for our lunch...And I did earn 75c from Ibotta and get extra points on Fetch.  Not enough consolation for the money spent but these days we'll take minor consolations.

Prices were just high.  I know Publix is the worst place to think of shopping unless you stick strictly to what's on sale.  BOGOs usually beat prices at other stores because Publix is rare in that they do not elevate the price of the item to offset the FREE item.  Produce items are generally hit and miss as to being lower or higher than other stores.  They still have the best price on Romaine lettuce and English cucumbers and mushrooms.  Eggs though...Whew!  John said, "You know if you get the bigger one it's cheaper..." and I said, "And it's twice the price of this one...I'll just wait and see if they are cheaper next week at Kroger."  Usually, they are a loss leader at Kroger once a month.  I'll stock up then.

I explained to John that some of what I bought today was for vacation.  Steaks are on sale this weekend.  They won't be on sale when we go on vacation.  So were crackers.  I plan to pack more from home this year than we've done in years.  John likes to shop when we get there but I find the stores in the area are already high priced and this year, caution has me leaning hard on buying on sale when I see items and packing them to go.  It will be worthwhile for the savings!  I'll leave some things to buy when we get there.  Eggs, bread, treats, luncheon meat, salad...those things won't be big budget breakers for us.  I always pack small jars of mayo, mustard and seasonings that we enjoy, take along foil and such as that.  

Officially, all but six items I bought today are for the month ahead.  Lettuce, eggs, bread, watermelon, cucumbers, and sticky buns were for this week's use.  I'm not going to count the rest of the funds as this month's budget which I'm over but only by about $30. (Remember that I cut $150 from my budget this month).  The rest of today's spending will count towards September's budget since I plan to use those items in the month ahead.

Meals:  Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Fish dinner for me.  John ate PBJ and chips.

Hot and Spicy Wings, leftover potato salad...The wings were a mistake, a complete and total mistake. I thought I'd picked up an 8pc of fried chicken for Taylor's visit this Sunday.  Darned if I was driving 40 miles back to fix it.  We'll eat them...and likely put a few in the freezer.  And next time I'll pay closer attention to what I'm doing.

Thursday:  I decided that today was my day to sort out the fridge.  I normally do it on Sunday or Monday but didn't this week.  I've just shoved things in since last weekend and yesterday's groceries were put in willy nilly yesterday.  

So even before breakfast, I sat down in front of that fridge and cleaned it out, organized it and put out those items I knew I wanted to work with this morning.  Because I'd planned in a kitchen day last night when I was making my plans for today.

I sorted the steak we bought yesterday into individual packages.  Those went into the freezer.  All the bags of fruit were emptied, and loose fruits are now stored in a plastic basket in the bottom of the fridge.  I brought out some green onions that I'd bought from the clearance produce rack.  I plan to dice them and put into the freezer.  So often I want a bit of green onion for a recipe but don't have any on hand.   Some celery sticks John hadn't bothered to snack on went into the freezer too.  It's always nice to have a little celery in the freezer just in case I'm out of fresh and need it for a mirepoix for soups or stews or roasts.

The ham that I picked off the bones I made broth with has been dealt with.  I made lunch for today and started a pot of 15 bean soup.  I put nearly a quart of ham broth in the freezer, along with a few odd bits of ham that were left over from lunch and soup.  It wasn't enough to do the third dish I'd planned, but that's okay.  The soup will likely end up in the freezer.  I may have a small cup of it but it's just too hot to eat a big bowl of steaming soup.

I had ground beef thawed and decided to make two Cottage Pies, one went into the freezer sans the potato topping for Katie's postpartum meals. The two cans of soup were both very recently expired (July 30, 2024).

I'll do a short shopping list to complete meal items Katie will need to finish off what I have for her.  I may pick up some more aluminum pans and pack her a few more things but right now I've got five items I think in the freezer for her.  Since Gary (her father-in-law) and Cody both like to cook, she won't go hungry while she's recovering so I don't need to stock her too heavily with meals.   And I don't want to overwhelm them by overcrowding freezer space.

The other cottage pie with potato topping went into the fridge for me either cook tomorrow or freeze and save for our own ready meals.  I haven't determined yet what we'll be eating the rest of this week.  I can never plan a meal when I'm full from the last one, lol.

I feel I had a good morning's work in the kitchen, but I need to get up and go clean up dishes, sigh.  Woman's work...

Meals:  Toast, peanut butter toast for me.

Ham and Potatoes Au Gratin...Tammy you inspired me to make it for lunch!

Wings (it was a really big box...), Turnip Greens, Mac n Cheese, both leftovers from the week.

Well, this week is at an end...Technically, not, but it is for me.  I'll do Shabat cleaning tomorrow...and probably sort out the toy box since Caleb will be here on Monday and I want to do this before he comes.

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