A Year of Savings: 2013

Feb. 15:  What a busy day in my kitchen.  We washed a full load of clothes this morning and hung the bulk of the load to dry.  That meant the dryer had to run only half the time it might otherwise.

I washed a dishwasher full of dishes this evening.  I ran on a shorter cycle, since I rinse the dishes well when loading.  And I turned off the heat/dry mode and let them air dry.

Was that all?  Nope.  I washed out my bras by hand using watered down shampoo.  Shampoo is gentle, as gentle as those 'special' cold water detergents meant just for hand washables.  And using that watered down shampoo instead of the 'special' stuff saved me $2.99.

I made a loaf of bread, but I've already given that savings last week when I said I would make bread.  I also made up a batch of hot dog buns.  The good sort from the deli bakery are closest to my homemade ones, so I'm upping the savings to $2.99 to reflect that rather than the mass produced big name bakery buns that don't even begin to resemble homemade ones.

Made a big pot of soup for Sunday dinner.  I used some leftovers from the fridge, canned vegetables and a bit of leftover roast.  I ended up with easily 2 gallons of soup and for pennies!  There is no canned vegetable beef soup half as good as homemade, but I reckon  using what I had compared to cans of soup at the grocery is a rather substantial savings $9.45 figuring ten cans of soup at $1.29 minus the cost of the canned veggies I used.

Put bell peppers into the freezer today, savings $3.00.

Q & A

Terri, I really enjoy reading your blog!! I was just reading that groceries are supposed to take a hike again in April due to the drought, which we are still in. I'm wondering why you do the freezer challenge instead of constantly stocking up? I've read of other gals who rotate their stock and keep stocking all 12 months of the year. It just seems to me that it would be smarter to keep stocking up while prices are as low as they are instead of waiting for them to climb higher. Just wondering, Pam

Pam, that is a great question. I have several reasons for doing a challenge.

#1.  I like to keep my stock orderly, but eventually during a quarter (which is about the average time frame between pantry/freezer challenges for me), I find myself pressed for time, forgetful or just plain slacking and I don't rotate, add or remove items from my inventory list, etc.  When the pantry and freezer are burgeoning with goods it's hard to see what we have.  This brief season of slowing down allows me to get my bearings, discover where we have failed to restock, what we need to use, etc.  For instance, just this week I discovered that I have no instant potatoes on hand.  While digging for milk in the back freezer, I found two Cornish Game Hens...That was meant to be a holiday meal which I'd forgotten and those items didn't make it to the inventory list. So you see this time of a challenge benefits me in keeping the rotation of goods.

March Pantry Freezer Challenge

We've done very well here for the first two months of the year.  I stocked up on meats the first week of January at the meat and grocery markets, we've built up our pantries.  I've got enough meat to just about carry us through the month of March...and a little extra money to restock the freezer would come in handy in April.  I think it's time to have my first Pantry/Freezer Challenge for 2013. 

I'll likely buy dairy and produce during this month but will try to keep other purchases to absolute necessities and save all I can for purchases in April.

Anyone want to join in?

Meal Plan Monday

What a long and whirlwind weekend!  We went down to visit our oldest son and family in honor of his birthday coming up this Monday.  While there we visited the zoo in Jacksonville, Florida.  Then today we rushed back home to meet our youngest two while they worked on car repairs here.  Mama stopped by to visit as we were in the midst of this, unpacking, clearing up from our hasty dinner...About 8pm this evening, I shook my head...Weekend?  What weekend?!  It went so quickly!

Chili Dogs, Sweet Potato Fries
An easy meal, quick to put together for our menu today.  It was just what we needed with all that was going on after our five hour drive.


Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Green Beans, Coleslaw
We didn't eat our chicken leftovers last week.  They went into the freezer and will be a great bonus easy meal for me.  I'm sure I won't feel like a lot of hard work after the hectic weekend.

Corn Moussaka

 

I've looked and looked online...okay not really, I'm feeling a bit out of sorts this evening.  I looked for a good bit online at my sites and could not find where I'd listed this recipe.  I found this one, which is the exact same one I use.  This was from BH&G in 1980 and was submitted by a reader.  I've been making it from the moment I first saw it in the magazine and it's remained a favorite at home and in potlucks.  

 

I have cut the ground beef to as little as a half pound at times, but 1 pound works best.  Don't skip the cinnamon even if you think it sounds odd because it's key to this dish.  It isn't overpowering or cinnamon-y tasting. It just comes across as exotic. 

Note that this says to make it in a shallow dish.  Be sure to use a shallow one.  I've made the mistake more than once of putting it in a deep dish and it takes forever for the top to cook through and firm up.

 

 Corn Moussaka

 

1 (17 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 tbsp. all purpose flour
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 1/2 c. cream style cottage cheese with chives, drained
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 (4 oz.) pkg. shredded Mozzarella cheese (1 c.)
Slivered almonds; optional

 

Spread corn in an ungreased shallow 1 1/2 quart casserole or a 10 x 6 x 2 inch baking dish. In medium skillet brown ground beef; drain off excess fat. Add flour; cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in tomato sauce, garlic salt, and cinnamon; pour over corn in dish. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine eggs and cottage cheese; spread over meat mixture. Top with Parmesan and Mozzarella; sprinkle nuts over, if desired. Bake 10-15 minutes more. Makes 6 servings.

Weekly Meal Plan

Brrrr!  A deep cold front came in this weekend and it's about as cold as it will get here.  Yesterday the wind shook the house and rattled the windows it blew so hard.  Today, thankfully, the wind is quiet.  However, it was a perfect weekend for the meal my girl Katie requested for her visit.

One meal down...six to go for this week.

Vegetable Beef Soup, Cornbread
I'd thought I'd make a dessert but John brought in boxes of chocolate yesterday, one for me and one for Katie, so we let chocolates suffice.  The soup is a bit of leftovers (roast, some beef stew) and a few cans of vegetables.  Not a pricey meal to make but it really did hit the spot today.  Since the majority of it consists of leftovers and my family doesn't much care for leftover soup, I expect the dogs will eat well for a day or two, but I'm not aggrieved over that.  Their food costs more than that pot of soup did.  

Tacos, Whole Kernel Corn, Green Salad with Ranch dressing
I've been craving tacos for a week.  I don't have tomatoes to top these with but lettuce and cheese and sour cream and green onions will do well enough, right?

A Year of Savings: 2013

February 8:  Grocery day.  I came in well under my budgeted amount this week, as well as under the usual amount I spend.  I'm sorry to say that while I have a set budget we typically are about $30 over it at the end of a day's shopping.  So you'll understand that I'm especially proud to have come in under the $10 under my budgeted amount.  That's a savings of $40.

I earned enough Swagbucks the last week to acquire another $5 gift card.  That's $5 I can spend on household or personal needs that didn't come from our budget!

Put $3 into the vacation/call time fund after we returned home today.

Came close to buying a bottle of French salad dressing but after questioning John, we decided I'd make more of my own.  Bottled dressing at the store cost $2.29.  I figure my savings $2.00.

Paid $2.00 for Bleu Cheese today. The packet of cheese will make two jars of Blue Cheese dressing.  The jar of a similar dressing in the refrigerator section goes for $4. I save $ 5 making two jars at home.

 I prefer to buy bread at Publix, but this week I just plain forgot.  We picked up two loaves at Aldi ($1.29 each, a savings of $3) and I told John I'd make a batch of homemade bread (a savings of $4.50) to make up our usual four loaves per pay period.  He was agreeable to that, as he really likes the homemade bread, just finds it a bit too tender for making sandwiches for work lunches.