Sunday Breakfast

On Sunday morning we like to take time to slow down, sleep in a bit and then hang out in our pajamas for awhile doing pretty much whatever we please.  I usually drink my coffee, read posts from other bloggers and map out my week ahead.  The girls play Nintendo or a computer game or read a book.

Once hunger starts to kick in we will get busy and make one of those stick to your ribs meals that isn't necessarily the healthiest for us but sure does taste good.  We usually make waffles or pancakes, fry up some bacon or sausage, maybe a couple of eggs to go with it and eat sometime in the mid morning.

We eat pretty healthy all week long so we enjoy our fattier higher calorie breakfasts on Sunday mornings.  More importantly we enjoy preparing it and eating it together as a family.  The conversation at the table, more often than not, is usually silly and humorous.  It is not the time for serious discussion or anything other than positive and motivating.  It is a great way for us to begin a new week. 

Once the dishes are washed and the kitchen is cleaned up then we are ready to consider getting dressed and starting our day.  It is always time well spent together and I really treasure it.

Last Week's Thrifty Moves

First thing Sunday morning I put on a pot of pinto and black beans using my slow cooker and let them go on high for six hours.

I used up stale bread by making French Toast for breakfast.

I took everything out of my drawers and closets, did the seasonal shift, did a little purging and then put everything back all neat and organized.  I was happy to discover I still have plenty of good clothing and even found three pair of underpants and a pair of socks that had managed to maneuver themselves all the way into the back of the drawer where they didn't belong.  Now I have a much better idea of what I actually have.  I bagged up the items I purged to drop off at a thrift store next time I'm nearby.

After lunch we headed to the corner market for a gallon of milk and to take advantage of their loss leader sale on ice cream bars and sandwiches.  I bought four boxes for 97¢ each.  I also bought two containers of ice cream and used a $1 coupon which made them only $2 each.  I also picked up a dozen eggs for 98¢ as well as a family pack of their freshly ground lean beef.  It was $2.99 a pound and I bought 4.75 pounds of it.

On the way home we stopped at Walgreens to pick up vegetable oil for $1.99 and tissues for 99¢.  I grabbed up a bottle of dish soap on sale because I also had a coupon making the final price 74¢.  I shouldn't need to buy dish soap again until fall.

My girls and I spent the better part of Sunday afternoon doing some investment cooking.  We made up a big batch of refried beans.  Then we browned up some ground beef and mixed in some of the refried beans for beef & bean burritos to freeze for quick lunches this summer.

While we rolled the burritos we refilled the slow cooker with the ingredients for chili without beans.  My youngest isn't very fond of beans but she loves this chili.  We use it to top nachos, make chili dogs, chili & cheese omelets, top a baked potato, make tamale pie, queso dip and sometimes I add beans and we have a big bowl of chili with cheese and onions sprinkled across the top.

I divided what was left of the ground beef and put two packages of meat away in the freezer for future meals.  I may add one of them to one of the packages of ground pork I have and make meatloaf later on.

I also had enough browned meat leftover from the chili and the burritos to add to a partial leftover package of taco seasoning.  I simmered it for awhile before putting it in a container and ground beef already.

On the way home from work I stopped at the dollar store for four packages of freezer containers in two sizes, a box of gallon zipper bags and a box of two gallon zipper bags.  I plan to use those for my investment cooking.

Wednesday I did some Christmas shopping at Bath & Body Works.  The sale I'd been waiting for finally arrived so I hustled on down to the store with my gift card I ordered for free using the rewards points I'd earned last year with my business credit card.  I got what I needed as well as a birthday gift to put aside for my oldest.  Total spent on Christmas so far - $0!

I watched TV online using my Amazon Prime membership.

Thursday I stopped after work at Fred Meyer to replenish our produce and stock up on rice, canned tomatoes and tortillas which were on sale at a very good price.  I also turned in my rain checks for two 5# bags of whole wheat flour and two 4# bags of sugar.

I used coupons to save money on cat food, both canned and dry.  I was able to restock the kitty pantry for the next two months for $12.

Instead of going out to for hamburgers on Friday night I stopped at the corner market on the way home for a package of buns and some mushrooms.  We grilled up some mushrooms with sliced onions and made mushroom swiss burgers.  They were absolutely delicious.

I was very proud and honored to join 12 of my dear friends on Saturday to play Bunco at the nursing home where one of their moms live.  She was able to see us all and enjoy a great time playing with her friends.  I was reminded of what a terrific group of ladies I have the pleasure of being associated with.  I am truly blessed.

What thrifty things did you do last week to save money?

Grocery Budget Struggles

The rising cost of gas and groceries tends to irk me just a little.  Especially groceries, but the two always seem to go hand in hand of course.  I know there is nothing I can do about the rising cost of gas as I have no influence there.  Nobody will listen to me!  So I concentrate on what I can do things about and that is finding ways to economize on groceries.

Lately the staple items I purchase have escalated in price and recent sales haven't been much to brag about either.  I'm finding it much easier to go over budget and run out of things which can be rather frustrating.

The first thought was to up my budgeted amount every month to compensate for the increases but that, to me, would be the easy way out.  It's not that I can't afford to spend more on groceries but more that I really don’t want to.  Plus I love the challenge of making this budget work.  I'm thinking with a little more effort I should be able to tweak some things and get a better handle on it.

Sales and coupons are an obvious solution but there are also other simple options for economizing:

Investment cooking - the name says it all.  I love to take a hunk of meat, cook it up in a variety of ways and then freeze it to use later as a key element of future meals.  I'll be posting more about this in the coming months.

Serve more soups and meatless dishes - we love soup.  One of my favorite meals is simply soup, salad and bread.  Homemade soups are the best and also a great way to use up leftovers, especially produce that is close to giving it up.  Plus soups freeze and reheat so well.

Make more items from scratch - I have to be honest.  I've let this slide quite a bit and I need to get it in gear and focus more in this area.  Even though I'm working full time, the reality is I still have time to do this more than what I have been.

Make larger meals and serve leftovers more often - meat loaf or pot roast is a prime example.  I almost always have enough left over for another meal.  Roasted chicken too.

Cook once, eat twice - freeze the extra meal for later.  Things like lasagna and enchiladas are a lot of work so why not double the batch and make two instead of just one?  The extra effort is minimal in comparison to making them separately.  Make a double batch of spaghetti sauce.  Next time all you have to do is boil the pasta and reheat the sauce.

Eat less, use better portion control -  I tend to eat too much and gain weight so using better portion control will help me shed the extra pounds, maintain my weight and make our food last longer.  Kids on the other hand, no such thing when they are busy, active and growing. J

Make do with what we already have - no need to make a special trip to the store for items you don't have on hand.  Make something else or make something else work instead.

Shop less - that's a no brainer.  I have to admit, sometimes I get a little caught up in the bargains and buy things I really don't need.

Don't waste food - another no brainer but we all know we are a country of food wasters.

I think the biggest thing is not to get discouraged and just keep trying. 

How are some ways you are combating the rise in grocery prices these days?

Investment Cooking - Easy Pork Verde

I decided to take advantage of lean pork loin on sale at the corner market for $2.19 a pound and make up a batch of one of my very favorites - Pork Verde.  I bought a 3 pound pork roast and took a large can of green chile enchilada sauce I had bought on sale for $1.78 out of my pantry and combined the two in my medium slow cooker.  I let it cook all day long so the roast would fall apart and soak up all that wonderful verde sauce.

The flavor in green chile enchilada sauce is amazing

After using a fork to help it literally fall apart into shreds I divided the Pork Verde up into four freezer containers I had on hand, labeled them and put them in the freezer to use later as a key element in some meals I have planned.

Some of the meals I have planned for this roast include a simple pork verde with steamed rice and a little shredded cheese sprinkled across the top.  Verde burritos are on the list as well as to use some of it as a topping for a salad.  A delicious soup too.  The soup will have corn, black beans, onions and peppers added to it before getting a topping of crushed tortilla chips and a dollop of sour cream.

Several potential and very delicious meals with a small investment of around $8 and very little time spent in the kitchen.  Now that is what I call a good investment.

Cold Cereal

You probably have noticed that the size of a standard box of cereal has shrunken considerably and what used to pass as the standard size is now touted as "Family Size".  The price of cereal has gone up as well.

To combat this in the past I've waited for sales, collected coupons and then stocked up when my net price was around a dollar a box.  Even still, the smaller boxes don't last very long and we'd go through it surprisingly fast.  Not to mention, there is a tremendous amount of packaging waste, which we recycle, but still.  Even the bagged cereal, which used to be quite the bargain, doesn’t seem to be so much of a bargain anymore.

Normally for our weekday breakfast we eat a lot of toast, bagels and English muffins.  Cereal in between for variety.  Even still, it seemed I'd stock up and it was gone in no time.

One evening at dinner we discussed this very issue and the possibility of eliminating cereal from our regular shopping.  Instead we would make it an occasional treat.  To my surprise the girls were actually excited.

"Does this mean you'll start making granola more?"

"Can we have oatmeal?"

How about making pumpkin bread and applesauce bread?"

"Oh, oh, and coffee cake!"

It was agreed.

With cold cereal pretty much eliminated from our shopping list it frees up quite a bit of cash.  I do have one box of All Bran on my next shopping list but that is it.  It is one of the ingredients in my granola recipe and I used up the last of it when I made granola last week.

With a double batch of granola already in the pantry along with a tub of oatmeal and half a box of Zoom we are off to a good start.  I still have a box of raisin bran and some Total too.  Plus there is a loaf of banana bread and a loaf of pumpkin bread in the freezer as well.  I really don't think we'll be missing the cold cereal all that much. 

How about you?  Does your family eat cold cereal regularly?  Could you give it up for awhile to save money on your grocery bill?

My Uber Thrifty Month - May In Review

While I hit all of my financial goals and massacred my savings goal this month I'm afraid my grocery budget was woefully overdrawn.  Darn it!  I'm going to have to work on that.

Happily I was able to pay all of our monthly bills with no trouble.  Our power bill was the lowest we've had since we moved here so that was very nice.  I made my three financial goals for the month as well - medical bills, credit card & business debt elimination.

Because I had five paychecks in May I was also able to put one entire check into savings which helped me to exceed my savings goal by 400%!  I was super excited about this.  My other savings goal, in addition to my savings account, is to contribute $10 every month to my Christmas fund - done!

Additionally, I was able to make some repairs to the RV, upgrade my bed with a new pad and mattress cover, buy supplies for some routine maintenance to my truck, fill our 7 gallon propane tank, keep gas in my vehicles, buy groceries, go out to dinner with a friend, go out to lunch with my daughter, pay for a yearbook and a field trip for my youngest, give the girls their allowance, give my oldest daughter some money to attend a school dance, fund my cell phone service for the next three months or so ($39.99), renew my license plates on the truck, help my oldest buy supplies to make things for her fundraising project and fund our Mother/Daughter day. 

Whew!  That seems like a lot.  Needless to say, I am pretty darn happy about it. J

Last Week's Thrifty Moves

I made homemade yogurt and a double batch of granola.  I also baked four loaves of bread and two loaves of banana bread using two very ripe bananas from the markdown bunch I purchased the week prior.

I used a $10 gift card to help offset half of the expense of us all going out to lunch.

On Memorial Day we cleared out all of the leftovers in the refrigerator from the prior week and enjoyed a very nice lunch.

On the way home from work Wednesday I stopped at Walgreens to pick up two bottles of dish soap on sale for 89¢ each.

Thursday I got a bit of an early start on my June grocery shopping.  Cheese was on sale at Fred Meyer so I stopped and picked up 6 packages of shredded cheese for $10.  I put two in the fridge and the rest in the freezer.

I also bought two packages of ground pork for $1.99 a pound.  I divided each one in half, wrapped and froze them.  Four good sized packages of meat for $6 isn't too shabby.

When I checked out at the store the register spit out several coupons for $1 OFF on items I purchase a lot.  Pasta, ground turkey, and cereal.  That made my trip even better!

I took another store survey and added 50 bonus points to my rewards card for extra savings at their gas station.

I scraped up the ingredients I needed from my freezer and pantry to make a batch of Taco Soup to take to work for our month end potluck.  I still have enough ingredients left to make another batch.

Friday I gave my oldest my $5 Bunco winnings so she could attend the year end school dance and buy herself a snack.  She is truly my child.  She waited until the end of the dance to buy her snack because she knew they would lower the prices from ridiculously over the top to dirt cheap.  She bought two large slices of pizza for $1 and a soda from one of the school vending machines.  I've taught her well. J

I used some of our produce to make a salad for another potluck lunch I attended on Saturday.  I also made a tasty vinaigrette using soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, sugar and olive oil to go with it.

We made a point to use up all of our leftovers, minimize food waste and stuck to our menu plan.  We gave our kitchen scraps to the neighbors chickens.  Every time they see us they come running because they know we usually have something good for them.

My youngest and I organized all of our canning jars and got them put away in the storage area in the front of the RV.  We took and inventory of all the lids while we were at it and now I have a good idea of what I have and what I'll need to buy come canning season.  Pretty much all I'll need to buy are the flat lids.  If I decide to make more than one batch of jam I'll also need more pectin.

I worked and re-worked my June grocery list, fine tuning it until I had it just right.  I will now be able to get my pantry well stocked and we'll be enjoying some great meals throughout the month. 

How did your thrifty week go last week?