30 Dinners For Only $30

 

Is it possible to come up with a month long meal plan for $30 anymore?  I wondered about that so I decided to put it to the test.  Yes, it is still possible to have healthy, nutritious and satisfying meals on a slim budget in this day and age and this is what I came up with. 

 

Simple Pasta Dinner

The shopping list is simple and assumes we all have some spices and oil in the cupboard, but even still for a little extra you could add some spice packets and a small bottle of oil if you need for not too much more.  This plan doesn’t include drinks, but I’m a water drinker so it was completely fine with me.

 

Recently these were on sale for .89/lb

This is based on store brand products
You could even get this for less if you hit the sales just right

I spaced out the meals to repeat on a weekly basis rather than daily so it makes for more variety and less boredom eating the same things over and over again.  There were only a few leftovers, but all in all it is an easy way to pull a meal prep and plan together, (you practically make all these meals at once and then you are done for the month), save some money and challenge one to really think outside the box and get creative.

 

Making burritos

Do you think you could manage to do something like this?  Would you even want to?

 

My Tireless Retirement – Week 132

 

Last Friday morning I awoke to hear that the foothills I was so excited to see once the wildfire smoke had cleared and the area behind them was actually on fire.  I worked all day that day and could literally see from my chair as the action unfolded.  My boss even climbed up on the roof to take a picture.  It is not the first time we’ve had fires in this area, but it is always scary as people’s homes are risk as well as wildlife.  This time around however, schools and some businesses were closed as well as pre-evacuation orders issued to many residents.  By Saturday the fire was not contained and people were told to be ready to evacuate.  With friends and family members living in those areas it was a bit nerve racking.  From my subdivision I now have a clear view of the blackened foothills.

 

I am so proud of our firefighters

While still monitoring the situation I got on with my weekend by going outside Saturday morning to finish disposing of the last of the limbs from my pear tree pruning.  I then grabbed the ladder and picked another box full of apples.  The apples are so tasty this year.  I even gave little Miss Bunny some apples slices which she loves so much.  The good news was that by Saturday evening fire crews had contained the fire by 30% so they were getting a handle on it and by Sunday morning it was 50% contained.  So far they had been successful in protecting homes and other structures.

 

Sunday morning I processed the last of the pears – Hurray!  It was completely unplanned but all of a sudden I had a pile of ripe fruit that I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat fast enough.  Once it was all peeled, cored and slice I ended up with nine bonus pints of canned pears for the LTFS shelf and a small bowl of unripe fruit left for fresh eating.  Perfect!

 

I worked Monday and decided to also make it a gas and grocery shopping day after nearly three weeks without going into a store.  I wasn’t in dire straits or anything but I did have some holes to fill in my working pantry and the LTFS so I took my small list to work with me and stopped in at Winco to pick up those items on the way home.

 

A lovely lady at the senior center gave me
a jar of her pickled asparagus

Next I stopped into Albertsons where I had a digital coupon offer for a lower price on a quart of heavy cream as well as a $5 OFF a $5 Purchase digital coupon making a quart of cream ring up at only 39¢.  I used pocket change for that purchase and then headed off toward Fred Meyer.  I stopped at their gas station and used my rewards card to save myself 3¢ per gallon on fuel paying $3.30 a gallon.  Then off to their grocery store.

 

Best meal of the week! Peppered bacon with homegrown
tomato & homemade honey oat bread - Yum!

At Fred Meyer I popped in real quick to pick up a loss leader, another three pound package of thick sliced bacon, this time peppered, for only $8.97, before heading for home.  I had picked one up the last time I was out shopping and divided it up for the deep freezer in vacuum sealed packets.  I did the same with this package as well, only this time I did five packets leaving the rest in the fridge to start enjoying now.  I love peppered bacon.

 

After all of my canning projects I took what was left of my homegrown
garlic and crushed it in a jar adding some olive oil to use for cooking

I did not work on Tuesday so I kept it rather low key and just puttered about the house getting some household chores done, putting away canning supplies and empty jars, reorganizing my canning supplies out in the garage while taking an inventory of what I had on hand and then relaxed the rest of the day.  My arborist sent a technician out that afternoon to inject my big sycamore with a systemic treatment and that was about as exciting as my day got.

 

Before work on Wednesday I washed up and packed a load of apples into cold storage.  Because my refrigerator is larger than what I actually need and I have the space I am putting the apples in there on the bottom shelf this year next to the bin I keep my flours and yeast in.  I am also planning to make applesauce in the not too distant future so that will use up quite a few apples and then I’ll have jars to add to my LTFS which will be great as I am now down to only two pints of applesauce left.

 

Thursday arrived before I knew it and another week of my retired life was officially in the books.  Once again I can say I had a really great week.  I hope you did too.  What has been keeping you busy lately?

 

Holiday Plans For 2024

 

Like it or not, the holidays are fast approaching.  Now that I am retired and all of my children are living on their own, holidays look very different around here.  For one thing, it is much more low-key and relaxed.  I've streamlined my decor.  My Christmas tree is much smaller.  I no longer need months of time to shop, create and prepare.  Menus are simpler, I have others to help and contribute to those meals and we are rotating where and how we are spending our time.

 

This year I am hosting Thanksgiving and I’m very excited about it.  It’s my favorite holiday and I love to cook and bake so it is right up my alley.  We will not be having a big turkey however.  None of us are huge meal eaters anymore so it will be scaled back.  Chicken will be the bird of choice as well as fresh and scratch made side dishes to go along with it.  I am going to make my homemade dinner rolls and my grandmothers pumpkin pie.  Any other desserts will be contributed by others.

 

Christmas is going to be along similar lines.  We don’t exchange gifts like we used to.  Most of us are going more minimal so we appreciate and want consumable gifts.  Food gifts have now become a favorite, actually they I think they always were.  Gift cards are nice too.  I have a few friends that I’ll be giving a hand towel that I embellished with vintage handmade trim and a soap dispenser from Bath & Body Works, a simple, yet very usable gift.

 

I no longer need to plan far in advance or save up for Christmas.  In fact, I don’t even have a budget to set anymore.  I use points I’ve earned and saved from my credit card purchases throughout the year to redeem for the gift cards I am giving.  The towels I handcrafted from things I already had in my sewing room and the hand soaps were purchased last spring on sale and with coupons.  All of the food gifts I am making will be made with items from my well stocked pantry and I will likely use my Fun & Leisure budget to purchase a couple bottles of wine.

 

As I do every year I will be sending out Christmas cards to my friends and family.  This year I made all of my own greeting cards using supplies I already had on hand.  Just before postage rates went up in July I happened to be in the post office to get a book of stamps and it turned out they still had some Christmas stamps so I went ahead at that time and bought what I needed to send out this year’s cards.  After going over my Christmas card list I collected all of the cards from my stash that I wanted to send and I’ve even begun getting them ready to go out in the mail already.

 

Along with sending out Christmas cards I have plans to decorate my home, bake cookies, breads and other treats to share with others and listen to a lot of holiday music.  Mostly, I am looking forward to spending time with the people I love and are the most special to me.  It is going to be a lovely holiday season this year.  Feel free to share in the comments some of your holiday plans.

 

Pruning Trees & Cleaning Up Garden Beds – Section 1

 

It’s kind of hard to believe, but it’s that time of year again already.  The garden is spent, the coop needs a good cleaning and winter prep, fruit is dropping from the trees and the flowerbeds are looking pretty tired.  It is time to get busy and get things tidied up, trimmed and ready for some rest and next spring.  This year I am working from the backyard fence line and making my way toward the curb at the street in front of my house.

 

Adding soil amendments will hopefully lead
to another bumper crop of something 😀

To start, I removed the bell pepper plants that once again didn’t produce much this year.  I only ended up getting one small pepper out of all of those plants so I don’t plan to plant peppers again.  I raked out the coop’s pen area and added that to the raised garden beds where those plants were.  This, along with debris from inside the coop, will sit on top of the soil and winter over.  I will also be adding several full litter bins from our sweet little bunny throughout the coming winter.

 

All pruned and ready for a long winter nap

After grabbing my ladder from the garage I picked all of the remaining pears left on the tree.  We definitely had a bumper crop of pears this year and I was thrilled to be able to share with friends, neighbors and the senior center.  Once all of the picking was done it was time to assess the tree and then give her good pruning.  Any damaged branches were cut out as well as those that were becoming too big for the trunk to properly support them.  Then I used my pruners to cut out smaller branches that crossed or were growing in a direction that would soon be problematic.  With these limbs and branches removed the tree is now properly shaped and all of the remaining limbs and branches are healthy and strong.

 

The chickens are enjoying some of the summer bounty

All of the fallen, damaged fruit was collected up off of the ground and placed into a large bucket to be fed to the chickens in the next couple of weeks.  Some of the fruit was also added to the compost bin.  With that bed all cleaned up and tidied I did some raking and then got started on cutting up and disposing of the limbs I’d pruned.  It was a process, but over the past two weeks I was able to get it all cut up and to the curb for collection.

 

The last of the tomatoes this year

The tomato plants this year were large and very productive

In the meantime I also began to work on the tomato garden.  This year I was blessed with another bumper crop.  I picked all of the remaining green tomatoes before pulling up the plants.  The tomato plants were added to the compost bin and like the other garden beds I will be adding chicken coop and bunny offerings as well.  As the green tomatoes I picked ripen I plan to just add them to a bag I have in the freezer for now.  I definitely had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year and I couldn’t be happier.

 

I filled up the compost bin

Before I pulled up the tomato plants I took a few cuttings from the plants and placed them in water to root.  I’m not sure if I can successfully grow new tomato plants this winter, but I’m going to try.  It is definitely going to be an experiment.  I had successfully done this with a cherry tomato plant the previous summer so I am hopeful.

 

Looking good!

First harvest of apples!

The last of the pear tree limbs ready for weekly pick up

With section one, the backyard, cleaned up and well maintained I am now ready to take a good look at the next section and form a game plan.  Then I’ll get to work and once I’m done I’ll report back.  Things are definitely going to be changing a bit around here in the next month as I address a few things and make some improvements.

 

 

Vintage Cookery - My Grandma's Christmas Sultana Cake

 

One of you kindly asked if I would share my grandma’s sultana cake recipe.  She would always make this poundcake at Christmastime and it was always my favorite.  Second would be her fruitcake saturated in so much rum you’d get a contact high just by unwrapping it.  The sultana cake doesn’t use any alcohol and it doesn’t have any sultanas (raisins) in it either, but rather candied cherries.  Don’t ask me why it is called a sultana cake but that is what she and her mother called it and that is completely okay because it is delicious and I truly love it!

 

This cake is definitely on my holiday baking list this year and I can hardly wait.  It has been ages since I’ve made it and I think it is definitely time to drag out this old recipe, dust it off and get it done.  I know she would be very happy if I did.  I also sense her telling me to make her fruitcake too.  Hmmm.  I may have to add that one to the list as well.

 

 

My Tireless Retirement – Week 131

 

I got this past week off with a bang.  Last Saturday I spent time inside doing some decluttering and organizing in the guest room closet.  I did my laundry, went to brunch with a friend, baked two loaves of whole wheat bread and shared one with my friend, picked up chicken feed and bunny supplies, finished cutting up the limbs I’d pruned from the pear tree and did some more clean up in the yard.  It was busy, it was productive and it felt really good to get more things ticked off of my “to do” list.  I then headed off to bed at 9:00 and fell asleep fast.

 

Sunday I decided to enjoy a quieter and more relaxed day.  I started off baking two more loaves of bread.  This time I made honey oat bread and once they had cooled I placed them into Ziploc bags and put them away in the freezer.  I want to bake some more whole wheat as well as some brown bread to keep in the freezer as well so I am well stocked.  I also want to share one of these loaves with another friend who really enjoys my home baked bread along with a jar of the pear butter I made a couple weeks ago.

 

After putting freshly washed sheets back on my bed I settled in to add some more recipes to my handcrafted recipe binder.  In particular I wanted to add the ketchup and chile verde recipes I used and made as part of my canning projects this summer.  They were both winners so I wanted them safely put away in my binder so I will have them to make again in the future.

 

The work plan was for me to return to my regular schedule after three weeks of working extra hours.  Unfortunately, illness swept through the place and once again we were shorthanded so I stepped up and offered to cover shifts and work extra hours.  On payday this past Tuesday I made another PayPal payment on the new refrigerator so I’m now down to the final $100.  I will use this week’s extra pay to finish that off and the fridge will officially be all mine.  I didn’t pay any interest and my savings account remained untouched and earning interest, not to mention that this will help my credit so it appears I am still alive.  Ha!

 

After work on Thursday evening I joined three of my friends at a night club for dinner and an Alabama tribute band concert.  It was a lot of fun to spend some time with my gal pals and the band was really good.  We thoroughly enjoyed the show and it was so much fun to get out and spend time together.

 

That pretty much wrapped up the week and I’ll admit I was well worn out by the time all was said and done.  My only plans for this weekend are to rest and relax, make some delicious food and spend quality time with my critters.  Sounds like a perfect weekend to me!

 

Healthy Eating Is NOT Expensive

As I’ve been making my way through my extreme grocery budget challenge this year I feel I can vouch that eating healthy is not an expensive venture, contrary to popular belief.  In fact, I think it is quite the opposite and I’ve proved that time and again throughout my lifetime.  I also feel very strongly that to not eat a healthy diet is extremely expensive, in more ways than one.  On the front side when you purchase the UPFs and on the backside when you seek medical attention for your diet induced ailments.

 

Ultra processed foods (UPFs) are not only filled with chemicals, additives and preservatives that our bodies were never meant to ingest, but they’re really expensive, especially these days with the hyperinflation we are seeing in the grocery stores.  However, if you get back to the very basics and only purchase and eat REAL food it makes a world of difference, not only in how we feel and how our bodies respond, but to our wallets as well.

 

For the most part I am a seasonal eater and shopper.  I consume fresh produce when it naturally occurs in nature.  In the spring I look forward to strawberries and asparagus, summertime I partake of a vast array of fresh vegetables, berries, plums and peaches.  In the fall I enjoy the pears and apples.  Wintertime it is the hearty root vegetables and pumpkin I crave most.  During each season I preserve a lot to enjoy off season which not only gives me variety, but also boosts my nutrition.

 

Instead of buying processed cereals I will simply buy oatmeal and make my own porridge or granola.  A box of cereal runs about $5 a box and would only last a week while a tub of oatmeal is $3 and lasts much, much longer and is much more versatile.  I can bake my own breads and rolls from scratch for mere pennies while the average loaf costs $4 and the ingredient list is rather lengthy with items I don’t recognize.  I can buy organic milk and make my own yogurt for less than what it costs to buy a carton or pack of the individual cups and it tastes better.  For variety I just add in my own fresh or frozen berries or fruit.

 

There is a reason we all look forward to those homemade dinner rolls at Thanksgiving.  They just taste better than store bought.  In fact, REAL food just tastes better in general and it is better for us.  Right now I can grill a steak and prepare a nice green salad for less money than I can buy a burger meal at a fast food restaurant and I won’t feel sick after eating it, but rather I will feel energized.  For what it would cost to have a steak dinner at a nice restaurant I can buy a month’s worth of groceries.  I buy my own clean ingredients and make my own food.

 

I would strongly encourage anyone who is still regularly consuming UPFs to stop.  Buy and eat healthy fresh foods and see what a difference it makes in how you feel, how your food tastes and how it affects your wallet too.  You just may be surprised.  Healthy eating is not expensive.