This Month's 2026 Grocery Spending – April

 

My plan going into April was to make sure I am fully stocked up.  I was able to top up both deep freezers, add to the pantry and restock my LTFS.  Several canning projects took care of filling all the gaps on my shelves and a Butcher Box order took care of the gaps in the deep freezer.  I am feeling really good as far as groceries are concerned.

 

A trip to Costco for beef stew meat and boneless skinless chicken was high on the priority list so I could get that canned and on the shelf.  While I was there I grabbed two more loaves of low carb bread as well as some organic salad mix.

 

My next shop was to Winco to restock some of my favorite spice packets.  I prefer the Winco brand of taco seasoning and their au jus so I picked up four of each plus and extra taco seasoning to use to can carne asada.  I picked put the beef strips, one of which was on markdown, and a couple bell peppers there too.  I added a large well priced chuck roast to my cart as well.

 

Fred Meyer provided me with a ham priced at 75¢ per pound!  I processed it into meal size portions, vacuum sealed and stashed it  in the deep freezer for future meals.  I also added four pounds of good quality bulk pork sausage at $2.99 each, restocked the butter at $2.49 a pound and picked up a few other items on sale to stock in the pantry.

At Albertson’s I picked up two jars of my favorite blue cheese salad dressing on a special offer.  I was also able to restock the emergency/camping/donation shelf in my LTFS with Knorr rice and pasta packets at $1 each.  A few bananas too which made for a nice treat, especially while I waited for my bus to arrive.

 

Before

After! 😁

My Butcher Box order arrived and I was able to fill up the deep freezer in the garage.  A really good sale on organic grass fed lean ground beef added another ten pounds of ground beef in addition to my regular order.  I am thrilled to be blessed with all of this wonderful, healthy and very delicious meat.

 

My nonfood items this month consisted of restocking the canning lids I had used this month, some toiletry items and cleaning supplies.  My total spent on nonfood items was $39.81.

 

My food spend was a bit higher than I was originally planning, however with reports of rising prices in the coming months I decided to fill some gaps, add a few more things to my LTFS and get my canning projects completed.  I was pleased with the prices I did pay and I am happy to have everything stocked and completed.  Total spent on food this month came in at $182.19, not including the Butcher Box order which was $232.00 and included ten extra packages of organic, grass fed, lean ground beef in addition to my regular two month order.  How do you think I did?

 

Vintage Cookery – Cornbread

 

Cornbread is one of those items I like to have with soup or ham & beans.  This recipe is my mom’s and I think it is the best tasting cornbread recipe.  Warm, topped with butter or honey butter – so good!

 

Variation:  Corny cornbread – reduce the milk to ¾ cup and add a can of creamed corn.  Stir it in well and bake. 

Variation:  Mexican cornbread – stir in 2 Tbs. chopped jalapeno pepper and a cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese.

 

These days I typically make cornbread in muffin cups.  I freeze half of it and keep the other half in the fridge to keep it fresh and eat right away.  I do find that cornbread sours if it isn’t kept in the refrigerator.  If you like cornbread be sure to give this one a try.

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 212

 

Hello!  Wow!  What a wonderful week I just had!

 

Friday evening I took a large group of seniors out for Thai food at a local restaurant and then to the theater for a musical live performance.  It was so good!  Fun was had by one and all.  Despite how late it was, on the way home I stopped into Winco to do some grocery shopping because I did not want to waste my fuel and I drive right by on the way to and from work.  I discovered that I really like shopping for my groceries at 10:00.  It was so calm and peaceful in there and I didn’t feel rushed or anxious.  It was a slice of heaven.

 

My weekend was spent puttering around the house, inside and out.  Pulling weeds has been keeping me and the chickens busy for weeks now, but again I’m not complaining at all about this wonderful abundance of fresh, free chicken food.  Their eggs are so delicious and the yolks are a deep vibrant yellow.  At long last however, I have made my way through the entire yard and pulled them all up.  I’m sure there will be more soon enough.

 

I worked Monday afternoon with TTO for a few hours and thankfully, it was uneventful.  I did not work Tuesday or Wednesday and then I was back to work again with TTO Thursday afternoon and again, thankfully it was uneventful.  Thank you to everyone that has shared their support and their own stories of dealing with toxic co-workers.  My heart goes out to you as well.  There is nothing enjoyable about a toxic co-worker.

 

I arrived home from work and found Home Depot had delivered my new electric fireplace to my front porch.  I was able to get installed and tested it out before heading out the door to meet a friend for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

 

On Tuesday I ran all of my errands using only the bus and my feet.  When I got home I did a mini meal prep to get me through the rest of week by putting some frozen meatballs in my small slow cooker along with some leftover home canned tomato sauce I had in the fridge plus minced garlic and dried basil.  I also made up some egg salad and some chicken salad.  

 

Wednesday I took a leftover serving of Spanish rice, combined it with a pint of home canned taco meat, put it in my small slow cooker, and turned it into burrito filling.  I had tortillas and hot sauce in the refrigerator and a package of grated cheddar cheese in the freezer.  I focused all week on eating up leftovers or using them to create other meals so nothing was wasted.

 

I went through all of the drawers and cupboards throughout my home and did some decluttering,  There wasn’t much to get rid of but I did find a few things to move along, use up or toss out so I felt like I was winning.

 

To save extra money I was mindful about my spending.  I placed a small delivery order with FREE shipping from Wal-Mart to add some bars of soap, a jug of Fabuloso and a package of powdered laundry detergent to boost my household supplies and achieve my goal to have a two year inventory of nonfood items on hand.  I also took the bus or walked everywhere I needed to go this week to save on fuel.

 

It was a very busy and productive week for me and I was rather pleased with all I was able to accomplish as well as my resourcefulness.  I was able to go out to dinner, twice.  I got to go to the theater and see a wonderful musical performance.  I got lots of exercise and fresh air throughout my travels and I was able to save a lot of money too.  Yep, a great week!  I hope you enjoyed a wonderful week as well.

 

My First Pantry Challenge In 2026

 

Pantry challenges aren’t just great for saving money, but they help me to control food waste and allow me to keep my food inventory under control and more manageable.  One thing that often happens with me is that I end up with quite a bit of food “squirreled” away in my freezer along with several open items in my refrigerator and freezer.  I’ve decided it is time for me to start working on these things.

 

Open packages of frozen foods and anything in the kitchen freezer that could be at risk of freezer burn along with any fresh produce and dairy that could spoil is my top priority.  I also want to finish up a few open condiments that have been hanging around for a while so they don’t have a chance to get weird.

 

In the pantry I’ll be focusing on canned items that are getting older like some of my soups, chili as well as fruits and vegetables.  It is always good to make sure these items are rotated to be used and replaced on a routine basis.

 

In the process I am also looking to stretch my food dollars to get the most out of every item and save even more money, if possible.  I want to make wise choices and still boost my proteins and nutrients in the process.  Challenge accepted!

 

Of course, it will be important to make sure I prepare meals I enjoy eating so I will actually eat them rather than let them languish and go to waste.  Variety is key to keeping me satisfied.  That’s pretty much my plan.  Well, I guess I’d better get started!

 

Recession Proofing My Pantry

 

As a single person forty years ago my total monthly grocery budget was $65 for food and non food items.  At that time I was able to feed myself while slowly establishing and building a pantry.  Over time, as my finances allowed, I was able to add funds, which was especially helpful when my household size increased and eventually lead to active and “starving” teenagers… with friends.

 

With a little tweaking over the years I was able to raise my monthly grocery budget to $125 and I felt like I was on top of the world with “so much money” to spend just on food.  I then added a separate monthly budget of $25 for nonfood items like toiletries, cleaning and laundry supplies, paper products and whatever else I felt I needed to run my household.

 

Recently I sat down and reviewed my grocery spending over the last twenty years and was pleasantly surprised to see that despite inflation and other challenges that came my way during this time not much has changed.  With prices steadily rising on goods and services I found I was still paying about the same price for, well, pretty much everything.

 

Careful planning, strategic shopping and keeping things really basic and simple have allowed me to keep my family, friends and now just myself well fed and my freezer, pantry and LTFS well stocked without busting the budget.

 

Being resourceful and creative as well as willing to put in a little bit of extra work helps me to save money while still having the things I want without feeling deprived.  I make most everything from scratch including most of my salad dressings and condiments.  I rotate items, making sure things are used up in a timely manner, and I meal plan with the idea of using what I already have on hand so nothing has an opportunity to sit around and go bad.

 

I’m resourceful with adding to my food stores with simple things like re-growing green onions so I’m able to triple the amount I originally purchased.  I happily accept veggie bombings in the summertime and my friend’s extra zucchini to grate and freeze for recipes or grind up along with other veggies to make sweet pickle relish.  I grow what I can in my raised garden beds.  I make sure to utilize leftovers and often use them to make my own reheat and eat frozen meals.

 

Because I work hard to limit any potential food waste I need to purchase far less at the grocery store.  And because I buy basic ingredients and make my own food rather than purchase overly processed “food” or convenience items I save a lot of money.  Basic fresh or frozen produce, meats and dairy items plus a few basic pantry staples allows me to create so many things at a fraction of the cost of premade items like breads, cereals and frozen entrees.  In review of my grocery spending over the years I can confidently say my strategy is pretty much recession proof.  For that, I am truly grateful.

 

Healthy & Delicious Meals From My Pantry #4

 

I created a lot of delicious, simple and healthy meals this last month.  It always amazes me how much I enjoy my meals when they are simple and basic.  Like tuna salad.  Simple, easy and delicious.  I opened a couple cans of tuna and drained the juice into the kitty’s bowl for them to lap up.  To the tuna I added a couple diced hard boiled eggs, some homemade sweet relish and a blob of mayonnaise.  I used this to create grilled tuna sandwiches using low carb bread for four different lunches.  Very good!

 

Grilled tuna sandwich w/sliced peaches

Simple, yet delicious!

Easter Sunday I prepared a special dinner to enjoy mid afternoon complete with dessert.  I grilled a London broil and made macaroni salad, seasoned green beans and deviled eggs to have alongside.  Dessert was strawberry rhubarb shortcake.  It was so good and I had plenty of leftovers to enjoy in the coming week.

 

This was so amazingly good! 😋

One evening I paired leftover macaroni salad and green beans with a grilled salmon fillet and dill sauce.  Divine!

 

Cobb salad

Taco salad

Dinner salads were a biggie this month, especially the Cobb.  I dressed my salads with olives, marinated artichokes, pickled beets, sliced hard boiled eggs (I even pickled some in the beet brine) and my own homemade salad dressing or my favorite store bought blue cheese.  Perfect spring meals on a busy day.

Bacon & cheddar omelet with a slice of toast

 

This is one of my very favorite meals - Pot roast!

I prepared a chuck roast sprinkled with au jus seasoning in the slow cooker.  I added red potatoes, carrots and broccoli.  Then I made a delicious gravy out of the rendered juices and a cup of beef broth I had in the freezer.  This meal was so wonderful and I had enough roast left to put away in the freezer for a future batch of my delicious bolognese.

 

Beef & barley soup w/cornbread muffin

Homemade soup with a side salad and a cornbread muffin were perfect after a busy work day.  I enjoyed minestrone soup and beef barley on two occasions.

 

I made chocolate chip, cranberry oatmeal cookies too

I am so grateful to be blessed to have so much delicious and nutritious food to eat on a daily basis.  I am also very grateful to have the ability to prepare these meals, preserve food, plan and shop for my food and be able to keep my overall costs relatively low.  I am truly blessed.  God is very, very good to me.