This Month's Grocery Spending - November 2022

Once again my grocery spending was rather minimal.  I didn't need much for my daily meals and I even did a bit of a food challenge this month to make sure nothing went to waste prior to making a holiday feast.  I already had most of the items I needed on hand for the Thanksgiving Day meal too so there were no big shopping hauls this time around.

 

My first shopping trip at Fred Meyer including markdown peppers
& FREE Kraft salad dressing

One thing I was hoping for was to get potatoes on sale and luckily Albertson's did have a good buy on those.  For some reason, even though I live in Idaho, potatoes have been really high in price lately.  I picked up two 5# bags of spuds for 98¢ each.  I also was able to get two 1# packages of butter with a digital coupon making them only $2 each and two bottles of Kraft salad dressing for FREE with digital coupons.  I put the butter in the chest freezer and added the salad dressing to my long term food storage.

 

My second shopping trip this month also from Fred Meyer
Free salad dressing and two extra bottles of cream for my coffee

Most of my purchases this month consisted of fresh produce, sour cream, cream for my coffee, whipped topping for pie and mugs of hot cocoa as well as a couple cans of pumpkin for pie and other baked goods.  I was hoping for a really good sale on canned pumpkin so I could stock up, but no such luck.

 

Once again I had no non food purchases to make so no money spent on any of that kind of stuff.  My total grocery spending for the month of November came in at a whopping $44.69.  I have a new list started already for what I want to get in December and unless there are some really good sales or loss leaders I doubt I'll be doing much shopping next month either.  Thankfully, I am very well stocked for the next two holidays.

 

My last shopping trip which I wasn't even planning, but all of this was on sale

How did you do this month?  What were your best buys?

  

My Tireless Retirement - Week 34

 

Helloooooo!  Did everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday?  I think I'm still stuffed, ha, ha, ha!  Now to get ready for Christmas and New Year's, can you even believe it is already that time again?  In the past two weeks I've been surprisingly busy with lots of little tasks as well as a fun little food waste challenge I did and a budget friendly Thanksgiving.  Lots of delicious and nutritious food to enjoy.

 

Plenty of items in my pantry and refrigerator to build a great feast

I roasted half a chicken I had tucked away in my freezer

In spite of our frosty weather I got out the leaf blower and gathered up three trash cans full of leaves giving two of them to the chickens to process, they have already processed two other cans full, and then holding the third one which I will give to them later.  They love to scratch around in those leaves, in fact I tell them it is their "job".  I don't think they think it is a chore at all, however, they are having a blast.  In the spring I'll rake out their pen area and add whatever I collect to the compost bin.  In the meantime these leaves will help them stay warm and healthy as they won't have to wallow in the mud.  So far no leaves have been sent to the landfill this year and that makes me very happy.

 

They have their work cut out for them and they love it

 

I made a bunch of Christmas cards, put the finishing touches on my annual letter I send to close friends and relatives and updated my card list with current addresses.  I had already gone to the post office and picked up a couple books of Christmas themed stamps at the beginning of November so I was all set there.  I made some new mailing and return address labels using label stock I had on hand and printed out my letter on some pretty white stationary I had in my fancy paper stash.  Then I got a jumpstart on preparing my cards to send out this year.  I like to send them out the first week of December so it feels really good to be ahead of the game a little bit.

 

I cleaned out the fridge (pictured above) & freezer and got it all organized

I'll be starting another food challenge to use these things up very soon

In preparation of the holidays I gave myself a haircut, a manicure, a pedicure and a facial using items I already had.  No extra money spent and it left me feeling terrific and ready to take on whatever the holidays may bring.  Amazing what a little freshen up can do.  To get ready for Thanksgiving Day I pulled everything out of the refrigerator/freezer and thoroughly cleaned the insides as well as the outside and even underneath and behind.  Then I went through all the food items and even wiped off the condiment jars before I put everything away all neat and organized.  Guess what?  I will be doing another food challenge.  I have a lot more stuff to use up.

 

I canned up some of the cranberry sauce so it won't go to waste

Since there was far more cranberry sauce in the can than we could use for Thanksgiving I went ahead and repacked half of it into some cute little jelly jars and canned it in a water bath.  After both jars cooled I labeled them and tucked them away in my pantry.  Now I'll have it to use again next time I need some and I won't need to worry about any of it going to waste as often can happen.

 

I made homemade rolls and a pie

I made up a couple freezer meals with some of the thanksgiving leftovers so I'll have some quick dinners to enjoy later on.  This way too I won't have to eat the same thing for a week straight and will have it to look forward to without worry of wasting any of this delicious food.

 

I was feeling very blessed last week

With a little bit of sadness that the season is over all of my fall décor has been gathered up and put away in the bin I keep on a shelf in my garage.  But!  The Christmas décor came inside!  I am having so much fun decorating my home and I'll be posting more about this next week once I'm all done.  It is a year for new traditions and some "new" decorating too.  I typically don't decorate for Christmas until the first day of December, however this year I've been really excited about it so I got started the day after Thanksgiving.  So much fun!!!  Are you decorating for Christmas yet?

 

My Very Simple Thanksgiving

 

I had a big surprise this week when a good friend of mine showed up on my doorstep for the Thanksgiving holiday.  No worries at all, I had planned a small feast which was perfect for one or two people and we had a great meal as well as a wonderful time.  Everything I prepared to eat came out of my pantry and chest freezer using items I already had on had so it was very low cost to put together.

 

Dinner rolls & a pumpkin pie

This is quite easily the smallest Thanksgiving feast I've ever prepared, but it certainly was not lacking in anyway.  Instead of preparing a turkey I marinated some cut up chicken I had put away in my freezer - a large breast half, a thigh and two drum sticks.  I made all the usual accoutrements too, just on a much smaller scale - mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, sautéed green beans, cabbage salad & fruit salad, pickles and olives, even some dinner rolls.  Of course, I made a pumpkin pie too.

 

I roasted the chicken in my toaster oven and it was perfect!

The day before, on Wednesday, I made some brine to marinate the chicken in overnight, very similar to my turkey brine recipe.  I thought it would be fun to try it.  I also made a half recipe of whole wheat dinner roll dough and my grandmother's recipe for No Crust Pumpkin Pie.  I cut the batter in half to make a pie in my vintage glass Pyrex pie pan and put the rest of the batter in the freezer to make another little  pie later, perhaps at Christmas. There may have been some preliminary taste testing of the rolls, I cannot confirm or deny.  For supper that evening we did a small charcouterie board and martinis.

 

Mashed potatoes with carrot

Stuffing

Delicious gravy

We decided to have our Thanksgiving Day meal as a late lunch.  I started cooking around 12:30 and dinner was ready at 2:oo.  I can tell you right now I made way too much food for two people, but it was so good.  We enjoyed every bite and left the table completely stuffed.  It didn't stop us from enjoying leftovers later that evening and pie too.

 

A beautiful feast indeed

I tried to keep it on a much smaller scale but even still there were a lot of leftovers which will be eaten in the next few days, I'm sure.  Needless to say I was feeling very blessed with the abundance of food I was able to serve this year for Thanksgiving.

 

Thanksgiving

 

Food Waste Challenge - Using It Up In Time For Thanksgiving

 

I have always challenged myself to get creative and use things up in the final week and a half leading up to Thanksgiving.  Mainly I wanted to clear out the refrigerator in preparation of the big meal ahead as well as make sure we used up anything that might go bad knowing there would be a ton of those delicious turkey day leftovers to enjoy.  This year I quickly realized that being on my own now didn't eliminate that need whatsoever.  For some reason I had accumulated a considerable amount of odds and ends as well as leftovers that needed to be used up.  I thought I would share with you how I managed that on my own.

 

Odds & ends of leftover items - rice, bean soup, a piece of cornbread,
half an avocado, a package of lunchmeat & some bacon

I still had quite a bit of produce and some bread items I wanted to use up

I pulled these items from the freezer, pantry & refrigerator & got busy with my meal plan
Cheese, pancakes, English muffins, condiments, eggs, tomato sauce, tuna, beef patties & a freezer meal

I began by doing a complete inventory of what I had on hand and then created a meal plan based on those items.  Not everything I needed to use up would be low carb, but I am not one to throw food away so I decided to just do the best I can and not worry about it.  All in all, I think I did pretty good.  For proteins I used two angus beef patties I had purchased on clearance and one of my keto freezer meals, a lasagna bake, plus a can of tuna from the pantry and six eggs (I only ended up using five) from the refrigerator. 

 

My gigantic grocery shop - 3 bananas, 3 carrots & a tomato
Plus cream for my coffee to last well into December & a FREE salad dressing

I have been working on this freezer since I retired in April
Progress is being made, but I still have a long way to go

I also had five strips of leftover bacon (complete bummer 😁) and some sliced cheese to use up.  In the crisper drawer I had an assortment of veggies and in my bread drawer I had the tail end of a loaf of Keto bread, some low carb tortillas and a package of clearance multi grain English muffins.  In the refrigerator I had quite a few odds and ends of leftovers and condiments to work with.

 

All my meals were really good, but this one was my favorite - Cobb salad

My meal plan the week prior to Thanksgiving week used up the bulk of these items and I stuck to it.  Sunday I hard boiled three of the eggs and did a small grocery shop to supplement what I had on hand - three carrots, three bananas and a tomato.  I also picked up cream for my coffee as well as some for the beginning of December and a FREE bottle of salad dressing for my long term food storage.  For lunch I finished up the small amount of navy bean soup with a small piece of cornbread.  For Sunday dinner I used up some of the produce, bacon, lunchmeat, an egg, some of the cheese and the half of an avocado for a fantastic Cobb salad.  It is my favorite salad and I finished up the jar of bleu cheese dressing as well.  I made a big dent in my leftover situation already and it energized me to keep it up throughout the week.

 

Another favorite meal of mine is grilled cheese & tomato soup

Lots of veggies in my fried rice - used up the rice & some delicious bacon

Monday I used up some of the bread and cheese to make grilled cheese along with homemade tomato soup using an eight ounce can of tomato sauce, the liquid from rinsing out a container of cream (it always amazes me how thick that is) a little extra water and some dried basil.  I used up more of my produce, the little bit of leftover rice and bacon to make a delicious fried rice which was more cabbage and veggies than rice.  I also used two eggs to up the protein and intended to use some peas and carrots as well, but forgot.

 

Finished up the fried rice + half a banana for my lunch on Tuesday

Tuna schooners & tomato soup for supper on Tuesday
My kids always loved these

Tuesday I made some tuna schooners with an English muffin and some tuna I prepared.  I finished the tomato soup with that as well.  That evening I finished up the fried rice and had half of a large banana.  The next day I made egg salad with the two remaining hard boiled eggs and served that on a toasted English muffin and ate the other half of the banana.  For supper I prepared the beef patties and a nice green salad to go with one of the patties, the other patty I saved for later.

 

Egg salad + half a banana for Wednesday brunch

A delicious salad & an Angus beef patty for supper on Wednesday

Leftover egg salad & leftover tuna + half a banana for brunch on Thursday

I baked one of my freezer meals in the toaster oven for supper on Thursday

On Thursday I had a little leftover tuna and a little leftover egg salad so I toasted another English muffin and finished off those two items along with another half of a banana.  That evening I put the freezer lasagna bake into my toaster oven and ate half of that along with a spinach salad.  Friday I used a packet of oatmeal from the pantry and had that for brunch with a small banana.  That evening I made a turkey sandwich and used up some of the lunchmeat and Keto bread.  Saturday morning I pulled a couple pumpkin pancakes from the freezer and enjoyed those with the last of the leftover bacon I crisped up in the microwave for brunch.  I made another spinach salad and reheated the remaining angus beef patty for my supper.

 

Oatmeal + a small banana for brunch on Friday

A nice turkey sandwich for supper Friday evening

Sunday morning I took another inventory to see what was left and determined I had done a pretty good job using things up.  I had three slices of lunchmeat left, half the lasagna bake, a couple slices of bread, three English muffins, a couple low carb tortillas, and quite a bit of produce still to work my way through.  A quick trip to the store added some mandarin oranges and a fresh head of lettuce for the week ahead, which was all I needed.

 

Saturday I finished up the bacon with my two freezer pumpkin pancakes

The other beef patty & a spinach salad for supper Saturday evening

I used the ham to make two homemade egg mc muffins along with an orange for brunch and the lasagna bake and another salad using up the little bit of leftover spinach, lettuce and tomato was enjoyed again on Sunday evening.  I have been able the gap with another freezer meal and finished up the Keto bread by making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich one day for brunch and had an orange with that as well.  The bunny also helped me finish up the bag of spinach leaves.  I headed into Thanksgiving with two English muffins left to use up and quite a bit of produce, mainly the remaining cabbage, two carrots, five potatoes, two onions and a full head of lettuce, which was perfect for helping me to prepare my Thanksgiving Day meal which I will share with you on Friday.

 

These are the leftovers I started with on Sunday morning

2 tortillas, 2 slices of bread & 3 English muffins left from my challenge

And the leftover produce I will be working on

Having received quite a few emails from some of you regarding your concerns about the rising costs of groceries, food waste and such I hope this post was helpful.  You'll notice that none of these meals were terribly expensive to make or used a whole lot of ingredients really.  

This is how my refrigerator looked Sunday morning
Mostly beverages & condiments, still looks like a lot of stuff...

Using up my leftover leftovers - homemade egg mcmuffin I enjoyed on Sunday

Hopefully you'll find some inspiration here that you find useful.  All in all I feel really good about how things went.  I love a good challenge and I'm looking forward to my next one, especially as my fridge is going to be full of leftovers again very soon.

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 33

 

Is anyone else in disbelief that this coming Thursday is Thanksgiving?!  Me too!  Time is passing all too quickly I'm afraid.

 

I wasn't sure what I would write about today, and I’m pretty sure I wasn't initially planning to write this, but here goes.  It has been a rough month for Idahoans fraught with a lot of loss and tragedy we just aren't used to facing.  A few weeks ago, in the next town over from me, a sixteen year old boy was struck by a car and died on his way to school and my heart ached for his family, especially his parents as they came to terms with their sudden and unexpected loss of their child. 

This past week has been exceptionally difficult as police search a neighbor's home for the remains of a boy that has been missing for nearly a year and a half and whose parents, and the community he lived in, never gave up hope of finding.  Now they are coming to terms with the finality of their loss.  At the same time we are praying and hoping for answers in the tragic murder of four University of Idaho students.  Never could we have imagined something so horrific happening like this and we are reeling. 

And on top of this we now have the trial of Lori Vallow (accused of murdering her children) and Chad Daybell (accused of murdering his wife in order to marry Vallow and helping his new wife to dispose of her children) to look forward to.  Their crazy nonsense is the stuff they make movies about and I'm sure once the trial is over there will be one.  It also looks like one of our death row inmates will be executed next month ten days before Christmas.  Executions are not common here and I personally have mixed feelings about whether or not they should be done at all, but I'll leave it at that. 

All of these tragedies have taken place in smaller towns too, you know, those types of places people have been gravitating towards lately in order to feel safer and live more simply?  I can tell you, even with the population explosion Idaho has been experiencing in recent years we're still very much  a small state with a relatively low population comparatively and even Boise is still a small city.  As a friend of mine said the other day, pardon the gross analogy, "you can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting someone you know".  But, it's true.  So when these things happen we feel it.  And when they happen in rapid succession like they have lately we really feel it.  I don't think you could be a good human being and not feel something about all of this. 

Right now the current economy is wreaking havoc with a lot of families that are worried about how they'll put dinner on the table this Thursday, let alone how they'll afford gifts under the Christmas tree.  Or how they're going to pay the heat bill this winter and even afford just the basic essentials.  Jeff Bezos announced layoffs of corporate Amazon employees and has been very vocal lately with his opinions of our economic future.  Many are feeling low over the outcome of the recent elections and stress over the unrest with Russia and North Korea.  Let's face it, there is a lot going on right now and a lot of unknowns about our future and where we are headed.  But remember, the truth of the matter is, if you look back in history, every decade has been this way.  Economies and the weather patterns fluctuate and human beings have a hard time getting along.  So what's my point?

 

I guess my point is that we all face tragedy and we all experience losses at one time or another.  And I know that when it happens at the holidays it feel even worse.  As far as the other things go we have very limited control, if any, over what is happening with the economy, our government or the governments of other countries.  What we can do is simply to pray for guidance, be grateful for what we have, prepare the best that we can for the things we do have control over, be kind to our fellow human beings and love each other.  If we take care of ourselves, clean up our own messes, help those that need it and share our kindness I do believe it will truly make all the difference.  Have a very blessed week everyone.

 

Saving On My Water & Electricity Bills

 

Once I became an empty nester I felt I was now in complete control of the household consumption around here and I wanted to experiment a bit to see just how much of that control I actually had.  Turns out, quite a bit!

 

The first place I noticed a substantial decrease was with the water bill.  I no longer had teenagers taking never ending showers (once the hot water ran out, they got out) and I had put in low maintenance landscaping last spring.  Plus, I was also focused on lowering my own water use to economize even further.  I only shower once a week (I prefer to take baths) and when I do take a shower I get right down to business, in and out.  I also started taking what I like to call "WWII ration baths".  I found I only need a few inches of water in the tub to get the job done so anything over that was just a waste.

 

I have enough clothing, towels, dish cloths and wash cloths to last me a full week before I need to do any laundry.  I also have a large capacity front load washing machine and have found that I only need to run a full load of wash once a week now.  And that includes my bed sheets.  Yay for big washing machines and no more mountains of laundry!

 

I used a box fan at the door to blow in cool air each morning

As far as my energy consumption (I live in an all electric house with baseboard heat) I have been very mindful about leaving lights on in rooms I'm not in, hang my laundry to dry most of the time, didn't use the A/C much (even though we had a long period of record heat) and in general just used less electricity.  Now that it is much cooler weather with some pretty chilly nights I'm using the electric fireplace during the daytime turning it off once the house is warm and comfortable and using my electric blanket on my bed at night.  As it gets colder I'll make other adjustments, but so far this has been very successful.  I do not and have never had to turn the heat on in the upstairs of our home (as heat rises) or likewise, have an air conditioner installed in the first floor of the house.  Fortunately, my house is very well insulated and we have the benefit of large shade trees.  I only heat the downstairs in the winter and cool the upstairs(for about two months) in the summer.

 

My latest bills have been rather surprising given the rate increases we've had in the last couple of years.  This summer my water bill was the lowest it has been in twenty years at just $30.94 for two months of water use, even with watering all the new plants and my garden beds.  My last electric bill for the month was the lowest I've ever had in the entire 27 years I've lived in the house coming in at $32.94.  Amazing!

 

The biggest changes I made to curb my energy use was to use my clothes dry less as well as my range in the kitchen just to see how much electricity they actually do use and I think that made a huge difference overall.  Both of those appliances are 220 volts which is twice what a normal plug in appliance uses.  So I swapped out using my stove and oven during that time and only used my 110 volt appliances, just to see what would happen.  I used my toaster oven, microwave, slow cookers, coffeemaker, electric kettle, bread toaster and an electric skillet I have for travel use.  And during this time I only used the clothes dryer once for 30 minutes because it was raining outside.  Along with being mindful of leaving lights on unnecessarily, and only washing my laundry once a week, those were the only changes I made.

 

I "baked" this meatloaf in my slow cooker

I feel a lot more confident that I can actually make a difference and control my utility bills now, especially as we head into winter.  Subtle, little changes can actually make a BIG difference.  As a result I can keep a little more money in my pocket while decreasing my overall footprint on this earth and that is the best part of all.  I'm really proud of myself.  How are some ways you conserve energy and save water around your house?