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New Year Grocery and Pantry Challenge, how did you do? - Page 8

post #141 of 245
1/11/10 at 1:20pm
Well, my dd is picking up a few groceries later (a few means about $100, including dog, cat, fish, and rabbit feeds). There is a good sale at one store, so she'll pick up some things there to last the month. lemons, cilantro, bell peppers, canned tomatoes, etc...stuff like that. Otherwise we really don't need anything else this month.

We got the flu a few days ago, and I'm exhausted from taking care of 3 sick kids who get worse at night. I did manage to make an Asian noodle soup w/pork stock (boiled down and condensed and scooped out and frozen in balls), lots of ginger root (I cut it into 1 inch pieces and freeze w/skin on), lots of fresh garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, an almost-floppy carrot, a very leafy piece of celery, and some spaghetti noodles. It was soooooo good and nourishing. The kids loved it and ate it twice yesterday (all they ate, poor feverish things).

I need to keep working on my freezers. We have rabbits almost ready to butcher, and more about to be born. I need to make something w/phyllo and berries. Ideas?

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post #142 of 245
1/11/10 at 1:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chicky2 View Post
I need to make something w/phyllo and berries. Ideas?
Maybe something like this, or similar? I could see doing it with cream cheese, different berries, etc.
post #143 of 245
1/11/10 at 3:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dagny.galt View Post
Maybe something like this, or similar? I could see doing it with cream cheese, different berries, etc.
MMMM! Thanks! That's perfect.
post #144 of 245
1/11/10 at 3:14pm
Just came back from the market and the coffee shop. Spent $14 on coffee and $29 for produce and milk. Brings my total for the month $168, that includes all the food for dd's party.
post #145 of 245
1/11/10 at 4:52pm
1 was good and no money spent.
2 $0 spent. We are using up the last of the french bread for garlic toast
3 $0 spent. used up leftovers for brunch and we pulled out a chicken to roast tonight
4. $0 spent. ate chicken soup from last night's roasted chicken for lunch. grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner.
5. $67.11 spent. finished chicken soup for lunch and we'll be having garlic, parmesan chicken, pierogies, and some veggies from the freezer for dinner
6. $31.14 spent. leftovers for lunch (spaghetti) and we've got broccoli cheese soup and breadsticks on the menu for tonight
7. $26.xx spent on dog food. leftover parm. chicken for lunch. had Italian Pasta Bake for dinner and a salad. We finished up a bottle of salad dressing and the croutons so that was nice
8. $0 spent. leftovers for lunch. dinner ended up being fast food
9. $16.xx spent. lunch ended up being what we were supposed to eat for dinner last night. dinner ended up leftovers
10. $10.xx spent on potatoes and misc. lunch will be leftovers and dinner will be turkey, mashed potatoes, and corn casserole
11. $0 spent. lunch and dinner are leftovers
post #146 of 245
1/12/10 at 12:32pm
Still at $120. We have a lot of food here that needs to be eaten, so I am definitely coasting! I have several yummy meals planned that will only take a few more ingredients we don't have, but the fridge is so full it seems silly to buy anything. If I wasn't super flexible thanks to being home all the time, this whole "separating the food" business would be a huge disaster! I guess I don't mean to complain that I am stuck using up things I didn't buy... just that there is also a bunch of absolute crap in the fridge, clogging it up and reducing visibility.
post #147 of 245
1/12/10 at 1:25pm
Ugh, still sick here, and last night was frozen pizza. For some of us. Some just didn't want to eat.

I have a goat liver in the fridge I put in there 4 days ago, and when I did, it was frozen. My refrigerator is on the 'a bit too cold' side. Would you still cook it? My dh really wants it, and it smells fine...I admit, I don't want to cook it. I don't care for liver much. But he wants it, and has been working so hard lately he deserves it. My son wants some, too, and I figure his little sick body might really need it....
post #148 of 245
1/12/10 at 3:31pm
1 was good and no money spent.
2 $0 spent. We are using up the last of the french bread for garlic toast
3 $0 spent. used up leftovers for brunch and we pulled out a chicken to roast tonight
4. $0 spent. ate chicken soup from last night's roasted chicken for lunch. grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner.
5. $67.11 spent. finished chicken soup for lunch and we'll be having garlic, parmesan chicken, pierogies, and some veggies from the freezer for dinner
6. $31.14 spent. leftovers for lunch (spaghetti) and we've got broccoli cheese soup and breadsticks on the menu for tonight
7. $26.xx spent on dog food. leftover parm. chicken for lunch. had Italian Pasta Bake for dinner and a salad. We finished up a bottle of salad dressing and the croutons so that was nice
8. $0 spent. leftovers for lunch. dinner ended up being fast food
9. $16.xx spent. lunch ended up being what we were supposed to eat for dinner last night. dinner ended up leftovers
10. $15.xx spent on potatoes and misc. lunch will be leftovers and dinner will be turkey, mashed potatoes, and corn casserole
11. $0 spent. lunch and dinner are leftovers
12. $46.xx spent. lunch is leftovers, dinner is frozen pizza for the kids and grilled pizzas with some of the leftovers on the 2 remaining flat out bread
post #149 of 245
1/12/10 at 5:10pm
So far, I've spent $109 on groceries since Jan. 1. Budget for month: $400

Tomorrow's shopping day, and my list will be pretty short, thanks to the stash in the freezer. Leftover beef bourguignon for dinner tonight, then I'll do a big careful meal plan for the week before I finalize my list for tomorrow's shop.

Goat liver? Uh, what does that taste like?
post #150 of 245
1/12/10 at 5:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by witch's mom View Post

Goat liver? Uh, what does that taste like?
Welllllll, for people who like beef liver, goat liver is suppose to be better. I personally do not really care for the liver, but agreed to make it occasionally for dh. Like maybe 2-3x/yr. It's free for us, though, so I feel badly wasting it. I'll eat a small amount because I know it's good for me...
post #151 of 245
1/13/10 at 1:20am
Spent $19 at the grocery today for bread, eggs, milk, produce, dried beans, and sale tomato sauce. Why can't I pass up the sale tomato sauce or the dried beans? I have a cupboard full of dried beans! Ugh. Anyhow, brings my total for the month to $187.
post #152 of 245
1/13/10 at 11:50am
I'm at $80 of $250.

I dropped $50 at Costco on produce, cheese, and a pkg of baguettes. I also bought some freeze dried shelf stable fruits to leave in the trunk for emergency snacks - those weren't cheap - but cheaper and healthier than fast food any day.

Liz
post #153 of 245
1/13/10 at 12:39pm
1 was good and no money spent.
2 $0 spent. We are using up the last of the french bread for garlic toast
3 $0 spent. used up leftovers for brunch and we pulled out a chicken to roast tonight
4. $0 spent. ate chicken soup from last night's roasted chicken for lunch. grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner.
5. $67.11 spent. finished chicken soup for lunch and we'll be having garlic, parmesan chicken, pierogies, and some veggies from the freezer for dinner
6. $31.14 spent. leftovers for lunch (spaghetti) and we've got broccoli cheese soup and breadsticks on the menu for tonight
7. $26.xx spent on dog food. leftover parm. chicken for lunch. had Italian Pasta Bake for dinner and a salad. We finished up a bottle of salad dressing and the croutons so that was nice
8. $0 spent. leftovers for lunch. dinner ended up being fast food
9. $16.xx spent. lunch ended up being what we were supposed to eat for dinner last night. dinner ended up leftovers
10. $15.xx spent on potatoes and misc. lunch will be leftovers and dinner will be turkey, mashed potatoes, and corn casserole
11. $0 spent. lunch and dinner are leftovers
12. $46.xx spent. lunch is leftovers, dinner is frozen pizza for the kids and grilled pizzas with some of the leftovers on the 2 remaining flat out bread
13. $0 spent. lunch is leftovers again. dinner will either be whatever you can find or grilled cheese and tomato soup. We'll be out of town for a couple of days so I've been trying to use up the leftovers before we leave.

For grocery totals I'm at $201.25/$400. I feel like I've spent quite a bit of money so far, but we still don't have anything in the house. I'll really need to work hard for the rest of the month.
post #154 of 245
1/13/10 at 2:14pm
I have come to the conclusion that I have WAY too much tea in the house. Black, green, red, white, herbal, you name it, we probably have it in some form or another. That's not even counting the medicinal teas. *sigh* I think part of my pantry challenge should include not buying ANY MORE TEA until I've used up half of what I have or more.

No more shopping trips so far, though I would like a bit more fresh produce for variety. It's down to carrots, spinach, potatoes, and celery for veggies. Oranges and apples for fruit, everything else is frozen and mostly just good for smoothies.

Current plan is to stretch until the weekend at least without any shopping, then a trip to fill in the gaps and restock produce.
post #155 of 245
1/13/10 at 11:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dagny.galt View Post
Current plan is to stretch until the weekend at least without any shopping, then a trip to fill in the gaps and restock produce.
sounds like a good plan!
I have been working on clearing out leftovers, then today I grabbed a few of the things I had planned to buy on Monday. Plus a whole chicken- they were more than half off! I had never seen them for only $0.79/lb here. I still have to go to the cheaper produce store on Friday but now it will be a quicker trip. It really sucks relying on a ride :/ I might end up getting more stuff while I'm there since it is way cheaper than the produce to which I normally have access, but there is only one item that I absolutely need to complete my meal plan for an entire week I am at $137/$280 for the month.
post #156 of 245
1/14/10 at 1:25am
I'm not sure where I'm at with the budget, maybe about $180/$600? This includes animal food and household stuff like batteries last week.

I'm meant to shop this weekend, but right now I don't even have anything on the list, so will probably go another week - yay. I have allocated $150 a week but I'm not rolling it over, so if I don't spend it all each week then it's gone back into savings and I still only have $150 the next week.

I've got to clean out the fridge, but generally, eating from what's already here is working really well.
post #157 of 245
1/14/10 at 6:20pm
Thread Starter 
My goal was to make room in the freezer for my side of beef coming this Saturday.

Managed to do that and right now, there is two containers from the ice cream maker on a shelf for the freezer to freeze as well as a huge bag of ice which I will give to a neighbor for her party this weekend since we need the space for the beef.

So far this month, a trip to the grocery, a trip to trader joes, a trip to Aldi, and 2 produce/dairy deliveries total right under $205. I put a hold on my produce/dairy delivery next week as we eat thru the produce and eggs. Also DH going out of town late next week and the biggest milk drinker in the house so no need for more.

I am tracking groceries more closely this year seeing if I can keep us under $550 a month incl the beef that I buy once at the beginning as well as pork later on.

So tonight, shrimp risotto w mushrooms, friday is pizza night, saturday not sure yet and Sunday, DH is making chicken cutlets.
post #158 of 245
1/14/10 at 6:37pm
Day 14 money spent for month was $100 and tht included take out pizza one night.

Need to go to store tonight have coupons and list only plan to spend 25 and that includes milk and some new pantry stuff.
post #159 of 245
1/14/10 at 6:46pm
Shopped yesterday and spent $112, if you include the ($15) wiper blades I had to buy. I only spent $14 at Trader Joe's, but $82 at Costco. Toilet paper and frozen berries added a significant chunk ($30) to the total there. Unfortunately, next week, we'll need pet food, which will be $50. Not sure we'll make it in under $400 for the month. Still trying . . .

Made fried rice for dinner last night with lots of leftover veggies, a little leftover chicken, etc. It was really good. Tonight's tacos, and I'll be stretching the meat with some beans.
post #160 of 245
1/14/10 at 9:14pm
Yesterday and today were marathon yogurt-making days. I found a gallon of milk in the back of my deep freezer a few days ago that had been in there quite a while, and since I was tired of moving it around to make room, I decided to thaw it and try some new uses for homemade yogurt. I also had a half gallon of milk that I needed to use up before it went bad. (My stepson decided not to eat breakfast this week. )

Now I have 54 oz. of yogurt, 2 cups of whey, a decent-sized ball of yogurt cheese, and 4 ice-cube trays over-full of frozen yogurt for smoothies. Whew...it makes me tired just thinking about it. But...more room cleared in my freezer, and now I don't have to buy yogurt or cream cheese this weekend!

Is anyone else getting creative with their pantry staples or learning new skills this month?
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Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Natural Family Living › The Mindful Home › Frugality & Finances › New Year Grocery and Pantry Challenge, how did you do?