Grocery savings

October 23, 24, & 25, 2013

We haven't had very exciting dinners the past few nights. I came down with a virus and my hubby hasn't been able to be home for dinner. The kids have been eating a lot of sandwiches and canned soup. Ugh. I still have a slight fever but had to go out today. My son had to get a tooth pulled (infected) so I figured while I was out that I would grab a few groceries. I didn't feel like driving all the way to the commissary and fighting a crowd so I just went to a local store. Prices are a bit higher but it was worth it for me today.

My pre-challenge weekly commissary average was $175. Today I spent $17.72 on cleaners/toiletries. I spent $7.38 on impulse items (gnocchi, macaroni & cheese, and a sauce meant for pot roast but I will use on it's own). I spent $49.81 on groceries. Wow, it's pretty low I guess because I haven't felt like real food and haven't been able to cook for the kids. I spent $10.97 on gossip magazines (I think that is around what I spend for four at the commissary and this was only for three). I ended up spending $87.45 out of pocket which is a savings of $87.55. My pre-challenge restaurant average was $80. After getting groceries, I stopped at our favorite gourmet cafe to pick up dinner. I got the kids a chicken, vegetable, and gnocchi soup. I got a roasted red pepper, wine (can't remember what kind), and caramelized onion soup. I also got a cranberry muffin and a blueberry cheesecake baked good. Our soups came with her sweet rolls and slices of cracked wheat bread. Our pizza earlier in the week along with tonight's dinner was $30.29 which is a savings of $49.71. The kids packed lunches and saved $25.20. Our savings for this week were $162.46 in 8 days. Our total savings for our first year at this challenge was $5,036.79. Looks like we are off to a great start for our second year!

Black bean, butternut squash, and caramelized onion tacos

October 22, 2013

Today calls for a celebration. It is our 15th wedding anniversary. Yay! My hubby was unable to eat dinner with us but that didn't mean that he couldn't be a "part" of it. I thought about what I would want to make for him had he been able to eat it. It didn't take long for me to figure out that it had to be tacos.

I decided to try a new taco tonight. Stay with me this is where it gets long. Caramelized onion, butternut squash, and black bean tacos. Oh yeah. This is happening.

I started out by peeling and chopping a butternut squash. I gave it a light coating in olive oil. I spread it out on a large baking sheet and separated it into two sections. One side got salt, pepper, and garlic & wine seasoning. The other side got salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and oregano. I baked them at 425 for about 10 minutes. It didn't take too long to bake seeing as I had cut them so small.

I also made a batch of caramelized onions. It is time consuming (probably about 40 plus minutes) but so worth it. Our other toppings included: whole black beans, black beans processed with homemade salsa, sour cream, sautéed green pepper/Portobello mushrooms/garlic, cilantro, avocado, cucumber, and spinach. We had our tacos with local grapes and apple juice in fancy glasses.

I had dinner all set up before the kids came into the kitchen. I was hoping that it would like nice for them. That it would make it feel more like a celebration even though daddy wasn't here. Sure enough. My son walked in and said "oh, it looks so fancy". Ha. Perfect.

Wow. The tacos were amazing. The caramelized onions and butternut squash were really delicious together. However, I think I would not add the black beans processed with salsa next time and stick to just whole black beans. I can't wait for leftovers tomorrow! The kids both liked the butternut squash. My son skipped beans and had leftover pork loin in his taco.

What is a celebration without cake? Not a celebration I want. Ha. We had a giant cupcake of chocolate cake and a strawberry shortcake layer cake. I can't take credit for making them. Oh well, I deserve dessert off. :)

Wild mushroom agnolotti

October 21, 2013

It was fun packing lunches for the kids today. Ok, maybe not fun fun. It was challenge fun. My daughter packed a leftover shepherd's pie, grapes, and a juice. My son packed leftover pizza (the free one that I froze), homemade maple applesauce, and a juice. I was really excited to see if grabbing a piece of frozen leftover pizza and putting it into his lunchbox would end up being a perfectly thawed piece by lunch. The good thing is that he likes cold pizza. Sure enough, it was perfect. Yay! I had leftover pizza as well.

I wanted a quick meal for tonight before the kids' activities. I thawed out a half of pork loin. I popped that in the oven for the kids. I steamed some broccoli while the kids made deviled eggs. I grabbed a package of ravioli type pasta to try. When I was looking in the refrigerated section at the store last week, there was no way that I could pass this package up. "Wild mushroom agnolotti generously filled with fresh Portobello and Crimini mushrooms, imported grana padano and parmesan cheeses, and fresh roasted garlic". I made this meal even easier by also buying the ready made alfredo sauce also made by Buitoni.

I wasn't sure how the kids would like the pasta. They are iffy with mushrooms. They love them raw but cooked is sometimes another story. They both said they were good. My son said he even prefers them over the cheese tortellini I normally buy. WHAT? I loved them. If I were to order them in a restaurant, I would be happy with them. I can't wait to buy more! My son's reaction when he saw the pork loin (not pictured)...."Is that REAL meat"? Ha. Yes.

Dressed up pizza & vegetarian shepherd's pie

October 19 & 20, 2013

We had a busy Saturday. We went to my son's best friend's birthday party. Afterwards, we had just enough time to come home and hang out with our puppy for about an hour. Next up it was time to get my daughter to her activity of the day. The Girl Scouts were having a lockin. My son and I decided to do a pizza and movie night together.

I had a coupon for buy one large cheese pizza and get one free. Before we left to bring my daughter to the lockin, I pulled some veggies out of the fridge. My son asked if he could help. He sautéed some onion, garlic, green pepper, broccoli, and mushrooms for me. He seasoned them with salt and garlic & wine seasoning. We set them to the side until we got home.

Once we got back with our cheese pizza, it was time to dress my slices up. I added the veggies to the pizza and topped each piece with a slice of provolone cheese. I put the pizza under the broiler just until the cheese melted. Oh yum! It turned out great. I froze the second pizza. I have never tried that before so I hope it freezes alright.

I wanted to use up some of the leftovers in the fridge. I had veggie meatballs, carrots (that had cooked when I made veggie broth), and corn leftover from when I made soup. I settled on shepherd's pie. I chopped up the meatballs and put them in the bottom of my mini pie pans. I sautéed half of a small onion, 1/2 a large bulb of garlic, 1/2 a leek (sliced), celery, one turnip, and one purple potato. After a few minutes, I added in a splash of homemade veggie broth. After the veggies were cooked, I stirred in the leftover corn, carrots, and a handful of peas. The veggie mix went on top of the meatballs. I made a quick gravy. I didn't feel like cooking up onion/garlic for it tonight so I just melted some butter and stirred in flour. I whisked in homemade veggie broth and then stirred in the broth that I had mixed with corn starch. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, and garlic & wine seasoning. I topped the veggie mix with mashed potatoes. Well, it was half potatoes and half rutabagas. A thin layer of gravy went next. It was all topped off with cheddar cheese. I put it in the oven at 400 until the cheese melted. We also had a side of cottage cheese. For some reason, the three of us have suddenly taken a huge liking to cottage cheese.

My daughter loved it. She had two pies. My son's throat was hurting so he didn't eat too well. He said that he liked the veggie mix but wasn't big on the mashed potatoes. He isn't much of a potato lover though. Instead, he ate a big bowl of my homemade maple applesauce. I was surprised that the leftover veggie meatballs worked. I guess any leftover meat would work fine.

What to do with turnips and rutabagas

October 18, 2013

One year of this challenge is now behind us. Do we stop? No way. I'm addicted to seeing how much money I can save. I started today off right by going to pick up a prize. I won a contest to get some grass fed beef from a local farm. Can't go wrong with free! The kids are super excited to once again have some of their beef sticks (like jerky).

I had some semi wilted carrots and celery. That means it is time to make some vegetable broth. I was getting the veggies ready for it and that made me crave soup. I guess dinner has been decided.

I wanted to try something new. I put a little butter in the pot. I added some onion and a few tablespoons of leeks (I had some leftover from spaghetti night). After a couple of minutes, I added in celery, carrots, potatoes, turnips, and rutabagas. I let it sauté for a few more minutes. I added in about 4 1/2 cups of my homemade veggie broth along with a cup of small white beans. I brought it to a boil and added in some egg noodles. There wasn't a whole lot of them but I figured that the end of the bag would be fine. When the noodles were cooked, I stirred in a pint of my home canned tomatoes and about 3 cobs of corn (frozen from farmer's market). I just added a little salt. It didn't need much seasoning since my broth has so much flavor.

I've never added turnips to soup before. I don't think I've ever even cooked rutabagas period. I asked the kids if they wanted me to add a jar of tomatoes to the soup. They said a little. I told them that I would use a small jar (pint) and wouldn't add it all. Well, I had to sample the soup to see if it was cooked (wink wink, my dad taught me well; sampling is the best part of cooking). The tomatoes tasted so good that I could not stop myself from adding in the whole jar. Oops. How did we like the soup? I had to hold back my smile as my daughter lifted her bowl and drank it all right to the last drop. This coming from the girl who "doesn't like plain tomatoes". My son said it was great. Once again I had to hide my smile because the boy who "doesn't really like beans" ate every last one. Let me just say that great does not begin to cover this soup. I can't believe how delicious turnips and rutabagas are. They add so much flavor. I'm glad we ate early tonight so that in a little while I can go back for more! If you decide to try turnips or rutabagas and don't know what to do with them, do soup!

A year of grocery savings

October 17, 2013

Here we are. The one year mark. I started a 30 day challenge to try to save money on groceries, give in to impulse items less, and use up leftovers. I didn't think I would last a week. Yet here I am, on the 365th day! And guess what.... I'm not stopping.

I asked my daughter how the challenge has been for her. She said she only missed one thing: bagels and cream cheese. This is pretty funny for two reasons. One, prior to the challenge I probably only bought bagels once or twice a year. We just never thought of it. Two, she was eating bagels and cream cheese as she was talking to me. Ha. I had bought them today. The only other thing she said was that some weeks she wished that she had two items. I let the kids pick one item each week that they are allowed to put on the list (along with what items I thought the cupboards needed). My son almost always picked cinnamon toast crunch cereal and my daughter would rotate between goldfish crackers, warm pretzels, frozen Chinese food, etc.

I asked my hubby how the challenge was for him. His reply, "I didn't miss a thing. It was an adjustment in the beginning from what we were used to. You've done amazing"!

I miss going out to eat. We still go out but it's more like once a week and I am careful with what we spend when we go. It isn't any comparison to going whenever and buying whatever we wanted. I also still have a hard time with impulse items. I just LOVE going to the store and browsing. I love to look at new items and buy what I think looks good.

My son said that doing the challenge was fine. He asked how much money we saved for the whole year. I told him and he screamed!

My pre-challenge grocery average at the commissary was $175. Today I spent $0 on toiletries/cleaners. I am still stocked up from when I shopped the day prior to the government closing the commissary. I spent $72.62 on food. There were a few things that I probably could have waited until next week but I decided to just get them today. I spent $9.74 on impulse items. Oops. I found a new wild mushroom stuffed ravioli. Of course I also had to get an alfredo sauce for it. I also got vegetarian egg rolls and the bagels that my daughter was so happy to get. I spent $7.98 on gossip magazines. After adding in their surcharge and taking out my coupons, I spent $92.08 out of pocket. This is a savings of $82.92. My pre-challenge restaurant weekly average was $80. This week the kids and I went out to eat once. We used a buy one get one free pasta dinner coupon (the three of us split the two meals). We spent $14 (with tip). This is a savings of $66. The kids packed lunches and saved $12.50. Our total savings for this week is $161.42. The grand total savings is $5,036.79 in 365 days!!

During the beginning of the challenge, I was a lot more strict. I took leftovers and made weird things. Anyone remember the dessert made with sauerkraut?! We skipped going out to eat many weeks. I knew we wouldn't stick with the challenge if it was that hard. I made this more of a way of life/shopping than something that was depriving us. Sometimes will power comes from just being able to trick that little voice in your head! Another way that I like to look at the challenge is that it is my job. Sure, I could give up being a stay at home mom and go get a part time job. I would then have to pay for gas to get to/from work. Car maintenance costs would probably go up some from driving it more. I may need to find childcare for after school hours. I would probably need to buy new work clothes seeing as I've been a stay at home mom for over a decade. I would be spending money on lunches out (unless I stuck with taking care of my leftovers!). I would have to pay taxes on my income. Also, I would most likely have to miss some of the kids' activities and have time away from my family. Or.....I can put a little more thought and effort into how I spend our families money. Now when I grocery shop, I add up the prices as I go. It is much easier to say no to an impulse buy when I see how much I have already spent. I can save money for us to use on fun things like vacations, buying our puppy, etc. I can feel like I am contributing to our families savings account. I can teach our kids a life lesson that saving money is the way to live, and that you don't have to buy everything your heart desires. Seriously, the kids are not going to die if they don't have five kinds of cereal, waffles, pancakes, pop tarts, toaster strudels, granola bars, oatmeal, and muffins as choices for breakfast each day. It teaches them to prioritize what item they really want. Don't get me wrong. Our cupboards are not bare. In fact, most of them are stuffed. It almost makes me ashamed of how wasteful we used to be. Kudos to my kiddos and my hubby for sticking with me during this past year. Kudos to them for not only sticking with me and allowing me to continue with the challenge, but to do it with so little complaints. I really am proud of them. I can't wait to see the savings this next year brings us....

We wanted an easy dinner tonight because the kids have an activity tonight. I had bought another pack of the veggie meatballs intending to make meatball subs. However, I really felt like spaghetti tonight. We settled on spaghetti (with my home canned sauce) and veggie meatballs. We had a side salad with some of our garden lettuce, carrots, red onion, and cucumber. I also added a little sliced leek to my salad. I sautéed some leek and topped my spaghetti with some of them along with some freshly grated romano cheese.

Breakfast made by all

October 15 & 16, 2013

The kids were out of school yesterday so I put them to work. I raked leaves and they helped me pick up the piles. We worked for 3 1/2 hours. There was no way that I was going to cook dinner afterwards so I looked through my coupons. I found a buy one get one free pasta dinner. Perfect. The kids and I shared the two meals for just over $9. Score! Then I took them to go get free ice cream cones. You can't beat free.

I finished up the leftover stuffed pasta shells for lunch. The fridge is looking bare. Today should have been my shopping day but I am waiting until tomorrow. Tomorrow will mark one year of doing my challenge. I can't wait to see what my year savings are!

I decided to have a cooking day today. First up was to hard boil some eggs. Next, I made cookie dough hummus. My son has been asking for it for weeks. Chocolate Covered Katie's recipe is amazing but I wanted to alter it just a bit today. I used a dash of salt, dash of baking soda, about two cups of garbanzo beans, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, and 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Here is where I did a little altering. Her recipe calls for 2/3 cup of brown sugar. I always just use 1/3 cup. However today I wanted to try making it with even less. I filled my 1/3 cup measurer (is that a word?) and then only put in half of it. Not enough. I ended up using 3/4 of it. I normally make it with 1/4 cup of regular milk (cow). Today I tried it with rice milk. I put all of that in the food processor. I chopped and stirred in some chocolate. Her recipe calls for 1/3 cup but I usually add more.

The next item on my agenda was to make muffins. I looked in the freezer and saw 7 bags of bananas. Really? I guess it's a banana muffin day. My daughter got home from school so I taught her how to make them. I even let her use the mixers for the first time! My son got home from school and my daughter taught him how to make her famous deviled eggs. She even got out her recipe for him to look at. So cute! Meanwhile, I made French toast and served it with my father in law's homemade maple syrup. I also opened a jar of my home canned maple applesauce.

Breakfast for dinner was so fun. It was neat that each of us contributed to the meal. My son ate about half of the hummus after school and guess what.... He didn't even notice that I had reduced the sugar or used rice milk. He finished dinner and then got the hummus back out again! My daughter's muffins were delicious. It was so cool to see them both so proud of their creations!