It was another fantastic week in the food department here at Camp Butterfield and although I should probably be a little worried that I only have $91.11 left in our grocery budget for the year… I’m totally not.
As a rule, I like to stay away from the stores {and any sort of shopping in public} from pretty much the end of October until after the New Year.
The stores are crowded, people are cranky and it’s just not fun to shop.
And anyway, with all the canning, freezing and dehydrating I did this summer, and all the provisions we still have in the pantry and freezers, all I think we’ll really need to get us to the New Year is a few basic things like milk, eggs and cheese.
Our new oven {fingers crossed} should be here in a couple of weeks and with that installed, I’ll be able to bake all the homemade bread and casseroles we would possibly eat.
Staying away from the stores… It’s a mindset really. And living out in the boonies away from a big box or chain store on every corner helps too.
Bailey’s Orchard $25.00 for 20 pounds of U-Pick Rhode Island greening apples. It was my big purchase of the weel and they were worth every penny!
I took The Duck Lady up on her offer to use her kitchen {and most importantly her oven} for the afternoon and was able to put together several freezer meals for the next few weeks while the workers are here and the kitchen is being remodeled.
Meatloaf. I cooked one at her place and froze the other too {I can cook those at a later date in the CrockPot}.
Pasta. It’s quick, easy and you can toss it in the microwave.
While I was there I also roasted a chicken {and used some of her funky mushroom seasoning}.
Did I tell you the Duck Lady has an AGA stove too? She has a love/hate relationship with the one she inherited when she bought her house.
While she likes the way the food cooks, she wishes it came with a wider oven so she could bake multiple loaves of bread at one time or full sheet pans of cookies for her farmstand.
Chicken and rice with a pineapple pepper sauce. I tucked 4 of those away in the freezer.
I also baked a loaf of my favorite crusty Dutch oven bread while I was there.
The HH said the loaf of bread I cooked in the AGA oven had a lighter airyer texture than those loaves I’ve baked in our old oven.
And the cookies I baked turned out pretty fantastic too!
And the apple pie I made….
Come to Mama! Holy cannolis people, I am going to LOVE baking in my new AGA stove when it finally gets here.
I have a feeling there will be a lot of baked goods {more than normal!} this winter. And I couldn’t be more excited about that.
So how did you do this past week? Are you ready for comfort food season to begin? I know I am.
Have a great Monday everyone,
~Mavis
Total Spent This Past Week on Groceries $25
- Total Spent in September on Groceries $57.08
- Total Spent in August of Groceries $24.29
- Total Spent in July on Groceries $335.47
- Total Spent in June for Groceries $124.45
- Total Spent in May for Groceries $172.47 {$47 of it was spent at Farmers Markets}
- Total Spent in April on Groceries $94.48
- Total Spent in March on Groceries $114.12
- Total Spent in February on Groceries $94.64
- Total Spent in January on Groceries $96.58
- Total Spent on Groceries in 2022 $1108.89 {only $91.11 left in my budget!}
Toni Wood says
We were stationed with the Air Force in England in the late 70’s and are familiar with AGA stoves. I believe theirs’s used coal as the fuel. What will yours use?
Pauline in Upstate NY says
As always, I am impressed with your organization & productivity, Mavis! Amazing output for borrowing the Duck Lady’s oven(s) for one afternoon — WOW! Did you prep everything ahead of time at home so all you had to do was bake it all there?
And it looks like you used your own home-canned apple pie filling. Is there a recipe for that on your blog?
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes, I did some of the prep at home. I was only at The Duck Lady’s place for a little over 2 hours and it seemed like I was able to make a ton of food thanks to the many ovens in the AGA. I’ll be sharing the apple pie filling recipe tomorrow. 🙂
Jennifer Jo says
I’m very curious about this AGA. I can’t wait to see how it performs and hear what you think about it!
Rosemary Calhoun says
I found a good sale on whole pork loins at Costco last week. They were 1.99/lb but when you checked out, they took 4.00 off the price of each package. That brought the price per pound down to 1.39. I bought 2 and cut them up into 7 pork roasts and had a little left over that I cut into 3 pork chops.
This week all eyes are on Hurricane Ian. It is headed straight for us (we are located in north Florida in the panhandle). We have all the supplies that we will need (propane for generator, water and food). The only “uncertainty” is the wind and if it will knock down trees onto houses, cars, etc. We live out in the “boonies”, but we do have good neighbors and we look out for each other. Gonna be a wild week/weekend!
HollyG says
We lost power for almost two weeks a couple of years ago (nasty ice storm) and one thing that helped was stuffing any extra space in the freezers with bagged ice. We eventually had a generator, but the ice let us save some fuel by not running it 24/7.
I hope the storm poops out or misses you completely – – good luck
Beth says
Your meals look delicious! I am ready for comfort food season but it still a bit warm in southern Idaho…87 degrees will be today’s high…. better than our recent nonstop 100+ degrees but still hot!
Last week we had grilled chicken with salad, grilled steak with green beans, chicken meatballs on ravioli with red sauce, sloppy joes with salad, grilled mango jalapeño sausage with Caribbean beans and rice, and bratwurst with sauerkraut and German potato salad. Saturday night we went out to dinner to celebrate our daughter’s birthday and Sunday we had a pizza party with family to celebrate same birthday girl.
I need to get this week’s dinners scheduled before we go rogue and eat junk or order takeout. We still have a full cheese pizza left over from the party (I thought there would be takers on plain cheese…I was wrong) and there is a gallon bag of leftover salad mix so we are definitely eating salads. I also bought 3 Litehouse dressings (blue cheese, ranch, and raspberry vingrette) so we will be having so many salads for the foreseeable future.
Best of all we still have most of a very large Texas sheet cake…bet that won’t be left by Friday…
Angie says
I am SO ready for comfort food season over here! Despite the fact that we have still had a few highs in the 80’s I have already made a Mississippi Pot Roast last week and last night I made green beans with Sausage and potatoes – YUM! This week it looks like we may some rainfall from the remnants of Ian so I am thinking that I may take the chance to make us a meatloaf or maybe a pot of spaghetti and meatballs. A stocked pantry and freezer mean that I have all I need on hand to make yummy meals and that is a blessed relief! I pulled frozen cherries from the freezer this weekend and made Cherry Pie Bars and tried a new recipe for a Honey Bun Coffee Cake (the coffee cake did not have cherries in it though). I also made another batch of focaccia with rosemary & sea salt using Joanna Gaines’s recipe – super easy and a great way to use up bread flour.
Kania says
Pineapple pepper sauce! Yummmmm! Have you posted the recipe for that? Always love your posts!
Sue in SoCal says
We built a house a while back and ended up doing most of the interior work ourselves since it was also out in the boonies and hard to find workers. I lived without a kitchen for about a year. No stove, no oven, no dishwasher. I cooked on a George Foreman grill, electric skillet, borrowed microwave, and a crockpot. Couldn’t bake or boil. Had a laundry room sink for dishes. Good times. Haha
Mel says
I had a friend over this weekend, so she held my baby while I made applesauce, apple butter, and apple pies to freeze. I had been cooking dinner while my husband did bottle duty every night, but the baby’s schedule shifted again, so now my husband will be cooking. I had already planned meals for the week, so I think we’ll start with those and then maybe pivot to sheet pan and crockpot meals to simplify things.
Christy says
That is a GREAT price for u pick apples! Wish I could find that in PA or DE. Everyone charges an admission fee for the “experience” plus the cost of apples
Jeanie says
Yes that is how it is in KS too. $10.00 per person entrance fee and then we have to pick the apples too. $2.50 a pound!
Kathleen says
Duck Lady is an awesome neighbor!!
Sharon says
I’m with you! I will do a big shop then stay out of the stores for as long as possible. I do have imperfect produce boxes delivered every other week so we have fresh produce. I get Butcher box delivered every other month. I should be able to stay out of the stores the rest of the year!
Laura Brown says
Do you buy your flour in bulk for baking, or just 5 lb bags as you need them? I have been baking a good bit of bread recently and I run through flour quickly. I was considering getting a big 50 lb bag/container, but I am concerned about storing it.
Mavis Butterfield says
I buy the big 25pound {or is it 50?} bags from Costco. But since we have been without an oven, I still have all my flour I bought last year.
Brianna says
You can buy a commercial container that has wheels on the bottom and will keep it airtight and fresh. I worked in a school and we had one and it was a best. Pain to fill since all of the subsidy flour came in 10lb bags. Such a waste of packaging and time to open them all and fill. Restaurant supply stores sell the containers.
The Duck Lady says
Get some 5gal food grade buckets with gamma lids. Uline or Azure standard has them. Each one holds about 25lbs of flour. You won’t regret it. I buy everything in bulk and store this way, so much easier.
Lynda says
All of my friends with Agas or similar have an electric stove slff sad o, for summer use, when it’s just to hot to have the AGA burning 24/7…..
Betty says
Just curious does your 100 a month count restaurants or coffee out etc? I’m totally impressed and loving your blog ! Fascinated about your 100 challenge just would like a few more details please.
Betty
Mavis Butterfield says
No, I don’t include any meals/treats we enjoy while out on a date {or vacation} in my grocery budget.
Laurie Lasala-Tuttle says
Hi Mavis, I’ve continued to love your posts for several years. I’m both entertained & educated! What containers do you use to freeze meals? Perhaps you’ve mentioned it, and I either forgot or missed it. Thanks, Laurie in southern California.
Mavis Butterfield says
There are the containers I used: https://amzn.to/3SBH9tH and https://amzn.to/3BNqRHr
Laurie Lasala-Tuttle says
Thanks so much, will order them today!