Yesterday we went to Kiln Guy and the Chef’s house for linner. We haven’t been to their place in a while so it was nice to see how their house is coming along.
Kind of like us, they always seem to be in the middle of some sort of home improvement project. This time around it’s their kitchen {creating upper cabinets and getting ready to paint the cupboards}.
We talked about needing a break from all the projects {inside and out} and canning and how one of their friends was going to toss out a bunch of perfectly good begonia plants and how they snatched them right up and decided to overwinter them in the house along with a big pot of rosemary from their garden.
I’ve never been much of an indoor plant person. Other than a few orchids and succulents, I’ve never really had any. I have no idea why either. But I asked a zillion questions {I think I’m mostly worried about gnats/bugs} and they reassured me that if they could do it, so could I.
Maybe I’ll try overwintering my hot pink geraniums inside after all. We’ll see.
Did I tell you Kiln Guy and The Chef used to be professional caterers? And that everything they serve is always fantastic!?
Yesterday we had potato and leek soup.
And crab cakes!!
And some sort of pumpkin cream cheese swirl cake with vanilla ice cream. All wonderful of course. They even sent us home with a jar of homemade salsa and tomato sauce.
Good friends, good food and good conversation. What more could you ask for?
Last week was an excellent one in the meal department by the way. I feel like we hit a lot of “comfort food” boxes. There was homemade baked macaroni and cheese with jalapenos.
And a pizza date with the in-laws.
There were burrito bowls {who needs a taco shell anyway?} with rice, beans and a little leftover chicken I found in the freezer.
There were meatballs with pineapple sauce too.
And loaded baked potato soup with oyster crackers. There was supposed to be a pot roast dinner on saturday but I guess I forgot how much the potato soup recipe made and we ended up having it two nights in a row.
Pot roast is on the menu for tonight though.
There was also oatmeal with all the extra bits {dried orange slices, dried cranberries, dates and brown sugar of course}.
I also made a batch of the world’s best chocolate chip cookies. Well, I baked 6 cookies and froze the rest of the dough. I can usually get 1 batch of cookie dough to last us about a month if I do it that way.
Corner Store $6.29
It was a pretty easy week around here. All we bought was a gallon of milk. I think milk prices have gone up though.
How much is a gallon of milk going for these days at your local store? Is there a huge difference between the regular stuff and the good stuff? I LOVE Oakhurst milk. And I’m fine with paying a little extra for it.
I’m just curious what a gallon is going for in your neck of the woods these days. $6.29 a gallon seems a little high. But maybe it’s not?
And the weather.
71 degrees is forecasted for Halloween! Can you believe it? That last day of October here in Maine is going to be a warm one. And then it’s all downhill from there. I’m totally ready for it too.
How was mealtime at YOUR place last week? What was the best thing you ate? Curious minds want to know. And also, I’m always looking for new ideas. 😉
Have a great day everyone,
~Mavis
Total Spent This Past Week On Groceries $6.29
October Groceries: $1,375.30
September Groceries: $246.41
August Groceries: $115.71
July Groceries: $401.88
June Groceries: $484.69
May Groceries: $267.13
April Groceries: $135.90
March Groceries: $235.99
February Groceries: $282.90
January Groceries: $167.55
Nancy Settel says
I bought a half gallon of milk at Aldi this week and it was $1.57. I got whole milk for the first time. We usually buy 2% but after we open the container (and has 2 weeks left on the sell by date) in 3 days it has a very off smell to it. I have been throwing out so much milk so I thought I would see if whole milk lasts longer. Wow $6.29 does sound high.
Carla says
I’ve stopped buying milk at Aldi for this reason. It just doesn’t seem to last like it should.
Lana says
We don’t have any trouble with milk from Aldi. It is 2.37 a gallon and comes from a farmer owned dairy in our area which makes me glad to support them. And it is delicious milk. Lidl is where we have problems with milk and it does not last near to the date at all.
Brenda Robertson says
If you can stomach the price, buy organic whole milk. The expiration date is usually pretty far out there. I’ll use up the last on soup or tapioca pudding (my husband loves tapioca) when it gets close in date.
Carla says
I usually get 5-6 gallons at a time these days, so I tend to go for the cheap stuff. It usually lasts us about a week. We love milk and have it with almost every meal. I do have 3 kids, though, including a middle school son, so it’s not exactly surprising. I get ours at our local Meijer store for around $3 a gallon.
christa says
Half gallon of 2% Clover brand goes for $4.29…I live near San Francisco.
Rosemary says
I bought a gallon of 2% milk at Costco and it was $3.11. I can’t drink a gallon in one week, so I freeze it in pint size jars. One jar lasts me a week which makes the gallon last about 8 weeks.
Mavis Butterfield says
That’s a clever idea Rosemary!! I usually can’t go through a gallon of milk in a week either as I’m the only one that drinks it so I usually just buy a half gallon. I should just start freezing it too. Thanks for the reminder!! 🙂
Christy says
I do the same. Bought a gallon from wegmans in Delaware for $2.69. Fill two jars with milk and freeze. This way it lasts about 2 weeks and none goes bad.
Gallon of milk in Pennsylvania is about $4.69. Taxes!!!!!
charwelsh says
Milk is not taxed in PA!
Annette says
Are there any tricks to freezing or thawing?
Andrea says
Your weather looks amazing! We are still in the high 80s here in Dallas but thankfully a cool down is coming. Our best meal last week was Korean Short Ribs in the instant pot. I added mushrooms along with the ribs and then made a yummy gravy with the cooking juices, served over cauliflower mash. The short ribs were on sale for $6.29 at Fiesta Mart, which I thought was a great price.
Lana says
We over winter plants on our garage here in SC. It is bright in there so they do well. Hubby built some dollies out of pallets that we can roll on and out so they come out for a watering about every two weeks when there is a mild day. I have started overwintering begonias and they grow to small shrub size since they are well established. They aare amazing on my deck.
Joanna says
I support a local dairy… 6.99 a gallon here in Michigan.
Virginia says
Those crabcakes look divine! If your friends would be willing to share the recipe with the Mavis Crew, I would love it.
As far as milk goes, I switched to ultra pasteurized milk years ago. I find it tastes creamier than regular pasteurized milk, and the shelf life cannot be beat. I purchase Costco‘s case of three half-gallon cartons of Kirkland organic 1% milk for about $10. Costco sells a three-pack of organic whole milk as well, which I use for recipes. Expiration dates are about two months out from the purchase date. It’s nice having only a half gallon carton of milk open at any given time, plus they don’t weigh as much as the large gallon jugs.
Jennifer says
Here in NC, GV milk is $2.76/gallon and Pet milk is $4.48/gallon. I drink whole milk but the prices are the same for the 2%, 1% and skim.
Tonya says
Pet milk? Is that code for raw milk? I pay $8.50 a gallon for raw milk
Lana says
LOL! Pet is a dairy brand in the South.
GK says
I don’t drink much milk so I usually get organic 2% milk which for some reason has a longer “buy before” date and lasts much longer.
The best meal I had this week was spaghetti and homemade meatballs, garlic bread and southern banana pudding by special request – which I made for a family member who had a new baby.
I also made them some freezer meals including your chicken pineapple teriyaki recipe, some freezer pizza subs (ham & pepperoni), and crockpot meals for chicken noodles, chicken taco soup, smoked sausage, peppers and onions w/ Italian seasoned tomatoes, and two batches of ham potato casserole. I am hoping they will enjoy these freezer meals in the upcoming weeks as much as I enjoyed making them! Now I just need to make some for me because freezer meals are so nice to have on hand!
Jenny Young says
I usually just buy Walmart or Aldi milk but we drink very little. I only buy it to have on hand for my grandson. Walmart whole milk is $3.56 a gallon right now. aldi is about the same.
We have Braum’s & I do love their milkbut I don’t know what it’s going for right now. I expect $4 something.
Meli says
I would love the crab cake recipe if he will share.
kathy brown says
WOW! I bought a gallon of milk today, $3.27. $6.29 is insane!
Tonya says
Too funny! Thanks for clearing that up. I’ve seen raw milk sold as “pet food only” which is why I asked lol.
JulieP says
A gallon of milk here in Norfolk UK would be about $4.40 they don’t sell gallon bottles in the uk we have 4 pint bottles, 2 pint and 1 pint in our larger supermarkets. I buy mine from Lidl but there’s no real difference in supermarket prices on milk so whatever I am shopping. I buy whole and semi skimmed milk. We get through about a gallon a week between the two of us but I use the whole milk mostly to make kefir, which we both have a glass of every day and the dogs have it as well it has really helped with our old dogs bad breath.
Wendy says
A gallon of milk here in the Netherlands would be $ 3.80 (cheapest brand) or $ 6.09 (most expensive). But of course one should not compare prices between different countries 😉
Eileen Stewart says
We have 2 elders (I’m the matriarch), 3 middle-aged, 1 young adult, and three teenagers living here.
We had 1) 15 Bean Soup with Ham
2)Bacon, Potato & Cheddar Soup with French Bread
3) Homemade Chicken Enchiladas w/Salad
4) Smoked Sausage w/Bell Peppers, onions and pineapple; brussel sprouts, country sliced potatoes – all sheet pan recipes
5) Italian Sausage Ragu & Spaghetti Squash
6) Crock Pot Stew
I make enough for lunch the next day. The kids rave over the food here. 😀
Rebecca says
Yum, yum!! What a great week of meals! Any chance The Kiln Guy and The Chef would part with their recipe for Pumpkin Roll? That looks delish!!
Judy says
Hi Mavis, 7.29 here in British Columbia for the good stuff from a local dairy. Totally worth it. My husband gives it to our dogs every day, he swears it keeps them healthy. Our three oldest are 17, 16 and 15. Neither they, nor any of our others have ever been sick, not even once.