I think I’m starting to get this whole shopping at one store thing down. Yes, Costco has it’s limitations {for instance I am out of ketchup. Do I want to buy 3 giant bottles of ketchup… NO} but for the most part, I think I’m doing pretty good. Cooking most of our meals from scratch HELPS ENORMOUSLY… if we didn’t, I know our grocery bill would be much higher.
And bartering… Earlier in the week I bartered with The Church Lady {my neighbor down the street} and came home with a few bottles of pasta sauce, Good Earth Tea and a can of Orange Juice. I cannot remember what the heck I traded her though.
I was also able to fill Monkey Boy’s goody drawer with some Chocolate brownie Clif Bars I was able to order with some groupon credit.
Okay, so what are a few of the things I feed my family this past week?
Salads… and yummy ones too. I ran out of salad dressing early last week so I’ve been making my homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing instead of using the bottled stuff.
Apple crisp. To go with all that Costco vanilla ice cream of course. 😉
Pasta for Monkey Boy.
Zaycon breaded chicken, mashed potatoes and homemade corn muffins.
Pot roast, green beans {frozen, from last summer} and curry rice.
Baked potatoes topped with sour cream and warm bacon.
Old Fashioned Egg Custard. It’s pretty much the best stuff on earth to make when you have a bunch of eggs laying around to use up. I typically serve it warm. And it’s YUMMY.
Breakfast in bed… Steel cut oats and orange juice for the HH.
Blueberry and Banana smoothies are great for mornings on the go. {I still have a ton of frozen blueberries!}.
Hard boiled eggs. Boring, I know. But they are a great protein source.
And last but not least, I made a batch of pumpkin bread using some canned pumpkin I had in my pantry.
Not the most exciting meals on the planet… but they got the job done.
What have YOU been cooking lately?
~Mavis
Here are the links to the loaf pans I used above if you are interested.
Norpro 12 Inch Nonstick Bread Pan and the Focus Foodservice Commercial Bakeware 1 1/2 Pound Pullman Pan
Total Spent This Week $25.41
Total Spent Year to Date $354.59
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
Patty says
Mavis, I have been making my own ketchup for 2 years now. Check out recipes online. You probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry. Use the old bottles to store the homemade stuff and no one will be wiser….
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks Patty! I will take a look. 🙂
Leslie says
Oh yea! Then you can add that to your canning repertoire!
Helen in Meridian says
Mavis, have you read Monday’s comic LOLA. It is about Mavis and her New Year’s resolutions. Chazz told me I better tell you.
Mavis Butterfield says
I just looked it up. Hilarious!!!
Krista says
Oh wow, your meals this week look amazing! Do you have the recipe for the breaded chicken on your website? And also, where did you get the long loaf pan for your pumpkin bread? It made such beautiful loaves!
Mavis Butterfield says
I added the link for the pans at the bottom of the post. 🙂 The breaded chicken came from Zaycon. My son loves it.
Krista says
Ooh, thanks so much!
Julie says
Can you please share your recipe for curry rice? It sounds delicious!
Mavis Butterfield says
I will try and get the recipe up this week!
Alison R says
Has anyone tried the popcorn in the microwave brown bag method which is stapled?
Do the staples arc in the microwave?
Mavis? Anyone? Bueller?
Dawn says
I do it all the time and haven’t noticed any sparks!! I have also not been able to find the stapler so I used a wee bit of tape and it worked well too!!
Alison R says
Thanks Dawn! I will give it a try–I wanted to ask first before I blew up my microwave!!
ann in E. oregon says
I am interested in long loaf pans too. Thanks!
Mavis Butterfield says
I added the link for the pans at the bottom of the post.
ann in E. oregon says
Thanks Mavis!
Marcia says
Yum, that looks so good. I love reading about what you are making.
I’ve been having smoothies too – strawberry season has started! Hard boiled eggs – I think I boil 1-1.5 dozen a week. My 9 year old loves them in his lunch. I also eat salad for lunch almost every single day (it’s getting old honestly). But this week, instead, I’ve had some steamed asparagus and green beans. We got asparagus from the CSA, and my family will eat it, but it’s not their favorite. SO score! I didn’t share it.
I also made ginger-carrot-turnip soup (one of the only ways I can handle turnips), cabbage and ramen slaw, and baked coated fish nuggets (new recipe to me, and they were great!)
This week I’m just using up everything in the fridge because we are heading out for a camping trip soon.