This post was written by Mrs. HB.
Well you knew this day would come and since its summer and everyone is so busy doing outdoor stuff (as it should be), I am backing off a little and going to start writing monthly updates. I can’t believe that it has been 4 and 1/2 months that we have been on this journey! Can you? Time flies for sure and faster and faster as I get older! So from this point forward I will only be writing a monthly update on the first Monday of each month.
I have been doing a lot of thinking about why I am how I am. That can go pretty deep and I think I will stay away from trying to analyze myself on a public forum. However, I am quite intrigued that I do some of the things I do and was wondering if other people do them as well.
For instance, take evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. I am not a baker, although I make a mean cheesecake. My only connection to these two items is that my Mom told us as kids stories of her DRINKING sweetened condensed milk as a treat and in hard times they may only had evaporated milk to drink. Don’t know why. Maybe the cows ran out of milk during a drought or something.
However since I have been buying my own groceries, I have ALWAYS had a can or two of both types of canned milk on hand ready to be used. It would be fine if I used them on a regular bases but I don’t. In fact when I have the occasional need to use one of them the expiration date is almost always expired. Yet I go to the grocery store and purchase another can or two. Just to leave them on the shelf for the next discovery of expiration.
So thinking of my budget I am asking myself why? Its the same thing with cheese and crackers. Or a better example is Pick a Peppa sauce and cream cheese. You know for when that occasional guest drops by unannounced and you need to have something to offer them to eat. But it just doesn’t happen here like in the south or maybe the times, but I still have it on hand . It seems when I clean out the frig I always end up throwing out 3/4 a bottle of Pick A Peppa sauce. Though to its credit does have a long self life. but the cream cheese is a goner or the kids have eaten it on something and therefor negates the reason I had it in the first place.
So I say pause and think Why? Habits probably…. cultural? Maybe but it also makes me question why I am not baking more and why aren’t friends just popping by like OLD times? Let’s ponder on this one for a while.
Totally off subject……of my deep reflection I did very well on my budget this week. Only spent $48 at grocery and no Costco for me. I did have to provide buns and beans for a baseball pot luck. I found the beans on sale at FM for 3 for $5 and one was on the dented clearance bin! Yay. HB hubby bought the buns … for course form Costco. But I didn’t go!
I was also able to make and freeze bean and sausage and a meat spaghetti . Two nights each for later stressful evenings. I have to say this has become a nice unintended habit for me. When I have time and the ingredients, I will make meals for sometime in the future.
Lets face it as much as I LOVE my day cooking with Ms Mavis that isn’t reality. We have to make it happen when we can. So that’s what I have started to do. I will still plan other meals too but this is like an insurance policy just in case I can’t cook on that special day. With baseball and 4H season this has become more the norm. Weekends are meant for family so I do what I can do when I can do it. But have that plan and still shop once a week.
Well expect this week. HB daughter had extensive oral surgery. I knew if I shopped too early HB boy and Hubby would dive in so I waited and went on a special day and bought all her soft liquid foods. I know I should puree everything….. but I didn’t. Good thing I have that slushy fund. 😉 FYI she did very well and is recovering nicely.
Random thought….. I love nature but am learning to hate deer!!!!! They keeping eating my apple tree. Help!
Until first Monday of June,
~Mrs. HB
Ramona says
Mrs. HB, I always look forward to your posts and seeing what you have accomplished. I always have evaporated milk in my cupboard. When I was a child my dad would let me have coffee with can milk and sugar, yes I know he probably shouldn’t have. Now I put can milk in my hot tea but not in coffee. I also use in mashed potatoes and have to have it in my homemade pumpkin pie. I’ve never bought sweetened can milk tho. Also thanks for the recipes you and Mavis post.
Rita says
Beautiful blue flowers and that rhododendron is gorgeous. Do you do your own gardening/yard work to save $$? Don’t know how to help you with the deer sorry!
Mrs. HB says
Yes I love to garden . Fotunantly most of my plants are hassle free . We do our own .
Sarah says
Oh my gosh!! The “why don’t people stop by anymore” comment…YES!!!! I’m in the south. That’s what I grew up with. I looked forward to peiple doing that when I grew up. But no one every stops by. Everyone is “too busy,” I guess. I loathe that excuse.
Peggy says
Blood meal seems to keep the bunnies and deer out of my garden, plus it’s a fertilizer.
Janet says
Try some leftover fencing for the apple tree. I have also read putting a few strands of heavy-duty fishing line or wire around it. If the deer feel it they should stop because they don’t want to get tangled up.
The canned milk comments are funny. Sometimes when I’ve had something for too long a time and it’s not being used very often, when it’s gone I don’t replace it. And if I need it and it’s not shopping day, by the time I go shopping I buy it or most of the time I’ve forgotten about it anyway. Lately I have been really working on not bringing treats home. I still do sometimes but not as often, and the family doesn’t seem to complain much anymore. I guess they’re getting used to me not buying many treats. I suggest the healthier food we have and they eat it or they don’t.
Thank you for all your posts. I think we can all help each other with our experiences and our ideas. It does feel good to make positive changes in our lives.
Christy L says
You will need to but fencing or netting around/on the apple tree to keep the deer away. They eat everything they can get to here in southeast Pennsylvania.
Carole says
Yes netting or fencing. Both work. We use both depends on how determined they are
Rebecca in MD says
Thanks for the update and congratulations on avoiding Costco and staying on track.
Thanks also for the beautiful pictures of your garden.
I have to try to establish a new habit like you and Mavis and make freezer meals so that when my meal planning gets derailed I have a back up.
Helen in Meridian says
I will miss your weekly chat with us. I love all your photos. Have a fun 4-H and Scout summer, while growing all the stuff you planted. At girl scouts we made mock angel food cake as often as samores. You dunk a thick slice of french or italian bread in Sweetened Condensed milk, and then dunk in coconut and toast on a stick over the campfire. My favorite part of Eagle Brand was when mom would let me lick the thick sweet stuff on the lid. Even Martha S likes to leave an open can in her fridge and dunk a spoon or finger in it.
Mrs. HB says
We will have to try that campfire recipe! Thanks
Ellen in Clackamas says
Oh these comments about canned milk and sweetened milk bring on so many memories!. My Great-grandma would let me have coffee with sugar and canned milk in it–such a treat. She called it “Angel” coffee–probably because it was so sweet. Now the only time I use it is for making pumpkin pie. As far as the sweetened milk–it is great in fudge. And Helen I also have made mock angel food in Girl Scouts…but one time we were out and forgot to bring coconut so someone ran down to the camp store and of course they didn’t have any but they did have Mounds candy bars!!! We cooked ours wrapped in foil so we would just mash the candy bar onto the soaked bread and heat it over the fire…o man, it was sooo good! And it is the only way I make it now.
Helen in Meridian says
Ellen, I am drooling just thinking of warm mashed Mounts on that sweetened condensed milk soaked bread. We cooked little meals of veggies and beef in foil in the fire, but toasted our mock angel food cake on sticks.
Helen in Meridian says
I mean Mounds bars.
Mel says
I was thinking about this the other day. I used to buy bread routinely because that’s what my parents did, but my husband and I never ate it, and it always went bad. Eventually, I got in the habit of making bread instead of buying it since we do actually eat the homemade kind.
As for keeping snacks on hand for company, I do this as well, but I do freezable versions. I already make tons of freezer meals, so it’s a convenient process, and the snacks don’t go bad as fast as other snacks. If they do get near the expiration, we just eat them ourselves and I make more for the freezer.
Our favorite freezer snacks are meatballs, cookie dough or scones, 5-minute fudge (made with sweetened condensed milk!), slab apple pie, filled puff pastry, crab or spinach artichoke dip, and bacon wrapped Parmesan crackers. Things like frozen taco meat can either be used for a regular meal or for a snack like nachos. I also make our own lemonade concentrate and either freeze it or stick it in the fridge. If we don’t end up having guests, these are still great to have for ourselves or if we need to bring something to a get together.
Helen in Meridian says
I remember there being a plate of 6 pieces of bread on the table at dinner and lunch. We would spread butter on the bread and eat it, like we use rolls now.
Mel says
For my parents, it was more that they did not cook, so they ate peanut butter sandwiches at least once a day and consequently ran through bread at an alarming rate. I cook almost everything from scratch, so it took me a while to realize that we don’t need sandwich bread available at all times and that I’d need to stock different staples. That said, I love making French bread and keeping it in the freezer to slice with soup, make garlic bread or croutons, toast for crostini, dip in dips, make grilled cheese or French toast, or turn into French bread pizza. And I make our own pizza dough, burger buns, sandwich bread, and tortillas as needed.
Lynda with a smile says
LP I will miss you Mrs. HB. I almost feel like we are all friends just checking in and sharing what is happening in our daily life. I always have evaporated milk in my pantry. I use it for gravy, Mac and cheese, and in place of cream in recipes. Do not want to cook without it. Smile. When I want yummy Carmel sauce, I cook the can of sweetened condensed milk, unopened, in water. So good in a cup of coffee. I love to play in my kitchen.
Tonya says
Thanks for sharing your financial journey with us. So proud of you and all that you have accomplished. Will miss you. Hip hip hooray!!
Mrs. HB says
I had a big smile mommy face knowing that most of you too had fond memories of sweeten and evaporated milk . It’s strange the things we remember and do ?
Lilypad says
I’m glad that your daughter is doing well after her surgery. My son had his wisdom teeth out last year at only 14 and it was very hard for him, he ended up barely eating anything and lost 9 lbs. in a week. I was so worried about him. He’s having more done this week (two more wonky teeth that they’ll try to fix with orthodontics and a procedure at the oral surgeon’s to make that possible). I was just at the store today buying soft foods and protein shakes, which I normally don’t buy him so I’m hoping they will lure him in to eating more this time. All of this is going to cost about $7000 so the struggle to spend less at the grocery store continues. 😉 My best to you and yours.
Toni says
We’ll miss your more frequent updates, but thanks for keeping in touch! All the best to you and yours! BTW – what kind of flowers are those deep blue ones? Your garden looks amazing!
Jennifer B says
Last year when I was in Vietnam for a business trip I was regularly offered coffee with sweetened condensed milk – what a treat! Highly recommended.
And you can put an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk into a pan with water and boil for a while (check the internet for exact times) and make dulce du leche – awesome over ice cream, as a topping for a cake or (again) into coffee.
Robyn says
Evaporated milk brings back fond memories of my dad and his coffee-he died many years ago. I always drank my coffee black, but lately I’ve taken to adding evaporated milk- maybe in his memory. Life is funny isn’t it!
Brianna says
My hubby is a canned milk lover! He opens the evaporated milk and puts it in his oatmeal, coffee, and sometimes cold cereal. I use it only for baking, mostly pumpkin pies. He loves canned milk and I have to remind him to use the cold stuff in the fridge instead because he would use a whole can every day and it is expensive. I’m not so sure where his canned milk obsession comes from, I never thought to question it and I just figured it was a trait of his. When he goes out of the country he drinks the canned milk because it is ‘safe.’
Sweetened condensed milk is great for key lime pie, homemade soft caramels, dulce de leche, fancy coffee drinks, diabetic emergency, etc.
Tracy L. says
Awww, Mrs HB we will miss you. I’ve really enjoyed our Mondays with Mrs HB. I understand that life gets busier in the summer, but we will definitely miss you.
You have helped inspire me and be more mindful of how and where our money is spent. I can’t tell you how much you and Mavis have helped me and to be more aware of all aspects of a budget/shopping. Wants and needs. And, priorities. Where and how do I really want my hard earned dollars going? Our lives are so crazy busy, I’ve felt like I’ve been running on auto pilot.
Thank you for taking us along on your journey and your honesty. I will look forward to your monthly updates.
Debbie says
Hi I like reading your posts and will continue reading your monthly posts. For deer & your apple tree I agree fence and netting are good ideas. We hang Irish spring soap in winter on our shrubs seems to keep them away. This year I have added lavender plants to my rose garden to keep the deer from eating roses I have read this works fingers crossed.
Linda says
I have great recipe using sweet condensed milk- for Macroons- 3C unsweetened coconut flakes- 1 Can sweeten condensed milk- pour all this is gallon ziplock- smooch it around- put it in freezer for over night or 4hrs. grease cookie sheet well- pretend it cold cream on a face. spoon out coconut mix tablespoon – bake 350 till tops are golden. let sit till cool then take off cookie sheet.
–Sandwich wrappings save- waxpaper bags from cereal. Mom saved bread wrappers. We weren’t happy about having to wash them.