November 2019 Budget and Menu

In which I post my menu and grocery list with prices for the month. As always, I shop my own freezers and pantry first, and my goal budget is $250 each month for all consumables. As I work for the state I get paid once a month, usually near the 1st of each month, and I plan my shopping for that time. As I am a single mom on a very limited budget, I am challenged to cook all our meals at home, and keep them nutritious, filling, and interesting.

There is a local group that collects surplus vegetables from our local Farmer's Market and hands those out, along with frozen chicken breasts and bread, and sometimes other donated canned goods once a week. I typically visit them weekly to supplement fresh, in-season vegetables. Currently, it's mostly leafy greens, which my children aren't terribly fond of, but we are grateful for it, nonetheless.

We are an omnivore family of three with no allergies or sensitivities; we are privileged not to have any food restrictions or medical restrictions that prevent us from cooking at home from scratch. I plan four meals a week for Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. In between we eat leftovers or make something quick and easy (my youngest's current favorite: pancakes). In addition, I take leftovers for my lunches. My eldest daughter takes a sandwich every day to campus, and my youngest eats the lunches provided at school. Breakfasts in autumn/winter are usually hot cereal, a bagel with cream cheese, or scrambled eggs and toast.

For ease of planning, I use Google Calendar to plan the entire month in advance, and I keep a Pinterest board for each season so I never run out of ideas - I usually have more recipes than days each month! I keep a grocery list on Wunderlist that I transfer into a notebook that I take with me to the store. The digital list means I can access it anywhere without needing the physical list with me, and the physical list makes it easy to reference when I last purchased an item and how much I paid at each store. The monthly menu also goes into the book as a reference while I'm in the store. As each item is put away at home, it gets logged into the Freezer and Pantry inventories on Wunderlist so I can see at a glance what I have in each location. Open items in the refrigerator or kitchen cabinets are not on an inventory list, however I do check to see if our most-used items need to be replenished before I go grocery shopping each month.

Total Spent for November 2019, as of 11/05/19: $262.43

Items with an asterisk* were purchased without being on the original list. I went back to Grocery Outlet on 11/05 for citrus and white chocolate chips to start prepping make-dough-and-freeze cookies for the holidays, which will be prepped this weekend. I had forgotten I intended to do this until after I had already done the bulk of my shopping on the 1st. We do have one special snack for the month: potato chips and onion dip. I try to make sure we have at least one snack-type food item each month. In the summer it's usually root beer floats. Last month and this, it appears to be potato chips and onion dip.

In addition, I can contribute the following dishes to our family Thanksgiving menu without going to the grocery store, based on my current pantry and freezer stock:
Mashed Potatoes
Cranberry Sauce
Cherry Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Broccoli Gratin
Butter Rolls
Turkey (and gravy)
Sweet Potatoes
I could probably also come up with at least one appetizer without going to the grocery store (something with spinach, parmesan, and phyllo dough, most likely....).

I went over my budget by $12.43 this month. I didn't need to purchase the whole turkey, the hearts of palm, the boneless/skinless chicken thighs (we were getting low, but we had enough for this month), or the edamame. Had I stuck with just my budgeted items, I would have saved $20.97, keeping us under budget. These are all foods that we will eat pretty quickly, however they were unnecessary purchases.

My goal for December will be to stay under budget, add two more vegetarian dishes for the month (the current goal is to be meatless at least one meal each week), and start emptying our freezers for the move, as we will be downsizing by at least one freezer. For meat, I intend to purchase only ground beef and bacon in December, as we should have enough chicken, fish, and pork for our meals.

November 2019 Menu:

Sushi Night: California Rolls (crab, avocado, cream cheese), Miso Soup, Edamame

Turkey Tetrazzini

Taco/Burrito Night: I cook a pound of hamburger meat, and season with home-mixed taco seasoning. Tortillas, beans, cheese, fixings, etc are set out, and everyone builds their own.

Tilapia and Rice with steamed vegetables

Brinner: Cinnamon coffeecake, scrambled eggs, and bacon

Chicken Rogan Josh: chicken in a jarred rogan josh simmer sauce, rice, and saag aloo

Spinach Ravioli Bake

Pesto Pizza Rolls: I will be making mine with the standard red sauce and Italian sausage this month

Pumpkin Curry

Filipino-Style Chicken Adobo: served with rice and steamed vegetables

Moroccan Meatball & Couscous Soup

Pecan & Panko Salmon: I picked up a pre-seasoned salmon filet last month on sale in the freezer section. All I need to do is bake and serve. I intend to serve this with pasta and a steamed vegetable.

Garlic Ranch Chicken Wings

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Broccoli Cheddar Soup (vegetarian, and without the celery, as I am not fond of celery in soup)

Thanksgiving: I will be making waffles and scrambled eggs for breakfast, and we will be joining family for dinner. The menu has not yet been finalized.

In addition, I am planning for the first Sunday of December, as my next payday is on December 2nd:

Easy Lemon Chicken Piccata

Grocery Shopping:

These are all items I purchased this month, along with their prices at their respective stores:

Broccoli                            4.99/3 lbs at Costco
Cheddar                           5.29/2 lbs at Costco
Chicken Bouillon             5.99/16 oz at Costco
Cream Cheese                 8.69/3 lbs at Costco
Sour Cream                      3.99/3 lbs at Costco
Dog Food                          27.99/40 lbs at Costco
Eggs                                   3.79/2 dozen at Costco
All-Purpose Flour            5.99/25 lbs at Costco
Honey                               9.99/80 oz at Costco
Lunchmeat (Turkey)       9.89/3x 14 oz at Costco
Mexican Shredded Cheese          14.99/3 lbs at Costco
Fage Yogurt                      5.99/48 oz at Costco
Cottage Cheese               4.49/3 lbs at Costco
Sliced Havarti                   7.99/2 lbs at Costco (priced but did not purchase)
Colby Jack Cheese           5.79/2 lbs at Costco

Total Spent at Costco on 11/01/19: $119.89

Avocado (1)                      5.00/3 at Grocery Outlet
Bacon                                3.99/12 oz at Grocery Outlet
Cocoa Powder                 2.49/8 oz at Grocery Outlet
Garlic                                 1.00/2 heads at Grocery Outlet
Half and Half                    3.49/ half gallon at Grocery Outlet
Onions                              1.00/3 yellow; 1.00/2 red at Grocery Outlet
Refried Beans                  1.79/30 oz at Grocery Outlet
Shallots                             1.69/ 3 at Grocery Outlet
Tortillas (2)                       3.99/20 at Grocery Outlet
Vegetable Oil                   2.99/48 oz at Grocery Outlet (2.79/48 oz at Food Maxx)
Green Onions                  79c/bunch at Grocery Outlet
Coffee                               9.99/2 lbs at Grocery Outlet
Saag Aloo Spice Blend*  99c/packet at Grocery Outlet
Frozen Boneless/Skinless Chicken Thighs* 5.99/2.5 lbs at Grocery Outlet
Frozen Edamame*         2.99/28 oz at Grocery Outlet
Basmati Rice                    1.99/24 oz at Grocery Outlet
Canned Pumpkin             2.89/29 oz at Grocery Outlet
Cheese Raviolis (2)          2.99/9 oz at Grocery Outlet
Cilantro                             79c/ bunch at Grocery Outlet
Frozen Spinach (2)          1.25/ lb at Grocery Outlet
Juanita’s Corn Tortilla Chips        2.99/24 oz at Grocery Outlet
Baby Spinach                   1.99/10 oz at Grocery Outlet
Frozen Chicken Wings    9.99/5 lbs at Grocery Outlet
Canned Green Chiles (4) 69c/4 oz at Grocery Outlet
Ruffles Potato Chips       3.99/13.5 oz at Grocery Outlet
Salsa Verde                      1.49/16 oz at Grocery Outlet
Whole Turkey*                10/ 16-18lbs at Grocery Outlet with Coupon
Total Spent at Grocery Outlet on 11/01/19: $97.18

Oranges (2)*                    1.00/2 at Grocery Outlet
Grapefruit (2)*                99c/ ea at Grocery Outlet
Lemon (2)*                       59c/ ea at Grocery Outlet
Limes (2)*                         1.00/3 at Grocery Outlet
White Chocolate*           1.99/ at Grocery Outlet

Total Spent at Grocery Outlet on 11/05/19: $6.82

Cherry Pie Filling             4.36/21 oz at Food Maxx
Friskies                              13.18/16 lbs at Food Maxx
Coconut Milk                   1.49/ can at Food Maxx
Orange Juice Concentrate           1.17/ea at Food Maxx
Orange/Mango Juice Concentrate*         1.07/ea at Food Maxx
Krab*                                 3.29/1 lb at Food Maxx
Bagels (2)*                       1.79/ 6 at Food Maxx
Fabuloso*                         1.19 at Food Maxx

Total Spent at Food Maxx on 11/01/19: $33.17

Israeli Couscous              1.99/8 oz at Trader Joe’s; 2.49/16 oz at Grocery Outlet
Whipping Cream             1.39/ box at Trader Joe’s
Hearts of Palm*               1.99/ can at Trader Joe’s

Total Spent at Trader Joe's on 11/01/19: $5.37

Blackberry Cobbler - My Style

I finally got to go blackberry picking with my sister out at her new house.  She is a super-awesome biologist doing all sorts of wildlife studies for the State of California.  One perk is that she gets to live out in the middle of nowhere, by rice fields and sloughs and all sorts of general wildlife.  Since there are a bajillion blackberry bushes in her area, and I love a giant bucket of free blackberries, I invited myself out to see her new house and go blackberry picking.  The blackberries near her house are non-native and invasive, so it's a good thing that we're picking them with wild abandon.  Her house is a 20-minute drive away, which was actually quite lovely.  I got to drive through orchards and rice fields while listening to all sorts of folk music on the radio.  I was also all by myself, which was amazingly nice.  I never knew why my mom wanted quiet all the time.  Now I know.  Quiet is hard to come by, and therefore quite precious.

Orb Spiders!  See them?

So, blackberries!  Blackberry picking is not for the fainthearted when foraging for wild, untended blackberries.  For one thing, out by the slough = Monster Mosquito City.  We doused ourselves with high quantities of mosquito repellant.  Typically, I'm not a huge fan of deet.  However, if you saw these suckers, you'd want to douse yourself in deet, too.  My sister warned me to load up on deet-heavy repellant.  She wasn't kidding.  Another drawback are the giant Orb Spiders.  They are huge.  HUGE.  They are not typically aggressive, and their venom can't kill you, but they are large and creepy, and I don't want to find out how much it hurts if they do bite.  There are also the blackberries themselves.  They are loaded with thorns.  And interspersed among the blackberry vines are poison oak plants.  Easy enough to spot if you know what to look for.  Also easy to overlook, even when you know what to look for!  Are you dissuaded from going berrying yet?  Good!  More for me!

Being outside was nice.  All sorts of wildlife I don't normally get to see here in town - jackrabbits and otters and bullfrogs and herons of all sorts are all over that area.  I didn't actually see the otters or jackrabbits, but I did see some of their ... leavings.  I could hear the bullfrogs, and I did see a great blue heron, which was breathtaking.  I need to get outside more often.  Today was restorative.  Even with the insects and threat of poison oak and sunburn (yes, I wore sunblock - lots of it.).

On to the blackberry cobbler.  After bringing home my giant bucket of blackberries, I rinsed them all - they were covered in cottonwood fluff and occasional spiderweb.  I prepped some for blackberry jam - they are pre-measured, fork-crushed and in my freezer, all ready to be made into jam after we move.  A small container is also in my refrigerator, to be enjoyed throughout the week with cereal or just general snacking.  After all that, I still had plenty.  So I made cobbler.  As my good cobbler recipes are already packed, awaiting the move, I had to go hunting for a new recipe.  I remembered my mom sharing with me recently a recipe that called for a stick of butter, and a cup each of flour, sugar, and milk, but somehow that recipe didn't sound quite right.  A lot of the recipes online that I found called for making a biscuit-like dough and dropping it on top of the berries.  What I wanted was a batter dough with the fruit sprinkled on top.  So after reading several different recipes, here's what I came up with:

My Blackberry Cobbler

6 T butter
2 C all-purpose flour
2 C sugar
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
2 C milk
1.5 T vanilla
4-5 C prepared fruit (blackberries, in this case)
1 T lime juice
2 T washed raw sugar

Place butter in a 9x13 pan, put in the oven while it's pre-heating at 350 farenheit.  Remove from the oven when the butter is completely melted and just starting to brown.

Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in milk and vanilla, stir until well-combined and there are no more lumps.  Pour batter into melted butter.  DO NOT STIR.

Toss the fruit with lime juice.  Sprinkle fruit over the batter/butter layer.  Sprinkle the raw sugar or turbinado over the fruit.  Again, DO NOT STIR.  Stirring is tempting, but will ruin the whole shebang.  As the cobbler bakes, the fruit will sink through the batter to the bottom, infusing the batter with the flavor from the fruit.  Trust me on this one. 

Bake at 350 until the fruit bubbles and the batter is browned.  For my oven, that took about 40 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool, if you can.  Long before this point, my daughters kept running into the kitchen, just dying to eat cobbler.  I was able to give it about ten minutes.  And that was sheer torture.  So I gave myself permission to have a small serving with a scoop of coconut ice cream from a new ice cream shop around the corner from my house.  The crust was crisp and chewy, and the flavoring was just right, in my opinion.  This is my new go-to cobbler recipe. 

Amazing.  Simple, and amazing.

Portion control is a MUST.

Caprese Sandwiches

Today is a lovely day.  A bit warm, but it's summertime.  And summertime means awesome produce!
We made our way down to the local Farmer's Market early this morning, while it was still cool and not yet too crowded.  We always start our marketing with fresh chai from Chico Chai.  It is also my personal policy to walk through the market, to get an idea of what's out there this week.  The second time around is purchasing time.  Today we bought Zephyr and pattypan squash, lettuce, strawberries, a few heirloom tomatoes, a poem, and two plants: opal basil and lemon verbena.  We took it easy today, since we already still have a few bags of produce lingering in the fridge from last week: green beans, corn, plums, and regular zucchini.  I would have liked to get more fruit - peaches, nectarines, plums, and apricots were out in full force today.  However, I can get apricots from my mother-in-law's tree, and blackberries from my sister's house.  There will be a multitude of roadside fruit stands this week to pick up peaches from, and nearly all the fruit will be at market again next week.

At lunchtime today, I decided to make tomato sandwiches.  But not just any tomato sandwich would do.  Only the best tomato sandwich could pay proper respect to the summertime produce.  Hence, Caprese Sandwiches!  These are like summer in edible form.  And I love them.  Here's how I did it, but feel free to change it up as you like:

Spread mayonnaise to taste on sourdough bread.  Layer fresh sliced tomato, sliced mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil.  Set open sandwich in toaster oven (or pre-heated oven), toast until cheese is just melted.  Drizzle with olive oil, finish assembling your sandwich, and serve.  Easy!

Note: I like to make open-face half sandwiches, toast them in the toaster oven, then separate the two halves to finish assembly.  This is why only half of my sandwich has anything on it.  It's easier to see all the delicious when it's not covered up with the other half of the bread. 

The Best Laid Plans....

It has been a crazy week in our household.  I set up a schedule for packing, as we will be moving in less than two months.  I stress out over packing, so putting together a schedule helped quiet my crazy monkey-brain and silence my nightly dreams about being caught unprepared for the move.  Because everything goes according to plan, right?

Consequently, this week I have been packing books.  I am a book-a-holic.  A bonafide bookworm.  Books contain all my best friends.  I rarely do not finish a book, and I frequently read my favorites until they fall apart.  Books call my name - "Read me," they say, like the little cakes in Alice in Wonderland that were iced with the message "Eat Me".  As a result, it is very difficult for me to pack them away.  The old favorites, the new additions.  I want to just curl up on my couch and get lost in them all.  It has taken quite a bit of will power to pack the boxes I've packed this week.  I only have a few stragglers left, as well as a handful of well-loved magazines, and the books will be finished.  All the better, because I would be so much happier reading than packing.  Less temptation, and more will get done in time for a smooth transition to the new house - where I can set up my bookshelves and get reading!

Also on my list for this week are our family photos, candles, movies, artwork, and various knick-knacks.   There aren't that many of them, so that shouldn't take too long - I hope.  I had planned to be finished with this week's list by tonight so I could move on to other, larger items on my list - the hall and bathroom closets, the desk in the corner of the kitchen that has become the catch-all for every stray piece of "where does this go?" for the last three years, independent of my attempts to keep it tidy.

This week, however, has conspired against me. Wednesday afternoon I get a call from My Dearest to let me know that a little grey field mouse had made it's way into the house and was now barricaded in the laundry room.  When I got home, it was still in there, hiding under the hot water heater and dryer.  We set the cat on it, hoping that she would at least help us trap it in the open.  At least that worked - she chased it up a set of blinds that were in a corner, allowing us to catch it in a small trash can and take it back outside to release into the empty field adjacent to our back yard, the field it probably came from in the first place. 

Shortly thereafter I received word that a dear friend was admitted to the hospital.  Typically Wednesday evening is Practice night - I head to troupe practice while my husband watches our Princess.  Bug heads to youth group with my mom.  It's been this way for years.  This week, I went to the hospital instead. 
In addition, on Wednesday and Thursday the heater in my office at work was broken.  Broken On.  93 degrees on Wednesday, and 90 Thursday.  Both days it was nicer outside than it was in.  Thursday evening I was so ill from the heat in my office that I couldn't go to dance class.  I only packed two boxes, later in the evening when I had partially recovered from the nausea.  The heat left me terribly exhausted.

So what?  I could catch up on Friday evening.  Dearest has headed to the racetrack to hang with his friends and watch some sprint cars.  No big.  Put a movie on, order a pizza for the girls (a rare treat in our house).  Get packing.  And then came the tantrum. 

Every day this week, I'd asked Princess to pick up a few things in her room.  Ten things at a time.  She is six, after all.  And so very good at being six.  She admitted the other day that each time Dad or Mom have asked her to pick up her room at all, she just plays for a little while until she thinks enough time has passed.  Well, duh.  She IS six.  So tonight, not taking any of that guff, I asked her yet again to pick up her ten things and put them away.  While I watched.  Usually I try to direct so it's not so overwhelming.  You know the type - pick up all your shoes.  Now your books.  Now put all the clothes from the floor into the dirty hamper.  Now put away all your dress-up stuff.  Easy-peasy.  And while she's picking up, I help and pick up several things, as well.

Being six, she was not having any of that.  She started up with her usual mini-tantrum.  After my week though, I had no real patience left.  So instead of ten, I upped the total to 25 items.  Still while I watch to be sure she's doing what she's been asked to do.  Which of course upped the scale of the tantrum
Without a word, I snapped.  Grabbed a laundry basket and filled it up with stuff off her floor.  "Goodbye new roller skates (a birthday present only a few months old).  Goodbye favorite book.  Goodbye favorite dress-up dress.  Goodbye Fluffy Puppy.  Goodbye Princess Tiara.  Goodbye favorite school dress."  Just me, picking up her room, chucking it all in a laundry basket, and then a box, and then another box and then another basket, saying Goodbye to everything I picked up and threw in.  She kept trying to grab things out of the boxes and baskets, of course.  To which I very calmly directed her to put it back - some other little girl was going to really appreciate all of her things and maybe when she got new things she would be respectful enough to take care of them.  And perhaps she doesn't need so many things.  After I was done, there was not much left in her room.  And a giant pile of "stuff" in the living room.  Of course, by this time, she had completely melted down, and was in a puddle in the middle of the hallway.  Thankfully, Dearest has experience with situations such as this - I am too far gone to even be reasonable trying to talk, so he does for me.  He very calmly reminds Princess that I have warned her multiple times that I would take her things away if she didn't take care of them.  And now Mommy is just doing what she said she would do.  Perhaps, he suggests, if she helps get the items sorted and tidied up as she has been asked, she can earn her favorite things back again (like her brand new rollerskates and Fluffy Puppy).

As a result, instead of finishing up with this week's scheduled list items, I've spent all evening sorting out my 6-year-old's things. Again.  I just did the same thing when I rearranged her room 3 months ago. We got mostly done tonight, and she did help.  She even happily filled a box with toys she no longer plays with to donate.  And now she's crashed in a pile of nap blankets on the living room floor.  And I'm not worried about it - I can carry her to her bed without tripping over a giant pile of stuff.

Now to tackle the girls' closet.

Pears and Berries

Most often, I prefer a savory salad - garden salad with loads of veggies, or a chicken caesar, etc.  Some days, however, it's all about the sweet.  One of my favorite combinations is pears, pecans, and berries with a vinaigrette.  After a recent Costco trip, I found myself practically wallowing in pears and berries and spring salad mix.  I was, however, sadly out of my favorite Huckleberry Vinaigrette that my thoughtful mother brought back to me from her trip to Montana (I'd been rationing it very, very slowly.).  So I decided to try my hand at a vinaigrette that would have a similar impact on such a salad.  After a brief search online, here's what got whipped together:

1 part honey
2 parts balsamic vinegar
3 parts olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the honey and balsamic vinegar until combined, add salt and pepper.  While whisking, add the olive oil.  Pour over your salad.  Store in the refrigerator.

For the salad itself, I layered blackberries and raspberries on a bed of mixed spring salad greens, along with cubed fresh pear and chopped raw pecans.  I also threw in some jack cheese for added protein, although a more savory cheese, such as gorgonzola or feta would also be delicious and a good counterbalance to all the sweet. 

Intro Post and Paleo Muffins!

Good evening!  My name is Emily, and I'm slowly working on switching my family over to eating more Paleo, and less grain/sugar/processed foods.  I've noticed that the less processed foods and grain/sugar that I eat, the better I feel.  As such, I hope that this blog will inspire me to be more focused on creating healthy habits.  I also plan to post projects found through Pinterest as time goes on.  I don't have any solid plans for this blog at this point - simply a method of tracking and sharing projects both in and out of the kitchen.

PALEO PUMPKIN ALMOND MUFFINS!

adapted from this post on fastpaleo.com:
http://fastpaleo.com/almond-pumpkin-paleo-muffins/

This is what I came up with, given the ingredients I had on hand:

1.5 C almond meal
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
3 t pumpkin pie spice

1 C canned 100% pumpkin (or cooked mashed pumpkin, if you have it available to you at the last minute when you decide to whip up last-minute muffins)
1 ripe banana, mashed
2 T honey
3 eggs
1.5 t vanilla
2-ish T almond butter

 Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Beat the eggs, combine with wet ingredients.

Blueberry thief - caught in the act!

Sift dry ingredients together, add to wet ingredients. Stir to combine. Add a cup of fresh blueberries if you like (we do - so we did!).











Stir to combine. As these are grain/gluten-free, the batter won't react like standard muffins, so don't worry about stirring only to combine. Stir away. You won't hurt anything.







Divide into muffin tins and bake - approximately 18 minutes for standard muffins, 8-10 minutes for mini muffins. Store in your fridge (if they last long enough to store!).

They started flying off the counter before they were even cooled....

Suggestion: allow to rest in the pan for a bit until they come out clean. As these have no gluten, they do have a tendency to fall apart when they are warm. I would also suggest that if you use berries, as we did, instead of beating them into the batter, drop them in to the muffin tins after they are filled. Berries at the bottom only create a mess as you pull them out of the tins.

Baby muffins!

The texture is a little bran-muffin-y, but considerably sweet and overall satisfies that overwhelming muffin craving when it hits. These were a hit in my house, and have led to a few suggestions for add-ins. First on our list to try: toasted coconut and crushed pineapple instead of blueberries. Cacao nibs will also be tried soon. Perhaps toasted coconut and cacao nibs? I'll keep you updated.