grocery haul!

I grocery shop every two weeks so this is the first of two shopping trips for January. I came in just under $200.00, so that leaves me $200.00 for my next trip. I think my husband was a little impressed.

I found some really awesome deals, including ten loaves of french bread that we got at walmart on clearance for .60 a loaf. I found the almond milk at sharp shopper for 1.49 each, I got 5 of them. I plan on freezing one to see if it freezes well so the next time I find it that cheap, I can stock up. I also found nitrate and msg free chicken breast sandwich meat, $2.38 a lb. I got 2 lbs., 24 pack of string cheese for $3.99 and a 2 lb brick of colby cheese for $4.49.

I will post my menu soon!

grocery challenge tip

Your freezer is your friend. Not only will your freezer save you money but, it will also save you time and keep you from the unhealthy food at the  drive thru.

Are you cooking beans for chili or chicken for fajitas? Make a double or triple batch and freeze the extra. This has saved me so much money on busy nights. Instead of getting take out, I grab my frozen beans, defrost them in my microwave and make bean and cheese burritos. The kids pile them with salsa and sour cream and we're good to go.

Find a great sale on butter or milk? Buy extra and freeze it. One of the best times to stock up on butter is during the holidays when the prices drop. 

if you have space In your freezer,  grab some extra  gallons of milk. It will save you from making milk runs.

If you aren't sure if you can freeze it, test it. So far, I have had no problems freezing things.

Some more things you may or may not have known you can freeze:

Avocados

spinach

kale

apples

Cheese

eggs

whole tomatoes

homemade cookie dough

cookies

chocolate

This is just a short list, just so you get an idea.

GROCERY BUDGET CUT CHALLENGE

Six months ago, Our grocery budget was $800 a month for 9 people. This was the biggest budget I have ever had! It was great but, yep, there is a but! It was too much. With so much wiggle room, I was buying things we didn't need. Sure, we could always use/eat these extras, but that's what they were, extras. So, I cut the budget to $600.  

Now that I have gotten into a routine with my monthly $600 grocery budget, I think it's time for a little challenge for me and my family and of course anyone else who thinks they need a change.

I am cutting my budget from $600 to $400. It is still for a family of 9. my 9 includes 4 adults, 2 teenage boys and 3 teenage daughters. This will also include dog food for 5 dogs and chicken & duck feed for the 8 chickens and 4 ducks.

My rules are pretty simple:

1. I can use things that are already in my pantry and freezer

2. I can accept anything given to me 

3: bartering/trading is allowed (I have duck eggs and chicken eggs...)

4. I cannot add money to my $400 no matter where it comes from

My kids have mixed feelings about this challenge. Some of them want to help and some think we will be eating nothing but beans and rice. My husband is all for anything that saves money. I think we can do this and eat well. So now it's time to find out!

Corn and pumpkin white chicken chili

I know, I know. It's been a while, but, life happens and sometimes I forget I have a blog. It's what makes me a terrible blogger. But, I have a delicious recipe to share, so here I am.
I make a white chicken chili that is soooo delicious but, I can no longer eat it due to the large amount of dairy that goes into it. So, the other night it was on the menu for the family and I said NO! Not tonight. I want to eat this chili so how can I make it dairy free? I went to my pantry and grabbed some canned white beans and then stared at the shelves. After much brain storming (like 3.16 minutes) I came up with a plan and kind of just kept adding to it as I went along, coming up with this fantastic white chili

Corn and pumpkin white chicken chili

4 cans white beans, drained
2 cups cooked, cubed or shredded chicken
1 can corn
1 can pumpkin
1 med. onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
2 tsp garlic powder
2 pks taco seasoning (I prefer taco seasoning to chili seasoning)
3 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp pepper
salt to taste
2 cups almond milk
1/4 cup flour
water

in a large pan add olive oil and onions. cook on medium heat until onions are transparent. add garlic and cook until light brown. whisk in flour and 1/4 cup almond milk until flour is well mixed and there are no lumps. Add in the rest of the almond milk.
Add pumpkin and corn, mix well
Stir in garlic powder, taco seasoning and pepper.
Add beans and chicken.
Add enough water to cover the ingredients
cook on med/low for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Once done add salt to taste

My kids topped this with cheese and sour cream. You could also use toasted chick peas, pepitas, sunflower seeds or tortilla strips or chips. Oh the possibilities......

Inspired! Things you can do with cabbage, bread, donuts, cornmeal and apples

The last two days I have been given some pretty awesome food

A nice lady in my church gave me several pounds of gleaned apples and another sweet lady gave me a red cabbage, delicious homemade donuts and bread, and 2 bags of cornmeal. 

Can I just say, I love free anything, especially food! It's fun to take ingredients and come up with something to make out of them. 

So here is what I did!

Homemade applesauce paired with Ruth's delicious homemade donuts

 Cabbage and apples were the perfect addition to these sour cream ranch chicken roll ups

My  cinnamon and pumpkin cornbread. This is sooo yummy and will be our breakfast tomorrow

Last but not least, this is a favorite of one of my daughters. Cream cheese and red bell pepper on Ruth's homemade bread 

The pizza dough I use for my stromboli

I found this recipe years ago and I use it for pizza, bread sticks and now Stromboli. I double, triple and quadruple this recipe as I have such a large family and often feed friends and missionaries. A single batch will make 1 Stromboli


pizza dough

3 cups all purpose flour
2 tbs active dry yeast
2 tbs vegetable or olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbs granulated sugar
1 cup warm water


Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. mix well then add wet ingredients.
sprinkle a generous amount of flour on counter and roll out dough to desired size.
bake at 375 for 25 minutes

Down sizing, a big decision

When we were looking for a new home for our family, I had two requirements. I wanted a little more land and I wanted a smaller house.  Smaller seemed a little crazy considering our family size but frankly, I was tired of cleaning such a big space. Yes we had more closets, bigger closets even. We had 3 full bathrooms, and  a garage that was 3 times the size as the new garage but all that meant to me, was more cleaning, and more stuff. More places to put that stuff. Down sizing meant decluttering, prioritizing, deciding what was actually important. 

I got rid of dish sets, clothes, pots and pans, old blankets, books that my kids had not read in years. Even after we moved I was finding things that we didn't want, need or use. We had to get rid of furniture that didn't fit in the new house. I admit that sometimes I would feel a little sad to get rid of certain things, but I would remind myself it was just stuff. It wasn't even sentimental! Just plain old stuff that we had collected over the years and we no longer needed it. 

The smaller house makes me more aware. I can't just bring whatever I want home because there is no room. I have to consider all purchases, even clothing. My closet is 5 times smaller than my Lake Tapps closet, we even had to take off the doors to make everything fit!

Do I regret our choice to downsize? I love our new house. I do miss having a walk-in closet and master bathroom but other than that, no. I don't regret it. The cleaning gets done so much faster. The kids have enough space and less stuff to clutter up that space. 

One day all my kids will move out and even this house will seem too big. It will no longer matter that I don't have a walk-in closet or a master bathroom because there will be no children to share with. So I choose to enjoy these years with them in our small house, even the times I am banging on the bathroom door and yelling at them to hurry up

our Lake Tapps house

Our new house. Yes there is a downstairs!

Who wants Stromboli?

I finally made stromboli and it was soooo good. It was also very easy. 

You can use any kind of meat you want or none at all. Here is my recipe

Homemade Stromboli

1 batch of homemade pizza dough
1/2 lb pepperoni
1/2 lb ham
2 cups cheese (I use a mix of cheddar and mozzarella)
1 cup pizza sauce
1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2-3 cloves of garlic, diced

roll your dough out into a rectangle, about the size of a cookie sheet
spread pizza sauce evenly down the middle of the dough
place the meats evenly over the sauce and sprinkle the cheese over the meat
fold both ends of dough in, about 1 inch
fold both sides over the middle so everything is secured tightly
place on to a cookie sheet. the stromboli should be as long as the cookie sheet and cover half of it

mix melted butter, diced garlic and garlic powder. spread over the top of the prepared stromboli

Bake in oven at 375 for 25 minutes

I make two at a time

Very simple 2 week meal plans

I don't grocery shop according to my menu. I make a menu according to what I buy. Of course I have ideas because my family eats a lot of the same meals. But there are times (every grocery trip) I will have food items on my list that I have to substitute with something else or forgo completely due to cost or availability. I also like to explore cookbooks to see what new things I can make.
I try to shop according to what I already have on hand, what I am low on or out of. I do a pretty good job at keeping track but every now and then something gets hidden, even in my small kitchen. Last night I found a few pounds of organic brown rice and about a pound of quinoa shoved way back in one of my cabinets. I'm going to have to blame the kids for that one since that has kind of turned into their snack cupboard.

Here are my menus for the next two weeks. I like simple and easy for the kids to follow. If I need to change anything, I can either make the change on my computer and print up a new one or change it by hand with a pencil (my usual method).

2 week Neeld grocery haul

Today was my 2 week grocery shopping trip. I feed 9 people and I have a $300 budget every two weeks. That also includes non food, dog food (once a month), chicken and duck feed (once every 6 weeks) and hay(1-2 bales every few months).  We eat a decently healthy diet but my 6 teenagers, 1 husband, and 1 grandmother will never allow a 100% make over. So, I make a lot of things homemade, which allows me to control what goes in our food ( like say, a sneaky can of pumpkin and 1/2 the sugar in treats) and I squeeze veggies in as much as possible. I am not opposed to having a few quick go-tos in the freezer for super busy days or potlucks that I forgot about (it happens at least twice a month). We also have several birthdays this month so there are ingredients for cakes, brownies or whatever dessert I end up making.
I shop at Sharp Shopper, Costco and Aldi. The majority of my groceries for this grocery trip came from Sharp Shopper. They are pretty comparable to the Grocery Outlet but bigger and they also sell bulk items.

I came way under budget at $232.00. I even splurged on a gallon of apple cider which cost 2.99 at Aldi


This is my grocery haul. Since we were given 80 lbs of bananas and I have apples coming out my ears, I only bought a little bit of fruit

My new favorite thing (I have alot of favorites!)!!!!

I first saw these fun little chalk board labels at

 www.blissfulanddomestic.com. (great blog by the way)

Today, I found them at Walmart, 24 for $2.97!!

The second I got home I labeled all of my jars.
 Thanks Danielle, this is genious

Bananas and more bananas

This weekend we were given 80lbs of bananas. That's right, I said 80lbs! What does one do with 80 lbs of bananas in one weekend? Dry them, freeze them, and share them with our neighbors!

Husband filling up the dehydrator trays

Freezer full of smashed and chopped bananas

Dried bananas!

My dining room, a work in progress

My home is an unending work in progress. It is small for my family of 9 (1850sf) but it has such a homey, welcoming feel and I want each room to reflect that. At the moment my focus has been my bedroom (see faux headboard before and after post)and my dining room. Every week I try and do something in one or both of these rooms. 

Here are some pictures of my dining room. 

These curtains are temporary. I'm a bit indecisive, solid color or print??

Can I just say, I love the wall stickers! They are inexpensive and really add to a bare wall

The frame on this picture was gold for 13 years and I have always hated it. But I love the picture, so when I painted my faux headboard, I painted the frame and now I love it. And, I love the wall sticker here too! We often have dinner guests and this saying is very fitting for our home

Got any ideas? I will keep working and sharing!

Just a homemade girl style

It's been a while since I've posted a snazzy outfit with my "model". But with fall pushing summer out of the way I thought I would share one that is fitting for the season.

One of my favorite things to wear is a comfy pair of jeans(free) and t-shirt ($4.96 at Walmart). The flannel (it's my daughter's) takes it from blah to stylish

 We added a long silver necklace that I picked up from Goodwill for $2.50

And because I love boots! I found these several years ago on clearance at Old Navy for $5.00!!!

Home grown sunflower seeds!

This year I grew sunflowers. Joe eats sunflower seeds like crazy so I thought I would try my hand at growing them. They were huge! Each sunflower harvested tons of seeds. 

It was in the harvesting that Joe took interest in these giant seed producing flowers. He started researching them online and learning everything he could about removing the seeds from the flower, drying them out, flavoring them, how long they lasted. It has been interesting to watch him. It has also given me the opportunity to work on other things.

 This is the kind of sunflowers we grew. Most of them are about the size of a frisbee

These are some seeds that Joe harvested. They are delicious!

Faux headboard before and after

I have been working on some DIY home decor. My first project is the master bedroom and I started with the headboard since we needed a new one. After searching the internet I came up with a rough idea and visited the local thrift stores, antique stores and flea markets.

        I found two of these lovely little cabinet doors

 at a flea market by my house

I painted them with some craft paint. The color is called, pavement

I found this fleur de lis printed burlap material on clearance at Walmart. I glued it with a hot glue gun

This is my bed (unmade) before my faux headboard. It is so boring!

This is my homemade faux headboard and  fun wall stickers I found at Walmart

I am far from done with the room but so far, I like it

A full Summer 2014

Our summer has come to an end. School has started, I have harvested most of my garden and my chickens aren't laying as much even with the threats. This summer was different from the rest. 

It began with a death and it ended with a death

 We lost a beloved nephew/cousin/grandson the end of May.

 He was only 21.

The kids went to a youth conference, the girls went to girls camp and the boys went to scout camp.

We took family pictures. It doesn't sound like a big deal but for my family it is quite the event. As you can see, they are all smiling

We moved here the very end of March so my Garden was thrown together very quickly. I had a lot of help from my church missionaries and my kids. 

Not everything I planted did well but I still count the garden as a success.

I am still getting tomatoes, Joe and Shelby just harvested some of our sunflower seeds. I recently planted some more snap peas and I will plant garlic in October. I have enough onions, tomatoes, freezer pickles and butternut squash to last until at least February (I think). We didn't have to buy a lot of produce this summer because we ate what we grew. So overall, not too bad for a last minute garden.

I visited southern Virginia 

Picked strawberries, cherries and blueberries at a local fruit farm.

Collected chickens and a duck. And then some more ducks

We celebrated my son Gabe's birthday and my husband Joe's birthday.

We went to NYC

We stopped by Hershey, Pennsylvania, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Fort Indian Gap, Pennsylvania

August 16th,the day before Joe's birthday, his sweet Nanny passed away.

 We attended her funeral in Levittown, Pennsylvania (I think that's where we were anyway. So many Pennsylvania stops). We also got to visit with a lot of his family members, including a brother, sisters, dad, aunts, uncles and lots of cousins. There were so many great memories of Nanny shared.

Joe has a wonderful family. I love their closeness and I love how much they all love their Nanny. I am very grateful for having her for my Nanny too and I will truly miss her.

NYC through my eyes

   We recently took a trip to NYC. If you have ever been there, you know how completely different it really is. My kids were shocked at some of the things that they not only saw but these things appeared to be legal. Such as a naked elderly woman holding a guitar right smack in the middle of downtown. Right across the street were Police officers that paid her no mind. And here I thought people were struggling with the "indecency" of public breastfeeding. (yes I'm being sarcastic, breastfeeding should never be considered indecent)

The garbage that piles up on the side of the roads. All the roads it seems. I heard myself repeating the same thing to my kids as we explored: Be careful of the garbage and don't step in the puddles! 

We won't discuss the lack of traffic laws since the entire united states is well aware through reading or actually experiencing the insane mindset of the NYC driver. I have driving teenagers and I am so grateful we do not live there. I am trying to teach them how to be good, cautious and courteous drivers. The examples being set by NYC drivers are not what comes to mind when I think of those three words.

As I looked around for pictures to take of the city I noticed the obvious beauty of the city and the not so obvious, less photographed things. The obscure, forgotten, ironic, humbling, etc., etc., etc.....

The beautiful and ironic

                                      

The forgotten 

The humbling

                                                         

  The magnificent

 The ironic

            The strong           

                                                                       

 The obscure

The tall and proud

The never forgotten

My suggestion to anyone who has never been to NYC. Go! Experience it. See the city for the beauty that lies there.

Take a taxi!