January Expenses: 1/27-1/31& The Month in Review

Today being the last week of January I am doing my weekly expenditures a bit early since I also want to do a review of the month.
This week's expenses:

1/27: $103 for cell phone bill; $50 for my portion of the expenses for upcoming 50th Anniversary party for oldest sister and brotherinlaw; $21.96 for ice cream for birthday party

1/28:$0

1/29: $46 for gas for SUV

1/30: $0

1/31: I anticipate spending $0 today. It is dinner date night but I will be cooking a special meal at GF's house this week for us.


All in all I am satisfied with how things have gone moneywise this month and really happy with how I managed to stay within the pantry challenge grocerywise. All the bills have been paid in full and with my taxes done and filed I am looking forward to paying off that personal loan and being able to put the amount I spent monthly for that into my savings  in February.

 Outside of the regular bills I spent:
 Gas: $130 (thanks to GF who used a gift card to fill up my SUV one weekend since he'd done a lot of driving in it..monthly budget: $180)
Pets: $6 (monthly budget $20 since middle son is responsible for dog food and I am responsible for cat food /litter)
Assorted Household items (apron, lamp, baskets,travel mug,boot holder, nightlight): $71.84 (monthly budget $50..I was over)
Cleaning/health & beauty/paper goods: $83.03 (monthly budget of $100)
Leisure and Entertainment (includes bowling, dining out, crochet supplies, .): $107.34 (budget is $110 mostly for bowling)
Birthday party expenses including gift: $117.52  (expensive but I only do parties for my two youngest and since this was a joint party for my nephew it ended up being quite a bit less money than an individual party would be if I'd had the expense of main food and paper goods).
Special events: $50

The Pantry Challenge: Here is my original blog about the challenge with the specific goals I wanted to acheive:
http://www.aroundakitchentable.blogspot.com/2012/12/pantry-challenge-and-menu-making.html
Goal 1: Eating down the freezer/pantry: We did this very well although we still have quite a bit of stuff so I think I may be able to extend this in a minimal way into February. We do need to restock meat and poultry.
Goal 2: Keeping under $150 for grocery expenses: I spent: $146.11
Goal 3: Less waste..although I was forced to toss out a few leftovers the kids declined to eat and which got stuck at the back of the fridge and forgot about I did not have to throw away perfectly good food I'd purchased and never used before it went bad. Keeping fresh produce and dairy purchases to a minimum each week has helped tremendously here. There is still room for improvement. I need to keep a closer eye on the leftover situation and get things in the freezer that the kids won't eat up right away.

My favorite power breakfast

On weekends I cook a breakfast, usually bacon, or ham, or sausage with either an egg dish or pancakes, french toast, or waffles but during the work week I like to keep it simple and quick and healthy. Sometimes this means greek style yogurt with fruit or a granola bar. But during the winter more often than not this means my favorite oatmeal blend.

I take old fashioned oats , a dash of coffee creamer, a teaspoon of Truvia, a sprinkle of cinnamon, a small amount of sliced almonds and a bit of dried cranberries and combine them in a bowl.

Add water and pop it into the microwave for two and a half minutes.

Give it a good stir with a spoon and enjoy!

 

A wonderful surprise and February's grocery list

Last night I had a wonderful suprise. GF had taken his car in for some needed maintenance and I had to drive him from one side of Cleveland to the other from his workplace to pick up his car. We decided to pick up my teens and all go out to dinner (even though he'd just treated us on Monday to dinner out to celebrate youngest son's birthday) and since my state income tax refund had hit my account (a nice surprise but not the one in the subject line) I volunteered to treat us all. We settled on Pizzaz a local small inexpensive pizza and pasta joint near us. When the check arrived I got the most wonderful surprise, my 18 year old daughter picked it up and said she 'had this one'. She's been working her first job for a couple of months now and wanted to do something nice for us. What a kid!!
Now that I have my menu plans in place for February I have reviewed the contents of my deep freezer and pantry shelves and sat down and made a shopping list, divided into the stores I plan on going to. It is going to be a full shopping trip this time. We used up quite a bit of stores during last month's pantry challenge but surprisingly we still have a lot on hand.

Here's the list as it stands so far:
Gordon Food Service:
pasta ( egg noodles, bowties, penne,seashells)
assorted frozen veggies (peas, green beans, broccoli)
chicken soup base
au jus base
eggrolls
BJ's Wholesale Club:
ground beef/meatloaf mix
whole pork loin
pork tenderloin
roasting chicken
short ribs
london broil
dried cranberries
milk
Aldi:
eggs
chips
oatmeal
sour cream
cottage cheese
yogurt
cheeses
canned creamed corn
canned diced tomatoes
steak sauce
coffee creamer
dried cherries
elbow macaroni
spaghetti
boneless skinless chicken breasts
chicken strips
potatoes
celery
carrots
mushrooms
onions
salad items
fruit (apples? oranges? grapefruit?)

Nonfood Items:
trash bags
storage bags
toothpaste
shampoo
fabric softener
cleanser
carpet deodorizer
toilet paper
paper towels

February Menus

  I have finally finished up my menu plans for February. We have several special events coming up for which I do not need to have a dinner plan in place. We have one wedding, one 50th anniversary party, a Super Bowl party, and a Night at the Races fundraiser all in February. I am sure we will also attend at least one Fish Fry at my school but I made up dinner menus for all Fridays just in case we decide not to. Even after doing the Pantry Challenge this month I still have quite a bit of meat and fish in the deep freezer and a lot of canned goods on the shelves. I took this into account when coming up with these menus. I will do a shopping list based on the menus as well as taking a look at what needs restocking in the pantry and what we need to have on hand for breakfast and weekend lunches.
New recipes that I am going to try out are in bold. Recipes using planned over ingredients have an * next to them.

February Dinner Menus:

1. Spaghetti and Meatballs, salad

2. Apple brined pork chops, twice baked potatoes, carrots

3. Super Bowl Party

4. Chicken and Corn Chowder, sweet potato biscuits

5. Asian Broiled Salmon, Coconut Rice, peas

6. Herbed Eye of Round, white and wild rice, country style Brussels sprouts

7: Dinner Date Night: Apple Cinnamon Pork Tenderloin, oven roasted parmesan potatoes, salad

8. Casserole of Beef and Potatoes*, glazed carrots

9: Anniversary Party

10.  Roasted Chicken,   au gratin potatoes, Harvard Beets

11.  Minestrone Soup, Italian herb rolls

12. Chicken Creole, white rice, salad

13. Mom’s Baked Macaroni & Cheese, broccoli with lemon and herbs

14: Valentine’s Day: Dinner Date Night

15.  Penne Pasta with Tuna and Sun Dried Tomatoes

16. Wedding

17. Hawaiian style short ribs, steamed white rice, green beans

18: Pasta Au Pistou, salad, garlic bread

19 Horseradish encrusted tilapia, baked potatoes, broccoli

20: Chicken and Wild Rice soup* homemade Hawaiian rolls

21 Dinner Date Night: Chicken Scallopini Italiano, garlic parmesan orzo, salad

22 Tuna Noodle Casserole, green beans almondine

23: Night at the Races raffle

24: Herb Roasted Loin of Pork with Potatoes, roasted carrots and parsnips

25 Crab cakes, noodles Romanov, broccoli with garlic and herbs

26 Pork fried rice*, eggrolls

27 Philly Steak stuffed peppers, homemade fries

28 Dinner Date Night: Coffee rubbed London broil, scalloped potatoes, green beans

Financial week in review: 1/20-1/26

It was another expensive week although I did have some extra expenses I also did manage to finish both my federal and state income tax forms and efile the state and have my federal ready to go on the 30th. Healthy returns in both cases means I can meet a couple of financial goals I have set for myself.
Here are this week's expenditures:
1/20: $0

1/21: $20 for bowling; $14.49 at Alesci's (a small Italian import store) for white balsamic vinegar, pizza dough, white pizza dough sauce, rotini salad; $30.84 at local craft store for crocheting supplies for a pashmina project

1/22: $28.53 on Amazon for birthday gift for my nephew

1/23: $0

1/24: $ 20.50 for chinese food

1/25: $0

1/26: $34.56 at BJs for birthday party supplies (two large bags romaine lettuce, large container grape tomatoes) and laundry detergent
$18.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond for Keurig coffee and an eco-friendly travel cup so I can drink coffee on the way to work
$44.87 at Target for gift bag, tissue paper, birthday card, bow, Estroven nighttime, and soda pop for the birthday party

Total Expenses this week: $212.78; only $14.49 from my regular food budget though since the birthday party supplies fall into the 'party' category and the $20.50 for chinese come under dining out.

What a week....

This has been one long cold week. Monday was a school holiday that I'd originally planned on spending doing all things domestic. A death in the extended family put an end to those plans. Life happens and the morning was spent saying our farewells. Dinner was Chicken Paprikash soup made from Sunday's roasted chicken and totally off the menu plans.  Temperatures dropped into the single digits and snow hit us hard overnight and Tuesday became a Snow Day! I did a few of the domestic things I had planned, baking a batch of Coconut Crisp cookies, catching up laundry, and having lunch with my oldest son and his wife since they were both home as well. At it was bowling night  as well and I decided to ignore my menu again and do a homemade white pizza for dinner, simple and quick and it used up the rest of a container of grape tomatoes that were starting to look wrinkled. Wednesday temps were still frigid and we woke up here to a lot of falling snow. However schools were in session so off to school for the kids and off to work for me. A two hour long white knuckle commute as it turned out. Scary but when I finally reached my destination it was to find that they had no snow and the sun was shining. Just us folks along Lake Erie who got blessed this time.
A change in routine on Wednesday and the GF and I had dinner date night and went out to dinner for a change.
Last night was totally off the menu plans yet again (I see a pattern developing here) and sons and I indulged in some of our favorite Chinese takeout, getting the family dinner and spending $20.50 from my entertainment budget.
Temperatures are slowing inching their way up the thermometer and we should top out at a balmy 19!! And it is back on the menu plan finally with dinner being Pomegranate glazed Cornish game hens, white and wild rice pilaf, and garlicky green beans.

Weekend Happenings

Although we are anticipating a blast of arctic air out of Canada in the next couple of days we had a lovely spring like day yesterday with highs in the mid 50s. 
It was a nice quiet Saturday (i.e. no social obligations), a few chores got done, gentleman friend took us out  to Chipotle for lunch, we ran some errands and since it was getting late we picked up an already roasted chicken for dinner.  I love to roast my own chicken (usually way bigger than the done ones and far less expensive too) but these are a nice convenient option and far healthier than fast food would be.
Scrounging around in GF's pantry cupboard and fridge I came up with 3/4 of a bag of kluski noodles (that I cooked and buttered then seasoned with salt and pepper) and the fixins for 'Hawaiian' coleslaw for sides.
The coleslaw is simply a mixture of shredded cabbage and carrots, Marzetti light slaw dressing  and a well drained can of crushed pineapple .

A really nice dinner if I say so myself and a evening spent talking and watching a little tv together.

I do a cooked breakfast on Sunday mornings and GF had some organic bacon in the freezer which I popped into the electric skillet and cooked up. He also had several slices of a loaf of bread that needed to be used before it was too late so I whipped up some beaten egg & milk with a pinch of sugar and cinnamon in it and made french toast to go along with the bacon. Coffee rounded out the meal.
Once breakfast was out of the way I took the remains of the roast chicken, added onion, garlic, celery, carrots, parsley and a bit of marjoram and put it in the slow cooker covering it all with water.
It will cook on high until the evening. GF had a death in the family so we will be heading to the wake at the funeral home this afternoon and then plan on joining other family members for an early dinner out somewhere.
The stock I am making will be put into the fridge where after tomorrow's funeral service I will skim off the fat bring it to a boil, add more carrots and egg noodles and serve it for a late lunch. GF will also have the leftovers for one of his weeknight meals.