I Screwed up! Really!!

When we last connected on the grocery budget I had just over $37 remaining to spend for the week.

I went to four stores to use the remainder of this week's money. 

Let's take a Look at My Grocery Run!

Store #1: SAMS

Earlier this week, we were passing by SAMS and I remembered that we had a $10 gift card that they gave us when we renewed our membership recently.

 Major foreshadowing!! 

 

I was stopping by a store with the express purpose of spending grocery money and I had not brought along my grocery envelope. 

I bought:  

18 oz. portobello mushrooms  -  I know they are more expensive than button mushrooms.  But, we like them so much better that it's worth the extra buck to us. 

5 pounds of organic sweet potatoes -  Because these have actual nutritional value, they made me feel better about the final item on the list. 

Big bag of brown sugar - I know!  It's bad for me and contains nothing but empty calories.  But, I have FIVE college age young men coming to my house on Sunday evening to play a rousing five hour (I'm not kidding) game of Dungeons and Dragons.  My son, James, is the dungeon master.  I have no idea what that means.  But, I do know that it means that I need SUGAR!  Seriously! I am making a huge pan of gingerbread, strawberry/rhubarb crisp, and a bodacious number of egg salad sandwiches.  And, even then, I don't know if I will keep them filled up. 

What I spent:  $4.96 after the register took off my $10.00 gift card.  

Store #2: ALDI (two trips)

 Aldi is one of my favorite places to shop!  Their prices nearly always rival traditional supermarkets.  Their quality has improved vastly in the past couple of decades and they are consistently introducing new products.  They have both an organic and gluten free line of products.  

I popped in this week especially for their great sale on grapes:  $.79 a pound!  

What I spent:  (Trip 1) Lots of grapes:  $3.46

 You just can't beat $.98 for a gallon of milk at Aldi!

I added:

A bottle of lemon juice
10 pounds of potatoes
A jar of sweet pickle relish.

What I spent:  (Trip 2) $7.60

 

Store #3: WALMART

 

I have never found a cheaper price on no-salt tomatoes!  Walmart leads the pack in the thrifty canned tomato market.  Each large 32 oz. can is $1.24. 

What I spent:   $5.01

Store #4: KROGER

See this post for my tips on shopping at Kroger. 

What I spent: 

$5 off 5 items:
Buy any combination of 5 and get $5 off of your total! 

Edys Ice Cream.  Coffee flavored!  Yum!  $2.49

Kroger Shredded Cheese:  32 oz.  Kroger had sent me a $1.25 coupon in the mail!  $3.74

 Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade:  2 jars.  $.99 each!
Cheerios: $1.89  I had loaded a $.50 coupon on my Kroger card and it didn't take it off.  Always double-check your receipt before leaving the store!  😞

Sales Flyer Items:  

 

 Strawberries - 2 pound containers - $1.25 a pound!  I got 4 pounds.  $5.00

Fresh peaches - $.69 a pound!  Great price!  I spent $2.32

Markdowns in the produce section:

Kroger kale salad mix.  5 ounce bag.  $1.29

A large 4 ounce container of fresh basil $.99
 
Anything in a red bag on the produce markdown rack is just $.99!  This basil will become a large batch of pesto.  We plan freeze some of it for later use on brown rice or pasta.

The rest of it will be used on basil toast. 

Basil Toast:

 Directions: 

Toast some pieces of bread (day old is great for this recipe!)
Rub the toast slices with a piece of fresh garlic.
Add some of the pesto.
Top with diced fresh tomato.
Drizzle with some good balsamic vinegar (optional)

The question on everyone's mind is:

Did I Spend More than $80?

The answer is:  YES!  

Believe me, I am just as surprised as you are!   When I left this morning I was very careful to spend just money I had in my cash envelope.  I came home with  $1.56.  

$1.56 was left in my cash envelope

But, when I entered the totals into Every Dollar, I found that I had actually spent $83. 49.  How was this possible??!!  

That's when the sad truth came to me.  Out of habit, I had scanned my debit card ONE time this week for one single purchase The self-check at SAMS doesn't take cash!  I had apparently forgotten to take the money from the envelope when I got home.  Drat!  I had tried to be so careful! 

The $3.49 was almost the exact amount of the ten pounds of potatoes from Aldi.  I thought - seriously - about taking the potatoes back so that I would be right at $80 for the week.  But, really, I need them for the shepherd's pie that I am making.  Also, I believe that being totally transparent about my mistakes is really important.  

So, there it is!  I messed up! 

However, in an effort to end the month having spent no more than $320, I will subtract $3.49 from next week's grocery allotment.  

The lesson I learned this week is:  

Always spend from your cash envelope!  

Stay with me as I attempt to spend no more than $320 this month to feed a family of seven.  Next week we start with $76.51 to spend for the week.

Clearly I need more of your tips and encouragement! 

  So, please help me out and enter my June contest!

If you've not already entered, head over to our contest page!  Click here!  You can read all about my June food budget challenge and enter for the chance to win a copy of  of one of my favorite books, Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half, by Steve and Annette Economides.

Don't Miss Any of Our Posts!

Follow me on Facebook at:  https://www.facebook.com/underthemedian/ 
Sign up to receive e-mails by filling in the "follow by e-mail" link on the main page.  

Remember, 

Do all to the glory of God, 

Hope

 

Cheap Eats: Smoky White Bean Soup with Herbal Crisps

I developed this recipe one day when I wanted the flavor of old-fashioned bean and bacon soup without the meat.  It's thick and delicious and will definitely take you back to those days when your mother opened a can of Campbell's Soup for your lunch!

Yep.  We eat soup year round.  It's cheap to make and if you use a crock pot or pressure cooker it doesn't take up a lot of your time and won't heat up your kitchen.  Best of all, if you make it yourself it can be low sodium and really nutritious.  

Prep Instructions:   

I make my soup in my trusty pressure cooker.  But, you can make it in a crock pot or stove top.

For the pressure cooker, just wash 4 cups of white beans and throw them into the pot.

For crock pot or stove top, soak 4 cups of beans in twice the volume of water. The next morning, drain the water and then proceed with the recipe as written.  This recipe will completely fill an 8 quart crockpot to the top. 

Chop carrots, celery, and onions.  Mince garlic.  Add to the soup pot along with 8 cups of water and a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes.  I use salt free tomatoes to cut back on sodium. 

Add the seasoning, liquid smoke, and Bragg's aminos to the pot.

Pressure cooker:  cook 24 minutes under pressure with a natural release.
Crock pot:  cook 8 hours on "low" or 4-5 hours on "high".
Stove top:  bring to a boil and then lower to simmer for 90-120 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Smoky White Bean Soup

Herbal crisps. 

Add fresh cracked black pepper to taste just before serving.

Enjoy with a side of freshly baked herbal crisps. 

Herbal crisps are a great day to use up bread that is starting to go stale.  They are like huge croutons and are fantastic dipped in hot soup.  You can also serve them as a snack on their own dipped in homemade marinara sauce or french onion dip. 
 

Smoky White Bean Soup

Serves 8

White Beans - 4 cups - rinsed and sorted
Carrots - 2 medium - diced
Celery - 3 stalks -sliced
Onion - 1 medium - diced
Garlic - 4 cloves - minced
Crushed Tomatoes - 28 ounce can
Water - 8 cups
No salt seasoning - 1 Tblsp.
Garlic Powder - 1 tsp.
Onion Powder - 1 Tblsp
Dried Parsley - 1 Tblsp.
Dried Basil - 1 Tblsp
Liquid Smoke - 1 Tblsp.
Bragg's Aminos - 1 Tblsp. (optional.  Or add 1 Tblsp. of soy sauce instead) 
Fresh cracked black pepper - to taste

Instructions. 

I make my soup in my trusty pressure cooker.  But, you can make it in a crock pot or stove top.  

For the pressure cooker:  just wash 4 cups of white beans and throw them into the pot.  

For crock pot or stove top:  soak 4 cups of beans in twice the volume of water. The next morning, drain the water and then proceed with the recipe as written.  This recipe will fill an 8 quart crockpot or cooking pot to the top. 

Chop carrots, celery, and onions.  Mince garlic.  Add to the soup pot along with 8 cups of water and a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes.  I use salt free tomatoes to cut back on sodium. 

Add the seasoning, liquid smoke, and Bragg's aminos to the pot.  

Pressure cooker:  cook 24 minutes under pressure with a natural release.  

Crock pot:  cook 8 hours on "low" or 4-5 hours on "high".  

Stove top:  bring to a boil and then lower to simmer for 90-120 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add fresh cracked black pepper to taste just before serving.

 Herbal Crisps

Serves 6

1 loaf of day old bread

1/4 cup of olive oil, margarine, or butter

a variety of herbs to sprinkle on top. 

Cut the bread into slices of even thickness.  Place on a baking tray.  If using margarine or butter, place in a microwavable bowl and cook on high for 30 seconds or until melted.  Then, using a pastry brush, apply the oil or butter to both sides of the bread.  Sprinkle with herbs.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, flipping the pieces of bread half way through the cooking time.  Remove when the crisps are browned nicely.  

Use as big croutons to dip in hot soup.  Or as a snack with homemade marinara sauce or french onion dip.  They are also wonderful rubbed with a fresh clove of garlic and topped with fresh, diced tomato and basil. 

If you'd like a downloadable PDF of the Smoky White bean soup  click here.    

If you'd like a downloadable PDF of the Herbal Crisps recipe, click here.  

Enjoy! 

 Remember, 

Do all to the glory of God, 

Hope

This Week's Menu Plan

 

Here it is!  My not-so-fancy Menu Plan!

I'll be using the bounty of this week's CSA box (see this post for a reminder of what I got)

AND

My groceries that I bought for just over $42.00.  (Here's a post on those deals. )

BREAKFASTS:

(2x) Steel Cut Oats - topped with blueberries, soy milk, and a drizzle of real maple syrup

(2x) Cream of Wheat - topped with raisins and a drizzle of real maple syrup

(2x) Homemade Granola -topped with yogurt for those who eat dairy/ soy milk for the rest of us. 

(1x) Made-from-scratch pancakes - my 13 year old sous chef's specialty!  

LUNCHES: 

* Soup is served with raw vegetables, optional bread with peanut butter,  and fruit. 

(2x) Fat Man's Cauliflower Chili - see this post for my review of this new cookbook.  

(1x) Smoky White Bean Soup - This is my recipe and I'll post it for Thursday's "Cheap Eats"! 

(2x) Minestrone Soup
(1x) Egg salad sandwiches (Tuno salad for the vegans) and fruity rice salad over salad greens
(1x)Leftover taco salad roll-ups

SUPPERS:

(1x) - Taco Salad
(1x) - Baked potato bar
(2x) - Pasta Primevara
(1x) - Quick chickpea bolognese  over brown rice
(1x) - Stacked Enchiladas
(1x) - Roasted chicken from SAMS (I have a coupon to get one FREE!) served with roasted root vegetables. 

That's it!  What's cookin' at your house this week?  Leave your menu plan in the comments below.   I love to get new ideas from my readers!

 

Remember to Enter My June Contest!

If you've not already entered, head over to our contest page!  Click here!  You can read all about my June food budget challenge and enter for the chance to win a copy of  of one of my favorite books, Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half, by Steve and Annette Economides.

Don't Miss Any of Our Posts!

Follow me on Facebook at:  https://www.facebook.com/underthemedian/ 
Sign up to receive e-mails by filling in the "follow by e-mail" link on the main page.  

Do all to the glory of God, 

Hope

This Week's Best Buys AND My $42 Saturday Shopping Trip

It's time for me to confess what I bought at the store and then list this week's best buys! 

Don't forget, all month long I'll only be spending no more than $320 this month to feed a family of seven!  I'll be basing my weekly menu plans on the items I purchase for $80 a week and the contents of our weekly CSA produce box.  To see what I got in this week's CSA box, click on this link. 

 

$42.34:  Spent at Three Stores and One Farmer's Market

 

 First Stop:  The Farmer's Market:  $3.00

We picked up our CSA share bright and early Saturday morning.  There's something about seeing all those stalls, filled with fresh produce that just ignites my inner chef.  I spied a bin of small zucchini and yellow summer squash.  I instantly thought of making a spring pasta primavera.  

Second Stop:  The Dollar Store:  $4.04  

I had just used the last of our frozen blueberries.  I picked up four bags for $1.00 each and headed to the door.  They are small 10 ounce bags.  So, a return trip may be necessary before the end of the month, since we throw blueberries on our breakfast oatmeal several times a week.  

See this post for my list of items that I always buy at the Dollar Stores and learn why I like this chain of stores so much!  

Third Stop:  Kroger:  $15.55

Dairy Markdowns and Saturday Only Specials!

 Saturday Only Deals!  Krogers is regularly featuring Saturday only deals.  You have to load the digital coupon onto your Kroger card.  Some readers put me wise to this last week and I found that even a technology-challenged person like me can easily sign up on their website and download the coupons to your store loyalty card.  The sour cream, cottage cheese, and dip were the large 24 ounce size and only $.99 each!  I don't eat dairy.  But, there are going to be some happy dairy lovers in my house this week.
 

Dairy Aisle markdowns galore!  I found Chobani yogurt on clearance for $.49 each.  I bought 12 of them and plan to use most of them to top homemade granola.  We use granola more for snacks than we do for breakfast.   

My Kroger markdown aisle deals.

Markdown aisle bargains!  All Kroger stores have an aisle dedicated to product markdowns.  It is always worth the time to peruse this aisle when visiting your local Kroger.  I found brown rice syrup for $1.59 a jar and Greek yogurt dressing for $.99.

Donuts:  Somehow the container of 12 glazed donuts for $1.99 (a Saturday only deal) and the free sports drink (a Friday Freebie download coupon) didn't make the photo.  Really, I give you my word it was not because we had already consumed them.  😀

For my tips on shopping your local Kroger store, see this post. 

Fourth Stop:  HyVee:  $19.75

The discount bin at HyVee was amazing! 

Admittedly, I walked away from HyVee with far more than was on my list.

 The actual grocery list was quite short:

On sale all week with a coupon:

HyVee Peanut Butter  - $.99
C & H Cane Sugar - 4 pound bag - $1.49
  

Special Thursday through Saturday only sale:  

Eggs - 2 dozen - $.88 each
Bananas - $.29 a pound 

That was the sum total of what was in my grocery cart.... until I reached the markdown section!  

That's when I scored!  

Large tin of organic diced green chiles - marked down to - $1.00

Bottle of sriracha mayonaise - marked down to $2.00.  ( I honestly have no idea what this is.  But, my son's Southern belle loves it and since she is visiting from Mississippi, I bought it for her.) 

Four pound bags of brown jasmine rice - marked down to - $2.00 each! 

Nope!  That is not a typo!  I bought 5 bags. Then I saw a friend while in the store and steered her to the remaining two bags that were marked down to this price.

Grand Total:  $42.34.  

This leaves me a generous $37.66 for the rest of the week.  The new sales ads come out in a couple of days.  So, undoubtedly, there will be some deals that I will want to take advantage of later in the week.  

This Week's Best Deals!

The Four Pound Bags of Rice for $2.00 each have to get our absolute best deal shout out!  

Next in line would be the Kroger Dairy Markdowns 

The $.29 a pound bananas certainly deserve an honorable mention.  

Stay Tuned for detailed menu plans based on this week's shopping and our CSA box !  

 

Remember to Enter My June Contest!

If you've not already entered, head over to our contest page!  Click here!  You can read all about my June food budget challenge and enter for the chance to win a copy of  of one of my favorite books, Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half, by Steve and Annette Economides.

Don't Miss Any of Our Posts!

Follow me on Facebook at:  https://www.facebook.com/underthemedian/ 
Sign up to receive e-mails by filling in the "follow by e-mail" link on the main page.  

Do all to the glory of God, 

Hope

 

This Week's CSA Box

Spring's Bounty of Goodness!

First let me thank you for joining me for my June Food Budget Challenge! 

 If you've just joined us, check out this post.  I'll be spending just $320 to feed a family of seven for the month of June. 

Enter our June giveaway: 

Don't miss your chance to win a copy of one of my favorite books, Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half, by Steve and Annette Economides.  There aren't too many entries yet, so you have a great chance to win!  Go to this link.  It tells you all about my June Food Budget Challenge and gives details on how to enter the contest. 

My weekly CSA box: the backbone of each week's menu plan.  

When I began my June Food Budget Challenge I told you that we are CSA members.  Some readers inquired about CSAs.  So, let me first begin with a quick explanation.  

What's a CSA?

CSA is short for: Community supported agriculture. CSAs allow you to get the freshest food, eat seasonally, and help support small independent farmers. We've been CSA members of local CSAs for nearly a decade.

In January, you pay for a share of the upcoming harvest. The farmer uses that money to purchase seeds and supplies. The cost varies from one farmer to the next. Our share this year was $600. Then, every single week during the growing season (generally 24-26 weeks) you receive a very generous basket full of fresh produce. There are CSAs in nearly every locale throughout the United States.


If you live locally, we joined the CSA from Garden Spot, an organic farm from Princeville. 

What's In the Box? 

 This week's box definitely smells and feels like spring!  

2 - heads of lettuce

1 - pound of mixed lettuce leaves

2 - small heads of broccoli

2-  bunches of green onions

7-  nice-sized tomatoes

1 - bunch of asparagus

1 - bunch of green garlic

1 - big bunch of beets

A couple of notes:  

The tomatoes: 

Yes, the tomatoes are organic and locally grown in a hoop house!  This is one of  most amazing things that I have witnessed!  If you've never visited a local, small farm with hoop houses, do it!  These structures allow farmers to start plants weeks ahead of the normal season.  It's basically a plastic covered building, allowing sun to permeate the inside, warming the soil and keeping the plants moist and warm.  The tomatoes in the photo were raised in a hoop house, which was heated to 70 degrees at night.  Thus, fresh vine-ripened tomatoes in early June! 

Green garlic: 

If you never tasted green garlic, head to your farmer's market and get some.  It resembles a big scallion.  It is immature garlic with the green tops still attached.  It has a mild garlic flavor.  Both the white ends and the stalks are edible. 

What Am I Going to Do with it?

 Here are the recipes that I plan to make with the produce from the box and what items from the box I will use for each recipe.     

1.  Taco salad:  the heads of lettuce, green onions, green garlic, and tomatoes.  Our filling is black beans, brown rice, and millet mixed with, onions, garlic, and taco seasoning.  We serve it over a bed of greens with optional toppings on the side.  Optional toppings:  cheese, salsa, sour cream, green onions, and tomatoes.  I got a super deal on sour cream at Krogers this week! 

2.  Roasted root vegetables:  the beets, green garlic, and green onions.  Place freshly washed and  cut up beets, carrots, and potatoes on parchment paper.  Sprinkle with some green garlic and green onion tops, rosemary or other herbs.  Roast at 425 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring twice during the cooking time. 

3.  Pasta Primavera:  green onions, asparagus, broccoli, green garlic.  This spring-time dish is SO easy to make and it is incredibly versatile.  I'm using a lot of produce from the CSA box and adding three small yellow squash and one small zucchini that I bought from the farmer's market for $3.00.  Here's a recipe link from Vegetarian Times to get you started.  https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/one-pot-pasta-primavera.

4.  Fruity rice salad:  green onions, green garlic, tomatoes, salad greens.  Once again, this is very versatile.  It's a sweet/savory treat.  We serve it over salad greens and pass homemade dressing to pour over the top.  Here's a recipe from Taste.  https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/fruity-rice-salad/b3ee4935-f0bd-444c-8c74-c8fdeda57562.  

5.  Minestrone Soup: the remaining green onions, green garlic, tomatoes, broccoli, squash, asparagus, and beet greens will go into a minestrone soup.  I often make this soup to use up vegetable odds and ends.  You can pretty much add what you have and you can't mess it up!  Here is a link from Minimalist Baker.  https://minimalistbaker.com/1-pot-vegan-minestrone-gluten-free/

That's it!  Five dishes, using up every single item from the CSA box!  

On Monday I'll post this week's grocery shopping totals!  

I shopped four different places and spent just HALF of my $80 allotted grocery budget for the week!

 I can't wait to share this week's best buys!

So far, so good!  Keep that encouragement coming my way!  Remember to follow the directions and share your best grocery shopping tip on this post to enter our June giveaway!   Once again, here's the link!

Don't Miss Any of Our Posts!

Follow me on Facebook at:  https://www.facebook.com/underthemedian/ 
Sign up to receive e-mails by filling in the "follow by e-mail" link on the main page.  

Do all to the glory of God, 

Hope