Faith and Friendship

A lot of the homemaking blogs out there are written by women of Christian faith whose beliefs and family choices are very different from mine. While I have gotten some wonderful advice, great recipes and even spiritual inspiration from these women, my own personal faith might cause contention if we were to discuss it. That said, I respect their choices and their convictions to follow their faith.

What I’ve found in real life though is that sometimes people of different faiths and beliefs have a hard time bonding as friends and neighbors. I am honored to have made friends with two women of vastly different spiritual and religious beliefs – and our friendship flourishes not just in spite of our differences but often because of them. We are friends and neighbors, our children romp through all our yards and through each other’s houses. We share sorrows, joys, aggravations, meals and cocktails – often all in the same evening with at least 8 children underfoot. Sometimes our discussions get very philosophical and with grace and respect we question and explore each other’s faiths and practices. I’ve learned so much about these women and so much about the spiritual paths they have chosen. I’ve also found that I’ve added components of their beliefs into my own because they resonated within me as ‘right’.

I’m raising a glass, wishing on the moon and bowing my head to thank god/goddess and the heavens to have gifted the three of us with each other.

Monthly Grocery Challenge

October – Stock the Pantry and Freezer for Under $400

My grocery goal this month is to utilize loss leaders, coupons and shopping at Aldi to stock my pantry and freezer while providing my family with well balanced meals. Both DD and DH bring lunch each day and I need to provide snacks for home and on the go. Since October is a 3 paycheck month (and we used a lot of the pantry at the end of September) I am setting my budget at $350 but if I find some good deals I am willing to push it to $400.

My first week of shopping utilized CVS for ECB deals and Shaws for loss leaders – both with coupon stacking. The balance of my shopping this week was at Stop & Shop where I had an additional 5% off my entire purchase coupon. I estimate I spent approximately 1.5 hours planning my trips – this included coupon cutting, sorting, reviewing adds, matching coupons to both sale items and my needs list as well as searching for additional coupons on line.

My total spending so far for the month of October is $171.32 – approximately half of my budget for the month. However my freezer is now pretty well stocked with meat and the pantry is in good shape as well.

Here are the details of my shopping this week.

CVS - Total spent $32.94. I think this was one of my best CVS trips lately. The clerk knows me and she asked if I could take her shopping list for her. I think she gets as big of a kick out seeing how much I can save as I do.

Transaction #1
Dawn Dish Liquid – $1.00 Each – Quantity 5
Charm in Ultra 16 Roll – $10.00 Each – Quantity 2
Gillette Fusion Razor – $9.99
Thermacare Back Wrap – $6.99

For this transaction I used $7.20 in Manufacturer coupons, $4.00 in ECBs and a $5.00 off $25 Purchase CVS Coupon for taking the Flu Test (see Money Saving Mom). Total for this transaction was $27.33 and from it I earned $16.00 in ECB’s

Transaction #2
Hellman’s Mayo – 2 for $6.00
CVS Honey Wheat Pretzel Braids - $1.00 Each – Quantity 2
1 Gallon 2% Garelick Farms Milk – - $2.69
1 Dozen Eggs – $1.05
Speed Stick Deodorant – $1.99 Each – Quantity 3
CVS Floss Picks – $2.49
Gillette Body Wash and Shampoo – $4.99

For this transaction I used $4.00 in manufacturer coupons and the $16.00 in ECB’s earned from the previous transaction. Total for this transaction was $5.61


SHAWS - Total Spent - $30.97

10lb Bag of Frozen Chicken Leg Quarters – $2.99
Split Chicken Breast - $.99/lb – 4.23
Hamburger Helper – 10/$10 – 3 Boxes
Nestle Chocolate Chips – 2/$5
New England Coffee – $2.77/each – Quantity 2
Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta – 10/$10 – Quantity 2
Campbell’s Healthy Harvest Soups – 2/$3 – Quantity 2
Kelloggs Yogo’s – $2.22 each
Huggies Pull-ups – $9.99
Animal Cookies (the grocery life saver with a 3 year old) – $1.00

For this transaction I had $8.00 in coupons.

STOP & SHOP - Total Spent - $107.41

12 Pack Heineken Light – $13.99
6 Pack Italian Rolls - $2.49
3 Loaves Wheat Bread - $4.99
10 Dannon Yogurts - $.40 Each
3 Pack Yeast - $1.99
2 6 packs of Yoplait Trix Yogurt – 2/$5.00
Honey Ham Lunchmeat – $5.99/lb
Turkey Breast Lunchmeat - $6.99/lb
Sliced American Cheese - $4.99/lb
3 Boxes Fruit Snacks – 2/$5.00
5 Cans Delmonte Vegetables – 10/$10.00
5 Cans Creamed Soup – 3/$4.00
5 Cans Chicken Broth – 5/$5.00
Pillsbury Toaster Strudel - $2.00
3 Cans Frozen Apple Juice Concentrate - $1.19 each
2 Packs Hotdogs - $.99 each
Ground Beef - $1.99/lb
Cube Steak – Marked Down
Italian Sausage – Marked Down
Beef Round Sandwich Steaks – Marked Down
2 lbs Baby Carrots - FREE
3lbs Granny Smith Apple - $3.49
Mini Raisins – 14 Pack - FREE
3lb Yellow Onions - $1.79
Grape Tomatoes - $2.50
Romaine Hearts - $2.99
Vanilla Extract - $3.99
Nature Valley Nut Clusters - $2.99
Keebler Crackers – 8 Pack - $2.00
Juicy Juice 8 Pack Juice Boxes - $3.00
Salsa - $1.50

My total before any savings was $162.56. Stop & Shop Card Savings including my additional %5 off were $46.44. Coupon savings were $9.55 – for a total savings of $55.99.

Overall I’m pleased with my shopping this week. Although now I have a lengthy date with my Seal A Meal this afternoon to get all that meat wrapped and into the freezer.

The Leftover Queen

Yes the Leftover Queen is a name I love to call myself – and love even more hearing it from those I feed. I get the biggest kick out of taking leftovers and re-creating them into something tasty and frugal. My Pantry Challenge Menu this week takes advantage of a few of these leftovers. Our BBQ Pork on Tuesday is using up the Garlic Thyme Pork Roast leftovers in the freezer from last week. I will serve it sliced thin heated with sautéed onions and BBQ sauce. The ‘meat’ in Wednesday night’s Spaghetti and Meat Sauce is actually cubed leftover Meat Loaf frozen from the week before last.

One of my family’s favorites re-created from leftovers is quesadillas or wraps. I sauté whatever leftover meat I have along with onions, peppers, leftover veggies (broccoli, mushrooms, squash, potato, sweet potato, etc) and either roll them into a flour tortilla or put the mixture between two tortillas with cheese and fry lightly until the cheese is melted. The quesadillas work great as either a sandwich for one or cut into smaller triangles as an appetizer.

Leftover rice, veggies and meat often become Fried Rice, Soup or Pot Pie . Leftover potatoes are re-created into potato pancakes or hash browns on the weekend.

How do you make use of leftovers? Do you plan your menu to create leftovers and then re-create them? I’d love to hear your recipe ideas for creating meals out of leftovers.

Menu Plan Monday - Pantry Challenge

It's Sunday and I'm planning my menu for the week. I can't grocery shop until DH gets paid on the 1st so I'm trying to stretch what we have in the pantry and freezer.

Here's our list of Dinners for the week:

Sunday - Breakfast for Supper - Scrambled Eggs and Toast with Grape Jelly
Monday - Honey Mustard Chicken, Rice, Brocoli
Tuesday - BBQ Pork Sandwiches, HotDogs, Baked Beans, Carrot/Celery Sticks
Wednesday- Spaghetti with Meat Sauce & Homemade Bread
Thursday - Crockpot Cubed Steak and Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Friday - London Broil, Roasted Potatoes, Salad
Saturday - Leftover Buffet or Takeout (We are having a tag sale this day)

Lunches will be turkey, chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad sandwiches or leftovers. I made waffles this morning for the freezer and the kids and I are making peanut butter cookies this afternoon. I'd also like to make this Bisquick Quiche for DH to bring to work for breakfasts as well as some banana mini muffins. I have all the ingredients I need either in the fridge, freezer or pantry.

Check out Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie for more great menu ideas.

Bisquick Quiche

Here's my variation of Bisquick Quiche:

1 1/4 Cups Bisquick Mix
1/4 Cup butter or margarine, softened
2 Tablespoons boiling water
2/3 Cup Chopped Ham
1 Cup shredded Swiss Cheese
1/4 Cup chopped onion
1/2 Cup chopped brocoli
12 ounce can Evaporated milk
3 Large Eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottom and side of 9-inch pie plate. Stir Bisquick and butter until blended. Add boiling water and stir until soft dough forms. Press dough into bottom and up sides of greased pie plate.

Sprinkle ham, cheese, onion and brocoli over crust. Beat eggs, evaporated milk, salt and pepper until blended. Pour into crust.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until edge is golden brown and center is set.

The recipe is derived from the Betty Crocker Bisquick site. I substitute Evaporated milk for Half and Half as I can keep the cans on hand in the pantry. I always use swiss cheese but I will experiment with other meats like sausage or bacon and other veggies. DH seems to really like the brocoli best.

After the quiche has cooled I cut it into large pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for DH to bring in his lunch box. If he has microwave access I will leave it frozen - if not I'll let it thaw in the fridge and he lets it sit out of his lunchbox until he's ready to eat it.

Settling Back into Routine

Fall always seems to signify a settling back into the normal routine of life after all the fun and chaos of summer. It seems even more like that now that DD is in first grade. Summer was fun but it was the most un-frugal and often the most overwhelming two months of the year. Now that we are into our 4th week of school, dance lessons have started, DD has joined Daisy's, managing homework is becoming a norm and I'm happy to have more structure and slow down a bit.

My goals for the fall include:

1. Declutter and selling off that clutter (we are doing a tag sale next weekend and I have a couple things up on Craigslist right now)
2. Work more on my Blog
3. Reduce our Expenses
4. Increase our Income

Today is a rainy Sunday and it seems like the perfect time to sit down and make a plan for achieving my goals.

Summer Continued Learning Curriculum

After having a great year in kindergarten we really want our daughter to re-inforce her new skills and do a little preparation for first grade. Hubby and I spent some time discussing our priorities for our daughter's summer learning activites. We came up with the following curriculum:

• Summer Reading Challenge - School sponsored challenge where each child entering 1st grade must read 10 books this summer. We want to commit 10-15 minutes a day at least 5 times a week to independent reading. I am working on a reading list that is age/skill appropriate and we will utilize our town library for books. In addition both she and my 3 year old son can choose books to have us read to them.
• Telling Time
• Tying Shoes
• Money
• Addition
• Subtraction
• Swim Lessons - Level 2
• Chores - Pick up room, make bed, help clean and help with food prep

I have several workbooks that we got from friends that I plan to use in conjunction with tangible items - the kitchen clock, new sneakers with laces and real money with applications (think ice cream man and dollar store trips).

I'd like to minimize the time spent doing workbook pages and instead use them to springboard into fun applications for learning. I haven't quite figured out exactly how that will work but my guess is that we can come up with ideas as we go along. I liked the idea of new sneakers and learning money through earning for chores and spending on wants throughout the summer.

What kind of things do you do with your children over the summer to help them keep learning? How do you work fun into the mix? Also, I'd welcome any suggestions for reading lists for a child entering 1st grade.

Happy summer learning!