This weeks food total seems to be about $63.50. Since last weeks was $66.00, I'd say that's pretty much on course. So my plan is to work on the food budget some and then, hopefully, repost in a few months with different (read: better) results.
Breakfast: eggs, meat
$2.00
Lunch: various
$2.00
Dinner:
Baked potatoes with butter, cheese and sour cream, leftover pork chops, leftover slaw (for the family...I had a bologna sandwich. :)
$.75
Total:
$4.75
Breakfast: eggs, meat
$2.00
Lunch:Fruit, cheese, peanutbutter
$1.50
Dinner:
Thin sliced pork chops, marinated in a dark, spicy sauce, grilled. Homemade coleslaw. Creamed corn. Banana pudding.
$16.25
Total:
$19.75
Rom 14:1
¶
Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, [but] not to doubtful disputations.
Rom 14:2
For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Rom 14:3
Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
Rom 14:4
Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
Rom 14:5
One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day [alike]. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Rom 14:6
He that regardeth the day, regardeth [it] unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard [it]. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Rom 14:7
For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
Rom 14:8
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
Rom 14:9
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
Rom 14:10
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Rom 14:11
For it is written, [As] I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Rom 14:12
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Rom 14:13
Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in [his] brother's way.
Rom 14:14
¶
I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that [there is] nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him [it is] unclean.
I've talked with Mike about this many times, but never knew the scripture. If something feels wrong for me to do (or not do) then it's wrong for *me* to do or not do.
Please understand that I'm not talking about rationalization here. I don't think I get to say that I feel it's wrong to watch the ballgame. ; ) Or that it felt "wrong" for me to clean that day. I'm talking about real heartfelt convictions. I believe they are there for a reason.
And I don't believe that my convictions have to be your convictions. I believe that something can be wrong for me, and not wrong for you. I'm not sure why this is, but I believe it.
Our preacher talked on this yesterday. About the stumbling blocks we, sometimes even unknowingly, try to put in others paths. How we judge them. Or how the only "right" way is our way.
It really made me think.
When I stand before God am I going to be worried about what music my neighbor listened to? Or about the guy who cut me off in traffic? Am I going to be thinking about others sins and transgressions?
Not likely.
I worry for those that think their way is the only way. That they have the secret key for everyone. Those that think they have it figured out for everybody else.
We all have to find our own way. And if we're doing it to the glory of God, then I believe that we are on the right path.
I welcome anyone that feels differently to give scripture backing for their thoughts.
I promise not to do this forever. Maybe one more week and then try to do it once a season to see if the bill changes in different seasons? Also, breakfast and lunch rarely change. If we eat something particularly fascinating, I'll post it...otherwise just a dollar amount.
Breakfast:eggs, meat
$2.00
Lunch:fruit, peanutbutter
$2.00
Dinner:
Meatloaf sandwiches (leftover meatloaf and bread)
Homemade tortilla chips with bean dip (Christmas gift) with cheese and sour cream.
Huge, green, garlic stuffed olives
$1.50
Total:
$5.50
Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with onions, peppers and chunked sausage, cooked in olive oil and butter
$2.00
Lunch:
I was at the store and had a health bar, the girls picked at leftovers.
$.50
Supper:
Meatloaf (leftover) sandwiches made on homemade rolls, chips.
$1.00
Total:
$3.50
I almost forgot to document today!
Breakfast:
Eggs with all the trimmings, bacon
$2.00
Lunch:
Hotdogs with slaw (leftover)
$0
Dinner:
Meatloaf with onions, peppers and tons of those breadcrumbs from the other day ; )
Sauteed cabbage
Rice cooked in chicken broth and butter
Chocolate Pie
$10.00
Total:
$12.00
I finally broke down and updated blogger. Yeah, I've heard the horror stories. But I figured it would have to be done eventually. And since I'm trying to learn my way around here, I figured it would be better to learn in the new format.
Time will tell if it was prudent.
I'm slowly adding links to my sidebar. It's working here, but I realize that doesn't mean it's working to anyone reading. So if you happen to run across one that doesn't link, would you please let me know?
Breakfast:
We *all* had something different yesterday. Fruit, cereal, hot cereal, etc.
$2.00
Lunch:
Homemade guacamole with tortillas
$4.50
Dinner:
Grilled hotdogs on homemade hotdog buns with chopped onions and homemade coleslaw
Guacamole with homemade tortilla chips
$6.50
Total: $13.00
I'm busy out of the house on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. So Thursday and Friday I typically work in my home. Housework, working with the girls on various homeschool projects, cooking, etc.
It's late in the day and I still need to clean a few things but I've got several things done today.
Today I have:
Worked with the girls on homeschool
Worked with the girls on cleaning their room
Done the bills
Made homemade (grated cabbage, carrots and all) coleslaw
Made homemade hotdog buns
Made homemade guacamole (we had some ripe avocados that needed to be used)
Made homemade tortilla chips (using healthy tortillas spiced and then baked) to go with the guacamole
Made homemade breadcrumbs
Does anyone NOT make their own breadcrumbs anymore?
When bread gets too old/stale for us to eat I pop the pieces in the freezer. When I have a bag full, I pull out the food processor (this time I already had it out for the coleslaw and decided to go ahead and grind the bread and then make the guacamole).
Old stale and still frozen bread
I break it in half or so and then put 4-5 pieces at a time in my food processor. I use the grinding blade. 
After literally just a minute I have a processor full of breadcrumbs!
And after doing this a few times, I have a huge ziplock bag full of nice breadcrumbs waiting to be used in meatloaf or tuna patties or any of a number of my staple recipes that require breadcrumbs.
I store these in the freezer and just get out what I need as I'm making meals for my family. It doesn't add a cent to my food bill and these can be spiced however I want them so I like the versatility.
Beth asked if the cookies I mentioned yesterday were no bake. They absolutely are!
They are quick, easy and frugal (notice I did NOT mention healthy anywhere in that). They are also made with ingredients that I usually have on hand. Which is always a plus. These can also be made without cocoa and the peanut butter plops (as we call them) are delicious in their own right.
; )
You must have all the ingredients measured out beforehand. Down to having the waxed paper ready to go. You simply will not have time to do this otherwise.
Doodie Plops
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 stick (I know) of butter
3 Tablespoons of cocoa powder
Mix all together in a large pot over medium high heat. Stir until mixture comes to a full rolling boil. Remove stirring instrument and allow mixture to hard boil for exactly two minutes. Set a timer. Trust me.
At exactly the two minute mark, pull the pot off the heat. Working *very* quickly as this will set up super fast, add:
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
Mix (quickly, again, trust me here) until peanut butter is almost totally dissolved. This should take no more than 10-15 seconds. Then quickly dump in:
3 cups oatmeal
Stir as fast as possible. As soon as it looks mostly mixed (again, not more than 10-15 seconds) "plop" these out on waxed paper.
They should be ready to eat in just a few minutes.
If you want something prettier, you can always pour them into a pan and then slice them like cookie bars.
After writing this out, it sounds complicated and finicky. It's really not. It's super quick and easy and I can usually get this made for my family in under 10 minutes, including clean-up time. Don't let all of my "warnings" scare you. This is definitely worth learning to do.
Breakfast:
Eggs with peppers, onions and garlic cooked in olive oil and butter, bacon
$2.00
Lunch:
Me-flax cereal
Girls-Apples, peanut butter, cheese and crackers
$2.75
Dinner:
Girls-leftover stir fry chicken dish wrapped in a tortilla
Mike and I-leftover pork dish from the night before
$.25 (for the tortillas)
Total: $5.00
It's a good thing! Really.
I'm a HUGE believer in drinking water. So much so that I tend to have appr. 40oz *before* even a cup of coffee in the morning. I'd heard years ago that that sluggish feeling that people had in the morning could be related to dehydration. Made sense to me. So the first thing I do, while my coffee is brewing, is take my vitamins with *lots* of water. I have this huge plastic glass that I use and I know it's appr. 40oz. I try to drink it all before the coffee is done.
I digress.
When I'm out of the house for a large part of the day it's way too easy to run through a drive-tru and pick up a diet this or that. How often do we order water when we go somewhere? Not enough here.
So a while back I found the flats of bottled water at Sam's. They're less than $4 for 24 bottles. Think how much you'd pay at a convenience store.
And it's what we do now when we are out and need a drink.
Just remember that when people find out, everyone will be asking for bottles of water!
Last week's food total seems to be about $66.00.
Please realize that I do tend to round the numbers a little. Everything isn't going to come out exactly at the quarter dollar mark, but for simplicity purposes that's how I add it.
Our grocery bill is significantly higher than $66 a week. Of course we purchase other things in our grocery cart (toilet paper, soap, razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc). We also purchase some things to drink which I haven't mentioned or added in to our grocery list here. Coffee, teas, frozen juices, bottled water (that I keep stored in my van - more on that in the next post), and sometimes things like V8 juice or small bottles of Gatorade as treats. We'll also buy Slimfast drinks at Sams. I don't drink them but sometimes the girls or Mike will if there isn't time for a proper meal.
I've also not mentioned dessert. And my children have it several times a week. Ice cream or I'll make a cake or brownies or these *fabulous* cookies that are super simple, quick and easy. We call them "Doodie Plops".
I'm also not figuring in snacks. And we do snack here. If supper is going to be late. Or if someone is just hungry for some reason. We keep nuts, cheese, olives, pickles, fruit, Mike's trail mix, etc. And I'm sure that adds significantly to some days budget.
Breakfast:
Girls- cereal, milk and fruit
Me-Health drink
Mike- His trail mixture and fresh fruit
$3.25
Lunch:
Girls at a homeschool function
Cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese, cheese cubes
Me- Hot flax cereal
$2.00
Dinner:
shredded bbq pork with turnip greens, bean medley and baked sweet potato chips with cinnamon sugar sprinkle.
$11.00
Total: 16.25
Breakfast:
Steel cut oatmeal with butter and turbinado sugar
Me-hot flax cereal with butter
$0.50 (the oatmeal was leftover)
Lunch:
Jillian has co-op on Mondays and Julia is here on her own pretty much working. I tend to run errands. It's a hodgepodge.
Chicken noodle soup (thermos), cheese, crackers, apples - peanutbutter
Me-healthy drink
$1.25
Dinner:
Onions, peppers, broccoli and (leftover frozen) chicken sauteed in olive oil with homemade chicken rice.
$2.50
Total $4.25
Breakfast:
Eggs with all the trimmings, bacon
$2.00
Lunch:
Family had a big bowl of steel cut oatmeal (it was rainly and cool and that's what they wanted) with turbinado sugar and lots of butter. (I make this up in a big pot, and make enough for a week or so at a time because it takes about 30-40 minutes to cook it. I'll count the total on the day I make it and then the other days will be $0)
I had my hot flax cereal.
$3.00
Dinner:
Prime Rib slices pan seared in olive oil, cabbage cooked in olive oil and butter, burgundy mushrooms and green olives stuffed with garlic.
The girls had taco's at youth.
$16.50
Total:
$21.50
I suppose I'm one of the odd ones. I tend to make resolutions. And I tend to keep them. I look at it like a promise to myself. And I like keeping promises to myself.
It's simple things. Eat better. Grow in my relationship with God. Take the time to make each of my children feel as important to me as they truly are.
I've read many "un" resolutions this year. Things that people are not going to do. I think that's great too. I think that's probably harder to do. I'm almost scared to say things that I'm not going to do.
On my accidental journey I've found that so many times when I say that I'll never do this or that, it's exactly what I end up doing. Either because I'm put in a situation that I feel I have no choice. Or there is temptation there to do it where it was never there before. Or perhaps it's just God's way of showing me who is in charge.
I admire those that say they "won't" and then they "don't".
When I was in my 20's and even into my early 30's I thought I had it pretty much figured out. ; ) I was living my life in such a way that I would have no regret. Or so I thought. I used to boast to people that each decision I made, I did it was serious thought to that decision and that I made the best choice at the time with the information I had. And I believed this.
How ridiculous.
Not that I did anything that smacks of blatant disregard for anyone's wellbeing. But some of the decisions I made were purely out of self interest. Or laziness. And I do feel regret. And shame.
But, as my preacher pointed out today, to wallow in that is another form of sin. It's not honoring God to continue to look back and let that be the controlling factors in my life.
I fall down but I get back up again. I brush myself off, knowing that I'm forgiven and that I simply (ha) have to learn to forgive myself.
So I won't say I "won't" do any specific thing. Not yet.
But with God's help, I will say that I will try to get there.
Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs with 2 kinds of peppers, onions and garlic with olive oil and butter, bacon
$2.00
Lunch:
Fresh fruit and nuts
$3.00
Supper:
The girls ordered pizza (pineapple cheese) and Mike and I went out to dinner because we had errands to run and because it was my birthday. : ) We brought home chocolate cherry ice cream (which is the only part I'm counting toward the grocery budget and it was buy-one-get-one free)
$2.50
Total:
$7.50
