Aldi and Dollar Tree

Before my trip back to Sam's Club to pick up a few items I decided to hit Aldi.  One of the things I like about Sam's Club is that I can pull items up online and tally my purchases before I go.  This also alerts me to some things that I can buy for less elsewhere.  Eggs are cheaper at my local Aldi, chips are cheaper, and milk is cheaper.  I don't have storage space for huge crates of eggs from Sam's Club and the chips bags are just too big.   The lactose free milk (store brand) is a better price at Aldi.

I bought:
2 boxes of oatmeal squares
3 packages of fruit popsicles (for my grandson's visits)
3 bowls of cool whip (yes, I know.  However somethings are simply good with it.)
1 package of frozen sausage patties (these make quick heat and go)
1 cantaloupe
1 bag of Honeycrisp Apples
3 boxes of saltines
2 cartons of milk
1 can of cocoa powder
4 boxes of jello
2 packages of coffee
12 cans of peaches
12 cans of pineapple
3 dozen eggs
3 cans of lemon pie filling (this will be for quick parfait type desserts)
5 bags of chips (1 bag is for a casserole and then one per week for the month)
4 boxes of Stevia packets
8 lbs of carrots

In total I spent $98.23 with most of the items going either in storage or into this months meals based on my menu.

My mistake......  I had stopped at Dollar Tree before Aldi and passed up the stevia packets there.  They are 35 to a box for $1.  They would have been a better buy, but now that I know next month I will buy stevia there. 

At Dollar Tree I bought:
4 9 inch disposable pans
1 bag of pretzels
2 cans of pringles
1 box of high fiber cereal
2 toothbrushes
2 bags of steak fries
2 bags of tater rounds

Total was $11.37

The only thing they didn't have that was on my list for there was the 2 gallon sized storage bags.  I will probably check the store closer to Sam's Club when I go to finish up my shopping.

Date Bars Recipe

In Duff Bakes  by Duff Goldman and Sara Gonzales, Sara talks about eating date bars as a child.  I don't know if it was because I grew up on the opposite coast or what, but I never remember having these as a child. 

The ingredient list isn't overly long and all of the items are thinks I keep on hand.  I have to confess I did not search for Medjool Dates, but simply used what I could find at the local grocery store.  I'm sharing the recipe in the order I did the work. 


Preheat oven to 375F and grease a 9 x 13 pan.  Cut strips of parchment paper about 1 inch wider than the sides of your pan.  Line them in the pan and grease it all.  (Just keeps the date filling from sticking to the side of the pans.)

Filling
3 cups pitted chopped dates
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup of old fashioned rolled oats

Place the dates, honey, vanilla, brown sugar, and 3/4 cup of room temp water in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often until thickened.  This takes about 10 minutes.  Let this cool for 10 minutes and while it is cooling make your crust.


Crust
2 sticks of butter, softened
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of all purpose flour

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the salt.  Gradually add the flour, mixing it as you go.  This will be a crumbly mixture.  Use your hands to press half of it into the pan and set the other half aside.

Bake the crust for 10 minutes and let it cool just a bit.

Mix the oats in the leftover crust.
Spread the date filling over the bottom crust.  Top with the oat topping...about 1/2 inch thick.  (The recipe says you won't need it all possibly, but I did.)

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let cool.  Cut into squares.

Replenishing Supplies

I am literally down to one pint jar of mixed veggies. I use the veggies for casseroles mostly.  Sometimes I use them in soup, but not often.  I like to have them canned for ease. I live in a "hurricane" zone and freezing massive amounts of food is often not my best option.  I also like that the canning includes liquid....should we ever have an emergency situation that may be good.  Even now I use the "veggie broth" to add to my white sauce for casseroles.

So this morning I went ahead and canned six more pints of veggies.  Tomorrow I will do another six jars.  12 more to go on my shelf. Depending on the number of people I am serving I may use 1 or 2 jars at a meal.

Since I had the supplies out and had been planning on making jelly anyway. I had opened a bulk package of pectin a few weeks ago and I didn't want to have to worry about it not working...lol.  I went ahead and made two batches of grape jelly.  I always can 10 jars and fill a bowl for the fridge for immediate use.

In addition to using this on bread or in hot cereals, I also use it to make homemade jelly rolls and muffins. I have a new to me jelly doughnut muffin recipe that I want to try and if they turn out well, I'll share the recipe.

A Very Merry......

A very merry unbirthday to me!

 

 

The best and the worst thing about food allergies is cooking almost everything from scratch. 
Talk about a mixed blessing.  On one hand some items are much more inexpensive when made from scratch, but others can add up to be more expensive.  Of course, the opportunity to control the healthful quality of food is much higher.  Let's face it though -- cake isn't really a health food kind of thing.  However, some days it is just what is called for.

April's Menu

I planned my groceries around sales and items that I need to keep the pantry stocked up.  Meals will be using a combination of things I am buying this month and things I already have on hand.

1.  Pressure Cooker chicken risotto (using last of risotto rice and food storage veggies...chicken from freezer)
2.  fried cabbage and ham biscuits (ham leftover from previous meal and frozen)
3.  hamburger steak with gravy/onions/etc (Crockpot), instant mashed potatoes, green peas (hubby's request)
4.  beef and broccoli rice (Pressure Cooker) freezer meal with rice from food storage
5.  bean soup and cornbread (Crockpot)
6.  vegetable soup (Pressure Cooker) with grilled cheese sandwiches (a mixture of food storage items with some ham leftover from a previous meal)
7.  Cajun beans and rice (pressure cooker)
8.  Pressure Cooker Spaghetti -- food storage
9.  egg and sausage sandwiches (will make homemade English muffins for these)
10.  pancakes, eggs and ham
11.  ravioli, garlic bread and broccoli
12.  pork chili (pressure cooker) crackers
13.  shepherd's pie
14.  grilled steak, couscous, asparagus casserole
15.  quiche with fruit salad
16.  pork roast (crockpot) with fixings
17.  beans and rice
18.  chicken noodle soup and crackers
19.  burgers and fries
20.  pizza
21.  BBQ pork chops, pasta salad, green beans
22.  turkey dinner with the fixings
23.  mac and cheese
24.  taco casserole
25. white lasagna with garlic bread and broccoli
26.  corned beef hash, buttermilk biscuits, eggs
27.  turkey pot pie


My menu is just a guideline.  I will tweak and vary as I need to.  For example, we were supposed to have cabbage tonight, but my husband could not make it in.  Since daughter and I are only ones here we opted to do easy and had breakfast instead -- sausage patty and scrambled eggs for each of us. 

I also have plans to make a few freezer lasagnas to set aside.  I'll be cooking a turkey and saving the leftovers for various things.  I have plans to home can mixed vegetables.  All of our breads, with the exception of crackers, will be homemade.  I know how to make crackers, but since I am still in school right now the cost versus time ratio just doesn't work for this month.  All snacks with the exception of the one bag of chips a week (the extra is for taco casserole) will either be home baked items or popcorn.  Breakfasts are usually cereal, muffins, pancakes, waffles, or something of the sort - so nothing too complicated there. 

Grocery Shopping for the Month

I'm working on going back to monthly grocery shopping trips.  I find that I simply do better at sticking to a plan that way.  I've planned out my supper menu for the month, allowed for leftovers for most lunches and easy breakfast meals.  I'll share my menu plan in another post.

I'm allowing $600 for the month...to include all pet supplies and toiletries.  I feed somewhere between 2 and 8 people on any given day and the number is often undecided until that day. I also have to have supplies for my husband to keep at our place where he stays during the work week.


I've purchased so far:

$197.71 Sam's Club
    20 lbs of cheddar cheese
    cat litter
    2 bags of cat food
    decaf tea bags (for iced tea)
    3 flats sodas (for daughter for school -- far cheaper than vending machine)
    bananas
    Shredded wheat (for husband's breakfasts)
    3 boxes of fiber one bars (for husband)
    2 cartons of lactose free milk
    oil
    cooking spray (oil)
    pop tarts (my daughter takes these to school because she can eat them as she walks between classes if need be)

$165 in meat
      hamburger for 18 burgers
      2 pork loin roasts
      16 large pork chops
      2 large coils of Italian sausage
      pork ribs
     
My finalized list for the rest of the month includes:
5 lbs of mozzarella cheese
3 lbs of pepperoni
25 pounds of all purpose flour (I mix this half and half with my fresh wheat)
3 lbs. of cottage cheese
12 cans of peach slices
12 cans of pineapple
4 lbs. of frozen ravioli
5 bags of various chips
frozen fries (Dollar Tree) for quick grab
saltines
3 dozen eggs
toilet paper (POM from Sams)
washing powder
toothbrush
stevia
cocoa powder
salt
pepper
vanilla
disposable freezer pans from Dollar Tree
   

Finished Project

I finished a crocheted rag rug. It's approximately 36" by 56"