Menu - June 8 - 14

Crazy, crazy weeks. Mercy. What can I say? It's been crazy around here.

Highlights from the past few weeks (and tomorrow), both good and bad, and in no particular order:

• someone stole my baby red bell pepper plant off my front porch, in the middle of the day (between noon30 and 6pm this past Friday)


• K. got out of school for the summer


• A. made it home in one piece


• the computer armoire is in place and just needs me to finish putting things onto it


• the entertainment center has been moved. We decided to keep it in once piece (rather than cut 1/3 of it off) for now.


• we're in the process of running around town measuring chairs in various stores to see which will fit the best in the space we have made for a chair


• the majority of the stuff from the old desk is still scattered around on the dining room table, waiting for me to do something with it (find it a new home or trash it)


• the Webkinz site deemed the name of my Lil cow (Hortense) as "inappropriate" and renamed her to "Moo Moo"


• we got the math books (student and teacher's editions) that K. used this past year in math. Tomorrow we start our summer refresher course.


• I started writing again


• we got notification from the apartment complex that the rent will NOT go up if we renew the lease for another year, and we get $100 off the first month


• tomorrow K. starts getting up to walk with me at 530am

So. Menu. Because I'm really tired and if I don't get it done now, it won't be posted again this week.

As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

things marked with * are items we got in one of the boxes from Angel Food Ministries

Sunday
breakfast: oops
lunch: sandwiches, chips
dinner: take-out

Monday
breakfast: scrambled eggs, grits, hash browns, toast
lunch: leftover spaghetti
dinner: pot roast (edited to add link to recipe), mashed potatoes, lima beans, salad

Tuesday
breakfast: cereal, OJ
lunch: flat bread pizza* (frozen)
dinner: pork chops, rice, broccoli, cauliflower & carrot blend*, salad

Wednesday
breakfast: pancakes (made from mix)*
lunch: sandwiches, pear halves*
dinner: salisbury steak dinner* (frozen), mac & cheese, peas, salad

Thursday
breakfast: eggs, bacon, fruit
lunch: ravioli, fruit
dinner: chicken*, rice, black eye peas, salad

Friday
breakfast: cereal, OJ
lunch: sandwiches, fruit
dinner: beef fajita strips*, flat bread, corn niblets*, salad

Saturday
breakfast: pancakes (waffles?), bacon
lunch: foraging
dinner: ??

Sweet dreams, world.

Huh.

Browsing through news articles shoved at me by msn.com this morning, I came across one called How to Build Your First Budget (here). Having taught myself how to budget and always feeling like I'm forgetting or missing something, I skim through such articles for tips on ways to improve upon what I do, so... "click". Blahblahblah, know that, yup, check, get to the second page and woah.

"Food: Basic groceries should cost a single person about $150 a month. You'll spend a lot more if you eat out frequently, however, or if you buy lots of processed foods, frozen dinners and gourmet stuff. Cut your food costs by bringing lunches and snacks from home. Substitute potlucks or picnics for expensive socializing at restaurants."

Um, $150 for one person for a month? That seemed a wee bit on the low side to even me, and after A. agreed with me, I dug into what the government had to say. According to the USDA's report the cost of food at home, the average cost to feed one male (age 19-50) in March 2008 was $162.50 on the thrifty plan. On the lost cost plan, it was $209.10. For the moderate cost plan it was $260. The liberal plan was $316.40. For females of the same age group, the numbers were lower: $145.80 for the thrifty, $182.70 for the low cost, $222.40 for the moderate cost, and $287 for the liberal. As far as I know, these numbers are JUST for food items, no toiletries, paper or pet products. The numbers for April 2008 haven't come out yet.

Ok, so maybe not so low, considering they did say about $150.

Still, the numbers for March looked... off... from what I based my last budget review on, so I pulled out the January 2008 numbers to compare. Despite the rising cost in everything but wages over the last five months, the USDA has determined that the average cost of food at home has gone down. Yes. DOWN. By $1-3 in most cases, between the months of January 2008 and March 2008.

Hmmm. The numbers go up between December 2007 and January 2008, and then they start falling. I have to wonder if that's because some people just aren't able to afford to eat any longer.

Needless to say, the geek in me is eager for April's numbers to come out. I'm curious to see if the average price goes up or down. Based on my budget, they should be going up because for the third month in a row I've gone over budget. (I currently budget $480 a month for two adults, one child (girl, age 11), two felines, and that $480 includes all pet food and supplies, personal grooming, toiletries, cleaning, and paper products the household may need, as well as AC filters.)

Also needless to say, I think maybe I need a hobby I can afford to actually do because I'm enjoying comparing the monthly numbers waaaay too much. (LOL)

In other news, I went walking again this morning and determined that I like the earlier (6am) start time rather than the later (almost 630am) start time of today. While it was lighter outside (meaning I didn't have to carry a flashlight), there were more cars leaving the complex and spewing noxious exhaust at me as they passed. Yuck. So we'll get up a little earlier and be out the door by no later than 610am.

I also have my car today! This means that I can go pay for the Angel Food boxes today. Assuming someone is there to take the money.

Even though I have the car today, I'm not going shopping for the baby present(s) I need to get before next weekend. I'll save that for another day. I do need to go to the library though. Apparently, when you turn dvd cases back in, they like the dvds to be in them.

After watching the plants yesterday to see how much sun they actually got all day long, I'm more convinced than ever that they need to be in a wagon (or something) so that I can roll them around to the front of the building on days when I'm home. Of course, after reading more about the types of plants that were brought home, I'm also convinced that the lady at the garden center was a wee bit delusional when she told us that the size pots we got would be fine until the very end of the growing season because all my plants need to be in bigger pots. Much bigger pots. The recommended size is "no smaller than a 5-gallon bucket". Oh, sure, they can be potted in smaller, but they won't grow well because of a confined root system. And while I would have preferred to know that before hand, the little plants can sit in the little pots for another few weeks (though that one tomato plant might need to be replanted this weekend, and much deeper). By then it'll be obvious whether or not I'm killing them, and if they're dying, then there's no reason to repot them.

And I'm off to run what errands I can before it gets ghastly hot.

Menu - April 27 - May 3, 2008

Last week was crazy busy, and I'm not talking about just all the baking I did. This week I'm not planning any extra baking. Well, I might make some oatmeal cookies. Maybe. But for the most part, I'm giving my hands a much needed rest. (I may get ambitious and try to make hash browns from scratch. Yes, I think I might be a bit insane...)

We picked up the box from Angel Food Ministries Saturday morning and were pleasantly surprised by the quality. My mom was as well, and is considering making a purchase for May. I know I will be, even though there's always something in the box that we normally wouldn't buy from the grocery store. Still, those items will provide us with some fairly quick alternatives to take out or fast food on nights when I'm just too wiped out to cook. (For instance, the frozen lasagna that came in the box we picked up on Saturday will be a nice treat after I spend the day grocery shopping on Wednesday. Grocery days are always hard on me.)

And it's past my bedtime and I need to get to sleep.

As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: leftover chicken salad in bread bowls for me & A., mini-pizza on leftover flat bread for K.
dinner: leftover fried chicken, broccoli

Monday
breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, grits (cereal and grits for K.)
lunch: chicken salad tortilla
dinner: fish (salmon for me, parmesan encrusted tilapia for them), mac & cheese, green peas

Tuesday
breakfast: cereal, toast
lunch: Boca meat & vegetable primavera risotto in tortillas, orange
dinner: cheeseburger pasta, lima beans

Wednesday
breakfast: waffles / pancakes / cereal / sausage biscuits (fend for yourself morning)
lunch: ??? (shopping with mom)
dinner: lasagna (frozen)

Thursday
breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, grits
lunch: Boca meat & vegetable primavera risotto in tortillas, orange
dinner: honey spiced pork chops, rice, broccoli

Friday
breakfast: quick cinnamon rolls
lunch: Boca meat & vegetable primavera risotto in tortillas, orange
dinner: foraging / grazing

Saturday
breakfast: waffles (make enough to freeze)
lunch: ???
dinner: meatball stroganoff

Menu - April 13 - 19, 2008

Spring break is over. K. is back in school today. A. is back in town and at work today. And I am... here. Life returns to our kooky little version of "normal".

The flat bread melts last week were INCREDIBLE, despite some minor adjustments needed to the flat bread/pita recipe I used and the filling. Still? AWESOME. So sayeth the 11-year-old girl. The leftovers from the flat bread/pita recipe made great individual pizzas and were great for just general snacking. All in all, and without having ever tried the Lean Cuisine version, I'd say they were a success. Especially since K. has asked for them at least a dozen times in the past three days. I only snapped a few pictures (K.'s was half eaten before I could even get to the camera) and I'll try to get them up before I go to bed tonight.

The menu for this week is a bit.. stale. Another week when I fell back on some simple stand-bys due to lack of time and frustration over grocery prices. Lunches for me will be leftovers and whatever fruit (canned or fresh) that I happen to find. There may be some sandwiches thrown in, depending on whether or not I have bread in the apartment. (K. keeps wanting me to stop buying bread and just make some whenever we want bread.) It's also that time of year when I try to clean out the "pantry" (my "pantry" is what should be the linen closet in the hall) and freezer by cooking what's in them. It won't be too much longer before we either (1) move or (2) start stocking up for hurricane season. And it's just good sense to clean out the pantry on a regular basis so that's influencing menu choices, too.

Speaking of grocery prices (ugh), K. and I took a little trip over towards the dog track last week to order and pay for April's Angel Food Ministries box. It's not the best area of town, but the people we spoke with were nice, even friendly, and we made it out of that part of town without incident. We go back on the 26th to pick up the food. What we'll be picking up is the "basic box" listed here. We opted not to get any of the "specials" boxes this month.

And... I think that's it for now. I've got some bill/general paperwork filing I really need to catch up on so that I can spend a few hours later today playing with my Webkinz puppy, Mr. Puggles, and maybe work on some jewelry.

As always, much gratitude for Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

Sunday
breakfast: cinnamon rolls
lunch: foraging
dinner: Cracker Barrel (A.'s treat)

Monday
breakfast: cinnamon rolls
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
dinner: pasta, salad

Tuesday (PAY DAY)
breakfast: cinnamon rolls / oatmeal
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches garlic boca patty, small baked potato, leftover veggies
dinner: pork chops, rice, broccoli

Wednesday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: ?? (grocery shopping with Mom)
dinner: egg noodles and meatballs, salad

Thursday
breakfast: cereal and toast
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
dinner: fish, mac & cheese, peas, salad

Friday
breakfast: waffles
lunch: leftovers or sandwiches
dinner: individual pizzas (on pita recipe from last week; still trying to work kinks out of recipe)

Saturday
breakfast: pancakes
lunch: ??? flat bread melts
dinner: pot roast, baked potatoes, lima beans