Shopping and dinner

My husband and I went to Sharp Shopper to pick up some produce and milk. We spent 28 dollars on the following stuff:


1 quart of fresh strawberries
1 fresh pineapple
a bunch of bananas
5 lb carrots
one head of lettuce
five tomatoes
two cucumbers
a gallon of fat free milk

and toilet paper.

Dinner tonight:

meat loaf using ground turkey, beef stock, one egg, last of the cream of wheat and some oatmeal (in place of breadcrumbs), onion, parsley, garlic, pepper, and Aldo beef "grinder" spices.

fresh sliced pineapple
fresh strawberries
California medley steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
a large salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, pickles)

We are working on eating a bit healthier.

Dinner 9/29

I got home from work this morning and put five chicken thighs in the crock pot. I added some sage, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, a sliced onion, half a bag of frozen mixed veggies (carrot, green beans, peas, corn), and a handful of chopped celery. I added a bouillon cube and let this cook all day.

YUM! It was great. We have half a chicken thigh for tomorrow's lunch with a cup of veggies. We also have two cups of chicken stock for the freezer.

What's been cooking??

We had been on vacation. We got home Friday morning and crashed into bed. Exhaustion set in. I had to go back to work Friday night and work all weekend....SLEEP DEPRIVATION!!

Friday I had from scratch meatballs in the freezer from two weeks ago. I put them in the crock pot with the last tiny bit of spaghetti sauce, the left over beef stock in the fridge, a few sliced peppers, a whole sliced onion, and three cloves of garlic....YUM! I served this over a small amount of steamed long grain white rice.

Saturday my DH bought some frozen pizzas and baked them in the oven. It prevented us from buying take out.

Sunday my DH made ziti with meat sauce.

Work is waiting for me in a few hours.

Home from vacation...

we had a great time! My kids and husband left Virginia on Saturday. I was working all weekend. I flew on Monday to meet them after I worked!

We left Florida yesterday at noon. We drove home and made it to Winchester at 5 this morning.

More to come!

Dinner 9/19

Mary, my daughter, made another round of scrambled eggs for dinner tonight. They were pretty good. No complaining from me. I love having dinner made when I wake up!

I didn't tell her I had a small piece of shell in my eggs. I found out the hard way.

Dinner 9/18

I got paid today and finished paying the last of October's bills and paid December's mortgage. We are not going shopping for the next two weeks. We are going away on a short vacation. My dh and kids leave Saturday. I am working all weekend, I am getting on a plane Monday morning and flying to meet them in Florida.

Tonight's dinner is:
boneless pork chops in cream of something soup, with garlic, pepper, onion powder, and parsley
homemade mac and cheese (basically a white sauce with cheese added, and boil some pasta)
peas
a small salad

Debt repayment

I am religious about getting my debt paid off. I have the regular house bills, mortgage, student loan, and an equity line that I have been working on paying off.

I love Dave Ramsey. I paid off prior debt using his method for the "baby steps". I have an emergency fund.


January 2014:
mortgage 71,932.53
equity line 23,446.73
student loan 14109.03

September 2014
My mortgage is down to 69,980.  payment 641.00 every month! no extra payments yet.
Equity Line is down to 18,870.  payment 70 a month
Student loan 11, 850   payment 167 a month


Well, I have been snowballing payments to the equity line every two weeks. The minimum is 70 dollars. I send 300 dollars every two weeks. Like clock work. I was on the phone this morning and found out that since the balance I owe has dropped below 20, 000 I am being charged a monthly maintenance fee of 75 dollars.

I can't believe it.  I increased my payment this morning to 370 dollars in hopes to keep this account moving in the right direction.

I pay 200 dollars every two weeks to my student loan.

thoughts??

dinner 9/17

We had scrambled eggs with some melted deli cheese ends mixed in the eggs. That's it. I'm tired. The kids bellies are full for the night.

9/16 dinner

I took out a lb of ground beef from Aldi last night to defrost. I made 36 meatballs using some milk, two eggs, a chopped onion, basil, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, Parmesan cheese, and about a cup of cream of wheat.

I scooped them into "balls" using a tablespoon measure. I baked them in the oven at 350 until done. I put them in the crock pot with an open jar 1/8 left of spaghetti sauce, and added a jar of Prego. We served this over penne pasta.

I have a little bit of meatballs left. They are going into the freezer for when times are a little difficult at home. Preparing for harder times helps with keeping the budget intact.

Chicken bones and thighs

I asked my DD to put those chicken bones and skin from the thighs in the fridge. She did that for me. I took them outlast night and dumped everything into the crock pot with a half an onion, some celery, parsley, garlic powder, chicken bouillon, sage, a few cups of water, and poultry seasoning.

I let this simmer all night. I strained the bones and skin out of the broth. I have three beautiful cups of chicken stock for the freezer.

I am so happy. it will help provide for nourishing meals for cooler nights.

What's been cooking...

Thursday, my DD put some chicken thighs in the crock pot with peas. It was soo good. She did a great job. I told her after everything cooked that I wanted the skin and all bones put in a bowl covered in the fridge.

Friday, my husband made a pot roast with potatoes. It was pretty good. He didn't add any extra veggies, but I didn't have to cook, so I am OK with that. We have two small single servings containers left with leftovers. One of them is going to work with me Sunday evening.

Saturday I clocked out of work, went home, went to bed, and woke up feeling exhausted. I paid for take out pizza.

I am working tonight. We have some pasta still that has been opened. My husband is going to make pasta and sauce. We have some jar sauce in the pantry. I asked him to make a small salad to go with this. We have some onion, lettuce, tomato, and a small amount of cucumber left. I'm hoping he will steam some of the frozen veggies we have in the freezer.

Dinner 9/10

My kids and DH finished all of the dinner I made last night. I couldn't believe it. I didn't even have left over stock for the freezer. They ate everything. THUD!!

I have some produce that needs to be used, so we are going to have a salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, some cheese) with various salad dressings, and black beans with rice. I'm going to steam the back beans and rice. It's a bulk thing I bought from Sharp Shoppe in their dry goods department.

I am working tonight, Thursday, and Friday. I'm hoping that some of the stress has died down some. I told my DH that I would not pick up any OT for the month of October. He's going to have to work with me while we pair down and continue to keep expenses in check.

dinner 9/9

We had three left over chicken thighs in the fridge that needed to go. We have a small container of chicken that my DH took off the bones that needs to be used. It all went into the crock pot this morning with the last few carrots, half an onion, and a few stalks of chopped celery. I added a cup of water, some parsley, onion powder, garlic, sage, poultry seasoning, and two bouillon cubes.

I'm going to let it cook in the crock pot all day, and add some Bisquick dumpling mix I have in the pantry. I'm going to make dumplings to serve with our dinner tonight.

What's been happening...

I have been working 60 hours in five days. I'm just tired. I clocked out this morning and will be back to work Wednesday night. A lot has been happening around here.

My husband made pasta and sauce on Saturday for dinner. I took some of that to work.
On Sunday, my DD made chicken thighs and steamed peas. We are eating a lot of chicken, since it's lower in price at 89 cents a lb at Aldi last week. My husband told me that he's had a rough five days with the kids while I have been working. He told me that he's just exhausted and he went to bed just a little bit ago.

I paid for subway for dinner. 5 dollar sandwiches. No big deal.

I still have skin and bones left from the chicken thighs in the fridge, I still have three chicken thighs that need to be used. I am thinking of making chicken and dumplings tomorrow in the crock pot. More on that tomorrow.


About my husband...he has a mental health history. He took me to work last night  (40 minute commute) and told me that he wasn't sleeping well. He said that the kids are irritating and argumentative. He said that they are not helping him keep things done around the house. We need to have a family meeting tomorrow afternoon when everyone is rested and home from work, school, and had dinner.

He takes his medications every day. He said I am not easy to live with. He said I work a lot. I told him that I have to work to support our family. He understands that I have to work my 36 hour week. He thinks I work a lot of overtime. I do work a lot of overtime, but I have five people to support.

I'm hoping that he rest well tonight. He's sleeping upstairs and I hope he sleeps all night. I think all of us need some serious down time.

What's been cooking??

My husband baked chicken thighs this afternoon, with some California veggie mix, and steamed some white rice. Yesterday, he made home made chili and served it with tortilla chips.

I've been working a lot of overtime and he's been providing meals for the five of us. I am too tired to make dinner before I go to work a 12 hour night shift. He's done a great job the past few afternoons.

Dinner 9/2 Using what we have...

What is left over from the marinated chicken last night? About 1/2 cup of chopped carrots, 1/2 cup of chicken stock which went into the freezer for soup at some point. 

I took out some boneless pork (used to be a large pork loin, but I sliced it up into single pork chops) and have five nice sized pork chops for dinner tonight. I will bake them in the oven with some BBQ sauce. The kids love their pork chops like this, baked with bbq sauce, and additional on the side to "dip". 

I am making a small potato salad. I peeled eight potatoes, and added three eggs to a pot. I'm simmering the potatoes and eggs to make a potato salad. I have a small amount of Kraft mayo, a small amount of onion, some spices (garlic, pepper, parsley, paprika...I am out of onion powder) that I will add to this. 

We are going to have steamed broccoli and the left over carrots as our vegetable selection. 

We are using what we have available for meals. It's going to be a tight month with the kids and I getting our dental cleanings and any cavities filled for October. We have to work on saving for some possible dental work. I'm hoping that this month will be a month of low expenses. 

What's been cooking??

I worked this weekend, and go back Wednesday for 5 in a row. I signed up for overtime. It always looks good on paper, then when I'm getting ready to begin it, it doesn't always feel good. But you do what you gotta do to support a family.

My husband baked tater tots and boiled hot dogs on Saturday for dinner. Sunday dinner was some pasta and jar sauce hanging out in the pantry from Dollar Tree. My kids had friends over, so they all had pasta and sauce. My DH had left over tater tots and a hot dog. I ended up having two hard boiled eggs and some popcorn.

Our pantry and fridge is beginning to look pretty bare. This past week I made homemade french bread, two different batches of pumpkin cookies, and made some chocolate chip muffins. The kids finished those off and we are out of fluid milk. I am finishing up the last of the powdered milk in the pantry for hot tea, hot chocolate, and any basic recipes I would use regular milk in. My kids don't really care for powdered milk with their cereal or to use as "regular milk".

My DD is out of work this week. She's has a temp job at the local Kraft company in town. She was told on Friday that all the temps will be off this week due to low production and orders placed for their products. She will go back next week. She will be home all week for meals, and not need anything set aside for her nightly lunches.

I still bring my lunch to work, and usually it's whatever we had for dinner.

Speaking about dinner, I took out five chicken thighs yesterday from the freezer and put them in some garlic and herb marinade from Aldi. I will put them in the crock pot with some carrots, steam some broccoli, and offer some brown rice to go with it. I found brown rice at Dollar Tree a while ago.