Albertsons $ 22.56
Gahhh, those stinkin’ Ritz crackers were $3.99!! Monkey Boy can’t get enough of my Ritz Cracker Chicken recipe lately so I stocked up. This time I was smart though and smashed all the Ritz crackers into bits and bagged them up so he and The Girl couldn’t run off with them. 😉
We have a ton of Zaycon Chicken in the freezer so most of our meals lately involve chicken. Chicken soup, chicken pot pie, chicken stir fry, you name it, if it has chicken in it, we’ve been eating it.
Luckily Zaycon has a beef event coming up soon so I’ll be able to stop up on 40 pounds of beef.
The red vines? Total impulse item. 😉 And the New England clam chowder? That’s for the HH, he loves it. I would make it myself {we actually have clams in the freezer} but I don’t have a good recipe. Do you? If so could you pass it along because I would love to be able to make clam chowder from scratch {even if it would stink up the house}.
Smith Brothers Milk Delivery $11.16
I know it would be much cheaper to pick up 2 gallons of milk at the store each week, but I really like having our milk delivered on a set day. A gallon of milk at our local grocery costs about $2.89 a gallon, so clearly I’m not saving money on the milk, but like I said before, once the garden gets going I’ll be running to the store less so in the end I hope it will all work out.
Plus, Smith Brothers milk just tastes better. And that has to count for something, right?
How about you, did you buy impulse items last week? Do tell.
~Mavis
Total Spent This Week $33.72
Total Spent This Year $305.79
Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $11.50 {I bought some seed potatoes this past week}
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Cecily says
My favorite clam chowder is from a restaurant in Long Beach, WA (there is one in Seaside and Canon Beach, OR also). It is thinner than a traditional chowder but can be thickened with potato or corn starch if desired.
Dooger’s Clam Chowder
1 (51 oz.) can chopped sea clams
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon clam base (I use Better than Boullion)
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt (Johnny’s)
2 cups half and half
1 cup heavy cream
Paprika
Drain juice from clams into a pot, set clams aside. Add potatoes, clam base, white pepper, thyme and seasoned salt to pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are tender. Add half and half, cream and clams to the pot and heat through. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with paprika.
Heidi P says
Oh my goodness, Dooger’s is yummy clam chowder. We stop every time we are in the area. They used to sell a kit at their restaurants to make at home. I’m not sure if they still do.
Cecily says
Yes they sell the kit for $18. I make it for about half that using this recipe. The clam base isn’t included in most recipes you find online but I think it makes it taste closer to the original. IMO this is the way clam chowder should be. No bacon, corn or onions to hide any of that awesome clammy flavor. Its all about the clams baby! 😉
Erika says
When we lived in Denver, we had milk delivered and it was awesome! The milk tasted amazing and it averaged 3 days from cow to delivery. A set delivery was great, and we could always add on more if we wanted. I really wish we could get milk delivered where we live now.
Lisa says
Did you REALLY crush all your kid’s favorite crackers so they couldn’t eat any? I hope that is hyperbole.
KAte says
It’s not so much so they can’t eat them, as it’s so the crackers are still there when you need them as an ingredient.
It’s really frustrating to buy a box of crackers you intend to use an an ingredient, and then discover that the whole box is empty when you need to make the recipe. Especially if the eaters don’t bother to mention that they’ve consumed the item.
Zoe says
You won’t regret trying this chowder recipe.
Cook in olive oil, butter, or bacon grease until onion is soft, 10-12 minutes:
1 lg sweet onion, finely chopped
3 lg carrots cut unto 1/4 inch dice
3 celery ribs cut unto 1/4 inch dice
1 bell pepper cut unto 1/4 inch dice
Add and summer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes:
3/4 lb Yukon gold potato cut unto 1/4 inch dice
3/4 lb sweet potato cut into 1/4 inch dice
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
4 cups water
Add and summer uncovered 10 minutes:
3 cups fresh corn kernels
2 cups heavy cream
Meat, if you would like (I usually use 6 slices of bacon or 1/4 lb ham here, but you could add shrimp or clams)
Stir in:
8 oz extra-sharp cheddar, grated
Add salt, black pepper, basil and parsley to taste
Mary Ann says
Our favorite Clam Chowder
Number of Servings: 10
1 small onion, chopped
4 Tbls butter
6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cubes chicken bouillon
1 tsp Nature’s Seasoning
2 cups water
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup flour
2 slices bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
1 can clams with juice or pack of frozen clams (I usually cook them a little before putting in with soup)
4 cups whole milk
Directions
Saute onion in butter. In large pot, put water, bouillon, onion, seasoning and potatoes. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender. Add bacon and can of clams. In small bowl mix flour, cream cheese and milk until smooth. Add to soup mixture. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.
I use the same recipe for sausage potato soup. Omit the clams and add 1/2 lb fried sausage and crushed red pepper to taste (I start with 1/2 tsp).
Vanessa says
This is NOT a from scratch recipe, but my sister in law gave it to me years ago and we like it.
Alana’s Clam Chowder
Melt one cube butter in saucepan. Add 1/2 cup flour to make a paste. Stir in 2 cups milk until thickened. Add juice from one can of clams. Add 1 can cream of celery soup and one can cream of potato soup. Stir in clams and add salt and pepper to taste. Add more milk until you like the consistency. That’s it!
Paula says
You can start with any good recipe for potato soup. That’s what I used to do, then I would take out enough for myself before I tossed in the clams and left the house.
Kristina says
We clam for horse neck clams on the northern CA coast every year. This is the recipe we use (I never measure, but I’ll make a guess).
Peel and chop into 1 in chunks, 5# potatoes
slice 5-6 ribs celery (or more to taste)
cover potatoes and celery with 2 inches of lightly salted water in a large stock pot and set to simmer
Meanwhile, dice 2 lg onions and 1# bacon, fry in pan until bacon is cooked through. Add wondra (1/4 c?) or sifted flour and stir and cook to make a light roux
Add roux to potato/celery mixture. Add 1-2 lg cans clams (not the little tuna-sized cans) + juice (not sure about quantities, we always use fresh, but make it as clammy as you like) and pepper to taste. Simmer on low for 45 min- hr. Right before serving, add 1/2 gallon of milk (whole if you’re going all out) and 1 cube of butter and heat through. Great with a sprinkle of tobacco sauce and some sourdough bread. Salad? What salad?
This is a huge recipe for a crowd. Also, when I cook it at home, I use 2% milk and a couple pats of butter.
Rosaleen says
Clam chowder recipe? I just throw together potatoes, maybe corn, milk, chicken bouillon, and clams. Depending on what I have, butter or some bacon, a little turnip, and celery might go in, as well. I sneak as many veggies into things as I think my family will tolerate without squawking. Measure? I tend to cook by dumping in what looks right. If your family likes salmon, try using canned salmon to make chowder, too.
I’m looking at the yogurt and am srprised that with all the organic food you serve, you buy commercial yogurt. Have you read the ingredients in that stuff? Yogurt is very easy to make at home. Scald milk. Let it cool to about 112 F, stir in some live culture yogurt, and keep the mixture warm for about 6 hours. Voila! If you wish, add vanilla and the sweetener of your choice to the milk before adding the culture. Strain until thickened for Greek style, or add some dry milk powder to the milk so it is thicker at the end. I have used electric heating pads in an insulated bag, a summer-warmed car or covered grille (No heat turned on, just the sun hitting the black grille), and my food dehydrator to “cook” the yogurt. The dehydrator is great, as I can set the temperature and walk away. My less conveninent optoions: A newer electric heating pad that turns itself off, and the sun-driven heaters-car and outdoor grille-also have to be monitored, but are at least free. A little sweetened fresh or frozen fruit or some preserves added to the individual servings make for some great less expensive treats. An added bonus is less plastic waste and probably a smaller “carbon footprint” by using local milk and reusable yogurt cups.
Heidi P says
Every year for Christmas Eve we serve clam chowder. This year because we had an abundance of salmon in the freezer we made salmon chowder. It was AWESOME! I used the “No Knead Dutch Oven Crusty Bread” recipe from your website to make individual bread bowls. It worked wonderfully. I split each recipe into two balls of bread to bake instead of just one big one. I still have family members commenting on the chowder and bread bowls. Looks like I will doing a repeat for the next holiday season 🙂
My Recipe for chowder:
3 tbsp butter
3/4 c chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tsp garlic powder
2 c diced potatoes
2 carrots, diced
2 c chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried dill weed
2- 16oz cans of clams (or salmon) fresh would be even better.
1- 12 oz can of evaporated milk
1- 15oz can of creamed corn
1/2 lb cheddar cheese, shredded
1) Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion, celery and garlic powder until onions are tender. Stir in potatoes, carrots, broth, salt, pepper and dill. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.
2) Stir in clams (salmon), evaporated milk, corn and cheese. Cook until heated through.
On a side note: I made the chowder base the day before minus the salmon. Reheated and added the pre-cooked salmon about half hour before serving. Worked like a charm.
Pam P says
Ha, ha, my impulse buy was Twizzlers this week… great minds work alike!
Kari Mathews says
I use the original Ivar’s Clam Chowder recipe, it came from the Seattle Times year’s ago when he allowed them to publish it, it’s our tried and true favorite. The best part is you can add anything to it your family prefers, (I add a little garlic, bacon on top and a little smoked paprika) every time it turns out great and I also make it with everything but the half and half and freeze it as a base and then when you want some it’s ready to go.
2 (6 1/2 ounce) cans minced clams (I use at least two cups of fresh clams our favorite is razor clams, we like clams 🙂
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely diced celery
2 cups finely diced potatoes (I prefer yukon gold or russett’s the starch content won’t change the taste)
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
4 cups half-and-half, warmed
1 teaspoon salt, to taste
1 dash pepper (fresh ground is best)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, drain the juice from the clams; set the clams aside.Combine clam juice with the onions, celery and potatoes.Add enough water to barely cover and simmer, covered, over medium heat until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add flour and stir in to the butter.(Your making a rue to thicken it) Slowly whisk in the warm half-and-half. Cook and whisk until smooth and thick, about 5 minutes. If you want a thinner chowder, add 1/2 to 3/4 cup water or additional clam broth. Add the vegetables with their cooking liquid, clams, salt, pepper and sugar to the pan. Stir well and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
Marcia@Frugal Healthy Simple says
Ha! We have ritz crackers and apparently my boys (8 and 1.5) polished off most of a tube this morning while my husband was washing the breakfast dishes.
Renay says
I use the Betty Crocker cookbook recipe and it tastes great! I add more bacon and more clams and corn. Super easy and one pan. I also just use non fat milk and it tastes fine. And the house doesn’t smell at all. Enjoy!
ann says
Hi! I am really enjoying getting to know you site and getting to know you! 🙂 I have a great (and super easy) clam chowder recipe I got off a great recipe site……here’s the link! Hope you enjoy it as much as my family has! 🙂
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/10/my-favorite-boston-clam-chowder.html
brenda says
Another vote for the Ivar’s recipe out of the Seattle times. It’s easy and it does taste just like a bowl you get at any Ivar’s. I have made clam chowder for years, but since moving to WA three years ago, this is our go to recipe.
ChrisM says
Do you have an Aldi nearby? They have great generic Ritz crackers. Only 2.00 at our Aldi in Michigan.
krista S says
try sneaking some dollar store brand or cheap off brand of the crackers in when they arent home and crush them up before they see them:P
Cindy Hagen says
Cook’s Illustrated Recipe for Clam Chowder is our favorite. We add additional clams and put cilantro on top but it’s awesome!
krista S says
They have ritz crackers on sale at out albertsons for $1.99 a box this week. maybe stock up while they are on sale, out add has them on sale until the 11th.
Jenny says
My jaw dropped when I read that a gallon of milk at your grocery is $2.89/gallon! I live in Louisiana and a gallon of milk here is usually $4.25-$5! I prefer to buy milk at my farmer’s market, but it’s $4/half gallon. Just found your blog today and I’m loving it, by the way.