I left the house only twice last week, and neither time was to buy food. 😉 There were leftovers in the fridge to eat up, garden projects to work on and wool to dye. It’s been a long time since I’ve had so many garden projects in the works and as my thoughts turn towards working in the garden each day, so do all the new varieties of vegetables I’ll be growing this year, and what I’ll be doing with all that produce come harvest time.
I am insanely excited for the little pop up veggie stand I plan to have at the end of the driveway in late summer, and to do my summer canning outside this year. Thanks to your advice, I went ahead and ordered a Camp Chef Explorer 2 Burner Range for canning outdoors and did a test run with it over the weekend and dyed a batch of wool.
I was going for a clam shell color to add to my Etsy offerings and the wool turned out lovely! It’s an exciting time around here, and some weeks cooking just takes a back burner to the garden. Keep it simple. That’s my plan for the rest of this year. If I can stick to that, I think everything will fall into place.
I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather eat pasta the day after it’s made. Something about it sitting in the fridge overnight and soaking up all the sauce… Just makes it taste so much better in my opinion.
Picky dinner night. The horseradish cheddar from ALDI kinda reminded me of the Yancy’s wasabi cheese Costco sells around the holidays. The horseradish cheese has a little less punch though. And I’d totally buy it again.
A simple ham and bean soup. Nothing is more nourishing after a long day of working outside in the misty spring air than a big pot of soup. The fact that there was leftovers, was just an added bonus.
Dear chocolate brownies cookies… it’s been to long. 😉 I would make these cookies all the time for the kids school functions and bake sales and they were always a big hit. If you’ve never made these before, trust me, it’s a recipe you’ll want to Pin to your Pinterest account.
Saturday night beans. It’s a New England tradition! 😉
And last but not least, Sunday morning breakfast in bed. Leftover beans, fried potatoes, bacon, and scrambled eggs with zucchini and spinach.
Some weeks the food is totally simple, and others it’s a big adventure. 😉
How about you? When was the last time you didn’t buy groceries for a week? Didn’t it feel nice not to have to walk in to a store?
~Mavis
Total Spent This Week $0
- Total Spent in April on Groceries $169.98
- Total Spent in March on Groceries $306.75 <– Apartment life, moving across the country and settling into a new house
- Total Spent in February on Groceries $259.81 < Living in an apartment and buying a lot of ready-made meals
- Total Spent in January on Groceries $240.15 <– Packing mode and not cooking from scratch as much
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Nancy D says
Happy Monday to you! Your new cooking station looks fantastically fun! Dying wool outside looks awesome! ( Just wanted to mention that I’ve had first hand experience with the heat discoloring and bubbling the paint and siding after awhile….)
chickengrandma says
Help! I did not get the April 29 or 30 One Hundred Dollars on my email. Nothing changed for me. I have been getting it for a year.
I agree with Nancy- pull the stove away from the siding. Happened to us using the grill on the porch- the siding wrinkled.
Rebecca in MD says
Hi Mavis,
Since baked beans are a tradition for your family, I thought you might enjoy my favorite recipe for baked beans. It is Alton Brown’s “Once and Future Beans” recipe and you can find it here:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/the-once-and-future-beans-recipe-1938616
Sometimes I substitute leftover ham for the bacon, and I think it is delicious that way also.
Regarding canning, my son bought me a Ball electric canner to replace my old graniteware canner, and I absolutely LOVE it. You could also use it outside. I like it because it has a spout for draining the water, so I don’t have to pick up that heavy pot of water to dump it – – – again, this would work great outside. Here’s a link:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ball-FreshTECH-Electric-Water-Bath-Canner-and-Multi-Cooker/46846158?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227034206954&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=84626069231&wl4=pla-145482595031&wl5=1024854&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=46846158&wl13=&veh=sem
Mim says
Mavis,
The outdoor burner will also come in handy next spring when you boil sap and make maple syrup. Boiling inside creates a ton of steam (’cause you’re basically evaporating the sap and concentrating it into deliciousness), so for us small scale syrup makers, the outdoor range is a great solution.See? You’ve already got 3 primo uses for your new purchase!
Mavis Butterfield says
I’m excited to try making maple syrup!
Marcia says
I don’t know when I last didn’t step into a store. Years maybe? Maybe last year? I feed four people, including 2 growing boys…it’s a rare week if I manage to not shop mid-week.
Saturday is the big shop day, and we have our CSA produce delivery that day. But seriously, the produce (esp veggies) are GONE by Weds or Thursday, and I have to shop again. Maybe last year I had a week where I didn’t have to shop? But I doubt it. Even now it’s only Monday and I know we are going to be out of everything except 1/2 bag of stir-fry veggies by Weds.
Pasta is much better the next day, like soup. I actually cook my pasta IN the sauce in the instant pot and it’s the bomb.
Linda says
Agree with the siding comment. The cookies look yummy.
Thanks for the deadly plants post. Wish I’d known earlier about hydrangea. My little pup was on a leash while I worked in the garden in view. I turned around to find him happily chewing on the “sticks” and shoots- not many but enough that he could not stop vomiting a white, bubbly foam all the way to the vet, who took him immediately and treated him. It was about 36 hours before we had our little Yancy back. It could have been MUCH worse. Thankfully it wasn’t.
Deborah says
Since we are both retired, and have loads of hobbies each, we eat simple most every night. I won’t be gardening much this year. Too many health problems going on right now. But I’m having fun with our new hobby, 3D printing.
Cass says
I don’t grocery shop weekly. It has been 3 weeks since I went “shopping”. (I did stop in Stewarts for bread and milk once in that time) I HATE grocery shopping. When I do go, I use coupons combined with sales to get the best deal. I shop at Aldi’s about 6 times a year to stock up (think $200 a pop) I have the freezer over the fridge and a 16 cubic foot freezer on the back porch. I will buy 20 bags of frozen veggies on sale and go back to the store when I run out of them. (I sincerely hate shopping) I have some things on auto-ship from Amazon (Coffee, dishwasher detergent, chips for my lunches–stuff like that) When I run out of lettuce I send my partner or eat macaroni salad with carrots and frozen peas in it. (I eat a lot of frozen veggies, so I don’t worry that much about fresh salad) I will admit I don’t have children in my household, so as supplies diminish I eat what I have until I get tired of that and finally go out shopping.
A says
Mavis, I so enjoy your blog! I would love to hear how you found your new home. It seems perfect for you and your family.
Mavis Butterfield says
🙂 I wrote about it here: https://www.stage.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/search-forever-home/
Debbie - MountainMama says
I often go a week without stepping into the grocery store….I absolutely hate grocery shopping so if I can avoid it I will! I have three freezers and a full pantry and a creative cook’s mind so I can always whip something up!
Leslie says
Your food photography on this post is ! Living vicariously through these recents posts. Love it!
And is that a sugar pine cone in the fireplace? Do they grow around there?