One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 2 of 2143 - I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

Lucy’s Good Morning Greeting!

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By Mavis Butterfield on December 20, 2018 · 12 Comments

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” ~ Helen Keller

On the agenda for today:

Find the 3 gifts I hid a few months ago for the Girl {How does that happen?}
Order Wool
Check out the local thrift store of a table for the craft room
Laundry, Laundry, Laundry.

Wishing you all the best on this cold December morning,

♥ Mavis and Lucy

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Chickens, the Garden and The Most Amazing Idea for Next Year

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By Mavis Butterfield on December 19, 2018 · 30 Comments

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” ~John Steinbeck

Those bricks! I can’t get Lucy off of them. 😉 Isn’t it funny how they’ve been there all along and even though we’ve been using the wood stove full time now since October, Lucy has just now starting to lay to the bricks? I can’t figure it out. What a silly dog.

We need to find Lucy a good sweater. One that will keep her warm for a long walk when using her heavy LLBean winter coat would just be too much. If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear about them.

So apparently chickens aren’t to keen on parsley. The HH had a little extra after whipping up some homemade meatballs yesterday and thought he’d bring the leftovers to the girls. I don’t think they were too impressed with it though and walked away after a few bites.

Firewood Jenga continues…. Only 2 more cords to stack. 😉 #NotMyJob

Now take a look at this!! The HH and I were in Wells, Maine last week and popped by an antique store to have a look around {everything was waaaay out of our price range, but wowza, what a beautiful store it was}. Anywho, when we pulled up to the store there was the most amazing set of espalier trees growing alongside the house and I just had to snap a few pictures to show you.

The trees were planted over 40 years ago by the father of the antique store owner and obviously they have been meticulously taken care of over the years.

Don’t you think a set of espalier trees would look amazing growing alongside our house? OH MY WORD…. I think they would. I guess now the only questions are…. Should I plant apple or pear trees. Or maybe both? Do I plant espalier trees along just the main portion of the house or along the shorter side of the wall as well?

I think seeing those espalier trees was meant to be, don’t you? I love it when that happens.

Wishing you the merriest of December days,

~Mavis

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The Best Meatloaf Recipe on the Planet – Even Ralphie Would Love It!

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By Mavis Butterfield on December 18, 2018 · 17 Comments

“Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double beatloaf, I hate meatloaf.” ~ Randy from A Christmas Story.

If you think you have found the best meatloaf recipe on the planet, and you can’t imagine ever trying another meatloaf because you’ve found the one, then I want you to reconsider and try this recipe. Because it truly is, the best meatloaf I’ve had in my entire life. And I’m not just saying that because I didn’t make it or have to clean the dishes the other night after the HH made us dinner.

Seriously, ever since the big move and my husband leaving his 70-80 hour a week job of 25 years this past summer, he has been cooking up a storm. Who knew, this guy who previously prepared one, maybe two meals a year and didn’t even know where the dishes were kept in the kitchen was hiding such a talent. I’m beginning to think there isn’t anything he can’t make and I’m tempted to ask him to try French pastries next!

So back to the meatloaf. It truly is, the best meatloaf on the planet. I don’t know if it was the bread crumbs, the sauce he prepared or what, but you need to give this recipe a try. Like soon.

My husband doubled the meatloaf recipe below and baked it in a pullman pan, which I believe is the best pan for a meatloaf as the slices are the perfect size for serving.

Ingredients

1 lb. 93% lean ground beef
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg beaten
2 tbsp. ketchup
1 tbsp. steak sauce
1 tsp. dried parsley leaves
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

For the Topping

1/4 cup steak sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F

In a large bowl, add the beef, bread crumbs, onion, milk, egg, ketchup, steak sauce, parsley, salt, garlic powder, and ground pepper. Gently mix the ingredients together until well combined.

Press the meat loaf mixture into a loaf pan. Smoothing the top of the meatloaf so it’s even.

In a small bowl, add 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup steak sauce and the brown sugar. Stir to combine. Spread half of the sauce over the top of the meatloaf making sure to cover the entire top of the meatloaf with sauce. Set aside the remaining sauce for leftovers or add a wee bit more before serving.

Bake meatloaf uncovered for 50 – 55 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 160°F.

Let the meatloaf rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

~Mavis

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Morning Kisses From Miss Lucy

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By Mavis Butterfield on December 18, 2018 · 6 Comments

“Living is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in a book, and remembering – because you can’t take it in all at once.”

~ Audrey Hepburn

♥

I may be taking the week off from posting deals, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss the daily quote or a sweet little hello from Miss Lucy. Wishing you all the best on this cold and windy December morning.

~Mavis

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