Peace77
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 29, 2010 1:42:40 GMT -5
Posts: 3,934
|
Post by Peace77 on Oct 4, 2012 22:03:56 GMT -5
What is BM?
How do you make sloppy bears?
|
|
chiver78
Administrator
Current Events Admin
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 13:04:45 GMT -5
Posts: 38,648
|
Post by chiver78 on Oct 4, 2012 22:37:20 GMT -5
ugh, dividend, I'm doing your car maintenance routine in reverse - I just put in a new battery (~$100) and checked the alternator (it was OK) only to figure out that the battery leads are actually the problem. I'll be replacing those within the next couple weeks, depending on BIL's availability. last weekend's milestone service also confirmed what I was conveniently ignoring - that my clutch is on the way out. luckily, I've got some time to shop around before it actually dies.....but I'm still looking at around ~$1200 for it. peace, BM is breast milk AFAIK on this forum. if I were to guess what "sloppy bears" entailed, you might end up with the vodka-soaked gummy bears we all called "funny bears" over Independence Day weekend this summer.
|
|
mizbear
Senior Member
Stand back. I have a budget, and I know how to use it.
Joined: Jan 2, 2011 13:12:46 GMT -5
Posts: 3,958
|
Post by mizbear on Oct 5, 2012 12:30:14 GMT -5
sloppy bears are just what I said- a rip on sloppy joes. I hate manwich with a passion. my DGM used to make her own version with tomato soup, hormel chili, and a few other things, but I didn't like it either. I mix some seasonings- it often varies based on what is in the pantry- but usually is onion and garlic powder, some sort of hot sauce, cumin or liquid smoke, worcestshire, mustard, tomato sauce, burger and some pureed veggies. Then I add shredded cheese. It's fairly hearty. sloppy Bobby's (named after my father) are just your favorite barbecue sauce and shredded cheese (he used to use velveeta)
|
|
|
Post by bluecluessubtlety on Oct 5, 2012 14:01:28 GMT -5
I did this most of the summer. We moved 9/8 so I wanted to move less and save money prior to the move. We were also going from two refrigerators to one. We pantry and freezer ate all of August. I still have quite a bit left in the pantry though. Some meal planning ideas would be helpful. I need to get on allrecipes.com and make some meals from the ingredients list.
|
|
GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
Senior Associate
"How you win matters." Ender, Ender's Game
Joined: Jan 2, 2011 13:33:09 GMT -5
Posts: 11,291
|
Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Oct 5, 2012 16:55:30 GMT -5
Ugh. I'm on track to spend $385 of my $800 budget for the month this week.
I have already spent $284 on lots of produce, meat, pasta, and a few snacks. I know there is another $100 or so to spend on dairy, bagels, and some more produce.
It will be interesting to see how long I far I can make this, and my somewhat already-dented pantry, can go for the rest of the month.
On my mark, get set, go! ;D
|
|
ilovedolphins
Well-Known Member
Joined: Jan 31, 2011 10:56:31 GMT -5
Posts: 1,930
|
Post by ilovedolphins on Oct 5, 2012 17:01:41 GMT -5
I am going to try this when I get back from my vacation so I can start saving for the holidays. I have a ton of food in my pantry I need to get eaten.
|
|
moosmommy
Established Member
Joined: Aug 1, 2011 9:16:26 GMT -5
Posts: 274
|
Post by moosmommy on Oct 8, 2012 9:50:14 GMT -5
Still doing pretty good not spending. Had to grab a gallon of milk this weekend but that was it. I made chili yesterday because it started getting cold this weekend where I live. Didn't have any canned tomatoes so I used half a jar of spaghetti sauce. No one could tell.
|
|
Wisconsin Beth
Distinguished Associate
No, we don't walk away. But when we're holding on to something precious, we run.
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 11:59:36 GMT -5
Posts: 30,626
|
Post by Wisconsin Beth on Oct 8, 2012 10:33:56 GMT -5
We ran out of time this weekend and never got to the grocery store. We did hit 2 Farmer's Markets and DH hit the co-op for his stuff. So I'm still not sure if we're participating in this or not, but I'm working on the cupboards and freezers for me and the kids this week at least.
|
|
|
Post by Elusions of Grandeur on Oct 9, 2012 13:53:35 GMT -5
I may very well be joining you gals in this challenge soon. I gathered he boys together last night and warned them all that if I hear "We don't have anything!" one more time in regards to the food in the pantry/freezer/fridge that all grocery shopping (except for fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, and maybe bread) will cease. I also warned them to plan on doing this next spring/summer for a month or two before we move so I don't have to cart a ton of food with us.
|
|
ilovedolphins
Well-Known Member
Joined: Jan 31, 2011 10:56:31 GMT -5
Posts: 1,930
|
Post by ilovedolphins on Oct 18, 2012 14:43:26 GMT -5
Just getting back from vacation I plan to jump in with both feet. I am only buying fresh items until my pantry is close to cleared out.
|
|
seriousthistime
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 22, 2010 20:27:07 GMT -5
Posts: 4,736
|
Post by seriousthistime on Oct 20, 2012 9:54:11 GMT -5
I'd like to do this too, starting now.
Milk, I find, is cheapest by the gallon. But I may go through a quart in a week, mostly for coffee and cereal, and sometimes warm milk with Ovaltine before bed. So I bought some containers to freeze the milk in. I defrost them in the fridge a day or two before I need them. It actually takes three days for a full defrost but there's usually enough liquid for what I need.
I waste so much food it's ridiculous. I would like to get much better at buying what I need and using what I buy. My goal is to spend no more than $50 on groceries between now and the end of the month. I can totally do this!
I've got a big bag of meatballs in the freezer. Some frozen pasta, some dry pasta, broths, cereals (to cook and ready to eat), 17 eggs that I have to use (my friend has chickens), canned tomatoes and pumpkin, tortillas and wraps, frozen meats and veggies, etc. Cheese, lots of it.
I like the idea of buying only fresh items until the pantry and freezer are close to cleared out.
|
|
p8nt
Familiar Member
Joined: Feb 5, 2011 23:04:56 GMT -5
Posts: 504
|
Post by p8nt on Oct 20, 2012 16:41:30 GMT -5
I've done pretty good. I wanted to use up a lot of the canned tomatoes, sauce, etc along with the ground beef and sausage I had in the freezer. I now have 7 containers of pasta in the freezer and 4 large containers of soup. I still have quite a bit of food in the pantry to use up, but slowly but surely I'm getting there.
We have been buying fresh vegetables/salad stuff and milk but we have that every single night so it's hard to make that last a month.
|
|
dividend
Established Member
It's 5:00 somewhere.
Joined: Dec 23, 2010 21:31:29 GMT -5
Posts: 387
|
Post by dividend on Oct 22, 2012 12:26:53 GMT -5
I feel ok about my attempt this month so far. I've spent $176.78. $73.34 of that was a liquor cabinet re-stock trip and some totally unecassary smoked salmon from Costco (necassities, right? ) I'll have to get a few things next weekend to make pumpkin chili for my monthly board game night, so I'll probably come in right around $200. Even with the unecassary stuff, that's half of my normal budgeted amount. And we've been eating like kings. I've learned that my pantry boarders on ridiculous. Several times, I've read a recipe on a blog that sounded good and realized that I had literally everything on hand to make it. DBF's sister eats dinner with us on Wednesdays, and she suggested spring rolls for this week. I didn't need to buy a thing to make pork stir fry and shrimp spring rolls. Same thing with the baked pumpkin oatmeal I made for breakfast for this week. And this is before we get to pastas and such. I'll probably keep doing this through November, because it's forcing me to be creative instead of relying on a $75 trip to the grocery store every week. How's everybody else doing?
|
|
ses
Familiar Member
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 14:18:37 GMT -5
Posts: 654
|
Post by ses on Oct 23, 2012 19:41:58 GMT -5
I have been doing pretty well this month. So far I have only spent $53 on milk and fresh stuff. A few months ago I learned how to make homemade Greek yogurt in my slow cooker. I don't manage to drink enough milk before it goes bad. But I like yogurt and can use a gallon of milk to make yogurt for the month at 25% of the cost of yogurt at Walmart. I also was taken to Sam's club by a friend and spent $129 for my twice annual stock up on staples. About $50 of that was supplies for Holiday baking and gifts. I also spent a chunk on 6 months of cat food. Even with all that spending on winter supplies,(just in time -we are to get snow Thursday) my regular pantry is looking much better minus a lot of stuff I have managed to use up. I should do this every quarter before I inventory my pantry.
|
|
Wisconsin Beth
Distinguished Associate
No, we don't walk away. But when we're holding on to something precious, we run.
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 11:59:36 GMT -5
Posts: 30,626
|
Post by Wisconsin Beth on Oct 24, 2012 10:22:41 GMT -5
I had epic fail on this. But nice work on those of you who didn't! I am doing better on eating leftovers though. So that's an improvement or a start or something.
|
|
|
Post by bluecluessubtlety on Oct 24, 2012 13:06:19 GMT -5
I'm out of the challenge. Fry's had the GM sale and the pantry and freezer are overflowing. But can't pass up free.
I have been getting much better about leftovers though and making new things out of a hodgepodge of items. Not enough for additional entire dinners but enough for snacks and small single serves. So much less waste going on.
|
|
suziq38
Well-Known Member
I love to save
Joined: Dec 22, 2010 21:11:27 GMT -5
Posts: 1,160
|
Post by suziq38 on Oct 28, 2012 9:34:53 GMT -5
I think that this is a great idea. I have been doing this lately, as I hate to waste good food.
|
|
moosmommy
Established Member
Joined: Aug 1, 2011 9:16:26 GMT -5
Posts: 274
|
Post by moosmommy on Oct 29, 2012 8:54:29 GMT -5
Went over budget by $150.00. But still $350.00 for 5 people is pretty good. I have been using at least one item in our pantry or freezer with any meals we make. These are the items that would normally sit until they went bad. So I will continue to work on this for the next month. Wast not want not! ;D
|
|
|
Post by Elusions of Grandeur on Oct 29, 2012 10:31:53 GMT -5
I've been trying not to buy outrageous amounts of food at the grocery store when I go. However, as I am sick and we are out of fruits, vegetables, milk, and most items the boys require for their lunches around here, DH is going shopping without me tonight. This hasn't happened but once in the 3 years we've been together. I'm nervous! (Oh yeah, and we don't have any candy for Halloween come Wednesday, so I expect that will eat up $30 of our budget, even though I intend to take the hard candy that was uneaten - smarties and jolly ranchers and what not - from the boys Halloween candy last year and fill the coffers with that first.*)
*I am truly the evil step mother - I rationed out their Halloween candy soooooo slowly, and only if they behaved and were responsible, that they both still have 50% of last years haul. On the plus side we didn't have any sugar highs or food comas though, which is what I was trying to avoid. But a part of me feels like a guilty stereotype.
I'm making a list for DH, we'll see if he can manage to stick it to and not buy lots of things that aren't on the list... I want to clear out some room in the freezer for when I start trying to freeze breast milk for the baby/before going back to work.
Our grocery budget for 4 people averaged $200/month (and that's without coupons) from May-August. I stopped counting last month and this. But I just might start keeping track again now that I'm officially working on this challenge.
The main problem is that I need to start using the slow cooker more often (or rather at all since I've never touched it before) because I usually work split shift now and the boys microwave dinner. DH has made a few dinners, but less than a half dozen total in the last 3 months. Basically if I don't do it, it doesn't happen.
|
|
GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
Senior Associate
"How you win matters." Ender, Ender's Game
Joined: Jan 2, 2011 13:33:09 GMT -5
Posts: 11,291
|
Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Oct 29, 2012 11:00:06 GMT -5
I'm sure I ended up adding more to my pantry this month than I withdrew. A new shopping plaza with a Stop and Shop is about to open. Our little Whole Foods across the street from the new shopping plaza is obviously feeling a bit nervous and the sales (especially on poultry and beef) have been fabulous. I'm sure, that in time, Whole Foods will go back to their higher prices so, while I had the chance, I just had to take advantage. ;D
|
|
moosmommy
Established Member
Joined: Aug 1, 2011 9:16:26 GMT -5
Posts: 274
|
Post by moosmommy on Oct 29, 2012 14:47:25 GMT -5
elusionsofgrandeur, if you do not mind me asking how do you stay within 200.00 a month for four people?
|
|
|
Post by Elusions of Grandeur on Oct 29, 2012 22:30:22 GMT -5
Moosmommy - We shop at Aldi's. I mean sure there have been months we spent $300 on food, but those are few and far between and our pantry is considerably well stocked. We have been slowly whittling down our freezer however. Sometimes I pre-shop at the Dollar Store (we live in a rich area, so they get some really great items in stock surprisingly) and Caputo's for produce. They're all near by and have excellent prices. I am finally learning which place has better deals than the other though. Some of the products at the Dollar Store are a rip-off compared to Aldi's, same goes for the other two stores comparatively.
|
|
Wisconsin Beth
Distinguished Associate
No, we don't walk away. But when we're holding on to something precious, we run.
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 11:59:36 GMT -5
Posts: 30,626
|
Post by Wisconsin Beth on Oct 30, 2012 9:42:37 GMT -5
EoG, what part of the country are you in? I have a vague thought you're sort of near Chicago but I could be confusing you with someone else, I do that.
|
|
|
Post by Elusions of Grandeur on Oct 30, 2012 22:51:59 GMT -5
You are correct Beth, we live in the NW suburbs of Chicago.
|
|
Sam_2.0
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 15:42:45 GMT -5
Posts: 12,350
|
Post by Sam_2.0 on Oct 30, 2012 23:04:39 GMT -5
We did OK last month and managed to clean out quite a bit of space. I then filled it all up again with another trip to Aldi. But for $100 I got almost 3 weeks worth of food since DH has decided he wants to do meatless meals M-TH for his new diet. Works for me! Cheaper, easier meals, and I can pull most of them out of the freezer/pantry.
|
|
Wisconsin Beth
Distinguished Associate
No, we don't walk away. But when we're holding on to something precious, we run.
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 11:59:36 GMT -5
Posts: 30,626
|
Post by Wisconsin Beth on Oct 31, 2012 8:15:18 GMT -5
You are correct Beth, we live in the NW suburbs of Chicago. Hi Neighbor! YOu're about 90 minutes from me then. Want a crib? It's insanely easy to put together. It also has drop sides on BOTH sides of the crib. You can probably glue them or something if you don't want drop down sides. I loved them personally.
|
|
|
Post by Elusions of Grandeur on Oct 31, 2012 22:48:14 GMT -5
Well hello there to you too Neighbor. Thanks for the offer Beth! I PMed you back about this. To everyone - please send me a recipe for chicken thighs. We've got about 2 lbs left over from when my friend came to cook for me the other day since I was too sick to do anything (as well as about 2 lbs of boneless chuck roast - but I'm not sure if she's coming back to pick that up or not). They need to be cooked TOMORROW or they go bad. I hate to waste good food.
|
|
ses
Familiar Member
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 14:18:37 GMT -5
Posts: 654
|
Post by ses on Nov 1, 2012 10:49:22 GMT -5
EOG--you can always put the chicken in the crock pot with a little BBQ sauce, set it on low for about 6-8 hours or high for about 4-5 hours. Serve as is or over rice with a veg on the side.
|
|
|
Post by bluecluessubtlety on Nov 1, 2012 11:26:49 GMT -5
|
|
mizbear
Senior Member
Stand back. I have a budget, and I know how to use it.
Joined: Jan 2, 2011 13:12:46 GMT -5
Posts: 3,958
|
Post by mizbear on Nov 1, 2012 18:59:17 GMT -5
chicken thighs- I cook them off and then skin, debone and remove and excess fat. I give Momma Bear a small allottment for chicken salad her way and then use the rest as such:
A portion for my chicken salad (I use yogurt) (ground) A portion of curried chicken salad (ground) A portion of chicken taco/enchilada mix (shredded or ground) A portion of chicken bbq and/or buffalo style (shredded) A portion for chicken alfredo (shredded or chopped)
You can also use it in soups, salads, wraps, or make burgers, sausage, meatloaf and meatballs.
|
|