Bulking Up Part Two

SM and I discussed the "game plan" on the drive in.

"OK...I want to constantly think that this purchase needs to last a month.  OK?  Except for milk, bread, fruits and veggies...the goal is NOT to shop for a month.  Got it?"

SM (very laid back) says..."Got it."  Like he knows something I don't.

We went to Sam's Club first.  We've been members of Sam's for years because I really liked their meats and cheeses.  (Southern groceries have no talent for butchering meat (tough), plus the flavor was always off.)  We've also always purchased bulk paper products and laundry soap, dog food...stuff like that.

Today, I forced myself to go up and down each of the aisles. 

Slowly. 

I quickly regretted not having brought a tablet to write down our common purchases with prices so I could compare.  Per ounce, per pound.  This was going to be tougher than it looked.

Then my eyes started bugging out...and drool started to form at the side of my mouth.  My mind was going numb.

SM had a slight smirk on his face as I would question him about the price of an item and then laugh when I'd get all bent out of shape about the cost.  (Freakin expensive.) 

He told me with a pat on the back..."This is why I do the shopping so you don't have too."  (Angel!)

We went to check out and SM says..."$165 dollars...(his estimate).

I glanced at the conveyor belt.  "Nah...$125 tops!"

Guess who was right?

Next we went to Trader Joe's.  Love that store!  $50 bucks (mostly because we stocked up on wine.  Three Buck Chuck anyone?)

Walmart next.  By this time it was 11am and the place was packed.  Wal Martians everywhere. 

"How about Lasagna tonight?"  SM requests. 

This is why having a meal plan just doesn't work with SM.  He's too much by the seat of his pants.

Me?  I eat the same stuff over and over so I'm easy.  But being married to Mr Buffet has taught me that if I make something he's not into then I've just wasted my time.  Oh, I'll put it in the freezer for future meals but still.  It's easier just to ask.

$77 dollars later and we creak home with $300 in groceries which looks like alot in the car but put it on the counters and it doesn't seem like all that much.

We're both kind of stunned.

"I don't think we've ever bought that much food at one time."  SM says. 

"Well, obviously we do if I'm forking out $700 a month in groceries."  I reply.

"I don't see why this shouldn't last us a month."  SM

"Agreed, especially since we have food left over from our last grocery run.  So you're cool if we consider this the BIG expense for the month?  $300 dollars plus perishables?"  Me

"Yep, lets give it shot!  I'd love it if we could manage under $500."  SM

"So would I!"  Me

Later SM showed me his calculations on our groceries over the past several months.  (Just to clarify, this isn't ONLY food.  It's anything I have to buy to keep humans and animals happy.  I break down our living expenses simply as: mortgage / auto fuel & repairs / utilities / medical, vets / everything else = groceries)

Sept $866 (WTF???)
Oct $563
Nov $631
Dec $861

Average? $730 per month.  (I swear even as I write this down I still don't get it.  It's not like we buy top of the line products and we're not throwing away food.  Granted, it's not like the garden produced anything except fresh eating, which is kinda the point.  I need to expand, can and freeze if I want these numbers to come down a bit.  Right now we are totally dependant on stores for food.)

"Did you include the pet food, dog chews in this?" (Yes) 
"We could cut out alcohol."  (This is why we drink!  I don't think so...)
"Stop using so much toilet paper!"  (I'm down to 2 squares!  Geez!)

"Well, we have to start somewhere.  I'm marking the calendar.  This is it for 30 days...February 20th hits...we can go to the store again."  Me

"Except for perishables right?"  SM

"Right."

Try not to laugh.

Bulking Up Part One

Interesting thing happened yesterday.  I stopped at a grocery store on my way home to pick up a few of their loss leaders.  These are items that stores sacrifice to try and suck you in hoping that you'll buy a few more extras at regular prices.

I went in and noticed huge lines.  Thinking it's "payday" today for myself and everyone else I just went on in and got my items.  Then the overhead announcer came on..."Thank you for your patience while we get our registers back online."

I put my items back and left.

I've posted before about grocery shopping. (Yuck) 

I've read that some people only go to the store (once a month, twice a year, once a year.)

I spoke to SM about our grocery bills.  We both thought we were around the $600 a month area.  SM went back for the past 6 months and checked.  We actually spend around $700-$800 a month.  I find this unacceptable.  Maybe if we change our habits we can bring those costs down.

Now when we use the term "groceries" we're talking food, booze, paper products, pharmacuticals, pet food...pretty much everything that we buy to supply the house.

SM and I have discussed a new game plan.  We're going to buy as much as we think we'll need for 1 month in 1 shopping day.  I'd like to keep this bulk purchase to $500 dollars.  I'm going to allow $25 a week for perishables.  That bring us up to a total of $600 per month.

Not a severe diet, but a controlled one .  

We typically only shop Sam's Club, Walmart and Trader Joe's.  I told SM I want to shop Sam's more aggressively.  I think there are some things we buy in smaller sizes for convenience.  We'll need to change that mind-set.  We think we have enough room for storage.

So SM is heading in with me this morning while I do post-ops...(should be quick)

Then we'll head out a do the shopping bit.  I'll update later on what we spent and our impressions.

Things That Matter and Things That Don't

SM is HOME! Yeah! 

That means I'm cooking today.  TWC is predicting 95 today. 

When it gets this hot I consider 3 options.  Eat cold or leftover food, (since SM was gone last week I didn't cook at all) grill everything outside (a good option but I'm not feeling it) or cook very early in the morning while it's still cool-ish.

It's 9am, 82 degrees (real feel 85) and I've already made my chicken macaroni salad.  My barbecue meatloaf is in the oven (as I take a moment to blog). 

Here's the finished result.

I don't think I'll be placing recipes on this blog.  I will provide links or mentions to sites where I've grabbed a recipe and tried it. 

Remember the "no-knead bread"?  (winner)

Or the cinnamon rolls (needs more flavor intensity IE: try brown sugar/add more cinnamon/nuts)? 

When it comes to baking, I always follow the recipe provided and I consider myself a beginner with everything other than cookies and cakes.  (I'm pretty good at those already).

When it comes to savory cooking, I might read a recipe for an idea, but then it's all freestyle from there.

Take my meatloaf.  I get requests for the recipe all the time but other than telling you the ingredients, you're on your own. 

How much of this?  How much of that? I couldn't tell you as I just use my senses...It looks right, smells right, feels right.  If those 3 three things apply, it generally tastes all right too.

I improvise alot. 

My standard meatloaf has ground beef (80-20) Jimmy Dean Hot Pork Sausage and ground turkey.  I use Lipton's Beefy Onion, lots of Worcestershire sauce, 2 eggs, katsup and Progresso Italian bread crumbs. 

I couldn't begin to tell you how much of anything...I never measure.  I also never use loaf pans to make meatloaf.  Fat=Flavor, but as you can see I want the fat to drain away and the flavor to stay.

(Mmmmm.... leftovers)

What I didn't have today was Worcestershire sauce, Hot sausage (I used regular pork sausage instead) and ground turkey.  I also usually top the loaf with green pepper strips but at $0.98 cents a pepper, I thought I'd pass. 

I decided to zing it up by adding barbecue sauce (3 different brands), spicy brown mustard and some horseradish. 

So something new.  Is it a winner?  Yep, it's moist and has a nice kick to it.

I always used to buy name brand products exclusively.  Since food has gotten more expensive, we've dabbled with the store brands more. 

Some things DO taste different and somethings don't. 

Things like tinfoil, plastic wrap, garbage bags don't matter.  I've found that they function the same.

We tried Trader Joe's Dishwasher detergent...works great, (no weird smell).

Walmart Brand potato chips, sprinkle cheese, salad dressing, kidney beans, all their pastas, sugar, oils...all these have passed our taste tests.

(Walmart Brand taco chips, instant SF puddings, rices.... all suck.  IMHO)

We purchase our meats mostly from Sam's Club. They have great bulk meats and I love the Endelmans (?) Hot Italian Sausage they have.  And never forget Sam's rotisserie chicken.  ( I de-carcass-ify them and use the meat in sammies, wraps, soups and salads).  

I guess the point of this blog entry is to encourage you (and myself) to try something new...improvise.  It might just work out great.