Thursday, February 9, 2012

An Expensive Grocery Shop

I just got home from a quick run to the grocery store for “just a few things to tide us over.” Whatever. My total was $129! It is time to review the receipt and figure out what I am spending so much money on!

photo credit

The definite #1 problem: Dry cereal. Groan. And cereal is so processed that it can’t even be healthy. Double groan. Oh well, at least the solution isn’t that difficult; there are many delicious and (fairly) easy breakfast dishes. Of course, I can’t use eggs or oatmeal because Bunny is allergic to both, so that does limit me. But there are still options! Pancakes, breakfast cakes, breakfast burritos (I go heavy on potatoes or rice, since I can’t use eggs).

The runner up “problem” is right on #1’s heels…Shredded cheese. I use shredded cheese in almost every lunch and supper. I think it’s time to learn how to make my own cheese! It is dumb that I have never learned this, because all I need to do is go visit my grandmother, who lives within 5 miles of my house, and watch her go through the motions! My cousin did exactly that and she tells me that making this kind of cheese is super easy.

Problem #3 is breakfast related again. We eat pancakes with cottage cheese. Lots of cottage cheese. Has anyone noticed the price of cottage cheese?? The books that I have read say, “Cottage cheese is the easiest cheese to make.” Really? I have tried to make my own cottage cheese in the past, to no avail. Maybe after I visit my grandmother I’ll be able to get a handle on this cheese, too. Here’s hoping!

Problem #4…Yogurt. Actually, I don’t usually buy yogurt; it is SO easy to make! I’ve just been lazy these past few weeks. I bought one pint of vanilla yogurt today, which I'll use for a culture, so I’ll be “fixing” this problem soon.

And #5 is laziness again. Or ignorance. Pie crusts can’t be THAT hard to make, can they? And yet, I have succeeded time and time again at failing in this area. Actually, my pie crusts are edible; they just aren’t “scoopable” because they fall apart. So what? It is cheaper to make crumbly pie crusts than buy “perfect” ones! Perfectionism, please move to the back seat!

1 comment:

  1. Your problems don't seem that bad. The problem is grocery shopping to tide you over. I shop every 2 weeks. I buy cereal, cheese, and yogurt too. I only buy that stuff when I do my grocery shopping. If we run out, oh well. We have to eat something else. For breakfast, I also make homemade granola or we will just eat fruit and yogurt. I buy all my shredded cheese from Sam's every couple of months. As far as pie crust, look up the recipe for Pate Brisee'. Pate Brisee' is a pie crust that uses butter instead of shortening. It's easy to make and doesn't fall apart. The secret to pie crust is cold everything. Cold butter and ice water, and a food processor really helps! Then chill the pie before you cook it. It won't fall apart!! I've been managing to cut the budget back to 130-150 dollars every 2 weeks for a family of four. It's hard, and we don't eat a lot of things that other people eat, but we eat some pretty nice meals! No Meal Plan Monday for me this week since I've had some dental issues and have been suffering, but hopefully next week I'll be back with it!

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