British Hobnobs

Adapted from a recipe on Mortgage Free in Three.

1 1/2 cups self rising flour
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 cup sugar
 2 sticks melted butter
3 tablespoons came syrup

Bake for 30 minutes at 300.

Buttery, crunchy cookies.  Makes about three dozen.

2020 Frugal Things In May

1.  Saving the one cup of oil that cream cheese stuffed pepperocini came in to be used for making Spicy Italian Dressing.

2.  Taking advantage of a store special to buy a ten pound ham at 39 cents per pound.

3.  Taking advantage of another store's sale on chicken leg quarters.  At 39 cents per pound I bought twenty  pounds.

4.  Using the brine from yellow pepper rings to season another jar of sweet peppers.

5.  I am listening to a book on my tablet and wanted a speaker for better sound.  Mike came downstairs with a speaker that came with a computer we owned YEARS ago.  It works perfectly. This one walks a fine line between frugal and hoarding!  LOL!

6.  I used a $15 gift card from getting my shingles vaccine to get some sale items at Giant Eagle.  We only went over by 57 cents.

• 7.  I purchased eleven pounds of soy tvp granules for $40.22.  That comes to $3.65 per pound.  Since one pound of dry tvp becomes three when rehydrated, I would need to find ground beef on sale for $1.60/ pound for an equivalent amount.  The tvp is a budget win.

2020 Meal Plan: June 1-15

Vegetarian:  vegetable soup over noodles; Buffalo style cauliflower; black bean burritos; cheese and crackers; cauliflower steaks

Low Meat:  ham and Swiss strata; Pittsburgh steak salad; steak sandwich pizza; chicken pot pie; chicken cordon bleu casserole; Indian chicken and rice,

Meat:  steak; fried chicken; hamburgers

Vegetarian:  5
Low Meat:  6
Meat:  3

I am pleased with these numbers.

2020 June 1-15: Buying and Eating

$10.99/ day times 30 days=$329.70 Allocation
Cushion  $892.77


Aldi:  pretzels (2), raisins, bleu cheese, cheddar cheese (2)  $13.34

Save a Lot:  peaches, zucchini, yogurt  potatoes (10#) $8.71

Tops:  cauliflower, Romaine lettuce, rye bread, eggs (3)  $8.52

Aldi:  flour (10#) corn starch, cucumber, tilapia (2#),mushrooms strawberries, asparagus, grapes (2#)  $15.67

Save a Lot:  fried chicken  $6.

Save a Lot:  pie crust  $1.99

Golden Dawn:  ice cream (2)  $6.00

What We Ate:  ham and Swiss strata, baked Brussel sprouts, apple sauce;  vegetable soup over noodles, cottage cheese and chives with sunflower seeds; Buffalo style cauliflower, refried beans, French fries; steak salad, zucchini; black bean burritos, cottage cheese and strawberries; Pittsburgh steak salad; fried chicken and salad; steak sandwich pizza; chicken cordon bleu casserole, mashed potatoes, salad; chicken pot pie; salad with cheese and crackers; Indian chicken and rice, spinach fritters; burgers, potato salad, zucchini; cauliflower steaks, spinach fritters, potato salad

Eating Out:

Mike lunch  $2.38. Taco Bell
Mike lunch $2.00  Taco BellWhat
Mike lunch  $4.86  Tim Horton

Grocery Total:  $60.23
Eating Out Total:  $9.24
Two Weeks Grand Total:  $69.47
Remaining Allocation:  $260.23

2020 Household and Personal Care Expenses: May

Household:

Sandwich bags (2)  $2.12  Dollar Tree
Air freshener for near litter boxes (8)  $4.71  Walgreens

Total:  $6.83


Personal Care

Body Powder  $1.06 Dollar Tree


Another good month for bringing the yearly totals more in line.  But boy do I need a haircut!

Our May Salvage Shop

Time to plug some holes in our stockpile.  There were some items not to be found , as always, but we did find some good bargains.  The important thing is our coffee ☕is restocked!  :)

coffee   10 oz    (16)     $1.50
Duck sauce     40 oz.     75 cents
Plum sauce.    9.3 oz.    35 cents
Szechuan pepper sauce     3.7 oz.     25 cents
Pad Thai sauce.    3.4 oz. (2)     25 cents
General Tao's sauce     3.8 oz.     25 cents
Black bean sauce     8.7 oz.     50 cents
Sesame sauce.    6.28 oz.     99 cents
oyster sauce     7 oz.     75 cents
Fish sauce     7 oz.     75 cents
Hoisin sauce     7 oz.     35 cents
Thai peanut sauce.    7 oz.     35 cents
Chinese bbq sauce.    11 oz.     39 cents
Chinese noodles     10 oz  (2)     75 cents
Stir fry vegetables     15 oz   (4).    49 cents
Mixed vegetables      15 oz     49 cents
Falafel mix      6.3 oz   (2)     50 cents
White kidney beans.   15.5 oz   (2).   49 cents
Small white beans    15.5 oz    (2)    49 cents
chicken broth    14.5 oz   (4)     49 cents
Evaporated milk     12 oz   (4)     49 cents
Shelf stable milk     32 oz    (4)     69 cents
Seafood stock     32 oz     75 cents
Olive oil     3 liters     $8.99
Wesson corn oil.    64 oz     $2.99
Kraft creamy Greek dressing 14 oz  10 cents
Newman's  honey apple cider 16 oz 10 cents
Smucker's Natural pb   12 oz    1.50
Diced tomatoes     14.5 oz     (6)     49 cents
Classico spaghetti sauce  24 oz  (4)  $1.00
Pastry crisps   12 count  (3)     50 cents
butterscotch pudding mix  1 lb     $1.75
Cocoa powder    3/4 pound     $2.00
Nutmeg     1.25 oz.     99 cents
Garlic powder.   3 oz.    99 cents
Chinese 5spice powder  b  1.7 oz.     99 cents
Baking chocolate     9.2 oz     50 cents
Lemon & chocolate pudding mix     50 cents
Crushed tomatoes     28 oz   (4)     25 cents
Crema     7.6 oz.     (4)     25 cents

Total:  $75.93

2020 Buying and Eating The First Quarter of the Year

January:  $37.62 Groceries.    $82.99 Eating Out

February:  $107.92 Groceries     $40.37 Eating Out

March : $170.20 Groceries     $73.47 Eating Out


 Total:  $315.74 Groceries.    $196.53 Eating Out


Grand Total:  $512.27

Per Day:  $5.63
Per Person Per Day:  $2.81

2020 Meal Plan: May 16-31

Vegetarian:  Mexican pizza; garlic and cheese gnocchi; cheesy lasagna;egg salad sandwiches; tvp cheeseburger pizza

Low Meat:  clam chowder; beef stew; nachos supreme; Indian chicken and rice

Meat:bbq chicken; H am steak, grilled salmon; white hots (2); ham; shrimp and grits

Vegetarian     5
Low Meat.    4
Meat     7

Too much meat.  Need to try harder to get that number down.

2020 Buying and Eating: May 16-31

Remaining Allocation:  $243.15  Cushion:  $773.21

What We Bought:

Salvage:  duck sauce, plum sauce, Szechuan pepper sauce, pad Thai sauce (2), General Tao's sauce, black beans sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, fish sauce, hoisin sauce, Thai peanut sauce, Chinese bbq sauce, Chinese noodles (2), stir fry vegetables (4), mixed vegetable, falafel mix (2), white kidney beans (2), small white beans (2), chicken both (4), evaporated milk (4), shelf stable milk (4), seafood stock, olive oil, corn oil, creamy Greek salad dressing, honey apple cider salad dressing, natural peanut butter (2), diced tomatoes (6), classico spaghetti sauce (4), coffee (16), pastry crisps (3), butterscotch, lemon and chocolate pudding mix, cocoa powder, nutmeg , garlic, Chinese 5spice,  baking chocolate, crushed tomatoes (4), cream (4)  $75.93

Bread Store (We tried a different one since our normal is closed.  More expensive.)  Italian, raisin bagels, cinnamon raisin bread, flat bread (2)$6.87

Giant Eagle:  salmon, green soy beans, carrots, potatoes   57 cents after the $15 gift card recived when I got my shingles vaccine.I

Amazon:  Eleven pounds of soy tvp  $40.22


What We Ate:  ham steak , Thai spicy fried rice, fruit and yogurt; Mexican pizza and chips;  clam chowder and cream biscuits and a salad; beef stew, biscuits, cottage cheese and peaches; garlic and cheese gnocci, egg and cheese Florentine , winter squash; nachos supreme; cheese lasagna, garlic bread, salad; grilled salmon, salad pasta with pesto; bbq chicken, potatoes, 3bean salad; white hots, deviled eggs, coleslaw (2); Indian chicken and rice, like beans, cottage cheese and peaches; egg salad sandwiches, potato skins, cottage cheese and peaches; ham, eggs,potatoes, toast; tvp cheeseburger pizza;  shrimp and grits and green beans almondine


$ 123.59 for Groceries/ last two weeks
$221.13 Total for food in May.  Of that, $181.13 was for groceries and $40 was for Eating Out on Mother's Day.

$119.56 gets added to the cushion this month.  It's total is now $892.77.