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One Hundred Dollars a Month

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.


one hundred dollars a month

The Best Rhubarb Berry Pie Recipe on the Planet

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By Mavis Butterfield on · 3 Comments

Got rhubarb? Don’t know what to do with it? MAKE THIS PIE!!! Holy canolies people, this rhubarb berry pie I made the other day was a true 10 out of 10. It was AWESOME.

I don’t know if it was the rhubarb, all the berries I used, the fact that I used tapioca in the filling, that I added a little vinegar to the crust, or that I made this pie in an old fashioned tin, but YOU NEED TO MAKE THIS PIE. Seriously, it’s like all the good things about summer… stuffed into a delicious berry filled pie.

Ingredients for Crust

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup shorting {I use Crisco}
1/3 cup cold water
1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for Filling

1 cup fresh rhubarb, sliced
1 cup fresh strawberries, halved
1 cup blackberries
1 cup blueberries
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons tapioca granules 
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine pie crust ingredients together, divide in half, roll into a ball, use the palm of your hand to flatten crust to about 1 inch. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  Roll out 1 crust and line a pie plate with it.

Mix filling ingredients in a large bowl and toss to coat.  Pour the filling into the crust lined pie plate and add second, rolled out crust on top.  Crimp the edges of pie crust together and brush with egg wash, or cream. Cut a few slits in the top of the crust.

Place the pie pan on a lined cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes or until the juices are bubbling and the top crust is a nice golden color.

Let the pie cool before serving. Serve with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream or whip cream. Seriously, this pie is the best thing ever. We all loved it!

Have a wonderful day everyone, happy baking!

~Mavis

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Monthly Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping Trips – Week 26 of 52

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By Mavis Butterfield on · 17 Comments

Farmstand Strawberries $7.99

I’d say $7.99 for a quart of REAL local strawberries seems about right, don’t you? Real strawberries are something I’m willing to pay a premium price for because they taste 10 million and 12 times better than those jumbo tasteless strawberries they sell in the grocery stores all year round.

I used some of the strawberries for a pie. And then had the best dinner of the year that same night.

And ate more deliciousness the next day.

Pie and cheese… it’s the breakfast of champions.

Within 3 days I had eaten 7 out of 8 slices of pie.

And then as soon as we had polished off that pie, my neighbors brought over a bucket of sour cherries they had picked.

And so I made another pie… 🙂 2 slices down… 6 to go. Pie is my favorite food. Fact: If I was stuck on a desert island and could only have 1 food and one drink, I’d probably pick berry pie and decaf earl grey tea.

Crabby Cakes $7.50

Crabby cakes with dill sauce and roasted snap peas from the garden. YUM. YUM. YUM.

Costco $14.85

BEANS BEANS BEANS!!! Look at all those beans.

My neighbor sent me a text from Costco saying they had 5.5 bags of heirloom beans on clearance for just $2.97 a bag! I quickly texted back GET ME 5 BAGS PLEASE!!! And she so she did.

She also told me they had 24 packs {!!!} of tuna pouches marked down to just $9.97! That’s less than HALF of what you can get them for online. But we already have a ton of tuna from our big Costco stock up trip in early May so I didn’t have her get me any. But what a deal! Maybe your Costco has it on clearance too. It might be worth a call or a trip to find out.

We found a new ice cream stand. It’s awesome and I’ll tell you all about it this week.

With temps in the 80’s again last week, I had a banana split 3 times last week.

I might of even had one for breakfast. 😉

We made sheet pan party nachos.

We added BUSH’S BEST black bean fiesta savory beans to them this time and they were out of this world. 

The beans make an excellent base for tacos too.

Grilled weenies and cucumber salad were another favorite last week.

As was tuna salad with tomato wedges {the neighbors had extra tomatoes and gave us 4 giant ones}.

And last night’s dinner… caprese salad, the last of the spinach artichoke dip from Costco, the last of the sliced ham, a few candied pecans and some Ritz. I don’t know about you, but I love the relaxed pace and anything goes for dinner attitude of summer. What’s for dinner? Who cares… Just put something on a plate, it’s all good. 🙂

So how about YOU? What have you been making for dinner lately? Have you made a berry pie yet this summer? Curious minds want to know.

Have a great Monday everyone, and stay out of trouble.

~Mavis

Looking for something fun to make with the kiddos this week? Check out these Watermelon Rice Krispie Treats, they’re super fun to make!

Total Spent This Past Week on Groceries, Bakery Treats We Brought Home $30.34

  • Total Spent of Groceries and Bakery Treats We brought Home in June $194.12
  • Total Spent in May on Groceries and Bakery Treats $256.47
  • Total Spent in April on Groceries and Bakery Treats $1083.55 WOWZA
  • Total Spent in March on Groceries and Bakery Treats $446.03 {includes a $50 gift card}
  • Total Spent in February on Groceries and Bakery Treats $416.98 {the fridge and freezer are packed!}
  • Total Spent in January on Groceries and Bakery Treats $346.47
  • Total Spent on Groceries and Bakery Treats in 2020 $2743.70

You can go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

My 14 Goals for 2020 Week 26 of 52

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By Mavis Butterfield on · 17 Comments

My 14 Goals for 2020

 

Goal #1 – Take Full Advantage of Having My Husband Home 24/7

I gave him the week off from the honey-do list. 😉 Ha!

Goal #2 – Take Better Care of Myself. 

It’s been about 3 months now since I ditched the alarm clock {well, the alarm on my phone really} and let me tell you Bob, waking up naturally is totally the way to go. Sometimes I’m up at 4:30 and sometimes I sleep in as late as 6, but I have so much more energy in the mornings than I used to.

Also, I got a bit of hooking time in this week, and that made me happy.

Goal #3 – Get Organized

I had a wee yard sale yesterday to finally get rid of the last of the big things {a table and chairs, jelly cupboard, primitive cupboard, round coffee table} and some other stuff we had brought with us from the last place. My husband thought for sure it would all fit {even though I insisted it wouldn’t} and well, you know me, I can’t stand clutter so I had a little sale.

I am happy to report that by noon, everything I had left I was able to stuff in a giant tote and will be dropping the tote off at the thrift store next week. Neat and tidy, that’s my thing.

Goal #4 – Get Proper Window Coverings on All Our Windows. 

All that’s left is window coverings for the sunroom. Which I’ll probably finish this fall because right now, we are enjoying the sunshine that streams through the windows all day everyday. I did get the garage windows painted this weekend though, so that’s another thing I was able to check off my list.

Goal #5 – Master Bedroom Make Over {almost done!}

Still left to do:

  • Paint Writing Desk a Glossy Black
  • Paint the Creamy Closet Doors White
  • Refinish the Floors {late summer project because I don’t have the supplies and the windows will need to be open all day because of the fumes}.

Goal #6 – Kitchen Update

All that’s left is to paint the double Dutch doors.

But instead of talking about why I haven’t painted the doors yet, let’s talk about Mrs. HB. 🙂 She’s on her way back to Washington state from Mississippi {with her mama and a puppy in a rental car} and has been sending me a bunch of videos and pictures of the journey. And yes, she is walking the edges of the South Dakota Badlands in flips flops and toddler pants. 😉

Last week she called and asked if I wanted to fly from Maine to Mississippi and then rent a car and drive from Mississippi to Washington state and then fly from Washington back to Maine. I said no, and so her mom went along on the trip {Mrs. HB found a puppy in Mississippi} and they are having a grand time. Good for them! I’m so happy they are having a blast and making memories.

Goal #7 – Install Vegetable Garden Done!

The vegetable garden is in!

Goal #8 – Explore More of Maine 

We were planning on heading up to Lincolnville to Dot’s Cafe for some apple pie but the day before we were going to go I passed by a farmstead selling real strawberries and ended up making my own pie and well, we didn’t end up going. I told the HH we need to go for a drive this week though… so who know’s where we’ll end up.

Goal #9 – Host Some Sort of Get Together

Does having a yard sale count?

Goal #10 – Read/Listen to 12 Books 

I didn’t read any new books last week but I did get a call from the library letting me know I won one of their silent auction baskets.

The basket was filled with:

I was super excited when they called and I’m so glad I won because all the money raised when straight back to the library fund. Libraries rule!

So far this year I have read/listened to:

Goal #11 – Learn A New Skill or Craft

Not yet. Thinking seriously about buying a glass kiln though {and so is my neighbor} because we all know I need another hobby to fill my time.

Goal #12 – Visit 12  Museums, Historical Homes or Botanical Gardens {and bakeries too!}

Sadly a lot of museums and botanical gardens are not open yet but we did find another ice cream stand. 🙂

January

February

March

May

June

Goal # 13 – Reach 5,000 Etsy Sales by the End of The Year 

As of this morning, I have made 4287 sales on Etsy. That’s up from 2804 on January 1st! Only 713 more sales to go before I hit my goal.

On Friday I added 16 new make-do’s to my Etsy shop and listed a few new wool bundles as well. I am currently working on my fall offerings {which I plan to list the first Friday in August and September} and those pieces are keeping me busy in my down time. It’s hard to get any hooking done these days though, but I’m trying.

Goal #14 – Once a Month Menu Planning {for 2}

The HH’s meal plan for the month: BBQ

My meal plan for the month: Ice Cream and Pie

So far it’s going well. 🙂

*********

Have YOU made any goals for this year? If so, DO TELL! We all want to hear about them.

Have a great Sunday everyone, enjoy the sunshine.

~Mavis

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

One Hundred Dollars a Month – Mavis’ Weekly Highlights 6/27/20

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By Mavis Butterfield on · 1 Comment

Hello Saturday!

On the agenda for today:

  • Take the puggle for a walk
  • Paint garage windows
  • Get rid of some stuff
  • Eat ice cream

Sounds easy enough, right? 😉

Have a great weekend everyone,

♥ Mavis & Lucy

Stories, Recipes and General Nonsense From this Past Week

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This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Mavis Butterfield Etsy