One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 5 of 2210 - 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.

Gardening in New England – The Last Wave of Hot Weather

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By Mavis Butterfield on September 5, 2019 · 11 Comments

Yesterday was hot and sticky and crazy humid around our place. Working in the backyard wasn’t especially fun, but I got through it because I had looked at the 10 day forecast earlier in the morning. Not a single day over 75 is predicted and and the coolest night should hover around the 50 degree mark. Not too shabby if you ask me.

This little 7 week window, between now and the end of October, is one of my favorite times of year. The mornings and evenings are cool, the mosquitoes have left town and I can actually feel like I’m making a dent in whatever work there is to be done outside.

The Autumn Joy Sedum is finally in bloom!

And the spinner gourd vines are still climbing.

But I think the lemon queen sunflowers are my favorite thing I planted this year. Just look at those centers! I was planning on selling sunflowers at the vegetable stand this summer, but I just can’t bear to cut them. I’d rather be able to look at out the kitchen window and see them along the fence.

The back 40. The bean tepees make me smile when I think of our resident Peter Rabbit sneaking into the garden for his mid morning snack. Those poor vines, with their little legs all stripped of leaves and no sign of a green bean on the bottom 12 inches of the vines.

The feeling isn’t the same though when I come across a baby pumpkin with a few bites out of it.

Luckily though, we still have at least a dozen or more pumpkins on the vine and he doesn’t seem to have an interest in the more mature one that have already begun to turn orange. Maybe the skins are too tough? I don’t know, I just hope there will be enough to decorate the front porch with and maybe a few extra for carving and to offer the neighborhood kids. We’ll see.

And last but not least, my tomatoes! Almost all the big ones this year have major cracks in them. I blame it on the major rain spells and intense heat we’ve had this summer. I haven’t had any problems with the cherry or Roma tomatoes, but the big ones, they’re just a mess.

How are your tomatoes faring this year?

Are you having any problems? Curious minds want to know.

Have a wonderful Thursday everyone, keep calm and garden on. 😉

~Mavis

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Easy Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

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By Mavis Butterfield on September 4, 2019 · 20 Comments

A few days ago I brought in a few Hansel eggplants from the garden and asked the HH to make an eggplant Parmesan dish for dinner. This was the first time he had ever attempted the dish and while the eggplant slices were browning in the oven, the aroma of the spiced laden Italian bread crumbs floated through the air. I was so excited, it was breezy out that day and it felt like fall and a hot dish was just what I was craving.

The eggplant Parmesean dish came out of the oven, and not only looked, but smelled amazing. Waiting for the dish too cool was hard, but once it did we sat down at the table and almost in unison, we both took our first bite.

And then we put down our forks.

Hmmmm.

Mavis: Somethings wrong. I mean, it looks good, and the sauce is great {pretty much like a really good dish of lasagna loaded with Parmesan}, but something isn’t quite right…. Did you peel the eggplant? Aren’t you supposed to peel eggplant?

HH: The recipe didn’t say to peel the eggplant.

Mavis: Are you sure?

HH: YES I’M SURE.

Mavis: Were you wearing your glasses when you made this? {I say this as I’m pulling up the recipe}

HH: …………something I probably shouldn’t type out……………

Mavis: The recipe says you are SUPPOSED TO PEEL THE EGGPLANT.

HH: Well how was I supposed to know?

I don’t state the obvious. 😉 And then I start laughing because this is my life now. I am sitting across from my husband who up until a year ago didn’t even know where the plates were in the kitchen let alone really cooked {okay so maybe one, two meals a year tops} and who now cooks at least half of our meals these days.

There is a learning curve. To everything. Both in creating the meals and being the recipient of them. And I have this feeling we are on the path to communicating like Frank and Estelle Costanza on a daily basis if we don’t watch out. 😉

So this recipe, it’s a really good one. And easy to follow too, but please, please peel the eggplant first! You’ll be so glad you did.

Have an AWESOME Wednesday everyone,

~Mavis

Ingredients

3 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced {1/4″ or less}
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
6 cups spaghetti sauce
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Dip the eggplant slices in egg, and then in bread crumbs, and then place in a single layer of breaded eggplant slices on a lined baking sheet. Bake the eggplant slices in a preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.

Using a 9×13 inch baking dish, spread just enough spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom of the baking dish. Place a layer of the baked eggplant slices in the sauce and then sprinkle with about 1/3 of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat layers with the remaining ingredients, making sure to reserve some of the cheese for the top. Sprinkle basil over the top layer.

Bake uncovered, for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

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I May Be Getting Old … But Seriously?

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By Mavis Butterfield on September 3, 2019 · 21 Comments

I was standing in line at the office supply store the other day to get a few color copies made when out of boredom, I glanced over at a nearby shelf and noticed a 5 foot section of puffed air encased in plastic for sale.

E I G H T D O L L A R S !!!

I couldn’t believe it. I mean sure, they’ve go to charge something, I get that, but eight dollars? Are you kidding me? Either I’m getting really old and loosing my grip on the fair market value of needless products… or someone is seriously getting taken to the cleaners here.

E I G H T D O L L A R S !!!

So curious minds want to know… How much would you pay for a 5 foot section of puffed air encased in plastic? Who knows, maybe I’m the crazy one.

~Mavis

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How Much We Spent on Groceries and What We Ate – Week 35 of 52

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By Mavis Butterfield on September 2, 2019 · 12 Comments

Hello Monday!

I didn’t spend a penny on groceries last week and let me tell you Bob, I’m glad I didn’t because there was still plenty of food to eat in the pantry and garage freezer. After the HH’s big meat buying trip at the beginning of August, my grocery food budget for the month was sort of shot and sometimes, well, sometimes you just have to say to yourself… c’mon now, you’ve got plenty of food in there… use it.

And it was kind of fun. And now I’m on a mission {for the first two weeks of September anyway} to continue using what’s left. I do need to pop by the store for a gallon of milk though, and maybe a box of Good N Plenty. 😉

Pie glorious pie….. I polished off an entire blueberry pie all by myself in 36 hours. Breakfast lunch and dinner, you can’t beat that! 😉

Early last week we stopped off for lunch at Rudders Public House in Kittery, Maine. They have the best burgers and the HH loves their curry ketchup {no curry ketchup for me though}. Oh, and red onions on a burger is a must have. Who’s with me on this?

The dreaded BBQ.

With grilled zucchini and a fresh tomato/cucumber salad.

And then Beans and Weenies. {Note to self: Make a batch of cornbread today for the leftovers}.

Eggplant Parmesan. {I’ll post the recipe tomorrow.}

And last but not least… The much anticipated 25th Wedding Anniversary extravaganza. Not a kernel of corn in sight. Not even a magazine or a jar of jam. No big or exciting gift of silver {that’s what you give someone for their 25th anniversary, right?}. No card {that I would have just thrown in the trash anyway}, no candlelight dinner, no fireworks, no stroll down memory lane.

But hey, we did manage to drag ourselves down to our local pizza place for dinner. So that counts, don’t you think? Real life. It’s not all rainbows and unicorns, but I think if you can look at each other at the end of the day and still like, love and respect the person beside you, that’s the only real gift that matters.

My husband. He makes me crazy sometimes. But he’s mine. And if I had to do it all over again, he’s still the one I’d choose to walk down the aisle with.

This life we’ve created together, it’s been one big adventure after another, and I’m so glad to have him by my side.

Peace Out Girl Scouts, have a great Monday!

~Mavis

Total Spent on Groceries This Week $0

Total Spent on Groceries in August $253.38
Total Spent on Groceries in July $300.74
Total Spent on Groceries in June $259.12
Total Spent on Groceries in May $262.39 {More meat!}
Total Spent on Groceries in April $284.56 {My husband bought a smoker and a BUNCH of meat!}
Total Spent on Groceries in March $321.69
Total Spent on Groceries in February $220.92
Total Spent in January on Groceries $41.19
Total Spent So Far on Groceries in 2019 $1947.99

You can go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories

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