One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1142 of 2143 - 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.

Strawberry Basil Salsa

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 21, 2014 · 5 Comments

I made this and ate it with some tortilla chips. It was good. Then I made this and ate it with a thin layer of cream cheese on a toasted baguette {a few Triscuit crackers, too} and hold-the-phone, it changed everything.

So that’s how I brought it to the next BBQ we were invited to and everyone scarfed it down. This salsa is a slam dunk.

~Mavis

Strawberry Basil Salsa

Author Mavis Butterfield

Ingredients

2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons white onion , minced
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves , chopped
3 cups chopped strawberries

Instructions

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, and salt and pepper. Add onions and basil, and stir until combined. Add strawberries and toss to coat.

Find More of my Strawberry Recipes

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Remember When Your First Car Meant Freedom?

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 21, 2014 · 34 Comments

I was on cnn.com the other day and spotted an article about the thrill of owning your own car as a teen in the 1960’s. The article described how one teen worked at the grocery store, delivered papers, and sold ice cream just so he could buy his own car by the time he turned 16. Not only did he save enough {$200} to buy a car, but he also WORKED before he ever even turned 16. The car meant freedom to him, in a time where most households had only one car, and 1 out of 5 households had none at all.

Back when I was in high school you were cool if you just had a car, but these days it’s less about having a car {any car} than what kind of car. My first car was a 2 door Ford Escort and I drove it into the ground. I literally had to stop on the side of the freeway because the engine was smoking about 5 miles from where I was trading it in for $500 {which was a gift let me tell you, that thing had run it’s course}.

Now cars, smartphones, and jobless teens are just kind of a given. Part of it totally has to do with how much we expect from them academically and with their extracurricular demands, but still, it seems sad–like they are missing out on an earned right-of-passage. The first set of bought-with-your-own-money set of wheels used to be a tell-tell sign that you were transitioning into adulthood. Maybe it’s our fault? We buy them their first set of wheels so the WE can gain a little freedom. They can drive themselves to and from practice, or whatever other commitments that have given us mini-van butt over the years.

Whatever the reason, it’s totally a cultural shift. Don’t you ever just miss the good ol’ days?

So, what was your first car? I bet it wasn’t as sweet as a pale blue 2 door Ford Escort. 😉

~Mavis

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Canning 101 – How to Can Green Beans

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 21, 2014 · 33 Comments

Well, I did it. I successfully canned green beans in a pressure canner, and I didn’t blow up the house either. I totally feel like Olivia Walton right now. In fact I might even go cut up some fabric and sew me a quilt this afternoon too. Ha Ha Ha!

So because I am a visual learner, I decided to take a boatload of pictures for you just in case you want to give this a try too.

Step 1 – Fill a pressure canner with 4 inches of water, place the rack in the bottom of the canner, and then place the canner on the stove and bring the water to a boil over low heat.

While the water in the canner is heating up, wash and cut your beans. I used just under 8 pounds of beans and I ended up with 12 pint jars of green beans.

Fill clean, dry, sterilized jars 1 inch from the top with cut green beans.

Cover the beans with boiling water within 1 inch of the top of the jar and remove any air bubbles. Cover with two-piece lids and screw bands tightly.

Carefully place the jars in boiling water, on the bottom of the canner rack. The water level in the canner should be at 3 inches by now. If not, add more boiling water until you are at 3 inches.

Raise the temp to med- high and place the lid on the canner. Set a timer for 10 minutes to allow the steam to escape. DO NOT put the weight on the canner yet.

After 10 minutes of venting, tighten the side clamps.

Put the 10 pound weight in place and make sure any openings are now closed and allow the pressure to build to 11 pounds.

Once the pressure canner reaches 10 pounds, set your timer for 20 minutes {see chart below}. You may need to adjust the heat {I did} to maintain 10 pounds of pressure.

Once the 20 minutes are up, turn off the heat. Walk away, go find something to do until the pressure in your canner drops to zero {my canner made a “ping” noise when it hit zero. Do not attempt to open your canner until it is at zero. Big No No!

Once the pressure in the canner has dropped to zero, remove the clamps, and remove the lid. Carefully place the jars in a draft free area {I always place my hot jars on a towel}.

photo credit

Check seals {they will be indented if you canned the beans properly} and after the jars have fully cooled down, wipe clean and store in a cool dark pantry {or cupboard} away from heat.

Viola! That is how you can green beans. See, I told you it was easy.

Christmas of 2008 my Mother in Law gave me an All American 21-1/2-Quart Pressure Cooker/Canner. Now, I’m all about saving money, but a pressure canner is not something I would buy used. But that’s just me. So you do what you like. But if you are interested in getting a new one, Amazon has a ton of different sizes to choose from and the All American company has the highest ratings.

* I am not a pressure canning expert, this is simply how I canned my own green beans. Can at your own risk.

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How I Feed My Family for $100 a Month – Week 28 of 52

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By Mavis Butterfield on July 21, 2014 · 8 Comments

Costco $8.49

A big thanks to Nicole who shared last week Haagen Daz ice cream bars were $3.00 off at Costco. The HH was so happy! The vanilla chocolate almond bars are his favorite! 🙂

Target $5.89

I tried a new recipe last week that called for V-8 juice, it’s not something I normally buy the my husband likes it so I figured why not? Remember the Pretzel Cookies with Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chips I made last week? Well luckily I can get a few more batches out of the bag peanut butter chips I bought at Target because man are those expensive!

Target $11.98

Chicken! I had to buy chicken. 🙁 Let me tell you Bob it’s always a sad day around here when I run out of my bulk order of Zaycon chicken. I have plenty of chicken freezer meals I can use but we are officially all out of single chicken breasts and the next Zaycon deal doesn’t come around to my neck of the woods until around the middle of October. Boo!

During the summer months we probably eat stir fry about 2, maybe even 3 times a week. I mean really, how can you go wrong with fresh veggies, rice and a little meat? It’s the easiest dinner ever if you ask me. {Get the recipe for my chicken stir fry HERE}

Smith Brother’s Milk Delivery – Sponsored

I realized I needed to add butter and whipping cream to my milk delivery but the cut off time to change your order online for the next days delivery is 6pm. Luckily the old school way of leaving a note in the milk box still works. Yay!

With the garden in full swing now I’m not having to stock up at the grocery as much as I usually do during the winter months which is pretty sweet if you ask me. How about you? Have you seen a dramatic reduction in your grocery bill? Or are you sending those extra dollars in ice cream like me? 😉

~Mavis

Total Spent This Week $26.36
Total Spent This Year $1,011.22 {Eeek! I’m way over budget!}
Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $38.98

Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.

One Hundred Dollars a Month is proudly sponsored by Smith Brother’s Farms, my family’s favorite milk. Check out their website HERE and learn about the over 100 top quality products Smith Brothers Farms can deliver to your porch box.

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.