One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1681 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.

Mondays with Mavis – How to Feed Your Family for $100 a Month

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 25, 2013 · 19 Comments

It’s good to be home!

We walked in shortly after midnight this morning and pretty much collapsed after a long day of planes, trains and automobiles. Luckily our adventure was nothing like the movie. I’ll be sharing some of the pictures we took on our weekend adventure in a little bit, but for right now, here is what I purchased last week before we scadaddled out of town.

QFC – $22.19

Before we headed to London I loaded up on whole chickens at QFC. I roasted all the birds at once and made a few dishes for the boys to eat while we were out of town. I also picked them up a few cans of their favorite Campbell’s Chunky Soup and some cream cheese for the mini bagels I picked up a few weeks ago at the Oroweat bread outlet. I don’t know about you, but I freeze bread when ever there is a deal on it.

Albertsons – $4.20

It’s hard to make white bean chicken chili without white beans, so we picked up a few cans and some onions to whip up a batch in the crock pot so we wouldn’t have to make dinner after spending the day shoveling dirt for the new garden beds.

Amazon – $1.68

I had a $15 Amazon ecard thanks to Swagbucks so I used it for 6 bags of Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips. I’m not a chocolate chip snob, but these ones are my favorite.

Mr. Produce Guy – FREE

Last week was a great week for free produce. We rarely get potatoes so it was nice to see those in the reclaimed produce boxes we get from Mr. Produce Guy.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I am WAY over budget so far for this year.

But I’m still not freaking out. Even though I’m well in to Mid-May budget wise, I’m still delusional enough to think everything is going to work itself out in the end.

True, I’ve been buying less food this year, but I’m also spending more money on quality products. Clearly I expect our backyard garden to come into play, and my goal is that the garden will not only feed us all summer, but next fall and winter as well. At least that’s what I’m hoping for.

Only time will tell.

How did YOU do with your grocery budget last week? Over? Under?

Mavis wants to know.

Total Spent This Week $28.07
Total Spent This Year $436.12
Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $627.79 {I bought a Meyer Lemon Tree, Rhubarb crowns, 6 Fruit Trees and 15 yards of soil}

Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.

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Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 24, 2013 · 11 Comments

Yesterday The Girl and I walked through Hyde Park and Kensington gardens. It’s our favorite park in the entire world. Even though it was just above freezing and tiny snowflakes were falling, we spent about 2 hours strolling {and later biking} through the park.

In about another month, the spring bulbs will be blooming like crazy.

In case you didn’t know, Hyde Park was originally a private hunting ground for Henry VIII. The park remained private until James I opened it to the public, and handed its care over to a park ranger {though, the manicured lawns and landscaping that it is known for today didn’t happen until much, much later}.

Hyde Park, as we know it today, is split in two by the Serpentine {a 40 acre recreational lake}. Hyde Park itself is 350 acres {think how many vegetables I could grow there!}. Kensington Gardens is next to Hyde Park and is an additional 270 acres.

Most people think they are all one in the same, but they were separated into two parks by Queen Caroline in 1728. With all of that space, it is soooo easy to find a perfect spot for a picnic lunch and some people watching.

The park is open from 5:00 a.m. to midnight everyday, and is typically filled with people running or just taking a stroll. It has awesome bike paths and you can even rent paddle boats. {Sadly, we couldn’t rent a paddle boat because the boat house is only open from Easter to October 31st. Sniffle, sniffle.} If you are more adventurous, you can swim in the Serpentine after June or even ride horses on one of the designated paths.

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens are gorgeous. Even when it’s freezing outside and the blooms are far and few between.

Do YOU have a favorite park? If so, where is it, and why do you love it so?

~ Mavis

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Savory Crepes with Ham, Spinach and Egg

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 24, 2013 · 4 Comments

The Girl and I stumbled upon a creperie and there was a huge line, so we stopped and bought lunch. If there is one thing I’ve learned from traveling, it’s to stop when you see a line forming and find out what the heck people are buying, because you never know when you’ll hot the jackpot.

If the locals are all eating it, most likely you’ll want to as well.

To make these delicious ham, spinach and egg crepes at home with this recipe:

Ingredients

1/4 cup crepe batter
2 slices ham
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon garlic butter
10 spinach leaves
1/3 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon white sauce

extra butter to brush on the pan

Directions

Heat crepe pan according to manufactures directions. Pour batter onto a buttered crepe pan and spread until thin. Add egg, slowing beating the egg with a crepe tool and working the egg mixture to the edge of the pan. Once cooked spread crepe with garlic butter.

Fold crepe in half and add cheese to center of crepe. Add sliced ham, then spinach leaves. Drizzle with white cream sauce and fold the edges to the center. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Crepes: 50 Savory and Sweet Recipes Book
CucinaPro 12 Inch Griddle & Crepe Maker

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Food Miles – How Far Does Your Food Travel to Get to Your Plate?

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 23, 2013 · 8 Comments

Pears from Portugal

Plums from South Africa

Carrots from Scotland

Tomatoes from Kent, England

Mushrooms from Ireland – Corn from Senegal, Africa

No matter what country we travel to, one of our first stops is the grocery store. Not only is it fun to see what the locals eat, but it’s also pretty cool to see how much an item costs.

One of the really neat things they do in the UK is print the country of origin on the package of fruits and vegetables. I find this fascinating. If stores in the US A printed where the food was imported from in a prominent place on a package, I’d bet people would be more encourage people to buy in season, and who knows, maybe even take a trip to their local Farmer’s Market.

What do YOU think?

~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.