Month: August 2020

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Every Day

August 23: Low Spend Grocery Month Challenge

This morning I made bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast. We had no lunch.  

This afternoon we played games of Sorry and Battleship. The Battleship game brought back memories of playing it with my sons. We also got outside for some fresh air.

My grandson mentioned yesterday that his favorite meal at school was chicken in gravy over mashed potatoes. So I changed my menu to that for tonight. I did it because I was able to get a Free Rotisserie Chicken at Top’s today. More on that shop tomorrow.

Here he is eating it for dinner. Excuse the sun. He told me that it was so much better than the one he buys at school.  


I hope you all have a good evening. TTY tomorrow.

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Every Day

August 22: Low Spend Grocery Month Challenge

I went out the door early this morning to go to Niagara Produce. They had their turkey cutlets on sale again for $2.99 a lb. Hubby loved this turkey recipe that I made a week or so ago so he wanted me to get some more cutlets.

I only had room for 5 packages in the freezer so that is what I purchased. Since we are having hot dogs for dinner tonight, I picked up hot dog rolls too. I have given up wasting precious space in the freezer for bread.

As I was driving back home, I remembered that West had mentioned that he would like donuts for breakfast one day. So I stopped at Tim Horton’s for a dozen donuts. They have gone up a $1.00 in price to $ 9.99. They were so good that there are only two left. 

I had $ 99.68 left in my monthly grocery budget. I spent $29.47 this morning. I have $ 70.21 left for the rest of August. 

Dinner tonight was easy hot dogs on buns. This was Hubby’s. West opted last minute not to eat hot dogs. He does not like Sahlen’s hot dogs because they have the skin on the outside that he does not like.  I always have meats and cheeses in the deli drawer so he had his choice of many different ones. He opted for sliced pepperoni and cheese. He ate a plate full and was very happy. He and Hubby had oreo cookies for dessert.

I haven’t heard from West’s parents this weekend but I imagine they are loving having a weekend to themselves. West texted them earlier and they were out in the car geocaching. I had no idea what that was but West explained it to me.

We are about to play a board game. I hope you all are having a great weekend.

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Every Day

August 21: Low Spend Grocery Month Challenge

Brunch this morning was scrambled eggs with cheese and some avocado for me. West had scrambled eggs and a biscuit. Hubby had a roast beef sandwich.

We had the same thing for dinner that we had last night;KFC chicken and sides.

Here is our menu for next week. I ran it by West and Hubby to make sure that we can follow it.

Saturday: Hot Dogs, chips and pickles

Sunday: Chicken, mashed potatoes, spinach

Monday: Chef’s salads; sandwich for West

Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner: waffles & bacon

Wednesday: McDonald’s take out 

Thursday: Grilled Cheese and soup

Friday: Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb with sauce, baby potatoes, and a veggie ( My son and daughter-in-law will be joining us for dinner when they come to pick up West)

I hope you all have a great weekend. I plan on doing some meat shopping in the morning. West and I may wash the car too.   

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Every Day

August 20: Low Spend Grocery Month Challenge

Well, I was definitely looking forward to having a normal dinner tonight. I went and got takeout from KFC: the thirty dollar fill up of extra crispy chicken requested by West. We like regular chicken on the bone while West likes the chicken strips. So this worked for all of us. We have enough for two dinners and possibly a lunch or I may freeze the leftovers for future meals. I was just happy to be able to sink my teeth into the chicken. I even had some mashed potatoes and gravy and a biscuit which is a big no no on my diet. But I was celebrating being back to normal today.

It has not been the week I hoped for. Thank God, West is here and we have had so much fun that it has taken my mind off my problem that developed on Sunday right after dinner.

For the second time in under 7 months, my denture broke into 2 pieces. If you remember from a prior post, it broke the first time right after two months. They repaired it and it broke in the exact same place this time. UGH!

So I have not had it in my mouth again until mid morning today. That is why I have been eating soft foods all week; things that I could easily swallow.

This time the lab and my dentist have made sure that this new denture they made(at no additional cost to me) is as strong as it can be. It even fits better than the other one did. I paid for the premium material to be used to make it back when I first ordered it. My dentist after looking at it very closely this time is not sure that it was made from the material he ordered. Why he didn’t notice it when it broke the first time, I don’t know. I’ll blame the virus and the craziness that was going on at that time. The lab has not responded to him on his questioning that which should probably tell us something. 

But anyhow they have both made good on it. But I have to tell you it has been beyond frustrating. I am tired of going to the dentist.  


Plus I really didn’t want my grandson to see me without my teeth. But he told me, “Don’t worry Grandma, you look beautiful.” He is such a sweetheart. I am very blessed to have him and Alexa as my grandchildren. They are both so loving. 


So this morning, I had cottage cheese for breakfast. West and Hubby had sandwiches for brunch followed by ice cream for West.


West, Hubby, and I have played some games of Blokus this afternoon. We are hoping to play “Cover Your Assets” tonight.  


West and I are double checking my pantry inventory to make sure that I have an exact count of everything. He is so helpful counting all the items.

I hope you all have a wonderful evening.

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Every Day

August 19: Low Spend Grocery Month

Breakfast this morning was what ever anyone wanted. West had cereal. Hubby had a roast beef sandwich. I had some mushy mac and cheese.

We all watched “Hamilton” on the Disney Channel and we all loved it. Of course, West loves musicals so much that he has watched it 10 times with his parents permission of course.

Otherwise it has been a low key day. We did get another check in the mail today  for about $13.00. So when I go out tomorrow, I will take them to the bank.

Dinner tonight was leftovers. I cleaned the inside of the fridge while I watched “Hamilton” and noticed we had a lot of leftovers: pizza, garlic bread, and spaghetti and meatballs. The pizza and garlic bread was reheated in the air fryer.  The spaghetti and meatballs was heated up in the microwave. No pictures today.

West wants KFC extra crispy chicken so it will be takeout tomorrow night. 

Tonight we will be playing Blokus and possibly Stratego. 

I hope you all have a good evening.

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Every Day

August 18: Low Spend Grocery Month Challenge

Breakfast for West this morning was cocoa puffs with milk. Lunch for all of us was macaroni and cheese. I am sticking to eating soft foods. 

West and I played some games this morning. This afternoon he was playing a game via phone with his best friend. Hubby mowed the lawn and I got some laundry and paperwork done. I also was busy using my canning jars. More on that another day.

I have gotten three rebate checks in the mail totaling $ 14.28 this week. 

I filled the car up with gasoline this morning while I was out getting the pepperoni. I got $.30 off a gallon with Top’s gas points. I paid a $1.899 a gallon. 

Dinner was spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread for the boys. I had some riced cauliflower with spaghetti sauce. As you can see we are trying to stick to the menu plan but switching the days up at the boy’s request.

I hope you all have a great evening.

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Every Day

There Is Another Shortage

If you use pepperoni all of the time like we do, shop for it while they have it. There is a shortage especially for pizza places. I went out this morning looking for it since we use it on an almost daily basis for snacks and for pepperoni pizzas. The first store I went to had none. The second store only had a few. I asked if they each had some in stock. They told me no that people that sell pizzas had been in last night buying in quantities. This is how it will affect us. The pizza parlors have to get it from somewhere. 

So I ended up going to three other stores so that I could leave some for others. I got what I hope will hold us until the shortage is over. The stick’s don’t expire until January of 2022 so they are in my meat drawer in the fridge. The rest is in the freezer. Pepperoni freezes very well. 

This all was paid for out of my stockpile budget not my monthly grocery budget. 

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Every Day

August 17: Low Spend Month Grocery Challenge

I could not eat anything today but applesauce and scrambled eggs. So I had one for breakfast and one for an early dinner. West had mac and cheese. Hubby had a turkey sandwich.

Because I was not eating a regular dinner, Hubby and West voted to have me make the homemade pizza for dinner tonight. So I made them a pepperoni one. 

I played a bunch of games of Blokus with West. That game is fun. Then we played one of his games online. Tonight we are going to watch “The Greatest Showman” on Disney.

Other than these things, I had an afternoon appointment. Nothing exciting today.

I hope you all have a great evening.

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Every Day

August 16, 2020: Low Spend Grocery Month Challenge

My son brought West this morning and he stayed for breakfast. We had home fries, sausage links, and scrambled eggs. No picture because we were busy getting West settled in. Plus I like to chat while I cook with them and then it slipped my mind.

But look at what my son brought from his garden. I definitely do not have to buy veggies this week. I had planned tomatoes and cucumbers on my menu. Now I am all set. The eggplant he gave me before was delicious so I will be cooking these for lunches. The cherry tomatoes will show up in salads. YUM!

He also made us another jar of dill pickles. He told me he was having trouble finding more jars. He had only purchased 6 when he first started doing this. I guess they are in short supply in the stores right now. Well by being the prepared person I am, we went to my stockpile and he took home a case of brand new jars with lids and rings.  

For dinner, we had hamburgers and cheeseburgers(person’s choice) and French Fries. I had mine on a plate with mushrooms and monterey jack cheese.  West’s is pictured above before he put his condiments on. Hubby had a cheeseburger with provolone cheese and fries too.

I am spoiling West rotten. He had ice cream for dessert. We watched some shows on Disney today. He got to play games on his phone and tablet. He is enjoying being here.

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Every Day

August 15: Low Spend Grocery Month Challenege and Menu Plan

I did not leave the house today. So no gasoline or money was spent. 

Here is our menu plan for the next week:

Saturday: Turkey Club Salads

Sunday: Hamburgers and French Fries, tomatoes and cucumbers

Monday: Melt in your mouth Chicken Breasts, Broccoli

Tuesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs with a side salad(West’s favorite)

Wednesday: Leftovers 

Thursday: Hot Dogs, dill pickles, and a side salad

Friday: Homemade Pepperoni Pizza

As you can probably surmise, our menu is made up of things that a 10 year old boy will eat. These are all favorites that West loves. Next week’s menu will be geared around his tastes also.

That is breakfast pictured above. I have to eat the leftover broccoli up this week. Hubby had a ham sandwich.  

For dinner tonight, we had our turkey club salads. I love black olives so I added those to mine. I added some Skinny Girl Poppy seed salad dressing to mine. Hubby likes Caesar dressing on his. 


Tonight I will be going to bed early. My son and West will be here early in the morning for breakfast and then West will stay with us for two weeks. I am so looking forward to having fun entertaining him.