How I Did With Doing Things In January

Since my goal for the year is to actually do things, instead of just talking about things I want to do and making plans that never happen, I thought I’d try to do a monthly post with how I did the month before.  Since February is more than halfway over it seems past time for a post on how January went.  I didn’t have a picture that really went with this post, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to share this one of Howard.  I think he looks adorable. 

I don’t think it was a stellar month, but since it’s my least favorite month and it was crazy cold for a large part of it, I don’t think it’s too bad.  That’s what I’m telling myself anyway.

On the blogging front, I did ten posts in January.  Considering the fact that I  only did twenty-five posts total last year, I think ten in a month was a definite improvement. 

For going and seeing new things, we finally went to see the Poinsett Bridge.  It was something we had been talking about doing for years, so it was nice to finally go out there.  That’s the only new place we went in January, but a lot of the places we want to see are outdoors, and it was just too cold to do much outside. 

On the getting rid of clutter in the house front, we did a Pantry Challenge.  We did really well in sticking to it, so we did manage to thin things down, at least in the kitchen, a little bit.  There’s a long way to go, but it’s a start.  I think that also counts toward the goal of saving money/getting out of debt, since it meant we spent significantly less than usual on groceries.

And that’s pretty much it.  I didn’t really do anything toward any of the other goals I want to accomplish.  I’m really not sure whether to call January a success, a failure, or maybe just a neutral.  I guess it depends on how you choose to look at it. 

So how about you?  Did you set any new goals for the year, or choose a word for the year?  How did you do with that in January? 

Thrifty Thursday - How We Did With The Pantry Challenge

I didn’t really have a good picture to go with this post.  Let’s face it, pictures of a bunch of cans of tomatoes are kind of boring, so I thought I’d share this picture of Caroline.  I think she looks adorable, and I’m always happy to share pet pictures.  Now, on to the actual post.

It’s finally February.  January always seems like the longest month to me, but it’s finally over, and we’re a little closer to spring.

With the end of January comes the end of the Pantry Challenge.  I think we did fairly well with it, though we still have a long way to go.  I have a serious grocery shopping addiction, and an extreme habit of overbuying groceries.  Not for the last month, though.

Our grocery total for the month of January came to $63.85.  Not bad for a whole month.  I think it actually could have been lower had a couple of our grocery trips been to Aldi instead of Wal-Mart, but convenience won out twice.  Once when I went to buy cold medicine and picked up a few grocery items while I was there, and once when Nick went to buy a retirement card for a co-worker and picked up a few grocery items while he was there.

I wish I could say we kept our total so low because we’re just that good at buying groceries cheaply, or because I got really creative in the kitchen, but that’s just not the case.  It was really because I’ve stocked up on so many things.

We ate out an average of once a week in January, which is about normal for us.  We also made more of an effort to use up leftovers, rather than letting them get shoved to the back of the fridge, and we made more of an effort to use things up before they expired.  Other than that, it was pretty much cooking and eating as normal.  We bought eggs, milk, yogurt, sugar (because no one wants me to run out of sweet tea) bread, produce, lemon juice (because fresh lemons are way too expensive and pitiful here right now), and probably a few other things that aren’t coming to mind at the moment.  No meats or canned items, though.  All of that came from the freezer and cabinets.

We’ll probably do a modified version of the Pantry Challenge in February, but haven’t decided yet exactly what that will entail.  I’m not in favor of not keeping a very well stocked freezer and pantry because it is nice to have things on hand.  I like being able to make a meal for someone with very little notice, I like not having to rush to the grocery store ahead of bad weather, and it’s nice not to have to go out for things if we’re not feeling well.  That being said, I do need to find a better balance.  It’s probably possible to be well stocked, but not overstocked.

So what about you?  Did you do a Pantry Challenge in January?  Or have you already found the perfect way to be well stocked, but not overstocked

Thrifty Thursday - The Chicken Tikka Masala Substitution Edition

On Saturday I decided to make Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner, and I made a substitution that I’m calling a win on multiple fronts.

We’re doing a Pantry Challenge this month, so we’re making a real effort to use what we have on hand, stay out of the grocery stores as much as possible, and spend a lot less money on groceries this month.  I decided on Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner because we had chicken breasts in the freezer, cream in the fridge that was fast approaching its use by date, and some fresh ginger that really needed to be used.  It also sounded perfect for dinner on a cold and windy night.

It was so cold here on Saturday!  We had been in the mid fifties on Friday.  It had rained all day, but it was at least warmer than it had been.  On Saturday we were back down to the low twenties, and had crazy high winds.  Going out to the grocery store, or anywhere for that matter, wasn’t much temptation.  I had absolutely no interest in changing out of my nice warm pajamas, or leaving the house.

The only problem was that the recipe I was using called for a serrano chili, which we didn’t have.  The recipe also called for canned tomatoes, which we have an abundance of.  Harris Teeter put their brand of canned tomatoes on sale for 37 cents a while back.  That’s cheaper than Aldi, and the cheapest I’ve ever seen canned tomatoes.  Most of our favorite recipes seem to be tomato based, so I thought it was a good idea to stock up.  As usual when there’s a great sale on groceries, I went overboard in my effort to stock up.  We have a lot of canned tomatoes!  And that’s just one of the many, many reasons why we’re doing a Pantry Challenge this month.

 Since I really, really didn’t want to go out, I decided to substitute canned tomatoes with chilies for the serrano chili and canned tomatoes.  I’m very happy to report that it worked out perfectly, and that the Chicken Tikka Masala was delicious.

I was thrilled:

1.  Not to have to go out in the cold.  That was honestly the best part of my successful substitution.

2.  That we stayed on track with the Pantry Challenge.  I most likely would have ended up buying more than a single serrano chili if I had gone to get one. 

3.  That I have a new substitution that I know works.  It’s much faster and easier to open a can of tomatoes with chilies than it is to deal with coring and chopping a chili.  That’s good to know for busy days when I need to get dinner ready in a hurry, and want to make things as easy as possible.

So what about you?  Have you made any recipe substitutions to use what you have on hand lately?   Is the cold weather enough to make you do whatever you can to stay home? 

Thrifty Thursday - We’re Doing A Pantry Challenge

In case you’re not familiar, the Pantry Challenge is when you make a concentrated effort to stay out of the grocery store, and to use up what you have on hand.  The idea is to force yourself to use up the random things lingering in your cabinets and freezer, to get a little more creative in the kitchen, and to save money.

Good Cheap Eats hosts one every January.  You can read more about it here, and it’s not too late to join in.  It’s fun to interact with other people, and you can usually learn something; a new way of preparing something, creative uses for leftovers, etc.  Honestly, it’s kind of fun just to get a little (virtual) peek into other people’s kitchens.

We’ve decided to make January a Pantry Challenge month.  It seems like a great way to save some money this month.  And I have a tendency to seriously over shop (and overspend) at the grocery store.  I love grocery shopping.  I seem to use grocery shopping as a sort of retail therapy.  Shoe shopping is no temptation for me, but show me a great sale ad for any of our local grocery stores, and I tend to go way overboard.  The picture is the one cabinet I’m willing to show you. 

I’m trying to develop better habits, so a Pantry Challenge seemed like a good idea.  My goal is to keep the grocery spending this month between $50.00 and $60.00.  Based on what we have on hand, it seems doable.  I’m only planning to buy produce and dairy since we’re very well stocked on basically everything else. 

I went to Wal-Mart during lunch on Tuesday to buy some cold medicine.  Nick has a terrible cold of some sort, and I’ve been teetering on the edge of coming down with it, so we needed the cold medicine.  It was the first time I’ve been to a store this month.  I know it was only the 9th, but for me to go over a week without grocery shopping is progress.  Anyway, we needed milk and eggs, and a few vegetables so I decided to get them while I was there. 

Aldi would have been a cheaper option, but I really didn’t feel good, and just wanted to get everything in one stop so I wouldn’t have to stop at a second store after work.  I’m not counting the cold medicine or tissues in the food total since those aren’t groceries.  I spent $18.49 on actual groceries which included milk, eggs, bread, some produce, and apple juice.

I think that puts us mostly on track so stay in the $50.00 - $60.00 range for the month, so we’ll see how the rest of the month goes. 

So what about you?  Do you tend to go overboard in the grocery store?  Are you doing a Pantry Challenge this month?