Last week The Girl came to visit and brought her air fryer so we could give it another try. The first time we tested it we weren’t impressed, but this visit we had a better plan and a few more recipe ideas from your tips. The results were much better and we actually enjoyed using it.
I’m still not planning to buy an air fryer myself, but The Girl did leave hers behind so we could experiment more. Here are some photos and notes about what we cooked last week.
Nachos—melted cheese and crisp chips. I don’t know why we didn’t try nachos in the air fryer sooner, but they turned out great.
We liked the air fryer nachos so much we had them twice last week (and Lucy did too).
Scones! I had no idea you could bake in an air fryer until now.
Salmon—two pieces on the “seafood” setting were done in eight minutes. We were stunned at how fast and well it cooked.
We also warmed up a few of the fruit tarts my mother-in-law sent for the HH’s birthday.
Other meals from the week included beans and rice—a staple here, often weekly if not twice a week.
Cheeseburgers made with garden lettuce and ground beef patties from my friend JJ. I can’t believe it took us a year to try them—they were fantastic.
Pickety bits—no summer is complete without at least one plate of them.
Chips and guacamole—yes, that was dinner one night, and it was perfect.
Costco run: $156.61. We stocked up and blew our weekly budget, but there were some great deals we couldn’t pass up.
- Aidell’s sausages (15 per pack) were $10.69. We use them in Mel’s Drunken Beans and fried with garden vegetables.
- 96 slices of Kraft American Cheese for $7.19—ideal for grilled cheese on our favorite crusty bread once our oven is installed. Pair with homemade tomato soup for a cozy meal.
- Cape Cod chips at $4.19 a bag—my husband’s favorite.
- Dave’s Killer Bread $9.29—if we freeze slices and use them sparingly, it may last through August.
The nuts and dates are for snacking, and the salami will go on pickety bit plates throughout the summer and fall (I put one package in the freezer).
Local farmstand: $18.79. I picked up two quarts of strawberries at $6.95 each for a recipe; they were $5.95 each if you bought eight, but I only needed two and already have some frozen.
Walmart: $18. I went in for thread and came out with 36 cans of vegetables at $0.50 each. Canned carrots aren’t common for everyone, but they’re great for fall baking, carrot cake bars, pot pies, and soups when fresh carrots aren’t on hand.
Walmart: $7.64. I also grabbed cream of mushroom soup and onion soup mix to use in Mrs. C’s Slow Cooker Pot Roast this fall.
So far this year we’ve spent $897.78 on groceries. If we want to average $100 per month for the year, we have $302.22 left to spend for the remaining months—an ambitious but not impossible goal.
Here’s what helps us stay on track:
- A large garden providing fresh produce.
- A preference for simple meals.
- Knowledge and supplies for preserving produce through canning, freezing, dehydrating, and storing crops in the basement.
- Plenty of pasta (both dried and egg) bought last summer.
- A pantry stocked with basics: pasta sauce, canned chicken and tuna, canned peaches, applesauce, beans, rice, flour, sugar, oatmeal, and spices.
- A freezer stocked with butter bought on sale, pork butt, whole chickens bought at $0.99/lb earlier this year, some hamburger, a few steaks, and a roast.
- A tendency to avoid in-person shopping during October–December, which helps limit impulse purchases.
To hit our $100-per-month average, we’ll focus our remaining food budget on essentials like milk and eggs and take advantage of occasional deals. It sounds straightforward on paper, but the real test is putting it into practice.
I enjoy a good challenge, and I think we can do it. Here’s to a bumper harvest and shopping the pantry before the stores.
~Mavis
Total spent this past week on groceries: $201.04
P.S. Have you stocked up on anything lately? If so, what deals have you found?
- Total spent in July on groceries: $201.04
- Total spent in June for groceries: $124.45
- Total spent in May for groceries: $172.47 (including $47 at farmers markets)
- Total spent in April on groceries: $94.48
- Total spent in March on groceries: $114.12
- Total spent in February on groceries: $94.64
- Total spent in January on groceries: $96.58
- Total spent on groceries in 2022: $897.78