That's how much I spent at the grocery store today. I wanted to keep it under $20, but we were out of both conditioner and toothpaste.
Here's what that buys you:
- 5 pounds of potatoes
- 2 pounds of flour
- 2 pounds of navy beans
- a pound of pinto beans
- a 90-pack (I know!) of corn tortillas
- 2.5 pounds of rice
- 4 cans of diced tomatoes
- ketchup
- 0.75 pounds of coffee (yes, it's an addiction; no, we won't be quitting it; we already gave up wine)
- a dozen eggs
- aforementioned conditioner (the 97-cent kind... mmm, delicious)
- aforementioned toothpaste (a splurge at 98 cents)
Here's what it doesn't buy you:
- milk
- cheese
- meat
- bread
- fresh veggies
- fresh fruit
Fortunately, I've got most of a two-pound bag of carrots, about a pound of celery, a couple pounds of broccoli and a pound of green beans left over from last week. Just under a half-gallon of milk; just under half a pound of cheese; four or five apples; two pears; plenty of onions. Frozen peas, frozen corn, frozen chicken breasts & thighs, frozen pork chops, a couple pounds of frozen ground beef. Dried pasta. Two-thirds of a jar of salsa. Cornmeal; yeast; two cans of Italian Wedding soup; a little less than half a container of Better than Bouillon. Canned tuna, canned tomato paste, canned beans. And, thank goodness, plenty of Frank's Red Hot Sauce.
Oh yes, and a chuck roast from the Used Meat bin at Fred Meyer's. That is going in the Crock-Pot tomorrow, and we'll stretch it to three meals if it kills me.
Tonight I think I'll make refritos and we'll have them with corn tortillas and salsa. Maybe a little cheese if I'm feeling flush. Chicken with white beans on Saturday. Lentil soup and corn muffins on Sunday. Sounds downright delicious, doesn't it?
I am gladder than glad that I asked my LDS friends nosy questions about their food storage systems and tried to build up a pantry over the last several months. We certainly don't have enough to last a year--we've been eating out of the pantry a lot lately and some of the shelves are already looking a little bare, but we're in so much better shape than we would have been if this had happened to us a year ago. Bright side, baby, bright side.
And I would be totally remiss if I did not mention this amazing sale for a very good cause. Royanna Fritschmann (Studio RA Designs) had a major financial setback this week--her family discovered that the house they've been renting is being foreclosed on, and they have three days to move. So she's selling everything in her store... yes, one of every lovely digital design... for both commercial and personal use for only $29. Seriously, if you digi-scrap even a little, or even if you don't but think you might like to try it, you should check this out. Help a nice lady! Get cool stuff! And if you have any questions about getting started digi-scrapping, I might know a couple of people who know a thing or two about it and suddenly seem to have a wee bit of time on their hands...