Day 35, halfway through the project, Peter goes back to college, and we open the nacho sauce

I finished posting on yesterday's menu, with some pictures, so you can check out the end of that one too, if you like.

The beginning of our day smelled good, as you might imagine from the picture below.

Saturday morning has always had a tradition of pancakes, so I brought them back this morning.  I prepared a batch and a half, so Peter could eat his fill without anybody crying foul.  Look, they're whole wheat!  It's the only flour I have in the house right now.  Who says whole wheat pancakes aren't good?

Fresh buttermilk is the secret to making the best pancakes anybody has ever eaten...try it. 

 The "bestest" recipe is on the back of the Darigold buttermilk carton, not their plastic bottle.  I modify their recipe by adding extra buttermilk, to make the batter more "pourable."

Check out the awesome plateful below...

Cousin Carrie is awesome!  Look at the cookies she brought us.  My niece Laura, who is following the blog from far away, read about my sad chocolate-less state, and felt pity. 

She and her sister Carrie colluded to delight the Boothies with a special treat of chocolate.  We, in turn, sent her home with some of her favorite, and usually very expensive cereal, Oatmeal Squares.

Don't they make your mouth water?

There is Peter, packing up for the trip back.

Handsome...and as you can see, it's short sleeve weather today!

Noah gives a big squeeze to his favorite and only brother.

We had a little conference about the progress of the 10for10for10 project on this day, which marks the halfway point.  Trudy was chilly, so I put my gloves on her feet.  She is one of the great apes now.

I put my vest on the poor waif, to warm her.

We are eating healthy brown rice!  It has more vitamins and fiber than the white rice, and happily, it was cheaper.

Wow, our palates tingle from the spicy cheese sauce.  I purchased it for half price, because the store worker had dropped and dented it.  I didn't care about that dent.

Here is my little scale, weighing 8 oz of cheese sauce for my tuna and cheese sauce.

Minced ham and scrambled eggs.  I haven't had them for so long!  Since eggs have been so cheap lately, we are going to be using them a lot to provide our protein needs.

 I'm not much of a salsa eater, but most of the family had a larger amount of it with their chips.

Here is the breakdown for the day's cuisine: 

breakfast menu:  pancakes with butter and jam, tea

Cost:  $2.68

1 1.2 batch pancakes:  1.65

pwdrd sugar for garnish:  2 tbsp:  .05

jam:  .20

1.2 cube butter:  .13

milk for tea, 5 cups:  .65

lunch menu:  minced ham in scrambled eggs, green salad, dressing, tortilla chips with nacho sauce and salsa

Cost:  $3.97

3 hearts of romaine:  1.32

8 oz cheese sauce:  .40

12 oz tortilla chips:  .24, with a coupon special

4 oz salsa, .32

11 eggs:  .90

8 oz ham:  .7

dressing, 1 0z, plus 2 oz leftover and paid for yesterday:  .04

Snack:  cookies from Carrie

no charge, a gift from our cousins, thank you Laura!

Supper menu:  tuna and cheese sauce with peas, over brown rice

Cost:  $3.94

brown rice, 3 cups dried:  .69

tuna, 2 cans @ .49:  .98

1 lb frozen peas:  .98

8 oz nacho cheese sauce:  .40

flour for thickening, 1 cup:  .10

salt:  .01

milk for the sauce, 6 cups:   .78

Today's total bill, with 11 people, plus Peter for breakfast:  $10.59, we stayed in budget.