Menu Plan Monday (11/29/09)

Well I think we're just about turkey-ed out. Seriously, we've been eating nothing but leftovers for lunch and dinner for three days now! So tonight's the last leftover night, and aside from the turkey I've stashed in the freezer for soup we're just about done with it.

So tonight I'm trying something I haven't done before and making a "Turkey Club Ceasar Salad". Which will basically be romaine lettuce, turkey meat, bacon, croutons, parmesan cheese, and creamy ceasar salad dressing (because I haven't had salad in days and want some).

The rest of the week is focused on trying to use stuff from the freezer that needs to get used - leftover pulled pork I made a few weeks ago, a whole chicken, some smoked sausage, and some of those Steamfresh lightly sauced pasta and veggies that I keep getting for $.50 a bag but haven't eaten yet so don't even know if they're any good (yet I keep buying them). I'm on the tail end of an almost no shopping week, so it should be interesting. I already know I need to bake some bread because we finished off what there was eating turkey sandwiches, but other than that we should be pretty set until my next shopping day on Thursday.

Sunday
Turkey Club Ceasar Salad
Rolls

Monday
Carnitas (Pork Tacos)
Mexican Rice

Tuesday
Crockpot Roast Sticky Chicken
Roasted potatoes and carrots

Wednesday
Leftovers/Fend for Yourself

Thursday
Cheeseburgers
French Fries
Salad

Friday (new recipe)
Sausage with Penne and Vegatables

Saturday
BBQ Pulled pork sandwiches (from freezer)
French Fries
Salad

Check out what everyone else is eating this week at Menu Plan Monday.

Weekly Grocery Shopping (11/25 - 12/1)

So "officially", I took the week off from shopping. Unofficially of course, I had almost $13 left in my grocery budget for the month and $3 in RR set to expire today, so I did a little shopping anyway :) The day before Thanksgiving I realized the milk in the fridge had gone bad, and while I had some in the freezer, there was no way it would thaw in time to be used for cooking Thanksgiving dinner. So I sent Ninja Hubz out to grab a small thing of milk. Fortunately it was on sale and only cost $1. I knew we'd spend a couple bucks on fresh produce for the week (trip to Henry's), so that was another $5. I had a couple RR about to expire so I had to go to Walgreens, and managed to grab several stockpile worthy items and stay pretty much within my budget.

I've been doing the $45 per week grocery budget for a couple months now, and I'm quite sure we can eat well and live comfortably on that amount. The main issue I've been running into is just exercising self control when it comes to good deals. I just need to remember that the deals always come around again! Its just a matter of prioritizing immediate needs (like what we're going to eat this week) and padding the stockpile. Just because its a good deal doesn't mean I need to buy 10!

Anyway, here's the breakdown of what I did buy this week:

Vons
(no picture)

1 pint milk = 1.00

Total = 1.00


Henry's

1.57 lbs oranges = 1.21
2.16 lbs bananas = 1.49
Romaine lettuce = 1.99
1 lb carrots = .50

Total = 5.19

Walgreens

2x Dawn dish soap @ .99 - 2x .25 MFC = 1.48
2x Folgers Coffee @ 2.50 - 2x 1.00 MFC = 3.00
Angel Soft TP = 4.00
Bigelow green tea = 1.79 (on clearance)
$3 RR from previous trip = -3.00

Total = 7.79

Weekly Total = 13.98

Total for the month = 201.77

My goal was $200 for the month, and even I'm not anal enough to obsess over 1.77. So as far as I'm concerned, I had a great month!

Check out everyone else's shopping trips at:
The Grocery Cart Challenge
Southern Savers
Money Saving Mom

100% Black Friday Savings!

For those of you who braved the madness and went shopping today, I hope you got some good deals on things you needed! Me? I don't do Black Friday. I've found the best way to save money is to just not buy stuff.

I avoided the stores and spent my much needed extra day off work volunteering, napping, cleaning, and now I'm finally going through some of my old books and listing them on Amazon. I don't need more stuff... I need less stuff and more time, so that's what I'm working towards.

Oh, and eating lots of leftovers, I did that too!

Menu Plan Monday (11/22/09)

Well the big week is here. Our wedding anniversary is Monday. I have two really good steaks stashed in the freezer that I've been saving, and this seems like the perfect occasion for them. And Thursday, of course, is Thanksgiving. Its just the two of us this year, but I'll still be doing the big meal and then relaxing for a couple of days while we dine on the leftovers.

Sunday

BBQ chicken legs
Salad
Leftover Crockpot Honey Wheat Bread

Monday - Our Anniversary!
Ribeye Steak
Salad
Leftover Crockpot Honey Wheat Bread
Twice-Baked Potatoes (from freezer)

Tuesday
Spaghetti and Meatballs (from freezer)
Salad

Wednesday
Pizza (Homemade or frozen, depending on how tired I am)
Salad

Thursday - Thanksgiving!
Roast Turkey
Sage and Onion Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Rolls
Peas

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Leftovers

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Check out what everyone else is eating over at Menu Plan Monday

Crockpot Honey Wheat Bread

I got this recipe from the book 101 More Things to do with a Slow Cooker a while back, and finally got around to trying it.

I have to admit, I was a tad skeptical since I've never baked using the crockpot before. But I decided what the heck and gave it a shot. And you know what? It came out really good! And it was easier than the traditional kneading and rising and rolling method of making fresh bread. I like this crockpot baking!

Crockpot Honey Wheat Bread

2/3 cup powdered milk
2 cups warm water
2 Tbs canola or vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
3/4 tsp salt
1 envelope or 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup flour

In a bowl, dissolve powdered milk in warm water, then combine with oil, honey, salt, yeast, and half of both flours. With an electric mixer, beat on low speed 2 minutes. Add remaining flour and beat on low until combined. Place dough in greased 4 to 5-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours.

Remove stoneware from slow cooker and let stand 5 minutes. Invert bread onto a serving platter while still hot.

Check out more great crockpot recipes at Dining With Debbie's Crockpot Wednesday!

Weekly Grocery shopping (11/18 - 11/24)

Well this was a pretty light week as far as shopping goes. The only thing I really "needed" was some fresh produce and a couple of small things for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving's a lot easier on the budget if you can spread the shopping out over a few weeks and cherry pick the best deals from each store!

Pretty much everything else I bought was to pad the stockpile - I don't think I'll ever have enough coffee and cheese :)

Henry's

Lettuce = 1.69
Apples = .49
Radishes = .50
Cucumber = .50
Bulk ground ginger = .23
Bulk ground cumin = .18
Bulk ground sage = .46
Reusable bag credit = -.05

Total = 4.00

Ralph's

2x Stove Top stuffing = 1.76
Brown N Serve Rolls = 1.25 (A Thanksgiving must-have!)
Lawry's Taco Seasoning .69 - .50 MFC (doubled to a full 1.00!) = Free w/.31 overage
Idahoan Instant Mashed Potatoes 1.00 - .40 MFC (tripled to a 1.00) = FREE
Rotel Tomatoes 1.00 - .50 MFC (doubled to 1.00) = FREE
Reddi Whip 2.00 - .50 MFC (doubled to 1.00) = 1.00
Baby Carrots 1.00 - .45 store coupon = .55
2x celery .69 = 1.38
2x Fresh Gourmet croutons 1.00 - $1/2 MFC = 1.00
2x Farmer John sausage 1.00 - .75/2 MFC (doubled to 1.00) = 1.00
2x white bread = 1.98 (For turkey stuffing!)

Total = 9.40

Save-A-Lot
I've nevery actually gone into this store before, but I saw it mentioned on another blog and decided to check out their sales ad online just for the heck of it. I'm glad I did because they had Coke 2-liters on sale for $1! I browsed through the store while I was there, and wasn't overly impressed. They sell mostly store brand, and while the regular prices are a lot less than the regular prices of the larger stores around here, I still get better deals using coupons and shopping loss leaders. Still, I think it will be worthwhile to check out their ad each week. If they have good loss leaders, the store is right on my "ralph's-henry's-home" route, so it might be worth the extra stop now and then.

6x Coke 2-liter = 6.00
2x Jiffy corn muffin mix = .50
2x canned pineapple = 1.98

Total = 9.01

Albertsons

Red Start Yeast 1.29 - .35 MFC = .94
2x Yuban coffee 4.99 - 2x $1/1 MFC = 7.98
4x Kraft cheese 1.77 - $1/2 MFC = 6.08
2x Red Bell Peppers .79 = 1.58

Total = 16.58

Weekly Total = 38.99

So far my monthly total is 187.79. I'd like to keep it under $200 or so for the month, and I don't think that will be any problem. I intend to take a weekend off from shopping after Thanksgiving. I might need to run out for some fresh produce but that should only be a few bucks.

Check out everyone elses' shopping trips at:
The Grocery Cart Challenge
Southern Savers
Money Saving Mom

My Impulse Purchase

Saturday morning I went to the library, as I often do. I use their online catalog to reserve books and CDs that I want over the Internet, and when my items come in, I get a nice email telling me to pick up my stuff. So most every Saturday I go return my current items, head to the reserve shelf, grab my new items, and check out. Its quick and easy - I'm usually in and out in under 5 minutes.

But this time on my way out, I paused a moment and glanced at the "for-sale" table. And that's when I saw it...

The book I must own.

No coupons, no B1G1 sale, no nothing, I just bought it right out.

That's how cool it was.

How much did the unplanned purchase of this treasure set me back, you ask?

Five cents.

You go Bill!

(I totally would have paid a quarter!!)