Weekly Grocery Shopping (12/2 - 12/8)

This was a decent week. I ended up being almost $8 over my $45/week goal, but I stocked up on a lot of meat and toilet paper, which are always good things to have stockpiled! I was also out of a few important things since I had a semi-no shopping week last week. Fortunately, a lot of my "needs" ended up being on sale, so there were only a couple of things I ened up paying more than I like to for (like hot dog buns, a staple in Ninja Hubz diet).

Ralphs

Charmin TP 5.99 - 1.00 MFC - 1.00 P&G eSaver = 3.99
2x Ritz @ 1.99 - 2x $1/1 MFC = 1.98*
2x Nestle cookie dough @ 2.00 - 2x 1.50 MFC = 1.00
Hamburger buns = 1.25
Yogurt = 2.00
Gum toothbrush @ 1.00 - $1/1 MFC = FREE

Total = 10.88

Henry's
Perfect timing! I just finished off the last of my oats making granola bars, then lo and behold they were listed in the sale ad the next day! Hooray :)

Lettuce = 1.69
Cucumber = .79
3.5 lbs bulk rolled oats = 2.09 (on sale for .59/lb!!)
1 lb carrots = .50
Reusable bag credit = -.05

Total: 5.02

Walgreens
What can I say, I'm a sucker for cheap toilet paper!

Quilted Northern TP @4.29 - 1.00 MFC = 3.29 (Gave $1 RR)
Goody Ouchless hair bands = 2.00 (Gave $2 RR)

Total = 5.84
Received $3 in RR

Fresh and Easy

~6 lbs ground beef = 9.23 ($1.49/lb)

Total  9.23

Vons
I was trying to be nice and asked Ninja Hubz if there was anything special he wanted at the store (sometimes I forget to do that), and he said 'chips or something'. Miraculously, his favorite Doritos were on sale! I guess he was good this week because had good grocery karma :) Also, I think I'm up to around 10 bags of chocolate chips now... I plan on making some goodies for Christmas gifts, but I probably have enough and should stop buying them now :)

Padrinos Chips @ 2.50 - 1.00 MFC = 1.50
2x Nestle chocolate chips - 2x $1/1 MFC = 2.00
Doritos = 1.69
Nabisco Saltines 2.00 - $1/1 MFC = 1.00*
Flour tortillas = 2.39
4x Hefty freezer bags @ 4/$5 - 2x $1/2 MFC = 3.00
3x Cream Cheese @ .99 (wyb 5 Kraft) - $1/3 MFC = 1.97
2x Kraft Shreds @ 1.49 (wyb 5 Kraft) - $1/2 MFC = 1.98
18 eggs = 1.49 (store coupon)
Hot dog buns = 1.59
Bread = .99
3.74 lbs chicken breast = 6.62 (1.77/lb)

Total: 26.71

Weekly Total: 52.66

*These also can go towards this $10 Kraft rebate

Check out more great shopping trips at
The Grocery Cart Challenge

Menu Plan Monday - 12/7/09

Well I seem to be behind on my blog posts this week. What can I say? I've been busy... I don't know exactly why I feel so much busier than I usually am, but that's the way it goes.

Last week I ended up skipping the carnitas I had scheduled because we had some leftover turkey pot pie that needed to be eaten, so carnitas is back on for this week. I'm still on a mission to use up stuff that has been lurking in the freezer. I used a couple bags of frozen tomatoes in making a large vat of spaghetti sauce, so that was dinner on Sunday, plus four more servings went into the freezer. Seems a little pardoxical, since I'm attempting to USE frozen stuff, not make more, but its one step closer :)

Anyway, here's the menu!

Sunday

Spaghetti

Salad

Monday

Beef Enchiladas

Mexican Rice (extra rice put in freezer for Saturday)

Salad

Tuesday

Turkey Noodle Soup

Biscuits

Wednesday

Leftovers/Fend for Yourself

Thursday

Meatloaf (from freezer)

Twice Baked Potatoes (from freezer)

Salad

Friday

Leftover meatloaf

Twice Baked Potatoes (from freezer)

Salad

Saturday

Carnitas Tacos (from freezer)

Mexican Rice (from freezer)

Salad

Now that I've typed the whole thing out, I realize that almost the entire week consists of some form of ground beef and salad :) I told you I've been busy!

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

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!