This Week on the Dining Table....March 2 to March 8 2025

The "Crazy Bird" Edition........

I hope you can make out the bit of red in the middle of the tree trunk in the photo.  That's the crazy cardinal we've had hanging around the house since we got back from our Christmas trip at the end of December.  He keeps dive bombing the window of Hubs study every day.  We think he sees his reflection and assumes it's another cardinal in "his territory " so is attacking it.  We have put a black garbage bag over the window, tried decals and also tried hanging my large windchimes in the tree to scare him off.  The only thing that works is the windchime, but only when the wind is blowing enough to make them chime.

I guess we are going to have to live with this until we leave.

Here's a short video where I finally caught the bird in action banging his beak into the window.

Onward to the meal planning!

Here is what was planned for the last week.....

1. Sunday--Cheeseburgers, Sweet Potato Fries

2. Monday---Chicken w/Stir-Fry Veggies

3. Tuesday--Meatloaf, Green Beans

4. Wednesday--Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--Leftovers 

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Cheeseburgers, Sweet Potato Fries

2. Monday---Chicken w/Stir-Fry Veggies

3. Tuesday--Meatloaf, Green Beans

4. Wednesday--Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

5. Thursday--Salmon, Brussels Sprouts

6. Friday--Strawberries & Greek Yogurt

7. Saturday--Leftover Chicken Veggie Stir-Fry

Sunday to Wednesday basically happened as planned.  Then we had some 

brussels sprouts we paired with 

salmon on Thursday so it worked with that night.  Then Friday to Saturday it was Fend for Yourself which was a-ok in my book.

What got taken out of the freezer.......

*  Chicken

*  Beef, thin sliced

*  Salmon

*  4 Hamburgers that had been bought and stuck in the freeze and had to be used or frozen.

Last week we spent $71.45 on groceries and the savings rate came in at 46.26%. Spending for the month is $363.62 and the savings rate is 43.417% for February before rebate monies are added in.

Rebates earned in February-

$108.14 on Ibotta

$9.50 on Checkout51

$20.73 on Aisle and Misc.

$138.37 Total in $$

Total spent after rebates is $225.2

9,998 Pts. on Fetch

674 Pts. on SwagBucks

783 Pts. on My Points

81 Pts. on ShopKick

0 Pts. on TaDa

(I don't count these until I cash out for a gift card or cash.)

Before AND after rebates we had a low spend month for groceries at least for us.

Leftovers going into next week...4 slices of meatloaf, green beans, sweet potato fries, pizza, a Portabello Mushroom Parm, 2 Hamburger patties, Beef and Broccoli.  Most of this will be lunches for someone(probably Hubs as I have  chicken salad and bags of salad to eat.

Here is what was planned for this week.....

1. Sunday--Chicken Parm, Asparagus

2. Monday---Leftover Meatloaf, Yellow Squash

3. Tuesday--Shrimp, Broccoli

4. Wednesday--Rigatoni w/Mushroom Sauce, Green Beans

5. Thursday--Pot Pies(Chicken or Turkey)

6. Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--Leftovers 

Just trying to eat down what is here when I'm not getting great deals.  I chose my meals by cherry picking the deals and building meals around those items, combined with what is in my freezer.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week? 

Sluggy