This Week on the Dining Table......Jan. 26th to Feb. 1st

* Still taking names/emails of people who want continued access to the blog after I take it private.  If you left me a comment with your email or emailed me I have you, don't worry. 8-)

The "I'm Confused" Edition........

I was in Walmart last week and saw this sign.  The Rollback price is higher than the regular price?  The other side of the bin also had the same configuration--$1.08 lb. reg. price and the Rollback price being $1.48 lb.  WTF???

I mentioned this discrepancy to a produce employee, who brought it to the attention of his manager and the manager removed the $1.08 lb. sign right in front of me.  Walmart-what a bunch of crooks!  I would have been so mad if I was a low-income shopper who thought she was getting that squash for $1.08 lb. because of that sign only to be tricked into paying $1.48 lb. at the register.

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--Chicken and Dumplings

2. Monday--Beef Pie

3. Tuesday--Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke

4. Wednesday--Soup and Cornbread

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--Salmon, Sweet Potato Fries

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Chicken and Dumplings

2. Monday--Eat Out Lunch

3. Tuesday--Eat Out Lunch

4. Wednesday--Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke

5. Thursday--Beef Pie

6. Friday--Caesar Salad, Pizza

7. Saturday--Salmon, Leftover Green Beans,

Corn on the Cob

Got a day old Rotisserie Chicken to use in Chicken and Dumplings.  Got some marked down Chicken Thighs to make the Lemon Pepper Chicken. some marked down Ground Beef-some to make Hamburgers, some for Beef Pie and some for the Freezer for later.  We ate out for my Birthday 2 lunches, used a gift certificate for one of those meals.

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

* Ground Beef

* Chicken Thighs

* Salmon

* Pizza

Last week we spent $76.27 on groceries(proving that eating healthier is more expensive)and the savings rate came in at 50.71%. Spending for the month is $367.64 and the savings rate so far is 38.57%.

There are 5 days left in the month.  I may actually come in under $400 this month for food shopping.  That's just so unheard of!

Leftovers going into next week...1 slice Meatloaf, 2 Hamburgers, 2 helpings Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke, Beef Pie, lots of Chicken and Dumplings.

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

1. Sunday--Leftover Chicken and Dumplings

2. Monday--Chicken, Green Beans

3. Tuesday--Leftovers(probably the Hamburgers and a Veg)

4. Wednesday--Shrimp, Baked Sweet Potato Fries

5. Thursday--Pasta in Mushroom Sauce with Meatballs, Salad

6. Friday--Leftovers

7. Saturday--Salmon or Chicken Burgers, Leftover Green Beans

I really like the Kroger shrimp and it was on special this week so we picked some more up.  I also bought 4 lbs. of strawberries as they were $2.99 per and I'll be eating those with yogurt for breakfast or for a snack at night this week.  Got a bag of 2 lbs. of green beans and 4 corn on the cob so those are on this week's menu(well the corn got eaten Sat. evening).

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 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  

What's on the Dining Table

The "Got The Critter" Edition.....

                                 

Although this is an entry about food and menus no, we didn't trap a possum to eat it.  Though English and Virginia writer and early Jamestown colonist William Strachey wrote that they were "good eating" upon his encountering them in North America. I suspect people in the South still eat them(if they are TB free)as well as squirrel(my mother's boyfriend use to shoot and eat squirrel in his  youth).  8-)

Hubs saw this possum marching through our yard at dusk and go under the house as the skirting is in bad shape with many openings. We also have a convenient water source under the house until this week when the plumber came out and fixed a leak in a PEX PVC pipe.  Possums are good to have around as they eat ticks and other bugs but I certainly don't want one living under my house with two small dogs here!

Hubs bought a trap and after about a week caught it late last week.  He drove it a few miles away to some woods and released it back into the wilds.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned.......

1. Sunday--Taco Salad using more of the leftover taco filling.

2. Monday--On his own as I am dog sitting at Daughter's house

3. Tuesday--Catfish and Veggie TBD

4. Wednesday--Birthday dinner out for Hubs

5. Thursday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

6.  Friday--Grilled Chicken, frozen Veggie TBD

7. Saturday--Halushki

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday--Taco Salad using more of the leftover taco filling.

2. Monday--Hubs on his own as I am dog sitting at Daughter's house

3. Tuesday--Fend for Yourself(I wasn't hungry)

4. Wednesday--Birthday dinner out for Hubs

5. Thursday--I had the 1/2 of the leftover Birthday meal I took home(steak, sweet potato)

6.  Friday--Daughter took us out for lunch, I had Flautas(no dinner)

7. Saturday--Halushki

I cooked one real meal last week on Saturday.  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I didn't have dinner as I had lunch and wasn't hungry in the evening.

What got put into the freezer last week....

*  1 pack of Burritos(Hubs)

*  5 bags of frozen veggies

*  7 big Ribeye steaks

*  3 lbs. of meatballs(making them today)

*  5 lbs. of butter

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

*  Nothing but the dredges of a container of ice cream.  Between the birthday dinner out, not being home on Monday and leftovers, not much cooking happened and nothing was used from the freezer. :-)

Last week we both hit Kroger twice and Walmart to do some deals spent a total of $312.24 on all shops. 

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $374.40 for April so far.  I know it's high but there were great deals across most categories right before Easter so we loaded up.

There are 20 shopping days left in April.

I've earned $54.45 on Ibotta in April.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in April.

I've earned $13.00 on Coupons dotcom in April.

I've earned 358 points from food shopping on Fetch.

I've earned 8,400 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in April.

I've earned 356 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in March.

That's $67.45 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $374.40 of grocery spending so in reality it's $306.95 in food spending after the 3 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 42.30% and the monthly savings total for April comes in at 39.82% so far.  

Leftovers going into this week... taco shells and Halushki.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Ham, Asparagus, rolls in freezer leftover from Xmas, Deviled Eggs, Mac and Cheese

2. Monday--might get Burgers at Trivia

3. Tuesday--Fish and Squash Casserole

4. Wednesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

5. Thursday--leftover Easter foods

6.  Friday--Baked Sweet Potato Fries, Chicken Strips

7. Saturday--who knows?   Whatever is leftover

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu? Not shopping this week unless I go to Kroger after Wednesday to stock up on a couple of lbs. of Salmon(good deal!)

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?

Any deals on food at your stores this week?  It's Easter deals at more store this week so get those loss leaders you need.

Sluggy 

Using Every Opportunity to Save on Groceries...

I had a bunch of errands to run on Thursday since we were suppose to get a snowstorm today.

I had 2 Wags RRs to spend, amounting to $3 from the Finish dishwashing tabs I bought 2 weeks ago. At first I thought I'd roll them into more RRs but there was nothing I really needed that was generating RRs this week and the thought of staying on the Wags RR merry-go-round was NOT appealing. Especially since I am on the Rite-Aid +Up merry-go-round and can't seem to get off of that one!lol

No photo but I picked up 2 liquid soaps and a jar of olives. I needed .03¢ more to get to $3 and I found 2 jars of Fluff on the clearance endcap at .39¢ each. With the tax my OOP came to .87¢.
I feel better having picked up some items I can use rather than rolling RRs and spending a bit OOP on stuff I don't really need.

We also received 2 coupon triplers on the Price Chopper weekly flyer this week and it is right over by Wags, so I stopped by to see what I could find.  I don't usually shop there but if there is a Catalina Deal or something great to cherry pick, I will head over to take advantage. 

You can only use the triplers on insert(glossy manuQs) or teapad type coupons(no internet printed qs)so I was limited in what I could find that was cheap or free.
I ended up getting the 2 bars of Helavu Good cheese....on sale $2 each and I had a $1/2 ManuQ which tripled to $3/2, so each bar cost me .50¢.
I also got the French's fried onions....my $1/1 ManuQ tripled so the $3.59 can cost me .59¢ in the end.

The egg nog was store discounted from $3.19 to $1.19(I picked those up for the teens as a treat), and the Smart Balance sour cream was store discounted from $1.55 to $.55 each.
There was also a flyer coupon for $2 off bags of Weaver chicken parts(limit 4)which were already marked down to $5, so those were $3 each.  Breaded chicken are a mainstay of #2 son's diet, right behind Taco Bell and Ramen Noodles. For fun I attempt to poison him with veggies any chance I get....

In the end I spent $17.03 at Price Chopper. Regular retail was $38.45, so I saved $21.42 or 55.70%.
The chicken is always needed, as is any kind/type/form of cheese in this house!  The fried onion thingies I like to have on hand in the stockpile and I was out.  The egg nog was a cheap treat as mentioned before.  The sour cream is reduced fat type.  While I am not a big fan of the mouth feel or flavor of reduced fat type, it will be fine incorporated into dishes.

This seems to be the way I shop lately....a little bit picked up here, a little bit picked up there.   Gleaning the good deals wherever I can find them.  Gone are the days of going to one grocery store, once a week, every week and spending $100-$150 a pop.  I scoop up a few items at a time on my travels around town.  While it does take more time shopping this way, time is something I have. ;-)

What about you?
Do you cherry pick the sales and go to more than one store a week?
What is your average weekly count of trips to the stores?

Sluggy