This Week on the Dining Table

* Last day to enter the July Giveaway reminder.  Go HERE to enter.*

The "The Curse of the Gardening Gods!" Edition..........

On Thursday Hubs took a stroll through the "kennel garden" and said there was yellow squash to pick so I said, "pick it".
Imagine my surprise when he comes in with what is pictured above, especially since I purposely did NOT plant any zucchini this year!!!

I think Anne in the Kitchen has sent me bad JuJu or found a Voodoo Queen in Alabama and had her put a curse on me!  Or she snuck up to PA and put those vile green squash in my garden when I wasn't looking....either that or Anne has an amazng throwing arm. ;-)

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning-

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

1. Sunday--Chinese take-out(I had Hot and Sour Soup)
2. Monday--Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
3. Tuesday--Chicken Marsala w/Mushrooms over Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

4. Wednesday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Squash Casserole
5. Thursday--BBQ, Cole Slaw, maybe Beans or Pasta Salad

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Shrimp Scamp w/Linguine, Spinach Salad

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--Chinese take-out(I had Hot and Sour Soup)
2. Monday--Mongolian Beef Ramen w/Broccoli and Carrots
3. Tuesday--Chicken Marsala w/Mushrooms over Mashed Potatoes, Squash Casserole

4. Wednesday--Leftovers(I had a salad after spilling my leftover soup)
5. Thursday--Late Lunch/Early Dinner out(I had seafood cake sliders)

6. Friday--BBQ Pork, Cole Slaw
7. Saturday--Tempura Shrimp and Zucchini

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 night of leftovers/FFY, and 2 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out(We also had a pizza out for lunch when we took Eldest to the Brew Pub-in PA the Gov. has made it mandatory to buy food if you go to a brewery??  Sometimes his rules make no sense.

I changed up the Beef and Broccoli meal planned as we had just had a rice meal 2 days before.  I saw a Beef and Broccoli dish using Ramen noodles instead(you don't use those salt like flavor packets that come with them but make a from-scratch sauce instead.  This is a nice change but similar flavor profile to Beef and Broccoli and will go into our meal possibilities file.  The recipe can be found HERE.

What got put into the freezer last week....
* 3 packages of bacon
* 3 chicken breasts
* 3 packages of smoked pork(for bbq later)
* 2 packages of French fries
* a TV dinner

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* 2 lbs. of shrimp
Nothing else from the freezer because I again bought meats that we used fresh plus garden veggies and fresh produce from the stores.

We spent $201.18 last week at Schiff's, Malacari's, Walmart, Weis, CVS and Amazon. This total also includes 3 boxes of Glad bags(I got a deal so they were $5.03 per box.) I got these earlier this month and forgot to put on my tally book until I went to pay that bill online.
July spending comes in at $489.26.  Not bad for a month considering the rising price of things and I did some stocking up in July too.

I prefer to keep groceries/HBA/paper goods at $400 per month but clearly we went over this month.  Ex-College Boy is moving out this Friday *fingers crossed* so that should take my food spending down about $100 a month.  Between what he eats here and all the bottled water I buy that he wastes(a bone of contention with me),cutting that much out of the monthly spending should be easy-peasy.  With just the two of us here after Thursday night I need to focus on making less helpings per dinner.  Hubs likes leftovers but I am still use to cooking for 4-5 people for meals.
This will be my August challenge--to cut down on how much I cook per meal.
Plus in August I plan to have Hubs and I eat down a lot of what's in the chest freezer so August's spending should be a LOT lower.

I earned $130.23 on Ibotta in July(this week alone with $45.35 in reg. rebates I also earned $16.50 in Bonuses too).  Add in $10.00 on Checkout51 and .50¢ on SavingStar and we recouped $140.73 in rebates for July to put toward food spending in December. 8-)))

My savings percentage for last week was 52.69%(without "regular"Rite-Aid trips)for July and the monthly savings total comes in at 56.94%(w/out R-A).
I still have a super low savings rate for July so I'm all good with the food spending

I have 4 more food shopping/spending days in July but don't plan on buying anything else this month.  Frankly other than a trip to R-A later this week to get a freebie or two I won't be doing any shopping personally.  The lobsters for Friday night will go on August's monthly tally.

Leftovers going into this week.......Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice casserole, Chicken Marsala, Mashed Potatoes, Squash Casserole, Pork BBQ, Cole Slaw.

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

1. Sunday--Leftovers(I had a piece of chicken Marsala and a banana)
2. Monday--Cheeseburgers, Green Beans
3. Tuesday--something Pasta for Hubs, Spinach Salad for me and him

4. Wednesday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Squash and Onions
5. Thursday--Taco or Taco Salad

6. Friday--Lobster(which will go on Aug.'s tally), leftover sides(green beans, squash)
7. Saturday--Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chicken or BLT sandwiches

What needs buying for this menu? 2 Lobsters. Hubs has to go down the mountain to return the cargo van rental for Ex-CB's move Friday so I'll have him pick-up the lobster at the Price Chopper nearby on his way home.

What's left on my master list of meals we can make from what's at home(not that I'm referring to/using it at this point with the heat).
* Shrimp Scampi
* Tuna Casserole
* Roasted Chicken
* Shrimp/Crab Ravioli
* Cheese Ravioli

* Breakfast for Dinner

* Haddock Fish Dinner  new
* Chicken Tenders  new

* Beef Liver  new

Plus lots of thinly sliced Chicken Breast, grass fed Ground Beef and Ground Turkey in the 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?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?  

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "What's Out There for Xmas Gifting" Edition................

I was in Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)browsing last week to see what they've gotten in for the Holiday Season so far.  Thought this Monopoly a la John Deere Tractor Company was interesting. ;-)

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Roast Chicken, Onion, Carrots, Potatoes
2. Monday--Leftover Meatloaf, Squash Casserole

3. Tuesday--Sloppy Joes, Salad

4. Wednesday--Chicken and Dumplings

5. Thursday--Tacos

6. Friday--Chicken Enchiladas, Rice
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened at home per Hubs info & after I got home--

1. Sunday--Roast Chicken, Onion, Carrots, Potatoes
2. Monday--Fend For Yourself

3. Tuesday--Leftover Meatloaf, Squash Casserole

4. Wednesday--Chinese Fake-Out Chicken, Rice, Sugar Snap Peas

5. Thursday--Sloppy Joes, Tossed Salad

6. Friday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Corn on Cob
7. Saturday--Mushroom Ravioli Alfredo, Tossed Salad, Garlic Bread

The leftover Meatloaf, etc. got moved to Tuesday, Sloppy Joes, etc. got moved to Thursday, the Ravioli from last week got moved to Saturday, the other 3 new meals not made will go to this week(or not-I might do a chicken casserole with the leftover chicken bits instead of enchiladas).  I took a pork loin out of the freezer and was spontaneous about making tenderloin sandwiches and I hit a sale at Aldi's on Chicken so half the pack went into Chinese Fake-Out. 
It was a mix of some meals planned were made and some spontaneous meals.

Last week saw 5.5 nights of home cooked dinners, 1.5 nights of leftovers/ffy, and 0 nights of Eating Out/Take-Out for me.
5.5 nights because 1 night I cooked a side dish but heated up leftover meatloaf. lolz

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

*

What got taken out of the freezer and used(or cooked up but not used yet)last week at home.....
* 2 whole chickens
* a bag of Sugar Snap Peas
* a Pork Loin
* a bag of Ravioli

A trip to Walmart, Bread Outlet, Malacari's, Maines and Aldi's brought the current weekly spending to $157.51 and my October spending on food to $394.80 for this month. 

My savings percentage last week was 46.70%(without Rite-Aid trips)and October's monthly savings total comes in at 45.75%(w/out R-A).

I have 3 more food shopping/spending days in October but I closed out the books on October this past weekend so anything bought until Nov. 1st. will go on next month's tally.

Leftovers going into this week......Chicken Fake-Out Chinese, Sugar Snap Peas, Carrots and Potatoes, All that Roasted Chicken, Sloppy Joe, 1 helping of Squash Casserole, Pork Tenderloins, Rice, browned Ground Beef, and 1 helping of Ravioli.

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

1. Sunday--Chicken and Dumplings
2. Monday--Chicken Broccoli Cheese Casserole

3. Tuesday--Tacos

4. Wednesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, leftover Garlic Bread, Salad

5. Thursday--Something TBD + Brussels Sprouts

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Fend for Yourself

As always this menu is subject to change or rearranging depending on what leftovers get eaten or not and what I am feeling like cooking(or not). lolz

What needs buying for this menu?  Nothing whatsoever except maybe some milk.

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 great deals on food at your stores this week? 

Sluggy