This Week on the Dining Table.....the May 20th Edition

The "What's Going On In My Yard" Edition.....

You probably can't see it but the bird nest now has a fuzzy headed youngin' in it.  It looks like the momma bird only had one egg(or at least one egg hatch).

And the photo above is of a Mudbug or Crayfish tube.  This one isn't very tall(Hubs may have mowed it down with his tractor)but if the critter is still in there, it will be built taller.  Trust me! 8-)

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week...........

1. Sunday--Steak, Salad, Sweet Potato Fries

2. Monday--Leftovers or food out as we are going to Jackson

3. Tuesday--Scallops, leftover Cole Slaw, Au Grating Potatoes

4. Wednesday--Caesar Salad, Chicken Parm, Sauteed Cabbage

5. Thursday--Kielbasi, Squash, leftover Potatoes

6. Friday--Salmon, Veggies TBD, whatever leftovers

7. Saturday--???Whatever I pull out of the freezer

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Steak, Salad, Sweet Potato Fries

2. Monday--Chick fil-A Sandwich, Salad

3. Tuesday--Scallops, Cole Slaw, Teriyaki Veggie Mix

4. Wednesday--Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zucchini, Rice

5. Thursday--Steak Sandwiches, leftover Cole Slaw

6. Friday--Fish, leftover Cole Slaw, Roasted Broccoli

7. Saturday--Smoked Ribs, Mac and Cheese, leftover Teriyaki Veggies

I got a special on zuke, squash, thinly sliced steak and pork ribs so Wed., Thurs., and Sat. meals were changed up. I used the half a head of cabbage left to make a big ol' tub of Slaw instead of sautéing it.  I also had almost an entire half gallon of milk that was set to go off so I made a rare pan of mac and cheese(not rare in and of itself but rare for me to make that dish since losing all the weight).  Hubs will be tasked with finishing that(evidently I am incapable of making just a "little" mac and cheese).  He said it's a hard life but he'll do the best he can. lolz

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

*  2 Steaks

*  Scallops

*  6 Chicken Thighs

*  pack of Thin Sliced Steak

*  slab of Pork Ribs

*  6 Fish Fillets

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

* 2 Hamburger Patties

*  Sugar Snap Peas

*  a Meatloaf ready to cook

*  3 hunks of Salmon

Last week we spent $158.18 on grocery shopping for May.  Big week for grocery shopping but sometimes, when the deals present themselves you have to answer the call. ;-)

Total shopping comes to $308.88 for May.   There are 11 shopping days left in May.

Rebate monies earned this month so far.....

I've earned $114.89 on Ibotta in May.

I've earned $16.50 on Shopmium in May.

I've earned $15.50 on Alexa app in May.

I've earned $21.55 on Kroger Cash Back in May.

I've earned $6.56 on TaDa in May.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in May.

I've earned $10.49 on Aisle, etc. in May.

I've earned 2,625 points on Fetch from food shopping in May.

I've earned 182 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in May.($)

I've earned 0 Points on My Points in May.($)

I've earned 0 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in May.

That is $141.88 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/TaDa/MyPoints/KCB/Alexa)on $308.88 of grocery spending so in reality it's $167.00 in food spending after the rebate apps I count. I now separate out the Food Bank donations and don't count those in the grocery spending.

My savings percentage for the last week was 67.77% and the monthly savings total for May comes in at 64.74% spent so far. 

Leftovers going into this week...Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke, Rice, Ribs, Mac & Cheese, Roasted Broccoli, plus some leftover cheese sauce from making Mac & Cheese.

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

1. Sunday--Kielbasi on Rolls, leftover Cole Slaw

2. Monday--Meatballs, Sauce, Spaghetti, Caesar Salad

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Sauté Yellow Squash

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Catfish, Green Beans

7. Saturday--One Never Knows, do One?*extra points if you get the Fats Waller reference here*

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?  

Sluggy    

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Would You Wear This?" Edition.....  

I don't think I'd wear that Burger King Ugly Sweater if they paid ME $30(instead of charging that much for it!)

This is day 190 of the new "diet".  Down 56 lbs. since the cruise(not counting the 8 I gained on the cruise and then lost again, which would make it 64 lbs.).  

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week.......

1. Sunday--Pot Roast, Carrots, Celery, Onions, Taters

2. Monday--Grilled Asparagus, Chicken Strips

3. Tuesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

4  Wednesday--No Clue

5. Thursday--No Clue

6.  Friday--No Clue

7. Saturday--No Clue

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

1. Sunday--Pot Roast, Carrots, Celery, Onions, Taters

2. Monday--Grilled Asparagus, Chicken Strips

3. Tuesday--Yogurt, Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

4  Wednesday--Leftover Pot Roast Meal

5. Thursday--Yogurt Drink, Late Lunch at Chinese Restaurant

6.  Friday--Apple and Cranberry Chicken Salad, Leftover Spaghetti and Meatballs

7. Saturday--a Cheesecake Factory Bread Roll, Cheese and Pretzel Crackers(feeling "carby" today)

No going back to old habits and eating patterns for me!

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

* bag of Meatballs

* Hunk of Pot Roast

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

*  3 tubs of Ice Cream(2 pints and 1 what use to be a quart)

* a pack of Chicken Apple Sausages

*  1 lb.+ Ground Beef

Last week we spent $19.70 on grocery shopping for December.  

Grand Total shopping comes to $258.95 for December.   

There are 13 shopping days left in December.

I've earned $125.88 on Ibotta in December.

I've earned $21.00 on Shopmium in December.

I've earned $6.00 on Alexa app in December.

I've earned $9.15? on Kroger Cash Back in December.(They are way behind in crediting my account.)

I've earned $59.45 on TaDa in December.

I've earned $4.10 on Checkout51 in December.

I've earned $0 on Aisle.

I've earned 16,345 points from food shopping on Fetch in December.

I've earned 6,062 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in December.

I've earned 0 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in December.

That is $216.43 in rebates(not counting the Kroger Cash Back/Shop Kick/Fetch)on $258.95 of grocery spending so in reality it's $42.52 in food spending after the 6 rebate apps I count. 

My savings percentage for the last week was 84.35% and the monthly savings total for December comes in at 46.99% spent. 

Last week's total spend was offset by $80 in Walmart gift cards I earned/bought through my Ibotta earnings(misjudged how many rebates one week to get to my big Bonus so had to use Ibotta earnings to purchase 4 gift cards-I wasn't about to miss that Bonus but it's all good....either I count that $80 that week or I send $80 more to my bank account at the end of the year).

Leftovers going into this week....pot roast dinner, asparagus, sweet potato fries.

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

1. Sunday--Cheeseburgers, baked Sweet Tater Fries

2. Monday--leftover Pot Roast made onto Stew with Biscuits

3. Tuesday--Whatever needs eating or ?

4  Wednesday--No Clue

5. Thursday--No Clue

6.  Friday--No Clue

7. Saturday--No Clue

As we head into the Holiday it's use stuff up and clear out the fridge at the beginning of the week.

We did have some food waste this past week with some lunchmeats that got pushed to the back of the meat drawer and went bad. 8-(

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?  

Sluggy  

Shopping This Week

I hit a few stores this past week, besides Rite-Aid that is. '-)

I did the Finish Deal again last Sunday.........

3 x Finish dishwasher tabs on sale $5 ea.=$15.00
I used $4 in Qs(1 x $2/1 Manu/2 x $1/1 IPQ)and got $5 off Instantly so $15.00-$9.00=$6.00 + .72¢ tax=$6.72 OOP
That's $2.24 per bag.
I also got 2 cans of OJ concentrate so that total for all was $10.06.

On Monday Hubs and I hit Big Lots in the town South of us.  We were down there so he could go to Lowe's and the Sporting Goods store that carries gun stuff and I talked him into poking around in BL too since I had the 20% anything in the store Q with me.

We didn't get a lot, just a few items we needed(plus 6 bottles of peroxide which didn't make it into the photo).  As we left I noticed a shopping cart with clearance dog food items too and these, besides being clearance priced were also another 20% off.
A 6 pack of Iams wet dog food for .62¢ total, 3 bags of Purina Beyond for $2.40 per bag?
Oh heck yeah!
OOP was $25.66 for everything+peroxide(and sales tax).

And since we were there I ran into Aldi for a few things...........

4 x whole mushrooms, a gallon of vegetable oil, a bag of tortilla chips, a box of corn starch, 3 packets of dry ranch dressing mix, a pack of chicken breakfast sausages, a bag of salad mix(not pictured), the last Pillsbury 2-pack pie crusts on clearance at $1.09 and 2.40 lbs. of ground beef at 50% off came to $22.96 out the door.

I'm at $58.68 for the week and I don't plan on doing any more grocery shopping this week.
I'm not going to be under $100 for the month but I am well under $200 for January at this point with only 8 days left in the month.

Any good deals where you live? 


Sluggy

Last of the October Shopping

I had a $5 off $50 Purchase Coupon for Maine Source(the local restaurant supply store)and they had some good deals on Sunday(the weekend specials and the new weekly specials good on this day)so I hiked up there to finish off the bulk of my food shopping for this week.

Pictured are acorn squash, sweet potatoes and butternut squash I bought.  The squash was .49¢ lb. and the taters were .69¢ lb.
If some of this lasts long enough to make it to Thanksgiving it will be making an appearance on the Turkey Day table too.  ;-)

I also picked up in this trip--
10 lb. potatoes @$1.69
1 head green cabbage(3.23 lb.)@.59¢ lb.
1 head red cabbage(1.80 lb.)@.69¢ lb.
1 lb. liverwurst(Hubs lunches)@$2.49
2 lb. med. raw shrimp @$11.49 bag
8 lb. ground chuck @$2.69 lb.
1 package paper plates @$1.79(to get me over $50 spent)
Total came to $50.30-$5 coupon=$45.30 OOP

They didn't have sour cream for a good price or any reg. carrots(just those shaved up baby ones)so when Hubs went to Walmart to get a pair of boots afterwards, I picked up a bag of carrots, a container of sour cream and a 8-pack of frozen burritos(Hubs go-to weekend lunch).
These items were free as I had a $50 Walmart gift card(gotten free with credit card points)to use on the food and the boots.  And there is $23+ left on the gift card now.

This finishes off my food/toiletries spending for October so I'll be closing the books now on this month and posting my grocery totals in the next couple of days.  I know I didn't spend over my $300 Oct. budget and can't wait to see how much under I ended up at.

I have also been buying this month with an eye toward having to prepare Thanksgiving dinner.  Little by little I have been squirreling away items I need to make that meal.....turkey, veggies, flour for rolls, pumpkin, evaporated milk and sugar for pies, etc.  About the only item I still need to purchase is some bread for the stuffing and a bottle of Redi-Whip or a carton of Heavy Cream if I want to make my own whipped cream. ;-)

If the Weis ads are good when they come out on Thursday I'll either wait until after Saturday to purchase anything there on November's money IN November or I'll just get my November grocery money a few days early and start the November buying before the weekend.

Some of the squash and cabbage already made it to my table on Monday...........

Potato encrusted Cod, Cole Slaw and Mashed Butternut Squash.
Yum!

Sluggy



 

Grocery Spending Last Week

Well we were on vacation last week but I still managed to buy groceries. lolz

A week ago Sunday Sonya Ann took me to Jewel-Osco Markets so I could buy a few things that we mostly ate while on vacation.  I could technically put this spending under the Vacation Budget but I went ahead and filed them under the Food Budget.

No photo but here's what I got....

2 large containers of unsweetened Iced Tea(on sale for $2.00 ea.)as I can't LIVE without my iced tea
1 jar of pickles for $2.50
Another jar of pickles for $2
1 box of crackers for $2.50
1 bag of chips for $2
2 large G2 Gatorades for $1.50 each
1 Ghirardelli chocolate bar for $2(which I left behind at Sonya's house). 
TOTAL OOP.....$18.61 with tax.

Then before we got home Friday night, we stopped at the Surplus Outlet, since we were driving right by it and got a few more food deals.........

3 x Jif cornbread mix....3/$1.00
2 x Velveeta ready meals for CB.....2/$2.78
1 x box of spaghetti......59¢
2 x cans pumpkin....2/.$1.78
3 x jars of spaghetti sauce....3/$2.97
1 x dozen eggs....$1.69 *not pictured
1 x gallon vinegar....$2.19
2.54lbs. onions.....$.99(.39¢ lb.)
1 x Contessa bagged frozen dinner....$3.59 *not pictured
1 x 8 lb. bag of breaded Chicken cutlets....$9.99 *not pictured
2 x candy bars.....2/$1.00 *not pictured
TOTAL OOP.....$28.57 no tax

We were out of white vinegar and chicken cutlets and the rest were good deals.

Total spending last week on food budget $47.18.
I've got a bit more shopping to do this week and then I can close out the books on October and post this month's outcome.

Sluggy
 

Shopping on Wednesday

First I picked up a few things at Rite-Aid while I was there getting drugs.

I put the total OOP of $4.80 on a free gift card.

The Watkins lotions were free after Rain checks from around last Christmas.

The almonds were $1 for 2 cans so .50¢ per can.  They are on sale for $2.50 each this week and I used 2 x $2/1 Blue Diamond Q on the Hopster site.

The toothbrushes were $3.50 each and give back 300 in points this week.  I used a $1.50/2 Oral-B Q(coupons dotcom)so this deal after Q and points was a .50¢ moneymaker.

I had BOGO Snickers Qs plus they are BOGO this week at Rite-Aid.  Buy 4 Snickers and use 1 Q and pay $1.15(the price of 1 bar)for all 4(comes to 28 and 3/4 cents each).

I used the 400($4)in points on my card and earned 600($6)in points for the transaction.

I then bought $100 in Rite-Aid gift cards....you get $5 in points for each $50 in R-A gift cards you buy this week(limit 2).
I used budgeted cash I would end up spending at Rite-Aid anyway and converted it to store scrip(the gift cards).  That earned me 1000($10)in Plenti points.
Since I have spare cash to do this, why not earn $10 in points to spend for cash I'd use for buying items there anyway?

Now I have $16 in points to spend.  I'll wait until I can get something free or real cheap at Rite-Aid to go back and spend this since I don't "need" any toiletries.

Then it was off to Weis(PMITA)Markets.
I posted a video of my shopping trip HERE
I spent $53.03 and saved 49% over regular retail.

The best Deal was the paper products, Save $5 Instantly when you spend $25.  This runs off of regular retail but the items are on sale so you don't have to "spend" $25 actually to get the $5 discount.

2 x 6 packs of Scott paper towels at $5.99=$11.98(reg. $7.39 x2=$14.78)
1 x 12 pack of Scott toilet tissue at $7.99(reg. $10.29)
Total=$19.97(reg. $25.07).
After the $5 discount and $5 in Qs used(3 x .50/1 doubled to $1/1 and 1 x $2/1 Weis coupon book on Viva or Scott towels Q) I paid $9.97 + .59¢ tax=$10.56.

I received a $3 OYNO Catalina Q for buying 3 Scott items in 1 transaction.

I'll return later this week and do this same deal again, using similar Qs PLUS the $3 Catalina and will pay $6.97 + .41¢ tax=$7.38 for these 3 products again. 
Total for all 6 packages with tax will be $17.94 OOP.

$I'll also earn another $3 Catalina to use in the next 2 weeks.
Nice.

Sluggy