This Week on the Dining Table

The "My Jar Runneth Over" Edition...

I shared this on FB yesterday.  My swear jar "might" be a tad more filled than above but the history/genealogy jar?  Pretty much right on....lol

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned......

1. Sunday--Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Hawaiian rolls

2. Monday--Breakfast for Dinner

3. Tuesday--Chicken Parm, Baked Sweet Potato, (Pasta for Hubs only)

4. Wednesday--?
5. Thursday--? Hubs' night to cook

6.  Friday--?

7. Saturday--?

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

1. Sunday--Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Hawaiian rolls

2. Monday--Breakfast for Dinner(Bacon, Pancakes)

3. Tuesday--Fend for Yourself

4. Wednesday--Meatloaf, Honey Ginger Carrots
5. Thursday--Chinese Take-Out

6.  Friday--Leftover Chinese

7. Saturday--Leftover Meatloaf, Carrots

Nothing very exciting here, just plain old cooking.  I've still got a LOT of carrots to use up from the 8 lb. bag I bought for Christmas dinner so they will be appearing again and again in some form or another. ;-)

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

*  Not a thing

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

*  Bacon

*  Cheese

*  Ground Beef

I spent $55.50 on food/toiletries/HBA the last week. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $55.50 for January.

There are 21 shopping days left in January.  

I've earned $101.51 on Ibotta in January.

I've earned $0 on Checkout51 in January.

I've earned $8 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in January.

I've earned 451 points from shopping on Fetch in January.

I earned 1,265 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in January. 

I've earned 10 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in January.

I've earned $0 from food shopping on Tada in January.

That's $109.51 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Tada/Fetch)on $55.50 in grocery spending so in reality it's -$54.01 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count.  Yay me.....

My savings percentage for the last week was 66.71%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for January comes in at 66.71% so far(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week....1 helping each of Meatloaf, Carrots and Broccoli Cheddar Soup.

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

1. Sunday--Chicken Parm, Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

2. Monday--Butternut Squash Ravioli w/Béchamel, Salad

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Homemade flatbread Pizza, Salad
5. Thursday--? Hubs' night to cook

6.  Friday--Some sort of soup or stew

7. Saturday--?

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Nothing.  I got it covered(except maybe Hubs' night to cook).

I do plan to pick up a couple of things anyway to reach my Ibotta $10 Bonus for Jan.

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 "Happy Puppy" Edition....

      

Since the snow is so high here(not melting due to low temps and lack of sunshine)we can let Chest off the leash in the yard because the snow is too high for him to escape the yard.  Hubs made him a "race track" in the backyard buy shoveling a path from their potty field on one side of the deck back to the fenced in garden area and back down the other side of the deck, making a continuous loop around the yard.  He's in full on sprint mode in the photo.

He is loving running laps in there like a crazy dog!  I think he's the only one here happy with this week's snowy forecast too. lol

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On-

This is what was planned....

1. Sunday--Chicken w/Wild Rice Soup, Cheddar Drop Biscuits

2. Monday--Kielbasi, Baked Beans, Grilled Onions

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Potatoes au Gratin, Saute Cabbage

4. Wednesday--Ham slices, Asparagus, leftover au Gratin Taters
5. Thursday--Hubs cooks or Leftovers

6.  Friday--Leftover Soup w/Cornbread

7. Saturday--Chicken Tenders, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Glazed Carrots

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

1. Sunday--Chicken w/Wild Rice Soup, Cheddar Drop Biscuits

2. Monday--Kielbasi, Baked Beans, Grilled Onions

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Potatoes au Gratin, Asparagus

4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself
5. Thursday--Chicken Tenders, Corn, leftover au Gratin Taters

6.  Friday--Ham slices, Glazed Carrots, Mac and Cheese

7. Saturday--Steak, Tossed Salad, Baked Potato

Last week saw 6 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 night of leftovers/planned overs or no dinner, FFY, and 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

Mostly everything planned was cooked/served except we had leftover soup for lunch 2 times instead of for dinner on Friday(and there is 1 more helping left besides the  container I froze)and Ex-CB came over on Friday so the Ham as well as Mac and Cheese happened then.  I also made a second smaller pan of Mac to send home with him as it's his and his roommate's favorite. ;-)

The Marie Callender "faux Red Lobster" Cheddar biscuits were not good.  Too salty and not even cheese in them so I think we threw 2 out(or will be thrown out unless Hubs wants to choke those down).lol

I didn't eat dinner on Wednesday so Hubs just fended for himself.

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

* Nothing

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

*  1 pack chicken tenders(used up)

*  1 package of salmon fillet

*  1 Kielbasi ring

*  1/8th of a Dinner Ham

We spent $58.21 on food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods last week.  $4.12 at Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!), $18.46 at Weis(PMITA)Markets and $35.63 at the Discount Grocery Outlet on mostly produce, luncmeat/cheese, oatmilk for Hubs, a small cheese ball, a rotisserie chicken and a frozen pie. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $68.93 for February.

There are 13 shopping days left in February.  More snow all this week so I don't know how much if any shopping I'll get done.  That's why we hit the Discount Grocery Outlet again on Thursday since we were near there when I had to go back to CVS for my refund.

I've earned $3.80 on Ibotta in February.

I've earned $00 on Checkout51 in February.

I've earned $00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in February.

I've earned 6,512 points from shopping on Fetch in February.

I've earned 0 point from food shopping on Shop Kick in February.

I've earned 0 points from food shopping on Swagbucks in February.

My savings percentage for last week was 63.76%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)for February and the monthly savings total for February comes in at 68.54%.(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week--cole slaw, ham, bits of corn, asparagus, baked beans, 1 baked potatoe and lots of mac and cheese(like soup from scratch you can't make just a little mac and cheese lol).

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

1. Sunday--Chinese take-out V-Day

2. Monday--Rotisserie Chicken, Assorted leftover Sides, Salad

3. Tuesday--Beef/Mushroom Stroganoff, Rice

4. Wednesday--Chicken Chow Mein, Rice, Crunchy Noodles
5. Thursday--Hubs cooks(Caesar salad w/chicken?)

6.  Friday--Mac and Cheese w/Ham, sauteed Cabbage

7. Saturday--Leftovers or ?

I bought mushrooms and salad greens last week plus I had a head of cabbage that needs using. Leftover Rotisserie chicken will either become chicken salad or put into a Caesar salad on Hubs night to cook.  Time will tell....

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?  Not such great deals here unless I go to the discount food outlet.

Sluggy

 

This Week on the Dining Table

The "funny package of M and M's" Edition...........

A Rite-Aid(not my town's) earlier this month the cashier made a BIG mistake.  She put my $1.28 left on a R-A gift card I was using to partially pay with into the register as $128.00. Yikes!  So while they called for the manager and then 3 employees conferred on how to handle the situation I snapped a photo of this funny package of M and M's from the candy rack while I waited.  Maybe I should have bought 3 of these and handed them to those employees when I left as none of them had a clue about what they were doing. LOLZ

I know, I know.....that's mean and they were doing the best they knew how.  

Onward to the meal planning!

Moving On....

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

1. Sunday--Sloppy Joes, Strawberries
2. Monday--TV dinners
3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--TV dinners
5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Anniversary Dinner out or more Lobster from PC?
7. Saturday--Grilled Salmon and whatever fresh produce I can find

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

1. Sunday--Sloppy Joes, Strawberries
2. Monday--Leftover Beef Pie
3. Tuesday--Chicken Pot Pie

4. Wednesday--Lasagna Hamburger Helper, Almost New Pickles
5. Thursday--Grilled Salmon, Salad

6. Friday--Pizza
7. Saturday--Leftovers

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/FFY, and 1 night of Take-Out/Eating Out.  We didn't eat any of the tv dinners, just the pot pies so we'll be adding those in this week's plan.

We got Domino's for our Anniversary since neither of us wanted to cook or go out anywhere that was open.  How sad is that?lolz

I see lobsters are at the same price this week at Price Chopper so maybe??

What got put into the freezer last week....
* 4 boxes of frozen veg

* 3 bags of frozen veg

* 2 bags of shredded cheese

Most of what I stocked up on was canned goods last week.

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* 3 Chicken Pot Pies

* a Hunk of Salmon

We spent $129.30 last week bringing our food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods to $483.94 for August.  Well at least it's under $500. sigh.

I've earned $157.75 on Ibotta in August so far.

I've earned $11.25 on SavingStar in August so far but am closing in on a $5 wys $25 GM cereal rebate there as well.

I've earned $1.25 on Checkout51 too.

I've also gotten free bananas in August(after the Paypal deposit for buying them.

My savings percentage for last week was 52.88%(without "regular"Rite-Aid trips)for August and the monthly savings total for August comes in at 53.97% so far.(w/out R-A). 

Leftovers going into this week......Meatloaf, Hamburger Helper, Sloppy Joe meat.  As soon as room opens up in the freezer(tonight)I'll slice and bag the rest of Hubs' meatloaf up and throw it in there as he's tired of eating it for now.

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

1. Sunday--Steak, Spinach Salad
2. Monday--Crab Ravioli w/Cream Sauce, Tossed Salad
3. Tuesday--Leftovers(prolly Sloppy Joes), Sweet Potato Fries

4. Wednesday--TV dinners
5. Thursday--Brats on Buns, Carrots

6. Friday--TV dinners
7. Saturday--maybe Chinese take-out or Lobsters

What needs buying for this menu?  

Don't need a thing for this menu after last week's grocery spending extravaganza. ;-)

I started out wanting to do a lower spend month and to eat down the pantry but then I started getting worried and seeing alarms being sounded about food shortages/Covid up swings this Fall so I replaced food we ate in August so that blew a low spend month. ugh.

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 "Foreshadowing" Edition--

You know how Facebook dredges up past posts you've made there and asks if you want to share them again?

Mid December my Facebook page brought up a photo I posted there 3 years ago around Xmas time, which I have posted above.  It was from Xmas 1962 and I am modeling a nurses outfit I had gotten from Santa that year.  I was almost 4 years old.

Funny how 53 years later I'd actually be playing "nurse" again at Xmas time. 8-)

I also should mention that having this ornament on the Xmas tree this year was very apropos given Hubs' accident......

Moving on......

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Xmas Dinner 2.0 + Corn Casserole

2. Monday--Roast Beef Hash from scratch, Scrambled Eggs *

3. Tuesday--Kielbasa on Rolls, Potato Salad

4. Wednesday--Chicken Chili w/Sweet Potatoes

5. Thursday--Quesadillas or Taco Salad(leftover Taco Beef)

6. Friday--Clam Chowder, Biscuits

7. Saturday--Spaghetti and Sausage, Salad, Garlic Bread

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Xmas Dinner 2.0 + Corn Casserole

2. Monday--Roast Beef Hash from scratch, Scrambled Eggs *

3. Tuesday--Chicken Chili

4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself

5. Thursday--Spinach Salad, Broccoli Cheddar Soup

6. Friday--Kielbasa on Rolls, Baked Beans(I just had beans.)

7. Saturday--Leftovers(I had kielbasa which I didn't eat on Friday.)

7 meals cooked at home, 2 of them nights of leftovers or Fend For Yourself, and 0 night of Take-Out/Eating-Out.
I used leftover Xmas roast beef and turned it into hash.  That was it for the leftovers from the previous week.

As for the grocery spending.....1 trip to Weis, 1 trip to the Bread Outlet, 1 trip to Target and 1 trip to the Shursave market bought the food spending last week to $97.64 and brought my January food spending Total to $97.64 for the month.(4 trips to Rite-Aid as well but nothing spent out of pocket there.)

My savings percentages last week was 65.02%.  The Bread Outlet savings rate and no OOP at Target(as I used gift cards that were free with credit card points)went along way to giving me such a high rate of savings. ;-)

Leftovers going into this week.......roast beef hash, chicken chili and taco filling.

Here is this week's "food plan"....
* Denotes "complicated" meals

1. Sunday--Marinated Flank Steak, Green Beans, Au Gratin Taters
2. Monday--BBQ boneless Pork Ribs, Red Beans & Rice
3. Tuesday--Chicken Marsala, Sugar Snap Peas, Mashed Potatoes *
4. Wednesday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches
5. Thursday--Beef Stew
6. Friday--Clam Chowder, Spinach Salad
7. Saturday--Enchiladas, Refried Beans

If we have leftovers and/or I am not feeling up to cooking we may substitute one of the meals above with leftovers.

This week will see 7 new meals cooked, 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating-Out and 0 night of Leftovers.

What I need to buy for this menu? Salad Greens
I think that's it.  I will do a stock-up on cheese this week.

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 "Turkey Day" Edition..........

The Table is set!

The family is set!

Hey! Get ME in the picture too!! lolz

 

 

 

Onward to the meal planning!

What was planned last week--

1.  Spaghetti and Meatballs(in freezer)
2.  Trout, Zuke Casserole(leftover)

3.  Chinese take-out

4.  Mac & Cheese with Ham, Broccoli
5.  Turkey Day Meal

6.  Beef Stroganoff over Rice, Brussel Sprouts
7.  Leftovers

 

And this is what actually happened--

1.  Spaghetti and Meatballs(in freezer)
2.  Trout, Zuke Casserole(leftover)

3.  Chinese take-out

4.  Mac & Cheese, Ham or Stuffed Peppers(in freezer), Zuke Casserole leftovers
5.  Turkey Day Meal

6.  Turkey Day Leftovers
7.  Beef Stroganoff over Rice, Brussel Sprouts

 

Everything got made and eaten as planned.
Yay!
    

Last week I made 2 trips to 2 different markets and spent $38.87 on $120.47 worth of groceries.

I also did 6 transactions at Rite-Aid(counting yesterday), where I spent $7.19 (but got back $5 in cash for some Qs that didn't take) on $234.66 of items there for the week.

Going into this week, in leftovers we have........lots of Turkey Day foods and Beef Stroganoff and Rice.
And most of a pie too.

Here is the plan for this week.........

1.  Turkey Day Leftovers
2.  Salmon, Mac & Cheese leftovers, Brussels Sprouts

3.  Leftovers

4.  Leftovers or Fend for Yourself
5.  Quiche, Tossed Salad

6.  Pork Chops, Sugar Snap Peas, leftover assorted Turkey Day sides
7.  Leftovers
 

 

What I need to buy for this menu.........just some eggs.  We went through a lot of eggs last week what with pies, stuffing, baked sweet breads and cookies being made.  And deviled eggs too! 8-)

I'm going to try to stay out of the grocery stores  this week other than necessities(eggs).  Though the .99¢ lb. whole chickens I saw in one of the flyers looks tempting. 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 that week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?
How much did you spend total on food in November?  My total is NOT pretty!! lolz
Was it a big spending month like mine was or not?

 

Sluggy