Food Spending June Week 4 & Meal Planning July Week 1

Some days I look at the my kitchen and see the above.  My kitchen just feels so old and out of date,  but not in a good way like this cute, vintage 1920's kitchen!
In a bad, dark way.
And I just don't want to have to go work in there.

This is just my way of saying having to do a Menu this week is a real chore and something I am not feeling.  But I am doing one anyway!
Why?
Because I am a big girl and I "should" do one, and we should eat at home(most of the time).
It's better for us and better for our bottom line too.

So let's suck it up and get on with this, shall we?

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And here is the "meal plan" that actually happened last week.....

SUNDAY--Kielbasa on rolls, grilled Squash
MONDAY--Salmon w/maple bourbon glaze, crudite plate(radishes,celery,carrots)with dressing dip

TUESDAY--Spaghetti with Meatballs, Salad

WEDNESDAY--Leftovers

THURSDAY--BLT sandwiches

FRIDAY--Homemade Pizza, Salad

SATURDAY--Burger King, raw veggies in dip

After eating out a lot on the mini-vacation to OH, we ate at home except for Whoppers on Saturday.
I kept true to the plan until Wednesday.  We had adequate leftovers so I substituted them for the meal that evening.  And Thursday was too hot to cook so it was BLTs instead.

The weekly food spending was $25.33.  It was 3 trips(5 transactions) to Weis. You can see what I bought HERE. 
I have a couple of trips to Rite-Aid to spend expiring +Ups but I spent nothing out of pocket.

Reg. retail was $152.02 for all so we saved 83.33% for the week.  And I kept within my $400 monthly food budget for June.
Go me.....

We have a brand new month for food spending starting this week.

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This week's menu.....
SUNDAY--Steak, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Salad
MONDAY--Baked Potato Bar, Brussel Sprouts, Watermelon

TUESDAY--Lobster, Boston Baked Beans, Coleslaw

WEDNESDAY--BBQ Ribs, Macaroni Salad, COC, Pie

THURSDAY--Smoked Chicken, leftover sides from previous days

FRIDAY--Leftover BBBeans, Cornbread, Yellow Squash Casserole

SATURDAY--Chicken Parmesan, Salad

What I need to purchase for this menu?

Steak, Watermelon, Lobster, Cabbage, Red Bell Pepper, Corn, Squash

I know this menu is fairly decadent....steak, lobster and ribs.  The steak was on sale(bought it on Sunday).
The ribs were bought for $1 a lb. during the Weis Grand Opening a few weeks ago.  The lobster is a Price Chopper special this week($5.88 lb.).  We treat ourselves to cheap lobster at least once a year because we can....and the kids aren't home so we don't have to buy enough for them too.  ;-)

I'm dragging the smoker out to do the ribs, so I'll throw a whole chicken in there to smoke too and that will be the following night's dinner.
Since I have to run the oven for Cornbread, I am also doing a veg. casserole that evening.  If I run the oven in the heat, I want to pack as much food into it as I can.
The baked taters and beans will be done in the crockpot. 
The steak was done on the grill.
I have a method for doing the chicken parm on the stovetop, and the lobsters are done on the stovetop as well.
This means only 1 night of running the oven.


So what's on deck for your menu this week?
Do you have anything special cooking for the 4th?

And how was your food spending last month?

Sluggy

May Food Spending Week 4, Meal Plan Week 4+/Week 1

I hope everyone had a reflective Holiday. Let's open today's Food post/Meal plan with this clip I "lifted" off someone else's blog......

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And here is the meal plan that actually happened last week.....

SUNDAY--Baked Tilapia, Stuffed Clams, Mixed Veggies
MONDAY--TV Dinners from the back of the freezer....uh, oh.....
TUESDAY--Sloppy Joes, Corn on Cob(or COC as it's known around here)
WEDNESDAY--London Broil and Pineapple on the grill
THURSDAY--Sausage or Chicken patty Sandwiches, Harvard Beets
FRIDAY--Chinese take-out
SATURDAY--Leftovers

We finally got those dreadful tv dinners outta here! Just 1 night of take-out. The weekly food spending was $129.85 this past week.
Again with the going over $100 in a week. ugh 4 times to the grocery stores this past week. I bought some London broils and chicken breast(BOGO deals)and then I spazed out and bought SIX BOXES of frozen fruit bars!lol It seemed like the most logically thing to do at the time and given the sale price and the heat the last few days, those suckers will be gone in no time.lol

Value of food bought was at $210.79 so my savings rate was 38.40% for the week. Total spending for the month to this point is $327.99. It's a good thing I 'upped' my food budget to $400 for May, huh?

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 In terms of leftovers, I'm going into this week with a little Sloppy Joe left, half of the London Broil I cooked last week. After Monday's cook-out I also have a large amount of baked beans and potato salad to use up this week.
The weather here is extremely hot for May, at least until Thursday so I'll be avoiding running the oven until then.

This week's menu.....
SUNDAY--Leftovers and/or Whoppers
MONDAY--Burgers/Dogs cookout, baked beans, potato salad
TUESDAY--Alfredo with veggies and steak slices, tossed salad
WEDNESDAY--Leftovers (crazy schedules night)
THURSDAY--Spaghetti and turkey meatballs, saute veggie mix
FRIDAY--Pizza
SATURDAY--BLTs or Cheese Steaks(diners choice)

This menu gives us 5 new meals and 2 nights of leftovers(or 1 night of leftovers and 1 night of fast food).
As for items I need to buy for this week......hot dog rolls, sauerkraut, meatballs, tomato, lettuce. We'll be buying milk as usual, along with some fresh fruit.

So what is everyone else eating this week?  

Sluggy