This Week on the Dining Table

The "When Is Asparagus Too Much Asparagus?!" Edition.......

 

We went to the restaurant supply store on Saturday.  They had asparagus for $1.49 lb. so I loaded up with 4 lbs.  Don't worry NONE of this will go to waste in my house as I am an asparagus addict!

 

The Sunday paper had an ad that the asparagus there was now .99¢ lb.

Figures, right? lolz

 

 

And here is what was planned last week---

 

Sunday--Leftovers(I had a big plate of Asparagus.)
Monday--Chicken Risotto, Asparagus
Tuesday--Birthday Dinner Out
Wednesday--Roast Turkey, Carrots, Potatoes of some sort
Thursday--Dinner Out(last of gift card & coupon)
Friday--Beef Roast and some sort of fresh veggie I buy this week
Saturday--Leftovers

 

And here is what actually happened---

 

Sunday--Leftovers(I had a big plate of Asparagus.)
Monday--Chicken Risotto, Asparagus
Tuesday--Leftovers(I had Rigatoni and Asparagus.)
Wednesday--Roast Turkey, Asparagus, Au Gratin Taters
Thursday--Leftovers of Fend for Yourself(I had a homemade burger and a large salad.)
Friday--#2 Son for free b-day burger Out(I had a chicken sammie.)
Saturday--Official B-day dinner Out(Thai food, mine had chicken in it.)

I finally made the Risotto....boy my arm is sore from all that stirring.lol

Only made 2 meals last week.  We never got to Bob Evans to use that last dinner Q but we still managed to eat out 2 nights.

 

I spent a total of $42.59 on groceries last week, including the .01¢ I spent at Rite-Aid.  

 

I spent $4.09 on head of lettuce($1.49) and a bottle of dressing($2.59) at the local independent grocer-I found a bottle of that same dressing in the stockpile later. ugh

 

I spent $38.49 at Weis(PMITA)Markets on.....a 4+lb. turkey breast, 2 lbs. asparagus, 1/2 gal. milk, 2 jars of Duke mayo(rock bottom price $2.50), cauliflower($2.50), 2 pints grape tomatoes, 2 bags of salad(50% off), 1 pkg. ham lunchmeat(.89¢ after $3 instant discount sticker), 3 lb. ground beef(marked down to $2.99lb.), 1lb. organic stew beef($2.35 after $3 instant discount sticker).

 

Food spending for February totaled $398.42 when all was tallied up last month.
  

We had food waste last week....a handful of grape tomatoes I didn't eat in time.

 

Going into the new week here are the leftovers we have.....everything is gone except for some slices off that turkey breast, which will keep in lunch sandwiches for a few days, and a pint of grape tomatoes, the organic stew beef(in the freezer)and the cauliflower(and the mayo is in the stockpile).

 

 

Here is this week's meal plan----

Sunday--Beef Roast, Yellow Squash Casserole
Monday--Broiled Teriyaki Salmon(freezer), Asparagus, Roasted Potatoes with Onions
Tuesday--Slices off Leftover Roast, Roasted Cauliflower and Carrots
Wednesday--Lasagna(from freezer), Brussel Sprouts
Thursday--Either Roast Beef Hash or French Dip Sammies from leftover Roast, and leftover Veg
Friday--Breakfast for dinner
Saturday--Chicken & Pot Pie Noodles

That makes 4 new meals and 3 leftover, from the freezer or planned over meals.

What I need to purchase for this menu?.......squash, asparagus, beef roast, eggs, rolls, carrots, onions(I am out of the 50lb. bag I got in September at the farm stand).   Most of this I picked up on Saturday(first day of new grocery spending month), so only thing left to buy is rolls.  I might attempt baking my own rolls and not go to the grocery store this week. at. all.

Nothing much in the sales ads I want or need but I do like going on Wednesday to check out the marked downs in produce and meats so I am torn.  What would you do?

 

 What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

 

Sluggy

Food Spending DECEMBER Week 2, Meal Planning Week 3

 Yes, be sure to exercise your wine muscle this Holiday Season!

 

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And here is what actually got served last week.... 

Sunday--Rigatoni w/Meat Sauce, Salad

Monday--Chicken Parmesan, Mashed Potatoes, Beets

Tuesday--Halushki and/or Leftovers

Wednesday--Leftovers

Thursday--Daughter's Birthday Meal Out

Friday--Beef Pie with carrots, green beans and cornbread

Saturday--Leftovers or Breakfast for Dinner

 

 

Wednesday's fish didn't get served as well as Thursday's hot dogs.  Everything else was as planned.

The food spending last week was pretty average.  $70.66 in 4 trips to the grocery stores plus a trip to the Carvel store for an ice cream cake.  So $52.71 for groceries and $17.95 for the cake makes $70.66.

2 weeks and I have spent $236.04 of the month's $400  food budget. 

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Going into this week, I have leftover Beef Pie

This week's menu....

Sunday--Burger King Whoppers(BOGO 55cents Deal), Broccoli

Monday--Beef Pie leftovers

Tuesday--Salmon(Crab Cakes for #2 son),Green Beans

Wednesday--Stuffed Shells, Tossed Salad

Thursday--Hot Dogs, Beans, Potato Salad

Friday--?

Saturday--?

 

I've moved the 2 meals not served last week to this week.  Thursday has to be an easy meal as we have the Concert Band and Jazz Band concerts that evening.  The stuffed shells are in the freezer already.  Friday and Saturday I have no clue yet, but it will be something I have in the freezer already.  Since I'll be buying some of next week's goodies this week, I'm giving myself $70 for food shopping.  Daughter and I are baking later this week so that will have to include any supplies we need that I haven't already picked up.  We'll be doing fudge, maybe brownies, Hubs wants choc. chip cookies with butterscotch chips, and Daughter wants to make Cake Balls.  I'm not doing the large number of cookies this year because they end up sitting around too long.

What I need to buy for this menu so far?  Salad Greens.  Also some fresh fruit and milk.

I hope to get through this week cheaply.  I have $10 in free food vouchers for the Shursave market(from buying gift cards there last week) but there is little I want that's on sale this week there, so I'll hold them until next week's ad to use.

Not only can't I wrap my head around a menu plan for Fri. or Sat. but I can't seem to settle on what to serve on Christmas day.  Ya see, while we do the traditional turkey thing at Thanksgiving, we never really settled on a Christmas Day meal tradition.

Hubs grew up in NJ, in a family with a 1st Generation Italian father and a German/Dutch ancestored mother who only learned to cook after she married, so mostly she made Italian food.  Their holidays always involved pasta in some form....ravioli, lasagna, spaghetti mostly.  They never really did the 7 Fishes type meal.  That was probably due to the expense, as Hubs family was not well off when he was growing up.

I grew up in VA, with a Yankee father(with a very narrow food palate) and a Southern mother from a long line of Southern cooks who defined herself by her cooking ability, so we ate many traditional Southern specialties as well as a lot of meat(for my father).  Thanksgiving was all about the turkey(though it was surrounded by Southern dishes like Rutabaga and Tomato Bread Pudding, etc.) and Christmas was all about salt-cured Smithfield ham.

While Thanksgiving has been easy, It's been difficult marrying these differing Christmas traditions.  And after 30+ years together, we still don't have a routine down for Dec. 25th vittles.

 

We always go out to the Chinese Restaurant on Christmas Eve(our tradition)and family comes here on Christmas Day for dinner.  Many don't like ham, and I don't serve turkey again so close to Thanksgiving.  Hubs would be happy as a pig in mud if I just served Ravioli with Meatballs and Sausages(he grew up eating Italian food for every holiday), but I just don't find pasta "festive" enough. ;-)

I'm thinking about blowing out the food budget bigtime and serving a standing rib roast, seriously expensive carnivore fare!  $50 for a hunk of meat.  And I KNOW it will be devoured instantly. 8-))

If I do pasta and a hunk of meat it should cover all the bases.  And then I need to make Aunt Lula's rolls....pecan pie.....maybe pumpkin pie(again).....and I'll buy a cheesecake or cannoli.  This is turning into a production, isn't it?

A part of me is thinking maybe just serving snacks we can pick at all day.....platters of this and that--cheeses/deli meats, a fruit tray, deviled eggs, ham biscuits.

What are your menu plans for this week?

Heck, what are your menu plans for Christmas while we're at it?!

Sluggy

Food Spending July Week 3 & Meal Planning Week 4

Well my mouse seems to be the culprit(ie-my keyboard possession of last week), so I'll be going out to get a new mouse later today.  I know that was worrying all of you.....


I actually went to the store last week!  Well I didn't go to the grocery store but I bought food at Rite-Aid and Big Lots.


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

SUNDAY--Leftover Chinese(from our Dinner Out)
MONDAY--Marin Joe's Special

TUESDAY--Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zucchini

WEDNESDAY--Hamburger Helper type casserole, leftover Squash casserole

THURSDAY--Kielbasa on Rolls, homemade Pickles, Green Beans

FRIDAY--Take-out Italian

SATURDAY--Leftovers
Everything was cooked/served as planned except for the Quiche on Friday.  I didn't get out for a pie crust so we got Italian from the local joint.  I had Lasagna and Hubs had an Italian Sub.  That was all the eating out/take-out we did all week. 

The weekly food spending was $42.36 done in 2 trips to Rite-Aid and 1 trip to Big Lots.  A large chunk of that($33+) was stocking up on Gatorade for #2 Son and Juice.   I didn't darken the door of a grocery store at all last week.  ;-)

 

The regular retail value for all was $132.59 so I had a 68.05% savings rate. 

As I reset my July Food Budget to $300, I now have $158.97 left to spend on food/toiletries this month.  8 shopping days left in July.  I think I can make it! 8-)

Going into the new week I have the following leftovers to use up......1 piece of cornbread.

The garden has decided to finally produce something other than radishes, so I have a big pile of green beans and 4 yellow squash going into this week.

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This week's menu.....Hubs has vacation this week, so I am not going to designate which meals for which days.  He might want to be spontaneous(imagine that!lol)and go or do something with little notice so I am keeping my plan loose & flexible this week.

MEAL 1--Dinner out at Ruby Tuesdays(did this already on Sunday)

MEAL 2--Corned Beef and Cabbage

MEAL 3--Grilled  Squash, Hamburgers

MEAL 4--KFC chicken, Green Beans

MEAL 5--Tacos or Taco Salads

MEAL 6--Fried Fish and Squash, Pickles

MEAL 7--?? Leaving open/probably take-out or eating out

What I need to buy this week to serve this menu?.....
Cabbage, Salad Greens and other fresh produce to put into salads.  We also need milk, fruit, lunch meat for Daughter.

So what's on deck for your menu this week?

Sluggy

February Food Spending Week 4, Meal Plan February Week 4+ & March Week 1

I love searching around for old photos and advertisements featuring kitchens from years gone by.  These are mostly the kitchens from my youth in the 1960's-1970's or earlier.

This week I give you another kitchen of 1945.....

 Even though it's post-war there is still heavy linear design influence from the Art Deco styling of the 1930's.  The color scheme is very period, but in a pastel palette played against pops of black detailing.  There is a coordinating breakfast nook or morning room past the sliding glass door on the left.
The big deal here is the massive "picture window" located over the sink.  This feature became the standard into the 1950's and beyond for most any suburban tract home kitchen.  Moms across North America could now watch their precious kids playing in the back yard while still taking care of kitchen drudgery like hand washing dishes.

This nifty feature sort of distracted homemakers from complaining about not having an automatic dishwasher that was touted heavily in those "kitchen of the future" ads during the 1920-1930's.  We know the technology was developed so why the gap in production once the war was over?  I am sure if men stayed home in the traditional homemaker role of that era, automatic dishwashers would have been standard in every kitchen! ;-)

Enough of that, onward to the Meals and Food Spending. 8-)

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Toasted Chicken with Veggies, Stuffing(boxed)

MONDAY--Quiche, Tossed Salad

TUESDAY--Pork Chop with Maple Glaze, Mashed Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts

WEDNESDAY--Red Robin Free Meal for #2's birthday

THURSDAY--Breakfast for Dinner(Hash and Pancakes)

FRIDAY--Chinese Take-Out for Hubs/I, #2 Son was out with friends
SATURDAY--homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Most everything as planned but on different days.  Instead of leftovers night I took the leftover roast chicken and veggies, added a bit more veggies to it and made a large pot pie.  Hubs finished it up on Sunday for lunch.

The weekly food spending was $51.51. Most of that was buying whole roaster chickens at .88¢ lb.  Approx. $20 of stuff at Big Lots, some apples and onions and a gallon of milk and that's about it.

Almost 4 Weeks in and I've spent $207.26 of my $300 February food budget.  $92.74 left for the month plus $92.32 leftover from January that didn't get spent.  I've got 3 days left in the month so I doubt at this point if I'll exceed my budget for February.  Yay me! ;-)

Going into February Week 4+/March Week 1 have NO leftovers!  Imagine that?lol

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Hubs/#2 Son had Burger King, I had a big salad with nuts and fruit

MONDAY--Ravioli, Salad

TUESDAY--Pecan Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower/Carrot blend

WEDNESDAY--Meatloaf, Green Beans, Smashed Potatoes

THURSDAY--Fish, Rice, Teriyaki Veggie Melange

FRIDAY--homemade Pizza, Salad
SATURDAY--Leftovers

This menu gives us 5 new meals, 1 eating out and 1 night of leftovers.  The fish meal moved from last week's menu since it wasn't cooked/served.  Meatloaf is Hubs request and Pecan Chicken is #2 Son's request.

Items needed to buy for this menu are... salad greens.  I've got everything else here already in the freezer or the pantry.
We'll be buying milk as usual. The only stocking up opportunities I see so far this week are salmon for $5.99lb., and tilapia for $3.49lb.(and I have Qs for the tilapia, so $1 less per lb.)

Those bagged salad kits are on sale for $1.99 this week, so I'll be eating those a lot for lunch and serving them with 2 dinners.

So what is everyone else eating this week?  

Sluggy

February Food Spending Week 2, Meal Plan February Week 3

*I am taking part in Precious' MONEY SAVING CHALLENGE again for 2012.  You can find her blog FRUGAL MAKES CENTS and a list of other participants and their blogs  HERE.

Check it out.  You might find some new ideas for incorporating frugality into your life there!*


I love searching around for old photos and advertisements featuring kitchens from years gone by.  These are mostly the kitchens from my youth in the 1960's or earlier. 

This week I give you the 1940 Polka Dot nightmare.....

Love the linoleum floor with the black line design, hate the pink color on the metal cabinets but at least it's not as intense as the pink on the chair covers.   It's got a good  working "triangle" layout(the stove/oven is behind the black desk thing/opposite the sink and the fridge is just off the left edge of the picture).  A large chunk of the space is taken up by that clunky black desk and area next to it where you can see the sewing machine too.  Our neighbors at the first house I was born into had a kitchen table and chair set like that, minus the polka dots.  The table was metal and could be folding in upon itself or unfolded to make it larger and there was a drawer in the table like in the picture where they kept their flatware.
My most favorite part of this kitchen?  All that glass block!  Glass block became popular back in the 1930's at the end of the Art Deco period(notice the Deco design on the floor too).  When I was growing up and well into my adult years, having glass block in your home was very unpopular and dated your house as being old and unstylish.  The first apartment Hubs and I shared was a basement dwelling in Baltimore.  One entire wall in the bedroom was glass block.  I suppose in order to legally call it a bedroom, it had to have that block since there were no windows in the room, as 3 sides of the room were underground.
I think it's about time for a resurgence of using glass block in home design. ;-)

Enough of that, onward to the Meals and Food Spending. 8-)


Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Subway Sandwiches(Hubs Super Bowl request)

MONDAY--leftover pizza or grilled cheese and soup

TUESDAY--Lasagna(with some shredded veg), Tossed Salad

WEDNESDAY--homemade Boston Baked Beans, Cornbread, Green Beans

THURSDAY--Enchiladas, Mexican Rice w/peppers

FRIDAY--Hot Dogs on rolls, Carrots and Cauliflower
SATURDAY--Leftovers

Pretty much had what was planned.
I talked about what I bought at the stores last week HERE.

The weekly spending was $36.26.

2 Weeks in and I've spent $120.63 of my $300 February food budget.  $179.37 left for the month plus $92.32 leftover from January that didn't get spent.

Going into February Week 3, we have leftover Lasagna(1 large portion), a small helping of BBBeans and leftover Enchiladas(a meal's worth). I froze a portion of the Lasagna and the extra enchilada sauce I made, to use/eat at a later date. 

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Burger King burgers(in celebration of an excellent report card, at #2 son's request)

MONDAY--leftover Enchiladas

TUESDAY--Hubs is taking me out to local Asian restaurant, I'll make cheese steak for #2 son

WEDNESDAY--Spaghetti & Meatballs(homemade meatballs leftover in freezer), Spinach Salad

THURSDAY--Quiche, Green Bean dish

FRIDAY--Roast Chicken and Veggies
SATURDAY--Leftovers-from spaghetti/quiche/roasted chicken

This menu gives us 1.66 meals out/take-out, 2 nights of leftovers and 3.33 newly cooked dinners.
I plan on using up some frozen items.....homemade meatballs, a pie crust and some swiss cheese that's been hanging around.  I'll see what veggies I have languishing in the freezer that I can throw into the quiche too.  We'll also use up the leftovers from last week plus the bags of salad still left(2 bags) from what I bought a week ago Saturday.

Items needed for this menu are...eggs for the quiche, and a whole chicken.  Since I don't have a chicken in the freezer whether I buy a chicken will depend on the prices I find this week...if it's more than .88lb I'll go to Plan B.  I don't usually plan a meal around a protein I don't have on hand but I'm just craving roasted chicken right now!  If the prices are too high, I'll go with Pork Roast or Chops or Baked Fish instead of the Chicken.  Hey, when you are frugal you CAN have what you want to eat but sometimes you just can't have it WHEN you want it immediately!lol
I have the crust, filling veggies, cheese for the quiche.  I don't plan on buying cream though.  I'll use a combination of 2% milk, evaporated milk and dry milk....all items on hand.

Besides the needed food items, we'll be buying milk as usual. The only stocking up opportunities I see so far are cans of frozen OJ at $1.66 at the independent grocer.  I do plan on buying eggplant(.79.lb)and strawberries(BOGO-if they are FL or CA ones).

I'm figuring on $40 or so for this week's goodies. 

So what is everyone else eating this week?  

Sluggy

December Food Spending Week 4, Meal Plan Week 5

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Lone Star for steaks(holiday treat out)

MONDAY--Daughter's Bday Meal out, Mom Sake binge

TUESDAY--Leftovers

WEDNESDAY--Beef Stroganov, Rice, Broccoli
THURSDAY--frozen Pizzas, Salad(nobody ate the Salad tho)

FRIDAY--BBQ pulled Pork Sammies, Coleslaw, Corn
SATURDAY--Chinese food out(Xmas Eve tradition)

3, count 'em 3 Dinners out last week!  It's the Holidays, what else can I say?lol

I cooked 2 actual meals last week, we had leftovers 1 night and the frozen pizzas(lazy dinner)was the night of the Band Concerts since there was no time for a sit-down dinner.

As predicted, the food spending was high last week.

In all, we spent $139.35 last week at the grocery stores.  8 trips to various stores, lots of small trips to pick up a thing or two while someone was already out nearby and 1 big trip to the restaurant supply store(where I bought the hunk of meat to BBQ among other things).   Reg. retail of $250.53 so I saved 44.38% last week.

I find this hysterical that I spent just over $100 for 3 WEEKS of meals earlier this month and I cooked a large number of those meals.

Then I cook 2 meals total in Week 4 and I spend $139+ in 1 WEEK!!lol

My spending is in reverse proportion to my cooking.  Hmmmmm......

I also did something sneaky last week.  I got these for free!

$40 in Weis gift cards.  

I had gotten a Catalina about a transfer or bring a new Rx to their Pharmacy deal at my local store.  As part of the remodel(and price hike)this Weis closed up the Pharmacy/DrugStore down at the end of the strip mall and put it inside the Grocery Store.  They are offering this move your prescriptions/get gift cards deal to drum up business.  So I moved 3 Rxs and filled a new Rx last week and got $40 in gift cards for free.

Now if only Rite-Aid would bring back their 'move your Rx gift card' deal in January so I can move them all back there, I'll be all set!lol

I had planned to use all $40 this month to bring my OOP food spending down, but I ended up using $20 when I had Hubs pick up the Ham for Christmas dinner and I gave the other $20 one to BIL for Christmas.

My Dec. food spending total so far through 12/25 is $240.92.  That leaves $59.08 with 6 days left in the month.

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Ham, Rolls from scratch, Deviled Eggs, Rutabaga, Green Beans, Cranberry Glop, assorted pies

MONDAY--Leftovers

TUESDAY--Leftovers

WEDNESDAY--Date Night-I have a free dinner for 2 to Applebee's to use

THURSDAY--Leftovers

FRIDAY--Leftovers
SATURDAY--Appetizers, homemade Pizza-using dough Hubs picked up last week for cheap

We have tons of leftovers in the fridge for this week, so I plan on doing little actual cooking.

Huge container of leftover Stroganoff & Rice, half a Ham left from Christmas, pulled Pork, Coleslaw, 2 lbs. of Roast Beef coldcuts(that #1 didn't polish off)and 2 bags of homemade rolls.

I see Stoganoff, Pork Sammies, Cheese Steaks and Ham & Cheese Omelets in our future.  Fill in with some fresh veggies and we are set for the week.  Heck, we have enough pie and cake to get us through an Ice Age!lol

Items needed for this menu.....except for the ever present milk, a little bit of cheese for cheesesteaks, some veg. and Hub's herring in cream sauce(for NYE celebrating), there is nothing else I can think of to buy this week.  I may actually stay under $300 spent on food for the month.  (Again, our eating out budget is a separate pile of money.)

So what is everyone else doing this week between Christmas and New Year's Day?  Just grazing on all the food that piled up at your house for Christmas?  Or are you cooking up a storm?  Or are you swearing off of food altogether, fasting and/or changing up your diet in anticipation of the new year? ;-)

Sluggy

December Food Spending Week 3, Meal Plan Week 4

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Roasted Chicken, Carrots, Onions, Red Potatoes

MONDAY--Kielbasa on rolls, Grilled Onions

TUESDAY--Hamburgers on rolls,Mixed Veggies

WEDNESDAY--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad
THURSDAY--Leftovers

FRIDAY--Chinese Take-out
SATURDAY--Squash Casserole, Barbecued Chicken Legs

The eBay thing cranked down a notch last week(meaning a bit fewer sales & I started slacking off on listing new items), so I was able to do a little more actual cooking.

We didn't do the Birthday meal for daughter last week, doing this week....other than that we pretty much had things as planned.

The roasted chicken made a dinner and 3 lunches for me(chicken salad sammies).  There were leftovers of the Spaghetti/Meatballs and Kielbasa.  We still have leftover barbecue chicken legs for this week.

Then I made 2 trips to the grocery store and Hubs stopped by Price Chopper for me.  In all, we spent $44.48 last year at the store.

I bought a chicken, ground beef, milk, pizza dough, crab rangoons, salad, a bunch of Pepperidge Farm cakes for the Holidays(on sale for $2 ea.) and beyond that I just don't remember without going through the receipts and nobody cares anyway so bleh. ;-)

Reg. retail of $83.11 so I saved 46.49% last week.

My Dec. food spending total so far through 12/17 is $101.57.  That leaves $198.43 for the month.

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Lone Star for steaks(holiday treat out)

MONDAY--Daughter's Bday Meal out

TUESDAY--Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Veggies

WEDNESDAY--Leftovers
THURSDAY--BBQ pulled Pork Sammies, Coleslaw, Corn

FRIDAY--Eggplant Parmesan
SATURDAY--Chinese food out(Xmas even tradition)

Not sure if the Eggplant will happen.  If the leftovers are still plentiful by Friday, it won't happen this week.  #1 son is home for 1 week and leaves the day after Christmas so he is pretty much dictating what I am cooking this week.  What can I say?....he loves my cooking and I don't mind making him some favorite meals a couple of times a year on the rare occasion he is home. 8-)

Items needed for this menu.....Mushrooms, Eggplant, Cabbage and a big hunk of Pork butt for the Cue.

I'll also pick up stuff(like pecans for pie and bourbon balls)for the Christmas Day dinner too this week.

 

Not sure what the shopping list for Christmas dinner is because I'm still trying to figure out what to serve.  I want something nice and substantial but nothing I have to slave over half the day in the kitchen.  Daughter is suppose to 'help' me but I'm not counting on it.

What is everyone else serving for Christmas?

 

I can't decide between a ham or a rib roast, hmmmm..... 

 

At any rate, the food spending will be high this week. ;-)

 

Sluggy

December Food Spending Week 1, Meal Plan Week 2

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....

SUNDAY--Leftovers(Pot Roast)
MONDAY--Taco Bell
TUESDAY--Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, Salad
WEDNESDAY--Chicken Casserole, Sugar Snap Peas
THURSDAY-- Leftover Tacos or Taco Salad, Mandarin Oranges
FRIDAY--Chinese Take-Out

SATURDAY--Leftovers or Fend for Yourself

As I was knee deep in eBay last week, we had take-out food twice and leftovers thrice.  

We had chicken two days in a row.  My chicken breasts didn't thaw in time so I ran up to the ShurSave market to use my last $10 Reward and bought some breaded cutlets for the Parmesan.  

The following night I used up the leftover Thanksgiving stuffing by pan sauteing the now thawed chicken and concocting a Chicken and Stuffing Casserole.  I use to make this a lot when Hubs and I were newly married....come to think of it, I don't think I've made this since the kids were born.  To make it properly you start with dry stuffing mix, fresh onions/celery/etc.  I just deleted the large amount of chicken stock it calls for(to rehydrate the dry stuffing mix/bread)and heated it up until it was nice and bubbly.

Anyway, I think the only Turkey day leftover we still have are a few rolls and I will polish those off the next few mornings for breakfast unless some one else here gets to them first. ;-)

Total for all the food shopping last week came to $23.22.  Hubs picked up a gallon of milk.  I went to Weis and used a $2 Catalina Q that was expiring and bought burritos, ice cream and corn chips.....just a bunch of garbage I know!  

I had to use the last of my ShurSave Reward money by 11/30 so I spent $1.56 OOP on $14.52 worth of food using that. I'm counting this 11/30 receipt in Dec. bills since I forgot to add it into November's total.

My savings percentage was 54.12% last week, as the reg. retail was $50.61 on the groceries I brought home. 

My running total spent for the month is now at $23.22.

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Subway
MONDAY--Chili, Cornbread or Biscuits

TUESDAY--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

WEDNESDAY--BBQ Chicken Legs, Sweet Potato Fries, Broccoli
THURSDAY--Seafood en Croute, Veggie Melangé

FRIDAY--Kielbasa on rolls, Boston Baked Beans
SATURDAY--Leftovers

Items needed for this menu.....Salad Greens, Puff Pastry Shells and Rolls.

I haven't even looked at the grocery ads for this week yet.  And I have everything I need to make these meals until I get to Thursday's so I have time to get to the store to shop.  I need easy to reheat type stuff the next 3 days as #2 son has pit orchestra rehearsals until 9pm until Wed. (The play is Friday/Saturday so those nights I need quick meals as well.)

The following week is Christmas Band Concert rehearsals and the show so next week we'll be living large on fast food and quick slop too. lol

 I was toying with an idea in regard to my food spending for the year.  I am $227.15 from hitting the $3K mark spent for the year.  That's pretty close to my usual $250 monthly food budget.  Maybe I'll tighten up December's food budget and try to go for staying at or under $3K for the year?

I've already spent $23.22 this month, so that would put me at $203.93 left for December.  With the kids coming home and Christmas?.....I don't know.  I don't want to make Christmas a chore by not fixing some favorite foods for the crew but staying under $3K for the year is sweet, right?

What say you dear readers?

Should I torture my family and only spend $203.93 more this year.....or just spend whatever I want?

Sluggy

Food Spending for Week 3 & Meal Planning Week 4

Last week's meal plan is in the books.  Here is what actually happened....


SUNDAY--Country Fried Steak, Roasted Potatoes, Green Bean Almondine
MONDAY--Leftovers
TUESDAY--Soup
WEDNESDAY--Barbeque Pulled Pork, Coleslaw, Rolls
THURSDAY--Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, Sauteed Cabbage
FRIDAY--Scrounge whatever you can find
SATURDAY--Chinese Take-out

I only cooked half of what I had planned.  #2 son didn't want to eat the nights Hubs wasn't home so I just had soup or leftovers.

I spent....sit down for this...... $148.60 at the grocery stores last week.
Ack!
I did the Kraft Deal at the local store 3 times.  How could I not when it gave me bags of shredded cheese for $1.87?lol  I also bought canned veggies for half price, cranberry sauce on sale, bags of sugar to get to $30 to earn a $10 Catalina(not quite there yet)and some on sale frozen fruit bars, chips and some soda to hide from  #2 son.  I am also working on my Thanksgiving Voucher at this store so all things being equal, I'll be going there until Thanksgiving to spend the grocery money.

I also used my $10 in Redner's Cats to get 3 bags of sweet potato fries and 3 jars of pasta sauce for .14¢ OOP.  The $5 Weis Cat was used on 3 bags of burritos, leaving me an OOP of $5.01.  I am going back up to Weis today since the burritos were advertised as 3/$10, but my receipt has the amount it took off keyed in wrong in their system, so they came out to 3/$10.01.  I am going to have them make good on their "if it rings up wrong on sale, you get your money back and the product free" guarantee.

Hubs just shook his head at me and said, "You are REALLY going up there because you were overcharged a penny?", when I told him my plan.
Damn right I am! lol

My savings percentage was 45.83% last week, as the reg. retail was $274.32 on the groceries I brought home.

This week's menu.....
SUNDAY--Baked Catfish, Crab Cakes, Hush Puppies, Coleslaw
MONDAY--Kielbasa, Onions, Sauerkraut, Rolls
TUESDAY--Chicken & ? or ?
WEDNESDAY--Lasagna in the Freezer or ?
THURSDAY--Hot Dogs or ?
FRIDAY--?
SATURDAY--?

The Brother-IL is staying here for 3 days and we are bugging out for a mini-vacation so I have little control over the menu after Monday as he will cook what he wants.
When we get back I'll whip up some meals or have what we didn't last week(like the Chicken & Dumplings and/or Quesadillas).

At present, my October food spending stands at $459.82 with 7 days left in the month.  I've left $400 in the dust and am creeping up on $500 for the month...which is double what I usually spend.  Between laying in a few things today for BIL, nephew and #2 son and leaving them some cash for necessities I forget, $500 is gonna happen at least.

I'm hanging onto a 55.22% savings rate over regular retail for October.  Hoping to stay over 50% for the month when all is said and done.

How much have you spent this month on food/toiletries?
Has it been an expensive month or a cheap month for you?

Sluggy

Food Spending Week 2.5-3.5 & Meal Plan

So here is what I planned on serving for dinner last week....

Sunday--Spaghetti and Meatballs
Monday--Chicken Biscuits, Corn
Tuesday--Trout, Fries, Pan Roasted Summer Veggies
Wednesday--Pork Chops w/Apricot Glaze, Potato Salad, Brussel Sprouts
Thursday--Meatloaf, Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
Friday--Leftovers
Saturday--Hot Dogs, Leftover Veggies/Potato Salad

And here is what actually happened....

Sunday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad
Monday--Chicken Biscuits, Corn
Tuesday--Trout, Fries, Brussel Sprouts
Wednesday--Leftovers
Thursday--Meatloaf, Potato Salad, leftover Corn
Friday--Chinese take-out, Pizza(sleepover night)
Saturday--Hot Dogs on rolls, leftover side dishes

We got takeout on Friday since there was a surprise Teen Sleepover & I didn't have enough Pork Chops thawed to feed everyone.

Groceries bought last week....
$33.87
And most of that($25.09)was crap/snacks bought on Friday for the sleepover....ice cream, chips, soda and pies.  I never went grocery shopping last week. The only 'real food' I did buy were a container of ricotta cheese, a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs.

This week I want to stock up on some salmon which is on sale.  This hasn't been a good price in ages so I'm spending what I have left in the budget for September on fish for the freezer.  I should have enough for about 5 lbs. worth.

So here is what I am planning on serving this week for meals, working solely on what I have already.

Sunday--Pork Chops, California veg. medley, leftover Potato Salad, Applesauce
Monday--Lasagna(using crumbled leftover meatloaf from last week in the sauce)
Tuesday--Fried Mac & Cheese(using up leftover mac/cheese), Mixed Veggies
Wednesday--Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Broccoli
Thursday--Beef Pie Casserole w/carrots and green beans
Friday--Chicken Cheese Quesadillas, Green Salad
Saturday--Leftovers

No take-out this week.  And I know that Tues. meal is lame but it's the only thing I can think of to get them to eat the leftover mac and cheese!lol  I look at this unhealthy choice this way....the Fair they hold this week is canceled this year due to the flooding....and they ate far worse stuff at the Fair so Tues. meal is my homage to fair food.lol

I've got most everything to accomplish this meal plan except I will have to buy carrots and salad greens along with our usual milk purchases for the week.
And some fresh fruit as we are all out.

I'm at $215.34 spent for September so far.
I've got $34.66 left in the food budget with 5 days left to go.

Sluggy

September Food Spending Week 2.5 and Menu Plan

 I love this little Flow Chart from Summer Tomato to help you find REAL FOOD in the grocery store.
Check it out!lol

Speaking of supermarkets, I made 3 trips to the grocery store last week...really 1 trip last week and 2 trips into Week 3 or Week 2.5.lol  I can't seem to line up the weeks with the menu plans.  I need to come up with a better system for reporting in.

The local market had some BOGO sales so I stocked up on basic things like onions, potatoes, bread and bagels(as I didn't get over to the Bread Outlet yet).  I bought a number of items for #2 son for snacking including 1/2 off muffins, juice, pizza and chicken strips. Also some Gatorade for band practice, and sweets like ice cream and pie.
I picked up some deals.....a package of trout, a package of hot dog rolls, frozen veggies, as well as a General Mills Promotional Deal when you bought 8 items you received $4 off your total.  For that I bought 4 boxed veggies, 1 sack of flour and 3 rolls of whack biscuits.  Total w/sale prices was $11.59....total after $4 and $2 in Qs off=$5.59 for 8 items.
I also used a $10 gift card I won ages ago to pay for a part of this order so my $20.84 total was $10.84 OOP.
Sweet!

My meal plan for last week ended up looking like this....
Sunday--Tacos
Monday--Ravioli, Salad
Tuesday--BLT Sandwiches
Wednesday--Mac & Cheese, Cauliflower
Thursday--Leftovers
Friday--Chinese take out
Saturday--Pecan Crusted Chicken, Cream of Spinach

The only items I needed to buy to accomplish this menu?.....A loaf of bread

So this week, using what I bought last week and what was already in the freezer/pantry, is looking like this.....

Sunday--Spaghetti and Meatballs(fresh sauce from garden and homemade balls for the freezer)
Monday--Chicken Biscuits, Corn(roll of biscuits, frozen chicken patties and corn in freezer)
Tuesday--Trout, Fries, Pan Roasted Summer Veggies(trout and taters I bought, veg. in freezer)
Wednesday--Pork Chops w/Apricot Glaze, Potato Salad, Brussel Sprouts(chops in freezer, taters and sprouts I bought)
Thursday--Meatloaf, Roasted Potatoes and Carrots(beef in freezer, taters I bought)
Friday--Leftovers
Saturday--Hot Dogs, Leftover Veggies/Potato Salad(dogs in freezer, rolls I bought)

Left to buy for this menu.....Carrots.
I know it's heavy on potatoes but 2 of us ate a lot of rice last week for snack meals and for lunch, so I'll make #2 son happy and serve fries instead of rice with the trout.

Last week I spent $116.29 at the store on $217.74 worth of items, for a savings rate of 46.60%.
I only used $4 in Qs.  Seriously, I can't find a coupon deal unless I want to buy a bunch of processed stuff lately.

I have spent a total of $181.47 so far for September in 2.5 weeks.  $68.53 left in the food budget with 11 days to go so I am short about $20 at this point in the month.

This week we need some dairy and eggs and I'll pick up what is on special and work it into a menu for next week.
If I find some good deals I won't worry about that $20 overage.

At this point, I'll hold off going to the bread store until next week or October.
I'm debating doing the Campbell's Catalina at Price Chopper(for the Prego sauce) as it will put me over the budget if I do.

What are y'all eating and buying this week?

Sluggy

Of Menu Plans & September Food Spending Week 1

I set right to spending on food in September.

It took me all of 2 days to get to the store and go on a $50.56 spending spree.
I bought 8 pizzas(5 small, 3 big), 2 boxes of frozen fruit bars, a 2 lb. block of cheddar cheese, a box of pancake mix, 2 watermelons, 2 bags of salad, 1 container of sour cream, a package of  sweet Italian sausage patties and a bag of brown sugar.
I coupon & sale prices later and I had a savings rate of 31% over reg. retail.

Then on the 6th, I hit another grocery store and bought....1 roasting chicken, a bag of onion rings, another pizza(what can I say?lol) and 2 bags of Doritos for a grand total of $14.62.
Hubs also picked up a gallon of milk for $3.77.

Grand Total for the 1st week of September food spending is $68.95.
My Food Spending Budget is $250 per month so we are sort of on target for the week.

My menu last week ended up being this....

Sunday--Fish, French Fries, Snap Peas(all from freezer or pantry)
Monday--Chinese (take-out on Entertainment budget)
Tuesday--Meatball Subs, Salad(all but salad from freezer or pantry)
Wednesday--Roast Chicken, Roasted Carrots, Onions, Potatoes, Gravy(carrots, potatoes, onions from pantry)
Thursday--Kielbasa on Rolls, leftover Veggies(all from freezer or pantry)
Friday--Subway sammies (take-out on Entertainment budget)
Saturday--Leftovers or Burritos(all from freezer or pantry)

Miscellaneous--#2 son ate 6 pizzas and 1/2 bag of onion rings.  These are his 'snacking foods'.

As of today, I still have 2 of the 9 pizzas, most of 1 watermelon, most of the cheddar cheese, the sugar, the sour cream, 1/2 of a bag of salad, the sausage patties, the pancake mix, 1/2 bag of onion rings, both bags of Doritos(this is shocking that no one has eaten them yet!lol) and a couple of fruit bars(my vice)from last week's shopping.

So far this week my Meal Plan is this....

Sunday--Tacos(using up ground beef in fridge by adding some ground chicken from freezer and some of the huge block of cheddar)
Monday--Ravioli, Salad(using ravioli in freezer)
Tuesday--BLT Sandwiches(using garden tomatoes, bacon from freezer)
Wednesday--Mac & Cheese, Broccoli and Cauliflower(using some of that huge block of cheddar)
Thursday--Spaghetti and Meatballs(using meatballs in freezer and making fresh pasta sauce from garden tomatoes)
Friday--??
Saturday--??

I'll have to dig in the freezer and see what proteins I find and get inspired to use for Fri/Sat.  I don't plan on buying any meats this week unless I find a surprise deal.
I need bread badly as we are fresh out, onions(down to my last one), cauliflower, more milk and Hubs bought more lettuce on Sunday so we've spent on food this week already.

How much did you spend last week and how is your food spending shaping up for this week?

Sluggy