This Week on the Dining Table

The "Birthday" Edition--

If you hadn't heard, Sunday was my birthday.  Hubs got me flowers that morning and I had received 2 cards in the mail(and 1 from Hubs in person).  Amended-I received another card in yesterday's mail.  8-)
4 family members called on the phone, Daughter made me the dinner I requested(tempura shrimp and sweet potato wedges)and Hubs made me a carrot cake(also my request)from scratch.  THUD!  The man will be 60 in less than 3 months and this was the very first cake he ever made from scratch.  And it was down right tasty too! ;-)

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Turkey Breast, leftover Stuffing, Gravy, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatoes

2. Monday--Lasagna

3. Tuesday--Turkey Casserole or Pot Pie(using leftover Sunday turkey)

4. Wednesday--Tuna Noodle Casserole

5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Baked Ham, Rolls, Corn Casserole, Cabbage
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Turkey Breast, leftover Stuffing, Gravy, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatoes

2. Monday--Lasagna

3. Tuesday--Chicken Pot Pie(using chicken from the freezer)

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Chicken Quesadillas, Spanish Rice, Refried Beans
6. Friday--Baked Ham, Corn Casserole, Cabbage
7. Saturday--Leftovers

Last week saw 5 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 night of take-out and 0 night of Eating out.  Mostly everything happened but not when planned always.  We ate lots of leftovers so the Tuna Casserole didn't happen....that goes onto this week's menu.

2 Trips to Weis and 1 trip to the Shursave Market was the extent of the shopping last week and the bills came to $132.74 for all.  That brought January's food spending total to $314.74
There are 9 days left in my shopping month.  

I didn't set a food budget for January when I did my wrap up of December's food budget/spending.   
The reason being is there are often good deals/loss leaders in January here and I didn't want to do a low spend and miss out on them.

If I had I would have not gotten--
6 large bags of Lindt truffles for $2, 6 boxes of .67¢ pasta, 8 cans of .60¢  Campbell's soup, 3/4 lb. of fresh flounder for $3.55, 2 boxes of .97¢ Raisin Bran, 6 cans of crushed tomatoes for FREE, a cup of Greek Yogurt for FREE(plus I got a $1.25 cash rebate for buying this), 4 MM OJ for .89¢ each, 8 cans of .62¢ Progresso soup, 1 lb. pack of Mozzarella(after instant $2 off/sale/doubled .50¢Q)for $1.99, 4 cans of  good chili for $4.47 total(rain check/doubled Qs) and $25.52 worth of Clorox products after sale/instant $5 off/$3Qs for $12.98.  These were all things I didn't necessarily "need" this month, but are items we will use eventually.
Since I don't have to keep a set budget for food I can buy when it's low and not buy when items are high in the price cycle.  Down the road this will mean less food spending/shopping in Feb. or Mar. or beyond.

Seeing as I am over $300 spent for January I'll be more mindful of picking up "wants"(ie-things I don't "need" right now but will need later)over the last 9 days in January.  If I come in under $500 in January it will all be good. 8-))

My savings percentages last week was 55.93% and the monthly savings so far ends up at 54.06%(without Rite-Aid trips added in).

Leftovers going into this week....... lasagna, ham, cabbage, corn casserole. There isn't enough lasagna for a whole meal so that will be lunches for Hubs for a couple of days.

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

1. Sunday--Tempura Shrimp, Sweet Potato Fries

2. Monday--Beef Shepherd's Pie(my version w/Cornbread not Mashed Taters on top)

3. Tuesday--Birthday Dinner Out?

4. Wednesday--leftover Ham Slices, leftover sides

5. Thursday--Beef Goulash, Rice
6. Friday--Tuna Noodle Casserole
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 4 new meals cooked, 2 nights of leftovers, 1 night of Take-out/Eat-Out unless we need to eat more leftovers to use them up then 1 of the new meals will get pushed back into next week.

The only thing I need to buy to make these meals is nothing.  I stocked up on ground beef plus bought 2 bags of frozen veggies last week so the Shepherd's Pie was done last night.  Peppers and London Broil for the Goulash is in the freezer and I have everything for the Tuna Casserole.

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 "Best Present" Edition--

Under penalty of death(by their father)my kids went on Xmas Eve(while eldest was home)and had a group portrait done to gift to me for Xmas.  I had requested this from them since the last time they did this for me was Xmas of 2012.
I had posted this photo of Facebook earlier in the month with the comment that "this was my best work". ;-)

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Country Fried Steak, Mashed Taters, Gravy, CA medley Veggies

2. Monday--Chinese(maybe)

3. Tuesday--FFY or Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Hot Dogs on Rolls, Beans, Potato Salad

5. Thursday--Veal Parm, Brussels Sprouts
6. Friday--Manicotti in Sauce, Salad
7. Saturday--Leftovers

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Country Fried Steak, Mashed Taters, Gravy, CA medley Veggies

2. Monday--Chinese

3. Tuesday--FFY or Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Hot Dogs on Rolls, Beans, Potato Salad

5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Chicken Parmesan, Brussels Sprouts

Last week saw 3 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 night of take-out and 0 night of Eating out.  Mostly everything happened but not when planned always.  We ate lots of leftovers so the Manicotti stayed in the freezer.

2 Trips to Weis and 1 trip to Dollar Tree was the extent of the shopping last week and the bills came to $121.56 for all.  That brought January's food spending total to $182.16.
There are 16 days left in my shopping month.  

My savings percentages last week was 54.28% and the monthly savings so far ends up at 52.59%(without Rite-Aid trips added in).

Leftovers going into this week....... rolls.  We used up everything else. 8-)))  I guess I need to do some cooking this week, huh? lolz

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

1. Sunday--Turkey Breast, leftover Stuffing, Gravy, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatoes

2. Monday--Lasagna

3. Tuesday--Turkey Casserole or Pot Pie(using leftover Sunday turkey)

4. Wednesday--Tuna Noodle Casserole

5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Baked Ham, Rolls, Corn Casserole, Cabbage
7. Saturday--Leftovers

This week will see 5 new meals cooked, 2 nights of leftovers, 0 night of Take-out/Eat-Out.
I used up one of the THREE turkey breasts in my freezer and I'll use that ham that was free from Weis sitting in my fridge later in the week.  Next week will be using leftover ham plus eating down some other meats in the freezer(I am thinking goulash and some other beef dishes as I have quite a few packs of steak/roast/London broil).  I also want to get back to making a soup on Sunday too and making fish as we've gotten out of the habit again.

The only thing I need to buy to make these meals is cabbage.  I built the menu from what I picked up last week or had the ingredients already in the stockpile.  I don't plan to do a big shop this week but with me, you never know, do you? lolz

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

Frugal Cooking

While down in Virginia to see our Eldest son late last week I did a bit of cooking for him.  We didn't want to spend on Eating-out much and didn't want Eldest to pay for that either(Eldest is quite generous and will splash out for meals without being asked to pick up a tab.)  Plus cooking is one of the few things I can do for him at his age.  ;-)

He needed to go grocery shopping so I picked up a few items as well at Walmart when we went with him.  Eldest always grocery shops at Walmart as he isn't into hunting the best price and can't be bothered to go from store to store so he shops at "the Mart" as it's convenient and he uses their Savings Catcher feature.

Eldest loves leftovers and his usual MO when cooking is the prepare a large container or two of some food and eat off of it for dinner all week.  He cooks well but he really doesn't want to spend his precious free time during workdays making meals so this works for him....cooking on weekends and eating the leftovers during the week.

I purchased a small beef roast, a package of 4 boneless pork loins(prepped like a cube steak and discounted), a pack of hamburger rolls, a head of lettuce, 2 lbs. of whole mushrooms, a canister of panko bread crumbs, a bottle of ketchup and 1 onion.  I had also picked up a container of sour cream at Aldi's when Hubs and had gone there the day before while Eldest was working.
I spent $30.09 on all this.
I also had at my disposal, back at his apartment, cooking oil, flour, spices, rice and mayo.

Before we went out on Saturday I prepped the beef roast by halving it.  I cut one half into bite-sized pieces and used them in a large pot of Beef Stroganoff along with the whole 2 lbs. of mushrooms(which got added later).  The ratio was 2/3 'shrooms to 1/3 meat basically.  It cooked away in a crock pot most of the day and was served over rice that evening.  This fed the three of us handily(Eldest had seconds)and also left him at least 3 additional meals worth for later.

On Sunday I prepped the pork pieces, first by flattening them more, then salting and peppering them.  Each was coated in seasoned panko and sauteed in a skillet, then drained on paper towels.  Add lettuce(slice of raw onions and tomato optional)and mayo on a warm bun and you've got a filling pork tenderloin sandwich, something I developed a taste for in the Midwest a few Summers ago.

I had planned to serve these for lunch on Sunday but Hubs and I decided to bug out on Sunday rather than Monday so I prepared these for breakfast on Sunday instead.
By flattening the pork slices I was able to get 7 portions(3 were large enough to cut them in half after pounding them)that would fit on a hamburger bun.  After we ate our fill, Eldest was left with two portions to eat at another time.

The other half of the beef roast was frozen for later use.  I told Eldest he could season it and put it in his crock pot to cook while he was in school and just throw a potato and some other veg in the microwave when he got home and have dinner ready in short order.
I also recommended the leftovers of his roast could be cut up and with the addition of carrots, onions, garlic, and any other veg he preferred(potato, green beans, etc.)in his crockpot he could have a nice stew later on.  I figure using that hunk of roast this way would get him at least 3 more servings from it.  Adding it to a stew with vegetables would extend how many meals it would make.

All totaled I spent $30.09 on 14 helpings of meals(both the ones we ate then and the ones that will be eaten later).
Plus Eldest got to keep half the container of sour cream, most of a bottle of ketchup, most of a head of lettuce, 3 hamburger buns and half a canister of panko crumbs to incorporate into future meals.

If Eldest had all 14 helpings for himself this would have fed him for lunches and dinners for a whole week.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "Crazy Neighbors" Edition-- 

The scene of the "crime".

 

I think next year I am going to get my doc to prescribe me some anti-anxiety drugs before the 4th of July rolls around again.
First off we had 4 SOLID DAYS AND NIGHTS of fireworks.  They ranged from 1 professional display down the road that I can see from my front porch, to everybody and their brother buying between exploding caps to full fledged "take your arm off if you don't do it right M-80's etc." craziness.  The noise started 9 am on Thursday and didn't fully end until 11pm on Sunday.  I was on my last nerve by Friday.

The thought of how much $$ was spent by all my neighbors on this loud crap boggles my mind!  I am betting whole paychecks were sacrificed at the altar of "let's blow shit up".
Leave this sort of thing to the professionals people!

Secondly our next door neighbor went bat shit crazy on Saturday night.  Quite a few years ago some hooligan kid threw a rock through his car's back windshield.  Since we had 3 teens living home at the time and we live next door AND we park our spare car on the road in front of the house right next to his car parked on the road, he just assumed it was one of our kids who did this dastardly thing.
First off, if you wanted to make mischief, would you do it to a person living right next to your house?
No.....you'd go to someone else's street or neighborhood and chuck that rock.
He asked our kids at the time and we asked them and they all denied doing this thing.
Personally I think it was the Russian guy's kid(who was the area drug dealer).....they live in the next development and that kid and his gang of "friends" use to cut through the end of our cul de-sac to this development to sell their wares here.  The were always leaving garbage down our road and yelling obscenities.

Well CB, his friend and friend's GF went outside on the road in front of our house on Saturday night( 9ish) and shot off a couple fireworks(really lame ones because after all, they are broke).  One of them shot over neighbor's car parked on the road.  Next thing I know he's tearing out of his front door screaming at the kids that they have damaged his car, specifically they have busted out his front headlight.
First off, the firework shot OVER the car, from the back end of it to the front end.  In order to bust our a headlight, it would have had to have stopped mid air and made a 180 degree turn and gone down into his headlight.
Personally I think this guy and his wife(she was out there screaming too)have aged into Dementia Land.
CB tried to go over there and apologize for upsetting them after the crazy ass neighbor moved his car but they just kept screaming over him so he gave up and came home.  They kept screaming about the broken windshield from years before too and newly accused CB of doing it.
I was sitting on the front porch and heard all of it.

We looked at the car in the morning when you could actually see and the headlight as well as the rest of the car is not damaged.
The Crazy Town has come to my street and truly should have drank more this past weekend.  8-(

 

Onward to the meal planning!

 

Here's what was planned last week.......

1. Sunday--Beef Enchiladas(leftover sauce), Corn Casserole
2. Monday--Salmon, Potato Salad(leftover), Cauliflower(freezer)
3. Tuesday--Burgers and/or Dogs on Rolls, Zucchini, homemade Pickles
4. Wednesday--Leftovers
5. Thursday--FFY(Fend For Yourself) or BFD(Breakfast for Dinner)
6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--July 4th Cook-out

 

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Rigatoni with Mushroom Sauce, leftover mixed veggies
2. Monday--Beef Enchiladas(leftover sauce), Corn Casserole
3. Tuesday--Burgers and/or Dogs on Rolls, Zucchini, homemade Pickles
4. Wednesday--Leftovers
5. Thursday--Salmon, Potato Salad(leftover), Broccoli/Carrot Stir-fry
6. Friday--Leftovers(I had Stroganoff, Hubs had Enchiladas)
7. Saturday--July 4th Cook-out(the usual suspects...lol)

Everything as planned except no Breakfast for Dinner(pasta instead).

As for my grocery spending last week.....
I spent $98.55 on $264.87 of reg. retail food.

The food spending is up to $98.55 for the month of July and we are a mere 6 days in. bleh.

Leftovers going into this week--enchiladas, salmon, stir-fry broc./carrots, rigatoni in sauce, all the cook-out food(burgers, hot dogs, ribs, macaroni salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, chips, dip). I planned for a much bigger crowd but some of College Boy's friend never showed up so we have lots of leftovers.
 

Here is this week's food plan--

1. Sunday--Picnic leftovers
2. Monday--leftover Salmon, stir-fry veggies
3. Tuesday--picnic leftovers
4. Wednesday--maybe Subway sammiches
5. Thursday--more picnic leftovers
6. Friday--smoked bbq chicken legs(in freezer), picnic sides
7. Saturday--either take-out or eating out(eldest comes home)

This week I planned for "easy peasy".  My eye surgery is Wednesday so we'll attack the leftovers this week with a treat of Subway the evening of the surgery(since I won't even want to heat up leftovers).
Friday my eldest son comes for a visit so I'll haul that bbq chicken leftover out of the freezer(along with the pecan pie I made him for Christmas but forgot to take to Pittsburgh in December)for dinner that night and we'll either go out or get take-out on Saturday for his Birthday depending on how I feel.

What I need to buy for this menu?.....nothing at all.  And it's a good thing because the grocery ads are miserable, as they usually are after a big holiday weekend.

I may actually NOT step foot into a grocery store 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 that week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week? 

Sluggy