Showing posts with label save money by menu planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label save money by menu planning. Show all posts

Monday, September 3, 2012

Food Spending August Week 4+ & Meal Planning September Week 1

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


Sunday--Barbecue Pork Sandwiches, Coleslaw
Monday--Taco Bell-after music lesson
Tuesday--Dinner Out-30th Anniversary Date night
Wednesday--Pork Chops, Saffron Rice, Broccoli
Thursday--Pizza
Friday--Subway
Saturday--Leftovers 
 
 
The weekly food spending was $87.96. $31.50 of that was Farm Stand produce(part of which was for canning purposes).  The other part was 1 trip to the local market for canned tomatoes stock-up, snacks and convenience foods for the kids, milk, OJ, ranch dressing and spices for the canning.  The store was clearancing out some Hot Pocket type snack thing for 50% off so I picked up all 4 boxes left for the kids for "emergency rations"....aka "when they have to make something themselves to eat".lol

I went over my August food budget by $85+.  A little too much snack foods, red peppers to stock the freezer for winter and for making relish, and a large meat stock-up are mostly to blame.

Going into the new week I have the following leftovers to use up.......2 portions of the lime citrus chicken which are being used tonight.


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This week's menu.....
Sunday--Burgers, Dogs, Potato Salad, COC
Monday--Lime Chicken Fajitas
Tuesday--Alfredo Primavera, Caesar Salad
Wednesday--Roast Chicken, Stuffing, Cranberry Glop, Green Beans
Thursday--Stuffed Shells or Ravioli, Salad
Friday--Leftovers
Saturday--Chinese take-out
 
 
What I need to buy this week to serve this menu?.....tortillas, mushrooms, romaine lettuce, a chicken.  We also need milk, eggs, deli meat this week.  Using the 1 leftover item in tonight's dinner....I'll stretch it to feed 3 people by making Fajitas.  I will also be hitting up the bread outlet this week.  I'm figuring on spending about $50 this coming week.


So what are you cooking at your house this week?

Sluggy

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

March Food Spending Week 3, Meal Plan March Week 4 + More!

Onward to the Meals and Food Spending. 8-)

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

SUNDAY--Chicken Fajitas
 MONDAY--Taco Bell
TUESDAY--Burritos, Corn
WEDNESDAY--Leftovers Fajitas
THURSDAY--Chinese Take-Out
FRIDAY--Fish, Stuffed Clams, Mixed Veggies, Kraft Mac&Cheese(aka crack)
SATURDAY--homemade Pizza
Things I used last week that I had bought the previous week.....colored bell peppers, onions, stuffed clams, Kraft mac&cheese(got for free at Rite-Aid).  This is to show you that I do use all those things I buy each week that I don't use the week I necessarily buy them. ;-)

The weekly food spending was $55.01 this past week.

I again, went to Weis "PoundYouInTheAss" Markets for groceries as I had another week of Grand Re-Opening Qs.  I got free 2ltr. soda(#2 son is happy), free bag of potato chips(hub's is happy), 1/2 price muffins(#2 son ditto), and $5 off when I spent $50(Momma is happy!lol).

There was an Instant Catalina Deal on certain Heinz products-5 off instantly WYB $20 in products(which was based on the reg. shelf price, not the sale price).  I bought 6 bottle of Log Cabin syrup-the NO HFCS kind.  On sale for $2.99 a bottle but after Instant Cat, each bottle cost me $2.16.
I also bought produce(cabbage, celery), 2 bags of cheese, rolled pie crust, whipped cream in a can, 3 boxes of pasta($1 per) and a 12-pack of soda--all store brand.  Then a big pack of ground beef with a $3 store sticker on it and a key lime pie, well, just because it was on sale and it looked good and we wanted crap.
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Not-So Brief  Deal Hunting Interlude
 
And from the Annals of "PAY ATTENTION TO STUFF WHEN YOU SHOP".......here is my deal of last week--
6 boxes of Angus Burgers.
We were perusing the frozen chicken/meats case and I spied these babies in the top corner of the case with $3 Instant Discount Qs stuck to them.
They are 2 lbs. of Angus Beef Burgers from Hormone-free, vegetarian-fed steer.
Reg. price at Weis?
$9.99 per box, each box has 6 burgers.
So $3 off makes then $6.99, which is a much better price.
I had Hubs get me 2 down to stick in my cart.
Not the sort of thing I buy(per-formed burgers), but at that price this would be a good thing to have in my freezer for #2 son, for those nights he doesn't want what I am fixing for dinner or for a weekend meal or after school snack.  It is something he can/will make for himself and I am ALL ABOUT getting teens to cook for themselves one way or another.  This would be the one way.  ;-)

So we get to the register and I notice that the 2nd box of burgers rings up as a BOGO....yes!
I paid $9.99 for 2 boxes instead of 1.
Evidently there was also a BOGO on this product but there was NO SHELF TAG.
Either that or it HAD BEEN a BOGO but whoever programs the computer, didn't change the price back after the sale.   Either way, as a customer at Weis PMITA Markets, I am entitled to the price it rings up for per their own policy.

So with 2 x $3 instant Q deducted, I got 4 lbs. of burgers for the wonderful price of $3.99.
That's $1 a pound for hoity-toity meat!!!
KA-ching Baby!!

So you KNOW what I did, don't you?
I sent Hubs back to the frozen meat case to buy 4 more boxes of this stuff.
So that's why I have 12 lbs. of pre-made burgers sitting in my freezer.

Moral of Story....you never know WHERE you will find a Deal and you won't find them unless you keep open to what is around you.
Burgers were not something I went into the store to buy, but by paying attention to what was in the store & what I was charged at the register(and a little luck) I found something I can use and that was practically free.

It's the 26th day of the month and I've already spent $400.64  my food budget for the month!   I do have $476.80 in the kitty with the $300 for this month and the leftover from Jan. and Feb.'s kitties.

I had to feed some leftover turkey to the dogs this past week, as nobody here would finish it and I'll be damned if I'll throw perfectly good food away!
So that is the end of me roasting turkeys.....well, except for 1 at Thanksgiving.  The rest of the year?....the people here are shitoutofluck. ;-)
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Going into March Week 4+ I have leftovers--a little bit of corned beef, a little more cabbage from the week before.  As of Monday, everything that was cooked this past week is gone.

This week's menu.....

SUNDAY--Leftovers
MONDAY--Rigatoni w/meat sauce, Salad
TUESDAY--Breakfast for Dinner
WEDNESDAY--Tuna Noodle Casserole
THURSDAY--Shrimp, Cornbread, Coleslaw
FRIDAY--Leftovers
SATURDAY--?

This menu gives us 4 new meals, 2 nights of leftovers and 1 ? meal.  "? meal"= might go out to Bob Evans, might get take-out, who knows!lol
 Items needed to buy for this menu are....nothing.  I've got everything here already in the freezer or the pantry, except for the unknown meal, if we don't go out to eat that night.
We'll be buying milk as usual.

So far I don't see any stocking up opportunities, but then again, I haven't looked yet.  I do have another set of Grand Re-Opening Qs for "you know where".  Don't know yet if I'll use them.

So what is everyone else eating this week?

Sluggy