This Week on the Dining Table

The "Don't Forget to Enter!" Edition--

Today is the last day to enter my current giveaway.  You have until 11:59 pm ET to go HERE and leave a comment to be entered.  Make sure I have your email addy(either leave it in your comment or email it to me privately at arcure(at)ptdprolog(dot)net.)for your entry to be valid.
Good luck everyone!

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

1. Sunday--Corned Beef, Carrots, Cabbage, Potatoes

2. Monday--FFY

3. Tuesday--maybe Lunch Out so Dinner will be whatever(if hungry)

4. Wednesday--BBQ Pork Sandwiches

5. Thursday--Nachos

6. Friday--Salmon, Veggie(who knows, Hubs is cooking this!)

7. Saturday--Leftovers or ?

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Corned Beef, Carrots, Cabbage, Potatoes

2. Monday--FFY

3. Tuesday--Leftover or FFY

4. Wednesday--BBQ Pork Sandwiches

5. Thursday--Nachos

6. Friday--Steak Sandwiches, Salad

7. Saturday--Domino's pizza(had gift card)

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 night of take-out and 0 nights of Eating out.  My shoulder was still hurting so I did minimal cooking or cooking that didn't take much effort(as you can see above lol).  Saturday daughter and I took Hubs out to a brewery and since it was on the way home we picked up pizza for dinner with an old gift card I had for Domino's.
Hubs and I didn't have a lunch out on Tuesday after all either.  Maybe this week?

1 trip to Weis and two items from Shursave Markets brought the shopping last week to $110.49.  A little shop and a big old whopper of a shop last week.  That brings March's food spending total to $355.12.  There are 5 days left in my shopping month and I'm not done yet.  Sunday I picked up my free ham at Weis and I did buy a few things.  I am also out of onions so I'll probably go to the restaurant supply store and lay a supply in this week(might put that bill onto April's budget however).  Stay tuned...... ;-)

My savings percentages last week was 52.18% and the monthly savings so far ends up at 51.45%(without Rite-Aid trips added in).

Leftovers going into this week.......Corned Beef, BBQ pork, taco/nacho filling, a little pizza.

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

1. Sunday--Reuben Sandwiches(using leftover corned beef)and any leftover carrots/cabbage mix

2. Monday--Salmon and whatever else Hubs decides to cook(He won't tell me.)

3. Tuesday--Maybe more Nachos to use up the taco meat.

4. Wednesday--Ravioli in Parmesan Cream Sauce, some kind of Salad

5. Thursday--No clue yet

6. Friday--No clue yet

7. Saturday--No clue yet

This week will see ? new meals cooked, ? nights of leftovers/FFY and ? night of Take-out/Eat-Out.
I just haven't figured this week's meals out yet.  I have Tons of options as the larders are full but my brain just "can't even" yet when it comes to a meal plan.
Next Sunday is ham for Easter so Saturday's meal will be simple I think or leftovers.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?
Please tell me and give me some ideas for mine! lolz
And let me know what you are cooking/serving for Easter dinner too.  Besides a ham I don't have anything set in stone yet.

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

Finally!.....Shopping This Week

I finally got up to Rite-Aid and bought this stuff for College Boy......

1 x Similasan Eye Relief on clearance 75% off=$2.94
2 x Visine allergy formula 20% Wellness discount=$9.26
SubTotal........$12.20

Coupons Used
2 x $2/1 Visine In-AdQ=$4.00
2 x $1.50/1 Visine IPQ=$3.00
Coupon Total......$7.00

$12.20-$7.00=$5.20
But a $1.50 L2CQ came off(no clue I had that!)so it was $3.70 and $3 in Bonus Cash came off so I put the .70¢ left on my R-A gift card.
I also got a $3 Ibotta rebate on the Similisan and .25¢ rebate for buying anything at R-A so after $3.25 cash back I "spent down" .45¢ for all 3 items.

College Boy suffers greatly from allergies year round and his worst symptom are eye redness, itching and watering so these will come in handy and at a great price.

**************************

Then I hit Weis(PMITA)Markets and did a big shop(again!).

Here are the best deals I found........

5 more packs of discount sticker bacon, same brand, reg. variety.  $30-$15 stickers=$15 for all 5

2 packs of Johnsonville Beef Brats for $4 each.  After $2 discount sticker combined with a $1/2 ManuQ I had made each package $1.50.  Good price on all beef brats.

The 2 packs of meatballs were a 3 Day Sale item....reg. $5, on sale for $4 and had $1 stickers on them so $3 per 1 lb. package.  I can't make good meatballs myself for that price.

Also picked up but not pictured were 3 packages of thinly slice sirloin, a package of chicken breasts and a package of chicken thighs, all with $off discount stickers.  I used two packages last night of the steak to make steak sandwiches and all the rest are tucked away in the freezer.

Mayo and pineapple were on sale($2.87 and .99¢ respectively).  I used .50¢/1 Qs which doubled to $1 on the mayo and $1/2 Qs on the fruit giving me a final cost of $1.87 for each mayo and .49¢ per can of pineapple.
I forgot to photograph the 4 lb. bags of Domino sugar that were on sale for $1.88.  Two bags for $3.76 and I had a .75¢/2 IPQ that doubled to $1.50 so $1.13 per bag out the door.

Jolly Time popcorn was a 3 Day Sale item--Buy one/Get two free.  Reg. price of $2.87 making 6 boxes $5.74.  I used 3 x $1/2 Jollytime IPQs so $3 off, meant I paid $2.74 for 6 boxes or .46¢ per box.

The large container of Weis brand cottage cheese cost .19¢.  Reg. price of $3.19 and I had a digital Q for $3 off.

All the other items were Mix and Match Buy 6/Get $3 off items.......

2 x Breyer's ice cream $2.99 ea.
2 x Green Giant Veggie tots $3.49 ea.
1 x Daisy cottage cheese $2.49
3 x Minute Maid orange juice $2.99 ea.

1 x Kleenex 3 pack $3.99
3 x Cottonelle Wipes $1.99 ea.

$34.38 subTotal

$6 off 2 x MandM Discount and
$11 off in Manu/IPQs which doubled(some) so $17 off

$17.38 for all 12 items OOP.

And lastly I picked up 5 Flip yogurts at $1 each when you bought 5.
I had 4 x .50¢/1 Qs that doubled to $1 each so I paid $1 for all 5 of these so .20¢ OOP for each.

I don't consider this yogurt "food" as much as it's a snack/dessert.  If I am feeling the need for something chocolatey/desserty I can grab one of these to eat instead of eating my way through a pie/cake/bag of cookies, so good to have on hand.  ;-)


I didn't mean to do a big shop but then I found all those meat deals and oh well......

I am now over $300 spent in March on foodstuffs.  I shouldn't feel so bad/stressed at that amount since we are 4 adults at home now full time as CB isn't off at school anymore.
I think resetting my frame of mind here is in order and trying to stay under $300 a month is kind of unrealistic at least until the two kids move out.  I should be shooting for $400 per month with this many bodies to fee.

There may be a bit more picked up this week as well since I'll be making a trip to Ollie's to use that 10% off coupon I have and I never now what I'll find there that we can use.



Sluggy

Frugal Friday......the March 23rd Edition

Not much to report in the realm of frugal wins this past week.  Staying home with a bum shoulder/arm meant not much $ spent.

*  I sent Hubs to Weis(PMITA)Markets last Friday to pick up a head of cabbage and the Friday Freebie........

These coupons never work so Hubs just takes the item to the Customer Service desk and tells them it's suppose to be free, they write on it "Free", the cashier at the register rings it up and then takes it off. lolz
I'll have to keep sending him on Friday as he has a system down.  8-))

*  There was a trip to the Bread Outlet...........

$4 for 3 loaves of Arnold's bread.
I made a corned beef dinner last Saturday so we need the rye bread for Ruebens tonight to use up the leftover corned beef.

*  I am heading out to do a big grocery shop as soon as I get this posted.  I'm gotten lazy so I am making a list to keep myself in check at the store............

I have been forgetting items I want to get so a list will keep me from slapping myself on the forehead afterwards or running back to the store.  I am also noting on the list if I have a coupon so I don't forget to hand those over too, which I have been known to forget. duh.

And that's it for this week.

We are just a little over a week away from Easter and I really am not feeling up to hosting a big "to do".  I will have enough Weis Pts. for a free spiral ham so I'll pick that up this coming week.  I might do a lasagna too for Easter and that way I don't have to cook for a few more days.   Maybe I can get through a week without having to cook?  That would be nice! ;-)

What are your Easter dinner plans?

Sluggy

Not Much To Say

Imagine that?!
Me with nothing much to say. lolz

I haven't been shopping this week yet.
I usually go out on Wednesday but this happened on Wednesday.......

Woke up to a coating and then about 10 am the skies opened up again.

Not much going on here except........

* We got the taxes done. Go us!  We owe PA and LA states(as usual)so we wait to file those until April but it's all ready to go.  Federal is done and the refund popped into our account today....Rah!
I've got to do the math and deduct what we owe states from what the feds gave us back to see how much we have left of "our" money. I thought we'd owe the feds in 2017 but I guess because our income dropped so much when Hubs retired that they actually took more out while he was working  to offset the little that gets taken out of the annuity payment.  Anyway, we are happy to get so much back. 8-)
Now to figure out where to direct the refund.

*  We have sold the house in LA.....tentatively.  We countered an offer on Monday and they accepted the counter offer.  If all goes as planned we'll no longer own the house before April is over.  Please cross your collective fingers that the financing for these buyers doesn't fall through....please, please, please!!!

*  More snow here.  We are so over it this Winter.  The first full day of Spring and we have gotten 4+ inches so far(forecaster says we may get a little more overnight....sigh).
At least the puppies are enjoying it..........

* Daughter is due to return from a conference in New Orleans tomorrow.  I facebook-ed her that she might want to rethink returning right now but her doggy is enjoying herself.....

This dog LOVES snow....well she's half Husky so there is that! lolz
I put her out tonight and she wasn't back at the door pawing to get back in about a half hour later so I went outside to check on her.  She was at the end of her tie-out lead just laying in the snow staring off into space. lolz  She'd probably still be out there if I didn't call her in.  8-)))

*  I've paid all the bills, except for the electric bill on the LA house which hasn't shown up yet.  I also paid 3 medical bills using the HSA so that didn't come out of the regular income this month.  We also received two quarterly stock dividends and need to deposit those into the bank but are still waiting on the RMSA reimbursement for the healthcare premium.  The finances are looking good so far this month.

*  I still don't feel 100% but I am getting better.  I noticed I developed a bruise on my chest last night when I went to get dressed for bed.  It doesn't hurt but it's darn ugly. lolz

I may try to go out tomorrow.  Hubs is low on milk for his coffee and almost out of coffee filters which is a crisis around here(but not for me except it means I'll have to listen to him whine).


Sluggy

Our Trip to Maine 2016......Part 6

Part 1 of our Maine trip is HERE.
Part 2 of our Maine trip is HERE.

Part 3 of our Maine trip is HERE.

Part 4 of our Maine trip is HERE.
Part 5 of our Maine trip is HERE.


So Day 6 of our trip to Maine was all about a little shopping and a little eating and alot of great scenery.  What could be better, right?

We took off East from Augusta for the coast.   We passed an OSJL outside of Belfast so we had to stop......

I love poking around in these type of stores.  Sometimes you see the most interesting items.  Like this one.........on second thought I should have picked this up for a few drinking folks I know *cough*......

These napkins were apropos for the area.....everyone up here say's "Wicked Good", even a brand of potato chips have this on the bag..............

Though not in this area of the state, moosie napkins are also apropos....

Here are the goodies from OSJL that did come home with me................                                                

Chinese straw mushrooms, dried mushrooms at $1 a box, Ty-phoo tea, coconut oil, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, fig flavored vinegar, honey, grape seed oil, hibiscus tea bags, peach tea bags, maple syrup, balsamic ketchup, honey peanut butter, Sesame bar candy, dried hibiscus, dried cantaloupe and olive tapenade.  Great prices on all this stuff!

Driving along Route 1 up the coast through Searsport and Stockton Springs and over the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.....

 We drove over this bridge on our trip back in 2010 and went up into the observation tower on the other end of the bridge.
If you read this post you might remember this photo from the tower looking down on the old bridge they hadn't torn down yet...........

Halfway over the new bridge following a dump truck....

 Once we get over to this area we take Rte. 15 at Five Mile Corners and then onto Rte. 199 so we can drive around the Bagaduce River which is a branch off from the Penobscot River which empties into the Penobscot Bay.

It's a nice scenic drive along country roads and there are two seafood shacks located around the Bagaduce.

First there's the Bayview Take-Out.

Good prices.....$17.50 for a full lobster dinner is well under what you'd pay at a sit-down restaurant, even up heyah.....

Behind their shack are a few picnic tables and this gorgeous view while you eat your yummies.......

A fairly sunny day with a nice cool breeze so why not dine al fresco?

A whole flock of seagulls sunning themselves on a rock out in the water.......

I did finally have my lobster for the trip here.  Much cheaper at a take-out shack and a rustic experience.
I think blogger Linda had posted about licking a knife and cutting her tongue the day before on her blog so I pretended to lick my knife. lolz

Then we drove onto Rte. 175 to another location along the water to here.......

The James Beard Foundation named this place an American Classic in 2008.  It's been here and in this family since opening in 1946 and it's a favorite among locals of the Blue Hill Peninsula.
We were still full from Bayview Take-Out so I just had a salad.
The prices seemed substanially higher than Bayview anyway.

 But they had nice view too as the shack backs onto a spit of land jutting out  into the river.

 Supposedly there is a reversing falls along the river here but I think it was on the other side of the building.

I did see a loon offshore swimming along..

 Another nice place to sit and eat by the water here.......

 It was time to start heading back so we headed north to Bucksport and then up to outside of Bangor to get on I-95 as that was the fastest way back to Augusta.
Before we got on the interstate we stopped in Brewer at this place...........

Another of the stores I like to check out while in Maine.  We've been to this one back in 2010 when we stayed outside of Bangor at a campground.
Marden's(or as they pronounce it up here "Mahden's")is another closeout/salvage store but only located within Maine.

Kim and McVal would go crazy in this place.  I don't know about the other Marden's locations but this one has a MASSIVE fabric department!

Photo from the website because I got so excited just browsing it all I forgot to snap a photo. lol
And the prices though higher from my last visit in 2010(most stuff was $2.99 yd. back then)there were still deals there.

Actually I only bought a few pieces of cloth this time as I really don't need MORE fabric(Ha! What fabricaholic needs more fabric?!?)
And Hubs was tired and cranky and didn't want to stand around waiting on me so I didn't get to properly browse....sigh.

We passed this lumber yard after Marden's but before the interstate entrance.  I didn't think there were many Viking descendants in Maine.....you find Viking Everything in the Upper Midwest/Plains...ask me how I know! lolz

I think we hit Taco Bell near the hotel as we got back late and just needed something in our bellies before bed.  Nothing expensive or memorable or worth talking about, though I have just done a bit of talking about it anyway. lolz

Sluggy