This Week on the Dining Table

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The "Goofy Dog" Edition--

This is Chester's Summer bed.  He has torn 3 holes in it and has pulled every last bit of stuffing out of it. He seems to prefers it flat like a blanket because he still uses it as a bed.
Then he began ripping the fabric apart so much so that it's more hole than fabric now. lolz

This is Chester getting inside the bed to hunt for more stuffing I am assuming......

A little while later he decided to go inside it again..........

 and he got most of his body inside it(you can still see a foot).......

Luckily it is lightweight fabric and I was right there when he began panicking because he couldn't extricate himself this time. lololz
After that time, he hasn't attempted it again.  ;-)

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This  is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Pork Chops, Squash Casserole, leftover Fried Zucchini(Daughter cooking)

2. Monday--Breakfast for Dinner(Meat, Eggs, Waffles)

3. Tuesday--BLTs

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Ham and Zuke Quiche, Tossed Salad

6. Friday--Something on the Grill, Tomatoes
7. Saturday--Chicken and Dumplings

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Pork Chops, Squash Casserole, leftover Fried Zucchini(Daughter cooking)

2. Monday--Breakfast for Dinner(Meat, Eggs, Waffles)

3. Tuesday--Leftovers

4. Wednesday--Cuke/Tomato Salad, Lobster Cakes, Leftover Fried Zuke(again!)

5. Thursday--Fend For Yourself

6. Friday--Leftovers(I had a BLT)
7. Saturday--Pasta w/Meat Sauce, Salad, Bread

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 3 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 0 nights of Take-Out or Eating Out.  

The chicken and dumplings didn't happen again(it's too hot for it!)so it comes off the schedule for the time being until things cool off here. Friday it was too wet and muggy to grill out anything..heck, it's been too rainy and muggy most days to stand out there and grill.  The quiche didn't happen because I didn't get the half and half and we had too many leftovers in the fridge already to eat down.

Three trips, two to Weis and one the Shursave Markets brought the weekly food spending to $100.96 and the monthly total to $186.39.(I forgot to add in the Bread Outlet trip when I was adding my tracking book up and I don't want to have to redo it, so that goes on this coming week's tally.)
I have 11 days left in my shopping month for August and have $213.61($203.11 after adding the Bread store trip in)left in the food budget to spend this month.

My savings percentage last week was 54.79%(without Rite-Aid trips)and August's monthly savings total comes to 52.12% so far.

Leftovers going into this week......lobster cakes, pasta w/meat sauce, squash casserole.

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

1. Sunday--Chinese take-out

2. Monday--leftover Chinese take-out or ?

3. Tuesday--Roast Turkey Breast, Corn on cob, Stuffing, Gravy

4. Wednesday--No clue yet

5. Thursday--Ham and Zuke Quiche, Tossed Salad

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--No clue yet

This week will see 2-4 new meals cooked, 1-2 nights of leftovers/FFY, 1 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.
Didn't turn the oven on for the quiche so I didn't make the cake yet.

What needs buying for this menu? Corn, half and half so far.

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

Update on the Pop-Tarts from Rite-Aid

I bought 4 boxes of Pop-Tarts last week at Rite-Aid three times(once on each card/account)which I blogged about already.

They were $1.99 a box on sale and I used a $2/4 Pop-Tarts IPQ.
Making it better was the $2 in Bonus Cash I got back for every 4 boxes bought.  I had an Ibotta rebate on Pop-Tarts(.50¢ per box up to 5 boxes per receipt).
I did it once for a $2 cash rebate and it almost immediately was available again, so I did it again, and a third time as well.
In the end I got $6 back(plus another .25¢ for buying "anything" at R-A)in cash rebates.
And although I didn't do it yet, I can get 10 free kids' books too for buying 10 boxes of Pop-Tarts.

So here's where we are at on the Pop-Tarts Deal.....
* $17.88 spent in BC(after $6 in Qs used)
* $6.00 in BC earned-so spent down $11.88 in BC
* $6.25 in cash rebates back
* 10 Free Books earned

I'd call that an excellent deal(if you have people who you feed that eat those things). ;-)

Sluggy

Zucchini Madness!

The tomatoes are coming fast and furiously and it's hard to keep up with them now, both using them/preserving them and keeping track of the harvest totals.

I think there is another zucchini lurking in the undergrowth as well....trying to get too large before I find him. lolz

Garden Harvest Totals Updated for Sunday 8/12/18

Lettuce     14.10 oz

Basil           2.00 oz

Eggplant     2.40 oz

Squash    182.30 oz

Tomatoes  79.90 oz

Zuke        396.40 oz

SubTotal...677.10 oz or 42 lbs. 31 oz.

I've been trying to find ways to use up all this zucchini.  I am trying to stay ahead of it.

The Sunday before my foot got hurt,  I made small loaves of zucchini bread with chocolate chips........

I made 6 but by the time I got off bed rest and took a photo, 2 loaves had disappeared.
Putting chocolate in it guarantees the family will eat it.  ;-)

I have made in the last 3 weeks.......

* Fried Zucchini
* Lemon Pepper Chicken w/Zuke and Tomatoes
* Fried Zucchini again
* Zucchini Bread
* Stuffed Zucchini
* Zucchini Risotto
* Zucchini Waffles

Still on the list is Chocolate Zucchini Cake(will make this next week)and prolly another night of Fried Zucchini and then I am grating and slicing the rest for the freezer for use later this year.

I got creative the weekend before last w/some zuke.
I had these chicken sausages lingering in the freezer that needed to be used..........

So I caramelized some onions and browned some zucchini pieces over high heat.......

Then took half the stock from when I boiled two chickens end of last month, added some water and heated it up..........

so I could make risotto rice....

Add the zucchini and onions and the grilled chicken sausages and there's dinner!

I also riffed on stuffed green peppers(I don't care for green pepper)and did stuffed zucchini with a Mexican flair......

Used up 3 zucchinis, ground beef I had browned up and frozen, 3 ears of leftover corn and the rest of the leftover enchilada sauce I made from scratch when we had chicken enchiladas.
Shred cheese on top and bake and you've got Taco Zucchini.

Next year I think TWO zucchini plants will be sufficient in the garden. ;-)

Sluggy

Frugal Friday......the August 17th Edition

Let's take a look around and see what frugal-ness we had here at Chez Sluggy this week..........

* We closed out credit union account.  While not frugal per se, it makes our finances a bit simpler.  We moved the money to an online account via the other brick and mortar bank we use.

*  While at the bank depositing the check, we also cashed in a US Savings Bond as it had matured.  Not point in letting it sit there once it's not earning any interest!

*  Speaking of money...........

I found some more of it!  Two pennies in two different parking lots.

*  While out we hit the bread store for the month......

All this for $10.50.
2 loaves of bread, a pack of bagels, a pack of English muffins, 2 packs of Hawaiian sweet buns, a pack of dinner rolls(can use for sliders), a pack of donuts, 2 bags of stuffing, and 2 bags of spicy chips.
I would have gotten more bread and not the snacky things but at this time of year it's hard to keep bread from going moldy(I just don't have room right now to throw it into the freezer). The chips and stuffing were 2/$1....can't beat that price with a stick. lolz  The muffins were free since I spent $10+.
72.66% savings rate over paying full retail price and we are good on bread now until Sept.

*  I also went back to Weis on Wednesday before the sale week ended and bought this.........

2 more boxes of Tetley tea bags because I found 2 more $1/1 Qs so .99¢ per box and I got a rain check for the classic/reg. variety as they have been out of that all week.  Hopefully I can score some more Qs for it before the rain check expires.

2 OM Deli Fresh lunch meats, on sale for 2/$6 and I had .75¢/1 Qs that doubled to $1.50 off, so $3 off $6=$3 or $1.50 for each package.
We have been eating a lot of BLTs due to the tomatoes ripening fast and furiously here(plus we like BLTs).  I got the deli meat(smoked turkey)so we could have a little variety and have club sandwiches now and then besides the BLTs.  ;-)

 I also bought these........

9 x Snickers B2G1FREE sale=$6.00
3 x 3Musketeers B2G1FREE sale=$2.00
I had 2 x B1G1Free 3Musketeers Qs=$2.00 and 4 x .50¢/2 Snickers Qs(doubled to $1 each)=$4.00.
$8 in candy bars-$6 in Qs=$2 for all 12.  Under .17¢ per bar?  Yes, please!
Of course the 3Musketeers went right into the freezer hiding spot, the Snickers go into the family grab bag/giveaway box prized/the fridge bag waiting on Halloween for trick or treaters.  8-)))


*  We hit a Shursave Market in the adjacent town that takes printed internet coupons(and doubled to $1)because mine doesn't take them.  They had a deal on Chex cereal and I had Qs to use!

3 boxes of Chex were $1.99 when you bought 3.  My .50¢/1 Qs doubled to $1 so .99¢ per box.  Rice Chex, Raisin Bran and multi-grain Cheerios are my favorite cereals.
I also got a turkey breast on their one day sale for .99¢ lb.  I know these will be going on sale closer to Thanksgiving but I don't have any now and wanted to do a turkey meal so it got bought. lolz
I also found 2 good dairy discount sticker deals-those mozzarella blocks had $2 off stickers so where $2.69 per lb./piece and those 4 packs of Greek Yogurt were on sale 2/$3 AND had $1 off stickers on them so .50¢ each package. It's a good thing I like strawberry flavor.  ;-)

*  We continued to pick veggies from the garden and attempt to use them all..........

*  I already blogged about my Rite-Aid scores this week.......

No money spent OOP(just $21.98 in Bonus Cash)and I got back $4.25 in cash rebates for doing all this.(I was able to reload the $2 Pop-Tart rebate so could do it twice.)

And $3.40 of my WAM on all this(Hey! I actually spend MONEY at Rite-Aid this week!).

That's about it for us this week.
And remember, in the words of the Most Frugal Man on the Planet.......

What frugal wins did you have this week?

Sluggy

Spending Some Bonus Cash Down at Rite-Aid

This having to keep on top of three Rite-Aid cards' worth of Bonus Cash which expire after 60 days is just too much work for me right now.
So I am judiciously spending down some BC this week.
I want to get rid of all BC on one card and am aiming for about $20 in BC on each of the other cards.  If that is still too much I'll spend down another card.

So the question is.....What to buy to spend the Bonus Cash down?
The answer is either stuff we need/want and/or stuff to fill Giveaway Boxes.

So here is what I've bought this week.

On Monday I got this..........

2 x Crest toothpaste on sale $4=$8.00
I used 2 Qs-1 $2/1 Crest L2CQ and 1 $2/1 Crest ManuQ so $4 off=$4.00 paid for with BC.
I earned back $4 in new BC so these were straight up free.

Then I bought these for ex-College Boy........

4 x Pop-Tarts on sale $1.99=$7.96
I used a $2/4 Pop-Tarts IPQ(couponsdotcom)=$5.96 paid for with BC.
I earned back $2 in BC AND $2.25 back on Ibotta(.50¢ per box and .25¢ for buying any item at Rite-Aid).
So these "cost" $1.71 in BC once all that is figured in.
I also bought 2 cases of Nestle water(didn't photograph them, sorry).  On sale this week for 2/$6.  I used a $1/2 Nestle water ManuQ so $5 after Q.  It gave back $1 in BC wyb2 so the water spent down $4 in BC.
It's something we needed so I'm ok with this spend down.

It's been about a year since I bought garbage bags and the Big Win bags are double dipping this week-a monthly $3 in BC wyb2 and a weekly $1 in BC wyb2, plus they are on sale 2/$6 this week.
For every $6 you spend/2 you buy, you get back $4 BC back making them $2 a box.  8-)
I thought I was SOL at the first two Rite-Aids but I spied some garbage bags on an end caps side rack at store #2 right about when I had given up hope.

This made my shop $12 so far, and I had some Spend $X/Get $X off your order Catalina Qs that one of my R-A cashiers hooked me up with(people, being in a hurry don't wait to be handed the Catalina Q that prints often times, so the cashiers tuck all those Spend $X/Get $X Off Qs under the register drawer and give them away to deserving customers who "spend" a lot at one time, meaning it's a good thing to make friends with your cashiers.)  8-))
I had a $6 off wyspend $30 Catalina Q so I tried to get to $30.

Single serve bottles of Big Win apple juice are $1 this week, Buy 3/Get $1 BC and double dipping with a Spend $6 on select food/drinks, Get $2 BC back.
So buy 6 bottles, pay $6 in BC and earn back $4 in BC making it $2 OOP for 6 bottles.

I also got two bottles of Summer's Eve wash for $8.  I had 2 x $1.50 IPQs for it so $5 in BC and earned back $2 in new BC.

I got 4 more boxes of Pop-Tarts for ex-College Boy(4 x $1.99=$7.96)and used a $2/4 Pop-Tarts IPQ making those $5.96.

$12+$6+$8+$7.96=$33.96 gave me enough of a total to use the $6 off Cat
Coupons were $6, $2 Pop-Tarts, 2 x $1.50 Summer's Eve=$11.00 off, so $22.96 +.60¢ tax=$23.56

Paid for with BC and earned back $16 in new BC($8 BW trash bags-2 x $1 weekly/2 x $3 monthly,  $4 BW apple Juice-2 x $1 weekly/1 x $2 monthly, $2 Pop-Tarts-2 x $1 monthly, $2 Summer's Eve-1 x $2 wyb2 weekly).

Then I spied a whole box of Butterfingers that are Buy2Get1Free this week with .50¢ off stickers on them.
Let's do the math....
6 Butterfingers on B2G1Free sale(reg. $1.15 each)=$4.60
Deduct $3 in instant discount stickers=$1.60 for all 6 bars makes them just over .26¢ per bar.
Then when I bought 6 the Catalina machine spit out a $1/6 Nestle candy bars(of which Butterfingers are one kind).

So I went back, bought 6 more=$4.60-$3 in instant stickers, used the $1/6 Q so .60¢ OOP for all 6 bars.
And another Catalina Q spit out so 6 more bars, rinse and repeat until there were not 6 bars left.
In total I got 24 Butterfingers and paid $3.40 for all or .14¢+ per bar.
I used some WAM to buy all these and not BC.

We hit another Rite-Aid too and I scored more trash bags one a different card/account.  I also had a Spend $20/Get $4 off your order Catalina too.......

4 x BW trash bags on sale 2/$6=$12.00
4 x Pop-Tarts on sale $1.99=$7.96
6 x BW juice on sale $1.00=$6.00
SubTotal.....$25.96

Coupons Used
1 x $4 wys$20 Catalina=$4.00
1 x $2/4 Pop-Tarts IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$6.00

$25.96-$6.00=$19.96 +.50¢ tax=$20.46 paid with BC.
I earned back $14 in new BC($4 BW juice, $2 Pop-Tarts, $8 BW bags) so spent down this card by $6.46.



Sluggy