The July Giveaway Winner!

It's hot and muggy here today so hopefully this makes someone's day a bit better.

I went through the entries and the July Giveaway winner is..........

BOBBIE!

BobbieJuly 19, 2020 at 8:43 AM

I've never won before!

Staying home - happy to live in a state (CT) where we're taking things seriously. Also happy to have a beautiful backyard and pool.

We unfortunately stocked up on hand sanitizer that has since been recalled (Blumen) so had to buy a new kind (at Costco) that we don't love (but doesn't contain methanol!).

Congratulations Bobbie!

You have 48 hours from when this post goes live to contact me with your full name and mailing address to claim your prize. (My email addy is on the side bar under "About Me".)

If the Boring Blog Giveaway Box is not claimed within that time I'll choose another winner for July.

Thanks for everyone who entered and the entertainment your comments provide me too. ;-)

Come back next month and see what goodies ol' Sluggy has up her sleeve. 8-)))

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

* Last day to enter the July Giveaway reminder.  Go HERE to enter.*

The "The Curse of the Gardening Gods!" Edition..........

On Thursday Hubs took a stroll through the "kennel garden" and said there was yellow squash to pick so I said, "pick it".
Imagine my surprise when he comes in with what is pictured above, especially since I purposely did NOT plant any zucchini this year!!!

I think Anne in the Kitchen has sent me bad JuJu or found a Voodoo Queen in Alabama and had her put a curse on me!  Or she snuck up to PA and put those vile green squash in my garden when I wasn't looking....either that or Anne has an amazng throwing arm. ;-)

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning-

This is what was planned.........

1. Sunday--Chinese take-out(I had Hot and Sour Soup)
2. Monday--Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
3. Tuesday--Chicken Marsala w/Mushrooms over Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

4. Wednesday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Squash Casserole
5. Thursday--BBQ, Cole Slaw, maybe Beans or Pasta Salad

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Shrimp Scamp w/Linguine, Spinach Salad

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--Chinese take-out(I had Hot and Sour Soup)
2. Monday--Mongolian Beef Ramen w/Broccoli and Carrots
3. Tuesday--Chicken Marsala w/Mushrooms over Mashed Potatoes, Squash Casserole

4. Wednesday--Leftovers(I had a salad after spilling my leftover soup)
5. Thursday--Late Lunch/Early Dinner out(I had seafood cake sliders)

6. Friday--BBQ Pork, Cole Slaw
7. Saturday--Tempura Shrimp and Zucchini

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 1 night of leftovers/FFY, and 2 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out(We also had a pizza out for lunch when we took Eldest to the Brew Pub-in PA the Gov. has made it mandatory to buy food if you go to a brewery??  Sometimes his rules make no sense.

I changed up the Beef and Broccoli meal planned as we had just had a rice meal 2 days before.  I saw a Beef and Broccoli dish using Ramen noodles instead(you don't use those salt like flavor packets that come with them but make a from-scratch sauce instead.  This is a nice change but similar flavor profile to Beef and Broccoli and will go into our meal possibilities file.  The recipe can be found HERE.

What got put into the freezer last week....
* 3 packages of bacon
* 3 chicken breasts
* 3 packages of smoked pork(for bbq later)
* 2 packages of French fries
* a TV dinner

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* 2 lbs. of shrimp
Nothing else from the freezer because I again bought meats that we used fresh plus garden veggies and fresh produce from the stores.

We spent $201.18 last week at Schiff's, Malacari's, Walmart, Weis, CVS and Amazon. This total also includes 3 boxes of Glad bags(I got a deal so they were $5.03 per box.) I got these earlier this month and forgot to put on my tally book until I went to pay that bill online.
July spending comes in at $489.26.  Not bad for a month considering the rising price of things and I did some stocking up in July too.

I prefer to keep groceries/HBA/paper goods at $400 per month but clearly we went over this month.  Ex-College Boy is moving out this Friday *fingers crossed* so that should take my food spending down about $100 a month.  Between what he eats here and all the bottled water I buy that he wastes(a bone of contention with me),cutting that much out of the monthly spending should be easy-peasy.  With just the two of us here after Thursday night I need to focus on making less helpings per dinner.  Hubs likes leftovers but I am still use to cooking for 4-5 people for meals.
This will be my August challenge--to cut down on how much I cook per meal.
Plus in August I plan to have Hubs and I eat down a lot of what's in the chest freezer so August's spending should be a LOT lower.

I earned $130.23 on Ibotta in July(this week alone with $45.35 in reg. rebates I also earned $16.50 in Bonuses too).  Add in $10.00 on Checkout51 and .50¢ on SavingStar and we recouped $140.73 in rebates for July to put toward food spending in December. 8-)))

My savings percentage for last week was 52.69%(without "regular"Rite-Aid trips)for July and the monthly savings total comes in at 56.94%(w/out R-A).
I still have a super low savings rate for July so I'm all good with the food spending

I have 4 more food shopping/spending days in July but don't plan on buying anything else this month.  Frankly other than a trip to R-A later this week to get a freebie or two I won't be doing any shopping personally.  The lobsters for Friday night will go on August's monthly tally.

Leftovers going into this week.......Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice casserole, Chicken Marsala, Mashed Potatoes, Squash Casserole, Pork BBQ, Cole Slaw.

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

1. Sunday--Leftovers(I had a piece of chicken Marsala and a banana)
2. Monday--Cheeseburgers, Green Beans
3. Tuesday--something Pasta for Hubs, Spinach Salad for me and him

4. Wednesday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Squash and Onions
5. Thursday--Taco or Taco Salad

6. Friday--Lobster(which will go on Aug.'s tally), leftover sides(green beans, squash)
7. Saturday--Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chicken or BLT sandwiches

What needs buying for this menu? 2 Lobsters. Hubs has to go down the mountain to return the cargo van rental for Ex-CB's move Friday so I'll have him pick-up the lobster at the Price Chopper nearby on his way home.

What's left on my master list of meals we can make from what's at home(not that I'm referring to/using it at this point with the heat).
* Shrimp Scampi
* Tuna Casserole
* Roasted Chicken
* Shrimp/Crab Ravioli
* Cheese Ravioli

* Breakfast for Dinner

* Haddock Fish Dinner  new
* Chicken Tenders  new

* Beef Liver  new

Plus lots of thinly sliced Chicken Breast, grass fed Ground Beef and Ground Turkey in the freezer.

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 Friday......the July 24th Edition

After my "Alexander Day", let's see if I can salvage some frugality for this past week......


* I went to Dollar General again last Saturday to use another $5 when you spend $20 weekend digital Q.......

Not pictured from that shop are a jug of Gain and a ice cream that cost me .01¢ after digital Q, 2 Febreeze air fresheners, 2 Herbal Essence shampoos and 2 Aussie shampoos.
After assorted Qs and the $5 off $25 DGQ here is the cost breakdown--
Suave body wash .79¢
Suave shampoo $1.30 each(before $10 back on Checkout 51)
Febreeze $1.19 each
Gain detergent $1.54
Ice cream .01¢
HE shampoo .84¢ each
Aussie shampoo $1.58 each
Head and Shoulders small shampoo .34¢ each
BioFreeze pain patch -.25¢
Welch's fruit snacks -.11¢ each
Tum's roll .79¢
Greeting Cards .01¢ each

My total was $17.66 for after all the qs.

*  I submitted the DG receipt for those 5 Suave shampoos and earned $10 on Checkout51 too.

* I found money!

Hubs and I were in Walmart this past Saturday.........

.  As we walked out I found a penny and he also found a penny and gave it to me!

In CVS on Wednesday I found a penny as I walked in by the register counter and that was the ONLY good thing about Wednesday. lolz

Total Change found this week. .03¢
Total Change found this year....$46.93

*  I received my last two $5 Walmart gift cards for doing the Listerine Deal at Rite-Aid a few weeks back.......

That makes $15 in free Walmart gift cards.

*  While not necessarily frugal we bought a reclining love seat this past week.....

We visited enough furniture stores and made a decision.  This one ticked all the boxes AND was less expensive(by $400)than the one we initially were going to go with and it has lumbar support and adjustment(important for us old geezers).
It also has a battery back-up in case of power outages so I won't get trapped in the chair. lol
I have to wait another month for it to be delivered and I can't wait!

*  At Walmart last Saturday I picked up items to finish my $15 PandG rebate and work on another Ibotta bonus..........

The Olay body wash was $3.42 after Q and Ibotta, the specialty toothpaste was $2.42 each after Q and Ibotta and the Bic razor was -$1.08 after Q and Ibotta. 8-)

* On Tuesday eldest came with me to Schiff's restaurant supply to pick up a pork butt to smoke.  It was $1.29 lb. which was the best price around.  Got that smoked on Thursday and put into the crockpot overnight to finish off so we'll be having bbq this evening for dinner.

*  We celebrated eldest's birthday earlier this week and I made the cake.  I can't believe he's 29 years old now!

And I gave him this gag Xmas gift early so he can use it during the holidays.
A blazer and tie with skiing Santa hat wearing kitties.  It's sooo ugly!
(And I got it for 75% off after last Xmas of course.)
PS-He got a nice gift too.

That's all for now.  I am way behind since I haven't been online much with eldest son visiting and with my medical issues still.  I finally got the doc to order me an Rx this morning for the UTI the lab work confirmed almost 2 days ago. ugh.
I'll feel like my old self soon now.  yay!

How is everyone else's week going in the Frugal Department?
Let us here all about it!

Sluggy

Had an Alexander Day!

I know things could be a lot worse but yesterday was an Alexander day for me.

My knee/leg is still not right and now I have a UTI to go with that ailment.  As I recall(maybe not very correctly)I've had a total of ONE UTI over my last 61 years until now.
We believe it's due to a medication I am currently taking and I am not so patiently waiting for the labs to come back to confine so I can get the appropriate course of antibiotics.

I am also slated for a wide laser excision surgery on my boob the beginning of August due to my HS.
Yay me.  HS surgeries are not ones where they sew you up afterwards otherwise the tracks/tunnels under your skin would just reform and you'd be back to square one PLUS have scar tissue in there making it a worse situation.  No this wound on a very sensitive part of my anatomy will remain OPEN and will take 4-6 weeks to heal enough for me to feel human-like again and resume "normal" activity.
Yay me.
I see a lot of Netflix/Hulu/Amazon tv in my near future.

I got gyped at CVS yesterday(learned my lesson)and will again not be doing that drugstore again after I spent this last $10 ECBs I earned.
CVS obviously doesn't give a rat's ass about folks with a very popular Samsung Galaxy phone not being able to download/install their app any longer so they lost me again as a customer.  I have called two departments of their corporation now and their basic response was "Oh well, too bad" so screw you!

Walmart also gyped me-first they had the wrong stickers on a vegetable(which the self-checkout told me to scan instead of looking up the veggie to input)so I got charged for organic grape tomatoes at DOUBLE the price of the red bell pepper I was trying to buy.  Then they only had ONE employee manning that whole area so I had to wait a solid 15 minutes on my bad leg to get it corrected and after that, she didn't put the pepper back in the bag(which I didn't notice until I got home)so I paid for a pepper that I don't have. sigh
I won't even go into the rude customers not wearing masks and not maintaining social distance.

I also lost a pair of my glasses.  I keep one pair on my desk downstairs and the other pair on my nightstand in the bedroom.  Can only find one pair now. argh.

I was out of energy to cook dinner so it was Fend for Yourself night here last night and after I heated up my leftover Hot and Sour Soup from Sunday I dropped the whole thing as I tried to get into the recliner and it went all. over. the. den. floor.  I could have just cried at that point.

Then I lost 2 hours of my life in that recliner watching a terrible Adam Sandler in a drama movie(apologies if you are AS fans)because my son wanted to see it.  In hindsight, I should have just gone upstairs and read. ;-)
It was the perfect ending to a crappy day.

I know, first world problems, but it was truly a stinker of a day.
We all have 'em, right?
So tell me about your bad day and make me laugh or at least feel better before I have to go pee and scream again.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Marketing is Everything" Edition..........

We saw these small bags of Matzo Chips at P and R earlier this month on a shopping trip there.
I didn't buy any but packaging was clever and I had to take a photo.  Each flavor has a stereotypical Jewish mother/grandmother on it with her saying something she'd say.  From left to right she is saying, "Did you eat? Come have a Knosh." "A little spicy for me but my Jerry loves them.", "Eat something. You look skinny."
Of course you have to read those quotes in the appropriate Jewish mother accent in your head for them to be funny. lol

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning-

This is what was planned.........

1. Sunday--FFY
2. Monday--Steak, Spinach Salad
3. Tuesday--Chicken Caesar Salad

4. Wednesday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Sweet Potato Wedges
5. Thursday--Pizza, Salad

6. Friday--Chicken Marsala w/Mushrooms over Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli
7. Saturday--Shrimp Scamp w/Linguine or ? depending on if Eldest son is here by then

And this is what really happened.......

1. Sunday--FFY(I can't remember what I had, a bowl of cereal?)
2. Monday--Steak, Corn, Broccoli
3. Tuesday--Grilled Chicken, Sweet Potato Wedges, Cauliflower

4. Wednesday--Take-Out Pizza
5. Thursday--Leftovers(we had lunch out-Salad and Burger)

6. Friday--Caesar Salad w/Chicken(Hubs made this)
7. Saturday--Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Last week saw 4 nights of home cooked dinners, 2 night of leftovers/FFY, and 1 night of Take-Out.  
3 of my planned meals didn't happen for various reasons.....I couldn't stand long enough to make the scampi or the chicken marsala and we still had chicken breast marinating so more grilled chicken and we got a rotisserie chicken on Friday at Weis(PMITA)Markets so that covered protein for the Fri. and Sat. meals.

What got put into the freezer last week....
* 1 box of Popsicles
* 2 London Broils
* 3 ropes of Kielbasa
* 1 pack of uncured Hot Dogs

What got taken out of the freezer and used.....
* 1 bag of Cauliflower
* Leftover rotisserie Chicken
* 1 bag of Broccoli

We spent $155.00 last week at Big Lots, Walmart, Weis, Dollar General and Hubs hit the Bread Outlet(it's open again, yah!). Lots of small shops but they added up, didn't they?
July spending so far comes in at $288.08.  Not bad for 11 days left in the month. ;-)

I earned $67.88 on Ibotta in July so far, $10.00 on Checkout51 and .50¢ on SavingStar.

My savings percentage for last week was 53.18%(without "regular"Rite-Aid trips)for July and the monthly savings total comes in at 59.49%(w/out R-A).

I have 11 more food shopping/spending days in July.

Leftovers going into this week.......Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice casserole, a little Cauliflower, a little bit of meat off the Rotisserie Chicken.  Not much really.

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

1. Sunday--Chinese take-out(I had Hot and Sour Soup)
2. Monday--Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
3. Tuesday--Chicken Marsala w/Mushrooms over Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

4. Wednesday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Squash Casserole
5. Thursday--BBQ, Cole Slaw, maybe Beans or Pasta Salad

6. Friday--Leftovers
7. Saturday--Shrimp Scamp w/Linguine, Spinach Salad

Eldest son is here this week so if he wants something else the plan may change but at least I've got one in place. ;-)

What needs buying for this menu? I need to find an inexpensive pork butt/shoulder to smoke by Tuesday so we'll hit the new Schiff's that took over Maines restaurant supply tomorrow. (Of course now that I need a pork butt, the only Maines left had it last week for .99¢ a lb.! but I'd have to drive an hour away to Binghamton NY to get it..oy!) I need to pick up some fresh produce too(celery, red/yellow peppers, sweet potatoes, etc.)so I'll see the new prices at this Schiff's or we can hit P and R or the Produce Market, and I'll need to finish off the $10 Summer Sizzler Ibotta deal this week too(if I can find a few items I use that qualify).

What's left on my master list of meals we can make from what's at home(not that I'm referring to/using it at this point with the heat).
* Shrimp Tempura
* Tuna Casserole
* Roasted Chicken
* Shrimp/Crab Ravioli
* Cheese Ravioli

* Breakfast for Dinner

* Haddock Fish Dinner  new
* Chicken Tenders  new

* Beef Liver  new

Plus lots of thinly sliced Chicken Breast, grass fed Ground Beef and Ground Turkey in the freezer.

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