This Week on the Dining Table

  The "Organize the Chest Freezer" Edition...

While I was visiting Sissie in October our chest freezer died at home.  Hubs sent me a text, "Mr. freezer, he dead.".  Hubs got a new one that same day and saved most of the frozen assets(not the ice cream *sniff*)but he had just thrown everything in the new machine.  Last week, when I finally had to turn to the freezer to grab dinner I couldn't find anything I wanted!!

So I spent most of a day last week gloved up, hauling everything out into coolers and organized the whole blasted contents into the new freezer.  It was odious work, dare I say cringe-worthy, but it's done now and I know where everything is.  And I realized I have THREE count 'em three! turkey breasts in there(2 reg./1 smoked)so I am not worrying about trying to obtain a bird from the supermarket free/cheap turkey schemes for Thanksgiving.  It's a good thing as I have under $100 worth of points at Weis(PMITA)Markets right now and you need $400 worth to get a free bird. ;-)

Onward to the meal planning!

1. Sunday--free take-out Pizza

2. Monday--Steak, Baked Potato, Salad

3. Tuesday--?  working the election

4. Wednesday--Leftover Pork Stir-fry w/noodles
5. Thursday--Pecan crusted Salmon, leftover root veggies, au gratin Taters

6.  Friday--Apricot glazed Pork Chops, Brussels Sprouts, leftover Taters

7. Saturday--Sloppy Joes, Sweet Potato wedges

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

1. Sunday--free take-out Pizza

2. Monday--Steak, Baked Potato, Salad

3. Tuesday--Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

4. Wednesday--Leftover Pork Stir-fry w/noodles
5. Thursday--Subway sandwiches

6.  Friday--Mexican out

7. Saturday--Mushroom and Beef Stroganoff, Noodles

I knew Tuesday would be a crapshoot for dinner(we worked the election)but Thursday I wasn't up to fix dinner with my Humira shot.

Sissie came Friday so we went out for dinner and nobody wanted a veggie Saturday night with dinner so there's that.  We tried a new Aldi dip "Dirty Martini" with bagel chips before dinner instead.  Yummy!

What got put into the freezer last week....

* 1 single plant-based Burrito

* 1 bag of Veggies

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*   4 petite steaks

I spent $66.99 on food/toiletries/HBA last week. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $66.99 for November.

I would have spent less but Ibotta gave me a Bonus finally so I picked up most of the Free Thanksgiving items at Walmart but I had to get a few more items to hit the Bonus so the trip wasn't free after rebates.  Plus Sissie took me to Aldi's looking for something her store was out of and they had the Christmas Spekulatius(German spice almond cookies)so I bought 3 boxes for the Holidays. 8-)

There are 22 shopping days left in November.

I've earned $24.88 on Ibotta in November.

I've earned $4.00 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned $5.00 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in November.

I've earned $0 from Aisle.

I've earned 2,123 points from shopping on Fetch in November which equals $2.12.

I earned 800 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in November which equals $3.20.

I've earned 212 SB from food shopping on Swagbucks in November which equals $2.12.

That's $33.88 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $66.99 in grocery spending so in reality it's $33.11 spent after the 4 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 34.02%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 34.02%(w/out R-A).  Pretty blah savings rate last week but that's ok.

Leftovers going into this week....some root veggie strips, pork stir fry w/noodles, stroganoff, egg noodles.

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

1. Sunday--leftover Pork Stir-Fry w/noodles

2. Monday--leftover Beef Stroganoff over Rice, Salad

3. Tuesday--Halushki using leftover egg noodles

4. Wednesday--Pecan crusted Salmon, au gratin Taters, leftover root veggies w/added sweet potato
5. Thursday--? Hub is cooking

6.  Friday--Apricot glazed Pork Chops, Brussels Sprouts, leftover Taters

7. Saturday--Sloppy Joes, Sweet Potato wedges

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu? Just a small head of cabbage.  I didn't do the Weekend Ibotta Bonus and haven't gotten a Midweek Bonus yet so there may be little food shopping this week other than that cabbage and a bottle of milk.

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 November 5th Edition

 November is here and Fall is fading away into Winter here.  My flowers died last night as we had our first frost off the season.  If I had grown collards this year it would be the day to start harvesting them.

Here are my frugal wins for this past week.....

*  Had to return to the dentist for an old filling repair.  That wasn't so frugal but I came away with these....

Free Samples.
And these......

A stack of dental coupons.

*  Last Friday I hit up a CVS for .14¢ toilet paper and found 10........

I am not counting those in my food spending because I paid for them with some WAM and they were bought specifically to give away to the food bank.
The 2 tubes of toothpaste were free after digital coupon and the lip balm was .64¢ OOP after $5Q and a few cents of rewards on my account.

* I also hit up Weis(PMITA)Markets the same day and the best deal were these.....

4 bags of Hall's cough drops.  They were 50% off/discontinued so $1.14 each.  I had 4 x $1.50/1 printable Qs from coupons dotcom AND I submitted to Checkout51 for 4 x $1 rebate so I got paid $5.44 to bring those home. 8-)))

*  Here's my loot from Rite-Aid for the week........1 transaction I used a $6/$30 coupon......

10 x battery packs

2 x Nivea men's body wash

2 x Vitamin Water drinks

1 x small candy bar(not pictured)

2 x Talenti gelato(not pictured)

6 x Colgate toothbrushes

$105.06+ tax paid for with Bonus Cash

$109 earned in new BC.  All free even though the Talenti wasn't free after BC.

The RA batteries, Colgate optic white toothbrushes and Talenti/Magnum ice cream BC deals were glitching and giving back double making most of them free.

Gelato for me and more toothbrushes for the food bank!

*  Speaking of R-A.......

Two of these $6 when you spend $30 coupons arrived in the mail this week which are good through 11/30/21.  The same purchase based Qs have been printing at the end of receipts this week too. 8-)

*  I found money!

I ran into R-A after the polls closed on Tuesday for the Talenti and found 3 pennies too....1 by each register and the third by the pharmacy.

This big boy was found at R-A too on Wednesday under the candy rack by the register.

Thursday I found this gem of course, at Rite-Aid too near the front of the store.

And a quick run into Weis also on Thursday had me finding this penny in the foyer where they keep the shopping cart.

Total Found This Week...... .39¢

Total Found This Year.......$19.27

We're heading toward 20 Bucks found!

*  And everyone will be happy to know that as soon as October ended, I started getting Ibotta Bonuses again(as did the YouTuber who also had this happen to them).  So weird but I am glad to have them back.  Ibotta is doing the "free Thanksgiving" promo again this year.  If you buy select items you get a full refund on them! Items for making classic Turkey Day dishes like mashed potatoes, french fried onions, mushroom soup, gravy mix, cranberry sauce, stuffing, etc.  Except in order to get the free turkey deal you either have to sign up as a new member OR if you are already a member you have to have someone sign up under your referral code(and then both of you get the turkey deal).

If anyone is inclined my referral code is MKAAXA.  I would appreciate it. 8-)

That's about it from me.

What frugal goodness happened to y'all this past week?

Let's hear all about it!

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

 The "Day After Halloween" Edition...

This made me giggle.

Onward to the meal planning!

1. Sunday--Rotisserie Chicken, au Gratin Taters, Corn

2. Monday--Leftover Rigatoni and Meat Sauce, Salad

3. Tuesday--Steak, Baked Potatoes, more Salad or ?

4. Wednesday--Chicken Parm, Green Beans, leftover au Gratin Taters
5. Thursday--TV dinners

6.  Friday--?

7. Saturday--?

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

1. Sunday--Rotisserie Chicken, au Gratin Taters, Corn

2. Monday--Leftover Rigatoni and Meat Sauce, Salad

3. Tuesday--Chicken Parm, Green Beans, leftover au Gratin Taters

4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself
5. Thursday--Chinese take-out(I had hot and sour soup)

6.  Friday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, Root Veggies

7. Saturday--Pork Teriyaki Stir-fry

I was doing well with a low spend October until Ocean State decided to hold that 40% back in gift cards on what you spent last week.  But that will be a future win when I cash in the gift cards.  And I still managed to stay well under $400 for the month anyway.

go me. ;-)

What got put into the freezer last week....

* 4 TV dinners

*  a vegan Pot Pie

*  5 lbs. boneless Chicken Breast

What got taken out of the freezer and used...

*   2 Pork Tenderloins

*  bag of Root Veggie strips(no potato)

*  Chicken Patties

*  Green Beans

*  Marinated Pork Loin

*  Bag of stir-fry veggies

I spent $200.64 on food/toiletries/HBA last week. This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Grand Total to $322.26 for October.

There are 0 shopping days left in October.

I've earned $80.85 on Ibotta in October.

I've earned $3.64 on Checkout51 in October.

I've earned $5.25 on Coupons dotcom/Paypal in October.

I've earned $4.00 from Aisle.

I've earned $3.27 from an ice cream offer.

I've earned 1544 points from shopping on Fetch in October which equals $1.54.

I earned 1875 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in October which equals $7.50.

I've earned  9008 SB from food shopping on Swagbucks in October which equals $9.00.

That's $97.01 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $322.26 in grocery spending so in reality it's $225.25 spent after the 4 rebate apps(+the ice cream offer)I count until I cash out on the other three apps and cash in the $161.25 in Crazy Deal gift cards from OSJL. 8-)))

My savings percentage for the last week was 40.31%(without "regular" Rite-Aid trips)and the monthly savings total for October comes in at 44.80%(w/out R-A).

Leftovers going into this week....1 Pork Tender loin, some root veggie strips.

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

1. Sunday--free take-out Pizza

2. Monday--Steak, Baked Potato, Salad

3. Tuesday--?  working the election

4. Wednesday--Leftover Pork Stir-fry w/noodles
5. Thursday--Pecan crusted Salmon, leftover root veggies, au gratin Taters

6.  Friday--Apricot glazed Pork Chops, Brussels Sprouts, leftover Taters

7. Saturday--Sloppy Joes, Sweet Potato wedges

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  I've got everything except for Tuesday.  I don't plan on going to the 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 last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?  

Sluggy

  

Happy Halloween!

 Dixie Belle............

And Chester(giving the melted Wicked Witch a ride home)...........

Just want to wish everyone a creepy, spooky Halloween!

Sluggy

And the Giveaway Winner is......

There were 52 Valid comments for the October Giveaway.
I had Random dotorg pick the winner comment.

And the winner is.........

Sue L.!

Sue L.October 20, 2021 at 2:45 PM

For autumn we usually go up to Apple Hill - we used to get our Christmas tree there when the kids were little and we got a real tree, now we just go for fudge & caramel apples, lol.

Congratulation Sue!  Please email me your full mailing address within 48 hours after this post going live to claim your prize and I'll get this out to you Monday or so.

Thanks to everyone who played along.  The next box will be girly stuff(make-up, etc.)and chocolate!

Sluggy