This Week on the Dining Table

The "LOL Things I've Seen Lately" Edition.....

Daughter and I went to a small town over in Texas on Saturday and we saw this makeup bag for sale in a strange little novelty store. hehehe

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--Leftovers

2. Monday--Salad, Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Chicken Strips, Mac and Cheese, Cabbage

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie w/Veggies and Cornbread

5. Thursday--Some Form of Turkey, Rutabaga, Mashed Taters, Stuffing, Cranberry, Pumpkin Pie

6.  Friday--Shrimp Scampi, Linguine, Veg TBD

7. Saturday--More Leftovers

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday--Leftovers

2. Monday--Caesar Salad, Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Lasagna

4. Wednesday--Fend for Yourself

5. Thursday--Turkey Breast, Rutabaga, Mashed Taters, Stuffing, Cranberry, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie w/Whipped Cream

6.  Friday--Fend for Yourself

7. Saturday--Leftovers

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

*  1 Pie

*  2.5 lbs. of Salmon

We turned to a frozen lasagna on a day I didn't feel like cooking, a bag of Caesar salad that needed using up and I turned 2 boxes of generic/store brand Stove Top mixes into a semi-homemade dressing for Turkey Day by adding store made sausage meat, more onions and celery and herbs and some leftover cornbread from the fridge that nobody wanted to eat.  The apple pie(frozen)was for son in-law who doesn't like pumpkin or sweet potato. With all the running around for house supplies and unpacking spending lots of time in the kitchen cooking last week wasn't high on my agenda.

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

*  1 premade Lasagna

*  1 apple Pie                                        

My budget got busted last week so let's just add some more damage onto it, shall we?

I hit Walmart and Kroger for some stuff/deals with rebates to the tune of $113.02 last week.

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $883.49 for November.  A high number but considering I was starting from scratch here I'm ok with it.

There are 2 shopping days left in November but I am finished food shopping.

I've earned $189.41 on Ibotta in November.

I've earned $0.00 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned $17.50 on Coupons dotcom in November.

I've earned 9,360 points from shopping on Fetch in November.

I earned 6,176 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in November.

I've earned 1,344 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in November.

That's $206.91 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $883.49 in grocery spending so in reality it's $676.58 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 36.53% and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 38.92% so far.  Gone are the days of 70% savings rate with Rite-Aid. 8-((

Leftovers going into this week.....1 helping of lasagna, 2 helpings of rutabaga, carrots and mashed taters, a few helpings of cranberry and stuffing, and half of 2 pies.

I have a small pan of homemade mac and cheese from when I had it for the family gathering the last before last, plus carrots, potatoes, 2 sweet potatoes and half a head of cabbage to use up before we leave town.

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

1. Sunday--Fend For Yourself (I had a can of soup)

2. Monday--Bake Potato Soup, Rolls, Leftover Turkey Day sides

3. Tuesday--Chicken Strips, Mac and Cheese, Cabbage

4. Wednesday--Shrimp Scampi w/Linguine, more Turkey Day sides

5. Thursday--Beef Pie w/Veggies and Cornbread

6.  Friday--Baked Potato Bar(I've got a lot of taters to use up)

7. Saturday--No Clue yet but I have lots of options in the freezer and some fresh produce to use up.

Some meals not made last week just carry over into this week.  We're working on leftovers at the moment too and trying to use up anything that will go bad before we get back from the cruise ;-)

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Maybe some milk and a bag of salad?

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 deals on food at your stores this week?  

Sluggy 

Frugal Friday.......the November 25th Edition

Welcome to Frugal Friday!  I hope everyone had a relaxing and festive Thanksgiving.  We did an intimate lowkey meal here with just daughter and son in-law though we heard from our two sons, my brother and the nephew via text and phone.

Please keep the folks and their families who were gunned down at the Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia in your prayers.  That's the Walmart near my brother's house which I have been shopping in many times when visiting there.

Here are a few frugal wins lately.......

*  Spent last Saturday with son in-law parents and extended family for a Turkey Day gathering.  So much food his mom put out and it was all yummy!  I brought a rather lackluster mac and cheese....it turned out too dry as I baked it the day before and I had to use a new to me brand of pasta....yeah, I am blaming that pasta. lolz

*  I am slow sometimes(shut up Anne, Kim and Sissie!).  Our dogs like a little wet food, specifically Bella brand,, in their kibble for meals.  I had been buying it at Walmart, the least expensive place in these parts to get it.  I finally had a lightbulb moment and checked online sources and found it cheaper at Amazon if I do a subscribe & save deal.  My first order arrived on Tuesday and it's enough to cover the puppies through the end of 2022.  Bonus points because I used Amazon credits to cover most of the purchase so 36 trays of food cost me $13.38 OOP

*  Daughter has decided she'll watch the puppies while we are on our cruise so we won't have a kennel boarding bill to pay afterwards.  We'll still have to pay to park our car at the Dallas airport for 2 weeks so that sort of negates any savings on the kennel but I'm not complaining.

*  Went to Kroger again to pick up $2.99 lb. butter(limit 5 with digital Q).  I'll head into 2023 with almost 15 lbs. in the freezer.

*  I found money this past week!     

 

Found a penny in Walmart on Saturday.

Went to a different Walmart on Sunday to pick up Rxs and found another penny on the way out the door.

Same trip I picked up Wendy's for lunch while doing laundry at my Daughter's house.  I found 2 quarters in the  Drive-thru.  Who throw away quarters?  Score!     

I also used an old gift card to pay at Wendy's so double win.

Then on Monday when I cleaning in what will be my sewing room I found a dime and a penny wedged under the baseboard trim in that room.  This house just keeps giving and giving. lol  I've found a total of .15¢ so far and Hubs found a nickel under the back porch when he was under there cleaning up trash.

Total Found in last Week.... .63¢
Total Found This Year.....$23.80    

          

*  Daughter got an Ibotta free turkey(boneless)and offered it up for our Thanksgiving dinner.  I'd never cooked a boneless one but I must say it was quite juicy and just the right amount of meat for 4 people(with a few leftovers).  It was us four and 3 dogs for Turkey day here.

*  Instead of going to the expense and effort to make dressing from scratch I used 2 Kroger brand "Stove Top" style boxes and dressed it up by adding sausage meat(kept it moist)and more sauteed onions and celery and herbs(all of which I had on hand).

*  I used a Walmart gift card bought with SwagBucks back in PA and used it at Walmart earlier in the week to cut down on my OOP spending there on Wednesday.

*  I found Salmon marked down at Kroger this past week when I went to pick up the butter.  The salmon was close to sell by date but plenty of time to use it once I cut into portions and put it the freezer.  Came out to $6.76 per lb. with discount.  Great price!

*  I used Kroger fuel points to gas up on Tuesday for a .20¢ discount per gallon.

*  One of the items I ditched in the move was my Dutch Oven as it was in rough shape.  I checked online this past week to see if anyone had them on BF special.  JCPenney's had one I liked and I happened to have an old gift card gotten at Rite-Aid for that store.  So I ordered one to ship to the local store and Hubs will pick it up for me(it's heavy)once it's in.  It only cost me the sales tax as the gift card was enough to cover the sale price.   Plus there is a rebate for a $20 Penney's gift card I can apply for once it gets in.  yay.

*  Will be sitting out Black Friday this year.  There is nothing worth the stress of crowds at any price....well, unless it was free, and the only place I got free was Rite-Aid ;-)  My shopping was done months ago, most of it wrapped and given to my 2 sons and their wife/significant other before we moved so I didn't have the big expense of shipping anything to them.  I picked up a couple of things after we got here for my daughter and son in-law and Hubs and I don't really exchange Xmas gifts anymore.

That's about all I've got for this past week.  

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy  

This Week on the Dining Table

The "Mixed Up Thanksgiving" Edition.....

We went over the son in-laws folks house on Saturday for Thanksgiving.  There were a ton of people there we didn't know(half brothers, wives, grandchildren, etc.)so that was different.  Just another change to what we are use to. 8-)

Daughter might want to do something on Thursday though that's just the 4 of us.  We'll see what happens.

Onward to the meal planning!

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

1. Sunday--Chicken Fajitas, Spanish Rice

2. Monday--Fried Catfish, Asian Cole Slaw, Cornbread

3. Tuesday--Teriyaki Chicken Stir-fry w/Veggies, Rice

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie w/Veggies and Cornbread

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6.  Friday--Shrimp Scampi, Linguine, Veg TBD

7. Saturday--Thanksgiving Dinner w/family

And here's what actually happened........

1. Sunday--Chicken Fajitas

2. Monday--Fried Catfish, Asian Cole Slaw, Cornbread

3. Tuesday--Teriyaki Chicken Stir-fry w/Veggies, Rice

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Beef Stroganoff, Sweet Potato Fries

6.  Friday--Leftovers, Big Salad

7. Saturday--Thanksgiving Dinner w/family

I wasn't feeling well Sunday so Hubs had the Fajitas and I ate an apple.  I used the leftover rotisserie chicken I bought the week before and put it into the Fajita filling.

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

*  a 10+lb. turkey

*  5 more lbs. of Bacon

*  3 boxes of pie crust

*  2 bags of veggies

*  3 pies

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

*  some Catfish

*  a bag of Teriyaki Chicken

*  a bag of Stir-Fry Veggies

*  a bag of Sliced Beef

                                                   

I busted my budget and spent $237.79 last week. Just 2 Kroger and 2 Walmart trips to put stuff in the freezer and pantry to stock it as I found deals and a few necessities.

I figure since we won't be buying food in December(doing a sort of grocery fast and will be away too then)I can go over as what I buy will "last" for 2 months.

This brings our food/toiletries/paper goods Total to $770.46 for November so far.  

There are 9 shopping days left in November.

I've earned $160.56 on Ibotta in November.

I've earned $0.00 on Checkout51 in November.

I've earned $15.75 on Coupons dotcom in November.

I've earned 8,667 points from shopping on Fetch in November.

I earned 5,416 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in November.

I've earned 1,321 pts. from food shopping on Swag Bucks in November.

That's $176.31 in rebates(not counting the Shop Kick/Swag Bucks/Fetch)on $ in grocery spending so in reality it's $412.35 spent after the 3 rebate apps I count.

My savings percentage for the last week was 47.98% and the monthly savings total for November comes in at 39.25% so far.  Gone are the days of 70% savings rate with Rite-Aid. 8-((

Leftovers going into this week....Chicken Fajita filling, Teriyaki Chicken and Stir-Fry veggies

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

1. Sunday--Leftovers

2. Monday--Salad, Leftovers

3. Tuesday--Chicken Strips, Mac and Cheese, Cabbage

4. Wednesday--Beef Pie w/Veggies and Cornbread

5. Thursday--Some Form of Turkey, Rutabaga, Mashed Taters, Stuffing, Cranberry, Pumpkin Pie

6.  Friday--Shrimp Scampi, Linguine, Veg TBD

7. Saturday--More Leftovers

Some meals not made last week just carry over into this week.  We're working on leftovers at the moment too. ;-)

What do I need to buy to fix everything on this menu?  Not sure.  If I have to get some form of turkey(the whole one's won't thaw in time to cook one but we don't want all those turkey leftovers right now)I'll spend a bit more for November.

No worries as we have the cash to cover all this food and nothing goes on a credit card that we don't pay off at month's end. 8-)

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 deals on food at your stores this week?  

Sluggy 

Frugal Friday.....the November 17th Edition

Welcome to Frugal Friday!
Here are a few frugal wins lately.......

*  I got another free turkey sort of by accident.........

Went to Kroger earlier this week to load up on the loss leaders/deals.  Got to the register and had almost $100 in spending which is the threshold for a free Kroger turkey.  Was debating on picking up some 6 packs of Coke Zero for later since they were on sale so went ahead and got them as this put me over $100 spent.  Hubs went back and selected a turkey to add to the order.  I would have bought the Cokes eventually so why not now, on sale, and with a bonus $18+ turkey?  Two turkeys in the freezer now?  Yes please!

*  Went to get our Louisiana driver's licenses on Thursday.........

Needed to do this soon as A-my PA license was expiring in Jan. and B-needed to register the cars in LA for insurance purposes as our current policy expired yesterday.

Instead of heading to the big city to either wait for hours since they had no appointments well into Dec.(and we wouldn't be here then)we drove North to a little town and got appointments right away.  When it came time to pay I used Cash instead of c/c or check as those methods tacked on a service charge to the cost.

BTW-It's not the DMV here it's the OMV. ;-)

*  I found money this past week!      

A dime in Kroger on the floor by the Customer Service desk.  

                     

We stopped at a new-to-me Walmart on the way back from getting our Louisiana Driver's Licenses and I found a penny by the CoinStar machine in the lobby.

Then I went into a Dollar General up yonder for a gift card purchase and found a penny at the checkout.

Total Found in last Week.... .12¢
Total Found This Year.....$23.17                       

*  While at that Walmart we picked up a doormat which was needed..........

It rang up half price!  And Chester approves...

*  While in Walmart I picked up an Ibotta freebie that had popped up earlier that day.......

A container of Bob Evans mashed taters.  Actually these were a .36¢ moneymaker as they were only priced at $3.64 and I got $4.00 back on my Ibotta account.

*  I went into that Dollar General to buy gift cards for someone.  When you bought 2 of select cards you got $6 off your total this week and  I bought 2 gift cards that qualified.

*  I used a Walmart gift card bought with SwagBucks and used it at Walmart earlier in the week to cut down on my OOP spending there on Wednesday.

That's about all I've got for this past week.  

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy  

The To-Do List....October Edition

Well in my zeal to do an October To-Do List and Update my side bar to November I electronically blew away my October list.  Thought I saved it in a draft before I zapped it out of existence on the side bar.  Nope. sigh.

Though I can't recall all the items on it, here are the highlights of what got done in October.

*  Paid all the bills(so so many bills.....)

*  Went on a Girls Trip to the Gulf(the highlight of October)

*  Cleaned out my coupon stash(not that I have much of a stash anymore since I haven't bought a paper since moving down here and my printer wasn't hooked up either)

*  Edited more photos(seems I am always editing photos but never get around to posting them on the blog)

*  I didn't post about any older trips, heck, I didn't post much at all! 8-)

*  Worked on Genealogy(connected with a cousin on mom's side and gave her some difficult info. on shared GGGgrandparents)

*  Buy a House

*  Get a Contract on PA House

*  Buy a Washer and Dryer(Did it in Oct., was suppose to be delivered Nov. 4th but then supply chain issues happened and now it's coming 2 days before Thanksgiving, supposedly.)

*  Survive the trials and tribulations of moving

That's the bullet points list of what got done.  More details on the house stuff in the fullness of time.....

Sluggy