Meanwhile, in Louisiana

 

Sluggy

Song for a Wednesday

Sluggy

What's On The Dining Table....May 27th

The "Baby Bird is Ready to Fly the Nest" Edition.....

Five days ago I caught a glimpse of the mother bird in the nest.

Two days later I got a shot of the baby bird's head.  I know this photo is all blurry but it has the baby bird down on it's head if you can't make that out.

             

Here's the shot I got Sunday before I got in my car.  The baby bird(still has two spikes of down on it's head)is now standing on the edge of the nest, considering taking flight.  It never did attempt flight while I was looking.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week...........

1. Sunday--Kielbasi on Rolls, leftover Cole Slaw

2. Monday--Meatballs, Sauce, Spaghetti, Caesar Salad

3. Tuesday--Salmon, Sauté Yellow Squash

4. Wednesday--Leftovers

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--Catfish, Green Beans

7. Saturday--One Never Knows, Do I?

And here's what actually happened....

1. Sunday--Kielbasi on Rolls, leftover Cole Slaw

2. Monday--Meatballs, Sauce, Spaghetti, Caesar Salad

3. Tuesday--Portobello Mushroom Parmesan, Teriyaki Green Beans

4. Wednesday--Leftovers(I had a Whopper)

5. Thursday--Take n' Bake Pizza, Leftover Roasted Broccoli

6. Friday--Leftover Rib, Mac & Cheese, Caesar Salad

7. Saturday--Leftover Lemon Pepper Chicken, Zuke, Rice

I found Portobello Mushrooms and a Take n' 

Bake Pizza both on clearance at Kroger so the Salmon had to wait and we had leftovers to use up on Thursday.

What got taken out of the freezer last week....

*  Kielbasi

*  Meatballs

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

*  Catfish

*  Liver(sorry Anne!)

*  1 lb. of Bacon

*  Cheddar/Jalapeno Sausages

*  1 Hunk of Salmon

*  a Pork Tenderloin

Last week we spent $207.56 on grocery shopping for May.  Big week for grocery shopping but lots of little stops and they added up.

Total shopping comes to $516.44 for May.   There are 4 shopping days left in May but I am basically done for the month procuring food.

Rebate monies earned this month so far.....

I've earned $217.44 on Ibotta in May.

I've earned $27.50 on Shopmium in May.

I've earned $15.50 on Alexa app in May.

I've earned $21.55 on Kroger Cash Back in May.

I've earned $10.70 on TaDa in May.

I've earned $2.31 on Checkout51 in May.

I've earned $26.47 on Aisle, etc. in May.

I've earned 3,844 points on Fetch from food shopping in May.

I've earned 2,635 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in May.($)

I've earned 0 Points on My Points in May.($)

I've earned 0 SB from food shopping on Swag Bucks in May.

That is $273.72 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/TaDa/MyPoints/KCB/Alexa)on $516.44 of grocery spending so in reality it's $242.72 in food spending after the rebate apps I count. I now separate out the Food Bank donations and don't count those in the grocery spending.

My savings percentage for the last week was 51.25% and the monthly savings total for May comes in at 60.33% spent.

Leftovers going into this week...Green Beans, a little Rice, Mac & Cheese, plus some leftover cheese sauce from making Mac & Cheese.

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

1. Sunday--Steak, Leftover Green Beans

2. Monday--Hamburgers on Buns, Corn on cob, Pasta Salad

3. Tuesday--General Tso Chicken, Green Beans, Leftover Rice

4. Wednesday-Salmon, Sauté Yellow Squash

5. Thursday--Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, Broccoli, Red Cabbage(Hubs)

6. Friday--Catfish dinner, Cole Slaw, other Leftover Veggies

7. Saturday--Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

Not much in the leftover department this week so I'll be cooking(on boy!).  Hubs is making the pork tenderloin pieces.  Might get take-out Catfish at the local joint we like on Friday.

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    

Kim & Sissie Update...Sort Of

 

Since Kim is still MIA on her blog I will provide an update of sorts.

She made it to the DC area where Sissie commenced to torture her by making her scrub bathrooms. lol  No laying in bed until the crack of 9am at Sissie's house!

Next update I got was almost a week later when they were on the road.  It had been an adventure thus far with Sissie's two cats, Lucy and "my" Bud.  I'll let them tell the hilarity that ensued in that realm.  

They were a day away from Kim's house, with one more night to spend in a hotel with the kitties at that point.

I got a text response on May 21st from Kim that she was not going to Alaska with us in the Fall.  Not a word since then and I've texted both and called(gotten voice mails and no replies).  I am assuming the truck has been unloaded and the new home search is tentatively underway.

As for Sissie's home in MD, she kept worrying about the possibility that it wouldn't sell fast and they'd have to delay their house search out in Idaho.  I kept telling her I KNEW it would get snatched up lickety split but did she believe me?  Noooo.
Well before the house even when properly on the market(it was still in the "coming soon" phase on the website)someone made an over asking offer!  See?  I am a soothsayer. lolz

So hopefully that sale goes through quickly and with cash in hand Sissie can find a great home for her and her Hubs and the kitties. 8-)

I am sure when she's not dealing with the home sale and new home search, Sissie is bossing Kim around and straightening her out. lol
But it would be nice if Kim would POP UP AND WRITE SOMETHING(and call me)SINCE WE ARE ALL WORRYING ABOUT THEM!!!

Sluggy

I Loves Me Some Kroger Clearance

One thing I enjoy(well "enjoy" may be an overstatement lol)doing is digging through the clearance bins at Kroger.  Now and again the various Walmart stores here will set up a clearance shelf/shelves but they are likely to remove then or worse luck, move them to where I can't find them.  I am not up for a game of hide and seek trying to find where the clearance has moved to.  Plus clearance at Walmart at my stores is rather pricey as they hardly mark things down much so the prices are "meh".  

But Kroger, that is a whole other animal when it comes to clearance.

If the items are refrigerated, I know just where they dump the stuff they want gone in both of the stores I frequent.  Meat type foods just get a clearance price slapped on the label so you have to look for it in the normal places where the meat/chicken/pork/seafood is kept.  And if it's not perishable, they have designated areas where it is put and I can dig to my hearts desire.

The one store's clearance area is a hot mess but the other store's area is tidy so that one is a bit easier to wade through.  That store is where I found these items yesterday.........

I am not particular or brand loyal to any allergy product and I find I can use most any allergy spray with good results.

I found a Flonase, an Astepro and a Nasacort product in the clearance.

Here are the clearance prices....

The Flonase was marked at $5.60, the Astepro was $6.30 and the Nasacort was $7.00.

I had a $4 digital coupon that came off for the Flonase making it $1.60, another $4 digital coupon for the Astepro AND it was part of the "Buy 5, Get a $1 off" Mega Sale and I got another $1 off, so that one cost me $1.30 and while there was no digital coupon available for the Nasacort, there was an in date $3 off Peelie coupon on the box so that one cost me a whole $4.00(extravagant I tell ya, extravagant! lol).  '-)

And none of these were expired(or anywhere near their use by dates).  It would have been even better if there were Ibotta rebates on the items but alas, not this time. 8-(

Plus there is some stuff in their normal aisle that is clearly tagged on the shelf as clearance.  The best is when a "Buy 5, Get $1 Off Each Item" Sale is going on and the clearance tagged item is part of that Sale, making it an even better deal.  Those are sweet deals. 8-)

I also picked up a Take and Bake Pizza(shout out to SAM who is always writing about picking up Take and Bakes!)that regularly sells for $7.99 at Kroger for just $3.37 on Thursday.  We stopped in as this store as we needed something there and it was right near my PT facility.  The pizza had a use by date of that day and it was just the right size for Hubs and I to share for dinner that evening(along with some leftover Roasted Broccoli).  Of course that meant adjusting my meal plan for the week but that wasn't a problem as I am not a strict "must follow the meal plan or else" type. ;-)

OTC Allergy meds are pricey things(not as bad as rx ones unless you have small co-pays for those)so getting stuff like this at a rock bottom price is great.

This is just one of the ways I keep our grocery/toiletries/paper goods/etc. budget under control.  Stuff sure adds up.....

Do you like shopping clearance deals at your stores?

Sluggy