Grocery Shopping 7-10-09

Due to being out of town for the wedding, we decided to wait an extra week to go grocery shopping again. I like cleaning out the pantry and fridge by doing this every couple months. Truth be told we probably could have gone another week, but with having my brother and sister here all next week, I didn't want to torture them with the weird assortment of food that we might have eaten. :)

Aldi:

Total Spent: $39.70

Meijer:


Total Spent: $28.84

Deals:
DiGiorno Flatbread - FREE
3 Candy Bars - FREE
Kotex pantiliners - $1.29 - $1 coupon, $.29 each
Herbal Essence Shampoo - $2.77 - $1 coupon, $1.77

Now for the super duper deal...Walmart:


I paid $.18 for all three of those! They were on clearance for $1 each, and I had a $1 coupon. I even had one more coupon, but these were the last three at the store.

Meal Plan:

As I mentioned, I have my little brother and sister with me for the week. I bought more food than usual, and I bought more items that I normally wouldn't so that we would be able to pack picnic lunches for all the places we go next week. (I hope to have daily updates of our adventures!)

Breakfasts:
Oatmeal
English Muffins (plain or sandwiches)
Eggs & Toast
French Toast
Bagels
Pancakes

Lunches: (most of these will be eaten out and about)
Meat/cheese sandwiches
PB&J sandwiches
Egg salad sandwiches
Meat/cheese & crackers

Dinners:
Spaghetti
Hot dogs & fries
Pizza
Hamburgers & baked potatoes
Tacos
Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups
Chicken Divan

Snacks:
Crackers & Cheese
Crackers & PB
Fruit (Apples, bananas, grapes)
Carrot sticks
Apple sauce

Strawberries!!

My friend Erin and I went strawberry picking in mid-June, but we didn't pick too many because the price wasn't too good ($1.40/pound). Luckily we didn't because the berries weren't too good either. So we tried and tried to reschedule, but the next farm we were trying to go to closed early on us TWICE! We were less than happy with them to say the least.

Finally on June 30 (typically the end of strawberry season), we made it to the farm before they closed. After picking for about 1/2 hour, the guy running the joint came over to see if we were finished. I sheepishly told him that I'd like to fill the two containers that I brought, if I might. He said, "Well, how 'bout you give me $10, and you can pick as long as you like?" I said, "You got yourself a deal."

Here's where the freakishly frugal/penny-pincher kicks into high gear. He said I can pick "as long as I like." So I picked and picked and picked. My friend ended up leaving me, and after a while, I looked up to find I was the only one in the field. My back was killing me so I decided to call it a night. I picked 20#!!! Haha...for only $10. That is the BEST price per pound I have ever gotten! Woot Woot!

Disclaimer: had it not been the end of the season it would not have taken me very long to get 20#. The berries were sparse and picked over which is why it took me that long.

Here's the loot:

Kmart Double Deals

I'll be hitting up Kmart tonight. I'll try to post promptly what I get. Yay for free stuff!

Betsey & Micah's Wedding

I don't have any really great pictures from the wedding. I was a little busy that day! :) Of course, I should have given the camera to Dan since he takes better pictures anyway, but again, I was a little busy and didn't quite think of that.

Here's the lovely bride at her shower/luncheon the day before the wedding.

Her lovely dress...

The flowers before they were turned into bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres. Look at my dog! Isn't he cute!!

The bridesmaids bouquets...

Betsey's bouquet...Betsey's ended up looking much better on the day of the wedding because the Stargazer Lilies were opened on that day.

For more thorough posts visit Mom and Lacey.

Baking Day

Goal: Make muffins, English Muffins, and cookies

This is my very first baking day. I'm trying to become Suzie Homemaker here! Really, I do love to cook, but this baking day idea is driven by our need to cut back our grocery spending.

Blueberry Muffins: Using the fresh blueberries that I got such a good deal on, I made muffins for our breakfasts. This will last us 3 meals. Don't they look scrumptious???


English Muffins: I found this recipe on The Happy Housewife, and I thought I'd try it. By my estimation it cost $1.40 total for the recipe, and I made 24 muffins. Now the recipe was only supposed to make 11-13 muffins, but I rolled them out too thin. So the finished product was a bit thinner, but they still taste awesome!

Rising:


Finished!


Cookies: This is part one of doing away with Little Debbie. Sorry Little Debbie, I really do love your scrumptious cakes! I froze most of these in individual packets for easy lunch making. I haven't estimated the cost on these, but I imagine $2-$3. These will last me easily 4 weeks, and it would have cost $4 (at least) in Little Debbies. So not much saved, but a penny saved is a penny earned!

Grocery Shopping 6/15/09

Aldi:


Highlights:
Blueberries - $.69
Eggs - $.85
Milk - $.189

Total: $20.41

Meijer:


Highlights:
Snickers Ice Cream Bars- on sale 50% off, used $1 coupon, $.93 per box
Ground Chuck-$1.99/pound, not a super good deal, but we needed meat
Yogurt-on sale for $.40/cup, used $.60/6, $.30 per cup total
Tabasca-$1.18, used $1 coupon, $.18 total

Total: $35.04

Grand Total: $55.45

Menu:
Spaghetti
Meatballs & Rice
Black Bean Chilaquiles
Spinach Artichoke Calzones
Loaded Baked Potatoes
Grilled Hamburgers and Fries
Pork Chops & Herb Roasted Squash

Dan and I have cut back our grocery budget due to the pay cut, so I am determined not to buy Little Debbie cakes or granola bars anymore. I'm sure I can make them cheaper. I had my very first "baking day" this week. I will post more on that later.

I will try to start posting recipes too so that I can share any good ones I find.

I'm a hick!

My expander on my top jaw was getting harder and harder to turn. To the point where I thought if the key slipped out I'd stab the key through my throat and brain stem and die. :) So I went to the ortho yesterday (YESTERDAY!) and he said that means that the expander isn't working. The ridge of my mouth is fused shut and this method of expanding my jaw isn't going to work. So we create a new treatment plan, schedule new visits, and I leave.

I get ready for bed last night and I have EXTREME sensitivity in my front left tooth. The sensitivity moves to the right tooth...the gums around these teeth start throbbing. I, of course, ignore all of this and try to sleep. I have trouble getting to sleep because it hurts so stinkin' bad. I've had a lot of pain in my teeth though and I'm tired so I'm not getting up to check it.

I wake up this morning and this is what I look like:


AHHHHH! I'm a hick!

So I'm going to call the ortho asap this morning to see if we can countinue with the original plan. FYI: This separation was supposed to happen under normal circumstances. It just looked like mine wasn't going to expand

George is B-A-D

Please walk through my house with me...

We'll start in the kitchen:

Dining Room:


Living Room:


Yep, that's a Bible.


Oh yes, and our super cool guest book from our wedding along with a couple books and magazines.


Our Bedroom:

Close up of Dan's flashlight for his gun. He doesn't know about this one yet. George will be lucky to be alive after Dan gets home. George chewed up the handle to one of his hand guns yesterday.

Anyone care to guess how our un-crate training is going???

Deals Deals Deals

Here is my grocery shopping for the next two weeks:

Aldi Highlights:

Milk - $1.89
Eggs - $.85
Breakfast Sausage - $.89 (Yay! price went down $.10!)
Cottage Cheese - $1.99 (decrease of about $.60)
Strawberries - $.99 (Cheaper than Meijer!)

Total: $29.28


Meijer Highlights (sorry, my deals won't help anyone; I post them too late. I'm just gloating!):

Crystal Light - $.88 + free water (I ended up with 3 24-packs for FREE! Thanks, Lacey!)
Chex Mix - $.50 after coupon
Oscar Meijer Beef Hot Dogs - FREE from coupon in mail
Sausage - $1.50/pound
Mott's Apple Juice - $1.17 each after Meijer Mealbox coupon (for those who track juice prices, this was a phenominal deal. As you can see, I bought 6 half gallons, and after I left underbudget, I decided to go back and buy 6 more. It's such a deal!)

Total: $23.49

2nd Meijer run - 6 more Mott's juice = $5.00


Total Available in Budget: $63.03 (because I was a good girl last week!)
Total Spent on Groceries: $57.77

STILL under-budget! Woot Woot! I even have an extra $5.26 for next time!

Menu:

Breakfasts:
Muffins
Bagels
Pancakes
French Toast
Banana and PB Smoothies

Dinners:
Chicken Salad
Black Bean Chiliquiles
Smoked Sausage Pasta Primavera
Sausage with Vodka Sauce on Penne
Pizza
Salmon with Morney Sauce
Kalbi (Korean Ribs) and Rice