Race Day and Deals

As some of you may know, Dan and I ran in the Nike+ 10k this morning. The weather was ok, not ideal though. At least it didn't downpour, that's a plus! I finished in 58:28 which was good, but I was hoping to beat my River Bank time of 56 and some change. I blame the weather. :) Dan did AMAZING! This was his first race every and he didn't train a single day for it. Now he does bike and lift regularly, but he doesn't run. He didn't stop once! He finished in 1:04:32. Wow! He is amazing!

Here is lovely us back at our house after the race. I wanted to snap a few at the race, but of course, I forgot my camera!


Another thing I've meaning to blog about is homemade cleaners. Cleaners from the store are stinkin' expensive, and I just can't seem to find good deals to match with coupons. So I decided to make my own.

First, I made a glass cleaner and all purpose cleaner. I am using the all pupose to clean everything that's not glass, even toilets. If I encounter a tough job (i.e. soap scum on the tub) I sprinkle some baking soda and a little water and scrub away. I had no issues cleaning anything in my house so far! Good-bye store bought cleaners!

These are frugal too. I paid:
$2.79 vinegar
$1.99 alcohol
$5.98 spray bottles (probably could have gotten them for a $1 at a dollar store, but I bought them at Meijer instead)
$1.89 baking soda
$1.47 rubber gloves (using $1 manufacturer coupon)

Total: $14.12


I think these cleaners will last forever too. The spray bottles and gloves won't have to be replaced any time soon either.

Next up, laundry soap! I hate buying laundry soap. It is so expensive, and the coupons are ridiculously low value for laundry soap. So I made my own! I got the recipe from the Duggar's book. I haven't tried it yet, so I'll have to update then and let you know what I think.

Total cost: $8.40 for 10 gallons of laundry soap. Yikes! I split the batch with a friend. I will have 5 gallons once it's all said and done. Also I didn't come close to using all the borax or washing soda. I can make several more batches before I'd need to buy more. The bar soap gets used up every time, but it's only $1.40 per bar.

Here are some crazy deals we stumbled up on our spur-of-the-moment Meijer trip. Half gallon OJ for $.56. Wow!!! They did expire in two days, but I think it will last a week or so after that. We'll see! :)

Groceries and Menu Plan

Grocery Haul: I didn't need too many items this week, so I was under-budget which was amazing. I did go apple picking on Saturday and purchased a butternut squash and spaghetti squash. You can see those in the bowl in the center of the table.

Aldi:

Total: $13.82

Meijer:


Milk - $1.75 (Cheaper than Aldi! Unheard of!)
Yogurt - $.39 (Not the best deal ever, but the cheapest I could find)
Potatoes - $1.49 for 10 lbs.
Cottage Cheese - $1.69 (again cheaper than Aldi...so unusual!)
Dried Peppers - $1.69 each
Tuna - $.89 each
Pizza Sauce - $.99
Tomatoes - $1
Brown Sugar (not pictured) - $2.29 for 4 lbs. (cheaper than Aldi!)

total: $24.93

Butternut Squash - $1.56
Spaghetti Squash - $1.17

Grand Total: $41.48

Menu

Breakfasts
English Muffins
French Toast
Eggs and Toast
Apple Bread and Cottage Cheese
Oatmeal & fruit

Dinners/Lunches
Homemade Pizza
Texas Red Chili
Butternut Squash Soup
Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti & Broccoli
Mexicali Meatloaf & Potatoes
Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese

Fantastic Dinner!!!

Unfortunately, Dan was not home when I made this meal. He had to work late, and I didn't think my mushrooms could last one more day. So I made this scrumptious meal for me, myself, and I. I gave it a 4-3/4 out of 5. I thought it was simply fabulous!

I found these recipes in my Rachael Ray cookbook. I by no means made them up myself.

Turkey and Wild Mushroom Meat Loaf

3 T olive oil
8 crimini (baby portobello) mushrooms, chopped
8 shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1-1/3 lb. ground turkey (I used 1lb, and it worked fine)
3 or 4 sprigs of fresh sage, leaves stripped and chopped (I used dried)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 C Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
2 T butter
2 C chicken or turkey broth
1 t poultry seasoning

Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, mushrooms, shallots, salt, and pepper. Saute until mushrooms are dark and tender, about 5-6 minutes. Remove to a bowl and return pan to stovetop to preheat to cook patties.

In a mixing bowl, mix turkey, sage, Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs, egg, and mushroom/onion mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Make a small 1 inch patty and cook for 1 minute on each side. Taste to see if the raw meat mixture needs more spice.

Divide meatloaf into patties 1 inch thick. Add 1 t olive oil to pan and arrange patties in pan. Cook 6 minutes on each side and transfer to serving plate.

Return pan to heat and add butter. When melted, wisk flour and cook 1-2 minutes. Whisk broth and season gravy with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Pour over patties, reserve some for table if you like.

Herb Smashed Potatoes with Goat Cheese

3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
salt and pepper to taste
1 T olive oil
2 T butter
1 shallot, chopped
10 blades chives, chopped or snipped (3 T)
3 or 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped and chopped (again, I used dried)
1 C chicken broth (I only ended up using 1/3 C)
1 small log (4oz.) herb, peppercorn, or plain goat cheese

Bring pot water to a boil, and boil potatoes until fork-tender, about 15 minutes.

drain potatoes and return empty pot to stove. Adjust heat to medium. Add oil, butter. When melted add shallots and saute 2-3 minutes. Add chives and thyme, then potatoes to pot. Mash potatoes, adding broth as you work to achieve desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove goat cheese from packaging and cut into disks. Serve potatoes on dinner plates and top each mound with a disk of goat cheese.

Groceries 9/15/09

I decided to get rid of some of the spaghetti from Betsey's wedding. So I pulled out a pan of that last week. It lasted us a whole week, Monday through Saturday night, 2 meals a day. Yeah, I'm a little tired of spaghetti. But that allowed me to save up some moolah for the next shopping trip. Woohoo!

Here is my most exciting purchase: yeast! My aunt told me that you can buy yeast at Gordon Food Service much cheaper than at the regular grocery store. I was so shocked at the price. For $2.99 you can get 16 oz. of yeast at Gordon's. For $3.69, you can get 4 oz. of yeast at Meijer. Holy Cow!!! What savings!!!

Note: I am using yeast on a regular basis as I no longer buy bread or English muffins from the store.


Aldi:

OJ is reduced to $.99 from $1.25
Pineapple $2.59 (not sure if this is a good deal. I just wanted some fresh pineapple!)

Meijer:

Dannon yogurt $.40 each
Fiber One yogurt $1.19
Campbell's soup $.20 each (that's right!) - use the $.40/4 manufacturer and $1.00/4 MeijerMealbox (Woot! Woot!)


Menu:

Breakfasts
English Muffins and Cottage Cheese
Blueberry Pancakes
French Toast
Eggs and Toast

Dinners
Homemade Pizza
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
Chicken Pot Pie
Velveeta Cheeseburger Mac (homemade so slightly better than hamburger helper!)
Turkey and Wild Mushroom Meatload & Herbed Smashed Potatoes
Chicken Divan
Kal-bee & Rice (Korean marinated ribs)

Menu for 8/7/2009

I forgot to attach our menu for the next two weeks:

Breakfasts:
French Toast
Eggs & Toast
English Muffins
Cereal

Lunch:
Leftovers

Dinners:
Grilled Sausage, Potatoes, and Corn on the Cob
BBQ Chicken, Rice, and Corn on the Cob
Chicken Divan
Black Bean Chilaquiles
Pasta Primavera with Sausage
Meatloaf & Rice
Stroganof over Rice

Note:
We will also be bring two items to two different picnics: baked beans and hot dog buns. The ingredients to make these items is included in the loot purchased for the next two weeks.

Edit:
I also bought whole wheat flour because I'm making my own bread and English muffins for the next two weeks. I'll post on how that goes! :)

Grocery Shopping for 8/7/2009

Aldi Deals (on the right side of the picture):

Milk - $1/gallon...that's right...$1
All other prices were normal

Total Spent: $24.30

Meijer Deals (On the left side of the picture):

Eggs - $.88/dozen
Tropicana OJ - FREE (I filled out some pledge to get this coupon)
Barilla Pasta - $.89
Bacon - $1.79/pound
Strawberries - $1/pound
Cereal - $1.99 minus $1 manufacturer coupon...$.99/box
Corn - $.20/ear
Ragu - $1.50 minus $.50 MeijerMealbox minus $.30 or $.60 manufacturer coupon...$.70 or $.40 each
Dannon Yogurt - $.40 minus $.60 on six manufacturer coupon...$.30 each
Mott's Apple Juice - $1.67 minus $1/2 MeijerMealbox...$1.17 each
Suave Lotion - $1.67 minus $1 manufacturer coupon...$.67 each
Northern TP - $11.99 minus $1 manufacture coupon...$10.99 for 24 double rolls

Total Coupon Savings: $13.99
(Actually I saved $16.99 in coupons, but they didn't ring up 3 right. After fighting with customer service, I got a "Customer Happiness Coupon" for $2.50 on my next purchase. I think I'll call someone to fight for my last $.50...we'll see.)

Total Spent: $51.21



(I forgot the katsup in the first picture!)

Grand Total: $75.51

Groceries: $54.68 (real total should have been $51.68 with the correct coupons)
Toiletries: $20.83

So I'm over-budget again. I tried to fit our toiletries into the $50 every two week budget, but I just can't figure out how. The toilet paper this time really killed us. Currently, I do have a Toiletries column in our budget, and I think I'm going to have to keep it that way for now. If you have any tips, please let me know.

Target:

Visine $3.34 minus $2 manufacturer coupon...$1.34
Kotex pantiliners - $2.70 minus $2 Target Kotex coupon minus $.75 manufacturer coupon FREE


Office Max

Sharpies $.01 each

Total: $.03

Day 3

Sorry no picture today...

Summary of Day 3: We woke up at 6:20am with George licking at our faces. We went to the Morgan's house for the day while Emily went to work. Zachary played Game Cube almost all the day. Zach: That's not quite true. We did go to the park for an hour.

Mrs. Morgan made a necklace for Elyse, and Elyse made one for herself. It's not finished yet.

Elyse and Zach got a hot chocolate from Starbucks on the ride over in the morning, and we brought Mr. and Mrs. Morgan a smoothie.