Shopping List - Week 8

My shopping for the week is officially done. I shopped at Meijer and being that the sales this week were pretty bad I didn't use very many coupons. But I did get everything I needed.

Here's what I bought:

$.99 Meijer Paper Towels (bought 2)
$1.35 Ranch Mix
$1.64 Large Eggs
$2.54 2lbs Jasmine Rice
$3.79 Drink Boxes
$.79 Great Northern Beans
$.79 Chili Beans
$.89 Pancake Mix (bought 4) - Minus 2 $2.00 coupons = FREE
$.79 Swanson Chicken Broth
$.99 Chi-Chi Salsa (bought 2) - Minus 2 $.99 coupons = FREE
$.94 Taco Bell Taco Shells (bought 2)
$1.19 Helluva Chip Dip (bought 2) - Minus 2 $1.00 coupons = $.19 each
$1.35 La Choy Soy Sauche (bought 2) - Minus $.50 each (promo buy 3 La Choy save $1.50 instantly) = $.85 each
$1.79 La Choy Sweet and Sour Sauce - Minus $.50 = $1.29
$1.49 Taco Bell Queso
$2.00 Pam Spray (bought 2) - Minus 2 $.70 coupons and $1.00 Mealbox coupon = $.70 each
$1.50 Meijer Toaster Pastry
$.99 Kleenex - Minus $1.00 coupon = FREE
$1.33 Nestle Mint Chocolate Chips (bought 2) - Minus $1.00 coupon = $.83 each

So I didn't do great, and really I didn't need anymore of that chip dip.... but it doesn't expire until the end of February.... I'm sure it can get used by then. I didn't really need any meat this week. I have SO much leftover ham that I don't know how we'll finish it all, and of course I have some other stuff in the freezer.

My total spent was around $25.00 (again I bought a few things to bring to a party this coming weekend so I subtracted that from the amount spent). So I'm under budget, which is nice. I may wind up buying another bag of GF flour because I've been baking a lot and am already running low (there has not been anything posted about these baking ventures because they've all sort of failed in a big way.....*sigh*). I've been finding that I enjoy baking but have about 0 skill at it. Occasionally something turns out well.... buy accident I'm sure..... but other than that it all kind of flops. The bread I made yesterday collapsed on itself and burned on the top while the inside was still quite doughy. My children mocked me.... my husband smiled a smile that implied that I should have just bought a loaf of bread.... but you can't just BUY GF Banana Bread. It did smell nice.... my one consolation.

I think I need Martha Stewart or Ina Garten... or someone to give some serious baking lessons. I may be a lost cause.

Shopping List - Week 8

Here is my itty-bitty shopping trip of the week. We happened to be out and about and near VG's so I decided to stop in. They double coupons up to and including a $1.00.

Here is what I got:

$2.00 Kraft Cheese with a Touch of Philadelphia (bought 3) - Minus 3 $2.00 coupons = FREE
$1.50 Helluva Dip (bought 2) - Minus 2 $1.50 coupons = FREE
$1.67 Old Orchard Apple Juice - Minus $1.00 coupons = FREE
$1.99 Kellogg's Cinnabon Cereal (bought 2) - Minus 2 $1.50 coupons = $.49 each
$.75 Jingle Bells Candy

Total: around $3.00 (lost receipt and too lazy to do actual math)

The only thing I really needed was the cheese. The cereal is one of my daughter's favorite snacks, so she now loves me forever.

I still need to go to Meijer for the majority of my shopping. But my house is enveloped in sickness right now (thank you to my oldest daughter who seems to bringing one thing after another home from school), so the shopping is put of for the moment.

I'm just excited that it's Tuesday and I still have $37.00 left!

And I just realized that I'm 2 months into the challenge! How cool is that!

Cheesecake

This is my slow cooker cheesecake. Forgive the picture, but I forgot to take a picture until 1/2 of it was gone.... so I had to take a partial cheesecake shot.

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 cup crushed animal cookies (I used Mi-Del Arrowroot cookies) - For me it took about 2 cups of regular cookies to get 1 cup of crumbs....
3 TB melted butter
2 TB brown sugar

The Creamy Delicious Cheesecake Filling:
2 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese (use the full fat kind.... you're making cheesecake for crying out loud)
3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 TB Flour (I used Bob's Red Mill GF Flour)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Use at least a 6 qt. slow cooker. Mine is a 7 qt. Find a heat proof baking dish that will fit inside the slow cooker. This is the hardest part. I ended up using a foil throw away pie pan I bought from the dollar store. Mix the crust ingredients all together and press into bottom of pan.

In separate bowl mix up all the filling ingredients with an electric mixer. Blend until creamy. Mine still had a few lumps but I didn't want to over mix. Pour into crust.

Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of your slow cooker. Put the cheesecake in. Cook on high about 3 hours. I would check on it before that to see how it's doing though. I propped my slow cooker open for the last hour or so and that seemed to help (my cooker was getting too wet inside). The cheesecake is done when you touch it and you finger doesn't get all cheesecakey. Mine was still jiggly in the middle (think jello). Chill for several hours. This is the most important step I think. I chilled mine about 2 hours and it was not long enough. The cheesecake was still decent but it wasn't firm enough. A few hours later it was SO much better and the next day was even better.

This ended up being really good. Of course it was better after everyone left my house and it had had a chance to firm up longer. So next time I will cook it the day before. And I think next time I'll try it in the oven, just because it would be quicker. It was nice this time though to cook it in the slow cooker, because my oven was full of 2 hams and a rack of stuffed potatoes.... so no room for a cheesecake.

I'll be making this again for sure. I haven't had cheesecake in over a year so this was a huge treat for me, and the first cheesecake I've seen that was GF. It was really easy to make too, which was a huge bonus.

Mini Rant

I'm pretty sure there is an evil conspiracy between all the grocery stores in the area to keep me from my weekly budget this week. I've looked at 3 ads and all of them have left me feeling depressed and annoyed. How is one to keep on a $40 a week budget when the grocery stores all have horrible ads the same week. They should seriously rotate bad weeks or something so I have somewhere to shop.

So far VG's is looking like the weekly winner, which is nothing to brag about this week. And even the stuff there isn't stuff I *need* at the moment. Like do I really need more cereal.....um....no... my pantry is starting to resemble the cereal aisle of the local party store. But it will be free..... so I guess I'm buying more. I'm sure we'll use it before it expires, but it's the last thing on my list right now. If there is ever some huge catastrophe everyone can head over to my place for some cereal. By this time I'll probably have amassed enough to feed a small country... it will have overtaken my pantry (which is somewhat large I might add) and the laundry room.... don't worry if you have a particular brand you like... I probably have it. Stupid cereal.... REALLY.

I think I have a bad attitude about it all this week. I was already having a bad week... and than I sat down to make my grocery list. A task which I usually quite enjoy. And I didn't get a paper this week cause the place I stopped to get one only had papers with NO COUPONS! Seriously BP gas station.... you're off the ball.... you're slacking.... you're lying to your customers, because the paper clearly states there is like $149 in coupons.... SO WHERE ARE MY COUPONS. BP gas station is now on my list. And it takes a LOT to get on my list. And since we were having company today I didn't have time to stop anywhere else. I had 2 hams to get in the oven and a cheese cake to get into the slow cooker. And yes, I cooked a cheesecake in my slow cooker and it was magical. Yes mom, magical. Even if you thought it was less than perfect. (A note to my mom.....I tried a bite after you left and it was MUCH better after it got colder).

So I guess is the end of my mini rant.... which is developing a mind of it's own and turning kind of long. My husband appreciates my couponing obsession.... but does not understand it.... so I needed a venue if you will to complain.

I'm off to relook at all the ads again in the hopes that something redeemable pops out of one....

What's For Dinner - Taco Soup

Last night I made Taco Soup. This was a new recipe and I loved it. It was fabulous. I changed up the recipe to fit what I had on hand but it turned out great. This is how I made it:

1 lb. 96% lean Ground Turkey
1 can Chili Beans
1 can Great Northern Beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can Corn (14.5 oz can)
1 packet of Ranch Dressing Mix
1 packet of Taco Seasoning
1 small/medium Onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes (do not drain)

Brown the meat and the onion in a large pot. Once browned add the beans, tomatoes, corn, and seasoning mixes. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer about 20 minutes.

Top with cheese, sour cream, green onion, tortilla chips.... really whatever sounds good to you.

My kids both ate this without too much complaining (a big deal in my house). My husband wouldn't try it because *gasp* it contains beans. I loved it. There was enough to feed 4 easily. We have enough leftovers for 2 days for lunch. I wasn't too sure about trying this because it sounded a little weird, but the ranch and taco seasoning really added a lot of good flavor.

Now I just need to figure out what to make tonight!

Shopping List - Week 7

There is no picture. I just wasn't feeling it today. I wanted the groceries put away and out of my hair. It's been a LONG day.

I shopped at Meijer and here is what I bought:

$3.49 Benefiber Drink Mix - Minus $4.00 coupon = $.51 OVERAGE
$.99 Meijer Bath Tissue
$1.09 Chili Seasoning
$1.35 Ranch Mix
$1.59 Argo Baking powder - Minus $.60 coupon = $.99
$1.99 Sunflower Seeds
$1.99 Meijer Garbage Bags
$3.37 Planters Peanuts Jar (bought 2) - On sale Buy 1 Get 1 Free = $3.37 for 2
$1.00 Meijer Canned Corn (bought 2) - This was my first time buying canned veggies..... needed it for a recipe.
$1.31 Super Pretzels Stuffed Mozzerella (bought 2 packages) - Minus 2 $1.00 coupons = $.31 each
$2.69 Meijer Butter

Total: Approximately $19.00

I say approximately because I bought some other stuff (shirt for my daughter, stuff for entertaining, ect) that I didn't count, and I'm too lazy (did I mention it's been a long day?) to do the actual math.

So I made it budget wise this week, unless of course I really screwed up my math. I'm just happy to be back on track. I was feeling a little guilty ;)

I'm off to tend to dinner. I'm starving and started dinner early and it smells so good I'm having trouble concentrating! I'm trying a new recipe so hopefully it turns out okay. Taco Soup!

Shopping List - Week 7

Seven weeks in and I think this challenge is actually getting harder. For a while there I was feeling a little cocky... like this wasn't really that hard. And I don't know what changed but the last few weeks have been HARD! I'm hoping that now that I'm getting a stockpile back (it was dwindling, which is probably why there were a few easy weeks) that things will get better.

Today I shopped at Kroger and they double coupons up to and including a $1.00. Just a reminder that when I post that I used a $2.00 coupon, that probably means that I've used a $1.00 coupon that doubled. I'm just too lazy to type it all out correctly ;)

Here's how I did:

$1.00 Kroger Fruit Snacks
$.50 Hershey Bar (bought 2) - Minus $.50 coupon = $.25 each
$2.50 Pepperidge Farms Cookies (bought 2) - Minus 2 $2.00 coupons = $.50 each
$1.00 Toblerone (bought 2) - Minus $2.00 coupon = FREE
$1.99 Nestle Tollhouse Morsels (bought 4) - Minus 2 $2.00 coupons = $.99 each
$1.00 Kroger Paprika
$2.80 Covergirl Lipstick - clearance - Minus $2.00 coupon = $.80
$.80 Heavy Duty Sponge
$1.25 Philly Cream Cheese (bought 2) - Minus $2.00 coupon = $.25 each
$2.79 Star Balsamic Vinegar - Minus $2.00 coupon = $.79
$3.19 Thai Kitchen Red Curry Sauce - Minus $2.00 coupon = $1.19
$2.00 Franks Wing Sauce - Minus $2.00 coupon = FREE
$2.00 Franks Buffalo Sauce - Minus $2.00 coupon = FREE
$1.39 Schick Hydro Shave Gel (bought 2) - in clearance bin - Minus 2 $1.39 coupons = FREE
$2.62 Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour (AWESOME PRICE)
$1.00 Armour Lunch Maker
$1.00 Wonka Gummies Bag - Minus $1.00 coupon = FREE
$1.00 Kroger Cheese Balls
$2.19 Duncan Heinz Cake Glaze - Minus $2.00 coupon = $.19
$2.50 So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk 1/2 gallon - Minus $2.00 coupon = $.50
$2.49 Silk Pure Almondmilk Vanilla 1/2 gallon (bought 2) - Minus 2 $1.50 coupons = $.99 each
$3.39 Reynolds Parchment Paper - Minus $1.50 coupon = $1.89
$2.50 Hillshire Farms Little Smokies (bought 3) - Minus 3 $2.00 coupons = $.50 each
$2.50 Alexa Sweet Potato Fries - Minus $2.00 coupon = $.50
$8.23 Smithfield Ham - Minus $2.00 coupon = $6.23
$1.67 Roman Meal Wheat Bread (bought 2) - Minus 2 $1.67 coupons = FREE

Total $28.14

The ham, 2 of the Little Smokies, 2 of the chocolate chips, and the cream cheese are for entertaining. And yes I realize I just bought a ham for entertaining, but I need 2.

New total:

$18.35

Now we just have to invite everyone over to eat all the ham we have.... we haven't gotten that far yet!

Shopping List - Week 6

I am done shopping for the week and I think I got everything I needed. You'll notice that my total is over $40, but a portion of my grocery bill today was for entertaining and I'll exempt that at the end.

I shopped at Meijer and here is what I bought:

$1.24 Bonne Belle Lipsmackers (bought 2) - Minus 2 $1.00 coupons = $.24 each
$.94 New York Colors Mascara - Minus $.92 coupon = FREE
$.94 New York Colors Lip Gloss - Minus $.92 coupon = FREE
$.99 Canned Pumpkin
$1.00 Power Bar (bought 6) - Minus a total of $2.80 in coupons = about $.54 each
$1.19 Meijer Wheat Bread
$4.99 Udi's Gluten Free Bagels - Minus $1.00 coupon = $3.99
$1.19 Heluva French Onion Dip (bought 2) - Minus 2 $.75 coupons = $.49 each
$1.39 Chi-Chi's Flour Tortillas - Minus $1.00 coupon = $.39
$1.99 Smart Balance Lactose Free Milk 1/2 gallon - Minus $1.00 coupon = $.99
$2.81 McCormick Vanilla Extract - Minus $1.00 coupon = $1.81
$2.99 Gortons Tilapia Fillets - Minus $1.00 coupon = $1.99
$1.50 Yellow Onions
$1.67 Meijers Chocolate Chips
$2.00 Kraft with Philadelpia Cheese - Minus $1.00 coupon = $1.00
$7.99 Meijer Chicken Breasts 4lbs
$7.73 Cooks bone in Smoked Ham
$1.00 Green Giant Steamers Veggies (bought 2) - Minus $1.00 coupon = $.50 each

Total $38.00
Exempting the ham, chocolate chips, the frozen vegetables, pumpkin, and one of the french onion dips.

New total: 26.11

So I'm done for the week and under budget. My plan is to stay out of the store until next week! I should be stocked, my freezer cannot hold anything else. I had to work just to get what I bought in!

Shopping List - Week 6

After last week, I'm determined to stay on track for this week and so far it's going pretty well. I didn't get to the store today because the roads are terrible (at least to a snow driving wimp like me). So tonight my husband drove me out to Kroger. Seriously I'm a huge hater of driving in the snow.... I'm happy my husband's been working from home the past 2 days so that he could help out.

So here's what I got:

$1.67 Pop Chips (bought 2) - Minus 2 $1.67 coupons = FREE (never tried these before, so hopefully they're good)
$.50 Milky Way Bar (bought 2) - Minus $1.00 in coupons = FREE
$2.00 Celestial Seasonings Tea (bought 2) - Minus 2 $2.00 coupons = FREE
$.88 Birds Eye Frozen Veggies (bought 2) - Minus $1.50 coupon = $.13 each
$.88 Birds Eye Steam Fresh Frozen Veggies (bought 2) - Minus 2 $.88 coupons = FREE
$1.00 Jello Instant Chocolate Fudge Pudding (bought 2) No Coupon.... The Horror!
$1.88 Cheerios (bought 2) - Minus 2 $1.88 coupons = FREE
$3.99 Drink Boxes for school lunch
$.99 Cool Whip Fat Free (bought 2) - Minus $2.00 in coupons = FREE
$3.69 Maxwell House Internation Cafe Instant Coffee - Minus $2.00 coupon = $1.69
$2.50 So Delicious Coconut Milk 1/2 gallon - Minus $2.00 coupon = $.50
$.83 Gallon of Distilled Water
$1.00 Toblerone Bar (bought 2) - Minus $2.00 coupon = FREE
$1.00 Fleishman Pizza Yeast - Minus $1.00 coupon = FREE
$1.00 Fleishman Yeast - Minus $1.00 coupon = FREE
$1.00 Cheese Balls
$2.50 Alexia Frozen Sweet Potato Fries - Minus $2.00 coupon = $.50
$2.09 Krusteaz Cookie Mix - Minus $2.00 coupon = $.09
$2.50 Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Crumbles - Minus $2.00 coupon = $.50
$2.50 Jimmy Dean Sausage Roll (bought 2) - Minus 2 $2.00 coupons = $.50 each
$1.69 12 Eggs - Minus $1.69 when you buy Sausage promotion = FREE

Total (including tax):

$12.34

Not too bad. I did get a lot of junk food though, which I'm not super proud of. But I'll ration it out to last a while. And I did really need some frozen veggies so I was happy about that. I'm excited to try the coconut milk, I've never had it but it sounds yummy! And I also got just what I needed MORE free cereal. I swear my pantry is stuffed with cereal. I'm trying to push it on my kids for all of their snacks!

Tomorrow should mean a trip to Meijers. I'm planning on getting the rest of the groceries there. For now I'm going to get back to the toasty fire my husband has going in the fireplace. It's so nice on such a freezing day.

What's For Dinner - Rigatoni

Ignore the fact that this doesn't really photograph well, it tasted pretty good. This is my, I don't feel like cooking and need something easy, Rigatoni and Lean Turkey Sausage.

It's made with:
1 package of Lean Sweet Italian Sausage
1 package of GF Rigatoni
1 small jar of pasta sauce
Cheese (didn't measure)

I used my dutch oven.... my new kitchen toy... to brown up the sausage (I sliced it into bite sized pieces first) in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. In a separate pan I cooked the pasta according to the package directions. Once the meat was cooked through I added the sauce and let that all simmer together until the pasta was cooked. I combined it all in the dutch oven and mixed in a handful of cheese (I only had mexican cheese... so I used that). Than I topped it with a bit more cheese and put the lid on the dutch oven. I let that cook a while longer to melt the cheese and just to let it all combine a bit.

It was a hit with the family. And it was easy. I'm not one to make much pasta, but this was good and somewhat healthy being that I used turkey sausage (although the cheese kind of wrecked the health factor a bit). But, I'm sure it beat the takeout that I wanted.....

Fessing Up

Okay, since I was over.... I decided it didn't really matter what else I got. The week was already blown, right? So yesterday I made my husband drive me to Whole Foods (it's really not at all convenient and I would never drive myself there since I am directionally challenged) and I bought 2 loaves of Udi's Gluten Free Bread. That doesn't sound like much, but at $6.99 a loaf it adds up quickly. So I have to add $14 to my total for 2 tiny loaves of bread. So my week was really bad budget wise. This week will be better though. I have all that bread in the freezer, so I'm set for a while. It's kind of an indulgence in my house. My daughter and I never eat it, so it's a nice treat.

I'm going to be back on budget next week, FOR SURE. I'm starting to feel a little guilty!

I need your help!

If anyone has subscribed to the blog via email, could you please let me know if it is working. I don't think that it is working, based on trying to subscribe myself with a different email address, but I would love to know if anyone else has tried it. And if it's not working does anyone have any advice to a technoligically challenged person on how to make it work.....

Thanks!

Shopping List - Week 5

This is a sad, sad day. I blew all the remaining money in the budget and I went OVER! I didn't take a picture because I was just too depressed over my paltry pile. And to make it worse I didn't get any of the meat that I needed. I have enough to get through the weekend.... I think.... so next week will probably be bad since I'll have practically nothing.

$1.97 Meijer Apple Juice
$1.50 Meijer Trash Bags
$4.99 Udi's Gluten Free Bagels
$.69 Meijers Great Northern Beans
$.69 Meijer Black Beans (bought 3)
$.69 Meijer Chili Beans
$.69 Meijer Diced Tomato
$1.30 Thai Kitchen Light Coconut Milk - Minus $1.00 coupon = $.30
$1.49 Ortega White Corn Taco Shells
$1.49 Kraft Singles
$1.89 Kraft Whipped Cream Cheese
$3.20 8 Yoplait Light Cups - MInus $1.00 coupon = $2.20 for 8
$2.00 4lbs of Oranges
$2.50 3lbs of Apples
$1.25 2lbs powdered sugar
$1.00 Lunchables (bought 4)

Grand Total - About $30. I bought some other stuff, like dog food, and a dish pan, ect..... and I'm feeling too lazy to add it up properly. But I went OVER budget this week!

I'm blaming it on the bagels. They put me over. You see, I've heard so many rave reviews about Udi's bread. But I've never found it in my are, and according to their website it wasn't sold within 100 miles. Gluten free bread normally tastes like saw dust. It's gross. So I've been wanting to try Udi's for the last year. I've been missing bread! So when I saw Udi's bagels on the bottom shelf of the gluten free freezer section at Meijers I HAD to get them. They don't sell the sandwich bread, but I figured the bagels would give me an idea of whether or not their bread products are saw dust like the rest I've tried. And of course.... what's a bagel without cream cheese.... so that went into the cart too. That's $7.00. If I hadn't spent that $7.00 I would be right on budget. Darn bagels.

But it's worth it. I opened them as soon as the groceries were put away. I toasted them in the oven. And WOW. They are amazing. Like seriously heaven on earth. I haven't had "real" bread of any kind in over a year. These tasted like normal bread. I was moments away from tearing open the whole pack and eating all 4. It was that good. My 3 year old ate it with a cream cheesed faced smile.... while I sat next to hear and asked, "Are you gonna finish that?" Hands down the best gluten free product I've ever tried. And it's only $4.99 for a 4 pack, and since I split one with my daughter... that's 4 breakfasts! For GF bread that's a great price. I am in love with a breakfast food...... don't tell my husband....

So I sit here typing, my head held in shame... feeling like a failure. But sometimes you have to buy the bagels you've been longing to try for a year.... It's hard to feel too much shame with a belly full of bagel and cream cheese. Seriously, just try it.

I'll get back on track next week. At least I hope not to go over twice in a row. I'm trying to cut down on how much meat I eat (hence all the beans I bought today), so maybe my bill won't be as bad.... or it might just be wishful thinking....

What's For Dinner - Chili

Today was freezing. Seriously. Freezing. Since it was so cold I decided to make something nice and warm. Since I really need more meat and my selection is pretty bare bones, I decided to make chili.

I used a medium sized yellow onion (diced really small so the kids wouldn't realize it was there), lean ground turkey, 1 can of chili beans, one can of great northern beans, and 1/2 a can of tomato sauce. I usually add some green pepper and diced tomato, but I didn't have any. I served it over some yummy jasmine rice.

The kids didn't love this meal, but they ate it. My oldest said it was okay, not terrible. And my youngest picked out the beans and said they were the best ever.... but she wasn't such a fan of the meat and rice.

I'm going to try to get back into making more recipes from the cookbooks I've been reading, I need a little variety. Plus I feel bad posting my lame dinners here and would like to liven it up a bit. I checked out a huge stack from the library today so I'm hoping to find some good stuff. I feel my inner Betty Crocker dying for release. My family doesn't like these moods I get in..... I swear my husband cringes everytime he sees me come home with a new batch of cookbooks from the library. He always cautiously asks what type of cookbook it is. And when he sees some crazy title all he says is, "huh." But the way he says it implies.... "if you make that for dinner please have something else on standby that I can heat up when this turns out to be a total disaster..."

Men.

Shopping List - Week 5

Had to run to Walmart for a return so I checked out their marked down meat. I was able to get a pound of extra lean ground turkey, lean turkey sausage links, and a turkey breast for about $9.

So $16.60 spent so far out of the $40.

I am not going to comment on the extra money I spent while at Walmart *browsing*...... I don't even like Walmart but whenever I'm there I get the urge to stroll through the aisles to see what's on sale. For anyone looking, they have kids fleece pj sets for $4.00. My daughter is growing like a weed and needed some pretty badly so I got her 2 pairs.

$23.40 left of the grocery budget.... not sure if I'll be spending it or not. I'm taking stock of the freezer to see if what we still need. :)

Shopping List - Week 5

I can't believe it's week 5 of the challenge! The first month went better than I thought. There were even a couple under budget weeks. This week I need a lot of things like vegetables and meat so I don't think I'll have a lot of unused money left, although I'm starting to get pretty confident that I can do this every week for under $40. For instance today at the grocery store when my original total was nearly $60 after the Kroger savings with my shoppers card (it was over 80), I didn't panic. I knew that I had my wad of coupons and my total would come down significantly. According to my receipt my total savings with sales and coupons was 91%! Maybe it's nerdy or a little pathetic, but I was SO excited by this. My final price was only $7.62! And wait till you see how much I got!

I will admit that my weekend challenge did not work out though. I did spend under $20 for the meal.... but.... the meal never happened. We'll be having everyone over another day instead, so I'm saving most of the ingredients, although the salad ingredients will be used up this week so they don't go bad.

So here's what I got at Kroger this week: They were doing another Mega sale so I noted this as well.

$1.99 Emerald Peanuts (bought 2) - Minus $.50 each for Mega sale and 2 $1.99 coupons = FREE + $.98 OVERAGE
$1.25 Vitamin Water (bought 2) - Minus $.50 each for Mega sale and $2.00 coupon =FREE + $.50 OVERAGE
$2.50 Vaseline Lotion (bought 3) - Minus $.50 each for Mega and 3 $2.00 coupons = FREE
$2.10 Coffeemate Creamer (bought 2) - Minus 2 $2.00 coupons = $.10 each
$1.25 Skinny Cow Ice Cream Cups (bought 2) - Minus 2 $1.25 coupons = FREE
$1.00 Del Monte Fruit Naturals (bought 6) - Minus 2 $2.00 coupons = $.33 each
$1.39 Franks Red Hot (bought 2) - Minus 2 $1.39 coupons = FREE
$1.29 Coast Soap - Minus $1.29 coupon = FREE
$2.28 Marie Collander Steamer Frozen Entree (bought 2) - MInus $.50 each for Mega Sale and 2 $2.00 coupons = FREE + $.44 OVERAGE
$2.00 Blue Diamond Nut Thins (bought 2) - Minus 2 $1.00 coupons = $1.00 each
$1.49 Krusteaz Cookie Mix (bought 3) - Minus $.50 each for Mega sale and 3 $1.49 coupons = FREE + $1.47 OVERAGE
$.90 2.31 lbs of Bananas
$2.29 Honey Nut Cheerios - Minus $.50 for Mega sale and $1.10 coupon = $.69
$1.49 Mom's Best Naturals Cereal (bought 2) - Minus $.50 each for Mega sale and 2 $1.49 coupons = FREE + $1.00 OVERAGE
$2.29 Honey Nut Chex Cereal (bought 4) - Minus $.50 Mega sale for each and 3 $2.00 coupons = $.79 each
$2.29 Rice Chex Cereal (bought 2) - Minus $.50 each for Mega Sale and $2.00 coupon = $.79 each

So there it is 37 items for $7.62. I think this great, especially considering I got 9 boxes of cereal and Chex is one of the only GF cereals my daughter and I like.

Now I just need to decide what's for dinner and I'm done for the day. My foot is in major pain and I'm taking it easy the rest of the day. Hopefully my 3 year old cooperates and decides she's in the mood for a lazy day too!

What's For Dinner - Potage Parmentier

Tonight was so cold and windy that soup sounded like it would really hit the spot. So since I've been dying to try this soup from the Art of French Cooking and it has the simplest ingredients I thought tonight would be the perfect time to try it. And since I figured my family is super picky I better make something safe too. So we had Potage Parmentier (Potato and Leek Soup) and Chicken and Rice Soup. This was possibly the best soup ever, hands down the best I ever made. I did think it was a little too soupy and ended up scooping out some broth. Next time I think I will add more potatoes and use less water. My husband isn't a big onion eater and he thought it was okay, but it was one of my favorite meals. In an effort to thicken it up a bit I stirred in a handful of shredded cheddar cheese too. Other than that I followed her recipe exactly.

You need:

3-4 cups of sliced or diced potatoes (I used 4 cups of Yukon Gold potatoes), peeled
3 cups (1 lb) of sliced leeks including the greens, or yellow onions (I used yellow onions since they were on hand)
2 qts water
1 TBSP salt
4-6 TBSP whipping cream or 3 TBSP softened butter (I used 5 TBSP whipping cream and 1 of butter)
Minced chives or parsley for garnish (I used green onion since it's what I had)

Simmer vegetables, water, and salt together, partially covered for 40-50 minutes or until tender.

Mash the vegetables in soup with a fork (I used a potato masher and ran a lot of the onion through the food processor). Off heat, just before serving, stir in cream or butter by spoonfuls.

This is a really nice comfort meal on a cold day. I'll be making this again for sure, although I'll have to do it when we're having a group over since leftovers cannot be saved and I can't eat the entire pot myself. It was so good it made me want to try though!

Entertaining - Mini Challenge

It looks like we'll be having some company over this weekend. I don't like blowing 2 weeks worth of a budget on 1 night... so my mini challenge to myself is to entertain and spend under $20 for the evening. My rules: I'm not counting things I have towards the cost of entertaining, I figure I already accounted for that in my weekly budget. So $20 or less extra. I will be the first to admit that I'm guilty of spending waaaayyy to much when we have company. It gets out of control so fast! So I'm trying to be smart about it.

Now I have to figure out what to make that will feed everyone. I don't want to serve junk, so no hotdogs, ect. I need a good, crowd feeding recipe that can be made inexpensive. I already have desert covered, since I have so many baking mixes. So I just need a main course.

Any suggestions?

Shopping List - Week 4

Well I've been MIA, because seriously this week has been just one thing after another. Monday I slipped getting out of the shower... and yes I know usually it's only 90 year old ladies doing this, but things like this happen to me.... my foot and ankle weren't broken, but I'm in a lot of pain and my foot is all swollen and nasty. Today was the first day I could get my loosest pair of shoes on without my foot feeling like it was breaking, so I went to the store with my mom. And that leads me to the fact that we've had no power, so we spent the night at my parents. And honestly, this is just some of the bad stuff that's happened this week.

So anyways, my grocery trip was GREAT! We went to Kroger and Meijer (I know I already went to Meijer this week, but she hadn't yet). Kroger was having a Mega sale where if you buy 10 participating items you get $5.00 off your total or $.50 each item. I like that if you use a coupon it will allow you to use it on the full price of the item before the mega sale savings, so you can get overage on certain items like you normally wouldn't be able to.

Here's what I got:

$2.50 Vaseline Intensive Healing Lotion - Minus Mega $.50 and Coupons $2.00 = FREE
$2.00 Kroger Cheese Balls (bought 2) - unhealthy I know, but a snack for my GF daughter
$1.29 Coast Soap - Minus $1.29 coupon = FREE
$.88 Suave Deoderant (bought 2 -these were full sized marked down) - Minus 2 $.88 coupons = FREE
$2.50 Colgate Total Toothpaste (bought 2) - Minus Mega savings of $.50 each and 2 $2.00 coupons = FREE
$1.09 Bounty Basics Paper Towel (bought 2) - Minus $2.00 in coupons = $.09 each
$1.25 Vitamin Water (Bought 2) - Minus Mega savings of $.50 each and BOGO coupons ($1.25) =$.25 for 2
$1.29 Diet Cherry Pepsi 2 ltr - Minus $.50 mega = $.79 plus deposit
$2.50 Silk Almond Milk Dark Chocolate 1/2 gallon (bought 2) - Minus Mega savings of $.50 each and 2 $2.00 coupons = FREE
$1.49 Mom's Best Natural cereal (bought 2) - Minus Mega savings of $.50 each and $2.98 in coupons = FREE + $1.00 OVERAGE
$2.29 Pinesol Foor Cleaner - Minus $2.00 coupon = $.29
$.99 Cool Whip Free (bought 2) Minus $1.98 coupons = FREE
$1.98 Morton's Sea Salt (bought 2) Minus 2 $2.00 coupons = FREE
$1.00 Idahoan Red Potatoes - Minus $.80 in coupons = $.20
$1.99 Butterball Turkey Bacon - Minus $1.50 in coupons = $.49
$2.00 Celestial Seasonings Tea (bought 2) - Minus 2 $2.00 coupons = FREE

Total including tax = 3.40

Than on the Meijer. No picture, since this was a small trip.

$2.57 5.25lbs of Bananas
$2.00 Cheese Nips (bought 2) - Minus $1.00 coupon = $.50 each
$1.48 Dozen Eggs
$3.79 Milk Boxes for school lunches
$.69 Buddig Lunch Meat (bought 3 packs) - Minus 3 $.55 coupons = $.14 each
$1.39 Meijer Heavy Cream
$1.00 Reeses Peanut Butter Cups King Size (a bribe to my daughter for going to *gasp* 2 grocery stores)
$1.00 John Morell Sausage -(bought 2) - Minus $1.00 coupon = $.50 each
Minus $10.00 of your next grocery store coupon from prescription filling (pain meds for my poor mangled foot)

Total $2.65

Total spent at both stores =$6.05!

I think this was one of my best shopping days. My Kroger trip was just great. So much ended up being free. And it's all things that we're sure to use. And it only took about 40 minutes to match the coupons with the sales at both stores. It really can be easy to save money at the grocery store. Now I just need to find a new coupon organizer since mine is on it's last leg. I can't find one that is big enough for all my coupons though.....

Dessert

I was in the kitchen a lot today. I made two batches of muffins, one gluten free and one not. We each had one as a snack earlier and one at dinner and the rest are in the freezer to be used for breakfast for the next week or two. They were really good, although I cheated and used a mix.

For dessert today I made this:



This is quite possibly the easiest dessert ever. It's Chocolate Mousse and it takes about 2 minutes of prep time and a little time in the fridge.

Ingredients:
1 package of instant chocolate pudding (the larger sized package)
1 tub (12 oz) of whipped cream (I used the fat free Cool Whip)
2 cups of milk

Mix the pudding and the milk. Fold in the whipped cream. Put in fridge to firm up. Done.

Soooo easy! I like to make it pretty by either putting a little whipped cream on top or by layering it like I did here. I like that it looks like I put a little work into it, and my kids think I'm the best mom ever because I made "fancy" dessert for them. Today I "fancied" it up by hand whipping the cream.... I usually use reddi-whip or something similar. I had some left that I didn't use in the Julia Child recipe from dinner, so I whipped it up with some sugar and vanilla. It was good, although I will admit to liking the stuff in the can better! I guess my taste buds aren't as refined as some.....

My 3 year old said, "This is the stinkin' best dessert I ever had." High praise coming from a 3 year old!

What's For Dinner - Fondue De Poulet A La Creme

The recipe I used today was from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I'm not typing the recipe out as I'm feeling very...full.... and that is making me lazy. But google it, or check out the cookbook from the library.

Fondue De Poulet A La Creme is just a fancy French way of saying Chickin simmered with cream and onion. The French way sounds so much better doesn't it?

The picture doesn't look that great, sorry. The black spots on the chicken are where the bone was slightly burned. Or maybe I just did it wrong, I don't know. I never buy chicken that is on a bone, I always use boneless skinless, so it may have more to do with my lack of technique than anything.

The book didn't really say what to serve this with, or if it did I didn't write that part down. So I decided to cut all the chicken off the bone (I used 3 huge split chicken breasts and had a TON of meat). I made some white rice, put some cooked broccoli down on top of that, added the chicken, and poured over some of the cream sauce.

The finished product:



This was good, not as wow as I was expecting for all the work and calories. My husband really liked it though. To be fair I didn't have curry, so I used cumin which has a different taste. I'll make it again, but probably not for a while.

Week 4 - Shopping List

So it's the start of week 4 and even though it's only the 1st day, I've spent most of my budget. I'm going to try to stick to the $40, but since I was so far under last week I'm going to let myself go over if I need to

Today I shopped at Meijer. I did a rush trip since my husband was home with our two very sick girls, and I didn't want to be gone too long. I didn't use a lot of coupons, but there were a lot of good sales on things we were low on. Meijer was having their 10 for 10 sale and when you buy 10 you get the 11th free. You'll notice a lot of snack items, these are for my daughter at school. They have snack twice a day and lunch, so I try to stock up when there are good sales.

Here's what I bought:

$.99 Meijer White Rice
$.50 Organic Green Onions
$1.00 Power Bars (bought 2) - Minus $1.00 coupon = $.50 each
$2.29 Chocolate Milk Boxes 4pack
$2.99 Meijer Butter sticks
$1.50 Meijer Brand Heavy Cream - bought 6 (yes this is A LOT but I'm using it for a Julia Child recipe I'm making for dinner tonight)
$.54 Taco Bell Refried Beans - bought 2
$.89 Martha White Muffin Mix - bought 2 - Minus $.55 mealbox coupon and $.55 manufacturers coupon = $.29 each
$.99 Best Life Margarine - bought 2 - Minus $.99 coupon = FREE
$.99 Meijer Organic Black Beans
$1.00 Palmolive Dish Soap - bought 2 - Minus $1.00 in coupons = $.50 each
$2.29 Combos - bought 4 - BOGO and minus $1.00 = $.90 each
$2.00 Meijer Toaster Pastries
$1.00 Seedless Cucumber
$1.00 Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers - bought 5
$1.00 Earthbound Farms Organic Carrots
$1.00 Meijer Popcorn 3 pack
$1.00 Meijer Pretzels - bought 2 bags
$1.00 Meijer Whole Wheat Bread
$1.00 Meijer Spaghetti Sauce
$1.00 John Morell Rope Sausage - bought 2 - Minus $1.00 coupon = $.50 each
$1.00 Stauffers Animal Crackers - bought 2
$1.00 3lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes
$1.00 Meijer Big Roll Paper Towel - bought 2
$1.00 Meijer 4pack of 20oz soda - bought 2
$2.50 Meijer Ice Cream Bars 12 pack
$1.00 Meijer Brand Frozen Vegetables Steamers - bought 3
$5.94 Meijer All Natural Split Chicken Breasts

Also had catalina coupon for $4.50 off of $30 Meijer Brand food purchase, and $20.00 off your grocery order coupon from filling a prescription.

Total: $30.92

Typing this out it sure seems like a lot of junk food! This will last a LONG time in our house though. I was kind of surprised at the total. I usually keep track in my head, but I was trying to rush and was distracted. $31.00 of my budget went so quickly!

Tonight I'm attempting to make a Julia Child recipe. I've never made any of her recipes before and they are all a little intimidating to me. So I'm hoping it goes well. My camera is fully charged, so I'll post a picture later.... assuming I remember...

So I have $9.00 left for the week, and a little extra from last week to fall back on. I'm off to bake some muffins for breakfast for the rest of the week. I'm attempting to freeze them for the first time, so they don't go bad before we eat them all. Not too sure how this will turn out!

Week 3

I know I said I was done for the week, but we were passing VG's and I had to stop. I wanted to get a few more of the GF baking mixes and I had some more coupons for the Starbucks Frappuccino drinks.

So I got:
2 packages Hodgsons Cinnamon Muffin Mix
1 package of Gluten Free Pantry Muffin/Scone MIx
1 package Mochiko Rice Flour
4 pack Vanilla Starbucks Frappuchino drinks
3 lbs Fugi Apples

The total came to $8.10.

I seem to have misplaced the receipt though, so I don't have exact totals of the items. My coupons also rang up wrong, actually for higher than they should have, so my total was kind of bizarre.

Also, still haven't charged my camera, I know BAD blogger, but I'm hoping my husband will do it tonight. I'm kind of electronically challenged and I really have no clue how to do it myself.....

So I'm down to having $16.90 left. I may not even bother adding it to next week, I don't think I'll need it. I'm so excited that I only spent $24.10 this week! I never thought I could get that low.

Week 3 - Update

This week is officially just a mess. My daughter kept getting sicker and sicker... found out today she has bronchitis and an ear infection, I've had a migraine on and off the whole week. Nothing got done. So I'm done with shopping this week. I never made it for my 2nd trip, there was just too much going on here.

So.... I'm really excited about this....

Wait for it.....

Wait for it.........

I'm adding my $25 from this week to next weeks budget. That means I'll have $65 to work with!! That's an extra 2 tens and a 5.... or 25 ones... you get the idea. The thought of having all this extra money is making me a little giddy with excitement. You feel it too, admit it.

AND IT GETS BETTER!

Because I had a coupon, when we filled my daughters prescription we got a coupon for $20 off of our next grocery purchase. So I think next week I'll have a lot of wiggle room. We'll probably have filet mignon and caviar every night. With a budget this extravagant I can indulge. Except that I don't think I'd like caviar, and red meat everyday would raise our cholesterol through the roof. Sometimes reality can be such a downer.

Anyways, I'm really excited about next week's shopping. The sales at Meijer look promising, and I have a couple of good store coupons to use up.

As far as What's for Dinner goes... tonight is take out. I was at the a lab center for several hours getting tests done, my daughter is still sick, my head is still pounding from not being able to eat in the morning, and no one feels like doing much of anything. But to make it a little better.... I had a coupon for the take out.... :)

What's For Dinner - Kind of

Dinner today was kind of an invention. I liked it..... the kids not so much.

I put some pork sirloin chops in the slow cooker. I covered them with applesauce, sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and brown sugar. I cooked them all day on low (started them frozen). About 1/2 hour before serving I took the meat out and stirred in a little corn starch to thicken and make a sauce. I sliced the meat in strips and added it back to the slow cooker. I steamed some snap peas and mixed those in too. I served it over brown rice and sprinkled with soy sauce.

I know it sounds weird, but it was kind of an adaptation of another recipe I found in a cookbook. The flavors worked, I thought, the kids didn't like the snap peas and they don't really love pork either... but they ate it.

There is no picture because when I went to take one my camera said I exhausted the battery. I guess when I uploaded the pictures of my grocery trip the other day I forgot to turn the camera off..... so.... you get no picture. It wasn't that pretty anyways. I don't know how something can photograph so well in a cookbook, and than when you make it it looks like something totally different. Maybe it's just me. It probably is. I think I lack some essential cooking gene, so all my efforts to make "pretty" meals are futile. Sigh.

What's For Dinner - Kind of

I feel a little bad because I haven't been posting What's For Dinner. This week we've been eating a lot of leftovers, and quick and easy meals, so I haven't posted. Yesterday was tacos made with ground turkey. My husband made those, since I had a migraine all day. This week has been LONG and I haven't been feeling too great, so I'm hoping next week to get back on track.

Tonight, I'm not sure what I want to make. It's 23 degrees here, so something nice and warm. I really like the first few days of winter weather. Of course in a month I'll be telling my husband we should move somewhere warmer, but for now it's nice. I'm hoping to have a nice long weekend with my family, being lazy, watching movies, and of course black Friday shopping. We're going to a friends for dinner Saturday, so I get out of cooking for a day.... LOVING that. And it looks like I'll be cooking the XXL turkey for just the 4 of us, so we will have a TON of leftovers. So there should be lots of turkey recipes coming up.

I'll be doing the rest of my grocery shopping today too (at least that's the plan... somehow things seem to get derailed quite easily around here), so I'll be posting that either tonight or in the morning. I'm hoping to get a few things so that this weekend I can bake a few yummy treats. My inner Martha Stewart is crying for a release. I'm considering an *attempt* at an GF apple pie... but that seems a bit over my head. What will probably happen is I will attempt it and half way through realize it was a huge mistake because my creation looks nothing like an actual pie..... and than I will think about just forgetting about it... but I will think about the $5 a box baking mix.... and than the guilt will set it, so of course I won't be able to throw it away... and I will bake my concoction and force my family to try it... than the inevitable look of disgust will cross their faces... while my husband says, "Yeah, this is great. Good job." All while trying to keep a smile on his face to cover the said look of disgust. But I'll pretend to believe him... put the leftovers in the fridge, where they will be "forgotten" and after a discreet amount of time has passed will throw them away.

Can you tell this has happened before?

Shopping List - Week 3

So today I shopped at VG's, a store that I usually avoid, because they have higher than average prices. They do, however, double coupons up to and including $1.00. I (as usual) spent more than I was planning on, but I got some really great deals.

First off I'll say, that they seem to be discontinuing a lot of their products, especially gluten free baking mixes and such. So I bought more of that type stuff than normal.

Here's what I bought-

$3.09 Starbucks Vanilla Frappachino 4 pack - I bought 2 - These were 50% off cause of being discontinued - Minus $2.00 in coupons = $1.09 each (such a great deal for a 4 pack!)
$2.00 Kraft Shredded Cheese with a Touch of Philadelphia - Bought 2 - Minus $2.00 coupon = FREE
$.64 - Tasters Choice Stick Pack Decaff (also being discontinued)
$1.00 - Freshlike Frozen Veggies - Bought 2 - Minus $1.50 on 2 coupon = $.25 each
$2.39 - Organic Envirokids Koala Crisp (discontinued item - 50% off... these make great rice krispy treats)
$1.89 - French's Spicy Brown Mustard - bought 2 - Minus $1.89 in coupons = FREE
$2.99 - Cherrybrook Farms GF Cookie Mix - (discontinued item 50% off) - Minus $2.00 coupon = $.99
$2.00 - Colgate Kids Toothbrush - Minus $2.00 coupon = FREE
$2.99 - Apple and Eve Fruitables (8pk) - bought 2 - Minus $2.00 coupon = $.99 each
$1.99 - Kikkoman Soy Sauce - Minus $1.99 in coupons = FREE
$2.74 - Gluten Free Pantry Muffin/Scone Mix (Discontinued 50% off)
$2.99 - Kleenex Hand Towels - bought 2 - Minus $2.00 = $.99 each

Total with tax - $14.69

Total remaining $25.31

I'm sure I'll use some of the baking mixes for entertaining, but I don't know which ones so I'm not exempting anything. I am considering taking some of next weeks budget and going back for more because normally GF baking ingredients are at least $5.00 per package. I'm not sure if that's allowed though (I'm very indecisive, even if this whole thing is an invention in my mind and I make the rules).... anyways, I'm thinking about it.

I'll be making a Meijer run later in the week and may buy another turkey to freeze for another time. I love turkey and this is the best time to buy it. I get all giddy getting a good deal on something like a turkey because meat is something most people think is impossible to get a "deal" on. I really am a huge nerd. I get excited about things like reading a new cookbook and finding a good deal. I do really love saving money. I'd rather spend my husband's hard earned cash on something fun, not groceries. I'm currently saving my extra grocery money for a vacation to Discovery Cove next year. I'd love to take the kids there and to Sea World, Busch Gardens, and Aquatica. If I was spending $100+ a week on groceries, that vacation just wouldn't happen. I love being able to do my part to make the trip happen by cutting my budget. And it's so much more fun to save when you have something exciting to save for!

Just a Mini Complaint

Seriously..... I think all the grocery stores have teamed up against me! How am I supposed to spend $40.00 when all the stores have decided that this is the week that there will be no coupon matchups for sale items? My $40 is looking so tiny and insignificant this week. Using the coupons really helps stretch the budget, without them my two 20's look so lonely. I'm a little worried that this is the week I go over. I was really hoping to go a decent stretch before that inevitably happened. Not even making it a month will be a little disheartening.

I'm planning to take inventory of my pantry today to see what I really need and what can wait a week. I'm also planning to go through some of the black Friday ads to see what I want to buy. I know I'm planning to send my husband to Walmart Thursday night to buy the Leapster 2 for $25 at midnight (and I, of course, have a coupon to make them even cheaper). And I really want the 2qt crockpot there for $2.97.... and I want the towels for $1.40....and the kids pj sets for $4.00.... and I'm sure the list could go on and on and on.

I love black Friday.

How I Spend $40 a Week

I frequently hear people complaining about grocery shopping. A common complaint is that people hate that they have to spend so much every week on food. They'll gladly hand over $100 a month to pay for their premium cable, but they feel their wasting money at the grocery store because once they eat the food it's gone and you always need more.

I guess I have a different view. I think it's totally possible to eat well without feeling like you've just written a mortgage check over to the grocer. For me it's fun, I enjoy looking at my receipt and seeing how much I've saved. I love it when I get a cart load of food and only have to pay $20. That's kind of why I started this blog. I feel like couponers get a bad rep sometimes, like if you use coupons and shop smart than your family must be eating junk all the time.... surviving on hamburger helper and frozen pizzas. And that is just not true. I find coupons for things like organic milk, bread, eggs, fruit, vegetables, even meat sometimes. And it's really not that hard.

For me before I started this project, I was probably spending about $70 a week. To a lot of people this probably seems like a small amount, but it worked for us. But I knew I could do better. So like you've read, I decided to challenge myself. It took me a while to decide on an amount. I wanted a number that was possible, but still difficult. I also wanted it to be something that anyone else could do, if they put a little effort into it. So $40 a Week Mom was born.

Now, if you only have a bottle of ketchup and gallon of milk in your fridge, you're probably not ready to start the challenge. You need a well stocked pantry to be able to do this. By well stocked, I don't mean you have enough food to feed a large army, but you should have the essentials on hand. I try to keep the things I know my family will use in stock so that I'm not forced to go out and pay *gasp* full price!! I don't have a ton of space, l have a normal fridge (the kind with the freezer on top) and a pantry the size of an average closet, so I tend to keep 2-3 of my favorites in the pantry. And I keep the freezer full. Your families essentials are likely different than mine. I try keep things like rice, white sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, canned chicken stock, beans, and baking ingredients on hand. That way I don't have to buy them every week, and I can wait till there is an awesome deal and stock up.

A key to getting the best prices is to combine coupons with a sale. That way you can save even more. It's easy for me to get things for free or for pennies this way. I do sometimes get things for free that my family will not eat.... tuna, pasta, ect., I still buy it and pass it along to others who would use it. I spend about an hour a week looking at the store circulars in my area, finding coupon matchups, and writing my list. I buy 2 newspapers per week, and I'm also starting to buy All You magazine for all the coupons in it (available by subscription and at Walmart only). To me spending that time really pays off. I easily save $75 a week in coupons, well worth the time I spent.

I'm still trying to perfect my $40 a week plan. It's taking some getting used to. I find myself thinking more about each purchase, trying to make sure I don't go over. And that's what I wanted, I guess. I wanted to be more aware of what I was buying, more aware of my spending, and I guess it's working...

Meijer

Did you know that if you like Meijer on Facebook you can get access to their weekly ad on Fridays? This is my first week doing this, and I love it. Although now that I've glanced over the ad I'm a little worried about keeping it under $40.00 this week. There is so much yummy stuff on sale!

What's For Dinner

This was yesterday's dinner. Turkey Enchilada's

I was pleasantly surprised by these. I wasn't sure how the turkey would do in an enchilada, but it was really good. I just heated up leftover turkey and sweet potatoes for the kids, because they aren't a fan of enchiladas. I'm not including a recipe because these are about the easiest thing known to man.

Tonight I don't know what I'm making. I'm considering trying to con my husband into cooking, but I'm not too sure what we'll end up with then. I still have leftover turkey that I would like to use up before we get our XXL supersized organic fresh turkey from my husband's work. I still have to buy a pan for that guy, because I don't have one large enough! I need turkey recipes.

Week 2 - Update

Well I spent $1.80 of my remaining $3.00. I'm feeling so confident that I'm rounding it up to $2.00. Yeah, that's right $.20 that I'm just leaving out there.... that is CONFIDENCE.

Seriously I went into Meijer with the idea that I would buy a Leapster Case for the Leapster my daughter is getting soon. They had it on clearance for $7.00.... and I had a $2.00 mperks coupon burning a hole in my pocket (or cell phone I guess... whatever). So it was only going to be $7.00... regularly $17.00, so I had to get it, right? Anyways, while I'm there I think, "Sweet potatoes are only $.25 a pound and you're having company next week. The kids really like sweet potatoes, you should get some." So I do, of course, because the kids like them (at least that's what I'm telling myself.... truth be told when I tried sweet potatoes for the first time this week I was in a food induced heaven.... SO GOOD.... And than while I'm standing there choosing only the best sweet potatoes, not that I really know what I'm looking for, but I assume one that is "prettier" than the others is probably the one I want, I happen to glance over my shoulder and see a clearance rack with lots of leftover bulk holiday candy. And again, I think, "The kids would LOVE this, I have to get it." And so I ended up with two massive containers of candy for a total of $1.80.

I did get the sweet potatoes too, 4lbs to be kind of exact, but since their for having company over... the don't count. Poor, unloved, not counting sweet potatoes....

So that was my morning.

Shopping List - Week 2

Again, I have no picture. This time it's because I'm a major klutz and I shut my foot in the car door. I know this seems impossible, as my husband told me, but apparently it can happen. Anyways, my foot started swelling before I left the store and by the time I got home my foot was tight in my shoe. I hobbled in and made my husband get the bags and put everything away. He also threw the receipt away, so I don't have exact prices to post.

But I do remember that I spent $16.13. And as I wondered through Walmart I realized that I still have the extra $3.00 from last week to spend! Seriously, I was ridiculously happy to realize this, even though I didn't need it.

Here is what I bought:

$4.19? - family pack of boneless pork sirloin - this probably came with 8 in the package and will be used for 2 meals
$.94 - 1lb of ground turkey - I bought 3
$.47 per lb of bananas (I don't know how many pounds I bought, but it was a good sized bunch
$1.88 Hershey's chocolate chips
$2.48? - Frigo String Cheese - Minus $1.00 coupon
$.50 Strawberry Milk

I am pretty sure I bought a couple other things, but I really can't remember. I didn't have any caffeine today, and I took some pain pills, so my brain is mildly screwed up.

Anyways, I have enough meat for the week and will have some leftover too. And I still have about $4.00 left in the budget. Not sure if I will need it or not, but I like knowing there is a little wiggle room.

Tonight I should be making the 18lb turkey. I have only made turkey once in my life, and it didn't turn out that great. So hopefully this time it works out a little better! I plan to have lots of leftovers to use over the next couple of weeks.

Shopping List - Week 2

This isn't a grocery deal, but I'm kind of proud of this awesome find so I'm posting it anyways!

This Tag Jr. Set is normally $39.99. It was marked down to $19.98 at Target. I had a $10.00 of Tag Game System Target coupon and $5.00 off coupon from Leapfrog. Total - $4.98!

Did you know you can combine Target coupons with manufacturer coupons? You can find some great deals this way!

Now onto the groceries......

I put all my groceries away before I remembered about taking a picture. Sorry!

Here's what I got:

$8.24 - Tag Jr. Dora the Explorer Book (regularly $10.99)
$1.19 - Zone Perfect Bar - Minus $1.19 (had a free bar coupon from Facebook)
$1.88 - 2 Carmex Lip Balms - Minus $1.10 in coupons - Total $.78 for 2
$3.39 - Maxwell House International Delights Instant Coffee - Minus $.75 in coupons Total $2.64
$.56 - 2.23 lbs of Sweet Potatoes
$21.94 - 18lb Tom Turkey - Minus $16.00 store promotion - Total $5.94
$1.78 - 2 bags Meijer brand frozen vegetables
$.99 - Cook Whip Free
$3.98 - 2 4 packs of Yoplait Delights - Minus $2.00 in coupons - Total $1.98 for 2
$2.44 - Sara Lee Cheesecake - Minus $.75 coupon - Total - $1.69
$3.34 - 2 Skippy Peanut Butter - Minus $1.00 Mealbox Coupon and $1.60 in coupons - Total $.74 for 2 or $.37 each!
$2.50 - 2 Phillsbury Frosting - Minus $1.60 in coupons- Total $1.40 for 2
$5.00 - 2 Crunchmaster Gluten Free Crackers - Minus $2.00 in coupons - Total $3.00 for 2
$1.59 - Parsley Plant

Total - $32.80
The Dora Tag Jr. Book and the Cheesecake are except (the cheesecake is for when we're having company over next time).

So total for the grocery budget- $22.87 - $17.13 remaining.

Not my best trip, but I did get a big turkey and that should last several meals. I'm a little concerned that the $17.13 isn't going to last the rest of the week though. I still need more meat and vegetables. We could probably eat the turkey all week, but I think we would all be sick of leftovers by then. Plus we're getting a 25lb or so turkey from my husbands work next week. I'm hoping to put a lot in the freezer.

See any good deals? Post them here!

The Weekend

Why is the weekend always seem to be a money sucking adventure. Saturday we had my husband's parents over. My husband and his dad were fixing replacing our car's brakes and rotors. So I figured I'd cook a really good fall dinner. And it was good.... but..... I had to get a "few" things for it. Long story short, if I hadn't exempted entertaining from the budget I'd be eating ramen all week.

So here is what was for dinner:



This was a chicken chili recipe that I found, and while it was good, it took about 4 HOURS of cooking. That's 4 hours of me standing in the kitchen doing something.... that is insane, and I will never happen again. And it wasn't worth it. But here's my lovely picture (it looks a little gross in the picture, sorry). I have enough leftovers for lunch for probably 2 weeks. I put a lot in the freezer. I don't really know why I decided to make this recipe. I have been reading a lot of cookbooks in my head and I have this idea (and it's only an idea, not reality) that I'm Martha Stewart or something and I can make anything...... And, seriously, I'm an average cook with high asperations. Nothing more.

But dessert.

Dessert was GOOD. Really good.



I know what you're thinking. It looks average, maybe even boring. But wholly cow...yes I am the only 30 something person I know who actually says wholly cow, and I realize it's weird.... it is fantastic.

The recipe:

Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients:

28 oz pumpkin pie filling
2 cups of milk
6 large eggs
1.5 cups of sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 lb butter
1 yellow cake mix (I used a gluten free cake mix, but any would work fine)

Preheat oven to 350
In a bowl mix with electric beater the pumpkin, eggs, milk, sugar, salt, ginger, and cinnamon. Beat at medium speed until blended. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.

In a different bowl empty the cake mix and cut in the butter. If you use a gluten free mix you may need a little more butter for this. Mix till the mixture is crumbly. Cover the top of the pumpkin mixture with the crumbs. Bake 50 minutes or until golden.

I served this with a little whipped cream on top, and everyone thought it was better than pumpkin pie. It was really delicious and so easy to make.

What's For Dinner

Today didn't exactly turn out as planned. I feel a little bad that in my first week I had to resort to take out, but life got in the way. A doctor's appointment turned out much differently than I planned and I was there forever. So when I finally got home I wanted nothing more than to curl up on the couch and NOT cook. So my sweet husband brought home some PF Changs (love their gluten free menu) and saved the day.

Some days you just need take out, you know.

Tomorrow we're having the in-laws over, so I'll be making something. I'm thinking of making a chicken chili I found in an Ina Garten cookbook. Yum! I've never made it before, but the picture looked delicious. And chili always seems to sound perfect this time of year. After a big day of jumping in leaves (what the kids have planned for tomorrow) a nice bowl of chili should really hit the spot.

What's For Dinner

Dinner tonight is inspired by Chipotle's Burrito Bol. If you've never had it, TRY IT. Seriously, it is so good, it may just change your life. I always order the Steak Burrito Bol, with the black beans. So tonight I have my version. It's a layer of rice (Chipotle uses white rice, I used wild rice tonight just because I'm a rule breaker), than black beans, steak, cheese, salsa, and lettuce is really good on top too. My mouth is watering just typing this.

This is one of my favorite meals to make actually. It's so easy and filling. My kids wouldn't mind if I retired this one..... but they're eating it none the less.

There is no picture of this meal. Really there is no way to make it look pretty. If I posted a picture you'd probably never try it, especially the way I make it. But it is SO good.

Down to my final $3.00

Well, I ran into Walmart to look and see how much a Dutch Oven was because I don't have one, and I need it for several recipes I'd like to try out. And of course, I got to browsing. They had Chex Cereal on sale for $2.00 per box. Chex is one of the only cereals my daughter and I can eat, and it's hard to find on sale.... and I had a coupon. So I bought 2 boxes for a total of $2.00. There is no picture of this trip, because really, who needs to see a picture of 2 boxes of cereal. Now I'm down to my last $3 for the week. I think I may just save it for next week though since I don't really need anything else. I'm feeling kind of good that in my first week I came in under budget!

I am kind freaking out about next week though. I need meat. $40.00 does not buy a lot of meat, unless I ate hot dogs all week.... but that kind of goes around the rules of eating healthy. I'm hoping for some really good sales, or that I find some really good meat markdowns. It's going to be a little tight I think.

What's For Dinner

For dinner tonight I'd planned on making a Chicken Rice Soup, but I wanted something a little more hardy to go along with it. So I looked at some recipes, and decided to concoct a little something of my own out of ingredients I had in the pantry. Here is my recipe for Gluten Free Corn Bread:

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup GF Bread Mix (I used Bob's Red Mill)
3/4 cup corn meal
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375.

In a bowl mix all of the dry ingredients together. Slowly stir in milk, then melted butter, then egg. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray (I used a glass pan). Poor in batter. Cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes cover with foil to prevent over browning. Bake an additional 40 minutes.

This turned out better than I thought it would. I won't go so far as to say it's as good as normal gluten filled bread, but it's a good substitute. Especially when you haven't had bread in a year. My whole family liked it.

And here is my Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.



I didn't really follow a recipe for this, but it was really good. I used Imagine Organic Free Range Chicken Broth for the base. And the wild rice is Lundberg Farms Organic Wild Rice Blend. There were no seasonings in the rice, it was just a blend of 4 wild rices. I have to say, this was the first time I've tried this rice, and holy cow.... it is AMAZING. So good that I'm considering spending all of next week $40.00 on wild rice. Sure my family will hate me and there will probably be a mutiny, but it may be worth it...... it's that good. Seriously.

Mmmm.... Pumpkin Bars

I made these tempting little treats yesterday in the midst of my baking madness. I don't know why these moods overtake me and I feel the sudden urge to bake everything in my cupboard. But yesterday was one of those days. Perhaps the $7.00 box of gluten free pan/bar mix was the inspiration to it all. I don't don't really know. The box said that one box should make one large pan of bars. But I'm not spending $7.00 just on the mix, only to have it all go into one stinking pan. That's almost 1/4 of my weekly budget, it just wasn't going to happen. So I decided to stretch it so that it will last 3 pans.

Here's what I did:

Slightly less than 1 cup of 123 Gluten Free Pan/Bar Spice Mix
1/2 cup pumpkin
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used Canola)

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray 8x8 glass pan with cooking spray

Pour mix, egg, and oil into a bowl and mix really well. The mix at this point is thick and almost doughy. Stir in the pumpkin. Now the mix will be sort of runny and pourable. Pour into the pan and spread evenly.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut and serve.

In the picture my powdered sugar looks a little funky. I didn't let them cool all the way so the sugar melted in a little. But they looked so good, and I couldn't wait to sample.

This was my first time making these and using this particular mix. They turned out awesome, and even my gluten loving husband thought they were great. My whole family gobbled these up. I swear you would never know they were gluten free.

Now though, I know how good these are. So I'm a little worried about finding room each week in my budget for a $7.00 a box of baking mix.... I mean I just discovered these little beauties, how can I give them up? I'm really wishing I had made sure the pantry was fully stocked with all kind of baking supplies before starting this challenge. I thought about that last night as I lay in bed wondering what to spend my last $6.00 on. I know it's kind of cheating, but man would things have been easier. But I guess the whole point of this experiment, if there is one, was to challenge myself. Ah well...

What's For Dinner

Tonight I made a Turkey Breast Tenderloin in the slow cooker. It turned out pretty tasty. I've never made a turkey breast tenderloin before, so I was a little nervous. With the turkey we had mashed red potatoes and green beans. I'd say that's a pretty healthy meal.... at least in my book. There was enough leftovers for 2 lunches tomorrow too.

My husband just placed his order for his "free" fresh turkey that his company orders from the farm for all their employees. He ordered like an XXL turkey, last years was about 25 pounds. So I need some fun new turkey recipes for all the leftovers we're sure to have. I made a library run today for some cookbooks so hopefully I'll find something. If there are any readers..... I like to imagine there is, you know... to bolster my ego..... send in your favorite recipes. No turkey sandwiches please..... we aren't bread eaters here.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Today was a baking marathon for me. I made a batch of chocolate chip peanut butter cookies (these happen to be gluten free.. but they really are delicious and you can't taste the difference), a batch of gluten filled chocolate chunk cookies, and gluten free pumpkin spice bars (YUM!).

I thought I would share the peanut butter cookie recipes because it's such a neat little recipe. It's probably the easiest cookie recipe in the world, and no one would know it.

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

If you don't have brown sugar you can use just a cup of white sugar, but the brown sugar really does make it taste better.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Spoon onto cookie sheet. I dip a fork into some sugar to make the little crisscross pattern on the top like "fancy" peanut butter cookies.

Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes.

Seriously it's that easy. These really are tasty. I love peanut butter cookies and was a little bummed about missing out on them when I found out I had Celiac Disease. But these tasty cookies are soooo good and so much easier to make than the traditional kind.

Week One - Shopping Trip #2

Today I wasn't planning on doing my second grocery run, but I was baking and out of a few things so I decided to finish up the weeks shopping. I didn't do as great as yesterday, but I did buy a couple of pricey things.

I shopped at Meijer, where they double coupons up to and including $.50. Also for those of you unfamiliar with Meijer's coupon policy, you can use one manufacturers coupon and one printable Meijer Mealbox or mperks e-coupon per item.

Here's what I bought:

$1.59 Meijer brand whipped topping (the kind like Reddi-Whip)
$5.88 2 - Silk Pure Almondmilk 1/2 gallon - Minus $1.00 Meijer Mealbox coupon and $2.00 in coupons = $2.88
$6.99 123 Gluten Free Pan/Bar Mix
$.59 Margarine
$1.30 2 Ortega Taco Seasoning Mix - Minus $1.00 coupon
$.99 dozen large eggs
$2.58 2 Heinz white vinegar bottles - Minus $2.00 in coupons
$1.59 Aunt Millie's whole wheat bread - Minus $.55 coupon
$2.29 Meijer 4 lb. white sugar
$1.67 Meijer brand semi-sweet chocolate chips - Minus $.55 mperks e-coupon
$5.00 2 La Victoria Salsas - Minus $4.00 coupon
$5.00 2 28oz La Victoria Enchilada Sauce - Minus $4.00 coupon
Also had $1.00 of any grocery purchase Meijer catalina coupon

Total - $20.92
I don't really know how to do the exemptions on this order. Some of the sugar, some of the GF baking mix, and some of the chocolate chips are for when we have company. Also the salsa is for entertaining. I guess I'm going to go ahead and say that I'm exempting $3.50 ($2.00 for a portion of the sugar, GF mix, and chocolate chips - and $1.00 for the salsa)

So total for today $17.42

The tally:
Total spent: $33.67
Remaining: $6.33

This grocery trip was kind of humiliating for me. First let me say that I am not a confrontational person, if I'm charged wrong in the line 99% of the time I let it go. But today, my 2 La Victoria coupons, that were for $4.00 off 2 products, rang up at only -$2.50. I mentioned it to the cashier, who shrugged and said, "Well the computer you didn't buy enough." I pointed it out that the coupon was off 2 products, and since I had 2 coupons I had bought 4 products. She didn't answer. At this point I'm kind of steamed, because like you know, I only have $40 to spend. And so that $3.00 difference was suddenly a huge deal to me. I don't want to blow it on week 1. So the cashier finishes ringing up the order, and I pay, silently cringing as I over pay my precious $3.00. But then on my way out of the store I suddenly get a little spunk. I turned around, went to the customer service desk, and pointed out the problem. The lady was a little too nice, and she had absolutely no idea what to do. She ended up finding someone else and they huddled in the corner, talking lowly to each other while stealing glances my way. All my spunk vanished, they asked to see my merchandise, claimed I bought the wrong sizes. And than after examining them for what seemed like hours agreed that they were indeed the correct products. By this point I was ready to hand over next weeks $40 just to get away, but than the lady smiled and handed me over $3.00 cash.



I practically ran out of the store.


So it ended well I guess. Although I'm not sure I would do it again. Somehow $40 just doesn't seem as much as it did when this idea originally popped into my head.

What's For Dinner - Mexican Shepherd's Pie

Today was a long day. I had hardly any sleep, thanks to my kids, my oldest was sickish, and I was feeling a little crabby and desperately in need of some comfort food. But it had to be easy comfort food. The idea of slaving over a stove all afternoon was not my idea of comforting. Shepherd's Pie is a classic recipe and can be so comforting on a long cold day. But the traditional recipe is kind of boring. I love this Mexican Shepherd's Pie because it adds a bit of pizazz to an old standby (and yes I used the word pizazz and I liked it).

The ingredients:
1 lb. ground meat (I used turkey, but beef or chicken is fine too)
1 packet taco seasoning (I make my own - recipe at the bottom)
1/2 a small bag of frozen vegetables (I used corn, but green beans, carrots, peas, ect. would be good too)
1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
4 servings of mashed potatoes (I ALWAYS make my own, but today for the first time I used instant Idahoan Red Potatoes with Garlic and Herbs, and it was soooo good)

Brown the meat. When brown add seasoning and 1/2 cup water. Keep cooking till spices are well blended and most of the water is gone. In a 9x9 baking dish (I always use glass) spread the ground meat, top with corn (uncooked), and cheese. Spread potatoes across the top. Bake at 350 till slightly golden.

That's it. It is really easy, and surprisingly tasty. My kids even liked it, and in my family that is an unheard of event.

Taco Seasoning:

1 TBSP Chili Powder
1.5 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried onion flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Mix together and use. It makes enough for the 1 pound. I'm still playing around with the recipe, trying to find just the right blend. For dinner tonight I used 1.5 TBSP chili powder, and while it was good it was a little too spicy for the kids. They liked it, but drank lots of water. I also used more pepper tonight. The recipe above shows the chili powder and pepper cut back a bit.

I think the total cost of this dinner was about $3.24.

The meat was clearanced down to $1.74, the cheese $1.50, the potatoes were free after coupon, and the corn was free after coupon. A yummy and inexpensive dinner.