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.....