July Groceries & Food Supply review

I did some actual grocery shopping the other day at my two favorite stores, Aldi and BJ's wholesale club. At Aldi I spent $85.92 and I brought home a watermelon, a large box of 'single origin' K-cup coffees (Brazilian, Peruvian, Costa Rican & Ethiopian), a small box of hazelnut K-cups, a box of elbow macaroni, a box of frozen Angus burgers, a pack of snow peas, 3 zucchini, a bag of breaded chicken strips, a bag of crispy tortilla strips for salads, a bag of French fried onions for salads, a bag of grapes, 1 pint of grape tomatoes, two bags of spring greens, a seedless cucumber, 2 lbs sweet onions, 1 pint mixed tomatoes, 1 bag of spinach, 1 bunch of bananas, 1 bottle of balsamic glaze, 2 quarts of lowfat cottage cheese, 1 jar dill pickles, 1 jar bread and butter slices, 1 bottle three cheese vinaigrette, 1 bottle garlic vinaigrette, 1 container of coffee creamer, 4 lbs. sugar, 1 bottle light balsamic vinaigrette, 2 boxes of biscotti, and a box of continental assortment cookies.

At BJ's I spent $65.90 and brought home a whole center cut pork loin, a whole eye of round, a porterhouse steak, a bag of mini fresh mozzarella cheese, and two large jars of peanut butter.

I cut the pork loin into a roast, a bag of pork cubes (which I am making into Pork Adobo for tonight's dinner), and 13 pork chops which I individually wrapped with plastic wrap before putting into a ziplock freezer bag. With all the coming and going around here these days this allows me to take as many as needed for any given dinner out of the bag at one time. I cut the eye round into a small roast, a tiny bag of beef cubes for shish kabobs, and seven steaks also individually wrapped like the pork chops.

Because dinners are either portable and going to the hospital with me with leftovers for the kids or just for one or two people (work schedules vary so much between us these days that I don't remember the last time we were all home for dinner together) this will last a long time. In the freezer I have a couple of bags of frozen blsl chicken breast & tenders, some bone-in chicken thighs, about 1/2 pound of shrimp, some salmon & barramundi fillets, a pork tenderloin, two racks of pork ribs, several packs of bacon, some breakfast sausage, hot dogs, chicken sausages, cheddar brats & a whole cooked smoked turkey, as well as assorted bags of frozen veggies, some frozen egg rolls, and a ton of frozen beef burritos that middle son J got for free from a neighbor who moved out and cleaned out his freezer before moving (these come in handy for lunches & a quick something the kids can make themselves). In the pantry I have a ton of canned, bottled, and boxed goods. Dinner salads being a staple of mine these days we are heavy on salad dressings of all kinds. Aldi has been offering a large variety of these items and I've been stocking up when I see them. We also have a nice variety of fresh produce still although a small stop for carrots and more spring greens will be made within the week.

What we don't have these days is junk foods (except for popcorn which I always have around). The cookies were an unusual purchase because I generally bake but youngest son H requested some and with the temps expected to peak around 100 degrees this week I bought instead of baked. Same with the biscotti.

And now for the meal planning......

My last Aldi run

With very limited funds these days I have been cautious about how much money I am spending at the grocery store, limiting myself to no more than $250 (what I earn from my cleaning gig) for the month and having that amount cover household cleaning, health & beauty, and paper supplies as well as food. So far, so good. I've been to the farmer's market a couple of times, spending $70.72 the last run there for lots of fresh produce and couple of other items (apples, nectarines, plums, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, fresh green beans, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, lemons, eggplant, celery, carrots, red bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes, 6 ears of corn,  fresh mozzarella, a tube of polenta, and a small bag of pepperoni).
I finished off with a stop at Aldi where I spent $38.27 and brought home this shopping bag of goodies:

a tube of Pringles chips, two boxes of tri-colored rotini (for 4th of July pasta salad), a bottle of Zesty Italian dressing (also for pasta salad), a can of whipped cream, a box of crackers, a bag of shredded cheddar, a block of Colby-jack cheese (also for pasta salad), a bag of sliced provolone, two blocks of white NY sharp cheddar, a container of hummus, 2 tubes of buttermilk biscuits, 2 boxes cream cheese, 1 quart cottage cheese, 1 pint sour cream, 1 package fresco cheese, 1 bag string cheese, and 2 blocks Colby cheese.

These two shopping trips were necessary because my college age daughter thought it would be a good idea to clean out the fridge, tossing all of the fresh produce and most of the cheese without looking at sell by dates while I was at GF's house. I know she was trying to help out but honestly, LOOK at what you are throwing out.

Odds and Ends

  Besides enjoying myself at the matinee the last two days (odd thing happened yesterday, I got charged sales tax for my movie ticket..according to the woman running the ticket window this is a new state tax and by new it must mean NEW TODAY since on Monday I was NOT charged tax. And it was 8% holy cow...and speaking of taxes Amazon decided to build a warehouse in my state so now I get to pay sales tax to them too..yippee..but I digress) I also ran a few small errands to pick up some odds and ends of food items.

On Monday I stopped into a local small Italian grocery/deli where I spent $21. I brought home a delicious loaf of sesame seeded Italian bread, a ball of pizza dough, a small jar of their pizza sauce, a box of choo-choo wheel shaped pasta and a box of some pasta that was totally new to me, it was called Mother-in-law's tongue and was wide strips of multi colored pasta, red, white & green all on the same strip of pasta. I changed up dinner plans and made this pasta with a garlic butter sauce for dinner. It was visually interesting but as for flavor, not much different than plain pasta.

I then dropped into the regular grocery store. They had boxes of Keurig coffee on sale for $8 so I picked up two boxes (hazelnut and cinnamon) as well as a jar of peach-mango preserves. I am on the hunt for pineapple preserves but it would appear that no one is making this anymore. I love to mix these into cottage cheese and am hoping the peach-mango will be a good substitute. Total cost as the regular grocery store of $20.

Yesterday after the movie I stopped at a local farmer's market/tiny grocery store where college age son's girlfriend works. I spent $14.51 and came home with 8 large nectarines, a bag of green grapes (on sale $1.49 per pound), a bag of fresh spinach, and a small container of organic spring greens for salad.

And then last night adult son talked me into splurging on a pizza from the local pizza place where college age son was formerly employed. Another $11 spent.

Produce Run

 While out yesterday running college age daughter around on her errands I stopped at a local year round farmer's market and picked up some fresh produce. I spent $38. 07 in cash and came home with two pints of raspberries, a quart of strawberries, a pineapple, 8 nectarines, a bag of green grapes, a bag of cherries (SUPER expensive but I yielded to temptation anyway), a loaf of rye bread, a half pound of sandwich pepperoni, and 3 lbs. of oranges. College age son had asked for some roast beef lunch meat but I almost fell over when I saw they were asking $11 a pound for this. YIKES. I have an eye round in the freezer I will roast for dinner and then use my meat slicer on the leftovers to make our own 'lunch' meat. Dinner last night for just myself was a grilled mozzarella and pepperoni on rye sandwich and grapes. Simple to make and delicious, although not part of the original menu plan.

Summer Grocery stock up

 Tuesday of this week was our field day at school which meant I didn't have to be in until the afternoon job. I took advantage of this bonus day to do a little grocery store stock up. I managed to save up $325 in cash for this. I came home with $80 still in my pocket for further grocery expenditures. I had $20 in cash back rewards at BJ's which I used.

My first stop was Gordon Food Service. I spent $42.74 and came home with a 5 lb. bag of seashell macaroni, 2 lbs. of fettucine, 2 lbs of frozen Brussels sprouts, and two new to me items, a large jar of hollandaise sauce mix, and a second large jar of alfredo sauce mix. We all love these sauces and I thought it would be handy to have the mixes on hand for busy dinner times.

My next stop was BJs Wholesale club. I picked up a large box of Finish Powerball dishwasher detergent (a box this size lasts me almost 4 months), 18 lbs. of cat food, 1 loaf of oatmeal bread, a gallon of 1% organic milk, a two pack of Smart Balance spread, 1 large container of Magic Erasers, a container of port wine cheddar cheese spread, and a three pack of London broil which I separated into three individual portions for the freezer. I had coupons for the dishwasher detergent, the Magic Erasers, and the cat food saving $3.25! The total after the coupons was $80.49 but I used my cashback reward of $20 so it was only  $60.49 out of pocket.

My final stop that day was Aldi which is where I do the bulk of my grocery shopping. I spent $126.39. I came home with 2 2lb. boxes of elbow macaroni, 2 2lb. bags of spaghetti noodles, 4 boxes (2 beef, 2 chicken) of 'rice a roni', 1 box frozen fruit bars (pomegranate), 1 box frozen fruit bars (coconut), 1 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, 1 large box trash bags, 1 box assorted crackers, 1 box quart freezer bags, 1 box gallon freezer bags, 3 'slim jim' snacks (for the kids), 1 box Aldi brand "special K" cereal with red berries, 1 container grape tomatoes, 2 bottles 100% apple juice, 1 bottle 100% cranberry juice, 2 bottles ruby red grapefruit juice, and 1 bottle cranberry-pomegranate juice, 1 bunch bananas, 1 bunch celery, 1 package chicken Italian sausage, 1 package of chili brats, 1 package of cheddar brats, 1 bag green grapes, 1 container blueberries, 1 seedless cucumber, 1 bag baby carrots, 1 hummus snack pack, 1 bag dried cherries, 1 package sliced mozzarella cheese, 1 container whipped cream cheese, 1 package bone-in skin on chicken thighs (12 of these divided into 2 4 packs and 1 2pack), 1 package American cheese slices, 1 container raspberries, 1 can dairy whipped topping, 1 container baby bella mushrooms, 6 zucchini, 1 jar nacho cheese sauce, 1 bag tortilla chips, 4 bottles steak sauce, 1 bottle teriyaki marinade, 2 blocks NY white sharp cheddar, 2 pounds butter, 1 jar Miracle Whip, 1 bottle stadium mustard, 2 cans black olives, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 bag spinach, 1 pack hard salami, 1 bag flour tortillas, 1 pint vanilla greek yogurt, 1 jar roasted peanuts, 1 large bar Moser Roth dark chocolate, and 1 dozen eggs.

I plan to combine the $80 I came home with with next weeks $125 from cleaning and put this away towards a trip for things like detergent, fabric softener, toothpaste, fresh produce, and possibly some frozen treats and meat.

Stocking the pantry

With the hectic work schedule I was keeping during the six weeks of Lent plus some personal issues I was unable to find the time to grocery shop since the end of January. This is spring break week so I took the cash I had saved up and hit both Aldi and BJ's wholesale club today. I must be very cautious with my money in the future. My cafeteria work hours (my main source of income) have been cut by 7 1/2 hours a week (long story but the short version is administration went into a panic when I took 2 bereavement days and volunteers had to step in and help out..so office has decided to give these hours that were mine to an 'assistant'...this is a MAJOR hit to my paycheck over the course of a month). This cut means that we are eligible to receive assistance in the form of food stamps but I honestly do not want to do this. So I am in search of a 4th part time job to fill in the money gap. Things do not look good for being offered a position for next school year either (another long story) so the resume has been brushed off, letters of recommendation have been given to me, and I am actively searching just in case I find myself shown the door. I've never been in this position before. My parents always said if you were honest, reliable, and hard working you would be rewarded. Sadly not always the case. I am struggling with this as well as my mother-in-law's death and am not in a good place right now emotionally.
But that is not what this is supposed to be about. Groceries that is the topic.
I worked my cleaning job on Saturday so I had $208 in cash set aside for food/household supplies. My first stop was Aldi. I spent a total of $134.26
I brought home 2 packs of hamburger buns (discounted 50¢ for 2!!!), 2 bags frozen green beans, 2 bags frozen corn, 2 bags frozen peas, 2 bags frozen fire roasted balsamic veggies, 4 boxes 'rice a roni', 6 boxes Uncle Ben's white and wild rice mix, 1 box elbow macaroni, 1 3 lb. bag frozen boneless-skinless chicken thighs, 1 3 lb. bag blsl chicken breast, 1 boneless leg of lamb roast (seasonal special item), 1 box trash bags,  2 bottles coffee creamer, 4 cans diced tomatoes, 1 jar applesauce, 1 box toothpaste, 1 can mandarin oranges,  2 cans creamed corn, 1 bottle honey mustard, 2 packs of cheddar bratwurst, 1 box cotton swabs, 1 pint baby bella mushrooms, 10 lbs. russet potatoes, 1 cabbage, 2 bottles steak sauce, 1 bottle 100% cranberry juice, 2 bottles 100% apple juice 2 bottles ruby red grapefruit juice, 1 pint grape tomatoes, 1 bunch celery, 1 can pineapple chunks, 1 can coconut milk, 1 bag romaine hearts, 1 English cucumber, 1 quart lowfat cottage cheese, 1 bag spring mix, 1 bag spinach, 2 multi colored peppers, 1 bag on the vine tomatoes, 2 dozen eggs, 1 bag shredded mozzarella,, 1 bag shredded sharp cheddar, 1 bag dried cherries, 1 bag dried cranberries, 2 boxes au gratin potatoes, and 1 bag of pita chips.
My second stop was BJ's Wholesale club where I spent $98.23, $75 in cash and $23.23 on my Visa check card.
I brought home 1 12 pack of hot dog buns (all out at Aldi), one gallon organic milk, 1 2 pack of Smart Balance spread, a whole pork loin, a whole eye of round, a package of 4 lamb shoulder chops, a jar of pesto, a 1/2 lb. honey ham, 1 1/2 lb. beef bologna, 1 1/2 lb. hard salami, and 1 lb. swiss cheese.
I cut the eye round into a small roast plus 6 steaks. The pork loin became a 6 thin cutlets, a package of cubes, 12 pork chops, and a bag of thin cut pork strips for stir fry.  Menus for the remainder of the month to follow.

Grocery Shopping

  The last time I took an actual grocery shopping trip was at the end of November. Christmas expenses took precedence in December and we had a fully stocked freezer and pantry. I have also noticed that a lot of the time now adult son is gone, college age daughter is at her boyfriend's house for dinner, and college age son and I have gotten into the habit of opting for cereal or scrambled eggs or something for dinner rather than a full meal from my dinner plans. Tuesday has become pizza night with college age son treating us. And one night we had cheese and crackers and called it 'tapas night'. LOL. This means that the freezer is still pretty stocked up as well as the pantry shelves. This is not to say that I haven't been inside a grocery store at all. I have at times picked up milk or smart balance or eggs. And of course GF has handled all the food purchases for his house.
Today I had a bonus day off from work. A day where due to a very large funeral and a planned brown bag day coincided with a day I'd taken off from aftercare meant that I did not have to come in to work at all. The funeral was going to be using my kitchen so I didn't even have space to do paperwork at my desk. Now that I am on salary this didn't really present me with any issues. I took advantage of the time off to catch up laundry and get the house cleaned  up . I then made a short list (mostly produce, dairy, and juice) and headed out to do some grocery shopping.
My first stop was BJ's . I spent a grand total of $41.44 and brought home a gallon of organic milk, a 48 oz box of Cheezits, a 5 lb bag of sweet onions, a bag of 8 ciabatta rolls, a large box of Special K cereal, and a three pack of Pledge for dusting.

 My second stop was Aldi. I spent $126.08 and brought home 2 dozen eggs, 3 lbs. navel oranges, 5 lb. grapefruits, 3 lbs. granny smith apples, 5 lbs. russet potatoes, 3 lbs. bananas, 1 bag of spinach, 1 large corned beef brisket,  a pint of mushrooms, a pint of grape tomatoes, a box of
'celtic trio' cheddar cheese,  a can of whipped cream, a bag of baby carrots,  4 boxes (2 chicken, 2 beef) of rice mix, 2 multi-colored peppers, 1 wheel of queso fresco, 1 box creamy wheat cereal, 2 blocks Colby cheese, 1 block NY cheddar, 1 bunch celery, 2 packs cheddar brats, 1 package of maple sausage links, 1 pound butter, 1 bottle tomato juice, 1 bag romaine hearts, 2 bottles steak sauce, 2 cans fire roasted tomatoes, 2 cans diced tomatoes, 1 bag Valentine Kisses,  1 bag shredded mozzarella, 2 boxes red velvet cake mix for a Make & Take I am doing at school as well as 2 cans of frosting for this, 1 quart plain Greek yogurt, 1 quart lowfat cottage cheese, 1 box organic shredded wheat, 1 pint whipped cream cheese, 2 bottles 100% apple juice, 2 bottle ruby red grapefruit juice, 1 bottle 100% cranberry juice, 1 bottle 100% grape juice, 1 bottle 100% cherry juice, 1 bottle pomegranate plum juice, 2 bottle coffee creamer, 1 bag dried coconut, 1 bag diced coconut, and  1 package peanut butter cheese crackers.

This should last us quite a while. I will be reimbursed for the cake and frosting items.

November/December Grocery Shopping

My last grocery shopping trip was a big stock up in October. With the changes in my paycheck I have had to trim back our food budget to $300 a month and this amount is now going to have to include nonfood household items as well (which means a reduction of $175 a month).
I took a long look at what I still have in my cupboards and pantry shelves and what is in the freezer. One thing about working an 11 hour day and with all adults in the house now going their separate ways is that not a lot of food gets used up in a month. However there were a few things I needed to buy.

My middle daughter K asked that since I am on vacation this week would I take her to BJ's wholesale club so that she could pick up a few items for her household. I agreed we could do this on Monday and while there I picked up a gallon of organic milk, a case of tomato sauce, a bag of plain pita chips, a container of garlic hummus, a container of edamame salad, and two bags of Smartpop cheese popcorn. We are on a smarter snacking program here at home and almost all of our snacks were gone. When I got to the register I used $20 of my cashback rewards and ended up paying $11.22 for my purchases. (and I still have $60 in cashback rewards to use)

Yesterday after dropping college age son at his school I went to the GFS Marketplace near there (the one I use for work all the time) and restocked our pasta supplies. The last time I did this was in June so we did good in making these stretch until November. I spent $44.20 and brought home a 2 lb. bag of frozen brussels sprouts, a 2 lb. bag of frozen mixed veggies, a 4 lb. bag of frozen sliced apples (to use in a pie for tomorrow), a 2.5 lb bag of bowtie pasta, a 2.5 pound bag of penne, a 3 lb. bag of Amish egg noodles, and a 5 lb. bag of medium seashells.

My next stop was the Farmer's Market. My main goal here was to get the butternut squash I need for tomorrow as well as some fresh fruit and a few seasonal winter veggies. I spent $32.94 (all cash from my wallet) and brought home 3 very large butternut squash, a 2 lb. bag of lemons, 5 lbs. ruby red grapefruit, 2 lbs. turnips, 2 lbs. parsnips, 2 bags of cranberries, a pound of chestnuts (never used these before so I am on the lookout for fun recipes), 2 spaghetti squash, and a small tub of fresh brussels sprouts.

My final stop was at Aldi. I just want to take a second to say how much I love this store. Without it I would be very hard pressed to feed my family.
I spent $153.79 and brought home a dozen eggs, 10 lbs. russet potatoes, 1 loaf whole grain white bread, 1 pint baby bella mushrooms, 1 almond butter stollen (had this two years ago at my stepd H's and loved it), a cabbage, 2 lbs. bananas, 1 box elbow macaroni, 1 box tall kitchen can trash bags, a bag of green grapes, a bunch of celery, a seedless cucumber, a bag of three romaine hearts, 1 pint ricotta cheese, 1 lb bag of baby carrots, 1 bag of fresh spinach, 1 block white NY sharp cheddar, 2 blocks colby (became last night's dinner of Mom's baked Mac & Cheese), 2 2lb. bags of granny smith apples, 1 jar red cabbage & apples,  3 containers coffee creamer, 2 bottle steak sauce, 1 jar cinnamon applesauce, 1 bag dried coconut, 1 bag dried mango, 1 2 lb. bag  carrots, 1 bag string cheese, 1 bag frozen corn, 1 package of sliced muenster cheese, 1 bag white chocolate chips, 1 bag plain bagels, 2 cans creamed corn, 1 pint grape tomatoes,  1 bottle brown mustard, 1 container of feta cheese, 2 bottles apple juice, 1 bottle 100% cranberry juice, 2 bottles ruby red grapefruit juice, 1 bottle 100% grape juice,  1 jar molasses, 1 can pitted olives, 4 cans diced tomatoes, 2 cans cherry pie filling (along with some frozen sour cherries in my freezer this will become a second pie for tomorrow), 1 pint heavy cream, 1 bag of chocolate mint pretzel stars, 1 bottle orange juice, 1 bottle honey mustard, 1 ball fresh mozzarella, 2 packages cheddar brats, 1 box toothpaste, 1 container caramel dip, 1 package hard salami, 1 2 lb. bag brown sugar, 1 bag dried apricots, 1 container fresco cheese, 1 tub old fashioned oatmeal, 1 container spreadable cheddar cheese, 1 box 'ritz' style crackers, 1 bag chocolate chips, 2 pomegranates, 1 bag spring mix, 1 roll breakfast sausage, 1 bag dried cherries, 1 package sliced cheddar cheese, 1 bag shredded sharp cheddar, 1 package of cupcake liners, and 1 box gallon storage bags.

My freezer is still packed with fish (salmon & tilapia, mussels & shrimp), chicken (BLSL breast & thighs), beef (brisket, ground, roast, steaks, cubes), pork (roast, cubes, chops, tenderloin) , a boneless leg of lamb, a HUGE bone-in ham, lots of bacon, some banger sausages, and Italian sausage. This is why I limited my meat purchases to just the cheddar brats and the lunch meat.
Now I am off to make the December menus. With December being such an expensive month I am hoping to limit my grocery shopping to just the necessities (milk, fresh produce etc.).
My total for this shopping trip was $242.15 so I still have $57.85 in the November budget as well as my entire December budget which I am hoping not to have to dip into.

August groceries

I did a small shop today using cash on hand. I picked up a gallon of organic milk from BJ's wholesale club for $6.67

 

And for my second stop I dropped by Aldi and for $26.32 I brought home this bag of groceries:

Which when unpacked contained 1 dozen eggs, a bag of grapes, a pint of lowfat cottage cheese, a can of whipped cream, a half gallon of vanilla bean ice cream, a box of coconut fruit bars, a box of eskimo pies, 3 squash, a bag of spinach, two peppers, a bunch of bananas, a cantaloupe, an english cucumber, and two large tomatoes.

I'm expecting to do one more small shop mostly for fresh produce before the end of the month. The stand up freezer and drawer freezer remain packed almost full. The kids have been eating away from home quite a bit and when I find myself alone I've gone off menu and chosen things like scrambled eggs or an omelet or a salad or a simple pasta dish for myself, skipping the meat and fish. This means that September will also be a very light month for spending on groceries, continuing on with my 'summer plan' of using only the $250 made cleaning for groceries.  I plan to experiment with a slow-rise in the refrigerator bread dough tomorrow, looking ahead to being back to the 11 hour workday next week. This way we can continue to have homemade breads, rolls, and buns even though my hours to make these is limited.

 

 

July groceries

  Yesterday oldest daughter asked if I would take her to BJ's since she doesn't have a membership. She is currently in the midst of some major life changes and one of her goals is to stock up her pantry to tide her over while she concentrates on other aspects of her life. I was happy to do so. I still had the cash she'd given me and decided to hang on to this for July groceries and expected sundry expenses (haircut, friend from out of town coming in so I expect we will do lunch) banking my upcoming cleaning job pay next week.
Since I stocked us up I only had a few minor, un-necessary yet requested purchases of my own but was happy to go along and let her take advantage of my membership. I myself limited my spending to $41.19. I picked up a clearance ankle length black skirt for myself for $12.98.  My youngest granddaughter's baptism is coming up in August and I figured I could pair this nicely with a dressy top I already own. I also bought a package of 18 terrycloth 'shop' towels from the automotive section to use as cleaning/general purpose around the house for $10. I use something similar at work and like them very much. My current stock of stained kitchen towels/old bath towels cut down/old shirts is getting thin due to age. These towels will boost that up nicely.
Grocery-wise I picked up two large containers of drink mix, one of lemonade and one of iced tea. Personally I prefer a plain iced tea but adult son and college age kids voted for this. I will make myself a water sized bottle of iced tea each morning from my stock of tea bags and let them go to town with the other stuff. I figure it should last at least through the summer. I also picked up a ball of fresh mozzarella, a bag of ciabatta rolls, a large container of onion chip dip and two bags of chips (also requested by kids who claim we have nothing good to eat). $18.21 cash on food/drink.
My oldest also wanted to stop at a local small market that recently opened (and where youngest son's girlfriend works!). I spent another $10.59 on a pineapple, a bag of cherries, a container of mushrooms, and a bag of green leaf lettuce. All items were priced reasonably. I still prefer my local year round farmer's market and will be making a trip over there later on today.
So far between last week and yesterday I have spent $32.58 on July groceries out of the $200 I budgeted. I'd say stocking up in May and June is serving us well and I hope to be able to get through the entire month of September with minimal grocery expense.
I ended my day by treating myself to something special for dinner. All of the kids were gone at various friend's houses so I got myself a Chinese dinner for one from my favorite carry-out for $10. Not only did I have a terrific dinner last night but I took the leftover steamed white rice added milk, sugar and cinnamon and warmed it up in the microwave for breakfast today. And I have enough pork lo mein leftover that it will be lunch for myself and college age kids today! Three meals for $10 isn't bad.

Summer Grocery Stock Up

  Well I finally got out and did my big stock up trip for the summer. I had pretty much stocked up the freezer with meat, poultry, fish last time. This time I filled in the edges of the freezer (you literally cannot fit another thing in there), stocked up the pantry items, and bought some fresh produce and dairy. In June and July it should be strictly produce, dairy, and eggs (as well as tri colored pasta which I forgot to get this time and will need for my youngest son's grad party). I will be keeping to a $250 or under food budget for those months, using money earned from my twice a month office cleaning job.

I went to five locations. My first stop was Gordon Food Service (GFS)'s marketplace store. This is a company I deal with for work on a delivery basis. In their stores they sell large sized quantities of items (similar to a wholesale club) but without any membership fees. I have a 'fun funds' card that I use there for personal purchases that goes towards my school. Similar to the program Target has. I stocked up my pastas this trip, as  spending $25.35 in cash and bringing home a 5 lb. bag of thin cut egg noodles, a 3 lb. bag of thicker "amish" egg noodles, a two and a half pound bag of farfalle (bow tie pasta), a two and a half pound bag of penne, a two pound bag of fettucine, and a jar of horseradish. I used cash, funds earned from cleaning.

My next stop was BJ's Wholesale Club. I had a coupon book and needed some nonfood items here that I had coupons for. I spent $80.52 (after saving $6.00 in coupons) on these items and brought home a 100 count box of Finish dishwasher soap (the cube kind), a case of paper towels (should last us three months or more), a large bottle of Gain detergent, a two pack of Crest Pro Health mouth rinse, and a 320 count bottle of Aleve (I've found this to be the best deal on this item which I take regularly for some arthritis in my shoulder). I also spent $16.99 on a very large bag of organic cat food which will last our kitty about two months or more. (we also have two dogs but my oldest son is in charge of buying their food). Foodwise I spent $79.95, saving $2.50 in coupons, and brought home a 2 pack of Smart balance spread, 1 container of edamame salad, a four pack of Ball Park franks, a 12 count box of Bubba Angus burgers, a 6 can case of Bush's baked beans, 1 lb. roast beef from the deli, 1/2 lb. turkey breast from the deli (we love their deli meats and the prices both these items were on special this week), a loaf of Pepperidge Farm hearty white bread (figured I wouldn't have time to bake until the weekend), and a two pack of Hidden Valley Farms ranch dressing (the only bottled dressing I will buy since I cannot find a recipe for homemade that comes close). I used my debit card here, using funds saved up for summer.
My next stop was the small year round farmer's market that I love here. I spent $39.21 and came home with 8 nectarines, 8 plums, 2 red bell peppers, a bag of shredded carrots, a bag of broccoli slaw, 1 container of strawberries, 1 container of blueberries, a bag of cherries, a pineapple, two mangoes, a cantaloupe, a small hand of ginger, 3 lbs. vidalia onions, 1 english cucumber, one pint grape tomatoes, and a stick of herb de provence covered dry salami (a luxury item ). I spent cash from cleaning.
My fourth stop was Aldi. I spent $161.33 in cash, money earned from cleaning. $18.32 was for nonfood items, a bottle of dish soap, a box of large freezer bags, a box of trash bags, and four reusable cloth shopping bags (we use these for lots of purposes and needed a few more). The remainder of $141.73 was for food and I came home with 4 'slim jim' snacks for the kids, 1 head of cabbage, 5 lbs. russet potatoes, 1 box rosemary flavored 'triscuit' style crackers, 2 lbs. elbow macaroni, 2 lbs. spaghetti, 2 packs neufchatel cheese, 1 bag faux crabmeat, 1 bag string cheese, 3 boxes cold cereal, one container old fashioned oatmeal, 2 packs hard salami, 3 packs of organic bacon, 2 packs cheddar brats, 1 block colby cheese, 2 blocks white NY sharp cheddar, 2 lbs. butter, 2 cans pineapple chunks, 1 can crushed pineapple, 3 cans mandarin oranges, 2 cans diced tomatoes, 2 bottle red grapefruit juice, 1 bottle 100% apple juice, 1 bottle 100%grape juice, 1 bottle 100% cranberry juice, 1 bottle 100% cranberry-pomegranate blend juice, 1 bunch bananas, 1 bag shredded mozzarella, 1 bag shredded cheddar, 1 bunch carrots, 1 bag baby carrots, 1bag romaine hearts, 1 bag baby spinach, 1 bag spring greens mix, 3 boxes cake mix (for son's grad party), 1 case ramen noodle soup, 1 bunch celery, 4 bottles steak sauce, 2 jars maraschino cherries, 2 can black olives,  1 jar Miracle whip, 1 bottle spicy brown mustard, 1 jar raspberries preserves, 1 jar apricot preserves, 3 heads garlic, 1 jar strawberry preserves, 1 quart lowfat cottage cheese, 1 jar orange marmalade, 1 bag whole unsalted almonds,  1 box cinnamon graham crackers, 1 bag lemons, 1 bag croutons, 3 containers coffee creamer, 1 bag veggie straws, 1 bag brown sugar, and 2 dozen eggs.
My final stop was a small local Italian deli/grocery store. I spent $18.48 on my debit card and brought home two cans chick peas, a jar of tahini, two envelopes hollandaise sauce mix, a loaf of their wonderful unsliced Italian bread with sesame seeds, a box of garlic and herb grissini, a box of mini sea shell pasta, and a wedge of gorgonzola cheese.
Total expeditures: Nonfood items: $98.84 (over my budget of $75 but I hadn't spend a dime on these items in May), $16.99 on cat food, and $304.72 on food. Since I budgeted $350 on food for stocking up purposes for June I am very satisfied that I was under this goal. I will still have to go out for a few cleaning supplies that we need to stock up on but I have a $25 gift card to Target that I received at the end of the school year that will cover these.

Planning ahead and Summer Stock Up: The Freezer

 It is that time of year when I am looking at the long dry spell of summer. I have been unable to find a summer job. Seems all the things I can do are for jobs where they want college age people. <sigh> I did plan ahead though and have been squirreling away money in the bank for just such a possibility. Next year I will start the job hunt earlier. I will continue to do my twice a month cleaning gig so a small amount of cash will be rolling in and I have worked out a deal with the GF. I will clean his house weekly in exchange for a full tank of gasoline. This works for me.
I have spent some time considering how to live minimally. In regards to the utilities: We have no A/C in this house except for a smallish window unit in my adult son's bedroom which he pays for. I keep good records of our electricity useage and he pays the overage. I will once again use my clothesline for all items except bath towels which I will partially dry in the dryer before hanging outside. The dishwasher gets run only when full which means about five times a week. I will air dry the dishes instead of using the heat dry. We have trained ourselves to be cautious with water use-age around here. Showers are short, we don't waste money on watering the lawn, faucets aren't allowed to run aimlessly. My stove and hot water tank are natural gas. I do laundry using the warm wash/cold rinse feature for towels and whites. Colored clothing gets cold wash/cold rinse. In the summer time the majority of cooking takes place outdoors on the grill, or on the stovetop. The oven runs only for baking purposes. Our summer gas bill typically runs around $40 a month which I find acceptable.
We do have a sizeable satellite tv bill that I will be calling about to see if they have any current discounts that I can get applied to my bill. This company is really very good about working with you to keep your costs down. Which is why I am still with them. The library, the beach, our zoo membership and discount days at the movies will help provide summer entertainment. Not to mention that new grandbaby due any day now!
In May I did not grocery shop at all. Instead we ate down quite a bit of stuff in the freezer and the pantry and I saved up my cleaning money towards a summer stock up of the freezer. I focused on meats and using a $70 gift card (my cash back rewards from my membership) plus half of my cleaning funds I picked up quite a bit at BJ's Wholesale Club. In addition to the gallon of organic milk and the wedge of imported parmesano-reggiano cheese I bought I brought home:

 two whole eye of rounds, a package of two London broils, and a large package of ground beef. In the space of 20 minutes I'd turned these into 2 separate London broils, three large packages of ground beef, a smallish roast, a large bag of beef cubes (for shish kebob), a small bag of beef strips for stir fry, and a dozen nice steaks.

I also bought 24 bone-in chicken thighs and a nice rack of lamb. The chicken thighs are already vacuumed sealed into packages of four so I just popped them individually into the freezer. I cut the rack of lamb into 7 beautiful lamb chops. This will be our 'fancy splurge' meat.

 

I also purchased a whole rack of ribs which I separated into two half rack packages and two whole boneless pork loins. Another twenty minutes and I had 27 pork chops, a smallish pork roast, a large bag of pork cubes (for adobo or kebobs) and 6 thin cut pork 'scallopine'.

 

In addition to this we still have a large bone-in whole ham, a couple bags of boneless skinless chicken breast, a bag of chicken tenders, a small boneless leg of lamb (purchased at Easter from Aldi), a medium sized eye of round roast, a package of thin beef for Swiss steak, a package of short ribs, two packages of ground lamb, two packages of Irish O'Garlic sausages, a package of Irish "bangers", several individually packaged salmon fillets, several individually packaged tilapia fillets, two pounds of shrimp, and three packages of ground beef. My plan is to add another '

value pack' of salmon fillets, two to three more bags of frozen chicken breasts, 4 pounds of organic bacon, a box of Bubba burgers, two or three packages of brats, some breakfast sausage,  and a three package sized pack of hot dogs using the cleaning money I will earn this weekend. This will easily provide us with a variety of proteins for the next three months.

A stock up trip to Aldi is also in the future to fill in the corners of the pantry with things like coffee creamer, olives, pickles, juice, cereal, brown sugar, powdered sugar, and oatmeal.

 Baking goods including 25 pounds of bread flour, 20 pounds of AP flour, 10 lbs of white whole wheat flour, 5 lbs. of rye flour, and two large bags of dry yeast (tucked into the freezer) will mean home baked breads and rolls will be available. I have also stocked up on oils (canola, light olive, basil infused, garlic infused, and rosemary infused), and vinegars (white wine, balsamic, white balsamic, raspberry balsamic, & apple cider) means I am ready to go with homemade dressings and marinades.

 Grocery shopping during the summer will be limited to dairy and fresh produce and will come out of the cleaning money.

 

February grocery shopping

It has been one of those months again where I don't seem to be able to find ten minutes to myself to drop in here. Busy doesn't even begin to cover the last two weeks. I've attended a baby shower, finally worked a full week, attended the big Home and Garden show, visited the newest casino in town (and came home $42 richer, lol),  worked my twice a month cleaning gig twice, and spent a couple of snow days cleaning and running around.  I've also been to the E-check station for my mandatory every other year check on my vehicle and gotten my new license plate stickers. And had a very nice dinner out with my sweetie on Valentine's Day.
I have also managed to get my grocery shopping for the month completed. Two separate trips this time, one to BJs after the baby shower and one to Aldi on my last snow day.
My trip to BJ's was $241.55. I spent $32.92 on household items (magic erasers, laundry detergent, and Comet cleanser), another $15 on cat food, and the remainder of  $193.63 on groceries. I came home with a whole boneless pork loin, a corned beef, a case of yogurt, a turkey breast, 3 lbs. of lemons, a container of organic spring greens, a bag of red bell peppers, a bag of broccoli slaw, 3 lbs. brown sugar, 5 lbs. sweet potatoes, 5 lbs. of sweet onions, 3 lbs. granny smith apples, a bottle of organic mango juice, a 2 pck. of ruby red grapefruit juice, 2 lbs. of strawberries, a box of clementines, one container marinated mini fresh mozzarella balls, one package fresh basil, a large container of grape tomatoes, two English cucumbers, one package of fresh cheese ravioli,
and a two pack of coffee creamer.
I used the snow day we had after President's Day to finish up at Aldi. I spent $119.52 all on food. A lot of snack foods and some frozen things for youngest son to make himself a quick 'second lunch' when he arrives home from school. He was complaining that dinner is so late now that he really needs something to eat mid afternoon. He was with me so he chose the items.  I came home with 6 'slim jim' snacks for the kids, 2 packages of frozen cheese manicotti, 2 packs of cheddar brats, a box of taquitos, 2 boxes of frozen pocket sandwiches, 1/2 gallon of cookie dough ice cream, 1/2 gallon vanilla bean ice cream, 4 boxes of Yakisoba noodle bowls, 1 box spaghetti, 1 jar cinnamon applesauce, 1 bottle C boost organic juice, 2 bottles ruby red grapefruit juice (my teen son LOVES this stuff), 1 bottle organic apple juice, 1 bottle 100% cranberry juice, 1 bottle 100% cherry juice, 10lbs russet potatoes, 1 hunk of sundried tomato-basil cheese, 1 pint lowfat cottage cheese, 2 hunks NY white cheddar, 1 bag string cheese, 1 package potato gnocchi, 1 bottle basil olive oil, 2 packages organic bacon, 1/2 gallon organic 2% milk (new item giving it a try), 1 bag spinach, 1 bag cheese puffs, 1 bag nacho chips, 1 pack chocolate pudding cups, 1 can whipped topping, 2 boxes
rice a roni, 1 bag shredded cheddar, 1 bunch celery, 1 box cinnamon graham crackers, 1 box 'cream of wheat'cereal, 1 bag penguin cheese crackers, 1 box regular graham crackers, 1 box ritz style crackers, 1 box mini peanut butter stuffed crackers, 1 box mini cheese stuffed crackers, 2 bags of kettle chips, 1 bag baby carrots, 1 bag beef jerky (an adult son request), and a dozen eggs.
Youngest son suggested a meal that was off our menu plans but for which we had purchased all the ingredients so we ended up our day with Pasta Carbonara Florentine, a salad, and watched a taped episode of Sherlock.

Let's talk groceries...

I have been increasingly intrigued by the idea of CSAs(community supported agriculture) while reading about another blogger's adventures along these lines.I have seriously been considering this option for myself and just coincidentally I recently had two spontaneous conversations about CSA 's available in my area with two different people at work. I definately wanted an opinion from someone who'd done this here and it was pretty funny/odd that both of these women brought up the topic. What they had to say made me think.  Both of them had chosen to do a CSA last season and both had two very different opinions, although both had also come to the same conclusion. Co-worker 1 was basically happy with her program, although she had a few minor complaints about pickup times and locations. She did think the foods available were varied and quality was consistent and she liked the 'artisan' items that were included.  She did say however that she wasn't going to choose this option this year because of the difficulties involved in picking up the items and the price increase for the coming season. Co-worker 2 hated the whole thing. From the pickup issues to the items offered. She also said she'd not try this again because she did not feel she was getting good value for her money.
I did some research myself and took a look at the limited number of CSAs with pickup locations/times (I was surprised that so many of them only had 'during work hours' times) that were not inconvenient to me. I found all of them to be more money than I am willing to spend. We have so many local seasonal farmer's markets (as well as two excellent year round ones) with lots of fruit farms within driving distance that do pick-your-own or who sell their own products on sight in this area that I think I will pass on this option. I am not willing to dedicate what amounts to $65 a week for 22 weeks, paid in full upfront, from my food budget. Having taken a year end look at what I averaged on groceries last year (just over $400 a month, or $100 a week) this is more than half my weekly expenses.
So now I am turning my interests towards looking at what I can grow in my back garden and which local seasonal markets I am interested in patronizing this year. Adult son has promised to make me two more raised bed boxes and fill them with dirt as a birthday present again this year. I am good with that and am currently browsing seed catalogs deciding what to grow.

Monday Holiday

 One of the many benefits of working in a school are the official Monday holidays we get. Last Monday was MLK day so there was no school. Nice to have the long weekend.
My middle daughter K received an automatic starter for  her minivan and needed someone to follow her to the mechanics and then take her and her boys on some errands. Mom was the go-to person.

I needed to make my own stop at BJ's for a case of envelopes for work so that was our first stop after we dropped off K's van.  She needed to shop for a few items so we were off to the regular grocery store. While there I picked up a cottage ham and some chipped beef as well as some Chocolate-hazelnut tea  . $15 out the door.

K was in need of some items from Target and I was down to my last two MegaRed tablets so that was our next stop. $11.94 for the MegaReds.

The two hours the mechanic told me daughter that he van would take stretched out in to four. Since I'd given up my day to take her and the boys around she treated me to lunch at Chipotle. I do love that restaurant.
With time to kill K suggested we stroll around Big Lots and TJMaxx. I managed to make it out of Big Lots with no purchases in hand but couldn't help but pick up a new sweater (yes I know I said no more clothing purchases) for myself off the clearance rack for $15 and a box set of 8 drinking glasses for $7 similar to these: .  We seem to always be in need of drinking glasses at home and it was a good buy.

After taking K and the boys back to pick up her car I headed home. Once home I checked on my bank account balance (yes the banks were closed but I wanted to see if a direct debit for insurance had come through on Friday) and getting a nice surprise in the form of a deposit into my checking account from my bank. It was my cash back rewards from the previous year for using my check card. Nice!!
The remainder of the day was spent giving the house a good clean and making dinner. I went totally off my menu plans I sautéed some chicken tenders in garlic, garlic oil and smart balance, I then tossed in some broccoli florets, some freshly ground black pepper and some grated parmesan cheese and tossed the entire thing with some cooked penne pasta.

Adjustments to menus and a new goal for myself

I am determined to stick to my frugal food budget this month. While out grocery shopping yesterday I was unable to find a cottage  ham at any of the stores that I went to. I am unwilling to spend any more money this month on groceries and extremely unwilling to spend the inflated prices at the regular chain grocery store where I know I can find this item. I am going to do a bit of digging around in the deep freezer but I think I may have a beef brisket or short ribs still in there in the back, and I know for certain we have cheddar brats and kielbasa. Once I have determined what we actually have on hand I will make a new menu plan to replace the New England style dinner idea. It is definitely time for an inventory of this space in any case.
GF and I now have plans to go out to dinner with friends (parents of youngest son's girlfriend) this coming Friday night so I do have a little leeway on the menu plans there.  And although creamed chipped beef is a very frugal meal I'd have to go in to the high priced store to get this item and my goal is to avoid any and all food shopping for the remainder of the month so I will substitute something else (thinking sweet & spicy kielbasa with buttered noodles and salad ) for this meal too.
I have a Panini sandwich on the menus as well and Aldi did not have the ciabatta rolls I have been able to buy there this time. I did however find a good simple Ciabatta roll recipe online and will give it a go making these from scratch myself. There was no swiss cheese at Aldi yesterday for these planned Panini however I do have slices of mozzarella and cheddar and will just use one of these instead.
 After reading a few blogs and looking at my checkbook balance, one other goal I am setting myself this month are $0 spending days. I intend to set myself 5 days out of 7 as $0 spending. With going back to work this shouldn't be too difficult to do. Working an 11 hour day means very little time to spend money. I will gas up the SUV on Sundays for the next week, starting today. Another upside to the long workdays means most of my driving is only to and from work. The only extra driving I was doing was to pick up college age daughter from her campus and bring her to work the aftercare program with me at my school. College age daughter now has another ride into the job  since her gentleman friend is now on the staff with us. He will collect her from her college campus and bring her in to school with him. I am extremely thankful he is able to do this.
  Weekends are my downfall but I have already had my monthly haircut, will not purchase clothing or books this month ( I have a nice stack of books still unread to enjoy plus I intend to dip into some old favorites such as the Tightwad Gazette in the next couple of months), and have already stocked up on food and almost all of the household items we need. We still need cat litter and Duraflame logs. These will be bought today with the cash left in my wallet.
I will earn some cash next weekend with my cleaning job but I want to be able to stick this in my savings account.
Things I will still need to buy this month include two birthday gifts (youngest son and nephew) and a baby shower gift for oldest son's best friends impending arrival. We also need to replace the set of blinds on our side door. Our black lab-boxer loves to jump up on this door and look out the window and he has really done a job on these blinds. I will temporarily 'fix' the broken bracket on the bottom with some duct tape and a new set of blinds will be purchased later on in the month.
I am certain that I will be able to meet this new goal as well as sticking to not purchasing any more food the rest of January.

January Grocery Shopping

  The weather was finally co-operative today allowing me to get out and about and take care of a few errands.
I had an 8 a.m. appointment for a haircut and that was my first order of business. My usual 'girl' is on maternity leave (new baby boy congrats to her!) and another 'girl' from the salon took care of me. I came away quite pleased. Same cut, not too short.
Since I was up and out and the sun was shining I went directly to do the grocery shopping.
My first stop was GFS. I had to pick up some salad fixins for school on Monday, food delivery doesn't happen until Tuesday and I have several salads already pre-ordered. I also needed frozen veggies for home. I spent $23.85 and brought home 1 2 1/2 lb . bag of peas, 2 2 lb. bags broccoli florets, 1 3 lb. bag sweet corn, 1 2 lb. bag cut green beans, 1 2 lb. bag Brussels sprouts. I also purchased a new reusable thermal bag to replace the one that got destroyed in our recent flood.

My next stop was BJ's Wholesale Club. I was looking for a cottage ham but struck out there on that. I spent $37.65 on food and $21.38 on nonfood household items (paper towels, a sympathy card, and a magazine). Food wise I brought home 1 gallon of 1% organic milk,  1 48 oz box cheezit crackers, 1 case fruit greek yogurt, 8 lbs. ruby red grapefruits, and 5 lbs. sweet onions.  No sooner did I load up my SUV and drive away did I remember the flour, sugar, mouthwash, and hard salami I'd intended to purchase. GF needed to get some meat and milk for his house so a second trip to BJ's was made later in the afternoon. On that trip I spent $9.71 on a 2 pack of Crest pro-health mouthwash and another $13.97 on flour, sugar, and hard salami.

My final morning stop was at Aldi. I spent $18.32 on taxable items that included cranberry-pomegranate juice cocktail and ruby red grapefruit juice cocktail, trash bags, and tissues as well as two re-useable shopping bags to again replace ones that got ruined in the flooding.
Food-wise I spent $107.71 and brought home 6 slim jims (treats for the kids), 1 boneless leg of lamb roast (a special purchase item that I will tuck away in the freezer), a package of mild Italian sausage, 2 jars of sweet pickles (a treat for GF who loves them). 2 cans mandarin oranges, 1 100% apple juice, 1 100% cherry juice, 2 bottles steak sauce, 1 bottle ranch dressing, 1 3 pack garlic, 1 bottle spicy brown mustard, 1 bottle honey mustard, 1 jar nacho cheese, 1 cabbage, 2 lbs. carrots, 1 lb. organic baby carrots, 1 bunch celery, 1 bunch bananas, 1 bag granny smith apples, 1 bag lemons, 1 bag navel oranges, 1 pomegranate, 4 multi colored peppers, 1 English cucumber, 1 carton Guava-Mango juice, 1 bag spring greens, 1 bag romaine lettuce, 1 bag spinach, 1 pint mushrooms, 2 coffee creamer (one for home, one for GF's house) 1 hazelnut coffee creamer (for GF's house), 1 quart light cottage cheese, 1 pint low fat sour cream, 1 bag shredded cheddar cheese, 1 package string cheese, 2 packs chocolate pudding cups, 2 packages mixed fruit cups, 1 dozen eggs, 2 bags dried cherries, 1 pint organic cherry tomatoes, 2 bags chips, 1 bag tortilla chips, 2 bags veggie straws, 1 box saltines, and 1 bag oyster crackers.

I made a second afternoon stop at Target for nonfood household items. I was all out of hair gel and used the last of the deodorant I had at GF's house so I replaced those items, I also picked up dish soap (none at Aldi..no Dollar Tree near GF's house), carpet deodorizer, hydrogen peroxide (52¢), and a box of Estroven (6 months after my hot flashes stop they've started up with a vengeance yet again, <sigh>). Total cost out the door $ 26.94

In summary I spent a total of $183.18 (nicely under the $200 limit I set myself) for food and $ 76.35 over the limit of $50 I set myself.
I also remembered as soon as I got everything stowed away that I wanted to do pictures this month of my purchases. Oh well, maybe next time.

My first grocery list of 2014

   I have my first grocery list of the year all ready for the shopping trip I plan to do on Friday. I don't go back to work until the 6th so I have some time to get us all stocked up for the month. With getting two very tiny paychecks in January I need to be extremely conservative about my shopping this month. I originally thought I'd be able to get everything I need for under $175 but am thinking I can stretch this to $200.  I plan on visiting GFS (I need to pick up salad items for work on Monday too), BJ's, and Aldi. I may need to make a small run into the regular grocery store for the chipped beef I want. Aldi used to carry this item but sadly discontinued it leaving me no other option than the regular store. Happily this sells for under a dollar per package so it is still a frugal option. Mostly we need fresh produce. We are out of onions, garlic, fresh fruit (I'm thinking bananas, apples, oranges, grapefruit, lemons), salad produce (lettuce, cukes, tomatoes, red bell peppers, broccoli slaw), celery, cabbage, and carrots.  I need to restock coffee creamer, juices (received a mini fridge for Christmas so looking forward to stocking this up), frozen veggies (beans, corn, broccoli, Brussels sprouts), milk, eggs, Italian sausage, a cottage ham, chipped beef, ciabatta rolls, AP flour, sugar, hard salami, frozen OJ, cottage cheese, sour cream, Swiss slices, dried beans for soup, and snack foods for the kids . 
The deep freezer is nicely stocked up with some frozen fruits, poultry, meat, and seafood. The pantry shelves are full of canned and bottled goods. We have a ton of rice and pastas. And my stock of bread making items is in good shape as well. The fridge has a good supply of cheeses and butter and smart balance. Condiments, spices, coffee, teas, hot chocolate, baking goods (except for ap flour and sugar) are looking fine as well. My stock of dried beans is very low, I do have two bags of lentils, another bag of a 'pumpkin-lentil' soup blend but other than that none at all. I am planning on restocking these items in February.
Non-food-wise we can use some dish soap, mouthwash, hydrogen peroxide, carpet deordorizer, kitchen cleaner, tissues, and paper towels.  I have budgeted $50 for these items.  I also want to pick up a box of Duraflame logs for the fireplace so I have set aside $25 for this item as well as amother $15 for three 5 gallon food safe buckets with lids as a new storage system for flours (AP & bread) and sugar. I've checked out prices and both Home Depot and Lowe's have these items for a low amount.
In the recent basement flooding we lost our cat litter and the litter box was so disgusting (truly both adult son and I had to step outside in the snow because we were gagging so badly from the smell and the mess) adult son and I managed to get the entire thing into a contractor bag for disposable. I will need to replace the box and the litter. A trip to Petco for this is on board. Adult son said he would swing by there today and I can just reimburse him. I told him a basic litter box was all that was needed and scoopable litter please. Speaking of litter, anyone with cats ever tried the litter from Aldi?
I told adult son to try to keep this expense under $30.
Looking forward to the challenge of staying within these budgeted amounts.

December Grocery shopping trip

  I had that entire week off the week of Thanksgiving and after accomplishing the cleaning that I really needed to get done I also managed to do a grocery shopping trip for December. I limited myself to a smaller than normal amount of money because I want to free up as much cash for gifts and unexpected extras. The freezer is still nice and full as are the pantry shelves so I knew this trip would be heavy on snacks, dairy, juice, and fresh produce. I was 'assigned' brown sugar mashed squash and a veggie tray for Thanksgiving so I picked up those items as well.

I went to three locations, a local farmer's market, a small Italian deli/grocery store, Aldi, and BJ's wholesale club. I had a nice companion this time, my oldest son as he had taken a couple of vacation days and my DIL was working still so the two of us spent a couple of hours schlepping around while we both shopped.

Our first stop was BJ's. I spent $96.81. The only nonfood item I purchased was a case of toilet paper for $21.99. The remainder of the money went for food. I brought home a container of tabouleh salad, a four pack of pork tenderloin, a gallon of organic 1% milk, a two pack of Smart Balance, a case of Chobani fruit yogurts, a bag of snack sized Vermont cheddar cheese, a large box of Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers, a 3 lb. bag of baby carrots (for Thanksgiving veggie tray), a container of organic spring greens mix, a pound of hard salami, and a box of 4 cans of crescent rolls.

The next stop was Aldi. I spent $123.21 and the only nonfood item I purchased was a box of aluminum foil for $2.43. The remainder was for food. I brought home 4 English cucumbers (Thanksgiving veggie tray), a box of pierogies, a 3 lb. bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts, a 3 lb. bag of chicken tenderloins, 2 packages of cheddar brats, 4 boxes of 'rice a roni' (one beef, two chicken, one Spanish), 1 bag frozen garlic cubed potatoes, a container of hummus, two packs of Neufchatel cheese, 1 pint sliced baby bella mushrooms, a bag of clementines, 1 pack Welsh cheddar cheese, 1 quart of strawberries, 3 lbs. granny smith apples, 3lb. bananas, 2 bunches celery (Thanksgiving veggie tray), 1 can mandarin oranges, 2 packs kielbasa (thinking ahead to New Year's Day dinner), 1 pint sour cream, 1 bottle 100% cranberry juice, 2 bottles 100% apple juice, 2 bottle ruby red grapefruit juice, 1 bottle cranberry-pomegranate juice, 1 pack string cheese, 1 bottle chili sauce, 2 containers caramel dip, 1 bag shredded cheddar, 1 bag shredded mozzarella, 1 package sliced muenster cheese, 1 pack sliced swiss cheese, 1 pack deli ham, 1 bag pita chips, 3 lbs. lemons, 1 bag bbq chips, 1 bag Hershey kisses, 1 bag mini Reese peanut butter cups, 1 box Andes mints (candies are for stocking stuffers), 1 bag tortilla dipper chips, 1 pack individual mixed fruit cups, 2 packs individual chocolate pudding cups, 1 quart grape tomatoes, 2 blocks white NY cheddar, 1 box honey graham crackers,1 jar nacho cheese sauce, 1 box saltines, and 1 tub pretzel sticks.

At the Farmer's Market I spent $22. I bought 6 large red bell peppers (for Thanksgiving veggie tray),  3lbs. of ruby red grapefruit, two large butternut squash (for Thanksgiving), a spaghetti squash, and a salami rolled in herb de provence.

At the local Italian deli-grocery store I spent $14.37 and I brought home a half pound sliced Italian blend  cheese, a pound of sliced pepperoni, a package of almond biscotti, and a loaf of Italian bread with seeds, and a bag of ciabatta rolls.

Total Nonfood household expenses: $24.42. Total food expenditure : $231.97,  $118.03 under my usual budgeted amount of $350 for food only. Money that can be used for the holiday. And I got some stocking stuffer candy.

Got Lucky!!

While going to pick up donuts for his work crew yesterday GF spotted the boxes of Peppermint Mocha K-cups which are a seasonal item in the store. He noticed they had a full display of boxes so he didn't pick any up for me. Last year I didn't get any when I first saw them and then was unable to get any at all because they are such a popular item they sell out fast. This morning I took myself through the drive through at his local DD and bought the last three boxes. That's right yesterday they had 40, now they have none. But I will be enjoying this treat all season long!