Dinner Menu, Grocery Deals

Hello, Dearies!  I did not manage to complete a 'Frugals' post for this past week.  I don't think the week was especially busy - in fact, I had a snow day - I just wasn't terribly organized.  We did frugal things...and perhaps I'll include some of them in next week's post.

There were a few good grocery deals this week.  We are trying not to stock up on things quite so much right now, because we keep our food storage in our basement, and we need to clear the basement to do the finish work down there.  Still, we're buying produce and other fresh items, along with smaller amounts of the sale items.  This week we got zucchini for .98/lb, cucumbers 2/$1, romaine for .99/head, strawberries for 1.25/lb, bananas for .33/lb and grapes for .98/lb.  2lb. bags of tater tots were 1.25, so we bought some of those as well.  We still have apples from last week, along with cabbage, celery, carrots, onions, red bell peppers, potatoes, and a couple of mini tangerines.  Husband used a free item coupon (Monopoly game at Safeway) to get hot dog buns for this week, and I picked up a package of tostada shells (flats?) for $1.  We'll round out the rest of our meals with some canned goods and meats from the freezer.  Here is the dinner plan for the coming week:

M - chili & rice, sliced apples
T -  grilled bbq chicken pieces, grilled zucchini & peppers, sweet corn
W - tostadas, bean-corn-tomato salad, shredded lettuce & chopped tomato (meatless meal)
R - teriyaki beef, rice, cucumber kimchee, broccoli, macaroni salad
F - hot dogs, tater tots, carrot & raisin salad
S - vegetarian sesame noodles w/carrots, onions, cabbage, peppers, broccoli, all in a peanut sauce (meatless meal)
S - lamb chops, potatoes au gratin, salad, carrot cake

Grocery Highlights and This Week's Menu

The past two weeks have been spring break weeks, and we've stayed busy.  I think we're all looking forward to getting back to a more typical routine, though it was fun to take a day trip, visit the library, and more.

On our way to the library this past Wednesday, we picked up quite a few money-makers, including gummy vitamins, Kashi bars, Trident and Orbit gum, a V-8 energy drink and some Brookside chocolates.

Boneless chicken thighs and breasts were 1.49/lb this week, 2lb. blocks of cheese were 4.99, and ice cream was only 88 cents for 1.5 qt.  To top it off, there was a $2 off coupon if you spent $20, which we did.  There were more deals on yogurt and Belvita breakfast bakes (.50/box) as well.

For produce, celery was .98/bunch, lettuce was .80/head, red bell peppers were 50 cents, opal apples were .98/lb and strawberries were 1.50.  Combined with some remainders from previous sales, like cantaloupe, carrots, cabbage and tangerines, we picked up some fresh tomatoes and we are all set for this week.  Here is our dinner plan:

M - BLT sandwiches, bean w/bacon soup, sliced apples.

T - cheese enchiladas, Mexican rice, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, cutie oranges (meatless meal)

W - Pizza Hut pizza (The one I keep saying we're going to get that is a free credit for a mistake.  I think this is the week!)  carrots and celery, sliced apples

R - marinated, grilled chicken thighs, rice, kimchee, macaroni salad, vinaigrette slaw, cutie oranges.

F - spaghetti marinara, salad, garlic bread, sliced apples (meatless meal)

S - seared salmon with compound butter, steamed rice, green beans

S - Seville chicken/sausage bake with roasted peppers and potatoes, all cooked on a sheet pan!

What do you have planned at your place for this week?

Weekly Frugals!

I used an online code to get a free 8x10 print at Walgreens - one of Daughter and Husband from our trip to the Sand Dunes last week.

I did a little mending - sewed some buttons onto a favorite jacket and mended the sleeve on a hoodie.

We make cupcakes, and Daughter decorated them with sprinkles from the pantry.  Cute!

When we cleaned out the staff kitchen at work, there were enough sprinkles,
left from various programs, for everyone to take a few home.

At my workplace, we have health and fitness challenges each quarter.  I set a very simple goal to change a habit (get to bed earlier in order to get more sleep), achieved my goal over the 2 month period of the challenge, and was rewarded with a $10 gift card to Trader Joe's.  I also want to say that 2 months to form a new habit seems to be a much better idea than the old 21 day idea...at least, for me.  There is no new challenge right now, but I've challenged myself to make sure I drink at least 64 oz. water each day, and I'm doing well with that one.

We made some good progress on the plans for finishing the basement.  There is a lot to decide in the drawing stage (we don't like last-minute changes - not at all), and we are getting more figured out as we go.  I think the space I'm most excited about is the room we will use for our pantry.  We have always stored foodstuffs in the basement, but this space will be a little more acessible and give us, hopefully, a place for everything.  It will be great to have organized storage for foodstuffs, canning supplies and more.

The plant starts are pretty far along...and it's snowing here pretty regularly.  I may need to re-pot soon!

We've started tomatoes, four-o-clocks, Malabar spinach, marigolds, zinnias and herbs!

I repaired a coaster and a child's toy (my child's toy...hee hee).

We spent some time in the library's Maker Space, learning how to use the 3-d printers.  We also borrowed books and media from the library.

Husband combined sales, coupons and rebates to make the most of our grocery budget.  He also hung laundry out to dry on the clothesline, and kept our house warm with a cozy fire in the wood stove.

We fed scraps, vegetable peels, etc. to our chickens and dogs, as supplements/treats to their regular food.

What did you do this week to spend less, save more and make do?