Thursday, July 31, 2014

Shopping List - Week of July 27 - August 2

TUESDAY'S SHOPPING
FOOD TOWN (Tuesday):
Bread - $.79
2 pound ham lunchmeat (marked down) - $.99
Bacon - $1.99
16 ounce Italian sausage x 2 @ 2.77 each - $5.54
4 green peppers @ .79 each - $3.16

TOTAL - $12.47

HEB (Tuesday):
Shower spray - $1.97
Pork rinds - $1.49
Diet passion fruit drink mix - $1.88

TOTAL - $5.66

KROGER (Thursday):
7 CARBmaster yogurt @ .40 each (minus 10% discount) - $2.52
12 pack diet soda @ 2.39 (minus 10% discount) - $2.15
Ice cream @ 2.50 (minus 10% discount) - $2.25
Hamburger buns @ 1.50 (minus 10% discount) - $1.35
American cheese @ 3.99 (minus 10% discount) - $3.59
12 eggs x 2 @ 1.25 each (minus 10% discount) - $2.24
Peanut butter @ 1.79 (minus 10% discount) - $1.61
2 cans tuna @ .78 each (minus 10% discount) - $1.40
Boneless chicken breasts @ 1.99lb - $7.94

TOTAL - $25.23

WALMART (Thursday):
Makeup remover cloths - $4.97
Decaf coffee - $2.78
Comet cleanser - $.93
Stick-on hook - $2.67

TOTAL - $12.06

GRAND TOTAL FOR THE WEEK - $55.42

THURSDAY'S SHOPPING
I was very pleased to see that Walmart has lowered the price on the makeup remover cloths that I buy by a whole dollar. They've been $5.97 for years. The other good deals for the week were the ham, bacon, eggs and chicken breasts. 


I drove past Sprouts today and it looks like it's very near to being finished and the parking lot was full of cars. They had a "Now Hiring" sign out front. About three more weeks until the grand opening. 

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Tuesday's Shopping

TUESDAY'S SHOPPING
I only paid 99-cents for that 2-pound package of ham but it wasn't quite the bargain it seemed at first. When I got home, I noticed on the label that they've added 40% water to it. Still, a little over a pound of ham for 99-cents is a very good price. I split it up into four packages and froze it. I'll use it to make ham quiches and use one package per quiche.


The bacon was only $1.99 for a 12-ounce package. I don't think I've had that brand before so I hope it's good bacon. The sausage was on sale this week and the green peppers are for Sloppy Joe Stuffed Peppers later in the week. 

Friday, July 25, 2014

Menu for the week of 7/27 thru 8/2

CHEESE BISCUITS
CREAMSICLE JELLO

SUNDAY:
Leftover Ham Quiche
Leftover Mushroom, Chicken & Sausage Casserole
Enchilada Bake Variation

MONDAY:
Leftovers
Mock Rice Pudding

TUESDAY:
Steak
Cheese Biscuits

WEDNESDAY:
Asian Pork & Cabbage Skillet
Swiss Onion Quiche

THURSDAY:
Leftovers
Olive Garden?

FRIDAY:
Sloppy Joe Stuffed Peppers

SATURDAY:
Leftovers
Creamsicle Jello

 
ASIAN PORK & CABBAGE SKILLET

I will be changing the Asian Pork & Cabbage Skillet recipe a little this time. Instead of ground pork, I've got some leftover cubed roast pork. Instead of oyster sauce, I'm planning to use some hoisin sauce and whatever else I feel like throwing into the wok at the time.

When I make the Cheese Biscuits on Tuesday, I will make them as drop biscuits. I like them much better that way than as flat "cheese rounds".


Thursday, July 24, 2014

Shopping List - Week of July 20 - July 26

TUESDAY'S SHOPPING
FOOD TOWN (Tuesday):
Bread - $.79
Sliced mushrooms - $1.88
3 poblano chiles @ .99lb - $.93

TOTAL - $3.60

HEB (Tuesday):
Shower spray - $1.97
Quart heavy cream - $3.56
3-pack tissue - $3.57
1 can marked down enchilada sauce - $.75
Nasal strips - $6.88
Vaseline - .97

TOTAL - $18.16

KROGER (Thursday):
6 CARBmaster yogurt @ .40 each (minus 10% discount) - $2.16
12 pack diet soda @ 2.39 (minus 10% discount) - $2.15
Ice cream @ 2.50 (minus 10% discount) - $2.25
16 ounce coleslaw mix @ 1.25 (minus 10% discount & .40 coupon) - $.72
16 ounce sour cream @ 1.00 (minus 10% discount & .40 coupon) - $.50
15 ounce ricotta cheese @ 2.99 (minus $2 digital coupon) - $.99
8 ounce Kraft pepper-jack cheese @ 2.99 (minus $1.50 digital coupon) - $1.49
18 eggs @ 2.79 (minus 10% discount) - $2.51
6 x 8 ounce cream cheese @ 1.00 each (minus 10% discount) - $5.40
Napkins @ .97 (minus 10% discount) - $.87
Tissue @ 1.00 (minus 10% discount) - $.90
2 packages bone-in chicken thighs @ .88lb - $8.92

TOTAL - $29.18

WALMART (Thursday):
Toothpicks - $.58
Cotton balls - $1.88

TOTAL - $2.66

GRAND TOTAL FOR THE WEEK - $53.60
THURSDAY'S SHOPPING
I never thought to check the label on the ricotta cheese because I assumed that all brands of whole milk ricotta would have pretty much the same carb count. Silly me. Precious Ricotta cheese has 6 carbs per 1/4 cup! Most other brands only have about 2 carbs per 1/4 cup or 3 at the most. At least I don't see any added sugar on the label, just a lot of gums:

Whey, Milk, Vinegar, And Xanthan Gum, Locust Bean Gum, Guar Gum, (Stabilizers)

The odd thing is that I found the same brand with the old label on the Walmart site and the ingredients are the same, However, the label says 2 carbs per 1/4 cup instead of the 6 carbs on the new label. My guess is that the new label is wrong. Here's a screenshot of the old nutrition label for the same brand:

The only reason that I bought the ricotta cheese, and the Kraft pepper-jack cheese, was because I had really good digital coupons for them. I rarely think to check the Kroger website for digital coupons but I was there yesterday to read the ad for this week. On top of the great digital coupons, both items were on sale this week in the store. I almost never buy Kraft cheese so I was shocked to see that the regular price for an 8-ounce package of their cheese is well over $4.00! Who would pay that much when they can get the store brand for so much less??? I don't even like Kraft's cheese as well as Kroger's or pretty much any other brand. The only cheese that Kraft makes better than store brands is their Philadelphia cream cheese. I usually buy Kroger cream cheese because it's often on sale for a dollar but I think that Kraft's cream cheese is lower in carbs and has a better consistency than Kroger's. You can take Kraft cream cheese out of the wrapper in a solid chunk but Kroger's is so soft that you have to scrape it off the wrapper even right out of the fridge. That makes it difficult to cut off part of a block for recipes. I end up having to weigh it to be sure I've got the right amount.

Anyway, now I've got the ricotta cheese and a large container of sour cream but I don't have anything in particular planned to do with them. I've got until the end of August to use them in something or other. I'll look through my recipes later and see what sounds appealing. I like to use sour cream on Tex-Mex dishes but I don't make taco or fajita salad anymore because my husband doesn't care for either one much. Plus, 16 ounces of sour cream would be far too much to use on a few days of fajitas. I'll probably have to use it in a couple of dishes to use it all up. Maybe I'll make my Salsa Chicken or Green Enchilada Chicken to use half of it and maybe use the rest in some sort of dessert. 


SALSA CHICKEN
GREEN ENCHILADA CHICKEN

I could go either sweet or savory with the ricotta too. I haven't made my Spinach Lasagna in a long time and I could use the ricotta instead of cream cheese. Or, maybe I'll make my Italian Ricotta Cake. I'd forgotten all about that one and I think that Jerry would like that.
ITALIAN RICOTTA CAKE
I've been checking the progress of the Sprouts Farmer's Market construction every week when I drive past it. Finally, today it's starting to look like a store. They have painted the building and the logo is now up on the front of the building. Last week, the building still looked like a concrete shell. The grand opening is still almost a month away though.


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Tuesday's Shopping

TUESDAY'S SHOPPING
 It was very depressing browsing the meat department this morning. Prices are getting higher and higher every week. Pork shoulder roasts were up to $2.49 pound which is almost a dollar more per pound than they used to be when not on sale. Actually, ground beef prices have come down a bit from around $4.00+ pound to $2.99 but they didn't have any mark-downs today. I won't pay full price for hamburger unless I'm desperate. With a freezer full of marked-down meat, that won't happen for a while yet. I almost bought a package of pork trimmings for 89-cents per pound but decided that I didn't need them.

I bought some poblano chiles, which weren't on my shopping list, because they looked so nice and shiny and the price was pretty good at 99-cents per pound. I bought three of them thinking that I'd stuff them. I wasn't sure yet what I'd stuff them with or how I'd top them but I figured I'd come up with something. I had some already browned ground beef that I'd just thawed so I ended up adding some taco seasoning, shredded cheese and salsa to it. I'm going to stuff that inside the roasted and peeled chiles and top them with some of my Quick Nacho Cheese Dip. I did buy a marked down can of red enchilada sauce today for 75-cents but I dumped it out after tasting it. It tasted very bitter and it was extremely watery. It would have ruined the stuffed poblanos. I'm so glad I tasted it before using it.

I've got some chicken thighs roasting in the oven right now and when those come out I'll put the stuffed poblanos in. I'm going to remove the chicken from the bones and dice it for the Mushroom, Chicken & Sausage Casserole I'm making tomorrow. I roasted the chiles in the toaster oven while the chicken was roasting. They're cooling in the foil that I roasted them on to help loosen the skins. They should be cool enough to handle once the chicken comes out of the oven. I'll have myself a tasty snack of the crispy chicken skin since I don't need the skin for the casserole. I didn't mention this in the chicken casserole recipe on my website but lately when I make it, I add the drippings from roasting the chicken to it. They give it a wonderful flavor and lots of yummy chicken fat.


The chicken is out of the oven so I'd better head back to the kitchen now...

Friday, July 18, 2014

Menu for the week of 7/20 thru 7/26

SWISS ONION QUICHE
SUNDAY:
Leftover Swiss Onion Quiche
Leftover Atkins Meatloaf
Leftover Cheesy Broccoli Casserole
Bananas Foster Creme Brûlée

MONDAY:
Leftovers

TUESDAY:
Leftovers
Nacho Cheese Burger Bowl

WEDNESDAY:
Ham Quiche
Mushroom, Chicken & Sausage Casserole

THURSDAY:
Leftovers

FRIDAY:
Leftovers

SATURDAY:
Enchilada Bake Variation

MUSHROOM CHICKEN & SAUSAGE CASSEROLE
ENCHILADA BAKE VARIATION
The Burger Bowl on Tuesday will just be some pre-cooked ground beef that I have in the freezer topped with some of my Quick Nacho Cheese Dip and some avocado if they're cheap enough when I shop on Tuesday.



Thursday, July 17, 2014

Shopping List - Week of July 13 - July 19

TUESDAY'S SHOPPING
FOOD TOWN (Tuesday):
bread - $.79
Onions @ .39lb - $.57
Sugar free relish - $2.29
5 cans tomato sauce @ .20 each - $1.00
Jalapenos @ .69lb - $.70
Boneless thighs @ 1.77lb - $3.01
12 ounce turkey lunch meat - $.99
12 pack diet Cherry Pepsi - $3.55

TOTAL - $13.16

HEB (Tuesday):
Shower spray - $1.97
Quart heavy cream - $3.56
Passion fruit drink mix - $1.88

TOTAL - $7.73

KROGER (Thursday):
8 CARBmaster yogurt @ .40 each (minus 10% discount) - $2.88
12 pack diet soda @ 2.39 (minus 10% discount) - $2.15
Ice cream @ 2.98 (minus 10% discount) - $2.68
12 ounce frozen cauliflower @ 1.00 (minus 10% discount) - $.90
24 ounce cottage cheese @ 2.29 (minus 10% discount & .40 coupon) - $1.66
18 ounce peanut butter @ 1.79 (minus 10% discount) - $1.61
Salt @ .39 (minus 10% discount) - $.35

TOTAL - $12.41

WALMART (Thursday):
Coffee - $2.98
Printer paper - $3.47
Panty liners - $3.88
Ham pieces, about 1 1/2 pounds - $4.31
6 ounce tomato paste - $.44
2 binders @ .94 each - $1.88
Dot stickers - $1.00
Face scrub - $1.97

TOTAL - $20.94

GRAND TOTAL FOR THE WEEK - $54.24


THURSDAY'S SHOPPING


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Tuesday's Shopping



I got a few nice deals today. The jalapeños were only 69-cents per pound so I'm going to make another batch of Bread & Butter Jalapeños today with them. The tomato sauce was five cans for a dollar and I got a 12-ounce package of lunch meat marked down to 99-cents and it actually has no added sugar or carbs. How refreshing to see that, especially with turkey lunch meat. The turkey kinds usually tend to have the most sugar added. The brand is Foster Farms, which I've never seen before.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Menu for the week of 7/13 thru 7/19

CHILE RELLENO CASSEROLE
SUNDAY:
Leftover Perfect LC Pancakes (blueberry)
Leftover Sausage Quiche
Leftover Burger Scramble Florentine
Chile Relleno Casserole

MONDAY:
Leftovers
Cheese Quiche

TUESDAY:
Houston Chicken
Brussels Sprouts with Browned Butter

WEDNESDAY:
Leftovers

THURSDAY:
Deep Dish Pizza

FRIDAY:
Leftovers

SATURDAY:
Atkins Meatloaf
Cheesy Broccoli Casserole 


HOUSTON CHICKEN


CHEESY BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

 I bought some ham on Thursday so I can make a batch of Minced Ham if we need it. 

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Shopping List - Week of July 6 - July 12

TUESDAY'S SHOPPING
FOOD TOWN:
bread - $.79
Bug spray @ 1.29 (minus .75 coupon) - $.54
Boneless thighs @ 1.79lb - $3.31
Ginger - .12
Garlic - .42
Napa cabbage @ .79lb - $1.05
Green onions - .79
Onions @ .49lb - $.55
2 Duke's mayonnaise @ 1.99 each - $3.98
1 carrot - $.13

TOTAL - $11.72

KROGER:
8 CARBmaster yogurt @ .40 each (minus 10% discount) - $2.88
12 ounce swai fillets @ 2.39 (minus 10% discount and .85 coupon) - $1.30
2 x 8-ounce colby cheese @ 1.99 each (minus 10% discount) - $2.73
2 x 8-ounce Monterey jack cheese @ 1.99 each (minus 10% discount) - $2.73
Deluxe American cheese @ 3.69 (minus 10% discount) - $3.32
Blueberries - $1.50
2 x chicken thighs @ .99lb (minus $2.00 coupon) - $8.03
2 x dozen eggs @ 1.25 (minus 10% discount) - $2.24
2 x unsweetened coconut @ 1.19 each (minus 10% discount) - $2.14
2 x lip balm @ 1.87 each - $3.74
Foil @ 1.99 (minus 10% discount) - $1.79

TOTAL - $33.06

WALMART:
Decaf coffee - $2.78
Canned whole chiles - $1.25
Deodorant @ 2.97 (minus $2.00 coupon) - .97
Sliced ham - $3.98
Pork sausage - $2.48

TOTAL - $11.46

GRAND TOTAL FOR THE WEEK - $56.24

THURSDAY'S SHOPPING

I gave in and bought a loaf of bread for my husband. He's been complaining that he can't have peanut butter toast with his breakfast quiche. So, I bought the cheapest bread I could find. Naturally, he can eat stuff like that and still lose weight eating mostly low carb.

The best deals this week were the Hot Shot bug spray (54-cents), the deodorant (97-cents), the fish ($1.30), eggs ($1.13 per dozen) and chicken thighs (.80lb). I hadn't planned to buy blueberries but they were only $1.50. I was planning to make pancakes this weekend and thought they'd be extra nice with blueberries in them. I'll also make some blueberry muffins with the rest of the berries.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

New Recipe: Grilled Ginger-Sesame Chicken Salad

CURTIS STONE'S GRILLED GINGER-SESAME CHICKEN SALAD

 The recipe is on my main site HERE

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Recipe Review: Cheesy Garlic Bread


I just added a review of this recipe on my main site HERE. I will definitely be making this again and again.



Friday, July 4, 2014

Menu for the week of 7/6 thru 7/12

ITALIAN MEATBALL BURGERS
SUNDAY:
Leftover Quick Asian Pork Stir-Fry
Leftover Ham & Cheese Quiche
Italian Meatball Burgers
Cheesy Garlic Bread (new recipe)

MONDAY:
Leftovers
Mock Rice Pudding

TUESDAY:
Leftovers

WEDNESDAY:
Grilled Ginger Sesame Chicken Salad (new recipe)
Salsa Sausage Quiche

THURSDAY:
Burger Scramble Florentine

FRIDAY:
Leftovers

SATURDAY:
Leftovers
Perfect LC Pancakes


BURGER SCRAMBLE FLORENTINE

I found the Cheesy Garlic Bread recipe on the Cut the Wheat, Ditch the Sugar blog HERE



The Grilled Ginger Sesame Chicken Salad recipe is one that I've been wanting to try for a while. It's from Curtis Stone and you can see the recipe HERE

GRILLED GINGER SESAME CHICKEN SALAD


Thursday, July 3, 2014

Shopping List - Week of June 29 - July 5

THIS WEEK'S SHOPPING
HEB:
Italian sausage - $3.54

TOTAL - $3.54

KROGER:
12 pack diet soda @ 2.39 (minus 10% discount) - $2.15
6 x 16-ounce shredded cheese @ 2.99 each (minus 10% discount) - $16.14
6 CARBmaster yogurt @ .40 each (minus 10% discount) - $2.16
Dijon mustard @ .99 (minus 10% discount) - $.89
Parmesan cheese @ 2.77 (minus 10% discount) - $2.49
Napkins @ .97 (minus 10% discount) - $.87
10 ounce frozen spinach @ .85 (minus 10% discount) - $.76
3 16-ounce rolls pork sausage @ 3.00 each (minus 10% discount + $1.50 coupon) - $6.90
2 ice cream @ 2.50 each (minus 10% discount) - $4.50

TOTAL - $36.69

WALMART:
Tomato paste - $.44
2 tubes Aquafresh toothpaste @ 1.67 each (28% more bonus size) - $3.34
Face cleaner - $2.57
2 3-packs Dial soap @ 1.97 each (minus $1.00 coupon) - $2.94
2 packages earring wires @ 2.00 each - $4.00

TOTAL - $13.83

Aldi:
12 eggs - $1.19
Pork rinds - $.99
2 8-ounce colby cheese @ 1.99 each - $3.98
2 8-ounce Swiss cheese @ 1.99 each - $3.98

TOTAL - $10.14

GRAND TOTAL FOR THE WEEK - $64.20 (over budget by $4.20)

As you can see, I went over my budget a little again this week. Considering that I bought about $11.00 worth of items that weren't on my list, that's not really too bad. The items that weren't on my list were the two blocks of Swiss cheese from Aldi, the pork rinds, the ice cream (for my husband) and I bought an extra tube of toothpaste because they had a 28% larger bonus size for the same price as the 6.4 ounce tube. I was going to buy one tube anyway.

Kroger still had 16-ounce bags of cheese on sale for $2.99 so I stocked up on quite a few more packages while the price was so good.

I got a pretty good deal on the pork sausage at Kroger too. It was on sale for $3.00 per roll, which isn't that great, but I also had a $1.50 meat department coupon (had to spend at least $7.00 on meat) and then my 10% senior discount on top of that. It works out to $2.30 per roll, which isn't bad at all.

Since I don't go to Aldi all that often, I decided to buy a couple more blocks of Swiss cheese even though I still had some in the fridge. They've got the best price on it and Jerry really likes Swiss cheese quiche. I've also got a few other recipes that call for Swiss cheese, such as the Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole. In any case, it's a nice break from cheddar and mozzarella.


Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Sprouts is coming soon...

I didn't go shopping today but I wanted to share this: