Shopping List for December 14 - January 3 (the final week)

It's the final week of my three week shopping list. Here is what I bought today and below that is the final total for all three weeks. I did manage to stay under my $50 per week budget.

FOOD TOWN (Tuesday):
12 pack diet soda - $1.99
1 bunch green onions - $.34
Mt. Olive sugar free pickle relish - $2.29

TOTAL-$4.76

FINAL GRAND TOTAL FOR 3 WEEKS - $131.68 ($43.89 per week - under budget by about $6.00 per week)

Below are the photos from my previous shopping trips during this three week period. All of this is included in the $131.68 that I spent.

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Menu for the week of 12/28 thru 1/3

GREEN ENCHILADA CHICKEN

  
SUNDAY:
Leftover Cheddar Onion Quiche
Leftover ham
Green Enchilada Chicken

MONDAY:
Deep Dish Pizza

TUESDAY:
Leftovers

WEDNESDAY:
Cajun Smoked Salmon Dip
Buttery Sesame Crackers

THURSDAY:
Tuna "Rice" Casserole

FRIDAY:
Roast Chicken

SATURDAY:
Leftovers
Creamsicle Jello

CAJUN SMOKED SALMON DIP WITH ALMOND THINS

TUNA "RICE" CASSEROLE

 

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New Recipe: Oklahoma Fried Onion Burgers

OKLAHOMA FRIED ONION BURGER

I made these last night and they got a thumbs up from my husband. I saw them make them on Cook's Country a couple of weeks ago. They looked amazing and no tweaks were necessary to make them low carb. Read the details on my main site, HERE.

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Shopping List for December 14 - January 3 (continued)

As I mentioned I would do in last Thursday's post, HERE, I got a few more items today to add to the three week period between now and January 3rd. I'm pretty sure that I'll only need to buy some green onions next Tuesday. Here is what I bought today along with the updated total:

FOOD TOWN (Tuesday):
12 pack diet soda - $1.99
Ground beef @ 1.99lb (marked down) - $4.06
Onions @ .50lb - $1.16
Mushrooms - $1.26

TOTAL - $8.61

HEB (Tuesday):
2 quarts heavy cream  - $7.12
Shower spray - $1.97
3-pack tissue - $3.57
Honeycrisp apple - $2.15 (ouch!)

TOTAL - $15.27

KROGER (Tuesday):
7 CARBmaster yogurt @ .40 each (minus 10% discount) - $2.52

TOTAL - $2.52

UPDATED GRAND TOTAL FOR 3 WEEKS - $126.92 ($42.30 per week - $23.00 left to spend between now and Jan.3 to stay within my $50 per week budget)

I didn't really need to buy ground beef this week but I'm trying a new burger recipe today and I really wanted to have fresh meat. I find that ground beef that's been frozen makes burgers that tend to fall apart. I did thaw some but Food Town had some small packages marked down today so I bought a couple pounds. I cooked the meat that I'd thawed with some taco seasoning and froze it for another time.

I'm going to put the gigantic Honeycrisp apple in Jerry's Christmas stocking. It's his favorite kind of apple so I splurged. That whopper cost just over $2.00 for ONE apple!

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Menu for the week of 12/21 thru 12/27

SPANISH-STYLE SAUSAGE QUICHE

EGGPLANT LASAGNA

OVEN FRIED FISH

SUNDAY:
Leftover Spanish-Style Sausage Quiche
Leftover Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Eggplant Lasagna

MONDAY:
Leftovers

TUESDAY: 
Fried Onion Burgers (new recipe)
Leftovers

WEDNESDAY (CHRISTMAS EVE):
Oven Fried Fish
Cheese Biscuits (recipe made as drop biscuits)
Christmas Cookies (not low carb)

THURSDAY (CHRISTMAS):
Ham
Green Bean Casserole
Cornbread (not low carb)
Chocolate Truffle Torte (peppermint)
Christmas Cookies (not low carb)

FRIDAY:
Cheddar Onion Quiche
Leftovers

SATURDAY:
Leftovers

CHEDDAR BISCUITS

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

 

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE TORTE

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Shopping List for December 14 - January 3

TUESDAY'S SHOPPING

FOOD TOWN (Tuesday):
12 pack diet soda - $1.99
2 rolls Italian sausage @ 2.49 each (minus $1.00 coupon) - $3.98
Bean sprouts - $.99
Green onions - $.50

TOTAL - $7.60

HEB (Tuesday):
1 quart heavy cream  - $3.56
Shower spray - $1.97
Sugar free drink mix - $1.88
Nasal strips - $6.88

TOTAL - $14.61

SPROUTS (Thursday):
2 eggplants @ .98 each - $1.96

TOTAL - $1.96

KROGER (Thursday):
Peanut butter @ 1.67 (minus 10% discount/.45 coupon) - $1.05
18 eggs @ 3.42 (minus 10% discount) - $3.08
8 ounce sour cream @ .99 (minus 10% discount/.40 coupon) - $.49
1/2 gallon milk @ 1.99 (minus 10% discount/.50 dairy coupon) - $1.29
Peanuts @ 1.99 (minus 10% discount) - $1.79
12 pack diet soda @ 2.39 (minus 10% discount) - $2.15
10 CARBmaster yogurt @ .40 each (minus 10% discount/.40 coupon) - $3.20
American cheese @ 4.19 (minus 10% discount) - $3.77
9 bags shredded cheese @ 1.99 each (minus 10% discount/.65 cheese coupon) - $15.46
Community coffee @ 3.99 (minus $2.00 coupon) - $1.99
4 cans tuna @ .74 each (minus 10% discount) - $2.68
Foil @ 1.99 (minus 10% discount) - $1.79
Plastic wrap @ 1.45 (minus 10% discount) - $1.30
Frozen green beans @ 1.00 (minus 10% discount/.40 coupon) - $.50
Frozen cauliflower @ 1.00 (minus 10% discount) - $.90
Frozen California blend veg @ 1.00 (minus 10% discount) - $.90
2 boxes tissue @ 1.00 each (minus 10% discount/.45 coupon) - $1.35
2 ice cream @ 2.50 each (minus 10% discount/.40 coupon) - $4.10
Smoked salmon @ 5.99 (minus 10% discount/$1.50 coupon) - $3.89
Napkins @ .97 (minus 10% discount) - $.87
Popcorn @ 1.00 (minus 10% discount) - $.90
Coupon for $5.00 off a $50+ purchase

TOTAL - $48.65

WALMART (Thursday):
Printer paper - $3.47
Dish gel - $2.98
Ragu - $1.68
4 ounce green chiles - $.58
10 pair socks - $6.97

TOTAL - $16.79

ALDI (Thursday):
Bread - $.99
Coffee - $2.79
Decaf - $2.69
1 can mushrooms - $.59
Parmesan cheese - $3.99

TOTAL - $10.91

GRAND TOTAL FOR 3 WEEKS - $100.52 ($33.50 per week - $49.48 left to spend between now and Jan.3)

THURSDAY'S SHOPPING

Note that this shopping list covers a span of three weeks. That's because Christmas and New Year's Day fall on Thursday, which is my regular shopping day. So, today I shopped for three weeks worth of groceries and other things that I will need between now and January 3rd. I will do filler shopping trips on the next two Tuesdays but I will only need to get a few items. My next big shopping trip will be on January 8th.

Although I spent just over $100 this week, that works out to only $33.50 per week when divided by three weeks. To stay within my $50 per week budget, I've still got another $49.48 left to spend on those two Tuesdays but I doubt if I'll need to spend that much. I made a quick list of items that I know I'll need to pick up and it only comes to about $15.

I did really well at Kroger today. I saved $18.45 with my 10% senior discount and a bunch of coupons. I very rarely spend $50 at Kroger but I made a point of doing so today because I had a coupon good for $5.00 off a purchase of $50 or more. This was the perfect time to use the coupon because I was shopping for three weeks all at once. To get my total bill up to $50 (after my discount and other coupons were deducted from the total), I stocked up on a few things that I would need to buy soon anyway. I got things such as plastic wrap, foil and tissues, etc. I also bought all the cheese that I'll need over the next few weeks because it was on sale this week and I had multiple coupons for cheese and dairy products.

Probably the best deals this week were on the Community Coffee and the smoked salmon. The coffee was on sale for $2.50 off the regular price and I had a $2.00 coupon. I paid $1.99 for it and it usually costs $6.49. Of course I never buy it when it's that price. That would be silly. The other good deal was on the smoked salmon. That was a big indulgence but I decided to splurge for the holidays. I'm probably going to make my Cajun Smoked Salmon Dip and some Sesame Almond Crackers for New Year's Eve. I haven't made that dip in years and it's really good. The dip recipe calls for packaged ranch dressing mix but I will use my own homemade mix.

CAJUN SMOKED SALMON DIP

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Tuesday's Shopping

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Menu for the week of 12/14 thru 12/20

ATKINS MEATLOAF

SUNDAY:
Tijuana Quiche
Leftover Deep Dish Pizza
Leftover Tuna "Rice" Casserole

MONDAY:
Atkins Meatloaf

TUESDAY:   
Quick Asian Pork Stir-Fry
 
WEDNESDAY:
Ham & Cheese Quiche
Leftovers

THURSDAY:
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

FRIDAY:
Leftovers
Cauliflower Bisque (if cauliflower is on sale)

SATURDAY:
Leftovers

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU CASSEROLE

CAULIFLOWER BISQUE

 

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The winner of the LC Foods Christmas Giveaway is...

Doreen K. Scholl from Appleton, Wisconsin. Congratulations, Doreen!

Thank you all for participating. We may do another contest next year for Valentine's Day. 

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New Recipe: Undercover Chicken

UNDERCOVER CHICKEN BEFORE BAKING

UNDERCOVER CHICKEN "UNDERCOVER"

I posted a new chicken recipe on my main site HERE. It was super easy to make and delicious!

UNDERCOVER CHICKEN READY TO EAT!

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Shopping List - Week of December 7 - December 13

TUESDAY'S SHOPPING

FOOD TOWN (Tuesday):
12 pack toilet paper - $3.88
2 bags shredded cheese @ 1.99 each - $3.98
Garlic @ 2.99lb - $.60
1 tomato @ 1.99lb - $.48
1 green pepper - $.50
1 zucchini @ .79lb - $.34
2 rolls Italian sausage @ 1.99 each (marked down) - $3.98
12 pack diet soda - $1.99

TOTAL - $16.18

HEB (Tuesday):
2 quarts heavy cream @ 3.56 each - $7.12
Shower spray - $1.97

TOTAL - $9.25

99-CENT STORE (Tuesday)
2 rolls Christmas wrapping paper @ 1.00 each - $2.00

TOTAL - $2.17

KROGER (Thursday):
28 ounce peanut butter @ 2.99 (minus 10% discount) - $2.69
Ice cream @ 2.98 (minus 10% discount) - $2.68
Chicken thighs @ .88lb - $4.55
4 rolls pork sausage @ 3.00 each (minus 10% discount + $3.00 meat coupon) - $7.80
Water enhancer (on clearance) - $1.49
2 16-ounce bags shredded cheese @ 3.79 each (minus 10% discount) - $6.82

TOTAL - $26.15

ALDI (Thursday):
3 dozen eggs @ .99 each - $2.97
8 ounce Colby cheese - $1.89
Bread - $.99
3 cream cheese @ .89 each - $2.67
Jalapenos @ .70lb - $.70
Cheese cubes - $1.99
2 6-ounce slivered almonds @ 2.69 each - $5.38

TOTAL - $16.59

GRAND TOTAL - $70.34 (over budget by $10.34)

THURSDAY'S SHOPPING

I went over budget again this week, partly because I still had a few more Christmas items to buy and partly because I had to spend at least $15.00 in the meat department at Kroger to use the $3.00 meat coupon. I figured that I could always use chicken thighs and pork sausage so I stocked up. I also wanted to stock up on cream cheese while it was only 89-cents at Aldi and I'd been watching for a good price on slivered almonds too. I usually buy them at Trader Joe's and Aldi's price this week beat theirs. I had to buy two bags of almonds because I use 4 ounces each time I make a batch of my Coconutty Crunch. I didn't want to end up with an odd amount left over.
 

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LC Foods Holiday Cookies & Cocoa Package Giveaway!

COOKIES & COCOA PRIZE PACKAGE

The LC Foods company is giving visitors to my website and blog a chance to win a Cookies & Cocoa package valued at $90.

The package includes:

• Low Carb Almond Spritz Cookie Mix
• Low Carb Gingerbread Cookie Mix
• Low Carb Snickerdoodle Cookie Mix
• Low Carb Gluten Free Cookie Base Mix
• Low Carb Gluten Free Hot Cocoa Mix
• Low Carb Gluten Free Marshmallow Fluff Mix
• Low Carb Gluten Free Chocolate Frosting Mix
• Low Carb Gluten Free Vanilla Frosting Mix
• Low Carb Gluten Free Confectionary Powder
• Low Carb Gluten Free Shredded Coconut

To enter the contest, click one of the entry buttons on the banner to the right of this post. You can enter by either logging in with Facebook or by email. You can enter up to four times by doing any or all of the following:

• Visit the LC Foods Facebook Page
• Subscribe to the LC Foods Newsletter
• Visit the Updates page of my website
• Visit my "In the Kitchen with Linda" blog and leave a comment in my post about the giveaway
• Pin the Cookies & Cocoa Package photo on your Pinterest board

Subscribing to the LC Foods Newsletter and pinning the contest photo on your Pinterest board will actually each give you two entries for a total of seven chances to win. The contest runs from Monday, December 8th at 12PM EST through Friday, December 12th at 12PM EST so enter soon! 

This contest has ended 

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Menu for the week of 12/7 thru 12/13

MOCK RICE PUDDING

SUNDAY:
Sausage Quiche
Leftover Seoul Chicken
Creamy Beef & Vegetable Casserole (new recipe)

MONDAY:
Leftovers
Mock Rice Pudding

TUESDAY:
Tuna "Rice" Casserole

WEDNESDAY:
Tijuana Quiche
Under Cover Chicken (new recipe)

THURSDAY:
Deep Dish Pizza

FRIDAY:
Leftovers
Basic Almond Flour Muffins (cinnamon)

SATURDAY:
Quick Asian Pork Stir-Fry

TUNA "RICE" CASSEROLE

BASIC ALMOND FLOUR MUFFINS

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Shopping List - Week of November 30 - December 6

TUESDAY'S SHOPPING

FOOD TOWN (Tuesday):
Chicken tenders @ 1.99lb - $4.24
Laundry detergent - $1.99
Ground beef @ 1.79lb (marked down) - $4.48

TOTAL - $10.85

HEB (Tuesday):
1 quart heavy cream - $3.56
Sugar free passion fruit drink - $1.88

TOTAL - $5.60

HEB (Thursday):
Candy - $3.98 (for stocking stuffers)
Ham @ 1.69lb - $10.50
Dill relish @ 1.49 (minus .75 coupon) - $.74
6 pack diet soda - $1.25

TOTAL - $16.90

KROGER (Thursday):
Peanut butter @ 1.79 (minus 10% discount) - $1.61
Frozen vegetable blend @ 1.00 (minus 10% discount) - $.90
Ice cream @ 2.98 (minus 10% discount) - $2.68
American cheese @ 4.19 (minus 10% discount) - $3.77
2 sugar free hot cocoa mix @ 1.00 each (minus 10% discount) - $1.80
Liquid Stevia @ 3.79 (minus 10% discount) - $3.41
2 cans tuna @ .74 each (minus 10% discount) - $1.34

TOTAL - $15.51

WALMART (Thursday):
Mincemeat - $4.98
Vinegar - $.56
4 ounce green chiles - $.58
16 ounce frozen cauliflower - $.98

TOTAL - $7.10

ALDI (Thursday):
2 dozen eggs @ .99 each - $1.98
8 ounce Colby cheese - $1.89
Bread - $.99
Coffee filters - $1.19
Raisins - $2.89
Shortening - $2.89
2 cans tomato paste @ .39 each - $.78
Coffee - $2.79
2 pounds apples - $1.59
2 pounds butter @ 2.29 each - $4.58
Chocolate chips - $1.49

TOTAL - $23.16

SPROUTS (Thursday):
2 sugar free Lilly's chocolate bars @ 3.99 each - $7.98

TOTAL - $8.64

GRAND TOTAL - $87.76 (over budget by $27.76)

THURSDAY'S SHOPPING - PART 1

THURSDAY'S SHOPPING - PART 2

 
As you can see, I went ahead and bought the Christmas ham today as well as the sugar free chocolate to make the Chocolate Truffle Torte for my Christmas dessert. HEB had Smithfield hams on sale and I bought the last one they had. Luckily the last one they had was a small one so the price wasn't outrageous. It should be plenty of ham for the two of us or three of us if our son is here for Christmas dinner. I also went ahead and bought all of the other stuff I'll need for my Christmas baking and some stocking stuffers. So, I went over my budget by quite a bit but I shouldn't have all that much more to buy between now and Christmas. In fact, I think I've already got most of the food on hand that is on my menu between now and then.

Although I bought the sugar free chocolate to make the Chocolate Truffle Torte for my Christmas dessert, the recipe also calls for some additional sweetener. I didn't want to ruin it by using Splenda so that's why I bought the liquid sweetener at Kroger today. It's a blend of erythritol and stevia so it shouldn't cause any bitterness when blended with the chocolate. I'm just not sure how much I'll need to use because it's not very concentrated and there's no way of measuring it. I guess I'll just add it to taste. I just hope that I won't need to add the whole bottle. That would make for a VERY expensive dessert considering that the chocolate was $8.00 and the sweetener was $3.41. I will also need a stick of butter and about 2 cups of heavy cream for in the torte and for the topping. That would put the torte in the neighborhood of $13.00 to make. Ouch! It's a good thing that I didn't total it up before hand or I would have chickened out and not made it. I'm thinking about flavoring the torte with either peppermint or orange. It's very good plain but chocolate and peppermint would make a nice Christmas flavor combo. Would you vote for plain, peppermint or orange?

Oh, and once again my husband missed one of the grocery bags in my trunk so I had to take a separate photo of the "missing" food because I didn't realize that some stuff was missing until after I'd taken the first photo.

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Tuesday's Shopping

Yesterday I mentioned to Jerry that I was thinking about making a pot roast for our Christmas dinner. He wasn't all that excited about the idea and asked if we could have ham instead. I've never bought a ham before except for the HoneyBaked kind with a free coupon that Jerry had gotten from work years ago. So, I had no idea what it would cost to buy a nice ham at the grocery store. Boy, was I shocked this morning to see that even a small ham would cost at least $25! And I was thinking it would really be a splurge to spend $8-9 on a chuck roast. I'll keep an eye out for a better deal on a ham somewhere. Maybe Aldi will have something cheaper. I'm not a big fan of ham and I don't like the thought of spending that much money on meat that's full of carbs. Perhaps I can find a small ham just big enough for a few servings and make a burger or some chicken for myself.

Jerry has also requested something else for Christmas that I'm not keen on: mincemeat pie. His Mom used to make it for the holidays but I never asked her for the recipe because I didn't like mincemeat pie. It turns out that there really is no recipe. You just buy a large jar of None Such mincemeat and dump it into an unbaked pie shell then bake it. I checked on the Walmart site this morning and they have it in stock at my store but it's $4.98 for a jar that's enough to make one pie. When I told him how much it costs, Jerry said that the pie could be my Christmas present to him. He's going to have to eat the whole pie himself because nobody else likes it and I wouldn't eat it even if I did like it because of all the sugar in it. 

In any case, I'm thinking about making a Chocolate Truffle Torte for myself, and anyone else who wants to eat it. If I use sugar free chocolate to make it, that will cost even more than the mincemeat. I'll need two sugar free chocolate bars and they're at least $3.00-4.00 each at Sprouts. I don't want to use Lindt chocolate to make it because it has more carbs than it used to. I also only have Splenda to sweeten the torte and that would make it too bitter. I suppose the torte can be a Christmas present to myself. I don't often eat low carb desserts and it is for Christmas after all.

 

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE TORTE

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