Thursday, December 4, 2014

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.


Tuesday, December 2, 2014

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



Friday, November 28, 2014

Menu for the week of 11/30 thru 12/6

DARK ONION RYE BREAD
  

SUNDAY:
Ham & Swiss Quiche
Leftover Thanksgiving food:
Turkey
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes (not low carb)
Dressing (not low carb)
Sausage-Mushroom "Dressing"
Strawberry Dream Jello (not low carb)
Cranberry sauce (not low carb)
Pumpkin Pie (not low carb)
Burgers (if needed)

MONDAY:
Sandwiches made with Dark Onion Rye Bread 


TUESDAY:
Leftovers (I may need to come up with something to make)

WEDNESDAY:
Swiss Onion Quiche
Italian Meatball Burgers
Pasta (for hubby)

THURSDAY:
Leftovers

FRIDAY:
Seoul Chicken
Spicy Asian Cabbage

SATURDAY:
Leftovers

ITALIAN MEATBALL BURGERS

SPICY ASIAN CABBAGE
 


Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Shopping List Update: November 16 - November 29

TUESDAY'S SHOPPING (WEEK 2)

FOOD TOWN (Tuesday #2):
Mayonnaise @ 1.88 (minus .50 coupon) - $1.38
Pint milk - $1.09
Toothpaste - $.99
2 pkgs. mushrooms @ 1.29 each - $2.58
Onions @ .33lb - $.62

TOTAL - $6.73

HEB (Tuesday #2):
Shower spray - $1.97
Parmesan cheese - $2.50
3 Brita filters (marked down) - $5.00

TOTAL - $10.05

Because I did most of my Thanksgiving shopping last week, I only had to do a small shopping today to get some last minute items as well as a couple of things that we were running low on. I seem to have a knack for finding stuff that I need in the clearance bin and today I found a super deal. I have no idea why they were marked down but I got a box of three Brita filters marked down to only $5.00. Can you believe it??? The box hadn't been opened or banged up either. As the cashier rang it up, I saw the regular price flash on the screen and it was originally $15.97! For that price it was worth risking going over my budget. No way I'd pass up a deal like that. In any case, I didn't go over budget. Even with the Brita filters, I still came in under budget for these two weeks combined. 


Here is a reminder of what I got last week:

TUESDAY'S SHOPPING (WEEK 1)

FOOD TOWN (Tuesday #1):
Chicken tenders @ 1.99lb - $4.24
Cherry pie @ 3.99 (minus .55 coupon) - $3.44
Pork sausage @ 2.88 each (minus $1.00 coupon) - $1.88
Italian sausage - $2.88
Cameo cleanser - $1.79
Jalapeños @ .79lb - $1.04
Onions @ .50lb - $1.04

TOTAL - $16.44

HEB (Tuesday #1):
3 boxes tissues - $3.57
2 quarts heavy cream @ 3.56 each - $7.12
Oatmeal cookies - $1.25
Shower spray - $1.97
Sugar free orange tangerine drink - $1.50
Nasal strips - $6.88
Sugar free passion fruit drink - $1.88

TOTAL - $24.91

THURSDAY'S SHOPPING (WEEK 1)

KROGER (Thursday):
Ice cream @ 2.98 (minus 10% discount) - $2.68
Peanut butter @ 1.79 (minus 10% discount) - $1.61
3 pounds butter @ 2.50 each (minus 10% discount) - $6.75 ($2.25 each)
16 ounces cottage cheese @ 1.25 (minus 10% discount + .40 coupon + extra .09 discount) - $.63
2 bags Community coffee @ 3.99 each (minus 2 x $2.00 coupon) - $3.98
Salt @ .44 (minus 10% discount) - $.40
Rubber gloves @ 1.19 (minus 10% discount) - $1.07
Frozen pepper & onion blend @ 1.00 (minus 10% discount) - $.90
Napkins @ .97 (minus 10% discount) - $.87
2 8-ounce cheese @ 1.99 each (minus 10% discount + .65 coupon) - $2.93 ($1.47 each)
2 8-packs Dial soap @ 3.50 each (minus $1.00 coupon) - $6.00
Ice cream @ 2.98 (minus 10% discount) - $2.68
5 rolls pork sausage @ 2.50 each (minus 10% discount + $2.00 coupon) - $9.25 ($1.85 each)

TOTAL - $42.41

WALMART (Thursday):
1 Roma tomato @ .88lb - $.18
Tomato paste - $.46
Pizza sauce - $1.12

TOTAL - $1.76

ALDI (Thursday):
3 pound bag onions - $.59
Celery - $.59
3 dozen eggs @ .99 each - $2.97
8 ounce Swiss cheese - $1.89
Bread - $.99
Jalapeños @ .70lb - $.70
Iceberg lettuce - $.99

TOTAL - $8.72

SPROUTS (Thursday):
3 potatoes @ .48lb - $1.06
3 apples @ .48lb - $.87

TOTAL - $1.93

GRAND TOTAL FOR 2 WEEKS - $112.95 ($56.48 per week)



Friday, November 21, 2014

Menu for the week of 11/23 thru 11/29

TUNA MUFFINS WITH TARTAR SAUCE

SLOPPY JOE STUFFED PEPPERS

SUNDAY:
Texas Sweet Onion Pie
Leftover LC Foods Pizza
Leftover Burger Scramble Florentine
Tuna Muffins with Tartar Sauce

MONDAY:
Leftovers

TUESDAY:
Sloppy Joe Stuffed Peppers

WEDNESDAY:
Ham & Swiss Quiche
Leftovers

THURSDAY (THANKSGIVING):
Turkey
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes (not low carb)
Corn (not low carb)
Dressing (not low carb)
Sausage-Mushroom "Dressing"
Strawberry Dream Jello (not low carb)
Cranberry sauce (not low carb)
Rolls (not low carb)
Pumpkin Pie (not low carb)
Cherry Pie (not low carb)

FRIDAY:
Leftovers

SATURDAY:
Leftovers

SAUSAGE-MUSHROOM "DRESSING" WITH ROAST TURKEY
 

I haven't decided yet if I will make a low carb dessert for myself for Thanksgiving. Instead I might just have small samples of some of the non-low carb food.
 

Product Review - LC Foods Fresh Baked Pizza Shells



I just posted a review of the pizza shells from LC Foods on my main site HERE.



 

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Shopping List - Week of November 16 - November 29

TUESDAY'S SHOPPING

FOOD TOWN (Tuesday):
Chicken tenders @ 1.99lb - $4.24
Cherry pie @ 3.99 (minus .55 coupon) - $3.44
Pork sausage @ 2.88 each (minus $1.00 coupon) - $1.88
Italian sausage - $2.88
Cameo cleanser - $1.79
Jalapeños @ .79lb - $1.04
Onions @ .50lb - $1.04

TOTAL - $16.44

HEB (Tuesday):
3 boxes tissues - $3.57
2 quarts heavy cream @ 3.56 each - $7.12
Oatmeal cookies - $1.25
Shower spray - $1.97
Sugar free orange tangerine drink - $1.50
Nasal strips - $6.88
Sugar free passion fruit drink - $1.88

TOTAL - $24.91

KROGER (Thursday):
Ice cream @ 2.98 (minus 10% discount) - $2.68
Peanut butter @ 1.79 (minus 10% discount) - $1.61
3 pounds butter @ 2.50 each (minus 10% discount) - $6.75 ($2.25 each)
16 ounces cottage cheese @ 1.25 (minus 10% discount + .40 coupon + extra .09 discount) - $.63
2 bags Community coffee @ 3.99 each (minus 2 x $2.00 coupon) - $3.98
Salt @ .44 (minus 10% discount) - $.40
Rubber gloves @ 1.19 (minus 10% discount) - $1.07
Frozen pepper & onion blend @ 1.00 (minus 10% discount) - $.90
Napkins @ .97 (minus 10% discount) - $.87
2 8-ounce cheese @ 1.99 each (minus 10% discount + .65 coupon) - $2.93 ($1.47 each)
2 8-packs Dial soap @ 3.50 each (minus $1.00 coupon) - $6.00
Ice cream @ 2.98 (minus 10% discount) - $2.68
5 rolls pork sausage @ 2.50 each (minus 10% discount + $2.00 coupon) - $9.25 ($1.85 each)

TOTAL - $42.41

WALMART (Thursday):
1 Roma tomato @ .88lb - $.18
Tomato paste - $.46
Pizza sauce - $1.12

TOTAL - $1.76

ALDI (Thursday):
3 pound bag onions - $.59
Celery - $.59
3 dozen eggs @ .99 each - $2.97
8 ounce Swiss cheese - $1.89
Bread - $.99
Jalapeños @ .70lb - $.70
Iceberg lettuce - $.99

TOTAL - $8.72

SPROUTS (Thursday):
3 potatoes @ .48lb - $1.06
3 apples @ .48lb - $.87

TOTAL - $1.93

GRAND TOTAL FOR 2 WEEKS - $96.17 (which works out to only $48.08 per week plus whatever I buy next Tuesday)

THURSDAY'S SHOPPING
 

I didn't post this week's menu because I wanted to keep the LC Foods contest at the top of the page and now it's to late in the week to bother.

This is my shopping list for this week as well as next week because I won't be doing my regular grocery shopping next Thursday because of Thanksgiving. I will make a quick trip to Food Town next Tuesday to get some fresh mushrooms but that will probably be about all I'll need to buy again until the first week of December. I will post an update after I shop next Tuesday so you can see how much I ended up spending in addition to today's total. My estimate is that it will work out to under $50 per week once I divide the total cost between the two weeks.

Note that the Cameo cleanser isn't in the Tuesday photo because my husband didn't see it in the trunk of my car when he brought in the groceries. I noticed it was missing after I'd taken the photo.

I always look over my shopping receipts when I get home and check for errors and I found something very odd about the cottage cheese that I bought at Kroger today. I actually got two discounts on it for some strange reason. They took off the regular 10% senior discount of 13-cents and then there's another senior discount of 9-cents which can't be accounted for. I didn't buy anything at Kroger for 90-cents so it's an extra little bonus.

The coffee has to be the deal of the week. Kroger has Community coffee on sale for $3.99 this week and it's usually $6.49. I had two $2.00 coupons so I bought two bags. So, I got $12.98 worth of coffee for only $3.98 which is a savings of $9.00!

The Dial soap was a pretty good deal too even though I had to buy 16 bars. Of course we'll use it eventually so I figured that I might as well invest a little extra now to save money in the long-run. One 8-pack is usually $4.27 at Kroger (it's even more at Walmart) so I saved $2.54 by buying two packages on sale and with a $1.00/2 coupon.

Another super deal this week was on the pork sausage at Kroger. They have their store brand on sale this week for $2.50 (it's usually around $3.99, I think). With my 10% discount I got $1.25 off the five rolls plus I had a coupon for $2.00 a $10.00 or more meat purchase. That works out to $1.85 per roll with all the discounts.

I heard a comment on the news yesterday that puzzled me. It was from a woman in New York who is stuck in her house because of the snowstorm. She said that she only has a 3-day supply of food in the house so she was worried about feeding her family if they can't get out to buy more food soon. I can't imagine ever being in that kind of situation because of the way that I shop and plan my menus in advance. I estimate that if I couldn't shop for a while for some reason, we would probably have enough food in the pantry, fridge and freezer to feed us for at least a couple of months. We might end up eating some very odd meals but it would be a long time before we'd have to go hungry. It's not really that hard to shop and plan the way that I do but it does take a little extra time. I do think it's worth the effort. 


It's been a while since I posted an inventory of the food that I have on hand so I thought I'd do that again so you can see what I mean about it being a long time before we'd starve if I couldn't shop for a while:

Pepperoni
Eggs (4 dozen + 4 eggs)

Chicken breasts (17)
Hot dogs
Bone-in chicken thighs (5 packages)
Boneless chicken thighs (5 packages)
Tuna (3 cans)
Pork sausage (6 rolls)
1 pound Italian sausage

Steak (2)
American cheese
Ham pieces (4 x 8 ounces)
Chicken tenders (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 to 1 1/2 pound pkgs. ground beef (17 pkgs)
8 ounce cheddar cheese (3 pounds)
8 ounce jack cheese
8 ounce Swiss cheese (5)
16 ounce whole milk mozzarella
8 ounce mozzarella
16 ounce mozzarella
Frozen burger patties (7)
Can corned beef
4 ounce bacon pieces (8)
1 pound ground turkey
15-pound turkey
Sliced ham

Lunch meat (frozen)
2 pounds cooked ground beef (in freezer)
Sloppy Joe Stuffed Peppers (2 in freezer)
1 can tomato soup
1 chicken burrito

Celery
Onions
Lettuce
4 ounce can mushrooms
Frozen bell peppers
Frozen green beans
Frozen spinach
Frozen Asian veggie blend
Frozen corn
Potatoes
1 can asparagus
2 jars homemade cranberry sauce
Pizza sauce
Cream cheese (4)
Tomato paste
8 ounce tomato sauce (13 cans)
Mexican green sauce (1 can)
Heavy cream (2 quarts)
Cottage cheese
Salsa
Assorted condiments
Quart jar homemade bread & butter pickles
Quart jar homemade bread & butter jalapenos (2 jars)
Peanut butter
Bread
Chicken bones (in freezer)
Chicken broth (2 cups in freezer)
Coconut milk
Assorted salad dressings
1 can beef broth
1 container chicken drippings (in freezer)
Burger buns
Brown & serve rolls (in freezer)
Grits
Elbow noodles
Low carb bread
Low carb pizza crust (in freezer)
1 can pork and beans
Flour
Cornmeal
Coconut
Pecans
Almonds
Sunflower kernels
Flax meal
Almond flour
Ground pork rinds
Butter
1 can pumpkin
Diet jello
Regular jello (2)
Dried strawberries & raspberries
Coconut flour
Hazelnuts
Popcorn
Cool Whip

Oatmeal cookies
Cherry pie (frozen)

I left off some basic baking supplies and spices, etc. but you get the idea.


Oops, I forgot a few more things that are in the fridge:

1 quiche
3 apples
1 LC Foods pizza crust
Carrots
1 pound cooked ground beef
1 serving soup
1 serving chicken casserole 

and, even more important than food...we have 23 rolls of toilet paper, LOL!