Weekly Shopping Trip---Savings $26.06

This week, I only went to one store and got WIC along with a few stock up items and spent less than fifty dollars for the week.

One of the stock up items was ground beef!  The store had it on sale for $1.79/lb and that is a good deal considering that normally it is regularly around $2.50/lb.  Initially, I grabbed a little over 8 pounds of the sale meat and when I got home I realized that  sale meat had a tag saying 93% lean meat rather than the 81% lean that they had in the ad. So I got ground sirloin meat for $1.79/lb!!!  I should have immediately gone back to the store and got more, but I didn't I waited until the next day when I had to go get a prescription from the pharmacy.  I picked up another almost 11 pounds of meat but this time the tag said the 81% lean.  That is still some decently lean meat!  So now I have about 20 pounds of ground beef that I need to get in the freezer.(find out next week what I do with the meat).

Here is the breakdown from my shopping this week:

Family Fare: 

• 19.70 lbs ground beef $29.89
• 3 boxes poptarts $7.00
• 2 bags Cheetos $3.66
• 2 bags Fritos $4.68
• 1 head lettuce 87¢

Total OOP: $46.10

Total Savings: $26.06

Total without sales & coupons: $72.16

This post is linked to:

• Coupon Super Savers at Coupon Saving Game!
• Weekly Finales at The Frugal Free Loader!
• The Savers Bungalow at Saving A Bundle!
• Shopping Round Up at The Grocery Cart Challenge!

Creamy Cheesy Potatoes

This recipe has several different names!  I have heard "hash brown casserole" or "special potatoes" or "cheesy hash browns" or "cheesy potato casserole".  I decided that I would call them "creamy cheesy potatoes".  I have tried "hash brown casserole" recipes before and the family was not too receptive to eating them. So I took the basic special potatoes recipe from Once A Month Mom and adapted it a bit thinking that my family might be more receptive to eating the potato dish. Despite my adapting the recipe more to the family's tastes, it was not well received by all. Personally, I enjoyed them and am looking forward to eating the leftover portion.

Creamy Cheesy Potatoes--adapted from Karen Fetters @onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:
8 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 pounds frozen hash browns
15 ounces (1 can) cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup bacon bits
1 tsp. onion powder
1/4-1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 -1/2 tsp black pepper
8 ounces (2-3 cups) cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place stick of margarine in a 9×13 baking dish and stick in the oven until the margarine is melted. Once melted, pour the potatoes into the dish and mix carefully together.  While waiting for the margarine to melt, mix together in a small bowl the soup, sour cream, bacon bits, spices and milk. Pour over potatoes. Top with Cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

If you want to freeze any of this dish here are the freezing directions:
Place hash browns in a 9×13 baking dish. Melt butter and pour over potatoes, mix. In a small bowl mix together soup, sour cream, and milk. Pour over potatoes. Top with Cheddar cheese. Simply cover with foil and freeze. You could easily make this into two 8×8 baking dishes as well. To serve: Thaw, remove foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. If frozen, bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 2 hours. Servings: 8

This post is linked to: 

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace!
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!
• Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff!

Menu Plan Monday 3/7-3/13

Last week I did menu plan but didn’t post it because I was getting myself prepped for a day of baking which turned into having to leave the house to be with my parents. My dad had a “white out” last week Monday and went to the emergency room to get checked out. He is fine!  He had a side effect to a medicine he is taking along with dealing with pneumonia. Besides having to spend 3 hours in the emergency room last Monday, I also started potty training my 3yo boy so that makes for some offline time!  He is officially potty trained so that means I am moving to a new season of my life…the season of no more diapers!!  This is the first time in 13 ½ years that there hasn’t been a diaper to change! I am not sure what I am going to do! :)

Last week I did some grocery shopping despite thinking that I did not need to make a big trip to the store. So now I have a freezer and pantry that are well-stocked with items to use for this week and beyond.  Along with grocery shopping for my family last week, I did some baking but not everything that I wanted to so I am hoping that I can take another day this week to get a few more things done.

This week’s meals are simple and using what I have on hand.   My freezer and pantry shelves are full so there is no reason to go to the stores for more.  On Saturday, if everyone is well we are planning on heading to my parents’ house to do some cleaning so I am not sure what I am going to take for meals while we are there.

This week’s lunches that are listed below are for the kids and me! Unless we are having leftovers, our lunches are served with apple slices or carrot sticks along with fruit juice or water.  Hubby usually takes a dinner leftover along with various snacks for his work lunch so I don’t take the time to really plan his lunches. I just take the next container of leftovers in the stack in the fridge that I have prepared ahead of time.

A special thanks to Laura-Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday! Need help with your menus; go check the over 300 other delicious meal plans that have been linked at Laura-Organizing Junkie's site or look down in my right sidebar for my menu suggestion lists!

Sunday (3-7)

Breakfast: eggs, hash browns, sausage and jiffy muffins

Lunch: chicken or fish tenders, fries and carrots

Dinner:  Wendy’s (after church)

Snack: snack basket

Monday (3-8)

Breakfast: cereal and toast

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner:  cube steak, seasoned pan fries, and corn

Snack: snack basket

Tuesday (3-9)

Breakfast:  waffles and sausage

Lunch: sandwiches & chips

Dinner:  Taco Bar

Snack: snack basket

Wednesday (3-10)

Breakfast:  bagels and cereal

Lunch: pizza

Dinner: skillet chicken n’ gravy, rice, and green beans

Snack: snack basket

Thursday (3-11)

Breakfast: cereal and toaster strudel

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner:  oven fried chicken/fish, boiled potatoes, and corn

Snack: snack basket

Friday (3-12)

Breakfast: French Toast and sausage

Lunch: sandwiches & chips

Dinner: Bacon cheeseburgers, fries and carrots

Snack: ice cream night

Saturday (3-13)

Breakfast:  Your Choice

Lunch: ??? possibly at my parents’ for the day

Dinner: ???

Snack: popcorn