This Week's Menu 7/24

(this week's Bountiful Basket)

Summer just seems to be flying by! I can't believe that it is the last week of July. It seems like we were just celebrating the Fourth! Sigh, now it time to start thinking about back to school shopping. My children are really not pleased every time I mention  S-C-H-O-O-L. I get a collective glare of pig eyes every time that CERTAIN word comes out of my mouth. You would think it was a four letter word! Anyway, taking inventory of the boy's closet is number one on the to do list this week. This week I am also attempting to liven up the menu a little bit. I have been perusing Taste of Home and Cook's Illustrated magazine.  I found several good recipes to try. I mean, I guess it's pointless to subscribe to cooking magazines if you don't actually cook any of the recipes out of them! This week we will be eating the following culinary masterpieces (snicker! snicker!):

Sunday
BBQ Chicken
Green Beans, Potatoes, and Bacon
Banana Blueberry Muffins
Water Melon
Mango Crisp

Monday
Migas ( Taste of Home recipe)
Flour Tortillas
Cantaloupe and Watermelon
Lettuce and Tomatoes
Leftover Mango Crisp

Tuesday

Three Cheese Baked Ziti (Taste of Home recipe)
Easy Breadsticks
Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Wednesday
Ham and Cheese Paninis
Slices Peaches
Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Thursday
Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy (Cook's Illustrated)
Mashed Potatoes
Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower

 

Friday
Leftover Night

Saturday
Grilled Hot Dogs
Baked Beans
Chips
Fruit of Some Kind

What beat the heat recipes have you been cooking at your house?

This Week's Menu 7/17

 (this week's Bountiful Basket)

This week is shaping up to be a clean out the fridge kind of a week. I have discovered numerous containers that contain all sorts of odds and ends.  I am really trying not to toss food in the trash, which seems to have happened for the last few weeks. Some of our  meals have gotten side tracked by last minute plans the last couple of weeks (which seems to happen quite often in the summer), and I think that is what is leading to so much food waste.  I am hoping for a waste free week! This week's menu will include:

Sunday

Leftovers

Monday 

Chicken Potpie

Pudding Salad

Watermelon

Banana Cake

Tuesday

Potato Sausage (Zuppa Toscana) Soup

Parkerhouse Rolls

Green Salad

Wednesday

Spaghetti

Green Salad 

Melon

Thursday

Sub Sandwiches

Home Made Buns

Chips 

Cucumber Slices

Friday

Vegetable Stir Fry

Rice 

Fruit Salad

Saturday

Leftovers

Another boring week, but I'm hoping for a bare refrigerator by Saturday night! What is your favorite way to use up leftover odds and ends?

This Week's Menu 7/10

 (This week's Bountiful Basket)

I have nothing exciting or new on the menu this week. I am continuing to use up food out of the freezer (so I can do a big freezer defrost before the late Summer - early Fall produce bounty begins). I am also relying on pantry staples and Bountiful Basket produce to round out this week's menu.  This week we will be eating:

Sunday

Pork Roast

Sauteed Mushrooms

Mashed Potatoes and Cauliflower

Steamed Peas

Monday

BBQ Pork

Homemade Buns

Green Salad

Apricot Jello (with Apricots in it so my kid's might think they are peaches)

Tuesday

BLTs on Homemade Buns

Leftover Jello

Homemade Applesauce

Wednesday

Chicken Noodle Soup

Easy Breadsticks

Green Salad

Thursday

Chicken  Burritos

Crockpot Refried Beans

Fruit Salad

"Pumpkin" Pie (made out of pureed Butternut Squash)

Friday 

Leftovers

Brocolli

Saturday

Grilled Hot Dogs

Pasta Salad 

Fruit of some kind

I happened to get a container of figs in my basket this week. I am stumped with what to do with them. Does anyone have a great idea for using up some fresh figs?

This Week's Menu 7/3

 (this week's Bountiful Basket)

 (I ordered an extra fruit pack to use for the 4th of July)

Can you believe that tomorrow is the 4th of July? Where did June go? Summer is in full swing here at Casa Del Barrett. Tomorrow I will be co hostessing the 2nd annual 4th of July Block Party in our cul de sac. Last year was such a hit, my Dear Friend and I decided to make it an annual event. I am going to take lots of pictures, so I can share how we threw our fabulous soiree on a budget.  Anyway, this week's menu is a little bit boring, mainly consisting of Bountiful Basket produce, pantry staples, and meat out of the freezer.  I only work six days this month vs. eleven, and since my paycheck funds the grocery budget, I will be relying on my pantry.....A LOT!
Anyhow, this week's menu will consist of :

Sunday

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Garlic Bread

Green Salad

Monday

4th of July Block Party

Tuesday

French Toast

Strawberry Sauce

Scrambled Eggs

Wednesday

Baked Beans 

Baked Butternut Squash

Cornbread

Thursday

Leftover Night

Friday

Date Night 

Kid's will be having Corn Dogs and Mac. and Cheese

Saturday

Haven't decided yet

We are going on a Day-cation to celebrate my birthday

Well, back to prepping food for tomorrow's celebration!  Hope every one enjoys there Sunday!

This Week's Menu 6/26: The Back on Track Edition

 (Last week's Bountiful Basket)

I've really missed not having a formal menu written down. Accomplishing all the last minute odds and ends that accompany camping (with a large number of girls) left little time for cooking well balanced meals. We ended up piecing together last minute meals, or hitting the dollar menu.  The continual trips to the fast food drive thru's definitely took a chunk out of our grocery budget ( I am not very proud of the fact, either). After spending the greater part of yesterday cleaning up the kitchen (and the pizza boxes); I'm ready to get back on track with a regular menu, and a healthier diet (fast food DOES NOT qualify as healthy).

Last week Monday I was so busy, I forgot to order a Bountiful Basket. It worked out, though, because the boy's at home didn't eat many fresh fruits or veggies. Most of the previous weeks basket is still in the fridge, and needs to be eaten, A.S.A.P.. There was also leftover food from camp that needs to be used, and I will be incorporating those items into the menu. I am also going to work on cleaning out the freezers (they need to be defrosted before the garden starts producing full throttle).So, this week we will be eating:

Sunday

Dutch Oven Potatoes

Cranberry Almond Muffins

Fruit Salad

Green Salad

Monday

Leftover Potatoes

Grilled Hot Dogs

Home Canned Peaches

Tuesday

Chicken Taco Salad (new recipe)

Chips and Salsa

Wednesday

Baked Pasta

Easy Breadsticks

Green Salad

Thursday

Turkey A La King

Buttermilk Biscuits

Home Canned Applesauce

Steamed Cauliflower

Friday

Leftover Night

Saturday

Omelets (using up odds and ends from the fridge)

Fried Potatoes

Banana Bread

Any Fruit That Needs Eaten

Anything good on the menu at your house this week?

This Week's Menu 5/30

(this week's Bountiful Basket)

First of all, Happy Memorial Day, everyone!  It's going to be another crazy week. My Big Boy is going to be graduating from High School on Thursday, my kid's are finishing their last two days of school, and I am also going to be planting my garden this week (two week's of cold, rainy weather has inhibited my planting schedule).
Meals are going to be quick and easy. This week are going to be eating:

Sunday

Oven Bar B Que pork ribs

Oven Roasted Potatoes

Watermelon

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Monday

Vegetable Lo Mein

Water melon

Banana Muffins

Tuesday

Chicken Divan

Green Salad

Cantaloupe

Wednesday

Chicken A La King

Buttermilk Biscuits

Steamed Cauliflower

Thursday

Graduation Party For My Big Boy

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Chips 

Salads

Cake

Friday

Leftovers

Saturday

Leftovers

This Week's Menu 5/22

Hooray! I am actually posting this week's menu on time (before we are half way through the week). I am a little bit sad, though, because I was not able to get a Bountiful Basket this week. They sold out before I could get online. Oh well, I am going to use this week as an opportunity to clean out the vegetable bins, and use some of the fruit and vegetables I preserved last fall. This week we will be having:

Sunday

Home made Pizza

Green Salad

Baklava (brought over by a Dear Sweet Neighbor)

Monday

Leftover Night

Tuesday

Baked Beans

Cornbread

Applesauce

Wednesday

Chicken Tacos

Spanish Rice

Orange Slices

Thursday

Chicken Fricassee

Mashed Potatoes

Green Peas

Home Canned Pears

Friday

Leftovers or Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Saturday

Holiday (I'm not sure what our plans are yet.)

This Week's Menu 5/17: The Will I Ever Get My Life In Order Edition!

 ( My half of this week's basket)

For Pete sake, when it rains it pours!!! Our Internet has been down, due to a cable issue for the last five days; and the repair man has just left! It seems that when our Internet dish was installed five years ago, the installation person installed indoor only cable from the outside dish to our router. Needless to say, five years worth of weather has wrecked havoc on said cable. When the repairman showed me the cable he had just replaced it looked like a family of hungry beavers had chewed it up!  I am happy to report that we are now up and running with super, state of the art, outdoor approved ethernet cable. It is amazing how much better (and faster) the Internet works when it's not trying to "move" along frayed and broken wiring. I have to tell you it felt a little bit like being on a deserted island with out Internet. I feel like I'm behind, and I have missed reading all your fun comments and blogs.....................it's good to be BACK!

Anyway, this week menu is pretty basic. Chicken still plays a major role (as I am still trying to use up the stash of whole chicken in the freezer).

Sunday

Chicken Fricasee (bumped from last week)

Steamed Rice

Watermelon

Green Peas

Apple Pie (had some sketchy looking apple that needed eaten)

Monday

Cowboy Hash ( I'll post the recipe later this week)

Watermelon

Blueberry Muffins

Leftover Pie

Tuesday

Grilled Hot Dogs

Potato Salad

Pineapple cubes

Wednesday

Leftovers for the kids (Dear Daughter's Debate Banquet tonight)

Thursday

Dad's Special (a.k.a. $5.00 pizza from Little Caesar's)

I have a meeting tonight

Friday

Chicken Enchiladas

Refried Beans

Green Salad

Saturday

Chicken Fried Rice

Cantaloupe 

Green Salad (or veggies that need used up)

Do any of my Dear Bloggy Friends have some ideas to use up Chicken?

This Week's Menu 5/11: The Extremely Late Edition!

 (This week's Bountiful Basket, plus tortillas, and apparently my dirty laundry!)

Well, this week has turned out to be another crazy week. I don't know exactly how this happens. I suppose the quote, " Life is what happens while you are making other plans." is true. I have spent quite a lot of time with the girl's from church (who I am co directing Girl's Camp for) preparing for our week of fun in June. It is funny how a three day camping for the Boy Scouts (12 - 17) requires a pocket knife, sleeping bag, a change of socks (maybe), and 15 minutes of prep time. A three day camping trip for girl's (12 - 17) requires camp decorations, skits, songs, crafts, games, spiritual thoughts, accessorizing, and 12 weeks of planning. Oh, and glitter and glitter glue, are very necessary embellishments for a successful camp experience! We must have our bling! I am starting to suspect we are not going camping, but rather GLAMPING!!!

I have finally found a spare minute to transfer my weekly menu from the ratty piece of notebook paper hanging on the fridge to the blog (which is it's proper place, of course)! Chicken plays prominently in this week's menu, because I still have numerous whole chickens in the freezer that  probably should be used up.
It's also clean out the veggie bin week, too. This week we will be having (or have had):

Sunday

Lasagna

Garlic Bread (made from leftover hamburger buns)

Watermelon

Carrot Cake

Monday

Beans, Bacon, and Red Potatoes (Mixed together. It's a favorite Dear Hubby's mom made growing up)

Cornbread

Pineapple Cubes

Leftover Carrot Cake

Tuesday

Chicken, Broccoli, Rice  Casserole ( a.k.a Craperole. I cleaned out the fridge and threw them together)

Watermelon

Pineapple Cubes

Wednesday

Chicken Soft Tacos

Refried Beans

Spinach Salad

Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Thursday

Chicken Fricasee

Mashed Potatoes and Cauliflower (mashed together to disguise the cauliflower from the dislikers)

Peas 

Home Canned Applesauce

Friday

Grilled Spare Ribs (Woo Hoo! It's suppose to be sunny and 73 degrees)

Macaroni Salad

Orange Slices

Saturday

Leftover Night or Grilled Hot Dogs

So, Dear Readers, are any of you having something fabulicious for dinner at your house this week?

This Week's Menu 5/1

(This week's Bountiful Basket,and assorted family member's limbs)

This week I actually took the time to plan my menu, and I am posting  it BEFORE the middle of the week! Yeah me! This week I have to watch the grocery budget closely, so I have been digging through the freezer, refrigerator, and pantry to find odds and ends to use up. Besides a freezer clean out every so often is a good thing. This week we will be having:

Sunday

Hamburgers (from yesterday)

Dutch Oven Potatoes

Sliced Honeydew and Watermelon

Monday

Shrimp Alfredo with Penne Pasta

Asparagus (from last week's basket that needs to be used ASAP)

Sliced Honeydew and Watermelon

Tuesday

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy (using up the leftover patties from Sunday)

Mashed Potatoes (and Cauliflower)

Corn on the Cob

Strawberries with Whipped Cream

Wednesday

Clam Chowder

Spinach Salad

Applesauce Muffins

Thursday 

Leftover Night

Friday

Berry Filled Puff Pancake (new recipe I'm trying)

Scrambled Eggs

Fried Potatoes

Nothing too glamorous. Mainly, just old standbys. My big goal this week is to use up all the veggies in my refrigerator bins. I am happy to report that the new fridge is keeping all of my produce fresh much, much longer than the old one!

This Week's Menu 4/26: The "Ham"ilicious Edition

 

As I posted yesterday, I have been lacks in planning a formal menu this month! I didn't realize how much I had become to rely on my weekly menu. I am very sorry to confess, that I have tossed to many leftovers in the trash for my liking, and I have eaten way to many pancake and ramen noodle dinners!! Both scenarios are on the thumbs down list, in my book. So Saturday, I  sat down for a few minutes and put a culinary game plan together. Of course, Easter = Ham, so ham related entrees will be prominent this week. This week we will be eating:

Sunday

Spiral Cut Ham

Cheesy Potatoes

Raspberry Jello with Mangoes

Parkerhouse Rolls

Strawberry Shortcake

Monday

Leftovers from Sunday Dinner

Steamed Broccoli

Tuesday

Potato Ham Soup

Leftover Rolls

Orange Slices

Wednesday

Ham and Beans

Cornbread

Green Salad

Thursday

Skillet Ham and Pasta (Thank you One Crazy Cookie)

Pineapple

Asparagus ( I swapped my Dear Sweet Friend sweet potatoes for asparagus out of our Bountiful Baskets)

Friday

Breakfast Burritos

Honey Dew Melon

Blueberry Muffins

Saturday

Grilled Hamburgers

Veggies and Dip

Potato Salad

This Week's Menu 4/3

 ( I don't have a picture of produce this week, so here's a picture of Child #3 with the "Big One" he caught last year)

Wow! This week flew bye! I am proud to report that Child #3 placed in the top 30 students out of  100 in the State Geography Bee on Friday! We are very proud of him!! Maybe I'll  have a Harvard graduate someday, after all.

Well, last week was a strange sort of week. My Dear Neighbor and I were not able to get our weekly Bountiful Baskets (do to a glitch on the website Monday), I haven't really done any grocery shopping, and then we left town. Basically this week will be a scrape by kind of week; using up odds and ends, and making due till we get our baskets on Saturday (and a trip to the grocery store). This week we will be eating:

Sunday

Baked Ham (dug out of the freezer)

Cheesy Potato Casserole 

Peas 

Apple Crisp

Monday

Leftovers 

Tuesday

Breakfast Casserole (with ham in it, of course)

Blueberry Muffins

Grapefruit Halves (or orange slices for the grapefruit haters)

Wednesday

Navajo Tacos (Chili from the freezer)

Fry Bread

Lettuce, Tomato, and Cheese

Thursday 

(crock pot meal for family because I'm teaching a gardening class at my Church tonight)

Ham and Bean soup (using ham bone)

Cornbread

Friday

(Child #3's Birthday, so he picked the menu...definitely not  healthy)

French Toast (made with Oatmeal Cinnamon Bread)

Bacon

Home Canned Pears

Orange Juice

Banana Cream Pie

Saturday

Grilled Hamburgers

Homemade Buns

Veggies and Ranch Dip

Cantaloupe

As you can see from all the links in my menu that I am sticking to tried and true recipes this week! Sometimes old favorites are the best! What's your favorite tried and true recipes, Bloggy Friends (I'm always on the look out for yummy new recipes to try!)?

This Week's Menu 3/28

 (Dear Hubby took the camera yesterday, so I didn't get a picture of this week's Bountiful Basket. 

Here's a picture of last week's Taco Rice and Beans, instead. It was very tasty!!)

It's another crazy week here at Casa Del Barrett. Child #3 has qualified to participate in our state Geography Bee this weekend in Boise(our State capital). He and 99 other kid's from all over Idaho will be competing for the chance to go on to the National Geography Bee in Washington D.C. later this spring. I am a very PROUD mama right now! Anyway it will be a short menu this week, because we will be out of town rooting for our baby this weekend! I am also trying to use up a surplus of veggies this week, too. This week we will be eating:

Sunday:

Hash Browns

Sausage Patties 

Cream Gravy

Poached Eggs

Grapefruit

Monday

Potato Soup

Green Salad

Cornbread

Tuesday

Oven Fried Chicken

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Asparagus

Wednesday

Spaghetti

Olive Garden Breadsticks

Spinach Salad

Cantaloupe

Thursday

Geography Bee

Friday

Geography Bee

Saturday

Geography Bee

This Week's Menu 3/21. The Potato Edition

(this week's Bountiful Basket)

 The new fridge is going to be delivered this Friday, so that gives me another week to use up more freezer items. I also discovered that about 30 pounds of potatoes that I have downstairs in my storage room (it's nice and cold down there) are starting to grow sprouts. I need to hurry up and use them before they are to mushy to eat. I will be incorporating a lot of potato dishes into this week's menu. Thank goodness the troops like potatoes; hopefully there won't be too many complaints!

This week's Bountiful Baskets was full of great produce. It is still lacking the usual lettuce (most of the lettuce crops in Mexico froze last month), but it is almost time to plant my lettuce seeds here in Idaho.  If you don't have Bountiful Baskets available in your area, I would encourage you to check out other local produce co ops or your local farmer's markets. I am thinking that local resources will probably be the cheapest options for buying produce this spring and summer. This week's menu will consist of:

Sunday

 Leftovers

Peach Mango Cobbler

Monday

Pork Roast 

Mashed Potatoes and Cauliflower 

( the troops are cauliflower haters,so I boil the cauliflower with the potatoes and mash them all together. 

No one has ever figured it out!)

Green Beans

Tuesday

Taco Rice and Beans

Tomatoes and Lettuce

Wednesday

Chicken and Noodles

Green Salad 

Parker House Rolls

Thursday

Venison Steak 

Baked Potatoes (baking extra potatoes for Friday's dinner)

Asparagus

Friday

Hash browns (made from yesterday's baked potatoes)

Creamy Sausage Gravy

Poached Eggs

Cantaloupe

Saturday

Simply Baked Pasta  

(using the other half pound of sausage from yesterday's sausage gravy, instead of hamburger)

Garlic Bread (using any leftover rolls)

Broccoli

Since, grocery prices seems to increase every time I go to the grocery store and my grocery budget has not increased, I am really trying to eliminate food waste. I am also trying to stretch meat into two meals. Hopefully, this week's menu incorporates that!

How have you been stretching your grocery budget?

This Week's Menu 3/13

 (Yeah! I got a Bountiful Basket this week!!)

Spring is slowly making it's way back to my neighborhood. We have had several days of warm (50ish), sunny weather. Dear Hubby cleaned out the gas grill and added new ceramic briquettes, yesterday. I'm hoping the weather holds, so that we can start grilling, again.  I'm also excited to get ripe tomatoes in my basket this week. Tomatoes are a precious commodity right now, because of the freezing weather in Mexico that ruined 80% of their produce crops. In fact, I was thrilled for everything in this weeks basket. This week will also be clean out the freezer and use up the leftover's in the fridge week, because I should be the proud new owner of an energy efficient, blissfully quiet, non produce freezing refrigerator by the end of the week ( I'll blog more about that later.)!  This week we will be eating:

Sunday

BBQ Chicken

Beans, Bacon, and Potatoes

Green Salad

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

Monday

Eating At A Fundraiser For Dear Daughter's Debate Club

Tuesday

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Homemade Buns

Asparagus

Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Wednesday

Fish Sticks 

Tater Tots 

Frozen Corn

Cantaloupe

Thursday

Pork Carnitas (new Crock Pot recipe I'm going to try)

Flour Tortillas

Lettuce and Tomatoes

Pineapple

Friday

Leftover Night

Saturday

Baked Pasta

Easy Breadsticks

Steamed Cauliflower

Has anyone else noticed rising produce prices in your area?

This Week's Menu........The Late Edition!

Have you ever had a week where you hit a culinary brick wall?  It has taken my until today to come up with a palatable menu! The silly thing is I just stocked up at the Ridley's case lot and meat sale, so we are not lacking for food. I try to set put $30.00 a month into my case lot fund (my local grocery stores average a case lot sale three to four times a year). That way it's not a strain on my family's grocery budget. Thank goodness I had a fridge of leftover's that needed to be eaten. Those leftover's kept us fed until I could make up mind!  This week we will be eating (or have already eaten):

Sunday

Leftovers

Strawberry Shortcake

Monday

Took the kid's to an All You Can Eat Pizza Buffet

Tuesday

Hash browns (with leftover bacon, sausage, and onion added)

Poached Eggs 

Canned Pears and Peaches

Wednesday

Chicken and Noodles

Green Salad 

Sweet Potatoes

Refrigerator Rolls

Thursday

Chicken A La King

Buttermilk Biscuits

Leftover Sweet Potatoes

Spinach

Friday

Crock Pot Refried Beans

Tortilla Chips and Cheese

Green Salad

Easy Mexican Rice

Saturday

Potato Soup

Pumpkin Struesel Muffins (using up any leftover sweet potatoes)

This Week's Menu 2/27

 (last week's Bountiful Basket)

Hello there!  I apologize for the lack of posts last week, but it seems that a family full of sickies and a computer keyboard that went died seemed to get the better of me. However, things are looking up. The family is on the mend, and a new keyboard has been purchased and installed. The upside of being stuck at home with the invalids, is that I only spent $6.72  milk this week. My grand total spent on groceries for the month was $484.37. That puts me $84.37 over budget, but the larder is stocked and next month I should be able to stay within my $400.00 budget.

With this week's menu I will be using up some  meat out of the freezer that need's to be used. I will also be using up the rest of last week's Bountiful Basket. We will be eating:

Sunday

Breakfast Burritos

Fruit Salad

Monday 

Chicken Noodle Soup (I am tossing some wilty looking spinach in the soup to use it up)

Blueberry Muffins

Tuesday

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Homemade Buns

Coleslaw

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Wednesday

Venison Steak with Gravy

Mashed Potatoes 

Green Peas

Thursday

French Toast

Bacon

Applesauce

Friday

Leftovers

Saturday

Pizza 

Green Salad 

Home Canned Pears

I seem to have an abundance of cabbage ( I got two heads in my basket last week). So, my favorite Bloggy Friends,  I need your ideas! What are your favorite ways to use up cabbage?

This Week's Groceries And Menu 2/20

 

It was another big grocery shopping week! I ended up purchasing a full basket from Bountiful Baskets this week. They have closed one of our local sites temporarily, so there are fewer baskets available for the next several weeks. I decided to get a full basket (vs. splitting one with my friend), and stretching it for two weeks. I'm hoping this will get me by until my normal site reopens. This week's basket contribution was $21.75, which includes a full basket of produce and 3 1/2 dozen tortillas.

I also took advantage of a couple great sales at my local grocery stores to stock up on a few things. At Ridley's I stocked up on Yoplait  yogurt. With coupons I ended up getting 20 yogurts for $6.60 ($.33 each). Smith's is running their annual Daytona 500 promotion. If you buy ten participating items you earn a $3.00 instant saving at checkout, plus you get a $3.00 off coupon to use on your next purchase. The Oreo's, Macaroni and Cheese, Pasta Sauce, and soap were part of the promotion ($15.93 after coupons and promo's) the toothpaste, toothbrushes, cottage cheese, and eggs were regular grocery items (all were on sale). I spent $7.67 for these items.

Finally, I spent $90.41 at Costco. I also bought a 50 lb. bag of Dog Food (not pictured), as well as, everything in the picture. I was very excited because the light bulbs included an instant rebate, so the flood lights were $3.59 and the regular bulbs were $2.99. I am switching out my old bulbs for energy saving bulbs.

This week I spent a total of $135.76. That brings my total for the month up to $477.65. That puts me $77.65 over my self imposed $400.00 grocery budget. I'm not super proud of that, but this seems to be my restocking month. I will definitely have to rein in next months grocery spending!

This week's  menu will consist of:

Sunday

Soft Tacos

Refried Beans

Lettuce and Tomatoes

Monday

Chili Cheese Baked Potatoes ( I will be baking extra potatoes for Tuesday's dinner)

Green Beans

Coleslaw

Tuesday

Breakfast Hash

Pumpkin Struesel Muffins

Cantaloupe

Wednesday

Lasanga

Spinach Salad

Easy Breadsticks

Thursday

Leftover Night

Friday

Pigs in Blankets

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Orange Slices

Saturday

Chicken Noodle Soup

 Potato Refrigerator Rolls

This Week's Groceries And Menu 2/13

 (my half of this week's Bountiful Basket)

(this week's trip to the grocery store)

This week I spent $8.25 on my weekly contribution to Bountiful Basket, and $9.01 at the grocery store; for a grand total of $17.26. So far I have spent  $341.89 on groceries this month.  After last week's monstrous  restocking trip I didn't need a whole lot of extra things. The hash browns were going to be  included into this week's menu, until I realized that the family schedule this week is too hectic to incorporate the recipe I was going to make. I guess, I will save the hash browns for next week. Bananas are a staple at our house, so I always grab a bunch when I am the grocery store. This week I am going to start baking our bread again, so the mashed potato flakes will be used in my weekly bread (roll) baking. 

 It is a crazy week at my house with every body going different directions every night, so dinner's will be simple this week.  For some reason I thought when my children got older that life would be easier.......... apparently I have been deceiving myself! :D Anyway, this week's menu will consist of :

Sunday

Roast with Gravy

Mashed Potatoes (the leftover's will be used in bread this week)

Steamed Carrots

Banana Cake

Monday 

Dinner Date with my Valentine

The kid's will be having Macaroni with Tomato Sauce (they love the stuff)

Home Canned Pears 

Tuesday

BBQ Beef Sandwiches (with the leftover roast)

Homemade Buns

Stawberry Banana Salad

Steamed Broccoli

Wednesday

Chicken Noodle Casserole (from the freezer)

Green Salad 

Rolls 

Thursday

Breakfast Hash

Pumpkin or Blueberry Muffins (haven't decided yet)

Cantalope

Friday

Leftover Night or Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Saturday

Beans, Bacon, and Potatoes (bumped from last week)

Cornbread

Fruit Salad 

Have I mentioned that for somebody who used to dread planning a menu, I am actually starting to enjoy it. Our food waste has also decreased significantly since I have started consistently planning a menu each week. I guess you CAN  teach an old dog new tricks!

Grocery Spending And This Week's Menu 2/6

This month I thought I would post pictures from my weekly grocery shopping trips, as well as, my weekly menu. Unfortunately, I have been scrimping along  for several months now, so it was time to stock up on some essential items. Yesterday's shopping trip also included extra food I don't normally buy, because Dear Hubby's brother's family has invited us to his house for a Super Bowl Party.

This is what I bought at Ridley's and Smith's on their sales. I combined coupons this sales for the crackers, canned tomatoes, cheese, toothpaste, and cream cheese (the cream cheese was $.50 each after coupons). The potato chips, some of the crackers, and two of the sour creams will be taken to the Super Bowl Party. I also bought the 5 twelve packs of Diet Coke from the previous post and  2 twenty packs of Diet Pepsi and a Shrimp Ring (all of which aren't pictured). I spent $32.41 at Smith's and $69.54 at Ridley's:

Of course, I picked up our weekly basket from Bountiful Basket (my half of the weekly contribution is $8.25):

At Winco (the cheapest grocery store in my area) I spent $109.07. I love that Winco has a fabulous bulk foods section. It makes it nice when I have to restock pantry staples.

The budget breaker this week was my trip to Costco to stock up on staples. We ran out of toilet paper, fabric softener, and garbage bags at the same time. I usually try to keep a back stock of these items and stagger what I buy each month so I don't have this problem. Oops!! I spent $105.36 at Costco.

  

I spent a Grand Total of $324.63 this week. That is also the lion's share of my grocery budget for this month. Luckily I have  restocked the larder, and other than milk and my weekly Bountiful Basket contribution I shouldn't have to buy many more groceries.

This week's menu includes a lot of family favorites, again. That's okay, at least I know everyone will eat dinner!

Sunday

Super Bowl Party (I am bringing a shrimp ring, veggie tray, and chips, crackers and dip)

Monday

Shrimp Lo Mein

Green Salad

Leftover Rolls

Tuesday 

Eating at Child #4's Cub Scout Banquet

Wednesday

Beans, Bacon, and Red Potatoes

Banana Muffins (I should have some black bananas that need used up)

Jello Salad with Fruit

Thursday

Turkey Fricasee

Mashed Potatoes

Steamed Carrots

Friday

Cream of Garbage Soup

Cornbread

Spinach Salad

Saturday

Leftovers

I hope everybody enjoys their Super Bowl Sunday. I personally am not a football fan,but I sure do enjoy the commercials.........and the yummy party food!