I ran some errands this week. As you can see this week, Top’s had medium eggs, 1 dozen for $2.99 each. There was no limit in the ad. However, when I got there, there was a limit of 2 in my store. So I got the 2 dozen. I already have 5 dozen from Walmart that we are working our way through. So I scrambled these two dozen into ice cube trays that I have and froze them for future breakfasts. You just thaw what you need and cook them up.
Then I went to Great Clips to get my haircut. I found out that my hairdresser who I have been going to for 8 months quit and no one knows if she is working at another salon. So I had to use another stylist and got the worst haircut of my life. It is awful! But it will grow in. Now I am on the hunt for another salon that is close to me.
Next I went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Hubby which only cost me $1.39.
My last stop was at Panera Bread to do the senior Tuesday deal for a dozen bagels. We hadn’t bought these in a year. It was $8.96 but I used my Panera Giftcard that I have had for years.
So I didn’t spend much out of pocket this week which is fantastic.
After running around, I didn’t feel like making dinner. So Hubby made us each a toasted bagel with cream cheese and banana salad with sliced bananas, a sauce made with mayonnaise and a little milk and some chopped nuts sprinkled on top. It was enough.
Today we had a bagel and eggs for breakfast. Tonight’s dinner will be Mojito Lime pork chops and broccoli.
Did you get any good deals this week like my eggs?
I had a very large grocery haul last week. Since I have a $400. per month budget and I hadn’t spent a lot in January, I took advantage of some of the Super Bowl deals. Hubby put the groceries away before I could take pictures. My grocery receipt was very light so I couldn’t use that. So I will list what I purchased.
Hubby asked me to get some Kellogg’s raisin bran for breakfasts for him. I was thrilled when I saw that the Giant Box was on sale for $5.99 so I got 3 boxes. We were in need of some quick things. Almost everything in my freezers is fresh meat that I froze and frozen veggies. When I am too tired to cook, I don’t want to have to resort to fast food. So I purchased 3 Tony’s Meat pizzas on sale for 3/$10. , hot dog rolls for $ 1.19, sesame rolls at $ 4.99 for sandwiches, and a Yancey’s onion cheese wedge for $3.99 for a snack. Two bags of fully cooked Tyson Chicken tenderloin strips on sale for $7.99 a bag, 2 Margaritaville Coconut Shrimp for a total of $9.99, and 5 lbs. of Smithfield Bacon for total of $19.98 since they were on B2G3 free.
I got 80/20 ground beef for $3.99 a lb.. which totaled $ 26.21. I got 2 bags of Cape Cod potato chips to go with sandwiches and burgers on sale for B1G1F. They cost $ 5.29 for both. I paid $ 4.99 for a small bag of Rosina meatballs. I purchased 2.38 lbs. of green seedless grapes @ $ 2.77 lb which totaled $ 6.59. We love putting these in chicken salad which we serve on crackers. Hubby was out of Crystal Light Peach Iced Tea and they were on sale for $3.00 each so I got 5 packages. Kraft Cheese Singles were on sale B1G1F so I paid $4.99 for both. We love grilled cheese sandwiches. Green Giant Rainbow Coleslaw was on sale B1G1F so $3.49 for 2 bags.
Hubby loves the Cheez It Snap’d and they were B1G1F and cost me $4.79 for both. One box of Sunmaid raisins was $ 4.49. Lastly one jar of Hellman’s mayonnaise was $ 3.69.
I went to Top’s on Senior Citizen discount day which is 6% off. So my total after sales, coupons, discounts, etc. was $ 151.53.
I earned $ .40 off per gallon in gasoline points so I filled the car up at $2.66. per gallon.
I also cashed in 4 lottery tickets for a total of $12.00. They were Christmas gifts.
This past week has been extremely busy trying to keep up with the ice and snow. It has been awful! Hubby says we get a lot of snow but we have never as this much piled up over time since we moved here almost 15 years ago. I am very ready to move back to AZ or have it all melt soon. Many days we have not been able to get our mail because of the ice. Thank God for our snowplow guy or we would not be able to get out of the driveway.
So between cleaning the basement, working on taxes, dealing with the snow and ice, running errands, and taking care of Hubby and Eloise, I have been really exhausted.
I finally got to go grocery shopping yesterday at Top’s. Chicken is hard to find around here. Not only is it scarce but it does not look good, kind of gray in color and the price keeps going up. Top’s had some on sale for $.99 a lb.- leg quarters, legs, and thighs on the bone. They did not look good.
However they did have large rotisserie chickens on sale for $ 6.99 each with a limit of 2. I can buy them at B.J.’s for $ 4.99 each. However, it was not worth the gasoline to go down there. It is 30 minutes away and I had no other reason to go down. I can’t buy a whole chicken for this price let alone roast it. So this was a savings of both time and money. I can’t buy a large raw whole chicken for under $8.00 even at Walmart.
We had some of it on a huge salad for brunch yesterday. Then I made stuffing and gravy to go with it for dinner.
Today I cut all of the chicken off and used my food saver to package it in 2 cup portions for other meals like soup or casseroles. They are now in the freezer. The total cost for the chickens was $ 13.98.
They had chuck roasts on sale for $ 5.99 a lb. I purchased 2 large ones for a total of $ 41.15. They will make 2 stews and 2 beef barley soups. My last purchase was this Red Baron pizza that was $ 3.99 with a Super Coupon. This is for dinner tonight.
My budget for the month of January was $400. I spent a total of $ 145.93. So way under budget which I was thrilled with.
We will continue to eat out of our stockpiles here and spend as little as possible in February also. I do want to stock a year’s worth of corned beefs when they go on sale for St. Patrick’s day. We love reuben sandwiches. Meanwhile our freezers are going down so that I can stock on sale beef when I see it. Most of that beef will go on the bottom of the freezer. I believe that beef will skyrocket soon to where it is unaffordable. Once I have enough of that and chicken, I will stop buying meat.
Otherwise, I am buying as little as possible. The prices will not come down until people stop buying so much food. It is the inflation but also supply and demand. If the demand is down the prices will come down. So I will do my part to control it here at my home.
While I was out yesterday, I went to the drugstore and picked up one of Hubby’s prescriptions. I also went to Ace Hardware to pick up the battery operated shovel that I showed you in a prior post. Hubby ordered it online and they let us know it had been shipped to our store. He is outside right now trying it out on our walk. I just have to learn how to use it.
With the errands all done for the week. I will not be going out again this week except to get our mail.
Have any of you saved money on groceries this week? Have you gotten a good meat deal?
Today after taking Hubby to a doctor’s appointment, I made a grocery list of our absolutely needed items.
On the way to Walmart, I stopped at the Town building and paid our property taxes in full.
At Walmart, I picked up a 5 lb. bag of whole carrots for $3.98. I also purchased a half gallon of Half and Half for $5.64, a package of American cheese for $ 2.48, and a 32 oz. package of frozen Atlantic Salmon portions on clearance for $ 11.50 marked down from $ 17.42. They must have ordered too much salmon for the holidays because the expiration date is July of 2025. If I had more freezer space, I would have purchased a lot. But alas I don’t.
I stumbled upon the clearance salmon. I hadn’t intended on buying that but I have only bought salmon once a few weeks ago on sale in about two years. I love salmon and Hubby has 4 whole haddock so we are now good on fish.
For a couple of years, the price for salmon was priced higher than I wanted to pay. So this was a good deal. I scanned the store and found nothing else that I could use at a reduced price.
I had no carrots left. They will get used in soups, stews, and for snacking with homemade dill dip.
The Half and Half was dated in March so it will keep even though I have two others in my fridge. We will use it all up by the expiration dates.
The cheese was badly needed for grilled cheese sandwiches which we love.
The total I spent today was $ 23.60. I purchased a 60 count carton of large eggs on Wednesday at Walmart while I was running other errands. I paid $19.26. Today when I was in the store, the price had gone up to $21.97. There seems to be no end to higher prices on eggs. When the cullings stop, the prices should come way down. Since humans can not get bird flu from properly cooked eggs, it makes no sense to me that they are culling so many. Can any of you explain why? I am thinking they are trying to stop it from spreading to other chickens but I really don’t know.
So I have spent a total of $ 42.86 on groceries so far this month.
We had the rest of the apple fritters for brunch. For dinner, we had an 8 count spicy fried chicken, biscuits, and coleslaw from Popeye’s on a meal deal. It was on my route home. I paid with money we got as a Christmas gift. This chicken deal will last us at least 2 more meals.
The good news today is that Hubby did not have any change in his prescription glasses. That is a huge savings because we do not have insurance.
Earlier in the week, I went to Top’s to get a few deals and to get things that were needed for Hubby to make the corned beef reuben sandwiches.
I purchased a bag of Gala apples on sale at $ 1.28 a lb. for 4.27 lbs. for a total of $5.47 minus a $1.00 Q so they were $ 4.47. The strawberries were on B1G1Free so I paid $ 6.49 for 2 pounds. I know they are out of season but they are so good!
The 10 Hass avocados were $ 1.00 each for a total of $ 10.00. They were just perfect so I diced them and then froze them. I also got an extra $.10 off a gallon of gas with this purchase. The half and half was $5.99. It was a need because we were on our last half gallon. The reuben rye bread was also a need and cost $5.96.
The Diet Coke was a surprise for Hubby. He hasn’t had real Coke in a very long time. It was on sale as a deal for $ 10.99. Plus you got 2 bottles of Bodyarmor for free. We had never gotten the Bodyarmor before. We were not impressed with it and will not get it again even if it is free.
The sauerkraut was a need and cost $ 1.79. Tillamook sliced swiss cheese(not pictured) was a need and cost $ 4.99. The spaghetti sauce was on sale with a Super Q for $ 1.49.
I spent a total of $ 52.17 plus $ 1.20 in bottle deposits which I will get back when I return them to Fast Cash.
I will really be watching the cost of food over the next few months and all of next year. Most purchases over the holidays will be on sale items to use all of next year. More on that soon.
Hubby and I had doctor’s appointments today. We try to schedule together when we go to the same doctor. That saves us gasoline and wear and tear on the car.
On the way home, we stopped at Niagara Produce to get a 5 lb. bag of potatoes for $ 2.79, two tomatoes @ $3.99 a lb. totaling $ 6.78 , and a 3 count package of Romaine hearts for $ 2.99. Total cost was $ 12.56.
This was all we needed in the way of produce. We have onions that should last a while, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, corn, green beans, etc. that are frozen. We have frozen diced onions as a back up to the fresh ones. I also have other canned vegetables.
I am finding that the fresh produce from N.P. lasts much longer than what I can buy in a grocery store. So it is worth the higher price.
We will watch the Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins tonight on TV. We never order out for football games so we decided there is always a first time. I am picking up a Domino’s pizza before the game tonight. That will be a real treat especially since I don’t have to make it. I will be paying cash out of my grocery money to pay for it.
My grocery money has really accumulated since I have not been doing much shopping over the past few months. That is a good thing so that when it is turkey season, I can purchase a few of them and some other items that are the cheapest at Thanksgiving like butter.
Any of you trying to eat down your freezers so that you can have room for the Thanksgiving and Christmas deals?
Early Sunday morning, I went to Top’s to get meat that was on sale for the lowest prices that I have seen in over 3 years. I purchased 2 whole chickens at $.99 a lb., 2 top round roasts and 1 eye round roast for $ 4.99 a lb.
On Sunday, I roasted the 2 chickens in my turkey pan. This pic was taken when they still had 40 minutes to go. I was just checking the temperature. When they were done, I took all the meat off of one chicken and put the carcass and skin in the crock pot and cooked it until about 7PM to make chicken broth. We had chicken sandwiches for dinner and the rest of the chicken I froze in portions. The other chicken had been chilling in the fridge. I took that one out and took all the meat off and saved a portion of it to make my homemade chicken soup. That carcass and skin went into the crock pot and simmered on low until I got up the next morning. I turned it down to warm while I went to a doctor’s check up which went well.
On my way home, I stopped at Wegman’s for a bag of avocados that looked so good. I have not had them in a while because they have been awful for weeks. It was one of Wegman’s new “Hot Deals” that cost $3.99. I also went to town hall and paid our water bill. It was $ 212. from May 30th through August 30th. I was quite shocked because it was much higher than the same period last year. We used a lot less water with our sprinkler system this year because we had so much rain. But then I realized that the crew that built the wall had used a lot of water to mix the mortar and didn’t turn the water off and on. Ugh!
When I got home I strained the broth and took the bits and pieces of meat and threw those in my broth that I was putting in mason jars. Between the two chickens, I got 7 and 1/2 quarts of bone broth. Late in the afternoon, Hubby cut up the celery and I got some carrots and corn out the freezer. Using those, some meat from the birds, some rice and about 1/2 of the broth, I made a huge pot of soup which we each had a cup for dinner. We will rotate it in between roast beef meals this week.
The broth will get used up quickly so instead of canning it, I decided to freeze it. The rest of the chicken got frozen for future meals.
Two of the beef roasts I put in the freezer. One I cooked last night for a roast beef dinner. I again used the turkey pan with a rack to roast it because it allows the air to circulate around the roast. I roasted some baby potatoes under the rack of beef on the edges of the pan. We had green beans with it.
The roast was very tough so Hubby made sure to cut it across the grain. It was made to look like a regular round roast in the packaging but when I opened it, it was long and narrow. It was edible and had flavor but I am hoping the 2 in the freezer are truly top round roasts because I don’t think this was. Do you have any clue what it could be? When I open the next one, if it looks the same, the two of them will get returned to the store. I told Hubby I will go to Niagara Produce next time they have them on sale. They are always good.
Today Hubby sliced the rest of the meat using our new meat slicer so that we have cold cuts for cold and hot roast beef sandwiches. These roasts at Top’s were not very big but it was all they had.
For entertainment this weekend, we watched our Buffalo Bills play and they won. I am so happy that football is back! They play again this Thursday night which doesn’t give them much rest and they have to travel to Miami for the game. I hope they do well.
It has been hard to get much else done around here because with Hubby’s shoulder healing, I have had to help him a a lot. But it is getting better each day and hopefully soon it will be back to normal.
That is what I have been up to. I will be back when I have something else to talk about.
We had corned beef reuben sandwiches again last night. So tonight we will be having turkey BLT’s so that we can use up the turkey and tomatoes. Bacon was cooked on Saturday for breakfast yesterday and the BLT’s tonight.
This morning I was up and out at 7:15 a.m. for an eye doctor checkup. My eyes were the same as last year. No cataracts and no sign of any damage at all. I can continue to use my cheap reading glasses. They only put one dilation drop in each eye so I was able to stop at Top’s on the way home and get these two packages of chicken breasts for $ 2.49 a lb. Chicken seems to be scarce in our area so I am grabbing what I can when it is on sale.
These will be preserved with the food saver and put in the upstairs freezer. I have other chicken breasts frozen. Those will come out of the freezer and be thawed and canned because they are older.
I cashed out points for a $10.00 Amazon GC at Pinecone. I am signing up at some more sites to earn points.
I did one load of wash using cold water and hung it to dry. I also did one full load of dishes in the dishwasher using 1 tbsp. of dish soap. They are air drying now.
Hubby is outside watering all of the flowers that are in baskets and pots. I am continuing to go through all of our stuff and either toss it, donate it, or sell it.
Dinner last night was made using the above items. We have leftovers from this dinner and the shrimp fra diavolo which we will use up for dinner tonight. Waste not, want not!
I was given a $ 12.99 haircut coupon by Great Clips so I had my hair cut today and used it and gave her a generous tip. The price is usually $18. I washed my hair at home so I didn’t have to pay for a shampoo.
The Running’s Labor Day sale flyer came so I went and got 10 boxes of regular canning lids for $ 2.99 and 10 boxes of wide mouth canning lids for $ 3.99. Best price I have seen in a long time. They were $9.99 at my N.P. the other day. I also got a Mrs. Wage’s pickling and canning vinegar on sale for $ 3.49. I have more than enough tomatoes, vegetables, and fruit done for the winter. So it is time to can some sale meat to get it out of the freezer. So if you have a Running’s and can, go get yours.
I forgot to buy tomatoes at Niagara Produce the other day so I stopped at Top’s to get some so that we can make some turkey BLT’s. I picked up 2 beautiful beefsteak tomatoes at Top’s for a total of $ 4.60.
We got our electric and natural gas bill today and it was outrageous. The bill was $ 154.00 for using 619 kwh of electricity and 4 ccf’s of natural gas. We used less kwh’s per day than last year same period and the same amount of ccf’s. Last year’s bill was $ 113.05 for less usage. That is a huge increase for supply and demand.
This is what I am thawing to cook in the crock pot out on the patio tomorrow. Hubby is thrilled that I am going to cook this corned beef that I got at a great price last March. I see a couple of dinners and some sandwiches for brunches.
There will be one or two exceptions. I will go if I need fresh produce. If I can substitute frozen or canned veggies for fresh I will. If there is a great price on something like the bacon above, I will get it. That exception will be mostly for rock bottom priced meat.
I had to go to the cardiologist to have an Echo test done today. On the way home I stopped at Top’s and got 4 of their 16 oz. bacon that was on sale for $ 2.99 each. I have not seen such a good price on bacon for years. I only had room for 4.
I have been trying for a couple of weeks to get peaches to make jam. No one seemed to have good ones. I stopped at another store near the doctor’s that I don’t usually go to that had peaches for $.88 a lb. The problem is they were not good peaches. So I stopped at Niagara Produce on the way home and there’s were nice and ready to make jam. They cost me $19.99 for 8 quarts of Red Haven peaches which I have used successfully for jam before. I already have enough Certo and pectin in my pantry to make all of it into jam. I will do that tomorrow. Today is busy enough.
I looked for three months for rhubarb. I could not find it anywhere. So this morning, I spotted a strawberry rhubarb pie in the bakery section of Niagara Produce. They make their own pies and they are delicious. We each had a slice after we ate brunch and it was so good. The filling was so yummy and their pie crust is incredible. The best part is Hubby was very happy because this is his favorite pie. I was happy because it is too hot to turn on my oven to bake plus I couldn’t find rhubarb.
The reason we will not be shopping is I want to use up a lot of what we already have in the house. I especially want to eat down our freezer so that we have room for quite a few turkeys this November. Remember, turkeys and hams will be at their cheapest prices during the holidays. And they will be cheaper than any other meat you can buy right now.
I will be showing you in pictures and words what we are eating from the house each day as we do it. Remember we only eat brunch and dinner and a occasional snack. I will start with dinner tonight.
Hubby will grill the pork ribeyes outside. We will put a dab of garlic herb butter on them. I will make the corn in the microwave and slice the tomato up on a plate and drizzle it with a little Italian dressing.
Are any of you trying to eat down your freezers or pantries? Join along if you would like.
