Menu Plan Monday 1/30/23

Happy Monday everyone! I was wide awake, bright eyed & bushy tailed at the butt crack of dawn this weekend again - not good. 4:30 am on Saturday, and 5:30 yesterday, so I was completely worn out by noon. I decided to just get the cooking done & then take a nap (which I did once everything was cooked and the kitchen cleaned). Here's our menu for the week.

Monday : Lasagna, garlic bread sticks, salad

Tuesday : Frikkadel, mashed potatoes, baked beans, veggies of choice

Wednesday : Same as Monday

Thursday : Same as Tuesday

Friday : Italian sausage with smoortjie from the freezer (South African 'relish' if you can call it that. It's just sautéed onions, peppers & tomatoes. I like to add parsley too), baked potatoes and salad. I bought 2 whole cooked pizzas (with meat & veggies) at Sams on Friday, so the rest have been frozen for easy meals.

There's always lots of fresh fruit & cooked veggies available

Breakfasts : Lemon blueberry muffins, bagels, omelets, breakfast burritos, cereal. Pick your breakfast.

Lunch : Dinner leftovers or freezer BBQ chicken breasts with salad

Dessert : Apple pie

I also sautéed mushrooms, garlic & parsley for our omelets. 

I always assumed that Frikkadel was a South African dish, until I read about it on a blog that mentioned Frikkadellen was a German dish. Color me surprised. So I did a quick google search and learned that it was indeed of German origin and was adopted by the Dutch. Aah, that's when it made sense to me, because I have a Dutch heritage and there are many similarities between the Dutch & Germans, including the language. 

I rarely make dessert, because I don't need the temptation and we'd be stuck eating dessert every night with it just being 2 of us. I had an 8 lb bag of apples to use, so pie it is. I like to bake my apple pie in a rectangular pan, because it's easy to just cut into squares and freeze some. I can also easily cut a square in half if I don't want to eat too much sweets. 

My pie crumble isn't made with sugar and spice (we eat low sugars). I just make a double batch of pie dough. Then I freeze 1/3rd of it. Once frozen, I lightly pulse it in the blender to crumble and top my pie with it. 

Somebody's mama overbaked the muffins a tad...lol (this is what happens when you're multitasking. I normally have about 3 different food items going at the same time), but don't let the exterior fool you. Those muffins are light & fluffy on the inside. I bought more blueberries at Kroger on Friday, cause it was $1.49. Much cheaper than Aldi & Meijer. 

I don't know what it is lately, but my baking have been turning out really great since Christmas. I'm a flavour girl. I like to experiment with flavour and it works most of the time. If you want a party in your mouth, I can make it happen....lol (not trying to toot my own horn). My food might not always look the best, but my baking flavours have turned out great. I've been getting the perfect flavour balance since the holidays. I can't explain it. I've been using the same recipes for years. My sugar cookie was the star at Christmas. I've been using that simple Wilton sugar cookie recipe for ages, but this was the best one ever. Those of you who have a love and/or passion for baking will understand how it is when you're 'in the zone' and everything just turns out great. I think that's what's happening with my baking and I sure hope it continues.

On the other hand. I had the carrots cooking on the stove (I'm still old school in many ways and still cook the way I was taught as a child. Carrots in pot of water with salt & cinnamon stick. I use stick cinnamon for many things) while I helped DS get ready for school. Then I ran downstairs to get a can of peas to add to the carrots. I didn't bother to turn on the light in the pantry. I just grabbed a can with a green label and green veggies, cause it's peas right? Wrong! I opened the can, added it to the carrots and had a wth moment. Turns out I opened grean beans. Ugh! I'm not even crazy about green beans and since when do you mix carrots & green beans together? Oh well, too bad so sad. We'll just eat it and act like we enjoy it...lol

I'm off to go do some Wags and Meijer damage later. I'll respond to comments later.

Have a wonderful week peeps! Stay healthy, safe & warm. 

This & That

Here's a few things that happened at Casa Goose since Christmas

• I stumbled upon a Hickory Farms winter clearance sale. Sale was up to 75% off. I used to buy HF clearance every February, but then their items became to expensive so I stopped shopping with them for years. 

• I have almost forgotten how good HF is. All their products are good. I've never had the Harvest cheese before, so I'm excited to try that. I'm happy to find so much gouda, because I grew up on this stuff, due to my Dutch heritage.

The big box contained 4 sausages (2 x 7 oz and 2 x 10 oz) and 5 different cheese for $22.50. I can just add crackers, grapes & wine and I'm ready for company. Easy peasy. I grew up in wine country and know wine (there's a story behind that too. maybe I'll tell it at a later stage), but I'm not much of a wine drinker. I'm a hard liquor girl. I know how to be sophisticated though...lol, so I'll have wine with my HF. 

I bought the extra cheese set, because HF bacon cheddar is my favorite. It reminds me so much of a cream cheese spread (Melrose) we have in SA. 

I really wanted some salami, but they were sold out fast. I love salami. I'm talking about the good stuff, not the slices you get at the local grocery store. Salami was always expensive in SA, but every pay day (Salaried staff got paid monthly, so I got paid once a month) I'd buy a salami stick/log/roll for myself & my dad to enjoy. We were the only ones who loved salami.

• DS's coat zipper pull broke on the first day of school after the break, so I went to the spare closet and pulled a new coat from the stockpile. I thought I only had one spare coat for him, but it turned out to be 2. Happy mama, cause I don't have to spend extra money on more coats. Those coats are very hard to find now. I paid $22 for them just before the pandemic started. You can't even dream of that price now. 

• Earlier this week, I cleaned out the coat closet. I pulled everything that still had zippers and managed to put together a 'new' coat for DS. It helps that I always buy the same brand, because it was just a matter of mixing the inner coat with an outer coat of the same size.

• The school pool has opened again, so DS needed toiletries for after swimming. Remember all that Old Spice Captain I stocked up on? I just went into my stockpile & pulled some Captain b/w, deodorant and shampoo for DS. Easy peasy. 

• I noticed a small hole forming by the big toe of my one athletic shoes. Ugh, I'm not happy. I'm wearing my athletic shoes until they break, because I can't find this style anymore. I always keep 2 pairs out to wear. Years ago I read that you're supposed to rotate your shoes daily, so one pair gets a chance to air. So that's what I've been doing. I had to get a pair from my stockpile, so I'm down to only 2 extra pairs :(

• I finally found of favorite brand coat/jacket in my size at TJM. It was $50 each (a steal), so I bought 2. I never ever buy white coats (fashion faux pas), but just didn't care this time. It's all that's available, so one white coat it is. These are both being saved for when I need a new jacket.

• I found a hooded wool coat for DS after Christmas. I had a $10 reward to use. I wasn't looking for a coat, but they didn't have the b/w I wanted to buy. So I checked the coats and found a hooded one (it's what I've always wanted for him, because I love my hooded wool coat) at 90% off. Original price was $450. I didn't know that brand, but once I researched it, I saw that it's a rather pricey brand. I got that coat for $44.99 and used my $10 reward on it. Then I received another $10 reward that's good for a year, so I don't have to worry about spending it yet. I considered selling the other wool coat I bought last year, but decided against it (more on that in that clothing post I need to write) I won't find wool coats at this price again and he now has it in both black & navy blue.

• I also bought him a Brooks Brothers corduroy shirt at the same store for $22.49. Look at the retail price on this shirt. Who pays $148 for a shirt? Not me! That's another 85% savings.

• When I had the vehicles transferred to my name, the DMV asked if I wanted to keep the same plates. I only replaced one of 2 plates, since the old plate was peeling. Savings in my pocket. 

• Vehicle registration is now valid for 2 years in MI, so that's what I did when it was time to renew. 

That's all I can remember for now. 

Have a wonderful weekend peeps. Stay healthy, safe & warm

Stockpiling items of the week & Wags tripping

Hi everyone

I've decided to add some items to my stockpile every week to help combat the never ending price increases. Kroger usually have good 'Weekly deals' and mega event sales. Here's what I did this week (well, the sale ends today, so their new ad starts tomorrow). 

Mega event items (price is after discount)

6 x Kraft BBQ sauce - $1 each

6 x Red Gold Tomatoes $0.79 each

I also picked up my free 18ct eggs. Yikes!! The regular price is $5.99!!!

I also bought 2 x 8 lb bags of navel oranges at $4.88 and grapes $1/49 lb. 

I have $7.50 cash back on my account, but Kroger checkout never prompted me about whether I'd like to apply it to my order. That's never happened before.  I think I know why. My balance shows $7.05, but when I went to redeem, it said there was $7.50 (which it should be). I have to check my account again to see if there's anything available. 

When I got home, I marinaded some chicken breasts with the BBQ sauce. I baked that this morning, so I'll have chicken salad for lunch and DS can have a chicken wrap for lunch tomorrow. The rest will be frozen.

I only see milk that's on sale at Kroger next week (starting tomorrow). I still have a gallon left from the last sale, so I'll wait until Monday/Tuesday to take advantage of this deal.

Aldi 

5 x Blueberry pints - $1.99 each. This girl's got to have her blueberries. Some will be eaten fresh and the rest frozen for smoothies or baking. Bless the cashier's heart. I paid with a $20 bill and he gave me 2 x $5 bills as change. That went straight into my savings jar. Does anyone get excited about little things like this?...lol

Then it was off to Wags. Oh joy...lol

Trans 1

2 x Colgate t/p $7.98

4 x Downy softener 9.00

2 x Garnier mousse 8.00

1 x Bic razor 4.99

1 x Revlon mascara 11.99

Less Garnier DQ (3.00)

Less Bic DQ (3.00)

Less Colgate DQs (4.00)

Less RRs (9.00)

Less Free GCs (20.00)

Tax 2.52

OOP $5.48

Earned $26 ($9 WYS $40, $6 WYS $25, $4 Garnier, $4 Colgate, $3 Revlon) + $4 Ibotta ($3 Revlon, $1 Bic). Total earned $30

Trans 2

2 x Colgate t/p $7.98

4 x Tide Simply 9.00

2 x Garnier hairspray 8.00

1 x Bic razor 6.79

1 x Revlon lipstick 10.49

Less Garnier DQ (3.00)

Less Bic DQ (3.00)

Less Colgate DQs (4.00)

Less RRs (9.00)

Less Free GCs (20.00)

Tax 2.54

OOP $5.80

Earned $27 ($9 WYS $40, $7 WYS $25, $4 Garnier, $4 Colgate, $3 Revlon) + $3 Ibotta (Revlon), $1 Bic). Total earned $30

I really wanted more Tide, but this store only had 4 bottles. In fact, some shelves were very bare. The Colgate shelf was near empty too. So weird, because Wags always has good inventory. 

The deals aren't as good this week, but I wanted to take advantage of those high value boosters. I've used so many of my gcs for it, that I'm down to one :( So I'll just have to roll my points & RRs for future purchases. It's no biggie, because I have increased my rewards again. 

I never knew that other Garnier items were included in the sale. I always just assumed that it was for shampoo & conditioner. I never even looked at the other items before...lol. Silly girl. I had the shampoo in my cart when I noticed that the hairspray had sale tags too. Now I'll just stock up on styling products for us, because we sure don't need any more shampoo/conditioner.

Total items purchased : 20

Total OOP : $11.28 (approx $0.56 per item. price includes tax)

Retail value : $125.70

Total Qs used : $20.00

Total rewards used : $18.00

Total rewards earned : $60.00

Total Gcs used : $40.00

To recap. Here's what's good at Wags this week (even if you don't have rewards to roll).

Colgate - Free after DQs and rewards

Garnier - $1 each after DQs and rewards

Tide/Bounce/Downy - 4/$9. Mix & match. Must buy 4 to get sale price

I believe CVS has free Colgate after DQ this week too.

Total shopping OOP for this week - $45.06. It was a decent stockpiling trip. 

By adding a few sale items every week, we can build our stockpiles without breaking the bank. 

I haven't been to CVS yet. I'm waiting to see if they'll send me another $4 Q (on Thursday). I'll also check the Wags ad preview tomorrow. If there's nothing good, then I'll try to find more Tide so I can use some RRs that expire next week.

Happy shopping peeps! Don't be afraid to grab those good deals when they're available. We haven't seen the end of price increases yet. 

Menu Plan Monday 1/23/23

Hi everyone

I would like to ask everyone to please keep Kim, Hilogene & Sam in your prayers. These ladies have all lost their husbands unexpectedly. I'm praying for comfort & strength for them & their families. All the loss makes one realise just how fragile life is. So show those you love how much you appreciate them. Hug them a little tighter and tell them you love them every single day. 

I slept late yesterday (which threw me off, cause I'm an early bird), but I still managed to get our weekly cooking done.

Monday : Chicken curry & rice with beetroot salad and some veggies on the side

Tuesday : Chicken roll with side salad and/or veggies

Wednesday : Same as Monday

Thursday : Same as Tuesday

Friday : Nachos or burritos with fajita chicken from the freezer. I'll just make fresh beans and pico

There's always a variety of veggies available. I cook Indian curry so my curry contains potatoes & peas.

Breakfasts : Carrot pineapple muffins, bagels with cream cheese, eggs, cereal and there's a variety of veggies available for omelets. Lots of fresh fruit available too. 

Lunch : Usually dinner leftovers or chicken salad (with baked chicken from the freezer)

I need to run some errands. I have a full plate for today.

Have a wonderful day peeps. Stay healthy, safe & warm.

2023 Goals

Hi everyone

I'm so very late to the new year goals this year. It's really hard for me to set financial goals for the year, because I'm not sure what my expenses will be once I move. I hate being in limbo, but until I'm settled in my new home, I won't know how much I need to spend and how much I can then save. I've worked out a rough budget, so I have an idea of what our expenses will be. However, I like to know things to the last cent/penny. No rounding up to the nearest $ for this girl...lol

Buy house & move!!!! 

• This is my TOP priority. My realtor sent an email last week, stating that spring listings will start in early February, so I'm trying to be optimistic. I'm just praying that the right house will become available at the right price soon. I have my budget all set for a house & furniture. I just need to find the perfect house. 

Grocery budget

• This is a tough one, thanks to inflation. I've settled on a $500 p/m budget. I'm hoping to come in at around or under $400 though. We will see how things go as the year progresses. This number includes groceries, HBA & cleaning products.

 

Try to curb food waste

• We're still working on this one. I'm doing much better than before. I can't wait to get a freezer, because that will also help with less waste if I can freeze leftovers for future use. 

Do more drugstore shopping 

• I've slacked with this last year. Actually, I've slacked with everything last year, because I had so much going on with the divorce. I need to rebuild part of my stockpile, because it looks like grocery prices will continue to increase. I can save more on our grocery budget, by utilizing the drugstore deals. Whatever items we don't use/need, will be sold.

Earn whatever gift cards I can 

• There's been a huge downturn on point earning sites. No more encraves, no more hideout tv. So I'm just trying to earn whatever points I can. Every gc helps. 

$0 Clothes & shoes budget

• Trust me when I say WE DON'T NEED ANYTHING.  I mean it this time...lol. I have enough stuff to open my own store. The sale was THAT good. I need to write a post, because as you all know 'There's method to my madness'. Trust me, things are really bad out there and I'm thankful for whatever deals I can score. Yup, I need to write that post. 

• I still have a bunch of our old stuff listed, so this will all go towards 'if we need something new' (maybe, cause we're fully stocked, except for my athletic shoes that are now non-existent. The style I want/need haven't been available in a long time. I could cry. I wear a specific brand & style, because I have high arches). The rest will go towards Christmas.

Continue saving change and small bills

As soon as my Christmas shopping was completed last year, I started saving my bills again. Here's what I've started the year with.

$1 bills - $96.00

$5 bills - $185.00

$10 bills - $90.00

Total : $371.00

The $10 bills is just something I add occasionally. My favorite part of shopping, is filling my jars with all the change and small bills. It adds up so fast and I don't even miss it. Outta sight, outta mind. 

I haven't cashed out my coins yet. There should be over $100. I'm taking it to a coinstar machine to get a gc. I'll use the gc to purchase clearance items to sell.The funds will then go towards Christmas. 

I'm doing the same with all Rakuten checks and my CC gcs (I'm loving those discounted gcs from my one CC)

Christmas

I'm budgeting $1000.00. I don't know what we'll be doing for Christmas this year. I'm just setting a rough budget (I'd rather have too much than too little). The above saved bills, coins method, CC, Rakuten will all be saved towards Christmas. Whatever is left over, will go to savings. 

I've also added $200 Target discounted gcs to this fund. So I already have $571.00 towards Christmas. More than halfway there, so I'm happy.

Vacation

This is something we really need. I don't know if we'll be taking a vacation this year yet. I'd love to take an annual vacation, but until I'm settled, I can't plan anything yet. I'm actually just happy being by the water. Take me to the beach!!! That's all DS & I really care about. As long as we're by the water, we're happy. 

That's all I currently have figured out. I'm actually feeling good about this year. I'm excited to see & experience all the wonderful things this year has in store for me. I'm choosing to be happy :)

Have a wonderful weekend peeps! Stay healthy, safe & warm. 

It's raining drugstore deals

Hi everyone

I had planned to do a Goal post today, but I haven't finished writing it yet. I'll try to get it done soonest.  Let's talk about the drugstore fun I had this week. 

I started this year with $170 Wags gcs & rewards. A good problem to have :)

WAGS

Trans 1

5 x Hallmark Xmas gift tag books 4.45

Ghirardelli xmas candy 2.39

Less WC (5.00)

Tax 0.27

OOP $2.11

I stopped at Wags while DS & I ran a few errands last Saturday. There was hardly any Xmas clearance left, so I snagged the above. I always buy cleanance xmas candy for DS for Valentine's day. 

I received a $9 WYS $40 Booster Q, so I had to go use it this week. I'm such a sucker for Wags...lol

Trans 2

6 x Palmolive dish soap $17.94

2 x Softsoap b/w 9.98

2 x Oral b t/b 6.00

1 x Snuggle softener 3.99

1 x Hallmark Vday card 7.59

1 x Hallmark Vday card 2.00

Less Softsoap DQ (2.00)

Less Oral B DQ (2.00)

Less Palmolive DQ (0.50)

Less Snuggle DQ (1.50)

Less VDay Q (3.00)

Less $30 Gcs (30.00) Free ones I earned last year

Tax 2.85

OOP $11.35

Earned $23 WC + 13 RR ($9 Palmolive, $9 WYS $40, $5 WYS $20, $8 Oral b, $5 Softsoap)

I immediately knew that something was wrong with that high OOP, but waited until I got to my car so I could study the receipt. I saw that one Vday card rang up at full price, instead of $3. So I went back inside, took a pic of the shelf tag and told the cashier I want to return it. Instead of a return, he issued a credit for the difference of $4.87 though. Okay, I can live with that. 

So my new OOP is $6.48. Son of a gun, I just noticed that my $2 Vday Q didn't deduct. I'm gonna contact CS to see if they'll add points for it. I added the Vday cards to get my total over $40 for the booster. I wish that Wags receipts displayed what items the Qs are for (like CVS), so you can immediately see if a specific Q wasn't applied. I also saw the there's a Snuggle Ibotta rebate. I need to see if my item qualifies.

I was surprised that I received so many RRs, but later learned that select items like Dove (select ones) and Crest/Oral B were producing 2 x $4 RRs. So today I decided to try the Dove deal.

Trans 3

2 x Dove b/w $14.00

Less Dove DQ (2.00)

Less WC (10.00)

Tax 0.84

OOP $2.84

Earned 2 x $4 RRs ($8)

Trans 4

2 x Oral B t/b 6.00

2 x Softsoap b/w 9.98

4 x Palmolive soap 11.96

Less Softsoap DQ (2.00)

Less Palmolive DQ (0.50)

Less WC (20.00)

Tax 1.68

OOP $7.12

Earned $11 ($6 Palmolive, $5 Softsoap).

Ugh, seriously Wags. My OOP is too high again. Even worse is that I didn't earn RRs for the Oral b. I bought the exact same ones at a different store earlier this week. Back to the shelf to take a pic of the tag for the cashier and grabbed 2 more Dove to do on this account too. So I explained things to cashier and asked her to return the Oral b. Then stupid me asked her to add the Dove to the same transaction. Yeah, not the best move, cause then I wasn't sure if I could use points again and a long line had formed behind me (why does the store always get extra busy when a transaction doesn't work?). It's actually a good thing the Oral B didn't work, because I noticed the DQ didn't deduct. Not sure if I had it clipped. So here's how it went

Trans 5

Oral B return (6.00)

2 x Dove b/w 14.00

Less Dove DQ (2.00)

Tax 0.48

OOP $6.48

Earned $4 RR

I love the Dove antibacterial, but I bought the last 2 with my earlier transaction. I at least know the Antibacterial works for the double RR. Oh well, I tried. I might do another deal at a different store tomorrow. I'll have to check paper Qs. 

CVS

Holy cow! When I checked my CVS gc, it showed that I last used it in April 2022. No wonder CVS kept trying to lure me back with email Qs....lol This transaction was just to get my CVS feet wet again and build my EBs.

2 x Loreal Elvive $9.00

2 x Crest t/p 5.98

1 x Revlon kiss balm 6.79

1 x Revlon eyeshadow 9.99

Less Loreal DQ (3.00)

Less Crest DQ (2.00)

Less Revlon lip DQ (3.00)

Less Revlon eye DQ (3.00)

Less $4 email Q (4.00)

Less GC (6.55)

Tax 1.67

OOP $11.88

Earned $11 EB ($3 Crest, $3 Loreal, $5 Revlon) + $3 Ibotta (Revlon eye)

Not too bad a CVS trip. 

Total items purchased : 35

Total OOP : $36.91 (approx $1.05 per item)

Retail value : $173.07

Total Qs used : $30.50

Total rewards used : $35.00

Total rewards earned : $73.00

Total Gcs used : $36.55

The drugstores were really fun this week and I still have $168 Wags rewards to use. This girl ain't complaining. 

I received 2 x $9 WYS $40 Booster q and my digitals for next week show $7 WYS $30 and $6 WYS $25 that can be combined with the $9 boosters. That's $31 free money.  Let's hope there's good scenarios for next week. I know I'm gonna end up with more Valentine's cards, cause there's a pile of Qs on each account and FREE is the perfect filler for those booster deals. Hallmark must be struggling, because Wags added a ton of Qs for Christmas cards too. 

This girl is pooped! I did lots of other shopping too (mostly free). I got a whole new wardrobe for near free - me working the deals (that's another long post). I'm seriously sick of shopping, but stores keep sending me Qs and rewards. VS sent me a $10 Birthday Q. Scratching my head at that one, cause my birthday was 2 months ago. I don't want to pay for shipping and I'm not gonna make a special trip to the mall for one free panty...lol. We all know that VS is overpriced, so I'll be lucky to score a panty with that $10 Q. I might buy something (clearance of course) if they add free shipping. 

I need to make a DT trip for more Palmolive spray bottles. I want to fill it with shampoo (to clean shower doors) and Dawn (works great for grease stains on clothes). 

I'll be back with this year's goals post. 

Back in the saddle

Hi everyone

Thank you for all the messages & prayers. It is much appreciated. Boy, did Covid kick my butt this time. This was my 3rd covid rodeo and every single time was a rough ride. I think I got the after holiday school flu germs too, cause DS kept coming home with a runny nose and I usually get sick whenever he gets a runny nose. I am just so thankful that's all he gets. 

Kay, I hope that your DH is doing much better. I'm still praying for him. 

Jackie, I'm happy to hear that you & Harvey have both recovered. 

Sluggy mentioned DS helping out. DS is autistic (this isn't why I don't talk about him. There is a very good reason why I'm protecting his privacy online) and needs assistance and/or supervision with some things. He does have chores, but it's easier for me to do all the cooking/baking when I'm sick, because I just want to get things done and get some rest when I feel rough.

I'm feeling much better this week. I do still take the occasional nap when I'm worn out, but it's becoming fewer & fewer. Thank goodness.

Boy, did I suffer from shopping withdrawal symptoms. I missed out on all the after Christmas sales. I'm glad we went to Hobby Lobby the week after Christmas. I found some really nice Christmas items (tree topper, placemats, napkin rings, table runner and even a gift) at 75% off. I was planning and going to a different location the week after for 90% off, but then I got sick :( I should've bought myself a stocking at the first store, because they had tons. I couldn't decide what I wanted though. Lesson learned. Grab a good deal while you can. 

So, on Tuesday I hit 6 stores. I had to make up for lost time...lol. I only went shopping once this month and the grocery budget was looking good, so I decided to just stock up on some things. Why wait on the prices to increase again. I haven't been to Walmart in about a month and got serious sticker shock - again!! When will this end?

Produce market - $46.33

I was surprised to see a packed parking lot. This was Tuesday, after lunch, so it should've been empty. I kept seeing people leave with boxes of strawberries. As I got to the entrance, I saw that they had strawberry boxes (8 x 1 lb packs per box) for $2. I didn't need a 2nd invitation. 

Then at checkout, I received a Senior Discount. Oh the horror!!!!...lol. Most people tell me that I look far younger than my age. Some actually believe that I'm still in my 30s and the cashier gives this 40 something years young a senior discount. Oh boy, he ruined my day...lol. I can't complain about my $4.95 savings though. In his defense though, I was wearing a mask and glasses. I now also know why the store was so packed on a Tuesday. 

Walmart - $90.89

I stocked up on canned goods and other items, cause at Christmas I discovered that I only had one can of green beans for the casserole. I normally use 2, but we just settled for a smaller green bean casserole. We don't eat much canned green beans, that's why I don't keep much. $28 of the grocery total was for bacon and puff pastry. I considered making puff pastry once, but when I saw how much work it entails, I realised that paying $6.24 for it is cheap. 

Target - $17.33

I was running low on Tide and decided to do the Target GC deal. It's the only time I stock up on Tide at Target. Paid with a discounted gc (Christmas deal) and earned another $10 gc. I wonder why I can't use Circle earnings without the app at checkout. I have over $30 in Circle rewards. Oh well, I can always use it on another deal. 

Aldi $9.13

Bread, pie crust and grapes. I only cherry pick at Aldi. I'm probably in the minority, but I don't think their prices are much better than the grocery stores. In fact, I've seen several items were more expensive than the local grocery stores. 

Sams $133.78

I especially bought more chicken breast, hoping to score that $3 discount per package again. Sadly, there was no discount this time, but we have enough chicken to last until the end of February (maybe longer).

Wags $6.45

I'll post drugstore deals soon, because I'm not done shopping yet. If anyone needs dish soap. Palmolive is on sale this week. Price varies by location ($2.79 - $2.99)

2 x 20 oz Palmolive $5.98

Less 50c DQ (0.50)

OOP $5.48

Earn $3.00 WC . So $2.48 for 2 bottles. 

This is a Buy deal, so you can do more than 2 bottles per transaction. Just make sure you're purchasing in quantities of 2.

So $303.91 spent in one day. I sure know how to make up with shopping...lol. The good news is that I'm practically done with shopping for the month (except for drugstores). We only need to replenish our salad and bananas. I already broke the budget, but I'm happy with the stockpiling. My pantry was beginning to look bare. 

I received my Kroger mailer Qs and expected another OM hot dog freebie. However, Kroger surprised me with a Q for FREE 18 ct eggs. Whoo hoo!!! Happy dance! Thank you Kroger. I was so excited, I forgot to check the rest of the Qs...lol. This is a good freebie. I hope it continues, cause I love Kroger eggs. They are huge. 

Yesterday, I made sausage rolls and 2 lbs bacon before DS left for school. Then I washed, diced and froze the strawberries for smoothies cause it's not ripe enough to eat. I got 2 gallon bags out of it. Not too bad for $2. 

Today I'm going to divide the chicken breasts and process the peppers to freeze. 

Please bear with me as I try to catch up on everything. I'm so faaaarrrrrr behind and the holiday this week threw me off too. I'll be back with another post tomorrow.

Have a great day peeps!

Meal Plan Monday 1/9/23

Hi everyone

I'm still sick, but doing better than before. I woke up feeling great yesterday. I slept most of the day on Saturday and another 10 hours Saturday night. I also discovered that I felt a little better after eating - which I haven't done too well with last week. So I made a big protein breakfast and had a smoothie before lunch time. I decided to do grocery shopping yesterday.  I figured that I'm better off getting the shopping done while I'm feeling well. 

I went to 4 stores. Stocked up on chicken and beef at Sams. I was pleasantly surprised to see a $9 discount on my receipt after checking out at Sams. It turns out there was a $3 discount per chicken package. I wasn't even aware of it. I buy the pricier non GMO chicken, so this was a true blessing. Sure wish I had an extra freezer, because I would've turned right around to get more chicken. I'm hoping this is a monthly deal. I didn't get this month's Instant Savings booklet. I don't need any more meat for the month, but if the discount is still available later this month, then I will buy more chicken. I'm gonna have to clear some freezer space for it. I also stocked up on oranges at Kroger. They had 8 lb bags for $4.69 (or $4.29. I don't have the receipt close by). It's the weekly digital deal, so I bought 2 bags. I've always said that 'An orange a day keeps the flu away' and it's worked for us in the past. I also caved and paid $7.49 for 2 lbs strawberries at Sams. I wouldn't normally do this, but I figured our health is more important and strawberries is rich in Vitamin C. I'd rather pay more than risk getting sick again. Then I saw Aldi had 1 lb strawberries for $3.69 so I didn't feel bad about the Sams price. 

By the time I got home, I was ready for bed. But I still made banana muffins for DS, cooked the beef in the instant pot and marinated the chicken tenders, then had an early night. Well, I doubled the muffin recipe to have some extra to freeze, but the batter turned out to be just enough to make a dozen jumbo muffins. Duh! 😂 We have a few more overripe bananas, so I'll make another batch later this week.

This morning I woke up feeling really rough again. My own fault for overdoing it yesterday. I always do this. I do everything myself, so the minute I start feeling better I want to rush and take care of everything that's been neglected while I was sick. Well, I'm trying to teach myself that Rome wasn't built in one day. So I'm cooking in stages this week. I baked the chicken tenders before DS left for school. I figured that if I need to go sleep again later, then I at least have something ready for dinner. Adding salad and veggies is easy. I'm hoping to make the beef pies later. Here's my plan for the week, in no particular order. We're just gonna eat whatever I manage to get cooked.

Dinner

BWW baked chicken tenders

Beef & mixed veg pot pies

Fajita chicken

Lots of veggies and salad available

Breakfast

Banana oatmeal muffins

Beef & broccoli stir fry

There's also bran cereal and eggs. Lots of fixings for omelets too

Lots of fruit

Lunch

Usually leftovers

My plan was to make beef pies and french onion chicken for this week's dinners. I decided to save the FO chicken for next week, since there's already enough food to eat. I'm hoping to avoid fast food this week. We have several options with the food I'm cooking.  

I will respond to comments later. I need to get mail out and do a bit of cleaning. 

Have a great day peeps. Stay healthy, safe & warm

I'm still here

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday break. 

Well, my year started off with Covid!😷 Oy vey! Definitely not the best way to start the year, but it is what it is. I initially thought that it was just allergies. I was fine on Sunday morning. Woke up early, puttered around then started on my weekly cooking - made muffins, roti & curry. Then early afternoon I started sneezing uncontrollably. My eyes were puffy & itching (usually a sign of allergies). So I took a vapor bath (Johnson's baby vapor bubble bath. We've used this since DS was small and it still works great) to clear my sinuses, took a Wal-act and went to bed early. Wal-act dried me up overnight, but then the fatigue started. So all I've done for the year to date, is sleep. I get up at 5:40 and by the time DS leaves for school (just after 8), I'm ready for bed again (I'm just plumb tuckered out). Of course this doesn't happen. I do a few chores, get the mail out, make sure dinner is thawed and/or ready and then back to bed. 

I was so very thankful that I got the rotis (this is a bit of work) and muffins done on Sunday. On Wednesday I pulled pesto chicken casserole from the freezer and added baked potatoes. I didn't have the energy to fix a salad or other veggies. Besides, there's plenty veggies in the casserole. I tell ya, freezer cooking will always be my one true love! I could never live without it! Every time that I'm sick, I thank my lucky stars that there's food in the freezer that we can just heat & eat. Same goes for my stockpile. I always keep a case of Canada Dry for when I'm sick. It's also great for nausea (ginger). Then we ran out of bread yesterday. Unheard of for me, because mama always takes care of everything. Again, I was thankful that I managed to make muffins on Sunday. DS can have all the fast food he wants tonight. I just don't have the energy to think about dinner. Besides, I need some fries 😂

I am so very glad I did our grocery shopping late last week. I went to the produce market to ensure DS has fresh fruit when school starts. I also stopped at Sams and bought a few things. Many times I do things for some totally unrelated reason & then it turns out to be a blessing in disguise.

When I'm better, I need to start double batch cooking again. I normally double or triple my recipes, then freeze the rest for future meals. I also need to make some freezer lunches for DS (mini pot pies, quiche, burritos, fajita chicken for quesadillas, BWW tenders for wraps or sandwiches). DS hates school lunches and I don't blame him. I've seen what it looks like and I wouldn't touch it either. Well, I'd want home cooked food too if my mom cooked all kinds of yummy food for me 😊. I also need to double my muffin recipes so that there's extra for in case we run out of bread again - which I sure hope won't happen.

I'm headed back to bed in a short while. I'm ready to get back to normal soon, so I'm hoping to be back to my regular scheduled programming next week.

Have a great weekend peeps!