Taking a Hiatus $

I'm terribly behind here. In order to free myself from the guilt, I've decided I'll just give this blog a rest for a while. I'll be going grocery shopping on Friday and it's a GREAT sale! So hopefully it'll be a short lived one.

I will update the numbers though. It's one of the most important parts of this blog to me....keeping track of my grocery budget. In the last week or so we've spent another $75. Tom stopping without authorization ;o) is messing me up! He's never shopped before in his life. I wonder if it's because our cupboards look emptier then they have lately. There aren't many easily made or grabbable things for him to eat.

I may go through the archives and put a few markings into titles to help me search through them easier in the future. Things like a $ when there's an update to monies spent. Numbering the paydays....PD1, PD2, etc.

Total...$75
Payperiod Total...$230.53
Year Total (starting 9/24/04)...$922.59

Friday, October 22

Kids had the day off from school.

Breakfast...

Hash Browns
Eggs
Toast

Lunch...
Bologna or PBJs
Cheese puffs

Dinner....

4 cans Cream of Tomato Soup
5 cans Chicken noodle soup
Crackers

Snacks at church for a bunch of them

I intended and started to make a Porkloin Roast for dinner but started it too late. So decided to finish cooking it for tomorrow's dinner and forgot about it until it was fully cooked to 180 degrees (suppose to be 160). Opened a bunch of cans of soup for dinner when I realized that we had little time for dinner.

Cheated today $

Olivia and I went grocery shopping today. Well we started going, we didn't do a true grocery shopping run but I think it'll have to be enough for now. I feel like I didn't get enough fruit and meat, although there is meat in the freezer.

We cheated by eating out. Someone at Tom's shop gave him 5 free tickets to the circus so we sent Drew out with 4 kids. They had $20 for parking and McD's. There were 6 of us left here (Pat had left with Jess) so we caved and ordered pizza and wings. :oD YUM!

I'm hoping to get everything back to normal tomorrow! (how long have I been saying that???)

I can't find my Save a Lot receipt but know I spent $155.53

Total...$155.53
Payperiod Total...$155.53
Year Total (starting 9/24/04)...$847.59

Backlogged again $

I haven't been up to posting too much. Unfortunately this was one of the things suffering for it. I'll try to catch up yet again in this post.

Saturday

We went to a catered BBQ/Pig Roast at church. YUM! I came home with a huge pan of shredded pork which was enough for 2 meals.

Sunday

I was gone at church all day so not sure what they ate. I organized dinner before I left though. They had lasagna and garlic bread, not sure if they had anything else.
Drew and I ran to the store on the way home from the evening banquet. We spent $60.55. (won't list it due to having a lot of days all in one) Bought too many snacks though.

Total...$60.55
Payperiod Total...$155.89
Year Total (starting 9/24/04)...$692.06

Monday
Liz had soccer practice. Snacked beforehand. Ate after practice.

BBQ Pork Sandwiches (half the pork from the BBQ)
Baked Potatoes
Corn

Tuesday

Baked Salmon
Garlic Noodles
Green beans

Wednesday
Liz had a soccer game. Kids have bologna sandwiches before we left. After we had...

Spaghetti and meatballs
Garlic Bread (last ones...waaahhh!)
Jello


Thursday
Today I'm hoping to go grocery shopping but not sure what I'm buying (NOT a good thing!) I still have quite a few meals in the freezer. I'm hoping I can get away with a tight budget this payperiod, lots of major expenses due right now.

Playing Catch UP $

WEDNESDAY...

Liz had soccer practice, snacked before, ate after.
Ran to the store grabbed a few things to make a taco dip. Spent $6.24
Ran into the dollar store next door and spent $6 on some treats for the kids.

Dinner...
Taco Dip with veggies and tortilla chips
Scrambled eggs with bacon and cheese

Total...$12.24
Payperiod Total...$95.34
Year Total (starting 9/24/04)...$631.51

THURSDAY...

Liz is sick...we didn't have to go to her soccer game.

Chicken and Gravy over mashed potatoes
bread

FRIDAY...

Chicken noodle soup (leftover chicken and gravy, potatoes, corn, green beans, egg noodles)
Bread
Pretzels
Vanilla Wafer

Tuesday 10/12

I finally got my rear into the dr's for some meds. Let's hope that I'm back to speed in a few days.

Breakfast...
Cereal

Lunch...
snacked at my parents' house

Dinner...
Hot dogs
Baby Carrots
Chips

I asked Pat to stop at a specific gas station to get 3 gallons of milk ($1.95/gal) on Monday. He forgot and stopped at the village store and paid $3.05/gal!!!!!!!!!! Luckily he only bought 2 at that price and not the 3 that I asked him to. I let him know we'd go without milk for a week before I paid that much for a gallon of milk. A convenience store he had to pass on the way to the village usually has milk on sale so that was a better place to stop. (I don't think their regular price would be $3.09) And here I thought my kids had gained my frugal tendencies and knowledge by osmosis. Maybe it's time to break out the wet noodles.

Tom went to the next town over to get my prescription filled. I asked him to run into the Big M next door to the drug store while he was waiting for it to be filled. They were having a 10 for $10 mix and match sale. One of the things they had was half gallons of orange juice that I've been craving! They also had some decent priced fruit which we've been out of for a few days. He says he spent about $27.

Total...$33.10
Payperiod Total...$83.10
Year Total (starting 9/24/04)...$619.27

Monday 10/11....Update

I've let things go here but intend to get back into it. Having the flu tends to put a damper on your enthusiasm for food and preparing it. Yesterday I couldn't update even if I wanted to because my IP was down for 24hrs (talk about withdrawal!)

Friday...Payday
I was barely functioning and as soon as some older people were in the house I kind of let go of things. Tom stopped at Save-a-Lot on the way home from work. He wouldn't show me the receipt. He doesn't want me to include what he bought in my totals. Something about he probably bought the wrong things and spent too much on stuff. I want as true of an account of what we spend as possible so asked him to give up how much he spent. He told me a roundabout figure which is better then nothing. I can't write out what he bought because I wasn't anywhere around when he put it away but it's been a few meals this weekend and we've been enjoying sodas and more snacks :o)

Tom made dinner....
Chicken nuggets
French fries
Tatertots
Baby Carrots

Total...$50
Payperiod Total...$50
Year Total (starting 9/24/04)...$586.17

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday

I felt a lot better today...ventured outside and took time to make a meal!

Dinner
Seasame Chicken (won't give recipe as I'm still searching for a really good sauce...this one was only ok)
Beer Battered Onion Rings

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday
Forgot Sunday

Dinner was...

Sweet Italian Sausage with peppers from our garden (last of them)
Alfredo Egg Noodles

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Monday
Feeling so so, sinuses are causing a problem. All kids have today off of school.

Breakfast...
Hashbrowns
Eggs
Toast

Lunch...
Hotdogs
Chips

Dinner...
Chili w/ground beef (used canned stuff and chili seasoning packets...no recipe)
English muffin Cheese Pizzas
French Fries
Chicken Nuggets

Dinner is finishing up as I write this. Some kids haven't gotten home from errands yet. Looking at the pans I'm going to assume that I'll have leftovers of chili and pizzas.

Beer Battered Onion Rings

Batter...

1 - 1 1/4c flour
1 12oz can beer
1 egg
seasoning (garlic, salt, pepper)

Add ingredients in the order listed. Blend well...will be similar to pancake batter consistancy.

Slice Onions into rings, dredge in additional flour then dip in beer batter.
Immediately drop into hot oil and fry until crispy and brown.

Thursday 10/7

I am still sick! I can't remember what everyone else had to eat today. I know Olivia had toast in the morning, pepperoni, cheese and crackers in the afternoon. Think that Drew also made her something else to eat when he got back from classes.

For dinner we had....

Angel hair with ground beef and sauce
Garlic Bread

Tomorrow is payday :o) It's nice that I don't feel the urgency to run to the store tomorrow (even if I wasn't sick). We still have snacks...which is amazing to me! I've found a new storage area LOL. Fridge is full of meat and bread. We have been out of milk for a day or so. I can have one of the boys pick up some on the way home from class.

Tuesday, 10/5

Breakfast...
Cereal
Bagels

Lunch...
Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Cheese, pepperoni, & crackers
Grapes

Dinner...
Porkloin Roast
Stuffing
Carrots & celery with dip

Monday 10/4

Breakfast....
Leftover Pancakes
Bagels
Cereal

Lunch
Canned Chicken & Penne soup
Spinach and dressing
Cheese puffs

Afterschool snack
Cereal
cookies

Dinner
Chicken Patty sandwiches
Carrots

Sunday, 10/3

Feeling like CRAP today (see main blog) FFY (fend for yourself) day

Breakfast...
Leftover birthday cake
Ice Cream

Lunch...
Leftover hamburgers and hotdogs
might have had snacks...not sure

Dinner...
Leftover Kielbasa, PBJs, Ham Sandwiches (not sure if all were types were eaten or not)
Chips
Baby Carrots

Saturday, 10/2

Today is Michelle's Birthday! Having 8 extra kids here. Michelle will pick dinner but hasn't told me yet. She picked breakfast.

Breakfast...
Pancakes
Sausage
Hashbrowns
Cereal
OJ

Lunch...
Grilled Cheese (30 sandwiches!)
Cream of Tomato Soup (10 10.75oz cans, condensed...leftovers)
Soda

Dinner...
Hamburgers, Hot dogs, Kielbasa
French Fries
Veggies and dip
Soda

PHEW! This party thing is putting a dent into my menu. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful I have everything here to be able to feed whomever drops by. I just feel like I've lost a few days worth of meals. So far I've used...

turkey breakfast sausage meant for 2 meals
all the cheese single slices
all the cans of tomato soup
combined what would normally 3 meals for one (burgers, dogs, kielbasa) have leftovers though so not so bad.

Oh well, I still have plenty of food to get through this week. Next week will be a tight week, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes....coooome ooooon good sale! (sales start on Sunday here)

Drew and Pat went to WM for me after classes on Friday. I haven't seen the receipt yet so not sure how much to add to my totals, so I'm approximating. They bought...

14.52 - 2 birthday cakes (clearance)
3.57 - gal bucket of ice cream
6.60 - 3 gal milk
2.40 - 4 gal drinking water (have sulfur water and like to have bottled for company)
2.00 - 4 2lt soda

Total...$29.09
Payperiod Total...$536.17
Year Total (starting 9/24/04)...$536.17

Pancake Mix

10 c. flour
2 c. powdered milk
1 c. sugar
1/4c. baking powder
1/2Tbsp salt

Mix dry ingredients together, Add

8 c water
8 eggs, beaten
3/4 c oil
1 Tbsp vanilla

Stir until just mixed.

This makes a LOT of pancakes. I sometimes half this when I don't want any extras to freeze. Freezes well (single layer until firm then place into a freezer bag) Microwave from freezer to serve.

Friday, 10/1

October...WOW! Having girls overnight for Michelle's birthday. We're also having a party tomorrow. all day according to her (7am - 11pm! lol)

Breakfast...
Waffles with ice cream (think they are all gone now) :o(
Leftover Meatballs and sauce

Lunch....
Bunch of snacks, not feeling well

Dinner...
Snacked, feeling worse
Ham Sandwiches, fixed their own

I went to the bread store yesterday. They didn't have a GREAT sale but I did find some good things. I bought....

(all 22oz loaves, all cost $.50ea)
4 - Multigrain
4 - Whole Wheat
6 - White
4 boxes Friehoffer Chocolate Chip Cookies BOGOF $.90ea
1 bag Wise Honey BBQ chips (snack for Olivia and I)

Cost...$11.58
Payperiod total...$507.08
Year Total (starting 9/24/04)...$507.08

I'm sending Pat and Drew to WM. They are picking up my meds and buying milk, a cake and a few things for Michelle's party. So unfortunately that total will be increasing. I'm dumbfounded that I'm spending this much! And I wondered where all our extra funds were going! :o( The good thing is that a lot of what I bought will allow other grocery shopping trips to be a little lighter. (which is why I think a YTD total is more accurate)

Thursday 9/30

Breakfast....
Waffles (I'll cry when we finally run out of these)
Bagels
Cereal

Lunch....
Olivia and I will be grabbing something on the road...we actually had frittatas at my dad's house. YUM!
Kids are eating at school

Dinner... Cost $11.27 (leftovers)
Meatball Subs
Salad



Wow! Can't believe that September is over. I have a dr appt in the suburbs today. I'm hoping to stop at the bread store and stock up while I'm in. I'll also have to stop for a milk restock. I'll add what I spend to the payperiod total. I'm thinking I might keep a running yearly total too. I figure it'll be more accurate seeing as I will use things I bought this payperiod in the next one.

We've been talking groceries on a message board I visit. I see what other people feed their family and feel like my family is just a bunch of PIGS! Someone mentioned that perhaps some were taking the budget thing to a level that put their children's health as a low priority. I was slightly offended and disagreed with justification of coming to this conclusion. I do appreciate that she voiced this opinion though. I does remind me to analyze our diet more often. It's one of the reasons I've started this. So I have it written down and can look at it later. I also tend to work harder to feed my family well when I have to hold myself accountable to it. (instead of telling them to grab a sandwich or make some toast lol)

I'm amazed we still have chips and cookies left! I put them in a new place....way up high ontop of the cupboard over the fridge. It stops anyone from just grabbing it when they're hungry, or even myself from doing that. It's too much trouble to climb up there. I've also noticed this week that the kids aren't snacking as much. Always a good thing in my book. Maybe it's because I've been making meals in a timely fashion, thanks to having a "menu". Maybe it's because they've been taking more time to eat breakfast and such because I have a variety of fast and yummy food. I just hope it continues. Snacks can really break my budget!

Wednesday, 9/29

Half day for High schoolers, Open house night for Elementary School

Breakfast....
Bagels,
Cereal,
Waffles

Lunch....
Spinach and blue cheese dressing,
Grilled Cheese
Leftover hotdogs

Afterschool snack...
Ice cream
waffles

Dinner....
Cheeseburger/hamburger on a bun
Pasta Salad

Snack....
Sunkist fruit and cereal bar

I didn't really want to have the hamburgers today. I was distracted and forgot about open house tonight. So needed a quick dinner. I think Michelle might want them for her birthday party dinner on Saturday. So how can I feed 20+ people with 12 burgers (that's what's left lol).

Pasta Salad

1lb Tri colored garden rotini
1 can black olives
fresh vegetables
cucumbers
tomatoes
green peppers
celery
12oz Italian or Ceasar Dressing
Parmasean Cheese if not using Ceasar

Boil rotini, drain and cool, chop veggies and slice olives, add to pasta
Toss well with dressing and parm cheese

Sometimes make this more a meal by doubling pasta and dressing and adding chicken or pepperonis, and mozzarella cheese chunks

Tues 9/28

Half day for Elementary and Middle School kids. A few kids stayed home.

Breakfast...
Cereal
Bagels
Leftover Pasta

Lunch....
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Microwave Popcorn

Dinner...
Hot dogs with bread
Salad

Cost...$6.10




I'm having a hard time choosing what to serve for dinner. LOL I know that sounds insane with my freezers filled, but EVERYTHING sounds good. I also want to plan it so my fresh stuff gets used up first or at least before it spoils. The other problem is making sure I don't eat everything so I only have one type of meat left for the last week. :o)

Monday 9/27

Breakfast... Waffles, Cereal, Bananas

Lunch....Leftover Sloppy Joe and French Onion Soup (instant)
Lunchboxes...Ham Sandwiches, Green Grapes, Cheese curls, Cookies and Juicy Juice

Afterschool Snack...Waffles, leftovers from lunch

Dinner...
2# Angelhair pasta
Sauce (3 cans)
Sausage
Garlic Bread
Chocolate Milk

Dinner Cost...$13.52
Leftovers...Angel Hair left

I finally got the basement upright freezer going. I'm happy to report it is now safe to open the kitchen freezer door. Also rhere is no worry that your bread or roll will be moldy by the time we get around to serving it. I made up 8 loaves of garlic bread (other two rolls...dog got a hunk out of one Sat morning, they ate one on Sunday). So we had 2 loaves of garlic bread with our dinner and 6 more are in the freezer (3 meals). It's been so long since I've made it that I think my family would have eaten all 8 loaves last night if I'd let them. LOL I also put up a baggie of BBQ chicken and chicken fajita meat. (made in my crockpots)

Garlic Bread

2 loaves Italian Bread
2 sticks butter or margarine, soft
garlic powder to taste
aluminum foil (I prefer the wide heavy duty stuff)

Stir garlic powder into margarine.
Slice Bread
Butter each slice on both sides (although you can skimp and do only one side)
Reform the loaf onto a sheet of foil, seal the loaf in the foil.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 mins until center of loaf is heated through.

This is a recipe you want to use margarine that doesn't list water as it's first ingredient.

Sunday... I found the secret to save money

Buy groceries and then don't use them! LOL

I took Liz, Carrie, Eileen and Olivia to my sister's house for a birthday party. So we didn't eat lunch or dinner at home. I have NO idea what they ate while I was gone. Or even if they ate at all. (if they didn't eat it's not my fault...it's their DAD's! lol)

I'm not so sure how I'll do the cost analysis. I feel like no matter how I do it, it won't be accurate. So for now just keeping track of the total amount I spent is enough for me. Maybe once I get this thing rolling along I'll change my mind.

Saturday 9/25 Meals

Things have gone weird here today. Between me working out this blog and not having the food in order (groceries are still in the bags on the floor!) The kids have been FFT (fending for themselves). They've been trying to put a dent in my snacks too! LOL

I won't be figuring out cost of meals today (at least not the first 2 ones) due to not paying attention to how much of what was eaten.

Since last night these things have disappeared....

2 cans of pringles
granola bars
pudding tubes
gummi bears and worms (but not all of them)

I've put a dent in the lemons and pepperocinis lol

Breakfast was...
Waffles and Pudding tubes

Lunch was....
Salami (some added cheese) Sandwiches
Broccoli and ranch dressing

Dinner...

Sloppy Joes and only Sloppy Joes. We ate on the fly.
There was enough sloppy joes (started with 4lbs of ground beef) that everyone had as many sandwiches as they wanted and I still had leftovers.

Snacks....

We lost power about 11pm so all of us went out to the bonfire with 3 cans of pringles. :o) A bunch of cokes and cherry cokes are gone too, but haven't checked how many.

Sloppy Joes

4lbs Ground Beef
1 small green pepper, diced
shake of dried minced onions (can use fresh...we have allergies here)
4-5c Ketchup
2 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
1/4-1/2c Brown sugar
1 Tbsp garlic powder

Brown ground beef with green pepper and minced onions added.
Add rest of ingredients and simmer about 20mins

Serve on rolls. Makes about 2 dz hearty sandwiches

Menu List for Shopping trip 9/24

I tend to loosely plan my meals. My menus will tend to be just a list of entrees with sides and serving days to be determined later. I will only be listing meals I can make with the groceries I bought that trip. So technically meals I use during the coming days could not be on my list here. (like if I poach the whole salmon I already have in the freezer). All meals will be included in the cost analysis at the end of each payperiod though.

Grocery bill for this plan

34 MEALS (some may be used as lunches)
---------------------
Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Salad
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Ham and Cheese Rollup
Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Chicken Patty Sandwiches
Chicken Drumsticks
Chicken and Gravy (remaining drumsticks), Mashed Potatoes
Beer Battered Chicken Nuggets (thighs)
Chicken Fajitas (thighs)
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (thighs)
Chicken Stirfry (thighs)
Pizza Rollup
Sausage and Pepperocini Rollup
Italian Sausage Sandwiches
Spaghetti and Sausage, Garlic Bread
Polish Sausage Sandwiches
Hot Dogs
Hot Dogs
Cowboy Beans
Pork Loin Roast, Stuffing
BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Meatball Subs
Spaghetti and Meatball, Garlic Bread
Sloppy Joes
Tacos
Stroganoff, Egg Noodles
Chili con carne (ground beef)
Spanish Rice (ground beef)
Goulash (ground beef), Garlic Bread
Noodles Alfredo
Potato Soup with Bacon (1/2 lb)
Scalloped Potatoes
Bean with Bacon Soup (other half lb)
Salami Sandwiches

SIDE DISHES
----------------
Bagged Salad
Spinach Salad
Pasta Salad
Macaroni Tuna Salad
Garlic Bread
French Fries
Potato Cheese Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Baked Potatoes
Stuffing
Onion Petals
Broccoli with Ranch
Baby Carrots with Ranch
Candied Carrots
Celery with Ranch
Refried beans (may turn into burritos)
Rice Pilaf
Fried Rice
Ramen Noodles (used as lunch also)


BREAKFAST (not everyone eats breakfast...bad I know)
-----------
Waffles
Eggs and Sausage
Eggs and Hashbrowns
Eggs McMuffin
Pancakes and Sausage
Cereal
Bagels
Bananas
Rice Cereal

LUNCHES
-----------
Meals above
Ramen Noodles
Tomato Soup
Leftovers
PBJ


SNACKS
-----------
Banana Split Sundaes
Freihoffer Cookies
Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Cinnamon Graham Crackers (may also use for no baked peanut butter cookies)
Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vanilla Wafers
Corn Chips
Cheese Puffs
Crunchy Cheese Curls
Micro Popcorn
Tortilla Chips
Pringles
Anderson Mini Pretzels
Lowrey's Beef Jerky
Granola Bars
Sunkist Cereal and Apple Bars
Squeeze n Go Vanilla Pudding Tubes
Mott's Healthy Harvest Strawberry Apple Sauce Cups
Hershey Kisses Caramel
Bradford Gummi bears
Bradford Sour gummi worms
Gum
Lemon bars #
Lemon Pie/pudding #
Chocolate chip cookies #


#...I'm hoping to experiment with baking in my 18qt roaster this week. I'd love to be making our bread again!!! The snacks with this note matter on how the experiments go.

I didn't include link to any recipes on this menu list. Being the first one I don't have any online yet. I'll be adding them as I make them. In the future the menu list should be clickable to recipes.

If my kids complain there is nothing to eat (meaning no good and fast snacks) before I have to shop again. Someone is going to be in TROUBLE!!!

First Grocery Shopping trip of the blog. $$

Price Chopper/ Save a Lot/ Sam's Club/ Wegmans/ Dollar Stores/

Bear with me for a bit. I'm new at this and making things up as I go along! LOL I'll be listing each store with only the food products I buy there. I won't be mentioning personal, pet, paper products and such. I'll give the total next to each store name. I hope I don't mess up on the math too bad *blush*

You can use the links at the top of this post to bring you to a specific store. My menu list will be posted in a separate entry. I'll be denoting sales and when I use coupons. Here is how I'll denote them...

! = sale
* = buy one get one free
** = buy one get two free
c = used a coupon

The meat in a BOGOF sale lists the actual price per pound I pay, not the original price.
Sizes listed are of a single unit, not total pkgs bought

Price Chopper Total...$155.40

16.41 - Chicken Thighs $.85/lb *
5.99 - 3 Chicken Drumsticks 4# **
4.99 - Tyson Chicken Patties 12ct !
7.47 - 6 Price Chopper Cheese Singles 12oz *
5.58 - 4 Price Chopper Extra Sharp Cheese 10oz *
6.38 - 4 Price Chopper sliced Sharp Cheddar Cheese 8oz *
6.38 - 4 Price Chopper sliced Mozzarella Cheese 8oz *
2.20 - 2 Dozen Large Eggs
3.98 - 2 On Cor Lasagna !C
1.58 - 2 Goya Dried Kidney Beans 1#
.79 - Goya Dried Great Northern Beans #1
.79 - Goya Dried Pinto Beans 1#
5.94 - 6 Del Monte Green Pepper & Mushrooms Spaghetti Sauce 26.5oz !
3.38 - 4 Progresso Soup (Lentil, Minestrone, Split Pea, Chicken Penne) !C
5.94 - 6 Price Chopper Frozen Waffles, various flavors 10ct !
2.00 - Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats 24.3oz !C
1.00 - Kellogg's Frosted Flakes 1/3 less sugar 17.5oz !C
8.38 - 2 Malt O Meal Fruity Dyno-bites 25.5oz C (mistake...see below)
3.99 - 2 Edy's Ice Cream 56oz *
1.99 - 2 Spinach Cello Bag 10oz *
1.69 - 2 Broccoli bunches *
1.29 - 2 bags Yellow Cooking Onions 2# *
.79 - Price Chopper Garden Rotini 1#
1.29 - Price Chopper Macaroni 3#
2.58 - 2 Price Chopper Thin Spaghetti 3#
.89 - 2 Carapelli 4 Cheese Pasta 4.73oz *C (Pat ate one already)
3.96 - 4 Price Chopper Hotdog Rolls 12ct !
2.97 - 3 Price Chopper Hamburger Buns 12ct !
6.45 - 10 Loaves Italian Bread *
1.99 - Kraft Blue Cheese Dressing 16oz !
.99 - Save Chocolate Syrup 24oz
3.29 - Freihoffer Chocolate Chip Cookies 12oz **
5.00 - 2 Coke 12oz can 12pk !
9.95 - 5 Milk Gallon
1.76 - 2 Save OJ concentrate 12oz
5.16 - 4 Juicy Juice 46oz



Save a Lot Total...$114.22

3.29 - Polish Sausage 3#
4.72 - 8 Hot Dogs 12oz
3.96 - 4 Turkey Breakfast Sausage 12oz
3.98 - 2 Bacon 1#
1.98 - 2 Armour Pepperoni pillow pks 4oz
3.98 - 2 Armour Hard Salami 8oz
3.16 - Hunts Spaghetti Sauce, Meat 26.5oz
1.99 - Hash Brown Patties - 18ct
1.99 - French Fries 5#
1.99 - 2 Simply Potatoes, Shredded 20oz
5.88 - 12 Cream of Mushroom Soup 10.5oz
4.68 - 12 Cream of Tomato Soup 10.5oz
.98 - 2 Cream of Celery Soup 10.5oz
1.47 - 3 Angelhair Pasta 1#
.49 - Small Shell Pasta 1#
3.54 - 6 Wide Egg Noodles 12oz
1.98 - 2 White Rice 3#
2.07 - 3 Stuffing Mix 6oz
1.98 - 2 Plain Bagels 6ct
.99 - Cinnamon Raisin Bagels 6ct
3.94 - 5 Stroehmann English Muffins 6ct
3.98 - 6 Pantry White Bread 22oz
2.97 - 2 Snacker Crackers 16oz
2.94 - 6 Cucumbers
1.69 - Pecan Shortbread Cookies 16oz
.99 - Cinnamon Graham Crackers 16oz
1.49 - Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies 27oz
.99 - Vanilla Wafers 11oz
1.98 - 2 Corn Chips 16oz
1.98 - 2 Cheese Puffs 12oz
.99 - Crunchy Cheese Curls 12oz
3.37 - Gum, Big Red, Winterfresh, Juicyfruit 5pk
1.19 - 2 Mini Marshmellows 10.5oz
3.98 - McDaniels Instant Coffee 12oz
.79 - Apple Cider Vinegar 32oz
.29 - Ranch Onion Dip Mix
1.00 - Chili Seasoning 1.78 - 2 Black Olives
1.99 - Ketchup 64oz
.79 - Ketchup 24oz
2.97 - 3 Baumann's BBQ sauce 28oz
.59 - Yellow Mustard 16oz
.99 - Sweet Relish 16oz
.99 - Italian Dressing 16oz
5.34 - 9 Blue Bonnet Margarine, sticks 1#
1.29 - Whipped Margarine, tub 3#
2.99 - Lard, tub 4#
5.40 - 3 Vegetable Oil 48oz



Sam's Club Total...$145.68

15.96 - Pork Loin Roast $1.88/lb
10.57 - Casa Di Bertacchi Meatballs 6#
13.80 - 90% Ground Beef $1.88/lb
10.02 - Frozen Ground Beef Patties 24ct
5.82 - Cameco Cooked Ham Lunchmeat 2#
4.88 - Lemons 5#
2.88 - Dole Salad Mix 3#
1.94 - Dole Bananas 6#
4.14 - Tone's Beef Boullion Cubes 25oz
4.14 - Tone's Chicken Boullion Cubes 25oz
7.24 - 4 Knorr Onion Soup Mix 21oz
3.68 - Ramen Noodles Chicken 36ct
2.46 - Bakers & Chefs Brown Sugar 5#
3.69 - Domino Granulated Sugar 10#
7.06 - Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips 5#
2.87 - Fleischmann's Instant Yeast 2#
3.14 - Tone's Imitation Vanilla 64oz
4.98 - 2 Angela Mia Crushed Tomatoes #10can
5.12 - Byrne Dairy Sour Cream 5#
3.88 - Bakers & Chefs Kosher Dill Spear 1 gallon
2.83 - Victoria Pepperocini 62oz
6.13 - Act II Microwave Popcorn 28ct
4.16 - Medallion Tortilla Chips 6#
5.17 - Pringles 6pk
3.18 - Anderson Mini Pretzels 5#
4.81 - Lowrey's Beef Jerky 24ct
6.81 - Member's Mark Instant Cappuccino Mix


Wegmans Total...$55.56

12.02 - 80% Ground Beef, Reduced $1.29/lb
14.45 - Mild Italian Sausage, Reduced $1.99/lb
4.95 - Babycut Carrots 5#
3.38 - Celery stalks, 2 bunches
4.85 - Green seedless grapes 4.9lbs
3.96 - Potatoes, 4 bags 5# !
2.98 - Wegman's Apple Juice, 3 bottles, 64oz
2.00 - Wegman's Margarine sticks, 4pkgs 1#
5.97 - Wegman's Butter, sticks 3 pkgs 1#
.49 - Tub of cotton candy (girls ate in the car)


Dollar Stores

Dollartree... Total $3.34

1.00 - 2 shasta soda's (drank during shopping)
1.34 - 3 candybars (for in the car)
1.00 - bag of royal rolls (imitation lifesavers)

Real Deals... Total...$18.30

2.00 - 12 Nature Valley Granola Bars
3.00 - 3 Sunkist Cereal and Apple Bars
2.00 - 2 Squeeze n Go Vanilla Pudding Tubes 8pk
4.00 - 4 Mott's Healthy Harvest Strawberry Apple Sauce Cups 6pk
1.00 - Hershey Kisses Caramel 10oz?
3.00 - 3 Bradford Gummi bears 12oz
3.00 - 3 Bradford Sour gummi worms 11oz
.30 - 3 Wise Mac n Cheese Cheese Doodles, 3 single serve pkgs (for the car)


*********Mistake mentioned above. I grabbed 2 bags of malt o meal cereal that I thought were 2.49ea. I intended to buy them with a $1/2pkgs coupon. At the register it rang up $4.19ea. I was too busy to notice the difference while she was ringing it up. I'll never take it back so the kids will enjoy some expensive cereal this week and I'll be more careful next time.

I did this different then I normally do. I bought THEN made a menu. I've found I spend more when I shop this way. I also ran into a lot of reduced meat so made a few extra purchases that I wasn't planning. This payday is one of my lighter debt ones and Tom has overtime....so things didn't have to be so tightly planned.

I don't have enough fruit for my liking. I'm hoping to stop by an apple farm and a local farm stand to get some more fruit and veggies. (ran out of time yesterday) I'll need more bread and milk.

This entry is so long that I'll be posting my menu list in another post.
Menu list for this shopping trip

Total Amount for Groceries listed here..... $495.50

LOK Cooking Challenge - Previous Entries

October '08

KFC Challenge - Feed a family of 4 for $10/day. A family of 6+ for $15/day. Breakfast and Lunch can be one dish. Dinner must include sides. Beverages not included in total.

Denise at *F*O*O*D* - $14.29
B - Scrambled eggs, toast, butter and jelly
L - Cheese Quesadillas
D - Pan fried boneless chicken breasts, biscuits, green beans

Jodie at HomeSweetHome
Okonomiyaki,


Ranae at Cornbread and Cookies - $14.31
B - Blueberry Waffle Sandwiches, Banana, Milk
L - Toasted Bread, Tomato Soup
D - Goulash, Broccoli

Lisa at The Joy of Six - $14.04
B - Oatmeal, orange
L - Peanut butter sandwich, carrot sticks, banana
D - Spaghetti with sauce, salad, bread

Sally's here - £5.64 / us$9.76
B - Porridge with syrup
L - Cheese and ketchup, apple
D - Corned beef hash, tinned peas

The official LOK entry here - $14.75
B - Pancakes with syrup
L - Creamy tuna macaroni
D - Flauta (Taquito) Dinner with Refried Beans and Cheesy Mexican Rice

Michelle at Coffee and Chaos
B - Oatmeal
L - Macaroni and cheese with salsa
D - Chicken tenders, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked beans, and rolls

Late, unofficial and with a twist, Kim at Growlies for the Gang - $14.85

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June/July '08
Dollar store Challenge - 3 course meal (appetizer, main dish, dessert) for 4. Ingredients obtained from the shelves of a dollar store (no refrigerator case)

Annie Jones at Real Life Living
Bean dip with tortilla chips
Fried treet
mashed potatoes with gravy
Green beans
Pound cake topped with chocolate pudding and raspberry preserves

Anne at Cooking with Anne
Roasted Red Peppers with Marinated Mushrooms and Olives
Baked treet marinated in oranges and balsamic vinegar
Risotto
Collard greens
Baked pears with raspberry preserves and chocolate

Kim at Growlies for the Gang ~ *winner
Marinated garlic vegetables with tuna and crackers or tuna cakes
Chicken cheese enchilada rice with mango glazed carrots
Pound cake with cranberries and raisins in an orange marmalade sauce with a drizzle of chocolate

Michelle ~ Owner of LOK
#1 Large Family Network Entry
Olive Bruschetta
Italian Hash
Baked Green Beans
Lemon Bars with Strawberries

#2 LOK Household Blog Entry
Hummus on Melba Toast
Chicken-Peanut lo mein
Chocolate pudding with strawberries

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ April '08 ~
A meal for $1 per person

Lisa at Living Easy ~ 5 people
Meatloaf
Baked Potato
Buttered Corn
Wacky Cake

Annie Jones at Real Life Living ~ 5 people ~ *Winner!
Steamed Dumplings with Chicken Gravy
Herbed Green Beans with Tomatoes
Garden Salad with Croutons

Michelle ~ LOK owner ~ 11 people
#1 Rich Breakfast Casserole
#2 Enchilada Suiza Dinner

Next 2 listed at Cooking with Anne
#1 - Kate's Green Soup - 9 people
#2 - Penelope's Poppy Seed Chicken - 11 people

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Setting up shop

Just setting up this blog so that once I have all the info to start posting, I won't have an excuse NOT to do it. Why did I pick Growlies as a name for food? I saw it on one of the first websites I visited geared toward large families Growlies for Groups. I always thought it was a neat slang word for food...even if I've never heard it used anywhere else. LOL

What I hope to accomplish here is to....

* Post my grocery list from each store I visit and how much I spend
* Post the menu to go with the purchases I've made
* Keep track of each day's meal and how much it cost me in total...including any pantry and food I already have on hand.
* Post recipes when applicable, so I have them all in one place. Make notations about them.
* Index the recipes in alphabetic order so they are easy to find, creating an online recipe book
* Analyze each payperiod's meals, recipes, and budget.

Now let's see if it's possible. I'm afraid I've made this more complicated then I intended or need to. (story of my life) LOL

LOK Cooking Challenge - Previous Winners

~ October ~

Challenge - Serve a family of 4 for $10/day. A family of 6+ for $15/day. Breakfast and Lunch can be one dish. Dinner must include sides. Beverages not included in total.

Lisa at The Joy of Six

Breakfast
Oatmeal and an orange - $4.38

Lunch
Peanut butter sandwich, carrot sticks, and a banana - $4.40

Dinner
Spaghetti and Sauce, salad, homemade bread - $5.22

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


~ June/July '08 ~

Challenge - A 3 course meal (appetizer, main dish, dessert) for 4 for $15. All ingedients must be shelf items (no refrigerator case) at a dollar store.

Kim at Growlies for the Gang

Appetizer- Marinated garlic vegetables with tuna and crackers or tuna cakes
Main - Chicken cheese enchilada rice with mango glazed carrots
Dessert - Pound cake with cranberries and raisins in an orange marmalade sauce with a drizzle of chocolate

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ April '08 ~

Challenge - A meal for $1 per person

Annie at Real Life Living ~ Family of 5

Steamed Dumplings with Chicken Gravy
Herbed Green Beans with Tomatoes
Garden Salad with Croutons
Total Price = $4.84

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


You can be listed here next!

RECIPE INDEX

Links to Recipes included in this blog.
§ = photo included

A/ B/ C/ D/ E/ F/ G/ H/ I/ J/ K/ L/ M/ N/ O/ P/ Q/ R/ S/ T/ U/ V/ W/ X/ Y/ Z/


A
Artichoke Spinach Dip

B
Banana Bread
Beer Battered Onion Rings
Broccoli Soup

C
Carrot Cupcakes
Chocolate Cupcakes
Corn Dog Chili Casserole §
Crab Rangoon
Cupcakes

D



E



F
Frosting



G
Garlic Bread

H



I



J



K



L
Lemon Cupcakes
Lemon White Chocolate Frosting

Lasagna Rollups


M

Macaroni and Cheese §


N



O
Onion Rings, beer battered
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

P
Pancakes
Pasta Salad §
Pineapple Salad
Pineapple Upside Down Cake


Q



R
Raspberry Frosting



S
Scalloped Potato Soup
Sloppy Joes
Sweet and Sour Sauce

T
Tortillas, flour

U



V
Vanilla Cupcakes
Vanilla Frosting



W



X



Y



Z



Wanted this to be the first post...so I changed the posting time.