I decided to change things up a bit and list what we actually ate last week, vs my plan for the upcoming week.  I still have a plan, but I’ve found over the last year I need to be more flexible so things move around a bit.  For example, this past Saturday was nearly 60°, so we pulled some steaks from the freezer to BBQ.  Since this often means meals move from the end of one week to the start of the next, they were coming up twice on the “plan.”  This way, you’ll only see them once.

Two shopping trips this past week.  I went to Wegman’s on Wednesday.  I would have gotten 14 milk (the baby is on whole milk now so I’m adding two of those), but only 12 fit well in a standard cart.  We’ll have to see if I can fit more in a BJ’s cart.  I had coupons for the bread crumbs and loaf of bread.  What you can’t see in the bag between the bagels and the limes are chives.

Then, on Friday I went to Stop & Shop. I promised the boys “pizza in the living room” for the AFC Championship game so there are some supplies for that.  The blueberries & potatoes were buy one/get one free.  (I promptly made a batch of blueberry muffins when I got home.)  The mushrooms and fruit cups were on sale (plus I had a coupon for the fruit cups).  The cucumber (60¢) got tossed in to get me just over $15 in produce so I could use a $3 off coupon.

Since we have this one chance, here’s what I planned to eat this week.  Now, for what we actually ate.  Since I write these posts Sunday evening/Monday morning, I’ve moved the weekend to the end of the list.

Monday:
Spaghetti & meatballs

Tuesday (I didn’t end up going out.):
Sous vide salmon
Pan fried potatoes
Green beans

Wednesday:
Kids: White chili
Adults: Homemade pizza

Thursday:
Kids: Eggs
Adults: Baked paccheri

Friday:
Kids: Chicken nuggets
Adults: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
BBQ rib eyes
Baked potato
Carrots

Sunday:
Homemade pizza

I’m trying to bring the grocery shopping back under control this month – mostly as relates to the number of trips per week.  This week I kept it to two.

First, I went to Wegman’s.  The primary purchase was to replenish the milk supply, but I picked up our other needs at the same time.  Apparently the Tuesday after New Year’s is not a good time to shop at Wegman’s.  Many departments were bare, including cereal which could easily have been stocked before the holiday.  Another person in the store commented to me about this also.  As a result, I ended up not getting everything on my list.

Later in the week I went to BJs.  Most of these items had store coupons.  I also topped up our milk and bread supplies.

This may not play out exactly as planned, but here’s what I have in mind.  Nothing is particularly perishable so if things move around a bit it will be fine.

Saturday:
Chicken & walnuts
Rice
Peas

Sunday:
Take out pizza for those of us who were actually home

Monday:
Tacos

Tuesday (we have an evening activity to work around):
Kids: Chicken nuggets
Adults: Homemade pizza

Wednesday:
Chicken pot pie
Green beans

Thursday:
Spaghetti & meatballs

Friday:
Kids: Eggs
Adults: Homemade pizza

There’s no way to deny it; I did a lot of grocery shopping this week.

On Tuesday, I went to Shaw’s, Stop & Shop, Target, and the farm stand.  This was the second to last day of preschool before the holidays so I was trying to get done as much as possible without extra people in tow.  (The last day of preschool I went to the mall!)

The only reason I was going to Shaw’s again so soon is that they had no oatmeal last week, we’re out, and its on sale until the end of this month.  I also bought one ball of pizza dough to use this week.

I got a rather random set of items at Stop & Shop.  Everything except the cheese was on sale.  Pam gave $5 off for buying 8.  Since they’ll keep, I did.  I also got 4 gallons of milk that didn’t make the picture.

I had a return to do at Target, so I got a few items there also.  Juice was on sale.  I’ve been working on a new price book (more on that in a later post) so I now know that Target has the lowest prices on single serve raisin boxes.  Green sugar has been hard to find; the eyeballs just looked fun.

Finally, I went to the farm stand to order the turkey and pick up a few items.  The brownies were seconds, as were the peppers.  We ate one loaf of gingerbread for dessert that night; I put the other in the freezer.  The green beans went with the Shepard’s pie on Saturday.  Much of the broccoli, the red pepper, and the scallions went with the dumplings on Sunday.

Now for the meal plan.  I’m going to cover next weekend also since I don’t expect to be posting much mid-Christmas holidays.  I’ll also finish up this week’s shopping below because it will make more sense after you see the Christmas weekend menus.

Saturday:
Shepard’s pie
Green beans

Sunday:
Pork pan-fried dumplings
Soy dipping sauce
Broccoli stir fry
Brown rice

Monday – Friday:
Hit or miss, but easy, as I gear up for next weekend

Christmas Eve:
Beef roast
Carrots
Twice baked potatoes
Sausage stuffing

Christmas Day:
Turkey
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Stuffing
Roasted buttercup squash with tahini sauce and pomegranate
Green beans
Brussels sprouts
Cranberry sauce

Boxing Day:
Salmon Wellington
Dill sauce
Pan fried potatoes
(we’re having guests who will choose & bring other items)

Desserts being made this week:
Gingerbread cookies
Sugar cookies
Creme brulee (CE)
Pumpkin pie (CD)
Pecan pie (CD)
Key lime pie (CD)

Now to continue the shopping pictures.

On Saturday, I had to pick up cakes for Sunday’s birthday party so I got organized and did the Christmas shopping at Stop & Shop.  Coke was on sale for a better price than BJs, but you had to buy 4.  The grape juice is on sale for the holidays so I bought enough to last a while.  Peas were on sale.  The roasts were on sale and even though we won’t eat them this week, it was too good to pass up.  The New York strip roasts were $3.99/lb ($10.99 usually) and the boneless leg of lamb was $4.99/lb.  I put all three in the freezer for another time.  Spending just over $160 in one shopping trip got me 600 extra gas points, or 60¢/gallon off.

They had been forecasting the snow for most of last week so we had plenty of time to plan for Sunday & Monday.  As it turned out we got about an inch, followed by much rain that created icy slush.  The rain is supposed to stop about lunchtime so hopefully it will melt or I can get out to move it off the driveway before it freezes rock hard tonight.

I had a number of grocery stops this week.  On Monday I went to BJs; the coupons were set to expire.

Then on Thursday, I went to both Wegman’s and Shaws.  The first stop was Wegman’s.  Flour is on special for 99¢, limit 2, during the holiday season so you’ll see that in a few weeks worth of pictures.  Sugar is also limit 2, but I don’t need as much of that.

The next stop was Shaws.  It was important to go Thursday because cheese was on sale.  This is the only store that carries the pizza cheese (and we’ve tried many others to less satisfaction) so I bought everything on the rack.  I also bought enough cheddar to last until I next see it on sale (its available at other stores).  I stocked up on bacon, hot dogs, and pizza dough which are only available at Shaws.  I also bought a box of oatmeal, but that didn’t make the picture.  Usually I only go to Shaws every 6-8 weeks (hence the stocking up), but the one box of oatmeal was all they had so I’ll need to go back sometime this week if only for that.

We have a few nights out for the adults this week.  Plus, I don’t think the flight gets back Monday early enough for us all to eat together.  Tuesday & Thursday need to be quick as the boys have late afternoon activities.

Saturday:
Kids: hot dogs
Adults: Company dinner party

Sunday:
One gone for a business trip so take-out pizza

Monday:
Kids: Eggs
Adults: Homemade pizza

Tuesday:
Chicken pot pie
Green beans

Wednesday:
Potstickers (never got to this last week)
Soy dipping sauce
Broccolli

Thursday:
Asiago chicken

Friday:
Kids: Hot dogs
Adults: OUT

I really got my act together this week.  I made one stop and the farm stand on Monday for the turkey and a handful of other items.  Then, I went to Wegman’s on the Saturday after Thanksgiving which should largely take care of this upcoming week.  The items on the left – fish, swiss chard, and tomatoes – are for Monday’s dinner.  The rest are for Thanksgiving.

Given this, what did we have for Thanksgiving?  Well, I made:

• Herb rubbed turkey
• Apple cider glazed turkey
• Oyster stuffing
• Brown butter Brussels Sprouts
• Steamed green beans
• Boiled onions
• Tossed salad

Others brought desserts and additional sides.  Generally, this menu went over well and the leftovers were enjoyed as well.

After Thanksgiving, I went to Wegman’s.  The primary purpose of this trip was milk.  But, I rounded out some items we were low on at home and added a few things to get through this week.  The shallots and tenderloins will be adult dinner on Tuesday (Kindergarten math night means we’ll eat separately).  The limes and Tabasco are for a white chili on Monday night to polish off the turkey.

This was a big week for grocery shopping, perhaps making up for last week.

On Monday, I went to Stop & Shop.  I had a lot of coupons, and thankfully many things were on sale.  For starters, I had coupons for $10 off a $100 purchase and 600 gas points with a $160 purchase (600 gas points = 60¢ off / gallon ≈ $12.00 off a full tank of gas).  It took a little work to get there, but I spent $160.88 after all sales & coupons, thereby earning the gas points.  I did buy three more bags of potatoes and two more chuck roasts than I intended (good sales, but we will need to eat them).  Otherwise I would have come in more like $125.

On Wednesday, I went to Wegman’s.  This was primarily for milk, though I picked up a few other items while I was there.  There was another banana, but it got eaten before the picture was taken.

I went to Stop & Shop again on Sunday.  This time I had $20 off $100 purchase and 2X gas points, among other coupons.  With the steaks, roast, and fish this was pretty easy to achieve.  That being said, everything in this picture except the bread, herbs, and bananas was on sale.

With sports wrapping up, I’m going to be getting back to menu plans.

Saturday:
Spaghetti & meatballs
Homemade bread

Sunday:
Salmon
Pan fried potatoes
Peas

Monday – Halloween:
Kids: Hot dogs
Adults: Homemade pizza

Tuesday:
Beef roast
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Carrots
Popovers

Wednesday:
Chicken pot pie

Thursday:
Kids: Chicken nuggets
Adults: Tuna noodle casserole

Friday:
Kids: Eggs
Adults: Homemade pizza

I only made two stops this week.  On Wednesday I went to Stop & Shop.  Everything except the Gouda, Gruyere, and chicken nuggets were on sale.  The paper wrapper is cod.

Then, I went back to Stop & Shop on Saturday.  I’ve started a pattern of shopping early in the week and then again at the beginning of the weekend because we don’t know what the weekend weather will be and we’d like to BBQ if possible.  Most of what’s below was supposed to be for Saturday’s dinner.  But, it rained.  And, it rained all day Sunday too.  So, we did sous vide steak instead, finishing it under the broiler.

Saturday:
Kids: mac n cheese
Adults: homemade pizza

Sunday:
Rib-eye steaks
Baked potatoes
Creamed spinach
Salad

Monday:
Kids: steak & chicken pot pie leftovers
Adults: homemade pizza

Tuesday:
Spaghetti

Wednesday:
Tacos

Thursday:
Kids: Chicken nuggets
Adults: Tuna noodle casserole

Friday:
Kids: Eggs
Adults: Homemade pizza

I’m not quite back in the swing of things.  I’ve been feeling like I’ve been grocery shopping every day for a while now – mostly for lack of planning.  At the beginning of the week, I thought I had gotten past this phase.  But, then we ran out of milk, so a forth trip was required.

On Monday I went to BJs.  The baby is phasing from Puffs to Cherrios.  The two round containers are banana chips (left) and shrimp (right).  It’s a bit odd that they look so much alike.  The paper wrapper is cod, which went into last week’s fish stew with the shrimp.  The dark chocolate chips were to make a peanut butter pie.  It came out well, and tastes exactly like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.  But, that’s a bit much in a pie.  I also got 8 gallons of milk and two 24-packs of Gatorade that didn’t make the picture.

Tuesday I went to Stop & Shop.  Most of this was on sale.  Though, the trip was driven by the yogurt which I had forgotten that I needed to make banana bread with my seconds bananas purchased last week.

Friday I went back to Stop & Shop to prep for the weekend.  Ground turkey was on sale.  Soup was on sale for 50¢ each if you bought 12.

I also went to the farm stand.  The raspberries and tomatoes are local.  The others not so much.

Then, despite buying 8 gallons of milk on Monday, we were out.  So, I went back to Wegman’s on Saturday and picked up a few other items as well.  This time I took a picture of the milk before I took it out of the car.

This is our first week with a full slate of fall activities.  So, its a bit of a trial run.

Saturday:
Hamburgers

Sunday:
Indian Take-out

Monday:
Spaghetti

Tuesday:
I’m going out so they’ll have take-out pizza.

Wednesday:
Tacos

Thursday:
Kids: ???, but it will be fast
Adults: ???, we’ll see how the week goes

Friday:
Kids: Eggs
Adults: Homemade pizza

Yes, today’s Tuesday.  But, yesterday was a holiday.  I also should be including our August numbers in this post, but I haven’t found the box with the receipts in it yet.  Since the older boys have a real week of school this week (yes Monday is a holiday, but last week was 2 holidays, 2 half days, and only 1 full day so it hardly counts) and the preschooler starts this week (with a similar warm-up period), I should have time to find it this month and get that info out to you.

Tuesday was the first day of school so I went to Target & BJs with only two in tow.  I didn’t take a picture of the grape juice (6) I got at Target.  I had to put the perishables from BJs away quickly so I didn’t get a picture of them either, but here’s the non-perishables.

Wednesday I went to Stop & Shop.  Granola bars & Oreos were on sale; the rest is for this week and restocking.

I also went to the farm stand.  The paper bag is full of seconds bananas.  I took them out so you could see how many I got for $1.50.  They’re pretty uniformly in ok shape.  Sometimes the bag is more mixed with more that are good for eating.  These will all be used for baking.

The apples aren’t local yet; hopefully soon.  Everything else is.

And, the meal plan.  Evening activities kick off again this week so you’ll start to see the split dinners reappear.

Saturday:
Tenderloin steaks
Creamed spinach
Baked potato
Salad

Sunday:
Shepards pie
Green & wax beans

Monday:
California fish stew
Bread

Tuesday:
Asiago chicken
Salad

Wednesday:
Beef & Broccoli stir fry

Thursday:
Kids: Macaroni & cheese
Adults: tuna noodle casserole

Friday:
Kids: Eggs
Adults: Homemade pizza