After a rather large amount of grocery shopping last week, this past week was very light.

I spent $27.26 at Wegman’s on Wednesday.

Then on Saturday I spent $13.97 on broccoli crowns, green beans, and raspberries at the farm stand.  That’s $41.23 for the entire week!

This coming week I’ll be at BJ’s again plus stops at Stop & Shop and Shaw’s (at least) so I expect things to be back on the higher end.

Our meals came out pretty normal, despite the low budget, as there was plenty in the house from previous weeks.

Monday:
Chicken pot pie

Tuesday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, broccoli
Late: French onion soup, Caesar salad

Wednesday:
Tacos, corn

Thursday:
Early: Hot dogs, carrot sticks
Late: Homemade pizza

Friday:
Early: Boxed macaroni & cheese, broccoli
Late: Homemade macaroni & cheese

Saturday:
Spaghetti & meatballs

Sunday:
Coq au vin, homemade bread

This was a big week – many stops and big dollars.  It did include my (roughly) monthly trip to BJ’s, but I still hope things will level out.

In advance of the latest Nor’Easter I went to Target, BJ’s, and Wegman’s on Monday.  I spent $23.10 at Target on juice and raisins.

Since there is no need to refrigerate this, and BJ’s and Target are close together but not particularly close to me, I went directly to BJ’s where I spent $163.88.  Frankly, for BJ’s that’s not that bad.

I went home, put this all away, and ate lunch.  Then after the preschool pick-up we went over to Wegman’s and spent another $39.44.

I’m glad I got all this in because Tuesday and Wednesday were indeed snow days.

On Thursday I spent another $36.51 at Wegman’s.  My primary goal had been to replenish the eggs and coffee, but I got items for the weekend dinners also.

Then on Saturday, I spent $33.65 at Stop & Shop on mushrooms and items that were on sale this week.  The chocolate bar was my Free Day item.

Finally, Sunday night we went to Wegman’s yet again.  I had thought I’d make this trip today, but we ended up going at night.  We spent $65.56.

All that made for a big total – $362.14!

So, what did we do with it?

Monday:
Early: Macaroni & cheese, broccoli
Late: Homemade pizza

Tuesday:
Chicken noodle soup, homemade bread

Wednesday:
Braised pork, mashed potatoes, green beans

Thursday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, spinach salad
Late: Homemade pizza

Friday:
Early: Pancakes
Late: Tuna noodle casserole

Saturday:
Crock pot chicken with wine sauce, pan fried potatoes, spinach salad

Sunday:
Green tea poached salmon with soba noodles

This was a relatively light week for groceries.  I made two trips to Wegman’s and one to Stop & Shop.

My first stop was Wegman’s on Monday, when I spent $87.43.  Looking at it, this was a rather produce heavy shop for us.  The jicama was free and I had a coupon for the corn tortillas.  We used the tortillas, cilantro, chicken, and a few other things to make enchiladas later in the week.  This was the second time I’d made them.  We decided we like the recipe, but not corn tortillas which is just as well because we always have flour tortillas in the house and corn tortillas were really a pain to work with.

I made another stop at Wegman’s on Wednesday, spending $86.68 in advance of the second Nor’easter.  Included is a third package of corn tortillas.  This was before I had made the enchiladas and I was worried I didn’t have enough with just two packages.

Finally, after we were finally freed Saturday from the snow and downed trees I spent $57.67 at Stop & Shop.  I could have put this off until Monday, but I hadn’t been out of the house in a few days and with a third Nor’easter in the works I have other stops to make then.  This largely covered the week’s sale items.  In fact the only things that weren’t on sale were the macaroni & cheese, cake mix, margarine, hot dogs, mushrooms, and bananas.  I missed a chunk of watermelon (on sale) in the picture.  The gum and granola bars were free; I wouldn’t have bought them otherwise.  But, for free, why not.

Dinners were a mixed bag.

Monday:
Coq au vin, french bread, carrot/jicama/tomatoes

Tuesday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, applesauce
Late: Leftover shepard’s pie or Welsh Rarebit

Wednesday:
Enchiladas, corn

Thursday:
Early: Macaroni & cheese, green beans
Late: Homemade pizza

Friday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, carrot & jicama sticks
Late: Welsh Rarebit

Saturday:
Chili, corn bread, watermelon

Sunday:
Hot dogs and assorted sides for the little ones, who were the only ones home.

After being out of town for a week, this week was bound to be on the higher side.  But, it wasn’t too bad.

On Monday, I spent $120.84 at Wegman’s.  As you can see, it was a fairly thorough restocking.

On Wednesday, I spent $76.74 at Shaw’s and $31.29 at Stop & Shop.  I was in a hurry so I mixed the pictures a bit.  If you swap the milk and the oatmeal, Shaw’s is on the left and Stop & Shop is on the right.

That closed out February so this last one is part of this week, but not part of February.  I made a small $15.55 trip to Stop & Shop to grab a few items that were on sale (and milk).

That brought me to $244.42 which is not bad at all for a restocking week.

February TOTAL: $649.22

• Stop & Shop: $76.08
• Wegman’s: $157.48
• BJs: $274.17
• Other: $141.49
  • Local: $18.35
  • Star Market: $123.14
  • Trader Joe’s: $0
  • Target: $0
  • Other: $0

This was nice and low.  Even accounting for the fact that we were out of town for a week February had a low weekly average.

We largely managed to get back on track re eating also, after a month of sickness and travel.

Monday:
Pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, caesar salad

Tuesday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, strawberries
Late: Homemade pizza

Wednesday:
Chicken noodle soup
English muffin bread

Thursday:
Early: Hot dogs, strawberries
Late: Steak, potato pancake, caesar salad

Friday:
Early: Macaroni & cheese, carrots
Late: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Nacho chicken, brown rice, spinach salad, English muffin bread

Sunday:
Shepard’s pie, spinach salad

While I did make a number of stops this week, I purchased very few things and took next to no pictures.

On Tuesday, I spent $9.97 at Stop & Shop on 2lb of strawberries plus 18oz of blueberries.  I wanted to get sour cream also, but they were out so I got a rain check.

The strawberries were popular, so on Thursday I grabbed another pound for $2.99.

On Thursday I also spent $49.50 at Wegman’s.

Finally, on Saturday (new sale cycle) I grabbed another pound for $1.88!

That brought me to $64.42, more than balancing out last week.

The berries have mostly been eaten at lunch.  As for dinner:

Monday:
Tacos

Tuesday:
Early: Hot dogs, strawberries
Late: Homemade pizza

Wednesday:
Korean braised short ribs, green beans, rice

Thursday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, carrots & jicama
Late: Indian take-out

Friday:
Early: Macaroni & cheese, carrot sticks/cucumber/jicama/green pepper
Late: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Spaghetti & meatballs, spinach salad

Sunday:
Bistro chicken, oven baked fries, carrot sticks/cucumber/jicama

Inevitably, after a low cost week, this one was higher.  It’s also been about a month since I’d made a big trip to BJs or gone to Shaw’s.  I did both this week.

On Monday, I spent $153.12 at Wegman’s.  Sodas were on sale, along with carrot puree, Brussels Sprouts, and the salad.  You’ll see a lot of these items showing up in the menu this week.  This was my last grocery trip in January so only this one will be reflected in the January numbers.

I had been wanting to do other shopping sooner, but sickness kept us confined to the house through mid-week.  Thursday evening I was able to run to the farm stand for a few items that totaled $18.35.  It was fundraising day for the elementary school so I’d had this day in the plan for a while.

I also spent $32.23 at Stop & Shop Thursday night on items that were finishing up their sale cycle. I had planned to get some other cheese also, but they were out so I got a raincheck instead.  In many ways this is just as well since we don’t really need that other cheese right now.  I’ll pick it up at the sale price when we do.

I did another batch of shopping on Saturday.  First, I spent $35.12 on oatmeal and pizza dough.  Unfortunately they were out of pizza cheese so I needed to go to another location (nobody else sells the brand we prefer) on Sunday.  I spent $11.28 on cheese; more than we needed for the Super Bowl, but enough to meet the minimum purchase for the best price.

Then I ran over to Wegman’s for a few items, totaling $36.64.

Saturday afternoon I went to BJ’s during baseball practice.  I spent $164.94 on items that should do us for most of the month, apart from the milk.

That brings me to $451.68 for the week.  Yes, a very high week.  But, because the week splits two months it will not all be reflected below; most will be in the February numbers.

January TOTAL: $1,075.23

• Stop & Shop: $243.12
• Wegman’s: $352.67
• BJs: $295.18
• Other: $184.26
  • Local: $22.85
  • Star Market: $64.16
  • Trader Joe’s: $0
  • Target: $73.28
  • Other: $23.97

Overall, not bad.  Some high weeks and some low weeks, but it leveled out.

We finished out the month on a positive note, but then things went downhill.  Maybe next week we can get back on track.

Monday:
Sear-roasted cod with Brussels Sprouts, bacon, and carrots puree

Tuesday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, broccoli
Late: Homemade pizza

Wednesday:
Mini meatloaves, mashed potatoes, spinach salad

Thursday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, strawberries
Late: Tuna noodle casserole

Friday:
Early: Pancakes/blueberry pancakes
Late: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Chicken noodle soup, baguettes

Sunday:
Homemade pizza for all (Super Bowl!)

This was a good shopping week – not too many stops.

On Tuesday, I made as small stop – $22.60 – at Wegman’s.  The crackers were on sale.  The cake mix and icing are for a cake for the youngest boy’s birthday.  It happened but we haven’t done cake yet because I’m waiting for his present to arrive, hopefully this week.

I made two stops on Wednesday.  First, I spent $36.98 at Target.  Juice was on my list.  Since it was on sale I bought a bunch.  The bars weren’t on sale, but this is the biggest bulk size I can find anywhere so its still better than buying the smaller boxes.

On the way home, I spent $62.41 at Stop & Shop.  Everything was on sale except the milk.

Altogether that came to $121.99, which will go a long way towards balancing out the beginning of the month.

As for what we ate:

Monday:
Early: Chicken nuggets, broccoli
Late: Homemade macaroni & cheese

Tuesday:
Green tea poached salmon with soba

Wednesday:
Chicken pot pie, spinach salad

Thursday:
Early: Pancakes
Late: Steak, potato pancakes, spinach salad

Friday:
Early: Macaroni & cheese, carrot sticks/cucumber
Late: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Chinese Take-Out (planned)

Sunday:
Braised pork, carrots, mashed potatoes

This was a good week, for the grocery budget anyway.  I’m not sure I fully made up for the previous overruns, but it is substantially lower than an average week so hopefully the month will work itself out.

I made three stops.

I spent $50.74 at Stop & Shop on Thursday, mostly on cheese (on sale) and milk.  Blueberries were still buy one, get one free so I got another two of those also.  Juice, beans, and potato salad were not on sale.

On Saturday, I made two stops.  First, I spent $96.28 at Wegman’s.  Yes, more milk!

Then, that afternoon I made a quick $58.11 stop at BJ’s.  There’s a BJ’s (not my usual one) near the winter baseball site which makes it reasonable to stop in fairly often.  It is not the healthiest collection, but we’re not going to eat it all at once either.

That brought my total to $205.13, nicely under the roughly $250/week target.

And, what did we eat?

Monday:
Fish tacos, guacamole, pico de gallo

Tuesday:
Spaghetti & meatballs, spinach salad

Wednesday:
Tacos (ground turkey)

Thursday:
Early: Hot dogs, carrot sticks
Late: Homemade pizza

Friday (I was out):
Take out pizza

Saturday:
BBQ chicken wings, baked beans, potato salad, carrot sticks/cucumber slices, biscuits

Sunday:
Chicken noodle soup, harvest bread

This week did not get us off to a budget-friendly start.  But, it did include the (roughly) monthly trip to BJ’s so it was never likely to come in low.  Target is one thousand for the month, or a little under $250/week.

Let’s finish off 2017 first, though.

I started on Tuesday with a very small, $12.22 trip to Wegman’s.

Wednesday was the big day.  I had planned to go to Target and BJ’s – last day for the BJ’s coupons and Target is almost next door.  This got done.  First, I spent $36.30 at Target.  The Hershey’s bars were $0.10 on clearance while the holiday M&Ms were $1.90 each.

They I hopped over to BJ’s and spent $176.63.  That brought my total to $225.15 right there.

Then, because we were forecast for 8-12 inches of snow on Thursday (and I had a bit of extra time before the preschool pickup) I decided to make two more small stops on Wednesday.

I grabbed $22.85 of mostly produce from the farm stand.  Apparently I forgot to take a picture of this, but it comprised a bag of broccoli crowns, green beans, three pears, tomatoes, and dinner rolls.

Lastly I snuck in a very quick $35.14 at Stop & Shop.

And we settled in for the storm.  Turns out we beat the forecast with 17 inches of snow and temps in the single to negative single digits over three days.  Wind chills reached into the negative 30s; not typical for us at all.  Since we did not lose power or have any significant issues apart from staying indoors, we did a fair amount of cooking and ate much of what you see above.

On Saturday, I decided to venture out for another small – $22.55 – trip to Wegman’s.

On Sunday, I attended a GNO at the mall during which I purchased $23.97 of clearance holiday foods.  That brought my total to $329.66 for the week; $176.63 at BJ’s and $153.03 elsewhere.

The combination of the first partial week of the year and the snowstorm cancelling many things enabled many family dinners.

Monday:
Early: Leftover rib roast, mashed potatoes
Late: Take-out Chinese

Tuesday:
Meatball subs, tater tots, carrot sticks

Wednesday:
Leg of lamb, baked potato, green beans, rolls

Thursday:
Beef barley soup, beer bread

Friday:
Early: Macaroni & cheese, brocolli
Late: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
Pork carnitas, pico de gallo, corn

Sunday (I was out.):
Take-out pizza