Grocery Spending/Menu Plan | Peeperific Edition
The Peeps are in honor of tomorrow's holiday, of course. 😉 I apologize for the way that they are obscuring the actual groceries....next week the stuffed animal population should be smaller.
In case you missed it there in the back, I bought more flour.
Weis had it on sale for $1.50/bag, so I bought ten bags. I also bought three boxes of General Mills cereal, as it was part of promotion, and as a result of my purchases, I got a coupon for $10 off my next shopping trip. So, I spent $21 on the flour and cereal and basically got $10 off of that, which means my net total for 10 bags of flour and 3 boxes of cereal was only $11. Sweet.
As you can see from the picture, Weis was a little low on unbleached flour, so I got a rain check that will allow me to buy 10 more bags of flour at the sale price once they have it in stock again.
It might seem crazy to buy this much flour, but considering that 10 bags of normally priced flour would run me $28.90, I think it's totally worth it. Plus, I know that I will have absolutely no trouble using up this flour before the Christmas sales start rolling out (I might even run out before then!).
Whenever I post about buying flour, someone usually wonders how I store it, so I'll just answer that question now! I keep mine in my laundry room on a shelf because I have not had any bug problems ever (lucky me!). If you do have bug problems, freeze your flour for 24 hours before storing it, or if you have the space, store the bags in large airtight Rubbermaid bins.
I spent $63.46 at Aldi this week and $45.98 at Weis. My total spending amounts to $109.44, and that's not counting my $10 coupon which I will use on next week's groceries. So, I expect that I will be at least $10 under budget next week and that will balance out this week's spending.
Here's what we'll be eating for dinner this week:
Saturday
- Grilled Pizza
- salad
Sunday
- We're visiting with family and I'm bringing (surprise, surprise!) rolls. 😉
Monday
- Stromboli
- Zucchini Salad
Tuesday
- Beef Burgundy over egg noodles
- green salad
Wednesday
- French Chicken in a Pot (a new Cook's Illustrated recipe I'm trying)
- Whole Wheat Rolls
- Cucumber Salad
Thursday
- Taco Salad
- whatever fruit happens to be hanging around by then
Friday
- Fish Sandwiches on homemade buns
- green beans
- potato chips
That sure is a lot of peeps! I msut admit I never knew they made stuffed peeps.
Have a great Easter with your family!
I love the peeps and so does my 2 1/2 year old. Where do you buy them at?
We've gotten ours from multiple places but I haven't seen any this year! We've bought from ToysRUs, drugstores, Target, and Ebay.
Is there a way on your website to find the recipes you used for each day's meals, for example, I can't click on stromboli but I'd like to see the recipe you used. Thank you!
I do link to all the recipe that I've posted or that are available online. I just haven't posted my stromboli recipe yet! I might take pictures of the process today so I can share it with you all, though. 🙂
Kristin, how do you keep the pizza from sticking to the grill?
Thanks,
Stasie
I've actually never had a sticking problem. I use a pizza peel to slide the dough onto the grill and it lifts up with nary a problem. I do preheat the grill...putting the dough onto a cold grill probably wouldn't work too well.
mmm! your menu looks great--cucumber salad. . .
Also, congratulations on the great deal you got on the flour.
The only time I've had bugs in my flour was when we lived in a house that had a small closet in the kitchen for the pantry. I kept my baking supplies on the bottom couple of shelves, and put the bags of flour directly on the linoleum floor of the closet. Then we bought a large cabinet that we put in an adjacent room and I moved all my baking supplies there. The flour was kept off the floor and I didn't have any more bug problems. In the house we're in now, I have lots of cupboard space, and all my baking ingredients are in upper cupboards--no bug problems there, either. I do put my flour, sugar, brown sugar, etc. in Rubbermaid 12 cup containers (one will hold almost all of a 5 lb bag of flour), but extra bags are still stored on the shelves in the cupboard.
Those Peeps are multiplying like ......... rabbits!
Hee. Good one.
I love all the peeps. We have rabbits and chicks but I've never seen polka-dot ones.
I can't believe you buy those yellow marshmallow peeps! My husband has just returned from a work trip in NYC and he brought back a pack of those because his aunt said it was quite 'American', but I'm afraid to say that they are the foulest things I've ever tasted!
I love marshmallows, but I don't like peeps because they are coated with a granulated sugar. I don't like the crunch. I'd love it if they made Peeps with a powdered sugar coating!
As an American thing many people open the package and let them sit out and stale for a few days. When they get harder they are like taffy.
lol Franci! I'm not a big fan myself...I prefer chocolate covered marshmallows. But, my kids like to eat Peeps.
Franci,
To each their own.
Okay, off topic but .... how do you get your floors to shine so nicely?
What product(s) do you use on the wooden floor?
Ummm....water. lol I usually just get on my hands and knees, wipe the floor with a wet rag, and then dry it with a towel.
The wood my husband and brother laid down came with a very glossy finish, though. The wood in my bedroom has a much flatter finish, so maybe your floors are just supposed to not be as shiny?
More on the Peeps theme ... Peeps Sushi
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/03/peeps-recipes-how-to-make-peepshi-sushi-rice-krispies-treats-easter.html
That is awesome! I showed it to my husband and kids and they all loved it.
Nah, I wouldn't want to go to that much trouble. I'd rather just open a bag of marshmallows and dig in.
Oops, I replied under the wrong spot--this was supposed to be in reference to making your own peeps.
Freckles, that Peeps Sushi is too funny! Like Emily, I really like marshmallow (especially chocolate coated marshmallow), so I thought I'd go for Peeps, but yeah, the granulated sugar made me gag. My daughter, on the other hand, loves them. 🙂
Kristen/Franci:
That article I posted had a few interesting links within as well; in case you didn't go through them here are two highlights:
Making Peeps from scratch (therefore you can omit the sugar coating if you don't care for that part):
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/04/how-to-make-homemade-peeps-from-scratch-easter-candy.html
And .... apparently there are now chocolate covered Peeps! Who knew! Yum, that would be my choice as well.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/02/chocolate-covered-peeps-easter-candy-review.html
Regarding the flour prices - I don't really shop at Walmart, however I went in to do some price comparison for groceries that I buy pretty frequently. I saw that Gold Medal Unbleached flour 5lb bag was priced regularly at $1.50.
I know Walmart can be a pain in the neck, but if the prices are that good it might be worth going in to stock up once in a while. I couldn't imagine shopping their regularly though 🙁
Whoops - "shopping THERE regularly though". Mistakes like that drive me batty.
Thought of you on Saturday when grocery shopping I was so excited to snag Gold Medal unbleached for $1.39 at a local store!!
Where did you get your recipe for Beef Burgundy? My husband loves it but I haven't been able to find a recipe I love yet.
i was wondering if you make a menu before or after you go grocery shopping, didn't know if you just buy what's on sale & make a menu out of that or you research first or do you just plan a menu, make a list & buy. i never do menu's and i rarely follow recipes, i just throw things together (thanks to my mom, who is a tremendous cook & i learned from her while being homeschooled through high-school) i just shop & then use what i need to b4 it goes bad and it always turns out great.( which is hilarious since one of my favorite "me time" is looking through recipe books to get ideas). i would like to prepare a bit more by making menus though. you have seriously inspired me to not waste food, since i used to do that too often.i have been making my yogurt & bread since finding your site 2 months ago. thanks 😉