Sunday, February 28, 2010

ok, I officially have swagbucks

I've heard about swagbucks for a while now, but resisted signing up mainly because I didn't know what in the heck it was! But I signed up today. What can it hurt, right? Plus! I ran over to Restaurant.com before the discount code: SAVOR ran out. I've never used this site before either, only because they've never had a restaurant I've been willing to go to before. Today they only had 2 options for where I live but they had a Japanese restaurant they sounded pretty good so I got a $25 gift certificate for only $2! Now, we have to buy $35 worth of food to use this coupon, plus tip, so we'll spend about $15 but that's still a pretty good discount. Plus at a Japanese restaurant, I'm pretty sure we'll meet the $35 threshold. It should be fun and I'm excited!

Saturday, February 27, 2010

No Meal Plan

I'm going to do something that I know is dangerous and I'm sure some of you are thinking I've gone crazy but I promise I'm still frugal.
I'm not writing a meal plan this week for 2 reasons.
1) I'm not very good at abiding by it anyway and
2) There are SO many meal options here at the house that I can choose from I don't really 'need' to plan. I work late both Wednesday and Thursday so I don't have to cook those days and for the rest of the week, if I do get off my bum and make dinner I can easily cook up:
-sausage and beans
-stuffed peppers
-pizza
-fish fillets
- stuffed chicken breasts
-bbq chicken
-soup and grilled cheese
-orange chicken
whatever we're in the mood for. I have tons of veggies in the fridge and the freezer, and I have grain options like bread, pasta and rice in the pantry.
Tonight I didn't even make dinner! Russ and I had a very lazy morning and then went to lunch at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. Well, it was a late lunch and we weren't even a little hungry come dinnertime. Only...now we're starting to get a it peckish. hmmm....

Friday, February 26, 2010

random thoughts

So as far as dinner tonight, well... I was supposed to be at work at noon today so I was going to throw chicken in the crock pot.  So I set my alarm for 10:30 this morning and well,  I work up at 11:30! So I had to rush off to work and didn't get the food ready. So Russ ate his leftovers from lunch and I got some soup and salad from work that were FREE because I won $10 at work, so I bought dinner for me and some chicken that was on sale, 3 lbs for $5.00. And on this topic, I realized something. My receipt says I saved 5.00 because the chicken is normally sold at $9.99. But I would NEVER pay that! So I didn't save $5.00! Normally I would by chicken for 1.88/lb. I really only saved like $0.64. Not quite as impressive but it's more realistic. Anyway, I got it for free, so I'm happy.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

What we ate for dinner today

Today was a weird day. On the menu was bbq chicken sandwiches but I didn't have the buns or the bbq sauce and since I didn't make the red beans and rice yesterday I thought I'd make that.
But I didn't.
Instead  I made orange chicken. much easier. Russ just ate a big ol' plateful but I made sure he got some corn and I had some with top ramen and cucumbers.
I'm not quite sure how much the orange chicken cost. The chicken was just popcorn chicken we got at Costco. The bag was about $7 and if we used 1/7 of the bag which sounds pretty close really, it would be 1.00
And the sauce, we got at costco a long time ago and have been slowly using it up. I think it was 3.50 but we've used it at least 10 times and it's not even 1/2 empty so...i dunno what that equals.
The corn was .40
The cucumber was .50 and I ate about 1/4 of it which is I dunno less than .15
(I'm not in the mood to do math here. Can you tell?)
The top ramen was .15
That's cheap I don't care what you say.  If we went to Panda Express it would easily be over $10. The dinner was cheap and easy. Not quite sure how healthy but we got some veggies in there.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Meal Plan and Meal Plan Update

K well, I forgot to put the chicken in the crockpot this morning so I didn't make what I'd planned. Instead we got some fried chicken (I know, so bad, but I had a craving!) and it only cost about $10. Not the best but not the worst really. Plus it was a ton of food and it was yummy!
Wednesday I didn't make texas rice skillet, but I did make dinner, I made Potatoes and Sausage, which used up more of stuff from the freezer, as is my goal. And I worked late on thursday so I didn't have to worry about that. Then last night I made my spaghetti as planned and felt very proud of myself.
It's a progress.
Next week:

Sunday: chili and chips
Monday: Sausage and red beans and rice
Tuesday: Italian chx in the crockpot and salad.
Wednesday: 'unstuffed' peppers
Thursday: Teriyaki chx - I think this is my last try!
Friday: Stuffed chx breasts
Saturday: Honey dump chicken

Not entirely sure what sides I'm going to pair with what. It will kind of depend on what needs to be eaten.

Friday, February 19, 2010

I actually followed my plan!

I made spaghetti tonight! I asked Russ what he wanted for dinner and he told me to just make a decision and stick to it. So I said, okay. and I stuck with my first decision. yay me. While cooking, I started to worry that it was turning out to be expensive. But I was wrong.
The spaghetti:
ground beef was 1.95
spaghetti sauce was .79
pasta (I didn't have spag noodles so I just used bow tie which I bought for a dollar and this was the second meal I've used them for. I used about 1/4 the bag the first time and 3/4 the bag this time) .75

The zucchini was .33
The garlic bread was 2.20 for 8 slices and I used 4 so that's 1.10
Total:  $4.92
Just under my goal of $5.00! Plus, there's a ton on leftovers. easily lunch tomorrow and Sunday.
Plus Plus, Olive Garden's Spaghetti cost $9.95. And that's just for one, not counting drinks Russ and I would order if we went there. Score.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

So my meal plan is really a template

I write a meal plan (almost) every week, but I never actually follow it. I mean sometimes I make what I planned to on the right day, but really this is more of a coincidence. I do try but things get in the way, you know, and I give up on cooking pretty fast. I'm working on it.
Anyway, today I planned to make texas rice skillet but I didn't. I made sausage and potatoes. Not sure where I found this recipe, but I had potatoes O'Brien in the freezer since forever! and they needed to be used up, so I googled a recipe that used them and that's what I made. It's a simple recipe.
I got 1/2 lb of smoked sausage (froze the rest) and browned it in a skillet. Then I took 1/2 bag of potatoes O'Brien that I defrosted in the microwave for 5 min and threw it in the skillet with a little bit of olive oil and cooked till crunchy. I topped it all with cheddar cheese.
I served this with a garden salad because my lettuce was on the way out. I had to use it up quick and the corn can wait.
The salad cost about .50 cents.
The sausage was 3.00 used 1/2 so that 1.50
The cheese I bought for 1.00 and I used less than 1/2 so that's...about .40
The potatoes I have no clue. I'm thinking they were 3.00 so that would be 1.50
If my memory and math are correct, that's $3.90.
Not too bad.

Now that my focus is on the freezer, I'm realizing I don't remember what I paid for something I bought 4 months ago. Not really sure why I thought I would!
Now I've started labeling things. I always put what the item is and the date, but now I've been writing what I paid for it. Like today I froze the rest of the sausage. I labeled it:
Smoked Sausage
2-17-10
$1.50
So when I pull this out in a few months I won't have to guess. I'll be able to add that in to the cost of the meal.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Meal Planning

Oy! I feel like I've been hit by a train. in a good way. is there a good way?
On Friday my sister and her best friend came to town and we all stayed over at my parents house all weekend and went to Parade of Homes which was a blast!
During this whole time, Russ was in Vegas visiting his bro, sis in law and little nephew. So since my sis was driving right through there anyway, I had her drop me off at their house, so I got to visit with them too. We went to dinner and bowling and had so much fun, but Russ and I didn't even get on the road till about 10, so we didn't even make it home till 1 and by then we were SOOO tired and exhausted and I had to work at 7 am this morning and Russ at 8. So I'm still feeling that exhaustion!
With all  that said, I'm not quite sure what to do about dinner tonight. I'm not feeling up to cooking (and cleaning) but on the other hand I don't want to spend any more money and a home cooked meal would be really nice after a weekend of fast meals.
I'll figure something out. but for the rest of the week:

Wednesday: Texas rice skillet and corn
Thursday: I'm at work all night
Friday: spaghetti, zucchini, garlic bread
Saturday: Teriyaki chx, rice, asain medley. (Yup, still haven't made this yet!)

Sunday, February 7, 2010

update

So I realized I don't have all the ingredients for tomorrow nights dinner so I'm changing it.
I have SO much food in the freezer I'm going to use some of that.
Monday: Spaghetti with garlic bread from freezer and veggie mix from freezer
Tuesday: Frozen pizza and garden salad (still)
Wednesday: fish fillets, tater tots, corn (all from freezer!)
Thursday:  Teriyaki chx from freezer, rice, and Asian veg mix from freezer
Friday and Saturday- at my parents house

Hopefully I stick to this and it clears up more space in the freezer.
Plus for lunch I'll have
pot stickers
popcorn chicken
and 2 frozen meals like the healthy choice meals
Should be good to go!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Meal Planning

K, this week is going to be one crazy week. But at least I have a warning (unlike this past week).

Sunday: We're going to my parents house for Superbowl Sunday
Monday: Sweet chili popcorn chx (not quite sure what to pair this with yet)
Tuesday: Frozen pizza and garden salad
Wednesday: sausage and fried potatoes with corn
Thursday: Teriyaki chx and rice (how many times has this been on our menu? I still haven't made it)
Friday: At parents till the rest of the weekend

Meal Plan Update

This week did not go AT ALL like I planned. I had to go to the dr on Tuesday and have an procedure that pretty much wiped me out for the rest of the week. They said it wouldn't hurt. They LIED! I've been pretty much bed ridden all week and did not want to cook anything. So I didn't.
I can't quite remember Tuesday night, let alone what we ate.
Wednesday Russ made the orange chicken! What a good guy.
Thursday- Russ went to a friends and another friend brought me ravioli.
Friday- I worked late (yep in pain)
Saturday- We went to Red Lobster. I know, I know we should have eaten at home (would've saved a lot of $) but I still just couldn't bring myself to. We did have a coupon tho)

Next week should be better. It'll be a crazy week but at least I know it'll be crazy.
Plus Russ and I stopped by the grocery store.
Red Baron Pizzas were on sale for 2.50 each and Dryers for 2.50. I had a 1.00Q for 2 pizzas and a 1.00Q for 1 pint of ice cream. Pretty good deals. Pizzas make quick (maybe not super healthy but...) dinners or easy lunches when Russ and I are both home, like this afternoon.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Freezer Inventory

One of the things on the forefront of my mind lately is the freezer. It's stuffed so I've been wanting to use up the stuff in it. It seems like more goes in than comes out and actually gets eaten. I spend all this energy trying to save and get good deals, but what am I saving if all I do is buy more stuff?

So in order to use up my stuff I have to know what's in there. Here's the list.
1 basically full  almost empty bag of popcorn chicken [chx] (like costco sized bag)
1 1/2 full bag of pot stickers.
2 Full bags of fish fillets (like 10 fillets in each bag)
1 full bag of Green Giant [GG] peas
1 Pepperoni and Peppers pizza
1 box GG corn in butter sauce
1 box GG Immunity blend
1 box GG Cauliflower in cheese sauce (I bought this before I found out I shouldn't eat cauliflower-not sure if I should just toss it now or what)
2  1 lone Creamie
1 nearly full box Skinny Cow fudge bars
about [~] 6 Homemade Poptarts
Toaster Strudels- like 4 boxes
Ground beef ~ 5 4 1lb packages
~4 gogurts
~ 10 2 of Russ's breakfast sandwiches (these will go fast!)
SmartOnes Swedish meatballs
Michelinas Buffalo chx snacks
Marie Calendars Honey chx
Teriyaki Chx ready meal
pkg of 2 tilapia fillets
1 full bag tilapia fillets
Honey Ginger pork ready meal
Chx and rice pilaf ready meal
1/2 full bag (and i mean HUGE bag) of mixed berries
almost empty bag of chx nuggets
1/2 full bag tater tots
Lean Cuisine [LC] Cheddar broccoli and potatoes
LC lasagna
LC Chx fettucine
Michelinas Shrimp egg rolls
NY box of Garlic bread -4 slices
burritos -1/2 empty bag
Italian Pot Roast
Asian Veg blend
Yogurt smoothie mix
watergate salad mix
Kraft Mozzarella pkg
Kraft Mexi blend cheese
Kraft cheddar
Healthy Choice Bacon and Cheese chx
Healthy Choice Beef tips
Smart Ones 3 cheese ziti
LC sesame chx
LC thai chx
LC Roasted Chx w/ lemon pepper fettucine
Garlic bread (that I made and apparently forgot about since I bought more!)  4 small slices
French bread pizza
Chx breasts 1 pkg of 2
1 pkg Hot dogs
taquitos ~6 left
1 200 cal digionro pizza
Taco skillet ready meal
Pancakes 1/2 full box
chimichangas full bag
Eye of Round steak 1 pkg of 2
Italian sausage -1 lb
Enchilada casserole
Potatoes o'brien
Morningstar pkg full
2 Red baron pizzas
Dryers Ice cream pint
2 stuffed chicken breasts

THAT'S A LOT OF FOOD!
That's about 28 breakfasts
23 lunches
14 meals straight from the freezer
plus about 12 pkgs of proteins for other meals
That's dinner for like a month w/o having to go to the grocery store!
I'll probably go for things like milk and fresh fruit, but even still, I have MORE stuff in the pantry. Canned fruits and veggies. Things like that.

Goals

I've been reading everyone's blogs about review last months goals and setting new ones and I decided to do this myself. Not sure why I've been resisting but no holding back now.
1. Spend $75 on groceries this month. (so far I've spent just about $15- so $60 left)
2. Save up for a new camera by my birthday- July
3. Don't go out to eat more than once a week and don't spend more than $75.
4. Make room in the freezer. This one is pretty vague, I just want to use up some of that stuff! When I bought my big freezer, I was super excited- it was so big and I could stock all kinds of things!  but Russ knew I would fill that thing up and he was so right. It's stuffed! I just want to use up that stuff!!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Didn't I already post this?

I couldn't remember what I said we'd have for dinner tomorrow night, so like I usually do, I checked my blog, but couldn't find the post. I guess I never did. I could've sworn it. Anyway.
Tonight we had BBQ chicken, corn, and cheesy broccoli and potatoes. I had chx drumsticks that I threw in the crockpot this morning and smothered in bbq sauce. It was easy and not particularly amazing. The broccoli and potatoes were from the freezer. They, too, were just okay. Not the best dinner I made, but the total cost for both of us was under $2.50 so I feel pretty good about that.
Tuesday: Meatballs in mushroom gravy over rice, carrots (need to use up those carrots before they go bad!)
Wednesday: 'unstuffed' peppers
Thursday: Orange chx with seasoned ramen noodles.
Friday: Teriyaki chx, rice, asian veggie blend
Saturday: Fish and tater tots

You've probably noticed some of these things in my last menu, but I never got around to making them. I really need to use up that stuff in the freezer!

More groceries

Well, I didn't save as much as coupon gal, but I think I did okay. I needed cheddar for tomorrow's dinner and what do you know, Smiths was having a sale. This is what I got:
4 8oz bags Kraft shredded cheese. 1.49 ea. -1.00Q -1.00Q (one goes into the fridge. The rest into the freezer)
2 Toaster Strudels 1.99ea -1.00Q
1 Rice Quakers snacks .49-.75Q (woot)
1 Fruity pebbles 1.99
1 FiberOne bars 2.49- .40Q
1 Arrowhead 24 pk Water (not pictured)
1 Rock star (just cuz I needed it)
Total: 14.38
Total savings: 19.80