Thursday, March 08, 2007

Grocery Shopping is so Much Fun

Spent two hours last night figuring out our menu for the next two weeks, what needed to be purchased, an looked to see if by chance any bargains where available at the 2 other "local" stores. Walmart prices were the lowest.

So off to the store we went. Took our youngest nephew; he and partner browsed other parts of the store while I hunted for the best prices in grocery section.

Goals I set for this trip--STICK TO MY LIST and COMPARE UNIT COSTS FOR BEST PRICE!!

Overall I think I did ok--I originally made a two week menu but due to poor planning on my part I only was able to tweak one week. Plus as I thought more about this one week menu I realized that much of what I will be making will have leftovers. My partner and I are good about not wasting anything so I decided to see how far I could safely stretch this menu. My goal was no more that $80 for food products.

So here was the menu I came up with starting with Friday (3/9/07):

FRIDAY--Hamburger Helper (leftovers taken for my lunch at work)

INGREDIENTS NEEDED-box Hamburger Helper, shredded cheddar cheese
SATURDAY--Saucy Pork Chops, homemade parm noodles, veggie
INGREDIENTS NEEDED-porkchops (2-4), pasta, parm cheese, powdered milk, veggie
SUNDAY--Slow-Cooked Roast Chicken, Doodle Bugs, veggie
INGREDIENTS NEEDED-whole chicken, potato flakes, veggie
MONDAY--Ghoulash, Indian Fry Bread
INGREDIENTS NEEDED-1 lb grnd beef, elbow macaroni, 2 cans tomatoe soup, 1 onion, 1 green pepper, shredded mozzarella cheese
TUESDAY--Chicken w/ Broccoli and Ramen Noodles
INGREDIENTS NEEDED-chicken breast (2), frozen broccoli, ramen noodles, shredded cheddar cheese
WEDNESDAY--Hotdogs and Pan Fried Potatoes
INGREDIENTS NEEDED-hot dogs, rolls, canned potatoes, onion
THURSDAY--Chicken Broccoli Casserole
INGREDIENTS NEEDED-chicken breast (2), frozen broccoli, miracle whip, eggs, bread crumbs, shredded cheddar cheese

So my overall shopping list looked like this: 1 lb elbow mac, 2 tomato soup, SWP, 2 onions, 2 6pk ramen noodles, cheddar cheese (compare prices), 2 frozen broccoli, frozen corn,3 packs of hotdogs (BarS is the cheapest), rolls, 2 can potatoes, pork chops (4-6 depending on size and cost), 1 lb ground meat, Hamburger Helper, whole chicken, potato flakes, chicken breast (compare prices), Miracle Whip, mozzarella cheese (compare price), parm cheese, powdered milk, milk, soy milk, bottled water, diet soda (3 cases), 12 pk regular soda, bread, margarine, Special K, Oscar Mayer bologna, 12 oz chocolate chips, pretzels, drink mix.

Almost everything bought is store brand, there are a few exceptions as I have tried the store brand and did not like the quality or taste. As for beverages, this is a sticky situation, I do not like water!! All I drink is soda altho I can stomach some drink mixes. My partner drinks water but only bottled!! So as you can see we do spend alot on drinks but we have tried to compromise by using store brand.

All told I budgeted $80,,,and the grand total (minus cat food)= $78.75 (44 items sold @ $1.83/item.

Now I'll have to see how well this streches into two weeks.

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