Pantry Challenge Update #4: 01/20-26/2013

I am hoping to do a little better this week with cleaning things out of the freezers.  Last week I got busy, and caught up in other things; I want to be a little more focused this week.  I have a kick-butt menu plan lined up, so as long as life doesn't throw me a nasty curve ball, we should be good.  I will post my progress for each day this week below...

Day #20: Sunday I had those horrible stomach cramps again, can't wait to go to the doctor on Tuesday.  By afternoon I was feeling some better, so I did get some straightening  done around the house, as well as some laundry and coupon filing/clipping.  We ate pretty good too.
B - Scones for Joe, none for me
L - Homemade Pepperoni Pizza and Apple Slices
D - Salsa Chicken Bake

Day #21: Monday the museum was closed, so Joe and I took the opportunity to sleep in.  We also did our weekly house cleaning; I LOVE a clean house!  I even got some organizing done for Joe in the storage room.  In other words, it was a great day, and we ate good too!
B - None, slept in
L - Waffles for me, Buffalo Chicken Wraps for Joe
D - Crock Pot Baked Potatoes, Crock Pot Pork Roast, and an Alexia Veggie Saute - Yummy!

Day #22: Tuesday, well you know that curve ball I mentioned above, I caught it about 9 am.  After my doctors appointment, where my miscarriage was finalized, to put it mildly, I was sent to the ER to get blood work done stat-like, and a sonogram to make everything was ok inside, something about maybe needing a shot, which I ended up not needing, so a 20 minute appointment turned into not getting home for another 6 hours - ugh!  So that kinda wreaked havoc on our menu.
B - Granola Bars
L - McDonald's on the way home
D - Leftover Salsa Chicken Bake for Joe, and Pretzels for me

Day #23: Wednesday I was still feeling rough, plus I picked up a head cold along with everything else.  But, my everything else is feeling pretty good.  The plumbers came today to fix our shower, and we just relaxed and watched movies. 
B - None
L - Waffles with Syrup for me, and PB and J style for Joe
D - Burgers and Fries

Day #24: Thursday my head cold went south into flu territory, so Joe worked on some things around the house, and I tried not to die from a sneezing fit or a coughing spell.  I survived, but Joe was starting with a cold now too - Ugh, it's gonna be one of those kind of winters, where we just keep passing the same cold back and forth. 
B - Waffles
L - Pizza
D - Scrambled Eggs with Toast for me, Joe had a leftover Pork Sandwich

Day #25: Friday snow came to Westminster, yeah!  Joe ran out to the store to pick up a few things we needed before all the crazy people got there.  You know the ones of which I speak, buying arm fulls of milk, bread, and TP, thinking that they will need enough sustenance to survive the ice age instead of just the inch of snow were getting.  But anyway, we ate through some more leftovers, so it was a good day.
B - Waffles
L - Scrambled Eggs with Toast for Me, Leftover Pork Sandwiches for Joe
D - Leftover Pork Sandwiches with Baked French Fries

Day #26: Saturday Joe ran some errands while I straightened up the house.  I was still feeling a little under the weather, but I was also getting sick of living in a messy house, so order won.  We also watched some comedians on Netflix to relax in the afternoon.  We ate pretty good too.
B - None
L - Waffles with Syrup for Me, and PB and J style for Joe
D - Grilled Bacon Cheese Burgers with Baked French Fries - Yum-o!

All in all it was a good week.  We ate through some freezer food even though we were both feeling pretty rough.  Linking up to Good Cheap Eats!

Weekly Spending Report: 01/20-26/2013

This week I again tried to be good in regards to staying out of the stores,  Next week starts February, and a new budget for the month, always a good thing.  Here's how the shopping went down this week...

• Sunday's Giant Trip (2 apples, 2 boxes waffles, 1 box pop-tarts and 1-24 pk H2O): $17.05 oop
• Thursday's Wal-mart Trip (2 pks TP, 1 twin pk stomach med): Zero oop, paid with giftcard
• Friday's Giant Trip: $23.44 oop

• Saturday's Shopper's Trip (2 newspapers): Zero oop, paid with gift card

Total OOP: $40.49, Not great, but not bad either, thank God for gift cards :-)

Frugal Finds Friday: Reusing = Cotton Balls

I am always looking for a way to take things that normally make their way into the garbage and use them for something new.  This item only needs a few scissors snips to be transformed from garbage into cotton balls. 

 You know those strips of cotton that are stuffed into the tops of medicine bottles for no real reason, well I save them.  I cut them into cotton ball-sized pieces, and my husband uses them to apply his toner.  

They work great, they're free, and I've saved something from going to the dump!

What about you, what are your frugal finds from this week?

Linking up to Works for Me Wednesday!

Linking up to Homemade Mondays.

ALDI Deals, Starting 01/23/2013

Here are a few of the deals happening this week at ALDI...

• ednesday 01/23 ONLY: Fresh boneless skinless Chicken Breasts $1.69/lb
• Kitchen Living 6 Qt Programmable Slow Cooker $29.99 ea
• Kitchen Living Pizza Pan $2.99 ea
• Happy Harvest Chili Style Diced Tomatoes 14.5 oz $0.59 ea (Use to make this chili!)
• Kirkwood Chicken Wings 4 lb Frozen bag $8.49 ea
• Season's Choice Whole Onion Rings 16 oz $1.99 ea
• Vienna Beef Mini Bagel Dogs (frozen) 12 oz $4.99 ea
• Appetitos Frozen Dips 8 oz $2.49 ea
• Mama Cozzi's Rising Crust Pizza Spinach, mushroom and garlic Pizza 30.3 oz $3.99 ea
• Clancy's Cheddar and Sour Cream Ridged 9 oz or Buttery or White Cheddar Popcorn 8 oz $1.49 ea
• Clancy's Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips 13 oz $1.29 ea
• Clancy's Krinkle cut Kettle Chips Sea Salt or Sea Salt with Black Pepper 8.5 oz $1.79 ea
• Nature's Nectar Raspberry Lemonade All Natural 59 oz $1.99 ea
• Specially Selected Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans 7 oz $2.99 ea
• Choceur Coffee to Eat Truffles, Assorted Varieties 4.23 oz $2.99 ea
• Primrose 4" $0.99 ea
• Celery $0.79 ea
• Baby Carrots 16 oz bag $0.69 ea
• Avocados $0.59 ea
• Grape Tomatoes $1.29/pint
• Broccoli 16 oz pkg $1.09 ea
• Cauliflower $1.09/head

For more information about ALDI, visit their homepage!

Tempt Your Tummy Tuesday: Apple Crumb Pie

In honor of National Pie Month, I wanted to re-post this delicious all-American apple pie recipe - Enjoy!

This pie is so yummy, and yet so simple to make, that it's kind of a non-recipe. 

I roll out 1 pie crust, I usually use this recipe, but sometimes I just use a pre-made refrigerated one.

For the filling I cook up 4-6 apples (depending on their size) that have been peeled and sliced with a couple tbsp of butter, a sprinkle of cinnamon, about a 1/3 c brown sugar, and a couple tsp of corn starch.  I let that cook until the apples are softened, then I pour it into the unbaked pie shell which I've placed into a pie plate.  For the topping I mix about 1 c quick cook oats with a couple tbsp flour, a couple tbsp cold butter, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and about a 1/3 c brown sugar with a pastry cutter.  Once it is incorporated nicely I sprinkle it on top of the filling, and bake  it in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until the topping and crust are a nice golden brown.  

I like mine warm with vanilla bean ice cream!

For more AWESOME temptations, visit Blessed with Grace!
Linking to Life as Mom!

Menu Plan Monday 01/21/2013

This week things should be nice and slow-paced around here, yeah!  I think my menu plan this week will use up a LOT of things from the freezers, plus Joe actually likes everything on the plan, which is always a plus!  Here's what's cookin'...

Breakfasts: Cold Cereal, Bagels

Lunches: Homemade Pizza, Buffalo Chicken Wraps, Leftover Pork Sandwiches, or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Dinners:
Sunday - Salsa Chicken Bake
Monday - Crock Pot Roast Pork, Crock Pot Baked Potatoes, and a Vegetable
Tuesday - Leftover BP's fried with Onions, Eggs, Sausage, and Toast
Wednesday - Leftover Fried Potatoes and Onions, Pancakes, and Creamed Chipped Beef Gravy
Thursday - Grilled Burgers, Baked French Fries, and a Vegetable
Friday - Homemade Shrimp Alfredo with Linguine, Foccacia Bread, and Steamed Broccoli
Saturday - Out :-)

For more AWESOME Menu Plans, visit Org Junkie!

Pantry Challenge Update #3: 01/13-19/2013

Well, it's a new week, thank God, so I get the chance for a brand new start.  Hopefully this week will go a little better.  Joe and I are starting to feel like our old selves again, so I should have more energy to do some cooking.  We did use a good bit up from the freezers last week, but I want to make an even bigger dent this week!

Day #13: Sunday I had a slight stomach bug, so we slept in, and skipped breakfast.  We spent the afternoon enjoying the peace and quiet here at the museum, and watched our 2 free Red Boxes, as well as clipped some coupons (me) and played on the computer (Joe).  It was a nice day!

B - none

L - Waffles, Fruit

D - Leftover Pizza

Day #14: Monday I cleaned the house, and helped Joe straighten up his work room desk.  I also worked on organizing some paperwork, and filing coupons.  Overall we got a lot of work done, and managed to relax some in the evening and watch a movie.

B - Cold Cereal

L - Snacks

D - Baked Fresh-Takes Chicken Breasts, with Ranch Potato Wedges and Broccoli with Cheese.  We also finished off the cobbler for dessert.

Day #15: Tuesday Joe had a meeting to go to here at the museum, which I also had to attend, unfortunately.  And of course, instead of it being a 20 minute meeting, it was a 2 hour meeting, so dinner got scraped unfortunately.  Here's what we ended up eating.
B - Cold Cereal/Waffles
L - Fish Patties and Baked French Fries
D - Bob Evans, used a gift card from Christmas to pay, so it cost less than $8!

Day #16: Wednesday Joe and I had a viewing to go to for an older gentlemen's wife we flea market with.  He was very happy to see us, even though no one else knew who we were.  It was late in the evening for some reason, so we ended up doing some shopping afterwards, and brought home some chick-fil-a for dinner.
B - Cold Cereal/Waffles
L - Used the leftover chicken from Monday to make Chicken Parmesan.  I just melted provolone on top of the chicken, cooked up some spaghetti noodles, and heated up a jar of sauce.  It was very tasty, I wish I would have got a picture before we woofed it all down :-)
D - Chick-n-strips Salad with Ranch for me, and an Original Sandwich for Joe, we also shared a cookies and cream milkshake on the way home.

Day #17:  Thursday I thought I was going to die.  I had stomach cramps so bad I literally got light-headed.  After a call to the Dr, I have a Tuesday appointment, oh joy.  Later in the day the pain subsided some, but my stomach was still somewhat nausea from the earlier pain.  Meals were sparse to say the least.
B - Sausage Sandwiches for Joe (which he made for himself), crackers for me
L - Leftover Chicken Parmesan for Joe, Cinnamon Sugar Toast x 2 for me
D - Subs

Day #18: Friday I was still feeling not so hot; I will be glad when the sickness is finally out of this house for good.  Joe and I did manage to get a few things done around the house today, which is always a good thing; I'm even caught up on laundry.  It's a good day!
B - Bagel for Joe and Cold Cereal for me
L - Leftover over Spaghetti with Sausage for Joe, and
D - Burgers

Day #19: Saturday Joe and I took Joe's Grandfather, Pap, down to Easton so we could attend a memorial service.  It was actually a lovely and lighthearted service.  Pap treated us to our breakfast and lunch out since Joe drove us all down.  Joe and I stopped into the Amish Market while we were in Cockeysville, and picked up newspapers in Westminster, when we got home.  The rides down and back were lovely; it was a nice day!
B - Cracker Barrel with Pap, his treat (B. berry pancakes, bacon, and hash brown casserole for me, Joe had a large breakfast platter)
L - Holly's with Pap, also his treat (Joe and I each had some cream of crab soup, and split a shrimp salad sandwich with chips and pickles)
D - Joe had a frozen pizza, and I had some snacks since I wasn't very hungry

Linking up at Good Cheap Eats!

Weekly Spending Report 01/14-20/2013

This week I tried REALLY hard to stay out of the stores.  Here's how I did...

• Wednesday's CVS Trip: $1.97 oop

• Wednesday's ALDI Trip: $8.01 oop

• Wednesday's Rite-Aid Trip: $5.70, Earned $8 UP+Rewards

• Thursday's Shopper's Trip (Honey Crisp Apples): $2.96 oop
• Saturday's Amish Market Trip: $2.30 + $2.49 + $3.13 = $7.92 oop

• Saturday's Shopper's Trip (6 honey crisp apples and 2 newspapers): $10.16 oop

Total OOP: $36.72 - Earned $8 Rewards = Net OOP: $28.72

Linking up to Couponaholic. 

Frugal Finds Friday: Re-using Glass Bottles!

 

 A little spray paint can go a L-O-N-G way in making your pantry look more cohesive, and can make all of your reused glass bottles from spaghetti sauce, salsa, fruit, etc coordinate.  Once I started reading about all the bad things about plastic storage containers, I knew I wanted to start using glass for pantry items.  But who has the money to go out and buy all new glass containers for your pantry, certainly not this gal.  So I started saving glass bottles from items we regularly use, like salsa, pasta sauces, artichokes, and the like. 

1.) I wash them with dish soap and water, 

2.)let them air dry,

3.)and then spray paint the lids so they all coordinate, and make my OCD side very happy!  

I still have a few Ziploc Twist and Lock containers that I use in the freezer, but all my snacks, baking items, beans, extra pastas, are all in my nice reused glass containers.  Not only is it green, but frugal too!

How about you; what are some of your frugal finds for the week?

Linked to Works for Me Wednesday!

Linking up to Homemade Mondays.

ALDI Deals, Starting 01/16/2013

Here are some of the deals at ALDI this week...

• Vanderwall Shower Caddy Assortment Satin Nickel or Bronze $9.99 ea
• St. Cloud PEVA Shower Curtain Liner 70x72" $5.99 ea
• Vanderwall Toilet Tissue Holder $7.99 ea
• Crane 36' Jogging Trampoline $24.99 ea
• Kitchen Living Panini Grill $19.99 ea
• Kirkwood Garlic and Herb Chicken Breasts 40 oz $6.99 ea
• Sistema Lunch Cube or Soup Mug To Go $3.99 ea
• Source Skincare Liquid Hand Soap Pure Protection, or Aloe Vera 7.5 oz $0.85 ea
• Yellow Onions 3 lb bag $0.79 ea
• Carrots 2 lb bag $0.79 ea
• Red Potatoes 5 lb bag $0.99 ea
• Navel Oranges 4 lb bag $1.89 ea
• Fuji Apples 3 lb bag $2.19 ea
• Pineapples $1.89 ea
• Season's Choice Frozen Strawberries 16 oz $1.99 ea
• Season's Choice Frozen Blueberries 12 oz $2.49 ea
• L'oven Fresh Sandwich Skinnys Multigrain, or 100% Whole Wheat 12 oz $1.99 ea

For more AWESOME Deals at ALDI, visit their homepage!