Menu Plan Monday 12/06-12/12

The holidays are just around the corner! The next two weeks have a LOT of baking in them, as I have quite a few orders from friends to do their baking for them... With that in mind, things on the menu are going to stay simple from now until the holidays have passed. So, here it goes for this week...
Breakfasts: Cereal, Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins (for Joe), Yogurt & Fruit

Lunches: Leftovers, Ham or Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, and anything that looks appetizing from the freezer, as we need to start cleaning out some of the TV dinners and frozen leftovers we have to make room for the new.

Dinners:
Sunday - Homemade Chicken Fried Rice with Egg Rolls & Shrimp Toast (had enough leftovers for two freezer meals!)
Monday - Bacon Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper with Salad
Tuesday - Shake & Bake Chicken with Chicken Flavored Rice & Broccoli
Wednesday - Cheese Ravioli with Salad and Garlic Bread
Thursday - Homemade Pizza
Friday & Saturday - A friend of ours is coming down to volunteer in the hearth Kitchen here at the museum and will probably be staying over night, she is making food in the hearth all day Friday and Saturday, so I am not sure if we will be eating dinner with her, or going out to eat or making something from my food stash, but I will make sure to fill you all in when I know :-)
Just an FYI - We had Fried Oysters (which Joe loves, me, not so much), homemade french fries, & apple pie on Friday night. Saturday night we had lovely chicken pot-pie with homemade coleslaw and apple cornbread, as well as more apple pie!

Winter is finally here... We have snow Ladies & Gentlemen

Some people think that my theory of winter is a funny one, but, I'll share it with you all anyway. I live in Maryland, and I believe that the weather we have here is just about perfect. It's never too cold, or too hot, no tornadoes (at least not like tornado alley that is), no earthquakes, avalanches, or anything else super traumatic. However, it seems that we are always lacking in the snow department when it comes to winter weather. Now, I don't want severe ice storms or anything, or even the kinds of snows they have out West, but I do LOVE SNOW! I guess that comes from my school days, having snow days & no school, or delayed school. There is nothing like waking up in the morning and finding out that you can go back to bed and get up whenever you want to and having no additional homework! But anyway, I told you all of that, because I wanted to share with you that all of us in Westminster, MD yesterday, got SNOW! And a good bit of it for this time of year, about 4 inches! I hope that there will be many more. Oh, and my theory on winter, if it's going to be cold it better snow, or it needs to be warm! Anyway, I'm off my soap box now...

Rite Aid Trip for the Week

Stopped into Rite Aid to get THREE separate prescriptions filled, and received 3 FREE $25 gift cards!!! Plus picked up some great deals while I was waiting...
1 pkg Utz Chips $0.99 (yes, they are opened & no, you may not scold me...)
1 Febreze Noticeable $7.99 - $2 Sale - $2 SCR - $5.99 MIR = FREE + $2 MM
1 Febreze Candle $7.99 - $2 Sale - $2 SCR - $2/1 MC = $1.99
4 Lindt Candy Bars $2.69 ea - $1.19 ea Sale - $1/2 MC x 2 = $1 ea = $4/4
1 Crest Toothpaste $2.49 - $2.49 SCR - $1/1 MC = FREE + $1 MM
1 - 24 ct Pepto-Bismol Caplets $4.49 - $1.50 Sale - $2 in-ad C - $1 MC = FREE + $0.01 MM
1 Complete Contact Solution $7.99 - $7.99 SCR - $1/1 MC = FREE + $1 MM
+ Tax $1.23
- $5/$25 Purchase RA C
Total OOP: $19.67 - Expected SCR $14.48 - Expected MIR $5.99 = All FREE + $0.80 MM!!!
Plus I earned $32.44 towards my Gift of Savings Certificate!

CVS Trip for this week!

Stopped into CVS to take advantage of some of the December Clip Free Coupons (CFC) that they are offering and to use some of the CVS C's that have been printing out on the end of my receipt...
2 CVS Paper Towels $1.29 ea - $1/2 CVS C = $0.79 ea = $1.58/2
2 Clearasil Face Washes $2.75 ea on Clearance (was hoping the $2 CFC would come off too, but it didn't) - $2/1 MC x 2 = $0.75 ea = $1.50/2
2 bags Gold Emblem Peppermint Patties $1.50 ea on Sale - $1/2 CVS C = $1 ea = $2/2
1 Eucerin Lotion $7.99 - $2 CFC - $1/1 MC = $4.99
+ Tax $0.62
- $8.59 ECB's used to Pay
Total OOP: $2.10 (Paid with FREE Gift card) + used my Green Bag Tag, so I have 1 out of the 4 uses needed for a FREE $1 ECB!

Martin's Trip for the Week

Stopped into Martin's this week to get some rebate items before the coupons expire...

2 Marie Callender's Pasta Al Dente Frozen Meals $3.29 ea - $0.75/1 MC x 2 - $0.75 Double x 2 - MIR $3.29 ea (hopefully) x 2 = Both FREE + $3 MM - Yeah!

4 pks Various Hershey Baking Morsels $2.39 ea - $0.60 ea Sale - $1/3 MC - MIR Free Calender (with LOTS of Coupons!) = $6.16/4 + Free Calender with COUPONS!

3 - 3 pks Hershey's Milk boxes $1.99 ea - $0.32 x 2 & $0.33 x 1 Sale - $0.50/1 MC x 3 - $0.50 Double x 3 = $2/3

3 Knorr Rice Sides $1.25 ea - $0.25 ea Sale - $1/3 MC = $2/3

1 - 5 lb Giant Sugar $2.79 - $0.28 Sale - $1 off 1 Giant Sugar wyb 4 Hershey's Morsels Martin's C = $1.51

4 Nestle Cookie Doughs $3.19 ea - $0.69 ea Sale - $3 Promo wyb 4 - $0.50/1 MC x 4 - $0.50 Double x 4 = $3/4 -- ONLY $0.75 ea!!!

5 Gallons Swiss Ice Tea $2.59 ea - $0.80 ea Sale - $0.75/1 MC x 5 - $0.75 Double x 5 = $0.29 ea = $1.45/5

Total OOP, no Tax: $16.12 -- Saved $31.66 or 66% + I earned 28 more Gas points!

Goal 100 Gas points, balance as of today 64!

Walgreen's Trip this Week!!!

Stopped into Walgreen's to roll my RR's so that they didn't expire, and I think that I did a pretty good job considering the amount of stuff I came home with...
1 Glade Sense & Spray $5.99 - $2 RR - $4/1 MC = FREE
2 Boxes Captain Crunch Cereal (YUMMY!) $2.50 ea on Sale - $2 RR wyb 2 = 2/$3
2 Boxes Quaker Granola Bars $2.50 ea on Sale - $2 RR wyb 2 - $1/2 MC = 2/$2
2 Sunkist Sodas $1 ea with in-ad C - $1/2 MC = $0.50 ea = $1/2
4 Chex Mixes $2.99 - Bonus Online C $1.75 ea - $0.50/1 MC x 4 = $0.50 ea = $2/4
2 Glade 2 oz Soy Candles $2.50 ea - $1 RR wyb 2 - $2/1 MC x 2 = 2 Free
2 Gillette Fusion Razors $8.99 - $4/1 MC x 2 - $4 RR x 2 = $0.99 ea = $1.98/2
2 pks Barbie Band aids $1.50 ea - $2/1 WC (took off $3) - $1 RR wyb 2 = 2 FREE + $1 MM
2 pks Sponge Bob Band aids $1.50 ea - $2/1 WC (took off $3 - $1 RR wyb 2 = 2 FREE + $1 MM
+ Tax $1.86
- $18 RR Used to Pay
Total OOP: $9.33 - RR's for Next time $9.00 - Expected SC Johnson Rebate for Glade Products $5 = Net OOP: All Free + Profit of $4.67!!!!!!!

A Different Kind of Christmas Poem

Thought I would share this with my few readers. I found it very touching...
http://athriftymom.com/2009/12/a-different-christmas-poem/

Menu Plan Monday

Since we stuffed ourselves last week with lots of fattening but delicious foods, I thought that I would plan some lighter meals for the week...
Breakfasts: Cereal, Bagels & Cream Cheese, yogurt, muffins

Lunches: Leftovers, Ham & Cheese Sandwiches, Soup

Dinner:
Sunday - Dinner at Bullock's with our Re-enacting group
Monday - Biscuit Pizzas (at Joe's request) with Alfredo sauce and Italian Herb chicken
Tuesday - Chicken Fajitas with Mexican Rice & Corn
Wednesday - Eggs, Bacon, Toast & Canned Fruit
Thursday - Ham with Scalloped Potatoes & Broccoli
Friday - Pizza with Pepperoni, Bell Peppers & Onion (for Joe, Cheese for me)
Saturday -Spaghetti, Salad or Green Beans & Garlic Bread

Rite-Aid Trip #2 for Last Week

Stopped into Rite-Aid one more time on Saturday to see if they had gotten any more of the Schick Intuition Razors in (they are my absolute FAVORITE, and FREE makes them even better). But, they did not, so I used another coupon on the disposables to get them for FREE and donated them. Sorry no picture, again... :-(

1 pkg Schick Disposable Razors Men's 12 ct $7.79 - $6.80 Sale - $1/1 MC = FREE + $0.01
1 pkg Balmer Cookies and Cream Candies $1
+ Tax 0.12
Total OOP: $1.11, paid with gift card, so FREE! Plus, I earned another $1.99 towards my Gift of Savings Certificate!

CVS Trip, post-black-Friday

Stopped into CVS again on Saturday to get another money-making (MM) Degree Deodorant, since the limit was raised to 2 instead of 1, but they were all out, so I just got a rain check. While I was there I picked up another rain check item before the coupon expired on 11/30! Sorry no picture :-(
1 Scope Outlast Mouth wash $3.49 - $2 ECB - $1/1 MC = $0.49
Total OOP: 2.49 - $1.89 in ECB's + put $0.60 on CVS gift card, Earned $2 ECB for next time!