Target Trip, Menu Plan

I should have waited for Jimmy to get home.  My total would have been lower.

Silly goose, though, you didn't really think I could go to Target and only get what was on my list, did you?

I figured I needed some containers to store my cooking in, since our plastic containers have vanished as well.

48 load Tide Free & Clear was 30% off, marked down to $7.41, my manufacturer's $1.50 off coupled with a $1.50 Target coupon brought it down to $4.41.  I never want to run out of laundry detergent, apparently.

My windows are gnarly looking, so the Windex was clearanced to $9.08 and I used a $3 off coupon.

And while I'm at it I may as well clean my dishwasher (cherry Kool-Aid) and my washing machine (the Clorox).

Mmm, here are the rest of my freezer cooking ingredients, minus chicken.  I have to go back to Farm Fresh as Target had tons of turkey, but no chicken.

My total was $66.  I plan on the freezer cooking lasting us two weeks, though, so with that and my other totals, it works out to be a lot cheaper than eating out. :)

So today is cooking day.  On my agenda is:

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Onion Baked Chicken

Vegetable Casserole

"Senator Russell's Sweet Potato Casserole"

Watergate Salad

Cornbread Dressing

Cheese Ball

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

One Dish Blackberry French Toast

Community Nurse Macaroni and Cheese

Pepper Jack, Chicken, and Peach Quesadillas

Key Lime Pie

Summer Squash and Corn Chowder

Spicy Cornbread

and Carrot Souffle'

So after all this work, it better last more than a week!  Jimmy will be having his meals rationed.

I'm off to a funeral and then lunch with my parents and Jimmy, but after that, it is down to business!  I'll update you later. :)

In Remembrance

Where Have All The Spoons Gone?

We currently are only in posession of 5 spoons, total, in our house.  If we were missing bowls, too, I'd assume they were together, but we're not missing any bowls.  It's one of life's great mysteries.

It's been quiet over here on the home front this week.  I've had a wonderful migraine the past few days and get to start on a steroid this afternoon.  The only good thing about that is that steroids make me hot as all get out, so I want to keep the house cool for a few weeks.  Well, that's not good for me, but Jimmy sure likes it.  Usually I keep the house too warm for his liking.

Speaking of Jimmy, we were watching a Hoarders marathon last Sunday, and he told me he thinks I'm a hoarder.  Why?  Because we have to sleep on piles of trash?  Because we trip over things when walking through the house?  (Okay, maybe.)  No, because this one lady said that once food goes into the freezer the expiration date no longer matters.  I tell him that all the time.

I'm going to do some freezer cooking this weekend.  I did about half of my shopping, and will get the rest of it at Target this evening.  I had good intentions of doing the catalina deal at Farm Fresh and getting $10 off my next purchase to go back and buy some more ingredients, but alas, it did not work out.  I didn't end up getting to the store until 7 pm at which point most of what I wanted was sold out.

This is a horrible picture and the Pepsi from Sunday is still on my table, but you get the idea.  I spent $30, the majority of that being the V8 juice and milk ($16 right there).

I went to Dean & Don's Farmer's Market yesterday on my way home from work and spent $13 there.  The peas alone were $5, but they're so good and worth every penny!

I don't anticipate my Target trip being too expensive.  I need to buy some meat and some more milk, but beyond that, everything else I need I can buy in the store brand.

Well, except spoons.

Oh, and a new mop.  I poured bleach on my floor Tuesday and then found out my mop is broken.  Spring Meadow scent my hiney, it was still strong bleach.  I had to use towels to sop up all the bleach.  For some reason, our house has light tile with white grout in our family room and dining room.  The family room which you have to walk through to get anywhere.  Needless to say, my white grout is often a nice shade of off-white.  Except by the dogs' bowls where it is just plain brown.  They drip water and it is just a mess.  I am counting down the days until we move.

Shopping For The Week

I know, my not going shopping for a long time lasted a grand total of 5 minutes.  The deals this week are too hot to pass up, though!  I did my shopping in one quick swoop and am done.  Assuming nothing else exciting entices me out, anyway.

My total out of pocket for everything was approximately $33 and I'll get most of it back.  I've broken it down below.

Walgreens (I hate that they had some good deals this week!)

Pepsi product 2 liters are .88 cents with the in-ad coupon (today and tomorrow only).

When you buy 2 you get 1 free Redbox rental, buy 4 and get 2 free rentals.  The coupon with the code prints out at the register.  So, $3.52 - $2 rental = $1.52 for 4 sodas.

The Comet was 2/$1 with in-ad coupon

Reese's was just because I was hungry (.79 cents)

Zegerid 14 count is on sale for $10, use the $3 coupon from 08/15 Smart Source, and get a rebate form that prints out at the register for a $10 rebate.  Makes it a $3 money maker.  Well, less your stamp, but you're still making a good profit.

Total before tax was $11.81.  After the rebate and Redbox codes, it was a .19 cent money making trip.

CVS

You can go to My Litter to see all the coupon matchups

The Schick Hydro had a coupon on it for free shave gel when you purchased the razor.

The High Octane energy chews are 1.99 and you get back 1.99 in ECBs all month.

I also used a $5/$30 purchase coupon from an e-mail from CVS.

I used $10.99 in ECBs to pay, spent $2.04 out of pocket (before tax), and received back $12 ECBs for my next purchase.

Again, I spent the most money at Target, mostly because there were a few things that were spur of the moment.  I'm having girls night with my mom and sister tonight and my sister asked was I bringing cupcakes.  So I bought things to make cupcakes because I'm an awesome sister! :)

I had a $5 manufacturer's coupon for Green Works which expired today and a $3 Target printable from a few weeks ago making the 60 load detergent $3.99

(I'm very well stocked on detergent now!)

The Embark lunchbox was clearanced to $2.78, it has coupons inside and a free 6 month subscription to Parents magazine, or you can get a $4.98 rebate instead.  So the lunchbox was a $2.20+ money maker.

Total before tax was $17.15

Baking Day Part 2

I started out trying to make these Coffee Sugar Cookies.  The process went well once I realized the reason the dough was so wet was because I was rolling the dough on my warm stovetop.  Duh.

So these were the first few:

The top one looks like it's got it's arms out for help, trying to escape.  It got better after a few go rounds, though.  I had also read on Janet's blog From Captain's Daughter to Army Mom that you could skip flour and roll your dough between two pieces of wax paper for better taste, but that didn't work for me (the skipping flour).  However, you can see why when you compare any of her baking entries compared to this one.  Hint: Remember that I had to borrow a cookie cutter and buy a rolling pin.

I also made breakfast muffins which I don't have pictured because my camera battery died before I got that far.  Anyway, I'll be lucky if any of what I made today lasts through the weekend.  Jimmy has already eaten a few cookies and a muffin since he got home from the gym 20 minutes ago (and he even got a shower in there somewhere.)  There's really no point in trying to freeze any.

The cookies were good.  I don't care for coffee, but I ate one.  I have some to take to work with me tomorrow, and some for Jimmy to take to work with him, if he decides to let them leave the house.  I used French Vanilla Eight O'Clock coffee in my cookies.  This was mainly a test drive for holiday cooking.

I have a few more things I'll be making this weekend, but they involve a trip to the grocery store which I was hoping to avoid.  They look really good, so I will share! :)

Baking Day

Today has been cooler than I expected.  Of course 88 degrees isn't really cool, but it sure beats 100.  I didn't go to Rite Aid, I was waiting on a response from corporate that wasn't what I was hoping for.  Some of the stores have a two pack of Nexxus shampoo for $9.99.  There was also a $2 off Nexxus coupon in the Rite Aid store coupon book, and you could get a $10 Up Reward for buying $20 of Nexxus products.  At CVS, if you're within cents of the total your ECB will print up, but Rite Aid corporate said it has to be $20 to the penny for the Up Reward to print.  Poo.  I'll just wait for CVS to run my shampoo on clearance again.  Speaking of CVS, I was really excited to get a $5/30 coupon in my email today.  I haven't had one in a couple of weeks, and there are a lot of good sales going on next week!

With it being cooler, I decided to do some cooking.  I washed the dust off of everything in my kitchen and set to it.  First, I threw together some Texas Caviar.  Then I looked at my tortilla chips stash.  We have 1/3 of a bag left.  Dang.  Note the Sobe I have stocked in my crisper.  CVS is going to have it B1G1 free again next week.  I refuse to pay full price!  Well, until I have to, anyway.

Then I made up some Frosty Paws.  I didn't have much yogurt left so it only made 4 cups, but that will tide my spoiled dogs over until I go to the store again.  You know, in a few weeks.  They don't look appetizing (of course my presentation leaves a lot to be desired), but my dogs gobble them up.

By the way, I didn't really like the Starbucks Vanilla Bean Frappuccino ice cream.  Has anyone else tried it?

I made green bean casserole and baked some honey ginger marinated chicken for dinner.  I have some dough setting in the refrigerator and some more baking planned for this evening.  More updates later.

Nutrients

Lest it seem like we subsist only on sugar, I have a picture of real food.  With color and nutrients.  Oooh, aaah.

Sorry it's such a bad picture, but you get the idea.  I was trying to tend to hungry dogs, too.  My total was $23, which is a lot for so few things, but nothing was on sale (besides .50 cents off two Market Pantry cheeses) and I hope to not step foot into another store again for a couple of weeks.  Well, besides running to Rite Aid again tomorrow.  Beyond that, though, I am not going to a store!  (Ok, I lied.  I might go to TJ Maxx.)  I even skipped Farm Fresh $1 doubles today because I was wilting in the heat.  I had to pick up a prescription at Target, so grabbed what I needed while in there.

By the way, I still have not done any baking.  My rolling pin is sitting, untouched, on my counter.  Sigh.