Costco $51.44
This past week the HH did a quick trip to Costco since he was in the area and amazingly, made it out of the store with just the essentials. I love when that happens!!
That Mediterranean Crunch salad mix, I just can’t get enough of it!! I would eat it everyday if Costco was closer. And their blueberries this summer have been fantastic too.
I made the HH a tuna sandwich and ate the rest with halved cherry tomatoes and dried cranberries. Tuna salad is probably something that if I was stuck on a desert island and could only have 5 food items that I would probably choose.
Leftover rice turned into stir fry.
Trader Joe’s lasagna {you can’t beat it for $6.99!} and their frozen green beans.
Salmon $9.08
I popped into the local take out place and bought a nice piece of sweet chili salmon. It’s a little on the spendy side, but then again I didn’t want a giant amount nor did I want to stink up the house cooking fish.
We had it on salad.
Kiln Guy and The Chef came for lunch. I made Trader Joe’s tomato and red roasted pepper soup and salad. Both were a hit. We had the leftovers the next day.
We finally bought a set of frying pans {the old ones got left behind in the move} and I tested out the pan with some scrambled eggs. They work like a charm.
I think he said he paid $29.99 for a set of 3 at Costco in case you’re in the market for some new pans.
Farmstand $20
Yep. A quart of cherry tomatoes from the local farm stand will put you back 10 around these parts. We got invited to a lobster potluck and I said we’d bring a caprese salad. And of course you can’t use grocery store tomatoes for that… Not if you want it to taste spectacular.
So the HH stopped by the local farmstand for some real tomatoes and they were $10 a quart. I think he was a little surprised at the price.
I told him not to worry that next summer we’ll be growing our own.
The lobster dinner. No, I did not eat the giant sea bug. I filled up on salad and dessert instead. 😉
And last but not least, weenies and tots.
It was a good week! We need to do a major stock up trip though before our house guest arrives. Are there any Trader Joe’s shoppers out there? Do they have anything new I should grab while I’m there?
How much are tomatoes going for this summer in YOUR neck of the woods? Or maybe you’re growing them this year? If so, are you having a good growing season? Curious minds want to know.
Have a good one,
~Mavis
Total Spent This Past Week on Groceries $80.52
Total Spent in August on Groceries $115.71
Total Spent in July on Groceries $401.88
Total Spent in June on Groceries $484.69
Total Spent in May on Groceries $267.13
Total Spent in April on Groceries $135.90
Total Spent in March $235.99
Total Spent in February $282.90
Total Spent in January $167.55
Jamie says
We grew cherry and stewing tomatoes this year. It was a great cherry year, but the drought followed by a rapid mid-summer cool down in the mid-Atlantic made the stewing types hit or miss. What has done great this year are peppers (loved the long weeks of heat!) and tromboncino squash.
Kath says
I grow my own tomatoes. The yellow cherry type have been ripening and are delicious. The sauce tomatoes are just now starting to ripen. The bigger salad and slicing types seem a bit slow this year and are all still green. And I wouldn’t eat the giant sea bug either!
Katelyn says
Grab a bottle of the balsamic reduction for your tomatoes! It’s so good!
Jamie says
I don’t know because I grow mine but $10 seems crazy high.
Beccah says
Tomatoes aren’t doing so hot here in the Portland, Oregon burbs. We’ve had a cooler summer for the most part. I picked the first of our tomatoes yesterday. One cherry tomato and two small early girls… who are running pretty late.
For snacky plates, the TJ’s white bean hummus, pita chips, and dolma can’t be beat! Not a food, but I really love the reusable silicon baggies that they have at Trader Joe’s. Much better quality than others I’ve tried and they clean up nicely in the dishwasher.
Anita says
Tomatoes are $3.50 a quart at a local Amish farm stand here in central PA…and I thought that was pricey. I only bought them twice because mine are now ripe. I love growing my own food!
Lana says
We bought eight pounds of backyard homegrown tomatoes for $10. It’s A LOT of tomatoes! We are going to be eating them at least twice a day until they are gone and then go get some more. The local gardener has an eight pound minimum but for $10 I am happy as a pig in mud to take eight pounds.
Margo says
We have a lot of tomatoes this year, so I haven’t had to buy any recently. Farmers market sells large beefsteak and heirloom tomatoes for about $4 a pound. Home grown is the best though! Did get enough cucumbers this year for fresh pickles, canned dills, and pickle relish. That should last us a while.
Mary Ann says
My tomatoes are getting close to being done, but it’s been a good year. So far, I’ve made 9 1/2 pints of green tomato (New England style) Piccalilli, 6 1/2 pints of Salsa Ranchera, 12 pints of roasted salsa, 7 pints of tomato juice, 6 quarts and 1 pint of plain tomato sauce, and 9 quarts of Marinara sauce. I still have 14 gallon size bags of sauce/slicers and 10 gallon size bags of cherry tomatoes in the freezer… with more to go in still. I’ve shared a ton with family and neighbors, too!
Annette says
Tots in the air fryer are life changing.
Christy says
Cherry tomatoes in my garden in Vallejo, CA are outdoing themselves. I am in Maine visiting family and hubby is carefully washing and freezing the excess.
Kathleen says
I would eat the sea bug in a heartbeat!
Tiffany F says
If you like chinese, my family loves the frozen Ginger Shrimp Lo Mein from Trader Joe’s. I also buy an extra bag of frozen shrimp ( I think it’s 2 lbs) for 7.99 and add it to the Lo Mein. I sprinkle with a bit of ginger and add a Tbsp or so of oyster sauce (not necessary). It is plenty for my family of five, including 2 teen age boys. You could probably do 1/2 the amount of extra added shrimp for just 3 people. We don’t have a TJ’s near us, but I try to always stop when out of town to pick some up. It’s often our quick and easy meal when we get back home and the last thing I want to do is cook.
Mrs. M says
We’ve grown sungold tomatoes the last two years. They do great and we have plenty of delicious, vine ripe tomatoes! So, I have no idea what they’re selling for. But, I do recommend planting a sungold next year for your caprese salads.
I wish there were a TJ nearby. I’d love to try some of the foods you get there.
Amber from Ontario, Canada says
I love my Sungold cherry tomatoes!!!
Do not try to save the seed, and grow them yourself next yr. though, because the plants are hybrids, and they will not come true to seed, or produce real sweet sungolds. I tried it for the fun of it, and got a small yellow tomato, that looked a lot like a sungold, but was not sweet.
All my other tomato favourites are Heirlooms, which I do grow from collected seed. My Purple Cherokee this year, are wonderful! As I cut them and use them, I am saving some seed on paper towels, and labeling them with markers. Then I let the paper towels dry out well — store later in large glass jars. It could not be more simple! Back to the Sungolds — I love them so much,( and so do some special friends!), that I happily pay the price for plants in the Spring, about $4.00 each here in Ont. Canada.
I love them in salads, and add them to my tomato mixtures when I am roasting tomatoes, with olive oil and herbs. I could can the sauce, but I like the flavour better if I freeze it in jars, and store them in my big freezer for use all winter. Just make sure you leave the lids off when you first freeze them, and then put them on when the sauce is completely frozen. That way, no jars will break. I work away with small batches, as the tomatoes ripen. It works for me!!!
JulieP says
I have a little stall at the end of my drive for our extra price and the money is gifted to charity. The people in the country here in England would not pay that! They don’t appreciate the taste difference etc they just think well I could get that for about a quarter of the price in Lidl! So I sell a sandwich bag full which is about 1lb in weight for 50p if I try to put more on my beautiful purple yellow and all sizes of red they don’t sell so I only put tomatoes out if I can’t freeze, can or eat them
Jeri says
If you like to have a candy dish out to graze from as you walk by, TJs has chocolate covered gummy bears to fill it up. Who knew that a gummy bear could dress for success in such a way! They are delicious! I actually gave them away after eating 7 or 8 of them because I knew they’d be trouble for me. The person who I gave them to said the same thing, and they passed the bag along to someone else, too, lol. But man, they’re good. I bought loads of frozen meals from TJs, too, but the gummy bears win the prize!
Heather says
Trader Joes roasted red pepper and almond pesto! The best on anything really.