Me and my crazy ideas. The HH is still shaking his head a little. But I did it. I finished my grocery shopping for the year {and then some} by doing a big Market Basket stock up trip a few days ago.
Now we have a fully stocked pantry, refrigerator and freezer. And by fully stocked I mean FULLY STOCKED. We’re ready for holiday meals, surprise guests, lazy days, blizzards and more. And you know what? It feels sooo good.
Good knowing the only thing we’ll need more of is milk {or possibly eggs?} and we can pick those up while filling up at the gas station.
Market Basket $312.69
I loath going into any type of store during the holiday season and typically do some sort of end of the year shopping around this time of year. I’ve just never gone overboard buying so much food like this before.
Yes, it cost a pretty penny. But then again. We had pretty much eaten down our entire pantry and freezer when we moved earlier this year {well, all but the gazillion pounds of beans and rice in our food storage}.
I feel like we have been going a mile a minute since.
In the last 6 months between moving, putting everything in storage, moving everything out of storage, staying in Airbnb’s, finally finding another place and then hurrying to complete a bunch of new house projects at a record pace… The grocery budget has sort of gone out the window this year.
This is the first year since I started this blog {15 years ago!} that we’ve spent so much on groceries. So while it’s been a bit of an anomaly, we have been enjoying way more convenience foods than in years past.
Part of this is due to the stage of life we’re in right now, and the other part might be due to us getting settled back into a more populated area {with so many more options for buying food}. I suspect things will begin to settle down again next year.
Costco $95.56
We were near Costco so I popped in for some more of those delicious Mediterranean crunch salads we love so much. I’m going to miss those. I won’t miss going to Costco during the months of November and December though. 😉
Walgreens $6.00
For those of you that we’re asking, Kiln Guy sent me a few cookie recipes. 🙂 I asked for the ones I hadn’t made before {the chocolate mint cookies and the Needhams}.
I’ll share the recipes with you as soon as I make the cookies.
Meals were pretty simple this week. I made a batch of Mel’s {not so} drunken beans.
And then froze the leftovers. If you haven’t made them yet we think they are fantastic. A 10 out of 10.
Fresh veggies for snacking were plentiful.
And so we big salads. 🙂
I made BLT sandwiches.
And we tried Trader Joe’s butternut squash lasagna.
I gave it a 6, the HH gave it a 3. Eeek! That was a big surprise! It tasted NOTHING like the butternut lasagna I’ve made in the past. WOW. Most of the ready made meals from Trader Joes are really good. But their butternut squash lasagna? Not so much.
My homemade version is SO MUCH better.
And of course there were those delicious apple strudel muffins we feasted on. I’m looking forward to making those again next month.
It’s been a crazy few months. And thanks to my big Market Basket stock up trip, and the other stock up trips I did last week, we are all set for winter.
I feel like now I can finally relax. Settle in. Get back to rug hooking and trying new recipes and all the other things I love so much.
Winter… I am ready for you!!
~Mavis
P.S. I forgot fresh cranberries. Gaa. I wonder if they sell those at the gas station?
Total Spent This Past Week On Groceries $414.25
October Groceries: $1,369.01
September Groceries: $246.41
August Groceries: $115.71
July Groceries: $401.88
June Groceries: $484.69
May Groceries: $267.13
April Groceries: $135.90
March Groceries: $235.99
February Groceries: $282.90
January Groceries: $167.55
Michelle says
$4000 for the year is still great!
Connie says
Love this. I have done winter stock up for years. We don’t live in harsh climate but not close to a Costco and very far from TJ`s.
It is just so easy to have everything stocked. My husband doesnt mind running to store for bread and milk etc. Thank goodness. I love not going to grocery store.
PastryLover says
Great stock up but I would miss fresh fruit and salad veggies . I guess u can pick up bananas or stuff like cherry tomatoes or cucumbers when u pick up eggs or milk? Do any of the road stands near your place sell apples , pears or winter squash such as butternut or some cabbages to add to your stash? Are the stores really that crowded even in early November say on a Monday morning? The only time our stores are that crowded here are on weekends or the week of a holiday
Mavis Butterfield says
We have plenty of frozen veggies as well as things that store well like potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash and apples. We’ll be fine. 🙂 I can make a big fresh salad in January.
Katherine says
Check to see if your Costco location has curb-side pickup.
Vicki in Birmingham says
And some of them have delivery service too.
PastryLover says
That’s good and if u go out for breakfast u can have a nice fruit salad or if u go for brunch a garden salad ! I just find it so weird that grocery stores get so crowded for 8 weeks! I guess I am also very lucky to have a neighborhood fruit and veggies store ie the only sell fruit and veggies etc. So I could always go there as it’s never crowded!
Mel says
We shop very inefficiently these days due to toddler needs. The latest curveball there is that our son’s allergist wants me to serve homemade egg noodles 3x a week for egg exposure. He tolerates baked goods now, so we need something with a higher concentration of egg in a relatively small serving to build up his tolerance.
So, on the plus side, we’ve done enough milk exposure that he’s outgrown that allergy. On the down side, if anyone needs me, I’ll be rolling and cutting homemade pasta.
I did find time to make molasses spice crinkle cookies this weekend though, so that was nice. I haven’t made them in years.
PSUCHIC06 says
Costco tip (worked there pt for 8 years haha)
The Monday after a coupon book ends is amazing for shopping (even going into the holiday season). I worked 4:30-9…and it was always quiet as a tomb…almost zen like.
And usually they have some instant coupons to fill the hap between the books…
Personally, missing 2 bucks off Charmin is well worth the peaceful shopping experience 🙂
Don’t forget and * means seasonl/not being restocked & .97 endings are mark downs 🙂
I so enjoyed this post… talk about quality of life not having to shop for a while! (And avoiding huge groups of people with colds )
Rosaleen says
Two quick ideas. If I needed to make egg noodles several times per week, I’d consider spaetzle. It should be easier.
Second, Mavis, maybe consider a trip to Market Basket the day after thanksgiving. They might not do it this year, but they sometimes offer discounts on gift cards then.
Ellen in Clackamas says
Does your gas station sell olives? Two cans wouldn’t get me through the holiday season! Other than that it looks like a good stock up.
Mavis Butterfield says
Ha! I doubt it. I really only needed 1 can (for 7 layer dip and pasta salad. But I passed by the again so I tossed another in the cart.
Elly says
Wow! That must feel so good to have it all done for the winter. I am curious how you decide what and how much to buy of each item on your big stock ups? I feel like I would forget a lot of things I would need, especially with the holidays thrown in.
Mavis Butterfield says
I just made a list of all the meals/ recipes I wanted to make/try between now and then.
Torry says
Where did you buy the Tzatziki sauce? My husband’s favorite place to order gyros is a Mediterranean, not Greek, place. I prefer the Greek place because I don’t want the spicy kick that the Mediterranean ones have. Maybe I could just start making them at home or take my sauce with me.
Mavis Butterfield says
Market basket earlier this summer.
Kathy Wolfe says
So in the not so drunken beans do you leave the beer out?
Chris says
Wrap City chips are the best!!! Wish I could get them in the Midwest.
Mavis Butterfield says
They now offer the kettle chips online {not the corn chips though}. https://wrapcitychips.com/
Barbara Dougherty says
I was at TJ’s just yesterday and thought about the butternut squash lasagne and am so glad I didn’t now. I am going today to do another stock up at our Publix and Fresh Market and then I am hoping to only have to buy fresh and dairy. I have a source for SD bread, but I can always attemt that too, lol. If nothing else, there is the 5 ingredient artisan bread I like to make, lol. I think I am ready too. I may have to get just a few things for TG (out of town) and Christmas, but other than that, all done!
Jeri says
I’d just like to say that I made your cauliflower soup yesterday. Oh my, it is so good and so hearty!! Husband mentioned several times how much he liked it. He did the shopping and picked up a tiny cauliflower. After whittling away the leaves and core, it was barely one pound. Fortunately, I had bags of frozen cauliflower that I could add to the fresh to equal two pounds. The soup was easy to make and we’ll have some leftovers, too. Does the soup freeze well?
Mavis Butterfield says
I haven’t tried freezing it yet. Let me know if you do!
Jessica says
Do you have a generator for power outages? Or maybe you don’t have many outages?
We have a generator for outages but I always get nervous when I do a big stock up.