The ladies are still producing 3 – 4 eggs a day and we don’t even have a light in the coop. I’d say that’s pretty darn cool.
Have you ever received a fruit basket before? Every time I see a fruit basket I think of George Costanza’s Ray Barone’s parents. What are we supposed to do with all this fruit!? Remember that episode? I wish I could find a video, it was HILARIOUS!
UPDATE: LaToya found the video and it was Ray’s parents, not George’s! 🙂 Thanks LaToya!
One pound of {what looks like canned} corn for $2.96. What a deal.
Market Basket $50.07
After all the recommendations last week about the Califia Farms milk I told the HH about it and he grabbed 2 bottles to try.
He thought the unsweetened vanilla was just okay and The Girl thought the original flavor tasted like liquid powered donuts. Oh well, everyone’s tastes are different. The search continues.
Market Basket Take 2 $65.65 {Snow was foretasted, and so you know, he didn’t want to run out of the essentials}
After reading an article about Tom Petty and the perfect cup of coffee, the HH decided to try Maxwell House coffee a few weeks ago, and well, he’s sold. Maybe it’s all in his head, or maybe it really is good to the last drop. Who knows. Also, we bought 2 boxes of Kashi cereal earlier in the week {for me, because it’s my favorite} and what do you know…. The HH and the Girl gobbled down both boxes before I even got one bowl of cereal for myself.
Funny how that happens. Note to self: having too much milk in the house {even if it’s fake milk} is dangerous.
ALDI $40.58
If I haven’t mentioned it before, ALDI has THE BEST chili beans. Seriously, all you need to do is add some ground meat, a can of Rotel and a little water and you have a seriously good pot of chili.
Butter was on sale for $1.99 a pound. What are you paying for it these days?
And the chocolate molten lava cakes. I have a sneaking suspicion they taste just like the ones Trader Joe’s sells. Research. It’s so hard sometimes.
A Christmas care package from Texas Tamale Company. Exciting!!!! I don’t know about you but I love food gifts. We plan on trying a few tonight for dinner.
French Baguette $2.75 from one of my favorite pastry shops.
The best meatloaf I’ve ever tasted. Recipe coming tomorrow.
Steak pie take 2. I think the HH has perfected it. Recipe coming in the New Year.
Simple quiche with ham, sweet Green squash, ham, spinach and red onion. Yum!
Pickety bits. Cheese and crackers never get old.
How about YOU? Did you find any deals at the grocery stores this week? Have you pretty much blown your grocery budget for the year like I have. 😉 Curious minds want to know.
~Mavis
Total Spent this week $171.55
Total Spent in December $293.91 <– $83 on cheese for house guests
Total Spent in November $250.09 <– I blame it on the cheese and grapes!
Total Spent in October $218.57 <– Stocked up on cheese {Because cheese is life}
Total Spent in September $180.97
Total Spent in August $259.90 <– $30 on salami splurge in Boston
Total Spent in July $276.56 < – $38 Spent on Amish meat and cheese
Total Spent in June $206.47 <- Attempting once a month grocery shopping
Total Spent in May on Groceries $216.50 <- Included a stock up trip to King Arthur Flour
Total Spent in April on Groceries $169.98
Total Spent in March on Groceries $306.75 <– Apartment life, moving across the country and settling into a new house
Total Spent in February on Groceries $259.81 <- Living in an apartment and buying a lot of ready-made meals
Total Spent in January on Groceries $240.15 <– Packing mode and not cooking from scratch as much
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
RobininSoCal says
Have you thought about making your own almond milk. It’s actually very easy and you can use the leftover almond meal for baking.
Jennifer says
Butter here at WM is $2.04 and has been for at least 6 months. Aldi is $1.99, so not worth the extra few miles. WM also has the 18 ct. package of eggs for 80¢, yes, eighty cents for eighteen eggs and they have been that price or a few pennies either way since the first of the year. We go through a lot of eggs, so it’s a great deal for me.
Question: the picture of picket bits – is that one serving or is it for two people? Just wondering.
Never buy a fruit basket – I used to make them when I worked for Kroger and the mark-up is insane. It was something like 400% back in the 90s and from what I’ve noticed recently, not much has changed!
In this post, the thing that surprised me the most was the box of Hamburger Helper. I’ve never bought it or had it, but mainly because I think I got a negative impression of it as a kid and never got past it. My kids used to BEG me to buy it for them, but I’ve always cooked from scratch, so I always thought it was easier to do it my way.
Bec B. says
My mom’s old boss would always send a pear basket for Christmas. They would always arrive rock hard and then ripen on the exact same day so we would have to hurry and eat them all before they went bad. As an adult, I can hardly bring myself to eat one!
I’m having a bit of a meltdown cooking-wise at the moment, so we’re trying out a few of those meal kit delivery services for a bit since they’re always discounted for the first few orders. We tried one in the past and weren’t fans, but I’m willing to give it a chance if it will keep me out of Safeway and Costco for a few weeks!
Glenda says
I drink the unsweetened Califia almond milk and it is delicious, but as you said people’s tastes are different. I am pretty sure I wouldn’t like the original or the vanilla, either. The one that has ‘unsweetened’ across the front is a green label. I use it, mostly, in coffee or on oatmeal.
I have never given a fruit basket, as people’s preferences are all over the place. Sort of like the almond milk
LaToya says
I’m pretty sure you’re talking about Everybody Loves Raymond.
It’s a club? Oh my, what am I going to do with all this fruit?
And he tells her to share it with her friends and she says that they buy their own fruit.
LOL!
Found it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNBwCQQpuaw
Mavis Butterfield says
YES!!!!!!!!
Susan says
Oh my goodness I just watched this video and laughed so hard I had tears running down my face! Thanks for sharing!
MRs. C says
ALdi owns Trader Joes.
Butter: $3.50 on sale. I am hoping that after New Year’s they really cut the price and clear it out.
MIlk: .try the cashew milk by Almond BReeze
LaToya says
They say they aren’t.
But they are each owned by a brother – Aldi brothers – and say they are independent. You gotta think some of that is related because a lot of their products are way too similar.
Beth says
The brothers started out with a store in Germany and from what I read split ways over spilt milk and still don’t talk to one another- they are now competing with their own stores. Quite the story.
Wendy Clark says
Here in Alabama butter at ALDI was $1.99 and cream cheese was .59/block so I stocked up. Our Walmart has a clearance rack and they had boxes of yellow rice for .75 and lemon jello boxes for .25 each so I grabbed lots of those.
Cecile says
Oh how I would love to find a deal on butter like that this time of year! On average we pay $4.99-5.99/lb and sometimes it even goes into the $6 range! At Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter it dips down to $2.99 and it goes like hotcakes! If you are looking for a soy based milk, we really enjoy the unsweetened Coconut Almond Silk brand. Plain coconut was too coconutty and the almond was to blah! If you are really wanting a treat the dark chocolate is awesome when you are having chocolate cravings!
Ramona says
When butter is on sale I buy several and freeze it.
Jennifer Meyer says
I second that! The dark chocolate silk is ahhhhmazing!!! I could drink it like water!
Nancy D says
FYI – Blend up Dark chocolate silk milk and frozen banana chunks and a big spoonful of peanut butter for a wonderful smoothie (or thicker and eat with a spoon). My kids LOVED it!
Jennifer says
I would love to know where you live. I would guess Hawaii or Alaska, but I’m probably way off.
Joanna says
Was it really on sale? At my Aldi, if you peel back the hanging sticker on an item that says “was $3.99, now $2.99”, the original price was always $2.99. In fact, on the bottom left of your picture, the original price per pound for the butter was $1.99 a pound.
Jen says
My aunt always did everything high-end, including specialty coffee for very high prices. Until, that is, she had a cup of my Maxwell House. She always said my coffee was the best, and converted. Thanks for the link to the Tom Petty article, a very interesting read.
Rachael says
I like the blue diamond or silk brand original almond milks. I think the cashew flavor is the best plain one… but the chocolate versions are really good. I haven’t tried making my own, but it’s supposed to be easy. It’s also probably healthier, cheaper & way less processed.
Ginger says
Our favorite alterna-milk is the Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Cashew. It’s incredibly creamy.
Stacie says
I use the Blue Diamond Almond milk in the rectangular box. It’s not in the refrigerated section; its on the aisle with the chips and nuts at HEB. I only use it to make smoothies, so I cannot testify to the taste on it’s own, but it’s great in smoothies.
Robyn says
Here on Vancouver Island, walmart had a good brand of butter on for $ 2.97. Regularly $5.19. Yup- our prices are double what you pay in the USA. So I bought a bunch and froze it.
Kathy says
The butter was listed in our flyer at Aldi for 1.99 limit 4. I found recently that the Walmarts regular price is 1.98lb. That is the best price by at least $1 per lb at any other area stores for their SALE price.I use up to 20lbs for Holiday baking so that is a significant savings for me.
Sally says
Making your own almond milk is so easy and it tastes way better than anything in the store.
Disne says
Ok, i’ll bite… how do you make almond milk?
Mavis Butterfield says
We made it a few years back. Here is the recipe –> https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/recipe-how-to-make-almond-milk/
Michelle O. says
Measure 1 cup raw almonds in a non metal bowl. Cover with water and let soak overnight. Rinse and put in high speed blender with 4 cups water. Blend for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Strain through a fine mesh bag and voila! almond milk. Taste it, use as is or you can experiment and add vanilla, cocoa, maple syrup – endless possibilities. It lasts for 3-4 days in the fridge. You can google recipes for almond pulp – it’s okay to eat/drink but the almond milk won’t be as smooth if you don’t strain it.
Gale says
Those tamales are great if you can’t get homemade. We eat them in Texas for New Years with chili or queso on top. Just steam and don’t forget to shuck them.
Kipper says
Lowest price in Seattle that I’ve seen is 2/$5.00 for butter. I have made tamales twice. It is like homemade bread, the time it takes to make it is far longer than the time it takes to “disappear”. Love the Texas Tamale Company tamales. Smaller than home made, but just as tasty! Yum-O!
Debby says
We have 10 chickens and over a month ago we were getting 0 – 3 eggs a day. I figured that would last till spring. Wrong…! Over night we started getting 6 – 8 a day, and about a week ago that included brown eggs from 2 chickens that had stopped laying the last 2 months. The only thing different was a red light/heat lamp. I figured because it is red, it wouldn’t encourage the chickens to lay. Egg production increased about a week+ after the light was set up.
Mavis Butterfield says
Interesting!
Melissa says
Yep. We do put a red light in the hen house, too. Still getting 2 doz eggs per day.
Carrie Council says
That’s great! I read that adding light well after the days shorten wouldn’t work but you proved them wrong! My 3 new layers are laying 1-2 every other day and the older girls are not laying at all. Egg laying always picks up in January for me. I did notice my 10 month old Black Australorp has lost her head feathers. I’m hoping its just an early molt for her and not the others picking on her. 🙁
Mary Pearce says
Amused by the number of times cheese has put you over budget! It’s one of my weaknesses, too.
Angela says
I wasn’t sure if you were being sarcastic about the chocolate cakes or not but I recently learned that ALDI owns Trader Joe’s…so it makes sense they have similar products. I saw this video that gives a cool history lesson on ALDI: https://youtu.be/bfSFLyJqXfs
Cass says
I need to start your picky bits dinner once a week. Yours always look so good.
I went to Aldi’s this weekend. $150 and I couldn’t fit it in the cabinets. (I have a HUGE butler pantry) SO I have to eat it up. LOL
Have a great Christmas.
Carrie Council says
I overspent this week at Aldi too. I did buy the ingredients to make fudge and some other Christmas goodies as well as a splurge on sirloin. I’m hoping I will only need to buy produce next week and have a pantry clean out the days following Christmas.
Melissa says
I’m over budget this year. But still lower than the government thrifty plan for my family. We don’t splurge on much else. Food is our love language. Especially cheese. And dark chocolate.
Ps. Those eggs look beautiful, Mavis.
Nancy D says
Gosh, your meals are beautiful, inspiring and delicious looking! What a gift to have a husband who enjoys cooking on that level! Three cheers!!!
Mavis Butterfield says
I know, right? Who knew he liked to cook so much!!! I am loving it.
Susan Webster says
My husband and I loved this episode…”the pears, the pears…what am I supposed to do with ALL these pears!”
Lolly says
I’m laughing at how many times your month’s grocery budget was busted….and you blamed it on cheese!!!!!
Vicki says
Butter here is $2.04 a pound at our local WalMart. I always try to keep several pounds in the freezer in case I go in one day to find they’ve raised the price or lowered the quantity the way they did on cheese and green beans. They both stayed the same price, but the cheese package dropped from 8 ounces to 6, and green beans from 16 ounces to 12.
What I really wanted to comment on, though, is Week 50 of 52. Really? I get that Christmas is in a week, but I still feel like there should be more than two weeks left in this year …
Karin C says
For Butter here in Falkland BC, I shop in Vernon BC when it’s in sale for under $3 I stock up, last week Safeway had it for $2.97 limit if 8, I bought 8 and sent hubby to get 8, we use it instead of margarine and I use it in baking and have been making lots of cookies and 3 batches of Nuts & Bolts .
Emily Decker says
What am I paying for butter? $4.25/lb full price. That *is* for organic butter though. I’m in PA. Aldi also has it on sale for $2/lb and it’s regularly $3/lb for regular.