So on Monday, The Girl and I were out running errands and stopped by Fred Meyer to pick up a few things. When we got there, we noticed a 50% off sale. WOWZA. Although the sign was totally unexpected, it made sense because a much larger Fred Meyer was opening 48 hours later on the other side of the freeway. So apparently, it’s just cheaper {and less of a hassle} than to just move the food.
We arrived about 10 am. The store opened at 7 am and already a bunch of the shelves were cleared of the good stuff. If I would have known nearly everything in the store was going to be 50% off, I would have been there at 7 am with sneakers on.
It turned out, I wasn’t the only one who just stopped by to pick up a few things and thought I’d be in and out of the store in 5 minutes. The guy in front of me had only stopped in for a gift card and ended up with a cart full of chips and sports drinks {priorities!}.
Fred Meyer $80.48
With the exception of the cereal and chips, I don’t know, it kind of looks like a normal big shopping trip. Butter eggs, milk, fruit, a roast, tea {the good coffee was all gone} a few frozen dinners, ice cream, and those nutty bars my husband loves so much.
I’m actually trying to use up what I have in my pantry and freezer right now and not buy more than I think we can eat in a reasonable amount of time, Otherwise, I think I would have stocked up on more butter and tea. 😉
Albertsons $1.98
I plan on making another Mississippi Pot Roast soon and needed an au jus packet and they were $0.99 each or buy 2 get 1 free. So I grabbed 3. And then when I got home and read the ingredient list on the back I was like… what the heck did I just buy?
Freezer Meal of the Week: Meatloaf
We enjoyed on last week and I popped the other in the freezer for a busy weeknight. I don’t know why, but we are all craving meatloaf and mashed potatoes lately.
Quick Dinner: Frozen Pizza
Crock Pot Meal of the Week: Split Pea and Ham with cabbage and onion.
Mrs. HB and I got together last week and made a skillet chicken pot pie with a biscuit crust. I have a feeling I’ll be making it again real soon.
Taco Night {without the taco shells/tortillas}.
Make Ahead Breakfast: Homemade Granola. Have you made your own granola before? It’s CRAZY EASY and much, much less than what you can get it for in the store. Plus, you can put all your favorite ingredients in it.
Salad of the Week: Quinoa Salad {again}
Go to Snack: Beans and rice, rice and beans
Homemade Treat of the Week: Our favorite chocolate chip cookies.
How about YOU? Did you find any unexpected deals at the grocery store this week? And if you just happened to walk in a grocery store that was having a 50% off sale, what would you have went home with?
~Mavis
Total Spent This Week $82.48
Total Spent in January on Groceries $142.92 {EEK!}
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
Brianna says
If I walked into a grocery store with 50% off, I would probably buy more than usual. I would get some vanilla extract and spices, the good expensive peanut butter (has just peanuts and salt), nuts (almonds, peanuts, pistachio, macadamia), beef jerky, coffee (only if they have what I love), meat (I love lamb and hubby likes beef), those condensed kids soups (my kids eat a can each at a setting), tampons (they have gotten pricey over the past few years), kids toothbrushes (I have 2 kids who are chewers and wear them down fast), dried fruit, and maybe a few other pantry staples.
They must not have announced it as they guy ahead of you must have been just as surprised.
Mavis Butterfield says
By the time I got there they only had peanuts left LOL, I wish they still had cashews!
Ashley says
Oh yes, that packet is like 3 cents worth of beef bouliion, corn starch and salt. Any time I need a gravy or onion soup pack I just use dried mince onion and beef bouillon (plus flour or corn starch if it needs thickener).
That pea soup looks really interesting! We like our pea soup super mushy to the point where you can’t see the peas, but if I could get the kiddos to eat cabbage, too, that would be a win.
Also, nutty bars are the best! I haven’t had one in many years, but I have a specific way to eat them (layers!) which drives my hubby crazy. I may have to buy some now- and the swiss cake rolls, omg! My parents used to keep little debbie treats in the freezer and that was our dessert/treat/ice cream once every couple weeks.
Kathie S. says
I ran into the store today to stock up on meat and saw at the check out that they had party goods on clearance for $0.99 each. So my daughter picked out a really pretty butterfly print for her birthday party. Two 75 count napkins, two 24 count cups and three table covers. We just had to pick up solid color plates at Walmart and for $10 we are set. No fear of running out of paper goods :). Also, if I saw a 50% off sign at the store I’d grab cereal, juice, meat, feminine care products and Ring Dings for the husband.
Laura says
Picked up some marked down ground pork for 99 cents a pound. Made teriyaki meatballs last night with homemade teriyaki sauce. Easy and so good! Gonna make potstickers with the other pound I got, but had to put it in the freezer since I didn’t have time to get the other ingredients before it would have gone bad. Nice score I thought!
Nancy says
I know this has nothing to do with the awesome sale you bumped into….but could you write more about how you decided to move across the country, and how you found the town you picked? Did you have a checklist of must haves like “no drought,” “no wildfires,” “no income tax?” (Can you tell I live in California?) I’m sure you included no HOA! I’ve been absent for a while so maybe this blog exists and I missed it. If so, please point me in the right direction!
Thanks!
Mavis Butterfield says
Yep, when I’m ready to I will. 🙂
Lisa C. says
I see your Split Pea and Ham with cabbage and onion. I looked at the original linked recipe and don’t see where they add cabbage, can you tell me how much you add to your recipe? I want to make this, and would love to add cabbage to it!
Mavis Butterfield says
I had about 1/3 of a head left in the fridge so I just chopped it up and tossed it in. 🙂
Christine says
Taco night!! Lately I’ve been ‘doubling’ our taco meat by using prepared quinoa in place of another pound of ground beef or chicken. This guarantees ‘planned overs’ for packing lunches the next day. We’ve been cutting back on meat and subbing quinoa in other dishes too; spagetti, meatloaf, etc. Love hearing about your recipes!
Candy C. says
I probably would’ve wiped the shelf of butter and King Arthur flour and the baking nuts. Yep, I am a baker.
Mona says
I love the Mississippi Pot Roast recipe but I have made the following changes: beef Better Than Bullion instead of au jus packet (bleh!), 1/2 the suggested butter and no jalapenos. I do not brown before putting in the crock pot. These changes make the recipe work for our family.
Tracy says
Love better than bullion
Esp at costco
Kathy Gardner says
I found sliced peaches in juice marked down to .39 a can and got all of them, 12 cans.. not a thing in the world wrong with them and almost two years out on the expiration date. I’ve made one small cobbler with one can already. Before that I got canned mushrooms for .29 a can.
Mel says
I make granola pretty regularly, and I just recently started making homemade yogurt to go with it to reduce the costs even further.
Part of me says I’d clean out a grocery store if they had a 50% off sale, and part of me wonders what I’d actually be able to find given our store’s track record. Seriously, what store doesn’t carry whole wheat flour these days?
AlysonRR says
That new Fred Meyer will have to be really awesome to make up for the loss of Main&Vine. I loved that store! We passed by last week and thought of stopping, but alas, the kids were too tired… Congrats on your timing!