Well it was another delicious week in the food department at our place. Lot’s of homemade meals, plus we stocked up on lot’s of goodies for the freezer.
We are currently $17.44 over budget for the year but with the summer growing season right around the corner, I think we’re in pretty good shape.
We still have loads of beans, rice, pasta and canned goods in the pantry to help stretch our meals and it probably helps that we are not super exciting eaters. Ha!
Keep it simple.. That’s my motto when it comes to meal time.
Hannaford $29.79 {not pictured, a gallon of milk}
Whole chickens were on sale last week at Hannaford so we grabbed three {1 to cook and 2 for the freezer}.
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE buying the whole chickens as they seem to go a long way. Typically I can get a roast chicken dinner, a chicken curry, chicken soup and then chicken stock for the freezer out of just one bird.
I think they’re a bargain and I try to stock up whenever I can.
There was also a pot roast dinner {and a leftover pot roast soup} that used up the rest of our carrots and potatoes.
Beans and salsa. The breakfast of champions.
And homemade cinnamon rolls {most of which I froze, unbaked}.
Farmer’s Market – Lettuce $4.50
We also popped by the Rockland farmer’s market last week to check out the stalls and see what was new. If only I had a greenhouse, I could be harvesting my own lettuce this early in the season {HH, are you reading this? We need a greenhouse!!}.
Big salads… Just wait until the tomatoes and peppers start rolling in, then they’ll be a little more exciting.
I just can’t bring myself to buy tomatoes at the grocery store. I mean, they may look like tomatoes, but they taste like cardboard. No thanks, I’ll wait for the real deal.
I also bartered with The Duck Lady for some butter. ( I traded her a frozen turkey, which was taking up way too much room in the freezer {and, because the HH and I are both sort of tired of eating turkey}.
Frozen fruit $85
But what I really needed the room for was 20 pounds of frozen berries {10 pounds of blackberries and 10 pounds of sweet cherries}. I had asked The Kiln Guy if he knew where to find some {he used to be a caterer} and he did! The berries and cherries are HUGE and just what I was looking for.
I have a few recipes I want to try this summer and this will give me plenty to play with.
I still have frozen blueberries in the freezer from last year that I need to use, so now I just need to wait until the local strawberries are available and then I’ll be set on fruit for the summer.
Also, my Mother In Law sent us a freezer full of Graeter’s ice cream {6 pints for the HH’s birthday and 6 for me for Mother’s Day}.
It was a good week in the stock up department here, at Camp Butterfield that’s for sure. 😉
How about YOU? Did you find any deals or stock up on anything good this past week? Curious minds want to know.
~Mavis
*****
Total Spent This Past Week on Groceries $119.29
- Total Spent on Groceries in May $131.33
- Total Spent on Groceries in April $35.36
- Total Spent on Groceries in March $82.28
- Total Spent on Groceries in February $101.14
- Total Spent on Groceries in January $167.33 {this includes buying groceries on Fair Isle}
- Total Spent on Groceries in 2023 $517.44
jess says
What in the Cheese Crown ice cream?? I walk directly past the Graeters display as it always is so pricey.. I might need to reconsider this….
Mavis Butterfield says
Here’s a link to the description: https://www.graeters.com/cheese-crown-ice-cream
Lucy says
Mavis you hit the jackpot in the ice cream world. Graeter’s ice cream is the bomb!!
Kim says
Your MIL is a fantastic gift giver!
Mavis Butterfield says
It’s the best ice cream on the planet!!
Rosemary says
I have been harvesting romaine and red leaf lettuce from my garden. I also got one radish. Yup, just one. For some reason my radishes did not do well. At least I haven’t had to buy lettuce for a while now.
I agree with you on the tomatoes. This is just nothing like a home grown tomato. My tomato plants have a lot of tomatoes on them and I can’t wait to start picking them.
In other news, I finally wrote a blog on my topless greenhouse. Maybe it will encourage others to think outside the box if they want a garden but think it isn’t possible. I will add updates in the future – I am hoping this ends up being a success story and not just a failed experiment. If anyone wants to check it out, here is the link for my blog: https://mypracticalhome.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-topless-greenhouse-we-live-in-rural.html
Ashley Bananas says
This week I was able to score a free store brand 2 ltr of soda at Winn Dixie. I picked up a root beer for my son to enjoy. I stopped drinking soda in November and we buy it very infrequently now.
I was able to get 4 containers of Edy’s icecream for free at my local Publix, they were bogo, and then had a $5 off $20 digital coupon, as well as $1.50 off each container ibotta rebate. They ended up being free after sale/digital coupon/ibotta rebate. I was also able to get mini babybel cheese on a bogo sale and with an ibotta rebate, making them $2.50 each for the bag/container.
At Aldi Sunday morning I was able to purchase two packages of chicken for 1/2 off the regular price. One package was chicken cutlets cut thin, I used this for a mother’s day dinner last night where I stuff the chicken with cream cheese, ball it, then wrap it in bacon and bake. It was amazing!! I also got a package of chicken thighs, which I have always wanted to try but never know how to prepare. I will look for recipes today, but also welcome any suggestions. They are a less expensive cut of meat, so maybe a good go to if I can figure out some recipes.
My neighbor gave away some food items in our neighborhood group. I asked if I could pick them up, it included 2 1lb spaghetti packages, 2lbs of rice, and a handful of canned goods. I am very thankful.
I keep going =)
suzanne says
I make this one on rotation. I Usually use boneless/skinless thighs caused my HH is weird about it.
https://omgchocolatedesserts.com/chicken-vesuvio-recipe/
Laura says
Highly recommend checking out the website “Budget Bytes” as they have lots of chicken thigh recipes and you can search by ingredients to easily find one you’ll like.
Annette says
Yes, Budget Bytes is great.
Lana says
We scored gluten free brownie mixes for $1 and gluten free Bisquick for $1.50. Ten boxes of Dove ice cream bars totaled 10.16 with sale and coupons. Yum.
mary mcmahon says
I live in Graeter’s home town, Cincinnati! My faves are double chocolate chip and coconut chip. Mary in Cincinnati
Jennifer says
Graeters is the best. Also love Braums out of Oklahoma. Won’t build a store over 300 miles from their dairy so can control quality .
Torry says
We also love whole chickens. Roasted one day. Then, any two of the following: Chicken White chili, chicken enchiladas, a chicken casserole (like a tuna casserole, except using chicken instead of tuna and cream of chicken soup instead of mushroom soup) or chicken “gravy” over biscuits . Sometimes we have chicken sandwiches.
Economical and tasty.
Terry McA says
It was an expensive week here. I made the trip to another town (unfortunately for the dentist), and stopped at Festival Foods. They had Black Angus Prime Sirloin Steaks for only $8.99 a lb! PRIME! Oh my gosh! I picked up 4, each around a pound. Also picked up nice hunks of salmon, chicken breasts, and from their butcher counter I got some wonderful Duroc pork chops (heritage breed) and their own chicken cordon bleu. Chicken legs were on sale for $1.99/lb, so they went into the crockpot then under the broiler with some bbq sauce. In total, I spent close to $200 in meat, but my freezers are full again. This week we ate the chicken legs, and from the freezer was sloppy joe casserole, tuna casserole, Mongolian beef and coconut rice, and burgers with homemade sugar-free bread and butter pickles for Mother’s Day (that’s all mom wanted).
Laurie Lasala-Tuttle says
Hi Mavis,
What do you consider a good price per pound on whole chickens? I could see the total price of each chicken, but not the ppp on the store labels. Have loved your blog for years!!
Mavis Butterfield says
$0.99 or less is my buy price.
Laurie Lasala-Tuttle says
Thanks so much for letting me know! Too bad, I haven’t seen prices like that for a long time.