October Groceries: Week 4

Well, October's grand total was a lot higher than September. Week 4 brought, once again, too many trips to Target, but I also had the opportunity to stock up on quality spices.

Dominicks:6.8 lb roaster chicken, large cheese pizza
Total: $13.10
Savings: $8.95

Target: 
1 jumbo pack Pampers, Palmolive dish soap, 1 bag 100 Grand fun-size bars, jumbo bottle of ketchup, 2 cans Campbells Cars soup, 1 lb brown rice, 1 loaf Brownberry potato bread, Happy Baby macaroni and cheese (free), 2 bottles of Coffee-mate, 2 bottles Suave shampoo, generic Nyquil, anti-viral Kleenex, 3 pairs of kids' socks ($.70 each, for Xmas stocking), bag of fun-sized Twix, bag of fun-sized 3 Musketeers dark mint, bag of fun-sized M&Ms, 2 bottles Ocean Spray cranberry juice, 2 boxes Count Chocula, Elmo toothbrush, Sesame Street book and stickers (stocking stuffers), 5 pack baby wipes, 1 box Boo Berry, 1 box Frankenberry, 1 bag frozen green peas, 1 bag frozen corn, 2 small rolls crescent rolls, 2 blocks of Kraft cheddar, 12 pack Cottonelle toilet paper, 2 super-mega packs of Huggies, 2 boxes Fudge Shoppe cookies, 1 bag frosted animal crackers, 1 bottle Aveeno baby lotion, 1 Milky Way bar (free), 1 box oyster crackers, Disney Cars refrigerator magnets
Total: $96.43
Savings: $76.17

Spice House:
1/2 cup mustard powder, 1/2 cup ground cloves, 8 oz turkey brine mix, 1/2 cup tandoori seasoning, 1/2 cup orange zest
Total: $18.61

Week 4 Total: $128.14
Week 4 Savings: $85.12

October Final Total: $381.78
October Total Savings: $291.59

Not bad savings, and under my $400 monthly budget, but clearly I shopped too much! I spent about $35 on diapers, $8 on baby wipes, and $8 on Halloween candy.

The money spent at Spice House was unusual, but completely worth it. Spice House is a local chain run by another branch of the Penzey family. Many of my recipes depend on Spice House blends. I use their Bronzeville Rib Rub on my ribs and pulled pork and Back of the Yards garlic pepper in soups, stews, and on meats. I used Gateway to the North maple sugar seasoning on my pork medallions this week. Great spices really make a difference and perk up my cooking. I was lucky enough to discover this store when I lived two blocks away in my early post-college years. They also sell the best cinnamon in the world, Saigon cassia. They even sell it "cracked," in chunks that you can toss in with coffee beans to kick up your morning brew.

We've been sick here, so we ate a lot of homemade chicken soup, pork medallions with baked potatoes and green beans, homemade chicken pot pie, and mummy dogs for Halloween. (Hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls.)

In November, Thanksgiving will likely increase our spending, so we'll do another week of eating out of the pantry at some point this month. My husband is starting a new job, so we'll be adjusting our routine to work with his schedule as well.