Cooking the Deals: Aug. 4 - 10

A light week deal-wise, perfect for eating from the pantry and freezer!

Jewel:  sweet corn 3 for $.99, Oscar Mayer lunchmeat 2 for $6, Mountain High yogurt quart $2.50, Essential Everyday cereal $1.99, Mrs. T's Pierogies $3.49 buy one get one free, Brownberry bread $4.29 buy one get one free, Cinnabon or Sun Maid breakfast bread $1.69, Hormel Always Tender pork spareribs $1.99 lb, Purdue 93% lean ground turkey or turkey/chicken burgers $3.99 lb buy one get one free, Kellogg's fruit snacks and selected cereals $1.88 each if you buy 6, basic Lunchables $1, Banquet Brown n Serve breakfast sausage $1, nectarines $1.49 lb

Dominicks: seedless grapes $.99 lb, 12 oz raspberries $2.98, Oscar Mayer lunchmeat 2 for $5, Perdue line sale 40% off, $2.49 gallon milk

Aldi: strawberries $.99 pint

Meal ideas:
French toast, breakfast sausages, fresh fruit
Turkey burgers
Turkey meatloaf
Grilled spareribs with corn on the cob

Cooking the Deals: July 28-Aug. 3

Cooking the deals is taking the week off in preparation for a freezer/pantry challenge month. There is too much food in this house!

Cooking the Deals July 21-27

A decent week for chicken, steak, and ribs. A great week to grill and keep the heat down in your kitchen.

Jewel: peaches or nectarines $.99 lb, Perdue fresh chicken 33% off, Lay’s chips buy one get one free, cherries $2.99 lb, kiwis $.50, Sara Lee turkey or chicken breast $2.99 ½ lb, Dannon yogurt multipacks $2, Lunchables $2.50, Mott’s applesauce $3, Edy’s $3.50, Haagen Dazs $3.50, Drumsticks or Edy’s fruit bars $3.99

Dominicks: Perdue whole chicken $.79 lb (price match with Jewel’s sale for an extra 33% off), pork shoulder country style ribs $1.69 lb, beef top loin sirloin steak $2.99 lb, Magnum/Starbucks/Ben and Jerry’s/Breyer’s ice creams $2.49, Frosted Mini-Wheats $2.99

Aldi: strawberries $.99 lb, 19 oz ground turkey $2.49, 14 oz tomatoes on the vine $.99

Suggested dishes:
Crockpot barbecue chicken
Ina Garten’s Perfect Roast Chicken
Slow Cooker Pepper Steak
Asian style Country Ribs
Giada de Laurentiis’s Baked French Toast with Blueberries
Grilled Peaches with Ricotta and Balsamic Reduction

Cooking the Deals: July 14 - July 21

Not a bad week! Time to stock up on meat if you had to dump your fridge and freezer after the power outage.

Jewel: blueberries $1.48 pint, $.28 head green cabbage, beef sirloin tip steak or roast $4.49 lb,  Hormel pork tenderloin $4.99 lb, sweet potatoes $.88 lb, Blue Bunny ice cream $3, General Mills cereals $2.50 each buy 4 get $2 back + free gallon milk coupon, Arnold Italian bread $1.79, 20% off when you buy 4 6-packs or 2 12-packs craft beer

Dominicks: cereal (buy 5 save $5, most will be $1.99 after the discount), boneless skinless chicken breasts $1.99 lb, 80% ground beef $1.99 lb, Capri Sun 3 for $5 (not 100% juice), whole pork tenderloin $4.99 lb, mangoes 2 for $1, romaine lettuce $.99 each, popsicles or Safeway frozen potatoes $1.99, Ben and Jerry’s or Starbucks or Magnum Bars $2.49

Aldi: strawberries $.99 lb, nectarines and peaches $.29 each, mangoes $.49 ea.


Suggested dishes:
Pulled pork with red onion
Grilled Orange Sesame Chicken Wraps with Asian Coleslaw
Lightened Up Chicken Parmesan
Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin
Slow Roasted Barbecue Beef Roast
Cocktail Meatballs
Blueberry Crumb Cake
Paula Deen’s Cornmeal Waffles with Spicy Chili

Peanut Butter Banana Split Sandwiches

adapted from Joe's Farm Grill

2 pieces bread
handful mini chocolate chips
1.5 Tbsp peanut butter
⅓ banana, sliced
2 strawberries, sliced
a few pieces of diced pineapple if you have it

Toast bread, coat both sides with peanut butter, then add banana and strawberry slices (and pineapple if you had it) and sprinkle with chocolate chips. 

These sandwiches have been a hit with my 3-year-old. If you don’t have chocolate chips, you can also spread one side of the sandwich with Nutella. 

Cooking the Deals: July 7 - July 13

This is a pretty slow week for deals aside from beautiful summer produce. Slow sales weeks don’t have to mean paying more for groceries. Slow weeks are a great opportunity to dig into your stockpile and use things up.

Jewel: green asparagus ($1.99 lb), Northwest cherries ($1.99 lb), Perdue roaster chicken or Jewel chicken, thighs or drumstricks ($.99 lb), Oscar Mayer bacon $3.99 (3 day sale, and sadly a good supermarket price for bacon lately), Kellogg’s cereals and fruit snacks ($1.99, not a great price, but not bad if you need it), ice cream (Edy’s, Haagen Dazs, and Nestle varieties, $2.50-$5.25 in multiples of 4), Brownberry bread (buy one get one free), Bounty 8pk regular paper towels $5.89 (unadvertised)

Dominicks: 50% off meat sale... with no prices listed (I’ll update when I  go if there’s anything worthwhile), strawberries ($1.50 for 16 oz), peaches ($.89 lb), Dairy Glen milk ($2.49), Safeway thick-sliced bacon 3 lb. ($8.97 Fri-Mon), Safeway frozen potatoes ($2.29)
Don’t forget to check your Just 4 U pricing on the Dominick’s website. I currently have $2.90 Oscar Mayer bacon and $1.99 toilet paper 4 packs, and others have been getting free Cinnamon Burst Cheerios.

Aldi: strawberries, nectarines

Garden Fresh: bananas, cherries, whole chicken, Prairie Farms milk, 4 lb sugar Domino $1.99 (use $.55 off coupon), crisp head lettuce $.69, limes 15/$1, boneless skinless chicken breasts ($1.79 lb)

Suggested dishes:
Erin Chase’s Pizza Penne Bake
$5 Tacos
Paula Deen’s Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps
Grilled Hawaiian Turkey Sliders
Breakfast for Dinner! Waffles with sausage, or breakfast burritos (scrambled egg, hash browns, bacon or sausage, and cheese in a warm tortilla with salsa)

Cooking the Deals: June 30 - July 5

Jewel: soda ($8 for 4 12-packs), watermelon ($2.98), baked beans ($1.67), corn on the cob ($.22 each), Oscar Mayer hot dogs ($.99 if you buy 10 participating items), brownie mix ($.49 if you buy 10), Nature Valley granola bars ($2.50 each, $7 off in Catalinas if you buy 4)

Dominicks: corn on the cob ($.17 each), Bush’s baked beans ($1.67), Breyer’s ice cream ($2.49), watermelon ($2.49)

Aldi: potato chips ($1.29) and corn chips ($.99), cantaloupe ($.99), blueberries ($1.29), strawberries ($.99), graham crackers ($1.19)

Target: St. Louis ribs( $1.99 lb), corn on the cob ($.20 each), Heinz ketchup ($1.99)

Walmart: pork spareribs ($1.98 lb), corn on the cob ($.20 each)

Suggested dishes:

Just go with it! This week, cookout food rules. Hot dogs, baked beans, watermelon, corn on the cob, and fruit salad. Splash out on some ribs for the grown-ups and serve brownies with ice cream or s’mores for dessert.

The secret to great ribs is braising them rather than boiling them. Lay your ribs in a deep dish, pour a beer around them, and coat liberally in a great spice rub (I use Bronzeville Rib Rub). Cover tightly with foil and cook for about 3 hours at 250 degrees. Bones should be a bit loose and meat should be tender. Coat lightly with barbecue sauce and finish on the grill.

Cooking the Deals: June 23-29

Beautiful produce deals this week!

Jewel: bratwurst ($1.99 lb), green seedless grapes ($.99 lb), asparagus ($1.99 lb), Dannon yogurt ($2 each minus coupons + free milk if you buy 4), Brownberry bread (buy one get one free), Athenos Greek yogurt ($1 - coupons)

Dominicks: Fresh Express salads ($.99), peaches ($.99 lb), red and green seedless grapes ($.99), Beef Whole Flat Bottom Round ($1.99 lb), Brownberry bread (buy one get one free), butter ($2.49 lb with in-ad coupon)

Aldi: peaches, plums, nectarines ($.29 each), strawberries ($.99 lb), canteloupe ($.99), blueberries ($1.69 pint unadvertised)

Garden Fresh: peaches ($.88 lb), medium dozen eggs ($1/2), chicken drumsticks ($.59 lb), 73/27 ground beef ($1.89 lb), pork shoulder roast ($1.89 lb), Braeburn and Fuji apples ($.88 lb), Dannon, Chobani, and Athenos Greek yogurt ($.99)

Suggested dishes:

Grilled bratwursts
Rachel Ray's Bacon-wrapped asparagus
Strawberry salad
Sweet and sour drumstricks
Grilled Pork Chops with Nectarine Salsa
Pioneer Woman's Beer Braised Beef with Onions
Pioneer Woman’s Peach Crisp
(Pork Shoulder) Mexican Carnitas
Spice House Pulled Pork

Cooking the Deals: June 16-22

Great deals this week on produce and meat! Click on titles to link straight to the recipes.

fruit and vegetables: strawberries, corn on the cob, canteloupe, tomatoes, Braeburn apples
meat: whole chicken, pork county style bone-in ribs
snacks: Blue Bunny ice cream, Juicy Juice juice boxes

Corn on the cob:
Corn chowder
Grilled corn on the cob
Ina Garten’s corn muffins
Elote

Whole chicken:
beer can chicken
baked slow cooker chicken

Pork country-style ribs
Nibble Me This country-style ribs
Beer and Barbecue Braised Pork Country-Style Ribs

Just for fun:
If you need a quick and easy dinner before sports practices, try this variation on pizza.

Pita Pizza
Use whole pitas. Smear pita with 1.5 Tbsp of pasta sauce. Add toppings to taste and cover with shredded mozzarella. Cook in 400 degree oven or toaster oven until cheese melts and crust browns and crisps slightly, about 5 minutes. Each pita serves 1.

Jewel Shopping: Freebies, Sales, and Catalinas = $$ Savings

This week Jewel is running a promo: buy 5 Oscar Mayer items and get $5 off. Right now there's also a secondary Catalina on lunchmeat, but I took a look and decided to skip the Catalina. Instead, I bought:

1 Deli Fresh Combo (Kraft First Taste free coupon)

1 Deli Creations (Kraft First Taste free coupon)

1 turkey bacon ($2.99 - $.75 coupon= $2.24)

2 Lunchables with fruit ($2.79 x2=$5.58 - 2x $1 internet printable coupons = $3.38)

= $5.62 - $5 off= $.62 total.

I also bought 4 boxes of Mrs. T's pierogies buy one at $3.49 get one free (saved $6.98), 5 lb of ground beef on sale for $1.98 a lb. (special sale at my Jewel because of a competing store opening nearby), a 3 lb chub of ground turkey on sale, a gallon of milk (free with Catalina from cookies and milk deal going through Wednesday), a quart of Mountain High yogurt (on sale for $2.50 + $1 off coupon), and 3 tubs of Athenos greek yogurt (on sale for $1 + buy 2 get 1 free coupon).

Total paid: $23.03

Total saved: $39.73

After all that shopping, dinner tonight was simple.

Turkey burgers (ground turkey mixed with breadcrumbs and Gateway to the North maple sugar seasoning from Spice House) with Trader Joe's cranberry apple butter on Hawaiian sandwich rolls ($.49 at Dominicks last week) with sweet potato fries (free with Facebook coupon) and watermelon ($2.99 at Aldi).

Cooking the Deals: June 9-15

This week's deals include some wonderful fruits.

fruit and vegetables: raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, canned veggies
prepared foods: macaroni and cheese, pierogies, canned chili, taco seasoning
meat: ground beef, lunchmeat, turkey bacon, split chicken breasts or thighs
snacks: yogurt, brownie mix, cake mix, fruit snacks, and Capri-Sun

Fruit: ($.99 - 3/$5)
fruit salad
Alton Brown’s blueberry muffins
berry pancakes or waffles
fresh fruit smoothies
Paula Deen’s strawberry shortcake

Ground beef:
Tacos
Pioneer Woman's Favorite Meatloaf
Chili
Lasagna rolls except please use ricotta! Lasagna rolls are easy to portion and freeze beautifully.
Sloppy Joes
porcupine meatballs

Cheeseburger macaroni
Brown half a pound of ground beef, set aside. Make macaroni and cheese according to package directions. Add beef to mac and cheese, stir together well. An easy kid-pleasing lunch. Serve with veggies on the side.

Did You Know? Sam's Club

Did you know that you can check prices on many items at Sam's Club through their website? It doesn't work for everything (bakery and most meat items especially), but it's a great tool for comparing prices of bulk staples like flour, frozen items like chicken breasts, and especially refrigerated items like eggs and milk.

Just go to their website, type the item you're looking for in the search window (keep it generic for best results), then look at the results list. You'll need to choose your club to get in-club prices. This is a great tool when planning a Sam's Club trip. It's too easy to overspend at clubs like this, so checking prices will help you know in advance if that cheese or bacon is a deal before you buy 3 lb. of bacon or 5 lb. of shredded cheese.  Since prices change frequently, you will want to check prices before every trip. Two months ago, 3 lb. of Hormel thick-sliced bacon was a great deal at my local club. A month ago, the price went up $2, making it more expensive than buying individual pounds of the same bacon at SuperTarget.

One more fantastic feature at Sam's is "Click 'n Pull" service. If the items you want are on the website, you can add them to a click 'n pull order. Put everything you want in your online shopping cart, then follow the directions to set them as a click 'n pull order. Someone in the store will pull all your items, place them in a cart, and they will be held at the front of the store for you. You set a pick-up date and time (as early as the next day) and pay when you pick up. Not everything is available for Click 'n Pull, but many items are, and using this service can save you big. How? Less time in the club means more time for other errands and fewer impulse purchases in the club. 

Cooking the Deals: June 2-8

After last week’s grilling bonanza and with the summer’s heat suddenly upon us, you may be looking at your usual menus and want something new. Cooking in the summer definitely has its blessings, with a bounty of in-season produce at peak flavor and rock-bottom prices. It can also be challenging to cook meals that won’t leave your kitchen as hot as your oven. Both an outdoor grill and a slow-cooker (Crock Pot) can be lifesavers on hot days.

Not sure what to do with this week’s deals? Here are some ideas for the deals I found this week at Jewel, Dominick’s, and Aldi.


Deals:

• pasta 
• chicken leg quarters 
• yogurt 
• bagged salad 
• strawberries 
• watermelon
• Skippy peanut butter 
• blueberries 
• rib half sliced pork loin 
• macaroni and cheese

 
Ronzoni Garden Selects pasta ($.25 moneymaker after coupons):
Pioneer Woman: Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce
Paula Deen: Italian Pasta Salad

If Paula’s dish is too complicated, try this simple recipe:
Easy Italian Pasta Salad
1 box pasta + 2 chicken breasts + 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables + 1 can olives + 1 bottle Italian dressing. Bake 2 chicken breasts and dice, or use some of the chicken leg quarters from this week’s deals, skin and debone, then dice. Cook up the pasta, set aside to cool. Cook the frozen veg, then toss all ingredients together. Don’t use the entire bottle of dressing, just keep adding until you reach a level of seasoning that works for you. Remember that the dressing will pool at the bottom of the bowl and you can always re-toss this. Then chill the whole thing in the fridge for several hours. This is a great one to make up earlier in the day or the previous night for a quick dinner before sports practices.

Chicken Leg Quarters ($.69 per pound):
All Recipes: Garlic Roasted Chicken and Potatoes
All Recipes: Chicken with Chipotle
All Recipes: Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken Barbecue
Grilled Chicken (marinate overnight in your favorite seasonings and toss on the grill)
Pioneer Woman: Chicken Salad

Leq quarters are higher in fat than breasts, but they’re also more flavorful and more moist. They’re also hands down the cheapest cut you can get. While whole birds will often go down to $.77 a pound, you still have to cut them up or deal with roasting them whole. Leg quarters are a bit easier to work with and freeze beautifully.

Yogurt - Mountain High 32 oz. ($2.50 - $1 coupon, Jewel):
Yogurt is a wonderfully versatile ingredient. I buy whole milk yogurt to feed my 8 month old, flavoring it with fruit I cook up myself. It’s cheaper than YoBaby and infinitely adaptable to her changing tastes. It also has less sugar because I don’t add any!
Yogurt is also great for homemade smoothies. Keep yogurt on hand along with seasonal fruit and bananas for easy smoothies that will please kids and adult alike.
Simple Smoothies (makes 2 large or 3 medium smoothies):
1 banana (ideally chopped and frozen)
6 oz. (about 1 ½ cups) yogurt
about ¾ cup juice or milk
1 ½ - 2 cups frozen fruit (halved strawberries, whole blueberries, raspberries, peach or mango chunks)
Blend together until smooth. If your fruit is not frozen, add 2-3 ice cubes.

Yogurt can also be used in place of buttermilk or sour cream in recipes. I like to use yogurt in buttermilk pancakes (half yogurt, half milk to replace the buttermilk).
And last but not least, yogurt makes a great breakfast or snack layered with fresh fruit and granola.

April Groceries: Week 4

Target was my downfall this week. We are still well under budget, but April was our highest month all year. The main culprits were diapers and ice cream.

Aldi:
10 lb potatoes, 2 lb bananas, 2 tubes biscuits, 2 boxes macaroni and cheese, gallon of milk
Total: $7.63

Target:
7th Generation dish soap, Off Clip-on, 4AA lithium batteries, 2 lb Italian sausage, can of black beans, box of Del Monte fruit freezer tubes, 2 bags frozen peas, 200 ct fish oil pills, bag of Sunchips (free), Target brand Ritz crackers, 3 cans of tomato sauce, pot pie, bag of frozen hash browns, frozen breakfast sausage, 2 bottles of Vitamin D, 2 cards, 12 pack of toilet paper, toddler socks, watering can, 2 packs of Huggies, 1 pack Pullups, 1 pack Target diapers, 3 boxes of Breyers ice cream, 7 pints of Ben and Jerry's
Total: $110.47
Savings: $53.34 (plus $5 gift card to use next week)

Week 4 Total: $118.10
Week 4 Savings: $53.34

April Total: $275.46 ($74.54 under budget)
April Savings: $124.57

April Groceries: Week 3

Week 3 brought more shopping trips, but still an overall low bill. I've gotten so spoiled having a large stash to work through, but it's also a bit daunting seeing that I really need to use up so much food. This week we ate lemon-pepper chicken breasts with rice and peas, braised and sauced barbecue pork ribs, homemade macaroni and cheese, and pizza with ham and pineapple.

Dominicks:
2 bags of mini-Oreos (for homemade ice cream), tube of sugar cookie dough (clearance), flour tortillas (clearance), large cheese pizza
Total: $9.40
Savings: $8.72

Jewel:
4 bottles of Coffee-Mate, box of Good Earth tea
Total: $4.57
Savings: $12.70

Target:
Lysol toilet bowl cleaner, 5 lb box clementines, box of brownie mix, 2 pints of Ben and Jerry's, 1 lb of bananas, 2 gallons of milk, dozen eggs, 6 cups of yogurt, 3 boxes of Del Monte fruit freezers, small tub of spreadable butter, 100 ct generic Benadryl, 5 ct box of Bellybars ($7 off in coupons)
Total: $21.77
Savings: $17.28

Week 3 Total: $44.35
Week 3 Savings: $38.70

April Total-to-date: $157.36 ($105.14 under budget)
April Savings-to-date: $71.23

How Accurate Is "You Saved $$$"?

I always post the "you saved $xx.xx" printed on my receipt (although I add the value of any gift cards used as well), but what does this number really mean? Often, it means next to nothing.

This week, I bought two bottles of V-8 Fusion juice at Dominick's. The sale price was $2.99, with an additional $.50 off coupon if you spent $10 total. I also had a manufacturer's coupon for $1 off. That made each bottle $2.24. According to my receipt, I saved $4.90, $2.45 each. How? The regular price for each bottle at Dominick's is $4.69! I would never pay $4.69 per bottle. I can get bottles for $2.99 regular price at SuperTarget, or two for $5.53 ($2.77 each) at Sam's Club. If I have coupons, I usually use them at Target. If not, I buy at Sam's. So really, all I really saved was the value of the coupons.

Similarly, Jewel had Coffee-Mate on sale for $.99 this week. This was a good bargain, as it's the lowest price I see, and it only comes around every few months. Luckily, Coffee-Mate has a disturbingly long life in the refrigerator. (The ones I just bought don't expire until September!) I scrounged up some $.75 off coupons, and paid $.24 for two of them, and $.99 for the other two. My receipts say I saved $10.70 on those four bottles because the regular price is $3.29 each! I would never pay that. The regular price at SuperTarget is usually around $1.80 each, and I can generally print at least 2 coupons every month for $.75-$1.00 each. So my normal price is $.75 to $1.80 each. I certainly saved here, but nowhere near $10.70.

On the other hand, my receipts at Aldi never reflect "savings," not even sales prices. It's tough to make direct comparisons because the brands (and sometimes sizes) of products are different. However, some items are almost always cheaper at Aldi for me. My son's favorite cheese sticks are usually $2.70 at Aldi. Even at Target the cheapest comparable package is usually around $3.40. These real savings bring my grocery bills down every month.

April Groceries: Weeks 1 and 2

With Easter and everything going on, I missed posting Week 1! Obviously we ate a lot of ham that week. I also tried my hand at freezer cooking twice. I made two batches of chicken pot pie and froze both, then I made two pans of lasagna. We ate one (amazing) and froze one. For those interested, Aldi carries 2 gallon freezer bags, which are great for freezing 9x13 pans of food. 

Week 1:

Aldi:
whole pineapple, frozen chicken pot pie, 5 lb ground beef (with $2 off coupon), 2 bottles apple juice, tortilla chips, jar of mild salsa, 2 cans light fruit cocktail, Reese's peanut butter eggs (juice, chips, salsa, and fruit cocktail were for daycare snacks)
Total: $17.55

Target:
mild Italian sausage, 5 lb whole wheat flour, frozen peas, frozen corn, potato and cheddar pierogis, Banquet breakfast sausages, 6 French toast bagels, dozen eggs, coffee creamer, cup of yogurt, 2 lb. brown rice, lasagna noodles, manicotti noodles, 8.5 lb spiral-sliced ham, 2 pouches tuna (free), 2 bottles of flouride mouthwash (clearance)
Total: $36.72
Saved: $11.81

Jewel:
2 lb strawberries, 4.7 lb sweet potatoes
Total: $6.40
Savings: $3.71

Week 1 Total: $60.67
Week 1 Savings: $15.52

Aldi:
3 gallons of milk, 2 lb bananas, 2 lb carrots, 2 cans mini ravioli, raspberry fruit spread (no HFCS), Reese's peanut butter eggs, 3 boxes 2 gallon freezer bags, 1 box 1 gallon freezer bags, sweet gummi bunnies, frozen chicken pot pie, frozen fruit bars, fudge bars, canned whipped cream
Total: $26.63

Jewel:
Sargento shredded parmesan, 2 lb strawberries, 5 lb clementines
Total: $9.03
Savings: $10.81

Dominicks:
Easter candy, 2 bottles of V8 Fusion juice
Total: $5.98
Savings: $6.20

Target:
large can of sliced olives, 1 lb Fuji apples, 3 Degree men's deoderants (clearanced), bottle of generic Tylenol
Total: $10.70

Week 2 Total: $52.34
Week 2 Savings: $17.01

April Total-to-date: $113.01 ($61.99 under budget)
April Savings-to-date: $32.53

March Groceries: Week 4

March finished up with a trip to Sam's Club, which are never cheap. Our grocery spending has gone down with fewer trips to this mega-store. It's not because prices are high, but because each item ends up being so large.

Aldi:
cantaloupe, 5 lb bananas, 3 pounds butter, pie crust, jumbo biscuits, 3 tubs of ricotta, 2 gallons of milk, 2 bags of peanut puffs, confetti cake mix, 2 boxes macaroni and cheese, 2 lb elbow macaroni, fudge brownie mix, iodized salt, plastic Easter eggs
Total: $28.47

Sam's Club:
2 gallons of milk, 5 lb shredded mozzarella, 20 cocktail croissants, 40 oz coffee beans, 150 kitchen trash bags, 2 bottles of V-Fusion juice, 105 oz can of tomato sauce, 2 gallons of vinegar
Total: $51.38

Week 4 Total: $79.85
Savings: $0

March Total: $240.77 ($109.23 under budget)
March Savings: $38.49

One trend that's easy to see over the last three months that has resulted in vastly reduced grocery bills is that I'm shopping less frequently. We are still eating some items out of our surplus. I've discovered that I vastly overbought on snacky/sugary cereals (Count Chocula in particular), goldfish crackers, and cookies. Bulk purchases that worked out well over the months were the 20+ cans of soup, which are almost gone, the chicken and beef broth (the chicken is totally gone, but I overbought a little on the beef), and 40 lb of flour (using up the last bag now). Easy lunches and ingredients, rather than prepared treats, got eaten first.

March Groceries: Week 3

Another week under budget, though not as much as before. I bought diapers and stocked up on some things. We ate pizza, corned beef at a friend's house, leftover chicken, pancakes, and "game food" (bagel dogs, mac and cheese bites, tater tots).

Target:
2 jumbo packs of Up and Up diapers, 5 lb red potatoes, 2 dozen eggs, moisturizer, deoderant, jolly rancher gummis (for Easter basket), 1 pack Peeps, 2 chocolate covered Peeps, 1 Reese's bunny, brownie mix, sand toy, 2 boxes Raisin Bran Crunch, 2 boxes Mini-Wheats
Total: $43.69
Savings: $12.98

Aldi:
3 bags of peanut puffs (seasonal item I love), hamburger buns, steel cut oats (still $1.79), Club crackers, wintergreen Life Savers, Easter chocolate, bagel dogs, dozen frozen glazed donuts, frozen manicotti, 8 oz mozzarella, 3 lb bananas, 2 lb clementines
Total: $25.16

Week 3 Total: $68.85
Week 3 Savings: $12.98

March Total to Date: $160.92 ($101 under budget)
March Savings to Date: $38.49

March Groceries: Week 2

Yet another light week of shopping here, and another week under budget.  We ate pizza, baked chicken with rice and peas, chili, and homemade chicken pot pie.

Target:
AAA batteries, granola bars, vegetable bouillon, tortillas, dry kidney beans, canned black beans, Banquet chicken pot pie, frozen breakfast sausage, DiGiorno 200-calorie pizza (free), kid's toothbrush, toilet paper, birthday card
Total: $25.72
Savings: $8.19

Dominicks:
2 64 oz bottles of Motts Natural apple juice, 2 packages string cheese, 3.5 lb corned beef, cheese pizza
Total: $18.17
Savings: $12.88

Aldi:
small chicken pot pie, 2 gallons skim milk, 3 lb bananas, 5 lb sugar
Total: $14.86

Week 2 Total: $52.29
Week 2 Savings: $21.07

March Total-to-date: $92.07 ($82.93 under budget)
March Savings-to-date: $25.51