Saving at the grocery store!

This isn't exactly a typical Owen post, but that is ok. :o) Chris and I have been trying to stop spending so much money at the grocery store, and as a way to make myself more accountable, I am going to try and post our dinner menu for the week, each week. We shall see how long I keep up with the posting! Our grocery spending was getting out of hand. We would go, wander around the store with no list, no plan, and spend $150 at least every 5 days. Waste.Of.Money. And all of that money would be spent on maybe 2 meals, and the rest would be junk. SO, we joined Costco and started buying things that we use a lot in bulk. Here is what we always buy from Costco: chicken breast (they come in about 6 lb packages, but each pound is individually vacuum packed and sealed, so you just tear off one package when you need one pound. It is $2.99/lb this way)...chips for lunches, Owen's fruit cups, juice boxes, breakfast bars, Rotel, canned veggies, shredded cheese (HUGE savings!), bread, peanut butter, Goldfish, fruit snacks, snacks to give to O's babysitter, gum,mac and cheese and some other things I am forgetting. Then we make a weekly trip to Price Chopper to get what we need to complete our weekly menu. Plus fresh fruits/veggies/milk, etc. So, with that said, here is our menu this week.

Sunday-Spinach, Artichoke, Chicken Pasta. (More pricey meal at around $9, but it makes enough for Chris and I both to have lunch the next day...plus we have hearty appetites, so if you are as big of an eater as we are, you will probably have enough for 2 nights of this)

Monday- Chicken Pot Pie (This is a Bisquick recipe, and is really inexpensive at around $5.50! Plus it will give Chris and I lunch the next day!) And as a bonus, since I had the George Foreman grill out to grill the chicken for Sunday's pasta, I went ahead and cooked the chicken for this dinner as well, so it will be a cinch to get dinner ready tomorrow!

Tuesday- Manwich sandwiches, Mac and Cheese, and green beans. (This is a bath night for Owen, and I have an appointment for my back today, so we needed something quick! This dinner runs about $5.50-$6.00, and it will give me lunch the next day)

Wednesday- DiGiorno Pizza and Salad (laundry folding day! This is about $7, the pizza is expensive!!!)

Thursday- Company Chicken (this is delicious! And cheap! About $6, and Chris and I will both have lunch the following day.)

Friday- Mexican Lasagne (This is a great meal, I half the recipe though, because I usually can't eat Mexican 2 days in a row with my heartburn. It is about $8 and will give Chris lunch the next day.)

Our grocery bill was about $65 this week at Price Chopper, and that includes fresh produce (apples, bananas), Owen's string cheese (pricey, at $4 a package, but hey, he eats it), Owen's yogurt ($3.99 for 6 servings...again, pricey but he eats it!), milk (2 gallons), bread, popsicles for Owen, PopTarts, and a new box of Bisquick. We generally go to Costco 1x a month, and spend between $150-$200, but it is never all on food. I challenge ANYONE to go to Costco and not buy random things, lol. We have a real weakness to that store. So much stuff that we never even knew we needed!

So, this post wasn't exactly thrilling, but I am hoping that by posting this weekly, I will start saving even more money at the grocery store! Have a great week! I will be posting pictures of our...finished basement...later this week!! It is AMAZING. I am so proud of my husband for doing such a great job and working so hard on it!