Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Harris Teeter Shopping Trip 5/22

Today was the last day of triples so we took one last trip to see what we couldn't pass up. My mother in law used all 20 of her coupons and I only used 6 :) There really wasn't anymore on my must have list because I got most of the deals that I needed. I grabbed 3 Texas Pete Hot Sauce and 3 Cinnamon Pretzels.

I also got the Febreze Car Air Freshener for my mother in law since I was supposed to have a $1 Evic coupon but it didn't come off :( I went to customer service and they gave me a $1 back for the coupon issue. She traded me for 3 more Texas Pete and 2 Smart Balance Cooking Sprays so I made out well :)

My total OOP was $1.97 (savings $15.59)

The last triples trip is over and I am hoping for a slow rest of the month!!! I hope that you are having a good month and excited that we are getting to the end of it again!!

Blueberry Cobbler for Dessert

I have wanted to make this blueberry cobbler since I saw the post. I knew that I should make it while my whole family was here because it was way more than just the two of us could eat!! I finally got it in the oven to have after dinner. It was super easy and super yummy so I hope that you try it soon. I decided since I like the flavor of cinnamon with blueberries that I would change the recipe a little to add some yummy cinnamon.

Here is what is looks like after you pour it all in the pan and cover with the cake mix.

After topped with butter bits, it looks a little strange but I had faith that it would cook up well :)

But it cooks up great and made the melted butter bake into the cake mix to make a great topping to the fresh blueberries!!!

I guess I should have spread the butter a little more but the whole thing tasted great even if there was still a little bit of powdery cake mix. I hope that you enjoy a little sometime soon!

Let me know if you try it with any other berries. I am sure that it would be great but 8 cups of other fruits would be pretty pricy and out of my budget. Maybe I will mix blueberries with rasberries and blackberries which would add the flavor and still not add the cost of the whole 8 cups.

Blueberry Cobbler

Ingredients

8 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon (or to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup or 1 stick butter or margarine
1 box yellow cake mix

Directions

Toss the fruit, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla together in a large bowl until coated then pour into a 9×13 pan.
Sprinkle cake mix evenly over the top of the fruit mixture.
Place small pats of butter evenly over the top of the cake mix.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool and serve with vanilla ice cream or cool whip.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Safeway Shopping Trip 5/20

I stopped at Safeway on the way home from Harris Teeter to get the $1.67 cranberry juice. I had lots of coupons to Buy One and Get one Cherry drink free. The cashier entered $1.67 for the first coupon and then the second one scanned in at $3.49 automatically so I paid $1.68 OOP (saving $12.45 or 89%). I was super excited to get four cranberry juices before the coupons expired at the end of the month. I am hoping that these last my thirsty husband through June :) I doubt it but who knows.. one can dream right? Did you find any great deals recently??

Harris Teeter Shopping Trip 5/20

I used some rain checks to get free meatballs and eggs after coupons. I also got free Jello Temptations which were back in stock but I could only found one coupon :(. I got Texas Pete Hot sauce for $0.05 each.

I also wanted to grab more of the cinnamon Super Pretzels but they were out so I got two packages of the regular ones. I figure that even at $0.10 more, they might be a good treat later so I will have to remember to use them as a side dish to dinner :).

I also got one more package of turkey for my husband's lunches even though I have plenty to last me through the month. I probably have enough to last through next month. I would rather pay the price during triples then wait and pay $3.50 later (these meats are actually normally priced at $4.69 but I would never pay that price so he would be going without).

I had to take the picture on the floor because there was such a mess in the kitchen and dining room because of having 8 people at my house for over a week. I am really glad to have company but our small house doesn't have the room for 8 people and all their stuff and groceries :)

Super glad that I got to go to triples another time. Might have one more chance since Tuesday is the last day of triples:) I am going to try to get some more eggs, hot sauce and maybe cinnamon pretzels :) I am sure that I don't "need" anything but great deals are hard to pass up!!! Hope you enjoyed triples at Harris Teeter as much as we did!!

Total OOP $2.21 (savings $28.11)

Monday, May 21, 2012

Menu Plan Monday 5/21

Monday- BBQ Spiedies and Original Spiedies with rice
Tueday- Tacos with saffron rice and corn bread
Wednesday- Pizza Roll with sausage pasta
Thursday- Kraft First Taste with parmesan spaghetti or rosemary egg noodles
Friday- Leftovers if all the company has left
Saturday- Frozen pizza/Grilled Buffalo Chicken wraps with mac and cheese
Sunday- ???

I still have family in town so I think that I am serving at least 7 for Monday and Tuesday and 4 for Wednesday and getting smaller through the week. The plan is a little flexible because I am not totally sure what everyone's plans are through the week. I am sure that the number will change at least three times during each day so here is hoping that we have the food somewhere in the house to feed everyone :)

Sunday, May 20, 2012

May Monthly Spending

I know that there are still 12 days left in the month but I was in need of a plan since I was already at $153.78 only leaving $6.22 for the rest of the month.

I decided to return the Huggies Pull-ups from Harris Teeter so I got back $20.98 today since I got a better deal at Target. I normally subtract my return during the week that I do it but last week was such a high week, I figure that I put it on the date of the original purchase to make me feel better :)

I will probably need at least one more trip to triples and a loaf of bread before the end of the month so now I have a little more room to do it.
Week 1

$3.40 Giant 5/1
$5.48 Target 5/2
$16.48 Wegman's 5/2
$7.26 HT 5/3

Total $32.62

Week 2

$2.43 HT 5/6
$0.62 Target 5.9
$3.61 HT 5/12

Total $6.66

Week 3

$12.32 Safeway 5/14
$11.56 HT 5/16
$15.51 HT 5/17
$38.01 HT 5/18 less return on 5/20 of $20.98=$17.03
$37.10 Target 5/18

Total $114.50- $20.98= $93.52

Week 4

$2.21 HT 5/20
$1.68 Safeway 5/20

Total $3.89

Monthly Total $136.69

Now I have $23.31 left for the rest of the month so it will allow for all of the rest of the month to happen under budget :) YEAH!!!!

Weekly Goals 5/20

Last Week:

Family Goals

~~Playdate with son's friend~~- Done and we had a blast
~~Packing and moving with sister in law (or watching son while everyone else does the hard work~~)- Lots of work but we got it all done
~~Spend time with Mother-in-law and Father both visiting~~- Done and my sister-in-law and mom also came to visit along with my cousin for a few days

Personal Goals

~~Get change at bank for yard sale~~- Done
~~Work on getting ready for yard sale-~~ Finished as much as I had time for so I called it
~~YARD SALE DAY!!!-~~ It was a long day but I got rid of a ton of stuff and made $145 so I call it a huge success. I can't wait to get my act more together and do it again!!!!

Home Management Goals

Clean dishes, counters and floors at least 6 days of the week- I doubt that I did this with company at the house. It was hard enough to keep up with dishes!
~~Clean dishes one night and not wait until the morning~~- I did this a few times but sadly, I am not sure it helped because there were still dishes on the counter the next morning.
~~Get quotes from two masons on repairs to steps and wall~~- Done

Blog Goals

~~Schedule at least 5 posts so that can spend more time with family~~- I got three up at the beginning of the week but not much for the rest of the week except with last minute notice
~~Post Weekly Goals, Menu Plan Monday, and Thrifty Thursday Tip~~- Done

This Week:

Family Goals

Spend time with family
Storytime at the library
Sing along at son's school on the last day