This Week's Grocery Store Raid

This is a day late, but I just now got everything in the picture. The broccoli and meat are in "home" packaging for the freezer: 6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, 6 leg quarters, 6 wings, 1 1/2 cups cooked/chopped chicken, 2 cups broth, 9 pints broccoli.



2 gal. Kroger Orange Juice - $1.99/ea
(1 for now, 1 for in the freezer for after the sale ends so I don't have to pay full price)
71-90 ct. Shrimp - $4.49
1.07 lb. Provolone Cheese - $2.99/lb
2 (36 ct.) Chinet Lunch Plates - FREE
Miracle Whip Light - $1.50
Salad Dressing - $.17
4.77 lb. Broccoli Crowns - $.57/lb
3 fryer chickens - $.69/lb

Shelf Price (before sales/coupons) - $56.67
Spent - $26.15
Saved - $30.52 / 54%

This trip was a little tricky :) I knew I wanted to get the broccoli because it was on sale for $.99/lb. Then I remembered that I had grabbed some coupons off of a display last week that were for $2 off a produce purchase. To use the coupon I had to buy 2 of certain Kraft items. So I looked, and sure enough, they had those Kraft items on sale. I checked, and I did still have a coupon for 1 salad dressing and 1 for the Miracle Whip! Oh joy!! I was able to get all three things for super-rock-bottom prices!

When I got home I cut up and froze the chickens and cooked the bones down overnight. I was able to pick off about another 1 1/2 cups of meat, and then had 2 cups of broth. This evening I cut up and blanched the broccoli and it is in the freezer :) Well, except for what we ate fresh last night and the 1 crown that I cut up to eat fresh this weekend.

It Left Without Me - Again

I swan, it seems like every morning I get up, piddle around a bit, and then the next thing I know, I turn around and see that the wagon already left and I fell off it somewhere along the way.

Maybe I've never gotten on it this week... or maybe I'm just dragging along behind it. I'm not sure which. I've gotten laundry done each day so far, and the dishes, and food made, and little snits of cleaning here and there...

I went grocery shopping TUESDAY and still haven't gotten my shopping post done for this week. I did cut up, cook down an freeze 3 chickens. I have 5 lbs. of broccoli in the frige waiting to be blanched and frozen ... and it's still in there. Funny how that stuff just never does anything on it's own.

I kinda jumped back onto the exercise wagon this week, though. Today's the first day I haven't gone for a walk - and that's 'cause it's drizzling outside. I guess I won't be drying my wash outside today, either.

And I need to get a ton of stuff done today because tomorrow afternoon sometime we're taking off for a much-needed, mini-vacation. (Note to any creeps: Don't even think about it.) I want to make some cookies, pancakes, and whatever else I feel like/have time to make to take along.

But I'm not sure what to make. I'm thinking maybe snickerdoodles. I'm out of oatmeal, I only have about 2 cups of Quick Oats, so Monster Cookies are out even though I have plenty of M&M's. Hey, I have a TON of kisses in the cupboard (chocolate ones, goofus), and TONS of peanut butter - I could make Kiss Cookies! They are fun to make and I love them :P It's a good thing there's a fitness center where we're going. Oooo, I could make English Muffins, too. They would be great for breakfast or sandwiches. I wish I had a good bagel recipe. The one I tried they flopped and were flat discs, though they tasted good.

If you have any great suggestions for vacation food that don't take oatmeal, raisins, or any other staple ingredients that I haven't restocked lately, please leave a comment!

Otherwise, thanks for listening to me while I thought out loud :) That's what bloggy friends do best ;P

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today, Wednesday June 3, 2009

I am thinking... about what all I want/need to do today. It's such a pretty day outside!

I am thankful for... the thunderstorm we got last night. I had the soaker hoses turned on for the beans for about 1 hour last evening and I'm sure the "real" rain boosted the spirits for everything in the garden :) Hopefully for the 2 maple trees that we transplanted last week, too...

From my kitchen... 3 chicken carcasses cooked down overnight and I need to drain off the broth and pick the rest of the meat off. The floor is filthy. I didn't get to it on Monday like I wanted to, and it still has cake crumbs and icing splats from making 2 cakes on Friday.

I am going... I won't be doing my regular grocery shopping trip today. I went to Food Lion yesterday and spent most of the week's budget. We'll be going to choir practice this evening and I'll probably stop by Kroger on the way home and pick up some Orange Juice. That's about the only thing we'll run out of by next week if I don't get some.

I am reading... I just finished reading Mistaken Identity, the story about the 2 girls from Taylor University that were in an accident, one was killed and one survived and their identities were mixed up for several weeks.

I am hoping... that the mole poles that I ordered online come really soon. The moles and voles are tearing my garden to pieces. I'm also hoping that I can get to bed early again tonight and that it becomes a habit and that eventually I feel "ready" to get up when the alarm clock goes off. I'm getting there, it was easier this morning.

I am creating... Later on today I will be freezing 5 lbs. of broccoli :) Does that count? I also need to figure out a menu plan for the rest of this week, and might as well go ahead and do next week, too. I have SO fallen of the wagon on this and just can't get back into the groove. Any hints or tips for this? I don't want to keep making the "same old, same old" day in and day out. I want something new and exciting, or at least exciting!

I am hearing... silence. That's one thing I miss about having the AC on is I don't hear the birdies singing every morning like I do when the windows are open. However, the heat and humidity is enough that I'm glad for the AC.

Around the house... Daniel and Glen got more baseboard put up Memorial Day! That is exciting:) Last night Daniel cleaned off the end of the house where mildew had grown and turned the siding green. Now it's all clean and creamy white again. Yesterday on my walk I picked a couple wild daisies and they are in a vase on my kitchen windowsill. They look so happy and pretty there.

A few plans for the rest of the week... I might donate blood on Friday! Daniel's work is hosting a blood drive and it's something I've always thought I wanted to do. I want to make some cookies and muffins and possibly find and try a salty snack recipe. Work at eating the rest of the strawberries that Glen and I picked last week, maybe freeze some of them. Daniel asked for a Strawberry Pie, so I might make that today, too.

One of my favorite things... Fresh-baked bread. I made 3 loaves yesterday afternoon and it was just wonderful. I think 3 loaves is about the max that my KitchenAid mixer can handle, though.

A picture thought... When it's warm/hot enough outside I like to set my bread dough outside on the porch railing to rise. It works great and I don't have to warm up the oven to do it, and it's faster than it rising on the counter.

Pot Pie Experiment

Last week I made pot pie one day for supper.

My method for making potpie is to take whatever chopped poultry meat I have in the freezer, whatever vegetables I feel like adding (corn, beans, peas, carrots), some cream of mushroom or chicken soup (I prefer chicken), some chicken broth, stir it all together and put on the topping.

My ratios are generally for 1 cup of cooked/chopped meat, I use about 2-3 cups of vegetables and 1 can of cream soup and 1 cup or so of broth (till it "looks right"). Since my brother was here and I needed to make a bigger batch, I was using 2 cups of meat. I had 2 cans of cream of chicken soup and 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup in the cupboard. I needed 2 cans of soup but didn't want to use all of my cream of chicken. I noticed that I also had a couple cans of chicken noodle soup that had been free... hmmm....

I used 1 can of cream of chicken soup and 1 can of chicken noodle soup. It tasted and turned out perfect!! I usually have to add a little salt to the mix, but with the chicken noodle soup (concentrate) it was just right. It was moist but not too runny. I didn't have to find or make broth and you wouldn't know the noodles were in the casserole unless you specifically looked for noodles (and how many people do?).

This might just become my new "recipe" for pot pie.