Grocery Deals

I don't often have bad coupon experiences at Kroger, but unfortunately this trip was one of those times. I had planned out the mega deals so that my total should have been around $1.00 but because the cashier wouldn't scan two of my $4 coupons and because I didn't get one of my mega deal $5 instant discounts, my total was $14.34. Still not bad considering I saved 86%, but very frustrating when you are expecting it to be a very minimal out of pocket trip and it ends up not working out that way.

Shelf: $115.30
Spent: $14.34
Saved: $100.96
Pct : 86%

12 x hunts canned tomatoes
3 x rotel
3 x wheat thins
2 x ritz
5 x toaster strudels
van de kamps breaded fish
3 x green giant steamers
Raisin bran cereal
2 x goldfish crackers
2 x nut clusters
2 x chex mix
2 x kraft cheese
Daisy sour cream
Hormel pepperoni
4 x sobe water
Sunny D
3 x french's mustard
4 x suave deodorant
2 x beggin strips
2 x chef michaels dog food cans
Oroweat bread
2 x knox gelatin

See other grocery deals at The Grocery Cart Challenge and The New Frugal Mom

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Pepsi pot roast (again!) I needed something I could throw in the crockpot this morning as we have our realtor coming over tomorrow morning and I have to spend the day scrubbing and organising the house.

Tuesday: Tacos

Wednesday: Jasmine rice stuffed pork chops with fresh green beans

Thursday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas

Friday: Going out

See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Pumpkin Lasagna

I saw this recipe in the latest issue of the food network magazine and I knew that as long as I didn't tell the hubby that there was pumpkin in it, he would eat it happily. I really liked this lasagna and I will definitely be making it again!


1 medium onion, chopped
4 to 6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
1 large courgette, thinly sliced
1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded romano cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 pound cooked lasagna noodles

Place the pumpkin puree in a sieve over a bowl and let drain

In a large heavy skillet, over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Add sausage and cook until brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.

In a medium pot combine tomato sauce and red wine and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Add salt, pepper and herbs, reduce heat to low, cover and let it simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mix the strained pumpkin puree with the egg and season with salt and pepper, in a seperate bowl mix together the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella and romano cheeses.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Build your lasagna in a large (9 by 13-inch) baking dish starting with a layer of sauce, a layer of pasta, a layer of half the pumpkin mixture, add half the cheese mixture and cover with some of the sauce. Repeat the layers finishing with a layer of pasta and a layer of sauce. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on top and bake for 35 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.


See other recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge, Eat At Home

Grocery Deals

After our big shop at HEB last week, we didn't really need much this week, which was great timing for this weeks mega deal at kroger. I was able to mainly focus on the deals and not worry about the hubby adding a lots of other things into the trolley and messing up my totals!

Shelf: $113.14
Spent: $18.53
Saved: $94.61
Pct : 83%

Brawny paper towels
Solo plastic cups
2 x goldfish crackers
3 x ritz crackers
Quaker quakes
2 x weight watchers yogurt
Dannon large vanilla yogurt
I can't believe it's not butter
Kraft singles
2 x sargento shredded cheese
3 x hunt's tinned tomatoes
3 x rotel
2 x french's mustard
Frank's hot sauce
Krusteaz crumb cake mix
Suave deodorant
3 x finish dishwasher tablets
Parker house rolls
2 x green giant steamers
4 x sobe waters
4 x propel waters
2 x beggin strips
4 x pedigree canned dog food
8 x cesar dog food


See other grocery deals at The Grocery Cart Challenge and The New Frugal Mom

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Cannelloni with salad

Tuesday: Pepsi pot roast

Wednesday: Mexican chicken and lime soup

Thursday: Breaded pork and mozzarella stacks, mashed potatoes and green beans

Friday: Going out

See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Stovetop Beef and Penne Casserole

I've been looking for some new pasta recipes and this one looked good, but both the hubby and I found it to be a little bland, so if we made it again we would definitly want to play around with the recipe.



* 2 cups (8 oz.) dry penne pasta (or small pasta of your choice)
* 1 lb. lean ground beef
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 can evaporated milk
* 1/2 can pumpkin
* 1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
* 1/2 tablespoon packed brown sugar
* 1/2 tablespoon paprika
* 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Cook pasta in large saucepan for 1 to 2 minutes less than package directions (pasta should be slightly firm in texture); drain.

Cook beef and onion in large saucepan over medium-high heat until beef is no longer pink; drain. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in evaporated milk, pumpkin, tomato sauce, sugar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, salt, garlic powder and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to simmer. Add pasta and peas; stir until heated.

Groceries

Last week when the hubby opened the freezer and the only meat he found inside was a couple of packages of ground turkey, I knew a trip to HEB would be in our future! The hubby likes to stock up on meat from HEB and even though it means a much higher grocery bill for the week as I really can't get the deals I can at Kroger, I really don't mind as we get a lot of meat for the price we pay and it keeps the hubby happy!

Shelf: $148.72
Spent: $120.34
Saved: $28.38

3 x Bananas $0.52
3 x green bell peppers $1.74
Italian parsley $0.58
3 x Courgettes $1.64
2 x avocado $1.00
3 lbs yellow onions $2.21
10 lbs russet potatoes $3.47
Cucumber $0.48
Belgian waffles $1.50
Egg rolls $1.98 after coupon
Zatarains frozen dirty rice $2.48
Fage yogurt $1.25
Heavy whipping cream $1.60
Butter $1.68
Frozen peas $0.99
2% milk $2.99
Shredded mozzarella free after coupon
Ricotta $1.67
Kraft american singles $3.48
Dozen large eggs Free after coupon
Wallaby organic vanilla yogurt $1.25
Wallaby organic lemon yogurt Free after coupon
Dannon coffee yogurt $0.38
Ribeye steak $10.48
6 x ground chuck patties $5.19
6 x ground chuck patties $5.10
Ground sirloin $3.27
ground sirloin $3.27
Beef short ribs $5.82
Pork tenderloin $4.43
Pork chops $5.45
Chicken breasts $6.50
Chicken thighs $5.95
Hot sausage $2.00
2 x starkist tuna pouches $0.78 after coupon
3 x McCormick hot taco seasoning $1.32 after coupon
HRB taco seasoning free after coupon
Mission taco shells free after coupon
Hefty bags $0.98 after coupon
purina one dog biscuits $3.17
Skinner manicotti $1.77
Kashi cereal free after coupon
Oscar Mayer shaved turkey $2.98
Macaroni grill chicken alfredo $2.79 after coupon
Kraft mayo free after coupon
Thomas english muffins $1.99
oroweat potato bread free after coupon
Central market organic vegetable broth $1.99
Diced tomatoes free after coupon
Apple juice $1.58
capri sun $1.88
A&W root beer $1.25
Heinz ketchup $1.14 after coupon
Ken's raspberry pecan dressing $2.26
Campbells chicken corn chowder $1.50
Libby's corn $0.77
Pinto beans $0.50
Navy beans $0.50
Refried black beans free after coupon

See other grocery deals at The Grocery Cart Challenge