Grocery Deals - May 24th

I did a little better this week as far as savings/percentage goes, and I was especially pleased with that because I have started to buy things for a street party out neighbourhood is having at the end of June. So, the drink mixes, soda (except for the pepsi, that's the hubbys!) paper plates, napkins and some of the ketchup, mayo, bbq sauce and A1 sauce is for the party.
A few other good deals included the fresh raspberries for $0.99 (not quite as good as the $0.79 I paid a few weeks back, but still good) and the green peppers were $0.20 each, which is the lowest price I have seen them.
One frustrating thing was that I bought the meal deal that Kroger was offering this week (buy ribs get a number of other items free) and in the past the free items came off with no problem, but when I got back to the car and checked the reciept I notoced I was charged for all those items, so had to go back to customer service and get my refund, which I eventually did get but it wasn't that easy.


My numbers were adjusted from the totals on the recipet because I had to go back and get a $4.92 refund for being charged for items that should have been free.
Shelf price : $195.73
OOP : $75.56
Saved : $119.97





2 x Clorox bleach
A&W root beer
Cherry cola soda
Pepsi 6 bottle pack
Lays chips
Kettle chips
Eggo waffles
2 x pedigree canned dog food
Pedigree dentastix
3 x Purina kitten chow
Zatarains frozen chicken alfredo
3 x Sure deodorant
Suave deodorant
El Monterey frozen taquitos
Beef patties
Hot italian sausages
Sweet italian sausages
Pork ribs
1lb fresh green beans
Celery
Raspberries
5 x green peppers
3 x corn on the cob
Watermelon quarter
2 x Dial hand soap
Thomas english muffins
Kroger brand napkins
Kroger brand paper plates
Hefty brand paper plates
Vaseline lotion
3 x Hunts ketchup
2 x Kraft mayo
Hellmans mayo
4 x Kraft bbq sauce
3 x A1 sauce
Kroger bbq ribs
Cheese slices
Light bulbs
2 x canned black beans
Ranch beans
Canned beets
Weber cajun seasoning
Kroger potato salad
4 x Country time pink lemonade mixes
Kool-aid cherry mix
Kool-aid tropical punch mix
2 x donuts
2 x Magic erasers
Kraft steak and cheddar sub
Digorno frozen flat bread
2 x shower cleaner refills

See other grocery deals at The Grocery Cart Challenge

Menu Plan Monday - May 25th

Monday: Ribs, potato salad and corn on the cob

Tuesday: Stuffed poblano peppers and salad

Wednesday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and fresh green beans

Thursday: Spaghetti bolognese and salad

Friday: Going out to eat

See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Grocery Deals - May 18th

I'm so late in posting this weeks grocery totals. Nothing special this week, although I did finally manage to get above the 50% savings mark again.

Shelf price : $155.11
OOP : $74.35
Saved : $80.76
Pct : 52%

Menu Plan Monday - May 11th

I have a busy week with lots of cooking for a retirement party on Wednesday and then getting the girls for the weekend on Friday, so I'm not really cooking that many dinners this week.

Monday: Chipotle chicken and rice

Tuesday: Ordering a pizza, as I'm cooking all day/evening for the party

Wednesday: Party day, so will eat there

Thursday: Chinese pepper steak and rice

Friday: Pizza with the girls

See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Menu Plan Monday - May 4th

Monday: Pizza burgers with potato salad

Tuesday: Salsa chicken with spanish rice

Wednesday: Mango chicken curry, jasmine rice and mango chutney

Thursday: Puffy beef tacos with avocado cream sauce

Friday: Shrimp and pineapple-coconut curry, jasmine rice and naan bread

See other menu plans over at Organizing Junkie

Mexican Rice Casserole

I found this recipe over at For The Love Of Cooking and thought it would be something the hubby would love, and I was right, he really loved it, and has requested we make it again soon. I made a few changes, left out the oregano, used mexican blend shredded cheese and DH wanted me to add chili beans as well as black beans and leave out the cilantro as he doesn't like it.



1 1/2 cups of white rice, prepared
1 tsp of olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of medium chili beans
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
2 cups of shredded mexican blend cheese
3-4 tomatoes, sliced

Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare rice per instructions. While the rice is cooking heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the ground beef, cook the beef for 3-4 minutes then add the diced onion and all of the seasonings. Stir until well combined and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the beef is cooked through and the onion is tender. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly for an additional 60 seconds. Add the cooked rice, drained and rinsed black beans. chili beans, tomato sauce to the beef and onion mixture.
Coat a large baking dish with cooking spray and pour the rice mixture into the dish, spreading it evenly. Place the tomato slices on top of the rice mixture then top with cheese.
Spray a piece of tin foil with cooking spray (so the cheese won't stick) and cover the baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes then remove the tin foil. Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing. Top with a dollop of sour cream.

Mango Guacamole

I have been making this Rick Bayless recipe for a while now, it's my favourite quacamole, and a bowl of it doesn't last long around here.

I forgot to take pictures of it last week, and the only ones I have are from when I made it last summer to post on a message board I am a part of. They were taken with my old camera so the quality is not great, and please ignore the dirty bowl! the recipe is so good though, I just have to post it!




Ingredients
3 large ripe avocados
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 fresh serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus a few leaves for garnish
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 medium ripe mango, peeled, flesh cut from the pit and diced
Salt

Cut the avocados in half, scoop the avocado flesh into a large bowl. Coarsely mash the avocado with a large fork. Add onion to the avocado along with the serrano, cilantro and lime juice.
Mix in 2/3 of the diced mango. Taste and season with salt. If not using immediately, cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the guacamole and refrigerate – preferably for no more than a few hours.
When you’re ready to serve, scoop guacamole into a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining diced mango.

Spicy Whole Roasted Chicken

I hardly ever buy whole chickens, and I can't even remember the last time I did, but apparently it was long ago enough that I forgot the horrors of dealing with said chicken. Kroger had the whole chickens for a good price last week, so I thought that a nice roast chicken sounded great as I thought of my Mum's incredible Sunday roasts.

In reality it went something like this:

Get chicken out of fridge
Think this isn't so bad, I can deal with a little chicken
Put chicken in sink and start cutting off wrapper
Get wrapper half off, see some kind of wing and break out into a cold sweat
Remove the wrapper, chicken rolls around in sink, start dry heaving a little
Realise there are chicken innerds to be removed
Start attacking the inside of chicken with a pair of tongs, scream every time tongs touch anything remotely innerd like
Pick up phone and scream like a baby at the hubby while poking tongs at chicken cavity
Listen to the hubby laugh hysterically and threaten to put you on speakerphone so the whole office can hear
Thank the hubby for all his support, put down phone and start contemplating ordering a pizza for dinner
Pull self together and get chicken in roasting pan, season and put in oven
Turn attention to the sink full of chicken innerds
Weigh pros and cons of trashing said innerds or shoving them down the garbage disposale
Close eyes, try and pick up innerds with tongs, stumble to the trash can while dry heaving a little
Call mother in England, never mind the fact that it's midnight her time, get defensive when she insists that this is not the kind of emergency situation that requires waking her up at midnight
Decide that no matter how delicious roast chicken is, it's not worth the trauma!


3lb whole chicken
1 onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp aleppo pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ceyenne pepper
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400, quarter onion and place inside chicken. Mix all the seasonings together, rub oil into chicken and cover with seasoning mix.

Roast in oven for 30 minutes, reduce temp to 350, roast for additional 30-40 minutes, until the juices run clear.

Rest chicken for 10 minutes before carving.