Menu plan Monday and shopping trip roundup

So today I did my first shop of the year. Had a few stores to hit to get some "stock pile" stuff and freebies, I love freebies! Did well, went over budget but not badly. For new readers, and yes I know my blog is not overly entertaining, I should fill you in on my "plan".

Due to circumstances in our lives we were without a steady source of income for a year and half. After some major life changes and overhauls, selling possessions and what not, we had to buckle down and get a grip on our budget. I knew one place we could really make changes was in our grocery totals. I started doing some Internet surfing and came across a blog that challenged me. Grocery Cart Challenge changed my way of thinking when it came to shopping, eating, and saving money. Her idea was to spend no more than $60 a week to feed her family. I thought "hey I can do that" only to learn that its easier said than done. After some not so good first few weeks I started to get the hang of it and now consider myself to be a mighty fine bargain hunter. I did change the spending amount however, since we still have one in diapers I needed to account for them. So $70 a week is our budget. Its gives me wiggle room to add in the cost of the diapers if I have some weeks that come in under budget.

so now for this week.

Breakfast - cereal, banana bread, french toast and eggs.

lunch - sandwich's, chicken nuggets and fruit, mac and cheese, leftovers

Dinner

M - Three cheese chicken penne and garlic bread
T - Sticky lemon chicken with broccoli and rice
W - mushroom pork steaks green beans and salad
TH - New England clam chowder and rolls
F - Chicken and cheese enchiladas chips and salsa
S - Chicken chow mein
S - Turkey meatloaf, green beans and potatoes

*Note chicken penne bake was not made last week, since we took a night out os it carried over to this week.

Winco

2 30ct gal ziplock - 7.92 (1.00 coupon)
certo - 3.66
2 go gurt - 5.00
creamer - 2.98
beef sausage - 2.73 (.35 coupon)
2 cans pumpkin - 1.96
salsa - 1.78
italian dressing - 1.98
ketchup - .85
minced clams - .98
2 can green beans - 1.16
cream of chicken - .70
fruit cocktail - 1.92
lemon juice - .54
broccoli - .71
crackers - .98
knorr soup mix - 1.38
naruchan noodles - .74 (.50 coupon)
chow mein noodles - 1.20
green onion - .68
tomaotes - .47
onion - .42
lemon - .28
2 50oz bag frosted flakes cereal - 4.96 (2.00 coupon)
apple juice - 2.48
3 set storage containers - 4.98

Total = $49.59

Fred Meyer

10 yogurt - 3.00
2 orange juice - 4.00
2 non fat milk - 2.50

total = $9.50

Costco
salad - 3.99
2 gal milk - 3.98
bananas - 1.32
2 doz eggs - 3.29

total = $12.58

Rite Aid

2 WetOnes - free
2 tums - 4.00

total = $4.00

Grand total $75.67