Week #10 $50 Weekly Grocery Menu

Week 10 Grocery Notes: The gas prices are skyrocketing once again, if they continue at this rate, I may have to switch to Bi-weekly menus so I don’t waste our grocery savings on gas expenses! Since sausage was so abundant (& dirt cheap at only .50 per pound!) we took advantage and wrapped it into the menu twice, plus had 8 more pounds to stock away in the freezer.

Here’s the list: 1 Gal Milk, 5 lbs Strawberries, 1 Cantaloupe, 4 lbs Banana’s, 3.5 lbs Sirloin Steak, 1 pkg Fresh Mushrooms, Green Peppers, 3 Fresh Lemons, Package of (3) Romaine Hearts, 4 cukes, 10 lbs Pork Sausage, can of Cashews, pkg Dried Cherries, pkg Dried Fruits, 2 bags Cheese Puff (cheesey poufs), 2 pkgs, Cinnamon Raisin Bagels, pkg Celery, 1 lb Fresh Spinach, (2) Italian Diced Tomatoes, Red Onion, 2 Fresh Tomatoes, Fresh Broccoli, 2 loaves Wheat BreadGrand Total After Taxes and WITHOUT any coupons: $52.36 (Breakdown: Aldi’s – $36.26, Sam’s Club $12.56 (Steak), Discount Veggie/Bread Shop $3.54)

March 7th thru March 13th

Monday March 7th:

• Breakfast: Strawberry Julius
• Lunch : Cucumber Salad
• Dinner : Sweet & Sour Kielbasa, Garlic Smashed Potatoes, side salad

Tuesday March 8th: Happy Mardi Gras!

• Breakfast: Indian Style Scrambled Eggs
• Lunch : Spring Strawberry Spinach Salad
• Dinner : Sausage & Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers

Wednesday March 9th:

• Breakfast: Raisin bagels/ cream cheese
• Lunch : Sw & Sour Kielbasa (Leftovers from Mon Night)
• Dinner : Grilled Steaks, Baked Potatoes, Salad

Thursday March 10th

• Breakfast: Poached eggs on toast
• Lunch: Tropical Egg Salad
• Dinner: (Copycat Chilis’) Honey Chipotle Chicken Fingers, Baked Potatoes

FridayMarch11th:

• Breakfast: bagels & cream cheese or oatmeal
• Lunch : Chipotle chicken Wrap (lettuce, chipotle chicken, Jalapeno Slices, ranch dressing)
• Dinner : Beef & Mushroom Shish Kebabs, Steamed Rice

SaturdayMarch12th

• Breakfast: Biscuits with Sausage Gravy
• Lunch : tuna salad sandwiches
• Dinner : Grilled Pork Chops, Italian Rotini Pasta Salad

SundayMarch13th:

• Breakfast: Mini Orange-Maple French Toast Breakfast Casseroles
• Lunch : Italian Rotini Pasta Salad
• Dinner: Chicken Broccoli Rice Bake

Various Snacks & Dessert Items:

• Chocolate Covered Strawberries (Cheaters Version- which is simply homemade chocolate syrup drizzled over freshly sliced strawberries)
• Fresh Strawberries- sliced over Angel food Cake
• Homemade Microwave Popcorn
• homemade trail mix
• Cheese Puffs- I don’t normally buy junk like this, but that’s what happens when you bring your spouse shopping with you!

Drinks included:

• Iced Tea or herbal teas
• Coffee
• Lemonade
• Strawberry Julius

:thumbsup: A few things I’d like to share
I really do love using coupons to get great deals on groceries (and often free groceries) but using coupons effectively often requires multiple trips to multiple stores to get the best deals. Since the gas prices have exceeded $3.50 per gallon, I am less inclined to drive long distances to check for unadvertised sales.
I also try to make sure that the menu’s I share can be recreated by anyone by following basic seasonal sales patterns, whether they have access to coupons or not.