July Grocery Shopping

So I will be giving you a glance at my shopping yesterday.  I went way over what I wanted to spend for the month. I gave myself a budget of $150 and came in just under $200 - the good news: most of it was on stuff for the house, not on food. So technically I can in WAY under my budget of $150 for food! :)

So First: Jewel
WOW that's all I can say! I'm sorry I didn't post this yesterday so whoever might actually read this thing could take advantage of the deals - maybe some of them are still going on... and I really hope so because I felt so good after leaving this store!
I split my order in two...
My first order was Ice Cream!
a box of Lemonade Fruit Bars $3
a box of Strawberry Fruit Bars $3
2 boxes of Nestle Drumsticks $5
Total $11
Received a $4 coupon off my next purchase... to be used right now on:

10 -12pks of Coke Products = $20
4 Hillshire Farms Sausages = FREE
(minus peelie coupons on the Coke $2 off when you buy 2! yep I got 10 pks of Coke and 4 Sausages for $10!!!)
1 Honey Maid Graham Crackers =$2.50
1 Jet Puffed Marshmallows = $1.00
1 Hershey's 6pk = FREE
(minus $1.00 coupon when you buy the 3 above =$2.50 for those 3 items!)
4 packets of McCormick Marinades =$0.50/ea
(minus 4 - $0.50 coupons = FREE)
1 Weber Grill N'Orleans Cajun Seasoning = $1.67
(minus $0.50 coupon =$1.17)
2 Smokey Bones BBQ sauces = $2.00
TOTAL $16.09 (-$4 coupon!)
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JEWEL TOTAL $23

NEXT: Target
1 lb. Strawberries $1.99
(minus $1 target coup. =$0.99)
1 Homel Thick cut Bacon = $2.79
4 lbs Ground Beef ($1.79/lb) = $7.16
EDY's French Vanilla Ice Cream =$2.33
(minus $1 target coup. = $1.33)
1 Quaker Chewy Bars = $2.04
TOTAL $16

LASTLY: Meijer (my trouble store haha)
2 Jiffy Corn Muffins $.94
2 Biscuits $1.12
1 Bunch O Parsley $0.79
1 Green Onion $0.50 (I didn't really need green onion BUT I saw on the next food network star a tip that said if you put the whites in a glass of water the greens will regenerate and you never have to buy green onions again... so I though hmmm I'll give that a shot!)
1 can diced tomatoes $1.05
1 head of Lettuce $1.29
2 Cream Cheese $2.50
1 Milk $1.98
2 Lemons $1.00
1 String Cheese $3.89
6 lbs of Chicken Breasts $11.92
20 packets of Kool-Aid $2.00
1 5pk of Mac & Cheese FREE
(with purch of Kool-aid!)
1 Can Tomatoe Sauce $0.62
3 Barilla Whole Wheat Pasta's $0.79/ea $2.37
2 lbs Tomatoes on the vine $1.90
2 Hamburger Buns $2.00
1 Hamburger Buns $1.00
1 Loaf of Bread $1.00
3 jars of Ragu $4.50
(minus 2 coups totaling $1.60 = $2.90)
5 Rhodes Warm N Serve Rolls 2/$4 -$10
(minus 5 $1 coups totaling $5 = $5.00)
2 lbs LOL Butter $5.00
1 Simply Orange $3.00
3 Chunk Cheese $4.50
TOTAL $59
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GRAND TOTAL $98!!!
(for 36 meals... that ain't half bad!)

July Menu: Eat Out Of The Pantry Month

This month I have no real plan of attack.  I planned and shopped for 4 weeks.  But there is no true menu you to follow, just ideas of what I will make...

• Left-over stuffed shells in the freezer with Italian Sausage
• Sloppy Joes with Fries (x2+lunch)
  
• Ham Steak with scalloped potatoes, broccoli in cheese, and rolls
• Monterey Chicken with salad
• Beef Chop Suey with rice (x2+lunch)
  
• Chili (x2+lunch)
  
• Lemon Chicken Schnitzel (+lunch)
  
• Chicken and Dumplings (x2+lunch)
  
• Pasta with Stuffed Clams
• Hamburgers (x3)
• Grilled Cheese (x2-3)
• Popcorn Shrimp with Corn and Fries
• Shrimp Scampi Pasta (+lunch)
  
• Jambalaya with Cornbread (x2+lunch)
  
• Pasta (x2+lunch)
  
• Meatloaf (x2+lunch)
  
• Cajun Chicken Pasta (+lunch)
  
• Mac & Cheese (+lunch)
  
• Hot & Spicy Italian Sausage Sandwiches (x4)
  
• Polish Sausage Sandwiches (x4)
• Tacos (x2)
  

planned for 28 days - should have enough for for 36 days... w00t!
Still have to do my shopping list for my Pampered Chef party on July 21st...
But the menu sneak peek:
1.) Jalapeno Popper Dip
2.) Smoky BBQ Chicken Sandwiches and BBQ Sauce
3.) Apple Berry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

This Week: Pork

On Monday (because I forgot to take my pork loin out of the freezer Saturday for Sunday FAIL) I made a new recipe that I found on FoodTV.com from Robin Miller (and changed a few things because I didn't have everything). It was alright for a crockpot dish - I tend to not care for crockpot dishes because they all seem to have that same stew-like flavors... But Tuesday and Wednesday (because it was that good on Tuesday) I made a recreation of our dinner on Monday and boy was it GOOD! So First here is the Monday recipe:

Crockpot Sage & Parmesan Crusted Pork Loin

INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds diced red potatoes
1 cup chopped onion (I used frozen from a bag because I had no onions, DOH!)
1 cup chopped celery (I chopped this earlier in the month and froze it - worked well)
1 cup chopped carrots (Same as above here)
1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used a 14.5 oz can)
1/2 cup sherry (No sherry here, so I used left-over red wine I had from my Chicken Cacciatore)
1 (2-pound) pork loin (I used a 4 pound pork loin because we are eating it all week here)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dried sage (I only have rubbed sage - don't know what the difference is but it worked)
1 tablespoon salt-free garlic and herb seasoning (I don't have this & didn't measure the parsley and garlic powder that I used - just enough to season the whole thing)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS:
Place potatoes, onion, celery, and carrots in bottom of slow-cooker. Pour in chicken
broth and sherry. Season pork all over with salt and black pepper, sage and
garlic and herb seasoning. Place pork on top of vegetables and top with
Parmesan, pressing the cheese into the meat. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8
hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.

When I cut into this in the crockpot is was falling apart and I just scooped up the veggies on the plate and that was that.  But Tuesday and the pork refrigerated, it was much easier to cut into 1/2" slices.

I sliced up 2- 1/2" slices and seasoned them with salt and pepper on both sides.  I put them in a pan on high - but I use a electric stove so cooking sometimes is a challenge (no oil or butter or anything) for a couple minutes on one side, flip them over let them go a couple min on the other side, turn it down to low, add the BBQ sauce of your choice and put a lid on the pan.  Meanwhile, I took the potatoes that were in the crockpot with the pork and put them in a bowl, threw some garlic powder on it, and put it in the microwave for 1 min.  When it came out of the microwave I smashed them down with a fork and added American cheese singles broken up to it. Stirred and back in the microwave for 30 sec. and then stirred again. I was completely out of cheese and that is all I had, I imagine cheddar would be better, but it was soooo goood!  I also made (frozen) corn in butter and stove-top pork stuffing to round out the meal.

Wednesday I added Parmesan cheese to the potatoes, per Mike's request, and boy did that make a difference! If you make these potatoes with cheddar I would still advise to add some Parmesan. mmm mmm goood!

I think tonight I am going to make sweet and sour pork from the rest of the pork that is left - It is just under half left... not bad for 3 dinners and 2 lunches! GO PORK! :-)