Triple Clicks

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Grocery Shopping December 2018

Our grocery shopping was a little discombobulated this month.   

In order to go to a friend's Christmas party, I had to go by myself with all 5 kids.  😱  

So... I'm more than a little disorganized writing this post... I wrote down everything we bought at the discount store...then threw the paper away I wrote it down on.  So.. There's that.  

We spent $80.  That much I can tell you. 

It also dawned on me that's it's been awhile since I've done a detailed post about what exactly we buy... so guess what you get today. 

Aldi.. we spent $167.32
Case of water 2.49
Frozen Broccoli 1.19 6
Almond Milk 2.29 5
Eggs  6 dozen at .79 each
M&Ms 3 at 1.99 each
Margarine 5 at .84 each
Kerrygold 2.85 
Sausage 2 at 2.99 each
Chicken sandwich meat 3.99
Ham sandwich meat 2 at 3.99
BBQ Sauce 2 at .99 each
Dark Chocolate 4 at 1.99 each
Mini Muffins 2.29
Mac and Cheese 24 at .49 each
Dried Fruit Medley 1.69
Salsa 1.89
Grape Jelly 2 at 1.69 
Salsa Con Queso 2 at 1.89
Banana Chips 2 at 2.19
Honey 2.99
Iced Coffee 3 at 1.19
Pretzels 2 at 1.49
Flour Tortillas 2 at 1.19
Sesame Sticks 2 at 2.89
Pita Chips 2 at 1.99
Hamburger buns 4 at .85
Peanut Butter Wafers 4 at 1.39
Green Onions .89
Deli Rolls 2 1.89
Honey roasted peanuts 2 at 1.89
Cashews 4.79
Spinach .99
Romaine Hearts 1.99
Pecan pie 4.99
Pumpkin pie 2 at 5.99


Sam's.. For the groceries we spent 219.03
Sparkling Ice 14.64
Saltines 5.97
Chicken Tenders 3 at 12.98
Vinegar 4.62
Propel 9.98
Hamburger Patties 26.98
Bacon 3 lbs for 10.98, bought 2
Tator Tots 2 at 7.28
Walnuts 11.76
Colby Jack shredded cheese 11.52
Naan bread 2 at 4.98 (they were out of pita)
burrito size taco shells 6.28
Avocado 2 at 5.48
Hawaiian Rolls 4.98
HOagie Rolls  5.98
Vanilla 4.97
Avocado oil 7.99
Sweet Peppers 6.98
For the non groceries we spent 123.53
Paper Towels 18.24
Paper Plates 12.48
Laundry Soap 15.82
Diapers size 5 32.98
Diapers size 2 35.98

Walmart we spent 142.55  15.19 was non grocery so 127.36
I used the Walmart pickup..  I'm pretty satisfied with it.  A lot more put together than it was a few months ago when we used it. 
Water Flavor (Strawberry Kiwi) 2.48
Water flavor (Pineapple Coconut) 3.78
Water Flavor (Strawberry Watermelon) 3.98
Yogurt 16 at .60 each
Goat Cheese 3.98
White Cheddar Popcorn seasoning 1.98
Hair clip 4.23
Notebook 1.98
Water bottles 3 at 1.00 each
Baby Wipes 8.98
Chunky Peanut Butter 2 at 2.48
Sweet Golden Mustard BBQ Sauce 1.88
Wild Rice 3.34
Salmon 5.94
Tilapia 13.48
Almond M&Ms 2.98
Reese's chocolate covered pretzels 3.24
Hershey's chocolate covered pretzels 2 at 3.24
Dill Pickles 5.97
Maple Syrup 2 at 5.98
MOM Cereal Tootie Fruities 4.98
MOM Cereal Peanut Butter Cups 5.98
MOM Cereal Marshmallow Mateys 5.98
Wheat Flour 3.48



So On groceries we spent $593.71. That's $143.43 a week... or $24.74 a week per person. 
All of the non grocery should last us more than one month except maybe the baby wipes.  

Hopefully I didn't bore you too much. ;) 

Have a great week.

~Tabitha






Saturday, December 1, 2018

Freezer Cooking

I've been dabbling in freezer cooking for awhile.  It's an awesome way to have a convenience meal that's healthier and cheaper.  

I have been doing pizzas for awhile, but I think I finally have it figured out (according to the family, I can't enjoy pizza right now).  I tried thin crust for the first time this week, it prebaked ok, so we'll see how it turns out when it comes to eating.

I did cinnamon rolls and pizza this time.  I was able to get both done and frozen within 2 hours thanks to my gadgets.  My hubby bought me a stand mixer this year and I've had my bread maker for awhile.   So I did the pizza dough in the mixer and the cinnamon roll dough in the bread maker.  Although clearly I do need to add more flour to the pizza recipe I make.  But I'll dabble in that.. 

Anyway.  The pizza came from Jamerrill over at Large Family Table, the cinnamon rolls came from Money Saving Mom.  With a little tweaking from advice from Amy at Plain and Not So Plain.  



The pizza



I made the dough and let it rise (recipe).  This time I made a recipe and 1/2...so I probably did the math wrong which is why I needed (or is it kneaded? *snare drum*) to add flour at the end.  Then I took half the dough and did one crust.  As I'm trying to stretch the dough out by hand, I have the pizza stone in the oven warming up..  When I get the dough close to the size of my 16" stone, I pull the stone out, spray it with Pam (well.. off brand Pam), sprinkle on some corn meal and finish stretching the dough out to fit the pan. Prick it all around with a fork to keep out the air bubbles.  Then sprinkle all over with garlic powder and dab 2 tablespoons of butter in small chunks all around the crust. Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes or until you see brown on top.  

Cool completely.  Now, to freeze it you have to get it off your stone... If you use aluminum pans, you can freeze those if you have enough.  I saved the cardboard rounds from Walmart deli pizzas and use those.  Transfer the crusts to whatever you are going to freeze them on and top with desired toppings..  After it's done, you have to mummify that pizza in saran wrap to keep out the frost build up.   I do 4 layers with a label in there somewhere of what it is if it's going to be in the freezer more than a couple days.  You want to freeze it as flat as possible so your toppings don't go everywhere, but after it's frozen you can stand it up on end to save space.  

To cook.. set out a few hours before so it can thaw, then bake 425 for about 15-20 minutes.  



The Cinnamon Rolls



Ok, so I thought I got this from Jamerrill, but apparently I got it from Money Saving Mom.

I let the bread machine do the work.  Then roll it out.  I melt a stick of butter (1/2 cup)and spread it on the dough.  Sprinkle on sugar, brown sugar (then spread it out), then sprinkle on cinnamon.  Roll it up and cut it.  I got 22 rolls out.. Put them on parchment on a cookie sheet and flash froze for 20 minutes.  (Now here is where the recipe from Plain and Not So Plain takes over.) Then they go in a ziploc bag.  I will have to add some more toppings to the two end pieces when I bake them.

To bake, I pull out the night before and thaw to let them rise.  They are ready to go in the morning.  While they are baking I'm making this yummy caramel frosting, eggs and bacon.  They take about half an hour in the oven so just perfect timing.  

I am going to try something new, I saw on a YouTube video by Bon Apetit to use a muffin tin to make the cinnamon rolls rise better... so I'm going to try that this time. 


So that's my freezer cooking I was able to get done.  Enjoy! 

~Tabitha