Frugal In Florida

I don't know why, but I love to read what other bloggers are buying at the grocery store. Yeah. I guess you could say I'm obsessed with food ... but I 'think' I have a healthy relationship with it ;-) So, with that said, I thought, what the heck, I'll try to share my weekly grocery trips ... and if everything is going according to plan, you would even get a picture or two ... but of course, things don't always go as planned ... so no picture this week :-) A bonus for me to share weekly is to keep my grocery budget in check (hopefully!) Luckily, I only hit up the grocery store once this past week ... AND only spent $66.64 ... thank you Aldis! Here's what I bought ... check back later for the Menu Plan to see how I plan to use some of the food ... red wine vinegar $1.49 2 pkgs of taco seasoning $.39 each bottle of chocolate syrup $1.49 2 paper bags $.06 each 2 plastic bags $.10 each (shame on me, I was not prepared with MY own bags, driving Hub...

This upcoming week could be interesting, but I still think we will be ok with the so-called budget ... I've got 2 turkey breast in the freezer, Hubby wants to buy one, maybe two turkeys to fry ... but said maybe he would just stick with the one if Princess b/f didn't want a fried one to take home to family (we typically fry 4 to 6 turkeys each Thanksgiving, but this year, Hubby doesn't have an office to take one or two in on Friday) ... I do need some potatoes, cheese and meat for a tray, eggs (deviled eggs), spinach (for spinach dip, I have the rest of the stuff in fridge/freezer/pantry). I have everything for the green beans and the kale salad already. Hubby wants to make stuffing so I need to get a few bags of stuffing, the sausage and will need more onions too. I almost think I should just go to Costco! Hopefully we won't need much more outside of THAT days food ;-)  Sonny Boy comes home Tuesday night which means another mouth to feed for the balance of the week...

Had no idea they didn't open early on Sunday so ended up going over to Walmart and browsing (uh, $40 later and a few tops and favorite soy sauce) ... Finally busted in the door and here's what I got: Green grapes, 2 lbs $1.69 total 2 strawberries, 99 cents each 2 5lb red taters, 99 cents each 2 boxes of not sugar $1.19 each 4 bags of frozen brocolli, 99 cents each tub of whip cream cheese $1.39 2 tubs of shredded parm cheese $1.99 each 2 jars of carmel sauce $1.99 each 1 jar chocolate sauce $1.99 250 ct napkins $1.49 3 bags of coffee $3.99 (like the milk, price of coffee has gone through the roof) 200 ct tissues $1.19 50 ct party cups $2.29 (way overpriced) 2 pkg slice cheddar cheese $2.19 (would have sworn it said $1.99) 4 pkg plain bagels $1.39 each 2 pkg cinnamon raisin bagels $1.39 each 2 bags bbq chip $1.39 each 3 boxes of peanut butter wafer thingys 99cents each (addicting little things) hoagie roll (6 pk) $1.99 Total $61.03 with tax. Uggg. Check ove...

I'm usually pretty fair game when it comes to store brand/generic products ... for MOST things. Certain things, as in laundry soap (TIDE), dish soap (DAWN) and a few other things (shampoo and conditioner) I've got to have the real deal. If you shop at Aldis, you know that 98% of the stuff is their brand. Once in a while you can come across a name brand but not too often. I've been pleased for the most part with the quality/taste and such. (Inquire about the Happy Cow dairy products with anyone in my family). Except for the mayo. I'm a Hellman's girl. Uh huh. I just never realized it until yesterday when I made an egg salad sandwich. Blech. I would compare the Aldi brand mayo (Fit N Active Light) more to Kraft mayo, even perhaps ::gasp:: MIRACLE WHIP (who eats that stuff??) It's tangy. Lemony. Funky fluffy airy creamy odd stuff. So, adding to my list of non-generic acceptable items: Mayo. Has anyone else out there found a storebrand that's NOT a...

So I put together my menu plan for the week. Type it all up and add all my links.  AND even state that $20 or so should be sufficient for what I need to get. Yeah right. A trip to the store for a mere $20? Who am I kidding? 5qt cast iron dutch oven (been really wanting one for a while!) $29.99 4 pkgs peanut butter chocolate wafers (aka Nutty Buddy) 99 cents each ketchup $1.19 baby dills $1.19 2 gallons milk $1.99 each 2 vanilla yogurts $1.99 each half and half $1.99 2 grapefruits 59 cents each 2 mac and cheese (freezer, individual) 99 cents each toothbrushes $1.69 2 frozen oj $1.19 each fresh pineapple $2.69 (ok, thought it said 69 cents so really, would not have taken it!) cantaloupe $1.99 2pks frozen broccoli 99 cents each bananas 80 cents and $1.02 2 pkg red and yellow peppers $2.29 flour tortillas 99 cents head of lettuce $1.29 sliced cheese $1.99 3 pkgs andes mint chocolate baking chips 50 cents each (clearance) cocktail sauce $1.09 2 tomato soup 49 ce...

I drove to Aldis on Wednesday after work since I got out at 1pm ... and there were a few things I needed to get, primarily for the Three Corn Casserole I wanted to try ... plus a few things on my list. I did deviate from the list (bad bad bad) but I'm SO glad I did ... because I got some GREAT deals ... 10 lb potatoes were 99 cents!!! For the whole bag. Dang. I wish I had grabbed another bag. I've still got alot of the 20lb jumbo size taters from Costco (that cost me $8) but these are excellent size, normal :) And not green. I also peeked at the meat prices again. I wasn't overly impressed the last time I was there when I checked it out but this time, they had the boneless skinless chicken breast for a not so spectacular price (same as before) BUT there were little stickers on them that said $2 off ... so I grabbed 8 pkgs that were priced around $5 each (about 2 lbs or so each package) and figured I got them for about $1.50 per lb. Woohoo. Also, they had 12 ounce b...

I've been on a mission for like ever to try and find a recipe for a corn casserole I had several years ago ... I'd have asked for the recipe but it was one of those catered lunches (the architect upstairs has it once a month, same caterer because they are GOOD) ... and I think this might be the one. I've got everything sitting on the counter waiting to go to make this ... original recipe came from Our Family Eats which she had adapted from Cooking Light, I'm doubling it and a few changes ... I added in the prices of what I paid because honestly, I think this is going to be a dirt cheap side dish all things considering (thanks to our NEW Aldis!) 2 cups sour cream (mixing no fat and light) (free on sale and with coupons) 2 large eggs  (picked up for 69 cents/dozen at Aldis) 6 tbs butter room temp (did I really see that a pound of butter was $4.xx?? I paid $2.50/lb at Publix) 2 cans whole corn (39 cents each at Aldis) 2 cans creamed corn (39 cents each at Aldis) ...

I went. I saw. I bought. I left. Ick. 1.  The place was mobbed when I go there. 2. Entrances and exits and parking aisles were blocked. 3. Some crews were there cutting down trees, cutting asphalt, etc. that just wasn't cool. I had barricades all around my truck when I came out. Kind of ticked me off that they couldn't wait til the store was closed, or blocked off the whole thing before I parked. 4. Customers were rude. Just didn't get the whole concept of paying a quarter for the cart (hey, you will get it back if you aren't so lazy to leave it wandering around the parking lot!) and the fact that they had to either PAY for bags OR bring their own. 5.  Even worse was when they found out it was CASH or debit only ... no credit folks! 6.  Not in the best of areas. Probably one of the worse areas to be (in my opinion). BUT I have to say, they've totally upgraded the plaza area where its at ... just thought there would be more security/police presence ... ...

Hubby is going to Mens Warehouse to look at some new suits ... ummm, really? Yeah. They have a deal right now where you buy one get the 2nd one for $100.00.  Expensive, still, but he's a big guy and I just don't see him being able to find anything second hand. Being a director status, you have to have decent stuff...being a guy must really stink at times! On the other hand, I have 6 suits that no longer fit him and he's quite certain there is not enough fabric to have them altered so they do fit. Trying to decide if I want to list them on Craigs List and for how much? (mental note, need to also do the tires and wheels from truck soon, along with the huge mirrors, and a few other things...) So, anyways. Back to the subject line. Aldi's. They opened up on Thursday and I really really wanted to go after work ... that was, before it got so freakin late in the day before I got out ... and I don't want to be going west (young man) at 4:30, 5pm at night. Traffic is b...

Aldi's ... ALDI'S!Everyone sing praises! The one straight down the road from me, corner of Oakland Park and 441 is opening on Thursday the 11th. Psyched Baby! Boy am I ever. About 7 miles. Google Map says 15 minutes but I know it takes 15 minutes (about) to get to I95 from here and that's only the half way point. So figure 20 to 25 minutes. More than anything, I can't wait to see the prices ... whenever we go to Indiana, Illinois or Kentucky, we try to take a bag with nothing or little in it with us to fill on our way back. The last time in Kentucky we were over the 50 pound limit so I ended up stuffing summer sausage rolls in my purse. Pretty funny going through the security checkpoint. Anyways. There is a Walmart across the MAIN intersection (when I say MAIN, I mean MAIN, like 5 or 6 lanes in all 4 directions) and the last time I shopped at the store there, I wasn't all that impressed with product selection, quality or pricing. AND now, I can buy the produ...