WWS & WWA | July 4th - July 10th

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What We Spend (WWS) and What We Ate (WWA) is a recap of our weekly grocery spending and meals.  We do a mix of make ahead meal planning, meal prepping, and spontaneity! 

You will noticed that WWS does not always align with WWA. That's because we buy primarily what's on sale, along with some fresh items, and pull the rest from our pantry or freezer stock. These sale items go into the stock rotation. This is our secret to keeping our grocery spending low! 


Lazy Lasagna & Cajun Chicken and Rice Prepped for Work Lunches

Prep & Plan Recap

This week we stuck pretty close to our plan and prep.

Lasagna Rollups did make their way into Lazy Lasagna, as the leftover lasagna noodles i had were to stuck together to separate neatly. We also ended up having enough leftovers that we didn't get to the Stromboli or seafood dish.
Yogurt w/ Strawberries & Coconut w/ Cheerios


What We Spent | July 4th - July 10th, 2020

This week we stocked up on (more) steak tips before the sale ended. I also picked up a few items to make a lasagna for my Dad.

This week I also preserved 6 pints rhubarb sauce, 16 pints of strawberry jam, 5 pints and a halfs of strawberry syrup, and 6 half pints of cherry jam - hence the sugar and strawberries - and froze about 12 cups of pesto (basil & spinach from the garden).

Shaws
  • 6 lbs. Sirloin Steak Tips - $28.56 ($4.76/lb. store sale)
  • 2 1lb. Blocks Dragone Fresh Mozzarella - $5.98 (50% off reduced)
  • 2.30lbs. Sweet Red Cherries - $1.75 ($0.76/lb. store sale)
  • 1 Newman's Own Lemonades - $0.99 ($0.99/ea store sale)
  • 8 5oz. Packages Sargento Sliced Cheese - $7.92 ($0.99/ea w/ coupon)
  • 2lbs. Ground Chicken - $3.98 (50% off reduced section)
  • 3 5oz. Bottles Toasted Sesame Oil - $7.47 (50% off reduced)
  • 1 15oz. Can White Beans - $0.50 (50% off reduced)
  • Hood Ice Cream - $1.47 (store sale)
  • 2 Boxes Natural Valley Bar - $0.44 (coupon combined w/ store sale)
  • Quart of Yogurt - $1.99
  • 0.89 lbs. Red Seedless Grapes - $1.58
  • English Cuke - $0.87
  • 2 Bags Shredded Cheese - $1.94 (store sale)
  • 4.8lbs. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast - $8.48 ($1.77/lb)
  • 16oz. Frozen Salmon Fillets - $2.99 (store sale combined w/ store coupon)
Total: $76.91

Walmart
  • 20lbs. Granulated Sugar - $9.96
  • Lg. Container Cottage Cheese - $2.54*
  • 32oz. Ricotta Cheese - $3.44*
  • Imitation Vanilla - $0.98
Total: $16.92
*Purchased to make a lasagna for my Dad, but had leftovers that I kept for myself.

Other
  • 25lbs of PYO Strawberries from Pineland/Gillespie Farms in New Gloucester, ME - $2.51/lb - $63.44
  • 10ish pounds of Rhubarb, free from a kind neighbor
Total: $63.44
 
Week Total: $157.27

Our grocery budget goal* is $50/week, so we have already dug well into our budget for July, thanks to 25lbs of strawberries. That's OK though, as we are well stocked on many items, and supported local farmers. 

My goal for this month is to shop only fresh and mega sale/ clearance items.

 *This is why our budget is flexible, to take advantage of sales as they come up, and why we aim for an average.

For eating out we have a separate budget. We have not gone out to eat very often since COVID-19 but we do try to support our favorite spots with takeout or patio dining for those who have it.

What We Ate | July 4th - July 10th, 2020

Most bloggers choose to focus on only dinners, but I think showing all three meals helps to better show where your WWS goes.

Breakfasts:
  • Granola Bars
  • Yogurt w/ Strawberry & Coconut, Cheerios
  • Breakfast Biscuits w/ Peanut Butter
Lunches:
  • Dinner Leftovers:
    • Steak, Baked Potato, Frozen Spinach
    • Lazy Lasagna
  • Enchilada Rice Bowl from Freezer (last one!)
  • Instant Pot Chicken Cajun Rice (this made 5 large servings, 2 went into the freezer)
  • Lunch Date at El Rodeo for $1 Tacos
Instant Pot Cajun Chicken and Rice, Super Quick and Easy!

Lunch Snacks:
  • Watermelon
  • Cheese Sticks & Crackers
  • Baby Carrots
Sheet Pan Mac & Cheese and the Maple Mustard Chicken were both winners

Dinners:
  • Tacos (hard & soft shell) & Watermelon
  • Steak tips, snow peas (garden), baked potato (loaded)
  • Crispy Maple Mustard Chicken, Sheet Pan Mac & Cheese, Steamed Green Beans
  • Stromboli
  • Lazy Lasagna w/ Garlic Bread (from freezer) - cooked lasagna noodles cut into large squares, ricotta mixed with spinach/ herbs/ mozzarella/ Parmesan cheese, and marinara sauce with ground beef, layered and baked.
    • this made more sauce and ricotta mix than needed. I froze both components separately for future meals.
Lazy Lasagna, it was Delicious!

Snacks: crackers, cheese, popcorn, carrots, cucumber, various sweets

Food for Sharing - since I mention often that we make food for family gatherings on the weekend, I thought I'd put it here as well:
  • Hershey's Chocolate Chip Pan Cookie (I used a quarter sheet pan - 2/3 of this went to my horseback riding instructors, we ate 1/3, and about 1/5 of the dough was made into dough balls and frozen)
Sheet Pan Cookie, Great for Sharing!

Note, Ben and I often eat different lunches. My "likes" are more limited, so I get to have fun cooking and give Ben a larger variety that I typically wouldn't eat. I am also not much of a breakfast person, so I typically just have a snack and eat lunch a bit earlier.

Feel free to share your WWS/ WWA!

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