Obviously this week’s photo quality is a little sub-par. My apologies.
As you can see by the list, I was out of wine & coffee, two things I don’t count towards my total (I usually have a glass/cup of each every day, but I move through the two slowly enough that I find it totally unecessary to monitor my spending in this area.) so I had to go shopping on Saturday because you can’t buy liquor on Sundays in Minnesota. Yes, this means I went shopping before the week started. I figured y’all would understand.
Trader Joe’s was actually some seriously scary shit this week and totally reinforced my belief that it is best to go at 8 am on a Sunday morning. Not only did I have to hit the wine store for myself, but Mom also needed a couple of cases for social events. The driving and traffic was so bad (think, making up your own traffic rules) that I ended up parking in the restaurant parking lot across the street and schlepping my no-wheel drive cart across the tundra. I actually trimmed the gnocchi from my list while I was there because I had no idea of when I would find the time to eat it. I also grabbed my romaine there again because I haven’t seen it at ALDI lately and they had a fresh shipment.
ALDI was actually surprisingly quiet. I gambled that they would have Baby Bella mushrooms there this week and pleasingly, they did. Conveniently, I still have two fresh heads of broccoli in my fridge from last week and they were’nt stocking it this week, so I’m glad that I gambled right. I also grabbed mini-bagels, yogurt and frozen raspberries to stock up on breakfast staples for my place as well as Marcus’.
Ironically, I am having dinner guests twice this week and the only thing I went out of my way to purchase for this instance were the mushrooms. I think most people usually try to plan what they’re going to serve in advance, but I have enough stuff in the freezer (meat, soups, etc), pantry staples (pasta, rice, potatoes) and salad fixin’s (romaine, cheese, dried fruit, nuts, vegetables, dressings) that I am 0% concerned and can fix whatever I like on the fly.
Grocery Total: $28.66
If you can take one lesson away this week, it’s that if you have a fully stocked pantry, grocery shopping, cooking interesting meals and entertaining become infinitely easier.
I personally keep on hand…
- White Rice & Pasta
- Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Vanilla
- Eggs
- Cheese (ALWAYS: Cheddar, American, Feta, Romano SOMETIMES: Brie/Goat Cheese)
- Olives
- Olive Oil & Butter
- Sea Salt, Pepper (the kind that requires cracking), Red Pepper flakes, Cumin, Curry powder, Oregano
- Canned Broth
- Canned Beans (Black as well as White)
- Chocolate Chips
- Fresh Vegetables (Potatoes, Onions, Romaine, Tomatoes, Broccoli…I also have bags of frozen for emergency)
- Frozen Meat (If you looked in my freezer now you would find Chicken Sausage, Venison, Salmon filets, Chicken Breast, Turkey Sausage links and Ground Turkey)
- Basic Condiments (Ketchup, Dijon Mustard, Mayonnaise, BBQ Sauce, Soy Sauce, Hot Sauce)
- Salad Dressing
- Lemon and Lime Juices
