Grocery Challenge-Week 3

Week 3 of the Great Grocery Challenge has arrived. Head on over to One Crazy Journey  for an update on Flamingo Mama's progress.

Since I was under the weather  last  week and couldn’t get out to shop so much, I was forced to use what we had in the house. I’ve noticed that you can get really creative when you have to. I must confess there was a high degree of menu shuffling  this week because people didn’t want me breathing on their food. (Mental Note To Self: Learn to perfect a cough for other occasions I don’t feel like cooking) I highly recommend contracting a virus if you're wanting to save money on groceries as well.

I spent a massive amount this week. All of $17.00. My shopping list included ice cream (we had a guest for dessert because any other time I would be too mean to buy ice cream ) , cream, raisins, and milk.

This makes my total grocery spend for March so far : $348.02

Leaving me : $ 315.98 Pretty darn impressive huh?

I’ve been trolling round looking for new recipes this week and have found blogs an amazing source of inspiration. I particularly liked this recipe from Kirsten's Cooking  for Baked Potato Soup  I think Velveeta must be like our Kraft Blue Cheese, so that’s what I’ll be using.

My mission this week is to use all the little leftover bits and pieces from our inside freezer. Everytime I open the door something jumps out and tries to attack me. So if this week’s menu looks a bit cobbled together it’s because it is. Plus, I’ll be using some of last week’s meals because we didn’t eat them. Has anyone else noticed if the main cook is sick, everyone else decides that eating proper meals is low on the priority list? I personally dont think lollies and Dorito's are a meal.  Apparently some people in this house think that covers mains and dessert.

My Menu for this Week:

Lunches/Brunches

Chicken and avocado sandwiches
Bacon , Eggs and Toast
Pancakes with Maple Orange Butter 
Cheesey Tuna Potatoes
Chicken Wings and Salad
Mediterranean Vegetable Frittata
Lamb Salad with Mint

Dinners
Rendang Curry , baked potato skins with bacon cheese and sour cream, Jasmine Rice and Butter Tarts
Smashed Roast Chicken with Cajun seasoning, gravy potatoes, corn and beans.
Pasta and Spaghetti Sauce with two cheeses
Cooking with SAJ –Finally going to do those lamb Shanks with Carribean Coconut Rice
Kirsten’s Baked Potato Soup with Crispy Bacon and Rolls and lemon cheese cake
Steak with Garlic Cream sauce , BBQ potatoes and a green salad
Takeaway for dinner one night

I make all my own rubs and marinades. The cost is significantly less than the store bought kind and it's really easy to do.  This is the Cajun Seasoning Recipe  I use.  And here is an old post of mine that  lists  links to a couple more rub recipes. So,  Happy Shopping, Meal Planning and Cooking. I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone else is doing.

P.S. I bought a cake  from the store on March 12th and it has a use by date of April 3rd. Apparently this cake will keep for at least  three weeks ...no cake I  make ever lasts that long. Exactly what is in there to keep it fresh for that length of time ? Ugh- I don’t want to know. I just fed it to the dogs. Now I feel bad because I wouldn't eat it but I expected them to, and because they can't read they weren't making an informed choice.