Costco Trip and 2 Week Meal Plan

Well today the family and I headed to Costco to stock up on some groceries to last us the next two weeks. Here is what we bought:

1. Costco Rotisserie Chicken $4.99
2. Beef Stew Meat $23.00/ 5.5lbs.
3. Romaine Hearts $2.99/ 6 hearts
4. Celery $2.99/ 4 stalks
5. Cuties $5.99/ 5lbs.
6. Bananas $1.39/ 3lbs.
7. Strawberries $5.99
8. Low Sodium Bacon $11.99/ 4lbs.
9. Eggs $5.98/ 4 dozen
10. Milk $5.19/ 2 gal.
11. Heavy Cream $6.49/ 1/2 gallon
12. Goldfish Crackers $???
13. Quaker Oats Breakfast Bars$???
14. Towels (2 Bath Sheets) $18.98
15. Hand towels (4) and Wash Cloths (4) $18.98

Total Spent $145.00

2 Week Menu Plan
Turkey Meatloaf with rice and a veggie
Baked Chicken with roasted potatoes and broccoli
Parm Crusted Tilapia with pasta and veggies
Italian Sausage Spaghetti and Salad
Beef, rice and bean burritos and salad
Pizza with a veggie or salad
Beef Stew or Beef Barley Soup over rice or pasta
Hot Dogs and Rice with onion or Hot Dog Fried Rice (my own experiment)
Chicken and Veggie Stir-Fry over rice
Pork Chops with Baked Mac n Cheese and Green Beans

There are 10 items here the other 4 nights will be leftovers

Brownie Time

Chocolate Chip Brownies

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
2 cups of chocolate chips (your preference)
3 eggs
1¼ cup all purpose flour
1 cup of granulated sugar
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375℉

1. In a heavy bottomed sauce pot heat 1 cup of the chocolate chips with the stick of butter. Stir them together until completely melted and smooth.
2. Remove pot from heat
3. Beat the eggs in a bowl and slowly add to warm chocolate mixture while constantly stirring until incorporated
4. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda and vanilla to chocolate mixture
5. Mix until fully incorporated
6. Stir in chocolate chips
7. Pour batter into a greased 13×9in pan and bake for 18-22 minutes at 375℉
8. Remove from oven and let cool in pan
9. Enjoy!

Costco Shop and Menu Plan (8-1-12 thru 8-14-12)

Okay so this week I'm going to be posting my Costco shop (should last me 2 weeks +/-) and menu plan for the next two weeks or so :-)

So this is the Costco shop

2 Rotisserie Chickens $9.98
Baby wipes (900ct) $19.99
Nature Valley Granola Bars $12.79
Golden Potatoes (10lbs) $6.99
Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend $5.99
Thin Sliced Deli Ham (3pack) $8.99
Drumsticks Ice Cream (16ct.) $8.99
Eggs (24ct) $3.69
Daisy Sour Cream (3lbs) $3.99
Whipping Cream (1/2 gallon) $4.79
Low Sodium Bacon (4lbs) $10.59
2% Milk (2 gallons) $5.19
Ruffles $5.29
Sara Lee Bread (2 loaves) $4.99
Asparagus (2.25 lbs) $5.99
Strawberries (4lbs) $5.99
Bananas (3lbs) $1.39
Organic Spinach (1lb) $3.59
Artichokes (4ct.) $4.99
Burrito sized Tortillas (30ct) $2.89
Pork Loin Chops ($3.49lb) $16.89
Beef Chuck Roast ($3.99lb) $20.03
Ground Beef 88% lean (6+lbs) $18.09

Total $194.31

2 Week Menu
Chicken Salads
Burritos
Chicken and Gravy over Biscuits
Fried Rice
Stir-Fry
Roast
Mexican Beef Stew
BBQ Chicken
Spaghetti
Stuffed Zucchini

* The rest of the nights we will be having leftovers or will be having dinner with family

Costco Shop (7-22-12)

Okay so today was shopping day. We went to my most favorite store in the whole world...Costco! So I did my weekly shop and this is what we got:

Activia Yogurt (24ct) $9.89
2% Milk $5.19
Chinet plates $16.79
Organic Carrots (10lbs) $4.49
Watermelons (2 mini) $5.79
Baguettes (6ct.) $4.99
Bananas (3lbs) $1.39
Organic red grapes (4lbs) $6.79
Drumsticks ice cream (16ct) $8.99
Tortilla chips (3lbs) $3.59
2pk keep cool bags $10.99
Eggs (24ct) $2.79
Butter (4lbs) $7.39
Tollhouse semi-sweet choc chips $10.79
Sharp Cheddar (2lbs) $4.99
Clorox Wipes (4ct) $10.29
Organic Blueberries (2lbs) $7.99
Rotisserie Chicken $4.99
Marinara (4 jars) $6.29
Low Sodium Bacon (4lbs) $10.59
Starbucks Coffee (2lbs) $12.49
Romaine Lettuce (6ct) $ 2.99
White Nectarines (9ct) $8.99

Grand Total $172.83

I'm hoping that this shopping trip will last me longer than a week maybe two...???
We shall see...

Cloth Diapering

So today I ordered some cloth diapers online. I'm super excited to try them out because in the long run we'll be saving a heck of a lot of money...SCORE!!! Also, I won't ever need to run out for diapers because these are reusable and just need to be washed :-)

I've already had Jaden in cloth diapers but his newborn ones were pretty much too small at birth (he was 11.8lbs). So that only left me a very minimal amount to use and washing 3 diapers seemed like a waste of water. So this morning I ordered some one size ones. I bought some Bum Genius 4.0 and some Fuzzi Bunz pockets. They were both on sale for buy 5 get one free. So yay for me! Got 2 free diapers :-) Also, bought some cloth diaper safe diaper rash cream. Going to try Grandma El's and CJ's Butt Butter. Hope they work! Both of my kiddos have sensitive tushes and I don't want any rashes.

I'll be sure to to do updates and reviews for those who are interested or curious about cloth diapering. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Meal Plan 7-15-12 thru 7-22-12

MEAL PLAN

Italian Meatloaf with veggies and rice

Baked Spaghetti with salad and bread

Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp and Broccoli

Homemade Pizza with veggies

Chicken Salads with homemade dinner rolls

These dinner rolls are half white half whole wheat

This is my menu plan this week. The other 2 days we will be having leftovers so that we're not wasting any food. Follow my blog to stay posted on what I'll be making next week :-)

Making Whole Wheat Pita Pockets

  So today I decided to make some homemade pita pockets to stuff with a chicken salad. It was way too hot to want anything hearty. So I pulled out the KitchenAid mixer and set out to make pita heaven with my daughters help, of course. Here is the recipe...

Makes:

8 pita pockets

1 1/4 cup warm water (110-115℉)
1 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 tsp. rapid rise yeast (bread machine yeast)

Directions:
1. Put the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the gluten and 1 cup of flour, along with the yeast, and stir to mix. Add remaining flour and knead to make a soft dough. (Add more flour if necessary during kneading).

If using a bread machine dump ingredients in pan, in the order listed, and use dough cycle. Skip ahead to step 3 if using the bread machine.

2. Put dough into bowl, lightly oil the top and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until the dough has almost doubled in size (about an hour).

3. Punch dough down and put on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a 6 or 7 inch circle.

4. As you roll the rounds place on a lightly floured countertop or table and cover loosely with a towel. Let rise for 25-35 minuets, until slightly puffy. (The rounds will still be thin though)

5. Preheat oven to 500℉. Place two rounds, side by side, onto a wire rack (metal ones used for cooling things). Place rack in middle of oven. Bake for 4-5 minuets, until puffy and just slightly browned. (If bread is too browned, it will be dry and not pliable).

6. Remove rack from oven and immediately wrap/layer pita breads in a damp towel, to soften. Continue baking the remaining breads, layering them between damp towels as soon as they're baked. Allow breads to completely cool.

7. Cut pita breads in half or split the top edge. Fill as desired.