Monday, March 16, 2009

Meal costs - week of 3/9-3/15

Here is my first post on meal costs for the week of 3/9-3/15. I am only showing dinner for thsi week. I may do lunch costs in the future but just didn't keep a record for last week. I will not be posting breakfast costs as we usually eat breakfast pretty inexpensively; either cereal (bought on sale with cuopons), toast, rice, or oatmeal.

Here are our meals:
Monday, 3/9: burgers and dogs on grill
Tuesday, 3/10: Macaroni and cheese, smoked sausage, mixed veggies
Wednesday, 3/11: ham, popcorn shrimp, baked potatoes, broccoli w/cheese sauce
Thursday, 3/12: pasta and spaghetti sauce
Friday, 3/13: pizza from Pizza Hut
Saturday, 3/14: cube steaks w/gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, homemade yeast rolls
Sunday, 3/15: taco salad (for the grown-ups) and ravioli with speghetti sauce


Cost breakdown:

Burgers and hot dogs on grill:
burger patties: 6 patties - 1 1/2 lbs. = $3.00
buns: $1
cheese slices: 6 ($2/24 slices = $.08 ea.) = $0.48
hotdogs: 4 ($7/28 = $.25 ea.) = $1.00
tatertots (1/2 bag at $2/bag) = $1
carrot stix (1/2 bag at $1.50/bag) = $0.75
pears (1 can) = $1
TOTAL COST: $8.25

Macaroni and cheese, smoked sausage, mixed veggies:
Kraft mac-n-cheese deluxe $1.50 (estimate as I can't remember exact cost)
Kraft mac-n-cheese (powdered cheese w/margerine & milk): $0.60
smoked sausage (from Schwan's): $5.00
mixed veggies: $0.00 (thanks to coupon)
TOTAL COST: $7.10

ham, popcorn shrimp, baked potatoes, broccoli w/cheese sauce
ham $3 (approx.; small piece left from Christmas)
popcorn shrimp $4
potatoes (approx. 1 1/4 lbs.): $0.40
shredded cheese: $1.00
sour cream: $0.00 (thanks to coupon)
broccoli w/cheese sauce: $0.00 (thanks to coupon)
rice (for picky eater): $0.65
TOTAL COST: $9.05

pasta and spaghetti sauce:
box of pasta: $0.75
sauce: $0.75
parm cheese: $0.25
TOTAL COST: $1.75

pizza from Pizza Hut: $38 (enough for dinner and lunch the next day)

cube steaks w/gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, homemade yeast rolls
cube steaks: $4.00
mashed potatoes (Steam-n-mash) $1.00
gravy (2 jars): $1.30 (estimate)
corn: $0.00 (thanks to coupon)
rice: $0.65 (leftovers for breakfast next day)
flour: $0.25
shortening: $0.12
yeast: $0.00 (free plus overage thanks to coupon)
TOTAL COST: $7.30

taco salad (for the grown-ups) and ravioli with speghetti sauce (for kids)
Romaine lettuce: $1.00 (forgot to use coupon at Target - rats)
iceburg lettuce: $0.25
ground beef: $2.00
taco seasoning: $.35
sour cream: $0.00 (gotta love coupons)
picante sauce: $.50
fritos: $0.00 (again, gotta love coupons)
ravioli: $2.50
spaghetti sauce: $0.75
TOTAL COST: $7.35

Total eating at home:
Monday: $8.25
Tuesday: $7.10
Wednesday: $9.05
Thursday: $1.75
Friday: $0.00
Saturday: $7.30
Sunday: $7.35
TOTAl: $40.80

Total eating out:
Monday: $0.00
Tuesday: $0.00
Wednesday: $0.00
Thursday: $0.00
Friday: $0.00
Saturday: $38.00
Sunday: $0.00
TOTAL: $38.00

Well, $40.80 for 6 meals isn't too bad, but it was a bit high compared to our usual meal costs. Twice this week we had items from Schwan's (popcorn shrimp because we like it best and smoked sausage because I wanted to try it) and that really drives up the cost of a meal. It is pretty sad though that we ate 6 meals for approx. the same cost as Pizza Hut. Oh my!!!

I still need to figure out our meals for this week, but that will have to wait for later... The kiddos have been patient with me typing for this long but I can tell that their patience is wearing quite thin!!!

Blessings!

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