My Menu Plan for this Week 10/22/18!

I'm going to aim high this week and not eat out not even once.  With birthdays and Christmas coming up it will be nice to save some money.  Eating out is something my husband likes to do and say he made dinner today but we will make it!  

Today's dinner is already started in the crockpot, so that's done.  It was easy to just throw the chicken in and come back here to sit down for a spell.    I really need to sit down a spell after climbing stairs yesterday on our fall trip (some of you already seen this picture on my previous post).  

So beautiful but exhausting!   Yeah that's my daughter down there, I'm just a little behind.  See that little dot of a boy ahead of them. That's the grandson.  He was laughing when we all finally got down.  He laughed at us again when he beat us back up by 10 minutes too!  The energy of youth! 


Here is my menu for this week 10/22/18.



Monday        Chicken noodle soup (made with spaghetti squash noodles) 

Tuesday        Low Carb Mexican Casserole

Wednesday   Leftovers

Thursday       Spaghetti (with spaghetti squash noodles)

Friday           Fried Pork Chops with salad and green beans

Saturday        Bean burritos

Sunday          Best Sloppy Joe's ever -with sweet potato fries 




Need Help Planning your Menu?  

7 Tips that Will Help Make Meal Planning a Breeze!

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Free Kindle Books for Today 10/22/18!

The links in this post may contain affiliate links.   When you order from something from one of my links I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you.  You can read my  full disclosure policy  and privacy policy here.   Thanks so much for helping support Vickie's Kitchen and Garden! 

Free Kindle Books for today 10/22/18  Make sure you check the price before you buy, Amazon prices can change frequently. If you don’t have a Kindle you can download your favorite Kindle Book on any tablet or smartphone with a free Kindle Reading App

Sorry I'm late this morning.  We went on a color tour yesterday Up north.  We loved it and had a great time.  Part of that time was going down 300 stairs to see more beautiful scenary.  I just want to let you know my body is broken because going down is easy but remember you need to come back up!   Yep couldn't move this morning!  

Amish Secrets and Hope (Amish Romance) (A Miller Sisters Amish Romance Book 1) 

Murder Amongst the Amish 

Paw Prints on My Soul: Lessons of a Service Dog

Cleaning Hacks & Secrets: House Cleaning Made Easy

7 Southern Christmas Breakfast Ideas: Overnight Breakfast Casseroles & More 

The Happy Hollisters and the Scarecrow Mystery: (Volume 14)

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My Frugal Ways this Week 10/21/18!

The links in this post may contain affiliate links.   When you order from something from one of my links I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you.  You can read my  full disclosure policy  and privacy policy here.   Thanks so much for helping support Vickie's Kitchen and Garden! 

It was 24 degrees Wednesday morning so everything is done in the garden but the Mustard greens. It was sad to see the zinnia flowers gone.  There have been sightings of snow here and there.   Luckily, it has warmed up to 34 degrees this morning. 

Here are the ways  we helped our household and saved this past week:

I made a new fleece tie blanket for our home.   The top of the blanket came from an estate sale for $5.00 and the bottom from clearance at Rite Aid for $3.00.  Total cost $8.00.  The cat has claimed it as his own.  

Accepted free eggs from a kind neighbor.

I bought some books from the library for $2.00.  


I used a sweater stone and made a few of my husband's sweatshirts look new again.  

I found some great grocery deals and stayed within the grocery budget.    

Filled out the Kroger survey for 50 fuel points.  

My Goals for next week:

Finish the crocheting a baby blanket for a friend.

Defrost the freezer in the garage.  I need to do this before it gets so cold that I won't be able to. 

Clean the rest of the garden.   The grandson helped me take down about half of the bean poles in the garden then it rained us out.  He will help me with the other half this next week.  He is working for a game he likes.  

What are the ways you saved this week? 

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My Grocery Shopping Trip for This Week 10/20/18!

We got some great deals this week that helped stock our pantry. 
I love to visit a coupon site called Bargains to Bounty and she lets me know what great deals are out for our area.  Her site has helped me to save a lot of money (and time) over the years.  

I didn't have one paper coupon by the way for the deals at Kroger it was all digital coupons.  I'm really getting quite lazy about paper coupons.  


If you have never read my grocery totals before here is a little Information:

I want to keep our grocery budget at $100.00. I always forget to clarify how many people live here permanently and who we have her to babysit.   We have 3 people that live here (youngest daughter buys some of her groceries) and we babysit two grandchildren (although now they will be in school most days).

We also want to eat healthy so our grocery bill is a little higher than we are used to.  Like my husband says, "our health is our wealth."


Kroger Shopping Trip #1

This was a little sad when we shopped at this Kroger.  It is going out of business.  It was quite small and people I guess must love to shop at the larger ones.  We did get some great deals though!  

50 % (price shown after discount)
Betty Crocker sparkles $1.00
Betty Crocker Gems $1.39
Kroger Lemon extract $1.99
Kroger Dill Seed $1.80
Green tea (Lipton) 2 boxes $1.80 each
Kroger NF Dry Milk 2 boxes $1.99 each

Regular Price items

Gallon of Milk $1.99
Koegel Bologna $4.79
Bananas $1.52
2 bags of Carmel $5.00

Total $32.34

Kroger Shopping Trip #2

I received a digital coupon for $20 off $50 by shopping Kroger's Clicklist for the first time.  Then I received some other digital coupons for clicklist too.  I couldn't wait to get my list going!  

Bag of pears $1.99
Kraft Cheese Free
2 Suave Shampoos .58 (after coupon)
Pure Silk Shave cream  $1.04 (after coupons)
Planters Peanuts $.99 (after coupon)
Bakery Chocolate chips Cookies   $1.71
Two Truvia $6.79 each
2 Heinz Ketchup $3.29 each
Kraft Mayo Free 
Old El Paso taco Shells  Free
Seasoning Free
Progresso Soup Free
Lettuce Free
2 M&M  $1.00 each
3 Kroger Cream Cheese $1.19 each
Kroger Shredded Cheese $1.99
Baby carrots .74 (after coupon)
2 Pepperoni packages $2.49 for both (after b1/g1 plus coupons)
Shredded Lettuce Free

Total $20.33

I took a survey for 50 fuel points..great deal.


Aldi (no picture)


We went on the other side of town to their Aldi that has been recently renovated. This was my first time going there in awhile and I love the layout.  Apparently ours will be the same.  I can't wait till it opens back up!  

2 waters (cases)   $1,99
2 half and half's   $1.69 each
3 sweetener pouches $3.89 each
2 Pork Rinds
2 gallons of milk $1.68 each
Peanuts $1.89
Bananas $1.89 and .84
Always Maxi Pads $3.27
4 Advance Low Carb Bars $4.99
Ham  $2.99
Colby cheese $1.69
Fruit snacks $3.99
Celery .89
Total $67.38



Grand total this week 

$105.05 (after subtracting $15.00 from under spending last week)


How did you do grocery shopping this week?  

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Free Kindle Books for Today 10/20/18!

The links in this post may contain affiliate links.   When you order from something from one of my links I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you.  You can read my  full disclosure policy  and privacy policy here.   Thanks so much for helping support Vickie's Kitchen and Garden! 

Free Kindle Books for today 10/20/18  Make sure you check the price before you buy, Amazon prices can change frequently. If you don’t have a Kindle you can download your favorite Kindle Book on any tablet or smartphone with a free Kindle Reading App

Landry's Back in Town (Rocky Ridge Romance Book 1) 

Triple Creek Ranch - Unbroken

How To Attract Humminbirds To Your Yard Or Garden: Secrets For Gardeners & Birdwatchers

19 Scrumptious Casserole Recipes for Breakfast 

Party Recipes for Kids: Quick, tasty and easy Cupcakes, Sandwiches, Slices and Biscuits that Kids will love to eat and help to make

Sailing into the Storm: A Wren and Frog Adventure: Book 0 (The Adventures of Wren and Frog)

Giveaways!  

Be sure to enter the giveaway for the $15 Gift card to Amazon or B/N on my review of Charlotte Hubbard's new book, A Simple Christmas!

Goddess Fish Promotions Tenth Anniversary Month Long Celebration -two giveaways -one for everyone to enter -$50 Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card and one for authors -2 $10 GC for their services! 

*****A great way to earn points and receive free books is My Reader Rewards (formerly Tyndale Rewards)!

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Book Review: A Wells Landing Christmas by Amy Lillard

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A Wells Landing Christmas (A Wells Landing Romance Book 8) 

As the most joyous of seasons comes to the Amish community of Wells Landing, Oklahoma, one young woman gets a chance to start again—and rediscover the gift of true love . . .
 
Families rejoicing together, caroling parties full of cheer, and church get-togethers brimming with delicious cooking and warm fellowship. Ivy Weaver would give anything to be a part of Christmas in Wells Landing. But one reckless mistake made her an outsider, and it's all she can do now to tend to her ailing grandfather and make a living. She sure doesn't need Zeb Brenneman returning to help after he abandoned her for no reason. He's working hard to make amends, but Ivy isn't sure there's enough faith—or still-sparking love between them—to stir her forgiveness . . .
 
Zeb knows leaving Ivy was the biggest mistake he's ever made. Even though she won't hear him out, he's determined to prove he's become the trustworthy, steadfast man she truly deserves. But bright new chances and surprising revelations will give him and Ivy choices they never imagined. And finding their way back to each other will be the most 
challenging—and precious—Christmas gift of all . .

My thoughts:

A Wells Landing Christmas captured my attention right away and never let go.  Dealing with issues of forgiveness, forgetfulness, faith, loneliness, and old love, it kept me reading page after page.

Some memorable characters were in this book but I especially loved the ones who gave Ivy the love and guidance she needed.  Characters like, Ethan from the nursing home and her Grandfather, who both give her little bits of wisdom without passing any judgement, that spark hope for her situation. They also gave her guidance in restoring her faith with God.


The clip clop of the buggy though is something that only came sometimes in this book.  The Amish in this community have adapted to other modes of transportation.  I miss that little bit of their lifestyle that kept them separate from the English.  

I want to warn you that among all the life situations that happened in this book, there was some great sounding food. Ivy especially enjoyed spreading the joy of Christmas with wonderful sounding cookies. 

A great read!

I was given a copy of this book by the author. I was not required to post a positive review. 

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