Happy Holidays!

Here is our new frugal food sales, shopping and menu planning post. Please keep this one active! Check in whenever you need to. Please feel free to post:

~ Your spending budgets and goals this month

~ December 2012 sales, deals, coupons, etc.

~ Shopping lists, finds, stockpile goods, etc.

~ Daily, weekly or monthly meal/menu plans

~ Tips and strategies that are helping you save this month

~ Help needed, help offered, advice and overall support

~ Anything else you want to contribute to help with food and grocery savings, meal ideas and menu planning

*Bonus* I know we don't all celebrate Christmas but some do engage in the holiday season. Feel free to include any holiday specific sales, shopping and menu planning topics!

My check will come soon and I'd like to start my spending off on the right foot this month. I will need to be mindful of added expenses due to Christmas and our Italian Christmas feast. My Mom and I also plan some baking adventures so that will dip into funds as well.

I have just done my end of November grocery haul and will be picking up fresh produce and items needed throughout the week/before next Wednesday's main grocery haul. I have a lot of home shop goods so I need to start menu planning around them. I also have a good amount of potatoes left from Thanksgiving that I will need to start hacking into and cooking for meals.

I have chicken I will need to pull from the freezer AHEAD of time so I need to stay on top of planning and freezer pulling or things do not defrost in time and there I am stuck out of luck. No thanks, I must stay on top of these things.

Thanksgiving DENSE foods really through me out of the loop. I am high and dry on menu planning ideas because usual favorite meals here or foods don't even sound good right now. Anyone else in this rut? These are the times keyword searching recipes by ingredients you have on hand or snooping other's menu plans really come in handy for ideas/help.

I have plenty of meat and fish in the freezer to get me through the month. I will just have to buy the tri-tip for Christmas dinner. I will just need produce and dairy for the next few weeks. I am stocked up on baking supplies for awhile. I plan on making cookies this year since I didn't get to do it last year due to Dad having a stroke 2 weeks  before xmas. This year I am baking and we are celebrating Christmas.

I am glad Dad is okay Riley.

 

What kind of holiday goodies will you be making other than those fabulous persimmon cookies? Will you be doing your biscotti suggestion? I was thinking of doing a biscotti crusted cheesecake for Christmas dinner. I saw a recipe that used them for crust and it sounded really good... I could then do a hazelnut, expresso, kahula, etc. oriented cheese cake with white chocolate or my death by chocolate layered cheese cake with a drizzle sauce to lightly garnish the top...mocha... or even crushed peppermint bark ... yummmmmm

BargainBinge:

I am glad Dad is okay Riley.

What kind of holiday goodies will you be making other than those fabulous persimmon cookies? Will you be doing your biscotti suggestion? I was thinking of doing a biscotti crusted cheesecake for Christmas dinner. I saw a recipe that used them for crust and it sounded really good... I could then do a hazelnut, expresso, kahula, etc. oriented cheese cake with white chocolate or my death by chocolate layered cheese cake with a drizzle sauce to lightly garnish the top...mocha... or even crushed peppermint bark ... yummmmmm

BB,

Dad is doing great. The dr says he is a walking miracle. They didn't think he would survive last year and if he did they figured he would be like a vegetable. He is perfectly fine.

I will be making some cinnamon and spice cookies (1/2 of the dough will be frozen for later use), flavored butter cookies (nieces and nephews favorites), and maybe some Nutella cookies (friend gave me a recipe yesterday). I will also make the persimmon cookies since Dad and DH love them. I may just bake Dad's favorite cake for Christmas day and send part of it home with him to enjoy since he didn't get any last year.

I am still trying to figure out a good budget for now; maybe $300 for the month?

Wedding is around the corner so we are almost done there. I have shopping to do tomorrow which does not come off the December budget but goes into more of the overspending for November. That means what I buy for December is completely for our own consumption for the month; this includes a few treat foods for the holidays like egg nog and the Christmas eve tray my kids have come to be used to.

Life of Riley: could you share the Nutella recipe with us?

Kassy,

This is the recipe that my friend sent me I don't know where she got it and I haven't had time to try it yet. It looks pretty easy.

Nutella Cookies

1 cup flour

1 cup Nutella

1 egg

Mix everything together. The mixture will be loose. Make into balls. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Riley, that is marvelous news about your dad!  A wonderful Thanksgiving blessing.

Thanks Maziemom,

We feel really blessed that he is still here with us and doing so well.