Too late for a resolution?

Of course not!

As we all know, babies are expensive. They are eating, pooping and peeing machines. They always need the best bottles, toys, teethers, etc. Everytime I go shopping for groceries or for anything for that matter I always leave with one (or two) things for Marlee. It's unavoidable.

While I try not to go crazy buying things for her, I have to make up for the amount spent and limit my spendings elsewhere. I choose groceries and going out to eat. I haven't mastered the double or triple coupon savings yet, but I will get there. In the mean time I'll try by making budget friendly meals 7 days a week. Since having Marlee we have limited how often we go out to eat drastically, but I'd like to make it once a month at the most.

We usually go to Wal-mart for everything we need. And I mean EVERYTHING. While they have low prices, I always wonder if we're getting the best deal. Obviously toiletries, shampoo, and make up are at their cheapest at Wal-mart. But what about groceries? I rarely see a good sale there. So today we decided to branch out and try a new grocery store that opened 2 months ago. It's called Aldi.

The curb appeal is great. There were tons of cars in the parking lot, obviously people enjoy shopping there. When you drive into the Wal-mart parking lot, the first thing I see is carts everywhere (am I right??), not at Aldi. they are all nicely locked together in the front of the store. Yes, locked together. It's 25 cents to use a cart. But wait, don't fret! You get your 25 cents back when you check out. This ensures that no one leaves a cart in the parking lot to seek out someones car and damage it.

I can't say that we will shop here for our entire grocery list, but they have some good deals, especially in the produce section. We bought a huge bushel of bananas for $1.41 at $.35 per pound, a gallon of 2% milk for $1.79, a head of iceburg lettuce for $0.59, a 10 pound bag of russet potatoes for $2.29, eight Roma tomatoes (roughly 20 oz) for $0.89, and a three pound bag of long grain rice for $1.49. This wasn't all of the groceries, but some of the best deals that we got. I'll definitely return here for some of my produce in the future. The only down side to Aldi; you have to pay for plastic/paper sacks or bring your own, and they don't bag for you. But that can be very eco friendly if you bring your own bags! So I definitely challenge you to check out Aldi and see how you like it!

As far a making meals 7 days a week, I decided to make beef stew tonight. Included are the ingredients, directions and some pictures for your viewing pleasure! Enjoy!

Beef Stew

1 lb stew meat (I used roast) cut into 1 inch cubes

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1 (10.5 oz) can beef broth

1 tbsp EVOO

1 cup water

3/4 bag of baby carrots

2 medium potatoes, cubbed

1 onion, quartered

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp marjoram

1 tsp garlic powder

1. Cube stew meat and dredge in flour. Heat EVOO in pot on med-hi, add stew meat; brown on all sides.

2. Season meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemary, and marjoram. Slowly add beef broth and water to the pot. Bring to a boil then turn heat down to med-low and simmer for 1 hour.

3. After 1 hour add the potatoes, onion, and carrots to the pot. Cover and simmer for 2-3 hours.