pre-Thanksgiving

I haven’t done any real grocery shopping since I started at Target. And let’s face it, while Target has some good stuff (especially in their Archer Farm brand) paying $2.69 for a bag of tortilla chips that I know I can get for 99 cents at Aldi... Well, I have to get back into routine. Mind you, those $2.69 chips are organic, have blue corn and flax seed and have a rich nutty flavor...

I lost count of how much money I was spending by the end of the first row at Aldi. So I said the heck with it and went crazy. Apparently, even if I buy everything I want, it’s still only $100. Or in my case today, $102.20.

One of my goals was to lay off the cheese a little bit. I failed. Miserably. I got different cheese.

What did I get? Well, stuff for Thanksgiving and staples.

And a few impulse buys...

71 items...

• Clancy Hot & Spicy Potato chips $1.29 (when I was a kid I used to devour bags of Red Hot potato chips. That’s what these are trying to be. Blame PMS)
• Cheddar Jalapeno Kettle Chips $1.99
• Tortilla chips, two bags at 99 cents each
• Plain soymilk and chocolate soymilk, 64 ounces each, $2.39 each
• juice concentrate, frozen, 100% juice, white grape raspberry, 3 cans at $1.14
• butter, one pound unsalted and one pound salted, $2.29 each
• medium salsa, 2 jars, either 16 or 24 ounces, $1.69 each
• evaporated milk, 2 cans at 69 cents each
• big bottle of honey, $4.49
• five pounds of granulated sugar, $3.09
• premade refrigerated pie crusts, two boxes of two crusts each, $1.89 each
• thin pork chops, close to a pound, $3.91
• 2 small boxes of baking soda, 45 cents each
• 2 blocks of New York sharp cheddar, $1.79 each
• shredded asiago, $1.99
• macaroni and cheese, four boxes, 29 cents each
• sweetened condensed milk, one can, $1.29
• Rice stuffing, $1.29 (was curious to see what this was and if we’d like it. I can replicate it once I try it)
• Small wheel of American cow’s milk brie, $3.29
• brown sugar, $1.29
• split top wheat bread (to break into cubes for the stuffing) 99 cents
• Pitted dates, 3 bags at $1.69 each
• pint of heavy whipping cream, $1.59
• pitted prunes, $1.99
• chopped pecans, three bags, $2.89 each
• salt grinder, pepper grinder, $1.69 each
• tiny cans of tomato sauce, four cans, 25 cents each
• canned sweet potatoes in syrup, three cans at $1.19 each
• four cans of light tuna in water, 52 cents each
• two cans of whole potatoes, 59 cents each
• broccoli crowns, fresh, $1.49
• head of cauliflower, fresh, $1.59
• jar of minced garlic, $1.49 (I hate jarred garlic, yet once every two-three years I buy a jar because I keep running out of fresh)
• 4 cups of shredded mozzarella, $3.19
• flour tortillas, 2 packages, 99 cents each
• dozen large eggs, 89 cents
• small can of tropical fruit salad, 79 cents
• jar of mayo for my husband, $1.89
• a very large bottle of canola oil, $1.99
• sour cream, $1.19
• country spice grinder, $1.69
• Italian seasoning, $1.09