The pampered chef changes her grocery habits

Well, I'll admit, "pampered" I may be... "chef"? I'm working on that part.

In August, I took up a Pampered Chef catalog order. Between my mom's family and their coworkers, I had a pretty decent order when it was all said and done. I got 2 items half off and $185 worth of free stuff. Those are my kinds of numbers.

I don't typically buy 'name brand' things. I splurge on coffee, milk, and toilet paper. And jeans.... short girls have a hard time finding jeans. So, when American Eagle has sales, I'm there loading up on their "short"s.

But, I have to say, I do LOVE me some Pampered Chef stuff. And, free? How can I not?

So, here's my loot (I spent about $50 on tax and my 2 half price items):

(I actually had a bit more, but I got it for the madre since she did more work that I did for this stuff:))

I kept canning in mind as I shopped. I love the 4 batter bowls that we got. They have measurements inside them, have a spout, a lid, a silicone exterior bottom, and a hole for your thumb so you can hold them better. I went ahead and got all four of them. It seems like we are always needing bigger and more bowls when we can. And, sometimes we need a big container for leftovers like soup.

We now have bowls that are 2, 4, 6, and 8 quarts! And they (kinda) fit into each other for storage. But... they are so pretty I think they need to be on a shelf somewhere so I have to really scrub them when I want to use them :).

We also got a stackable cooling rack,  a pair of 2 cup "prep" bowls with lids, a kernel cutter (whoohoo!), a wine stopper, a set of three stainless mesh colanders, a set of 3 paring knives,  and a large sheet pan that is so heavy my poor weak little wrists can't hardly hold it up when it's empty (this isn't saying much though)! Mom's loot included a kernel cutter, can opener, a set of 3 paring knives, and a peppercorn grinder.

This past week, I've also decided to do a test run and change my grocery shopping habits. I typically make one huge trip at the start of the month and then a smaller one mid way to get the staples we've eaten up and drank. This week, I went to the store and only bought a week's worth of food. (And if my calculations are correct, this method could save us $150 a month)*

*Please note that I am known for being a horrible math student....and a poor estimator.... and too much of a tightwad for my own good.... and Dustin's stomach.

The reason for this change is because of a segment I saw on Good Morning America the other day. The person being interviewed has put together a few sets of a week's worth of meals that all use the same handful of ingredients.  All the meals are very different so you don't necessarily feel like you're eating the same food over and over. I'm going to give it a shot starting either tonight or tomorrow and will report back! My huge shopping trip worked for us... but it also resulted in a lot of "what are we going to eat tonight?" and "why don't we have any food" questions. I was good at planning a few meals, but apparently was poor at planning that far in advanced. And, produce I bought never got all the way used up before it got sent to the compost.

If my new grocery shopping works like I hope, our Dave Ramsey budget will be so happy!