Grocery Shopping and Freezer cooking Day

Wednesdays are my new grocery shopping day and its exciting to me to go get the new deals!
Today we went to Bilo, Publix, and Aldi which took about 2 hrs total (with some potty breaks and normal 2 yr old stuff).
Here is what I got:
Iams 20lb dog food
2 Cape Cod chips
Baked Lays chips
3 Coke Zero 12 packs
4 juicy juice bottles
2 pk strawberries
2 pasta boxes (whole wheat)
1 gallon milk
trio of peppers
3 cloves garlic
2 dozen eggs
1 toothpaste
hand pump soap
4 Knorr pasta sides
Uncle Bens instant rice
bananas
jar of mushrooms
3 Pam sprays
4 pk toilet paper (penny item at Publix)
4 jars Ragu Alfredo sauce
can of corn
block of cheese
apples
TOTAL was $60 and some change
Makes the time I spend cutting coupons worthwhile! I stockpile so that is why there is multiples of things that I won't use up until it is on sale again, or something similar.

After coming home, having lunch and then putting Garyn down for a nap, I started cooking 2 new recipes for my freezer cooking day!!

I wanted to make Chicken Bacon Alfredo (recipe below) and Chicken Tetrazinni that I had seen my freezer cooking-hero make! I always see her blog and wonder what the recipes taste like and want to have the ease of whipping it out of the freezer! I am trying to not buy many processed foods, which I still have plenty of them but just laying off the frozen dinners and pre-packaged meals! However, I want the ease of not having to prepare or think about what to have for dinner since we obviously need help eating at home more.
I made four dinners plus 2 small sample dishes for Garyn and I to try these new recipes out tonight. Both were very good and I think Tyler will eat them......2 of the dinners are bigger, I doubled each recipe then put a third (a size the 3 of us can eat easily). Then I put the other 2/3 in a throw-away aluminum pan that I can give to others or use when we have someone over. I am taking one tomorrow to my friend that just had a baby.


Doesn't look like a lot, but its 2-3 homemade meals for us to have. Just these 2 recipes took up a good 2 hours with clean up and all. I will have to have a day without Garyn or with Tyler here in order to accomplish more.

Speaking of Tyler, he is loving Honduras. He says the kids are great and its beautiful there! We will both be going next year if God wants and can work it out! (which of course He can!) I have only got to talk to him once on the phone and 2 emails so the communication is limited. That has been the hardest for me. I know he is fine and I'm fine here without him, but I would like to at least be able to talk to him!

Garyn will ask about him throughout the day and I am telling him he is on a trip. He says, "He'll be back soon" which is the exact words I used the first time he asked. The cutest though was tonight when we were leaving church and talking about making cookies once home, he said: "Make one for daddy and put it on the table for him tomorrow." LOL, can't wait to tell Tyler that one! Our usual is to come home from church and have dessert or go out and get milkshakes, so he wanted daddy to be included even if he wasn't here!

Chicken Bacon Alfredo Bake
2 cups dry penne pasta cooked 2 minutes short of being done (I use whole wheat)
2 cups cooked chicken cut up
1/2 lb or so of cooked bacon
1 jar Alfredo sauce
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Put all ingredients and half the cheese in a 9x9 casserole dish and stir, top with the rest of the cheese. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.