Long Overdue

I've been meaning to write this post for about a month but haven't gotten around to it....until now.

This is a public service announcement.  You all need to go shop at Aldi!  Really, you do!

Here's the deal.  I have been told by friends for quite some time that I could save a ton of money if I would shop at Aldi, but the two times I had been in the store in the past left me unimpressed.  (not counting the many times I shopped there in Scotland)

My menu is varied and sometimes diverse, and I just didn't think that Aldi could meet my shopping needs.  But then, my dear friend Tami, aka the Recipe Goddess, started shopping there!  I figured if the Recipe Goddess could get what she needed at Aldi, then I probably could, too.  Especially when she told me they carried such things as goat cheese, Brie, etc.

In addition to the endorsement from Tami, my weekly grocery bill was hovering in the upper $200's and would top $300 many weeks!  Yikes!  Granted, I'm feeding ten people, three meals a day, but even still, this just seemed like an extraordinary amount of money!  Especially since I don't really do a lot of prepackaged foods or other "convenience" items.  We do eat a lot of fruit though, which is expensive.

Well, it only took one serious visit to Aldi to realize I could save a LOT of money shopping there!  Like nearly $100 a week.

Still not convinced?  Here's my menu for dinners this week:
Chicken Picatta
Cannelloni
Korean Beef Skewers
Shrimp Scampi
Pork Chops
Rigatoni with Sausage, Artichokes & Asparagus
Turkey

I just went shopping and spent $125.07 at Aldi.  There were a few things that they didn't have at Aldi: Manicotti noodles, rice sticks, Tide laundry detergent (I won't buy anything else), artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes.  I picked up these items and a few more things at Cub which cost me another $70.80.  That brings my grocery bill for the week to $195.15! Now that may sound like a lot to those of you not feeding so many people for so many meals, but for us it's a mighty nice bill.

Yes, it is an extra stop, since I had to go to Cub as well, but I will make an extra stop to save $100.  A couple more thoughts for you.  Aldi ketchup tastes just like Heinz (we're ketchup snobs over here), their knock-off Triscuits and Wheat Thins taste enough like the real thing to substitute, their pineapples are SUPER cheap (at least at our Aldi).  Actually ALL of their fruit and vegetables are really cheap.

I'll stop now.

But you really should go to Aldi!