Grocery Shopping

Okay, how much does it cost to feed a family of 9? Well, Kroger had to get special permission to accept the amount of the check I wrote out today! I had 2 BIG carts full of stuff. My dh only gets paid once a month, so I like to shop for everythinig intially then I only have to go back for stuff like milk and fruit later on. I am a bargain shopper, we eat fairly simply and I am known to clip a mean coupon, but it is quite costly these days. We belong to a fruit and veg. co-op, where we and some other families buy from the farmer's market for quite a bit cheaper than the store. I make homemade stuff-a lot.
So........for breakfast this month we'll be rotating pancakes, granola bars, cheerio bars, and french toast & bacon. For lunch we usually do sandwiches with veggies or fruit. Sometimes for a treat I'll buy some inexpensive chips. And this month I splurged and actually bought yogurt! And frozen chicken fingers and fries. (One can only eat so much PB&J). And for dinners, my dh loves beans and tortillas -pintos with cheese and ground beef-it must be a mexican thing :) And he is a very much meat-and-potatoes-no-thanks-for-the-salad-kind of guy. So for dinners we'll be rotating beans and tortillas, grilling out burgers and brats (another dh fave), chicken and rice, homemade pizza and baked mac and cheese. I'll whip up a jello salad and some corn on the cob to go with the grilled stuff and maybe some fresh green beans with the mac and cheese.
Last month Bi-Lo had their pork roast on sale, so I bought 6 of them. We are kind of tired of pork now..........
I keep it fairly simple (I don't really enjoy cooking, but I do enjoy eating) and fairly healthy. I do buy some boxed cookies or crackers to have once a week or so. They can eat an entire box in just one sitting, so I try to make it a special treat. I found it also makes them finish their meals because they haven't filled up on snacks in the meantime. And sometimes on the weekends my dh likes to make rootbeer floats for the kids, so I went ahead and got some ice cream and soda.
And okay, I did buy M&M's to reward my 2 and half year old ds for going potty. Which is going fairly well actually. :)