Suddenly Sunday

Yesterday I spent the morning doing laundry and putting up corn and making banana- blueberry- oatmeal breads.
I clipped the new coupons on coupon.com. There are coupons for Betty Crocker MAC and cheese, and hefty sandwich bags. I used them at the dollar store ;that made Mac and cheese .25 as apposed to Kraft that is a buck. And the hefty bags .50. I like the hefty bags to use in granddaughters lunch. Boxed Mac and cheese is a good children's snack or a good emergency ration. For that price, it is a good food bank donation. Kids love it.

My daughter and I went to Big Lots and grocery outlet. Big lots doesn't take SNAP or coupons. lasagna noodles were 1.40 and pizza crust was 2.00. Double cans of tomatoes are a buck. They had a really interesting hot sauce for a buck, and I got anti- itch cream for a buck.

Grocery outlet is a good source for cheese. They had spicy jack cheese for 2.00 a package ( that makes it 4.00 a pound). Top dollar for regular cheddar. So,eti,es a splurge makes things better-- my husband likes Mac and cheese with it. Everyone in the family likes peppers. My husband likes smoked Gouda cheese and that is the best way to find it. I got a name brand lunch meat for a buck. The exact same brand as the one I paid 2.00 for with a coupon.
Chicken sausage is 3.00 instead of 5.00. Individuàl Angelfood bundt cakes were a buck. Strawberry shortcake !!! I don't remember ever using a coupon at grocery outlet.

Yesterday I dissected a meal box that I got for free at QFC. I wouldn't have purchased it. I can make the same thing for little effort. I precook my meat, so I spend less time in the kitchen at dinner time. By dinner time,I am wiped out, especially of I have worked that day. I want fast, thrift conscious food. I would cook the pasta in the microwave, chop up some cooked chicken breast, and either use a can of basil recipe starter from the dollar store or make a quick white sauce with a hard cheese in it. Two cups of white sauce costs .70. It would cost less if you used vegetable stock instead of milk, or part milk and part vegetable stock. There is a recipe for cream soup base, but I haven't cost it out. The recipe starter is .50 for 2-1/4 cups. It's actually cheaper,than scratch.

I haven't talked about stair-stepping. Stair stepping is where you make a double batch of something and reserve part for another night in the same week. Rice can become stir fry and fried rice. Chicken pieces can become chicken and rice and chicken on biscuits. Sloppy joe meat can become sloppy joes and shepherds pie another night. Chicken and summer squash can become chicken fettuccine.

Get out of the kitchen strategies :

Stair stepping
Crock pot meals
Batch cooking saves time and money
Leftovers
Quick hot dogs, hamburgers, Dagwood sandwiches, or hot meat sandwiches, sliders, sloppy joes, etc.

Thanks for stopping by,

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Jane