Wednesday, November 26, 2014

No ads yet!

I have in ads yet.   I did find a Betty Crocker ap on my I pad.   Ots 15000 recipes on a "book" and they are all catalogued.   I found a yummy recipe for salad for thanksgiving.   The Betty Crocker e mail came through with a whole bunch if cheese cake recipes for thanksgiving,,,yum!  

The best part of thanksgiving is the leftovers.    I have a turkey in the freezer and will make it after the holiday,   This is a good time when the proce of the turkey's is cheap.   Of you are shopping at Fred Meyer for chrostmas presents, with 150.00 including your groceries, the turkey is free.   I don't usually spend 150.00 on groceries at one time,   I'm not seeing many real bargains at Fred Meyers for groceries.   I did replace our toaster ( the old one didn't toast one side) for 1/2 off and the good crock pot is 39.99 and you get a ten dollar gift card with it.   I have a good crockpot, so I don't need one,  
I have said many times that a crockpot is your best friend in the kitchen.  

The easiest way to get a chicken cooked  is to put an onion, roughly chopped, in the bottom of a crockpot.  Dry your chicken, rub the skin with a dry rub, and place it dry in the crockpot .  Cook on high for an hour a pound,   Os will not give you an oven roasted type of chicken.   The breast stays intact, but the part of the chicken that is under the broth is more like you would use for soup, or enchiladas.   I used this recipe when the freezer quit and we had to cook many chicken fast!    If you have no time, ot soma good way to get a chicken cooked and ready for numerous chicken recipes.  
Your non passive cooking is about five minutes.  

I play a game and see just how much I can get done while my oatmeal is cooking in the morning.   You would be surprised!   I only watch the microwave if I am melting chocolate or butter.  

Speaking of butter, it is 2.50 at Fred Meyers.   A good time to stock up.  You can freeze it.   Just in time for Christmas baking, I don't do much because no one eats it,  

That's about all.


Thanks for stopping by
Please join and share

Jane








Monday, November 24, 2014

Retailers dirty little,secrets!

As I have said before, the retailers have spent considerable money to research our habits and find ways to get us to spend more money.

Advertising multiples, when you can only by one item is one trick they use. Because something is 3/1.00 doesn't mean that you have to buy three.

The longer you spend in a store, the more money you will spend. That's why some retailers change things aroumd frequently. Costco is notorious for it. If you have the mind set that you are on the clock and want to get the most bang for your buck, you'll spend less time. It's a game. I want to save as much as I can in the least amount of time.

Impulse buying is the retailers profit. They figure that 70 percent of what we buy is impulse. Often it is the most expensive things in the store that you don't really need. We want the retailers to prosper but they can do it on someone else's dime who can afford it.

Create your own path through the store, if you don't need anything in an isle, don't go there. The true necessities are on the outside perimeter of the store.

Sometimes, what is truly on sale isn't the featured items up front.

Exercise the hands off rule. Studies say that if you touch it, you are most likely going to buy it.

It's a well known trick that if prices have to increase, the manufacturers will reduce the size of the package instead of outwardly increasing the price.

Know your prices, the bulk isle isn t always the cheapest price.

Keep in mind that foods are sold other places other than grocery stores. Many time you can find overstocks at the dollar store, big lots, Bartells and almost anywhere. Keep your eye open, and know your prices.

Pick your grocery store based on the prices, not how friendly the clerks are or how fancy the store is, or how uncrowded it is. think about it, there is a reason why the store is crowded. Either they have just forecasted that dreaded S word, or it's because they have the best prices. You go to the grocery store to purchase your food.

Stores charge manufacturers slotting fees. Basically they charge rent for the eye level shelves. You can just bet they are going to pass on the cost. Look UP and DOWN for the best buys.

Thanks for stopping by

please share

Jane
















Sunday, November 23, 2014

Suddenly Sunday

We went out to a German  dinner in  lieu of Oktoberfest.   It was really good.    I love getting a break from cooking, not that I have had a lot of that with breaking my hip and spending time in hospitals and rehab centers.    I still ate dinner by watching the amount of carbs I ate.   I had a taste if anything that was carb loaded and stuck to the cabbage and meat.

Fred Meyers has a small ad on the paper.  Nothing spectacular except a butter
 coupon and celery is .39.   If you want bargains for thanksgiving dinner, you need to buy the stuff as you go.   They sock it to you the week of thanksgiving.   They don't out stuff in sale because they don't have too.  They know you are going  to  to buy it anyway.   Turkey is still free of you spend 150.00.  I'm not seeing a restriction on what you buy, so Fred Meyers is  the best bet for that because you can work on your Christmas list, you aren't restricted to buy 150.00 worth of food.

They have a crockpot brand crockpot for 39.99 and will give you a ten dollar got card with purchase.

I started this blog to help real people eat real food when left with the reality of a sparse budget.   I am seeing a lot of websites out there that either profess that they are in a few dollars a month on the past or eat dinners that a Martian might eat, but most children I know wouldn't touch it woth a ten foot pole .  I am trying to put real food on the table and still work under the USDA guidelines.

Obviously, the meat for the week is turkey.   The same recipes for chicken can be side for turkey,  we are going to family for thanksgiving, but I bought a turkey anyway.  I got a freezer that was a bit smaller than the one we had before and I stocked veggies and fruit when they were on sale.   I got French fries for a buck, a dollar and a half per big savings.   Since we have them about once a week, that should take is into the new year-- or not! LOL my granddaughters favorite foods, French fries and rice noodles -   go figure!

I digress.

I guess that's all.

Thanks for stopping by. please share and join.
Jane.


Wednesday, November 19, 2014

The ads

Here are the ads for this week.  

ALBERTSONS

Turkey BOGO.  1.19 gross price with a 35.00 purchase not incl turkey

Ham 1.99
Butter 2/5@@
Tomatoes, cup, 3/10

Coupons
Coffee 7.99
Triscuit 3/5
Cake mix .99
Canned veggies 2/1


10 lens potatoes ,99


QFC

Turkey .69 with 30 dollar adtl  purchases
Broccoli .99
Tillamook cheese 5.99
Blues 2.99
Pie 3.99
Butter 2.99


SAFEWAYS
Turkey .69 with 35.00 purchase adtl
Free with 150.00 purchase
Green beans 1.99
Red Barron pizza 3/10
Barilla pasta 1.00

Five dollar Friday
Grapes 3/5
Cheese pizza
Eng muffins 3/5
Ice cream 2/5
Shrimp
Chicken broth 10/5

That's about it


Thanks for stopping by
Please share
Jane



Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Saving time in the kitchen

The holidays are approaching , sooner than we think or possibly want.   


There are many ways to save time and energy getting food din the table.   The one basic concept that works the best for me is to batch cook whatever protein that is the best special of the week.  The meats vary , but usually bought in bulk saves a lot of time and money.

You are buying the "meat " at rock bottom prices, cooking it once, amd portion controlling it onto batches just big enou for a nights meal.   There is no waste and you have saved labor and energy cooking it.

Stair stepping ingredients for meals helps a lot too.   Making a double batch if rice so that you split it and have Spanish rice with tacos, and rice under a stirfry the next day.   Roce and beans have a short fridge life, so don't hold them too long.

The crockpot is your best friend,   The is something  very therapeutic about coming home to dinner cooked.  I imagine the smell is glorious.   Simplest pot roast ever. Put  pot roast in the crockpot.   Slice a peeled onion and out on top. Salt and pepper.  Pour a beer over top.  Add enough beef stock or water to almost cover.   Set on low for 8-10 hours.,  I. Microwave potatoes and carrots until tender and put in the pot with the cooking liquid the last 1/2 hour.  

There is a method out there called freezer cooking,  we used to call ot marathon cooking.   Basically you shop once a month and cook a months worth of meals in a day.   It's hard work.   It works for some people.   I can see it working for a mom with a weird shift at work.  Meals would be  ready for  another family member to heat up when dinner time came,

Personally, I  don't have the stamina to cook for eight to ten hours straight. I would prefer batch cooking.   You have to pick what works for you on a long term basis.  

I just Re read a cookbook called, " don't panic,dinner  is in the freezer.   " I got it as a e book from amazon I think.   Even of you dint want to marathon cook, it has some really good scratch recipes.  It's also breaks down a recipe for number of batches you wish to cook.   A good go to if you need to cook for a crowd.,

Whatever works for you.  

Thanks for stopping by
Please share

Jane



Saturday, November 15, 2014

turkey prices in a nutshell,

Turkey prices -  the price in everybody's  mind .  

QFC .69 with thirty dollar purchase not including turkey
SAFEWAYS .69'with thirty five dollar purchase not incl turkey
Fred Meyers.   Free if you spend  150.00
                        .45 if u spend 100.00
                        .69 if u spend fifty.    All not including the turkey
With coupon in ad.

Apples .99
Eggs. 4/5@@
Triscuit 3:5@@
Mayonaise 2/5@@
Tyson bacon 2.99@@
Sausage 2/5@@
Truffles 2/5@@
5!lbs potatoes .99
Pears .99
Frozen entrees .88

That's about it .

Thanks for stopping bum
Please,share,

Jane
.
                       

Friday, November 14, 2014

Venting. On food

The USDA has a food pyramid that we all grew up with.  Our great grandmothers used it  by intuition.
Our mothers and their  siblings live to be ninty.   I don't think I want to live to be ninty, I won't have enough money.   LOL.

The point being people believe every propaganda that comes their way. It is popular to take on every fad diet to be special and fit in with the crowd.   It  used to be a symptom of the young.  Now the not so young are on the band wagon.   And, they are passionate about it.

The truth is,  whenever you take a food group out of your diet , you are throwing the good out with the self perceived bad.   Unless you are really  disciplined  and have a degree in nutrition, you are playing with fire.  A lot of diseases are based on vitamins and minerals that our diets are lacking and it's not always the best to get them out of a bottle.


If three percent of the farms in the us are organic certified, who is going to eat the other 97 percent of fruits and veggies .  Are you really princess enough to believe that you should be entitled to the top three percent!    And, if is pesticide free, does that mean you get the pests!  And, most families on a budget can't afford five dollars a gallon for milk!   Most organic I have found is twice the price of regular food.

Just eat a balanced diet in moderation.    The simple truth is that our ancestors have been using the food pyramid for years, intensional or not.  It works.   If it ain't broke, don't fix it.


Thanks for a stopping  by

Please  share

Jane


Thursday, November 13, 2014

The ads. And notes

Here are the ads for the week.   There is no QFC because they do bi weekly ads.

ALBERTSONS

Turkey BOGO. With a 35.00 purchase not including the turkey

London broil 3.99
Apples .99
Ice cream 2.49@@
Eggs 4/5@@

Coupons !!!!
Cake mix, brownies .99
Frozen entrees .69
Coffee creamery.99
Veggies,canned .50
Pasta .99
Skippy peanut butter $$?
Salsa 3.99



Dollar veggies oranges
Pears
Tomatoes
Salad
Zucchini
Bean sprout

SAFEWAYS

Turkey .69-  buy 35.00. Additional

Five dollar Friday

Cake
Pudding cake 2/5
Berries 2/5
Salmon

Thanks for stopping by

Please share and join

Jane

Sunday, November 9, 2014

The Fred Meyer ads , and misc notes

Just a note.   I recently heard of a discount grocery store not in the PNW that sells things for cost plus ten percent,   It's in Richmond Virginia and is called shoppers value.   I don't know of there are more shoppers value stores in other parts of the country , but it is worth checking out.  We have grocery outlet here.  Some things are a good buy and others aren't.   It, as I have been saying all along, really pays to know the prices of things that are on your stock list.

Typically we tend to make the same few meals often.   It's easier and we know that our family will eat them.  Your stock list shouldn't vary much.   That means, typically your proce list should be about 10-15 items.

Betty Crocker this time has a whole section  on 20 minute casseroles.  Just in time for the busy fall season.  

Fred Meyers

Oranges .69
Milk 4/5@@ ) 1/2!gal
Bread 3/4 @@
GM cereal 3/5@@ $$
Coffee creamerv2/4@@ attn darling daughter!
Vegetables .79
Cottage cheese sour cream 2/4

That's about all.

Thanks for stopping by

Please share

Jane

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

The ads and notes

Thos os the time of year when baking staples go on sale.   In addition, there is a coupon for c and h sugar in the insert that came with the ads.   Also a coupon for a dollar off two Kellogg's cereals .   That's about all the real food I found!

Fred Meyers had an in ad coupon for .50 cream soups just in time for green bean casserole!   Limit six.  Also fifty cent cucumbers and two dollar berries.

QFC -two weeks through nov 18.
Beef sirloin roast 3.99
Milk 2/3. ( note ot os 1.25 with in ad coupon at FM.


Buy 10, save 5

BREYERS ice cream 2.79
Green giant broth, veggies .49
Butter 2.49
Cream of mushroom soup .79 ( note vs fm until Saturday)
Diced tomatoes .49
Cranberry sauce .99
C and h sugar 2.49 ( note there is an additional coupon in the insert) nets 2.09.
Kleenex or hefty bags .99 ( ch for hefty coupons )

ALBERTSONS
Cod 2.99
Milk 2/5@@

Buy 4, save 2

Kellogg cereal $$

SAFEWAYS
Turkey .69
BREYERS 2.99
15 percent ground beef 4.99
Pork loin 2.79
Grapes 1.99

Five dollar Friday
Grapes 3 lbs
Cake
Strudel 10 ct
Ice cream (2)
Pasta sauce ( glass jar) (5)
Olive oil
Canned salmon (5)
Brownie mix (5)

That's about all.  Note the price differences and why you need to shop at two stores.  Fortunately our chain stores that are left are close to each other and there is a dollar store nearby.  If they were not, I would plan trips around oh her places I routinely go during the week.  The gym?  The doctor or PT?
The kids school?   Soccer practice?   You get he idea!  

Thanks for stopping by
Please share
Jane

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Shopping trip and notes

One of the ways to save at the grocery store os to be flexible.  I never make meal plans until I have shopped.   Case in point.  I used to get huge pizzas from SAFEWAYS when it was five dollar Fridays.   Thos time, the five dollar pizza was kale and feta cheese and was small.   It would be no bargain for our family,   I don't even think that vegetarian daughter would be so inclined.   I did find grapes for. 3/5, and beef tips for 4.75 on just for u.   A gratin potatoes were .99 and I had a coupon and minute steaks were cheap enough to for into the budget.   Cheese was five dollars.   If you buy it every time ot os five dollars, you never get stuck with eight dollars a brick.   We have been grating our own and freezing it.  I only spent 3800 and got a lot of protein.

At ALBERTSONS, I got Yoplait for .34 I used  the in ad coupon and a paper coupon from the newspaper.

This is the time to print coupons,the new batch is released today.   The big ones go faster.
You can print two per item.   Please don't print any you wouldn't use. They are limited. Leave them for someone that will use them.  I only pick real food usually.

I bought some sprinkles from Joanne's for reindeer food.   I want to use edible things on case some kid decides he's going to try it.   I thought I would do reindeer food instead of snowman soup this year.   All I have to buy now is some food grade small bags.   I'm thinking the dollar store.

The USDA has stats on several budget types for different age groups and gender.   Google USDA cost of food at home.


http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CostofFoodSep2014.pdf

It's a good benchmark.   We spent more last month because it was a good time to stock up on canned and frozen.  Come fall the new crop is packed and the old crop is put on sale.  


I guess that's all.

Thanks for stopping by

Please share and follow ( right side if screen)

Jane