Life is just one big balancing act

My son walked in a few days ago . He had been to the sample shop that was open before Christmas to benefit charity. His big purchase was three light up juggling balls.  He's really good at it.

It reminded me of my life.  My entire life since adulthood.  It's just one big juggling act, a big balancing act.  Trying to do everything that needs to be done and then some,

I run two businesses, work two days a week, take care of my granddaughter, run the house, write a blog, and belong to a service group for women.

I think that's why I am also for a balanced approach on grocery shopping on the cheap.  I coupon.  I do not spend 40 hours a week couponing.  I also don't buy 93 bottles  of hot sauce, or 120 candy bars.
I spend about two hours a month couponing-- an hour at the beginning of the month downloading the new months coupons, and about 10-15 minutes a week checking the match up web site for good matchups.

I think what I am saying is that groceries on the cheap is not my whole life.  I probably don't spend more time than the average family on grocery shopping.  I have learned to "make up any tome I spend on the front side of grocery shopping ( planning) on the cooking part.  Night before last we had a taco rice skillet from scratch.  It didn't take any longer than a hamburger meal box, but it was scratch, not out of a box.  Last night we had steak strips with veggies over rice and fruit cup.

There is a balance.  A balance in serving protein, veggies and starch in proportion, a balance in not spending your whole day grocery shopping, or planning your meals.  A balance in buying just the amount you need to get you through until the next time something is on sale.


Life is just one balancing act.

What to do with  what you got.

SAFEWAYS has good hamburger for 2.99.  Good hamburger is best for meatballs and meatloaf where you can replace the fat that isn't in the meat with veggies that will maintain some moistness.
Taco meat and crumbles can be defatted to render them with less fat than a boneless, skinless chicken breast.

Apples are on sale.  I see an apple cake in my future. Oranges are cheapest at Fred Meyers, a difference of half.  Orange quick bread or muffins are good for breakfast.  Also good side for breakfast for dinner.  Ditto berries.

Unless I am baking, olive oil is my oil of choice.  It boosts the good cholesterol.

What not to buy:  roasted chicken on the deli at SAFEWAYS os 6.49 for 30 ounces.  That is a little less than two pounds.  Forgive me for repeating myself.....

• That os a net of 3.25 a pound.  That is over three times what it cost last week for raw chicken whole.  And well over three times when it was .79 a few weeks back.  
• Less than two pounds means that you are paying too much for bone and getting little chicken.  Three pounds os the break even point and more is gravy.  
• It takes about ten minutes to put a chicken on the oven.  Do the math.  Never mind the balance of meat to bone ratio, cooked chicken is 6.49.  Two pounds of sale chicken is 2.00 ( or less) difference 4.50 rounding.  Remember,get we also rounded the weight.  Ten minutes is 1/6 of an hour .  Six times 4.50 is 27.00 an hour.  With no taxes, that means to clear that much you would have to make 33.00 an hour.  

Remember, you want to average five dollars a dinner.  London broil is 2.99 a pound.  If you have a couple of I expensive meals, you can still have steak and stay on budget.  

I am writing this blog as if you are on snap and have an average of three hundred dollars or so for two to three people.  You can always spend more, learning how to spend a lot less is harder.  

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Jane 

Terrific thursday

It's finally Thursday.  I  It's been a long week already.    The ads did not pop out as a good stocking week.  I do see good hamburger for low prices at SAFEWAYS.  In fact, SAFEWAYS seems to be my store of choice thos week.  ALBERTSONS has good prices on some staples of you include the " coupons".  My hesitation comes on wondering if that means that everything will be at sky high proces when you redeem them.  Then, you haven't saved anything.  If you can use the coupons when other things are a good proce, it might work.  It's a ploy to get you to come back week after week.  Most people shop one store.  The retailers make a lot of profit on the fact that the ads being you in and you will buy impulse buys to fill your cart.

Groceries on the cheap beats them at their own game.  Just buy the sales and what you really need and move on to another store to just buy what you need and the sales.  Avoid the impulse buys.  Thos helps if you don't go to the store hungry and you don't go with screaming kids or husbands that like to put stuff into the cart.  I don't begrudge the retailers a hefty profit, that's what they are in business for, I just think the people that have more money than time can be the ones to give it to them.

Sing two stores, buying the sale items that are on your target list, and getting out of the store is the ticket to saving a lot of money.  I get into two stores in a half an hour usually, unless ot is a store that I haven't been in lately and have to familiarize myself with the layout of the store.  It doesn't have to take all day.  Stick to the basics and plan your trip.  A little time at home will save you lots of time at the store.  Make your list.  Maybe as simple as staring or circling the things on the ad.  Check your coupon matchups.  Take your ads, your list and your coupons to the store.  Get on and get out. Mthey more time you spend in a store,the more money you will spend.

These are basic principles that are tried and true and can save you a lot of money.  Having the patience to plan your trip and work out the reward dollars the stores are offering you,can make a big difference in what you spend for groceries.  Groceries is the biggest discretionary item in your budget.  It os worth your while to cut the expense.

On to food.

Bananas are always a good price at Costco.  They were adding something to make them last longer, it made the packages wet and the bananas were yucky.  We returned them.  Watch for the bags to be sure they are not wet.  Berries are rich in antioxidants and remain within a budget.

Regular carrots are still within budget.  With careful planning, you can still find beef reasonable enough if you supplement it with pork and chicken and some vegetarian.  Eggs are still an inexpensive source of orotein, even with winter prices.  I do watch for the lowest proce, they have a long pull date.

I found a recipe for a bisquick beer bread, we are going to try it.  It should taste good with a hearty soup or chili.   Adding a bread to a meal is a good way to fill up hollow legs.

Guess that's all.

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Thanks for stopping by

Jane

Wicked Wednesday : the ads

The ADS


ALBERTSONS

Foster farms chicken .99
Yoplait  10/5
Cheese 2 lbs. 3.99@@
Pan bread .99@@
Fresh express salads 2.98 $$

ALBERTSONS had a new program.  They do not have store cards anymore.  But, they have something akin to rote and dollars, except ypu have to save the coupons.  There are some decent prices if you take onto consideration that you are getting coupons for more groceries., it is a bit more of a hassle than rote and, bit the savings Re there.  Plus, if you show upon game day woth a Seahawks jersey, there os another ten percent off.

Apparently there are people that are of the thought process that anything that takes a thought process is not worth the time.  Ifmyounhavemoldermchildren enough money, I guess it isn't,  to each his own.  I am not sure this is the best program for us.  I don't go to ALBERTSONS on a regular basis and it is on the next town.  I'll call these coupons rebates to be less confusing.

Ice cream 2/6 --2.00 - 2 rebate
Canned veggies 10/10 - buy 10, get 5 rebate
Canned beans 20/10- buy 10, get 5 rebate
Frozen veggies 10/10- buy 10- 5 rebate
Frozen potatoes 2/4 - buy 2- 1 rebate

That's forty dollars with 18 dollars of ALBERTSOMS money.  Almost half price.  The next question I would have is what kinds of specials are on the next week, and how long do the coupon ( rebates) work.  They won't do you any good of everything that you buy is full proce the next week.

TOP

BRANDON CHEESE  4.99@@
Nalleys chili 1.00

QFC

BERRIES 2/5
10/10
Barilla pasta
Stagg chilli
Tortillas

SAFEWAYS
PORK LOIN CHOPS 1.99
Good ground beef 7 percent 2.99
Cheerios 1.88
Apples .99
Oranges .99
Chicken noodle soup .69$$
London broil 2.99

5 dollar Friday
Berries
Boston cream cake
Olive or cookin oil
K cups


That's about all.

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Jane

Terrific Tuesday: winter veggies

I thought we could talk about winter veggies. We do resort to a lot more fruit in the winter.  None the less, root vegetables are a food substitute for summer veggies.  Carrots can be glazed, a nice addition to a chicken dinner.

You can oven roast almost any root vegetable.  I cut veggies I'm approximately,a rely the same thickness, drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle them woth salt and pepper,or a little rosemary.
Bake at 350-375 until they are done - about 20 minutes or so depending on the size of your veggies.  I use any combo of red potatoes, turnips, rutabagas. Onion, radishes, carrots,

We like sauerkraut. It is cheapest at Big lots.  I tried to make our own once, but my husband didn't like ot.  He likes sauerkraut,but not cabbage.  My mother used to fry cabbage with some bacon.
It was really good.

We also resort to frozen veggies.  Stir fry veggies are at the dollar store and you can add some chicken pieces with some soy sauce  over noodles or rice.

There is a coupon on last Sundays paper for 1.50 off of two bags of salad.  The last salad I looked at wasn't good, but you may catch a better shipment.  Don't rewash salad.  They did resting, and the salad that was not rewashed  had less germs than the one that was washed.  Go figure.

I just saw a butternut squash and bean chili recipe on Facebook.  I forgot all about squash.  We like acorn squash with butter and brown sugar and cinnamon.  It's really good with meat loaf.  Spaghetti squash is good too.  You can mash it like potatoes, or add rutabagas or turnips to your mashed potatoes.

I guess that's all  I can think of.

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Jane

Monday madness

Here it is Monday again.  Yesterday I did not go to Rite Aid or Fred Meyers.  Whilst there were some good buys  at Freddie's, I didn't need anything.  I made split pea soup , this time with new split peas.  There were done in less time than the slow cooker recipe called for.  I guess the lesson here os to buy just the amount of split peas that you can use in a reasonable time.  We tend to go in cycles and like something for a while and then get tired of it  and try something else. 'Y husband did go to Costco with my daughter and brought home bananas.  They are cheaper there than anywhere else.

During the winter, some standard veggies are cheaper than other places at Costco because their prices are pretty stable year round.

One of the ways you can keep costs down is to go with the flow.  In other words, when something os too expensive, find an alternative.  Especially when the expensive thing is a perishable that is not at it's prime that time of the year.  If you are out of something. Think outside the box.  Out of bread for toasted cheese sandwiches, use tortillas and make quesadas.  I buy them in bulk at Costco and keep them in the fridge.

One way we have been able to keep a low budget is that we went to two nights a week eating a vegetarian dinner.  It was my answer to the droughts high prices on meat, especially beef.  The USDA  thinks that the high prices will still be here well into 2014, last time I checked.

Using leftovers wisely is another way to keep costs down.  Mid week is the time to survey the fridge and use up anything that could be rapidly approaching the edge.  Vegetable soup?  I saw a recipe for lettuce soup.  Pizza?  There is a post on an earlier blog about almost free pizza.  My co worker didn't hear well, she wanted to know who was giving away free pizza!?! lol.
There are still coupons out there for recipe starter.  It makes them cheaper than scratch.  The problem is that our dollar store doesn't have any left.  The coupons used to be for .50 and that made them free.
There is a coupon out there for a dollar off cheese and it is a dollar at grocery outlet.  It os circulating on Facebook.  I didn't know that grocery outlet took coupons. I do know that big lots doesn't and they don't take snap either.  You can at times find good free at the store with a coupon.  If I find one, I will certainly tell you.  I realize that not all of the people that read this are in the PNW.  Your coupon matchup site should tell you of these.  Be diligent and keep your eyes open.  You never know where you might find a bargain.

The biggest thing in all of this is to know your prices.  If you don't have a memory for numbers, write the prices  down of your stock items.  It's the best tool to stretch your food dollar.  If you just buy the same things regardless of price, and just buy what you need for that week, you are shooting yourself in the foot.  It's a good way to run out of money before you run out of month.  You are throwing money away that you could be spending on a stockpile so that you have a cushion if something happens.  You might have enough money in the bank, but preparing for that day that you're too sick to get out, you are home with a sick grandchild that can't go to school, the weather is not conducive of going out safely.  It snows here, and we are crippled because of the high hills.  It's so cold in Chicago today, people are being advised to stay home. It's good to have a stockpile of so,etching besides a jar of pickles.  LOL.  I'm not advocating hoarding a Nd you won't find 93 bottles of hot sauce on my pantry.  You can laugh at the hoarders and the extreme couponers, or you can take the best from them and do it on moderation. Our grandmothers put food up for the winter.  It was the thing to do.

Guess that's all.  Thanks for stopping by

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Jane

Sunday notes

I spent yesterday cleaning house and taking down some Christmas decorations.  I roasted a chicken and we had Chicken  Alfredo for dinner.  I still have a half of a chicken breast and the dark meat for meals.  The bones for soup stock.

That is four meals from a five dollar chicken.  Now, I realize that if you have teenage boys and a large man to feed, that probably won't work.  But, I am also feeding is on HALF of the USDA statistics for thrifty budget.  You, if you are on snap, you have a lot of wiggle room and can still manage to eat well and have some food left over at the end of the month.

The things to remember is  :

A) don't pay what my mom used to call top dollar for anything .  You want to find the food items that you use on a regular basis for 1/2 price.  You can achieve this by buying in quantity    when they are on sale and not purchasing them again until there is another sale.

B) portion controlling your meat.  By cooking a batch of meat and portioning it in freezer bags, you can control the amount of meat eaten.  A four ounce portion of meat is adequate for anyone.  No one needs to eat a whole roast by themselves.  LOL.

 When my children were going through the hollow leg syndrome, I bought inexpensive " snacks" that they liked and they knew they could eat all they wanted of .  I always had beef and bean burritos, peanut butter sandwiches, Top ramen, popcorn and an air popper and oatmeal.

The meal plans were posted on the fridge so they knew what was supposed to be for a meal.  I used to stair step meals so often there would be something in the fridge earmarked for the next meal.  If you have a child that would be a glutton for a particular food, don't buy it or hide it; especially if they are over weight.  Or tell them, this is the months allotment, when it is gone, it's gone.  

Not buying sugar coated cereal is another must.  It's  expensive and not good for the children.  Cornflakes, Cheerios, shredded wheat, puffed wheat are all good and inexpensive especially when you can get a coupon and a sale. No child needs to eat four boxes of cereal in a week.  A bowl in the morning with some fruit and whole wheat toast is ample.  I have seen some young men take everybody's  share of a food because they like it,  and then not be able to eat it all.  That is just plain rude, especially at someone else's house.  Teach children to look at the serving bowl and the amount of other people that haven't been served yet, and take an appropriate portion.  If they are too young to do that, you probably need to be fixing their plate.  I have seen some families that the children were allowed to take a little but of everything.  When they wanted seconds, they could have a little bit of everything again.  It forced them to eat well balanced.  I am not sure that is the best idea because of they hated Brussels sprouts, they might leave the table hungry.  I don't want to see any child be hungry, but I don't think they need to get onto the habit of gorging on a particular food either.  The key to anything in life is balance.


 You can with some planning and some careful shopping feed your family good nutritious food on a budget.  I have averaged less than seventy- five dollars a week for three adults.  I have a pantry and freezer full of food.  I would not need to go to the store for anything but perishables for some time. Periodically, I do that.  There were several weeks last month that I spent about thirty dollars a week.
It's a good feeling to not have to run to the store for something-- especially when it is bad weather.

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Jane

Suddenly Saturday.. A sneak peek at Fred Meyers and Rite Aid,

My husband got me tomorrow's paper at the dollar tree.  It was complete with two smart sources.
I save my coupon inserts in binder clips by month.  When I look at a coupon matching site, it will tell me what inserts the coupons are on that match up with the ads.  That way I am not spending a lot of time clipping coupons for things I won't use.  I do see a coupon for toothpaste for .50 and one for 1.50 off fresh express salads including spinach.  I buy toothpaste when I can get it for free or nearly free to give to the women's shelter.  Lately, I haven't had a lot of ouch finding cheap toothpaste.

The ads

Bartells
Snows clams or clam chowder .99
HORMEL chicken or turkey 1.29$$
Dried cranberries .79

Hamilton beach 3 quart slow cooker 12.99

Walgreens I got three Wallgreens flyers and no rite aid flyer.

Senior day, Tuesday the 7th
20 percent off all Walgreens brand and 15 percent off almost all else.  Use AARP card.
I am not seeing any real bargains.  Special K is 3/5 and I think there are coupons out there.

FRED MEYERS
Oranges .49 lb
Broccoli, cauliflower. .99
Barilla pasta, blue box .79@@
Fred Meyers beans or tomatoes 2/1@@
Staff chili 1.00
Bell peppers 2/1

That's about all.  I will check the coupon match ups or try to fond a rite and flyer!  

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Jane

Friday , strategies of groceries on the cheap

I thought today I would talk about strategies. You can take groceries on the cheap as a game.  The USDA has dollar figures of what it should cost you for food at home for three different budget situations. This gives you bench mark.  It does not include junk food, just the regular food groups.  The other bench mark, a bit less scientific, is to look at the savings at the bottom of your receipt.

I usually see about 46 percent at the bottom of the receipt.  I have seen as much as 69 percent.  Not quite  the stats of an extreme couponer, but I only had things on our cart that we actually would use up and eat.    The only time anyone has paid me to bring stuff from the store is at rite aid.  That is because you can matchup sales with coupons AND get rite aid  up rewards ( rite aid cash) the next day and the net of that is a negative amount.  I can usually roll over my rite aid dollars for quite some time.  I don't buy a lot of meds and makeup, so sometimes it is difficult, but I can usually spend the rite aid dollars on something else that is a bargain.  One time it was sox for a quarter a pair. One time I netted four pairs of underwear and 4- two liter bottles of soda for 4.00 and change.  The pop wound up being a dime a bottle.  I have some for the holidays, but most generally don't buy pop.  It's one of the things that there is little room for on a tight  budget or snap.

Going to two stores and just buying the good priced items is a way to get the best of two stores and allow you the luxury of buying the best looking produce.  This is most beneficial during the summer. When fresh produce gets too high in price and the quality goes down, we switch to canned and frozen a lot augmented with the fruits that are in season and cheap.  Apples and oranges come to mind this time of year.  I try for a buck a pound as a benchmark now,  in the seventies it was .39.  The eighties brought us .69.  And now it is a buck.  How times change.

My benchmark for meat is two bucks.  I have had to amend that for beef when the effects of the

drought sent the price of beef soaring out of control.  We cut the number of times we ate beef a week, and the roast that we had frequently has become less frequent.  If I can get a roast cheaper than good hamburger, I grind my own.  Actually, my husband grinds it.

I have a matrix for meal plans so that we eat a variety of foods.  Your matrix is probably not the same.  Have a plan.  You don't have to always follow the plan, but have a plan.  Without a plan, it is too easy to fall into the take out or order pizza trap.  Make meal plans when you get home from the store using your outline.  Making meal plans before is harder because the meat you were going to buy may look bas, be gone, or be on too large a package.  I once was going to buy a pork loin.  When I got to the store, it had previously been frozen and was huge.  For top much meat for us to use up effectively.  Only two of us eat pork.  Be flexible.  One time I walked onto ALBERTSONS and they announced that Dover sole was two bucks a pound because they overbought and needed to move it.  Get you can't guess what we had for dinner that night.  I always keep a couple of really easy, quick
meals on hand.  You never know when the situation arises when you need to make dinner fast.  That's when a ready made that you have found cheaper than scratch comes on, or a cheap pizza, or breakfast for dinner, soup and sandwiches.  I buy boxed tomato soup at Costco when I find it.  It is two bucks or so a box.  I add basil ( fresh if I have  it in the garden) and blue cheese and a little milk.  The soup is upwards of three dollars, closer to four on the store.  I refuse to buy anything that is overpriced unless I don't have an alternative and it is something we just have to have, like milk for instance.  Dry milk is more expensive than regular milk.  I only buy what I need for some mixes.

Making your own mixes can be a real momey saver.  Taco seasoning is really expensive.  I see it on sale for a buck.  There is an older post with the recipe.  Spices are a buck at the dollar store and sometimes I see them cheaper at some of the alternative stores.  If I can't get them there, I get them at Costco.  If Costco  regular doesn't have them, I go to business Costco.  If all the spices are too much, consider getting together with some friends and making a batch and splitting it.  That also works for  large sacks of beans or rice.  I have purchased my spices a little at a time and so it wasn't a burdon on
the budget.

Bread crumbs are another thing that is stupid to buy.  You are paying big money for someone else's dry bread .  When we have crumbs, or leftover heels of a baguette, I put them on the oven to dry. ( cold oven) when they are dry, I whirl them in the food processor.  Before I had a food processor, I grated them on a sheet pan with my box grater outside on the deck.  Do the math.  I saw a 10 ounce box of breadcrumbs for 2.40.  That's .24 an ounce or 3.84 a pound.  More than the meat on your table.

I do buy bisquick now, the cost of the dry milk to make it is cost prohibitive, and   My recipe calls for shortening that I don't want to ingest.  I only use olive oil if I can.  There are a few things in baking that I use vegetable oil for.

I try to walk a fine line between economy and reducing our exposure to unhealthy foods.  We all need to reduce our salt and sugar consumption.  Fat has always been a problem.  By using portion control with our meats, and avoiding the purchase of snack foods like potato chips, we can eat more healthy.  We eat lean pork and chicken , and I defat our hamburger and sausage.  Defatting hamburger can render it with less fat than a boneless, skinless chicken breast.

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Jane

Thursday ,the ads and some notes

The week is almost gone and it will be time to put away the Christmas decorations and get back to normal around here. I, for one, will welcome the getting back to a normal grocery ad.  We don't need half of the ad being taken up with expensive snack trays and booze.  I just want real food.

I did take advantage of the premade cookies with Christmas on them.  They were fifty cents a tray.  My granddaughter had a good time making cookies with her mom.  Like my daughter said, your stomach doesn't know  that they have Christmas trees on them.  LOL.

I did gleam a couple of bargains at Wallmart.   I don't usually go to Walmart, but we went to the bread outlet.  I got bread for 1.59 and found the brown and serve bread that Costco regular hasn't had lately.  It is a buck a loaf, which is a good price as baguettes go, and it keeps on the fridge quite a while.  Walmart did not have a lot of food buys. It is not a super store, but the prices were mostly higher than what I normally pay.  I did  get chicken noodle soup for .75 and a smoked bacon mashed potato packet for a buck.  I would rather pay the .80 I usually pay, but we liked the smoked bacon and not everyone carries it.

I did score a. Hello Kitty nightgown for granddaughter.  It was ten dollars, but all Christmas was 50 percent off.  It rang ten bucks and my husband told the cashier that it was Christmas and was supposed to be 1/2 off.  The guy charged us three dollars.  Again, that is a way to get more for your money.  We don't care what is on her Nightgown, it's perfectly useful.  She likes it because it has hello kitty on it.  It's a lesson in frugality.  The same held true on the 70's when my dad asked me why we had pear pieces instead of whole pears.  They were half the proce and our tummies didn't know the difference.

The ads.

QFC
APPLES .99
chicken .99
Pasta 1.00

Buy 5, save 5, net prices

HORMEL entrees 3.99$$
Crackers. 2.29
Kellogg's Special K 1.99

TOP
APPLES .68
Tillamook yogurt 10/5
Tangerines 3 lbs/ 3.49

SAFEWAYS
Five dollar Friday
8 lbs oranges
Coffee
Ground turkey


Apples .99
Yoplait 10/5$$
Berries BOGO

ALBERTSONS
Bread , tuna 10/10
Milk 2.19@@

1.00 each
Nalley chili
Diced chilies
Olives
Pasta, barilla


That's about it.  No one store stands out as having a lot of bargains.  I got tuna for .77 at Bartells,
probably still .77 if you shop early in the week, usually drug stores run Sunday threw Saturday.  The Nalley chili is the same price as ALBERTSONS and there is turkey chili.   Coffee for five bucks at Safeway would be a draw for me as well as 40 ounces of frozen fruit for five bucks.  Petite sirloin steak is 2.99.  That would make it a good time to grind hamburger.  Good hamburger is five dollars or so a pound last I checked.  You can net the same fat content for three bucks and a little effort.  If you have a kitchen aid mixer attachment, it's easy, but you can also use the kind great grandma used.

They are cheap at almost any regular antique store.

Pasta is a buck, I am not finding any blue box pasta coupons.  I am finding all of specialty pasta coupons.  Be sure to check the coupon matchup sites because I very well could have missed something. I am not a coupon guru.  Extreme couponer I am not, but if I can score a few bucks off
my bill with little effort, I will.  The coupons for the month are not great.  The best buy that I found was the HORMEL entrees for 3.99 at QFC.  Not all the " flavors" are good.  We do like the sirloin tips. With the coupons out there, it makes them about the same or less than scratch.  With a salad or frozen vegetable and rice or instant mashed potatoes, you can have dinner on the table in less than ten minutes and still under five bucks.  Now, as a kaviat , if you have a man that doesn't eat anything until dinner, it probably won't be enough for 2 adults and two children.  We are talking a 1/2 cup ( four ounce) portion.  It does feed, my husband and and our adult son.

One other note, ALBERTSOMS has pasta sauce for a buck. Bartells has the same sauce for .79.
I do not run to a store for one thing if the savings is not substantial.  I won't go to ALBERTSONS just for the milk, ot would cost more to get there than the savings.  But, QFC is close and the savings are remarkable.  SAFEWAYS is also close enough  and has enough buys to make ot worth my while.  Bartells is close by and the savings were remarkable there too.  I suspect when Wallgreens opens across the street, we might see better buys at Bartells too.

Guess that's all.

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Jane

Happy New Year...the basics, part 3. Cooking from scratch

Happy new year!  New Years is all about resolutions!right, LOL.

The third on the basics  of groceries on the cheap is cooking from scratch.  We all know that cooking from scratch is more healthy because we aren't eating a whole lot of preservatives and things that we can't pronounce.

Cooking from scratch does not have to mean that you are spending hours on the kitchen.  We all have busy lives.  If it is you hobby and you enjoy cooking all day, go for it.  If not, there are alternatives that still allow you to eat better for less.

One of the biggest time and money savers is batch cooking.  There are people that freezer cook.  For some reason, that doesn't appeal to me. Probably  because it takes two days out of your life-- a luxury that most people with kids on the house don't have and I don't have the stamina at my age to stand on my feet for all day.  Batch cooking takes a single item of protein and cooks enough for that particular items worth of meals for a month.

For instance, I usually cook two chickens when they are at a buck or below a pound.  I bag them in dark meat, breast, and soup bones enough for a meal.  Dinner time is a whole lot less hextic, the mess happens once, and then weeknight dinners are easy.  Shopping os easier because you are looking for a particular cut of meat that is on sale cheap.  Remember if your family won't eat it, it's not a bargain.

There are many recipes out there for skillet and slow cooker meals.   Soup from scratch is a good, inexpensive dinner with a roll or bread.  No need for the expensive boxed dinners.  My daughter and I dissected a hamburger meal box.  It was really an interesting eye opener. ( see older post).  Since then, the company has redone their boxes.  I got one for free, but haven't dissected that one yet.

Juice boxes and most fruit cups that are ready made are really expensive and full of refined sugar.  We feed our children way too much refined sugar and salt.  It is hidden on a lot of foods.
You are much better off making your own fruit cup, or better yet, just having the raw fruit.
Convenience foods start with the letter $$$$.

There are a few dinners that I can put on the table on about fifteen  minutes.  Tacos is one of them.  I have to admit that there are times when I enlist help to do it sooner. Tomato soup and cheese and a baguette is another fast meal.  I used to have roast beef in freezer bags for roast beef a jus sandwiches and a green salad-- before the price of beef took a big hike.  I am afraid that once people have learned to either suck it up and pay the high price, or do without that "they" will decode we can continue to pay the high price.  Fortunately, we have learned to eat hamburger when I can get it cheap, or a roast when I can find  it under three bucks and chicken and pork along with a couple of vegetarian meals to fill in.  If we have a meal that seems short on meat or other protein, I serve a desert or salad that beefs up the protein.  Creme brûlée , pudding, cottage cheese salad, deviled eggs and a veggie tray starter.

Breakfast for dinner is a good save for a low cost dinner.  Kids love it.  Chocolate waffles are just waffles with some raw cocoa in the batter.  The kids think they are having desert for dinner.  I usually serve it with yogurt laced with granola and fruit.  The nutrition is there, but they think they are getting desert for dinner!  I don't do it often, but it's a real hit!!! ( like maybe twice a year). Yogurt is sometimes really cheap with a coupon,  I have got it as cheap as .12 a carton for Tillamook.

There are coupons out there for real food.  I am not finding them so prevalent the last couple of weeks, hoping the new year brings better ones.  The new months are out, download them soon, when the high procedure ones are gone, they are gone.  There is a limit on them.  The manufacturer allows just so many to be printed.  To be polite, don't print one that you aren't going to use.  It's goes along with the polite rule not to clear the shelves.  Leave some for someone else.

I digress.  Off the track...cheap scratch food

BBQ chicken made with homemade BBQ sauce and the dark meat you cooked.  Spread the pieces and heat on the oven finishing off under the broiler for a few seconds.

Chicken pot pie
Chicken and noodles  noodles are easy to make of you have the time.
Chicken cassaroles are plentiful on the Internet.
Buffalo chicken pizza ( pizza crust is on a real early post)
Tacos

Tacos
Meatloaf
Meatballs can be made a zillion ways, meat ball subs, meat balls with rice, noodles, mashed potatoes, spaghetti sauce....
Taco and rice skillet

No Brainer pasta ( earlier post)

Pork chops
Pork loin roast
Sausage breakfast for dinner
Quiche
Sausage and bean soup

Ham and split pea soup
Ham quiche
Ham amd pineapple pizza
Ham and scalloped potatoes

Bean and rice burritos
Bean vegetable soup
Cheese pizza
Scrambled eggs and hash browns and fruit
Waffles

There are many more, but that's what I came up with off the top of my head!

Thanks for stopping by
Please feel free to share and comment on what your favorite cheap dish is.

Jane

Terrific Tuesday: the basics, shopping

It's New Years Eve.  Hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday.

The second step on groceries on the cheap is shopping.  We have already talked about the prep for shopping.  A little time on the front end, saves gas and money  on the back end.

First, don't overlook stores other than the chain stores when grocery shopping. Me go to two chain stores weekly most of the time.  Sometimes, we only need a few things and the bargains just aren't there.  There are some weeks now when we don't have to shop at all.  There are warehouse stores like Costco, SAMs club, and Winco.  Winco does not need a membership.  I didn't see a lot of bargains the last time I was there.  There are overstock stores like grocery outlet and big lots.  They have a limited amount of food buy what they do have can be at good prices.  You need to always check pull dates.  But, it has been my experience that checking pull dates everywhere is a good thing. Don't overlook the drug stores.  I have got really good buys at rite ado with up rewards and coupons. And I just got really good buys at Bartells.

Groceries in the cheap doesn't leave you much room for ready mades and mixes or kits with a few exceptions.  There are some things that are either cheaper than scratch, or are just too time consuming to warrant making the from scratch.  Other things are just as easy to make from scratch than they are from a box.  I get cake mixes for free or almost free.  We don't use a lot of them, but I do make chocolate decadence and lemon pound cake occasionally.

The basic mantra of groceries on the cheap is never to pay full price.  Stocking is a way to never be stuck having to have something and paying full price or more than full price, heaven forbid.  !?! lol
Paying full price is wasting money.

This isnt about hoarding, nor is it extreme couponing.  Taking a moderate approach to these ideas can be very beneficial to your pocketbook. There is something about not running out of food before your in out of month that gives one a sense of security.

There is a whole blog on ways the retailers try to get you to spend more money.  70 percent of all purchases on a grocery store are impulse buys.  Don't fall into their traps.  Bring your list, the ad, your coupon book.  Get in the store and get your food and get out.  The more time you spend in a store, the more money you will spend.  The more people you take with you, the more money you will spend.  If you have small children, leave them with someone if at all possible.  It's hard to deal with the I have to go to the bathrooms and the trying to get out of the cart and fall on our heads and concentrate on what is a good buy and what you have a coupon for.  It's just not efficient.  If I have to take our grandchild, I also take gramps and he pushes the cart with the car attached to it while I shop. I usually get on and out in about 15 minutes or less when I can concentrate on what I am doing. M

We go to the bread outlet about once every 6-8 weeks. The savings are remarkable and we generally get something for free.  If I'm not going to use it, I dry ot and make breadcrumbs.  Never pay good money for somebody else's dry bread.  The  same goes for stuffing or breadcrumbs.

When buying bagged fruit or veggies, weigh a few bags.  They have to fove you the weight on the package, but some have more weight than others.m the same goes for lettuce priced per head.

Buying the fruits and veggies that are in season affords you better prices and better tasting produce.  Tomatoes were on sale thos week.  It's late December.  They looked horrible.  Better then to use frozen vegetables and the fresh fruit in season instead.  My mother used to make apple and celery salad with walnuts.  Canned pears with blue cheese and walnuts os good too.

Grocery outlet has a large variety of cheeses, some cheap, some not.

The important thing to remember is that no one store has the best prices  on everything.  By going to a variety of stores, you can reap the best of what is offered.

We go to two chain stores a week.  I plan our trips to use the least amount of gas.  When I have errands in the next town, we hit the alternative stores.  Costco is on a need basis, since we generally buy meds and necessary paper products.  Once every six weeks or so we make a trip two towns away to the bread outlet and Winco sometimes.  I group errands together so I don't waste gas going to several stores.  I probably spend less than the person that gets one days worth of food at a time.

This basic post is something I do monthly.  I do it off the top of my head.  Please feel free to read other posts.   Some are better than others, and I remember different things.

I learned a lot from my mother who grew  up during the depression.  I also have read everything I could find on the subject for years and adopted anything that passed my logic test.

I started this blog when it was brought to my attention that people were running out of food before they ran out of month on snap.  It is totally doable to eat well on full SNAP. It does take some effort.
Years ago, I found myself a single parent with little money and almost never any child support.  Rent took almost 1/2 my pay, and daycare took the other 1/2.  I set out to learn anyplace I could how to stretch a buck.  I started writing this on the hopes I could make someone in the same boat rode the storm a little easier.

I have found that many people that read this blog are not on snap.  They read ot to be more efficient on the kitchen , for a new recipe, or to see where on Seattle the best buys are.  What ever the reason, I'm  glad you are reading!


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Jane

Monday madness, time for the basics

It's that time of the year, time for New Years resolutions.  Why not make yours to lower your food bill.  Maybe free some money for a real vacation this year, or start that college fund you need to start for your children or grandchildren.  The average family can save about four thousand dollars a year.  To some that might not be a lot, to me it is huge.  We are living on a fixed income and I don't want to tap into our reserves yet.

This is the time of the month that I usually cover the basics of groceries on the cheap.  No one thing makes 1/2 price groceries happen.  It's a collaboration of things-- a little planning, a little savvy shopping, and a lot of scratch cooking.  It's changing some habits for the good.   Looking for a select few coupons helps too.  If there is a dollar coupon on something that you buy and you don't use it, you are getting screwed.  You are wasting money.  Meat has taken an increase of thirty percent on average.  Social security went up 1.5 percent.  Our medical went up more than the increase in social security.  Snap took a five percent cut.  Between the increase on meat costs and the decrease in snap funds, it is even more important to watch your food dollars.  A little efficiency in the kitchen and shopping can make great strides in lowering your food bill and putting good food on the table for your family.

First: planning and organizing.
If this isn't your bag, make it your bag or see if you can delegate it.  I remember taking in the bill filing for my mother because she didn't like to do it.  I wound up being an accountant for 45 years.  LOL. Even young grade school children can clip coupons,. Print coupons from the computer, and circle things you buy on the ads.  older children can scan the coupon matchups.  It's a good learning tool.

1) identify your needs
A) list the cheap sources of protein that your family will eat.  I am up to a between two and three dollar a pound limit for meat.  In our house that means some roast beef, hamburger, whole chicken or grill packs, pork loin, sausage, eggs, beans and cheese and rice.  I am attempting to add pork shoulder.

B) gather your recipes that use these sources of protein and list them on a piece of paper.

C) make a list of the shelf ready ingredients that you will use to make these dishes.  There should be around ten to fifteen, give or take.

D) now devise a spread sheet or notebook to track the prices of these items.  You want to find the rock bottom price for each ingredient.  ( RBP) .

The object is to never pay full price for your staple items.  You want to stock enough to cover your needs until they are on sale again.  Supermarkets run sales on a product every 8-12 weeks on average.
If I use an ingredient once a week, I keep a supply of 24.  Once a month will net me six.  Things like mayo and mustard, I will keep one ahead.  When I open my backup, I start looking for a sale to replace it.  You could very well start with a three months supply.

Meat sales rotate usually by the month.  If you buy enough of the meat that is RBP to last you for meals of that meat for a month and batch cook it, you will spend less time on the kitchen and save a bundle.  When chickens are .79 to a dollar, I buy two and roast two.  It is NEVER a good idea to buy deli chicken.  See previous posts, the explanation is timely.  The cheapest price I have found for bulk sausage is Costco.  Chicken sausage when I find it is cheaper at  grocery outlet . ( watch pull dates) .
Pork loin is under two dollars often at several stores.  You can cut off pork chops and roast the rest
for sliced roast or BBQ sandwiches.  Both hamburger and chicken recipes are very prolific on the Internet and on cookbooks.  Batch cooking hamburger is a little more work, but very rewarding in time savings.  Meatballs are very versatile as are hamburger crumbles, taco meat,and  meatloaf.
When a roast happens to be cheaper than good hamburger, I grind my own.

When the ads come out, go through them.  Section off a piece of computer paper ( I usually forge it from the recycle bin) top a section with the chain store.  Write down the RBP. Meat for the week.  Also anything on your staple list that appears to be the best price.  Now add the perishables ( dairy and produce) that are on season and cheap that will fit in  with your meal list.

Clean out the fridge and note what needs to be eaten soon and what you need to buy in the produce and dairy line.

When you are done with all the stores, cross off anything that is more expensive and anything that you have enough stock of.  Pick the best TWO stores.  This roves you the best selection and the best pick of produce.  ...more on shopping next section.

Find the coupon matching site for your section of the country.  Hook up with the stores you have picked and check for coupons. Many are printable.  I buy one paper from the dollar store.  I used to get the inserts from a friend.

Make your meal plans after you get home from the store.  I use a matrix to assure us variety.
Ours is

2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish or shellfish

This works for us, your matrix may be different.

Next: shopping wisely.

Thanks for stopping by

Please share

Jane

Betty Crocker new recipes for the year.

Yummy recipes.  Remember to make enchalada sauce you make white sauce and
Substitute the flour with chili powder and substitute the milk with water.  There are a lot of recipes on u tube.  Unfortunately the new version of u tube doesn't have a search engine.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-bacon-ranch-chicken-and-pasta/997c0a46-b7d8-481e-8919-5f563b1dde66?nicam2=Email&nichn2=Core&niseg2=DME&nicreatID2=DME_12_29_2013

http://recp.mkt32.net/servlet/MailView?m=18534237&r=NjAyMDMzMDEzODYS1&j=MjQ1ODQxNjI1S0&mt=1

Don't know how to link.  This is on the Betty Crocker web site.  Several really good sounding recipes.  Remember that if you are trying to keep thongs cheap, you can scratch or substitute ingredients.

Sunday Fred Meyers and rite and

I hate to sound like a Broken record, but I would hate for people to loose money.  Rite aid reward bucks go away the end of the year, they do not roll over.  I am not using reward deals this week and I didn't use them last week.  I try to roll my dollars over with things we need that have coupon matchups too.  I have scored necessities for really low prices.  There isn't any real bargains this week.
Jello is .89.

FRED MEYERS

Roma tomatoes  .78
milk ,chocolate milk , orange juice  4/5@@
Yoplait 10/5
Bumble bee tuna 1.00
HORMEL entres 4.99$$
Grapefruit 3/1
Peanut butter 2/4
Sour cream .99@@
Nalley chili .89@@
X

BARTELLS

CHICKEN OF THE SEA TUNA  .77
Colgate toothpaste 5/5
Jiff 2/5
Laughing cow 1.99
Hunts snack pack .99
Hunts pasta sauce .79*****
Barilla pasta .99
Healthy choice soup .99
Nally chili .99 no coupons required
Arm and hammer 2.99. 50 oz. laundry soap

I am going to Bartells this week instead of rite aid.  *** is a stock up price.  Remember to be polite and done clear the shelves.  Haha. .  There are extreme coyponers that clear the shelves.  That is just plain rude unless there are only a few left.  There are other people that would like a bargain too is my opinion.

I am not extreme Couponing , nor am I hoarding. Stocking is about buying at the lowest price and eating it at the highest price.  It's not I unlike  people that play the stock market.  They want to buy low and sell high.  It's also not unlike our grandmothers that canned the fresh crop from the farm to carry them through the winter.

Yesterday I made taco meat and a meatloaf.  We had a pork tenderloin for dinner last night, and we will have meat loaf tonight.

Ok, I have a question for you.  I remember not liking a brand of tuna.  I just don't remember what brand we didn't like.  Tuna is on sale really cheap all over.  I don't want to buy the brand we didn't like.

Thanks for stopping by
Pleas share
Jane

Saturday

We went shopping yesterday.  Took baby with is.  I love those carts where the kids can "drive" .  I wish those cars had open roofs like some of the SUVs.  You could see better what the kids are doing.  Grandpa took her for a ride  around the store so I could get the shopping done.  I somewhat planned my trip, but there were more sale that weren't in the ad.  I think because the ads were laced with booze ads because of the holiday.   They had the decorated sugar cookies to bake for a buck.( SAFEWAYS)

I did not buy the pork shoulder at QFC because it was huge and I didn't want to buy so much when I had never cooked a pork shoulder before.  I did get a  pork tenderloin at SAFEWAYS with a dollar off coupon and hamburger for three dollars a pound.  I would have rather had nine percent for three dollars a pound, but haven't found it.  Twenty percent makes for better meatloaf.  I use a meatloaf pan so that a lot of the grease drips off into a catch pan.

Berries were a good price at QFC.  I wound  up getting one bag full of things at each store and mostly meat.  Lettuce was really high priced and the tomatoes looked bad.  We have a lot of fruit and frozen vegetables.

The Betty Crocker site has a lot of recipes for things that were hits for the year on review.  Some of them sound like really good dinners.   I did find in looking at the ads chicken breast in bulk for two bucks a pound. More course they are not toting the origin of the chicken.  And artichoke hearts for 2/5.  With those prices , you could make the woman's day recipe for artichoke stuffed chicken breasts and still stay close to a five dollar mark.  Close enough to average and make it.

I made split pea soup the other day and the peas never got soft.  The consensus is that my split peas are old.  I didn't know that split peas could get old.  I guess they are not a candidate for bulk unless you use them a lot.  We go on spurts.  I probably should have made them more often because I can make them vegetarian.  Last I saw them, they were .69 a pound at grocery outlet.  It still makes for a cheap meal that is good for a cold evening .  If I make it vegetarian I augment it with cheese and sourdough bread.  The woman's day recipe had bacon on top.  That would work with turkey bacon and regular bacon.  The woman's day ( jan) also has a recipe for beans and tomatoes, although it hear that beans don't cook well when cooked with tomatoes.  I think you have to cook the beans first.  You can cook beans in the pressure cooker, but so far I have been chicken to try.  I have cooked split peas in the pressure cooker.

I will post the Fred Meyers and rite aid ads later or tomorrow.  The rite aid rewards do NOT roll over, so I am not buying anything with a reward this week, and didn't last week.  I did get some really good buys using coupons and up rewards.

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Jane

Finally Friday

It's been a busy week even though we didn't have to work but one day.  I made split pea soup yesterday before I went to work.  The split peas never got soft.   I guess that I should use them up sooner next time.  I think they must be old.  I doesn't realize that split peas could get old.

I got the new woman's day magazine on my reader. There are week night dinners that are supposed to be thrifty.  Some are, and they appear that they will taste good too.  I got the split pea soup recipe from the article.  If the peas had softened, ot would be a good hearty soup.

One of the recipes is a artichoke stuffed chicken breast.  The cost os listed at 1.25 per serving.  I asked woman's day how , when boneless, skinless chicken breast is 3.50 a pound, and 9 ounces of artichoke hearts is over three dollars, it could cost 1.25 a serving.  Theor answer is that the price is a average of the cost in different parts of the country,.  I would really love to know how much artichoke hearts and boneless, skinless chicken breast costs in other parts of the country.  ( not the Pacific Northwest). I'm thinking if you found chicken for a dollar a pound and boned the breast yourself and bought the artichoke hearts at Costco it might come in at 1.25.  It would be a recipe that would be on the higher end of the budget, but could be balanced with an breakfast for dinner night.  I would serve it with rice and a green vegetable like green beans or asparagus would be wonderful if it was on season, or a mixed vegetable stir fry ( like broccoli, carrots and cauliflower.  ) you can still get those for a buck a pound.

I write thos blog from the perspective , food price wise, of my experiences in the Seattle area.  I know that prices vary from state to state and the shopping matrix is different depending on the city people live in. We are lucky,enough to have four chain stores and a Costco within a reasonable distance from the house.  Other people, I hear don't have as many stores in their comfort zone.  The principles of 1/2 price   shopping still work, they are just different 1/2 prices.  If there is no large store near you, then I would consider car pooling with a friend or neigh our or getting the ad mailed to you or look it up on the Internet of stores on a neighbourhood town that os a little larger.  Wait till there os a good sale to make ot worth your while and make a trip to stock up.  Buy the specials and the perishables on a weekly basis  at the smaller stores near you,  you are still supporting your local stores, but supplementing with sale chain store prices.  Our local IGA sometimes has good buys and they make sandwiches to die for, far better than the chain store deli!  

The bottom line is always the same.  You will be better off if you don't just buy what you want regardless of the price.  know your prices of the things that you buy on a regular basis. For most of us, that list is small. if something  is too high of a price, substitute it for something at a lower proce.  When I can't find yogurt at a reasonable proce with a coupon, I buy cottage cheese.  Add a little fruit and I still have calcium rich breakfast.

If you can't remember prices in your head, keep a little notebook or file,card on your purse or glove box to refer to.  A little prep before you shop can result in a huge savings at the checkouts.  I average at least 46 percent on the sales slip.  That doesn't reflect the true savings over the average persons bill.
I have a goal to save the property taxes out of our budget this year.  No small feat, but without a goal, nothing happens with me.  I have to make myself a list of thongs to do each day, or I puts and things get done,  but they are so random, you can't really see what was done.  LOL

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Jane

Terrific Thursday

All that work, and it's all over.  I really enjoyed being with friends and family and getting to taste foods that I only get once a year.  Our family has great ethnic diversity and the cultural food differences  make for an amazing buffet spread!  

Back to reality.  It is possible to eat well on the USDA thrifty budget.  That is what snap, or food stamps are based on.  If you can learn to shop to make that happen, it is really easy to augment your budget to dot what you do have.  Adding a few luxury items when you have more money still affords you savings to use elsewhere in your budget to enrich your life .  

The basic mantra is never pay full price, my mother used to call it top dollar.  It is possible if you are not discriminating to pay more than retail for your food. You are better off paying less for consumables and more for appliances that make your life easier.  If it is easier to cook from scratch, you will be more likely to do it.  It's the snowball effect.  A good food processor is worth it's weight in gold-- well maybe not with the price of gold.  LOL.  A kitchen aid mixer pays for itself in savings. It's a once in a lifetime purchase.  Mine came with a grinding attachment.  Grinding your own hamburger can save a lot and afford you the luxury of knowing just what is on your burger.  A good crock pot is another appliance that is well worth the expense.  I keep hearing the term, unipurpose.  The crockpot is one appliance that  uni-purpose  or not, is well worth the expense to get a good one.  Ditto a coffee pot.  the alternative of lots a bucks coffee would pay for a pot on short order.  Pardon the pun!   Being able to take a few minutes in the morning and have dinner ready at the end of a hard day is well worth it.  If you don't resort to ordering in or going out for dinner, it pays for itself on one dinner!  
This week the stores are still in sock it to me it's holiday mode.  It is their attitude that everyone splurges during the holiday and bargains are few and far between.  Fortunately, I have enough food to refrain from going to the store and I have still maintained my average of twenty dollars a week per adult.  Buy when it is low priced, and eat when it is higher priced.  Buy perishable in season and at the lowest price you can find  for quality.  Buy the lowest price meat for the week, buy enough for a meal ( or two) per week for a month. batch cook it and freeze in portion controlled meal bags.
It's freezer cooking with a reality check.

Pork shoulder, pork loin, whole chickens, hamburger, sausage, beef roast are all good candidates for batch cooking.

Guess that is all for today.

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Jane

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas .

My newspaper ads came on the mail .  As usual, I will post them, even if it os Christmas.  Most people I know won't be shopping soon.

The ads

QFC
Tomatoes .99
Berries 2/4
Pork shoulder 1.79

Yogurt 10/5

TOP
80 percent beef 1.98
Pork shoulder
Chicken breasts

Quaker oatmeal bats 3/5@@$$
Blues 4.00


SAFEWAYS

pork loin. 1.49
Oranges .99

Friday
Blues 2/5( cheaper at top)


ALBERTSONS

Apples .88
Salad kits 2/5
Eggs 1.69



There is not a whole lot there.  They don't usually have a lot of bargains.  In fact, I see where prices went up right before Christmas, it pays to shop as you see it on sale.  They take advantage of the last minute shoppers.


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Jane

Merry Christmas!  

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve

Someone hacked onto my e mail and sent a cruise ship advertisement to my friends and family off my e mail list.  I did notice, that they MISSED adding the Edmonds PD LOL. 

Totally missed yesterday.  Life was too hectic.  The girls are home from school and with doctors and business it just didn't happen.  

A non traditional desert for Christmas is brownie sundaes.  Layer a brownie, ice cream whip cream and crushed candy canes or chocolate syrup.  

Chocolate syrup

1 cup heavy cream

2 T corn syrup
12 ounces chocolate, semi sweet
2 tsp vanilla extract

1) in a saucepan, combine cream and syrup.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.

2) remove from heat stir in chocolate. Stir in vanilla.

3) serve or store on a jar and let cool completely before placing in fridge.  Be careful pouring hot things in jars.  Jar should be at least room temp.

I made grandmas apple cake.  It worked fine.  Apparently fake sugar does not always work on all baking situations.  I made lemon pound cakes.  They fell flat!   I don't know of ot was the tin pans, or the sour cream that came from Costco, so it was a denser consistency.  Baking is not my forte.

I'm bringing fruit salad to Christmas Eve.  Truly a splurge and definitely not a part of the USDA stats.
Christmas only comes once a year, right?!????

I hope you and yours have  a wonderful Christmas!!!

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Jane

Fred Meyers and rite aid

I got the paper early.  There is no insert in the paper this week.  Rite Aids up rewards do,not roll forward.  It use or loose time.  I have three dollars and will get something we need.m there is not much on sale this week. They most generally do not reward late shoppers. LOL   I noticed that the sparkling  cider that we bought last week for two bucks was two fifty this week.   A lot of people don't care, but I like to save every dollar I can.

Fred Meyers

New York beef roast 3.47
Rib eye roast 5.88 ( through Tuesday only)
Broccoli. .99
Coffee pods 5.99@@ $$
Butter 2/4@@
Frozen veggies .69@@ ( 12 ounces) ( cheaper than tops buck for a pound.
Celery .49
Radishes, green onions 2/.88

Ham. @@ coupon for ten dollars off ham, the full price of ham is not disclosed.

That's about it.

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Jane

Simply Saturday / recipe edition

The last weekend before Christmas.  Everyone is doing the last minute preparation a for the holiday.  I thought I would post a good colorful recipe that was easy.

Mediterranean chicken

1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
Vegetable oil

1-1/2 pounds chicken cubes, cooked
2 cans diced tomatoes
Sliced green and red peppers
Ripe olives
Salt and pepper
Oregano

2 T cornstarch, 3 T water

In large skillet, sauté onion and garlic in oil.  Add tomatoes and peppers and remaining ingredients except the cornstarch and water.  Bring to a boil.  Add chicken.  Make slurry with cornstarch and water.  Add to mixture and stir gently.  Cook until sauce is thickened.  Serve with rice.

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Jane

Finally Friday, and it is snowing.

It's snowing, thank God, not for long according to the weather people.  I am done with shopping and just need to shovel out our mess since I haven't been home much the last week and do some baking.  A few packages to deliver and one to wrap.  Thos os the first time my granddaughter has seen snow.  It ought to be fun.

There are coupons matches on coupon connections , it's up and running.  One is for meat balls at SAFEWAYS for 1.50 for 14 ounces.  I am not sure about what those would taste like, but at that price we wouldn't be out much of they are bad.  LOL Top foods has frozen veggies for a buck a pound.

All of your rewards at rite aid expire at the end of the year.  I need to spend three dollars.  I am hoping that they will have some decent buys on things we need.  We did well the  last two trips.

On another note, my husband and I worked yesterday.  A couple came in, they bought a pocket knife and a butter dish.  That was their presents to each other.  I wrapped them on clean newsprint paper like we do all the things that we sell.  It was their wrapping paper.  Sometimes, I think we loose track of the real meaning of Christmas  and it gets lost with the commercialism.  We really scaled back this year, I put up few decorations, mostly because of little children in the house that don't understand yet that decorations are not toys. LOL and because I have been too sick too long.

A group I belong to has been trying to help a homeless family that just got housing. We made Christmas, but also have rounded up things for housekeeping.  I have had so much joy seeing Christmas  come together for a family that couldn't be more deserving of a nice Christmas.
I think I for the first time in years have looked at Christmas with a new perspective.

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Jane

Terrific Thursday

Finally got the ads.

TOP

spiral ham 1.97
Tangerines 3.77
Ice cream 2.99
Frozen veggies 10/10--16 ounces
Coffee pods 5.99@@
Sour cream 2/3
Eggs 18 count 2/5

Roast beef 2.99 a 9.99
Tillamook cheese 4.99@@

SAFEWAYS

HAM 1.99
pork loin 1.99
Grapes 1.99
Green beans, fresh  BOGO
Ice cream 2.99
Roast 2.99

Friday deals/ 5 bucks
Oranges
 8 pounds
Pizza

QFC
HAM .99
Broccoli .99
Choc chips 2/4
Ice cream 2.99
Tillamook cheese 4.99
Green beans 1.99
Organic oranges 4/3.99
Turkey .59--30.00 min purchase
Sour cream 1.00
Ice cream 2/5

ALBERTSONS
Ham 1.77
Ice cream 2/5
Coffee 5.99@
Cheese 4.99@

That's about it.  I did a real quick scope this morning.  Be sure to look at match ups and cross off anything cheaper elsewhere.  Pick the two best stores, get in and get out.  I am not seeing a lot of bargains as usual for a holiday shopping trip.  Sausage is actually over priced, especially when they are trying to make it look like a bargain with free eggs.  Sausage should be close to two dollars a pound, not 3.50! LOL.  If it goes much higher, well be making  our own!

Don't forget batteries of what you bought for Christmas takes them!  The dollar store os not a good place to buy batteries.  It's a time when cheaper is not better.  Duracell guarantees that if you ruin a device because one of their batteries leaks, they will replace the device.
Just a FYI

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Jane

Wicked Wednesday

Well, the mail person is back to his or her ways,  no ads yet.  I checked coupon connections last week and found no update.  I googled coupon matchups, Seattle and got another matchup site.

When I make meal plans, I use a template or outline to insure variety in our meals.  Eating a variety of things gives us a balance of nutrition.

My outline or matrix is

2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish or shellfish

I try to work in the fresh veggies and other perishable items that were on sale that week, finding the lowest prices in our area.  Every section of the country has different lowest prices.  If you live in a small town, supplementing your pantry with a trip to the larger town with cheaper prices if possible will help your situation.

Frittata ( vegetarian)

8 eggs, beaten
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan or other hard cheese, grated
Salt and pepper

Combine ingredients
Place in greased baking dish
Bake at 350 20-25 minutes or until ot tests done.  ( knife inserted in center comes out clean.  )

I also make impossible pie with cheese when I want an inexpensive dinner.  Add a field green and fruit salad with a fruit vinaigrette.

Mac and cheese is a hit at our house for vegetarian as well as a vegetable stir fry.

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Jane

Terrific Tuesday

This is the wonderful week that I don't have to cook for four days on a row!    Yeah.  I love cooking, but it's nice to have a break once on a while, and I love being out with friends and family.

I made two chickens , very large chickens on Sunday.  I don't think I would do it again in the small oven.  I needed to use two separate pans and leave a lot more air circulating around them.  I wound up microwaving them for another twenty minutes to get them done.  I have dinner premade for Wednesday and Thursday.    

There is something really comforting about chicken pot pie on a cold day.  We love buffalo chicken pizza.  When I shopped, I got a honey Dijon mustard pork tenderloin.  There are coupons out there for them.  

green bean salad 

2 cup fresh green beans, cut into two inch pieces, blanched crisp tender.  

1/2 cup cucumber, cut in half, seeded, and cut into semi rounds slices

1 small red pepper, cut into thin strips.  

Sliced red onion

Dressing 

2 T cream cheese! softened

1 T. Milk

1 T vinegar

2 tsp sugar

Salt and pepper.  

Mix salad ingredients.  Mix dressing ingredients.  Toss.  

Serves 2 

Raspberry salad 

Field  greens, or torn romaine 

Diced pear

Raspberries

Toasted pecans, optional

Dried cranberries

Raspberry vinaigrette

Notes: 

Designer lettuce is cheapest at Costco.  

Pears are a buck a pound these days

Raspberries were also on sale.  

I always keep dried cranberries, they are a special treat in my oatmeal, or on cookies instead of raisens.  Also, you can use them in stuffing or rice to go with poultry.  Yum! 

One of the ways that you can save money on the grocery bill is to make it a point mid week to survey the fridge and use up the little odds and ends hiding in there.  When the Dijon mustard jar is almost completely done, make a oil and vinegar dressing right in the jar. Cover the jar and shake it.  

That's all for today.  

The ads come out today, but I have a full day, probably Tommorrow.  

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Jane 

Trip to Fred Meyers and Rite Aid/ other stuff

We made the trek to the next town and went to Rite Aid and Fred Meyers.  I really scored at Rite Aid.
I usually don't buy soda except at holiday time.  We like root beer.  When I was a child, that's the only soda my dad would allow in the house.  A special treat was root beer float.  I got root beer for .10 a two liter bottle. With up rewards, four pair of panties were less than five bucks including tax.

On to Fred Meyers.  Christmas oranges were a good price, and flour was on sale.  Holidays are a good time to stock baking supplies.  I opened my last back up org flour, so I picked some more up.  Jello products were a buck.  lotts of bucks coffee makes a lemon pound cake.  The recipe for the wanta be is on the Internet.  My daughter and I made ot last year.  We figured we made about 212.00 an hour making it at home instead of. Using it at That other place.  Milk was 1.25 a half gallon.  Green beans  were .50.  Coffee pods were on sale and I had coupons.  I get two cups from a pod and it's really convenient for company.

Yesterday we went out to a house party.  We had a wonder dinner of a stuffed chicken breast with cheese and Canadian bacon,  rice, salad, and green beans with almonds and rolls.   Desert was yummy caramel flan, and a pistatisio desert.

You can have some convenience food when you budget and get most of what you buy for 1/2 price.  I am still running about sixty dollars a week, and.building  a stock for three adults.  I haven't checked the stats from the USDA lately, but considering the increased price of meat and vegetables I don't think we are far off.  

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Jane

Rite aid and Fred Meyers for Sunday

It's Saturday.  I have the Sunday paper courtesy of my husband.  Rite aid had really good bargains using up rewards last week.  This week, flipping the up rewards is going to be a challenge.  They are advertising extended hours to closer to Christmas, but the bargains are not real prolific.

If you want to go online a listen to a video credit for a dollar and find the coupon in the Sunday paper for .55, paper towels are 4.44 a 8 pack.

No nonsense socks, tights, leggings Bogo1/2.  And a 2 dollar up reward.  Must buy 2, limit 3 up rewards per household.

Toothpaste products have decent up rewards, check coupon connections for matchups.

I'm not one to buy soda, but it is 4/4 with a 1.00 up reward for the 2 liter bottles.  ( net .75).

Quaker granola bats and cranberry juice 2/5 with a 1.00 up reward.

FRED MEYERS

New York Roast 3.47 a pound

Satsuma 4.88

Milk 4/5@@

Cheese 2/3 @@

Coffee, Yuban 5.49@@

Smoked sausage 2/5@@
Vegetables 2/1
Jello products 10/10
Flour 3/5 ( 5 lb bags)

Butter 2/4
Choc chips 2/4
Peanut butter 2/4
Celery .49

That's about all,  remember Fred Meyer ads go Sunday to Saturday.

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Jane

Finally Friday

Finally Friday! it's been a long week.  Both of our vehicles are sick and the repair shop is going to have a really good Christmas!?!!!   LOL.  We really can't complain.  Both of them are paid for, and have been cheap transportation.

I digress

On to food.

Christmas baking time. I got cookie mic cheaper than scratch.  I do t usually bake a lot.  Baking can cost a lot especially when your cookies take special ingredients.  Fortunately, baking ingredients are usually on sale this time of the year and if you bake all year, it would be a good time to stock up of you find a bargain.

Rite aid has some baking ingredients buy 15.00 with a five dollar reward.  That makes things 33 percent off.  Fred Meyer had some good sales too.  I have seen butter as low as 1.50.

Betty Crocker has a month long cookie series going on.  A cookie a day.  I had an aunt that used to bake oodles of cookies at Christmas, all nummy.  I don't think even she odd that many variety,

I like creme brûlée , brownies with ice cream and a little chopped peppermint candy is a good Christmas desert.  Peppermint ice cream and shortbread cookies is a favorite,  chocolate waffles are an inexpensive treat.

Dairy is cheapest at Costco.

I like to balance the heavy meal we all have at holiday time with an easy lighter soup meal.
My mother used to call that giving  your stomach a rest.  LOl

Guess that's all I have.

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Jane

Terrific Thursday. : what to do with what you got

 SAFEWAYS has whole chickens for .79.  And ALBERTSONS has oranges for .88.  Sounds like a match made in heaven.  It would be my pick for my batch cook for the week.  In comparison, SAFEWAYS has a chicken in the deli department for five dollars.  It is 30 ounces that is less than two pounds.  If it was two pounds it would be 2.50 a pound.  or, in other words, you could buy two for ten dollars and have four pounds of chicken.  The place of origin is a mystery.  For ten dollars, you can have over twelve pounds of raw chicken that you know came from the NW.  You are saving over 66 percent.  NEVER buy a chicken under three pounds.  You are paying too much for bone , you don't eat bone!  

Clams are a buck at ALBERTSONS, and milk is 2.59.  It might be time for clam chowder.

Note: ALBERTSONS has Colgate toothpaste for .75.  I would check coupon connections for a coupon.

SAFEWAYS has sour cream and yogurt on sale.  I can usually find a coupon for yogurt.

SAFEWAYS has cream of mushroom soup for .89.  That is precisely why I stock.  I paid .30 cents last month at Fred Meyers.  That is a savings of 66 percent.  If you can get most of your food for 2/3 off, you can get three times the food for the same amount you are spending now. now, most of us don't need three times the food, but you can still double your food and save another 1/3 .

There are bargains if you look hard.  By taking advantage of the bargains and only buying real food, you can eat better for less.  You can't always get 66 percent, but you can average 1/2 if you take advantage of the specials and stock while the price is low.  This is not about hoarding, it is about buying low and eating high.  It's about being self sufficient.

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Jane

Wednesday, the ads

The ads already again.

TOP

TILLOMOOK 2.99@@
beans 2/1 @@

QFC
SIRLOIN tip roast 3.25
Dreyers 2.99
Starbucks coffee 6.99$$
Nathan's 2/6

SAFEWAYS

Ham .99
Chicken .79
Oranges .99
Starbucks 6.99$$
Milk 2.59

5 dollar Friday
Family pack lunch meat
Shrimp
Urban coffee
Sugar
24 ounces Jiff
Berries 2/5

ALBERTSONS
Ham 1.47
Oranges .88
Salad .88
Cream cheese .88
Ice cream 2.99
Fran's bread 2.49
Apples 1.00
Tomatoes 1.00
Pears 1.00
Cucumbers 1.00
Organic carrots 1.00

Sale
Clams 1.00
Tomato sauce .25
Cranberry sauce .75
Potatoes in pouches .75

That's about all

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Jane

Terrific Tuesday/ bargain edition

It is  Tuesday.  Yesterday we braved the cold and went to riteaid and business Costco.  There are some things that you can't find at regular Costco.  I Scored big time at Rite Aid.  I needed two consumable gifts for a round about gift exchange.  I had some rite aid bucks .  I got fingernail polish for free, great stocking stuffers.  Also, when you buy 15.00 worth of baking items, you get five dollars rite aid  bucks.  I bought a 12.00 bag of m and m's and two cookie mixes that I had a coupon for.  I was four cents short,so I bought a bottle of vanilla.  The cookie mixes netted .62 each.  The whole bill was less than five bucks, including tax.

Peach and blueberry pie.
Peaches can be found on the frozen food case.  I found some at grocery outlet, cheaper than fresh last summer.

Crust for 2 crust pie.

Filling
2 T lemon juice
3 cups peaches,
1 cup blueberries
1 cup sugar
2 T tapioca
Pinch of salt
2 T butter
1 egg yolk

Mix together lemon juice and fruit.  Add sugar and salt and let stand while you roll out crusts, about
15 minutes.  Pour filling into pastry lined crust.  Dot with butter.  Cover pie with second crust.  Paint crust with egg yolk beaten with water.  Bake at 425 for 45-50 minutes.  NOTE: if peaches are wet, drain them in a colander fore mixing with blueberries.

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Jane

Monday Madness

Yesterday was go see Santa day.  Grandbaby was scared to death.  She just sat there with a blank stare!  ought to be a good picture.  I remember her income at that age screaming bloody murder!  
I was able to get a scaled down Christmas decor up and make an apple cake.  I have come to the conclusion that you can't use fake sugar for this cake.  It still didn't quite resemble grandmas cake.

I found a .25 coupon in Sundays paper for recipe starter.  It is .50 at the dollar store.  Also, coupons.com has a coupon for BBQ beef in a tub.  It os 3.99 ( about 1/2 price) at QFC and the dollar coupon makes it 2.99 -- cheaper than you can scratch cook it with the cost of beef these days.
The USDA predicted that that would happen.

Yesterday we had pork chops over the cranberry stuffing,  it was really good.

Rite aid says that they have over 300.00 in up rewards.  I was hard pressed to find much for things I would buy.  There is fingernail polish for free( a good stocking stuffer) .  The 3m temporary hook things are bog1/2 with a 3.00 up reward.  This might be a bargain, but can't tell until I get there.
There is a 5.00 up reward when you buy an old navy ,gap, or banana republic gift card.  Holiday fleece throws  are 2/5. And ice cream is a good buy.

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Jane

Sunday Focus| rite aid and Fred meyers

The newspaper is out and rite ado and Fred Meyers ads, along woth zillions of ads vieing  for your Christmas money.

Rite Aid

Fingernail polish FREE with a up reward.  Great for stocking stuffer
Dryers 2/7 w a 2.00 up reward nets 2.50
Betty Crocker cookie mixes 1.49 - ck for coupons

Buy three AMX gift cards, get 10.00 off @@

Popcorn Tim's 2/10 with a 2.00 up reward.  Nets 4.00

Crest toothpaste 2/6 w 200 up reward.  -'check for coupons.

FRED MEYERS

APPLES .88
Potatoes 5 lbs/ .88
Ham 1.88
Vegetables 2/1 @@ canned
Country bread 3/4@@
Ocean spray juice 3/5@@
Beans or tomatoes 2/1@@
Tuna 10/10
Ice cream 2/4@@
Tomatoes, grape 2/4
Berries 2/5
Zucchini .99
Lemons 2/4. 2 pound bags
Cucumbers, green peppers. .58

That's about it

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Jane

Suddenly Sarurday/ 1.50 a day

I read an interesting article on Facebook yesterday.  I shared it for those that are on my Facebook.  There is a study that says the difference between a middle class and a low income persons food budget os 1.50 a day.  I am assuming that is per person in the family.  That's six dollars a day for a family of four.  Or 42 dollars a week.  We save more than 42 dollars a week shopping wisely.

Yesterday we had French fries and BBQ beef sandwiches.  The BBQ beef was 3.99 on sale at QFC and I had a dollar coupon.  That makes a pound of BBQ beef 2.99--less than making it from scratch.

Today we are having pork chops and cranberry stuffing.  Pork chops were BOGO.  Four pork chops were 2.61.  Well within my five  dollar range and I can use the leftover croutons and cranberries from thanksgiving.
Fruits were really reasonable at QFC and a good way to pump up our immune systems with antioxidants and vitamin c.

This is the first time in a week I have had to work on Christmas.  We have had a sick baby on the house and my daughter had to go to work.  My husband had to cover my shifts.  So, I'm going to try to get caught up with Christmas chores .  We have December birthdays, so I try to get Christmas pretty well organized by mid  month.  I have scaled down over the years, but I will probably ramp up next year for our grandbaby.

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Jane

Finally Friday/ recipe edition

It's finally Friday and I have a sick baby again.  Pork chops are a pleasant contrast to the turkey we all ate last week.

Pork chops with cranberry stuffing

1/3 cup cranberries, chopped
1 T sugar
4 pork chops, 1-1/4 inches thick
1T butter
1/3 cup celery
1/4 cup onion
2 T. Orange juice
1 tsp orange rind
1/2 tsp sage
1 cup dried bread cubes
Salt and pepper


oven to 375

1) In small bowl, combine sugar and cranberries.  Set aside

2) in skillet, sauté the celery and onion until wilted. Add remaining ingredients except pork chops.

3) place stuffing in a well greased  baking pan.  Place pork chops that have been salt and peppered on top of stuffing.

4) bake 35-40 minutes or until the pork tests done and is no longer pink in the middle.

Pork chops and oranges are on sale.  Bread cubes and cranberries are probably still leftover from last week.

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Jane

Terrific Thursday/ what to do with what you got

Ok, this week has been a bust.  I have had a sick grandchild all week, and I am so far behind on my regular schedule.  We have several birthdays in December too, so I usually have everything done by mid December for Christmas except the last minute cooking.  I digress

Ok.  I see pork roast for pulled pork sandwiches or tacos for .99.  I also see ham.  Ham is rich and salty, so a little bit goes a long  ways.  We use it in eggs, quiche, pizza, soups, scalloped potatoes, grind it for sandwich spread.

QFC has really good prices on produce, watch them, sometimes they don't pick it as well as it should be.  Apples are .99. Time to make grandmas apple cake.   Oranges are a good buy and good for you.
Berries are not bad priced.  Rich in antioxidants.  I see breakfast for dinner.

After a week of turkey, chicken is probably not probably what we want for a week or so.

2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish

My matrix for meal planning.  Pizza is a good non meat, as is breakfast for dinner.  Burritos or tacos work with rice and beans.  Mac and cheese is always a winner here.

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Jane

The ads ,finally on time LOL

QFC

Pears, apples .99
Oranges .68
Ham .99
Freshetta pizza 3.99
Dreyers. 2.99
Natural choices drinks, B6G6 nets .67
Tuna 10/10
Bread 10/10

TOP

cheese 4.99
Milk 2.49@@
Cornflakes.99@@
Tuna .88
Nalley chili 1.00

Buy4, save 2
Cookie mix 1.99
Cake mix .99
HORMEL pork loin 8.99@@$$

ALBERTSONS

Milk 2.29@@oscar Mayer lunch meat 1.99@
Coffee 6.49@@
Ice cream 2.39@@
Berries 3/10
Cucumbers 3/2

SAFEWAYS

pork shoulder .99
Pork loin chops 1.99
Salad BOGO

5 dollar Friday
Alaska cod
Dreyers 2/5
Cheese 5.00
Boston cream cake

That's about it. Don't  forget to cross off anything more expensive , and check coupon connections for matchups.

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Jane

Terrific Tuesday, recipe edition

It's Tiesday.  I haven't seen grocery ads for two weeks.  I expect that they will be holiday themed and not much for stocking.

My friend found grandmas recipe for apple cake. It's a lot richer on vegetable oil, which probably is why the other recipes were too dry..

Grandmas Apple Cake

Combine

1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups chopped apple

Combine

1 tsp soda
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup nuts, optional

Combine the wet and dry ingredients by hand.  Batter will be stiff.
Put in greased 9X 13 pan and bake at 340 for 45 minutes or until tests done.

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Jane

Monday madness.

Sick child
Doc appointments
No time
Sorry, no blog yet.

LOL

Rite aid and Fred meyers

I did get the newspaper today.  There were a lot of buy me flyers, but only one insert that was P&G.

Rite Aid

Peanuts BOGO
Coffee cups 5.99 $$
Cookie mix 1.99$$
Candy canes .50 net
Co air scrunchies, brushes, combs, spend 10, get 5 up rewards
Nail polish 2/5 and a 1.00 up
L'eggs underwear, sox, pantyhose, tights. B1 Get second one 1/2, plus 3.00 up reward.

Revlon.  B1 Get 1/2 off the second.  , then get a 5.00 up reward of you spend 15.00
Paperback books, B2 G1


Fred Meyers

Tillamook cheese 4.99@@
Whip cream 3/5
Butter 1.79@@$$
Dryers 2.99

That's about all I see.

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Jane

The basics, part 3: Cooking From Scratch

Ah, the dreaded word...cooking from scratch!   It's not as overwhelming as it might sound to you,  if your kitchen is organized! it can be as simple as using that can or box.  Keep like things on the same place.  Baking powder and salt, and soda should be on the same cupboard.  Flour and sugar together in the same set of canisters,  it's not efficient of you are running around the kitchen to get your ingredients together.  Another trick is to get a tray, or a baking sheet and gather all your ingredients.  That way, you know if you use an ingredient and out the can etc aside, it is on the recipe.  No forgetting to put the sugar in the pumpkin pie!   We have all done similar things in our time.LOL
You also don't get on the middle of cooking and discover you don't have an ingredient.

Having a substitute book is another cooking tool that is really useful.  You can probably google ot and find the same information,  if a recipe calls for some exotic thing that is too expensive for your budget, don't throw out the recipe quite yet, look for a substitution.  In regular cooking, you can substitute anything that you think would taste good.  I often substitute celery for mushrooms,  my hubby doesn't like mushrooms,  think same texture and bulk.  In baking some things have to be the same ingredient,  it's more precise to make things rise etc.  you can, however substitute craisens for raisens or walnuts for pecans or some things like that.

There are a few things that are cheaper to buy premade than scratch. Or, they are too time consuming to make scratch worth your while.  Refried beans, pasta, pasta sauce ( when you get hunts in a can ) and tortillas come to mind.  I buy canned beans because I like to cook ahead.  Rice and beans have a short fridge life.  They go bad fast.  Cooking and holding the beans means I can't have leftovers and still feel comfortable about the dishes freshness.

Some things are just plain stupid to buy.  Bread crumbs is one.  You are paying for someone else's dead bread and throwing your own away.  Put the heels of your bread or the leftover baguettes in the oven to dry.  I use a cold oven.  Of the oven is still warm from cooking, even better.  When enough bread is there and it is dry.  Process in the food processor or grate on the largest side of a box grater.

A French bread on the largest box grater gives you a more designer breadcrumb.  Croutons are also overpriced for their lot in life.

My daughter and I dissected a hamburger meal box.  The results were amazing.  See precious blog.
There are alternatives that are better, cheaper, faster.  My nephew coined it no Brainer pasta.  LOL

Some things like pudding in a box that you cook is just as easily done from scratch than it is from a box.  Ditto oatmeal in the microwave.  You are already measuring your water, just add measuring oatmeal and the savings are amazing.  One cup water, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1-1/2 minutes.  If your oatmeal boiles over.  Cook 1 min, stir on craisens or anything you want, and cook 1/2 minute.  If you want it more thick, add an additional 30 seconds.  Watch it, now would be when it boils over!

Precooking meat when you are more relaxed is another scratch way of doing things.  We already talked about buying the so called loss leader and cookin a months worth, rotating with the sales.
Hamburger we all know is just as versatile as chicken in making different dinner dishes.  Defating your ground meats lowers the fat content to less than a boneless, skinless chicken breast.  Remember, when you take out the fat, you need to replace it with flavor.

Hamburger crumbles can be added to a pizza, or pasta sauce or a cassarole.  Meat balls can be added to cream sauce, or a gravy over mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.  Meatball subs, anyone?  

Chicken can be a chicken dinner, chicken pot pie, chicken soup, chicken stir fry, buffalo,chicken pizza, BBQd legs and thighs.  Wings.  Cooking a whole chicken is easy and a lot less expensive than deli,chicken.  ( see earlier posts) .
Also, see earlier posts on almost free pizza complete with easy crust recipe and secrets your grocer doesn't want you to know!  

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Jane







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