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







.

Part 2: shopping

Every month I write the same blog; every month  I write off the top of my head.  Please feel free to read back blogs, some are better than others.

We have talked about identifying the foods that we use often to cook our meals and finding the RBP for them.  Basically, we might buy six cans of pasta sauce this week, because we don't have to buy the pasta that we bought last week.  The difference is that instead of paying 2.19 for pasta, we have paid fifty cents.  You actually have a stock of food, and have paid less than you paid before.m

I would be remiss if I didn't address the issue of not buying boxes and premades .  When you buy ready made and mixes, you are paying for someone else's labor and feeding your family a bunch of chemicals they don't need to eat.  If you are on a very limited budget, you just can't afford it.  There are ways to cook just as fast from scratch.  There Re a few things that are cheaper to buy in a can or box than to make  from scratch, especially of you match a sale with a coupon.

Let's talk about prepping for your shopping trip.  When buying 1/2 price groceries, you are spending more time shopping, and less time cooking.  You get paid for shopping.  When you figure your savings over going to the nearest store and buying food, sometimes the savings divided by the amount of extra time is like earning 75.00 an hour.  LOL.

Prepping.
When you get the ads , take a piece of computer paper and divide it into quarters.  Top each section with the name of a store.  Now go through the ads and write down anything on your stock list that is a RBP.  Write down any produce and dairy that is a good price.  Look for the meat item that is the lowest price that is on your list.  Every week, the stores pick a meat that is their featured  item and give it a RBP.  If you pick one a week, buy enough to cover that meat for a month and rotate the meats, you virtually buy your meat at the lowest price, portion control it for no waste, and cook once, eat many times.

Let me rephrase that to make more sense.  When I plan meals, I use a outline or matrix.

2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish or shellfish
Your matrix may be different. This one os what works for us.
One week, if whole chicken is a buck or less a pound, I will buy enough for us to have 2 chicken Meals a week for two weeks.  I usually cut up a chicken into  2 breast portions. dark meat, and soup.
I usually buy ham cubes or a pork loin roast.  You can slice off pork chops from the pork loin and freeze.  We can still get it for 1.79 sometimes.  When good ground beef is under three dollars a pound, I get it and marathon cook crumbles, taco meat, and meatballs enough for the 8 beef meals.  We used to have roast and roast beef a jus sandwiches before beef took a double hike.
Bulk cooking is a way to cook once, divide the meat into meal sized portions with no waste and clean up once.  The meat takes the most time to cook, so precooked meat means that your mealtime os less hectic.

After you have your list of things that are on sale , cross off anything that is more expensive elsewhere, and anything you don't need .  Now pick the TWO best stores.  Check the coupon matching sites on your area for coupons.  I buy ONE paper a week for a buck at the dollar store.  I save the coupon inserts in a binder clip by month.  Coupons.com is a good web site to get printable coupons.  There are a lot of premades to weed through, but you can still find coupons for dairy and other necessities.

Plan your trip, bring the ads, your list, your coupons.  Plan your trip to maximize gas.  Of the stores are far apart, break it down to two trips that tag along with other errands.  Maybe one store is near your mother that you visit with every week, the gym, the doctor??? Whatever works.  If you have no big grocery stores on your town. Consider  arranging a carpool with neighbors or family and go once a month, or twice a month.

You don't have to buy your food just at the chain stores.  You so have to avoid the specialty big bucks stores.  If you are on a rock bottom thrifty budget, sorry, there os no room for ready mades unless they are cheaper than scratch, and there is no room for special fancy stores.  You are paying for that fancy store every time   you walk onto it.  LOL.

There are alternative stores to the chain stores.  Warehouse stores like Costco and Winco sell so,e things cheaper.  Over stock s gores like grocery outlet and big lots sell select merchandise cheaper.
The bakery outlet is cheaper on some things unless you happen onto a real sale.  We go every six to eight weeks.  Sometimes  the drug stores have food a lot cheaper.

The biggest thing to remember is to know your prices.  My mother used to have the expression,
Some people could have a bargain get up and bite them in the butt and they wouldn't see it!

It's all about knowing the best prices and. Uh ing on moderation, just enough to last you until the next sale.  It won't happen overnight.  It happens one can at a time.

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Next time cooking

Jane

The basics, part one.

Groceries on the cheap takes a three pronged approach at putting food on the table at 1/2 price of retail.

I started this blog when it was brought to my attention that people on snap were running out of money before they ran out of month.  Now, snap has been  cut five percent.  Add the fact that meat pretty much has gone up 30 percent, it is harder to make both ends meet.   I actually found that many people not on snap read my blog.  Some people either want or need to economize on food, some like a way to get out of the kitchen faster, or be more efficient, and some just like trying new recipes.

Groceries on the cheap takes a three pronged approach at cheap grocery shopping.

• Planning and organizing
• Savy shopping 
• Cooking from scratch

Like about anything we do, it's always less stressful of we have a plan.  If you hate to grocery shop, it's  probably because you are short on money, you are bringing two toddlers with you, or you are a indecisive personality.  Break down the problems,and  life will be less stressful.  

• Planning your trip and maximizing your snap money will make you have food left over at the end of the month.  
• Leaving the kids at home is a good move.  Of you don't have anyone at home to take care of them,  try to leave them with family, or trade babysitting with a friend.  
• Having a list, and having guidelines of what to buy, takes the decision making part out of the grocery store, and into the home where you are comfortable and the "rules" make the process easy.  

Everything starts with a plan.  This is only time consuming at first,  some of it is  done once and then you are set.  Some of ot you probably have already done unconsciously.  

• List the inexpensive sources of protein that your family will eat.  
• List the main dishes that use these ingredients. 
• List the food items that you use on a weekly basis to cook these foods.  no boxes or bags of stuff here.  Just scratch food.  ( your stock list) 

For example:  our family likes chicken, pork, some beef, cheese, rice, beans and refried beans and some fish and shellfish.  

We have tacos and burritos often.  Chicken dishes , Mac and cheese, pork roast, sloppy joes, soups .....

Our stock list is beans, refried beans, diced tomatoes, tuna, pasta sauce, pasta, green beans and corn, cheese, some chili and cream of mushroom soup.  

After you have assessed the shelf ready items that you use on a regular basis, you need to track these items for a while and fond the rock bottom price for them on your area.  A rock bottom price is the lowest price you can find.  Stores operate on a 8-12 week cycle.  Maybe beans will be less than .69 once every three months.  Maybe once every four or five months , they will be .50.  You want to assess how often you use them, and how many you need to last you until they go on sale again.  The object is to never pay that nasty f word.  ( full price) .  If we use something once a week, I keep 24.  If I use it once a month, I keep 6.  Things like catsup, mustard, mayo etc, I keep one ahead.  When I open my back up, I start looking for a sale.  Thos is a out buying low and eating when the price is high.  It's stocking, not hoarding.  It's more about being prepared and being self sufficient.  If you have a stock of food and are sick, you don't have to go to the store.  

Not paying full price on your key purchases is the trick to stretching your food dollar.  

Having a personal cookbook of dishes you cook for dinner is good,  7 is nice, 14 is better.  

Planning a weeks worth of meals ahead is a good tool to stay out of the drive  through or off the phone ordering pizza.   You don't have to get real specific, the main dish is fine.  You can deviate from the plan, just have a plan.  

Next time| : Savy shopping

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Jane 

Happy thanksgiving

 Happy T hanks giving.  !  Back Tommorrow for the basics !  

Wicked Wednesday/ recipe addition

It's Wednesday.  I have no ads yet.  I am not sure there are any ads today.

I found a crock pot recipe for chicken thighs.

Mix together

1.5 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1T orange zest
Pepper

Brown 2 lbs skinned chicken thighs  in oil. 5 minutes per side.
Place in crockpot.

Add 1/2 onion chopped in skillet and sauté until limp.
Add salt and pepper and 2 t flour.  Stir.
Pour in broth mixture and bring to a boil.

Pour over meat on crockpot.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

Serve over polenta or rice.
Garnish with blue cheese

That's all for today.

I think that it is interesting that there is a lot of pizza buys in the ads lately.  I think because we are prepping thanksgiving for days and dinner still has to happen.  LOL.  It os a lot easier of we can delegate   dinner to several people/ families and minimize the stress at the last minute.

Thanks for stopping by

Please share

Jane

Is it turkey day yet!?!!!

I can't believe the hype about Christmas spending.  Stores are open on thanksgiving and they are already advertising Black Friday.  I, for one, don't think we need to gloss over thanksgiving.  I couldn't even find a thanksgiving sticker anywhere.  It's all Christmas.

I have already got my store books done this morning, and I am about to undertake making a turkey.
We are going out to family for Thanksgiving, but I like leftovers!   The best part of thanksgiving.  At eight dollars for turkey, we can eat a long time.

Yesterday,  I made snowman soup packets for my daughters class at school. They are a packet sorta like a matchbox that I embossed with snowflakes with a poem.  I filled a bag to go in it with candy cane, hot chocolate packet, and marshmallows.  I also had the pleasure?!??? Of going to the physical therapist.  LOL.  

I digress

Sweet Potato  and apple dish

Olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced onion
1/2 cup rice, raw

1 cup water
2/3 cup sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 cup cubed Granny Smith apple

1/4 cup frozen peas
2 t raisins
Salt and pepper

Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil.  Add the rice and toast lightly.  Add water and sweet potato and bring to boil, reduce heat and cook until sweet potato is tender.  Add apple , peas and raisens.  Continue cooking about three or four minutes.

Serves two.

Notes, Costco sometimes has sweet potato already cubed.  I made sweet potato soup one time.  Peeling and curbing sweet potato or squash is a royal pain!  

Thanks for stopping by

Please share

Jane