Fred Meyers

We went to Fred Meyers .  The specials were not all that great.   Chicken is .97, but true to form, they didn't have any.   Apples were, 1.79 .  Nalleys chili was .89'with an in ad coupon. The 24 ounce sour cream and cottage cheese was 2/4.   Frozen potatoes  were 3/5.   Good hamburger wasm15.00 plus, for three pounds.  

Yoplait was .60.  One ofmthemways to save is to be flexible.   I got cottage cheese instead.  I still get my calcium. But am not locked into full price.   I can stock shelf ready or frozen foods, but I can't stock perishables.   Your best bet os to buy what's in season and buy just what you think you will use before they go bad and be flexible and buy what's a reasonable price . It's all about supply and demand.   Dairy goes on sale on a rotating basis.   I try to buy as much when it is on sale as we can ise before the expiration date.   Taking inventory of the fridge  a couple tomes a week helps .  You can incorporate anything close to it's date in the next few days meal plans.   There are web sites that allow you to plug on the item you need to use up and give you ideas of what to cook.  

I made a loaded potato soup for dinner a few nights ago. ( Betty Crocker) . I  adjusted it because it was too loaded with fat and I wanted it to be adaptable for the semi- vegetarians in the family.   I deleted the ham, held the bacon to the side for garnish, and used 1/2 of the sour cream  and cheese. It was still very good.   I served it with brown and serve bread sticks.    I keep them in the fridge and they last well beyond a pull date.   Discressionary advised! LOl

I think a lesson I learned is that unless itmos a baking recipe, you can certainly adjust ingredients and methodology to suit your needs.   Cranberries can substitute blueberries.   Craisens for raisens,   Etc.
my husband won't  eat mushrooms and hates to bite into an onion.   I adjust accordingly using other vegetables for the bulk in a recipe and running the onion on a micro plane instead of shopping it.   Or I add it to a dish almost whole so  I can pull it out before I serve it.  

Being flexible goes a lomg ways to help stretch a budget!


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Jane










 






We went to a restraunt because it was my daughters birthday.

Most common mistakes that tank your budget

Most common mistakes

I have been watching grocery hauls on the Internet. Mostly young gals are doing them. I am beginning to see a picture that is all telling.

The most common mistakes grocery shopping to be on the cheap instead of spending the whole paycheck are

1. Buying  8  gallons of drinks.  Buy tea bags, herbal if you wish, and some crystal light type mix at the dollar store or big lots.  Water is a good hydrater.  .  Buy a lemon to add a slice to it and chill it.  
2. Buying ready made mixes and meats.  Take on one meat at a time, and learn to cook it.  The savings are remarkable.  If you don't have the pans to cook it, go to the goodwill and find one.  if you don't have a roasting rack, pile rough chopped carrots / and or potatoes or onions  on the bottom, and roast your chicken on top.  
3. Buying tons of junk foods.  Buy popcorn it's cheap and relatively healthy.  The savings more than make up for the price of an air popper on sale.  I got mine for 14.00.  
4. If your passion is sweet, find easy and inexpensive recipes for brownies or another cake or cookie.  There is a recipe on the Internet for a mixture of 2 cake mixes that cooks in a few in the microwave.  Or make muffins or quick breads.  They can be healthy and satisfy your sweet tooth.  
5. Not Sticking to your meal plans and not thinking things out. don't come home without the things you need to make them or you have wasted your time and need another costly trip to the store.  
6.  The worst mistake is to go to the store hungry, with screaming kids that need a nap, and buy 
7. anything in the store that looks good to you.  It's stressful and expensive.  you shouldn't come home broke and ready to drop from the grocery store! LOL  

Take a look at your grocery receipt and break it down as to how much is drinks, how much snack food and desert, and how much fruit and veggies.  The most percentages should be fruit and veggies and proteins.  Less than ten percent should be snacks and drinks.  

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Jane 

The ads and notes

The ads for the week of oct 22 to 28th

ALBERTSONS

Apples 1.78
GM cereals 1.88 when you buy 5. You should be able to find coupons
Apple juice .99@@
Bread .98@@
7 percent ground beef 3.99@@

Quarters sale
Muffin mix .25
Frozen entres .50
Tuna .75
Tomato sauce .25

QFC
Grapes 1.68
Craisens 1.00

Dollar sale
12 oz bfrozen veggies
Refried beans
Cream cheese
Kings Hawaiian rolls


SAFEWAYS

Satsumas 4.99
Pears .99
Apples 1.99
Raspberries 2.99
Ice cream 2/5. Safeway brand

Five dollar Friday
Pumpkin cake
BREYERS 2/5
Cod  per pound
Lloyd's ribs


That's about all

Thanks for stopping by

Remember there is just for you electronic coupons at Safeway
@@ means in ad coupon is needed
Remember to check a match up web site of you care to coupon.  You can use a store coupon and a manufacturers coupon .  

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Jane

Terrific Tuesday

I am happy to say that my husband has found a part time job.   That takes a lot of stress off our budget.  It's probably only temporary, but every little bit helps.   I'm still staying close too ur regular biggest, sometimes cheaper even though the cost of groceries has risen.  

The USDA has increased it's  stats, but not appreciably.   When I was buying 5.50 a pound hamburger, I remarked to a lady that I remember when it was .88.  Yes,  she said, and that wasn't all that long ago.   LOL.

I tried to get bulk yeast at Costco yesterday, they were out.   They said that they had five in the morning and they all sold.   That surprises me of Costco.   I might try the business one since we have to go that direction today anyway.  

Last night we had nachos for dinner.   I try to keep a log of our meals, but have been lax the last week.  

My daughter and I rotated stock in the pantry last weekend.  It's important to do that of the item is something that you don't use up quickly.   I wanted to count stock and rotate it before I went to Fred Meyers for .60 cent diced tomatoes.  

I ise diced tomatoes more than any other tomato product because it simplifies things.  If I want a tomato purée, I can always put ot in the blender.  Ot also works, no well, but it works when you are I a pinch for tacos.  It also makes salsa in a pinch when tomatoes are out of season.  I had to pay 2.50 a pound for a tomato.  I bought one.  Roma tomatoes are usually a Better  buy. They cost less and have more tomato and less seeds.  

Large bags of carrots are a better buy than the baby carrots too.  Unless you are making a veggie tray for company, you are better off using regular carrots.  You can scrub them with a vegetable brush of you aren't into peeling,  

I bought a bag of small apples this time because they were no dollar a pound apples.   I try for a buck a pound for veggies.  I don't always succeed and I feel like we need veggies and fruit for a well balanced diet.   I am not found of a lot of canned fruit and vegetables.  I buy green beans and corn.  
Frozen veggies are a buck all the time at the dollar store.   Sometimes  they are cheaper at the chain grocery stores.  You have to watch the size of the package.   I got mixed veggies with cauliflower, carrots and snap beans from the dollar store..  The carrots were  jullianed.  . The snap beans were little pieces and the cauliflower was irregular on size.  Some were small. Some were big. They tasted just fine, but not something I. Would feed  company.
I got the instant mashed potatoes for .88 from Fred Meyer.   They have some really interesting flavors.  We like four cheese and some with peppers and bacon, but there are all kinds of baby reds, some that are like twice baked, and the list goes on.  

In our house, we don't go through regular potatoes fast enough so many tomes they bombard before they are used up.   So it's easier and less wasteful to have instant on hand.   I got frozen French fries for a buck on sale at Fred Meyers.   I filled the freezer bin.   They are cooked on the oven and when cooked on convection, they have a crispy outside.  

The darker the lettuce and the more red the grape, the more food value they have.  

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Jane

No ad, I lost it. , the facts about ground meat

 I did go to Fred Meyers yesterday.  Unfortunately, my husband had the ad and misplaced it.

So,from memory, here goes

Pumpkin pie was 3.99

There is a big .88 sale

Tuna
Ice drinks
Mac and cheese and other entres I'm the frozen section.
The tangerines looked discussing for five dollars.
Acorn squash was a buck.  Last time they charged me for two, I got one.  You have to stand in line to get your money back.

There are more sales, but off hand I can't remember them.  I spent forty dollars, so I know there was more than that.  


On another note,  I had noticed that when I did the dishes after my daughter had cooked ground turkey, it had more saturated fat than I have when I cook good hambirger.   That lead me to some research.   There is no negilagible difference between the fat content between ground turkey and good hamburger.   Turkey has 18/100 less fat in a standard serving.


The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Food Sources of Selected Nutrients” table for iron lists 30 of the foods highest in the mineral. Of that list, five of the foods are cuts of beef. Turkey does not make the USDA’s list of top iron-rich foods. The top beef selections are 3-ounce portions of chuck roast, bottom round, rib roast, ground beef and top sirloin. These beef selections provide between 2 and 3 milligrams of iron per serving.

A serving of prime rib has no sodium.   The price of turkey and good beef is just about the same.  I have found good beef cheaper than the five bucks for 20 ounces that I usually see it for.  

Dragnet quote , just the facts!  


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Jane

The ads

Time for the ads again.

Our selection of grocery stores is shrinking.   There are two companies that own the majority of grocery stores , chain wise now.   I will be glad when Winco comes I to our neck of the woods.
SAFEWAYS was bought by ALBERTSONS I hear and QFC is Kroger which also owns Fred Meyers.

SAFEWAYS

Kraft  Mac and cheese .49@@ ( not something I buy, but popular with the kids)

Turkey breast 1.29
Hamburger 15 percent 4.99
Tomatoes 1.99

Baking supplies B1G2
Chocolate chips
Cake mixes
Crisco oil
Pumpkin
Flour
Sugar


Pears .99

Five dollar Friday

Pizza
Boston cream cake


ALBERTSONS

Apples, pears, 100
Avocados 1.00
Ice cream 2/5@@


1.00 veggies

English cucumbers
Baby carrots
Pie pumpkins
Kale
Bean sprouts

QFC

Mandarins 4.99 box
Milk 2/3 ( 1/2 gal)
Yogurt 10/5$$
Pumpkin pie 3.99
8 percent hamburger 5.99

Kraft singles 2.19
Sour cream 2/3
Pumpkin 1.00
Flour 2.79



That's about it.

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Jane

Fred Meyer - ad

I might note that the paper is a buck at the dollar store.  

Milk is 4/5@@
Foster farms chicken breast is 1.28, along with grill packs and thighs.  The breasts will probably be hard come by.  
Canned tomatoes .60
Pumpkin pie 3.99
Lettuce .99
Yoplait 10/5 $$


Not much there.  The canned tomatoes are worth mentioning.  As well as the chicken breasts if they have them.  Fred Meyers tends to only bring out a few items a day.   They are frequently out of the sale items.   The last time they had no grill packs and I had to get someone to hint for one package of thighs.   Drumsticks are not meaty enough for me.  You are paying  for a lot of bone and you can't eat bone!   I would prefer the breasts or  the grill pack so I can debone the breasts myself.  

The last time they would not let me use two coupons for two batches of Yoplait. There are coupons for Yoplait.   ($$)   Some things have an in ad coupon (@@)

That's about all.

Please comment if you have any topics you would like discussed.  

Thanks for stopping by

Jane

SAFEWAYS

Yesterday,we went to SAFEWAYS and the dollar store.   I had a four dollars off forty electronic coupon.   Taking advantage of five  dollar Friday deals and the fact that pork loin roast was 2.29' a pound. I spent just a little more than the forty dollars.,

Apples were a buck, I splurged and got jalapeño bread and cheese was five bucks, olive oil was BOGO.  

Pork loin was my stock meat for the week.   But, I also got 4 dozen  eggs, cheese, American cheese, and sox steaks.

I filled the empty spaces in the pantry with canned goods.  
My husband went to Costco and got pop corn .  A small jar was over five dollars at SAFEWAYS, a giant jar was six at Costco.   Some things are just a lot better buy at Costco.  

I am over budget this week by a few dollars.   I was under last month.  I did get a lot of staple things. Next week will even it out.  

Know your prices

Take advantage of sales

Buy in proportion to what your family will eat in a timely manner.  

Plan meals.   -- even a rough idea of the main dish for a week will help a lot.  
Have a few emergency menus on the shelf to pick up when things go wrong and your attention is directed in another endeavor.   Last week, my identity was stolen and we tracked down a package that was delivered to us by mistake.   Stuff happens!   Be prepared.   It saves going for take out.  

Use coupons judiciously.    If they are for something you normally buy, it's a bargain.   I can save about sox dollars a week if I get a good coupon sale.   It doesn't always happen.   I'm not willing to spend forty hours a week couponing to buy a closet full of soda pop.   I am, however, willing to spend a few minutes to get ten percent or more off my food budget.  

We all like the work free.  

Last week, we out a lot of stuff out for free.  We got a umbrella stand for the deck table and a sox pack of expensive juice for free.  

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Jane

ALBERTSONS Trip

We went to ALBERTSONS today.  I  spent forty dollars and  saved 59 percent. There  were a lot of good buys on staples.  It's fall and the new pack is going on to production,so canned goods are on sale.  

Steak was buy one,get two  free.
Libby vegetables are .50 with a coupon.  
Healthy soups, pasta sauce and diced tomatoes were .80 ( buy 10 mix or match )
Eggs were 4/5 with a coupon.  

Buying what you can when it is on sale is a good way to stretch your budget.  

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Jane

This weeks ads , oct 8th

QFC s ad is the same as last week.  Not much there.   I wound up going to Fred Meyers.    I stocked on canned veggies .  

SAFEWAYS
Apples .99
Grapes 2.99
Pork loin 2.29
Bottom round 3.99 or pot roast
Brownie mix .99

Five dollar Friday
Cream pie
Bratwurst
Ice cream 2/5
Tillamook cheese *****
Pasta sauce . Glass jar 5/5
K kips 5.00

Just for you has four dollars off of forty dollars.  


ALBERTSONS
K cups 5.00
Sausage 2.49$$@@


.80 sale
Pasta sauce
Tomatoes

Canned veggies 2/1@@
Jif 1.49@@
Cereal 1.99$$
Yoplait .50$$
Grapes 1.48
Eggs 4/5@@
Halloween candy 4/8@@
Double layer cake 5.00@@ ( birthdays? )


That's all.  It's a better stock day this week.   The prices are more than I like,but prices have gone up and I suspect I have to face the reality that my RBP is going up too.  


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Jane


Note:   Last week, pasta was .80 at SAFEWAYS.  There are coupoms out there that made it as low as .38.   Add an .80 can of pasta sauce ( ALBERTSONS this week) and you have a main dish for 1.60.  That's plenty of room for a salad, homemade Italian bread ( or brown and serve from the bread store) and a pudding for desert.   And still be under 5.00.   Add parm that has been grated with a micro plane.

Breaking from the norm, safety tips

My identity was stolen Friday,.    I really felt violated and wondered and sill wonder where they got my e mail address and credit card number.   I did  report ot to the police.   My sister was surprised that a policeman came to the house to get a report and that I had to file a report.   I guess there are people that make a false report just to get the bank to pay for their charges!     The bank called me.   They have a program that red flags unusual charges , that is, charges that are not your usual spending pattern.   That's why if you take a vacation, you should call the bank and tell them you are going.   Otherwise they are likely to freeze your card and leave you in a pickle.  

The police officer told me all sorts of things.   For one, the neighbourhood gas station had some skimming incidents.   Luckily for us my husband doesn't go to that station.    Costco is so much cheaper.   

Never put your keys in your purse when you are going out in public.   Put your keys in your pocket.  Some people wear a cross body bag under their coat and just have necessities in their purse.   

If someone steals your purse, often they go on a spending spree and steal your car or while you are trying to find a phone to report your purse stolen and find a ride home, they are at your house cleaning it out.

Never put things in your mail box and put the flag up.    The only thing I ever put in the mail box is a birthday card.   

Don't leave anything in your car that you don't want stolen.   That is hard when I go to more than one grocery store at a shopping trip.   At least lock it in the trunk if you can before you go to your next stop.    Again , that is hard because I don't have a trunk.   We do bring a soft sided cooler for our groceries so you can't tell if it is empty or full.   

When you use your debit card, punch in your PIN number and touch a couple of other numbers while doing so.   There are people that have infrared scanners on the back of their phones that read what numbers that you have punched.  

I had a discussion with someone that said that they would never use a debit card, just use checks.   Perps wash your check and make it out for a bigger amount,   I had someone tell me that they had a devil of a time proving that they didn't write the check.   Banks do not moniter  your checks. I have seen checks not signed go through.   At least if someone steals your debit card, or you loose, it, they have to know your PIN number too.  don't leave your PIN number in your wallet.  Memorize it.  And, the bank moniters your debit card the same as your credit card.   

If retailers asked for another identifying number when a large purchase was made, it would cut down on the theft.   Bed bath and beyond asked for a zip code.  The perps couldn't produce one.   We all pay for the losses when these creeps help themselves.  

Check your bank balance often.   Report any charges that you don't recognize.   Sometimes that is hard because the retailers posted name is quite cryptic.   The next question is, honey, what did you buy for 9.98 yesterday!  LOL. Did you go to the gas station twice!    

If you are walking out to your car alone and there aren't a lot of people around, carry your keys with a key between each finger.  Look in the back seat before you enter the car.   If you are uncomfortable, ask a security guard to show you to your car.   Scan the parking lot before you leave the building.   Lock your doors and roll up your windows.  

Guess that's all I can remember .   

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Be safe! 

Jane 

Suddenly Sunday

I hav had a busy week with ear infection and identity thieves.   Didn't need either,thank you LOL.
It bothers me that no one does much to catch the identity thieves ( some issue with jurisdictions) and in reality we are ally paying for the theives abundance.   I do have to say that our bank is right in top of charges to your account that are not usual for your spending habits.   That limits the amount of loss.  

I digress

The ads.  I smdidnt grocery shop at all this week.   I didn't feel well and there are really no bargains.   Qfc sad is for two weeks so there will no bargains next week there either.  

Fred Meyers

Assorted loin chops 2.99
Grapes 1.49
Milk 4/5@@
Bread or buns 3/4@@
Canned veggies 2/1@@
Hillshire farms sausage 2.99@@$$
Cottage cheese,sour cream 4/5
Acorn squash 1.00
Pears 1.00
Raspberries 2/4

Crock pot 16.99

My mothers recipe with my husbands adaption.  
Acorn squash.  She always cooked meat loaf and baked potatoes on the oven at the same time.  
(400 degrees)

Halve squash and seed.  ( zapping in the microwave for two or three minutes makes thos easier.poke it with a for a couple of times first)

Fill cavity with butter and brown sugar. Sprinkle with cinnamon.  

Place in baking pan and bake until done)

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Jane

The ads

Finally I got to do the ads.   I had an er visit this week, and  this is the first time I have been able to get to it.

There is not much this week. Yet again.   QFC has it's ad for two weeks.  

QFC
Tomatoes 1.28
Dreyers 2.99 - ck for coupons
Raspberries 2/5
Pumpkin pie 3.99

SAFEWAYS
Avocados 1.00
Pears .99
Pasta .79
Chicken noodle soup .79

Five dollar Friday
Grapes
Boston cream cake
Salad 4/5
Shrimp
Barbie princess

ALBERTSONS

Mix or match b6, save 3. Buy 12, save 6. Buy 18, save 9. Prices are net

I've cream, dreyers  2.49
Bread 1.99
Tuna 1.00
Duncan Heinz cake. .99


Milk 2/5@@
5 lb potatoes .99@@
English muffins 1.88
Peppers .69
Grapes 1.99

I have not downloaded the coupons for this month yet.   The only,stock item I see os pasta and i think that there are coupons out there.

Note when things are 10/10 you don't have to buy ten unless it is specified.
ALBERTSONS mix and match you do have to buy the total items,but can choose which you want.

I did hear again that put top foods was going to be a Winco.  I certainly  hope so.

The first Thursday of the month is free admission at the museum of history and industry.   We went today and it was really fun.  We allotted ourselves two hours, but that wasn't enough time . We only got to see the first  two floors.  A lot of interactive    for the children.  

That's about all.  Thanks for stopping by

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Jane

Sunday ads , Freddie's

I just realized I didn't do a blog today!  

Anyway, we went to SAFEWAYS Friday and I didn't intend to go to Fred Meyers today.   I got specials at SAFEWAYS.  

We went to pick up some supplies for business and stopped by the grocery outlet.   Ingot sausage for 1.50 , some smoked salmon, a lot of sliced cheese and some tacaquitos.  I checked the coffee prices, but we got coffee a dollar cheaper at Winco.   Yoplait was 3/1.00 with a mid oct pull date.  


Fred Meyers

Apples .99
Radishes and onions 2/1
Pears .99
Eggs 4/5@@

That's about it.  I got better buys at Winco and SAFEWAYS.

Tonight we are having chicken thighs, baked acorn squash and green salad .  
Yesterday we had sausage, fruit salad, hash browns and eggs.   The hash browns were baked.  

Thanksmformstoppimgmby

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Jane

Winco and notes

I just read that the poverty level has increased on Washington state.   That is to say, more of is are at the poverty level.

We went to Winco yesterday.   We called it our road trip.  Since the bakery outlet os on the way, we went there too.   We lucked out and it was senior and military day so we got ten percent off.   My husband tried for twenty percent off because  were both military and senior, but as predicted, it didn't work, gave is a good laugh though!   We did get two packages of whole wheat hot dog buns.  I'm making bread crumbs.

Winco had a lot of things I stock cheaper.  I found peppers for a buck!  Beats 1.59.   And the instant potatoes I buy for .87 they can be as much as 1.59 too.   My husband found his beef jerkey meat.
Beer was two dollars cheaper than his cheapest price.  Coffee was 5.99 and some of the veggies  were cheaper.  Some things weren't, you have to know your prices.   This is hard because RBP are changing and I'm not finding the lowest price as often as I would like.   Sometimes I have to resort to house brands.   Not a bad thing.  House brands are often the same as the good product with a different label.

The bread store had a lot of dollar and near a dollar bread.   I also got jalapeño mustard.   I guess I have to resolve to the fact that I can't find meat at my target price of two dollars anymore.   Other than chicken, that isn't  happening. If I can get it for three dollars a pound, I can average two dollars.   I got chicken sausage for 2.50.  Four sausage are enough for the four  of us.

My average for September was 62.00 a week.  The Feds have upped our basic food at home stats to about 85.00 a week for my husband and I.  I am also supplementing my daughter and granddaughter a lot.   There are people that do it for less. A lot of them have a lot more time and energy than I have.


I am trying to stay within the guidelines for food stamps, ( we are not on food stamps) to show people that it can be done and you can eat decent food for less money and maintain a pantry.

There is a certain sense of security having a pantry of staples.   I was in the rehab ( nursing home) for a month and in the hospital a few days too.   My family ate out of the pantry and  supplemented a little fresh.   My daughter cooked every night.   She got smart and cooked a crockpot of chili to last a couple of days.   Leftovers worked.

That's about all.

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Jane

The ads

I'll have to warn you, thos os,not a good week for the main stores I get at home.   We might just go to Winco.  

QFC
Peaches 1.49
Apples 1.29
Grapes 1.99
Nathan's franks 3.49


2 lb chicken 6.99*****
Tillamook y
Greek yogurt 1.00$$
Refried beans, tortillas 1.00

Note the chicken, I'll explain later.  

SAFEWAYS
Grapes 1.99
Salad 4/5
Chicken .99***
Bell peppers, cukes .79
Pears .99

Five dollar Friday
Raspberries 2/5
Grapes 3 lbs
Shrimp

ALBERTSONS

Coffee 5.99
BBQ sauce .75

Bc cake mix .99
Ice cream 2.49

That's about it.  

Now, remember to cross off anything that is cheaper elsewhere . Other than a cake mix, I don't have anything on my stock list here at RBP.   I would pick a .99 chicken even though I bought one Sunday.  We had company and could use another.  

Now, to the promised explanation.   NO CHICKEN UNDER THREE POUNDS IS A BARGAIN AT ANY PRICE,  chicken bones weigh just so much.   What's left is the meat.   Under three pounds you are paying for bones and the meat is gravy.  

But let's do the math. Two pounds for 7.00 is 3.50 per pound.   SAFEWAYS has Washington grown chicken for .99 a pound.   A five dollar savings right off the bat not including the loss of meat vs bone.  

It takes me ten minutes to put a chicken on the oven.   At five  dollars savings, I am making
Thirty dollars an hour for my time.  

I cook chicken one of two ways depending on my time and energy constraints of the day.   If I intend to make soup and casseroles with it I place a cut up onion in the bottom of the slow cooker, add the cleaned chicken, rub slices on top and cook it for an hour a pound on high.   Five minutes, walk away.  

If I want roasted chicken, I wash the chicken. Put salt in the insides.  Stuff it with anything short of the kids dirty sox ( onion, apple, orange, lemon, ) massage the skin with olive oil and sprinkle ot with salt, pepper or thyme or lemon pepper and shove it on a roaster rack in oven  at 375 until my thermometer reads done.   Walk away and do some laundry or work on my studio etc.  

Either way it is short work with a good reward.  Chicken is still the best buy in the market for protein from meat.  

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Jane

Betty Crocker dinner feed

Betty Crocker has been sending me via e mail ideas for dinner all month. Today's is especially good with a emphasis on chicken and skillet / oven dinners.   I will try to provide a link.   Some of these are really yummy and are adaptable to the on the cheap meal mantra.    Remember cream of anything soup is basically a white sauce,  I have a white sauce mix that is really easy.   I think I just googled white sauce mix and found it.  I wrote the recipe on the top of the container with marker.   I do that often.  It makes life easier.

Chicken and green beans
Chicken with cheese and vegetables
Chicken Mac and cheese
Lots more.

I would really consider signing up for the feed.   There are coupons amd a lot of inspiration.   Cooking on the cheap doesn't have to be boring and jump starting your creativity for free is a winner,

http://recp.mkt32.net
I can't check to see if that works  on my reader.  
Betty Crocker dinner is back.  

Thanksmformstoppimgmby

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Jane

Sunday ads

Last night I went to a convention dinner.m we had a delicious dinner of pork tenderloin, mixed veggies, rolls, green salad amd garlic, French bread pudding.   I don't think I had ever heard of it, it didn't taste bad, but I didn't want to burn my carbs on mystery pudding when there was a glorious chocolate moose In Front of me!   LOL. Good food,good friends and good music!

I digress.

Fred Meyers as usual has some food buys and the Sunday paper has coupons to go with them.  These prices are for Seattle area.

Tomatoes .99
Whole chicken .99
Milk 4/5@@
Ice cream 2/5
Cottage cheese or sour cream 2/4
Grapes 1.68
Pears .99
Zucchini, yellow squash .99

Dollar days
Rice a roni
Tortilla chips
Refried beans
Flour tortillas
Diced tomatoes$$
Baby carrots
Garden salad
French bread@@
Cake mix
Annie's Mac and cheese

Some of this I got for less at SAFEWAYS and last week.
There might be a coupon for cake mix out there and I know there is a coupon for Yoplait in the paper.
( smart source.)

I hit SAFEWAYS and the dollar store on Friday.   There are a few things at the dollar store that are cheaper.  We needed catsup and unless there is a good sale during picnic time,am buck for the large bottle is cheap.   I pick up cotton rounds and Kleenex .  Watch the size if the packages.   They have darling Halloween and fall glass goblets.   Chicken noodle soup in a 33 percent more can is good.  I really prefer Campbell's to store brands on that.

That's about all

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Jane

Coupons.

I haven't talked abou coupoms lately.   My daughter and I attended a seminar on extreme couponimg. I am not a fan of real extreme couponing as in the tv show because I think it boarders on hoarding and hoRding things we don't need or need to hoard.   I think the operative word is extreme.   No one  needs 93 bottles of hot sauce or a closet full of soda pop.  LOL.  In reality most stores will not let you buy that much.  I do use coupons for the things I normally,buy anyway.   And, yes you can find coupons for things that are not gadgets or junk , ready made food.   I get ice cream, yogurt, pasta, toothpaste, and other real food coupons all the time.

I get one Sunday  paper at the dollar store.   You can get ot on Saturday or all week lomg as long as they have stock.   My friend brings me the inserts from her paper.    Once a month I get on coupons.com and download the coupons that I seriously might use.  You are allowed to download two coupons per item.   The manufacturers limit the amount of coupons printed.   Doing it close to the forst of the month is to your advantage, the large ones go fast.   I have a coupon binder and file the printed coupons.

There are coupon matching sites on the Internet that match local store sales with coupoms.   I file my inserts in file folders by month.   Wrote the date of the insert on the front.   It's  an easy match up to pull the coupon when they are in chronological order.  

I save an average of six dollars a week.   That calculates to over three hundred a month.  

Our lights were out and I lost most of the rest of this post.  

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Jane

To each his own

I ran on to another blog today.  The lady is remarkable.   Apparently, sh has very little to live on and makes due with delicious meals for next to nothing,    She also has the time to bake everything from scratch and grow her own fruits and vegetables.   I applaud her in her efforts, but I don't have her time or talents.  To each his own.   You have to do what works for you and what you need to do to make your budget work.   I suspect if  we continue to be unemployed and I don't find an outlet for my product, I will be working harder to cut our groceries more.   I am only one person, and others in the family don't see the need to economize.   Budgets have to balance.    I basically quit buying anything but supplies for the business, cutting clothing budget to must haves, doing my own nails, and staying out of stores.   I have had to buy some clothes lately because I have dropped five dress sizes!   I just took a truck load of clothes to the goodwill.    I, not buying a lot of my current size until I see if I gain weight,  the doctor seems to think I will and so I'm making do.  I got some clothes from a family member that cleaned her closet out and I bought a few pair of leggings because they are very forgiving and span a couple of sizes.   I switched and have my hair cut for less than 1/2 what I was paying.

I digress, this is supposed to be about food.   I think I'm saying don't beat yourself up because you spend more than the next guy on food.  You have to do what you can.  Of you are forced to make it on a specific amount of money, you pretty much have to do what you can to make things work.

This is about making it on half the average budget.   I spend twenty five percent less than what the USDA stats are for my husband and I and I supplement my daughter and  granddaughter a lot as well.

Fred Meyers continues to have good buys for their anniversary.

The ads
QFC
Oranges .99
Broccoli .99

1.00 sale
Tortillas
Frozen potatoes
Bumble bee tuna ( cheaper ay fm)
Barilla pasta ( cheaper at fm )$$


SAFEWAYS
Oranges .99
Grapes 1.99
Pork loin chops 2.29
Corn 6/2
Pudding cups .99( backpacks?)
Starkist .79

Five dollar Friday
Cheese pizza
3pounds grapes
Ice cream 2/5
Salad 3/5
Cheese 5.00****

ALBERTSONS


Tillamook yogurt ,38@@( 3/1 at fm)

Quarter sale
Pizza crust, corn muffins .50
A gratin potatoes .75
Albacore tuna 1.00
Fruit juices 16 ox frozen veggies 1.00
Crackers 1.00
Nalleys chili 1.00
Tomato sauce .25
Tomato paste .50

 That's about it.   If I had to pick, I would pick  Fred Meyers and SAFEWAYS in Friday.  Be sure to take advantage  of the cheese .   The savings is remarkable.  Don't get stuck paying none dollars for two pounds of cheese.   Ugh!   Of I am going to eat cheap sources of protein, I am going to eat the  best quality I can find.

I would stock on frozen potatoes, albacore tuna. Cheese, crackers, and tomato sauce and paste.   Sometimes when making pizza from scratch, or adding some depth to a sauce, a small can of tomato sauce is all you need.  Fred Meyers has chicken for a buck a pound.   I found a recipe that puts a spice rub on it and bakes it for an hour at 350.  We did it, but it took more than an hour to get the chicken well done.   Thighs and grill packs are the best buys here.  They had no grill packs when I was there.   If I get a grill pack, I debone the chicken breasts and cook the rest for shreds for burritos, tacos or BBQ sandwiches.  You can also use the broth and some chicken for soup.

If we are having something like soup that has less,protein, I make cheese biscuits to supplement or
make a pudding for desert or have ice cream.   If we have waffles, I add bacon or a yogurt parfait with fruit and granola.

Looking at the whole meal picture helps to balance the protein and the budget!


Ps big lots has krustez pumpkin loaf big box for 2.25.  It's really good and far less than scratch.  Of it os the four box , that makes it a little more than .60 a loaf!  
Thanks for stopping by

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Jane