Blueberry, banana bread,

A good way to get a head start on breakfast.   Quick and easy, and in the Betty Crocker cookbook free on line.  

Easy. Mix wet ingredients, mix dry ingredients.  Fold together and add blueberries.  

Bale in a loaf pan with a greased bottom.   

Blog series...what to do with ground sausage -vol,3

Ground sausage is reasonable at Costco.  Ground meats are cheaper to plan ,ears with cause the portions can be smaller, but look larger.    One way to use less meat and still hav good nutrition is to add other things to the menu that contain protein also.   Chilli is a good example.    My mother used to make depression stew-- potatoes and carrots and any bits of meat she could find,   Bacon and a few meatballs?  

You can reduce the fat content  of sausage by De-Fattimg  it.   It comes in three pound tubes at Costco-Jimmy  Dean. I usually make a few patties for breakfast for dinner, and make crumbles of the rest.   You can use :

• Sausage in quiche 
• Sausage in pasta sauce 
• Stuff peppers 
• Bean and sausage soup
• Breakfast burridos
• Can substitute for ground beef in many recipes   

Easy sausage and bean soup.  

2 -15 ounce cans of diced tomatoes 

4 cups chicken stock ( I use better than bullion) 

2-3 carrots, sliced or diced and sautéed with...
2- 3 stalks of celery, sliced or chopped
Diced onion to taste

2 cans of your favorite beans, the same or different, drained .

3/4 cup of cooked sausage.
1-1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Place all ingredients in the crockpot , cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Can be made vegetarian by using vegetable stock and omitting the sausage.
Sodium can be reduced if you rinse the beans before you add them

Thanks for stopping by

Please share

Jane

Safeway haul

Safeways has five dollars off of five.  They offered second item in the same transaction another dollar off.   I got

• 2 no sugar added ice cream bar packages.   ( 16 grams total each bar) reg 3.50
• 4 suddenly salads for. 1.00 less coupons - .75 instead of 2.29 each 
• 2 packages of brown rice 
• 1 Ragiu pasta sauce for 1.38 plus a .50 ibotta on it.  

Plus I got Catalina's for 

1. 1/2 of a five dollar gift card 
2. A half off coupon for Joanne's 
3. A dollar off coupon for suddenly salad 

Total spent 12.30 minus a fifty cent ibotta 11.80

23.45 retail

11.80 actual

Savings 50 percent 

The ads

Here are the best of the ads.   No surprise here, Haggens is pretty much over the top, Albertsons and Safeways ads look a whole lot alike.  I'm wondering if we will soon have a
SAFEBURTONS LOL.
QFC is non existent, use last weeks ad.  


Haggens
I honestly tried to find a bargain at Haggens.  
Cascade Ice drink is a buck!  

Albertsons
Buy 6,  save 3, net prices

Klondike bars 2.49
Chicken of the sea tuna .99
Iced tea in bottle 1.99**
Lipton tea 100 ct. 2,99**
Suddenly salad .99 - look for coupons
Kraft salad dressing 1.99 ( 2.50 at   Haggens) $$
Butter 2.49 ( cheaper at Costco)
Grated cheese 249 ( this equates to five dollars a pound) - cheaper at grocery outlet and Costco.  
Oatmeal 1.49***. 18 ounce canister or box of instant

** question,meow many gallons of iced tea can you make for 1.99! LOL.   66 tea bags would be 2.00.
At six bags per gallon, some water and ice you would make 11 gallons.  
 *** econo lesson - instant oatmeal osma more expensive than buying a box.   The crate at Costco is even cheaper.   There is not any difference in the time it takes to cook it.   I put the oatmeal in a lock n lock canister with a 1/2 cup measure from the dollar store.   One cup of water, 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1.5 minutes in the microwave.   Use a bigger bowl so it won't run over.   You can keep cinnamon sugar in a shaker bottle, or just add fruit and milk.  

Grapes 1.99
Peaches .99
Cantaloupes  2/5

SAFEWAYS
GRAPES 1.99
peaches .99
Cantaloupes 2/5

Double take!  

Five Dollar Friday
Blues
Meringue pies
Bounty basic paper towels.  

Crazy 88'sale ( I see Albertsons )
Ragu Padua sauce 1.38
Baby tomatoes BOGO

7 percent hamburger 3.99
Hamburger or hotdogging .88@@
Milk 2/5@@

Thats about it.

 The hamburger would be the best meat of choice for rotating. If you didn't do it last week I would do it this week. I make crumbles, taco meat, meatballs, meatloaf, Salisbury steaks.  

Thanks for stopping by
Please follow
Jane




,

Blog series: what to do with. Chicken Vol2

Ahh, chicken.  The meat all the mystery meat aspires to......LOL.

Chicken is still one of the most versatile and cheapest meat in  the butchers case.    Last batch I bought was .88 a pound.   I only buy chicken grown in the PNW..   I had a chat with Foster farms.  They tell me that their chickens come from wa, or, and ca. and  are processed there. They have no plans to change that.  - few notes about chicken : 

1. )Chicken rotates in sale prices about every four to six weeks. My RBP was at QFC last Janiary.   It was Super Bowl and they marked whole fryers are .50 to sell out.  I needed to cook them that day, I came home and roasted two and put one in the crockpot.  

2. )Never buy a chicken that is less than three pounds. Five a better benchmark.   It is almost always cheaper to buy whole chickens.   It takes about ten minutes or less to get a chicken cooking, the rest is passive cooking.   Three pounds is the break even point-- less than that, you are paying more for bone than you do for meat.   

3) as with all meat these days, cook it thoroughly and clean as you go, washing your hands.  Don't cross contaminate with raw food.   The most efficient for us is to use the buddy system, one of us handles the raw meat, the other the salt and oil bottles.   We can get a roast chicken in the oven in six minutes flat.   

4) after the chicken is done and cooled a bit, I take off the legs, thighs, and wings and put  them in a gallon bag.   Then , I separate the back from the breast, and cut the breast in two.   The back goes into a bag for soup, and the breasts are cut in two and placed  into a bag for 2 dinners.   There are three of us eating meat.   Your portions may be  different.  

5) buying frozen chicken breasts  are costly and you don't know where they came from. 

6) the way I get Boneless , skinless chicken breasts is to buy a grill pack when it is a buck a

pound  and separate the thighs, legs, and debone the breasts.   The dark meat makes good BBQ chicken.  BBQ sauce is cheap this time a year ( RBP a buck or less) or always a dollar at the dollar store.   The dollar store one is smaller.

7) the quickest, easiest way to cook a chicken ( non- passive time) is to peel and rough cut an onion.  

Place onion in bottom of the crockpot.  Place chicken on top of the onion.   Make a spice rub ( or get one at the dollar store) and rub the chicken.   Cover and cook on high for an hour a pound.   You can't substitute the onion.  You discard the onion, so if someone doesn't like onion, they don't have to eat it.  

The juice makes really good stock for soup.   You will have in tact breasts.m the other meat will be fall off the bone done.  Just right for enchiladas, soup, tacos, burritos, chicken pot pie.  

Which leads me to a zillion ways to use chicken-- well a lot, not that I would exaggerate!   LOL

1. Buffalo chicken pizza
2. Chicken and peppers pizza
3. Burritos
4. Enchiladas 
5. Chicken pot pie 
6. Chicken noodle  soup 
7. Chicken noodle casserole
8. Chicken nacho bake ( Betty Crocker on line ) 
9. Greek chicken pizza*
10. Hot and spicy chicken
11. Pulled chicken sandwiches 
12. Chicken Alfredo
13. Sweet and sour chicken
14. Chicken enchilada casserole 
15. Chicken Pam 
16. Skillet chicken nachos 
17. Chicken and dumplings 

The recipes for the * on are in the Betty Crocker on line cook book.   You can print the recipes and put them in a binder.   I find binders at garage sales and the goodwill.   Now is a good time to find them cheap on back to school sales, or get your little one the newest hero and take their old one.   Buy a set of page protectors at the dollar store.   Put the recipe you are using in it and it will stay clean. 

Remember, if a recipe calls for something that is processed, or you don't have , you can always substitute for scratch.   You can also cook a recipe that calls for raw chicken substituting cooked chicken instead.   Alter the cooking time accordingly. Ie. Cook the sauce, and add the cooked chicken.  Savory cooking is not an exact science., you can play!  Cream sauce mix recipe is on another blog.  It is a substitute for cream of .... A lot cheaper and more healthy!
Makes great Mac and cheese.....another blog!   LOL

Thanks for stopping by 

Please share 

Jane 

Dinner

Stir fry vegetables and shrimp over brown rice.  

The ads and a few notes

The ads are here.  

The newspaper today has a few good food coupons.  One for yoplait.  I tried to download the coupons  from coupons.com.  Seems my new printer does not hold a cue.   I opened the drawer to see if there was enough paper and it lost m coupons.  You can only print two coupons.   I did discover that you can filter the coupons now, so you don't have to look at a zillion coupons to find the food ones.  
There are no free things at rite aid.  

Fred Meyers
Strawberries 1.49
Shrimp 5.99
Peaches 1.29
Butter 2.99@@ this beats Costco this time.
Kroger beans, tomatoes, vegetables. 2/1. Limit 6@@
Sausage 2,99@@
Hebrew national 3.99
Blues 2 lbs 4.99
Pears ,99
Corn 2/1
Foster Farms grill pack 1.29 ( note one time in five I have found stock.)
Shoulder butt roast 1.99

I have no idea what a shoulder butt roast is, but it was just fun typing it!  

Thanks for stopping by

Please share

Jane

Four dollars per person,, really!

First of all, if I had four dollars a day per person for food. I would think I have died and went to heaven!    If I spent that on food we wouldn't have enough to pay for meds or anything else for that matter.    I spend more now than  I did a year ago, basically because food has gone up.   That is  112.00 per week, I spend close to 80.00 and  have stock left over.   Our pantry I almost always full alon(with the freezer.

  It's not about cooking everything from scratch every day, but more about shopping wisely.   Spend more time shopping and less time cooking.   Not necessarily,buying ready made with a lot of preservatives, it's more about not  paying the F word (full price) for anything.

 Portion control.  No kid needs to eat the majority of a three pound roast. It's not even healthy. The latest information I have heard is that we need  six ounces of protein day and part of that should be eggs.    ( remember when eggs were a no no and bad for you.?) my motto, moderation.

Meal plans and their cost.   Based on Seattle prices...according to stats, Seattle and New York have some of the highest COL.   

1. Shrimp stir fry, rice.  (7.00)
2. Eggs, hash browns, berries, biscuit (5.00)
3. Homemade Mac and cheese, peas and carrots (frozen) (2.84) 
4. Hamburgers, corn on cob (1/2 per serving) non GMO, salad (5.30) *
5. Taco casserole , lettuce and tomato . 3.00
6. Ham and scalloped potatoes, chopped broccoli. ( 2.75) 
7. Chicken soup, cheese biscuits.(  2.60)

* sloppy joes would run cheaper.   

Total cost   28.49.   

The protein game.

Protein is the most expensive category of food shopping.   There are few coupons for meat, some for cheese, and almost no ibotta rebates on meat alone.   Beef and pork have taken an almost double jump on prices in the last year.   Yet, it is an essential part of creating healthy meals.

My answer is to buy in bulk on a rotating basis.   First, you make a matrix for meal plans based on family preferences.   Ours is 2 beef, 2 pork or chicken, 2 vegetarian, amd a fish or shellfish.   I based it on the fact that my daughter likes vegetarian and will eat fish, and my husband doesn't care for pork or chicken, but favors beef.   I will eat almost anything.   That's the way I was raised.  Be thankful that we have food.  Just eat!    

I digress.    

That breaks down to 

8 beef meals 

8 vegetarian meals 

8 chicken or pork 

4 fish or seafood.  

28 meals 

The next step is to go over the ads and FAVADO ( not always accurate) and find the so called loss leader for the week.    Buy as much as you need to make the allotted meals for that protein.   When you get home or shortly after. Bulk cook and portion control the meat.   Next week, pick another meat.   

By rotating your purchases. You can pay the RBP on your protein, cook more efficiently, and have less clean up.    Dinner is ready on half the time or less because you haven't had to cook the meat that is usually the most time intense part of the meal.   Making a matrix means that your meal planning is half done, and you are eating a variety of meals.    

Personal example 

Last week was a slow week for specials, not much there with the regular chains.   I went to Grocery Outlet and WINCO.   Winco always has chicken for a dollar a pound.   I didn't need chicken.   I got grated cheese at Grocery Outlet for BOGO 8 ounces for 1.99, or 1.99 a pound.   The specialty cheese was 3.00 a pound, but still less than the alternative at the other stores.    I can always get grated cheese at Costco wholesale for 2.3xx a pound in five pound bags, depending on white or mixed cheese.  You can do a lot with Mexican blend.   ( some vegetarian meals covered) Winco had a pound of ham cubes for five bucks.   

This week, Safeways had shrimp for five bucks a bag.  I also got hamburger with a 5 dollars off 25.00 total purchase coupon for 2.80 a pound.  I took it home. Made four hamburgers, amd cooked the rest into crumbles , defatted it, and froze it in cup portions.   If I had to defat the hamburger at mealtime. I probably wouldn't do it.   I am tired when our meal time rolls around, amd I want quick and easy-- quick, easy, and 5.00 is not an easy task.   I have eight beef meals, and two fish.   

Three weeks ago or so, I found pork tenderloin roasts at Safeways in five dollar Friday. I had dollar off coupons.  I bought three pork roasts for four dollars each.  This week, they are 5.99.  

Now I have six  pork meals.  

Several weeks ago, I got chicken , wa grown, for .88 a pound at Safeways .  Eggs were 2.00 a dozen at Costco and  Fred Meyers.   You don't have to have a Costco card to buy at Costco. Get a friend to buy a gift card for you.   Although, for gas alone, it's worth the expense.  

Lets do the math.   

3 pounds of cheese   7.00

5.32 pounds of hamburger 14.90

1 pound ham 5.00

3 pork  tenderloins 12.00

2 bags shrimp 10.00
2 dozen eggs at 4.00
1 chicken 4.40 ( 5 lbs.) 

32 meals - 57.30 or 1.79 a meal.   

Add a starch  and a vegetable or fruit , and you have an easy five dollar meal.   You can eat om four Dollars a day, eat reasonably healthy, and not spend your entire day cooking scratch food you can't pronounce.   

1.25 a day for dinner, leaves you more than enough on a four dollar budget for breakfast of cereal and fruit and a leftover or soup and half sandwich for lunch.   

Thanks for stopping by 

Please share and follow.  

Jane

Haul from Haggens and Safeways, 46.00

Haul from Safeways and Haggens.  

I had a coupon for five  dollars off of 25.00 I got from my daughter.    I bought hamburger, six  cans of black beans, and four GMO free ears of corn and a cucumber.   

At Safeways I bought 2 bags of shrimp and took advantage of the Five for five sale with 2 BBQ 

sauce , 2 salad dressings with a coupon, and a package of French fries.  

Hamburger hack!

Hey Jane. How do you tell which hamburger is cheapest?  

Haggens has 20 percent fat hamburger for 3.99.  QFC has 8 percent fat for 5.99.    I have a five dollars off 25.00 coupon.    

Let's skip the coupon for now.   

The math : 

20 percent fat hamburger calculates to 3.99X 1.20 or 4.79 a pound 

8 percent fat hamburger calculated to 5.99 X 1.08 or 6.47 a pound 

Difference.  1.68

To evel the playing field, the twenty percent hamburger can be defatted to being it down to about three percent fat or less.   

1) fry the hamburger over medium heat until no longer pink.  

2)  Drain it into a colander ( over a pan if you don't want the grease down the drain.). 

3) Now, pour boiling water over the crumbles.   

4) portion control it onto freezer bags after cooling a little or return to skillet and make taco meat.    

This technique is supposed to reduce your fat by at least 17 percent.   

Now, 3.99 X 1.03 is 4.11 for the cheapest 

And, the more expensive sis 5.99

Difference is 1.88 a pound less.  

Five things you can make from........no.1

Fove things you can make from a package of ham cubes.  I used to be able to find ham cubes at grocery outlet.  Last time I found them at Winco, the time before at QFC.    They are between three and five dollars.    The packag is a pound that packs a lot of punch!   I wouldn't make all of these on the same week, but it am be frozen on portions and lasts quite long I'm the fridge.

You,can make  :

1. Ham and scalloped  potatoes 
2. Ham and pineapple pizza
3. Ham and peppers pizza 
4. Ham in scrambled eggs 
5. Ham in Cobb salad 
6. Ham in Mac and cheese 
7. Ham in split pea soup
8. Ham on bean soup ( white)
9. Ham in potato soup
10. Mixed with grated cheese and mayo on a toasted sandwich or on English muffins.   

You save able to get four ,ears from a pound package.adding other forms of protein.
Anyone thinking of other ideas please feel free to comment.  



Thanks for stopping by

Jane

Books for reference....on the cheap!,

Books for cheap. good, fast meals.

The first one is from the grocery outlet for free.    The next two are from th dollar tree for a buck.  
Full of quick , cheap , meals your family will eat.  

Dinner. Fast and easy.....4 +1=5

Dinner tonight is ham and scalloped potatoes and chopped broccoli.    

Ha, cubes are between four and five dollars for a pound .  A pound can go a long way.   Ham and scalloped potatoes, omlettes, split pea soup, topping for stuffed baked potatoes!  

From cookbook bought at the dollar store.

Good and Cheap

I just  downloaded Good and Cheap .  It was 10.00 on kindle.   There are some good basic recipes that are very usable,  Flat bread is one, also homemade tomato soup that won't cost a fortune.  Although the box kind when on sale is easier and cheaper.

Most of the recipes, honestly, are very sofisticated.   My husband wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole and most kids I know wouldn't either.   I get low cost ethnic working for economy meals.   Some of those ingredients are not cheap, or easy to find in a regular grocery store.   Low cost food recipes only work if your family will EAT the food.

I am glad each book you buy goes to someone that needs to eat on the cheap, but only a quarter of the recipes work for us.

I started this blog because I was hearing that there were people on SNAP that were feeding their children hamburger helper with six dollar a pound hamburger, juice boxes laden with sugar, a individual fruit up with 16 grams of sugar for dinner,  

You can do better than that.  Besides, that total cost was ten dollars.   When you had an allotment of three hundred dollars,.   Do the math.  That simply won't work.   But, it is a stretch to believe that this person would resort to cooking all day and eating lentils for dinner.

My plan uses real, regular food.  It does take some effort.   I get that some people have issues and may have problems with shopping and organizing.  Hopefully they can overcome those problems, or delegate the job to someone that can.   The reward is not running out of money before you run out of month and having something in the pantry at the end of the month.   No one should have to wonder where the next meal is coming from, and no child should endure the insecurity of no food in the house.   SNAP gives people the money, it's up to them to use it wisely.


Off the soapbox!  

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Pleas share

Jane

Just dropped by .

I just dropped by grocery outlet and dollar tree today after running an errand in the area.   I got jalapeño cheese for 3.00 a pound.   A little bit added to your Mac and cheese makes a tasty difference. 

They also had confetti pancake mixes for .50.   Thought they would be fun for grandchildren.   

 

I also read an article on a lady that wrote a book to teach people on snap recipes for eating in four dollars  a day.   I am always trying to read other people's take on economy and making it on a tight budget.    She had me at tofu and lentils.   I live with a man from the mid  west  that is old and not too good at changing his ways.  We would have to draw the line on tofu and lentils.    Let's talk real food.  

Real food at bargain prices.  I'm not seeing many really good prices these days, but I still am hopeful thy you can make it for a family of four on a budget of 325.00 or so a month.  I have averaged 80.00 for the last three months.   Last month I spent the same amount, but,  we went to more stores in search of low cost foods.  

Tonight we had tomato, basil, blue cheese soup and toasted cheese sandwiches.   We are still enjoying dollar a pound grapes.   Tomato soup from grocery outlet,about two bucks.  Bread from Winco arm.88, less .20 Ibotta rebate.   Cheese was from a brick, about 1.50. Total.   3.84.   Plus grapes 

The ads

Haggens

Peaches 1.89
20 pct  ground beef 3.99
Haggen  vegetables, beans, tomatoes .70
Butter 2.99
64 ounces. Milk 1.69
Corn 2/1
Cucumbers .79
Haggen cheese 5.99@@

QFC two week ad
Peaches 1.29
Shrimp 5.99

Buy 5, save 5
Net prices
6-8 ounces cheese 1.49
Dr eyers 2.49
Yo plait 10/5


Safeway's
Bumble bee tuna .59@@
Grapes 1.99


Five dollar Friday
Sausage
Shrimp
Aunt Jemina syrup 3/5
Colgate toothpaste 4.6 5/5

Buy 5, save 5
BBQ sauce
Mayo 2.99
Ice cream 2.99
Nathan's 3.99

Albertsons
Grapes 1.99

Buy 6, save 3
Sausage 2.99
Beef franks 3.99


Bumble bee .59@@
Bread .99

These ads are really hard to read and confusing because they look the same with man same prices.  
Haggens has a few stock up prices.    QFC has a two week ad.  

That's about it.  

Breakfast for dinner..

One  way to cut expenses on food is to have breakfast for dinner once in a while.   Some people do it one a week.  


Scrambled  eggs (6) 1.00
Biscuits .50 Grocery Outlet
Sausage.  1.50 ( Costco)
Grapes  1.00
Total 4.00

How rite aid rewards works.

This is a good example of how the snowball effect works.    Unlike the old register rewards type of system rite aid had, you can't buy something with a reward in it with a reward.    But, if you work it, you can get lots of your personal products free or nearly free.  

First I bought mouthwash and some wet and wild eyeshadow.   The total was Twenty dollars with tax.   ( we have almost ten percent tax here) I got 16.00 rewards.    Net paid 4.00, most of which was tax.    It cost two dollars for sox eye make ups and the mouthwash was free.  

I then turned the 16.00 into four packages of candy on sale and two ice teas on sale.  And bought sox dollars worth  of things for  my daughter that she gave me cash for.   Not a good deal.   I bought things that had rewards on them and didn't get rewards because you can't buy rewards with rewards.  

Next, I got smarter.  

I bought two 10.99 cans of folders for eight dollars each with a four dollar reward.   That made them six bucks each with no tax.   Snowball because we have coffee from home, no big bucks store stuff .  

Then,
I bought an electric toothbrush, toothpaste with coupons and an ibotta.  They paid me to buy the toothbrush.    I bought 10.00 worth of sox for granddaughter and got them 1/2 price, amd a box of dried cranberries on sale.    The toothbrush and toothpaste were more than free with rewards and coupons, and the half price sox were paid with a four dollar reward from the coffee and 1.09 cash and the overage from the tooth brush.  

For 17.09 cash I got

1. 22.00 worth of folders coffee 
2. 10.00 worth of children's sox ( six pair) 
3. Oral B electric toothbrush 
4. A 3.50 - 4.2 ounce tube of crest toothpaste 
5. 4 ounces  of dried cranberries 

Rite aid haul.

Haul from rite aid..   As close to extreme couponing as I get!    Electric toothbrush, toothpaste, 10.00 worth of sox for granddaughter, craisens........for the price of the craisens and tax 1.09.