5 things you can do with enchalada sauce.

Lately, I have got enchalada sauce for 3/1- 10 ounce cans at dollar tree and grocery outlet .  The dolkar tree  ones are old El Paso.  

That encouraged me to look for ways to use enchalada  sauce instead of other tomato products.   I also found tomato broth granules  at grocery outlet cheap.   I saw them at Winco at four times  the price.  

1.  Chicken enchalada  soup ( pinterest) 
2. Mex sloppy joes 
3. Chicken enchaladas 
4. Beef enchaladas 
5. Taco soup 

Warning: political essay.

So, the election is over......not quite yet..

The kkk, KGB, and the FBI rigged the  election.  Every time Mr, Trump accused someone of doing something, he was really telling all what he was doing,  

He who dumps load in pants , accuses someone else of smelling of it.

This is not our America.   Our America isn't governed by the kkk, the white supremestists, or the KGB.   That is not what the majority of people, democrat or republican want.

I don't think that Mr, Trump had envisioned that either,    I think he just didn't think things out.   Remember back when you were a child, you would do things and not look beyond the obvious.  

The kid that got onto the pudding you made for desert, had chocolate all over his face, and lied that he didn't do it.    The kid that changed his report card, not realizing that he was going to have his mom sign it and return it to the teacher.    Lol.  

I don't think we should march in the streets and burn the flag or hurt people or property,
But, let's not roll over and play dead either.  

What's happening is not what America needs to do,   We don't need to be divided by hate.   We don't need to be governed by radicals and by people that don't have the same belief system as we do,   I'm not talking about christians or atheists -- religion.   I'm  talking about what this county was founded on.

We need to know what and how deep the connection that Mr, Trump has with Russia and Putin.   Is that not a conflict of interest at best?.    Call or write  your favorite station or newspaper.   Asking the FBI to investigate the connection, if any between the hacks and Trump is like the proverbial asking the fox  to guard the henhouse.  The major stations have very good investigative reporters.

Write your elected officials and let them know that you don't like the way this all played out.
Our democracy has checks and balances.   Our founding fathers planned it out well.    Use it.

This is America, it's not Hitler's Germany. It's not Russia, and we are not bunch of hate mongers.

Stand up and be counted or don't whine when we have lost all our rights.  

Wicked Wednesday,

I'm done shopping for the most part.   If you wait until thanksgiving to get your ingredients, you are going to lay a higher price.    Case in point.   A few weeks ago, I bought stove top stuffing for a dollar.    It's more than that everyplace I looked this week.    Planning ahead almost  always gives you a better option.  There are times odnthe year when  things that are rarely on sale are on sale.   That's the time to stock up.    Picnic supplies and BBQ condiments are best around the summer holidays and baking supplies are cheapest at thanksgiving time.  


I did know a family that gave money for Christmas and celebrated the day after by shopping the sales.  


Winco haul

One of the meals we are going to have on a crazy day is chicken sandwiches, French fries or oven roasted fries and veggie sticks,    I bought hamburger bins for .88.   There not as big, but anplus for your carb levels.  

Canned green beans are still .33 I just replaced what we used.  

I got four pounds of meatballs for 7.48.    Considering even the cheapest ground meat is 3.00 a pound , that's a lot cheaper than scratch.    Pick your non scratch things carefully.    It's always best to scratch cook, but sometimes having a dinner on the freezer is preferable to going out or getting take out.  
We all have crazy days from time to time.  

There have been no yoplait coupons lately.   I got 8 in a case lot for 3.58

That's about it.   We filled in from the Fred Meyer ad.  

Alberways

the only ad  that I have received

Alberways

Free turkey with your 150.00 purchase
Clementines 3.88
Spiral ham 188
Butterball turkey 1.69
Cheese block 2 pounds 4.99@@
Crackers 3/5@@$$
Yams, broccoli. Cauli. .99


Grocery outlet
Hills bros coffee 4.99@@
Pork loin roast 1.79




About it.  
As far as I have found so far the best turkey price  is .49 with a 50.00 purchase at Winco,  

Stretch your budget between paydays ?

The way to stretch your food budget between paydays is to not be in a position of being in dire need of finding the grocery store.   If you have to have something, you are at a disadvantage.   You are going to have to pay full price.   That is why poor people stay poor.    The system is rigged for the rich.   But, you can beat the system.  

I basically, feed three of us on less than the USDA stars for my husband and I.   Basically, for 70 percent of it and I have a back up stock of food.   A large back up stock of food.   I might not have that much, but I know that I'm goimg to have major expenses the last quarter of the year.   Mostly Christmas, taxes, and medical.    I cannot get fifty percent on my money any other place.  

It takes looking at your grocery shopping from a different perspective.   It won't happen  overnight if you don't have an influx of money.   But, it can happen.  You can do it one can at a time.  

Steps.   One step at a time.  

• Start by reducing drastically your consumption of snack and junk food.   That can be 25 percent of your food budget.   Buy popcorn and a air popper.   Make inexpensive   muffins.   
• Find the TWO stores in your area within a five mile radius that have the cheapest prices.  In our area, it would be Winco and Fred Meyers most of the time. 
• Go through the ad and find the basics for meals that are at a low cost.   This is usually produce on season and usually you can find a so called loss leader protein.  
• Pick a protein that is a remarkable price.   Here, I can use under two dollars a pound for my benchmark.   The one exception is good ground beef, and that is closer to 3.00. Buy enough to have that meal for a month.   Example : if you want beef once a week, imwoukd buy enough for four or five meals.   When I got home, I would cook it and de-fat it, and portion control it for the freezer.   
• Buy whatever you can that's inexpensive, maybe eat vegetarian a couple of meals, to get you through.   Your object is to , in rotation, buy one RBP protein a week and buy enough for a months worth of that meal.  
• Decide what proteins your family will eat, make a list.   Ours is pork ( 1/2 binkessmpork loin 1.69, whole chicken or split chicken breast that I debone and make broth from the bones, hamburger (7 percent ) , fish, cheese, beans.  
• Develop a matrix that fits your family for meal plans.  Ours is 1 beef, 1 fish or seafood, 3 pork or chicken, and 2 vegetarian.   That makes meal planning easy and quick.  You do need to have a plan.  It saves a ton of money and stress.   
• Now that we have tackled the two most expensive catagoriesmofmyourmfoodbill. We need to tackle the rest.  Research the RBP of the stable items you use to make your meals.   Everyone has ten or so go to dinner options their family likes.  List your ingredients and do a price list so you can find the RBP for those things.  Everyone has a it's of 10-15 items that they buy on  a regular basis. We eat a lot of Tex-mex and Italian.    Our list would be pasta, pasta sauce. Green beans, diced tomatoes, beans, rice, mild chilies.  Know the RBP of these items, whaeveryour family's list  is.   We are more worried about the things we use in a regular basis than that can of cranberry sauce we use once a year.  
• Getting started, when one of the things on your list is a RBP, buy as many as you can afford, as many as you have decided you need to stock, or as many as they will let you ( limits) . I respect their limits and ask for them to allow me to buy more if I am trying to fulfill a list for the food outreach.   
• Pretty soon, you will have a stock built, you won't be on a position to desperately have to go to the store.   You will be able in a pinch to get by , at least for a few days.   
• With a stock built, you go to the store to 1) buy your rotation protein. Some weeks you will buy two, some weeks you wont buy any.  It's driven by the market.    2) dairy.  Buy a months supply of anything with a far out pull date that is a RBP.   3) produce you will need to fil out your meals preferably in season,   And 4) any stock item that you are short  of and is a RBP. 

Use coupons, Ibotta. And RBP to enable you to get the lowest possible price on the things you need.   

Fred Meyer haul

yesterday's Fred Meyer haul

I did buy safety pins.   My understanding is that people are wearing safety pins to show solidarity against the hate that has been stirred up in recent months. Nothing good can come out of hate and negativity.  

1. Milk was a dollar a 1/2 gallon.   
2. Frozen entrees were .88 - I always keep a few things to supplement a dinner that granddaughter won't like or is inappropriate. What's nit to like about chicken nuggets and mashed potato happy faces.   Lol.  
3. Frozen veggies were .69 a pound 
4. Frozen fruit was 2.50 a pound   Fresh berries were 2.00 for six ounces and did not look good.   
5. Pork bourbon meat balls were 2.50 - a fail, they were rough and didn't taste good either   
6. Good mandarin oranges were 6.99
7. Broccoli was .99 a pound.  I've seen better, but it wasnt bad.   
8. Cranberry sauce 1.25 
9.  Bacon  bits 2.00  considering the fat is gone, it's probably cheaper than messing with the fat.   
10. Pronto elbow macaroni was 1.25 and I had a dollar coupon - nets .75 each 

That's about if for food.   

The mandarin oranges were a splurge.   There were cheaper ones,  it considering the amount of waste when you deduct the peel for small oranges, I'm not sure they are worth it.   Besides the fact that that is a lot of peeling for a couple of bites of orange.  

Meal plans

meal plans for the week of November 14. Not necessarily im chronological  .  order.  

1. Chicken sandwiches 🍔
2. French fries or oven roasted vegetables 🍟
3. Vegetable sticks 

1. Pizza 🍕
2. Green salad 

1. Chicken enchaladas 
2. Rice 

1. Vegetable bean soup with parmesean cheese garnish 🍲
2. Bread sticks 

1. chili 
2. Beer bread 🍺

1. Tuna casserole 
2. Broccoli , steamed w lemon 🍋 
3. 
   

1. Breakfast 4 dinner 🍇🍑🍞🍳

Fred Meyers ad

Thanksgiving ad for Freddies.  

Turkey .49 when you buy 50.00 Fred Meyers
Turkey free when you buy 150.00 Alberways
Turkey at Winco will match prices. I don't know if there is a minimum purchase.  There wasn't last year.  


Spiral ham 1.69
Breast of turkey 1.69
Broccoli .99
Milk 1.00

Tillamook cheese 3/5@@$$
Idahoan potatoes .87
Berries 2/4
Mandarines 4.99
Pears .99
Cranberries 2/4
Cream cheese, jello, pudding 10/10
Pumpkin 2/3 Libby's
Evaporated milk .99
Cranberry sauce 2/3

Pie 3.99
Ice cream - tillamook 2/7
Frozen fruit 2/5@@kroger sausage or meatballs 2/5@@

Ten things not to buy at the grocers

Ten things NOT to buy at the grocery store : ..some ever......

1. Pop, soda. It's just bad for you.  So,e studies say that the fizz leeches calcium from   your bones.    It's empty calories.   Even if it's zero calories. You are not getting nutrition for your buck.  .     I have recently changed  my sloppy Joe recipe not to include ketchup  .   Most ketchup   has high fructose order to serve as one of the ingredients. This is not good nutrition.
2.  Personally hygiene items. Those things are the moneymakers for the grocery store. You're better off by name brands from the dollar store or big lots. 
3.  Everything else that's not food. Impulse buys  prostitute 70% of a Market Basket. Many are high profit items which means you're paying too much. 
4.  The things that my mother used to call peanuts popcorn and cracker jacks. And other words junk food. That's a good source of protein. Air popped popcorn from scratch is a good snack.    But already popped  popcorn,  crackers and Potato chips are expensive and not much good nutrition.    
5. Out of season  produce. You're going to pay more money  and less quality. Four instance, right now in the Northwest we are getting  raspberries and cranberries. Strawberries are past their prime and more expensive.     Used trade-offs. Buy something with the same nutritional contents instead 
6.  Most single packaged items. Would you buy single packaged items you're creating more garbage for the landfill  and your pain sometimes almost double. 
7. Anything  with high fructose corn syrup , high concentration of sugar, high trans fats,  or hydrogenated oil. Fake butter  sometimes has hydrogenated oil's. If it's not olive oil, or canola oil in its  ingredients don't buy it.  You're better off with a moderate amount of butter. Recently I was able to get a mixture of butter and canola oil for the same price as butter.    Coconut  oil has more trans fats that a beef steak.    
8. Most processed foods.   Be a label reader.   The ingredients on the nutrition label are on order of volume.  If you  are buying potatoes, potatoes should be the first item on the list.    Elite have to read the label once.  If it doesn't cut the mustard, delete from your list.     Look at the  fat and carb level per serving. Glance at the serving size. Is it realistic. 20 g of sugar  Per serving is too much for a child. Some juices and sub fruit cups have 20 or over grams of sugar.  
9.  Most meal boxes. They may be quick but honestly you can't make it from scratch just about as fast. The bill box my daughter and I dissected  had a little over 4 ounces of pasta  and 1.57 ounces  including the tare weight of cheese sauce mix  that had no cholesterol in it.    I have never known a cheese I didn't like, and I have never known a cheese without cholesterol.   LOL . The ingredients read like a Who's Who of additives and preservatives.    It's better, cheaper and faster to make scratch.   You still have to add milk and meat.  And, when I  did the math, that "cheese"  sauce cost $13 a pound.

scratch pizza crust

• The last week has been a waste.  It's time to move on.   

QFC has their buy 10 sale this week as well.   Spaghetti is .50 - a good time to stock.   .50 and a .88 can of pasta sauce makes a cheap and fast meal.   You can make bread sticks from pizza dough.  

Pizza dough can be made easily on a food processor, but it also can be made by hand,   You barely have to knead dough from the food processor.    In the time it takes to go to the store and buy the door, you can have dough.  

Pizza dough, quick and easy.   In food processor bowl with the plastic blade. put

• 2 cups flour. ( spoon into cups and level off   
• 1.5 tspoons actove dry yeast ( Costco or bulk at Winco) 
• 3/4 tsp salt - regular table salt 

Turn on the processor and blend for a few seconds.   

Pour into a glass measuring cup

•  six ounces of 105-110 degree water ( hot  but not burning 
• 2 teaspoons olive or canola oil 

Pour the water and oil mixture through the tube while the processor is running.   Mix until the dough forms a ball.   

Turn the dough onto a flour covered board and knead until smooth.   Add enough flour to make a dough consistency.  In our climate I have to add flour in the fall and winter.   

Firm into a ball and place in a small bowl that has been lightly coated with oil.  Cover and let rise on the counter until it doubles in size.   This should take 10 monitesmin a warm,itchen, or longer in a cooler kitchen.  

Pat or roll flat to for, a pizza crust.   We bake the crust  at 400 degrees on a sheet pan, or on the pizza stone that has been primed with corn meal for about 8 minutes, then take it out of the oven and fill with sauce, cheese, and toppings. 

Return to oven and bake until the crust is done and the cheese is melted.    

This makes one crust.   

Bread stick option.    

Pat dough into a sheet pan about nine by thirteen.   

Brush with olive oil or melted butter

Add sea salt. herbs, and or garlic 

Bake until done , about   Fifteen minutes.   

Cut into fingers about an inch and a half wide crosswise. And in half lengthwise.   

This is a recipe that cost about  forty cents.   

Cost of speghetti with meat sauce and bread sticks ?  One dollar and seventy  eight cents if you buy on sale in bulk.   

Add green beans (.33) at Winco or a salad .    

Shopping?

I haven't shopped since Monday when I went to the dollar store, grocery outlet, and Costco.   Costco was for meds.   I did buy a Christmas gift and some cranberries and raspberries.       Grocery outlet netted coffee, and tomato broth and no sugar added  pears for  granddaughters lunch.  

The dollar store netted some Christmas decor, pounder glasses, enchalada sauce, glass jar of peaches,

Not much there.    We don't need much.    I have been purchasing a supply of old El Paso enchilada sauce because it is 3/1.00 at dollar tree.   It has come out that catsup has high fructose corn syrup on it and I am trying to stay away from that.   My sloppy joe recipe called for catsup.   My new one calls for enchalada sauce and taco seasoning.    Also, I bought no sugar  added pear cups  the granddaughter for her lunches.   They were six for a dollar  and a half.   That is better than the jar of peaches because with onky one child in school, we would waste fruit if I opened a jar for one school lunch.    Regular fruit cups have over twenty grams of sugar EACH.   That's way too much sugar for a child.   In contrast, I am allowed forty five carbs for an adult full meal.  

If you oit a box of apples juice  and a tub of fruit in a child's lunch, they are getting far to many carbs, most of which is coming from sugar.  

It's a fine line to buy your food for half price and still make sure you don't have too much salt, sugar, and saturated or hydrogenated oils or fats.  

Once you have a reasonable set of dinner recipes , your mealolans and dinner cooking should be a snap.   Most people have ten to twenty dishes that they make in a regular basis.  

Our recipes tend to have the same group of ingredients.   Listing them and their RBP is the first step in groceries on the  cheap.    I, not so worried about what I spend on that can of cranberries that inbuy once a year.    It's the can of diced tomatoes that I use at least once a week that creates a large impact on my bottom line.  

The ads

QFC was a two week ad last week.   The buy 10  sale is still on.

Alberways has its thanksgiving ad out.  Like usual, holiday ads don't usually reap a lot of good buys. They figure you are going to buy this stuff anyway, it's tradition, and they dont have to give a lot of bargains.  

Free turkey if you soend 150.00.  That a mighty big floor.   It yet to be seen if the prices are low enough for that to be worth your while.   Use just 4 you coupons electronic

Ham 1.88
Naval oranges .88
Canned veggies 2/1@@
Butter 199@@
Stove top .99
Cranberry sauce .99

Digital only .49 for tuna

Frozen pumpkin pie 2/7

Five dollar Friday

Shrimp
FF breaded chicken - $$ for 3.75 off of three

Progresso soup ,99@@$$
Dreyers 2,99@@
Ritz 3/5@@
Cake mix .99@@
Cranberries 2/5

That's about it.  I would suspect that Fred Meyers will have a better turkey price, we won't know until Saturday.   Winco usually matches.  

What you can do with 20.00

Let's pretend, I'm broke, I have twenty dollars and martians have wiped out my grocery supply.    What do I buy to get by until payday.   Based on dollar tree  and grocery outlet and two people.  

1. One and a half pounds of pinto beans 
2. A pound of rice 
3. 2 pronto pasta with a coupon.    (1.00) 
4. 2 .cans of pasta sauce.    
5. Pizza crust 
6. Package of tortillas 
7. Eggs
8. Package of brown and serve rolls 
9. Box of oatmeal 

That's ten dollars 

Grocery outlet 

1. Grated cheese - white and yellow or Mexican blend 
2. 2 cans of tomato paste ( .80) 
3. Lettuce 
4. Peppers 
5. Apples 
6. Milk 
7. Bananas 
8. Tomatoes 

Makes 

Speghetti 

Pizza 

Quesedas 

Rice and beans 

Burritos 

Oatmeal 

Eggs

Salad with eggs 

What you can do with 20.00

Let's pretend, I'm broke, I have twenty dollars and martians have wiped out my grocery supply.    What do I buy to get by until payday.   Based on dollar tree  and grocery outlet and two people.  

1. One and a half pounds of pinto beans 
2. A pound of rice 
3. 2 pronto pasta with a coupon.    (1.00) 
4. 2 .cans of pasta sauce.    
5. Pizza crust 
6. Package of tortillas 
7. Eggs
8. Package of brown and serve rolls 
9. Box of oatmeal 

That's ten dollars 

Grocery outlet 

1. Grated cheese - white and yellow or Mexican blend 
2. 2 cans of tomato paste ( .80) 
3. Lettuce 
4. Peppers 
5. Apples 
6. Milk 
7. Bananas 
8. Tomatoes 

Makes 

Speghetti 

Pizza 

Quesedas 

Rice and beans 

Burritos 

Oatmeal 

Eggs

Salad with eggs 

Fred Meyers haul

Fred Meyers had a lot of veggies on sale.    They also had two rotation meats on sale.   I just happened to have plenty of rotation meat.    I have four drawers  in my side by side freezer.   I marked them with a marker: beef, chicken, pork and fish .    Some bins are short but they have overfkow  others.  

Total of Fred Meyers haul was 31.34.    I bought a lot of produce , probably enough for a couple of weeks.

3 boxes of crackers ( holidays ) were 3/5 and I had a .75 coupon,  
Stove top stuffing was .99.
A box of ham slices 3.00

The rest was produce / veggies

2 frozen , 2 pound bags of French fries.   2/3

Grapes
Naval oranges
Raspberries
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Celery
Apples

A good rule of thumb is that a quarter of your plate should be protein, a quarter starch, and a half vegetables or fruit.  

The first thing I am ever asked when someone hears that infeed is on three or four dollars a day is. Do you eat fresh veggies.    The answer is yes.    We have had fresh fruit all summer.   We always have carrots and celery.  I add other veggies as we need them.   I also have canned and frozen veggies.   I operate on the food pyramid.  I have tried to avoid lots of salt, sugar, and fat, especially hydrogenated oil and trans fats.  I have always opted for the middle of the road-- a safe place unless you are, quite literally  driving a car.   LOL.

Meal plans for week of Nov 7th

Meal plans 

1. Breakfast 4 Dinner ( we have an abundance of eggs @ .05 each) 
2. Pizza 
3. cajin chicken pasta , bread sticks 
4. Salmon patties , rice mix , green beans 
5. Chilli, beer bread 
6. Chicken tenders, French fries. Carrot and celery sticks 
7. Sausage, bean, and vegetable soup , leftover beer bread 

Notes : 

1. Eggs are about five cents  each when you get them for 18/1.00. Averaging a really inexpensive dinner with a more expensive one, keeps you in budget, but affords you  some luxury too) 
2. Homemade pizza crust cost about .40.   Pizza sauce costs a dollar at the tree and is he same brand and size as other stores.    Freeze on ice cube trays and take out just what you need.   (.20) cheese is still two dollars a pound,    A cup of grated cheese is 4 ounces or .50.   Total 1.10 
3. Cajin chicken pasta , bread sticks ( make double batch of pizza dough.   Spread dough on a baking sheet and top with melted butter, salt, garlic , and herbs. After baking, cut into sticks.  ) speghetti was .50 at QFC this week, chicken breast is 1.28 at times at Freddies and I De-bone  it and cook the bones for the meat ( casserole or pizza ) and stock. Diced tomatoes are .49 at QFC.    
4. Salmon patties are at Winco - a bit pricy or you can make them from amcan of salmon and egg and breadcrumbs.    Rice mix is homemeade with  chicken stock and herbs.  Green beans were .33 at Winco.   
5. Chilli in the crockpot. Beans cooked in the pressure cooker. Beer bread is a 4 ingredient quick bread.    
6. Seasoned chicken tenders. Homemade oven fries. Celery and carrot sticks.    Potatoes were .20 a pound, chicken tenders were 1.25 with coupon in bulk.  
7. Sausage was 1.50 a pound on sale with coupons. Beans cooked on the pressure cooker, tomatoes were .49 at QFC and .50 at Freddies.     Celery and carrots.   Leftover beer bread . 

Corn bread can be substituted for beer bread .    

The ads

Fred Meyers

Gala apples .88
Russet potatoes .88 ( 10 lbs. )
FF chicken .88


Cottage cheese/sour cream 4/5@@
Stove top .99@@
Ragu  2/3


Pork chops 1.47
Half loin 1.99

Raspberries 2/4
Mandarines 4.99
Romas .89

Meal plan help

One  of the things you can do in order to make meal planning quick is to make yourself a master list.  

Divide a paper in sections and head a column with the main protein ingredient or the type of dish .  
And list diner ideas.   Then, when it is time  to meal plan with a matrix  and the list it should be a snap.  

Eggs 

Quiche
Scrambled
Omlettes
Muffin sandwiches
Hard cooked eggs for chef salad



Cheese 
Mac and cheese
Burritos with beans
Toasted cheese and soup
Stuffed potatoes
Pizza


Chicken 

Chicken noodle soup
Chicken BBQ thighs
Chicken, rice and broccoli casserole
Chicken pot pie
Buffalo chicken pizza




Pork 
Ham quiche
Ham and split pea soup
Poor chops with apple bread dressing
BBQ pork sandwich
Pork roast
Sausage bean soupsausage and oven roasted root veggies


Ground beef 
Speghetti and meatballs
Tacos
Enchaladas
Burrito
Meatballs
Stuffed peppers
Meatloaf
Hamburgers
Sloppy joes
Mexican sloppy joes
Cowboy speghetti

Soups 
Vegetable bean
Chilli
Split pea
Potato
Chicken noodle
Beef barley
Clam chowder
Seafood

Fish
Tuna casserole
Salmon burgers
Salmon
Tilipa
Clam chowder
Crab cakes
Fish packets

QFC haul

The weeks groceries - this isn't about me talking about what I buy.    This is to a) let you know if you are in the Seattle area, what's on sale, and give an example of how groceries on the cheap buy groceries with a different mindset than other people.     Most people buy what they need to get them through until the next paycheck,    Groceries on the cheap has a different approach,   You buy what osmat a RBP, and buy enough to last you intel you can find another sale.    What you buy in any given week is different than the week before with the exception of the basic produce and dairy.  The object is to never pay full price.   So you can spend four dollars a day and eat like you spent eight dollars a day.  

Fred Meyers and QFC are both Kroger stores.    QFC typically has higher prices.     Except of they are running a huge sale.

At QFC. I spent 36.59 some of which was not food.   12.00 was Kleenex, freezer  bags and pasta I took to the food bank.    Nets 24.59
At Fred Meyers.  I spent 35.11, but was overcharged 4.29 to be returned.  30.82

Total real food 55.41

Foster farms chicken frozen cooked : retail 7.00, sale 4.99 less 3.75 coupon nets 3.75 for three bags full, about 5 meals.    Certainly less than two dollars a meal.

Butter : 2.50 less .50 coupon.   Is 2.00 for a hybrid that reduces the sat fat.

Diced ham 2.00 - another bargain that makes two meals




Cream cheese 1.25 - holidays are coming

Chocolate milk .99

Powdered sugar, brown sugar .99 each - holiday baking

Grapes, broccoli.


QFC
Cake mix   .69
Butter 2.00
Raspberries 2.00
Pumpkin pie 2.99
☃️Ice cream comes 349
Progresso soup .75 w coupons

Del minute diced tomatoes .49 ( nite if you buy seasoned tomatoes, it saves. Ones because you aren't using your slices and it saves time too.

Basis     I bought ham cubes for quiche and split pea soup.    I bought 21.00 worth of ez chicken for 11.21 -- a good save for when mom just is too sick to cook or sick of cooking LOL.

I stocked for holiday baking,  

I bought raspberries, broccoli and grapes to fill on the produce.  

I bought 18 eggs for a buck.  - another couple of protein meals.

I  ought  chocolate milk for a treat for DDG.


If you don't deny yourself everything, you will stay on budget a lot longer and not be tempted to stray.   A list and meal plans and planning your trip helps to keep you on track.  

We eat well, we eat normal food, we just eat what's on sale,    Buying your food at 1/2 price affords us a  70.06 a week budget that feeds three of us and stocks a pantry and freezer.  

We are heading into a no spend month or six weeks to cover the donut hole.   I am going to try to just buy dairy and produce.    We'll see how that works.  

The ads

QFC

Honey crisp apples 1.99
Berries 2/4


Buy 10, save 5
Butter 1.99 $$
Progresso soup .99$$
Milk .99
Stove top 99
Hummus 2.99
Pillsbury cake mix .69
Pasta .49
Ragu 1.49
Hefty slider bags .99$$
Kleenex .99




18 eggs .99
Pumpkin pie 3.99


Alberways

Halos 4.99
Salad ,89
Prego 1.49@@$$


Notes :
0bciousky, QFC is the better store this week,     Buy 10 has a lot of stacking possibilities.    If you can't come up with ten items, consider buying pasta for .50 and taking it to the food bank.    Pasta and a jar ormcan ofnoasta sauce makes a good, cheap dinner,