Fred meyers haul.

Buy 4, save 4

Folgers coffee 6.25
3 ea kens dressing @ 50 - coupons

Foster Farms chicken breast -frozen 4.99
Mayo 1.99
2 nabisco crackers @ 1.79. Less .75 coupon.  

Sour cream 2.00


Total 24.75

Safeways milk 1.79 w coupon

I'm still at 35.00 a week.  

One pot dinners

 Pot dinners save time and energy.

https://youtu.be/YTZGPCCB2FU

Meal Plans 9/18/17

Meal Plans for week of September 18

Meal plans are a tool that keeps us organized and on track for meals that stave off the "What's for dinner demons.  

1. Feta cheese and bacon stuffed chicken breasts, rice, salad 
2. Pizza
3. Pork Roast, sweet potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes 
4. Tacos, refried beans 
5. BBQ Pork sandwiches, Oven fries veggie sticks 
6. Salmon cassarole. Peas 
7. Breakfast for dinner 

Notes:   This is for mind techniques --to show how to use mindset to prepare meal plans.  We prep meal plans based on our stock.   We don't plan, then  shop, but rather, shop the sales to replentish a set      Of standard Grocery items. 

An inventory of the fridge netted a carton of feta purchased at a discount at Costco. The pizza and the chicken will help to use it up. 

Our neighbor brought us tomatoes zucchini and garlic out of their garden,   

We will make use of a pork roast in the freezer for two meals:  roast will reinvent itself into BBQ Pork sandwiches.   

Salmon was on sale at Costco for three dollars off a case.....like getting more than a entire can free.   Free is a very good word when you are on a tight budget.   

Sweet potatoes were purchased for .33 at grocery outlet.   

Last years weekly grocery haul was 72.00 average.   Since I started making more scratch food, it is 52.00 and that includes maintaining a small stock.   

At last calculations, that is 40 percent of the USDA stats for poor people.   

Fred Meyer ad for Sunday

First of all, the six quart insta pot is on sale for 79.99.   Just saying .....

Strawberries 3/5

Grapes 1.99

Beans or vegetables .3/2 (66)

Barilla 1.00

BUY FOUR, SAVE  FOUR.
YOU MUST BUY FOUR, MIX OR MATCH
NET PRICES

Nabisco snack crackers 1.79
Kellogg's cereal 1.99$$
Tide 3,99
Daves Killer bread 3.49
Mayo 1.99
FF chicken patties 4.99
Folgers coffee 6.49
Kens salad dressing 1.49 $$


$$. Means there are coupons out there for these items.

Recipe Friday : vegetable bean soup

Years ago I used to make a hamburger soup.   Years ago, the whole family went to Europe for Christmas so we were alone.   We had Grama and Grampa for Christmas Day Dinner with all the trimmings, but we had hamburger soup and a mix of salads our children brought home from Mc Donald's because they worked Christmas Eve and there was leftovers at closing.

My new version of Hamburger Soup has morfed into Vegetable Bean Soup.

• 4 cups beans ( scratch cooked, or 2 different cans of beans) 
• 2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained - with italian seasoning if possible 
• 4 carrots, chopped 
• 2 celer ribs, chopped 
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock 
• Italian seasoning, garlic, onion powder 

1. Cook the beans in the insta pot or open the cans 
2. Sauté the carrots and celery in a little olive oil until the celery is limp. 
3. Add beans, tomatoes, stock, vegetables and seasoning to the slow cooker. 
4. Cook on low for 6-10 hours.   ( however long you have until dinner time ) 
5. Garish with a choice of sour cream, parmesean, croutons, 

Serve with a bread

QFC haul: 4 off of 4 sale - 51 percent off

Of all the grocery stores we have at our disposal, QFC and Safeways are the highest priced
That being said, we did save 51 percent .    Using a sale and coupons, saves more money.  

•  2 bags of dried snap peas 
• 1 case chunky yogurt 
• 1 box crackers
• 2 Sargento sharp cheese w coupon 
• 1 pkg turkey bacon 
• Folgers coffee 
• Lunch meat 

20.00 budget, spent 20.82 

CHAIN STORE ADS

QFC   Note:  this is a two week ad

Buy 4, save 4 - prices are net.  

Daves Killer Bread 2,99
Folgers coffee 6.49
Turkey bacon 1.99
Jiff 1.99
2 pack cream cheese 2.99
Cheerios 2.49 $$
Harvest snaps .99
Freshetta pizza 4.99
2 lbs beef patties 7.99
******
Keurig cups BOGO
Oscar Mayer deli lunch meat 2/6$$

Safeways 1 week ad

Milk 1.79@@
Barilla .99
Pace salsa 2/5

Five dollar Friday

FF chicken patties 5.00

Tuesday: concepts

The word scratch cooking conjures up all kinds of memories and scares some people.   I've heard I cant do it from many.   You can do.it.   One  s t e p at a time.  

The internet and Pinterest are full of easy scratch recipes.   Even some of the recipes that are not scratch can be made pretty much scratch by making your own mixes and substitutions.   

Dump cake is really popular.  Cake mixes are as low as .88 when they are on sale.   The thing that bumps up the price is when they use a can of pie filling.  Pie filling is only water, cornstarch, sugar, and the fruit .    Cut the fruit if necessary, add water and corn starch to thicken a sauce and sugar to taste.   Mix water and cornstarch so it looks like thin milk. Add to the fruit and sugar in a saucepan.   Cook just until thickened.   Remember, you are going to cook it again  when you bake the cake.  

Bread is easy with the advent of no knead breads.  The only problem you can run into is making sure the water is warm enough, but not too warm. And sometimes its hard to get it to rise if it is cold in the kitchen.   I solve the problem by turning on the oven for two minutes on 250 degrees.   Turn the oven off and set your dough in the oven.   Do not cover with plastic.   A wet towel works.  Refrigerater bread is on the King Arthur Flour web site. 

Muffins are one of the quickest , easiest things to make--no need for a mix.   There are mix recipes out there, but really, they are easy.   Mix the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients and fold the two together.   Don't over mix or your muffins will be tough.   No problem, they are still edible.  

The invent of the insta pot makes cooking savory sooo much easier.   Beans are a snap!  No more soaking, rinsing and cooking for hours.    Beans and rice have a very short refrigerator life.   They are one of the things that spoils the fastest.   Beans don't freeze well.  They loose their consistency.   The insta pot cooks them with almost no hands on time.   Measure, sort to make sure there is not rocks, etc in them, rinse in a strainer, dump in the insta pot and cover with water up to your second knuckle. Water should more than cover the beans.  Close the lid, put the lever to seal and push the bean button. 

Walk away.   The new pressure cookers are a lot more safe and have safety features that our great grandmother's didn't have.   The second best method is using the slow cooker.  

There are recipes abound for ez efficient cooking of main dishes.   We explore them everyday here.  I want cheap, easy, and nutritious.   I want it all.   And, most of the time, we succeed.   LOL.  I don't have the stamina anymore to stand in front of a stove for hours.   When I did have the stamina, I had sometimes two or three jobs and a home and children to take care of.   Learning how to cook the things your family likes to eat efficiently, is a deal maker.     Picking meats /proteins that are versatile and limiting the cuts of meats simplify the shopping routine and allow you to make bulk purchases and save money and time.    

Monday kitchen. Management

Kitchen management takes an hour or so and saves a lot of time during the hectic dinner hour.   You can enjoy your dinner a whole lot more if you arent racing around the kitchen to put  food on the table.   After all, isn't that the reason why one goes out for dinner?

Reminder of meal plans:

• Chicken Parm, salad 
• Pizza
• Chicken nuggets, oven fries, salad or veggie sticks 
• Ham and Potato soup, toasted cheese, 
• Tacos, insta pot refried beans, 
• Salmon, baked.  Rice medley, broccoli 
• Breakfast for dinner :   Waffles 

• Go over the meals and note what has to be prepped.   
• Wash kitchen floor.
• Disinfect countertops, sinks, and drains. 
• Clean out refrigerator and dump anything dead and pull what is on the edge or needs to be used soon.   
• Wax the north side of the cupboards 
• Make muffins 
• Thaw chicken breast , make breading 
• Wash potatoes 🥔.
• Check rice mix .
• Straighten the pantry. 

Meal Plans for week of September 11, 2017

Notes:   Eggs continue to be really inexpensive this week.   Our Kroger stores have 18 eggs for .99 if you buy five of anything on their list.   Fred Meyer had more variety than QFC.   They included eggs, bread, sugar, and some bars, and milk.  .  We are on a no spend Spendtember .   I spent 7.50 this week continuing to rotate down  our stock.

• Chicken Parm, salad 
• Pizza
• Chicken nuggets, oven fries, salad or veggie sticks 
• Ham and Potato soup, toasted cheese, 
• Tacos, insta pot refried beans, 
• Salmon, baked.  Rice medley, broccoli 
• Breakfast for dinner :   Waffles 

Notes:   Eggs are .99 for 18 or 12 cents a serving of two.  Pizzas cost 1.04 each, chicken parm is made from chicken patties that are 5 dollars a package on sale at Safeways.  Chicken nuggets are homemade and are from 1.50 a pound chicken breast.   Insta pot refried beans are not cheaper than canned, but have more nutrition and less salt.   Taco shells were purchased on sale with coupons  for .60 cents a package of 12.   Hamburger was 4.00 a pound, and precooked and de-fatted.   

Everything but the salmon is less than a five dollar dinner.  Some of the really inexpensive dishes balance out the one expensive one.    

My meal plans are based on a matrix that is based on protein.   Other people base a matrix on themes or kinds of meals --- like a roast, a roast planned over, a soup etc. or Italian, Tex mex,, etc.   

My mother went through a meal plan where we had the same thing every week --  clam chowder or egg omelette every Friday, pizza on Thursday, hamburgers on Saturday, roast on Sunday. Etc.  

Whatever works, make a plan , or plan to fail.   Meal plans stave off the take out demons, and take away the stress of the What's for Dinner question.   The more organized you are, the less stress you will have.  

Fred Meyer Sunday ad

Buy 4, save 4 sale


Prices are net, must buy 4 mix or match

Johnsonville sausage 2.99
Folders coffee 6.49
Jiff 1.99
Harvest snaps .99
Daves killer bread 3.49
Hamburger patties, frozen 3.99 -2 lb
FF chicken breaded patties 5.00


*****
Peaches .88
Peppers .88
Pears .99

Tillamook cheese 4.99
Yogurt tastes 10/4
Milk 1.79

Stagg chili 1.00
Classico pasta sauce 3/5
Pumpkin pie 3,99
Kroger ground turkey 1.99

Thursday Bullets: list of basics

This is a list of basics for the pantry and fridge.

• Milk :  fresh and dried 
• Sour cream
• Yogurt when its on sale with a coupon 
• Carrots 
• Celery 
• Potatoes :  real, instant mashed, frozen 
• Pork loin, butchered into roasts, chops, cubes and sausage 
• Chicken breast, chicken stock 
• Hamburger crumbles 
• Tomato , diced 
• Pasta sauce 
• Speghetti 
• Macaroni 
• One each of salad dressing, catsup, mayo, mustard
• Salsa
• Diced green chillis, mild 
• Black olives 
•  Flour 
• Sugar, reg and brown 
• Cornstarch 
• Baking powder 
• Baking soda 
• Salt 
• Cocoa, baking 
• Buttermilk powder 
• Maple syrup 
• Honey 
• Craisens 
• Vanilla 
• Tuna 
• Salmon, canned 
• Canned chicken 
• Dry chicken bouillon 
• Dry vegetable boullion 
• Yeast 
• Canola oil 
• Olive oil 
• Eggs
• Cheeese
• Frozen mixed vegetable 

Wednesday chain store ads

Because of the holiday , the mailman is slower than usual.   These are from the internet. 

Alberways 

Pork Tenderloin, marinated, FRIDAY only 5.00

Gala apples .79

Oranges .99

Eggs .78 dz @@

Jimmy Dean sausage 2.99 @@

Leaf lettuce .99

Pork Loin, 1/2 sliced 1.79 

QFC

Apples, pears, .88

Frozen pizza 4.88@@

.99 mix or match, buy 5 

Same as Fred Meyers, but Fred Meyers has more item to buy including sugar.   Holiday baking season is upon us.   

Milk, bread, 18 eggs. 

Old El Paso taco shells, .99 @@ coupons out there for a dollar off three.  

Kroger brats 3.49

Pumpkin pit 2.99

The pizza and taco shells are coupons out there.   

Alberways coupons are on Safeways just for you.   

Tuesday notes

Hey, the washing machine quit.  We knew that it was on borrowed time.   My hubby and his bro took the old one to the recyclers and my hubby bought a new top load maytag.    I finished all the laundry yesterday while I binge watched ion.  My son took granddaughter to the lake with the rowboat.   She was so excited.  I did do the kitchen management.   LOL.  Having a schedule keeps you going when you not have a job to keep you going.    Otherwise, I could putts around all day and not feel like I accomplished anything.   I grew up with the mantra.that the only right we have is the right to be useful.

At nine yo we started doing the dishes.  My sister washed and I dried.   No dishwasher those days.   I was slow drying.    My sister called me a pedestrian .  I thought it was a really nasty word!  LOL.
That's when we learned to bake too.

At thirteen we got her old iron, and she got a new one.   We got to iron our own clothes.    The clothes those day were cotton.   You put them in a plastic bag with a zipper, wet.   If you didnt get to the ironing fasts enough , they molded and you started over.   Gym shorts were navy blue and you wore a white cotton button shirt that had to be ironed.   The rest wasn't bad, I had two dresses, one blue gingham and one green,  Same style.   I asked for clothes for christmas.   Most kids would expect school clothes in September.   We weren't poor my mother just had priorities.   Clothes and entertainment  and toys weren't on the list.

We grew up not to be disappointed if we didnt have tthe world on a silver platter.  And, I learned how to be frugal.   There are times when frugal is necessary, and there are time when it is a window to getting something you want or a better life.  

Ongoing hauls for the month,

3rd haul.

Winco and Safeway

Winco:
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Grapes
Ham
Ice cream cones


Safeways
Apples


2nd haul :   Fred Meyers dollar sale.

Fred Meyers has a buy 5, price .99 mix and match.   Total spent was 14.99.  Which would put me over by 12.00 on my 25.00 a week budget.   My rationalization :   I bought a months worth of dairy.

2 milk
2 -18 count eggs

Plus
2 4 lb sugar.   For Christmas baking.
2 packages of bars.
Total 8.00


Bought
Eggs, milk, sugar, cookies, bread, water for a treat, and blues.


12 dollar over the 25.00 budget.  
***********

OK, I'm aware that I will go over this week from my 25.00 budget.   Freddies has stock items that are too good a price to pass up and will aid in spending less the following week.   18 eggs for a dollar is like getting three meals of protein for a buck.  You cant beat that with a stick, so a little over will just mean I will spend less the following week.

Hunt , no HFCS catsup 1.96

Green chillies .66

Olives .68

Roma tomatoes .98

Baby tomatoes .98

Strawberries 1.88

Diced ham 2.58

Corn 3/1

Grapes .98

Raspberry yogurt .25

Watermelon 3. 97. Seedless 

Watermelon was the least of summer.  Some of these things are more expensive at FM.   The yogurt is in a case down the front isle.    A quarter a tub is a case price.    Good for back to school breakfasts.   

Kitchen management

Meal Planss for month of no spend.   This is a second attempt.   I took inventory and I am convinced we an do it.    It's a challenge.  

• Chicken Pot Pie 
• Pizza
• Chicken and cheese sandwiches , tomato soup 
• Taco soup 
• Pork chops, sweet potatoes, green beans 
• Salmon, rice mix, veggie 
• Waffles, eggs, fruit 

Meals are not necessarily in chronological order. 

1. Disinfect all counters, sinks, and drains.   
2. Clean out refrigerator and dump anything beyond its useful life, take out anything. The edge and incorporate it into your prep.  
3. Clean the ice maker drain.   
4. It's the first of the month, put the stove fan screen through the dishwasher.   
5. Soak the stove drip pans if necessary. 
6. Mark the meal plan for the day before you intend to use the pork chops so they are put in the refrigerator to thaw. 
7. Cook enough chicken for the chicken and cheese sandwiches and the chicken pot pie in the insta pot.  
8. Wash fresh fruit and veggies with vinegar water.   Don't forget carrots for the chicken pot pie. 
9. Straighten the pantry.  
10. Make muffins for next weeks breakfasts 
11. Organize school lunch basket. 
12. Wash kitchen floor.  

Meal Plans for week of September 3, 2017

Meal Planss for month of no spend.   This is a second attempt.   I took inventory and I am convinced we an do it.    It's a challenge.  

• Chicken Pot Pie 
• Pizza
• Chicken and cheese sandwiches , tomato soup 
• Taco soup 
• Pork chops, sweet potatoes, green beans 
• Salmon, rice mix, veggie 
• Waffles, eggs, fruit 

Notes:  some of this plan is based on things we have an abundance ( more than one) of that needton be used up.   We are now trying to use a minimum of packaged mixes .   There will still be some things because they are either cheaper than scratch, or they are just too labor intensive to make it worth my attention to make from scratch.   

Rice mix is on the blog --a far cheaper alternative than the box with no preservatives.  

Winco haul - no spend - 22.00

Fred Meyers (kroger ) Sunday ad

Sunday ad for Freddies 


2 day sale :    

Hebrew national 2/5 
Watermelon 3.99
Tillamook ice cream 2/5
Corn 2/1
Blues 2/5



REGULAR AD 

Oscar Mayer lunch meat 2/6
String cheese 2/5
Dole fruit bowls 2/4


Ground turkey 3.49
Gala apple .88
Foster farms, boneless, skinless chicken breast 1.97

Kroger cheese , 2.99 lb. watch the size of the bag.   Some are smaller

Grapes 1.99

Buy 5 -must by 5 to get the price , mix or match
Milk .99
18 count eggs, .99
Goldfish .99
Bread .99
Sugar .99

Pumpkin pie 3.99
Zucchini. .99
Cantaloupe 2/4
Pears .99

Brats 3.79
Sour cream 1.25


Note:  one retailer trick is to make the hot dogs cheap, but make it up with the cost of the buns.   The bus are 2/4.   Buns at winco are .75 .   That's a remarkable difference.   It always pays to shop at two stores a week.   Its a basic, easy step to save money.  Pretty much a no brainer.    Sturdy the ads and make a list .   Check your fridge and pantry and go for it.    Don't take children to the store unless they are old enough to help.   I used to give them seek and find game or set them to find which brand was the cheapest.  They are learning to read the per ounce labels and do the math.   In other words, engage them and make it a learning experience.  

2700.00 Grocery Haul....a lesson in contrast.

Honest, no typo.....this's lady on u tube made a 2700.00 grocery haul. I couldnt imagine how much 2700.00 worth of food looked like.     Quite a contrast to our 45.00 a week!  She bought a lot of regular inexpensive food on sale, but also bought designer lunch meat I have never heard of , fancy cheeses, a lot of fast, frozen, ready made food and whole beef loins.   Here regular grocery haul for the week was like 500, the rest was stock up at Sams club and Trader Joe's.  

On to contrast.....I tried to go no spend in August, but found myself buying bulk because the prices are going up and I hate to get stuck with the larger prices before I really have to.    Its the secret to eating well on less money.   So, we are going to try for No Spendtember.   I have stocked the things like honey and vanilla that we were out of and bought a pork loin.   So, I should be able to pull this one off.    I'm trying for less than 30.00 a week worth of perishables.   We do live in one of the highest COL areas of the US.   

There is actually a lady in South Carolina that feeds four of them, including a husband and 2 teenagers for close to thirty dollars a week.   She has a discount grocery store that has outrageous prices.   They also eat a lot of processed and chicken.   She also has to be gluten free for her son.   All things considered, she is remarkable.   

Whatever your budget, this blog is committed to showing people how to eat better for less.