Hauls to 1/2 /19

Winco

Carrots (5#) 2.28

Roast beef 1.84

Grapes 6.20

Boullion 4.98

Total 

15.30

QFC
Bacon (5) 14.95

Total 30,25

December recap hauls

No spend 30.00 budget for December

12/6 to 12/13
21.24

12/13-12/19
32.64

12/19-12/26
44.93


12/26-1/2 19
30.25

Average 32.26

Includes  bulk bacon and cheese.

The best of the chains store ads

note that Winco does. It have an ad.  I post when I have been to the store and can verify a good deal. 

Safeways 

Berries  BOGO

Digital coupon for nakkys chili .90 limit 2

QFC 

Clementines, 5 lb bag 4.88

Milk .99

Eggs .99

Oranges .99

Pork shoulder roast BOGO 

Fred Meyers 

Foster Farms whole chicken .99

Note the legs, thighs and quarters are the same price, but nit a bargain 

Digital 5, FRIDAY to Monday. Breakfast sausage 1.50

Barilla pasta 1.00

Pillsbury tube rolls 2/4 $$

B5 S 5

Crisco oil 1.99

Coffee, foldgers 6.99

Red Barron pizza 3/10

Traditionally  , the holiday ads are more, what’s FOR  sale than they are what’s ON sale.   

Not many bargains here, exception would be milk and eggs at qfc. 

Eggs have a long refrigerator life and are a good stores of protein and versatile.  You can easily keep a months supply and rotate out as they come on sale.  This affords you to always buy eggs at a good price most of the time.   We have buy prices or target prices for things,   If the item isn’t better than the buy price, we just don’t buy it unless there is no substitute and we have to have it.  If you stock a 4-6 week supply, you can usually avoid getting stuck paying a top dollar price.   

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas. 

Stories from Christmas past


The Christmas the Grinch was pranked.

One Christmas our family was invited to  tea by a Greek captain of a ship.  We had marvelous tea and Greek cookies in the captains quarters.   When we got home, some naughty little elves had broken into  my parents home and stole my gift.   I can only imagine the look on their faces when what to their wandering eyes should appear, but an empty box saying my present wasn’t here .   My mom had ordered sewing scissors for me and they hadn’t come yet .


The Christmas miracle.
My best Christmas was the one when I brought my youngest son home  from the hospital.  My husband picked me up and we picked the rest of the kids from his family’s Christmas and we went to my parents home  on the island.  They had served canned chicken Chinese food for dinner at the hospital. I was grateful, for the plate my mother saved for me...roast beef.   I was especially grateful that my mother and my husband took turns feeding my son so I could get a much needed full night’s sleep.

Home for Christmas
Then there was the Christmas that we had to decide to pull the plug on my dad’s respirator.  A really memorable night to remember.   My sisters and mom ate leftovers together. That hadn’t happened for a long time and hasn’t happened since.  It was the Christmas that dad went to see his mom he hadn’t seen since he was 14 .


The rock.
The Christmas that my eldest son got a rock!  It was just too funny .  We had bought him a bike for Christmas.  He was 10 yo and got home  from school  a few minutes before I got home from work.  I just knew he would snoop .  So, we left the bike in Grampas garage.   Early Christmas Eve, my husband went to fetch the bike. Meanwhile , our eldest was very upset because there weren’t any packages under the tree for him .  Did I say he would snoop!   So, I went outside and picked up the big rock that was in the flower bed next to the front door.  I wrapped it up complete with fancy bow.  He shook that package until it was thread bare.  He kept saying, what is it?   I finally  said it was a rock .  Yah, right mom was his answer.  We let him open the rock while  my husband went down and got the bike.

The Barbie Christmas
My daughter walked in on me wrapping gifts.  She was getting Barbie stuff for Christmas .  I told her they were for her cousin, Kristin.   I didn’t want to spoil her Christmas.  She then proceed to be get upset  because  Kristin was getting all the Barbie stuff !

Merry Christmas !  Hope that  you new year is filled with new beginnings and memorable moments.

Insta pot tutorials

It’s  Christmas Eve and Monday Kitchen Management  has been preempted.   In case  someone is getting an insta pot for Christmas, or you have one and am wondering what to do with it, this is for you,   

Modern pressure cookers  are a far cry from our grandmothers.  They are much safer and most are electronic.   The insta pot is a pressure cooker, a rice cooker, a slow cooker  and some are yogurt makers too.   Unlike some appliances that fall into the trap where if they are multi task, they don’t  do anything well, the insta pot is a workhorse in the kitchen and take a lot less of a footprint on your countertop.   No, I don’t have stock in insta pot!   Lol

Just a few basics. It is important to check you seals every now and then and make sure that they are all in tact and clean.  Also the pressure valve — a little bump out inside the lid needs  to be clean. 

Always use the pressure cooker function with a clear LIQUID.   And, never make split pea soup on the pressure mode, unless you want to be cleaning for e v e r.  Lol 

Many foods that can take a lot of time and attention can be made a lot more efficiently.  

• Rice : measure rice, wash it if you  ordinarily wash your rice,   Place equal parts of rice and water or stock in the bowl, cover, seal, and push the rice button. 
• Beans: pick over your beans and discard any foreign material. Rinse in colander,   Poor beans in the bowl. Cover with water to above your second knuckle.  Cover, seal, and push the bean button.   Seal means place your valve to the seal position. 
• Spaghetti with meat sauce.   Place cooked meat on the bottom of the bowl. Alternative,y, you can set the cooker to sauté and cook your raw meat until no longer pink and drain off the fat.  If you cook raw meat, you then need to turn off the cooker.  Add 1/2 a package (8 ounces) of spaghetti that has been broken in half over the meat in a bird nest fashion,   That will insure that your noodles won’t stick together.  Norm pour a can or jar of pasta sauce over the noodles, Pour 2 cups of water or broth AROUND the outside of the bowl as to not disturb the sauce and noodles.   Place the cover on the insta pot, set to seal, and manually program it for 8 minutes.   You can finish the salad or bread or whatever else you are going to eat, because you,need to catch the pot when it finishes cooking or shortly after and manually release.  Be careful and use a wooden spoon type instrument to release.  You can also put a dish towel over the vent .  Not manually releasing will result in over cooked pasta.   
• Cooking just pasta.  Place pasta in the bowl, you will need a quart of water for a package of pasta.  Cover, set the valve to seal and process on manual for 2 minutes.  Again, don’t let the pasta sit on the water .  Most of the water will be absorbed and sitting will make it over cooked.  
• Cook frozen chicken breast on a trivet, with at least a cup of water or stock and cook for anywhere from 8-15 minutes depending on the thickness of your  chicken breast.  Test for doneness with a meat thermometer and make sure you have no pink in the center.  This is good for anything you are making that calls for cooker chicken.  

We make pork or beef stew in 35 minutes.   You can make pork chops with cream of mushroom gravy in a matter of minutes.   I prefer a pork roast in the oven.  Cheesecake is marvelous.  Also, a taco pie that is another ten minute meal. 

The. Internet is full of ideas and recipes.  Six  sisters on  U tube is a good resource .  

As well as a guy that is called something like Pressure Luck. 

Meal Plans

Meal plans are an necessary tool  to save  time and money.  It’s one ofnthe things along with kitchen management that takes away a lot of the stress of making dinner during the busy dinner hour.

• Christmas Eve:  green beans with blue cheese and oceans, or green beans with bacon on the side. 
• Christmas breakfast: sparkling juice, waffles or French Toast, bacon, fruit, yogurt, English muffins, 
• Pork roast, mashed potatoes. Green beans, 
• Pork sliders , oven fries, 
• Pizza
• Enchaladas, rice, beans 
• Breakfast for dinner 

We continue to have no spend.   Christmas Eve comes out of the entertainment budget.  Christmas Day is food at home.   Our average for the YEAR is under four dollars a day per person, and we still have a stock. We saved almostmfive dollars a week, 

Simplify your shopping list , make efficient scratch meals, buy groceries at their lowest orice, stock up on non perishables when they are cheap, and rotate buying protein in bulk. 

Try a soup  once or twice a week.  

Try breakfast for dinner .  We don’t mean cereal here, but a full diner breakfast will put you over.

Pizza costs a dollar a pizza.  Add topping from leftover meals.   

Pork and chicken are rmeoeated and varied over weekmbecaise with two of us, we use a larger piece of meat twice in the same week,   Pork roast becomes pork sliders.  Chicken breast becomes chicken pot pie and maybe chicken enchaladas or pizza.   

Portion control.  Portion control, portion control. Your waistline and your health will appreciate it. 

Be Prepared

Every Part of our great country has some weather phenomenon that can put us high and dry so to speak.   Windstorms, tornados, floods, earthquakes among a few,   It is always good to have some back up plans to eat with little or no ingredients or prep.   

I’m an remember a snowstorm where we lost power.   We had a power box to he,o for a short time.  I made a fire in the fireplace and let the fire die down to coals.   We put a cast iron Dutch oven in the coals and heated soup and I made sandwiches from things in the pantry.  If you open the freezer or refrigerator, you let air n and you loose their efficiency.   

While others were driving in the snow looking for a restraint that had lower, we were eating and listening to the basketball game, warm and dry, 

Meals n a jar is a good way to be prepared,   Most take a bit of water and can be made on the fireplace or on a bbq.   In your desk drawer , it makes for a quick bit of food if you are stuck in the office in a deadline.   

Potato soup in a jar. 

2/3 cup mix to a cup of hot water. Or use water until the consistency you desire, 

Mix 

2 cups dried potatoes 

1-1/4 cups dry milk powder 

1-1/2 T chicken boullion 

1/2 tsp parsley 

1/4 tsp pepper 

Mix and store  in a clean dry jar.  Shake before using, 

Cream soup base 

2 cups dry milk 

1-1/2 cups cornstarch 

1/2 cup chicken granulated stock 

4 T onion powder 

2 tsp basil

2 tsp thyme 

1 tsp pepper 

Place 2/3 cup in a pint jar and add dried veggie of your choice. 

Cook with 1 part mix to two parts water,   

Note :  you can get non msg and low sodium chicken granules, 

Saxon 

Equal parts 

Coriander 

Cumin

Paprika 

Garlic POWDER 

Salt 

Use in any Mexican type dish 

Hauls to 12/26

Left 6.12


franz bread

14.81

Cheese snacks
6 large French bread
5 bagels. English muffins, Texas toast
1 hoagie rolls
1 oganic whole grain
1 chocolate donuts
2 white bread


Fred Meyers
Tortilla chips
4 boxes raspberries, blueberries
Grapes
Sour cream
Total 13.97

Total 28.76

Left 7.34

Milk 1.37
Eggs 1.53

Friday Recipe Day

Last  night we made insta pot potato soup.   This was in the insta pot, but it could be made on the stove, it would just take a bit more watching . the whole thing comes in at 1.50 to feed four .

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 large, or two small carrots, peeled and sliced thin,
1 stalk celery, chopped onto cubes.
3 cups chicken or vegetabke stock
Pouches of :
Thyme, salt, pepper, parsley, onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic, minced

Place ingredients in insta pot and close lid and set vent to “seal”
Program to process manually for 3 minutes.

When done  processing, let partially de pressure and then finish it manually. Open the lid and turn  the pot off.  Switch  to sauté mode.

Mix 1 cup milk with 2 Tablespoons of corn starch.  Stir until thickened


Optional garnish with cooked crumbled bacon, green onion tops or cheese .

We served it with  French bread 🥖 buttered and sprinkled  with parmesean cheese and parsley,

This can also be made by putting the ingredients all but the milk and cornstarch inna pot on the stove and simmering until the potatoes and vegetables are tender. Turn the heat up and add the milk and cornstarch .

Bread from Franz Outlet Store

Franz Outlet Store is on 164th street near Wall Mart.  It is well worth the trip every month or so for us.  Yes, it is cheaper to make bread from scratch.  That doesn’t always happen here. Especially when talking bagels and English muffins. Also, the high fiber breads.

Wednesday’s and Sunday’s are ten percent off for military and seniors.  
Also, there are free bread for bulk purchases.  We spent 15.00 to get two loads of white bread. They gave us a box of chocolate donuts as well.

We got
6 only 12 inch French breads
6 inky smaller hoagie rolls
2 English muffins
1 blueberry bagels
1 loaf bread for French Toast
1 package cheese snacks
1 loaf of high fiber bread, organic
Totaled 14.81

10 items, one of which was six loaves of bread, so really 16 loaves for 14.81 or less than .92.5 cents a loaf . English muffins were 1.99 someplace, the grain bread would have been at least 4.00 and the Texas  Toast loaf is on sale for 2.00 and I’ve seen it for 4.00.  Bread has taken a big hike lately. Even Winco wanted 1.19 for hamburger buns.  

Hauls to 12/19

8.76 left

30.00

Total 38.76

Winco 

18 eggs 1.89

Yellow squash .70

Cucumber .48

Pears 1.26

Brownie mix 2 - 1.36

Grapes 4.54

Ice cream 2.98

Parm 2.38

Tomatoes 1.69

Egg rolls 2.48

Diced tomatoes (10) 5.80

Total 25.44

Left 13.32

QFC
5 cheese .99
10 Yoplait 2.15

Total 7.20

Left 6.12 

Chain store ads - the best of

QFC

Spiral ham 1.27
Strawberries, blackberries 2/5

Tillamook brick cheese 4.99
Pumpkin pie 3.99

Digital coupons

Progresso soup  2/2
Cake mix .79
Yoplait 10/4 $$
American beauty pasta 4/3

*****
Sour cream 4/5

Marie callnders pie 4.99 with FREE ice cream
Crescent rolls 3/5$$
Ritz crackers 1.99
Sweet potatoes .99

Safeways

Mandarines 2.99 - 3 lbs
Potatoes 1.99 10 lbs


Butter 1.99@@

Extra lean ground beef 3.99
Jimmy Dean sausage 2/6$$
Foldgers coffee 5.99@@
Frozen veggies 1.49 -2lbs @@




Fred Meyers

Ham 1.27
Berries 2/3
Oranges 2.99
Sweet potatoes .99

Pork loin BOGO

Ritz crackers 1.77

DIGITAL COUPONS
Cake mix .79 ( note Alberways wants 1.25)
Artisan bread 1.99
Hillshire farm sausage 2/5


B4S4

Sausage 2.49$$
Frozen fruit 2.99 -  best if 16 ounces 

$$ means there are coupons out there 
@@ means with an in ad coupon 

Lentil soup in a pot.

Carrie Ulness 

Monday Kitchen Management aka food prep

Kitchen Management is a tool that can help you save money and time.  It deflates some of the stress bubble that happens around the hectic dinner hour,

Reminder of meals

• Taco soup 
• Pizza 
• Chicken enchaladas 
• Chicken chilli 
• Loaded potato soup 
• Fish cakes oven fries 
• Breakfast for dinner 

Prep 

1. Wash kitchen floor 
2. Clean and disinfect countertops and sinks and drains.
3. Clean out refrigerator and dump anything dead 💀. 
4. Note things in refrigerator that need to be used up soon 
5. Wash potatoes and carrots 
6. Make pizza dough , freeze 
7. Straighten pantry

Watching your perishables carefully helps to make sore that you keep waste down.  Apples hanging around too long?  Make applesauce or muffins.   Vegetables 🌶, make vegetable omelets.   

Yogurt, make parfaits for dinner with breakfast for dinner,   It works well if you are having a entree that has little protein.   If a dimmer is short on the protein like the loaded potato soup, you can either add cheese , bacon, or ham to the soup or have a protein loaded desert.   Remember, we don’t need as much protein as Americans are used to eating. One peanut butter sandwich  is enough to satisfy the protein grams for our 6 yo.  She eats  more, but that is the stats.  

Things like homemade granola bars with honey and popcorn are better alternatives than sugary or calorie laden no food valise junk food.  Apples and oranges are a good alternative and usually can be purchased for under a dollar a pound.  The doctors and nutrition people will tell you to give a child an apple instead of that sugar laden juice box or apple juice. 

Meal Plans

Meal plans are necessary to keep things running smoothly,   This week before Christmas there are so many extra things to do, that soup seems to be the word of the day,   It’s fast, easy and warm on the cold weather.

• Taco soup 
• Pizza
• Chicken enchaladas 
• Potato soup loaded 
• Fish cakes, oven fries, fruit 
• White chicken  chili 
• Breakfast for dinner 

Notes :

1. Hamburger meat was a bulk purchase last spring,  cooking hamburger , de fatting it and freezing it takes a lot of work out of the dinner hour.  Taco soup is a pretty much dump and go on the insta pot or slow cooker . 
2. Pizza is a mainstay here.  Batch making pizza dough in the kitchen aid saves time.  Anything that you can give a little attention to and an appliance takes over is a good thing on my book.  
3. Chicken is also from a bulk purchase.   Enchiladas take a bit more to,e, but well worth it.  They can  be made early on the day and put on the oven when it’s time for dinner,   
4. Insta pot potato soup is full of vegetables and the toppings add more protein,   Yum! And it’s easy, 
5. Fish cakes can be made and chilled ahead.   Fried in a little olive oil.   Oven fries in the hot pot means a little olive oil is all. 
6. White chicken chili uses the rest of a batch of chicken .
7. Breakfast for dinner is a family meal. Everyone cooks.   

Spending more time planning your shopping trips and meals and less time cooking is a more efficient way to save money and still eat well.    

Quotes ....

My mother used to say that some people could have a bargain get up and bite them in the butt, and they wouldn’t see it.   Don’t be that person,  

No food  does anyone good if  you are  feeding it to the garbage disposal.

It’s not  what you buy as much as it is when and where you buy it.

Make a plan or plan to fail.

Help to reduce your food costs is everywhere, you just have to be open to it.

The operative word in junk food is junk.

Read labels. Do you want to eat that?    There are wood pulp and caustic soap on s,e of the boxes out there.   Fortunately, there are other choices.

Christmas cookie time.

Since  I wrote today’s blog yesterday and hit the wrong button, you already have read it.   Oops,!

Today is a half day for school....again.

It’s time for chocolate Kringle cookies.   I always enjoy the he,o of granddaughter because rolling cookie dough is not my favorite thing to do and she is sooo good at it.

I usually make the dough, use a portion scoop and hand it off for her to roll and dip.  

What are your favorite cookies to make?  

Involving  children on the cookie making is a good way to keep them busy and make memories.  

Friday Focus

Basic foods that are versatile and inexpensive are your key to eating well on a budget.   Picking a few cuts if meat and some inexoemsove other origin choices makes life easier and affords you to buy bulk and save time and money.

A pork loin, good hamburger, and chicken breast are all good alternatives.   Add cheese, beans and eggs.   Buy on bulk as inexpensive  as you can find them.  Rotate your expenses to maximize your budget.  

Versatile osmthe key word.  There are zillions, no exaggeration, of recipes out there for chicken and hamburger.  Pork loin can be cut into roasts, pork chops, stew meat, amd stir fry,  

Since protein is one of the most expensive parts of your bidget, saving money on it first is a good idea.

You can have good meals and still keep a very inexpensive budget.

• Pork chops, bread stuffing with Craisens and apple. Vegetable 
• Pork roast, mashed potatoes. Fruit salad 
• Pork sliders. Oven fries, coleslaw 
• Burritos. Spanish rice, lettuce. Tomatoes
• Taco soup , tortilla chips. Grated cheese. 
• Meatballs amd gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans 
• Tacos. Homemade refried beans, 
• Chicken pot pie 
• Roast chicken , rice seasoned with chicken stock and herbs, honey ginger glazed carrots, 
• Chicken stir fry , rice 
• French Toast. Maple syrup, yogurt and fruit parfaits, bacon 
• Egg omlettes, English muffins, fruit
• Quiche, field greens with strawberries 
• Chilli, cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream 
• Enchaladas, salad 
• Rice and beans 
• Pork stew, sourdough bread 
• Pork stir fry , rice 
• Chicken noodle soup 
• Pizza: chicken, or sausage and pepperoni, or vegetables  or a combination .also leftover meat. 
• Breakfast burritos. 

Versatile sources of protein that can be purchased for around two dollars a pound average are a good way to s t r e t c h your food dollar and still eat well.   

Hauls to 12/13

Costco

Oatmeal 8.29

Qfc
Buns  1.19

Grocery outlet
Bacon 5.00 (3 ea)
Cheese 2.29

Total 7.29

QFC
2 sugars (8 lbs) @ .99
1 canola oil @ 1.49
Total 3.47

Total 20.24


9.76 left,

QFC
Bread 1.00

Total Left
8.76



Tips and  tricks.

Oatmeal in bulk at Costco costs .085 a serving,   Add milk and something for flavor and you have a hearty breakfast with fiber and protein.  A little apple chunks, banana, honey, cinnamon sugar, raisins or Craisens go a long way to make it delightful

Buy things like sugar, vegetabke oil and other baking needs at holiday time.  Buy sugar and anything else that doesn’t spoil in bulk and buy enough for the year.   The savings can be remarkable and you don’t have that item on your list for a year.  Simplify.  The less things you oit in your cart, the quicker the checkout and the faster you can get through one of your two stores.    It os also faster to out things away.

I bought a large bag of salt and soda a long long time ago.   They dint go bad and those things are off my list.   The salt  was five dollars and will last my lifetime and my daughters lifetime, and probably into my granddaughters lifetime.  Soda and vinegar are both good inexpensive cleaning  supplies.

Chain store ads/ the best of

QFC

Digital , buy up to five , Thursday, Friday, Saturday 

Cheese .99


Raspberries or blues 2/4
Oranges .99
Apples .99

Tillamook  ice cream 2/6

More digital all week

American beauty pasta 4/3 (.75)
Yoplait 10/4 $$$$
******

Tillamook cheese on a brick 5.99
Free ice cream when you buy a 4.99 pie.


Fred Meyers

Digital, buy up to 5, Thu, Fri, Sat 
Kroger cheese .99

Progresso soup 1.00
American beauty pasta 4/3
Yoplait .50
Cake mix .79


Alberways

BOGO - bargain ????
Round steak
Lean ground beef 80/20
New York steak
Pork loin chops

Navisco snack crackers 1.69@@
Milk 1.99@@

Tube biscuits 1.00@@

Coupons, digital or part in ad
Cream soup. .89
Coffee, foldgers 5.99

Winco
18 eggs 1.89
Pears and yellow squash .88
Graoes 1.48
Diced tomatoes .58. All of Winco canned foods are BPA free.
BC brownie mix .68

Sandstrom chicken thighs and legs are a good buy.  I can’t re,e,get exact, but around .78.