The basics, part three: cooking

It's Monday. October 7th, time for the third part of the equasion.  Scratch cooking.

One of the easiest ways to derail your budget and run out of money on a fixed food budget is to buy your food ready made and in boxes.  That being said, there is always exceptions, but they are few.
Certainly, any pancake, waffle or pop up  item is off limits, they are way  over prices and easily cooked. Muffins or quick breads are an easy, fast, cheap alternative. I do use bisquick that I get at Costco.  I have a recipe for baking mix, but it calls for shortening  and I avoid solid fats.
Oatmeal from scratch is easy and not much more work than instant.

1 cup water
1/2 cup oatmeal in a microwave safe bowl.

1-1/2 minutes in the microwave.

I cook the oatmeal for 1 minute, stir and cook 30 seconds,  it seems to keep it from boiling over.
I add fruit and milk, or some raisins and milk.

Cold cereal is a given.  Avoid the sugary ones, they are expensive and whole grain Cheerios or corn flakes are better and I almost always can find coupons.


Some items for dinner are as cheap ready made, but not many.m instant mashed potatoes on sale cheap are sometimes cheaper than scratch.  I buy refried beans because they are time consuming to
make .  Ditto tortillas.  I usually keep a cake mix on hand when I can get them for less than the flour.

There are ways to cook from scratch that don't mean  that you have to slave over a hot stove for an
hour.  Unless, you want to.  Carla on The Chew  introduced me to the word, passive cooking.  I was well aware  of the concept, just didn't have a name for it.

The slow cooker and the oven can be your best friend in the kitchen.  There is something really comforting about the smell of dinner cooking all day, and I really enjoy having dinner done when I have worked the late shift and come home to dinner ready.  Many recipes are a dump and turn on
Recipes.  No  hard work here.

Fries on the oven from scratch are really easy.  I also get fries from the dollar store.  my family does not like the shot string ones, I like steak fries the best.  Oven roasted potatoes, and any root vegetables you can come up with including radishes.  Radishes take on a different taste.  They are really good.

Pre cooking meats helps make dinner time less hectic.  The meat takes the longest time to cook.  If it is already  done, putting a Casserole together and putting it on the oven is really quick.

I heat sliced meat in a broth.  If it is sliced thin  , you can heat the broth, put the meat on and torn off the burner.  It will heat through while you make the rest of dinner.

Meat balls are a real dinner boon.  You can do a lot with them.  Meatballs and spaghetti, meat ball soup, meatballs and gravy, meatballs with a cream sauce on noodles, meatball subs.  Get a basic recipe and dome over mix them.  When I batch cook, I put a rack on a sheet pan , make meatballs the size of walnuts and bake them off, the grease drips off the meatballs.  You are better off using a higher fat content for meatballs and meatloaf.  I use a 7-9 percent for tacos or crumbles.

If you cook crumbles, drain them in a colander, pour boiling water over them.  This makes hamburger have LESS fat than boneless, skinless chicken breast.  I return some crumbles to a pan with some water and my taco seasoning.  The recipe for many mixes are on an earlier post.  The crumbles I portion control and put on bags for meat sauce or pizza.

There is a recipe for pizza crust on an earlier blog.  Also the concept of almost free pizza.
There is also a recipe for pizza crust on the back of the bisquick box, although we don't like it.   Sometimes , Big Lots has a bag of pizza crusts really cheap.   Big Lots  has a twenty percent off everything sale ever so often.  They don't have a very long shelf life.  Use them soon.  If your family is like mine, there is no twisting arms to get someone to eat pizza.  LOL

Roasting a chicken is easy, and well worth your efforts.  It takes me about ten minutes to put a chicken in the oven.  It is a remarkable difference between a deli chicken and a cooked chicken.
never buy a chicken that is less than three pounds.  The ratio of bone to meat is a break even at three pounds.  Less than that you are paying for bone that you can't eat. you don't know where the deli chicken has been.  I prefer locally grown chicken.  You are paying early for a little bit of effort.
I can get chicken for a dollar a pound.  Grill pack chicken for a dollar makes boneless, skinless
chicken breast and pulled chicken.  Pulled chicken makes tacos, soup, and pulled chicken sandwiches.

Roasting off a pork loin makes a pork loin dinner and hot sandwiches.  You can cut off pork chops before you roast the loin.

I cook a beef roast when I can get it for under three dollars a pound.  That doesn't happen too much lately. But hopefully lower beef prices will return.

You need to average two to three dollars for protein a dinner to keep a five dollar dinner is get.  It is a game for us now. The operative  word is average.

If you add a couple of vegetarian meals to the mix, it affords a more expensive cut of meat sometimes.  Eggs, beans and cheese are still cheap sources of protein when you get them on sale.
Eggs have a month fridge life.  Buy them in bulk when they are cheap.  I like close to a buck.  Last time. I had to pay more.  They are still a cheap source of protein.  I want cheese for two to two forty a pound.  I am still getting this price.  I buy the one they let you buy even of I don't end it right then.  It has a bit of a fridge life, you can always grate it and freeze it.  I add a little cornstarch to it to keep it from sticking together.  About a tablespoon per two pounds of cheese.

The the main thing to remember is avoiding the F word.....   full price! LOL.

Don't let cooking from scratch overwhelm you.  Take one thing at a time.  There are books at the library, there is a Martha Stewart series on PBS.

Learn to substitute ingredients when a recipe calls for an expensive ingredient.  Just remember you are looking for the similar  taste and texture.  Celery can replace mushrooms and take up the bulk of onions.


That's about it.

There are blogs on scratch cooking every month.  I write off the top of my head like I am talking to you on my kitchen.  Each one is different.  Please feel free to read earlier blogs.

Every week I analyze the ads for the Seattle area, usually on Wednesday because our mail comes late on Tuesday afternoon.  You can usually gleam the best of the ads on coupon connections on line.  She, however, has been posting coupons I haven't been able to find.  It is a good resource that saves you a lot of time.  I print coupons for things I usually buy the first of the month.  There is a limited amount of coupons to print, so get yours when they are there.  I have a coupon binder that I put together cheap.  I don't cut the coupons from the paper.  I just put inserts together with a binder clip. By month and clip them when I need them.  I rely on coupon connections to tell me when there is a good deal.  I mostly use them for toothpaste and other deals that are cheaper  than scratch.  Sometimes  at rite aid, they will pay you to take things home.  If I can use the item, or I know where I can donate it where it will be needed, I "buy" it.  Toothpaste and baby food are a natural here.

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Jane

The basics, part two: shopping

First, if you HATE to shop, deligate this to someone who doesn't, provided you can trust them to be diligent at their efforts.  One time, we needed some things at the grocery store to fill on because I had been recovering from an operation, and no one had shopped for two weeks.  I sent my husband to the store to buy a weeks food.  He came back with two pomegranates and beer.  LOL.  I decidedd it would be better of I sent my college age daughter with a budget.  She came home with two bucks to spare and enough to make meals for a couple of weeks of things I normally buy.

Ther are a lot of places that sell food these days.  Every week, I pick two of the chain stores based on what my needs are, and what prices they have.

Warehouse stores, over-stock stores, the dollar store, and drug stores also sell food.  Many times the alternative stores have better prices.  They only  buy bargains, so they don't have a wide variety,but what they do have many times is a really good price.

The big key here is that you have to know your prices.  You don't have to know all the prices in the store, but every family has key things that are their stock items that make up the majority of the non- perishable food in their pantry.  It's usually 10-15 items.  You can't know if something is a bargain if you don't know what the rock bottom price is in the first place.

We go to the chain stores once a week.  We go to Costco on a need basis .  We go to Winco when they send us a coupon.  It is a ways away and last time I went, the prices weren't that good.

We go to the grocery outlet and big lots when we are n the area for other things.  Grocery outlet has a wide variety of cheese, some is a good price, some isn't.  You need to be really mindful of the pull dates at overstock stores.

I hit the dollar store once a week for the Sunday paper.  They keep it all week.  The dollar tree takes coupons.  By watching coupons and not being brand loyal, you can get your deodorant, toothpaste and soap for FREE.  This is really big if you are on SNAP that doesn't pay for non- food items.  We are not on snap, but on a retirement fixed income, I take advantage of everything I can find of ot is something we can use.  I have started on my toothpaste fairy basket again.  LOL. ,last week, I got eight dollars worth of food for a buck at the dollar store.  I also buy catsup , frozen veggies, Kleenex, cotton balls, and window cleaner in bulk.

We hit the bakery outlet when we are in the area, or about every eight weeks.  I fill in if bread is cheaper at the stores on sale.  They have brown and serve baguettes sometimes, otherwise I get them from Costco.

There is a couple of posts  on the Phycology of retailers.   It really helps your bottom line if you can beat them at their own game.  It's well worth the read.

Snack foods and convenience foods are the biggest profit for retailers.  Avoid them like the plague.
That being said, there are a few things that are cheaper than homemade, or homemade is just too time consuming to go that route.  Tortillas come to mind here,  the cost on sale is so low, it's not worth it.  When in doubt, do  the math.  I factor in my time.  If I can make a decent amount per hour, I make scratch.  Besides, boxes have to have preservatives.  I want to use them in moderation.  The recipe starter at the dollar store is cheaper than making white sauce from scratch.  They don't always have basil and garlic flavors.  Last time they only had tomato.  Simce I got it for free, it was cheaper.

My daughter and I made the  lemon pound cake she was buying at the big bucks coffee place.  I think I figured we made 212.00 an hour making it from scratch!   I wouldn't buy it in the first place, but the comparison was interesting.

There are web sites out there in Internet land that match up store sales with coupons from the paper and coupons that can be printed on the Internet ( coupon.com) .  You have to download the coupon printer drivers, but so far I haven't heard of any bad experiences from those that have done this.
The coupon marching site in the Seattle area is couponconnections.com .  A google search should net you the one in your area.

Couponconnections is a fast search. She posts the really good deals in red, so you can check it out really fast.  I skip over any ready mades I less the price is really lower than scratch.  I can't make a cake mix  for free, or .14.  Flour costs .075 cents a cup in bulk.  I have been finding taco dinner mixes for little more than the tortillas.  They have both hard and soft shells to satisfy everyone.  When I quit finding them, I will go back to buying shells and using my own spice blend. Most of the time , coupons are for things I don't use.  By only printing the things you will use at the first of the month, and keeping the inserts from the paper in binder clips by dare, you can make the best use of coupons without spending a lot of time clipping coupons.  It takes a matter of a few minutes to pull up the matching site and scroll through the stores in your area.  If you do it after you have decided which store to go to, you narrow your search.  Then, the printables have a link, or you can go directly to the insert and pull the coupon you will use to make your purchases.

I love the word FREE, almost as much as the words that they will PAY you to take the product home. That only happens at rite aid for me.  But, when someone pays me a penny to bring a 3.00 tube of name brand toothpaste home, I am going to take advantage of it.  If I am not going to use it, I save it for the women's shelter or the food bank.

There are mix recipes on prior posts.  Buying mixes, and ready mades and snacks will bust your budget big time in short order.  Check the price of potatoes per pound.  Now, do the math on potatomchips.  The exercise is eye opening.  Besides, chips have a lot of salt in them.  We feed our children far too much salt,sugar,  and fat.  It is hiding in a lot of our foods.  The first step in healthier children is to stop buying sugar coated cereal and salt laden snack foods.

My daughter and I dissected a hamburger meal box.  The results are quite remarkable (see earlier post) .  Since then, they have come out with a new box that is a bit better, bit I suspect not much. I also posted alternatives to the meal box.  The key words...better, cheaper, faster.

Keep in mind, in order to keep under budget on snap, you need to average five dollar dinners.....a meal, not a person.  Do your math.  If you get full snap, divide the amount by 30.  That's your amount per day. Modified it by 4.2 and that is the amount per week.  There are ways to make breakfast really cheap and many times kids can get lunch free or nearly free at school.  You can have leftovers.  Because of that, I concentrate on dinners.

Next time, cooking from scratch.

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Jane

The basics, part one

It's the start of a  of new month.  I can't believe it is October  already.  The first of each month,mi usually go over the basics of groceries on the cheap.  Each time I write off the top of my head, so each one is a little different.

Groceries on the cheap takes a entirely different  approach to buying your food.  Instead of going to the store and buying all your food for a week, you go to two stores and replenish your food supply.  Because you only buy what is at a rock bottom price, you save money.  Or, if you have a male mentality, you spend less money.    I Spend about half of what the normal person does for our family and have done it for years.  

It takes a little planning at the beginning, but once you get yourself set up, you will probably spend less time than before.  Some of these things you probably already do automatically.  It's a matter of jotting them down on paper.  

Let's get started.  

1) write down the inexpensive sources of protein your  family will eat.  Do try new foods and expand your variety if foods.  My mother never cooked pork.  I first cooked it after I was married.  In our house that would be some beef, pork, chicken, eggs, cheese, beans and rice.  

2) write down  7-14 meals your family ears that use these protein sources.  

3) write down the key non perishable ingredients that you use to cook these meals.  Most families will have a list of ten or so items.  These are your stock items.  

4) track your stock items.  You can use a small notebook from the dollar store, or a spread sheet n the computer.  You want to identify the name of the item, the size of the package , the date, store, and amount  you paid for the item.  Odd you use a coupon!?   

5) when you find the rock bottom price ( I call it my target price) , buy 

A) as many as you can afford

B) as many as the store will let you buy ( limit) 

Or C) as many as you need to fill in your stock.  

Stores operate on a eight to twelve week cycle for sales.  If I use something once a week, I keep 24 max.  If I use it once a month, I keep 6.  For things like catsup, mayo and mustard, I keep one on hand.  When I open my back up, in start looking for a sale.  I found catsup for .80 this week, so I bought two.  

You never want to get stuck having to pay full price.  

When the ads come out.  I start  with a piece of computer paper, preferably  out of the recycle bin.  

I mark it off in quarters.  

Now, I write down the things on sale that are on my stock list and are rock bottom prices.  

Ditto the produce that is on season and the cheapest prices that I can use to fill out my meals.  

Dairy is next .  And a protein source that is at a rock  bottom price that I can batch cook.  

Cross off anything you don't need to stock, anything that is cheaper at a different store.  Now pick the top two stores.  Picking two stores gives you the best chance to effectively buy the best produce and take advantage of the sales.  Plan your trip with other errands to make the best use of your gas.  If your stores are far apart, split the shopping to piggy back the trip on your way home from other errands.  

If you buy a protein at a rock bottom price and buy bulk, batch cook it and portion it on meal sized containers, you will have less waste and cook more efficiently with less clean up.  Stores rotate their meat bargains.  Buy the bargain, and buy enough for a meal a week for the month.  By working on a four week cycle, you can have variety and spend less doing it.  This week, SAFEWAYS has chicken for a buck.  Next week I might find hamburger or pork loin or sausage.  

When you get home from the store, make out your meal plans for the week.  I just write down the main dish.  The rest of it takes care of itself.  I usually try for an easy dish the days I have the late shift.  You don't have to be rigid and follow the plan to a t.  Just have a plan.  Without a plan, it is too 

easy for the order pizza gremlins to rear they ugly head!   

Next time : the shopping trip

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Jane 

Shopping Trip

Today's shopping trip was to TOP foods.  I spent 38.40 on our food. And 1.40 for the food for the kids backpacks.  We have a definite list of things  for the children. When I can get the for cheap woth a coupon, I will.

I posted a pic on Facebook, but don't know how to get it onto the blog.  I got a bunch of things for .80 in lots of ten because it is TOP Foods 80th birthday.  I used a coupon when I could.  I got refried beans and hunts pasta sauce.  Catsup is .80 and cheaper than the dollar store.-- I got two.  Carrots were .40'a pound and peppers were 2.00 as well as apples for .80.  I used a coupon for Yoplait at 2/80.  And a manufacturers coupon for .40.  So six were 2.00, or.33 each.  Bread  was .80.

Ice cream was 2.80. There was a deal where milk was .80 if you bought  a bunch of kelloggs cereal.  I don't need cereal so I paid the  normal 2.59.   You could have bought the cereal with coupons.

SAFEWAYS did not have enough on special to  warrant  the trip.    Maybe next week.  I have a ten dollar coupon.  The Only thing that I saw was the cheese BOGO.  I do have a coupon for Sarjento.

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Jane

And life goes on

This all started back in the 70  's when we had double digit inflation and I found myself a single parent.  We were in a recession, and I didn't get a raise in three years.  Rarely did I get child support.
I cut everything I could cut.  I shut off the heat I some rooms, turned the dishwasher off after the rinse cycle and cut the newspaper.  I  had the cheapest car on the road, rationed my gas and washed my hair with dish soap.  When the 10 inch black and white tv with rabbit ears broke,  we listened to old radio.  When I was in an accident and the fender was rubbing on the wheel, my five year old and I tried to pull it away from the wheel with a hammer.  We both landed on our buts.  His contagious laugh made me forget that my buttwas bruised    until I got into bed that night!   LOL

I started reading everything I could get my hands on,  I tried anything that sounded like it might work.  Chicory in coffee and  liver.  Soy bean meat loaf----not so much.  I never could get soy beans soft.  I re sorted to TVP.  Through the years, I learned more and more and developed a plan that worked.  I am still learning.  My daughter and I went to a couponing class and I added a scaled down version to my plan.  I have finally got it so that we spend 1/2 price on food and eat well, and we have been for years.  I was interviewed by Woman's Day.  At the time the younger kids were teens.  I spent fifty dollars a week.  The woman asked me how old the children were.  I said teenage.  Then, she asked me if they were girls.  When I told her I had one of each, she said she was impressed.LOL

Of all this came 1/2 price groceries, groceries on the cheap. I started this blog when it came to my attention that some people were running out of money before they ran out of month on SNAP.  It is totally possible to eat well on full snap.  Snap is based on the USDA stats for thrifty cooking.  It is my understanding that the amount you get is based also on your income.  I feed three adults on about sixty dollars a week and am still building a stockpile.

I have found that some people reading my blog read it to get a new recipe to keep their dinners fresh. Some do it to find easier, faster ways to get out of the kitchen!  Whatever you can get from my blog, I am glad you are reading.

I suspect that some people read it once and say OMG you have to work at it!   I am not going to tell you that some little elf is going to instantly make dinner appear on the table.  Does anyone remember I dream of genie?  once you get set up and get the hang of ot, it actually takes less time to get dinner from the grocery store to the table.

Groceries on the cheap takes a three-disciplined   approach .

Planning and organizing
Smart shopping
Cooking from scratch

More tomorrow

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Jane

How many ways can one say stupid, without saying it out loud,

I was reading a blog where people were telling of ways they SAVED money.  I know, to each his own, and I didn't want to attack anyone on a blog discussion.  That being said, going to the store and buying just what you need for a week, regardless of the cost is dare I say STUPID.  YOU ARE THROWING MONEY AWAY. IF YOU DONT CHOOSE TO STOCK, AT LEAST PLAN YOUR MEALS AROUND WHAT IS ON SALE AND MAKE BEST USE OF COUPONS.  And, I almost never just go to one store!

Z  Last week, I went to the dollar store, I spent 1.00 on food.  I got two recipe starters that are 2.59 at SAFEWAYS for FREE.  I got two boxes of potatoes for .50.
The rite aid netted taco kits for little more than the shells would cost.  And the baby's Mac and cheese for .50 instead of 139.  ( her teacher requests pre made  because she's making lunches for multiple kids.) and I went to SAFEWAYS for a savings of over sixty percent.

Why pay more than retail for food you can buy for 50 or more percent off?   In my book, that's just STUPID!   Unless, of course,you have money to burn!

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Jane

Terrific Thursday

Yesterday was a hard day.  I was exhausted.  I cut up and cooked beef tips in the crock pot before I went to work.  When I got home, my daughter made a salad, my husband made mashed potatoes, my son took the baby and I made gravy.  Dinner was ready in five minutes or so.  I ate dinner and went to bed.  Have to do the dishes this morning.  And make up the studio time I lost yesterday.

On to the subject at hand .   I plan my meals after I go to the store.  You need a plan.  You don't always have to stick  to the plan, bit you need a plan.  Meal plans keep you on track and scare away the lets order pizza gremlins.  LOL.  I plan a slow cooker or other easy meal for the days I know are going to be hard.  If I have to work the late shift, I want dinner in five minutes or so.

Using the matrix ( rough plan) affords you a variety of meals, makes everyone happy on our family, and makes the project easy.  We all have different tastes in this family, I want us to have a variety of meals.  So, we compromise and everyone gets some of what they like the best each week.

2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish or shellfish

When I buy and batch cook meat I rotate meats using whatever is the rock bottom price 8! The ads.  Sometimes I have to be flexible because the meat is not as good as I would like, or they are out of it.

Last week, I used chuck  steaks and made stew meat out of it,  it was on sale, and I got twenty percent off besides.  This week, I won't use the coupon for SAFEWAYS, I hope next week is better buys.
Chicken is a buck this week.  I am still well stocked from the grill packs, but it would be my meat of choice this week.  You can roast a chicken in ten minutes non-passive time.  If you don't have a roasting rack, rough chop carrots and potatoes and cook the chicken on top of them.

The sausage at Costco has been creeping up in price.  I suspect it is still less than at the regular stores.
I fry it, de fat it, and break it down to meal sized portions.  You can use it in quiche, on pizza, and in soup.

I watch for hamburger to get nine percent for under three dollars.  I was getting it at SAFEWAYS.  Last time I got it from Costco.  It was a finer grind.  I would have prefered SAFEWAYS.  I make meatballs, meatloaf, crumbles, taco meat, Salisbury steak sometimes.  I defat the crumbles and taco meat.

Meatballs are very versatile.  Meat ball subs, meatballs and gravy, red sauce, white sauce over noodles,...
I use crumbles in casseroles or on soup or on pizza.
Tacos are a standard on this family.  We all like it and I can vary the meal to make everybody happy ( vegetarians and semi vegetarians.  ).

I have been getting pepperoni for .50 instead of 3.50 lately.  Watch coupons.  Since processed meat has got bad publicity, the coupons are on great supply.  My mantra is anything in moderation.  I try my best to give us a variety of meals and not to eat the same thing over and over.  It doesn't always work... Que the three chicken meals on a row last week, LOl, bit it usually does.

When I could, I got sirloin tip roast once a month.  I still have been able to get pork loin roast.  You can make a Sunday dinner and hot or BBQ  sandwiches, pork chops,  cubes for stew etc.

I am still trying for two dollars a pound.  Lately, it's closer to three for beef.  I can still get pork and chicken cheaper to average it out.

Cheese has taken a huge hike.  I am still getting it for two to two fifty a pound by watching sales.  If it isn't the price I want, I don't get it.  I do get it when it is two dollars whether I NEED it or not.  The biggest hurdle to get over of you are used to buying your food every two days on a need only basis,is to buy something that keeps wether you need it that day or not.  It's a careful balance that buys enough to last you until a new sale, and not buying too much.  I have been getting shredded cheese at Costco or SAFEWAYS.  Costco's afforded my closer to two dollars a pound.  Some cheese is four dollars a pound.  It is to your advantage to buy it at two dollars.

If you are lucky enough to have the time to cook beans and eat them the same day, go for it and use dry beans.  They are cheapest if you can get with friends or family and split a bag from Costco ( or another warehouse store) .  Beans and rice have a short fridge life.  I use canned beans because of it.  I rarely have time to make scratch beans.  I have not tried them in the pressure cooker.  Has anyone cooked beans in the pressure cooker before?    I get beans for between .50 and .67.  At .50 with beans from the regular chains, you break even on cost.  I make a sausage bean soup.  It takes cans and can be "thrown " in the crockpot in a matter of minutes.

I almost always have a hard cheese in the house.  Please, DONT  buy parm from a can!   Of parm is not cheap, I buy whatever hard cheese is .  Grocery outlet is a good source for cheese.  There is usually a wide variety of cheeses, some cheaper, some not. They carry a jalapeño grated cheese that is really good mixed with other cheeses for Mac and cheese.  I make Mac and cheese often, because, again, I can make one meal and don't have to adapt to compensate for vegetarians. My daughter has started to eat chicken.  It really helps, even though gramps is not thrilled with chicken.  He eats it, but would rather have beef.  I think it is important for health reasons to have a variety of meals.

You are better off with sloppy joes than hamburgers when beef is as expensive as it is now.  You use a lot less meat!  

To recap, protein is your most expensive item to buy for meals.  Getting a good handle on ways to cut your costs with out sacrificing variety and nutrition is a good start on cutting your food bill.  Taking advantage of coupons, and sales and stocking saves a lot of money.  Watching your stock and not overstocking is essential.  You want enough to last you of anything that is non perishable and things you use weekly to make meals.  Fruits and vegetables are purchased in season at their lowest cost.
Ready made things are purchased at a minimum, mostly when they are cheaper than scratch.

If you are on SNAP, your budget is pretty much set, if not, the USDA has guidelines based on the sizes of your families and the ages of the members of your family.  They have four different budgets, and update it frequently.

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Jane

Notes on Wednesday

Last night we went with  friends to taco Tuesday!   It is a good way for us to go out with friends and have fun without spending a lot of money.

It has come to my attention, that some of my readers are from different parts of the country,  I am in Seattle.  When I post a blog on the ads, I realize that the prices will do you no good.  But, there is a methodology in preparing to shop.  By doing an exercise to analyze the best store ads .  You are looking for the best prices on the things your family needs.  The object is to find the rock bottom price on the foods you use often.  Buy as many as you can afford when they are the cheapest, as many as the store allows ( limit) or as many as you need to fill on your stock.  If I use something once a week, I keep 24,  if I use something once a month I keep 6.  This works on shelf ready things that won't go bad.  It won't happen overnight, but inch. Y inch it will happen.

Stores operate on a 8-12 week cycle.   Y tracking the prices of your 10 or so items, you can see a pattern and get things at the lowest price for your area.

It's a whole different concept in shopping.  You are not going to buy all of what you need to make 7 dinners in one shopping trip.  You are going to stock items when they are at the lowest price, and eat them when they are at the highest.  Not to different from the old days when our grandmothers put up fruit and veggies from the garden on the farm to get them through the winter.

When the ads come out, analyze the ads and pick the best two stores that have the best buys for the week on your rock bottom prices, your produce and dairy, and the meat of the week.  If you pick I meat that is at a rock bottom price and buy the amount you will eat in a month, you will get the lowest price, buy on bulk, and portion control so there is no waste.

We operate on a matrix for variety.  Your matrix may very well be different according to your families likes.  Ours is

2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2vegetarian
1 fish or shellfish

So, for instance, if I was buying the chicken this week that is a. Buck a pound, I would figure I can get four dinners from one chicken.  I will buy a five or so pound chicken.  Roast it off, and use one meal of Sunday chicken dinner, one with chicken cubes ( like pot pie or a casserole) and one BBQ dark meat, one soup from the bones.

Next  week, I might buy a log of sausage from Costco, or a pork loin, depending on what I can buy cheap.  Maybe a brick of hamburger.

That's all about the time I have this morning.

Thanks for stopping by

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Jane

The ads 10/2

Here are the ads for this week.  Obviously, the mail is still moving.

Note. Betty Crocker potatoes are 1.25 at SAFEWAYS.  I got them for a buck at the dollar store and got a coupon for 1.00 off two.  Essentially I got them BOGO.    Pudding is one of the things I am collecting with my friends for school backpacks for children.  Nets 1.40 for a dozen.
I got HORMEL meat boxes for 3.20 last week at SAFEWAYS and fruit Popsicles for a little more than a buck.  It pays dot watch and only buy what is on a true sale cheap.  I almost never pay full price unless it is a dire necessity.  LOL.

SAFEWAYS
Foldgers 6.88
Yoplait 10/5$$

Cheeses BOGO - there are no prices, so I don't know if this is a bargain or not.

foster farms chicken is .99
Grapes 1.99
Barilla pasta. .75
Betty Crocker potatoes 4/5 *****+note below $$
Skippy peanut butter 2.99@. $$

5 dollar Friday


QFC

APPLES .99
Pears .99
Tomatoes .99
Carrots .99
Chicken .99
Dryers ice cream 2.99
Eggs 2/3
Grapes 199
outshine bars 2.99*** notes

TOP

MILK .80
Potatoes 1.80
Gala apples .80
Dryers ice cream 2.80
2 lbs carrots .80
Yogurt 2/.80
Tuna .80
Ketchup .80
Snack PAC .80

ALBERTSOMS

Crescent rolls .88

Mega sale
Barilla .88
Tuna .88
Cake mix .88
HORMEL beef tips 4.99****


Milk 1.89@@

That's about it.

Note @@ means there is an in ad coupon
$$ means there Are manufacturers coupons out there.
***.  These prices are exhorbitant.  . See last weeks ads, specifically SAFEWAYS.  This is why stocking and buying at the RBP is beneficial .

Please scratch off anything that is over priced and anything that is cheaper elsewhere.  Check coupon connections on Seattle, or the coupon matchup site in your area.

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Jane

Tuesday / recipe edition....almost free soup and more!

Ok, we all know it is Tuesday.  It's is taco Tuesday,  We had tacos already this week, but I guess we will live to tell about it.  Our spur of the moment chicken enchilada soup, added to the tacos, means when we could only find a Teriaki place for dinner last night, we had chicken three times in a row.  My husband just LOVES chicken !

ALMOST FREE  chicken soup!

4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
3 bay leaves
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped

2 tsp garlic
1tsp olive oil

2 ounces mixed pasta ( the bottoms of the packages , or broken spaghetti.
Chopped or cubed chicken.

1) add chicken broth and water to pot, add veggies and bay leaf and bring to a boil.

2) reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes

3) add pasta and simmer 8-10 minutes or until the pasta is tender.

4) add cooked chicken and heat through.  ( if frozen, defrost on the microwave.

Notes :
I would serve with some grated parm, or other hard cheese.  I use the chicken bones to make stock.
So, the rest of the ingredients are about leftover stuff too, with the exception of the chicken.  A portion of chicken at RBP is a buck.  I would add any other leftover vegetables I had in the fridge that sounded good, maybe a pinch of poultry seasoning.

Maybe serve with cheese biscuits.  And a hearty desert.  Maybe apple crisp.

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Jane

I will do the ads as soon as I get them.  When I was at rite aid, the spices. Were .88.   Has anyone seen spices cheaper????

Coupons out there for .50 off recipe starter and recipe starter is .50 at the dollar tree.  They will let you use two coupons.  it is cheaper than making white sauce from scratch.  They have basil and garlic sauces.  My daughter boiled  and drained max, poured the sauce in, added cheese and put it in a 350 ocean to heat through.  It was really good.  You can also add a bread crumb and hard cheese topping.
Or crushed tortilla chips.  Sometimes  I make Mac and cheese with all the little buts of cheese left in the cheese drawer.  I picked that up from a menu at a classy restaurant.  LOL

I wouldn't go miles to the dollar store for this, but our dollar store is next to one of the chain stores.  I go for the newspaper and any other necessity items that they have cheaper than elsewhere.  Frozen veggies are cheaper and you can get deodorant, soap, and toothpaste for free at times with coupons.

http://www.grocerycouponcart.com

Thanks again,
Jane

Rite aid trip

Just went to rite aid....beer run....

I got my candy for 25 percent off...I love chocolate for no carbs!!!!!

I also got the Mac and cheese cups my granddaughter loves for 2.00 for four,  they are 1.39 each.  W up rewards.
And taco kits for 1.50 with up rewards and a coupon.  That is really close to the price of a package of taco shells.  You can get both hard and soft shells in the same package and taco seasoning and sauce.

There is still a clearance rack, not much there at Lynnwood. I did get a Sid video  for baby for 1.75.
They have chairs, Mickey and princess and stools, and lap trays .  

That's about it.  

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Jane

Monday Madness

I can't  believe it is Monday.  It seems like I just posted  a Monday madness , don't know where the week went.  We had chicken tacos last night.  I have been working in my studio a lot lately.  It's crunch time.  I usually have more done by now....just messing around.  tacos, refried beans, and rice is a good quick meal.  I used a pound of shredded chicken and put the sauce mix from the kit in water and reduced it and added the chicken. I would have used scratch, but I got taco kits at Rite aid with rite aid bucks and a coupon for the same as buying the shells.  With care, I have rolled over the rite aid bucks for several months now.  I will go for better than free toothpaste today or tomorrow.  I took about twenty of them to the women's shelter Friday.  I'll start another batch.  My husband is jokingly calling me the toothpaste fairy.  Ha ha

Retailers have studied ways to get you to spend money. They have studied human behavior and use the norm for their own benefit.  If you want to stretch your buck and not fall into their plan to spend a lot of money, you need to shop with a definite plan and be strong and stick to it. By shopping wisely, you can live better ; make the most of what you do have.  There is a certain sense of security in knowing if something happens, you still can feed your family.

Sending you free money is one way, or a coupon to give you a dollar amount off a certain bottom line on your receipt.  I spent a little amount the previous week, so that I could spend more this week.  I matched the things in the ad that I could use over a period of weeks and use the 10.00 off cart coupon, specials, store coupons and manufacturers coupons.  The bottom line is I got a 61 percent discount.  I bought some ready mades, but they were cheaper than making them from scratch.  I have another coupon, they expire October  15.   I'll watch for another good week to match up.  In the mean time, I got the equivalent of 10 almost dinners for 46.89.  I bought a few things because I was hosting a party, and some fruit pops that I got for a little more than a buck for six for the baby and she is teething. But,  had I bought potatoes and veggies with the rest, I would have had all the ingredients.  I have them, because I stock.

If I had got the same coupon from a department store, I would have passed.

I purchased three pounds plus of chick steak.  I intend to cut it up and make stew meat out of it.  I'll cook it in the crock pot and break it done onto family sized portions.  I can make soup or stew, or serve it over rice or mashed potatoes.  I could do the same with home made meat balls.  When you make soup in the slow cooker and use precooked meat, just make the soup without the meat,mand add it the last half hour to 45 minutes to heat through, or heat it in the microwave and put it in the soup.  Recooking  meat in the crock pot will either make it fall apart or make it tough!

When I get grill packs for a dollar, I debone the chicken breasts.  I use the bones to add to the pot that I cook the legs and thighs to shred the chicken and make stock.  That makes chicken breasts about as cheap as you are going to get them.  Deboneing a chicken breast is easy.  There are videos on the Internet.  Basicly, you just run your knife along the large bone and pull away the meat as you go.  Slowly and carefully.

Citrus Chicken

4 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 t butter

1 small lime~ wash the lime! zest 1 teaspoon on peel.  Squeeze 2 tables juice.
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 crushed red pepper flakes ( optional)

1 orange

1) rinse chicken and par dry.
2) cook chicken in a skillet with the butter and garlic, about 8-10 minutes, turning over mid way through your time.the chicken  should be tender and the juices should run clear.
3) in small bowl, combine remaining ingredients EXCEPT the orange.
4) peel and slice the orange, cut the slices into quarters, saving any juice.
5) add juices to the skillet and place orange slices on top of the chicken.
6) reduce heat, and cover.  Simmer 2 minutes until the sauce is heated through.

I would serve with rice and a salad or brocolli.

Notes: chicken is a buck when you get it on sale.  De inning your chicken saves a ton of money.  Oranges were a buck a pound last week.  This should be a quick meal.  Start the rice cooking while you make the chicken.  Zap a veggie while you are plateing the food.

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Jane

Chicken E nchilada Soup

Yesterday, it poured rain and the wind was more than strong.  Thankfully, we kept our electricity.  My daughter and I decided it was a good day for soup.

We adapted a recipe from   Realmomkitchen.com to meet the criteria for cost and so we didn't have to go out on the rain and wind to get anything. LOL

CROCKPOT CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn, rinsed
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1  - 10 ounce can enchalada sauce
1'can cream of celery soup
1-1/2 cups milk

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

 1 family sized portion of shredded chicken.

In a 3-5 quart slow cooker, dump everything but the milk.slowly stir in the milk.  Cook on high 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8.  When almost done, break up your cooked chicken (last 1/2 hour) and add it to the cooker to heat through.

Top with cheese,  we had tortilla chips with it also.

Notes:

This recipe called for cooking raw chicken breast .  I am a "chicken-- " pardon the pun!) to cook raw chicken in the slow cooker.  I don't know about bringing the chicken to temp soon enough.

I precook meats so I always have either chicken cubes cooked or shredded chicken.  I always have a few cans of corn.  I don't usually buy frozen.  I picked up cream of celery soup when our grocery store closed for 1/2 price.  Otherwise, I might have made a cup and a half of cream soup from my base.  I would look for a sale about thanksgiving time and stock up for the year.

I got enchalada sauce for fifty cents at ALBERTSOMS.  Enchalada sauce is one of the easiest things to make.  At it's usual price of more than a dollar, it is a rip off.  I watched a lot of videos on the Internet when I was stuck in bed a while ago.  All it is is a white sauce that you make with water instead of milk and add chili powder to instead of milk.  I used the recipe on the food channel the first time----it will knock your sox off!   I would prefer a bit less chili powder.  LOL red peppers I diced when they were going bad.  They were 3/1 at grocery outlet.  The cheese was from the dollar store, I used part of a chunk.

Black beans .50
Diced tomatoes .48
Corn .33
Red peppers  .25
Enchalada sauce .50
Soup .60
Milk.19
1 cup shredded cheese .75
Chicken 1.00

Total 4.71.

If my budget was larger and I was feeding teen children I would maybe replace the cheese top with a dollop  of sour cream and make some quesadas.  That still would put you really close to the five dollar budget.

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Jane

Suddenly Sunday, early edition

My husband needed a tool at the dollar store.  He picked up the newspaper for me.  This has the p and g insert as well as the smart source.  They, however don't have a lot of good stuff in them.  I see Yoplait yogurt.

Fred Meyers has some good sales.  That is, of they have the product.  Often times, like almost every time I go, there is so,etching on ad that they are out of.  I guess that boosts their profits.  LOL

Note: @@ means with a in ad coupon.  $$ means that there is a coupon to be had.

TOMORROW
Apples and pears are .98.
BUTTER 3/5@@
Rib roast 2.99
Grapes 1.49
Country oven bread 2/3@@
Acorn squash 1.00
Yoplait yogurt is 10/5@@$$

Pizza 3.99$$

Dryers ice cream 2/5@@

Always check coupon connections if you are in the Seattle area for matchups.  Sometimes , lately, I have been unable to make it work, but it is a good starting point.  She does the hard work for you.


TOMORROWS RITE AID
Colgate total toothpaste 2.99 with a up reward of 2.00. A coupon for a dollar at coupons.com makes it a money maker.  A WHOLE PENNY.

Jiff peanut butter 2/5 with a 1.00 up reward when you buy 2 . Nets 2.00 each

That's all I found.

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Jane

Suddenly Saturday.

Yesterday we went shopping. The total for the month was just over 60.00.  Yet, I have still growing stock.

Both SAFEWAYS and ALBERTSOMS had good buys.  But, I had a ten dollar coupon for SAFEWAYS so it was the deal cincher .  I saved 61 percent, a personal high and I didn't buy 90 bottles of hot sauce.  LOL.  It took me an hour to prep for the trip, most of that was finding the coupons for the pasta that SAFEWAYS computer didn't like anyway.  I got pasta for .50 and some of the packages were packages with additional product.  Pasta is an easy way to stretch a buck and still feed hungry mouths,  it's probably why so many of our mothers served it for extended family dinners.
It's a crowd pleaser and with French bread and a salad, it is a well rounded meal.

Last night we had family over and we had pizza, salad and cake and ice cream-- another good family meal.

By carefully sticking to your list, adjusting for unforseen  circumstances, and planning wisely, you can stretch your food dollar.  I like 1/2 price.  I really like 61 percent.  When you buy one or two things that aren't on sale, it lowers your percent off.  However, it is not realistic to shop like the television extrememcouponers.   Some of the things they do are not allowed by the stores .  Plans change when the register won't accept your coupons and they get their large numbers by purchasing large quantities of things that they  will never use to clutter up their food storage.  Making logical decisions is the key.

Pasta has a 8 YEAR shelf life.  Fresh fruits and veggies don't.  Canned goods are usually good for
three- four years, except meat and fish.  Expiration dates are not etched in concrete.  So,e things are perfectly good a bit past the pull date.  We throw away , so the article I just read says, about 40 percent of our food.  That's terribly wasteful.  That being said, I would not feed my family anything I had a doubt about.  Better safe than sorry.

The meats I bought were fridge stable.  They have expiration dates.  The coupon companies restrict you to printing two coupons.  For a regular family, that's probably all you need.  Most of the time, ready mades are more expensive than ready made.  Most of the time is key here.  With drought prices, some meat entrees are cheaper than scratch.  Ready mades still have preservatives and such in them and buying four items that will spread over a month is good judgement.  It is limiting your exposure while you eat scratch the other six days.  If  I have to work the late shift and the till doesn't balance, having a five minute meal in my back pocket is a good thing.  if you know ahead of time, the slow cooker is a boon too.  I get brown and serve baguettes at Costco or the bakery outlet.  They also make bread sticks.  Fifteen minutes and you have a hearty stew or soup and bread.

Again that word I always come back to. MODERATION? !

Groceries on the cheap is based on five dollar dinners for the average family.  That being two adults and two school age children.  We have, basically three adults and a child.  My daughter purchases some alternative foods for their semi- vegetarian diet and buys her lunch.  I am estimating that we are providing three meals.  That might be a little stretch, but I am also doing it on 1/2 of the USDA stats for a thrifty budget.

Every few months, the USDA posts a chart with the food at home costs for meals in four different price budgets and breaks down the age and gender of family members.  SNAP adjusts the thrifty stats with the cost of living index in your area.  That's why buying a bunch of junk food and ready mades will burn your budget.  Scratch cooking doesn't have to take all day of non-passive time.  Oven meals and slow cooker meals are a great help.  Slow cookers are at yard sales, estate sales, and the goodwill often.  New ones are really inexpensive.  I really recommend them to the busy person with a family that wants to eat on the cheap.  A lot of slow cooker recipes lately call for a can of this or that.  Most of the time you can substitute with an ingredient that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

A good cheap substitute for cream based soup is the recipe starter at themdollarmstore,  it's .50.  You will have to adjust the amount to compensate for the condensed soup.  You can make a cream soup base with a recipe on a older blog.  Again, reduce the amount of liquid the recipe calls for by part of the amount the recipe calls for.  You are trying to make the same consistency of the original product.

At .50 a can for the basil or garlic sauces, it is cheaper than white sauce from scratch.

With a pasta cooker from big lots, you can cook pasta in the microwave with passive time.  No stirring, or watching.  You measure the pasta, fill the oval pan to the correct mark, and set the time on the microwave.  When you done, you use the strainer lid instead of a colander and have less dishes.  They are five bucks at the big lots.  Another version at my store that sells tv things,  it is one tv gadget that makes a lot of sense.

Not watching the pasta pot allows you to heat your sauce, add meat, and make a salad while the pasta is cooking with a whole lot less stress.

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Jane

The ultimate extrememcouponers coupoming

I did my errands and we went to SAFEWAYS.

I spent 46.89.   I saved 74.70.  For a savings of 61 percent.

Most of it was meat that I got for less than scratch made.  By the time that I used my SAFEWAYS cart coupon, manufacturers coupons and the sale prices the savings were remarkable.  There were a few things on my list I substituted other things for.    Brownies for a birthday cake , vegetables for the chicken dogs for granddaughter, but I  stayed pretty close to task.

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Jame

Finally Friday / Safeway 10.00 coupons

It's finally Friday and I have errands.  I bought  a punch at Michaels. This the third time I bought something at Michaels that was either broken or used.  I am also going to take my toothpaste stash to the women's shelter.  I have been getting toothpaste for cheap or free for months.  Driving my husband crazy,  he kept saying , we don't need any more toothpaste !   LOL.  imagine his surprise when I start the stash again!    I get to work a whole year on it this  time.

I digress,were talking about food.  groceries on the cheap is not about hoarding.  It's about stocking enough of the staples that you use on a weekly basis to last you until it goes on sale again.  Sales run on a 8-12 week cycle.  Now enter the drought situation to mix things up.  Try to keep a at least three month supply of the things that you use weekly.  Things like mayonnaise, catsup and mustard, I keep one ahead and when I open the back up one, I start looking for a sale.  That stuff usually goes on at picnic time.  Catsup and mustard are always at the dollar store.

This won't happen overnight.  It comes a can here and a box there.  If you are short on space , get inventive.  I once used an ottoman that had storage in it.  One lady took a garbage can and put a wood round on top and covered it with a cloth.  Some people just have two of the storage boxes from Home Depot that have tops in the corner of the kitchen.  Whatever works.  Growing up, we always had a storage room in the basement.  When we moved into a new house, Dad would put up shelves.  My parents would also mark the top of the cans with the date it came in the house .
We didn't have the convenience foods that we have these days, but they are a sure way to inflate your food budget to the max.

I am going to make quick breads this week end. at here is a good apple one I found on Betty Crocker, an orange one on the food channel, and I got a pumpkin bread box from Costco.  With the cost of pumpkin it is cheaper than scratch.  My son makes pumpkin pie from scratch, but I haven't ventured into that yet.

Ok, as promised, I am reading the SAFEWAYS fine print.  It's so done, I am using a magnifying glass.  Basically, the ten dollar coupon includes all FOOD  items after sales, except dairy,  it has to be used in one single transaction before Oct. 15.  There are two of them,  if you aren't going to use two, be a good neighbor and share with someone that will.  That random act of kindness can really make someone's day.

Ok,

HORMEL ready made entrees are on 5 dollar Fridays.  There is a printable for a buck.  They are almost a pound to 22 ounces,  scratch is higher if you are talking beef,  some of them we have tried are yucky to coin my granddaughters expressions.  The beef tips are good.  And they are a good way to make a five minute dinner.  They will feed a typical family of four, or three adults.
There is also one on Lloyd's ribs.  That makes sirloin tips about 3.20.  , the same price as a pound of sirloin.

Digiorno pizzas are on also.  There is a coupon for 2 dollars off two.  Also a net of four.  Or 3.20 net.

Remember you are also getting another twenty percent off od you keep your spending to fifty dollars.

Eggs are 1.25.  Net with the coupon 1.00

Frozen fruit bars are 2.49  and there is a 1.10 coupon net 1.39 less twenty percent 1.13.  I'm thinking they would be good for kids sore throats,   Sooth the throat, vitamin c ???? LOL

Just for you coupons need to be store coupons to make the manufacturers coupons work. I checked, they work.  So, you can use a Safeway coupon, a manufacturers coupon, and also get to bucks off of fifty dollars.  Bring your calculator.  Note your net prices.

Golden grain pasta is .50.   There is a coupon for -50 on coupon connections.  I really like the word FREE.

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Jane

Terrific Thursday

It's Thursday already.  This week in some ways has flown by.  A bit of frustration  with insurance companies, but it's behind us now, so we trudge on.

I still haven't found time to research the coupons and the ten bucks off SAFEWAYS yet.  Otherwise, I am not seeing much to shout home about in the ads.

Oranges are a buck at ALBERTSONS.  I like to make orange quick bread because it is inexpensive.  I found a recipe on line that takes the whole orange.  I have made them in the past that just use juice and the rind.

ALBERTSOMS also has whole fryers for a buck a pound.  If you have not used chicken this month yet for your once a month choice, it would be a good time.  The difference in price between a deli chicken and from scratch is remarkable.  You don't know where the chicken from the deli comes from and you should NEVER buy a chicken less than three pounds.  There is too much bone to meat ratio. In other words, you are paying for too much bone .  We don't eat the bone.  ALBERTSONS deli chicken is 5.99 for contrast.  It is probably 2-3 pounds.  At three pounds, that would be two dollars a pound.  It takes ten minutes to put a roast chicken on the oven.  1/6 of an hour .  Six times three bucks is 18.00 an hour.

I wash the outside.  Clean the cavity and dump some salt in it.  Stuff it with anything I have got laying around.   An apple, piece of onion, lemon or orange, maybe a piece of rosemary if I have it in the garden.  Massage the skin with olive oil.  Sprinkle some salt and pepper on it and shove it on the oven on a roasting pan.  Roast off at 375 degrees.  I have a thermometer with a probe.  It beeps at me when the chicken is up to temp.  I also check it with am instant read.

ALBERTSONS also has eggs on coupon for .98.  Eggs for dinner is a good way to cut your dinner costs, a very inexpensive source of protein.  My family loves quiche.

I always check coupon connections in case I missed something.  A lot of coupons are for things I don't buy because even with a coupon, they are too costly. There are, however, some things that  are regular items that are cheaper.  Tillamook yogurt with a coupon last week was 2/.25. Instead of .70.  I would have not bought it at that price, but at .125 cents, we can drizzle it on fruit and have a good desert.

Oatmeal is 2/3.  A really good buy.  Oatmeal is a really good healthy breakfast.  It cooks quickly on the microwave.  I cook it for a minute, and then for an additional 30 seconds.  If it isn't stiff enough, an additional 30 seconds.  This keeps it from boiling over.

In addition, I use it on banana -blueberry bread and oatmeal cookies.
Sugar is 1.49 for four pounds.  Cheaper than the sale at rite aid.

That's about all.

Thanks for stopping by

Please share.  I would be interested in teaching a class at a church or civic center in the Seattle area, I am trying to reach people that need to know this information.  Food stamps are taking a cut in November and just a WAG, more people will need to learn ways to stretch a buck!

Jane

The Ads

The ads

QFC

Milk 2.59
Yoplait 10/5$$
Dreyers 2.99
Peaches 1.49
Pork shoulder roast 1.79

Week end only
6/2 corn
Cod 3.99
Pork 1/2 loin 2.99
Butter 1.99


TOP

Bogo meat sale
Sirloin roast 2.75net

Meat 2.99 lb
Pork sirloin
Loin roast or chops
Country ribs
Eye of round.

( some   of that doesn't sound like a bargain.)

Brown or powdered sugar 1.00

ALBERTSOMS



Chicken 1.00
15 percent ground beef 2.69
Salad .79
Oranges .99
Sugar 4 lbs 1.49@@


Eggs .98@@
Butter 1.79@@

Coupons
Mac n cheese .69 limit 8@@
Dijornno pizza 4.99@@ $$??

SAFEWAYS
Remember the 10.00 off 50.00 coupons

Cross rib roast 2.69
Pork Loin  chops 2.29

Apples .99
Bread .88
Pot roast 2.99
Cod 5.00

Mega buy 4

Diced tomatoes .79
Pasta .50

Just 4 you

Johnsonville sausage 2.49
Nalley chilli .89

5 dollar Friday
Lloyd's ribs
3 lbs grapes
Digiorno pizza
Eggs 4/5
Cream cheese 4/5

I am not sure if you can match coupons with the just for you.  You can with the five dollar Fridays.
I think there is pizza coupons out there. As well as HORMEL or ribs.

Check the reatrictioms on the 10.00 coupon.  Ypu could score well if it doesn't exclude the five dollar Friday prices.


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Jane

Terrific Tuesday

I got the ads for Fred Meyers and rite aid Sumday.  Nome of them were anything to write home about.

I am going to have to use so,e divine intervention to find something in the store that is a bargain to use my up rewards before they expire.  LOL. The CBD ravioli that I got 8/5.00 at big lots is 1.50 each at rite aid with the up rewards.  I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, but it is on the list for the title 1 schools weekend packs.  I can make two entire dinners with desert for the 12.00 they would cost at the rite aid-- for a family of four.  It sounds like the criteria is  individual packages of things that older kids can make themselves.  no child should go hungry.

By using shopping strategies , and stocking, something like spaghetti and a green salad and a pudding can be had for 6.00 easy.  Ditto a chicken dinner .  Chicken, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables. Ice cream.

The  Sunday paper has another ad for ALBERTSOMS.  Cheese is 3.99 with a coupon in the ad.  Apples are .88.  Often apples are discounted another dollar if on a bag at ALBERTSOMS.  Tillamook yogurt is .25 with a coupon.  There are manufacturers coupons out there too.  I got BOGO.  Jiffy pizza crust didn't exist.  Tomato sauce was .25.  Tomato paste is cheaper at Costco last I checked.
Sour cream is .75.  Tuna and clams are a buck.  You can make a hearty meal with two cans of either thing.  Cured bandages are a buck and there is a coupon out there.  Check couponconnections if you are in the Seattle area.  Other areas have coupon match up sites too.  Google for the one in your area. They match up good sales at your local grocery stores with manufacturers coupons to get the most bang for your buck.

You can use a store coupon with a manufacturers coupon.  In Washington, I have never seen it where you get money back for using coupons at grocery stores.  At SAFEWAYS, if your item is .99 and you have a coupon for a buck, you coupon is not usable with that transaction.  You can make money at rite aid.  Yes, I'm some instances you can make money by buying a product.  That is, you get the product and they pay you To buy it.  You, however, can't like you see on extreme couponing, buy 93 of them!   LOL.  I still wouldn't take advantage of the offer if it was something I wouldn't use or couldn't take to the food bank.  I have seem these deals on baby food and toothpaste and mouthwash.
This helps if you are on snap that doesn't pay for toiletries or paper products.  I almost always get toothpaste for free.  I have been getting toothpaste for free and saving up.  I'm going to take a basket of it to the women's shelter for my birthday.  Sometimes I gave my mom a gift on my birthday, the ultimate Mother's Day.  She's gone now, but I can do something in her memory.

I guess that's all.  I, behind and have order to get out soon.

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Jane

The plan

Part of stretching a buck in the kitchen is to reduce waste.  When you get home from the grocery shopping trip, or before,my survey the fridge and make a note of hat is left on the perishable department.  Add the things you have in you're stockpile and the new meat and veggies you just bought and make your meal plans from the list. Use the oldest of the perishables first.  Vegetable soup, sauce for ice cream or pancakes,  Banana bread, orange bread, apple bread.   Stir fry.

What else can you think of to use up bits and pieces of vegetables or leftovers?  

Cottage cheese can stuff pasta shells, replace cream cheese in a recipe, or replace sour cream in some recipes.  Sour cream can go in some cake or pound cakes.  There is a recipe out there for lemon pound cake that the big buck coffee shop sells for two dollars a slice.

Milk can make pudding or clam chowder, or any cream soup.  You can use up a little it of a vegetable with that too.

Radishes take on a whole new taste when you roast them.

I bought vanilla yogurt for .125 last time, I plan to use it over fruit instead of whipping cream.

So next time something is about to expire, think at to with a different light!  

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Jane

The basics, part three

To recap, we have covered in part, the planning and the shopping.  Now the cooking.  What to do with the stuff after you get it home.

Precooking your meat saves a lot of time at dinner time.  It also buys your meat when it is the cheapest in bulk, and portion controls to so you get more meals for your buck.   I have a post on almost free pizza.  If you , for instance, fry and defat sausage, and portion it for quiche or soup making, and there is a little leftover, put it in a bag in the freezer door.  Ditto any other meat you can put on a pizza.  When you are chopping a vegetable that can go on a pizza, do the same.  When you have nough, make pizza.  There is an easy pizza crust recipe on an earlier blog.  Also, I got a pizza crust package at big lots for .50.  ALBERTSONS was supposed to have one for .50 as well, but I didn't find it.  Also, there is a bisquick recipe and a fridge bread dough recipe on an earlier post as well.  Many options.  You want to pay close to 2.50 or less for cheese.  Lately, Costco has been my best bet.  Cheddar blocks I have been fitting for 2.00 a pound on a sale, limit 1.

I got clams for a buck at ALBERTSONS this week.  Two cans makes clam cakes, or clam chowder.  Add a cheese biscuit and you have a good cheap meal.

A slow cooker can be your best friend in the kitchen.  There are literally hundreds of dump and turn on recipes out there.  Just be aware of the fact that if you pay dollars each for cans of soup, or other remade ingredients , you are defeating your purpose.  There is also a recipe for cream soup base on another blog or find a good sale.  I got soup for fifty cents at ALBERTSONS.  Look for recipes that are more scratch. I post them when I find them.

Sloppy joes are cheaper to make than hamburgers.  Again, use a recipe that doesn't call for a two dollar can of sauce.   Think ahead and pull some tomato sauce fom a large can if you are making
something else.  The larger can at big lots is cheaper than two smaller cans.  Big lots doesn't take food stamps, but they don't carry a lot of food either,  so your OOP is low if you are on snap.  Buns are at the bread store for free when you buy your months worth of bread often.

I write the basics off the top of my head every month.  Please feel free to read others.  We shop at two chain stores unless the sales are bad that week.  We go to Costco and Winco about every month to six weeks.  We go to the bread store when we are out of bread and I can't get it cheaper at the store on sale.  Grocery outlet and big lots are on a need to have or when we are in the area  for something else .  I just started going to Fred Meyers and rite aid on Sunday or Monday if the ads warrant it,  rite aid has up rewards that sometimes pay you to buy something.  If I am going to need it, I get it.  Then I use my up reward bucks on something else I am going to need that is cheap, has up rewards and preferably I have a coupon for.  I have been getting toothpaste for free,  along with mouthwash.

The dollar store is a good resource for some items.  I have been getting  recipe starter for .50.  It is 2.59 at SAFEWAYS,  this is another case of buying is cheaper than scratch at 50.  I would not buy it if it cost more,  frozen veggies are cheaper there as well usually.  Ditto pepperoni.  I was getting it for
.50 for what is 3.50 at the store.

I did a blog on dinners at the dollar store, just for fun.  We did not eat the dinners, it was virtual, so I can't attest to the taste of them, LOL.  The frozen veggies and potatoes are good.  My family doesn't like shoestring.  I bought peppers to use with shredded chicken and some soy sauce for stir fry with rice.  Rice is cheap at the dollar store.

I buy the .25 cans of tomato sauce for pizza , and to make a little sauce for the grandbabys    lunch.
It's worth it because there is no waste.

There is a recipe for No Brainer pasta on an earlier post.  It is my answer to a burger meal box.  Less non-passive time, so simple anyone can do it, and a lot cheaper.

If you once learn how to read the labels of the food in boxes, you will be amazed and probably almost never buy a box of something again.  I buy ready made in moderation.  If something is cheaper than scratch, which is not too often.  I got a cake mix for free, and another for .14.  A cup of flour costs .075 cents in bulk.  At seven and a half cents a cup for flour, it eas cheaper to buy a cake mix,  I like to keep one on hand so that I have it in case I need desert quickly.  We often have ice cream or some kind of fruit.  We are coming on to apple season.

Buy your fruits and vegetables in season, they will taste better, and be cheaper,

A good exercise would be to list the meats or other protein sources on a piece of paper, or on the computer, and then list under them the things that you can make with them.  The kids can brainstorm with you if they are old enough.  It gives you a variety of meals.

Pizza, soups, sloppy joes, oven dinners, hot sandwiches, all take almost no time to make.  An ovn dinner that you can put in the oven and walk away to do other thongs is a stress less dinner.

Thanks for stopping by

Please share. I am writing this blog to hopefully help people save on their food bill, because they have to, or because they want to. SNAP monies are going to be cut in November I hear.  Many people are still unemployed or under employed.  It is possible to eat for less and still eat good, somewhat healthy meals.  I can't help people if I can't reach people.  I am not saying that your food is going to magically appear cooked on your table.  It takes a little planning and work, but the rewards are worth it.  no child should have to wake up to empty cupboards at the end of the month.  The insecurity of that is a terrible  injustice.  And, no child should have a diet of top ramen and potato chips.
 Good food on the table cheap is doable.

Jane

The basics, part two

To recap, we have talked about identifying dinners that your family will eat that use inexpensive sources of protein.  We have identified the shelf ready items that you will use to cook your meals.  And, we have set up a system to track prices so that you can fond the rock bottom price of these goods.

We talked about how to make meal plans and set yourself a matrix to use as a guide.

Now, grocery shopping.

No one store has the lowest prices on everything.
A lot of stores, besides the chain stores, sell groceries.  Many have a limited selection, but along with that comes cheap prices.
Because of that, and because produce quality varies from store to store, you need to pick two stores a week to go to.  Try to pick stores that are close together, or that are on the way home from something.

When the ads come in the mail, sit down and mark off a piece of computer paper in quarters.  Mark each quarter with the name of a store.

Now, start writing the items that are on your stock list that are at or near  rock bottom prices.  Write down the meat items that are low priced; as well as produce and dairy.  Be sure to note if you need an in ad coupon.

Cross off anything you don't need and anything that is cheaper elsewhere.  Now pick the best two stores.  Take your list, the ads, the coupons.  Get on the store, get your list and get out.  The more time you spend in the stores the more money you will spend.   Don't pick up anything you don't intend to buy!  If you can help or, don't take your children with you.
x

Now check the coupon matching site in your area.  In the Seattle area, it is couponconnections.com
They will tell you of there is a coupon that matches the store ad.  There are printable coupons and coupons that come in the newspaper.  Our dollar store has the Sunday paper all week.
I wouldn't worry about coupons until the rest of the process is under your belt.

Pretty much, any dinner on a box or bag is out of  bounds of you are trying to eat healthy and cheap.
As is a lot of snack foods.  Stop and do the math on chips.  The dollars per pound is remarkable.
To keep on a thrifty budget, you need to make dinners five dollars average.

Buying food wisely will afford you good food on a limited budget.  The USDA stats are on the Internet.  It is based on size of family, age of family members, and has three or four income levels.  SNAP is based on these figures and the col index for your Area.

There are a few things that are stupid to buy at any price with any budget.
Soda pop and bread crumbs come to mind.  It is really stupid to pay big money for someone else's garbage bread.

My daughter and I dissected a hamburger meal box.  It is on an older post.  It was a real eye opener.
I ll say it again, I never met a cheese I didn't like; and I never met a cheese that had zero cholesterol.
LOL.

There are a couple of posts on what your retailer doesn't want you to know.  Not falling into traps can save you a lot of momey.

Developing a stock is no different than our grandmothers canning the harvest to get them through the winter.  It's no different than playing the stock market, except you have really good data to make your judgements.  You are going to buy low, and eat when the prices are high.

Don't buy bulk of anything you haven't tried already and liked.

Next time, cooking from scratch.

Thanks for stopping by

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Jane


I

The basics, part one

It's that time of month again. I usually post the basics once a month for anyone new or as a reminder.

I started this blog when it was brought to my attention that people on SNAP were running out of money before they ran out of month. Food "stamps" don't come with directions. LOL.


Groceries on the cheap takes a three pronged approach at getting food on the table, cheap. Planning and organizing, shopping wisely and cooking from scratch. All scary thoughts in so,e people. It is not as intimidating as it sounds.

Planning and organizing.

Start by identifying the sources of protein that your family will eat. These need to be economical sources of protein. In our house that would be

Chicken
Pork
Some cuts of beef
Beans
Rice
Cheese
Eggs


Now, list at least 7, preferably 14 meals that your family will eat that use these ingredients.
Gather the recipes if you need to.

Go over the recipes and list the ingredients you will use to make these dishes. ( the staple items: shelf stable.  )

These will be your staple items. You should have 10-15 items.
In our house that would be
Diced tomatoes
Beans
Refried beans
Some corn
Some green beans
Tuna
Clams
Cheese
Instant mashed potatoes
Pasta
Pasta sauce
Black olives


The basic mantra is "never pay full price" you want to pay about 1/2.
When your staple items are on sale for the rock bottom price, you buy
1) as many as you can afford
2) as many as the store will let you buy or
3) as many as you need to fill I'm your space., whichever comes first

If I use something once a week, I keep 24. If I use something once a month, I keep 6.
Sales run on a 8-12 week cycle. Some people operate on a three month supply. I would prefer not to be on the edge. This won't happen overnight.

The money will happen because you are paying half price for your food.why pay 1.59 for a can of pasta sauce when can get two cans for less than 1.59. That is how you build stock.

There is not a lot of room on snap for expensive snack foods and ready made meals. There are tricks to make cooking as easy as the boxes! LOL. Taste better too.

Keep a notebook or a spread sheet on the computer of the items on your staple list.
Record on each top of page or line

Item and size of package
When purchased where, for what price and if you used a coupon.

Soon you will see a pattern and know hour rock bottom price. I post these periodically, bit that will only work if you live I'm the Seattle area, and my staples Re your staples.

Meat is a different schedule of sales. They usually rotate every week of the month. If you buy the loss leader every week on a rotating basis,you will be saving money and time.

Ie : chicken Grill packs were a dollar pretty much at all the chains a couple of weeks ago. I bought ten pounds of chicken. I de-boned the breasts (4 halves) and cooked the rest of the pack (hindquarters) I'm wTer with onion, carrot and salt and pepper. When the meat was falling off the bone, I let it cool, strained the broth and froze it in ice cube trays, and shredded the rest of the meat and packaged in on meal sizes portions. I have enough tp have chicken two nits a week for the rest of the month.

You can do the same with sausage, hamburger, and pork loin and sirloin roast.

You buy in bulk at the lowest price and cook ot all at once, less work and leas clean up. A win win situTion.

Make meal plans after you get home from the store. I have a formula. Your's might be different factoring what your family ears.

Ours is
2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish

I do it after I shop because often something is on unadvertised special, not available, or doesn't look good enough to eat.

Tomorrow: shopping

Thanks for stopping by

Please share

Jane





might be different according to your families tastes.

Meals for 28 days

Before I start the basic thing again, I thought I would do four weeks of main dishes on the cheap. you can eat a variety of meals and still stay on a thrifty budget. It's not all about the top ramen!! LOL


My matrix ( outline) for variety and nutrition is

2 beef
2 chicken or pork
2 vegetarian
1 fish

Yours might be different. I am trying to satisfy a meat eater, two semi- vegetarians and I eat about everything. I don't particularly like picky eTers and am trying to introduce the baby to a variety of foods within her mothers guidelines.

Week one

Chicken soup
Chicken breast
Steak
Tuna Caserole
Pizza
Mac and cheese
Beef vegetable soup

Chicken breast
BBQ thighs
Steak
Tacos
Salmon
Eggs
French cheese sandwich

Burritos
Chicken stir fry
Steak
Clam cakes
Meatballs and spaghetti
Sausage and potatoes
Cheese sandwiches, tomato, blue cheese and basil soup



Pork chops
Chicken pot pie
Meat loaf
Meat balls
Pizza
Split pea soup
Shrimp stir fry


Notes

There are some repeats because kids especially love some things. There are some things that do well to feed a split household. ( vegetarian/ meat eaters, )

Chicken is a mainstay. I can almost always find it at least once a month for a buck. I get ground beef for less than three dollars a pound in bulk and make taco meat, meatballs, meat loaf, and beef crumbles.
I got sausage with sales and coupons for 1.33. There is a recipe for pizza crust on an earlier post. Fast and easy.
I have been getting shrimp on sale on five dollar Fridays. Pork chops and pork loin is still about two dollars a pound. Eggs almost always are a bargain.

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Jane

Friday shopping

We went to the doctor, got our flu shots, and went grocery shopping.

ALBERTSONS has a mega sale on. Most of ot didn't have coupons to match it, but still I saved more than 53 percent. I'll get back with the actual amounts.

Total spent 33.28

at QFC, we got flu shots and lettuce and a cucumber for a total of 2.50.

Total 35.78.

Tomato sauce .25 sauce for noodles for the baby or pizza sauce base.
Tuna 1.00
Clams 1.00

Yakisota ? Noodles FREE WITH Coupon

Milk 2.00 gal
Yogurt 2/.25 with coupon
Cheese 3.99
Steak bog2

Cinnamon rolls 1.49

Veggies for stir fry. 1.00

Lettuce for tacos, salad
English cucumbers 1.00

QFC had raspberries 2/3. But there weren't any. The plums on sale were few and far between as well.


I did the math. It was 52 percent.

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Jane

Finally Friday

It's Friday and the end of a very stressful week. Yeah! One of the ways you can lower your food bills is to gussy up regular inexpensive food. It makes dinner special, and Nobody knows that it's cheap foods.

French toasted cheese sandwiches

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped onion
Pepper

8 slices white bread
6 slices assorted cheeses

2 eggs
3 t milk

1) cook onions and mushrooms. Drain off any liquid.

2) layer cheese, vegetable mixture, cheese and bread.

3) beat eggs and milk.

4) dip both sides of sandwich n egg mixture.

5) spray skillet with cooking spray. Brown sandwiches on both sides until cheese is melted.


Clams are on sale for a buck this week.

Clam cakes

2 egg whites, beaten
2/3 cup bread crumbs
2 T chopped olives
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp w sauce
2 cans clams, drained
1 T butter

In bowl, combine egg whites, 1/3 cup bread crumbs, mustard and w sauce. Stir in clams. Cover and chill 20 minutes. Toss 1 t melted butter with remaining bread crumbs.

Shape clam cakes using about 1/3 cup mixture for each. Coat each on bread crumb mixture. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

Notes: one of the most expensive thongs in the store is bread crumbs ounce per ounce. Save the heels of your bread. The leftover baguettes. I dry them by placing them in a cold oven. When they are dry I process them in the food processor. Before I had one, I grated them on a sheet pan outside. ( so that the birds ate the mess. Why pay for someone else's garbage??..

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Jane

The word convenience starts with $.

I just read an article on how we waste 40 percent of our food in the us. Just because something has a sell by and use my date, doesn't mean that you need to use it my that date, it means to is not at it's peak of freshness.

Mid week should be use it up day. Maybe have a leftover night. Incorporate any bits of things that need to be used up in the next couple of dinners. Check pull dates and use oldest things first.

There are some things where it doesn't make real sense not to make it from scratch. Oatmeal is one. It takes seconds more time and energy to make it from scratch. One cup water , 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1-1/2 minutes on the microwave. It does help to either ise a larger bowl, or cook it for 1 minute and then cook it for the 1/2 to prevent boil overs.

Pudding , the cooked one, is another one, a little measuring is all.

Another way to look at waste is of you are paying full price at the most costly store in town, you are wasting money.
What else could you do with that money? if you are on a tight budget, convenience is a dirty word!

Sometimes, of you use a good coupon and sale, a cake or brownie mix can be as cheap as scratch.

Many recipes that have been circulating on the Internet call for comvoence or ready made foods and many times you can substitute for scratch without much trouble.

Pasta sauce on sale is cheaper than making it from scratch. You pay dearly many times for the use of a glass jar. Both can be recycled. I can get pasta sauce for as little as .50.

We are working on providing a list of foods for children's packs. The perimeters are set for us. Thos is for children that get free breakfast and lunch at school, but don't have food for the weekend. Beef ravioli that is on separate containers was eight for five dollars. There is about a half cup of product in each container. The kids can make it themselves. But, I could make two whole 9x13 pans for five dollars or less.

on the cheap is set to help people on SNAP. When working on a three hundred dollars a month budget, you need five dollar dinners. With the savings of buying low and eating high and adding any coupons for real food or cheaper than scratch food, it is very doable. you can eat a wide variety of foods that are nutritious and tasty.

I am not going to say that some little elf is going to magically make food appear cooked in your kitchen every night.
It takes some effort and organization. One step at a time, it is doable.

1-2 price shopping can put almost four thousand dollars in your pocket a year, provided you have the full grocery money in the first place. When I was a single parent, it wasn't a matter of saving momey, it was a matter of survival. LOL.


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Jane

Coupon matchups

I already did the ads, but I have coupon matchups.

Tillamook yogurt is FREE at ALBERTSONS with coupons. Ditto brawny paper towels at QFC.

See coupon connections.



Sorry for the short post. Busy day!


Jane

The ads

We also received a Safeway coupon for ten dollars off 50.00 for two weeks.

I don't see a red plum.

TOP

Green beans, beans, tomatoes 15/10
Broccoli .69
Black olives @@ limit 4

ALBERTSONS

Milk 1.99
Apples .88
Cheese 3.99@@
Tillimook yogurt .25 @@ limit 8 $$
Jiffy pizza mix .5
Tuna .75
Tomato sauce .25
Clams 1.00
Tomatoes 1.
Carrots 1.00
Lettuce 1.00

QFC
raspberries 2/3
Broccoli .99
Yoplait 10/5 $$

SAFEWAYS

beef sirloin too 2.49
20 percent ground beef 2.49
Pot roast 2.49
Grapes 1.48
Corn 3/1
Pills bury cake mix .99
Pears .99

5 dollar Fridays

Boston cake
Raspberries 2/5
Cheese 2lbs grated

That's about all.

Please share

Jane

Terrific Tuesday

It's Tuesday. The ads come today on the mail along with the red plum insert. I usually do a blog the night that they come out. That, however doesn't help the people that do not live in the Seattle area. knowing the prices of the staple items that you buy is you best hedge against busting your budget. Find the least fancy stores in the area, it does matter if the stores are clean, but they don't need to have fish tanks and waterfalls! LOL. In a store, space is money and if it doesn't have merchandise in it, then what is in the other space has to be priced higher to make up the profit.

Know your prices. If you don't have access to a good store with decent prices, consider venturing out to a larger town and carpooling with a friend or neighbor. You can find grocery ads on the Internet. ou can request the ads be mailed to you if you find a store in the next town that works for you. Consider shopping every two weeks and make it worth Your while when you do go. Do your homework and go the weeks that there are good buys on your staple items.
Once you have a stock built, you may be able to find fresh produce and dairy and only go once a month if necessary.
We are fortunate to have four chain stores within a five mile radius of our home and a warehouse store. I realize that everyone is not as lucky, but you can work around the obstacles. Is there a chain store close to work, or school, soccer practice? Just keep a cooler in the back of your car. I have had a small car most of my adult life. When I was first married we lived in the country. I had to go into town to shop. I often shopped on the way home from work or on my lunch hour. I was lucky enough to use the fridge at work until the end of day. There are ways around obstacles. I think they call it creative problem solving!

What problems do you face in trying to grocery shop on the cheap? I can only write from the prospective of my own experiences.

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Jane

Monday madness

Yesterday we went to Fred Meyers and Rite Aid. We also cleaned out the fridge and scrubbed the bins. my husband threw a roast in and I made a blueberry buckle. We had roast beef, mashed potatoes and an Italian vegetable medley. Blueberry buckle for desert.

Rite aid had coffee for 5.99 with up rewards, trick or treat candy ( M and Ms just jumped on the cart! ) and Mac and cheese in individual packets was 2.00 for six servings. My granddaughter takes her lunch and her teacher has specific requirements. I never fed my kids Mac and cheese from a box! LOL. How times change! Fred Meyers had butter, cheese, milk, pasta was .88. There was coupons, but I didn't find them. I'm still under my budget.

Tonight I have a meeting, so we will have roast beef a jus sandwiches. Stairstepping.

We had a thunder storm last evening. I was cooking the dinner. I was hoping the power wouldn't go out. It did for a split second, just long enough to have to reprogram the oven. Thankful that the stove didnt have to be reprogrammed because my son is in Arizona and he's the only one that knows how. We only had one choice in stoves. There is only one available in the US. It speaks three languages and has whistle and bells to program. The first time I tried I managed to get it to lock out Sundays and speak French. Getting it reprogrammed when I don't know French was a challenge!!! Key in son. He is a wizz.

Watching for good buys on things you really need everywhere you go, is me way to stretch your budget. There are many stores that carry food. Often the stores that only carry a few things have the best prices. They buy overstocks and special buys. We have big lots and grocery outlet. The dollar store has some. No one store has the best buys on everything. The last time I was at Winco, the prices had taken a big jump. I still found some bargains.

We have QFC ( Kroger ) ALBERTSONS, SAFEWAYS, and TOP. We are fortunate to have all of them within five miles of the house and Costco too.

I am not going to run all over town to shop. I pick two stores and buy the best of the two stores. Lately, we have been going to rite aid and Fred Meyers. Their ads come out on Sundays. We can do the run in the next town . Both stores are close together. Rote Aid has the best buy on beer. I don't drink, but my husband does. I only go to Fred Meyers if there are several good buys on what we need. I try to keep fresh fruit and veggies in the house as long as I can into the winter. Me like acorn squash.m my mother always baked it in the oven with butter and brown sugar. My husbands mom added cinnamon. I pre bake the acorn squash in the microwave. Poke it with a fork a couple of places first. It makes it easier to cut if you soften it up a couple of minutes in the microwave. I can remember my mom taking the squash down to dads workbench and putting it on the vice to cut it. LOL. oh, the joys of having a microwave.

Sometimes I pan roast root veggies in the oven...any of the root veggies works. Radishes, carrots, potatoes, rutabagas, parsnips, leeks, onions. Just put them on a baking pan with sides. Drizzle them with olive oil and salt and pepper. Sometimes I add rosemary or thyme. Roast at 375 or 400 until they are tender. . Radishes take of a whole different taste.

Stir frying brocolli, cauliflower, and matchstick asparagus works too. I got a bag of peppers at the dollar store a week or so ago. I plan to stir fry them with some shredded chicken. A little soy,a little rice!


Guess I'm out of time, have to go into the studio and get some work done.


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Jane

Fred Meyer ads

I am going to attempt to post the buys at Fred Meyers. I am doing it on line because We havent got the paper yet.

Foster farms chicken .96
Peaches and pears .88
Cheese 3.99@@
Tilamook yogurt is really cheap with your coupon. (Printable)

Corn .30
Strawberries, 2.00 a pound
Other berries 2.00 for 6 ounces

Milk .99
Butter 1.67@@

Barilla pasta is .88 $$ see couponconnections. Nets .38******£

That's about all I found on line. I will post after I go to the store. The weather is turning here; it's about time to start the winter cooking. LOL. We have gone from 90 to 60 something in the site of a week.


Ritenaid has trick or great candy with coupons at coupon connections for cheap.

That's about all.

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Jane

Saturday notes on hunger

Its Saturday. I finally got to watch the special on childhood hunger that was on the food channel. I think that it is well and good to donate to food banks etc. A group I belong to has adopted a school ( via a church program) to make sure kids have breakfast and lunch the two days that they don't go to school.

That being said, there are a lot of people that are getting food stamps. Just getting food stamps is not enough. food stamps are bare bones money. Most of the information out there in TV land has unrealistic budget meals in the scope of a thrifty budget via the USDA. All the organic push is a joke on that budget unless you are fortunate to grow/ produce your own. That's not all bad ! In my opinion, we need to teach people on food stamps how to shop to maximize their SNAP. And, if you have never cooked from scratch, they need to learn how. They don't teach home ec in schools anymore. It went by the wayside along with cursive writing.

There are books and television shows on PBS that show you how to cook from scratch. A few basics are enough to get you by, but you do have to learn them.

There is, however, no lessons on how to shop. The native Americans have an expression, I will paraphrase because I don't think I have ever heard it for real. " Give a person a fish, he eats for a day; teach a person to fish, he eats for his life!

Giving people care packages is the right thing to do. No one should go hungry in this country. We help all kinds of other countries and charity begins at home. But, we can't give people food forever, people need the skills to shop wisely and cook what they buy that is in their budget perimeters. We have all had to do this, some more affluent than others.

This is why I started this blog. I am glad that other people are enjoying it as well,and taking from it what they can use in their lifestyles. I am not a nutritionist, nor have I had any form of home economics training with the exception of some cooking and sewing classes. I have just been in a position of being part of the working poor and having to make it. I read everything I could get my hands on for years. I still read everything that I see that can help me. Even the budget cooking shows on TV, while unrealistic for a low income budget, can teach you some things. many times you can make the meal for your budget if you have shopped wisely.

My plan has worked for years. It is sustainable and doable for most people. I just have to reach the people that need it.

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Jane