Winco and notes

I just read that the poverty level has increased on Washington state.   That is to say, more of is are at the poverty level.

We went to Winco yesterday.   We called it our road trip.  Since the bakery outlet os on the way, we went there too.   We lucked out and it was senior and military day so we got ten percent off.   My husband tried for twenty percent off because  were both military and senior, but as predicted, it didn't work, gave is a good laugh though!   We did get two packages of whole wheat hot dog buns.  I'm making bread crumbs.

Winco had a lot of things I stock cheaper.  I found peppers for a buck!  Beats 1.59.   And the instant potatoes I buy for .87 they can be as much as 1.59 too.   My husband found his beef jerkey meat.
Beer was two dollars cheaper than his cheapest price.  Coffee was 5.99 and some of the veggies  were cheaper.  Some things weren't, you have to know your prices.   This is hard because RBP are changing and I'm not finding the lowest price as often as I would like.   Sometimes I have to resort to house brands.   Not a bad thing.  House brands are often the same as the good product with a different label.

The bread store had a lot of dollar and near a dollar bread.   I also got jalapeño mustard.   I guess I have to resolve to the fact that I can't find meat at my target price of two dollars anymore.   Other than chicken, that isn't  happening. If I can get it for three dollars a pound, I can average two dollars.   I got chicken sausage for 2.50.  Four sausage are enough for the four  of us.

My average for September was 62.00 a week.  The Feds have upped our basic food at home stats to about 85.00 a week for my husband and I.  I am also supplementing my daughter and granddaughter a lot.   There are people that do it for less. A lot of them have a lot more time and energy than I have.


I am trying to stay within the guidelines for food stamps, ( we are not on food stamps) to show people that it can be done and you can eat decent food for less money and maintain a pantry.

There is a certain sense of security having a pantry of staples.   I was in the rehab ( nursing home) for a month and in the hospital a few days too.   My family ate out of the pantry and  supplemented a little fresh.   My daughter cooked every night.   She got smart and cooked a crockpot of chili to last a couple of days.   Leftovers worked.

That's about all.

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Jane

The ads

I'll have to warn you, thos os,not a good week for the main stores I get at home.   We might just go to Winco.  

QFC
Peaches 1.49
Apples 1.29
Grapes 1.99
Nathan's franks 3.49


2 lb chicken 6.99*****
Tillamook y
Greek yogurt 1.00$$
Refried beans, tortillas 1.00

Note the chicken, I'll explain later.  

SAFEWAYS
Grapes 1.99
Salad 4/5
Chicken .99***
Bell peppers, cukes .79
Pears .99

Five dollar Friday
Raspberries 2/5
Grapes 3 lbs
Shrimp

ALBERTSONS

Coffee 5.99
BBQ sauce .75

Bc cake mix .99
Ice cream 2.49

That's about it.  

Now, remember to cross off anything that is cheaper elsewhere . Other than a cake mix, I don't have anything on my stock list here at RBP.   I would pick a .99 chicken even though I bought one Sunday.  We had company and could use another.  

Now, to the promised explanation.   NO CHICKEN UNDER THREE POUNDS IS A BARGAIN AT ANY PRICE,  chicken bones weigh just so much.   What's left is the meat.   Under three pounds you are paying for bones and the meat is gravy.  

But let's do the math. Two pounds for 7.00 is 3.50 per pound.   SAFEWAYS has Washington grown chicken for .99 a pound.   A five dollar savings right off the bat not including the loss of meat vs bone.  

It takes me ten minutes to put a chicken on the oven.   At five  dollars savings, I am making
Thirty dollars an hour for my time.  

I cook chicken one of two ways depending on my time and energy constraints of the day.   If I intend to make soup and casseroles with it I place a cut up onion in the bottom of the slow cooker, add the cleaned chicken, rub slices on top and cook it for an hour a pound on high.   Five minutes, walk away.  

If I want roasted chicken, I wash the chicken. Put salt in the insides.  Stuff it with anything short of the kids dirty sox ( onion, apple, orange, lemon, ) massage the skin with olive oil and sprinkle ot with salt, pepper or thyme or lemon pepper and shove it on a roaster rack in oven  at 375 until my thermometer reads done.   Walk away and do some laundry or work on my studio etc.  

Either way it is short work with a good reward.  Chicken is still the best buy in the market for protein from meat.  

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Jane

Betty Crocker dinner feed

Betty Crocker has been sending me via e mail ideas for dinner all month. Today's is especially good with a emphasis on chicken and skillet / oven dinners.   I will try to provide a link.   Some of these are really yummy and are adaptable to the on the cheap meal mantra.    Remember cream of anything soup is basically a white sauce,  I have a white sauce mix that is really easy.   I think I just googled white sauce mix and found it.  I wrote the recipe on the top of the container with marker.   I do that often.  It makes life easier.

Chicken and green beans
Chicken with cheese and vegetables
Chicken Mac and cheese
Lots more.

I would really consider signing up for the feed.   There are coupons amd a lot of inspiration.   Cooking on the cheap doesn't have to be boring and jump starting your creativity for free is a winner,

http://recp.mkt32.net
I can't check to see if that works  on my reader.  
Betty Crocker dinner is back.  

Thanksmformstoppimgmby

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Jane

Sunday ads

Last night I went to a convention dinner.m we had a delicious dinner of pork tenderloin, mixed veggies, rolls, green salad amd garlic, French bread pudding.   I don't think I had ever heard of it, it didn't taste bad, but I didn't want to burn my carbs on mystery pudding when there was a glorious chocolate moose In Front of me!   LOL. Good food,good friends and good music!

I digress.

Fred Meyers as usual has some food buys and the Sunday paper has coupons to go with them.  These prices are for Seattle area.

Tomatoes .99
Whole chicken .99
Milk 4/5@@
Ice cream 2/5
Cottage cheese or sour cream 2/4
Grapes 1.68
Pears .99
Zucchini, yellow squash .99

Dollar days
Rice a roni
Tortilla chips
Refried beans
Flour tortillas
Diced tomatoes$$
Baby carrots
Garden salad
French bread@@
Cake mix
Annie's Mac and cheese

Some of this I got for less at SAFEWAYS and last week.
There might be a coupon for cake mix out there and I know there is a coupon for Yoplait in the paper.
( smart source.)

I hit SAFEWAYS and the dollar store on Friday.   There are a few things at the dollar store that are cheaper.  We needed catsup and unless there is a good sale during picnic time,am buck for the large bottle is cheap.   I pick up cotton rounds and Kleenex .  Watch the size if the packages.   They have darling Halloween and fall glass goblets.   Chicken noodle soup in a 33 percent more can is good.  I really prefer Campbell's to store brands on that.

That's about all

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Jane

Coupons.

I haven't talked abou coupoms lately.   My daughter and I attended a seminar on extreme couponimg. I am not a fan of real extreme couponing as in the tv show because I think it boarders on hoarding and hoRding things we don't need or need to hoard.   I think the operative word is extreme.   No one  needs 93 bottles of hot sauce or a closet full of soda pop.  LOL.  In reality most stores will not let you buy that much.  I do use coupons for the things I normally,buy anyway.   And, yes you can find coupons for things that are not gadgets or junk , ready made food.   I get ice cream, yogurt, pasta, toothpaste, and other real food coupons all the time.

I get one Sunday  paper at the dollar store.   You can get ot on Saturday or all week lomg as long as they have stock.   My friend brings me the inserts from her paper.    Once a month I get on coupons.com and download the coupons that I seriously might use.  You are allowed to download two coupons per item.   The manufacturers limit the amount of coupons printed.   Doing it close to the forst of the month is to your advantage, the large ones go fast.   I have a coupon binder and file the printed coupons.

There are coupon matching sites on the Internet that match local store sales with coupoms.   I file my inserts in file folders by month.   Wrote the date of the insert on the front.   It's  an easy match up to pull the coupon when they are in chronological order.  

I save an average of six dollars a week.   That calculates to over three hundred a month.  

Our lights were out and I lost most of the rest of this post.  

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Jane

To each his own

I ran on to another blog today.  The lady is remarkable.   Apparently, sh has very little to live on and makes due with delicious meals for next to nothing,    She also has the time to bake everything from scratch and grow her own fruits and vegetables.   I applaud her in her efforts, but I don't have her time or talents.  To each his own.   You have to do what works for you and what you need to do to make your budget work.   I suspect if  we continue to be unemployed and I don't find an outlet for my product, I will be working harder to cut our groceries more.   I am only one person, and others in the family don't see the need to economize.   Budgets have to balance.    I basically quit buying anything but supplies for the business, cutting clothing budget to must haves, doing my own nails, and staying out of stores.   I have had to buy some clothes lately because I have dropped five dress sizes!   I just took a truck load of clothes to the goodwill.    I, not buying a lot of my current size until I see if I gain weight,  the doctor seems to think I will and so I'm making do.  I got some clothes from a family member that cleaned her closet out and I bought a few pair of leggings because they are very forgiving and span a couple of sizes.   I switched and have my hair cut for less than 1/2 what I was paying.

I digress, this is supposed to be about food.   I think I'm saying don't beat yourself up because you spend more than the next guy on food.  You have to do what you can.  Of you are forced to make it on a specific amount of money, you pretty much have to do what you can to make things work.

This is about making it on half the average budget.   I spend twenty five percent less than what the USDA stats are for my husband and I and I supplement my daughter and  granddaughter a lot as well.

Fred Meyers continues to have good buys for their anniversary.

The ads
QFC
Oranges .99
Broccoli .99

1.00 sale
Tortillas
Frozen potatoes
Bumble bee tuna ( cheaper ay fm)
Barilla pasta ( cheaper at fm )$$


SAFEWAYS
Oranges .99
Grapes 1.99
Pork loin chops 2.29
Corn 6/2
Pudding cups .99( backpacks?)
Starkist .79

Five dollar Friday
Cheese pizza
3pounds grapes
Ice cream 2/5
Salad 3/5
Cheese 5.00****

ALBERTSONS


Tillamook yogurt ,38@@( 3/1 at fm)

Quarter sale
Pizza crust, corn muffins .50
A gratin potatoes .75
Albacore tuna 1.00
Fruit juices 16 ox frozen veggies 1.00
Crackers 1.00
Nalleys chili 1.00
Tomato sauce .25
Tomato paste .50

 That's about it.   If I had to pick, I would pick  Fred Meyers and SAFEWAYS in Friday.  Be sure to take advantage  of the cheese .   The savings is remarkable.  Don't get stuck paying none dollars for two pounds of cheese.   Ugh!   Of I am going to eat cheap sources of protein, I am going to eat the  best quality I can find.

I would stock on frozen potatoes, albacore tuna. Cheese, crackers, and tomato sauce and paste.   Sometimes when making pizza from scratch, or adding some depth to a sauce, a small can of tomato sauce is all you need.  Fred Meyers has chicken for a buck a pound.   I found a recipe that puts a spice rub on it and bakes it for an hour at 350.  We did it, but it took more than an hour to get the chicken well done.   Thighs and grill packs are the best buys here.  They had no grill packs when I was there.   If I get a grill pack, I debone the chicken breasts and cook the rest for shreds for burritos, tacos or BBQ sandwiches.  You can also use the broth and some chicken for soup.

If we are having something like soup that has less,protein, I make cheese biscuits to supplement or
make a pudding for desert or have ice cream.   If we have waffles, I add bacon or a yogurt parfait with fruit and granola.

Looking at the whole meal picture helps to balance the protein and the budget!


Ps big lots has krustez pumpkin loaf big box for 2.25.  It's really good and far less than scratch.  Of it os the four box , that makes it a little more than .60 a loaf!  
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Jane

The ads

Fred Meyers has an anniversary sale.   Even though I have already shopped, I am under budget,so I will go for a few things.  

Chicken legs or grill packs .99
Apples .88
Ice cream 2/4@@
Tillamook cheese 4.99@@
Cheerios 3/5
Butter 2/4
Pasta .79
Bumble bee .79
Tillamook yogurt 3/1
Pumpkin pie 2.89
Raspberries 4/5
Broccolli. .99


That's about all.  

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Jane

Shopping trip

Today we went to ALBERTSONS.   Pork loin chops were buy 1, get two for free.   Now, I'm sure they marked it up to mark it down.   The bottom line os that we got three packages for 3.33 each.   I  did them,at and calculated the cost per meal to find out if it was a bargains or not.  

All on all, other than the doughnut holes I BOGO'd , all I bought was real food and it saved as much as I spent.   We still only came home woth four small sacks amd a cooler full and I spent a little more,than fifty dollars.   Groceries hav still taken a hike. ALBERTSONS veggies were not. Good buys, amd them dairy didn't seem too good either.   But, that's why you shop at two chains a week.  Taking the best of two stores will give you the best advantage.  

Terrific Thursday / tools

I was flipping through the channels waiting for pain meds to work amd saw a pressure,cooker on qvc.  I didn't  buy it, but it reminded me I hadn't used ours in a while.   I go on spurts and we eat certain foods for a whole and then I switch out for other things.   We get tired of eating the same things.

Brings me to my point.   There are tools that make life easier in the kitchen.  If  things are easier, we will be more inclined to cook at home instead of eating out.   Most of them are not terribly expensive and can be bought over years, or found at estate sales or on your Christmas list?   On ez pay at qvc takes the sting out of something that costs a little more.

• A pressure cooker cooks ribs and split pea soup in minutes as well as many other things. Mthey showed corn on the cob, but it took three minutes.  By the time the oressuremcookermcomes up to speed and cooks and has it's down time. You can cook them in the microwave.   It takes six minutes on the microwave .   Cut the silk part off the top, put the, in the microwave,  use hit pads or a kitchen towel to pull the husks off after you have cut the bottom off the cob.   

• A crock pot can vey our best friend in the kitchen.  You can prep your ingredients the night before, put them in the insert and turn the pot on in the am.   Dinner is ready when you get home.  There is something about the smell of cooked dinner when you walk into the house after a long hard day that is miraculous.  Chocolate decadence is marvelous.   
• A food processor makes cakes amd chops food, and grates cheese.   It is sometimes cheaper to grate your own cheese than buying grated cheese.   Add a little cornstarch to it and freeze it.   Frozen cheese works fine in Mac and cheese and any place it is melted.  You can also chop meat in a pinch.  
• A meat grinder ( either as an attachment to a kitchen aid,mor the old fashioned kind grandma had) is a good investment,  you can make your own sausage or hambirger when roast is cheaper than good hambirger and you control the fat!   
• I love my waffle iron, and my husband loves the George foreman, but they are not as necessary or a money saver like the other appliances are.  

There are appliances that cook a special item all over the place.  Most of them are just dust catchers and a gimmic.  

There is a theory of the snowball effect.    In essence, it says that of you save momey on something and spend the momey you save to buy something that will save more momey, you will be better off because your savings will grow.  

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Jane  

The ads

I got the ads.  My daughter found an app that gives you the ads,but so far all I find os SAFEWAYS and some other retailers I don't need.   It's free and called  Retale.

SAFEWAYS

Apples,.99
Grapes 1.99
Ribs 2.29
Corn 6/2
Cantelope 2/5
Ice cream 2/5
Barilla pasta 5/5. You don't have to buy 5 and there are coupons


Five dollar Friday
Grapes
Fudge cake
Salad 4/5

ALBERTSONS
Grapes 1.48
Cheese 5.99
Eggs, med .99@@

Ok, this might be confusing.  Spend 10.00 on Tillamook and get 2.00'off.  There are coupons for cheese out there.
Cheese 6.99
Ice cream 2.67
Sliced cheese 4.00$$
Sour cream 1.60

Final prices.
Buy 3 ice creams for 8.00
Buy 2 sliced cheeses for 8.00 and use a coupon.
Sour cream 5/10 now 5/8.
You can mix and match at retail and  spend 8 instead of 10.

Scenario:
Buy 3 ice creams, 2 sliced cheese,pay 20.00, get four dollars off, nets 16.00, use 2.00 coupons for the cheese, nets 14.00.    Retail on  three ice  creams is 15.00.   Cheese coupons are on coupons.com.



1.00 sale

Cake mix
Brownie mix
Pasta sauce
Frozen juice

QFC

Apples .99
Raspberries 2/3
Eggs 3/5
Peaches 1.49
Yoplait 20/10$$
Barilla pasta 1.99$$
Grapes 1.99
Buns 4/5
Canned chicken 1.00 ( a good emergency stash)
Red Baron pizza 2.99

There is absolutely nothing in the red plum insert!

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Jane

Sunday at Fred Meyers

We did go to Fred Meyers today.  I don't have the ad because my husband thought we were through with it so he recycled it.   The best I can do os tell you what I remember

Frozen veggies were .99 with a coupon in the ad. There were supposed to be peas, corn, and mixed veggies.  There were only mixed veggies.

Frozen French fries and tater tots are a buck, Kroger brand

The cheap Mac and cheese was .88

Canned beans were .50 with an in ad coupon limit six.  

Barilla pasta was a buck and there was a coupon in the paper.  

Radishes and cucumbers, and green onions were 2/1

Frozen fruit was 2/5 with store coupon.

I pretty much restocked our freezer from when the old one thawed.  
Total 42.39.

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Jane

Saturday - all is quiet

It's strange around here when  things are quiet.  Husband went for his walk on the beach and daughter and grandbaby went to check on some things at her work.   I have the house to myself!    Walking with my cane, even if it hurts.  Eventually I'll be back to normal, I keep telling myself.    LOL

I haven't shopped except for sending my husband for five peanut butters for .99  each and two Nathan's hot dogs for 3.49 less two .55 coupons.

Last night I made vegetable bean soup, or , rather, I made the soup in the crock pot in the morning.
We love that soup and it's easy.  Our weather  is more like summer this week, so I suspect we will be eating more picnic type foods.

The first of the month basics didn't happen.   I'll bullet them for lack of time.   I am gearing up for a card party( making cards, not playing them! ) and have a card class in making cards for the troops at the rehab center.   I still have to make our  Christmas cards.  

I digress.   The bullets

• The basic idea of  groceries on the cheap is to never pay full price for your groceries.   I want to average 1/2 price.   It's a different way of buying your food.  You aren't buying a weeks worth at a time.  You are buying what's on sale and keeping a pantry.   You never are without some food in the house.   This is possible because you are spending less than the person that buys a week at a time, and you have more volume because you are spending less. 

• The best thing you can do is know the price of the foods you eat on a regular basis.  Track these prices so you know what is a RBP.  ( rock bottom price.  You can use a spread sheet or a notebook, by now, I have them in my head.   But, I can remember numbers better than I can remember names! LOL 

• Buy foods when they are at rock bottom prices.  Buy as many as you can, as many as the store will let you ( limits) or as many as you need to replenish your self imposed ceiling.  I have spaces on my shelf. For our target foods.   I can tell at a glance what we have used.   

• Obviously, you have to identify the foods you eat on a regular basis that are stock items.   In our house that would be diced tomatoes, beans, refried beans, green beans and corn ( not much corn) chili, chicken noodle soup, pasta, pasta sauce.   

• Meat usually goes on sale in a rotation.  Inexpensive ( laugh) cuts of meat are usually on sale in a rotation.  Pick the one your family will eat when it happens and buy enough for a month of that meal.  Assuming you fond a meat a week.    Cook it and divide it onto meal sized portions,  usually for us that would be eight meals. 
•  
• Plan you meals,  I use a matrix to make sure we have variety and  everybody is happy.  It is 2 beef, 2 pork or chicken, 2 vegetarian and 1 fish or shellfish.   Your families matrix may be different. Adapt it to your families preferences and the cost of protein.   Plan your meals.  I plan a weeks worth, but not necessarily day by day.   

• Most coupons are for premade, expensive foods.   There are, however, so,e that are for things you can purchase on a budget.   Computer coupons come out once a month on the first of the month.   You can print two of each coupon. They are limited in quantity, you snooze, you loose.  Print  them as soon as they come out.   The newspaper has some.  I get the Sunday paper at the dollar store.   My friend brings me her inserts.   I save the inserts to match up with a coupon match up site.  The one I was using isn't there, I'll have to find a new one.  They match the ads to coupons.  Some direct  you to the coupons or tell you which insert it is in.   I put the date of the insert  on the cover and file them by month.   I only cut the ones I am going to use.  I can manage to get toothpaste, deodorant, and soap for free.  The last time I bought toothpaste they paid me a quarter to take it out of the store.   I always buy toothpaste when it's free or nearly free and save it up for the women's shelter.   

• When the grocery stores ads come out, gather them and analyze them.   I take a sheet of computer paper out of the recycle and divide it into sections.  Label the sections.  Our variety of grocery stores is shrinking.  Top closed and ALBERTSONS and Safeway are merging or ALBERTSONS bought Safeway.  We are hoping to get a Winco in the top foods building.  I digress.  Divide the paper and list the perishable in season that are a good price, the "loss leader of protein" and the stock items that meet your RBP criteria.  Now pick the two stores that have the things you want to buy. Plan your trip to save gas, go, bring your list, the ads, and your coupons.   Get in and GET out!   The more time you spend in the store,the more impulse buys you are bombarded with.  Impulse buys account for 70 percent of the grocers sales.  

• That's not to say that you don't keep your eyes open for unadvertised specials.   I got chickens for .50 a pound at QFC once!   Most of the good veggie and fruit buys last week at Fred Meyers were not advertised.   Just don't buy junk.  Keep it to the proportions your family will eat before it goes bad.   Divide your grocery money onto sections,   Less than ten percent should be drinks and chips, cookies etc.  the majority should be dairy, protein, and fruits and veggies.  

This takes some planning and some discipline. But the rewards are good food on a budget.  

Thanks for stopping by and for sharing,  

Jane 

Finally friday

Not grocery shopping.   I can't still get into our cars.  We shopped some on Sunday at Fred Meyers.   I have a really good back pack alert, peanut butter  is a buck at QFC!   You have to buy five, but there are other things on the list that are a decent bargain, or you can get five peanut butters.  

For those that are wondering what a backpack alert is, some of the readers are gathering food for children that otherwise wouldn't get food on the weekends.

There are enough things on the buy five, save five list at QFC that it can be worth your while, besides the peanut butter .  

Taking advantage of sales when they are true sales of regular food is a good way to stretch your grocery dollars.   The trick is knowing your prices and stocking what you will use until the next sale.   Ot doesn't mean you only buy peanut butter this week and eat peanut butter for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.   I buy perishables just enough to last is until the following week or so, or however long they are going to last.   Shelf ready or freezer items can be bought in moderation, so that you have enough at a low price to last you until they go on sale again.  

Having a stock really helped when I broke my hip and was in rehab for a month.  The family could just fill on with fresh and eat from the pantry and freezer.   I have my stock built, amd just add when there is a sale the amount we have eaten lately.   Winter is coming and we eat a lot of soup and chili in the winter.   Prices have gone up, but I am still finding tomatoes and beans for .60.  I would rather pay .50, but I haven't seen that lately.   Beans and rice have a very short fridge life.   Unless you have the time to cook beans and eat them the same day, canned is safer.  Just rinse them thorrorally to reduce the sodium.

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Jane

The ads

ALBERTSONS

Buy 5, save 5

Cream cheese .8kraft singles 2.99
Ice cream 2.49
Baron pizza 2.99
Kleenex .99


Milk 2/5@@
Vegetables .49@@
Ground beef 3.99, for 7 percent


QFC
Broccoli .99
Sour cream 1:00
Chili 1.00

Milk 2/3

Buy 5, saves 5
I've cream 2.79
Pea nut buyer .99
Cheerios 1.49

Ritz 1.77

SAFEWAYS
Red Baron 3/10. Look 4'coupoms
Tomatoes 1.00
Grapes 1.99
Corm 6/2
Cake mix .99

5 dollar Friday
Berries 2/5


That's about it.  ,


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Jane

Dinners, to be continued

Last night we went out to dinner with friends.  Happy hour menus.   I got shrimp fettuccine.   It was a half cup of under cooked noodles and five shrimp for eight dollars.   My husband had two beers and two sliders.  The bill was thirty three dollars with tip.

Tonight we had Mac and cheese and mixed veggies.   Total cost for four is three dollars.  

Thursday: the last of the summer!   My 4th if July was spent in an ambulance going to rehab!
Hot dogs, potato salad, amd corn on the cob.

Friday. Vegetable bea soup.


Saturday. Fish and Chips, cla, chowder, coleslaw

Sunday. Shrimp stirfry, noodles

Monday  chicken sausage,corn on the cob,mpotatomsalad,fruit salad.

Tuesday, happy hour , flat bread pizza
Wednesday. Hot dogs and baked,bans


To be continued.  

Short and sweet! , updated

Just a few notes.  My daughter downloaded some of this months coupons.   Nathan's hot dogs are 3.99 thos week at ALBERTSONS there os a .55 coupon.   Also so we here there is a sale on redi rice. I don't usually,buy it., but there is a coupon for that too.  Also a lot of fake stuff if you are into turkey this or that and almond milk.  

There are a lot of coupons, but coupons for something that is still a lot more than making something from scratch os not a bargain,    A lot of times , they put a few spices and sauce into ordinary things and charge an arm and a leg for the pro ledge of not having to add a few spices.   It's usually about two minutes of your time.   Do the math, how much time are you saving, and how much are you paying an hour for their  time?

I got my daughters car for an hour.   ( can't get onto our car, it's too low to the ground. ) we went to Fred Meyers.  
A lot of produce is in then100 to 1.28 price range.   I did find apples for 7.00 plus a pound and a box of peppers for almost forty dollars.   Milk was two dollars a gallon with in ad coupon and beans and tomatoes were sixty cents.  M

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Jane

Sunday ads

It's a holiday weekend.   There are no cohpon inserts usually on a holiday weekend.   Thos time there is the p and G. Insert, but I'm not finding anything too useful.

Fred Meyers

Grapes 1.28
Milk 1.99@@
Bread 3/4@@
Peanut butter 2/5@@
Zucchini .88
Brats 4.99
Sour  cream 2/5., also cottage cheese
Red Barton pizza 3.99$$
Chili .89@@
Ice cream  2/6@@


Back lack alert for the peanut butter. I will post on Facebook also.

Coupon grocery cart has red Barron pizza coupon .

Last night we had ribs, corn in the cob and green salad.
I didn't buy a lot of meat  that wasn't picnic meat.  Chicken sausage was in sale at SAFEWAYS as well as ribs and hot dogs.  I stocked on chicken and good hamburger a few weeks ago so I didn't have to find a bargain this week.   That is where it pays to buy the bargains when you happen to find them and coast through the weeks  there isn't much.mm meat is getting harder and harder to find good meat deals.  Typically there are no really good buys on holiday weekend.  Picnic supplies are an exception, usually that happens on Memorial Day.

Buying what is in sale, provided it is in your usual buy list is a good way to cut your grocery costs.  We all have to eat, but we don't have to eat what is top dollar in the grocery store.   A little effort goes a long ways to stretch your grocery budget.  Remembering a few basic principles can save a bundle

• The basic food is around the perimeter of the store.   
• Don't buy ready made unless it is cheaper than scratch.  Do the math.  
• Before you buy a box of something, read the ingredients.  Again, do the math.  
• Spend more on meat , dairy and produce than anything else.  
• Steer clear of bottled drinks. And junk food.   Junk food is defined as anything that has no real food value.   It's stupid to pay big money for sugar and water.   Ditto a few ounces of potatoes.  
• The biggest weapon in your fight against the break the budget groceries is your calculator and a price book of the things you buy most. Know when a bargain is a bargain.  If you haven't spent your money on junk, you can afford to buy bulk of bargains and feed your family better, cheaper, faster.   .   

Thanks for stopping by. As soon as I get to the point I am back to normal, I'll start a better post routine again.

Please share

Jane

Saturday, suddenly

It's Saturday.  I have been loosing track of days all week.   Have to get back to our schedule.   Sitting with a mud bath on my feet my daughter put on.

We went to SAFEWAYS yesterday.   I just bought the specials and spent fifty dollars.  Lou's of fresh fruit and produce. Picnic supplies.   Also, green chilies were 1.00 and chicken noodle soup was .50 on  Friday, after that it is .69.   Still a good buy.    Remember that coupons will come out in the next couple of days.   Download soon to get the good ones.   Like bargains, the coupons are harder to find.  

I managed to get enough food and go withs for a week.  Other than chicken noodle soup. I didn't stock and because I stocked meat double last week, I didn't this  week.     It is typical of a holiday week to not have stocking specials .  It's all about back to school amd Labor Day.   It's a good time to stock picnic food.  

Thanks for stopping by

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Jane

Wicked Wednesday / the ads

QFC has a two week ad, they a,so have a four day sale.

Berries 2/5
Tillamook ice cream 2/6
Tillamook cheese  5.99
Pie 2.99

Sour cream 1.00
Kroger Ice  cream 2/5

Brats 4.99
Baked beans 3/5
Ready rice 3/5
Frozen veggies 10-12 oz 1.00

4 day sale  - Fri to Monday - ends sept 1.
Apples .99
Sun sandwich 5.99

SAFEWAYS
Ribs 1.79
Corn 6/2
Sausage 2.99
Salad 1.00
Buns 1.00
Tomago soup  69 also chicken noodle
Brats 5.00
Grapes 1.99
Nathan's 3.99
Berries 2.99
Chili .89@@

5'dollar Friday
Berries :2/5
Ice cream 2/5
Soup  10/5

ALBERTSONS

Sirloin steak b1 g 2 , buy one, get two, don't say the reg price so it s buyer beware.

Betty Crocker cake or brownie mix 1.00

Corn 3/1@@
Ice cream 2.49@@
Hillshire farm sausage 2.49
Coupons - all below have @@
Skippy peanut butter1.99
Salsa 3.99
Sour cream 1.69


Nathan's 3.99
Lemon merange  pie 5.99

That's about it .   Sounds like SAFEWAYS and QFC are my picks.   Soup is  a big alert for Fridays.
At SAFEWAYS,  picnic food is the most of the sales,but that is par for the course with the holiday weekend.  

Thanks for stopping by

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Jane

Monday madness: Fred Meyers ad

Fred Meyers ad for Sunday to Sunday..  

Sirloin steak
Gala apples .98
Blues 3.99
Johnsonville brats 4.99
Peaches 1.49
Kroger frozen potatoes 1.88
Tillamook ice cream 2/6@@
Hillshire smoke sausage 3/10@@
Mayo 2/5@@
Cucumbers , green peppers 2/1
Broccoli .99


That's about it.   SAFEWAYS has the best buys in protein and some fruit.  I like Fred Meyers ice cream and veggies.  

Thanks for stopping by

Please  share

Jane

Finally Friday , most common mistakes to eat up your food budget.

Most common mistakes

I have been watching grocery hauls on the Internet. Mostly young gals are doing them. I am beginning to see a picture that is all telling.

The most common mistakes grocery shopping to be on the cheap instead of spending the whole paycheck are

1. Buying  8  gallons of drinks.  Buy tea bags, herbal if you wish, and some crystal light type mix at the dollar store or big lots.  Water is a good hydrater.  .  Buy a lemon to add a slice to it and chill it.  
2. Buying ready made mixes and meats.  Take on one meat at a time, and learn to cook it.  The savings are remarkable.  If you don't have the pans to cook it, go to the goodwill and find one.  if you don't have a roasting rack, pile rough chopped carrots / and or potatoes or onions  on the bottom, and roast your chicken on top.  
3. Buying tons of junk foods.  Buy popcorn it's cheap and relatively healthy.  The savings more than make up for the price of an air popper on sale.  I got mine for 14.00.  
4. If your passion is sweet, find easy and inexpensive recipes for brownies or another cake or cookie.  There is a recipe on the Internet for a mixture of 2 cake mixes that cooks in a few in the microwave.  Or make muffins or quick breads.  They can be healthy and satisfy your sweet tooth.  
5. Not Sticking to your meal plans and not thinking things out. don't come home without the things you need to make them or you have wasted your time and need another costly trip to the store.  
6.  The worst mistake is to go to the store hungry, with screaming kids that need a nap, and buy 
7. anything in the store that looks good to you.  It's stressful and expensive.  you shouldn't come home broke and ready to drop from the grocery store! LOL  

Take a look at your grocery receipt and break it down as to how much is drinks, how much snack food and desert, and how much fruit and veggies.  The most percentages should be fruit and veggies and proteins.  Less than ten percent should be snacks and drinks.  

Thanks for stopping by

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Jane 

The ads ,

First, QFC went to a two week sale ad, so you,need to refer to last weeks post.  


ALBERTSONS

Quarter sale
Tomato sauce  .25
Zap ems .50
Muffin mix .25
Tuna .75 ( we don't like the quality)
Noodle bowls .75
Tissue 1.00

Note: some of these things I wouldn't buy.  Some are the things I bought when I was feeding children with hollow legs and they needed snacks that were filling.  None of my children had a weight problem.   They still don't.  

Berries 2/6
Roma's 1.49
Salads .88


SAFEWAYS
Grapes 199
Corn 6/2
Cantelope 2/3
Chicken .99
Cod 4.99
7 percent fat hamburger 2.99
Yoplait 10/5. $$

Pudding ring 3.49
Cottage cheese 3.49

5 dollar Friday
Tuna or salmon 5/5
Shrimp
Turkey sausage or burgers
Johnsonville dinner sausage
Berries

Check your just for you
Print coupons.

Note hamburger is a good stock item.   I did some from Costco last week, but will also do some this week because of the freezer going out.   We cooked three chickens last week or I would also buy chickens.  Mainly because there has been weeks lately when there were no protein buys.

Fresh fruit amd veggies are  at their peak here.   I don't tend to put veggies or fruit up, bit we just adapt to frozen or what is in season.    Next year, maybe, but this summer is a summer to forget!   LOL

Thanks for stopping by
please share
Jane

Monday madness

Good morning.   I have  can PT today and it's change the sheets and cook the ground meats I bout yesterday day.    I needed to replenish the freezer after it broke down and we got the new one,   My husband already bought two ice creams and actually arranged the freezer so that one type of thing was on one shelf.   I haven't been able to get down there to see it so. Have to depend on him .  

Yesterday we talked about protein.   It's really a given that veggies and fruit we buy when they are on season.  Each es are really cheap about now. Our nice neighbourhood gave us cukes out of her garden.  

Pasta I buy when it's on sale, preferably with a coupon.   I have got it as cheap as .38.  Pasta has a very long shelf life so ot pays to buy it only when its on sale with a coupon.   We don't load up on pasta, and none  of us  are overweight.  

Groceries in the cheap works on the premise that you never pay full price for anything,   Of you can get your core ingredients for 1/1/2 price  or less, you can eat better for less.   This takes a little organizational work in the beginning, but the work is well rewarded in savings.  

• First , identify the inexpensive sources of protein that your family will eat.   It's a given that of your family won't eat something, it's not a bargain at any price.  
• Now, list 7-14 dinners that use these sources of protein.   
• Identify the staples ( shelf ready or frozen ) you use to make your dinners,   For us, that is refried beans, pasta, pasta sauce. Beans. Green beans, diced tomatoes, some chili and chicken noodle soup, instant mashed potatoes, Tuna, clams, frozen veggies, cheese.   This  is usually a list of about 10-15. 
• Track these prices.   Some use a spread sheet, some a notebook they can carry with them.  The object is to buy low and eat high.  This is not an original concept. Stock traders use that principle .   You want to get a feel for when things go on sale and buy enough to last you until it goes on sale again.   Stores work on a 8-12 week cycle,   Fred Meyers works on a monthly cycle for dairy it's getting harder because prices are rising,  
• The biggest advantage you can have is to know your prices.   My mother used to say, some people could have a bargain get up and bite them in the butt and they wouldn't see it.  Don't be that person.  LOL

When the ads come out, analyze the ads and write  down the prices at each store.  I take a piece of scratch from the computer stand and divide the paper into four ( now three) stores.   Now, record the price of 

• The "loss leader" protein 
• Any perishable that is a good price ( produce and dairy 
• Any stock item on your list that is a good price.   

Now, pick the best two stores and get what you need.   Bring the ad, your list, and any coupons you have.   You can check a coupon matchup site and pull coupons .  -- that's another blog! LOL 

Get in the store , get your list and anything you really  need and get out the more time you spend in a store, the more you will spend.   There os another blog on the tricks retailers don't want you to know.  

Guess that's all for today.   

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Thanks for stopping by

Jane 

Sunday ads and......

I got the ads yesterday, but after I screwed up and thought it was Sunday Saturday, I thought I would wait until Sunday to post the,.

Fred Meyer continues to have a periodic dairy sale.  

Peaches 1.28
Eggs 4/5@@
20 percent hamburger 2.98
Milk 4/5@@
Ice cream 2/5@@
Ravioli 1.00....backpack aler
Strawberries 2/5


Note that @@ means there is an in ad coupon.   Back pack alert is for those contributing to a charity that feeds low income children breakfast and lunch on the weekends by sending them home bags of certain food items on Fridays.

Buying hamburger In bulk and precooking it saves time and money.   I was getting the low fT hamburger for that price. But meat on general has taken  a big hike.  It was predicted that the drought prices would prevail well into 2014.   I think we are beyond that.   I digress.

By picking an inexpensive protein a week and buying bulk enough to last you for a four week rotation, you can cook all of ot at one time and portion control dinners.  That saves time and clean up time in the kitchen and reduces waste.   You are going to buy enough to last you a month.   In other words, of you are using hamburger for your beef component and you are eating beef twice a week, you are going to buy enough to make 8 meals.  

When I buy hamburger, I make crumbles for pasta sauce or pizza, taco meat, meatballs for meat ball subs or to have with a sauce on rice or noodles, or meat loaf or Salisbury steaks.

I try for out meal plams to have

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

I try to average five  dollars a dinner.    That is getting harder with the price of meat these days.  I see my average per week is creeping up.   I lost track of July because I wasn't home and things are harder when I have to rely on my husband to shop.  

Because of the freezer malfunction, we have been eating a lot of chicken this week.   Last night we had oven roasted potatoes. Scrambled eggs, and a fruit cup of fresh berries.   We also like a meal of blueberry waffles or pancakes. Bacon, and fruit.   Chocolate waffles and a yoghurt parfait is a really good sometime alternative.  The kids love it, even though it doesn't happen often.   Mac and cheese is a mainstay.  I cook it with mixed veggies and three or four kimds of cheese.   It's a good way to clean out the cheese bin.   Grocery outlet has a really good selection of designer cheeses.  

I have a stash of salmon in the freezer, and tuna and clams are still a good price.  

The Internet is full of artful ways of cooking chicken.  We like chicken pot pie and chicken stirfry.  Chicken noodle soup and chicken tacos or enchiladas.   Make your own sauce. That is a case where the sauce can cost more than the meat!    I only buy something  like that of I can get it for less than scratch, or near scratch.   I try for less processed foods, but cave in if they are cheaper than scratch ( not often ).

Eggs are 1.25 a dozen again.   It is a good way to add protein into your dote for low cost.   Chef salad, puddings. Breakfast for dinner.   Eggs got a bad wrap, but the attitude has changed.   It's hard for some people to get past the bad stigma.   Ground beef can have less fat than boneless skinless chicken breasts.  It just needs to be defatted.   Ditto sausage.  
French fries can be more healthy than some other potatoes if they are cooked in a really hot fat, like commercially.  Studies have proved that the hot fat sears the outside and no fat gets on the potato.  A regular serving is supposed to have less than a teaspoon of fat.  

Thanks for stopping by

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Jane

What to do with what you got.

Savy shopping is only one component of the concept of making food get on the table with little money.  Somehow, the good food has to get from the pantry/fridge to the table.  Most of us lead busy lives, and  taking care of children is a job in its self.   I have relied on a crock pot and quick meals, and precooking when time is less hectic to solve the problem.

I recently discovered a chicken recipe for the crockpot.  I am squeamish at the thought of cooking our chicken when the recipe  starts on a low heat.    This recipe cooks on high right off the bat.   I resorted to it when the freezer quit and I had just come home from a month at a "nursing home" because I broke my hip and     wrist.  I had three chickens to cook.

Over the years, I have tried many comcepts and kept the ones  that worked for our family.    Different things in different ,  stages of our lives.   At this point, I can't bend at the waist and can't chop because one wrist is cracked.   My daughter has been picking up the slack.   I do what I can.   Making spice rubs etc.

Last week, eggs were 4/5 at Fred Meyers.   Breakfast for dinner is a good alternative once a week.   It certainly helps if husbands realize that there is a problem with finances and solving the problem takes cooperation on everybody's  part.  ( my answer to the comment of a reader that their husband won't eat breakfast for dinner ).  I was impressed at 13 when my dad was hurt in the job and we had no income for a few months,   He even ate liver!

Lately, meat prices have not been very cooperative.   Chicken continues to be on sale often.  I can find cheese at Costco wholesale.  ALBERTSONS has a bunch BOGO, but they aren't telling what the original price is so I can't tell if it's a bargain or not.  I used to try for two dollars a pound average.  That's not happening.  Country style ribs  are 3.49. I found hamburger reasonable.  When a roast is more reasonable, I grind my own( or rather, I usually cut it up and my husband runs the grinder.  )
Pork chops are 1.99 at SAFEWAYS.   I can still get canned clams and tuna cheap.   Probably because someone has decided it isn't good for us.   We have been eating it for years.   I wrote a blog on that.  Enough said.   SAFEWAYS has pizza dough balls for 1.50.  I didn't like the one I tried a year or so ago, but.maybe it just got a bad one.   There is a recipe  for a good cheap easy pizza crust.
Pizza is one thing everyone likes and a way to stretch a little amount of meat.  Costco still has sausage in a roll for less that some other stores.  It's not the six  bucks it was last year, last I looked it  was 8.49 .  There is a post on how to reduce the fat in ground meat on a earlier post.  You can make hamburger have less fat that a boneless, skinless chicken breast.

You can use less meat and augment the protein for the meal with cheese that you get in sale, or eggs and milk.   ( pudding for desert, hard cooked eggs on your chef salad.   )

I buy cheese when I get it close to five bucks for two pounds.   I buy it whether  we need it at the moment or not.  It lasts a long time when kept in its wrapper.  You can also grate it and add a tablespoon of corn starch to a couple of pounds of cheese and freeze it.  Or skip the cornstarch and use it when you will be melting it.

Steering clear of boxed dinners is another way to keep your costs down.   My daughter and I diasected a hamburger meal box.  The results were remarkable .     Since then, they have revamped their boxes, but scratch skillet dinners are all over the Internet and I have posted some I wrote myself that are easy and more nutritious .

That's about all. My husband brought me a basket of clothes and I have therapy today, so I'd better get cracking.

Thanks for stopping by

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Jane

The ads

ALBERTSONS

Berries. 3.99

Buy 4
Dryers 1.99
outside fruit bars 1.99
Drumsticks 3.99

Milk 2/5@@

10/10, you don't have to buy 10
Ravioli, chili, bumblebee tuna, pasta sauce , soy sauce ( pasta sauce ,not such a food buy

Bread, bagels 2/5
Grapes 2.49
Peaches, nectarines 1.99

Note, I am not fond of ALBERTSONS ad, it's too hard to read.

SAFEWAYS
Raspberries 2/3

Apples 1.49
Pork sirloin chops 1.99
Kens salad dressing BOGO $$
Corn 6/2
BREYERS 2.99
Grapes 2.99. All colours.  The darker coloured grapes have more food value
Cantelope 2/5
Ice cream 2/5

Cake mix .99

Five dollar Friday
Blues
Pizza
Cod per pound

QFC
Berries 2/5
Peaches 1.49
Bread 1.79
Grapes 1.99
Oranges, pears 1.49
Pumpkin pie 2.99

Pasta 1.00  look for coupons
Ice cream 2/5
Cottage cheese, sour cream 2/3
Broccoli, celery ,99


Again, I am not finding a real bargain in the protein department.   Last weeks chicken and eggs were about it.  Eggs have a month out pull date so at four for five it was a good buy amd  stored probably in your refrigerator should last as all momth.   Having breakfast for dinner is one of the ways you can stretch your dollars, especially at that price. Chefs salad is  good with hard cooked eggs for these warm nights.

Last week we cooked three chickens because I bought two for stocking and saved one with ice crystals still on it from the defunct freezer.  Two we cooked in the crock pot.   A really easy way to cook chicken in a pinch for time.   The large pieces stay pretty much in tact, the parts submerged under the natural broth are good for tacos and chicken soup or chicken and noodles.  

The third one my husband roasted in the oven.  

Last night we had chicken stir fry.  my daughter is becoming a good cook.   We do have to have something besides chicken soon.   LOL

That's about all.

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Thanks for stopping by


Jane

There is a first for everything,

I didn't think it would ever happen.....,my husband is going to the store and indiscriminately,buying a can of coffee.    Was out of commission ( in a rehab center for breaking my hip) and didn't shop for six weeks.   Of course he has had plenty of time driving around and on his walks to go to grocery outlet and buy coffee.   Now, I am stuck without transportation for a week again.   I have to borrow my daughters car to go anywhere and that entails taking her to work ( two trips) because I can't get into the car and the baby can't fit in the truck.  He can go with the baby by themselves.   What a concept.

I have spent about 80.00 so far on groceries.  Considering that I didn't shop for sox weeks and we had to throw away 160 pounds of food because the freezer quit, I don't think that's bad.   We have a decent amount of food in the freezer and fridge and the pantry is pretty much ok I will need to buy green beans soon.

I have to download coupons.   There haven't been a lot of food ones lately. But there have been Yoplait ones and peanut butter.   Chicken cc is a buck at QFC and I salvaged one from the freezer that was still frozen.   I have been cooking  the, on the crockpot with the help of my husband.   This time we watched it and turned it off as soon as it  was done,   We have more pieces.  You would be surprised how much liquid one onion and the chicken gives off.   My daughter made chicken noodle soup out of it.    My granddaughter loves soup.

Last night we had ribs, corn on the cob and fruit salad.   The night before we had roast chicken, mashed cheesy potatoes, and sliced tomato.   Sometimes  I drizzle tomato  slices with olive oil, sprinkle it with basil and add some grated white cheese.

My daughter made a casserole skillet dinner with rice, cheese, diced tomatoes and peppers.   It called for zucchini, but dear old dad didn't like it.   Seems lots of people don't like zucchini.   Que in chocolate zucchini bread or cake!

Tonight I think we will have chicken enchiladas.   Rice and beans.   I bought all for cartons of eggs at 1.25 each at Fred Meyer last week.   We need to have breakfast for dinner one day a week.   I am supposed to be eating hard cooked eggs to build my muscle after the surgery.   At 1.25 that makes dinner really cheap, so we can afford to have red meat more often.

That's all I have for now.  Hopefully we will get the ads tomorrow.

Please share

Jane

No ads

We didn't get any ads this  week.  That makes shopping difficult for me.   I like to plan my trip ahead of time and these days I have to borrow a car and I'm  resorting to a wheel chair.   My husbands back is out and the freezer quit, so we might be winging it for a while.   Not having the benefit of the freezer stock will make things challenging.  

Yesterday, I cooked a chicken on the crock pot.  I had never done that before because I didn't like the idea of chicken not being brought up to a temp quickly.   Thos recipe is really simple and is cooked on high.

Crockpot chicken
Place a cut up onion on the bottom of the crockpot .
Place washed and ladled dry woth a paper towel chicken in crockpot.
Rub with a slice rub.
Cover and cook on high about an hour per pound.
Check to make sure chicken is done,

2 tsp paprika
1 tsp each of
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Salt
Thyme
Dash pepper.

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Pleas share

Jane

My shopping list / last weeks ads

We have it shopped for over a month now besides a few necessities to get by.  ( I have been in rehab for my hip replacement.

QFC
Peaches
Milk
Corn (3)
Yoplait 14 10/5 with two coupons.

ALBERTSONS

Buy 6

2 pkg English muffins
2 Popsicles with fruit in them
2 albacore tuna

12 instant potatoes


Fred Meyers
Eggs 4/5@@
Pizza (2)@@ 3.99
Hebrew national 2/7@@
Broccoli
Romaine

QFC
Chicken 4.50

Total  57.00
That still leaves me several dollars for so,es dairy and veggies to fill in.  

Last night we were dealing with the freezer intermittently thawing and freezing.   We had pork and beans and hot dogs and a fruit cup.  

I still have a few things to buy to reset the fridge to normal.   While I was on rehab, I ate for free and the rest of the family  bought just what they needed to fill in for meals out of my stock.   We still had several months of food.   In fact, I still have several months in the pantry.

Guess that's all

Please share and thanks for stopping by

Jane

Tomorrow's ads and notes

I got tomorrow's ads,..    I was noticing that there was no protein sale this week.   Que in Fred Meyers.

Drumsticks, thighs or grill packs .99
10 percent hamburger.    3.98
Corn 10/3
Eggs 4/5@@
Digiorno pizza. 3.99@@
Hebrew national 2/7@@
Yellow squash .99
Pasta .99
Lettuce .99
Broccoli .99


Romaine is the best buy on the lettuce department.  The greener the lettuce the more food value. And romaine lasts longer than other lettuces.  In these dog days of summer, a chicken or shrimp or salmon Cesar salad is a good dinner alternative   I get salmon cheaper at SAFEWAYS or Winco.   You can clean the greens in the cool of the morning and make salad dressing.   Maybe grill  the chicken or salmon.

Betty Crocker had a article about several ways to make a hamburger mix ( crumbles and spices) to get a head start in several make ahead dinners.   I like the idea if make ahead in these hot, busy days of summer.   Our kitchen is on the east side of the house so by dinner time it's hot  in there.  One of the other summer tricks I play os to make a bunch if salads on the weekend early on the morning when it is cooler on the kitchen.   Then at dinner time we can grill a protein  to go with them.  Or make something we can heat in the microwave or put on the oven and walk away until it's  done.

Hebrew national hot dogs ( the only ones I'll buy except Nathan's ) are on sale.   When buns are not on sale, I make pigs on blankets or add them to baked beans.

Tex Mexican food is a good money stretcher.   Beans and rice make a complete protein,  just remember that beans and rice have a shirt fridge life,  they are one of the foods that spoil the quickest.
I buy canned and rinse them well to reduce the salt.   Rice is so easy on the microwave that I make it so that we can eat it in two days.   I buy very few canned fruits.  You can rinse them to reduce the sugar too.   Enchalada sauce is really expensive. But easily and cheap to make.m get chili powder in the bulk department or at Costco .  Sometimes I have to go to the business Costco to get some things,
A jus mix is one if the things the regular Costco doesn't carry anymore, along with cornstarch.   Since roast os so pricy, we haven't made a jus sandwiches in a long while.

I haven't downloaded coupons in a month because I haven't been home.   It was getting harder to find coupons for real food.  The Sunday paper has coupons for Yoplait and it's .50 on sale this week.
I haven't checked the matchup sites either because I haven't been able to shop.   I suspect I won't be going shopping a lot for a while, maybe just making lists and organizing coupons.   Adding a two up and a broken hip to the mix of shopping sounds dangerous.  LOL.  Maybe on a Saturday morning early!

Well, that's about all.

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Thanks for stopping by

Jane

It's Friday, the ads finally

I finally got the ads.  Things aren't ad convenient as usual.  Next week things should be a little back to  normal.  

QFC
Peaches 1.49
Corn 3/1
Pork loin. 2.99
Dreyers 2/5
Eggs 2/3

Buy 5 , save 5
Digiorno 3.99
Eng muffins 1.99
Cheerios  2.49
Activis 4 ok 1.69



Cherries  2.99
Yogurt 10/5
Pasta 1.00



SAFEWAYS

Yoplait 10/5
Tillamook ice cream 3.99
Milk 2.89
Berries 2.99
Grapes 2.99

Five dollar Friday
Fruit bars 2/5
Lemon me range pie

ALBERTSONS
Buy 6

Ice cream, fruit bars 2.49
Tuna, relish .79
Bread, eng muffins 1.99
Cake mix .99
Albacore tuna .99
Instant potatoes .89
Jif 1.99
Oatmeal 1.49


Berries 3.99
Bread 1.49@@


That's about all

Guess I'll go back to bed

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Please share
Jane

Thursday the basics

I am still I'm this glorious rehab center and my husband has not bring me the ads.  He has,been such a trooper taking care if the two yo grandbaby and trying to keep a home running along with retro fitting it with rails etc so I can come home.  

My other passion is designing greeting cards.  Greeting  cards have a basic plan.  The plan can be found in cards dating back to the early 1900s .  I have seen post cards from the early 1900s and they all have the same plan.  1) a cover background 2) a stripe 3) a greeting and 4) a focal point or icon.  

A meal plan isn't much different.  You have a protein, a starch, and a vegetable or fruit.   I try to vary our protein sources so give us variety and balance,  
I developed a matrix to make life easier.  Your matrix may very well be different.   Every family has their preferences.  

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

I find that skillet dinners, or slow cooker dinners are a quick way to get do dinner on the table with little effort and time.  In these days if a hot kitchen, getting in and out if the kitchen in a flash is. Big plus.  

Betty Crocker has a newsletter that comes on your e mail of you sign up for it.  It is full of new and different ideas for meals.   I tend to stick to the old tried and true meals from the 50 and 60s, so ot of fun to shake things up every now and then with a new taste or two.

We have been eating things with a buffalo chicken taste lately.  Everyone in our family likes hot, including the little one, so it works.   My husbands main object to chicken is that it has a bland taste.
That kicks it up a notch.

The object of meal plans is not to get to dinner time and stare at the fridge when someone says what's for dinner?    It's too easy to be tempted ot get take out or order a pizza.   That's a good way to derail your budget.    My favorite answer to the proverbial what's for dinner sometimes is  Whatever you cook!   Takes them back every time.   LOL

You don't have to follow the plan to the letter,but have a plan.  

Don't be afraid to try new things.   We had fish tacos a couple of nights ago.  I have to admit I wouldn't  have eaten them if it wasn't that I am in here and it's eat or starve!   They weren't bad.   I a, sure that if they were cooked in a dofferent venue, they might be even better!  

I'm not feeling well, guess that's all

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Jane

Monday madness

Tonight I had a chef salad ( of sorts) and a roll for dinner.  they had a glorious raspberry sweet roll for desert, but I opted for blue binny sherbert.   Trying to keep my blood sugar in tact.  

It is entirely possible to keep a strict budget and still take care of therapeutic diets.   It takes a bit of planning and some education as to what is needed to stay within guidelines.  It isn't necessary in most cases to completely do without a particular food, just really important to modify quanitites and replace some foods with similar ones that are better for you.   Being diabetic doesn't mean I can't have desert, nor does it mean that I have to have dry cake .  Ot means that I either have to modify the quantity of the cake,mor substitute it for another desert that is more appropriately within the carb guidelines that I need to keep.  

Moderation is the key.

We have purchased almost no food this month.  A few specialty items that my daughter needed for a new recipe,mand milk,bread, and some fresh fruit,   I suspect we can go on for several more months with the status quo.  It couldn't have been done without me having stocked more than usual anticipating that someday the mall we worked at would be closing for a time.   I suspect that we will venerating different when I get back home so I can cook and my husband will have to help because I still can't bend at the waist and going downstairs to the freezer will be a chore.   I anticipate it bring a once a week occurrence.  

Buying in bulk when it is on sale is the only way I know to eat for 1/2 the price of food these days,  
Buying perishables in season.   Looking for specials on dairy ( skip far. , Fred Meyers is really good at putting them on sale on a regular basis.   Kept at proper temp,dairy has a long enough shelf life to get you through a couple of weeks.  I am it finding a lot of sale meats these days.  Looking forward to Winco coming soon.  It'll be a while until I can grocery shop, so I'll be making lists and taking advantage of instant  photo exchanges we can access with today's technology.  

Having a kitchen stool and island I am sure will be a good resource for me. As well as the crock pot.  

Keeping on a strict budget takes some ingenuity in adjusting recipes for less expensive ingredients that will still give you the taste and texture that the original recipe called for.  Finding recipes that are new to keep things fresh helps too.   Add finding and taking advantage of sales on produce.  

I have been writing waiting for my pain meds to take effect.  I think tat they might be close to doing that.  

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Jane

Sunday, the ads

Fred Meyers

Strawberries. 1.88
Triskit crackers 3/5@@
Milk 4/5@@
"Bread 3/4@@
Pasta sauce .79@@
Smoked sausage 2.99@@
Jif 2/4
Yoplait 10/5
Frozenotatoes 3/5
Cherries 2,99
Peaches 1.99
Cucumbers, radishes 2/1
Green beans 1.49


Walgreens

Paper folders .10
Clams .89@@
Olives .89@@
Milk 2.49
Optic white toothpaste, with register rewards and coupon on Sundays paper is .50.


That's about it.

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Jane

Suddenly Saturday-- getting dinner in the table.

There are many ways to save time and energy getting food din the table.   The one basic concept that works the best for me is to batch cook whatever protein that is the best special of the week.  The meats vary , but usually bought in bulk saves a lot of time and money.

You are buying the "meat " at rock bottom prices, cooking it once, amd portion controlling it onto batches just big enou for a nights meal.   There is no waste and you have saved labor and energy cooking it.

Stair stepping ingredients for meals helps a lot too.   Making a double batch if rice so that you split it and have Spanish rice with tacos, and rice under a stirfry the next day.   Roce and beans have a short fridge life, so don't hold them too long.

The crockpot is your best friend,   The is something  very therapeutic about coming home to dinner cooked.  I imagine the smell is glorious.   Simplest pot roast ever. Put  pot roast in the crockpot.   Slice a peeled onion and out on top. Salt and pepper.  Pour a beer over top.  Add enough beef stock or water to almost cover.   Set on low for 8-10 hours.,  I. Microwave potatoes and carrots until tender and put in the pot with the cooking liquid the last 1/2 hour.  

There is a method out there called freezer cooking,  we used to call ot marathon cooking.   Basically you shop once a month and cook a months worth of meals in a day.   It's hard work.   It works for some people.   I can see it working for a mom with a weird shift at work.  Meals would be  ready for  another family member to heat up when dinner time came,

Personally, I  don't have the stamina to cook for eight to ten hours straight. I would prefer batch cooking.   You have to pick what works for you on a long term basis.  

I just Re read a cookbook called, " don't panic,dinner  is in the freezer.   " I got it as a e book from amazon I think.   Even of you dint want to marathon cook, it has some really good scratch recipes.  It's also breaks down a recipe for number of batches you wish to cook.   A good go to if you need to cook for a crowd.,

Whatever works for you.  

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Jane

Suddenly Saturday.

Had a fruit plate last night, thought it would be better than pizza.       Top high sugar this am.  Guess the cottage cheese wasn't enough protein.     Trying to something's around a hextic therapy schedule.  

I was reminded today about stuffed potatoes.    It's a good way to ise bits of things for dinner. Bake potatoes amd gather bits of things that go on them.   Everyone makes their own.   Chili. Taco meat, broccoli, cheese, bacon, whatever.  

Sometimes, I okay clean out the veggie bin and either make soup, or stir fry with chicken or shrimp over rice or noodles.

The ads

A real quick take on the ads
ALBERTSONS
Chicken drums  .88 not they dine tell u where they are from

Corn 3/1
Yoplait .38@@

SAFEWAYS
Blues 5.99
Cantelope 1.00
Chicken .88


five dollar Friday
Cookies
Pizza
Berries
Cheese

QFC

Berries 4.99
Milk 4/5
Pasta 1.00
corn 3/1


That's about all

Thanks

Jane

Wicked Wednesday-no ads

It's Wednesday.  I'm still in rehab with some good days and some not so good days.  

What to do with what you got.

Beef with roasted veggies and mustard cream sauce,  


Mustard sauce

1/2 cup sour cream
2 T Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice

Sour cream is on sale at Fred Meyers
Dijon mustard os cheapest at grocery outlet or Costco
Lemon juice out of a bottle is supposed to be cheaper.  

ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES

I use a combination if any root vegetables that are in my vegetable bin.  Often i do this in Wednesday to clean out the veggie bin,    Regular  or red potatoes, carrots, radishes, celery, turnips or rutabagas if I have them.   Cut them in pieces so that they will cook at the same time.   Toss them with olive oil.  Salt, pepper and sometimes a few red pepper flakes.  Roast at 375 to 400 until they are done.  Sometimes I add rosemary and skip the red pepper flakes.  The oven temp is flexible so they can be roasted with other foods.     Good with meatloaf, chicken, etc.  


White bean and pasta soup

Soup is not an exact science. If you don't have an ingredient , substitute or leave ot out.  The amount of veggies is up to you,   Play it be ear.   I always use less onions because my husband is. It particulary find if them.  He likes the taste, but doesn't like to bite into one. I either chop it fine, or use the micro plane to "grate" it.

Sauté vegetables in olive oil

Onion
Carrots.
Celery
Red peppers, chopped fine

Add 4 cups water and sautéed veggies to soup pot.  
Add 2 cups cooked white beans with 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid. ( or use a 15 ounce can of white beans , rinsed and 3/4 cup of chicken stock. Or water.  
Add a large tomato, chopped amd seeded.  
Cook until tomato is tender and soup is heated through.
Add 1 cup cooked small pasta.  ( maybe orzo or small shells.  )

Heat through.
Salt and pepper.  

I like to serve soup with grated hard cheese on top, maybe croutons made from stale bread.   Some sour cream and chives.   Anything that would taste good and make ot taste good.  A little extra touch sometimes makes things a little more gourmet instead of just a bowl of soup.  

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Jane

Sunday ads

Here are Sunday ads.  

Fred Meyers

Peaches or nectarines    1.28
Reg hamburger 2.48
Red cherries 1.99
Ice cream 2/4

French bread 1.00
Buns 1.00
Sour cream 1.00
Pumpkin pie 2.99
Hebrew national 3.49
Peanut butter 3/5
Blues 4.99
Zucchini .99

Walgreens
Milk 2.49
Coffee 6.99
Bumble bee Tina .99@@
dreyers 3.99***

Note the spread of prices on ice  cream.   Pumpkin pie is a bargain because pumpkin canned is not cheap.   Add evaporated milk and this os prolly cheaper.

Watch drug stores or other stores where food is not their main focus.   Sometimes they  are cheaper on what they do have.   Think outside the box.  

Hot dogs and buns are on sale at Fred Meyers.  Stir frying veggies with some olive oil and adding chicken or shrimp is good over rice or noodles.

Thanks

Jane

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The ads and what to do with them

My husband brought me the ad s.

ALBERTSONS
Cherries 1.99
7 percent hamburger 3.99@@
Tillamook cheese 6.99


Quarters
Muffin mix .25
Pineapple slices .75
Tomato paste .25
Barilla pasta 1.00$


SAFEWAYS
Cherries2.99
Blues 2.99
Peaches 1.49
BREYERS 2.99
Grapes 299
Barilla .99$

5  dollar Friday
Blues
Chicken?  Depend another weight


QFC

Blues 4.99
Grapes 1.99
Cherries 2.99
Gree beans,  squash .99
Nectarines 1.99

Sirloin tip roast BOGO nets 3.25

Rite aid
BREYERS. BOGO
Pyrex buy one, get two

That's about all.  
Please check the matchup sites, I don't have my coupon book at the rehab! LOL

I would say that it is cheaper to get two sirloin roasts and roat one off and make hamburger out of the other one ,   Slice the roast thin and freeze for a jus sandwiches.   Chicken is a food buy if it is five pounds or more.  There are many fruits and veggies.   Stir fry with some chicken in rice!    Blueberry pancakes or waffles .   Muffins are a quarter.  Prolly cheaper than scratch.   With a salad for dinner, add chicken ,nuts, grapes and some apple to greens,   Soak the apple woth some lime or other acidic  juice. I save the juice from pineapple.  

Thanks

Jane

Terrific thursday

It's in the middle of the night. I just had a real bout with muscle spasms and a ice pack that leaked and got my bed and my pjs wet.    Trying to not wake my roommate with the commotion of changing clothes and sheets.   LOL

My husband is going to bring me the ads, so they will be late.  

We have talked about batch cooking and buying in bulk and at rock bottom prices.   Making sure that you only,buy foods that you will use on a regular basis assures that you will use things up before there is a stale date.  

Tonight we had a tater tot casserole, pickled beets, and  a bread stick.  Fresh pineapple for desert.    I hadn't had beets  for years and the pineapple was refreshing on a hot day.    Fresh pineapple is one thing I find not hard to buy on a budget.   We manage to get berries, bananas, and apples, sometimes oranges.  

Using up the bits of fresh foods helps keep costs down.   I haven't shopped for several weeks now, I don't know how the fresh foods have favored.  

About all.  

Thanks
Jane

Terrific Tuesday

It's Tuesday, the 15th.    It is a milestone for a family member and we are all jumping up and down to say "Hip Hip Hooray! " it's been a long time coming and we are all thrilled!    Well, my brain is jumping. My body. Not so much!  

Last night we had a vegetable bean soup. Cornbread, a  tomato and cucumber salad,and chocolate pudding for dinner.   It would be a very inexpensive dinner to serve.  You could put the soup in the slow cooker in the morning,  the cornbread is a quick fix as well as the salad. When you are having a soup that has a limited amount of protein in it, you need to add a side or desert that has protein in it.  
Pudding is one of those things that is easy to make without the box.  You are getting very little effort in the box for a lot of money.  

Averaging your meat costs is one way to afford a more expensive cut if meat every new and then.   I use a matrix when planning meals.  It makes it easier and affords a degree of balance.   By rotating your meats( proteins ) using the bulk system, your meal plans fall into place.

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

SAFEWAYS  has pork tenderloin and shrimp on five dollar Friday often.
I am finding a buck a pound chicken often.  There is an expose on deli chicken on an older blog. It's very enlightening.   I make our own ( actually I cut the meat up and my husband puts it through the grinder ) hamburger when it is cost effective.   Batch cooking hamburger is the most labor intensive of the batch meats.  I buy grated cheese when it is reasonable, otherwise I grate our own and add a little cornstarch to keep it from clumping. It freezes well.  

I can always get pasta for a buck a pound.  Often,  I can also get coupons or  coupons matching with a sale.   Pasta has a v e r y long shelf life.   Stock when you can.   I developed a pasta dish that is my answer to a  hamburger meal box.  Better, cheaper, faster.   My children call it no Brainer pasta.   There is a blog on hamburger meal boxes as well.    It's a real eye opener!  

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Jane

Sunday ads

I got the paper today.   Smart source has a few cereal type coupons, but not many,  

Walgreens has pink salmon for 1.99@@

ALBERTSONS

Chicken , whole .99
Blues 4.99
Tillamook yogurt 10/4
Milk 2/5@@
Bread 1.49@@
Ground beef 15% 2.99@@

Buy 5 save 5
Freshetta 4.49
Sour cream 1.49
Salsa 3.79

Fred Meyers

Sirloin steak 3.99
Cherries 1.88
Milk 4/5@@
Bread  1.33@@t
Tomatoes or veggies. 2/1@@ limit
Smoked sausage 2/5
Corn 4/2
Parsley..67
Cukes. .67
Green beans 1.48
Berries 2/5
Broccoli .99
Pizza 3.99
Ice cream 2/4@@
Peanut butter 2/3@@
that's about all

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Jane

Suddenly Sunday- the basics continued.

We have talked about looking for the best buys and taking advantage of sales.   The old adage of my mothers is still true---never pay top dollar for anything.   Today it's random bits of information.   If I was my normal logical self, this would be a bit more cohesive, but given my drugged body, all bets are off! LOL ( I'm in rehab for a hip replacement! )

First, the USDA publishes stats for different income levels and for different sized families.   An older couple , thrifty , is about 82.00 a  week.   Mind you,there are 4.2 weeknight in a month.   If you are getting less, they are  figuring that some of your other income  is going to supplement.

It helps to divide your grocery money into the food groups, in proportion to the food pyramid.   We work on 5 dollar dinners for a typical family of four, based on 300. A month.   That would be probably  closer to two bucks for a couple.

Don't forget coupons.  Many times they are for expensive things you don't need, but you can still get good food cheap.  I like free.   It happens sometimes.   Coupons come out in the Sunday paper in the form of inserts.  I have a friend  that brings me hers,   And I get one from the dollar store weekly.
Coupons come out once a month on the computer.  You snooze you loose for the expensive ones.   You can pick and choose the ones you will print.  You can print  two per item.   Coupons.com.   There are a lot of web sites, but most take you back to coupons,com and they don't ask you for your first born sons name? LOL.

Don't overlook other stores.   Buy the best of two chain stores and keep your eye open at the other stores.  I use Costco for a few things.   We have over stocked stores . Sometimes they have really good food that is a bit out of the ordinary and never took off in the regular market.  We have Big  Lots  and Grocery Outlet. .  We are getting a Winco near us soon I hear.   Bakery outlet stores are good for bread products.   If I was really short on budget,  I would make my own,  there are recipes
that make it easy.
The dollar store is cheaper on some things, but it really pays to know your prices.   I can't emphasize that enough.  If you can't remember, use a spread sheet or a notebook to keep track.

Last night, in the rehab, we had a baby pizza and spinach for dinner.   Pepperoni is .50 a package with a coupon at the dollar store.   The crust looked suspiciously like bisquick.  I could have done without the spinach and had a little green salad.  There was bits of bacon, pepperoni and sausage on the pizza.
I have been getting cheese for as little as two bucks a pound.   A little more for a Mexican blend at business Costco.

Portion control is  a real key player when you have a less than USDA stat budget.    Identifying protein cheap and finding the cheapest cost is paramount.  We eat far more protein than we need to.
You can stretch a lot using portion control.  It's real easy, especially after being used to cooking for a large family, to overlook.  Remember, you can split recipes and use them for more than one meal.  Use up bits and pieces for soup, pizza, enchiladas etc.

Popcorn is a good snack.   Air popped is real healthy.   Something as simple as an enchilada sauce can jack up up your total meal cost.  Make your own sauces.  The sauce can cost more than the meat.
I was surprised how easy it is to make.  If a recipe sounds too complicated, keep looking, the Internet is full of information.   I have been getting recipe starter for .50 and less.   Recipe starter was introduced a year or so ago.  It didn't fly.  It is a good product, made by a good company, but the cost was more than the meat  you put in it.   It hit the secondary market.   The dollar store had it for 2/1.  I had fifty cent coupons.   The dollar store is out now, And so are the coupons.  But, Big Lots  has them for .50 and they have cheese.  Add real cheese and frozen veggies ( often cheaper at the dollar store( watch weights) to coupon purchased pasta and  you have a dinner for often times a buck.   Or use garlic or basil with tuna.

Your meals can be filling, good, tasty and inexpensive.   They don't have to shout economy.

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Jane

Step 2, suddenly saturday

Normally I would have grocery shopped yesterday.  This summer is a lesson in coping and rolling with the punches.LOL

Yesterday we talked,about identifying Our needs and meal planning the basics.  

Each week, when I get the newspaper ads, I analyze them.   Take a piece of scrap computer paper, divide it into quarters and head each with a grocery store.   Now go through the ads and write down any perishable or dairy ad price that is the cheapest.   Ditto the stock items on your list.  Now pick the one " loss leader protein that is on your list". By buying one meat a week and rotating it, you can save time and money.   You portion control the meals for no waste, and dinner is half started.  
I rotate hamburger, chicken, pork roast or sausage, and cheese.  Sausage last I looked was 8.49 for three pounds at Costco.   I watch for cheap 9 percent hamburger.  Sometimes a chuck roast will be on sale and grinding my own  is a better option.  My husband does it with the kitchen aid and controls the fat.   You can also use the old fashioned meat grinder.

Chicken continues to be inexpensive.   I usually buy a whole chicken and roast it.  Use dark meat for BBQ , breast for a chicken dinner or casseroles or other chicken dish and the bones for soup.  If I get grill packs. I debone the chicken breast and either cook the quarters for BBQd chicken or shred    it for tacos etc.

Hamburger becomes crumbles for pasta sauce, pizza, or sloppy joes. Also, taco meat and meat balls.  We usually get a meat loaf from it.  Meat balls are a meat group in itself.,,,meatball subs, on rice, potatoes, noodles, the possibilities are endless.  

Thanks,

Jane

Freaky Friday- the basics edition.

 I'm not on a position at this time to shop and cook and clean out the fridge.  Long story, bit the short of it, I landed in a rehab center and are taking a mini vacation.    LOL

So, it's time to get back to basics.

The reason why I started groceries on the cheap is because I was getting requests for people to teach them how to make it  on food stamps.  They were running out of momey before they ran out of month.   With the rising costs of food and the shrinking snap dollar, ot os getting harder to make the meals hit the table.   The good news is the Internet if full of information everywhere you look and you get to filter out what is usable to you.

The main objective in groceries on the cheap is to NEVER  PAY FULL PRICE FOR ANYTHING.  BUY LOW AND EAT HIGH.

A few exercises will set you up do eat well on less the rest of your lives.

• Identify the inexpensive sources of protein that your family will eat.   In our home that would be chicken, eggs, cheese, pork, beans and rice,beef, 
• Write down meals that incorporate these sources .  Do at least 7' preferably 14 to assure variety. 
• Identify the shelf ready staple items that you'd will use to cook these meals.  Also freezer.Start a price book and identify the lowest prices for these foods. Use the weekly ads and your shopping trips to post prices.    Name of product, size, date, store, price?   with coupon? 
• When you find the right price, buy a) as many as you can, b) as many as the store will let you ( limits) or c) as many as you need to reach your goal.  I keep a six to 12 week supply.   
• If you can match a store sale with a manufacturers coupon you.  really hit pay dirt!   

That's all for today.  More tomorrow.   

Thanks 

Jane 

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• 
  

Wicked wednesday

Our whole life has blown apart the last month.    I have come to the realization with pain and ice, that we have to take stock I'm what we do have left and  trudge on.   This old  Doe-Blood has  blood is pooped.  I've lost my fight.  

That being said, our family unit is  intact.  
I have no place to sell cards, I have no place to teach cards.   I have put put feelers. All I can do is keep trying,  
My husband is applying for a couple of jobs that would suit him well and only time will tell.  
Baby granddaughter still needs help understanding rules.  We can concentrate on that.
If I can emphasize  my budgeting skills to my family, we should survive a while anyway.   I have a lot of stock in the pantry.    That's what it is for.  And, I didn't pay more than 1/2 price for any of it.

I digress.

I am not buying food now, stuck in a rehab torture chamber , LOL.  Thankfully, I don't have to.  Hopefully, my daughter and husband are making dinners work.   The lack of grocery shopping should
Do a reasonable help in replacing our income for a while.  

I,will go,back to analyzing the ads as soon as I can get the ads.   Stick in a hospital bed is not very conducent  of that.  

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Jane

Suddenly Sumday

It os sindY.  I've been fighting the what day is ot demons all week.   LOL

The ads
Fred Meyers

Cherries 1.99
Blues 4.98
Chicken .99
Eggs 4/5@@
Butter 2/4@@
Bagels 1.99
Canned veggies 2/1@@
Radishes 2/.88
Dreyers 2/6$$


Walgreens
Tom sauce 2/1@@
Nuts 1.99

That's about ot.

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Jane

What a revolting development! This turned out to be!

Ok, as if my blogs haven't been sporadic lately with the mall closing , Tuesday I fell and broke my hop and wrist!   I'll be I'm rehab for three weeks, will coots when I can.