Snowballing. : yes it's summer!

Someone once said to my daughter, you saved a dollar, what can you do with that...buy a Mac Donald's hamburger?  

I get that some people just don't get it.   The concept of saving money 💰 is not part of their mental process.    Unfortunately, there are more and more people that I am afraid are going to need to save money.   The current administration is on a path to reduce the rich people's taxes and balance the budget  on the backs of the poor and elderly.  

I am a firm  believer that knowing how to save money on food is a  good skill to have even of you don't need to use it.    If you know how to feed your family on a strict budget, it's not hard to spend more.    Having a small stock on hand of things you can make a meal out of is insurance,    What if, the car gets in a wreck and you can't get to the store?   Or your child is sick and you don't want to take him out, or you are sick, or the road  floods and the grocery store isn't getting shipments....that's not far fetched it happened here a few years back.   If you have a small stock on hand, you are covered.    You can do that with a meger budget if you know how to shop.  

Shopping......walking through the store with a shopping cart and throwing everything that looks good in your cart.    Wrong.........this is especially hard not to do if you go to the store hungry,   Now, of you go to the store extremely full it will backfire and you might get home and wonder what's in the house to eat!  Lol.

I don't go with a specific list.    I have the ad with the RBP items circled.    I know pretty much which food groups need replentishing and if there is a rotation protein that is a RBP.    I rarely spend more than 30.00 at a store.    Probably closer to 25.     That is for three of us.    It would have to be a big sale to have that happen.    Now, I do go to at least two stores a week.    More if I hit the occasional Costco or dollar tree/ grocery outlet.  

The advantage if this kind of shopping. Is that you rarely get home and forget a major item .   You also never pay that nasty F word.....full price.    You are not looking for specific items except the few RBP items.   You are, rather, looking for food groups.    Your mindset is , I need calcium ( dairy) what's on sale.   If you can get your calcium during a dairy sale and buy enough to last you with expiration dates, you will be better off.  Pay attention to the rhythm of the dairy sales.    Here, Fred Meyer (Kroger) will pit dairy at least once a month.   I can usually get sour cream and cottage cheese a month out.    Milk can usually be augmented at oor other Kroger store (QFC) for either a dollar or a dollar and a quarter.    If we have too much nearing the expiration date, its  time to have clam chowder, potato soup, or pudding.

Meat is purchased on a rotation basis.  First you need to make a list of protein that you can make meals of and that your family will eat.  These need to be economical cuts of meat.    For us it is pork loin, chicken, low fat hamburger. Sausage, cheese, and beans.  When a protein is on sale at a RBP, buy as much as you will need to cover a months worth of those meals.   In other words, if you eat hamburger once a week, you will need to buy enough for four to six meals.   This allows you to be on a four to six week cycle.  You can almost bet someone will have hamburger at a RBP sometime  in that six weeks.

I get pork loin for somewhere  between 1.49-1.69 a pound for a whole or half loin .   It only tasked a few minutes to make roasts, stew meat, and Pork chops out of a loin.


Chicken breasts are eight dollars a pound,   Sometimes they are half price.    Split chicken breast that are local grown can be as low as .88 a pound and sometimes 1.28.    It takes a few minutes to cut the ribs off and cook the meat and bones for stock, and pit the breast on quart bags,   I put the quart bags in a gallon bag and date it.   The bones go in a stockpot with herbs and onion ends to make stock and I pick the bones.   I usually get 2 quarts of stock and a quart of chicken pieces from six large breasts.  A quart of chicken pieces can be two to three meals.    And a quart of stock can be two to four dollars a box. Place the stock in   the fridge and scoop away the fat after it has congealed. Chicken pieces can be in enchiladas, chicken pot pie, chicken soup, tacos...

Sausage is up to almost five dollar a chub (pound) .  I have bought it for two and a quarter with a coupon.  It is less in the three pound chub at Costco.   Fry it, de-fat it and freeze it.   You can add it to omelets , put it in a quiche, or soup.

My target price for cheese is as close to two dollars a pound as I can get it.   Never over 2.50.   I buy Mexican blend and pizza cheese.   It is a misconception that shredded cheese is more expensive than brick cheese.   Cheese is cheese.    A pound of cheese is a pound of cheese.     Go by the price per pound.  We toured a cheese factory.   The grated cheese is what is left over from cutting the bricks out of a huge brick.   They place the scraps in a bus boy tray like vessel and it goes to the shredding  machine.

Beans can be purchased in bulk at Winco.   The cheapest price for pinto beans is .67 at the DT.  ( dollar  tree)  they are non gmo and made in America.    The only other place they are cheaper is at Costco and you have to buy 25 pounds.  It would take us too long to eat that many beans.  Lol
I keep them in the containers we get popcorn in. (Costco) .

Pasta at our house has a dollar a pound limit.   I usually pay less.  Some of our pasta ( Barilla) I paid 38 for , some of it was free.   There are almost always coupons for pasta.   Pasta has an eight YEAR shelf life.  Buy it when it is cheap.  Buy as much as you have coupons for.   I just got Barilla pronto for .88 a package and I had a. 75 coupon.   Yes, Virginia, there are coupons for real food.    Like shopping at the goodwill, you have to plow through a bunch of garbage to find the food stuff.  

Every twenty five cent adds up.  The notion that you got food stamps so it doesn't matter how much you pay for the food is shooting yourself on the foot. The more you can buy with your money, the longer you will be able to eat.   Not having anything in the house to eat makes a child feel really insecure.   The stress of no food in the house they have found shortens your lifespan. Learning to stretch a buck in food is important .

Chain store ads : Alberways

this is Alberways only because last weeks ad for QFC was a two week ad.  

Milk gallon 1.79
Tomatoes on the vine , lettuce .69


7 percent fat hamburger 2.77
Berries 3/5
Diced tomatoes .39 @@ limit 4
Eggs .78



My rotation meat would be the hamburger.  
My stock item would be the diced tomatoes.  


You can do almost anything with diced tomatoes.   If you need tomato puree.  put them through the food processer or blender .    Already ready for soups or salsa.  

Tuesday notes : Balancing the budget.

So, why do you even bother with groceries in the cheap?   It's a good question.  Sometimes when  I am getting a zillion (2 or 3 hundred hits from France or Russia that I know don't really want to know who has the best prices  week) , I wonder.    I have written over two thousand blogs .   One a day for almost five years.  

I started this because I was hearing that people on snap were having a hard time making it to the end of the month: running out of money before they ran out of month.    I am finding that that isn't necessarily who is reading my blog.   

I'm trying to out in efficient kitchen management tips, recipe remakes that are healthier or more tasty, the best prices on good food any particular week, even though I have come to realize my blog reaches far behind the PNW and ways to cut your food costs.    

Why!   Because I have discovered that I have a talent. Ha ha.   I learned thrift from my mother and when the going got tough, I got going on learning all I could learn to stretch the food dollar.    There are people that need to know this information.    Social security has had no raises in two years,  last year it was .3 Tenths of a percent and they took it back for Medicare.    That doesn't mean that food orices didn't go up, or insurance and taxes didn't go up.    Food is probably the most expensive discretionary budget item in a seniors budget.    Food stamps are on the chopping block as well as school lunches since the republicans think that adding to their already rich pocketbooks is more important than feeding the less fortunate.    It will be even more imparative to know how to stretch the food dollars.   

• Ibotta is a rebate site that gives you money back on your purchases.    If you are in food stamps, it is a way to pay for the oaoer products that food stamps don't pay for.   Hey, we all need toilet paper.   Lol if you aren't on food stamps, it a way to get something your budget doesn't allow for.   Bottom line, it cuts your food costs.   There are a few more sites that do the same thing,    
• Coupons cut costs.    Many are for things that you can supply cheaper by making yourself, but there are still real food coupons that help reduce costs.   Things like butter, pasta sauce, pasta, laundry detergent, mayonnaise.  
• Efficient scratch cooking.   Not many of us have all day to spend in the kitchen.  
• Plan. Plan, plan.    It's the easiest way to stay in track and keep costs low.   
• RBP! Rock bottom prices.  Few things in the grocery store never go on sale.    Watch for the lowest price and buy as much as you will need for the next month to six  weeks.   You can do this becaise you are laying 1/2 price often and you are rotating the things you buy.  If I buy two packages of mega pack chicken this week, I can buy two packs of Pork loin the next week,   You have a variety of food, but you have laid 1/2 price for it.    
• Be your own butcher.    A pork  loin can be as low as 1.49 a pound.   Cut your own pork chops and roasts.   If the loin tapers down, cut stew meat.   De-boning your split chicken breast saves about 7 dollars a pound.    That's not a bad return on ten minutes worth of work.   
• Portion control.  Obesity is a problem in the US so I'm told.   Portion control is good for the budget and the waistline.  Buying bulk meat and dividing it into meal sized portions is a way to get the meat cheaper and is more efficient. 
• Eat vegetarian one or two days a week.   
• Use less meat and augment your meals with another protein. - add beans to your taco meat. Use less meat in a cassarole that can have a cheese topping.   Have breakfast for dinner.    An impossible pie  can have cheese, eggs, and a vegetable.   Low cost and really good.   

Virtual paycheck

No, you can't exactly take it to the bank.   I guess if you really have mass $$ a week to spend on food, you actually can put the difference you save on the bank.  For many of us, saving on the grocery bill makes it easier to take care of necessities and not go without.

Virtual paycheck is a concept a true realist can't fathom.  

It is used to make a logical conclusion as to wether  or not making something from scratch, or buying it ready made  is worth your time.   You can use it for anything you use your manual labor for.
Of course, other rationale comes into play at times.   Like is homemade healthier?

Here's a couple of senerios  to explain.

Tortillas.   I can buy them for about .10 each,    Or 1.00  for 10.   The ingredients are minimal, but  it would take you an hour to mix, rest, ball the dough , roll it out and cook it both sides one at a time.
The material cost is about .40 .   So, you would  be making .60 an hour . Not enough to make me take on the chore.

Artisan bread 🍞.  The cost of artisan bread in the store bakery is upwards of 3.00 a loaf.   The cost is less than .30.   Difference 2.70.   It takes five minutes per loaf to make the dough,   Another five minutes to shape it  and put it to rise.   Seconds to program the oven .   Total ten minutes a loaf.   Doing the math, that's 16.20 an hour.   That makes it worth my while considering there are no preservatives . No fat, and I get it fresh, hot, out of the oven.

My daughter and I made lemon pound cake and compared it to the cost of a piece of lemon pound cake at the big buck coffee stand.    We figure we made 212.00 an hour!  

Food for thought

No food can do your family good if you are feeding it to the garbage disposal.  

Just as the odds are against you at a gambling establishment ( it's rigged to benefit the house ) , the odds are against you if you go weekly or daily ti the  grocery store for a weeks worth of food.  

If you don't understand why someone would clip coupons, you ain't never been broke enough.  

Monday kitchen management

Monday kitchen management

• Put stove fan screen in the dishwasher. 
• Clean the microwave 
• Wax the north wall cabinets 
• Wash potatoes 🥔 
• Clean vegetable bin 
• Fill the flour bin 
• Wash and disinfect counters 
• Wash floor 
• Make bread dough 
• Make pizza dough 
• Pull chicken breast to thaw
• 
  

Fred Meyer haul

Fred Meyers and dollar tree.

Chocolate milk .99
Barilla pronto pasta .88 less two .75 coupons.  Basically. We got two boxes almost free.   Who says you can't buy real food woth coupons?   LOL
Nathan's beef franks 2.99


 All .99 a lb inkess otherwise stared
Nectarines
Zucchini
Tomatoes
Granny Smith apples

canteloupe was a dollar a piece
Cottage cheese /large 2.00


Total 17.77 less 1.58 for tissue and tax  is 16.04

Dollar tree I bought the pepperoni with coupons for .50 because the coupons expire tomorrow.   They will not take the suddenly salad coupons because it s a special package.  Promotional.  

Meal plans week of June 4

meal plans for week of June 4, 2017

• Chicken nuggets ( homemade ) dip chicken cubes from breast meat on melted butter, the  bread crumbs with seasoned with herbs and parm,   :  oven fries 🍟, fruit cup 
• Pizza : scratch crust, motts, pepperoni 
• Meatballs and speghetti.  Salad-  French bread with butter, parm and herbs 
• Pork chops. Baked potatoes, oven veggies 
• Chicken pot pie - use cresent rolls
• .Tuna patties, a graitin  potatoes, mixed veggies 
• Breakfast 4dinner . 

Notes

1. Thaw chicken breast for nuggets the day before in the am.  
2. Pizza cost about 130. 
3. Meatballs are already in the freezer.    Speghetti is on sale at Fred Meyers as well as canned pasta sauce,   I'll use a jar I got with a coupon, 
4. Pork chops were cut from the Pork roast purchased from Safeways last week. ( 3 pounds) zucchini is a dollar at FM . 
5. Chicken pot pie is a no brainier,   Use white sauce mix from scratch and crescent rolls on hand or sub baking mix biscuits,   
6. Tuna patties are scratch.   A gratin  potatoes boxed on pantry, and mixed veggies from vegetable bin. 
7. Breakfast 4 dinner : use waffles bought from grocery outlet on sale,    

Trying to use up prepared mixes.   Jars of dried food have no place to go in the transition,   

Vegetable bean soup in insta pot

Process 3 cups of pinto beans.   Pinto beans are cheapest at the dollar tree.   They are non gmo and grown in USA.   ,  wash and sort pinto beans.  Place in insta  pot bowl.   Cover with water to your second knuckle.  Place the lid on the insta pot and make sure the vent is on seal.   Push the bean button.   

After processing,  turn the insta pot off and drain the beans and place in separate pot.   Return the pot to the insta pot machine and turn the pot on sauté.   Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.   Sauté 2 sliced carrots and a rib of celery in olive oil until slightly softened.   Turn off the sauté function and add :   The beans, two 15.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings , two cans of water, a 2 ounce tube of tomato paste and a large pinch of dried parsley.    

Program pot to slow cooker for four to eight hours.   I program it to work for as many hours as I have before it's time for dinner.    

Sautéing veggies 

After adding all ingredients.   

Fred Meyers ad for tomorrow- 6/4/17

First, there is an apendage a 3 day sale, SMT

.99 sale

Peaches or nectarines
Cantaloupe - it doesn't state per lb or each
Zucchini
Peppers ( usually cheaper at Winco )


Regular weekly ad
Nathan's hot dogs 2.99
Strawberries .99
Boneless chuck roast $2.77 –grind your own  hamburger time.  
20 percent fat hamburger is 3.49 **
 Milk $.99.
 Butter 2/5.00
Tomatoes.99


Notes :
* by picking your roast and looking for one that is lean , you can save by grinding your own hamburger.  Hamburger  can  be processed with the grinding attachment on  a kitchenaid, or by using a good  food processor.    Also, there is always the manual ones our grandmothers used. You can usually find them for cheap at garage sales  or antique stores,   Ask around, there may be one in somebody's  attic!  

Another note : Foster Farms split chicken  breast are 1.49 .   A week or so ago they were about .89.  They subbed Draper valley . their butchering job was somewhat deplorable to say the least.  There were extra parts and what looked like liver attached.    I  emailed them and complained.   They sent me ten dollars which was more than I paid for the chicken.  Heritage farm chicken is Arkansas chicken.  The price for boneless is 1.99.   Still, with Foster Farms being fifty cents cheaper, you are better off,  Foster Farms is potentially cleaner and cheaper and chicken stock and the rib meat is an added bonus.    You are always better off buying local chicken and not frozen.  

Another note :  Tuesday is senior day at Fred Meyers.   An extra 10 percent off for anyone over 55.   This includes private brand groceries.  

Friday recipe - healthier tortillas

to get me to try tortillas from scratch there has to be an incentive.    If something takes time to make, it's either got to be a whole lot cheaper , or or it has  to be healthier or both. imdodmrin onto a recipe for tortillas that healthier. I decided to keep it in case for some reason I couldn't get to the store or I wanted to show granddaughter that tortillas didn't just appear out of a plastic bag.   The cost difference alone doesn't warrant the time consumed.

3-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
7 Tbls canola oil

Mix together until a smooth ball forms,  knead.  
Separate dough into two ounce balls.
Let balls rest, covered for 10 minutes.
Roll out to be very thin.
Cook on a flat griddle until browned on both sides.


Cost :
Flour 3.5 cups at .08 cup is .28
Oil - 7 TBLS is .28
Total .56

Makes 15 tortillas
Or .04 each

A package of 10 cost a dollar on sale .   Or .10 each.
The mount of time to make the tortillas is too great to save six cents a tortilla.you are 60.   Itmwould only make sense of you wanted to avoid the lard or shortening,    It's a labor of love.  

Tuesday - notes chicken in depth

Everything you ever wanted to know about chicken.  

Chicken is one of the most inexpensive meats about now.   Some chickens are cleaner than others.    Local chickens are best.  Some southern chicken companies have received permission from the FDA to send the chickens to China  for processing,    

Never buy a chicken that is less than three pounds.   That is the break even point where there is as much bone  weight as there is chicken weight.   In other words, the bigger the weight, the more chicken you are getting for your money.   Most deli whole roasted chickens are three pounds or under.    Do the math, you are paying  far more per pound than buying a raw chicken on sale,    Chicken can be purchased for as low as .88 a pound here.    

There are easy, very efficient ways to cook a whole chicken. (Later) .  The least expensive  to get boneless, skinless breast is to buy mega packs of split chicken breast with ribs.   Cut the ribs off and simmer them with water and some herbs.  You can then have chicken stock and pick the meat from the bones for taco meat, chicken salad, a casserole or enchiladas.    I get almost a quart of meat  of meat from six large split breasts.  That represents two meals.   I individually bag the breasts and out them in a gallon bag and label and date.   This doesn't take long and the .87-1.28 a pound is a lot less expensive than the eight dollars a pound that boneless, skinless chicken breast can cost.   Same brand, less money.   

Chicken breast can be cooked from frozen in the insta pot  in 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness of the breast.   Always disinfect all surfaces that touch raw meat of any kind for food safety.  Some people wear gloves.  Thawed chicken breast can be poached in the microwave. 

A whole chicken can make four meals for the proverbial family of four : 2 half chicken breasts, one from the dark meat and chicken soup from the bones.  Remember your goal here is to provide the RDA of protein for the day.   When you are using a smaller amount for a casserole or tacos etc, you are also adding cheese or beans to supplement.    This is key to keeping a very low price point for your meals.   

It is cheaper  and more efficient to buy meats in bulk and buy enough to feed your family for a month of that meat choice.    In other words, if you have pork once a week, you would buy enough for four meals.   If you buy a different meat or protein each week in a four to six week rotation, you will hit a sale price at least once during that time frame.   Keeping quantities at a four to six week level keeps your meat fresh.  Some people rotate, chicken breast or whole  chicken, Pork loin, hamburger, cheese, brand and rice, and bagged fish or canned tuna or salmon.   Keeping your bulk purchases to a four to  six week supply means unless you have a large family, you should be able to keep it in a regular fridge freezer.

Thursday bullets - what to bring to the grocery store.

Thursday bullets : what to bring to the grocery store.  

1. Bags :   Around here, some cities have banned plastic grocery bags.   Some cities charge you for your gricerynbags, some don't,  and some give you a credit (Winco) for bringing bags.   Bags that clip onto your cart work well and are more sanitary.    Studies have shown poop germs on the bottom of the carts.    Yuk!   
2. Coupon binder or envelope.   Having coupons for the things that you know you will buy he,os a lot.  Having them organized means you will have a better chance of using them. 
3. Rewards cards.    Every bit helps.    Our Kroger gives something sway every week. Don't take it ofmyou will never use it, but we take things we know we can pass on tonsomeone that dies need it.    -- food bank?    Cat lover?    
4. Calculater or your phone of it has one on it,   A lot these days have unit prices in ounces, not per can.  Bulk items need to be calculated to know if they are a bargain or not.     
5. The ads.    Circle the things that you are interested in- a good reminder.     
6. Small scissors  to clip coupons from the store ads if necessary.    Sometimes Winco has coupons on the entrance.    
7. Hand sanitizer.       Chicken cooties.      Enough said.   
8. A list of what you need if you are out of something.  

1. 
   

Safeways and QFC hauls

First, my hubby bought  bread, milk and cream for my daughter.   Total bill 3.04

Today I went to QFC with a list based on what I could condo my the internet.   The ,airman has not delivered oir ads  yet.  

Grapes 1.48
Milk .99
Tomato plant 3.79


Safeways.
Mayonnaise 2.00
Chicken of the sea tuna ( for backpack alerts )6 ea
Pork loin roast 1.49   Total 4.25
Bananas 1.32
Strawberries 5.99

Total 25.26

Weekly chain store ads

QFC - two week ad

Buy 5, save 5
Hummus 1.99
FF chicken patties 5.99$$
Mayonnaise 1.99
Kens salad dressing 1.49$$

Grapes 1.48
Milk ,99



Alberways

Bananas 3 lbs .99
Berries 2/5
Pork loin roast 1.49
Cheese -2 lbs 4.99
Bread 2/1@@
Tuna .49@@
Eye of round roast 2.99

Suddenly salad   4/5 - note : it's a dollar next door at the dollar tree.  
Note : Pork loin roast is a keeper for a rotation meat as well as the eye of round roast would make good meat to grind for low fat hamburger.  

Tuesday thoughts

Wednesday last, I went to get the needed dairy products at QFC because they were in sale,  I also picked up a box of raspberries.  I always try to keep two or three kinds of fresh fruit in the house.

I also always check the mark down section ever since I found one of my meds for less  than Costco charges .  They marked it down  because the box had been opened, but then it contained three boxes that were still factory sealed,    I got two cans of  S &; W low sodium chilli beans for .49 each,   The good deal happened when I used an.55 coupon.  I got two cans for .43.   Or .215 a can.

It just a mindset,   You can have good food, watch the nasty 😷 salt, sugar, trans fats, sulfite, hydrogenated  oils, HFCS, and preservatives and still eat on a budget.

• Know your prices and unless it's something you really really can't do without, don't buy anything unless it's at your target price.    
• Buy dairy when it's on sale and buy enough to feed your family before the sell by date  expires.
• Buy fresh produce in season and buy it as close to out of the  earth as you can.   .   In other words, less packaging  and handling is better for the most part.   Certain stores are better than others for produce.  I got ten pounds of potatoes for less than what five pounds cost at another store,    
• Buy a limited variety of cuts of meat,  buy it in bulk and portion control it.   Cook it if it is appropriate and freeze it.  Certain cuts are very versatile .  I always cook and de-fat ground beef and sausage,   It's more efficient than cooking as you need it,    Tonight I threw cooked hamburger, enchalada sauce   That I purchased for a dime, and taco seasoning that I made .10) in the insta pot on sauté,   As soon as it came to a boil, I reprogrammed it to slow cooker  and let it simmer.    It took a matter of minutes.    
•  Make your bread if possible,   The cost is about  a tenth of the cost of buying it.    There are recipes that are really fast and easy,   ( non passive time ) 
• Load up on picnic supplies around summer holiday time,    It will be the cheapest prices on things like BBQ sauce, catsup , mustard etc.    
• Things  like olive oil, flour and beans are cheaper if you can buy bulk at a warehouse store,    pinto beans  are cheapest  at the dollar tree and they are non GMO and grown and packaged  in the USA.     Costco is cheaper, but we can't use 25 pounds before they go bad,   

Monday kitchen management

Monday kitchen management.

It's the first of the month so the fan screen goes in the dishwasher the first load that's a little free.

• Put fan screen in the dishwasher, 
• Wash kitchen floor 
• Wax cabinets in the north side of kitchen 
• Make baking mix 
• Make pizza dough 
• Thaw Pork tenderloin in fridge 
• Wash vegetables 
• Straighten pantry. 
• make chocolate rice crispy squares. 

Meal plans - week of May 29 - total cost 18.42

I'm meal planning and taking you along to see my mindset.    The weather here is warm for a few days and then we have cooler  and rain.  Seattle and rain!   LOL.

I have three packages  of hot dogs.  They have far enough expiration dates that we can use them within the next few weeks.   We only eat hot dogs in the summer and only around holidays that trigger the grocers putting them on sale.  
Part of what we eat is based on what was on sale that week;  Part is based on our key ingredients that I try to keep on hand.  

Grocery shopping based on sales and coupons to get the lowest possible price and fill in what your pantry needs leaves you pretty much free to choose any meals you want within dietary and budget guidelines.

• Pizza - a necessary staple here.  It's cheap.  I make crust for less than a quarter,   Add a fifth of a jar if pizza sauce bought at the DT. ( freeze the rest in ice cube trays ) add cheese - target price close to two dollars a pound and pepperoni that is.50 for a package  with a coupon at the DT.   Total cost 1.20   It also might get any leftover bits hanging around the fridge,   Black olives scarfed from a cassarole, the ends of the sausage or hamburger bag.    Etc 
• Breakfast 4 dinner.  Another easy dinner that keeps a low profile so we can have a more expensive meal another day.   Eggs are .78 a dozen this week.   I'll dry some, but we still have plenty.   I found a recipe for a pancake mix that mis easy and inexpensive.    Add that package if sausage that keeps falling out of the freezer on my toe, and some scrambled  eggs and berries and we should be set.   .36 for eggs, .21 pancakes , 1.88 berries. Sausage 1.00 total 3.34
• Pork tenderloin roast , smashed potatoes. Zucchini with some tomato and red pepper  flakes.  I have. A Pork tenderloin ( not a loin ) in the freezer that I got for five dollars.   Zucchini is a dollar a pound at FM this week.   1/2 roast 2.50, potatoes .32, zucchini 1.00 Tomato paste  .16 total 3.98 
• Tomato soup. cheese biscuits.  2.50 - finish the case of tomato soup.   ( organic roasted red pepper and tomato -Costco at 2.00 each in a case. 
• Tacos. Spanish rice.   Taco kit was a dollar at Grocery Outlet.   Hamburger    - $1.68  lettuce, tomato, cheese and - cup of rice.  Total 3.58 
• Tuna casserole uses tuna 1.00, noodles .50, cream soup base, peas .50 total 2.00 dry bread crumbs and a Tbs of parm is too small to count. 
• Vegetable bean soup , bread sticks.   Bread sticks .15 , soup 1.67 total 1.82 

• Total 18.42 for 7 days 

How? 

• Buy when things are on real sale.
• Use coupons when you can for real food 
• Buy bulk foods that you use a lot, 
• Make scratch with efficient recipes.   
• Buy bulk meat and butcher it yourself 
• Eat vegetarian a couple of nights a week. 
• Soup and bread is a good thing. 
• Plan your meals, but be flexible
• Remake leftovers .  Leftovers don't have to loom the same as the first time around.   

.

Winco and big lots

Big lots 

Animal crackers (6) 2.00

Ice cream cookies 1.00

Garlic 1.25 

Winco 

When it's hot, the meal plans go out the window and we have a burger, hotdog, or some kind of a sandwich and salads.  Beats the heat in a east faced kitchen. 

Chips 1.98

Salmon burgers 2.48

Buns .78

Bananas .68

Grill seasoning .10

Meatballs 1.98

Dry milk 3.48

Potato salad 2.98 

Lettuce .98

Cucumbers.48

Grapes 3.44

Total 20.10 

Fred Meyer Sunday ad

Sunday and Monday ONLY

Cherries 2.88
Tillamook ice cream 2/5


Regular ad
Zucchini .99
Grapes .99
Cantaloupe 2/4
Eggs .78
Yoplait - 10/5$$
Strawberries 2/5

*******++++
Rotation bulk meat for the week would be b
Boneless 1/2 loin pork roast is 1.69
*****+

QFC haul(s)

QFC haul

Bread 1.25,
Chips-ritz Free

Saved 4.63

Strawberries
Raspberries 1.88
2 doz eggs .78
Blueberry pie 1.99
Maple  extract 2.39 (. Markdown )


I will dehydrate eggs for future use--  I'm almost out of vanilla , so I thought I might stretch what I have by using maple flavor  when it mad sense.  

Total
14.05

Total per week so far this  quarter 54.70 .    Including buying bulk purchases.  

Friday recipe - mix

Cream soup base,    Cream of xxx soup is running well  over a dollar on sale.    this is much cheaper and doesn't take much more time than opening a can and you aren't eating things you can't pronounce.

Pick amtome when you can get butter for 2.00.  You can't substitute fake or margarine for this, it doesn't work. Store in the fridge for 2-3 months or freeze.  I make small batches.   

White sauce mix there are several variations out there.   Some Use cornstarch.   

4 cups dry milk ( not instant ) 

1 cup flour 

2 sticks butter. 

Cut butter into the dry mixture.   You can use a pastry cutter or your mixer with the wisk attachment. 

Basic white sauce for,white,sauce, add cheese for Mac and cheese etc.   

2/3 cup mix 

1 cup water 

Cook until thick over medium heat stirring with wisk.   

Thick cream soup ( condensed) 

3/4 cup water 

1 tsp better than boullion 

1 cup mix.  

Stir until thick, cooking over medium high heat.   

Add seasonings of choice about a 1/2 tsp each 

Garlic powder 

Onion powder 

Parsley 

Salt and pepper 

Chocolate pudding 

1 cup mix 

1/2 cup sugar

3 T cocoa 

1 cups water 

Measure ingredients in order and wisk on medium heat until combined.   Turn heat up and bring to boil.   Boil about 20 SECONDS until thick,  cover and chill.  

I have a different version that is low sodium and low fat.   

Another day, another dollar.     

Thursday bullets - ten thing never to eat

Some of this is  from a registered dietitian, but I also have heard it from multiple sources including my dear mother.    LOL.   It's not good to fool Mother Nature and fake is  fake.     This is my opinion, based on my reading.   I'm not a doctor and you need to use your own judgement.
.

1. Orange juice from concentrate has  more sugar than a soda.    
2. Soda pop.     It's full of sugar and the fizz can leach the calcium from your bones, so they say. 
3. Margarine and fake butter.   Hey, I really want to know why palm oil is supposedly cancer producing and terrible on Nutella, but it's ok in fake butter.     If you want to reduce the bad fat in your butter, try land of lakes butter with olive oil.   Olive oil is supposed to be for good cholesterol.   
4. Fake sugar.   They are telling us that sugar is bad for you, but fake sugar is worse.    I guess moderation is the key. I've taken to not using sugar at all in my drinks.    
5. Cheap whole wheat bread.   Not much different than cheap white bread.    Look at the nutrition label.    The more fiber it has, the better.    
6. Soy milk.    I don't have a clue why, but that's what the nutritionists say. 
7. Tilipa.   Dirty........that's all I can say. 
8. Southern grown chicken.    Local is better.   There is more to it.    
9. Individual packets of microwave oatmeal.    Cost more and have less nutrition.   
10. Microwave popcorn.   It's not the corn, it's the stuff they put in it.   
11. Bonus: cheap hot dogs.   There is a difference between Hebrew national and Nathan's vs the other brands.   Some hot dogs 🌭 have mystery ingredients.    There is also a faction out there that is against all processed meats.    We like them, so my answer is moderation. 

Grocery outlet and dollar tree

Guess where we went!    LOL

Holiday time  is a good time to stock  picnic supplies.  Prices are about  as low as they get on picnic type fare.  

I got plastic trays for the deck table to make eating out there easier.   Wenwalk threw two rooms to get to the family room door, so it should make life easier carrying our plates.  

I also get a pound cake from DT.  I have strawberries and whip cream already,   We are having Texas stew for dinner,   It's in the slow cooker/ insta pot.  I brought the ingr Donets up to warm woth the sauté feature because so,emofmthem were frozen and then switched to slow cooker.  

Grocery outlet

• Bluecheese 3.49
• Wish bone  Italian dressing - good for marinade.   At pull date.25 
• Lemon snack bars .99
• Pudding mixes , chocolate caramel  3/1 
• Tomato paste , hunts. Ind packets .99
• Challenge butter 1.98
• Nathan's franks 2/5 
• Sliced Italian salami 199
• Total 15.93  - saves 41.65 

Chain store ads

Just a note: some of the condiment and s'mores supplies are cheaper year   round at the dollar tree.  Beware of origins, but some are national brands. 

Alberways 

Five dollar Friday : Pork Tenderloin

Coupon 10 off 50.   I don't find that a good coupon becaise the other prices are so much higher that you aren't saving anything.  

Sweet baby rays BBQ.   .79 @@ if u have the coupon on last Sunday's paper it is cheaper  at FM. 

Hot dog buns 2/1.00@@

Tortilla chips 1.99@@

2 lbs Tillamook cheese brick 7.99-  not a bargain.  It's one of the misquotes that brick cheese is cheaper than grated.    

Sour cream 4/5 

QFC (Kroger ) 

Strawberries 188

Tomatoes .88

Tillamook 2 lb block 5.99 ( still too high ) 

Eggs .78

Butter 2/5 

Tillamook ice cream 2/6 

Hebrew national 2/6 

April-- this ones for you.    Corn 2/1.00

Note : Hebrew national is not my preferred hot dog only because they package them in numbers of one less hot dog than there are buns in a package.   It has nothing to do with the quality.  Another note of a dirty little secret.    Almost always , it doesn't pay  to get the hotdogs and the buns at the same store.   They will use one for a "loss leader " and make up the profit on the other.   

Tuesday book review

Taste of Home Meals in One Pan


It's always a time saver to cook meals on one pan because you have less things to watch and less pans to wash,   It's especially nice of it os a slow cooker meal that you can set and forget.   Threemcoirse or more meals are time consuming and not always the best if you have children  to watch as well.   I am a advocate of involving children in the dinner process.   Sunday breakfast 4 Dinner  can be a family affair.. even granddaughter can bitter the English muffins or toast.

This cookbook is a soft sided one that I got at a discount at Winco.    I have written for Taste of Home in the past.    I also have been published in Womans  Day.

The book is divided into chapters to include those of protein ,and cooking vessels with the added bonus of deserts.    Yum!  There are a variety of meals woth a variety of basic costs.  Some are more expensive than others, and some can be easily adapted without sacrificing the integrity of the meal.

It's one that you will refer to often to spark up a dull meal week.

Monday kitchen management

reminder of meal plan

Pizza
Breakfast 4 dinner
Texas stew
Stuffed pasta shells
Asparagus ( green beans ) Angel hair shrimp
Chicken enchaladas
Meditranian  Pork and orzo,

• Buy green beans, hominy, check shrimp , tomatoes 
• Texas stew : hamburger, hominy, corn - wash potatoes for slicing 
• Stuffed pasta shells -ok.    Bought shells for 1.29 
• Wash veggies 
• Clean fridge 
• Take inventory of meat drawer,   Disinfect drain boards and drains 
• Make a desert 
• Wash floor 
• Wax north side of kitchen cupboards

Grocery hauls

Grocery shopping / Sunday

Wheat bread.   1.45
Hot dog buns .79
Blue bunny ice cream 3.50  less .50 coupon
English cucumber .78
Strawberries 1.98
Green beans 2.98
Red grapes 148 a pound
Total 14.36


Fred Meyers

Chicken breast
Hebrew franks 3.00
Sweet baby rays sauce 100 les .33 cents .67 ( coupon)
Blueberries 299
Tomatoes .88
Total 16.77

Total 31.13

Costco Rebate Haul

Rebate hauls don't hit my total spent list becaise it is a return of money we already spent,  

Non food items are not listed on this list.  We bought soap thatnwas discounted, new pillows, and husband's  beer.  

• Soy sauce 
• Tortilla chips. 
• Bananas 
• Celery 

Meal plans -may 22

Meal  plans save time, effort, and money and a lot of stress.  

Focus....taste of home - Meals on one pan

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

• Pizza 🍕- a favorite and basic pizza cost little more than a dollar.   A good way to use up bits of leftovers 
• Breakfast 4 Dimner - another great way to feed family for less.    Eggs are still .10 or less.   
• Texas stew.: a slow cooker meal with hamburger, hominy, corn , tomatoes, beans, etc.    - Taste of Home 
• Stuffed pasta shells , broccoli. 
• Asparagus and shrimp angelhair ( sub green beans ) 
• Chicken enchaladas woth sour cream sauce.   
• Mediterranean Pork and orzo 

Fred Meyer Sunday specials

It's  BBQ time.    Now would be the time to buy your YEARs worth of BBQ sauce.   For us, that's not a lot.    Baby Rays is 100 several places. We ncludimg fred Meyers and there ism buy 3, save a dollar coupon in Sunday's paper.   There is also a coupon  for .50 off of Blue Bunny  ice cream cones,    A good treat if you are in a diet or are counting carbs.  

Foster Farms split chicken breast .87 - stock  up rotation alert!
Blueberries 299
Tomatoes .88
Turkey bacon  2/5

Sour cream , cottage cheese, cream cheese 4/5
Hebrew national hot dogs 2/6


Notes : Hebrew national hot dogs as well as Nathan's have no excess animal parts in them.  
Now would be a good time to stock chicken breast for a rotation meat.  
Buying picnic type BBQ sauce, catsup. Mustard etc is a good time,  many times you can find condiments with coupons.really cheap.    Sweet baby rays has taken a price hike from last year so getting it for .67 is a good buy.  ( coupons) .  

They are also pushing s'mores .    I can almost always get Graham crackers and marshmallows at the  DT .   ( Dollar Tree) .  

Hot dog and hamburger buns are always under a dollar for Wincos brand,   The hamburger buns are smaller but suit you well if you are counting carbs or on a diet.  

Freddies wanted five dollars for good hamburger.  I can usually get it for 3.28 at Winco.

Friday remake of a recipe

Herb dip with veggies

Dip :

2 cups reduced fat sour cream
1/4 cup homemade ranch dressing mix
1 T onion flakes ( or dehydrated onions )
2 T dried  parsley

Place in bowl and stir.   Cover to store in refrigerator.

Serve with  carrots, celery, cucumbers, radishes.broccolli

Thursday bullets -5 basic ingredients

Ten things that are food bargains

1. Basic oatmeal.   Good old Quaker oatmeal in a bulk box (Costco) or a round carton.  Dover, nutrition.   Takes, I longer than a instant package and is more nutritious,   It takes like three packages of the instant stuff to have the same nutrition as one 1/2 cup portion of "real" oats.   1 cup water, 1/2 cup oats, 1.1/2 minutes in the microwave.    Use a bowl larger than you need,  somerimes  it tends to boil over.    Breakfast, cookies, breakfast cookies, banana bread 
2. Carrots.   Plan old fashioned carrots.   Most of the time they are 1/2 the price of baby carrots and they use bleach to process the baby carrots.   
3. Flour.   Bought in bulk it can be as low as .08 a cup.   If you price bisquick, cake mixes, bread, or pancake mixes, flour is a real bargain.    
4. Eggs.   A powerhouse of protein for a few cents an egg.    Very versatile.   The RDA for protein is 6 ounces that include eggs,    
5. Potatoes.   Another versatile ingredient that is soo much cheaper than the frozen counterparts.   Potato soup, clam chowder, baked potato bar, oven fries 🍟 (no trans fat) mashed potatoes.    

Wednesday chain store ads - May 17th

Alberways

Fresh whole chicken  .67 ( note this is not marked with origin.   )

Red seedless grapes .77


Five dollar Friday

Sweet baby rays BBQ 5/5
Ragu pasta sauce 4/5 $$$


QFC

Milk .99
Raspberries 2.99
Peppers .88
Sour cream or cottage cheese 2/5


About it.  

Fred Meyers haul

Fred Meyers haul.  

I'm still sitting at less than 45.00 a week this month.

Yogurt - .33 each less .10 coupon.   .23
Butter 1.99
Blueberries 4.99
Yogurt dipper .89 less .50 coupon .39
Eggs .79
Cucumbers 2/.99

Total 14.27

Tuesday musings.

I am bulk cooking three pounds of Jimmy Dean sausage.    While opening the chubs, I was reminded of what I paid of these sausages .  One was free, one was 2.25 purchased with a coupon, and one was full price ( a mistake ) and 5.79.   All were not out of date  and all were the same sized package,   That's a 5.79 difference in price spread.  A good reason to pay attention to prices and not just put the same thing in your cart at the same store every week.

That almost six dollars can buy another two meals if you continue  to look before you leap.

Consider this,  it's called the snowball effect.......only it is  much better  than that snowball the neighbor kid threw at  your picture window.  Lol

I got a free chub of sausage with a coupon,  That saved 5.79.   With that 5.79, I bought 4 ragu pasta sauces with coupons for .75 each.   Now I have 2.79 left.   I bought 4 Barilla pastas for .625 each with two coupons,  that's 2.50.  Now I have .29 left.   Now I have the start of

4 full packages of pasta
4 jars of pasta sauce - 4 pasta dinners plus a hold lit for a pizza
Enough sausage for part of a pizza
The rest of a package of sausage for a quiche for dinner
And the pizza sauce of o snag a little from the pasta dinner.

Or, the majority of five dinners.  

My argument for spending a total of ten minutes while I was waiting for my turn at the hair salon on couponing,    This week I got :

•  Free pound of jimmy dean  sausage 
• Free sack of frozen peas 
• Free nacho chips 
• Free dipper yogurt 
• 4 jars of pasta sauce 3.00 
• 4 packages of pasta 250 
• 2 packages (1 lb) cheese 1.76      7.26
• 10 lbs potatoes 1.78                     9.04

That is enough to go a long ways to feeding a weeks worth of dinners,    Granted, this works best when you find an equally good week and buy other foods to rotate. But, essentially you can :

• Pull a few tablespoons of cooked and de-fatted sausage for the pizza.   Add cheese and pepperoni bought with coupons for .50 at the DT.   1/2 a package will do.   
• Pull half of the remainder for nachos add cheese , the free chips and anything you have to augment - peppers, tomatoes, beans  ....
• The rest can be for a quiche.   Add eggs, milk, cheese, and bisquick
• 4 meals of pasta and sauce .   Add parm cheese? A salad? 
• Baked potato bar- add a dollar can of chilli, cheese. 
• Potato soup- add biscuits or corn bread, milk and carrots, celery.    
• Scalloped potatoes, ham cubes, and peas .   Ham cubes are - little more than two dollars at Winco, or you might have some left from Easter.  

Basically, notmcounting bare basics like flour, yeas, milk spices etc.  you would need : 

Pepperoni .50 

Can of chilli 100

Can of beans .50 ( or a 1-1/2 pound of dry beans for 100 at the dollar store.   

Can of doced tomatoes .50 

Milk 149 this week at QFC 

Carrots 100

Ham cubes 2.39 

Celery 100

Salad 100 

Another 10 dollars. 

7 dinners for under twenty dollars. - the price of a take out pizza or two dinners from a meal service.   

Finding time to scratch cook.

Face it, there are only 24 hours in a day.    Running a home, raising kids, holding one or two jobs all takes time,   I had the opportunity to take management courses when I worked at a firmitre factory as a systems administrator,   It was helpful, I learned about tickler files. And priority lists. I iedna tocklermfile for years.  Then I got sick and just getting out of bed was a chore,   The tickler file kinda went by the wayside.

I did learn to schedule.   It's something you do when you work.    It's a way to avoid becoming overwhelmed.    I still make lists.   Somehow, when things are in paper, I'm not laying awake at night wondering if I've forgotten something or of there are going to be enough hours in a day to do what needs to be done.

Our mothers and grandmothers would spring clean,   I can remember my mother loading up a utility cart and move from room to room washing walls, washing curtains, and waxing floors.    O don't think anyone does that anymore.  We have full lives and most of us have a lot on our plates.   The concept of zone cleaning helps reolace the spring cleaning.  Take a day you have free time, or make free time to spend an hour on a particular room or section of the house,   Rotate big jobs and rotate rooms .  That way, eventually , every room gets a deep clean.

I digress.    The kitchen is the focus.   How to find time to scratch cook.....

• Leave often used appliances out.  Having to drag out a heavy appliance slows you down,   
• Find easy recipes.   Refrigerator bread, slow cooker meals. One pot suppers (less dishes ) 
• Delicate - even small children can do some things.  And you know what they are doing while you are cooking,    My sisters and I were baking by the  time we were nine years old.   We also got the wonderful job of washing the dishes by hand and cleaning the kitchen.    LOL.  
• Spend an hour once a week to Prep.   It's faster to wash all the vegetables at one to,e than it is to wash as you go.   Ditto chopping,   Set up the food processer or your machine of choice .  Saves time and clean up.    
• Plan meals .  Make notes on a meal plan form when you need to defrost meat.    
• Invest in appliances  that will hero you be efficient in the kitchen.  If money is tight, prioritize spending and look for them at estate sales and the goodwill.   Bread machines are all over the place and as low as five bucks.  Instead of buying a lot of appliances , consider an Insta   pot even if you have to save up for it.   It's a slow cooker, a rice cooker and a pressure cooker.    Easy, few steps, and a lot safer than the old fashioned kind.  
• Make your own recipe book of a limited amount of meals that are efficient.   
• Instead of buying for particular meals, develop a list of foods that you use in a regular basis, and cook from those ingredients.   Having basics in the house means there are no special trips to the store.   The less road blocks you give yourself, the more efficient cooking is.   Many boxed mixes are only a few ingredients if you leave out the added salt and preservatives you don't want for your family anyway. 

,  

: cookbook review

I have long been a fan of Taste of Home.   I was a contributor in the past.    I was also on woman's day for my budget cooking.   I find that the Taste of Home recipes aren't trying to sell a particular product, they are family tested and sometimes are that recipe grandma  used to make that was sooo yummy.  

I bought The Complete Brunch Cookbook.  It is soft  bound and I bought it discounted  Winco.  We have long been a fan of Breakfast  4 Dinner.   It's a good way to s t r e t c h a dollar .  

Some of the recipes are definitely for a company brunch,   I say that because they are fancy and take a fair amount of work.    I am all about easy and quick. It goes back to sounding more time planning and shopping, and less time cooking, assuming you have a life and it's not being a master cook,

Some  recipes that did intrigue me are :

Sausage quiche squares
Bacon and egg pizza
Tater tot bake
Veggie packed  strada
Sausage from scratch - ( no garbage)
Denver scramble tostada
turkey sage sausage patties
Broccoli brunch skillet
black bean frittata
Chocolate pecan waffles
Banana oat pancakes
Bacon potato  waffles ( leftover mashed potatoes? )

Chocolate chip coffee cake
Chocolate banana muffins
Pumpkin pecan loaves
Ham and green onion biscuits
Orange cranberry bread


Total 108 recipes.  
Some Taste  of home recipes can be found on line.  

Making a new recipe mixes things up and makes a meal less boring,

Fred Meyers Sunday ad

Happy  Mother's Day!  

Eggs .79

FF boneless, skinless chicken breast 177

Tillamook cheese 5.00 a two pound brick - limit 2

Butter 2.00 - limit 2

BBQ sauce 100
Cake mix 100
Frozen treats 100

Hillshire Farms sausage 1.99
Cucumbers, radishes, green  onions 2/1.00

Meal plans -- not,

Because my   fingers were too fat....I posted meal plans early.   So I thought I would go back to the beginning and talk about why this blog got started on the first place and why I am the person to write it.    Actually, it was a suggestion from my children.  

Growing up, my mother was always careful with money,   She survived the Great Depression and watched her mother make meals from barely anything with great grace.    I'm guessing that had a part in her manta to avoid the Nasty F word -----full price.  

I continued to be thrifty when I moved out on my own: mostly because I was living on minimum wage.   When I was first married, my husband would love to go to my mothers house for Sunday dinner because we always had roast beef and I was cooking a lot of tuna noodle casserole because we were saving for a down payment on a house.

Then the  big /$:): storm happened,   It was the early seventies.   Nixon was in office.   There was a gas shortage,  we had double digit inflation and I found myself suddenly a single mother.   I had 5.12 in the savings account and 2 months of daycare and rent, car repair payment, and utilities to pay for.
-- far more bills than I had money.   I called welfare and was told that it didn't matter how much daycare cost, I earned too much money.  That would be 200 dollars twice a month.   I cried.   Then I put my big girl pants on and got creative.   It was lucky for me that I had stocked some food.  I had remembered how much crap I had got for buying a case of tuna fish because Safeway had put it on sale for .28.   It and liver was our lifesaver: besides the fact that we were enjoying my mothers Sunday dinners.  

Thrifting  our groceries as well as my clothes became a way of life.    I set out to read ( no Internet    those days ) everything I could read.   I tried everything I could.  We made bean sprouts. I tried to cook soy beans. How many ways can me spell rocks.  Lol.  I used tvp.   And I read every book the library on economy cooking.  

Seven years after I became a single mother, I remarried.    By now, feeding us on a budget was a habit.  I continued to read and now I could go to cooking school.    I went to every one I could find that we could afford.

I was published in Taste of Home and Woman's Day for my efforts.   At the time, I was feeding four of us including two teenagers, for fifty dollars a  week.

To five years ago, my daughter has taught low income children for years.  Some parents were lamenting that they couldn't make their SNAP stretch for the whole month.   My daughter said, oh, my mom m knows how to stretch food dollars.    I began to try to think of how I could help and knew  other people that wanted to stretch their food budget too.   My children helped me set up a blog almost five years ago.

Since then I have found more ways to cut corners.   I have grown .   I'm a firm believer that you should never stop learning and growing.   I hope I  have helped others grow too.   I would love to find a way to reach more people.

We spend 40-55 dollars a week for three of us and maintain a small stock.   The USDA statices for my husband and I are about twice that.   We eat well.

We have had the best of times, and the worst of times, all anyone can do is put your big girl pants on and go forward.    One time I said " life's a bitch and then you die.  ". My young son  told me " no, mom it's life's a beach. "   I have a very smart son.

Winco grocery haul - Thursday

First, my daughter tells me that cheese is 3.88 a brick at Safeways.  Pork sirloin  was a really good price at Winco.   Our pork "drawer" is full so I didn't partake,    

I did get 

2 mild green chilies cans to replenish  what we ate last week.    .58 

A bag of California fresh veggies 1.98

A bag of stir fry veggies 1.54

A package of Nathan's hot dogs.   2.88 

Hot dog buns .88

A jar of salsa with a coupon 1.03 

Coffee 5.48 

Total 14.83 

Friday recipe : pronto Mac n cheese

Barilla pasta was on sale at QFC for a dollar.    It's somewhere for a dollar often.   I had a .75 coupon on two boxes that made the boxes (6 servings) .625 each.   Cheese was .88 for 1/2 a pound At Safeways on Friday only and peas were free at QFC.     We made Mac and cheese and peas for dinner.  

Total cost : 1.88

Pronto Mac n cheese from the internet . 

Pour pasta into a large skillet. Add 3 cups of water and turn on high.   Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer.  Set timer for 10 minutes.   Stir frequently.   

After 10 minutes , stir in 1 cup of cream and 1/2 tsp dry mustard .  Bring back to a simmer and stir.   

Remove from heat and add 3/4 cup parmesean cheese, 1-1/2 cups grated cheese, and 2T parsley . 

Stir until combined. Salt and pepper to taste.    

Thursday bullets : save money on meat

Saving money on meat bullets-- meat or protein is often  the most expensive component of a meal.  

• Always buy your meat at the RBP.   
•  Buy in bulk - at least enough for the days of the month that you will eat that meat

•  Cut up your own meat and portion control it in meal sized packages.   
•  Pork loin can be as low as 1.50 a pound,   (Costco wholesale) .  Cut up loin chops can be 3.99.  That's a remarkable savings.
•  Split chicken breast can be as low as .87 , or as high as 1.69.   Cutting the ribs off a breast is easy and you can cook the bones for broth and pick the meat.   Even if you aren't good at de-boning, you still save the chicken pieces for tacos, enchaladas, cassaroles.    Chicken breast that is skinless and boneless can be as much as 8.00 a pound,    Chicken stock is often two dollars a quart.   This way it is virtually free and takes, no time  in the slow cooker.    

•  Sausage is cheapest on a chub at Costco -Jimmy Dean.   In,was, you have a sale and a coupon.   Safeway had it for a net of 2.25'a pound with coupons.   
•  Good hamburger with low fat is the best for your health,    The best price I have found is 3.28 at Winco.   You can de-fat it and reduce the fat as much as 17 percent.  Portion control.   

Wednesday chain ads

ednesdays chain ads, Alberways and QFC.  

Alberways
Shrimp 4.77 a lb buy 2 lbs.
Lucerne cheese 3.88
Eggs .98@@
Salsa 2/4.   24 ounces



QFC

Milk 4/5
Tillamook ice cream 2/6
Berries 1.88 black, blue, rasp.    
Green beans .99
Tomatoes .99
Strawberries 2.99

About it.  

Eggs were 1.19 atmFM
Berries were 1.50 at GM, not black berries.  

Meal plans for week of May 15

meal plans for week of may 15 based on taste of home brunch cookbook and dining in a dime ideas :l
Dining on a dime  
https://yboutu.be/x3jZP6nnkJA
Quick notes :   Meal plans are basicly a protein, a starch, and a vegetable or two.   Corn, carrots, and squash are starches.  I learned that from the nutritionist when I went to diabetes school.  
Balance color and textures.  

1. vegetable  bean soup , artisan bread or biscuits. 
2. Pizza , green salad 
3. Marinated pork chops, peas, biscuits 
4. Bean and beef enchaladas, lettuce and tomato 
5. Homemade chicken nuggets, oven tries, fruit salad 
6. Shrimp stir fry , rice 
7. Breakfast 4 dinner : sausage quiche 

Tuesday - how to meal plan and why

Meal planning...why bother.?  

Not  planing your meals can make you plan for disaster.    Running to the store for that  one thing mid week that you forgot exposes you to all the stimulation they retailers want to get you to buy more.   It is also more gas, more time, and usually more money than if you got that thing on sale.  

It's my personal opinion that planning for a month is to extreme.   It might work for some people. But our  planning is constantly adapting for foods that need to be used up or something that I found that was a really really good sale. It's that adapting that saves money.   Weekly plans work better for is,  I got a dry erase magnetic board for the fridge.   It works.   I also have a form that I designed in excel.    It has the days of the week on blocks, my personal matrix in the "extra" block. And two columns: one for a lost of basics we always have on hand and one for things we need to purchase to fill in the meals.

We use a matrix based on proteins.  This gives us a variety of meals and assures everyone gets some of what they like to eat.  It took me a while to come to the conclusion that you can't please  everyone all of the time , but you can please everyone some of the time.   If the meal isn't their favorite, their favorite will come in rotation.   The basic protein, starch and fruit or veggie meal matrix keeps us balanced.

Our matrix is :

• 1 beef 
• 3 chicken or Pork
• 1 fish or shellfish 
• 2 vegetarian 

Others have a different matrix, say maybe one based on themes, or tuoes of food like Mexican, Chinese, etc.   

Having a outline helps make meal planning fast and easy.   Having a list of entrees that your family likes and that are easy to prepare clinches the deal.  We, like many families have a couple of basic "winners" that we eat every week.  They are open ended so it possibilities are endless.   Those are pizza and breakfast 4 dinner.   Both are very inexpensive meals.   Scratch pizza can be as low as 1.09 a pizza .   Eggs these days are a dollar a dozen.    Having a few really inexpensive meals affords you the luxury of a meal or two that is more of a splurge and still effectively averaging five dollars a meal for the proverbial family of four.  

Having a binder of recipes and forms organized is a great help too.   If you are drawing a blank, it's a good thing to have.   

A plan and recipes that are easy and inexpensive and clean up is minimal is key in keeping the pizza delivery gremilins away.   A delivered pizza can cost twenty dollars.   A handmade one can cost 1.09 .   Scratch lizzamcrust cossts .17 - .25 depending on your cost of flour.   I just purchased pepperoni for .50 a package.    With two dollar a pound cheese and a part of a pizza sauce jar from the DT, a pizza can be 1.12.

Note : groceries on the cheap is a different way to buy groceries.  The emphasis is on replenishing what you have used rather than buying just what you need for a particular week.   This allows you to only buy what's a RBP and means you pay 1/2 price for almost all your food.   

If you spend more time planning your shopping trips ( no impulse  buying ) and making meal plans, and less tome cooking, your budget will be better off.   We spend 1/2 of the amount the USDA estimates oirmfood should cost.  That figure osmcost of food at home: part of our weekly amount is stocking food for future meals.    That figure is 55.00 a week so far this year.   The average family of four can cost as much as 1213.00 a month,   At 75.00 00 a week, that is 315.00.   That's a difference of 898.00 a month or 10.776.00 a year.    

Monday , May 8th kitchen management.

Note: no one expects you to do my kitchen management, it's just an example of the thought process.  Doing some up front work for an hour or so makes mealtime a lot less stressful.

1. Wash the stove vent  filter ,   ( dishwasher ) indonthis thenfirst ofmthe month as recommended by the installer of the stove.   
2. Wash potatoes, carrots, celery and peppers in vinegar water and dry,   Put   potatoes in a colander.   
3. Cook bacon , drain and crumble 
4. Make pizza dough,   Place in fridge in a container with a lid . 
5. Make note on the day before having chicken nuggets to thaw the chicken breast.  
6. Shred parm cheese for the speghetti and meatballs and the chicken nuggets. 
7. Chop  vegetables for stir fry,   
8. Clean fridge and reorganize shelves.   
9. Straighten pantry,  
10. Wash kitchen floor and disinfect countertops and sinks including drains.   

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Meal plans for week of may 15

meals for week of may 15 with notes

1. Vegetable soup : beans, diced tomatoes, celery, carrots, peppers, Italian seasoning. Onions if preferred.    Plain biscuit rolled with cheese like a cinnamon roll. Cut and baked.   
2. Pizza : most pizzas can be made for between a dollar and two dollars based on those of crust and toppings.   A far cry less than buying a pizza.   Even the crust at Safeways is two dollars.    
3. Chicken enchaladas with sour cream sauce : use pieces of chicken from de- boning the split chicken  breast.   
4. Sloppy joes (Mexican style.) our favorite sloppy joe scratch recipe called for catsup.   Catsup has HFCS.   I found a simple slow,cooker recipe that calls for enchalada sauce and o got enchalada sauce for ten cents a can.   
5. Pork chops (from pork loin ) rice medley , peas and carrots.    
6. Tuna cassarole.with  peas : use homemade cream soup mix.   Start with vegetable plate.   
7.  Breakfast 4 dinner,    Eggs continue to be cheap.  A sausage quiche is an easy dinner with field greens and /or fruit. 

It isn't always what you eat, but rather, how you buy what you eat.    Center cut loin pork chops can be 1.50 if you buy a loin in your rotation, or they can be 399 a pound.    That's a lot of difference for the same product that you have spent maybe ten minutes cutting yourself,    Develop safe knife skills.   Your hands should be as far away as possible from the knife,    If you can, crest a flat surface on the time to be cut to reduce the chance of it slipping,    Use a good chopping board that is dry. 

Fred Meyers ad

Sundays ad is here.     The ads are not much about food.   Most of it is Mother's Day .    There are, however, some good deals.

• Blueberries  and raspberries 2/3 
• Milk .99 including chocolate 
• La croix water  1.99
• Sour cream/cottage cheese 2/4 - larger
• Ragu 2/3$$
• FF split chicken breast 1.29
• Naval oranges .9

My target meat - rotation meat would be themso,otmchickem breast.  It's not as good as the .87 ones we gotma few weeks back, but if you didn't get them, this would be good.    It's still a WHOLE lot cheaper than 8.00 a pound.   

Friday recipe : vegetable chilli - slowcooker

This is a adaptation of my vegetable soup.   It came as a clean up, use  up refrigerator hack.  

Vegetable chilli.

2 cups dry pinto beans 

1/2 can diced green chilies 

1 cup COOKED hamburger, de-fatted and drained 

Enough water to cover beans to your second knuckle 

Process in insta pot or other cooker on bean cycle or cook until beans are tender 

Drain in colander.    

Switch imsta pot  to sauté mode (or sauté in pan with a little olive oil ) 

Olive oil 

2 carrots, sliced thin. 

2 stalks of celery chopped 

Switch to slow cooker mode and ADD 

Reserved bean mixture. 

2 cans diced tomatoes.  Do not drain 

1 quart stock of choice : vegetable, tomato or beef 

1 T taco seasoning 

Program for desired hours (6-10) 

QFC haul

QFC haul savings 61 percent

Hillshire Farms sausage   1.99
Kroger frozen peas FREE
Classico pasta sauce 1.49
Jimmy Dean sausage FREE
Milk 1/2 gal 1.49
Blue bunny ice cream 2.49
Barilla elbows 2/1.25 or .625 each serves 6

Total 8.71

Thursday bullets : principles

Ten easy ideas to cut your grocery bill in half

• Know the price of the things you buy in a regular basis : never pay full price.  Look for the RBP ( rock  bottom price ) and buy enough to last you until the next sale.  Keep a limited stick on hand . 
• Portion control.  Exocets say your dinner  plate should be an eight inch plate and 1/4 of it protein, 1/4 starch, and 1/2 vegetables or salad. 
• Find sources of protein your family will eat that cost less than two dollars a pound.   Your target price of a meal for 4 people should  be five dollars or less.  Average . ( 2 adults and 2 children ) 
• Develop a list of dinners that are within the price range that your family likes and can be made easy to cook and take little non- passive time. Make best use of pressure cookers , slow cookers, and your oven and microwave. 
• Scratch cook ,   Places like pinterest are full of easy recipes.   Adapt recipes that use boxes and cans of ...... 
• make your own bread.   It seems daunting, but there are recipes that take very little effort and taste divine.   The cost difference is about 90 percent when buying bulk flour.   A loaf of artisan bread takes 10 working minutes and cost about a quarter.   Most of them cost upwards of three dollars to purchase.   
• Avoid processed foods.   Basically, anytime someone has to handle your food, it's going to cost you more.    With few exceptions.  I can get pasta sauce on sale cheaper than I can make it.    And there are a few items that I either just don't buy or I buy on sale because scratch is too  labor intensive. 
• Spend more time planning and shopping, and less time  cooking ,   You virtually get paid to shop, you don't get paid to cook.   
• Plan meals and allow yourself at least two meals back up for those days when a ,?!; storm happens.  It happens to  even the most organized people I know.    Plan for it.   
• Make mealtime fun and engage the children sometimes.  It teaches them to cook.  Engages them so they aren't making a mess while you cook, and gives them confidence.  Wash their hands , and we avoid anything sharp, hot, or raw meat.    Of course , a teen can learn safe skillsx and a toddler can count, stir, pour some things.   At four my granddaughter could spread pizza sauce with a basting brush, fill a pizza. And roll pizza crust with supervision.   Of course, the pepperoni was on the shape of a happy face, but we lived to tell about it ! Lol.   When they are involved, they are more likely to eat it.  

Wednesday ads 5/3/17

Alberways ads     QFC was a two week ad


1 day sale 5/5

Ground beef -20 percent fat     1.98
Tomatoes, peppers, avocados, mangos .88
Mission soft flour tortillas. Or corn tortillas or 8 ounces of cheese. .88
Tortilla chips .88

Regular
Pork shoulder roast .99
Strawberries 2.77
Top round roast 2.77
Milk 2/3.- gallon carton




That's about it.  
Good price on milk and cheese.  

Alternative grocery haul. -2.00 over

I decided because we are well stocked for us, I would go on a no spend May.    That means my budget for fresh fruit and veggies etc is thirty dollars.    I spent  thirty two.

Groceey Outlet
Bag of Romas 2.49
Land of lakes butter 2/4
Deli sliced  cheese 2.39


Dollar Tree

4.5 pounds pinto beans 3.00
4 packages hormel pepperoni 2.00 regular wimco price 6.80.  Note: coupons,com coupons.
( Easter candy is 4/1)

Winco

Sour cream 1.18
Idahoan mashed potatoes .38 instead of .89 at FM
Bell peppers .78
Grape tomatoes / large container 5.98
Gala apples .98 a pound
English cucumber .78
Less .12 bag refund


Total 32.00.

Grocery outlet and DT are three towns over from us, but I needed to go there for an appointment so we stopped.  I can usually make up the cost of gas with savings.  

Phycology of shopping

There was a bleep on Facebook lately  about the phycology  of shopping, grocery shopping in particular.  It didn't  tell me anything I didn't already know, but it was a good reminder.    I worked for a food wholesaler non profit that helped small producers get their product into grocery stores,   Its not an easy task for the little guy.    Big corporations pay slotting fees.   Basically, they pay rent for the middle eye level shelves.   People naturally gravitate  for easy.  Looking up and down can save you money because those products are not paying slotting fees to pass on and they usually have a smaller profit margin.  

Retailers bombard you with visual and stimulate your senses.   They try to cloud your sense of need and want.  The trick is to have a good picture in your mind of what you are going to the  store to buy, and not to give on to the "want" .    It helps that you are buying to replentish  your stock rather than to put  together meals on the fly.   It keeps you more in focus,    It also helps to avoid taking children or husband's shopping with you.  

It's no accident that the junk foods are the first thing you see .   It's designed to get you to start putting things on your cart.   It's also no accident that there are huge carts these days.   I get the huge carts at Costco, otherwise when you buy toilet paper there would be no room for anything else.   LOL

Knowing their dirty little tricks to get you to buy more is your first defense in avoiding the pitfalls and staying on budget.    The more time you spend on a store, the more you are going to spend.  The more people you bring with you, the more you are going to spend.  It helps if you do have a family member with you to divide and conquer . divide and conquer-- giving part of the list or something you don't know where to find it to that person.  It saves time and creates focus rather than let that pickle, candy, beer.....fall into the cart!     Men are hunters, women are gatherers.

Because of the slotting fees, the item  you need may be in the front of the store or on the impulse isle, but it very well might be cheaper in the regular isles.     Case in point,   The more carb loaded hamburger bins were 2.40 in the impulse isle one day , the smaller more sensible ones were on a regular isle for .68.    A big difference when you are in a limited budget.    That 1.70 would pay for  the rest of the meal-- or at least the meat to fill the hamburger.  

The perimeter of the store has the basics.   This is virtually every store you go into.   It's because they are more perishable and need stocking more frequently.   Produce, dairy, meat, and bakery. All have more stocking or require handling that is done behind closed doors.    Don't go down isles unless you  need to.   The isles are marked almost everywhere but Costco.    You can save time and avoid impulses if you just avoid the isles.   That candy can't just jump onto your cart!    Studies show of you touch a product, you are more likely to buy that product.

The big one .....

Stores have big sales to get you in the store.   Their premise is to get you in the store and get you to buy all your groceries at that store.   Beat them at their own game.  Buy the things that are on sale and don't buy the things that are over priced.   Have you ever noticed that if hamburger buns are on sale, the hamburger to go with them is not ?     It's a trick.   You don't have to buy into it.   That's why spending the time to go to two stores is to your advantage.  Pick two stores that are close to each other.  Next best thing is to pick two stores that are close to other places you have to go on a regular basis -- the gym, the kids soccer practice, the doctor, work, grandmas house.......whatever works.  

Two stores give you the best sales of two stores and the best selection of produce.   Produce has the
biggest mark up of the necessity foods.    Pick it carefully and don't overbuy.   You can blanch and
freeze or dry some things that are not going to be used up fast enough.

Do some research.  In our area , Fred Meyers and Winco have the best prices normally.   But, it's not good to be complacent , sometimes other stores have good sales.    Find your two best stores based on price.   Don't base your grocery stores on the friendliest clerks, or the most fancy, or the variety of specialty foods.   You want your store to be clean and have the best prices.

Big packages aren't always the best thing.   The price is good sometimes, but sometimes it is not.   Bring a small calculator or see if you have one in your phone.   Many times they have a price per ounce and it's hard to compare bulk to a can or package.  The biggest difference you can make in budget savings is to know the  lowest price  for the things you buy on a regular basis.  Paying a premium price for that can of cranberry sauce you use once a year won't hurt too much; but, overpaying for that can of diced tomatoes you use every week, can really hurt.

Our average ticket is 30.00 or less.   I can get in and out of a store in 30 minutes or less.   I shop for three of us.    Naturally, of you are shopping for a big family, you will spend more time.    I watch a lot of grocery hauls.   The majority of the hauls that have h u g e tickets, have a lot of liquids and junk food and individual packages.  It's a good thing to avoid, it jacks up your bottom line a lot.   I can't wrap myself around a three hundred dollar grocery haul.   Everything you need will eventually be on sale sometime.   Rarely does a necessary item not ever go on sale.  Picking the right time to buy enough product to last until the next sale is paramount in keeping your food bill the lowest possible.
If chicken is .88 his week and it's a very low price, forgo something else and buy two.  Next week, buy more of the thing that you didn't buy.   You will be money ahead.    You spend less because you don't ever pay that dreaded F word...    full price.

Kitchen management

Week of may 8th

Looks like this week will be using up most of the remaining potatoes.   It's hard for us to use a whole bag of russets, it takes a concentrated effort to finish a bag before it goes bad.    Ten pounds of potatoes cost barely anything more than the five pound bag.

• Clean fridge, dump  anything dead and salvage anything that needs to be salvaged: cook it, freeze it, dry it, incorporate it onto a meal.   
• Wash and clean veggies for stir fry and peppers, chop and put on jars .  

• Wash potatoes with vinegar water.   Dry and place in a colander.  - potato soup,sausage and peppers. , fries 

•  Disinfect countertops and sink including drains.   

•  Wash refrigerator vent.   
• Wash kitchen floor
•  Make pizza dough
•  Make bread, and bread dough if necessary