Kitchen Management

Kitchen management along with meal plans take little time and afford you the piece of mind that dinner is under control and your kitchen is being deep cleaned as you go.   A long time ago, I went to management school for work.   When it came to time management, one of the concepts for tackling a big project was called the Swiss cheese treatment.   Basically, write down the steps you need to accomplish the task, and proceed to poke holes in it until you have seen your project to finish.   Sometimes a task is hard to even start if it seems so overwhelming.  

• Wash kitchen floor 
• Clean refrigerator and dump anything with hair prettier than yours, and note things that need to be used up .
• Clean and disinfect the counters, sinks, and drains. 
• Wash the stove and clean any dirty drip trays.
• Make taco cassarole from rice and beans that need to be used up. 
• Make meal plan for the day chicken needs to be thawed. 
• Make muffins 

Coupons worth the time?

Dinner for Four.  .92 cents total.   

Sausage FREE

Green beans w coupon .39

Pasta .49

Pasta sauce 1.29 less 1.25 coupon nets .04 

Meal Plans

Meal plans take but a few minutes and make meals easier to happen during the hectic dinner hour.

I generally use a matrix of : 1 beef, 1 fish or seafood, 3 chicken or pork and 2 non meat.

• Potato and cheese soup, beer bread 
• Pizza 
• Curried squash and sausage (free sausage ) save some for pizza 
• Chicken nuggets (homemade) oven fries, veggie sticks 
• Salmon, rice, broccolli 
• Taco cassarole w lettuce, tomato, sour cream 
• Breakfast for dinner. 

By alternating some really inexpensive meals with some more expensive ones, you ave variety and dont feel deprived.   You can still maintain a five dollar dinner budget.    Pizza 🍕 with cheese cost 1.04 .  Ours is a little cheaper because we got cheese on sale with the added bonus of a basket coupon.   

The squash is still over a dollar, but our sausage was free. 

Homemade chicken nuggets from 1.49 a lb chicken breast.  Fries are cut from potatoes purchased at winco.   (The cheapest price ) . 

Salmon is a more expensive meal.   Balance with rice that is cheap and a frozen bag of broccolli. 

Taco cassarole is rice (cook once, eat twice ) , beans, taco meat from already cooked ground meat, cheese , and tomato.   

Breakfast for dinner is always a good choice.   Eggs were .79 a lb.  berries are 2/3 at FM.   Add hash browns, toast ( orowheat bread is .45 with a coupon at DT.) 

Fred Meyer buy 10, save 5

buy xx, save, xx 😘 sales can be a useful tool to get the RBP on things you will use.  This time it coincides with upcoming holidays.   Its time as well to look for baking items .  They will be the lowest prices of the year.  

2 - 5.5 ounce pepperoni @ 2.99 less 1.00 coupon nets.   4.98 or 2.49 

1 hillshire farms smoked sausage 2.49

4 cream of mushroom soups (reg 1.29). .49 less .40/4 coupon.   Nets .39 each or a ninety cent or can discount. 

2 ragu pasta sauce.  1.29 ea less 1.25 coupon makes one almost free.  Nets 1.33 for TWO....67         

1 spaghetti .49 

Del monte veggies 2/1 less .40 coupon on four makes them .40.   Just in time for green bean casserole. 

Fred Meyer ad for Sunday

Sunday’s ad

BlackBerry, blueberry , raspberries 2/3
Avacados .88
Del monte veggies. 2/1

Grapes 1.99


Buy 10, save 5
Mix and match

Milk .99

Land of lakes butter 2.49

Cream of mushroom soup ,49 ck for coupons stock for holidays

Smoked sausage 2.49

Pepperoni 2.99$$

Ragu 1.29

Chilli, progresso soup .99$$

Pasta .49

Best haul ever

qfc

Ready rice
1 lb Jimmy dean sausage
Chocolate cheerios
Loaf of white bread

Total cost 1.25

Total retail 11.93   About 90 percent off.  

Burrito bowls

Simple meal that is easy to prepare.  

Taco meat
Beans
Rice
Green chilies
Salsa
Sliced black olives

Gather ingredients and let everyone make their own.  

Notes :

• Taco meat is made from cooked ground meat or cooked chicken that has been warmed with taco seasoning.   We cook ground meat in bulk and de-fat it.   
• Beans can be precooked or use canned 
• Rice is cooked with tomato boullion.  
• Green chillis are cheapest at winco.   Salsa and black olives are purchased.  
• You can serve with chopped lettuce, tomato, sour cream, avacados, for garnish.   Your choice. 

Bullets : 5 ways to spend less on groceries....

...and still eat well balanced meals.

• Spread the wealth:   Shop at two chain stores a week and buy the sale items that you can make meals from.   Put on blinders and stick to basics.   
• Waste not, want not....find ways to use up things in the fridge and leftovers before they develop hair prettier than yours.   Google an ingredient in a recipe finder ap that you need to use to get ideas. 
• Use every trick that is available to you to get better prices on the things you use on a regular basis.   Ibotta, coupons, sales that are really sales, bulk items when that makes sense.  
• Stock the key items you use for scratch cooking.   Buy them in bulk when they ar at their lowest price (RBP) .   Things like catsup, mustard, bbq sauce are cheapest and have the most generous coupons near picnic holiday times:   Memorial Day to Labor Day.  
• Plan.    Make a plan or plan to fail.   Make meal plans and plan your grocery trip if you are really short on money or you have a basket coupon.   At bare minimum, use the ads to determine what your rotation protein should be and check the fridge for your stock of dairy and produce.   Check pantry for any shelf stable staple that is on sale for need.   

Note:  rotation protein is a tool to buy bulk protein on a rotation basis when it is a so called loss leader.   Stick to a few basic cuts of meat and buy bulk when they are on sale.  If you rotate at a four to six week interval, you will have variety and pay the lowest possible price for your protein.  Protein is the most expensive element of a balanced diet.   When a protein is at a RBP, by enough to last you four to six weeks of meals.  In other words, if you eat hamburger twice a week, buy enough to fix eight meals and break bulk packaging into eight meal sized portions.   I cook and d-fat ground meat before freezing.  Its a real time saver.   Besides ground meat, I buy chicken breast, and pork loin .  Choose versitle cuts of meat to afford variety in your meals.   

QFC last basket coupon. 10.00 off 40.

I spent 40.08

Also included is 4 packs of flavored sparkling water. 

Kleenex .99 nets .74

Diced tomatoes .49 nets .37

Top ramen .29 nets .22

Cake mixes , BC .79 nets .40

Land of lakes butter 2.49 nets 1.87

Folders coffee .6.00 nets 4.50

Eggs ..78 nets .58

Sparkling water drinks 2.00 nets 1.50

Peanut butter 1.99 nets 1.49

Bread 1.25 nets .94

Coffee, paper products  and sparkling water are not part of the grocery budget net is 18.00 off 

Net is 12.08.

Chain store ads.

QFC:  buy 10 save 5.    This only works if the price are a RBP.   Our qfc also has a 10.00 off of 40.00 basket coupon.   That takes another 25 percent off if you stick to the 40.00.

Eggs .78
Draper valley chicken whole .79


Buy 10, save 5

Folgers 5.99
Diced tomatoes .49
Campbells soups -chicken, cream of mushroom .75 - use coupons
BC cake mixes .79
160 ct Kleenex .99
Butter 2.49
Sparkling water 1.99

Peanut butter 1.99
Bread 1.25


Alberways

Satsumas 2.77 limit 2
Chicken thighs or quarter .77
Cheese 2 lbs 4.97 limit 2
Bacon 2.99@@

Salad .99
Coffee 8.49.  NOTE difference in price from qfc.   An example of why you shop 2 stores.
Pork loin 1.99 -  the top of the RBP
Hamburger -7 percent fat......3.99

Barilla pasta .99@@
Cream cheese 1.29@@

Note @@ means that there is an in ad coupon for the item.  

Happy Halloween : Insta Pot chili

Halloween brings back memories of chilli on the stove  when we got home from school.   There wasn't microwaves or insta pots those days.   There was a deep well cooker on the stove.

Insta Pot Chili

1.5 cups dry pinto beans
Water

2 T olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
2 T garlic

1.5 lbs ground meat, cooked

5T taco seasoning
2T cocoa powder ( not hot cocoa mix )
Salt, pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne

4 cups beef broth
2 cups crushed tomatoes ( diced tomatoes can be zapped in the blender.


Rinse and drain the beans.   Place in insta pot with enough water to be 1 inch over the beans.   Process 5 minutes.  Use a natural release.

Drain beans.

Switch to sauté mode.   Sauté vegetables in olive oil.   Add seasonings.

Switch sauté mode off.  Add drained beans, cooked meat, broth and tomatoes.   Process on manual setting 20 minutes.   Allow for a natural release.

Serve with cheese, tortilla chips, avacado, sour cream.....

Kitchen Management - October 30th 2017

Kitchen management is a tool that saves time and energy with dinners in mind.   Meal prep in advance and a rotation of deep cleaning chores help keep you on top of things.

• Turn on snappy music....you work faster.LOL. 
• Disinfect counter tops, sinks, and drains. 
• Wash kitchen floor. 
• Clean out refrigerator and note things to be incorporated into meals.  
• Wash veggies you are going to use this week with vinegar and a dedicated brush if appropriate. 
• Precook anything that can be precooked.   Cook rotation meat if appropriate.
• Wash the stove and put the filter through the dishwasher.   (1st of the month) 
• Straighten the pantry.   
• Bake something.   
• 
  
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Fred Meyer Haul

Fred Meyer and the buy 10, save 5

This only works if the end cost is at or lower than your RBP.

Swiss Miss cocoa packets 1.00

2 avacadoes at .88. (Chicken Burrito Bowls )

2 spaghetti ( charity) .50

1 mission low carb tortillas

Grapes

Kleenex - 160 ct tissue .99

Bag cranberries 3.00

Butter 3.00

Parmesean cheese 3.59

Meal plans

Meal plans take a couple of mnutes , but make life a whole lot easier.  Its the answer to “What’s for Dinner and goes a long way towards making your meals for efficient.  It aids in the concept of using everything up out of the fridge and avoiding waste.

• Sloppy Joes, oven fries, veggie platter 
• Chilli ....traditional Halloween fare.  
• Chicken stir fry 
• Salmon cakes, rice, broccolli (make rice once, eat twice) 
• Chicken burrito bowls 
• Pork Pot Pie.  Fruit salad 
• Breakfast for Dinner 

Notes : 

1. We have buns to use up.   
2. Chili  is easily made in the insta pot, or its on sale at Alberways this week.  Its a traditional Halloween fare.   Warm the children’s tummy before they go out in the cold. LOL 
3. Chicken stir fry and the burrito bowls are stair step menus.  Cook once, eat twice. Ditto the rice. 
4. Breakfast for dinner is a mainstay here.  Its a family affair and everyone does something. Granddaughter a few years ago got the job of buttering the bread.   She got half way through and announced, “I cant believe I get to do this!”

Stair stepping ingredients is another way to save time in the kitchen.   

Spending more time planning and shopping, and less time cooking scratch is to your benefit. 

You don't get paid to cook, but spending some planning and research on the shopping end can save a lot of money.   It can very well cut your food bill in half or more without sacrificing good nutrition.  

My aim is for balanced meals: protein, starch, fruit or veggies and avoiding too much salt, sugar, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, and HFCS.  

 

Fred Meyer Sunday ad

Halloween sale :   3 days = doesn’t say what days....assuming SMT

Apple juice .99
Hebrew National Hot dogs. 2.99
Ground turkey 2/5

Foster Farms boneless chicken breasts 1.97
Avocados .88

Yogurt : tillamook or yoplait 10/5 **

Buy 10, save 5
Net costs
Land of lakes butter 2.99
Chilli or progresso soup .99 $$
Milk .99
Campbells cr/mushroom or chicken noodle .75**
Cocoa mix .99
Sparkling cider 1.99
Tide 5.49
Kleenex tissue  -160 count .99


Canned corn or green beans 2/1 -RBP
Peanut butter 1.49
 Strawberries blackberries 2/5


** soup usually has a coupon
** yoplait is a better price because there are coupons for a dime off each carton.

I got canned veggies for .39 , but that was with a basket coupon.  My RBP is 50 cents for diced tomatoes, beans, and veggies.  

Bullets: soups in the insta pot

It was dark at 7:30 this morning....time for hot hearty soups and a chunk of bread for dinner . These soups can be made in the insta pot in minutes, or can be made in a slow cooker early in the day and make the house smell divine all day.   

• Ham and bean soup 
• Vegetable bean soup with or without sausage 
• Potato soup/ potato cheese soup, clam chowder
• Pumpkin or butternut squash soup 
• Chilli 
• Lentil stew 
• Minestrone

Recipes on request 

Basket coupon qfc and costco haul

So here goes....I was .04 over!

Treat bags .30
Ice cream 2.77
Beef patties 7.99X2
Sargento cheese 3.50X2 less 1.00 coupon
Dishwashing tabs 5.00
Paper towels 5.00
Chicken dunking lunchable 1.00
Pumpkin pie 3.99

Net 30.04


Costco

Bananas 1.39
Bacon 16.99
Blue cheese 7.63
Parm 10.49

Planning for a basket coupon

Making the best use of a basket coupon means you need to keep your basket total to as close as you can to the amount of the coupon’s basket dollars.   In other words , if the coupon is for 10.00 off of a forty dollar basket, you are going to get 25 percent off if you stick to forty dollars worth of merchandise.   It is also helpful if you only buy the things that are on a real sale and use coupons if you can.   I have got as much as 78 percent off using basket coupon, regular coupons and sale prices. It pays to plan.   We have more time than we do money.   We are retired.  If you dont have time, enlist help.   Children at early ages are computer savy.   A pre teen can click take items on a coupon web site for the things that they know you buy on a regular basis.  

QFC master plan 10 dollars off of forty

• 1 lunchable 1.00
• 2 pkg. hamburgers 7.99
• 1 pkg bounty paper towels 2/10
• 1 pkg cascade dishwashing detergent 
• 1 pumpkin pie 3.99
• 2 sargento sliced cheese 2/7 -use coupon 
• 1 Tillamook   ice cream 2.77 

40.74 less .55 coupon is 40.19

Chain store ads

Alberways

Fresh whole chicken .77 ( Mystery brand name)
Gala apples, or Bartlett pears .67
Top or bottom round roast 2.77 ***
Nalley’s chilli .88@@

Coleslaw and garden salad .99
Cucumbers .69

Friday only
Avocados 5/5
Foster farms breaded chicken 5.00


QFC
Honeycrisp apples 1.49
Tillamook ice cream 2.77
Avocados 2/3

** at 2.77 for roast, it would be a good time to grind your own hamburger.   Less price, low fat because you control the fat.  

Lists .. for emergencies.

My goal for Groceries on the Cheap is to maintain a small stock of the basic foods we iuse to cook .
By shopping your pantry instead of going to the store an buying 1 weeks worth of garoceries you can cut your food bill because you are never paying full price for your food.   Top dollar was my mother’s buzz word.   The trick is to assess what you use on a regular basis, design meal plans to work with a minimum of proteins, and decide how far out you can buy food.   Usually four to six weeks will afford you the luxury of finding another sale.   Buying too much that can go stale dated is not in your best interest.  

One key to make life easy is to make an informed decision on a limited variety of meat.   We stick to chicken breast, hamburger , pork loin and sausage.   I can get all of these.except good hamburger, for 2.00 or less a pound.   All of these are versitle cuts of meat.   The internet and Pinterest are full of recipes.  This affords enough variety of meals so we don’t get bored.  

I’m not going to pretend that this doesn’t take work to get set up.  Once you have set yourself up, itnactually takes less time than trying to remember if you have all the ingredients to make something for dinner.    Stick to basics.  

We are going to have a harsh winter, according to the weather people.   Its a good time to stock because stocking reduces the stress of having to embrace the weather to go out shopping.   Stocking assures you the luxury of never being out of food.  

Things to stock in case of emergency.  

• Dry milk:  you can get dry milk that has fat in it.   It’s a lot better tasting than the non fat version that we had as children.  It is more expensive than regular milk, but it is a good thing in a pinch.   There are also shelf stable milks these days.  I don't drink them, but my daughter does.
• Yeast:   Storage in freezer prolongs its life.   It is a staple here, so we use it up.   There are recipes for easy breads.   The most economical way to buy it is in a bulk block at Costco. —like three dollars or so.   
• Flour:   Another staple here, we buy it in the 25 lb bag.   
• Eggs.   A few dehydrated eggs are a good thing. 
• Water - especially if you rely on a well for your water.   

With those shelf stable ingredients, and canned goods you can survive without going to the store for some time and still maintain a regular diet.   

Bleep storms happen to everybody sometimes.   We have had emergency surgeries, the snow plow dump the snow in front of our driveway that turned to a big ice mound, any number of things can happen.   Having basic ingredients that are usually purchased fresh goes a long way to reducing your stress.   We have power outages here because of storms and trees.  We keep logs and a power box charged and oil lamps and battery powered candles.   

Cutting your food bill in half or less affords you the opportunity even on a small budget to prepare for emergencies—small or large.