Town and Country in Humboldt

Ground Beef 1.29

20 lbs red potatoes 3.88

green cabbage 25 cents/lb

Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs 1.25

Best Choice black eyed peas 49 cents

Bunny Bread 1.00

Best choice corn, peas, green beans 48 cents

Best Choice cake mixes 69 cents

Food Rite in Trenton – The ad is not up yet, if anyone has the ad and wants to type the best deals I will post them and give you credit!

Food Giant in Jackson

Pork Boston Butt 98 cents a pound

Jiffy corn muffin mix 5/2.00

Cabbage 25 cents/lb

Red potatoes 20 lbs 3.99

Ground Chuck 1.58/lb

Bunny Bread 98 cents

Lykes Bacon 1.98

Lykes hot dogs or bologna 98 cents

Kroger in Jackson

Boneless English Roast 1.97

Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix 3/1.00

Green Cabbage 3lbs/1.00

Boston Butt Port Roast 97 cents/lb

Pepsi or Mountain Dew (Diet Pepsi was pictured as well) Must buy 6 – 84 cents each

Mary Jane Bread 1.00

Money Saving Mom is hosting a pantry challenge.  The deal is to eat out of the pantry for one month.  She has a set of rules for her family that she will follow.  I (Jessica) am going to participate in this.  I thought that after my post yesterday, it would be a fitting thing to do!  (Glad I haven't cooked the chicken and artichokes yet!) 

I am going to have to inventory the pantry, freezer and  cupboards to get a good sense of what is there. 

Here are my goals:

Go to the grocery store once a week for produce and dairy.  

Spend no more than $40 at the grocery store.  That will cut my food budget by more than half.

I will not go out to eat on my own dime.  (I have a gift certificate from my points on the way, and my brother likes to go out to eat.)

I will not allow myself to spend money on any non perishable packaged food or freezer food.  (I will get it if it is free after coupon. I can’t resist a great deal.)

I will take the money I save and pay it on the principle of the house. 

So those are not very earth shattering but it will challenge me!  I will post interesting things I cook, and post my menus as I come up with them.  This will be fun!

I have a confession to make. I don't always take my coupon binder to the store. I have 4 kids. Time is very limited. I have a bag of unclipped, unfiled coupons sitting under my desk right now. I used to feel a bit guilty about it but now I just feel great that I actually bought the paper and thought to take the coupons out! But I have some good news:
You don't have to use coupons to save a ton of money on groceries! There are some very frugal things that you can do to cut your grocery bill in half. Check back each day for new things you can do to save money.

Today I want to talk about what we already have. We all have food in the backs of our cabinets that we never do anything with. This is generally the food we reach for during the canned food drives at the library or church. But if you can't figure out what to do with it, the people visiting the food pantries in your city probably can't either. You need to use these items. Think of it as money sitting in your cabinets. If you had a dollar in there, you would take it out and put it in your wallet.

I have some canned chicken, artichoke hearts, and some dried beef. I also have copious amounts of dried beans.

This is what I am going to do with it:
I found this recipe at allrecipes.com using their ingredient search. It looks simple enough and will use the ingredients I already have. I will modify the recipy slightly to account for the chicken being cooked and canned.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Artichoke-Chicken/Detail.aspx

The dried beef will be used for some Creamed Beef on biscuits.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chipped-Beef-on-Toast/Detail.aspx

I will use the dried black beans to make black bean burritos. Mix a half a pound of cooked ground beef, beans, and a pack of taco mix together. Put some spoonfuls in tortillas, roll them up, put in baking dish, cover with jarred salsa and cheddar cheese. Bake until cheese it melted and dish is heated through. The ground beef can be omitted entirely but my husband would revolt.

So I have 3 suppers and I did not even have to go to the grocery store. I have a pretty decent stockpile right now so I don't anticipate going to the store at all except for milk and bread. WOO HOO!

So this week I encourage you to look in the dark places of your cabinets, get those odd foods out and try something different. You will save money and hopefully find a new recipe to try and love!




Share

I glanced through the ad - I think the best deals are going to be found at Town and Country this week however these meats are worth mentioning!

Chicken Breast Tenders 1.99
Ground Chuck or Ground Round 1.99

Share

Best Choice Ice Cream Squares 1.19
Split chicken breasts 88 cents
Swiss Miss Cocoa 79 cents
Ozark Hearth Brown and serve rolls 59 cents
10 lbs potatoes 1.99
Prairie Farms Butter 1.69
Always Save diced or crushed tomatoes 49 cents
Best Choice Flour 1.19

That is what I am going to pick up - At least I hope to get their! I am about out of butter with all the holiday baking I have been doing.

Share

Some nights I go to bed with the hopes that the good fairies will come and clean it up while I am sleeping.  I have tried this several times.  They don’t come.  No matter how hard I wish them too, they just don't come.  So I took it upon myself this evening.  I decided at 9:20 to clean up the kitchen and living room.  All the children were snug in their beds.  Gary was sitting in the living room playing on the computer.  I walking into the kitchen.  This is what I saw.

Not a pretty picture.  So, I got to work.  I cleared the cabinets by the stove.  I had my first moment of being sidetracked. 

I started to clean the tops of these canisters when I reminded myself that I was surface cleaning only.  I could come back and do canister tops later.  I am glad I stopped myself.  I probably would have decided to put something in the clean canisters and that would have prompted an entire makeover of the contents of my cupboards.  I moved on to the stove and then turned to the sink.  I washed all the dishes and dried and put them away.  I cleaned off the counter tops and turned to the dining area.  I cleaned the table, put my dh’s coat away and called for him to take the garbage out.  I swept the floor, decided to mop it later, and stood back to see my results.

That is a kitchen worth getting out of bed for! 

Now the living room.

This room was so messy it was probably criminal to let my kids play in there.  Of course, it was mostly their fault. I put away clothes, toys, and threw away some trash.  I would have vacuumed but did not think the sleeping ones would appreciate it.  Notice my dh is not in any of these pictures.  He went to bed after he took out the garbage. One hour later………..

Then I figured I may as well do my desk while I was at it.

Now I am sitting down and taking a well deserved break.  It is 11:30 pm and I can not believe I am still up.  I never stay up this late.  I am glad that I get to wake up to this house tomorrow.  It is Sunday and I won’t feel so overwhelmed at the beginning of a new week.  It should make my home blessing hour much easier on Monday.

Kroger Deals!

Tide Detergent $5.99
(11/29 PG) Save $.35
pgesaver.com Ecoupon - Save $1.00
Final Price, $4.29

Tennessee Pride Sausage Patties 30 count $4.99
(11/15 RP) Save $.55
Final Price, $3.89

Jimmy Dean Sausage Regular rolls, pre-cooked patties 2 for $5
11/1 RP Save $1.00
Final Price, $1.50

Duncan Hines Cake Mix 10/$10
(10/11 SS) Save $.55/2
Final Price, 2/$.90

Ro Tel/ Hunts 10 for $10
All You Dec Save $1.00/4
Final Price 4/$3

Ronco Pasta 10 for $10
(10/11 SS ) Save $.55/2
Final Price, 2/$.90

Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits 10/$10
(11/8, 11/22, 12/6 SS) Save $.40/3
(10/4, 11/15 GM) Save $.30/2
Shortcuts eCoupon Save $.30/2
Cellfire eCoupon Save $.30/2
Final Price, 2/$.70

Pillsbury Sweet Rolls 10/$10
(11/22, 12/6 SS) Save $.55/2
(11/8, 10/25, 10/18 SS) Save $.40/2
(10/4 GM) Save $.40/2
(11/15 GM) Save $.55/2
Shortcuts eCoupon Save $.40/2
Cellfire eCoupon Save $.40/2
Final Price, 2/$.10

Edwards Pie $5.99
(11/15 SS) Save $1.00
Final Price, $4.99

Domino Brown Sugar 2 for $4
(10/18,11/15 RP) Save $.50/2
Final Price, 2/$3.00

Karo Syrup 2/$5
(10/4, 1/8. 12/6 SS) Save $.40
Final Price, $1.70

Nestle Morsels $2 for 5
(11/1 RP) Save $.50
Printable Coupon Save $.50/2
Final Price, $1.50

Progresso Soup 4/$5
Printable Coupon Save $1.10/3
(12/6, 11/8, 10/25 SS) Save $.50/2
Cellfire eCoupon Save $.50/2
Final Price, 2/$1.00

Lean Pockets 5/$10
(10/25 SS) Save $.50/3
Final Price, 3/$5.00

Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers 3/$5
(11/15 GM) Save $.40
Final Price, $.67

Velveeta $4.59
(11/15 RP) Save $1.00
Final Price, $3.59


Share

Food Rite doubles coupons up and including 50 cents.

Wesson Cooking Oil $2.50
$0.50/1 HERE
Final Price $1.50

20 lb bag of potatoes 3.99
Best Choice Deals
Corn, Peas, Green Beans, or Mixed - 39 cents
Cream cheese 59 cents
Shredded cheese - 99 cents
Cream of chicken or mushroom soup 50 cents each
American cheese singles 99 cents
34.5 ounce coffee 3.99
Cake mixes 50 cents
Flour 99 cents
Frozen Vegetables 79 cents

Share

Here are the deals I see at Town and Country this week!

Best Choice 4 lb Sugar - $1.29
Best Choice Flour - 99 cents
Best Choice Vegetable Oil - $1.59
Best Choice Cream Cheese, Stuffing, or Brown & Serve Rolls - 59 cents
Best Choice Cake Mix - 49 cents
Best Choice Frozen Veggies - 79 cents
Best Choice Canned Corn, Peas, or Green Beans - 39 cents
20 lb Potatoes - $3.88

There are several coupons in the ad at the store - be sure and pick up several ads.
With the in ad coupon:
Oscar Mayer hot dogs, bologna, or salami - 99 cents
Kraft Mac & Cheese - 49 cents
Oscar Mayer Bacon - $1.79

Birds Eye Frozen Veggies 99 cents
1.00/2 12/6 SS
49 cents each

Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa 99 cent
1.00/3 11/15 SS
66 cents each



Share

Cook hamburger patties.  Refrigerate over night.  The next afternoon, place hamburger patties in Crockpot and add 1 carton of beef broth (or 2 cans).  Turn Crockpot on low for 1 hour; then to warm.

These made wonderfully moist burgers without the loss of flavor or dryness you would expect when you re-heat burgers.  I cooked the hamburgers while preparing last night’s supper.  My family loved the them.  I loved the time saved in preparing them today when I just did not have time to cook!   

With 6 people in our house, space is at a premium!  I try to think creatively and frugally when I brain-storm for space saving tricks.

Problem:  Main Bathroom has no space for storage and no place to put hand towels.  My boys were constantly pulling out a bath towel to dry their hands and then putting it back with the clean towels or dropping it in the floor. 

Solution:  A plate rack re-purposed into a towel rack, towel hanger and toiletry organizer.  I love it!  It’s one of those things that makes me think, “Why didn’t I think of that sooner?!”

It’s fun to think out of the box!

I normally make these to taste, but today thought I would measure the ingredients so I can share the recipe with you! Remember though, that potatoes vary in size and you may need to adjust the measurements when you do this at home.

• 10 cups baked potato pulp, skin shells reserved for re-filling!
• 1 1/2 cups Sour Cream
• 1 Cup Cheese
• 3/4 cup Milk
• 6 tablespoons Margarine or butter
• 2 1/4 teaspoons Salt
• 1 teaspoon Pepper

Directions:  After washing, pricking and baking potatoes, cut in half lengthwise.  Remove all the potato pulp, leaving the skins intact.

Add milk, butter, salt, pepper to potatoes and begin mixing with electric mixer.  Add sour cream and mix until incorporated.  Next, I always stir in the cheese, just until combined.

Spoon mixture back into potato shells.  You can add bacon bits or chives to the tops.  I just happened to forget today.  Place on sheets and freeze for about an hour.  Once frozen, place in freezer bags.

When ready to use, put in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes.  I will often leave until the skins are crispy because then the kids will eat skins and all!

I have not tried it, but a friend told me that she puts hers in the microwave at 50% power for 5 minutes, then full power for 1-2 minutes to finish heating.

Here are the Food Rite Deals - Thanks Katie!
These deals are specials available this evening, December 3rd, from 4 to 7.

Williams sausage $1.49 for a 1 lb roll
Williams Sausage patties $4.99 for a 3 lb box

Folgers Coffee $4.99 for up to 33.9oz limit 2
11/08 RP $1/1
Final Price 3.99!

No.1 Russet Potatoes 5lb bag .88 cents

best choice large eggs 99 cents a dozen

best choice ice cream limit 2 half gallons 88 cents

Peter Ppan peanut butter creamy only 16.3 oz limit 2 99 cents
$1/1 Dec 2009 All You Magazine
Final Price - FREE!

best choice apple juice 64 oz limit 4 88 cents

Wesson oil vegetable or canola 48 oz 1.98
50/1 Coupon found HERE
Final Price - 98 cents!

jacks pizzas 5 for 10

north star mini ice cream sandwiches 1.99 16 ct

blue bonnet margarine sticks limit 4 38 cents

Here are the deals I am picking up at Town and Country!

1/2 Gallon Best Choice Ice Cream - $0.99

4lb Best Choice Sugar $1.50

Whole boneless pork loin – slice fee $1.29/lb

Best Choice cream cheese $0.49

Best Choice cake mixes $0.49

Best Choice stuffing mix $0.69

Best Choice 8 oz Shredded Cheese $1.19

Best Choice frozen Veggies $0.88

Knorr Lipton Rice or Noodle Sides $1.00
11/15 RP $0.40/2
Final Price: $0.60 each!

Ground Beef $1.49/lb

I had just a quick second to look at the add today.  I don’t think the deals are all that impressive at first glance but this will be what I pick up!

Duncan Hines Cake Mix  $1.00 
10/11 SS $0.55/2
Final price:  $0.45 each

Parkay Margarine $1.00
11/15 SS  $0.75/2
Final price:  2/$1.25

Progresso Vegetable Soup $1.25
11/08 SS  $0.50/2
Final Price:  $0.75 each

Tennessee Pride Sausage Patties 2.5 lb Frozen box $4.99
11/15 RP $0.55/1
Final Price:  $3.89 each

Tyson Heat and Serve Entrees $3.99
10/18 SS $1/1
Final Price:  $2.99

There are some sale deals that come around every so often but I will be picking up:

Sanderson Farms Boneless Skinless breasts:  1.97/lb

Boneless English Roast 1.97/lb

Kroger Shredded Cheese 1.50 bag

For only $4.99- that includes shipping you can get a 7x5 30 page photo book from Art’s Cow. Go HERE.  It would make a great gift for those lovely grandparents!  Use the coupon code 7X5PBKS499 when you checkout.  Coupon expires on 12/23!

I have 10 pounds of potatoes to work with today. Usually, on freezer filling day, I work with many items, but today I only have the potatoes, so that's what I'm working with. Be looking for posting in the future that deal with other ingredients, as I will post as I do them. So what to do with that 10 pound bag of potatoes? For a family of 6, 10 pounds can be used rather quickly. Here is my plan for today: Twice Baked Potatoes and Ready to Mash Potatoes.

Ready to Mash Potatoes: I got this idea when I bought a bag of steam and mash potatoes. I thought if the manufacturer could do it, surely I could too. So here is what I do. Clean, peel and cube the potatoes. Cook them in water to cover, until they are just before fork tender. Drain, cool slightly and spread into a single layer onto baking sheets. Place in the freezer until frozen. Bag them up in portions that will feed your family and place in the freezer. When ready to use, pop the bag in the microwave and cook for 10 minutes. Mash as usual. Such a time saver!

Twice baked potatoes: I pull out all of the largest potatoes and make these. I will write down the ingredient measurements today so that I can get the recipe up for you all.

Happy Freezer Cooking!

Go HERE and be one of the first to 10,000 to take the pledge to 'eat good' and get a buy one get one free egg coupon!

Share

Go HERE and click on the free gift of your choice! I chose the $25 Coupon to spend on Photoworks. I chose two coffee mugs as gifts for my two older daughter's birth mother and birth grandmother for Christmas :) Be sure and print or write down the coupon code as you can not go back to the page. They are only giving out 20,000 of these. There are some items you would be able to get for the cost of shipping only.

Edited to add: If you choose the $25 coupon, click on the link below and sign up if you haven't to get $5 free. Then search for photoworks.com and get 11% cash back on your order!

Couponing has brought my frugality to a whole new level. I feel like I now have all the pieces to the puzzle to truly bless my family with smart food choices. One of my frugal tips is BUY when the price is at its lowest. I regularly buy meat, potatoes, onions and bread in bulk when at their lowest price. These are things for which I do not regularly have coupons. Then I come home and process these for easy use. Here is a breakdown of a recent bulk buying day:

Split Chicken Breast @ $.88/lb : I bought 3 family size packages. I came home skinned, and deboned the chicken, making nice boneless, skinless chicken breasts in portions for our family into the freezer. I then took the skin and bones (with some meat left on), added celery, onion, sage and basil. (I use carrots if I have them.) I brought it to a boil, covered and simmered for two hours. Sometimes I do this and freeze the broth for future use. This particular day, I pulled the remaining meat from the bones, discarded the scraps, skimmed the fat, ran the veggies thru the blender, put it all back together along with noodles and had soup for supper. YUMMY

10lbs Russet Potatoes, $2.99: I took out the 12 largest potatoes for twice baked potatoes and put the rest away for later use. With these 12, I scrubbed them clean, and put them in the oven at 350 for one hour to bake. Once done, I cut each potato in half and scooped out the pulp into a large bowl. Next step, I just guess at the amount and taste. I added 2-4 tablespoons butter, some salt and pepper then began to mash the potatoes, next added approximately 10 oz. sour cream and mixed well. Finally, I stirred in 2 cups shredded cheese. All of this gets put back into the reserved shell halves. I top it all with a scant sprinkling of real bacon bits. Everything gets placed onto a baking sheet(s) and placed in the freezer to quick freeze. Once frozen (maybe an hour) put into freezer bags. These are great to pull out a specific portion and heat in the oven for 20 – 30 minutes as needed.

Onions, I can't remember the price I paid for these. But do want to share a tip. I did not do this on this trip, because I have plenty in the freezer now. I like to chop a lot of onions at once, mostly because I do not like to chop onions! Usually I do it in the food processor. Once chopped, use an old ice tray to freeze in portions. Once frozen, remove from ice trays to a freezer bag. Great convenience!

Ground beef

• 1-1/12 lb. portions in the freezer
  
• Brown a large quantity of ground beef, bag in meal size portions
  
• Make Hamburger Patties, wrap individually in wax paper, place in gallon freezer bag for the freezer
  

1 more tip before I go. Anytime you cook or plan to cook, consider making double batches. I've tried this and it works out wonderfully. Same pots and pans, same clean up, double the reward! Here are a few things I've done recently: spaghetti sauce and pancakes. Both freeze well.

Thanksgiving is probably the wrong holiday to be on diet.  But, that is where I found myself.  I told myself this morning if the scale was kind to me, that I would be good and eat according to the low carb diet plan I am on.  Well, I was down a full pound.  Yippee!!  So I put on a tight snug pair of jeans and made several mental promises to myself. 
I knew that the traditional thanksgiving fare would not be a temptation for me as I was not going to be cooking for the first time in a few years.  Gary announced earlier in the week that we would be eating out today.  I was a bit bummed at first.  Then I got up this morning.  I could have been persuaded to cook early on but, as 10 or 11 in the morning rolled around, I thought eating out sounded really relaxing, maybe we could even catch a movie! 
Lunch time came and we all loaded up in the van and headed off to Lonestar.  I enjoyed steak and the salad wedge.  The broccoli was way too salty.  Aside from the handful of peanuts I had, staying on the diet was relatively easy.  We arrived home and I put Bekah Grace and Gary down for their nap.  :)  Jaela and Micah had to lay down as well and Danny went to his room and hid out.  So it was just me and Quin hanging out in the livingroom.  I fixed myself a cup of coffee and then saw the cake.  Leftover cake from Kim's surprise party.  Pfft.  I took a teeny weeny little bit and fled the kitchen. 
At dinner time we all sat around and tried to develop a plan.  I perused the refridgerator and the pantry to see if any ideas leapt out at me.  The only thing I was coming up with was spaghetti and garlic bread.  So we went to TGI Fridays.  I had a gift certificate.  I also had another steak with a salad.  But, I stayed on the diet plan, all the while getting texts from my bff who is supposed to be dieting with me, talking about how full she was.  I could only think that she could not possibly be that full from plain turkey and green beans.  I have yet to officially confirm, but I think she had rolls, gravy, and dressing. 
So now I am at the end of my day.  Looking back, I am glad I did what I wanted to and needed to today. Dieting on thanksgiving proved to not be that difficult when not faced with old family favorites.   Hopefully it will wear over to other days that I am not feeling so strong and I actually cook something.
Share

I was in Kroger a couple of weeks ago when I saw it.  It was huge.  It was beautiful.  It was cheap.  It was something I have never done before.  Because I love a good challenge, I picked it up.  A Burgers’ blue label, brown sugar cured country ham.  The label proclaimed it’s weight to be a hefty 18.65 pounds.  At right around a dollar a pound, I knew I had scored a deal.  I brought it home and put it in the freezer.  Then buyer’s remorse set in.  I did not know how to cook it.  I don’t particularly care for country ham.  When I eat it, I feel like I may as well be chewing on a salt block.  But, my wonderful husband loves it so, I decided that I could cook it and have a ton in the freezer for him and his biscuits.  

I called around to a few people and did some searching via Swagbucks and came up with a plan.   The directions on the Burger’s website said to thaw it overnight on the counter.  I put it on the countertop next to the roaster over and went to bed.  The next morning I unwrapped it.  In the packaging I found a slightly smelly, dark colored, slightly moldy ham.  And a full color brochure!  With instructions!  

So, as you can see, it was pretty icky looking.  I put it in the sink.  The directions said to scrub it with a stiff brush.  My mama said to ‘wash the tar out of it.’  So I gave it a long bath and washed it and washed it.  When I thought it was clean, I scrubbed it again.

I put it in the roaster.  I was cooking it in the roaster oven that sits on the counter top.  The instructions said to fill the roaster with water until it was two inches from the top and roast it uncovered.  I decided those instructions did not apply to me because I was not using the oven on the stove.  So, at this point I was unsure of what to do.  I called the 800 number on the brochure.  A very nice lady answered the phone and gave some very good instructions on how to proceed.  She was very patient in answering all of my questions.  I put a couple of inches of water and a cup of molasses in the roaster with the ham, set the temp to 250 degrees, put the lid on it, and planned to ignore it for the next nine hours or so.  Of course I could not resist peeking at it every so often.  But for the most part I was able to leave it alone.  When it started to look like this seven hours later:

I took it’s temperature.  165 degrees.  Done.  I cut it all off the bone and gave it a taste.  I was prepared for that salty, ‘off’ taste that country hams tend to have.  To my surprise, it did not have it!  It was really, really good!  I served it for supper.  Everyone loved it.  I put the rest into freezer bags and put them into the freezer.  I am glad that I took the chance and got it.  I am mostly glad that this did not turn out to be one of those horror stories that get passed around the table at thanksgiving.  My husband has some for his biscuits but he will have to share!

I have finally got this page up and running.  I am so excited about what the future holds for this blog!  I hope and pray that we can be a blessing to all of our readers!

I want this to work.  I am tired of working on it.

Testing 123….

But maybe with time I will learn........

I hope this works!