All You Grocery Challenge!

Come take a look!

2009-09-19T19:20:00.001-07:00

Hello!

I have not done a good job maintaining two blogs. Keeping up with one is plenty!

If you are a follower or subscriber here, consider switching to my main blog, so you won't miss anything!

Here is a post I just put up about a bunch of totally free groceries - check it out! To view the rest of my blog, click on the header (up top where it says 'Ten Things Farm' and you'll get the entire blog.

Hope to see you there!

:)

When you Love them, Tell Them!

2009-08-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

If you read this and it sounds mighty familiar, then you are probably a dear soul from Prairie Homemaker. I posted this there a few days ago, and thought I'd use it here as well. Busy day, what can I say? :)

About a month ago when I was in Walmart I thought that it'd be a good idea to grab a can of my favorite Campbell's soup - Bean with Bacon in the family size can. I love that stuff, and I always have. It's the perfect combination of beans, tanginess, smokiness, MSG and who-knows-what-else-ness.... When we get below 8 cans (the family size cans!) in our pantry, I get nervous.

They didn't have any.

Neither did King Sooper the next time I was there, and neither did Albertsons, and neither did Walmart the next couple times I checked.

I got worried that maybe they'd quit making 'my' soup in that size, so I called the 800 number on a can I had at home, and talked to a nice lady named Barbara.

She reassured me that they still make it, and said that Super Target has it, and that Walmart isn't on their search system, so they might still have it too.

Meanwhile, while she was looking all this up for my genuinely concerned self, I was telling her how it was my MOST favorite Campbell's soup since I was old enough for solid foods - like, 1967.

I told her how when I was three, they took out my tonsils, and they told me I could have all the ice cream I wanted after surgery, but when I woke up from the operation I insisted that the only thing I would eat in the whole world was Bean With Bacon. The hospital didn't have any (egads!), so my parents went to a store and got some for me, heated it and brought it in a thermos.

Yum.

I even confessed that I've tried, and failed, several times, to make a copycat of the soup, but none of them are even close.

Yes, I'm that goofy. I really love me some Bean n Bacon!

Moral of the story? If you love a product, tell the company. If you have a story, share it, and there's a pretty good chance they will give you some.

Post Script: Last week I received three fantastic coupons from the Campbell's Soup Family of Companies. After coupons, I was able to get three cans of my beloved Bean With Bacon - Family Size - for four cents apiece. They are lovingly nestled in my pantry, next to the others.

Chicken Lunch: Barbecue Chicken Pizza

2009-08-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

This is the fourth meal from that same chicken, and we still have a good amount of chicken broth left. That broth and this chicken have been in the freezer to prevent spoilage, just FYI.

Let's make a simple, yummy main course for lunch.

This is the easiest pizza you can make, I think, without ordering from somewhere. You start with tortillas and a thin cookie sheet. I have thicker pans that look nice, but the crust doesn't get crispy on them, so welcome to the ugliest baking sheet at Ten Things Farm.

My mom says that barbecue chicken pizza is NOT pizza. That might be true, but if I call it barbecue sauce and chicken on a tortilla with cheese and stuff, it takes too long. I don't want to start anything (Mom), so cut me some slack, K? Anyway, spread some barbecue sauce on the tortillas. Then top them with cheese.

Don't get too crazy with the cheese either. If you put a ton, it'll just ooze off the edges and stick to the pan. With such a thin crust, a little goes a long way.

Top with the chicken.

Right there, you're good to go, but before you put that in the oven, check the fridge for other toppings. We found black olives, red onions (garden), crumbled bacon (free with coupons last week at Safeway - woot!)and mushrooms for me! So we topped each chicken pizza to individual preferences.

Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes if you like crispy crust. Check after 10 minutes though - I live at high altitude and things take longer to cook. Toss a salad, pour some tea, and enjoy!

Did you notice there's already one missing in the last photo? Hee hee. I made five of these today - two for each adult, one for the kidlet, and I still have some chicken left. Yay!

(Psst - if you ever need snacks for Game Day, make a honkin' pile of these and call them barbecue nachos!)

I bet you can think of a hundred other chicken stretcher meals - these were just a few to encourage us all to be creative and have fun while we save money. I hope you liked them!

Chicken Dinner #3 - Chicken Long Rice

2009-08-23T22:46:00.001-07:00

Long Rice is a Hawaii thing, but I would imagine it has roots in China, possibly Japan. It's easy to make, and really tasty. "Long Rice" is cellophane noodle. It's not made of rice, and it's not exactly a noodle either, in the sense that it's not starchy. It's also called 'bean thread', and I'd guess it's somehow made from soybeans.

This recipe is easy, even though the pictures will make it look like there are a lot of steps. Also, it's nice for summer, because you don't cook it a long time. Once you get all the ingredients together, you turn off the pan and it finishes on its own. Lots of recipes in Hawaii are like this, probably because it's hot and humid, and no one wants the stove on if it's not necessary. :)

Here are most of the ingredients (I forgot to set out the ginger and the garlic):

These are cellophane noodles, or 'long rice'. When they are totally dry, like in the first photo, you cannot cut them - not even with scissors. To soften them and speed their cooking, put them in a bowl of hot tap water for about 30 minutes. Just start them soaking first thing, and they'll be softened by the time you need them.

We're using the skinned legs, thighs and wings (also some of the chicken broth) for this meal. Put a small amount of oil (about 1 T.) in the pan, heat it up and add the chicken. If you're cooking in stainless like I am here, the chicken will immediately stick. Don't worry, once it's cooked some, it comes loose again. I don't quite understand it, but that's what stainless 'does'.

Turn the chicken occasionally to cook it on all sides. Meanwhile, prep your vegetables. I'm using carrots (three of them), a medium onion, a couple of mushrooms (those are only for me, my family doesn't care for them) and some green onion tops - probably about 1/3 cup.

Once the chicken is lightly browned on all sides, add some grated fresh ginger. See this ginger? It's frozen solid. Little tip I learned - when you bring home fresh ginger, put it in the freezer in a baggie. When you need some, grate it off, then put it back in the freezer. It tastes the same as fresh, and doesn't dry out and get old in your crisper drawer. It's not necessary to peel ginger either - you can if you really want to, but no need. Anyway, grate some off into the pan with the chicken. I probably used almost a tablespoon.

Add a nice spoonful of minced garlic too.

Next, add about 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth, 2T. soy sauce and 1/3 c. brown sugar. Drizzle in a little dark sesame oil if you have it. You may need more chicken broth later, but this will be a good start. By the way, the recipe calls for twice as much soy sauce, but start with 2T. and you may find that it's enough.

Take those cellophane noodles out of the hot (now warm) water and put them in the pan.

Add the carrots,

Then the onions,

Then give it all a little stir. Taste the broth. If it seems a too strong, add a little more chicken broth.

Bring back to a simmer, then pull out all the chicken pieces onto a cutting board. Allow them to cool slightly - until you are able to separate the meat from the bone.

Give the meat a quick rough chop, discard the bones. They have done their job, giving flavor to the dish.

Return the meat to the saucepan. Put the lid on the pan, turn off the heat and let everything just sit a while. The flavors will marry, the long rice will soften, and it will all be just lovely.

To serve, put some brown rice in your bowl.

If you're me, put your thin-sliced mushrooms on top of the rice, then spoon the hot chicken long rice over the top. The hot broth cooks the mushrooms just enough. Garnish with green onions and serve.

Chicken Dinner #2

2009-08-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight we used the remaining breast meat and some of the chicken broth. There were close to 8 ounces of trimmings from the breasts we used last night for the Buffalo Chicken sandwiches.

Tonight we had salads and Chicken Enchilada Soup, a family favorite.

(If you've ever eaten the chicken enchilada soup at Chili's restaurant, this is a copycat recipe.)

Chicken Enchilada Soup

1/2 T. vegetable oil
1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1/4 c. diced onion
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 c. enchilada sauce
1/2 t. chili powder
1/4 t. ground cumin (though we like it with a little more)
1/2 c. masa harina (corn tortilla mix)
3 1/2 c. chicken broth, divided
1/2 lb. cubed processed cheese (we're talking Velveeta type cheese (store brand is fine) here)

1. Heat oil in a medium size pot. Add onions, garlic and chicken. Cook until just beginning to brown.

2. Add the enchilada sauce, chili powder and cumin to the chicken mixture.

3. Measure masa harina into a medium size bowl. Add about half the chicken broth and whisk to combine. Pour the masa harina/broth mixture into the chicken mixture, stir to combine. Add the rest of the broth and bring to a low simmer.

4. Cube the cheese to help it melt more quickly. Sprinkle into the soup, heat on low, stirring while cheese melts and blends into the soup.

5. Garnish with tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream, onions, cilantro, taco sauce, fresh tomatoes - really, whatever you like best!

P.S. We also have enough soup left for hubby to take this to work one day for his lunch.

It's not groceries, but it's a great deal!

2009-08-22T17:48:00.001-07:00

Hey, Y'all!

I was in Walgreens today and they had Gillette Fusion (Phenom) razors on clearance for $2.29. I was able to use a $2 off coupon for the razor (from a recent red plum insert - sorry I don't have the date for it) and ALSO use a coupon from the P&G insert that let me get a free Gillette Body Wash when I purchased the razor.

29 cents (plus tax) for a razor and a 12 oz. body wash. Best, I had two sets of the coupons!

Back later with tonight's chicken meal! :)

Three People. One Chicken. Four Different Meals

2009-08-21T22:38:00.000-07:00

Last week, whole chickens were on sale in my town for 57 cents a pound. That's a really great price - at least here - so we stocked up, to the tune of 20 chickens. I don't want my family getting bored with chicken, so I'm challenging myself to mix it up with different flavors so that we really enjoy all this chicken.

The first thing I did was cut up the chicken. I didn't take how-to photos for a few reasons.

One - even though I've done it a million times, I'm not the world's best cutter-upper of chicken.

Two - I didn't want chicken goo on my camera.

Three - please see number two.

Anyway, here is the chicken - cut up. The bowl in the back on the left is everything you don't really want to mess with - back, breastbone, wing tips, skin, neck. That's the start of some broth I'll use later in the week. I *did* take a picture of all that stuff in the pot, in water, but honestly, it looked pretty grody, so let's just skip that pic, shall we?

The bowl on the right is skinned legs, thighs and wing segments.

On the left (on the cutting board) are the two breasts and the tenderloins. You'll notice that I cut the 'pointy part' of each boneless skinless breast off. I also shaved about a half inch of thickness off the thickest part of each breast to make the meat a more even thickness.

On the plate the front is extra breast meat. It's not a normal 'part' of chicken, but it's a good amount of meat, and we'll be using it for a really yummy something very soon.

Tonight we're using those breast pieces and tenderloins, front left, to make Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches. These are really easy - tasty too! Let's get started!

Heat the oven. Mine is on 400 because I'm roasting a pan of potatoes to go with these sandwiches. Put some breadcrumbs on a plate and coat each piece of chicken evenly. Our breadcrumbs are homemade from leftover bread ends, so basically free. I've tried different 'dips' like milk, egg, etc., but just pressing the chicken into the crumbs works fine, saves a step, and gets us that much closer to supper.

Spray a little nonstick spray in a heavy pan. If you use nonstick spray, you will need very little oil for the saute'. I don't know why it works that way, but it does, so that's how we do it. Cook the chicken on medium heat until the breadcrumbs are a medium brown, then turn to cook the other side.

While the chicken is cooking, make celery sticks and put some Red Hot Sauce on a plate. (Put any celery leaves/tops into that chicken broth that's simmering on the stove, too!)

Lay the chicken in the hot sauce, turning to coat. If you have little kids, use barbecue sauce for theirs, or leave them plain. Little Bit wanted the tenderloins tonight, and she had them with barbecue. Put all the coated chicken on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven. This will ensure that it's cooked all the way through without burning any breadcrumb. It also mellows the Red Hot Sauce some, and allows the flavors to blend.

While the chicken is in the oven with the potatoes, mix some ranch dressing mix with some sour cream. Make enough to put some on the buns and have some for the celery. Thin it with a bit of water if needed - sometimes it's really thick.

Warm the buns, slice them open if they're homemade, and put some of the ranch dip. Then put the chicken and some lettuce (I don't have any lettuce in the house, and it's already dark out, so I'm not going to the garden to get some - I'll plan better next time!).

Taadaa! Supper is ready! Not a great photo, but it's late, we're hungry, and I'm not making my sweet family wait while I figure out the lighting, hee hee.

So - there's one meal - Buffalo (or Barbecue) Chicken Sandwiches on homemade wheat buns, celery and ranch dip, roasted potatoes and onions from our garden. It was delicious! It would have been great with some cole slaw, but I ran errands, hung out two loads of laundry and mowed most of the yard today. Maybe next time.

(Psst...how-to for the roasted potatoes is here.)

Meanwhile, that bowl of chicken bones/skin/stuff was simmering on the stove with some water and celery tops. I got about 8 cups of broth and 3/4 cup of small chicken pieces. I have plans for both of them. Big plans. Yummy plans. Easy plans. For now, the broth is chilling, and I'll remove the fat tomorrow.

Stay tuned for our next chicken meal - coming soon!

So I got this email....

2009-08-20T20:47:00.001-07:00

I was taking a break from my chores yesterday and decided to check email. I had a note from All You - I am one of the finalists in the Grocery Challenge!

I couldn't believe it! I printed the email, just to make it more real. I told Little Bit all about it. She said, 'Oh, good. Now can we read my Barney book?' Now that is some enthusiasm!

I spent the rest of the day giddy and nervous. What if they accidentally sent that email to everyone? What if it was a prank? But it wasn't. I sent in my receipts, some pictures (eeeep!) and a couple of recipes that I use all the time, but never write down.

Hubby is really proud of me, and that is the best part. That, and the fact that I missed the phone call because I was out digging potatoes. New York City called my house, and I was digging potatoes. Yep, sounds about right!

Still going!

2009-08-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

I ended up getting 20 of those sale chickens last week! 19 of them are in the freezer, and we ate one. We had roasted chicken a couple of times, barbecue chicken pizza, and chicken noodle soup, all from one bird. It ended up being 4 meals, plus we still have enough chicken noodle soup for today's lunch.

This week I was able to get some $3 off coupons for Smithfield bacon, and it's on sale at Safeway for $3. Bacon adds a lot of flavor, so a little bit goes a long way. Free bacon is a good deal!

I also plan to pick up some ramen noodles for 10 cents a pack at Albertsons. I don't like them much 'alone' but you can add things to them and come up with some nice things. Since they keep forever, it's a good thing to stock.

Mostly, though, I'll be picking up various sale/coupon deals at Target. I can get some fresh apples (ours aren't ripe yet), bananas, snack foods, etc., and I have a gift card (from a recent buy this, get a gift card deal) that I can use for the money part!

Today I dug Yukon Gold and Blue Colorado potatoes. I have 3 buckets of them to cure and store. We have some summer squash that is still producing (even after all the hailstorms of late) and a few green beans as well. Soon we'll harvest turnips, rutabaga and carrots too!

Anyway, I'm still 'here', just busy! Have a great day!

If only the challenge weren't over!

2009-08-13T05:44:00.000-07:00

The way I shop is weird to some. If the great deal of the week is toilet paper, that's what I'm buying, especially if there are coupons! If it's tuna, we buy tuna, tuna, and more tuna.

During the challenge, the great deals that came our way were on fritos, ice cream and pepsi, so my receipts make it look like I don't care a whit for health or nutrition. I kept hoping the sales would cycle around to something y'all would be proud of, but, eh, no.

This week, whole chickens are 57 cents a pound, starting yesterday, ending next Tuesday. I've already got 12 of them in the freezer and more to come. Too bad that sale didn't come up during the challenge!

Are you still keeping to your budget, or did you go on a spree the day after the challenge ended? It's okay, you can talk about it here. We won't tell.

Hail last night.

2009-08-10T11:26:00.001-07:00

We had a pretty big hailstorm last night. I have photos on my other blog, if you want to see what can happen, rather quickly, to a lot of food.

This is why I think it's important to have several strategies - not just one. You never know when your 'plans' are going to change.

Day 28

2009-08-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

The last day - that went fast!

I ended up spending a little bit after all - $2.08 for big containers of cumin and ginger, at the ranch supply! It just goes to show that you have to be on the lookout EVERYWHERE for great prices! :)

We mostly had 'bits' to eat today - using up items in the fridge or making little creations. Supper was sausage links and blueberry pancakes. We planted blueberries this year, and we had a wee, tiny harvest from one plant. So we sprinkled those into our pancakes at suppertime.

As I was gathering items for supper I realized we were down to about a half inch of maple syrup in the bottle. Maple syrup is expensive, and the last time I was in the store, I decided I'd wait to purchase more, because I thought I might have another bottle in the pantry.

I didn't have another bottle in the pantry.

Plan B? I combined sugar, water and maple extract and made some. It's not 'real' maple syrup, but it's the same as the stuff you buy if you buy 'pancake syrup', and it has NO high fructose corn syrup. I put a little vanilla in it too, and it was delicious! (Also very affordable.)

I'm thinking of continuing this - keeping this blog running so we have a place to share tips and hints with one another. What do you think?

Day 27

2009-08-08T21:41:00.001-07:00

I worked in town today (I sub at the library from time to time), so I made a couple quick stops for some good deals.

King Sooper
1 clementine orange - free sample :)
2 boxes of Post Honey Bunches cereal and a Snickers bar (I was starving, yo!)
Cash - 20 cents
Coupons - $4
(The cereal was on sale for $1.88, but my coupons were for $2 off - the overage wouldn't come back to me as change, so I grabbed the candy bar from the display and added it to the order. The cereal overage helped bring down the price of the candy bar (which was also on sale)

Albertsons
Back with more coupons to put more ice cream in the deep freeze. I was going to get a couple of other loss leader items, but they were out of them. I have rainchecks for later - woot! I also got 4 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast ($1.57 a pound!)
Cash - $10.36
Coupons - $8

So - $10.56 in money, $12.00 in coupons. Love it!

I had a grilled cheese sandwich and some orange juicefor breakfast this morning. The rest of the family slept in, so I'm not sure what they had for breakfast (I was already leaving for work by then), but I know they had plenty to choose from.

Lunch was chicken sandwiches on whole wheat buns with lettuce, mayo, etc., tater tots and water/juice/tea.

Supper was spaghetti w/meat sauce and wheat bread for Little Bit, homemade jalapeno poppers (try them - they are SO good!!)for hubby and I, and fresh apples for everyone.

Day 26

2009-08-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

I did some shopping today - at Target I used a gift card that I'd gotten for buying pet food, but I also used coupons to save. Target has a coupon on their site for $1 off of 1 lb. or more of bulk apples. I got some braeburn and some jonagold apples - just over a pound of each type, to maximize my savings. The cost for the apples worked out to about 64 cents a pound. I also saw some 'kid size' ice cream cone cups, and decided to give those a try.

Cash spent: 0 - I used a gift card to pay the $3.22
Coupons spent: 2.00

At Albertson's I was able to combine a sale and coupons to get Blue Bunny ice cream for $1 a carton (1.75 quart size). That's a great price, so we put some in the deep freeze. If I can get more coupons, I may pick up more before the sale ends. I used some other coupons combined with sales to get canned tuna, nutter butter minis (hubby's lunches), oyster crackers, frozen potato rounds, a cantaloupe, organic strawberry lemonade and some sausage links.

Cash spent: $16.10
Coupons spent: $18.95

Finally, at Safeway, we picked up Little Bit's WIC items - milk, cheese, juice and whole wheat bread. We also purchased 20 pounds of sugar (sale and coupons) and a carton of organic sour cream that was marked down for quick sale. We use some sugar during canning season (for peaches, plums, jams and jellies), but we are also feeding hummingbirds, so a sale on sugar is a good time to stock up.

Cash spent: $8.24
Coupons spent: $4.25

Totals for today:
Cash spent: $24.34
Coupons spent: $28.32

MAJOR BONUS!!
The bank inside Safeway has an offer - open a checking account and get up to $75 in a rebate on money spent in Safeway. You can even purchase gift cards or prescriptions with it, just as long as they are on a Safeway receipt. The accounts are one per person. I opened one, and hubby opened one, so that is $150 we will save on groceries (or possibly gift cards or gasoline) very soon. We have to wait until the debit cards arrive (about a week), but look around for offers like this!! We do something like this a few times a year, and the extra money can really come in handy. Just make sure you read and understand the offer!

Day 25

2009-08-06T21:13:00.001-07:00

Right now I have 7 more quarts of green beans in the pressure canner. They will help keep our grocery bills down throughout the winter, plus we'll be eating (very) local!

Today was book club at my house. I made a no-bake cheesecake from items on hand, and we topped it with home-canned cherry pie filling - it was really good!

Our meals today:

B - Cereal, milk, applesauce

L - Spaghetti with meat sauce, zucchini and onions (both from garden), homemade breadsticks, tea

S - We just took out various leftovers and ate them - potatoes, veggie sticks, etc. It's humid, we weren't all that hungry, and this was easy and healthy.

Snacks - The book club cheesecake, peanut butter and jelly on wheat, veggie sticks.

We are low on baked items - down to the last bit of bread, only one breadstick, etc., so I'll be baking tomorrow or Saturday. So far my baking list includes:

Whole grain bread - 3 loaves
English Muffins
Breadsticks
Buns
Donut Muffins
Scones
Zucchini Bread

Should keep me busy! :)

Day 24

2009-08-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

While we were out and about late this afternoon, we picked up a few bargains, spending $6.26 in cash and $6.00 in coupons. I picked green beans and zucchini today as well. I don't have enough green beans to can quarts, so I may run a canner of pints instead - we shall see. I'm going to dry zucchini 'chips' tomorrow, lightly sprinkled with seasoned salt.

Our meals today:

B - my version of migas (an egg scramble with peppers, onions, corn tortillas and cheese), cinnamon toast, milk.

L - homemade tomato soup (tomatoes canned from last year's garden), grilled cheese on homemade whole grain bread, veggie sticks (mostly from the garden), milk for Little Bit and pepsi for the grownups.

S - Hubby is taking leftovers from last night. We are having pulled pork sandwiches, leftover vegetables (blue potatoes, veggie sticks, green beans) and frozen pineapple tidbits. And - out of the blue - Little Bit asked for an egg, over easy. She has never wanted to try eggs, so this was a surprise. She ate a couple bites, but wasn't wild about it. It's a start, though! :)

Snacks - Ice cream cones, applesauce with graham crackers.

Day 23

2009-08-04T18:04:00.000-07:00

Seriously? Day 23? Time flies, doesn't it?

We were in town today, and we did spend a little money, but not on groceries. We took our dog, Molly, to the spay and neuter clinic, and we also bought dog and cat food. Did a little Goodwill shopping too - but no groceries.

Meals today:

B: raisin bran, scones, applesace and milk

L: tuna salad - I had it on a green salad with a little shredded cheddar, sliced raw zucchini and some triscuits on the side, while Little Bit had it on triscuits, also with cheese. Hubby had it on a homemade wheat bun, again with cheese. Veggie sticks on the sides. Water to drink.

S: marinated pork chops, stuffing, green beans and potatoes from our garden.

Snacks: PBJ on wheat (Little Bit considers this a food group), pretzels with mustard and pepsi.

Day 22

2009-08-03T18:39:00.001-07:00

Once again, no shopping today. We did, however, harvest some garden. We dug some potatoes, pulled some carrots and onions, and even rutabaga. We saved some for us to eat at home, but we also shared some with neighbors. We wanted to thank one family for the horse manure they gave us for our garden. Without them, we wouldn't have so much growing. Also, another neighbor plows our driveway in the winter, so we thank him with some garden produce in the warmer months.

We are also getting a few blueberries, but this is the first year, so it won't be a big harvest. We're planning blueberry pancakes for the weekend. :)

Today's meals:

B: cereal, fruit and milk

L: green beans, potatoes and onions from the garden with assorted protein sources - Little Bit had PBJ on wheat for her protein, I had a quesedilla made with corn tortillas.

S: Garden burgers on homemade buns, veggie sticks, tortilla chips and tea.

Snacks: applesauce, frosted mini wheats (we pretend they are cookies) with milk, pretzels and soda.

Day 21

2009-08-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

We had a busy day today, so this afternoon we took a little break and went to the store. We picked up our daughter's WIC items (milk, beans, juice, cereal) and we spent $1.88 for a package of tortillas and 2 cans of ravioli (free plus overage after coupons). I used $2 in coupons as well.

Meals today:

B - Cereal and milk

L - Assorted leftovers for hubby and I - Little Bit had PBJ on whole wheat and a carrot from the garden.

S - Thin crust pizzas made with tortillas for crust (easy and tasty!), fresh vegetable sticks and dip.

Snacks - pretzels, graham crackers, juice, vegetable sticks

Day 20

2009-08-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

We had a really busy day today, but never left home - so no spending! I made six half-pints of cherry pit jelly. We'll probably eat some and use some as gifts - it's so pretty, I may save back a jar to enter at the county fair next year!

The pantry is filling up for the year - I'm stoked! The garden is producing well, and our apple trees look good too. The peaches are getting big on the tree - we're going to net that tree tomorrow to keep the birds out of them.

Today we ate:

B: Cereal with milk.

L: Assorted leftovers, like baked beans, brown rice, veggie sticks, etc. I had a hot dog, Little Bit had PBJ on wheat, and hubby had some Portuguese sausage.

S: Tongkatsu Chicken, brown rice, green beans with new potatoes. Ice cream for dessert.

Snacks: Raw veggie sticks, cheese and crackers, cookies.

I've got to menu plan for the upcoming week, and I think we may run to the store for a few items tomorrow. More soon - thanks for reading! :)

Day 19

2009-08-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

This is going up a day late - yesterday was super busy!

I didn't do any shopping. Instead I canned 11 pints and 3 quarts of cherry pie filling and 7 quarts of green beans. I also pitted the remainin cherries and froze them - 2 quarts and one half-pint. The green beans were from our garden, and the cherries were from a friend. I thanked her with some eggs from our hens - yay for barter!

Our meals were:

B - Oatmeal with apples, raisins and peanut butter, milk.

L - Hotdogs on homemade wheat buns, homemade baked beans, carrot and raisin salad, water.

S - Buffalo chicken wings, panfried potatoes and onions, ranch dip with carrots, celery and lightly steamed snowpeas. Butter pecan ice cream for dessert.

Snacks - PBJ on wheat (Little Bit), leftover pear crisp.

Day 18

2009-07-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

We did some shopping today while we were out doing other errands. Here's what we got:

2 cans chef boyardee ravioli (free, plus 22 cent overage after coupon)
2 packages tyson chicken
1 package jack links chicken pieces
3 packages hormel pepperoni (price matched)
almost 1 lb. fresh jalapenos

Cash Spent: 14.34
Coupons Spent: 11.67

Meals today:

B - Oatmeal with peanut butter, raisins and apples, milk.

L - Leftover lo mein with whole wheat noodles and vegetables, brownies.

S - Hot dogs on homemade buns, homemade baked beans, carrot and raisin salad.

Snacks - popcorn and hot cocoa (pepsi for me)

Tomorrow we'll pick up a few things when we're in town - I'll report them then. :)

I picked green beans, and I have almost enough to can 7 more quarts. I'll prep these tonight, pick a few more tomorrow and can them in the afternoon or evening. It has been cool this week, but we're still getting plenty of things from our garden.

Day 17

2009-07-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

Except for Hubby, who had to work, we stayed home today. It was a cool, blustery, and later stormy day, so mostly we were indoors doing housekeeping and working on projects.

I thawed a small London Broil and two raw turkey legs and ground up the meat. I mix them together - it's a good flavor, low in fat, all that, and we call it 'burkey' I wrap them like this. It saves me a ton of money, and I've never had anything freezer burn.

After that I put the turkey leg bones in the big crock pot, along with a bunch of other poultry bones I've been accumulating in my freezer. I added water, and it is making some lovely broth that we'll use for soups and recipes.

Meals today:

B: choice or scones or muffins, dried fruit, milk.

L: sandwiches, carrot and zucchini sticks, popcorn and juice/water.

S: hamburger helper lasagna (half the meat, twice the noodles, hee hee), homemade garlic breadsticks, steamed broccoli and carrots, applesauce. Ice cream cones for dessert.

Snacks: dried zucchini chips, homemade brownies, chicken jerky.

Day 16

2009-07-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

Not a lot of excitement to report, but we did buy carrots and celery today. I also picked up some Jack Links chicken nugget-y things that were free with the coupon from All You Magazine. They are buffalo style, nice and spicy and slightly addictive.

Anyroo, we spent $1.82 for the head of celery and the pound of carrots.

In the "I can't believe we got yet another Freebie from Chick-Fil-A" department, well, yeah, it was free breakfast Tuesday. Hubby had some lab work to get done, so after that we took our hungry selves over to Chick-Fil-A for free chicken minis. It's a chicken nugget inside some super-soft bread that's brushed with honey or syrup or something. As odd as it sounds, it's tasty, and you get three of them. We got them via the drive thru, and spent exactly zero.

So, that was breakfast, which Little Bit supplemented with some dried fruit and strawberry mini wheats.

For lunch, Little Bit had peanut butter raisin oatmeal, one of her favorite foods in the whole wide world. Hubby and I had veggie burgers on homemade buns, some tortilla chips and cucumber pickles.

Supper was meatballs in sweet/sour plum sauce, brown rice, zucchini and onions and a pear crisp. The meatballs were homemade, the plum sauce home-canned, the brown rice from the pantry (bought at the co-op). The zucchini and onions (OK, it was shallots, actually) were from the garden, and the pears were home canned from last year. It was an easy meal to put together and tasted good too!

Hope everyone is doing well with the challenge!

Day 15

2009-07-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe this is already half over! Time has gone so quickly!

We didn't do any shopping today, so no spending. Our meals were of the 'use up the leftovers' variety:

B: Little Bit had the last of yesterday's pancakes with pecans and nectarines. I had French toast (to use some bread that was a wee bit stale) with pecans and nectarines, and Hubby had whole grain cereal. We all had milk.

L: We had beef (leftover steak from last night) and cheese quesedillas and tostadas with frijoles, cheese, lettuce, homemade salsa, hot sauce and sour cream. Ice cream cones (or in a dish) for dessert.

S: Homemade broccoli/cheese/potato soup, wheat crackers, chocolate mini wheats and fresh cherries, ice water.

Snacks: Fresh apples, dried zucchini 'chips'.

It was a somewheat rainy day. I dried more zucchini, but also picked two more this afternoon. The garden looks great, but I had a little break from picking and weeding today. I filled the gap with housekeeping, laundry, and more laundry. ;)

Day 14

2009-07-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

We started our day with homemade buttermilk pecan pancakes with maple syrup and home-grown nectarines (from our freezer). It was a yummy Sunday breakfast with a tall glass of milk!

For lunch we had leftover lo-mein noodles (whole wheat noodles, vegetables and pork).

Supper was petite sirloin with horseradish cream, baked potatoes with sour cream and butter, garlicky green beans and water to drink.

We snacked today on graham crackers, snickers, fresh cherries, raw zucchini and dried zucchini chips.

I did more canning and food preservation today, which will help us spend less on groceries through the winter. I put up 7 quarts of green beans, 8 half pints of cherry jelly and 3 half pints of cherry syrup. I also finished dehydrating glace' cherries and started some thin-sliced and shredded zucchini. The jelly and syrup are a by-product of the glace' cherries that I didn't want to waste. The thin sliced zucchini is sprinkled with a little seasoned salt, and we can use it for chips. The shreds are to add to zucchini bread once zucchini is out of season. By doing a little extra work now, our garden helps feed us year-round.

Today was the last day of a sale on 2 liter pepsi products - I stocked up to have them on hand for times when the price is high. Spent $2.36.

Day 13

2009-07-25T20:28:00.001-07:00

I picked up a few things at the store and we went out for supper, but we did not spend a lot of money.

At Walmart I picked up some 2l. Pepsi, price matched at 59 cents each from another store. I also picked up 2 bags of pretzel sticks and a really big jar of minced garlic - probably a year's supply! I plan to make some more pickles soon, so I'll need garlic for that and for tomorrow night's supper. Total spent: $8.22

We went out for supper tonight as well - Chick-Fil-A was giving away sandwiches again, this time with a donation of 2 canned goods for the local food pantry. We went downstairs into our food pantry, chose six cans, and got three sandwiches free. We bought one large waffle fries to share, and we drank water, so the total for the three of us to have dinner out was $1.88.

Our meals today:
B: Homemade breakfast burritos or omelets, cherries, milk or water
L: Leftover homemade pizza from last night's supper, fresh fruit, water/tea/juice
S: Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, fries, water.
Snacks: Graham crackers, cherries, cheese, juice.

Day 12

2009-07-24T21:54:00.000-07:00

Last night hubby brought home a late snack he picked up for us at the drive-thru. I adjusted the amount we spent for the week by that amount ($4.25)

I stopped to get milk and some snacks that were on sale this morning. I went to self-check because the lines were long at the regular registers. After I scanned my stuff and then scanned my coupons, the machine spit out 15 cents and a receipt. I was actually paid 15 cents to shop!

We ate our meals at home today - I didn't have breakfast (I wasn't feeling well) and I'm not sure what my family had, as I was out doing some errands.

Lunch was homemade Lo Mein, with whole wheat noodles and lots of vegetables, mostly from our garden!

For Supper we had homemade pizza, carrot sticks, ice water to drink and ice cream for dessert.

Snacks were cereal and milk, raisins and crackers.

I did some canning tonight - I put up 7 pints of 'Dilly Beans' - a dill pickle green bean. This will be enough to last us an entire year. They are a treat, but something I'd never buy at the store, because they are $7 a jar! The beans and the dill are from the garden, and the only other ingredients are garlic, cayenne, vinegar and salt, so it didn't cost much at all to make them. Even figuring the cost of the jar lids, they probably come to about 12 cents a jar.

Tomorrow I'll be canning cherry jelly and cherry syrup. I'm dehydrating sour cherries that have been sweetened, so this is a way to make use of the resulting syrup as well. If there is enough, I may even make some lollipops. We even have (non-food) plans for the cherry pits - waste not, want not!

Day 11

2009-07-23T20:42:00.001-07:00

We did a little shopping today, but the only food we picked up was a box of ice cream cones, a bottle of liquid smoke, a 2 liter pepsi and a 2lb. bag of popcorn kernels. The total was 3.87. I used coupons today, but not on any of the food items. Tomorrow I'll be using a coupon to get milk, and I may pick up a few other items, but we don't really need anything, and the sales this week are not exactly stellar.

The garden, on the other hand, is giving us a lot of food. I picked a bucket of green beans this morning, picked 5 squash, and there are plenty of onions, potatoes, carrots, etc. should we want or need them.

Our meals:

B - Muffins, cherries, milk

L - Bean and cheese quesedillas, carrot sticks, fruit juice (pepsi for me)

S - We had a minor crisis - our washing machine broke down - so instead of the planne LoMein dinner we had sandwiches - Hubby and I had breaded chicken, Little Bit opted for PBJ, all on homemade wheat bread. For sides we had broccoli salad, carrot sticks, apple wedges, and water or juice to drink. Dessert was ice cream cones.

Snacks - sliced cheese, fresh cherries, mini wheats, water.

Day 10

2009-07-22T17:29:00.000-07:00

They almost got me, with the onion rings.

We went to the County Fair today, and had a total blast! It was $1 admission day, so it was a bargain!

We packed a cooler with celery, carrots, sweet cherries, cheese, crackers, peanut butter, raisins and juice, and had a lovely picnic lunch under a shade tree. We also took a big ice water bottle and some strawberry mini wheats as snacks.

We didn't buy any fair food. None. But man, those onion rings. They smelled so good!

Anyway, here's the summary of our meals:

B - cranberry-lemon scones, apples, milk.

L - cheese and crackers, ants on a log (celery w/peanut butter and raisins), carrot sticks, sweet cherries, juice

S - hot dogs and a fresh broccoli salad with raisins, almonds, etc - very yum! homemade (homegrown!) cherry pie for dessert.

Snacks - strawberry mini wheats with water at the fair, and Little Bit says she's having some raisin bran tonight for her bedtime snacks...but that's if she can stay awake that long!

Wishing you all well with the grocery challenge - we still haven't spent any $ this week, but we may be in the store tomorrow. :)

Day 9

2009-07-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

A while back, mangoes were 3/99cents, and we got six of them. We ate five of them in no time flat, and the sixth one has just been sitting there, ripening (we bought a couple that were still green).

I guess that fifth one gave us mango burnout or something, because this morning, I just couldn't bring myself to want to eat that mango. Little Bit didn't want it either. (Hubby worked nights and was sleeping.) So, I cut it up, squeezed as much of the juice away from the seed as I could, and put the pieces and juice into some ice cube trays.

Some morning down the road, it will be delicious in a smoothie, and this way, it is not wasted. It's just one mango, but it's also the sort of thing that we can do regularly to make sure we're not throwing money away by wasting food.

We didn't do any shopping today - we stayed home and worked on projects around the house.

Meals today:

B - scones or muffins, fresh fruit, milk

L - leftovers, including meatballs, garlic/cheese bread, cornmeal coated zucchini and onions, green beans

S - I made biscuits and sausage gravy and scrambled eggs, but Little Bit didn't want eggs and neither did I...so we had some steamed potatoes and green salad, with just one biscuit and a little of the gravy (I don't think she even had the gravy).

Snacks - ginger senbei (a tea cookie, gift from my in-laws) with cherry ice cream

Day 8

2009-07-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today was Baking Day (at least most of the baking got done!) I made things in quantity and put some into the freezer for use over the next week or two. With the garden starting to produce more heavily, we'll be busy with harvesting, canning and freezing, etc. It will be nice to have some things that are at the ready for quick meals.

Today I made bread sticks, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, buttermilk biscuits, buttermilk scones, muffins and a cherry pie (the cherries were from our tree!). I also made some Chinese barbecued pork for the lo mein we're having later this week.

I didn't have a lot of whole wheat flour left after all that, so I milled more wheat berries this evening, and I'll likely make our bread tomorrow.

We ate rather simply today:

B - cereal, fruit, milk

L - hot dogs (on homemade buns!), potato chips, veggie sticks and pickles, assorted condiments

S - pan fried spam, steamed potatoes and corn-meal coated zucchini. I didn't have any meat, and I ate some leftover green beans. The potatoes, zucchini and green beans were all from our garden. We had some of the cherry pie for dessert.

Snacks - We nibbled scones, muffins, fresh cherries and carrots.

A few days ago I picked the first handful of fresh green beans. Yesterday I got a 'healthy' handful - more than the time before! I didn't really think I'd need to pick them tonight, but I had watered them well last night, so I thought I'd check them. I got about a gallon of fresh green beans. It looks like I'd better start preparing canning jars, lids, all that, because I'll be canning some green beans very soon!

Day 7 - One week already?

2009-07-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

Goodness, times does fly, doesn't it? Hope everyone is doing well with the challenge.

We went out for 'lupper' today. We had a late breakfast, then had a meal about 3pm that counted for lunch and supper - so, 'lupper'!

Hubby had gotten an email from a restaurant for a free bithday meal. It was a large meal, so we shared it, and all of us had plenty. Afterward, we went to the frozen custard place. Little Bit had a coupon for a free cone that she got from the library's summer reading program. Hubby and I shared a cone too, so the entire cost of eating out today was $2.30 for 3 people. The coupons for the meal and the cone saved us $12.87 Best of all, I didn't have to cook or clean up!

This evening I traded with a friend - some of our eggs for some of their gooseberries. Later this week the same friend is getting sand cherries and plums from someone, and since it will be more than she can use, she'll be passing on the extras to us. Truly, we are blessed.

Meanwhile, the garden is giving us zucchini, green beans, and tonight I side-dug a few potatoes. I also pulled up the peas and the Chinese cabbage, so I can plant some things for fall. I'll be planting more Chinese cabbage, broccoli, lettuce and spinach.

Tomorrow is a big baking day. I'll be making bread, biscuits, muffins, a cherry pie, and if we have time, home made dog treats! I'm looking forward to week 2!

Day 6

2009-07-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

Today I put in some hours subbing at the library, and while I was in town I picked up a gallon of organic milk and 4 broccoli crowns (on sale for 88 cents a pound). Also, while I was at the library, I bought a Pepsi from the vending machine for 50 cents. I had taken a soda with me, which I had a lunch, but I was feeling drowsy in the afternoon (it was really slow, quiet and warm in the library). The Pepsi just made me feel oogy and I ended up pouring half of it out, so it was a bad choice. Next time I'll make sure I take my water bottle (which I forgot at home today).

Total spent today was $2.77 and a $4.50 milk coupon.

*Adjustment* Hubby and I were talking about it today and I put the apples and oranges (the ones I bought for the TOPS meeting- see yesterday's post) into the fridge. They'll both keep just fine until next Friday, and I'll get 2 bananas before then. So, I'm adjusting my cash spent to reflect the cost of only the bananas. Just FYI (I'm sure you were worried about this, yes? no? I didn't think so either.)

Meals for today:
B: Little Bit had cereal, fruit, milk. I was craving barbecue, so I made a half sandwich and had it with some juice. Not normal breakfast food, but it hit the spot. Hubby hadn't eaten when I left for work, but I know they stayed home all day, so he might have had cereal, eggs, leftovers - not sure.

L: I took some of the leftovers from last night's supper for my lunch, along with some dry cereal (the chocolate frosted mini mini wheats, which are a great health-ish alternative to cookies!) and a banana. The family, at home, found something...again, I'm not sure. :)

S: I had gotten out some chicken enchilada soup this morning so it could thaw. I make it in big batches and then freeze portions for easy lunches or suppers. We had salad alongside and garnished the soup with sour cream, homemade salsa and crunched up tortilla chips. Yum!

Hope you're doing well with the challenge! What are the hard parts for you? What parts are easy? I'd love to know.

Day 5

2009-07-17T21:08:00.001-07:00

Today was a lot of shopping and a lot of saving. Before I get to that, this is what we were eating:
B: cereal and milk w/fruit for hubby, trail mix and apples for Little Bit and me.

L: chicken sandwich, slaw, carrots, fritos, fresh cherries, tea for hubby. Little Bit and I went to Burger King and shared a Whopper (no onion, no mayo) and small fries. $1 size drink for me, water for her.

S: whole wheat spaghetti, homemade meatballs in Prego, 100% whole grain garlic/cheese toast, home-canned green beans

Snacks: graham cracker and milk, raw peas, green beans and carrots right out of the garden (literally!)

OK. On to the shopping!

This first one kinda happened by accident. I belong to a weight loss group called TOPS - take off pounds sensibly. My job in our chapter is to buy fruit for everyone who has a birthday. There were two ladies with birthdays this week, so I got them each a banana, an apple and an orange. That is what I'm supposed to get, no matter what. Anyway, when we got to the church where we meet, no one was there. Turns out there was a funeral today and we couldn't meet, but no one contacted me. So...I can't let the fruit go to waste and it won't keep a whole week (at least, not the bananas), so it becomes part of our groceries, I guess. Total spent for the fruit - $2.66.

Next is Albertson's. They had Honey Nut Cheerios on sale for $1.50 a box. If you buy 3, you get a catalina for a free gallon of milk (up to $4.50). I had six coupons for Honey Nut Cheerios, each for $1 off, so I did two separate transactions. I spent $3 and got six boxes of cereal plus coupons for 2 free gallons of milk. Woot!

At Super Target we picked up some veggie burgers. I was able to use a Target coupon for $2 off 2 packages, plus I used two $1 off manufacturer coupons. Total: $2.28.

Then, King Soopers. This is where it gets REALLY fun! Hubby found this coupon in an ad at his work last week.

So, last Friday I dropped of a prescription to transfer. It usually takes some time, so I picked it up today, and they added a $20 credit to my King Sooper loyalty card. Twenty bucks, and all I did was drop off a bottle that was last filled at a different pharmacy. Now and again they have these offers at various pharmacies in our area. I have moved this prescription any time it has worked out for me to do so, and it's gotten us a LOT of groceries for free.

So, I'm starting with a free $20. I did two transactions at King Sooper. Here is the first one:

The gentleman who was running the register took the total off my Sooper Card before I gave him my coupons, so it used $17.90.
Me: Wait - I have coupons.
Him: I already took it off the credit on your Sooper Card.
Me: But...I have coupons!!
Him: Oh. Well, let's try something and see if it works.
He scanned the coupons as part of the transaction - $7 worth of them! Then he gave me $7 cash. See, coupons ARE money! I knew it!

So...if this had gone through 'correctly', the total would have been $10.90 after the coupons. Instead of using money, I used the 'free money' from the prescription. But wait! There's MORE! These ten items are all part of a rebate that Kelloggs has right now. I send in my receipt, the UPC's and a form, and I get....$10!! So I got that stuff for ninety cents. Go ME!!

Next transaction was this stuff:

This one didn't go quite as low as I'd hoped - a few of my coupons didn't double - and it cost me $2.90 more than I was expecting. Then again, some coupons don't double, and that's how it goes sometimes. Anyway...after the sale prices, after the remaining credit on my loyalty card, after the coupons, I was left spending $10.60. He just gave me $7 cash, so really, I only spent $3.60 out of pocket.

Counting the $20 credit as a coupon (that's how I've always figured it) I used $55.10 in coupons. If I add up all the stores I went to today, I spent $11.54 in actual money. I'll be getting $10 of that back as a rebate from Kelloggs, and I have coupons for 2 free gallons of milk. That's really good!

Wow. Not bad for a coupon puppy!

Finally, we went out for lunch as a treat. On the back of any Burger King receipt, there is info you can use to take a phone survey. It takes a couple minutes, talking to 'Jennifer', the computer-generated-super-nice lady. At the end, she gives you a code. With that code, you can get a free Whopper or Chicken sandwich if you purchase any size fried and any size drink. It looks like this:

I had one of those, with a code from taking the survey. A Whopper is a BIG sandwich, so Little Bit and I shared. We got a Whopper (no mayo, no onion) a small fries and a $1 value size drink. Total: $2.78. You could do this for even less with a value size fries ($1), but for the two of us, the small, and sharing the burger works out just right. I have the soda, she drinks water, then we go to the playland for a while.

So, that was our day. We got a lot of stuff! I shop this way whenever I can. Some weeks (like this one) it's cereal week. Some weeks I get frozen veggies or toilet paper or shampoo for nothing or next to nothing. Sometimes they pay me to take stuff! When you shop like this over time, the pantry gets well-rounded, and there is a good selection of healthy foods, staple items, treats, snacks, etc.

I hope this was helpful. Got questions? Ask 'em! I'll do my very best to answer them for you!

Day 4

2009-07-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, we went to Safeway and got these items for $7.15. The Fritos were 1.29 each, the potato chips 1.49, and the Dr. Pepper was .49. That totals $7.14, but somehow I ended up paying an extra penny. Sigh...

I know! It seems like in the summertime, our cart always looks like we eat nothing but junk. Meanwhile, we are getting peas, lettuces, greens, zucchini, onions, potatoes and sweet cherries from the garden/orchard at home. We purchase very little produce in the summer, but we eat it like crazy!

So, our food for Thursday was as follows:

B: cereal and milk, peanut butter toast, fresh plums
L: homemade fried rice (click here for recipe) fresh sweet cherries, milk/tea, the last of the birthday cake
S: homemade barbecue on 100% whole wheat buns, homemade slaw, corn chips, frozen pineapple chunks, Dr.Pepper/juice
Snacks: raw peas, sliced cheese, apple wedges, graham crackers

Day 3

2009-07-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

I started the day picking peas and lettuces. Once I got the English peas shelled and the sugar snaps prepped, I froze 6 pints for future use, plus we have some to use right now. Gardening saves us a lot of money in the summer because we have so many foods fresh from our garden. Canning and freezing the extras helps us year-round.

We still haven't been to the store. We may go tomorrow, as hubby saw a sale on chips and wants those for his lunch.

Breakfast today was cereal with milk for Little Bit and green smoothies for both of us. Hubby had cereal this morning as well (he was up very early to leave for work.) I made clean-out-the-crisper smoothies, consisting of canteloupe, watermelon, frozen pineapple, frozen strawberries, a little juice and greens from our garden (romaine and cos lettuces). It was tasty, healthy, and it helped de-clutter the fridge!

In the spirit of making even more space in the fridge, we foraged for leftovers, and decided to make fried rice (which will also be leftovers) tomorrow. Today, Little Bit had half a PBJ she had saved, carrots and celery, fresh cherries and juice. I had leftover macaroni and cheese with ham, a green salad and ice water. Hubby was at work - they had a meeting today, so they provided lunch. He took some fresh cherries (from our tree!) to share with his co-workers.

Supper was all things Mexican. I made some taco 'meat' (we buy a dried soy product that is flavored - it's one of the things we get from the co-op), refried beans (again, dried, from the co-op) and then shredded lettuce from our garden. I chopped a tomato that our neighbor gave us when they went on vacation (they didn't want it going icky in their fridge), got out some shredded cheese and made some really yummy salsa from pantry items and cilantro and onions from the garden. I sliced olives for Hubby and Little Bit, put out taco shells, tostada shells and tortilla chips, and we all made different things. Hubby had a nacho plate, I had bean-lettuce-salsa-tomato tostadas and Little Bit had a meat-cheese-lettuce-olive taco.

Her bedtime snack was apple, graham cracker and milk. Through the day we nibbled at cherries, raw peas and we had an ice cream cone in the afternoon.

I'm thawing some cooked dark meat turkey to combine with some leftover pork roast - I'll add some sauce and we'll have BBQ sandwiches, homemade slaw and frozen pineapple chunks for tomorrow's supper. This is one of those times when having a menu really helps - if I didn't know what we had planned, I wouldn't know that there's not enough pork for the BBQ...and so I wouldn't know to thaw the turkey (when you combine them, add the sauce, you really would never know!).

Also, I have a quart of buttermilk in the fridge. If it's cold tomorrow, I may do some baking: biscuits, scones, who knows what else!

Day 2

2009-07-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

We started out day with FREE breakfast! Chick-Fil-A has this sign up for the month of July.

Today was the chicken biscuit - yum! We took along water and plums, and we went through the drive-through.

They were a tasty treat for fishing day.

We ate these on the way up to the reservoir to do a little fishing. I never got one bite! Hubby had a few bites, but no catches. Little Bit still doesn't have a hook on her fishin' pole. At 3 1/2 years old, she's still a little wild with her casting (though she's getting better!), and we'd prefer not to have a hook lodged in any of us.

We packed sandwiches, carrot sticks, cherries, chips and sodas from home, along with plenty of water to drink. As it turns out, we didn't eat the carrots or cherries, because our hands smelled all 'bait-y'. Yick! Once we were home, we had some in for a snack.

Supper was broiled chicken (since we didn't have any fish), some Rice-A-Roni Naturals noodles and leftover mixed veggies from the day before. The chicken pieces were in a bulk pack, and the cost per piece was 40 cents. I got the Rice-a-Roni and the Steamfresh veggies for free with coupons, so it was a very affordable meal. We had some cherries and leftover birthday cake for dessert. The cherries are home-grown, so they were free too!

I still haven't done any shopping since the challenge started - all the items listed above were items that we had on hand. Just sayin'.

Tonight I've been shelling peas. I have to pick more in the morning, then I may be freezing a few pints. I've got sugar-snap peas as well, along with a few snow peas. Little Bit and I are going to have a 'clean out the fridge' stir fry for lunch, and we'll toss the snow peas in that. Our garden saves us so much money, and we get to eat yummy, fresh and organic. More about it soon!

Day 1

2009-07-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

For some strange reason, I had it in my head that this started on the 17th of the month. I wondered why it was starting on a Friday....good thing All You sent out an email reminding us of the first day of the challenge!

No spending today - we stayed home for the most part, working on projects around the house. We had cereal and milk for breakfast, fruit midmorning. Lunch was leftover broccoli salad - I had it with a little leftover steak, all mixed into a big green salad, and hubby had it with a chicken patty sandwich. Our daughter had the rest of the leftover steak, a leftover baked potato and some green salad. Supper was smoky roasted pork, rice an mixed veggies, followed by some dobash cake for dessert.

Yesterday was hubby's birthday, so the cake, steak, potato and broccoli salad were left over from that. We do our best to utilize our leftovers the following day for lunches, so they are not wasted. If something doesn't get eaten, it usually ends up going to our chickens, who love the treats! They give us free eggs in return. (We sell enough eggs to pay for the feed, so the eggs really are free for us.)

We are also getting some things from the garden: lettuces, peas, greens and onions. We'll be eating home-grown green beans pretty soon too!

On Day 2 we are going fishing. If we catch some, that helps with the grocery bill as well. Breakfast will be at Chick-Fil-A - they are giving away FREE chicken biscuits, so we'll get those through the drive thru and take fruit and drinks from home. We'll eat that on the way to the reservoir where we're fishing. I'm also packing a picnic lunch - turkey sandwiches for the grownups, PBJ for the little one, pretzels and chips, carrot sticks, fruit and water to drink. Supper might be fish, but if not we'll broil some chicken and eat it with leftover rice/potatoes (each person can choose) and the remaining mixed vegetables from Day 1.

Couponing

2009-07-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

I used to read about those people who went to the store and got shopping carts full of stuff for $1.58, and I always thought it was amazing. I also thought it was difficult, time consuming, and somehow, maybe not completely legal. I mean, really, can you get that much stuff for little or no money?

Oh yes...yes you can. Take a look here at some of my coupon adventures. Especially, check out those photos where there are a bunch of groceries on the counter, and a little sign showing what I paid in cash for all the stuff. It's amazing what you can do!!

I'm not exactly a coupon queen - more like a coupon puppy or something (sorry, I can't use the word 'princess' in a sentence that describes anything about me). Over the course of the last couple years, I've learned how couponing works, and I'm convinced that it can save you a lot of money. There are, however, a few requirements.

1. It does take some time to find the sale/coupon combos that give you the best results. Fortunately, there are sites that help with this tremendously. My favorites are www.moneysavingmom.com and www.hotcouponworld.com (though that second one is verrrry busy and a little overwhelming for me). It takes time week to week to organize things, but you get faster with time. Plus, once you end up with a shelf full of shampoo and toothpaste that you got for free (also toilet paper and cookie mixes, fresh pineapples and buddy soap, chicken nuggets and barbecue sauce, peanut butter and yes, chocolate!), you can focus on the things you're low on, and not have to scurry around after every deal.

(psst - this stuff was all free!)

(this stuff too!)

2. Brand loyalty kinda goes out the window. Then again, I have a lot more name-brand stuff on hand than I used to. I only have a couple of things that I am very brand specific for. Most everything I will go for the best deal. If it's a new (to us) product, I will try one before I stock up, to make sure we like it, but I'm blessed with a family that is not picky, so most of the time, we're good to go. If we get something in multiple and we don't like or use it after all, we donate all the new unopened packages to the food pantry.

($3.06)

3. It's generally a lot easier in a metropolitan area. Why? Because the stores compete with one another, and there are more of them. You're more likely to have stores that double coupons. Also, bigger city, better coupons in the Sunday paper. That said, I wouldn't pass up free toilet paper (or shampoo, or all that other stuff I listed, plus more) just because I couldn't get everything else cheap or free. Many sales/promotions are national, and every little bit helps!

4. If you have a printer, you can print a lot of internet/online coupons. In a lot of cases, these seem to be the 'high dollar' ones. Also, if you have two printers (this is far more common these days than I ever realized) you have the opportunity to print even more of many of the coupons that are available. The savings easily pays for the ink and paper - really!

5. If you're willing to ask friends/neighbors/co-workers for their unwanted coupons, you can buy the 'good deals' in multiples. I know that some people buy multiple copies of the Sunday paper or they use 'clipping services' to order coupons, but we have found that for our family (just three people) we can get leftover coupons from friends, family and the break room at hubby's work. It's not always a sure thing, but so far, it's been a blessing and we've always gotten just what we need.

(nineteen cents)

I learned couponing over time. I started with one 'deal', and then did another, and then another. It would be redundant for me to go through all the how-to stuff when www.moneysavingmom.com has some really good tutorials and information, so I'll just encourage you to go there and check it out! If you're here because you're an All-You magazine reader (me too!) then you also know that magazines - particularly All-You - can be a great coupon resource as well.

Personally, I think it's a really good idea to start small, take it slow, and grow your knowledge and understanding of how couponing works over time. Rather than rush out and order coupons from someone on ebay, maybe read some couponing tutorials online. Look at the sale ads from your local grocery stores and see if you can match up a good price with a good coupon. Find out which stores double coupons, which ones do (and do not) take internet coupons, etc. Eventually, you'll be packing out bags of groceries while still keeping your hard-earned money.

It has worked for me, and for a lot of others. Why not give it a try? Or, if you're a seasoned coupon shopper, leave a comment and share your favorite tips and strategies here.

Eat out for a LOT less.

2009-07-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

It's almost always more affordable to eat at home, but you can save on eating out too! We live in a semi-rural area, so we eat at home a lot of the time. Hubby's job requires him to stay at work even on his lunch break, so he brings something from home.

Still, it's nice to go out once in a while, isn't it?

I think so too.

Today, Little Bit and I went to Chik-Fil-A. I had a sandwich and a medium soda, she had an 8 piece kids meal, and the total was $1.53. See, today was Cow Appreciation Day, complete with free food for everyone who dressed up like....yep....a cow. They provided printouts on their website, so it was super-easy, and really fun (especially for Little Bit!)

(Apologies - because it was super-errand-day, I forgot to take the camera along.)

Maybe you don't want to put on your cow suit for free food. No problem! Tomorrow, 7-11 is giving away slurpees. Right now, Arby's has a coupon for a free Roast Burger if you buy a drink...even if you buy a small one. These are just examples - there are deals like this all the time. Some restaurants have 'clubs' that you join and then you get coupons for free food. Many of them will email you a coupon for free food on or around your birthday.

Also, check out discount nights or 'kids eat free' nights to save on the restaurant bill.

For sit-down stuff, check local coupon books for discounts, or go to sites like restaurants.com for discount cards. You can save big.

There are strategies to help you save on meals out too. At sit-down establishments, lunch is generally more affordable than dinner. If you skip the appetizers, drink water, and resist dessert, you can cut the bill in half! Couple that with a discount card or coupon and you don't have to break the bank to go out once in a while.

How do you save money on going out? Leave a comment here with you strategies!

Bulk Buying

2009-07-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

If you go in our pantry you'll see a variety of items - everything from oat groats and wheat berries to tortilla chips and caramel-apple suckers. There's home-canned fruit, dried beans, SPAM (quit rolling your eyes!), baking supplies, quinoa, brown rice, tuna, tinned tomatoes and lots of dry spices. I get different things from different sources. In this post I want to talk about buying in bulk.

We belong to a food buying group that does orders for various items throughout the year. This is probably my most 'out there' source for savings, but it's also a major money saver for my family.

In the spring we have our 'big order' for items like grain, emergency supplies and dehydrated foods suitable for long-term storage. Summer gives us opportunities to purchase fruits and berries for eating, freezing, jams and jellies. In the fall we can order nuts, seeds, some grains and dried fruits, and each year it seems that new offerings are added.

At first we just ordered one or two items, but each time we order we try something new. Now I have a pretty long list of things that we order. Most of the items we order through the buying group are healthier choices too, although it is possible to order a 5-pound bag of chocolate chips! (I 'behaved' and bought the 5 pound bag of cocoa!)

That said, you don't have to order through a buying group. I've also made bulk purchases at health food stores and ethnic markets. If you can find a locally-owned health food store, ask about buying your favorite item by the bag. Often they will just charge you wholesale plus a small percentage, and compared to the bulk bin in the store price, it is often a much better price. Check those ethnic stores too, for excellent prices on the staple foods for the cultures that are represented.

Before you run out and buy 400 pounds of bulk foods, here are some things to consider:

1. Do we like it? This is the most important question. If you have never eaten brown rice, please buy a little at the store first and see if you like it enough to eat it often. A good deal on something you won't eat is not a good deal. My rule of thumb is that if we like it, if it's relatively easy to prepare, if it stores well and if it has some versatility (if I can come up with at least 3 ways to make/serve it), then it's a good candidate for bulk purchase. Store what you eat, and eat what you store.

2. Where will we put it? When I bring home our spring bulk order, there are boxes, bags and cans all over the living room. That is 'kinda cool' for about one day. Then, I want my living room back! We store our dry goods in the basement. I know people who store things under beds, in the backs of closets, behind the couch, even behind books on the bookshelf! Be creative and think outside the closet (hee hee) when you think about where to keep things, but remember, cool and dry...cool and dry.

3. What will we keep it in? You have to protect your investment from the critters, and really, even from oxygen. Bulk purchases that are not stored properly will not keep as long, and they may attract weevils, bugs, mice or other unwanted pests. I was able to get some gallon glass jars from a gentleman on freecycle www.freecycle.org so they didn't cost me anything. I have gathered food-grade buckets from bakeries for free as well. They come with icing or batter in them, so you have the job of bringing them home and cleaning them very well, but then you have a safe, stack-able container that is mouse and bug proof. (Make sure the rubbery 'gasket' is still intact in the lid for a proper seal.)

Check with local bakeries, delicatessens, restaurants and other places that buy foods in large quantity. Chances are that you'll find someone that is happy to save you some good containers that you can use for food storage.

If you plan to keep things very long term (more than one year) you will want to research items like oxygen absorbers and mylar bags. These are used to seal foodstuffs in an oxygen and light free environment so that it can be stored in case of emergency. There is lots of information about their use on the internet.

4. How much should we buy? Do you eat oats every morning or once a month? Does you family eat rice regularly, or is it a rare choice? Start with the things you already eat often, and then expand from there. If you are a small family (like us), sometimes the minimum bulk order is too big. Look for a family that would be interested in splitting a bulk item with you. You can both benefit from the savings that way without the worry of waste.

5. Is it really a good deal? I can buy sugar in bulk - in a great big 50 pound bag. However, if I watch the sales, I can stock up on sugar at Easter or Christmas for a much better price than the bulk price. Don't assume that the big bag is always the best deal. This is one of those places where a little math can save you buckets of money.

Buckets.

Of Money.

Seriously!

So, that's one strategy. If it is something you eat often, buy it in bulk for a lower cost per serving. Make sense? Leave a comment with your thoughts and questions!

How We Do It At Our House

2009-07-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

How do you like this layout? I thought that plenty of green would be appropriate to a blog that is all about saving money.

We have a couple of weeks before the All You Grocery Challenge begins, so I thought I'd share some information about how we shop (and save) in our home. To tell you the truth, I could go through the entire challenge without spending a penny and we would eat quite well, but I want to help others by sharing the strategies we use to save. So my plan is to do exactly what I have been doing all along. I hope you are able to learn some tips that will save you some hard-earned money too!

In our home, we have an envelope system in place for spending and keeping within our budget. It's been around for years, most recently promoted by Dave Ramsey. Since envelopes don't hold up very well, I went to Goodwill and bought a lovely red leather wallet and used a sharpie to label the categories I carry with me: Groceries, Clothing, and our daughter's spending money.

At the beginning of the month, we start with $140 for 'Groceries'. At our house, that includes food, household items (cleaning supplies, paper toweling, etc.) and toiletries (toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, etc.). There are three of us - two adults and a little girl who is almost four years old.

Most months we have money left over! We eat a wide variety of foods including fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, meats, beans, frozen items, and some canned foods as well.

We use several strategies to keep our costs down. We buy some items in bulk from a food co-op. When something is on sale, we stock up. We shop in supermarkets, ethnic stores, superstores - a little bit of everything. We raise a garden, and we keep a few hens. I use coupons when it makes sense to use them. Often, coupons allow me to get things free or nearly free. Most of the time we plan a menu (lately I've been a slacker in that department), and I do a little bit of Once-a-Month cooking. I'll go into each of these in more detail between now and the beginning of the challenge.

Do you have a budget? What are your strategies? I also want to know what YOU want to know? Got a question? Leave a comment and I'll do my best to get you answers!

Hello, All!

2009-06-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my play-by-play of the All You Magazine 2009 All You Grocery Challenge! Whether you linked through my 'regular' blog or from the All You site, I'm happy to have you here!

The challenge begins on July 13, 2009, so I'll spend some time between now and then 'cuting things up' around here. I plan to share my shopping strageties, menus, recipes and more! I hope you will find information that helps you save as well.

Back soon with more, but in the mean time, feel free to leave a little note!