The Frugal Mom's Kitchen

Cooking the Deals: Aug. 4 - 10

2011-08-03T22:15:00.000-05:00

A light week deal-wise, perfect for eating from the pantry and freezer! Jewel: sweet corn 3 for $.99, Oscar Mayer lunchmeat 2 for $6, Mountain High yogurt quart $2.50, Essential Everyday cereal $1.99, Mrs. T's Pierogies $3.49 buy one get one free, Brownberry bread $4.29 buy one get one free, Cinnabon or Sun Maid breakfast bread $1.69, Hormel Always Tender pork spareribs $1.99 lb, Purdue 93%

Cooking the Deals: July 28-Aug. 3

2011-07-30T21:33:00.001-05:00

Cooking the deals is taking the week off in preparation for a freezer/pantry challenge month. There is too much food in this house!

Cooking the Deals July 21-27

2011-07-22T21:21:00.000-05:00

A decent week for chicken, steak, and ribs. A great week to grill and keep the heat down in your kitchen. Jewel: peaches or nectarines $.99 lb, Perdue fresh chicken 33% off, Lay’s chips buy one get one free, cherries $2.99 lb, kiwis $.50, Sara Lee turkey or chicken breast $2.99 ½ lb, Dannon yogurt multipacks $2, Lunchables $2.50, Mott’s applesauce $3, Edy’s $3.50, Haagen Dazs $3.50,

Cooking the Deals: July 14 - July 21

2011-07-15T20:20:00.000-05:00

Not a bad week! Time to stock up on meat if you had to dump your fridge and freezer after the power outage. Jewel: blueberries $1.48 pint, $.28 head green cabbage, beef sirloin tip steak or roast $4.49 lb, Hormel pork tenderloin $4.99 lb, sweet potatoes $.88 lb, Blue Bunny ice cream $3, General Mills cereals $2.50 each buy 4 get $2 back + free gallon milk coupon, Arnold Italian bread $1.79,

Peanut Butter Banana Split Sandwiches

2011-07-11T08:00:00.003-05:00

adapted from Joe's Farm Grill 2 pieces bread handful mini chocolate chips 1.5 Tbsp peanut butter ⅓ banana, sliced 2 strawberries, sliced a few pieces of diced pineapple if you have it Toast bread, coat both sides with peanut butter, then add banana and strawberry slices (and pineapple if you had it) and sprinkle with chocolate chips. These sandwiches have been a hit with my 3-year-old. If

Cooking the Deals: July 7 - July 13

2011-07-07T22:49:00.000-05:00

This is a pretty slow week for deals aside from beautiful summer produce. Slow sales weeks don’t have to mean paying more for groceries. Slow weeks are a great opportunity to dig into your stockpile and use things up. Jewel: green asparagus ($1.99 lb), Northwest cherries ($1.99 lb), Perdue roaster chicken or Jewel chicken, thighs or drumstricks ($.99 lb), Oscar Mayer bacon $3.99 (3 day

Cooking the Deals: June 30 - July 5

2011-07-01T23:23:00.000-05:00

Jewel: soda ($8 for 4 12-packs), watermelon ($2.98), baked beans ($1.67), corn on the cob ($.22 each), Oscar Mayer hot dogs ($.99 if you buy 10 participating items), brownie mix ($.49 if you buy 10), Nature Valley granola bars ($2.50 each, $7 off in Catalinas if you buy 4) Dominicks: corn on the cob ($.17 each), Bush’s baked beans ($1.67), Breyer’s ice cream ($2.49), watermelon ($2.49)

Cooking the Deals: June 23-29

2011-06-24T20:39:00.000-05:00

Beautiful produce deals this week! Jewel: bratwurst ($1.99 lb), green seedless grapes ($.99 lb), asparagus ($1.99 lb), Dannon yogurt ($2 each minus coupons + free milk if you buy 4), Brownberry bread (buy one get one free), Athenos Greek yogurt ($1 - coupons) Dominicks: Fresh Express salads ($.99), peaches ($.99 lb), red and green seedless grapes ($.99), Beef Whole Flat Bottom Round (

Cooking the Deals: June 16-22

2011-06-17T12:51:00.001-05:00

Great deals this week on produce and meat! Click on titles to link straight to the recipes. fruit and vegetables: strawberries, corn on the cob, canteloupe, tomatoes, Braeburn apples meat: whole chicken, pork county style bone-in ribs snacks: Blue Bunny ice cream, Juicy Juice juice boxes Corn on the cob: Corn chowder Grilled corn on the cob Ina Garten’s corn muffins Elote Whole chicken: beer

Jewel Shopping: Freebies, Sales, and Catalinas = $$ Savings

2011-06-13T18:39:00.003-05:00

This week Jewel is running a promo: buy 5 Oscar Mayer items and get $5 off. Right now there's also a secondary Catalina on lunchmeat, but I took a look and decided to skip the Catalina. Instead, I bought:1 Deli Fresh Combo (Kraft First Taste free coupon)1 Deli Creations (Kraft First Taste free coupon)1 turkey bacon ($2.99 - $.75 coupon= $2.24)2 Lunchables with fruit ($2.79 x2=$5.58 - 2x $1

Cooking the Deals: June 9-15

2011-06-09T18:34:00.004-05:00

This week's deals include some wonderful fruits. fruit and vegetables: raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, canned veggiesprepared foods: macaroni and cheese, pierogies, canned chili, taco seasoningmeat: ground beef, lunchmeat, turkey bacon, split chicken breasts or thighssnacks: yogurt, brownie mix, cake mix, fruit snacks, and Capri-SunFruit: ($.99 - 3/$5)fruit saladAlton Brown’s

Did You Know? Sam's Club

2011-06-09T10:09:00.001-05:00

Did you know that you can check prices on many items at Sam's Club through their website? It doesn't work for everything (bakery and most meat items especially), but it's a great tool for comparing prices of bulk staples like flour, frozen items like chicken breasts, and especially refrigerated items like eggs and milk.Just go to their website, type the item you're looking for in the search

Cooking the Deals: June 2-8

2011-06-02T08:21:00.002-05:00

After last week’s grilling bonanza and with the summer’s heat suddenly upon us, you may be looking at your usual menus and want something new. Cooking in the summer definitely has its blessings, with a bounty of in-season produce at peak flavor and rock-bottom prices. It can also be challenging to cook meals that won’t leave your kitchen as hot as your oven. Both an outdoor grill and a

April Groceries: Week 4

2010-05-04T17:32:00.001-05:00

Target was my downfall this week. We are still well under budget, but April was our highest month all year. The main culprits were diapers and ice cream. Aldi: 10 lb potatoes, 2 lb bananas, 2 tubes biscuits, 2 boxes macaroni and cheese, gallon of milk Total: $7.63 Target: 7th Generation dish soap, Off Clip-on, 4AA lithium batteries, 2 lb Italian sausage, can of black beans, box of Del Monte

April Groceries: Week 3

2010-04-22T16:43:00.000-05:00

Week 3 brought more shopping trips, but still an overall low bill. I've gotten so spoiled having a large stash to work through, but it's also a bit daunting seeing that I really need to use up so much food. This week we ate lemon-pepper chicken breasts with rice and peas, braised and sauced barbecue pork ribs, homemade macaroni and cheese, and pizza with ham and pineapple. Dominicks: 2 bags of

How Accurate Is "You Saved $$$"?

2010-04-22T10:03:00.000-05:00

I always post the "you saved $xx.xx" printed on my receipt (although I add the value of any gift cards used as well), but what does this number really mean? Often, it means next to nothing. This week, I bought two bottles of V-8 Fusion juice at Dominick's. The sale price was $2.99, with an additional $.50 off coupon if you spent $10 total. I also had a manufacturer's coupon for $1 off. That made

April Groceries: Weeks 1 and 2

2010-04-16T20:51:00.000-05:00

With Easter and everything going on, I missed posting Week 1! Obviously we ate a lot of ham that week. I also tried my hand at freezer cooking twice. I made two batches of chicken pot pie and froze both, then I made two pans of lasagna. We ate one (amazing) and froze one. For those interested, Aldi carries 2 gallon freezer bags, which are great for freezing 9x13 pans of food. Week 1: Aldi:

March Groceries: Week 4

2010-04-06T09:30:00.000-05:00

March finished up with a trip to Sam's Club, which are never cheap. Our grocery spending has gone down with fewer trips to this mega-store. It's not because prices are high, but because each item ends up being so large. Aldi: cantaloupe, 5 lb bananas, 3 pounds butter, pie crust, jumbo biscuits, 3 tubs of ricotta, 2 gallons of milk, 2 bags of peanut puffs, confetti cake mix, 2 boxes macaroni and

March Groceries: Week 3

2010-03-22T19:37:00.000-05:00

Another week under budget, though not as much as before. I bought diapers and stocked up on some things. We ate pizza, corned beef at a friend's house, leftover chicken, pancakes, and "game food" (bagel dogs, mac and cheese bites, tater tots). Target: 2 jumbo packs of Up and Up diapers, 5 lb red potatoes, 2 dozen eggs, moisturizer, deoderant, jolly rancher gummis (for Easter basket), 1 pack

March Groceries: Week 2

2010-03-18T12:51:00.000-05:00

Yet another light week of shopping here, and another week under budget. We ate pizza, baked chicken with rice and peas, chili, and homemade chicken pot pie. Target: AAA batteries, granola bars, vegetable bouillon, tortillas, dry kidney beans, canned black beans, Banquet chicken pot pie, frozen breakfast sausage, DiGiorno 200-calorie pizza (free), kid's toothbrush, toilet paper, birthday card

March Groceries: Week 1

2010-03-11T11:20:00.000-06:00

Another light shopping week here, well under budget. I am quite serious about reducing some of our stash of items. I deliberately did not shop very good Catalina deals this week because I don't have anywhere to put it all. Also, frankly, I haven't been feeling well for awhile and expect to continue feeling poorly for a while longer, which makes grocery shopping and cooking less appealing. For

February Groceries: Week 4

2010-03-02T21:09:00.000-06:00

Well, this is a terrible cop-out, but I can't find one of my receipts from this week! I went to Target twice this week and can't find the larger of the two receipts. I know I bought a roast because I made beef barley soup, but other than that I'm drawing a blank. Thankfully, mint.com tells me that I spent $36.43 this week, and the receipt I can find shows that I saved $5.98. February Total:

February Groceries: Week 3

2010-02-23T09:59:00.000-06:00

Well, no trouble staying under budget this week! We ate leftover pizza, smoked turkey noodle soup (made with stock I made weeks ago and froze), and homemade bacon macaroni and cheese. My wonderful husband also made me a fudge truffle cheesecake for my birthday, using ingredients we already had in the house. This week we only shopped twice, both times at Aldi. Once was for milk and ingredients

February Groceries: Week 2

2010-02-18T10:26:00.000-06:00

This is a bit late due to celebrating my birthday this week. We went a bit over budget as we had friends over for pizza, but that should be easy to make up this week. For dinners, we ate a lot of cider pork stew, some leftover pot roast, and pizza! Target: 2 bottles toilet bowl cleaner, 8 8oz cans tomato sauce, bottle of apple cider vinegar, 1.5 lb sweet potato, 2 gallons of milk, half gallon of

A Bad Day in the Frugal Kitchen

2010-02-10T10:57:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was just one of those days where just about everything went wrong. It happens, and when it does, it's important not to get discouraged. (I mean, seriously, when I was about 12 I mistook powdered sugar for flour and ruined a whole batch of stew.) My first mistake was misreading a new recipe and putting in a Tablespoon of salt instead of a teaspoon. Luckily the dough (honey oatmeal bread

February Groceries: Week 1

2010-02-10T10:46:00.000-06:00

This is a bit late due to my son's ear infection, a foot of snow on the ground, and getting used to my new computer. (Refurbished Dell laptop, highly recommended.) Aldi: can of evaporated milk, buttermilk biscuits, 3 lb braeburn apples, box of battered fish fillets, box of toasted ravioli, dozen eggs, gallon of milk, 5 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, box of chocolate milk cookies Total: $14.82

January Groceries: Totals

2010-02-04T16:55:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the purchase of two pizzas in week 5, our total for the month was $203.56, with a total savings of $176.88. This is definitely the lowest month since I started tracking, but it also made me realize that we have so much stocked up that I can and should try to reduce our monthly budget down to $350. Because I do include diapers and some toiletries, my totals will fluctuate a lot. For

January Groceries: Week 4

2010-01-29T21:10:00.001-06:00

Despite my best efforts, there were things we ran out of or were way too good a deal to pass up. As a result, we spent $87.29 this week. Of that, $42.95 was food. Dominicks: 2 pints of gingerbread Coffee-Mate (clearance + coupon = free), 4 bags Goldfish ($.88), 6 boxes fruit snacks ($.10 each after sale, coupon, and Catalina), 11 lb boneless pork sirloin chops ($.99 lb), 2 boxes of pasta (

Pantry Challenge: Day 29 update

2010-01-29T19:42:00.000-06:00

Well, my $170 budget is busted. I ended up buying diapers, a big bag of coffee, and disposable razor cartridges, and suddenly I'd spent $89 this week, almost as much as the rest of the month combined! We are still under the original $200 budget I set for this month, though. Once the full 31 days is over, I'm going to break down our spending by category. I have a feeling that our actual food

Clementine-Blueberry Muffins

2010-01-28T10:18:00.000-06:00

Another way to use up both marmalade and slightly soft, old clementines is to make muffins. I started with this recipe, but I made use of my clementine bounty to boost the flavor. The result is about 24 flavorful, very moist muffins.Do not make mini-muffins with this recipe, as the blueberries tend to take over a mini-muffin and the muffins won't keep their shape. 1 cup uncooked oatmeal1 cup

Clementine Pork Chops

2010-01-28T09:57:00.000-06:00

The surplus of clementines in our house this month has led to some interesting experiments. Clementine marmalade is a bit sticky but very tasty. Clementine pork chops are even better. I started with this recipe, then revised it to use my pre-made marmalade. If you don't have any marmalade ready, the original recipe essentially has you make it in the crockpot before starting the pork. If you plan

Frugal Finds and Having "Enough"

2010-01-26T17:39:00.000-06:00

Even in the midst of the Pantry Challenge, this week I bought 10 lb of boneless pork sirloin chops ($.99 a lb) and 6 boxes of fruit snacks ($.10 each after sale, coupons, and Catalina). Today I planned to go to another store and stock up on $.99 Campbell's Chunky soup ($.74 each after coupons). Then I took a good hard look at our pantry. We have at least 15 cans of soup left. Do we really need

Pantry Challenge: Day 22

2010-01-22T13:26:00.000-06:00

After three weeks, we have spent $106.58 of our $200 budget. Part of this is due to using a $30 Dominick's gift card, but most of it is simply eating what we have. What did we eat this week? Breakfast: toast, eggs, bacon, cereal, oatmeal, and blueberry-clementine muffins Lunch: leftovers, canned soup Dinner: leftover clementine pork chops, macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, pasta e fagiole (from the

January Groceries: Week 3

2010-01-22T13:02:00.001-06:00

This week came close to tying my lowest week total ever. (That week, the third week of December, I spent $11.80.) This week came in at $14.12. Our budget for the week was $50 as part of the Pantry Cooking Challenge. Target: bag of frozen peas, bottle of vitamins, three bunches of broccoli, 1 lb elbow macaroni, 2 4-packs of Yo-Plus yogurt Total: $11.38 Savings: $5.73 Dominicks: 3-pack of

Swagbucks

2010-01-15T15:13:00.001-06:00

As I've mentioned before, Swagbucks is a site where you earn points for conducting Internet searches. Since I joined in September, I've cashed out $20 in Amazon gift cards and $5 in Alice.com gift cards. Currently I have points worth another $10 in gift cards sitting in my account. Why have I left them there? You can only cash in your gift cards on the 15th and 30th of each month. Last month,

Pantry Challenge: Day 15

2010-01-15T13:31:00.000-06:00

When I started the pantry challenge, I had three goals. The biggest goal was to use up some of our pantry stockpile, which had begun to take over the house. After two weeks, we've hardly made a dent. There are some items we're totally out of (breakfast bars) that I considered buying after finding a deal for $.75 a box this week, but the truth is that homemade mini-muffins are healthier and I

January Groceries: Week 2

2010-01-15T13:10:00.000-06:00

Due to the Pantry Challenge and slight overspending on my part last week, this week's budget was $31.84. I originally overspent this as well. The culprit? Diapers for daycare. However, I was with the boy at Target and in a hurry, so I bought the old size 4s and will be returning them. With the diapers, I spent $35.19. Over, but not by much. Without, I spent $24.30. What did we buy? Target: 64

Pantry Challenge: Clean Out Your Kitchen, Not Just Your Pantry

2010-01-09T17:59:00.000-06:00

Do you ever look through old cookbooks or browser bookmarks and notice that some old favorites have fallen by the wayside? The way we cook changes over the years, but our kitchens often don't. We move in, set up our cupboards and shelves, and that's how they stay. The breadmaker you were sure you'd use takes up space in a cupboard, the toaster you use twice a month gets dusty on the counter, and

Pantry Challenge: Week 1 Update

2010-01-07T13:19:00.003-06:00

As I detailed in my Week 1 Grocery post, we had a big FAIL here for grocery spending, overspending our $50 budget by $18.16. That leaves me with $31.84 for this week. My plan is to keep to that. I just bought milk, we have eggs, and barring unforeseen issues all we need this week is coffee, frozen peas, and Target diapers. Between Target and Sam's, that should run me $20. Why did I overspend?

January Groceries: Week 1

2010-01-07T11:54:00.000-06:00

Because of the Pantry Challenge, this week's budget was $50. I spent $68, so that was a big FAIL. The biggest culprit was buying a $23 case of diapers. If you don't factor that in, I was under budget. We had diapers in the house, so why did I buy more? I've been having trouble getting the boy's diapers tight enough, and it's time to face the music that he isn't going to be fully trained anytime

Chicken Pot Pie

2010-01-04T12:56:00.000-06:00

There are a million different recipes for chicken pot pie out there. What it boils down to is: chicken, veggies, a creamy sauce to tie it all together, and a dough topping. Pot pies are a great way to use up leftover cooked meats and veggies. Prep time: about 30 minutes Cooking time: 15-20 minutes 6 potatoes (3 large, 3 small) 1 stalk of celery 2 carrots 1 cup frozen peas 1

Pantry Challenge: Day 4

2010-01-04T12:20:00.001-06:00

Well, I'm already over budget for the week thanks to irresistible sales and a clearance on diapers. I'm only over $7, so I'm just going to stay out of the stores until Friday, then assess where we're at. What have we been eating? So far we had two nights of pizza (one $5 take-n-bake at Dominick's on sale) and one night of chicken pot pie. We'll have the pot pie again tonight.

Why I'm Doing the Freezer/Pantry Cooking Challenge

2010-01-02T14:46:00.001-06:00

In the last five months, I've found and taken advantage of a lot of good deals. But my house is not big, I have no basement, and the stockpile is taking over. Here's my stockpile. It's not pretty. This is my "pantry," a Rubbermaid cabinet purchased years ago when we lived in a garden apartment near campus. And that stuff down next to it? That's baking supplies, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

January Challenge: Eating from the Pantry and Freezer

2010-01-01T18:57:00.004-06:00

The deal-seeking and coupon-cutting I've done the last few months has left us with food bursting out of our kitchen and currently taking up space in our playroom and dining room. In addition, both our freezer and full-size stand-up freezer are full. I defrosted the stand-up in November and took an inventory, which helps a lot. As a result, our family is joining Money Saving Mom and Fish Mama's

2009 Year-End Review

2010-01-01T17:22:00.001-06:00

During the last four months of the year, I've tracked every grocery purchase I made. It started out as a challenge to reduce my spending, as I'd realized that my $400 budget had been exceeded every month for several months, often by $100+. This comes in part from sharing shopping duties with my husband and in part with not realizing how much I was really spending. Part of the confusion occurs

December Groceries: Week 5

2010-01-01T13:41:00.000-06:00

In the three days of Week 5, I stocked up a bit for my contributions to a New Year's Eve party as well as taking advantage of some combining expiring coupons with sales. I received a new coupon organizer for Christmas, so I should have less trouble with missing or forgotten coupons. (I was using a 3X5 photo album, not the best system.) Aldi: gallon of milk, bottle of spray whiped cream, 2 boxes

December Groceries: Week 4

2009-12-29T11:04:00.000-06:00

Week 4 brought us Christmas. In our house, we ate pasta and beans with ham hocks (aka modified pasta fagiole) then ate a lot of Christmas ham. For Christmas morning breakfast, we ate fauxnuts (donuts made from biscuit dough) and bacon. Yes, it was highly porky holiday. We also indulged a little at Trader Joe's since we were nearby one and only get there a few times a year. Target: jumbo pack of

Last Minute Hostess Gift: Peppermint Bark

2009-12-24T17:02:00.000-06:00

Exchanging gifts with neighbors or coworkers and ran out of cookies? Make a batch of peppermint bark. It takes very little time and doesn't cost much. Ingredients: 8 oz. chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk) 6 oz. white chocolate chips 1/2 tsp peppermint extract red food coloring (optional) crushed candy canes (optional) Or use: 4 blocks of chocolate bark and 3 blocks of almond bark Melt the

December Groceries: Week 3

2009-12-23T08:15:00.000-06:00

Due to some very welcome but time-consuming freelance work, I've neglected both posting and shopping. I have not neglected baking, and will have some easy last-minute recipes for those folks you've forgotten about or need to bring a hostess gift. In Week 3 I went to the store once. We ate turkey soup, cranberry pork roast, pizza, and we went out to eat at Famous Dave's once. Aldi: 2 lb bag

December Groceries: Week 2

2009-12-14T21:19:00.001-06:00

Finally, a week well under budget! This week we ate crockpot cranberry pork with rice and veggies, meatballs in gravy with latkes, and pizza. We also had one night out at my husband's company holiday party. I also tried out Alice.com. More on that later. Alice: 100 oz All Free and Clear, 20 ct box Stash lemon ginger tea, 100 ct pack of Pampers Kandoo flushable wipes Total: $4.75 Saved: $7.50 (

December Groceries: Week 1

2009-12-08T19:39:00.000-06:00

Well, we had two big budget busters this week: snacks for daycare and diapers. Snacks follow a rough schedule, but I'm never sure what they'll ask for. Sometimes I have almost everything they ask for, and other times I have nothing. This time I had a jar of applesauce, but had to buy Fritos, deli-sliced cheddar, 2 bottles of juice, and 1 box of graham crackers (I bought cinnamon ones last week).

November Groceries: Week 4

2009-12-02T07:52:00.001-06:00

Better late than never! I couldn't find one of my receipts until this morning, hence the lack of update. In Week 4, I spent far more than I expected to, despite eating leftovers from Thanksgiving most of the week. This week's budget was sunk by little extras for Thanksgiving (sparkling grape juice, cinnamon rolls), baking supplies for Christmas cookies, and stocking stuffers. Dominicks: cupcake

Thanksgiving Recap

2009-11-28T12:27:00.000-06:00

We served our big meal here last night. Almost everything went according to plan. What didn't? I didn't end up making the pumpkin cheesecake because we had leftover apple pie bites to bring home and our guests brought over pecan pie. I'll save that for another occasion. My gravy was not just lumpy but totally overcooked. Since I don't usually have such a large turkey, I didn't remember that the

Thanksgiving: Caramel Apple Pie Bites

2009-11-25T15:36:00.000-06:00

I love apple pie, but I'll admit it, my crusts are nothing to write home about. This year I happened to notice a great deal on puff pastry at Aldi ($2.99 per package), so I jumped on it. Each package will create 18 bites, a good amount to bring to a party. For the puff pastry shells: Remove one package puff pastry from the freezer. Allow to defrost at room temperature, about half an hour.

Thanksgiving: Cranberry Sauce

2009-11-25T14:35:00.000-06:00

I'll admit it. I have a soft spot for the canned cranberry sauce. The shape of the can, the way it wiggled, the way you can slice it up easily.... it brings back memories. And in fact I bought a can this year. But I also found real cranberries at $.89 a bag and couldn't resist those either. Cranberry sauce is one of those magical dishes that looks impressive but couldn't be easier to make from

Thanksgiving Prep: Make-Ahead Dishes

2009-11-25T14:28:00.000-06:00

If you're cooking a big meal this weekend, you know there's a lot to be done. The trick is to do as much now as you can so you can actually enjoy the day and interact with your guests. What can you do now? Start with mashed potatoes. Did you know you can make these ahead? At the very least, you can peel, cut, and boil them ahead. Pot in the fridge and warm up tomorrow, then mash and add milk

November Groceries: Week 3

2009-11-22T17:33:00.001-06:00

In week 3, I was right under our $100 budget. The big budget busters weren't Thanksgiving items. They were mailing envelopes, Kleenex, and beer! Aldi: 2 packages puff pastry sheets, jar of garlic powder, baking sprinkles, iodized salt, gallon of milk, pancake syrup, baking soda, sweet pickles, cornbread crackers, pecan halves, chocolate coins, and 2 bags of cranberries Total: $22.00 Dominick's:

Thanksgiving: Shopping Done!

2009-11-20T18:08:00.001-06:00

Waiting to do your Thanksgiving shopping? Here's a tip. Shop for a turkey early in the day, when the cooler is still full and you have better options. Shopping at 4:30 at Jewel today left me with two options: a 12 lb bird I couldn't use a coupon on, or a 19+ lb bird that would feed our family for a week and still make a big pot of soup. My shopping is done, and it didn't go too badly aside from

Thanksgiving: Planning Your Shopping

2009-11-18T09:10:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving is now just one week away. You've got your shopping list ready. Now what? In my area, and probably yours, grocery sales change on Thursdays. I get the ads in my mailbox on Tuesday or Wednesday. If you don't normally get the ads, you can find your store's sales flyer on its website. Today my sales flyers came in the mail. I pulled out Sunday's Target ad and compared all the prices

Thanksgiving: Shopping List

2009-11-16T09:18:00.001-06:00

One of the best tools in the frugal grocery shopper's arsenal is a list. A list keeps you from wandering the store aimlessly, picking up a bunch of things that sound good but ultimately don't make a meal. Let's recap what I'm making and what I have on hand. The menu is: Breakfast: cinnamon rolls and wassail Snacks: cheese, crackers, pickles, olives, carrot sticks Dinner: brined turkey, gravy,

Thanksgiving: The Menu

2009-11-15T15:33:00.000-06:00

With Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, now is the time to plan your menu and write up a shopping list. Many stores are already discounting Thanksgiving staples, and it's a good idea to take stock now of what you need. (There's no better way to end up without pie than to wait until the day before Thanksgiving to shop for canned pumpkin!) Here's my menu for the big day: Breakfast: Cinnamon

November Groceries: Week 2

2009-11-15T14:36:00.000-06:00

This was a pretty light shopping week. I only ran the Jewel Catalina deal one more time, giving me a grand total of six trips during the sale. I ended up saving about $170 and paying about $37. Not exactly blackbelt level frugal, but fabulous for me considering I messed up the deal once. I also still have $25 in Catalinas to use in the next 10 days. Those will probably go toward Thanksgiving meal

November Groceries: Week 1

2009-11-07T22:54:00.000-06:00

This was kind of a nutty week because there's a big Catalina deal going on at Jewel. I went a little overbudget this week, but I bought a ridiculous amount of food. Aldi: 2 boxes of cornbread crackers, 2 lb brown sugar, Kleenex, 1 qt half and half, peach candy, candy corn, 2 cans mini ravioli, 2 cans of pineapple, 1 jar of honey, 1 jar of mustard, 2 canisters of cooking spray with flour, chili

Freezer Cooking Day; Baking Recap

2009-11-04T22:58:00.001-06:00

After the 18-hour rest in the refrigerator suggested in the recipe, I divided the potato bread dough into one medium and one large loaf pan, then let them rise. Rather than just leaving them in the kitchen, I boiled some water and put the cup of water and both loaf pans into the microwave for two hours. (Not on, of course!) That produced a good rise, but I also reheated the water and popped the

Quick & Easy Dinner: Sausage Skillet

2009-11-04T20:20:00.001-06:00

In all the hubbub yesterday with cooking and waiting for the furnace to be repaired, I totally failed to consider what we would eat for dinner tonight. Never fear! I generally have some items on hand for quick meals. Tonight I went with a simple sausage skillet that comes together in about 20 minutes. 1.5 cups of white rice 3 cups vegetable broth 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1

Freezer Cooking Day: Baking Time

2009-11-04T08:10:00.000-06:00

Well, yesterday I set out to bake two items: banana bread and potato bread. With the banana bread I wanted to use up 5 bananas in my freezer and some yogurt that was about to expire, so I searched All Recipes and found this recipe. I doubled the recipe to make one large loaf and some mini-muffins. I also altered it in several ways, but the loaf fell after it came out of the oven, so I think it

Easy Meat Pasta Sauce

2009-11-03T15:32:00.003-06:00

We love good meat sauce at our house, but jarred pasta sauces are often too sweet (and not meaty enough) for my taste. As long as you have a little time or a crockpot, meat sauce is a snap to make at home. Easy Meat Sauce 1.5-2 lb ground beef (93% lean is best, but 80% is fine) 2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce 1 6 oz. can tomato paste 2 tsp garlic powder (or 2 cloves of garlic, minced) 1.5 tsp onion

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Ice Cream

2009-11-03T12:49:00.002-06:00

You may not be thinking about ice cream in November, but a scoop of this ice cream really takes an apple crumble or slice of pumpkin pie to the next level. Brown Sugar Cinnamon Ice Cream 2 cup half and half 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla (preferably vanilla paste) 1.5 tsp good quality cinnamon Mix together half and half and heavy cream in a saucepan. Whisk in sugar, vanilla,

Freezer Cooking Day

2009-11-03T09:13:00.005-06:00

While I'm not going to be as productive as others, today I'm joining Money Saving Mom and Life as Mom's Freezer Cooking Day. The plan is to at least get started on: - double batch of banana bread - cinnamon vanilla ice cream - batch of meat marinara sauce - 2 loaves potato bread I'd hoped to roast two pumpkins as well, but our furnace is being repaired, so I don't think I'll get to that today.

October Groceries: Week 4

2009-11-02T21:05:00.001-06:00

Well, October's grand total was a lot higher than September. Week 4 brought, once again, too many trips to Target, but I also had the opportunity to stock up on quality spices. Dominicks:6.8 lb roaster chicken, large cheese pizza Total: $13.10 Savings: $8.95 Target: 1 jumbo pack Pampers, Palmolive dish soap, 1 bag 100 Grand fun-size bars, jumbo bottle of ketchup, 2 cans Campbells Cars soup, 1

Easy Halloween Cookies: Two Ways

2009-10-25T17:10:00.001-05:00

Do you want to make some festive Halloween cookies without cutting anything out or spending much time? These very different cookies start with one batch of dough. The total recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies depending on how small you make them. One batch of dough, about 10-15 minutes of effort, and you'll have two kinds of cookies to show for it: spiced pumpkin chip cookies with sprinkles and

Swagbucks

2009-10-24T11:41:00.001-05:00

You have have noticed that along with a new template (I'm still tweaking it), there is now a Swagbucks widget in my side column. So what is Swagbucks? It's a company that pays you to use their search engine. I joined about two months ago, when they launched their toolbar. Lots of bloggers plug Swagbucks, especially on Fridays, "Mega Swagbucks Day." Bloggers with large audiences often have quite

Saturday Links: Tips and Tricks from Some of My Favorite Blogs

2009-10-24T10:53:00.001-05:00

Money Saving Mom shared this guest post about maximizing your time and money by freezing meals ahead. Maximize Your Freezer's Potential and Minimize Freezer Burn Wise Bread's Linsey Knerl posted some great tips for reducing your grocery bill. 101 Ways to Take a Bite Out of Your Food Budget Melissa at Saving Cents With Sense posted these super handy tips for coupon printing problems. These have

Easy Chicken Soup

2009-10-23T14:16:00.001-05:00

Chicken soup is one of those meals that seems like it might be complicated, but it definitely doesn't have to be. Apparently Ina Garten's recipe requires hours of work, tons of ingredients, and a 14-20 quart stockpot. If you have that, then great! I don't, but I can still make a good pot of soup with minimal effort. The first step is making the stock. Stock is made by cooking meat with the

October Groceries: Week 3

2009-10-21T21:42:00.003-05:00

We've been coping with various colds and sickness here, so we've been eating a lot of homemade chicken noodle soup! This week I managed to take advantage of some pretty good Catalina deals at Jewel. (Catalina deals are when the register prints a coupon for money off your next purchase. You earn Catalinas by buying a certain number of a type of product.) This week Jewel was offering $10 off

Tips for Using Coupons

2009-10-16T13:38:00.003-05:00

Once you've found your coupons, you're home free, right? Not so fast. First, you need to organize them in such a way that you remember to use them. There are all sorts of different systems. See the links in my left column for some great ideas from various bloggers. Personally, I use a small photo album, using each window for a particular category of coupons.I also keep booklets I've gotten

October Groceries: Week 2

2009-10-14T20:44:00.002-05:00

Week 2 was a much bigger success. I did break my promise not to go to Target, but I only bought more apple juice. So yes, I look like a crazy lady because now I have 10 bottles of apple juice. However, daycare always asks for apple juice, Owen likes it, and I'll use some of it for the wassail I make for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Each bottle saved me at least $.50 and I was able to buy the

Update on Pediasure Rebate

2009-10-13T13:55:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm still not happy. Over a week after I submitted my problem, I just got a response saying that according to their records the check cleared the bank, and that I need to have the bank check the routing numbers. So I called my bank. They say that the bank that issued the check returned as a duplicate presentment. However they are reversing the fee. Yay. But now I have to go back to the

Cheap, Filling Meals

2009-10-11T11:38:00.002-05:00

So what did we eat last month? I actually didn't make many changes to our usual routine. The only difference was that, for the most part, I used the protein sources we already had at home. Among last month's dinner dishes were: pizza - We ate 4 take n' bake pizzas. They cost $6 at Dominick's, and I jazz them up with olives and extra cheese or pineapple, ham, and cheese. Each pizza usually

October Groceries: Week 1

2009-10-07T16:51:00.003-05:00

This week proves the point: the more you shop, the more you spend. Our family shopped a staggering 10 times this week. Part of that was chasing deals. I ran the Motts apple juice and applesauce deal at Target (buy 5 at $1.75, get a $5 gift card) twice, once for juice and once for applesauce. I was able to get natural, no-sugar-added products in both cases, and beat my best price in both cases.I

Toddler Tip: Cereal with Yogurt

2009-10-06T16:34:00.000-05:00

My son loves to eat cereal, especially his current favorite, Cocoa Krispies. (Nope, I'm not particularly proud of that, but it makes him happy.) But he makes a horrible mess eating it since his spoon skills are still more enthusiastic than accurate. One morning, I thought, hey I wonder if he'll eat the cereal with yogurt instead of milk? So I popped in 3 toddler spoonfuls of plain yogurt and

Pediasure Rebate Problems

2009-10-05T11:16:00.001-05:00

I've sent in four mail-in rebates in the past two months: try Pediasure free Home Depot $5 off paint (I repainted our living room) $10 off Kellogg's Fuel for School rebate $20 off Kraft rebate Home Depot hasn't come yet, but should in the next two weeks. The other three have all arrived. Things were going just swimmingly until I got a notice through Mint that I'd been charged $10 by my bank for a

Grocery Challenge: Week 4

2009-09-30T20:46:00.003-05:00

This week (really 10 days) was a very light shopping week. I spent the weekend in Texas, which kept me out of the stores. Dominicks: 1 10-pack of 100% juice Capri Sun, 3 lb Gala apples, 1 large pepperoni take 'n bake pizza Total: $8.28 Target: jumbo pack Up and Up diapers, Aveeno baby shampoo, 2 tubs Carnation Instant Breakfast rich milk chocolate powder, 2 6-packs Boost Kids Nutritional drink,

Grocery Challenge: Week 3

2009-09-22T11:19:00.002-05:00

I did attempt to work two deals this week, the Kashi deal at Target (buy 5, get $5 back) and the General Mills/Nature Valley deal at Dominick's. I was not as successful as I could have been at Target because I waited too long and all the Honey Sunshine cereal, for which I had a free box coupon, was gone. (Those coupons came from Vocalpoint.) I also shared some coupons with my boss, assuming I'd

Grocery Challenge: Week 2

2009-09-14T20:43:00.005-05:00

For last week's results, read Week 1. Fewer grocery trips this week, only Dominick's, Target, and Aldi. The biggest expense was diapers. Normally I would not buy the new premium diapers, but I happened to have $8 in coupons I could use for two boxes, plus Target was offering a $10 gift card I can roll toward more groceries later in the month. It worked out to a decent price per diaper, so we

How I Find Deals

2009-09-11T15:48:00.000-05:00

"Where do you get your coupons?" A woman at Target asked me that today as she watched me check out. I had the handful of coupons in the photo above, minus the ones for Boost Nutritional Drinks, since they were out of stock. Before I handed over the coupons, my total was $98.80. After coupons, I paid $67.08 and got a $10 gift card to use later. I gave her the answer I usually give, which is

Grocery Challenge: Week 1

2009-09-07T13:14:00.000-05:00

At the end of week 1, I've gone to Aldi, Sam's, SuperTarget, Dominick's, and Jewel. SuperTarget: Pampers Cruisers jumbo, Pampers Sensitive wipes, vegetable bouillon cubes, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can tomato paste, 2 cans no-fat refried beans, salsa, 1 lb bag white beans, small loaf French bread, single-serve cup Honey Nut Cheerios, can green beans, 2 cans black beans, 1 can kidney beans, 4 cans

The $250 Challenge

2009-09-01T12:54:00.001-05:00

Last month, with my son's birthday party and a few rebate deals, we went way over budget. ($95) My usual budget is $400 a month, a bit high for a family of two adults and one toddler, but I include paper goods, cleaning products, toiletries, and diapers. Why? Because I generally buy these at Target and separating everything out on the receipts would take more time than I care to spend right now.

The Frugal Mom Goes Shopping

2009-08-20T16:11:00.002-05:00

Let me just say, right up front, that I hate paying full price for anything. That goes double for groceries. I'm certainly not the cheapest person out there, but I do like to save a buck. Why should I pay more than I have to? When I was a kid, my mom held a series of low-paid jobs. We ate a lot of beans, soups made with turkey necks, and plenty of leftovers. I continue to cook this way. When it

Finding Nemo cake

2009-08-16T21:00:00.003-05:00

The cake was the fun part. I didn’t want to use a bunch of plastic pieces, nor did I want to cover it in fondant. I’m not a fabulous pastry chef, just an interested home chef. So I made a simple layer cake and a few dozen mini-cupcakes for the kids. For the cake I used two mixes I got on sale awhile ago. With each mix I baked two slightly shorter layers and 18 mini-cupcakes. (In retrospect,

Saving Money on a Themed Birthday Party

2009-08-15T20:46:00.001-05:00

My son has recently become fascinated by “Finding Nemo,” mostly through merchandise and seeing clownfish in books. He’s only seen some of the movie twice. He was enthusiastic enough about it, though, that I decided to make that the theme of his birthday party. In retrospect, I probably could have done it cheaper, but we had a good time and learned a lot. First, let’s talk decorations. I spent

Easy Philadelphia-style Ice Cream

2009-07-18T14:13:00.016-05:00

If you like ice cream, then you know how expensive it can be. And you've definitely noticed that the "half-gallon" container is no more. Containers now hold 1.5 quarts, a full pint less than they used to. If you like super-premium ice cream, Ben and Jerry's and Haagen-Daaz are still a full pint, but prices have jumped. In some grocery stores you will pay $4 or more for a pint. Even on sale a

Save on Baby Food

2009-06-04T10:26:00.000-05:00