Here is what is on this weeks menu. Still trying to eat mostly from the freezer and pantry.
Here are the deals that I see at Target this week. As always check your local ad to confirm prices. You can check out a list of Target printable coupons here. Remember you can stack these coupons with Manufacturer coupons for an even sweeter deal!
Here are some deals I see this week at Walgreens. I am not impressed at all with this weeks ad. Thank you to Being Frugal Is Fabulous for helping me put this list together.See any other deals I missed? Like I said, I am not impressed with this weeks ad at all. Feel free to email me or leave a comment.
Welcome Grocery Gathering readers! Here is a list of current deals that I see at Hy-Vee. I base my deals on what is shown at least 50% regular price for the store. I also post anything else that I consider a pretty good deal. I use central Iowas ad when making this list. My store takes both printable coupons and manufacturer coupons from the paper. Please check your local ad to confirm these deals in your area.
Grocery
Last Fall I called our utility company and scheduled an Energy Audit. This is a free service provided by our local utility company where an energy specialist comes to your home to show you ways to save money on your energy bills. The only requirements were that I was a current customer and my home was at least 10 years old.
For my local readers, my sister sent me some deals that Dahl's is offering this week. If you are interested you can view their ad here. Thanks Julia.
I have been under the weather recently so I appreciate my fellow blogger Kerri, who blogs at Southeast Iowa Deals emailing me letting me know about the changes going on regarding the Hy-Vee coupon policy. Due to some problems with fraudulent internet printable coupons they have changed their policy. Here is a copy of that new policy.
Welcome Grocery Gathering readers! Here is a list of current deals that I see at Fareway. I use central Iowas ad when making this list. My store takes printable coupons as well as manufacturer coupons from the paper. Please check your local ad to confirm these deals in your area. I know they run different ads in different locations.
Meat
I have very limited cupboard space so I have to use what I have available wisely. I have a ton of spices and have never had a good way of organizing them until now. I bought these plastic bins at Wal-Mart for 3/$1.00. I wrote the names of each spice on the top of the lid and put them in these baskets. Now, I just have to pull out the basket and choose what I want. The baskets are tall enough that they cover the small sized spices so I can stack them up creating even more room in my cupboard. Works for me!Sorry I am late getting the Walgreens deals up. I have been sick the last couple days. I am going to send you to Being Frugal is Fabulous for this weeks deals. I will be back next week with my own match ups. Thanks for your patience. I am so sorry I haven't gotten the Target match up posted for the week. I have been really sick the last couple days so I am actually going to link you up with one of my fellow bloggers for Target deals this week. Please visit Marci at Stretching a Buck.Welcome Grocery Gathering readers! Here is a list of current deals that I see at Hy-Vee. I base my deals on what is shown at least 50% regular price for the store. I also post anything else that I consider a pretty good deal. I use central Iowas ad when making this list. My store takes both printable coupons and manufacturer coupons from the paper. Please check your local ad to confirm these deals in your area.Grocery
Ingredients
You can go here to request a free sample of Garnier Ultra Lift Wrinkle Cream.
Dining out at a nice restaurant doesn't have to be completely eliminated to live a frugal lifestyle. There are a few tips that you can do to enjoy an occasional dinner out without breaking the bank.
You can go to the Bar S Website, and print off 2 coupons for $1/2 ANY Bar S products. Wal-Mart sells the hotdogs for I think $.88. I see them go on sale often for cheaper at other stores as well. Then you can go over to my blue side bar or to Coupons.com and print them twice again. Just in time for grilling season!
Sorry, this is a late notice but I found an ad in my paper for a 1 day only sale at Hy-Vee. The sale is for today May 21 only. Items on the ad were
I wasn't real excited about my deals for this week. I was feeling a little down actually because I spent more than I wanted to and I broke some of my "rules" I had for myself regarding my pantry challenge this month. I couldn't pass up 3 packages of meat at Target that were on clearance. I also stocked up on mustard even though I still have one in the pantry (great deal at Fareway, 40 oz for $.99 - $.75 coupon making them $.24). And I bought some ice cream at Wal-Mart. They have Breyers for $2.25. There are $1.00 and $.75 MC out there, making it a cheap little treat! Plus I had to buy some more expensive items like cat litter ($6) and moth balls for my garden($5). I think I am still going to be under my goal of $250 for the month, unless I go nuts next week. I just spent a little more last night than I have the last couple weeks.
Go here to sign up for Bisquicks email newsletter, recipes and money saving offers and coupons.
Lucky for me, none of my family have any allergies to soap. I can get an entire weeks laundry done with all these samples! I figured I would hold a couple of them back for those "oops" moments when I run out of soap and don't realize it! It works for me!For my local readers, my sister sent me some deals that Dahl's is offering this week. If you are interested you can view their ad here. Thanks Julia.
Welcome Grocery Gathering readers! Here is a list of current deals that I see at Fareway. I use central Iowas ad when making this list. My store takes printable coupons as well as manufacturer coupons from the paper. Please check your local ad to confirm these deals in your area. I know they run different ads in different locations. Fareway stores will be closed Monday May 25 for Memorial Day.
Saving money on food can be hard, but I have found something that helps me stretch my dollar while making life a little easier in the long run. I don’t really want to try once a month cooking, however I love having meals or main portions of meals ready and waiting in the freezer. I do batch cooking for my meats and I double several of my recipes. This allows me to buy things in bulk which is generally cheaper per ounce. Let me give you an example of how I handle this.
When I buy ground beef or ground turkey I buy a lot of it. Then I spend some time in the kitchen preparing it. Because I buy large packages of ground beef I save money on the per pound cost. For instance this week at my grocery store I can buy one pound of ground beef for $3.29 or I can buy three pounds of ground beef for $1.99 a pound. Of course I am going to buy the three pound package, actually two of them. After I buy the beef I divide it up into meal size portions. I will make some of it into meatloaves, mix in sausage and make large batches of meatball, brown some, and freeze some uncooked in meal size portions. Out of six pounds of beef and an hour of hands on time in the kitchen I have 10 meals worth of meat in the freezer that will take no time to reheat and become the base for many meals.
I do the same with chicken, only I cook and chop some, freeze some as is, and freeze some with a marinade mixed in so that it is ready to be put on the grill. Again I get a lower per pound cost and I have ready to eat or cook meat in the freezer.
I have a few recipes that I like to double and freeze half, while we have the other one for dinner. Yes it costs more upfront to buy ingredients for two lasagnas, BUT it isn’t as expensive as if I made lasagna two separate times. It takes a little more time to put together two lasagnas, but not as much time as it would take me to make lasagna two separate times.
When I make lasagna I use ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese. I use 8 oz of each for each lasagna (I know, that is half of what they call for, but it works for us). If I were to buy an 8 oz container of ricotta for $1.08 and an 8 oz block of cheese for $2.99 I have spent $4.07 on the cheese alone for just one lasagna. If I make two lasagnas and buy a 16 oz container of ricotta for $1.59 and a pound of cheese for $3.99 I have spent $5.58 on two lasagnas. That is a savings of $2.56 on the cheese alone for these lasagnas.
Over time these savings really do add up. As an added bonus you will save money on energy costs by batch cooking and doubling recipes. On top of the monetary savings you will have some ready made meals in the freezer that will make your life much easier one day down the road. A little extra time and money spent one day will result in long term savings and less stress.
I must admit I am not a huge fan of leftovers. With my family I never know who is gonna eat like there is no tomorrow or who is just not hungry that night. So, sometimes I am stuck with lots of leftovers. Here are a few ideas of what you can do when you need to tackle those leftovers in your fridge.
