Please excuse the title of this blog post. I know I'm going to have so much fun with Winco's name going forward.
So this morning under the guise of getting my daily exercise, I again headed to the new Winco store at 7th Ave and Bell. Here is what I bought for exactly five dollars:
10 pounds of potatoes - 48c. That's 48c for 10 pounds of potatoes, not 48c/lb.
about 5 pounds of red seedless grapes for 48c/lb - you read that price correctly
12-pak of Shasta Diet Root Beer - $1.98.
Hmmm...Potato-Grape Casserole in a Diet Root Beer reduction, anyone?
Don't laugh. That'll be the next signature dish on Top Chef.
Other rock bottom prices I noticed were 48c/lb for Green Beans and 68c/bunch for fresh spinach. But if you were thinking of ducking in for some of those 48c/pint strawberries I mentioned a couple of days ago, that ship has sailed. The strawberries are now 98c/pint, about what Sprouts, Sunflower and many of the other stores are charging this week.
An aside, in the Wall of Values, which you pass through when you first enter the store, yesterday's White Rain Shampoo/Conditioner at 88c each has been replaced by Suave Shampoo/Conditioners at $1.08/ea. Nothing I'd write home about.
Readers of this blog know I'm a 'from-scratch' cook, so I don't focus too much on the boxed and canned stuff in the aisles. In general, prices are reasonable or low. If anything really dazzling catches my eye, I'll pass it on.
Today, I spent time in the deli. We start a kitchen renovation next week, which seems a perfectly reasonable excuse to avoid cooking for a bit. I wanted to see what was available. Winco offers the typical chicken, fried or roasted at prices comparable to the other major groceries, maybe a bit less. What caught my eye were the wrapped goodies in the refrigerated cases. For example, nice-sized take and bake French bread pizza for $1.98/ea for the non-carbohydrate-concious or generously portioned Cobb and Chef's salads at $3.48/ea. for the Atkins-minded. There are other good items to be found at prices that rival the Dollar Menu at McDonald's but offer a whole lot more nutrition and panache.
And what I really did with today's purchases was hide the Diet Shasta so the kids keep their mitts off of it and made a potato/onion casserole in a peppery bechamel sauce. Here's the recipe:
For the sauce:
Make a roux of butter and flour (whisk together in a saucepan)
Add milk as needed (if you don't add enough, the sauce will be too thick. Easy to fix, add a little more milk)
salt and pepper to taste.
Whisk over low heat until your arm falls off...I mean, until thickened.
For the casserole:
In a buttered deep-dish pan slice potatoes and onions. Top with any leftover green beans or asparagus or even carrots you might have. Pour thickened bechamel sauce over.
Bake for approx 1 hr at 350 degrees.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Winco - better than chocolate
...which the store at 7th and Bell in Phoenix sells for $3.06/lb, by the way. Great big chunks of broken up chocolate, milk and dark. I wish I could eat it.
I hate dieting. I hate being fat more.
So I took my friend, Tracy from The Coupon Girl on a tour of Winco last night. Those chickens I mentioned yesterday were GONE. Of course they were gone. I'll bet some smart gal with an empty freezer loaded her cart and RAN. If I had any room in my freezer, that's what I'd have done.
Also, Red and Yellow Bell peppers were 28c/ea. Potatoes were still 98c/10 lbs. Tracy is a fan of Campbell's Chunky Soup (chicken noodle). She's an expert on its pricing everywhere in the valley and has been bemoaning that it was always about $1.89 at her Fry's, and since Fry's 'lowered' their prices, it is now $2.04. So how happy was Tracy to find her beloved Campbell's Chunky Soup for $1.48/can?
Pretty darned happy.
Prices change often at Winco. Apparently, they have a cadre of price-checkers that constantly monitor pricing at other stores and fine-tune Winco pricing when needed. What that means is that this morning when I stopped into Winco to pick up some Febreze (no, I'm not obsessed with Winco, I really needed that Febreze!) I noticed the White Rain Shampoo and Conditioner which had been 65c since the opening was now 88c, and a price that changed since last night. Still a good deal, just a little less of a good deal.
I am thinking of incorporating Winco into my exercise routine while I figure out the best way to shop this store. I'm thinking I'll pop in early mornings and get my walking in while I notice the prices and their products. Also, if another screaming deal like those chickens pop up, I'm in good position to take advantage and call all my friends about it. :) I will share my insights.
Winco Walking, like regular walking, only more interesting.
I hate dieting. I hate being fat more.
So I took my friend, Tracy from The Coupon Girl on a tour of Winco last night. Those chickens I mentioned yesterday were GONE. Of course they were gone. I'll bet some smart gal with an empty freezer loaded her cart and RAN. If I had any room in my freezer, that's what I'd have done.
Also, Red and Yellow Bell peppers were 28c/ea. Potatoes were still 98c/10 lbs. Tracy is a fan of Campbell's Chunky Soup (chicken noodle). She's an expert on its pricing everywhere in the valley and has been bemoaning that it was always about $1.89 at her Fry's, and since Fry's 'lowered' their prices, it is now $2.04. So how happy was Tracy to find her beloved Campbell's Chunky Soup for $1.48/can?
Pretty darned happy.
Prices change often at Winco. Apparently, they have a cadre of price-checkers that constantly monitor pricing at other stores and fine-tune Winco pricing when needed. What that means is that this morning when I stopped into Winco to pick up some Febreze (no, I'm not obsessed with Winco, I really needed that Febreze!) I noticed the White Rain Shampoo and Conditioner which had been 65c since the opening was now 88c, and a price that changed since last night. Still a good deal, just a little less of a good deal.
I am thinking of incorporating Winco into my exercise routine while I figure out the best way to shop this store. I'm thinking I'll pop in early mornings and get my walking in while I notice the prices and their products. Also, if another screaming deal like those chickens pop up, I'm in good position to take advantage and call all my friends about it. :) I will share my insights.
Winco Walking, like regular walking, only more interesting.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Winco - The new store in town
Winco debuted in the Valley of the Sun with two stores, one in Phoenix at 7th Ave and Bell Road and another in Glendale at 59th Ave and Bell Road. I've been to shop there twice and cannot tell you how happy Winco has made my kids. That's because they have bulk candy for cheap, cheap, cheap. Today I picked up Easter candies for 68c/lb - mostly gummies and malted eggs. They had that cheap Easter chocolate young kids seem willing to eat for 25c/lb, but my teens are past that stage. I also picked up some nuts for them and cranberry almond granola ($1.58/lb in bulk foods).
The bulk food section has to be seen to be believed. For the Preparedness-Minded among you, there's a good selection of buckets and lids and plenty of bulk basics like wheat and barley and such, but also dried fruits, cereals, and all that yummy stuff that will make the End of the World a little less bleak. The prices on items such as bulk Raisin Bran ($1.58/lb) and frosted Mini-Wheats ($1.31/lb) are much better than buying it in a box. Same for so many items. You just have to give yourself time to browse and absorb. I picked up baking soda in bulk at 50c/lb.
By far, the best score was twin-paks of Foster Farms Chickens for $3.00/bag. That's three bucks for two great big chickens. I even called my dear friend Tracy over at The Coupon Girl to see if she wanted me to pick up some for her. I got 4 packs total, that's 8 big chickens for $12. What little room I had in my freezer is now packed again. I also picked up a ham, butt portion, for 78c/lb. I've been following Atkins and decided the ham would be a healthier option than bacon with the morning eggs.
An aside: I'm not a big meat-eater, much preferring a world of green smoothies and beans, but I've been loading up on the processed white flour/sugar laden kind of goodies and I either have to lose weight, or ask the Post Office to assign my hips their own zip code! So Atkins, it is.
I also bought a big box of single Yoplait yogurt, 8-6 ounce for $2.98 and two 32 ounce tubs of Lucerne for $1.98 each for my yogurt-loving son, 30#Good Mews Cat litter for $5.94. Yellow bell peppers at 48c/ea and bananas for 28c/lb and a loaf of really good-looking multi-grain bread for 98c.
Sigh. Wish I could eat the bread.
Keep an eye for the green 'Extra Savings' stickers throughout the store. I spent $51 total at the store today and had a cart full of stuff.
Now I'm off to google easy strawberry jam recipes because I picked up sixteen pints of beautiful berries for 48c/pt. I'm treating the family (not me, unfortunately...) to homemade strawberry ice cream tonight. Incredibly easy in my Blendtec blender - frozen fruit + milk and cream + sugar = Happy Family.
The bulk food section has to be seen to be believed. For the Preparedness-Minded among you, there's a good selection of buckets and lids and plenty of bulk basics like wheat and barley and such, but also dried fruits, cereals, and all that yummy stuff that will make the End of the World a little less bleak. The prices on items such as bulk Raisin Bran ($1.58/lb) and frosted Mini-Wheats ($1.31/lb) are much better than buying it in a box. Same for so many items. You just have to give yourself time to browse and absorb. I picked up baking soda in bulk at 50c/lb.
By far, the best score was twin-paks of Foster Farms Chickens for $3.00/bag. That's three bucks for two great big chickens. I even called my dear friend Tracy over at The Coupon Girl to see if she wanted me to pick up some for her. I got 4 packs total, that's 8 big chickens for $12. What little room I had in my freezer is now packed again. I also picked up a ham, butt portion, for 78c/lb. I've been following Atkins and decided the ham would be a healthier option than bacon with the morning eggs.
An aside: I'm not a big meat-eater, much preferring a world of green smoothies and beans, but I've been loading up on the processed white flour/sugar laden kind of goodies and I either have to lose weight, or ask the Post Office to assign my hips their own zip code! So Atkins, it is.
I also bought a big box of single Yoplait yogurt, 8-6 ounce for $2.98 and two 32 ounce tubs of Lucerne for $1.98 each for my yogurt-loving son, 30#Good Mews Cat litter for $5.94. Yellow bell peppers at 48c/ea and bananas for 28c/lb and a loaf of really good-looking multi-grain bread for 98c.
Sigh. Wish I could eat the bread.
Keep an eye for the green 'Extra Savings' stickers throughout the store. I spent $51 total at the store today and had a cart full of stuff.
Now I'm off to google easy strawberry jam recipes because I picked up sixteen pints of beautiful berries for 48c/pt. I'm treating the family (not me, unfortunately...) to homemade strawberry ice cream tonight. Incredibly easy in my Blendtec blender - frozen fruit + milk and cream + sugar = Happy Family.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Joyful Momma's Guide to Shopping & Cooking Frugally
This Kindle book by Kimberly Eddy is free today on Amazon.com. You can find it HERE.
I downloaded it a little bit ago and think it's a useful resource. I do not know how long this book will be available for free, so hurry on over.
Sorry, I know I'm AWOL. Real life is chewing me hard recently.
I downloaded it a little bit ago and think it's a useful resource. I do not know how long this book will be available for free, so hurry on over.
Sorry, I know I'm AWOL. Real life is chewing me hard recently.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Is it over yet?
Been doing a lot of traveling this month and doing some more traveling tomorrow, meaning I haven't been into stockpiling or shopping at all. Finally made it to Pros Ranch yesterday to pick up produce, mostly fruit because our home garden provides plenty of veggie type choices. I spent less than $28 total for 3 giant pork roasts, apples, oranges, kiwis, avocados, bananas, tomatoes, and sour cream.
Not exciting, but there's a stockpile item there, the pork roasts. The roasts are bone-in for 98c/lb, sold only in mega-packages of 3 roasts. I cooked a roast yesterday for dinner. There are plenty of leftovers. The other two roasts I froze.
Tonight I'm making spaghetti and meatballs. The ground beef is from the freezer, part of a an entire grass-fed steer I purchased a year and half ago and we're still working our way through. The spaghetti was a coupon freebie still in my pantry along with several other coupon freebie boxes. The sauce will be tweeked Hunt's diced tomatoes in a can because my son ate every single one of the tomatoes I purchased yesterday pretty much as soon as I got home.
Here's how I make meatballs, with egg and Italian-style breadcrumbs, and whatever bits of leftovers might be lurking in the fridge, broccoli, sweet potato, beans... Brown them in a little olive oil, then bake them until cooked through. Or let them simmer in the tomatoes until they're done cooking.
The salad to accompany is compliments of my garden.
Good eating is cheap. It just requires a few basic cooking skills and an eye for the price. Fifty dollars would purchase 50 pounds of the bone-in pork roasts (bones are minimal, by the way. Barely there). That's good for 50 dinners. I didn't purchase more because, despite my best efforts to empty it, my freezer is always full. It's like magic in there. I keep the items rotating, but about the point I put a dent in the contents, another great price comes along. With a 50 dinner cushion, I've plenty of time to wait for that really good price.
By the way - Pros Ranch sells really nice pork. I'm pretty careful about where I purchase my meats and I think pork looks best at Pros Ranch. Nice flavor, also. The 98c/lb price is good until 1/3/12.
Not exciting, but there's a stockpile item there, the pork roasts. The roasts are bone-in for 98c/lb, sold only in mega-packages of 3 roasts. I cooked a roast yesterday for dinner. There are plenty of leftovers. The other two roasts I froze.
Tonight I'm making spaghetti and meatballs. The ground beef is from the freezer, part of a an entire grass-fed steer I purchased a year and half ago and we're still working our way through. The spaghetti was a coupon freebie still in my pantry along with several other coupon freebie boxes. The sauce will be tweeked Hunt's diced tomatoes in a can because my son ate every single one of the tomatoes I purchased yesterday pretty much as soon as I got home.
Here's how I make meatballs, with egg and Italian-style breadcrumbs, and whatever bits of leftovers might be lurking in the fridge, broccoli, sweet potato, beans... Brown them in a little olive oil, then bake them until cooked through. Or let them simmer in the tomatoes until they're done cooking.
The salad to accompany is compliments of my garden.
Good eating is cheap. It just requires a few basic cooking skills and an eye for the price. Fifty dollars would purchase 50 pounds of the bone-in pork roasts (bones are minimal, by the way. Barely there). That's good for 50 dinners. I didn't purchase more because, despite my best efforts to empty it, my freezer is always full. It's like magic in there. I keep the items rotating, but about the point I put a dent in the contents, another great price comes along. With a 50 dinner cushion, I've plenty of time to wait for that really good price.
By the way - Pros Ranch sells really nice pork. I'm pretty careful about where I purchase my meats and I think pork looks best at Pros Ranch. Nice flavor, also. The 98c/lb price is good until 1/3/12.
Monday, December 19, 2011
And Maple Syrup for All!
Deal Chicken has an amazing deal today on Vermont Maple Syrup. Six pints for $36. You may buy multiples. That's $6/pint or 37.5 cents/ounce. I just paid $20.21 for a quart of maple syrup at the grocery store.
We don't use the fake maple syrup products typically available at the grocery. For us, it's a matter of taste. Maple syrup tastes real, everything else tastes like corn syrup and so many of those fake syrups contain the high fructose kind of corn syrup. We spend so little on groceries, I'm willing to pay the money where it matters. I won't say how many of these six pint deals I purchased. Let's just say I took full advantage of the amazing price.
No affiliate links in this post. No advantage to me if you order. Since this is a Vermont company, I assume this is a national deal. By the way THE SHIPPING IS FREE!
You read that right.
Only another 13 hours to go as of this posting, so get over there.
Ladies, start your griddles and waffle irons.
We don't use the fake maple syrup products typically available at the grocery. For us, it's a matter of taste. Maple syrup tastes real, everything else tastes like corn syrup and so many of those fake syrups contain the high fructose kind of corn syrup. We spend so little on groceries, I'm willing to pay the money where it matters. I won't say how many of these six pint deals I purchased. Let's just say I took full advantage of the amazing price.
No affiliate links in this post. No advantage to me if you order. Since this is a Vermont company, I assume this is a national deal. By the way THE SHIPPING IS FREE!
You read that right.
Only another 13 hours to go as of this posting, so get over there.
Ladies, start your griddles and waffle irons.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Good Stockup Items this week
Been sick. Been busy. Been away.
Have not been into grocery shopping. Did my turkey/ham thing before Thanksgiving, then...nothing. Not even Pro's Ranch for the produce. The garden is still giving eggplants and peppers, kale and chard and lettuce, even tomatoes, and there's plenty of fruit either canned or in the freezer.
The ads were looking kind of blah this week, until I got to Albertson's. Then I got into my car and drove the few blocks to my nearest store where I picked up 29 boxes of cereal (no significance to the number, just that it filled the cart) 5 dozen eggs, 12 8-oz packages of Albertson's Brand butter, three packs of dental floss, seven tubes of toothpaste, five toothbrushes, and a bag of marshmellows for $62.
I'm embarrassed to admit I pulled out my calculator to do that simple math. The items were $1 each and there are 62 items...
I'm equally embarrassed to admit to buying cereal after my tirade about its sugary evilness a few months ago. Most of it is Raisin Bran and Shredded Wheat. Also got Corn Flakes, Cheerios and Apple Cinnamon and Honey Nut Cheerios.
All the items in the haul were Albertson's Store brand. Yes, it all tastes just like the name brands. The non-sweetened cereal were all big boxes, too, not these puny little things the name brand manufacturers are passing off as a proper box of cereal.
Other items: any time butter works out to $2/lb or less is a good time to stock up. Butter freezes beautifully. Eggs are expensive lately, so I'm happy to pick up 5 dozen for 5 bucks. For myself and my family, I don't worry about expiration dates, but for everybody else, and to keep the lawyers happy, I recommend buying only what you can eat before the expiration date.
Seven tubes of toothpaste is a year's supply for us. I mean, seriously, only a tiny dab is required for toothbrushing. Pinching Your Pennies let me know there weren't any coupons available for the sale brands. We're getting a little low, so I bit the bullet and purchased. Same goes for the floss and toothbrushes. I've typically purchased these items for free with coupons, but haven't seen them free for a long time.
And the marshmallows? Hot chocoate, anyone? Maybe toast a few over the barbecue? Everybody else must be thinking like me because I got the last bag of normal-sized marshmallows in the store.
I'll be doing a lot more traveling this month, so the blog will be pretty quiet. If I don't post beforehand, have fun this holiday season!
Have not been into grocery shopping. Did my turkey/ham thing before Thanksgiving, then...nothing. Not even Pro's Ranch for the produce. The garden is still giving eggplants and peppers, kale and chard and lettuce, even tomatoes, and there's plenty of fruit either canned or in the freezer.
The ads were looking kind of blah this week, until I got to Albertson's. Then I got into my car and drove the few blocks to my nearest store where I picked up 29 boxes of cereal (no significance to the number, just that it filled the cart) 5 dozen eggs, 12 8-oz packages of Albertson's Brand butter, three packs of dental floss, seven tubes of toothpaste, five toothbrushes, and a bag of marshmellows for $62.
I'm embarrassed to admit I pulled out my calculator to do that simple math. The items were $1 each and there are 62 items...
I'm equally embarrassed to admit to buying cereal after my tirade about its sugary evilness a few months ago. Most of it is Raisin Bran and Shredded Wheat. Also got Corn Flakes, Cheerios and Apple Cinnamon and Honey Nut Cheerios.
All the items in the haul were Albertson's Store brand. Yes, it all tastes just like the name brands. The non-sweetened cereal were all big boxes, too, not these puny little things the name brand manufacturers are passing off as a proper box of cereal.
Other items: any time butter works out to $2/lb or less is a good time to stock up. Butter freezes beautifully. Eggs are expensive lately, so I'm happy to pick up 5 dozen for 5 bucks. For myself and my family, I don't worry about expiration dates, but for everybody else, and to keep the lawyers happy, I recommend buying only what you can eat before the expiration date.
Seven tubes of toothpaste is a year's supply for us. I mean, seriously, only a tiny dab is required for toothbrushing. Pinching Your Pennies let me know there weren't any coupons available for the sale brands. We're getting a little low, so I bit the bullet and purchased. Same goes for the floss and toothbrushes. I've typically purchased these items for free with coupons, but haven't seen them free for a long time.
And the marshmallows? Hot chocoate, anyone? Maybe toast a few over the barbecue? Everybody else must be thinking like me because I got the last bag of normal-sized marshmallows in the store.
I'll be doing a lot more traveling this month, so the blog will be pretty quiet. If I don't post beforehand, have fun this holiday season!
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