THIS!
More or less. I had some leftover steamed carrots from the weekend, and some sweet potatoes I made last night so I went to All Recipes, plugged in the ingredients and got the mash. I have plenty of cooked apples. I'm still cooking down the honeycrisps I picked up from Bountiful Baskets a week ago. I'm pressure cooking a small pork roast I picked up for 4 bucks at Fry's a few months ago to go with it. From start to finish, this is a half-hour meal.
Good eating is as easy as having yummy ingredients in your stockpile. Leftovers aren't leftovers, they're another chance to make something that will keep your family at the table and under budget.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Pro Ranch is the best deal on produce this week!
This is just a nudge. I'm away and not able to do a full stockpile post. Check out Pro Ranch Market this week for great produce deals and some pretty good meat deals. Today's Wednesday produce deals are awesome pears 6 lbs/$1 for example and potatoes 10 lb/79c. Tomatoes are 4 lb/$1 all week. Pick up a bunch, make and freeze your own tomato sauce.
If Pro Ranch isn't possible for you, Food City has some pretty good produce deals on Thursday - Cukes are 5 for $1, for example. IF you've no Food City near you, check out Sunflower Markets, or Sprouts. Bashas has 5 lb of potatoes for 69c - excellent price. Bashas also has a great deal on Shamrock Farms milk - $2.99/2 gallons. It's a Buy One, Get One that works out to $1.50/gallon.
Also, Safeway has their Lucerne milk, $1.37/gallon, first 2.
If you're looking for Halloween Candy, the 99c Only stores have some pretty good deals this week.
Frys has whole chickens, 49c/lb, limit 4. Buy 4.
Safeway has Ribeyes and T-bones, bone-in, $3.77/lb. That's a good price for those cuts.
Basha's has b1g1 on it's Value pack Boneless Cross-rib or bottom-round roast. I think that will work out to $1.50/lb because the cross-rib and bottom round is $2.99 pound elsewhere in the ad. Basically, buy the big pack, get one free.
And Frys has Kroger PB, 99c/18 oz jar, which is a decent price. They are having their 'Anniversary Case-lot' sale. The prices are so-so.
If you need regular pasta, Sunflower Market has Luigi Vitelli for 77c/1 lb package.
Sorry this is so truncated. I'll post up something better when I'm back in a few days and can spend more time with the ads.
If Pro Ranch isn't possible for you, Food City has some pretty good produce deals on Thursday - Cukes are 5 for $1, for example. IF you've no Food City near you, check out Sunflower Markets, or Sprouts. Bashas has 5 lb of potatoes for 69c - excellent price. Bashas also has a great deal on Shamrock Farms milk - $2.99/2 gallons. It's a Buy One, Get One that works out to $1.50/gallon.
Also, Safeway has their Lucerne milk, $1.37/gallon, first 2.
If you're looking for Halloween Candy, the 99c Only stores have some pretty good deals this week.
Frys has whole chickens, 49c/lb, limit 4. Buy 4.
Safeway has Ribeyes and T-bones, bone-in, $3.77/lb. That's a good price for those cuts.
Basha's has b1g1 on it's Value pack Boneless Cross-rib or bottom-round roast. I think that will work out to $1.50/lb because the cross-rib and bottom round is $2.99 pound elsewhere in the ad. Basically, buy the big pack, get one free.
And Frys has Kroger PB, 99c/18 oz jar, which is a decent price. They are having their 'Anniversary Case-lot' sale. The prices are so-so.
If you need regular pasta, Sunflower Market has Luigi Vitelli for 77c/1 lb package.
Sorry this is so truncated. I'll post up something better when I'm back in a few days and can spend more time with the ads.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Can we talk? - baby food
When I was a new mom, I thought babies were some strange species requiring food different from the rest of us. When mine moved to solids (I had twins, I always refer to kids in twos!) I only fed them properly sealed 'Baby Food' in tiny jars and boxes lest I poison them. If there was a sale, I loaded up, but if there wasn't a sale, I loaded up anyway because the kids ate all the time and they had to have the special Baby Food or they would starve.
Right?
So one day, I'm wondering what babies ate before special Baby Food was invented. How did those pioneer ladies keep their babies alive? What did moms in third world countries do? How did Roman babies live to become Roman citizens? And how did early man ever evolve to walk on two feet without Beech-nut?
Answer?
They ate food. They ate the same food their parents ate just mushed up smooth and devoid of spicing.
Duh. I knew all those degrees I got would come in handy one day. Also, I saw on Discovery Channel that in a lot of primitive cultures, moms pre-chew the food, then squirt it into baby's mouth.
You don't have to do that. This is America. We have food processors. We have blenders. We have Magic Bullets.
Do you know what's in baby oatmeal? Oatmeal. Also wheat and it looks like they spray it with vitamins or something but basically it's very fine oatmeal.
What's in baby applesauce? Apples and water
Baby peach and bananas? Peach, bananas and water
Baby chicken? Pureed chicken.
Conclusion? You can make baby food at home for pennies rather than blowing dollars on it at the grocery store. Just cook whatever you want to feed baby. Leave out the salt and the sugar. Baby doesn't need it. Pop it into the processor of your choice with a little water and whirl it until the consistency is smooth.
Feed the baby.
Right?
So one day, I'm wondering what babies ate before special Baby Food was invented. How did those pioneer ladies keep their babies alive? What did moms in third world countries do? How did Roman babies live to become Roman citizens? And how did early man ever evolve to walk on two feet without Beech-nut?
Answer?
They ate food. They ate the same food their parents ate just mushed up smooth and devoid of spicing.
Duh. I knew all those degrees I got would come in handy one day. Also, I saw on Discovery Channel that in a lot of primitive cultures, moms pre-chew the food, then squirt it into baby's mouth.
You don't have to do that. This is America. We have food processors. We have blenders. We have Magic Bullets.
Do you know what's in baby oatmeal? Oatmeal. Also wheat and it looks like they spray it with vitamins or something but basically it's very fine oatmeal.
What's in baby applesauce? Apples and water
Baby peach and bananas? Peach, bananas and water
Baby chicken? Pureed chicken.
Conclusion? You can make baby food at home for pennies rather than blowing dollars on it at the grocery store. Just cook whatever you want to feed baby. Leave out the salt and the sugar. Baby doesn't need it. Pop it into the processor of your choice with a little water and whirl it until the consistency is smooth.
Feed the baby.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
I just saw Basha's Ad
And I feel like an idiot.
The good news? These prices are good until Tuesday, the 13th.
The bad news? If you qualify for a senior discount - you need to get there before the store closes to take advantage.
Here goes:
Large eggs are 88c, 80c with senior discount (s.d.)
Food Club Butter, $1.50/lb - $1.35/lb with s.d.
Simply Orange or Minute Maid orange, 59 to 64 oz - $1.99, $1.79 - s.d.
Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna - 48c, 43c s.d.
Chicken Leg Quarter, sold in 10 lb bag - $4.70, $4.33 s.d. (that's 47c/lb or 43c/lb)
Food Club frozen vegetables - 16 oz, $1, .90 s.d. (Yes, it's cheaper to blanch and freeze your own, but if you know you won't do that, get these, it's a pretty good price for frozen veggies.)
So sorry I didn't put this up earlier today. I hadn't seen the ad yet. I receive them on Wednesdays usually and Bashas hadn't yet put theirs online when I went to bed.
If you're a couponer, you can get your fabric softener for free at Basha's. I picked up 3 today, enough for 3 months or more of laundry. Total cost - 50c or so in tax.
The good news? These prices are good until Tuesday, the 13th.
The bad news? If you qualify for a senior discount - you need to get there before the store closes to take advantage.
Here goes:
Large eggs are 88c, 80c with senior discount (s.d.)
Food Club Butter, $1.50/lb - $1.35/lb with s.d.
Simply Orange or Minute Maid orange, 59 to 64 oz - $1.99, $1.79 - s.d.
Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna - 48c, 43c s.d.
Chicken Leg Quarter, sold in 10 lb bag - $4.70, $4.33 s.d. (that's 47c/lb or 43c/lb)
Food Club frozen vegetables - 16 oz, $1, .90 s.d. (Yes, it's cheaper to blanch and freeze your own, but if you know you won't do that, get these, it's a pretty good price for frozen veggies.)
So sorry I didn't put this up earlier today. I hadn't seen the ad yet. I receive them on Wednesdays usually and Bashas hadn't yet put theirs online when I went to bed.
If you're a couponer, you can get your fabric softener for free at Basha's. I picked up 3 today, enough for 3 months or more of laundry. Total cost - 50c or so in tax.
Wanna learn more? Give CouponSense a try. Four bucks. Less than the cost of a Starbucks. Please enter my referral code (1707971) and ask for Mindy C****** as your instructor.
Can we talk? - Tomato Sauce
Take a look at this!
That's my Pro Ranch ad for this week. If you've a store anywhere near you, go visit. The produce prices are amazing. The pears I bought last week were sweet and nice when ripe. I cooked them in the slow cooker along with the bananas, and cloves and cinnamon, some peaches. We've been putting them on pancakes, on ice cream, in smoothies, with oatmeal. It's just so good!
Remember, there are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday specials. Wednesday is produce, Thursday are meats, Fridays are a variety of items. Wednesday is totally worth it this week. Check the ad for your location because there is some variance in prices.
So yesterday I took the 5+ lbs of tomatoes I purchased at Pro Ranch last week (at 4 lb/99c, same price as this week) and turned it into Tomato Sauce. I'm going to teach you the Italian way of making tomato sauce. You have to pay attention because you don't want to miss any of this.
Are you ready?
Sure?
Here goes:
1) Cut tomatoes in half
2) put in large saucepan with just a hint of water (waterless is best, but use anything you have)
3) turn on heat to high
4) sprinkle with a generous amount of Italian seasoning or basil or oregano or marjoram or all three or whatever you have.
5) Chop onion and garlic together, put in saucepan.
6) Cover saucepan with lid.
7) turn heat to low, simmer for 20 minutes, stirring and smooshing occasionally to keep it from burning on the bottom and make it look more liked gravy.
That's all there is to it. Cook your pasta, pour the sauce over the pasta and you have a beautiful chunky homemade sauce.
No, you do not have to blanch the tomatoes and peel them first.
It does not matter what order the ingredients enter the saucepan.
It does not matter when the ingredients enter the saucepan. If you forget the garlic, add it while it cooks.
You can't over simmer it.
You almost can't undersimmer it, except you may not like your onions and garlic underdone.
It's okay to cheat by adding onion powder and/or garlic powder instead. I won't tell anybody and you're the one eating it, not me.
If you have fresh basil in your garden, by all means, add it.
If you have capers in a jar that you haven't known what to do with, by all means, add it.
If you have any combo of roasted veggie in jars (probably picked up at the dollar store), including, but not limited to artichoke hearts, by all means, add it.
You can add that zucchini that's been sitting in your vegetable bin.
You can add those bell peppers you keep forgetting to add to salad.
You can even add ground beef, although truthfully, it will make the sauce greasy and wouldn't you really rather make Italian meatballs?
Cooking is easy.
Repeat after me:
Cooking. Is. EASY.
Go ye, and do it.
*******
EDITED TO ADD:
Albertsons has Pork Chops for 88c/lb this week. If you qualify for senior savings (55+, I think) take 10% or 9c off that price. Senior Savings are today only. Other than the whole chickens at Food City, nothing else of a protein nature is talking to me this week.
That's my Pro Ranch ad for this week. If you've a store anywhere near you, go visit. The produce prices are amazing. The pears I bought last week were sweet and nice when ripe. I cooked them in the slow cooker along with the bananas, and cloves and cinnamon, some peaches. We've been putting them on pancakes, on ice cream, in smoothies, with oatmeal. It's just so good!
Remember, there are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday specials. Wednesday is produce, Thursday are meats, Fridays are a variety of items. Wednesday is totally worth it this week. Check the ad for your location because there is some variance in prices.
So yesterday I took the 5+ lbs of tomatoes I purchased at Pro Ranch last week (at 4 lb/99c, same price as this week) and turned it into Tomato Sauce. I'm going to teach you the Italian way of making tomato sauce. You have to pay attention because you don't want to miss any of this.
Are you ready?
Sure?
Here goes:
1) Cut tomatoes in half
2) put in large saucepan with just a hint of water (waterless is best, but use anything you have)
3) turn on heat to high
4) sprinkle with a generous amount of Italian seasoning or basil or oregano or marjoram or all three or whatever you have.
5) Chop onion and garlic together, put in saucepan.
6) Cover saucepan with lid.
7) turn heat to low, simmer for 20 minutes, stirring and smooshing occasionally to keep it from burning on the bottom and make it look more liked gravy.
That's all there is to it. Cook your pasta, pour the sauce over the pasta and you have a beautiful chunky homemade sauce.
No, you do not have to blanch the tomatoes and peel them first.
It does not matter what order the ingredients enter the saucepan.
It does not matter when the ingredients enter the saucepan. If you forget the garlic, add it while it cooks.
You can't over simmer it.
You almost can't undersimmer it, except you may not like your onions and garlic underdone.
It's okay to cheat by adding onion powder and/or garlic powder instead. I won't tell anybody and you're the one eating it, not me.
If you have fresh basil in your garden, by all means, add it.
If you have capers in a jar that you haven't known what to do with, by all means, add it.
If you have any combo of roasted veggie in jars (probably picked up at the dollar store), including, but not limited to artichoke hearts, by all means, add it.
You can add that zucchini that's been sitting in your vegetable bin.
You can add those bell peppers you keep forgetting to add to salad.
You can even add ground beef, although truthfully, it will make the sauce greasy and wouldn't you really rather make Italian meatballs?
Cooking is easy.
Repeat after me:
Cooking. Is. EASY.
Go ye, and do it.
*******
EDITED TO ADD:
Albertsons has Pork Chops for 88c/lb this week. If you qualify for senior savings (55+, I think) take 10% or 9c off that price. Senior Savings are today only. Other than the whole chickens at Food City, nothing else of a protein nature is talking to me this week.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Early Ads Stockpile Post
Most of the ads turn around tomorrow, but Food City already has its ad out for the week and Sunflower Market puts their 'Double Ad Wednesday' up on Tuesday. Also, Bountiful Baskets has some good deals this week and spaces go fast. I'll update tomorrow for Pro Ranch Market because their ad doesn't go up until midnight and also for the major grocery stores and Sprouts. I got a peek at the ads for one of those majors and I about died of boredom, so I don't want you to miss Bountiful Baskets if you decide to go that route, or you might want to plan a trip to a Pro Ranch Market if you have one within 15 or 20 minutes.
Soooo...here goes:
First, Bountiful Baskets:
They have honeycrisp apples - $22.50 for 30 pounds. That's 75c/lb.
My mouth waters just saying the name. These apples are sooooo good and sooooo expensive. This is a screaming price. Bountiful Baskets also has local raw citrus-mesquite honey - an 11 lb jar for $26.50 or $2.40/lb. Frankly, I don't buy enough honey to know if that's a good price, but it seems pretty good for the product being offered. I have a weak spot for really good honey, though I don't eat it much, so, yeah, I'll buy this.
In addition, you have to buy the regular basket for $15 ($18 if it's your first basket) Also, there's a $1.50 processing fee. Sooooo...$65.50 for a ton of honey, all those apples and produce for at least a week.
But gosh, can't you just imagine slicing those apples into a pie, sprinkling with clove and cinnamon, drizzling with that honey?
My big debate? Have I enough fridge space for everything because I'll be gone most of next week and won't have time to deal with the basket and apples until I get back. On the other hand, I won't be around to pick up a basket the week after and the honeycrisps may not be available anymore in three weeks. On the other hand, I could probably get those apples cooked down in one of my big pots and into freezer bags before I go. Then the produce can go in the coldest part of the fridge and will probably be fine when we get back.
On the other hand, do I have enough freezer space for all those apples?... (do I sound like Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof?)
I'm still debating for myself, but be sure to grab a spot while it's still available if you decide to go this route.
Otherwise, Sunflower Market will have Jonathan apples 47c/lb starting tomorrow and canteloupes 3/$1. Yes, 3 melons for $1. Pretty good deal.
Food City has whole chickens this week 49c/lb. Unless one of the majors has something fantabulous planned for this week, stock up on chickens. Check the ad, they've got other good prices on some of their basics I've been talking about the last few weeks.
Soooo...here goes:
First, Bountiful Baskets:
They have honeycrisp apples - $22.50 for 30 pounds. That's 75c/lb.
My mouth waters just saying the name. These apples are sooooo good and sooooo expensive. This is a screaming price. Bountiful Baskets also has local raw citrus-mesquite honey - an 11 lb jar for $26.50 or $2.40/lb. Frankly, I don't buy enough honey to know if that's a good price, but it seems pretty good for the product being offered. I have a weak spot for really good honey, though I don't eat it much, so, yeah, I'll buy this.
In addition, you have to buy the regular basket for $15 ($18 if it's your first basket) Also, there's a $1.50 processing fee. Sooooo...$65.50 for a ton of honey, all those apples and produce for at least a week.
But gosh, can't you just imagine slicing those apples into a pie, sprinkling with clove and cinnamon, drizzling with that honey?
My big debate? Have I enough fridge space for everything because I'll be gone most of next week and won't have time to deal with the basket and apples until I get back. On the other hand, I won't be around to pick up a basket the week after and the honeycrisps may not be available anymore in three weeks. On the other hand, I could probably get those apples cooked down in one of my big pots and into freezer bags before I go. Then the produce can go in the coldest part of the fridge and will probably be fine when we get back.
On the other hand, do I have enough freezer space for all those apples?... (do I sound like Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof?)
I'm still debating for myself, but be sure to grab a spot while it's still available if you decide to go this route.
Otherwise, Sunflower Market will have Jonathan apples 47c/lb starting tomorrow and canteloupes 3/$1. Yes, 3 melons for $1. Pretty good deal.
Food City has whole chickens this week 49c/lb. Unless one of the majors has something fantabulous planned for this week, stock up on chickens. Check the ad, they've got other good prices on some of their basics I've been talking about the last few weeks.
If you're a CouponSense member and do not have an instructor, I'd be happy to help you. Contact CouponSense from their homepage and give them my referral number (listed in profile) or reference this blog and tell them you'd like me for an instructor. For those of you who have not tried CouponSense, remember, if the meat and produce ads aren't exciting, the coupon deals often are. It's only $4 to try CouponSense for a month. Please use my referral number and ask for Mindy C**** under the 'choose an instructor' drop-down menu.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
What a CVS addict does in her spare time...
Check out my friend and fellow CouponSense Instructor, Tracy's blog. She's posting a preview of CVS deals right from the store starting Sunday, thanks to her Blackberry and a friendly assistant manager!
Start clipping those coupons early, kids!
Start clipping those coupons early, kids!
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