Stop Shopping Saturdays

This week again we didn't need to much other than fruits and vegetables. As you can tell we tend to go through a lot of both!

Kroger #1

14lbs Split Chicken Breast – marked down to 98c/lb
1lb mushrooms – marked to $1.59/lb
4lbs Strawberries – Marked down to $3.99

$20.79

Kroger #2

Danactive Yogurt – 99c – 1.00 coupon.
6lbs Bananas marked down to 39c/lb
Dannon Yogurt – 99c
5lbs unbleached flour – $1.75
15lbs apples marked down to 99c/3lbs
$1.99 deli meat & cheese pack – originally 6.11!

16.37

Aldi's

12lbs oranges $1.99/4lbs
KC Style BBQ Sauce 99c
Red grapes – 2.98 for 2lbs
Cheese Spread – 3.79 for 2lbs
Mini Marshmallows 79c
2 cucumbers 59c each

Total 16.87

Angel Food Ministries

2 - 1.5 lb. Rib Eye Steaks (4 x 6 oz)
2 - 1.5 lb. Hamburger Patties (4 x 6 oz)
2 - 2 lb. Pork Riblets
2 - 4 lb. Individually Quick Frozen Chicken Leg Quarters
2 - 2 lb. Breaded Chicken Tenders
2 - 20 oz. - Supreme Pizza
2 - 1 lb. Mild Italian Sausage
2 - 2 lb. French Fries
2 - 16 oz. Sliced Carrots
2 - 16 oz. Mixed Vegetables
2 - 32 oz. Borden 2% Reduced Fat Shelf Stable Milk
2 - 6 oz. Pancake Mix
2 - 15 oz. Pork and Beans
2 - 14 oz. Ketchup
2 - 7.5 oz. Macaroni & Cheese
2 dozen eggs
2 dessert items

Total $60

Total for the week $114.03

Frugal Recipe Friday - Ramen Stir Fry

Here is a fun recipe for you to try.

My comments - I love this recipe. It is fast and cheap, you can do so many different things with it to keep your family's taste buds happy. I can feed my family of 9 with this recipe for around $3-$4 depending on what meat and vegetables I use.

Freezer Friday - Getting Organized

One of the keys to saving on your food budget is having a well stocked, well organized freezer. How many times have you gone to the freezer and found something that you weren't sure when you had bought it, even worse you don't remember buying something you found, or worst of all your not even sure what it is? I'm sure all of us have had these moments when we wish we where more organized.

Here is my challenge for you, GET ORGANIZED! It will really help you save on your budget.

1. Make an itemized list of everything that you have in your freezer.
2. Cross things off the list when you use them.
3. Add things to your list when you freeze them - include the date.
4. With everything new that you put in your freezer label the item with what it is and the date.
5. If an item doesn't have a date on it already use it first.
6. Place newer items towards the bottom and back of the freezer leaving room of older items at the top and front of the freezer.
7. To save space in the freezer use square/rectangle containers or freezer bags with the air removed and the contents are placed flat before freezing. Avoid round containers if possible
8. Sort your freezer by type of item: vegetables, fruits, dairy, type of meat, etc.
9. If at all possible process your items before freezing them. I cook some of my meats (hamburger and chicken with broth). This saves room because you are cooking off fats and other liquids. Also removing meats from store packaging is good practice because it prevents freezer burn and it also saves room.

Try this few tips this week. It will help you save money by knowing what you have and allowing you to plan your menu around it. Also it will help you shop for items that need and not buy items you already have. Organizing your freezer also keeps you from finding those mystery items that you will end up having to throw away, costing you money you could be using for something else.

Totally didn't work Thursdays

A good friend of mine posted this a little while back. When I was asking her for ideas for this segment of my blog this was the first thing she suggested. Check out her post here.

Thrifty Savings Thursdays -

One of the first things you should do when it comes to working with cutting your food budget is evaluating the area you live in. What stores do you have? How do their prices compare? You have to be willing to shop around. Remember I shop at 3 or more different store during my shopping trips.

Do you live in a small town where you don’t have many choices for shopping? Is it cost effective to drive to another town? If not, I would suggest shopping in a larger town, stocking up 1 a month, rather than shopping on a weekly basis. If this is still cost prohibited then you will need to find other ways to cut your food budget. I will discuss these options later.

Do you live in a large town? Does it have lots of options? I live in a large town and honestly there are not that many grocery shopping options. We have a new Hyvee which I have never shopped at because it is clear on the other side of town and several smaller stores, but they don’t have weekly flyers that I can easily get. Remember my time is worth money. So where do I shop? We have tons of Krogers and 2 Aldi’s, 3 Walmarts and Sam’s Club.

Are there any other options for food shopping? In our town we have a couple options. I’m going to explain them to you in hopes that you can get some ideas for your shopping trips. We have a program called Angel Food Ministries, check out there website to see if they are in your area. They are a nonprofit organization that helps provide food to families. They have a basket of food that cost $30, the cost of the actual food cost much more than the $30 you pay. Our family gets 2 $30 baskets, which is how we spend $60 of our $400 food budget. It also allows us to get food that I wouldn’t normally buy because it’s usually more expensive than we can afford.

Another option in our town is called Capital City Surplus. It is a flee market, but they also have damaged or surplus items for drastically marked down prices. This again allows me to get the kids food that I would not normally buy and it allows me to get food that I do normally buy at much cheaper than we can get them at the store.

I also shop at a store about 45 minutes away once a month. Don’t worry, I don’t just drive to that store to shop. It’s on the way to visit family. This store has 10lb meat sales. I can get almost any meat we use for much cheaper than it is at the everyday price.

Think about it: What are the options in your town? Where are the best sales for the week? Is there an easy path from store to store where you are not wasting a ton of money on gas? Can you do your shopping while you are out doing something else? Try to keep things simple this week and looking at what’s on sale and looking at the different stores and trying to shop around to find the best prices. This may take a couple week for you to master what works best for you.

Remember if it doesn’t work for you, you are more likely to not follow through or not want to follow through.

Past Post - Witness Wednesdays

Being a Christian I want to make sure that I am a good witness to the people around me. When I go shopping I'm always kind and friendly to the people around me. I don't get impatient while in line even if I get caught behind an order that it taking forever. My time is worth a lot to me, but it's not worth enough to ruin my mood or to be unfriendly to people around me. I'm usually a very shy person, I try to get over this when I'm shopping. I've had some wonderful conversations while I'm shopping, and I've even saved money by asking questions of store employees. Something else to remember is that a simple smile can go a long way. Somebody could be having a completely terrible day and your smile could help brighten it!

Keeping a good attitude also helps you stay focused and saves time. It also helps when nothing seems to be going right and everything seems to be taking forever. Just remember to stay positive, trust me it does help.

Past Post - Once in a While Cooking Wednesdays

Because I have a new born baby I have not had time to do what I call once in a while cooking. I'm using food from my stock of precooked meals. Think about how much easier it is to just pull something out of the freezer the night before you need it and let it thaw in the refrigerator until you pop it in the oven at 350 or in a pot until it is heated all the way through. It is so easy!

Before we get started with my ideas and tips think about the meal that you normally fix, can you double, triple or quadruple the recipe when you make it once? Will it freeze well? Do you have the freezer space? If you can answer yes to all of these questions then making freezer meals is for you.

Time Saving Tuesdays - Master Mix

I would like to share with you one of my kitchen secrets. It’s pretty much a home made version of Bisquick. It’s inexpensive, quick to make, and it saves you a lot of time when you are wanting something special with your meal. When I make up this recipe I usually quadruple it and then put the extras in the freezer for later use. You can find a wonderful version of this recipe at Cooks.com: Master Mix Recipe.

You can use this recipe to make cookies, cakes, quick breads, muffins, biscuits, pancakes, dumplings, etc. You can even get creative and make your own recipes! There are so many possibilities and it makes prep time incredibly fast. I can make up biscuits for dinner in less than one minute and then all I need to do is stick them in the oven!

I used to not make things like this because they would take so much time and I didn’t want to spend the extra money on Bisquick. Now that I’ve added this master mix to our pantry it is so much easier for me to spoil my family with fun foods they enjoy. Now, hopefully you can spoil your family too!

Past Post - Take it slow Tuesdays

This has nothing to do with the food budget, but I wanted to write this now because it is a big tip in saving money during the summer.

Running the stove or the oven during the summer is going to drastically raise you electric bill. This is because they are working against your air conditioner. Last night it was starting to get hot outside, but we didn't turn on air conditioner. We decided to cook something in the oven and on the stove. It heated the kitchen to the point that it was almost unbearable to be anywhere near the kitchen. I'm just glad we weren't running the air.

During the summer try cooking on a grill, griddle or in a crock pot and if at all possible do it outside where you wont be working against your AC.

I've been trying to figure out how to cook my bread this summer and as much as I don't like cooking the bread in the actual bread maker I think it is going to be the most cost effective. If that even starts heating the house I could set it outside while it is baking. I've also been trying to figure out how the cook my freezer meals, and I'm starting to think the best option for those is cooking them the crock pot or roaster oven if possible.

Try to figure out ways to cook outside or without your stove. It really well help you save money.

Past Post - Menu Mondays

In my menu I all ways plan for everyday of the week, but I know sometimes we will have extras from dinner on pervious nights so if we have a lot of left overs then we have left overs and I will move the menu back a night.

Breakfast - I have a hard time with a breakfast menu because I generally let the kids pick, I'll make things up and put them in the refrigerator and they can choose what they would like. It's hard with a new born for me to actually get up and fix breakfast.

M - Choice of toast or oat meal, fruit
T - Scrambled eggs, toast and fruit
W - Choice of toast or oat meal fruit
T - Scrambled eggs, toast and fruit
F - Cereal, fruit
S - Baked oatmeal
S - Baked oatmeal if there is any left over and pancakes, fruit

Lunch - there are always dinner left overs along with what I fix for lunch.

M - Tomato soup, crackers and fruit
T - PB&J, carrot sticks, choice of fruit
W - Left overs
T - Ramen, peas, fruit
F - Hotdogs, cheese, fruit
S - Leftovers
S - Eat of for lunch

Dinner
M - Freezer meal - hubby's favorite - Beef Stroganoff, all I have to do is fix noodles, veggie & fruit
T - Ramen noodle stir fry (pork chops), fun frugal dish, I'll share the recipe on Friday.
W - Chicken breast patty sandwiches, cheese, oven baked fries, mixed veggies, and fruit
T - Freezer meal - Cream of turkey with broccoli soup over rice. Just have to fix the rice, fruit
F - Spaghetti and meat balls, canned pears, corn.
S - Freezer meal - Shepherds pie, fruit
S - Tacos, fruit salad

Past Post - Make It At Home Mondays

One of the simplest ways to cut the budget is to take something that you use a lot and would normally buy at the store, and figure out how to make it at home. One item that most family use in large quantities is bread. Here is a simple bread recipe that I love and what I wonderful way to cut the budget. This was a recipe that I found, I'm not sure where I found it, but I have altered it to fit the needs of our family.

Add to your bread maker in this order
1 cup warm of water1T honey
2T oil - I've used vegetable, coconut or olive they all work great
2T brown sugar
1t salt
3 cups unbleached flour
2t yeast

Set bread maker to the dough setting, this should knead the bread and allow it to rise for the first time. Once the cycle is finished, remove the dough from the bread maker and place it into a greased bread pan. Cover with a towel and let sit for 1hour or until doubled in size. Bake in the oven for 30minutes at 350. Cool, remove from bread pan, slice and enjoy. I really like this recipe because it works really well for sandwich bread, which most homemade breads don't.

My comments - If you think about it a loaf of bread cost anywhere from 1.00 for a cheap plain white loaf to $3.00 or more for a more expensive loaf. For your basic loaf of bread it probably cost about 50c or a little less to make it at home. One area that we will not skimp on is flour. I always buy unbleached or whole wheat. These are so much healthier for you than a bleached flour, which has it's nutrients and protein removed and then the nutrients are "added" back to it. We also use sea salt rather than just regular table salt.

Once you start making homemade bread you wont want to go back to store bought bread. Nothing beats the smell and taste of homemade bread! As my sister in law says, "The person who figures out how make an air freshener that smells like homemade bread is going to become rich."

Past Post - Serve It Again Sundays

Most people dread leftovers. They are never as good as the original, but I actually thrive on left overs. They make my life so easy when it comes to fixing lunch or a dinner. Cheaply dress them up by adding something to make them a little different than the meal before. Remember the soup I talked about Friday. For left overs one day I added a can of mushrooms and tomato sauce. This made a completely differe nt dish. If you have a rice dish or something that is easily scoop-able add it to crackers or have it on a toasted sandwich with some cheese.

Before you start cooking dinner every night look in the refrigerator and see what's in there. You might be surprised to find enough food for a meal without having to cook. Can you easily spice up a left over and serve it again?

Past Post: Stop Shopping Saturdays

This week we really didn't need much for our kitchen. We needed fruit and a few vegetables, so I figured I would go out and see what I could find for deals and manager's specials.

This week's total for my shopping trip was $47.29. I know what you are thinking, "If you didn't need anything, why did you end up spending almost $50?" I'll explain. First of all, I sometimse break the rule of if you don't need it, don't buy it. I'm a firm believer that if you will use it before it goes bad and it's an excellent price then go ahead and get it.

When I shop I usually shop at two Krogers and Aldi's. Why do I shop at two different Krogers? It's simple, because each store has different items that they mark down. If I have more time, sometimes I'll throw in a 3rd store, which is actually the closest Kroger to my house. I don't usually shop this Kroger because the prices seem to be higher, not only in general, but also on their marked down and clearance items.

Kroger #1 - At this Kroger they have a huge clearance section, the only problem I have with this Kroger is that they will not allow you to use coupons on the marked down items.

Here is what I bought:

2.84lbs of bananas marked down to 39c/lb
1loaf of bread marked down to 69c2lbs of carrots marked down to $1.49
1lb of mushrooms marked down to $1.69
10 - 12oz bags of pasta - clearance 49c each - I didn't plan on buying these, but it's a great price and we go through lots of pasta.
10 dozen eggs - something I didn't plan on buying, but this store was having a 3 day special where their large eggs where 99c/dozen an excellent price!2
Smuckers special edition dark chocolate mint syrup on clearance for 1.12 - a treat, too bad they wouldn't take coupons, would have made a sweet deal.

Total $23.66 - not bad at all considering that the eggs would run anywhere from $15-$20 alone.


Kroger #2 - I shop at this Kroger because they are one of the least shopped Krogers in town so they tend to have the best mark downs

Here is what I bought:
4 dozen cage free eggs 50c/dozen - beyond excellent!!!!!!
4lbs lemons marked down to 99c/2lbs
4lbs limes marked down to 69c/2lbs - made some killer homemade lemon/limeade
7.62lbs grapes - 99c/lb

Total $13.87 again not bad considering cage free eggs could cost me anywhere from $12-$16.

Aldi's
Seedless Watermelon - $3.99 (approx 12lbs making it 34c/lb).
3 Cucumbers 59c each
2 - 12 packs of Ramen Noodles $1.66 each

Total - $9.76

What did you buy this week and how much did you spend? Did you find any sweet deals? I sure know the eggs and pasta where wonderful steals!

Past Post: Freezer Fridays -

One of the biggest misconceptions in owning a freezer is that it is bad to keep your freezer full because if the power goes out then everything will go bad and you will waste a ton of money. This is actually not true. When your freezer is full everything is actually more likely to stay frozen in the event of a power outage. Think of it this way, it takes a lot less time for an ice cube to melt than it does for a whole gallon of water.

So what do you do if your power goes out? Keep the freezer closed and don't open it unless you absolutely have to. If your freezer is full, everything in it should be fine as long as the power isn't out for too long.

Another big advantage to keeping your freezer full is that it cost less money to run. It's the same idea as when the power goes out, the more that is in the freezer, the cooler it will stay and the less energy it will take to run.

So if your freezer is empty start stocking it up, but stay within your budget. When you stock up make sure to keep your older stuff toward the front/top of the freezer.

Past post: Frugal Recipe Fridays - Tuscan Soup

The Taste of Home Cookbook - copyright 2007

Recipe Submitted by Rosemary Goetz, Hudson, New York

"This meatless soup can be prepared in a flash. It's perfect after working full time outside the home."

1 small onion, chopped
1 small carrot, sliced
1 table spoon olive oil
2 cans chicken broth (14-1/2 ounces each)
1 cup of water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (15 to 16 ounces) white kidney or great northern beans, rensed and drained
2/3 cups uncooked small spiral pasta2 cups thinly sliced fresh escarole or spinach.

In a 2-qu. Saucepan, saute onion and carrot in oil until onions is tender. Add the broth, water, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Stir in beans and pasta; return to a boil.
Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the pasta and vegetable are tender, stirring occasionally. Add escarole; heat through.

Yields: 4 servings

My comments: I really need to just make my own version of this recipe. I made the recipe the other day, but I changed quite a bit about it, to make it easier for me.

I cooked the onions and carrots the way that the recipe said except that I used coconut oil. Then I used 5 cups of water and 5 bouillon cubes rather than canned chicken broth (bouillon cubes are much cheaper than canned broth). Salt (I used garlic salt) and pepper to taste. When I added the canned beans I added 3 cans of beans (pinto, black and kidney beans) with the broth (I acutally doubled the recipe, so 1-2 can would probably work better, it depends on how beany you like your soup). Bean broth actually adds protein and nutrients to the soup. Next time I make this soup I will be adding beans that I have made myself and then frozen in broth rather than canned. Nothing beats homemade beans and they are cheaper than canned. I also used 8 servings of pasta even though the recipe only called for 2/3 cup. My kiddos and hubby aren't as much for the broth, so the pasta helped drink it up, it also makes the soup more filling. The last thing that I did was I used canned spinach, next time I'll use frozen. This soup turned out wonderful. I hope you enjoy it was much as we did. The total cost was around $3-4 and when I doubled the recipe it made enough food for us to have dinner (9 people) and leftovers for lunch for 2 days (5 people).