Savings at Kroger & Walgreens

Last night I had to run by Kroger and grab some milk.  I buy 2 gallons at a time because we go through it quickly!  I decided to go to the Kroger at Goodman and Getwell because they seem to have better clearance items than the Olive Branch Kroger.  Well, it paid off!  I bought my 2 gallons of milk for $5.16 and then they had Corn Flakes w/Honey on clearance for $1.09.  I had a coupon for $1/2.  I bought 4 boxes for $.58 each.  They also had Quaker Oatmeal w/ cinnamon on clearance for $1.49.  No coupons for this one but I saved $1.40 off of the regular price and my kids love it. My favorite deal of all was on Mahatma Yellow Rice.  We love this rice.  It was on Kroger's regular sale for $.75.  I had a coupon for $.75/2 so it's like getting one free.  I also had a coupon for $1.00 off any Mahatma rice so I made money on that coupon.  The final cost for rice was 2 bags for $.16 each.  My final Kroger bill should have been $22.97 but after clearance price and coupons it was $10.67...if only I had coupons for milk!


Now to Walgreens!
Dove Men's Body Wash $5.99 rec'd $5.99 register reward minus $1.50/1 coupon = $1.50 profit
Hefty One Zip Bags BOGO (buy one get one free)  $3.29 minus $1/1 coupon = 2 for $1.30 each (Always try to buy the largest quantity allowed for that coupon.  I bought the box containing 22 bags each)
Gillette Deoderant $3.99 rec'd $1.50 register rewards minus BOGO coupon minus $1 coupon= 2 for $.75 each
Kotex Tampons 2/$6 rec'd. $3 register reward minus $1.50/2=  2 for $.75 each
The total amount I paid was $9.02 (I did use a $10 register reward) and I received $14.50 in register rewards!  Bottom Line $5.48 profit!


Walgreens Friend's and Family Coupon - 15% off most products and 20% off Walgreens brand products. FRIDAY ONLY
Walgreens Coupon

I have also added a link to Swagbucks on my blog.  This is a free search engine.  You earn "bucks" for searching.  These "bucks" can be used for money in their store.  Check it out.  It's a great way to earn free stuff just by doing what you normally do!

Coupons & Freebies

Did anyone watch Andy Wise last night on the news?  He went grocery shopping with Susan Samtur.  She bought $144 worth of groceries and paid $16.33!  She has her own coupon website, selectcouponprogram.com.  I looked at it briefly but I'm planning on studying it a little more.  I'm not sure about paying $40/year to get coupons.  It was interesting to see all of the free coupons that she had during the interview.  Those are not things you find often!  If you can get those on the site it may be worth it.  Let me know if you check it out.

Here are some links for you to try today. 



Free Dayspring Greeting Card from Lifeway Christian Stores.  Thanks to MoneysavingMom.com
Free Card

A great source for printable coupons -
Print Your Own

More Printables

House Party 4 U?

Have you heard of Houseparty.com?  If not, go to the website and check it out.  You first sign up with houseparty.com.  This puts you on their e-mail list.  If you see a party that you would like to host, you fill out the survey and submit it.  You will find out in a few days or weeks, depending on the date of the party, if you are selected as a host.

I received notification today that I was selected for an Arnold & Arowheat Sandwich Thins party!  I am really excited because we LOVE this bread.  In fact, it is about the only bread I buy (except for my free bread last week).  We use them for breakfast and lunch.  If you are interested in coming to the party let me know.  It will be Feb. 27 at 11:30.  You will get free coupons, reusable grocery bag, kitchen note pad, recipe cards, and  Sandwich Thins® Nutrition Guides and Healthy Living Tips.  Oh, and did I mention free lunch?  Ok, and it's a good excuse to get out of the house for a little while!



This week may be a little slow on the coupon deals because I am working on using foods from the freezer and pantry before I buy more.  But if you still have to do your weekly shopping, take a few minutes to sit down and plan out your meals.  You should receive your local grocery store ads in the mail today.  See what they have on sale and plan your menu around it.  Be sure to check for coupons on any items that you have to buy.  There are several places online to print coupons if you don't have them on hand.

Sugar High or Low??

I have mentioned before that the family and I are eating healthier this year.  This includes cutting WAY down on sugar.  I still have a little sugar in my coffee every morning but that is about it.  Well, last night I was asked to bring dessert to a Super Bowl party.  I made these wonderful Chocolate Chess Squares.  I tried one while hot because I had never made them before and didn't want to take them if they were bad (good excuse, huh?) and then I had one at the party.  We had 4 leftover that wouldn't fit on the platter so I had one with my coffee this morning.  I know, but it was so good!  The family went out and played in the snow for a while this morning and then...CRASH!  I am so tired and so grouchy!  I have felt so good while eating healthy and my energy level has been great.  I've been working out almost daily and didn't feel worn out by mid-day anymore.  So, is sugar the culprit?  I could blame it on something else... long weekend with little sleep, hormones, whatever but my final answer?  Sugar!  Therefore, I have a new resolution. I will do my best not to feed my body sugar.  I am even going to work on removing the sugar from my coffee but that may take a while.  Are you going to join me?  If nothing else do a little 1 month test.  Remove sugar from your life for 1 month and then go back on it.  If you cannot tell a difference in how you feel go ahead and incorporate sugar back in your life.  If your results are like mine let's kick the habit for good!

BTW, during our first month of healthy living I lost 12 lbs and 12.5 inches.  Josh lost 11 lbs and 7.5 inches.  Blake lost 6 lbs and 5 inches.  Doug lost about 10 lbs but has not measured yet.

Now on to the weekly menu.  You have probably noticed that we do not mind eating leftovers.  In fact, I always try to cook enough for the next day's lunch.  It is just much easier on me and more cost effective.  I will include some notes and recipes for you this week.  I hope they are helpful.

Weekly Menu

Monday
1.  1/2 c. grits and 1 egg
2.  Yogurt & orange  (make sure to watch the sugar in yogurt!)
3.  Turkey Soup
4.  Homemade pasta sauce w/ whole wheat pasta
For the sauce, I am using ground turkey and spicy Italian sausage that I got on sale last night.  I saute onions and garlic then add the meats until browned.  I strain off all of the fat and place in a dutch oven.  I throw in 1 bag of whole tomatoes that were from my garden.  I also have a frozen bag of chopped tomatoes from the garden that I add in.  You can add Italian seasoning or whatever seasonings you like.  I will let this cook at a high simmer for several hours to cook out some of the water from the tomatoes.

Tuesday
1.  Oatmeal
2.  Protein shake w/ banana  ( I freeze bananas when they begin getting over-ripe.  I just take them from the freezer and peel to add to a shake.  This adds fruit and thickens at the same time)
3.  Leftover Spaghetti
4.  Balsamic Chicken + veggies

Wednesday
1.  Egg sandwich
2.  Apple and Almonds
3.  Leftover balsamic chicken
4.  1/2 c. brown rice + 2 veggies

Thursday
1.  Cereal
2. Small salad
3.  Brown rice + veggies
4.  Super Tender Beef + garlic quinoa
Beef - 1 c. water, 1/2 c. soy sauce, 2 T. brown sugar, 1/4 c. lemon juice, 2 T. Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 t. thyme, 2.5 lbs. chuck steak (frozen).  Combine all ingredients except meat and pour into slow cooker.  Place meat in sauce and cook on low for 12-24 hours.  You will be able to pull meat apart with 2 forks.

Friday
1.  Yogurt & fruit
2.  Turkey wrap
3.  Leftover beef w/ small baked potato
4.  Lentil Stew
Lentil Stew - 1 c. dry lentils, 6 c. water, 1 beef bouillon, 2 T. soy sauce, 1 diced onion, 4 diced carrots, 2 diced celery stalks, 4 diced potatoes, 1/2 t. parsley, 3 T. flour, 2 T. butter.  Rinse lentils.  Add all of the ingredients except flour and butter to a large pot.  Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.  In a small bowl, mix the flour and butter into a paste.  Add 1/2 c. of broth to paste and whisk.  Add paste to stew and stir constantly for 3-4 mins.

Saturday
1.  Whole wheat pancake topped w/ egg
2.  Yogurt + fruit
3.  Lentil stew
4.  Mexican Dinner
Mexican dinner - 1 lb. browned ground beef, 1/4 c. flour, 1 t. chili powder, 1/3 c. diced onion, 4 cloves garlic, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 c. water, 16 oz. refried beans, 10 flour tortillas, 1.5 c. salsa, 1 c. grated cheddar cheese.  Place meat and flour, chili powder, onion, garlic, and salt in skillet.  Add water and simmer for 10 mins. In a separate pan warm beans.  Place about 3 T. beans and 3 T. meat on each tortilla. Fold and place seam down on microwave safe plate.  Cover tortilla with salsa and cheese.  Microwave about 45 seconds.  These can be frozen without salsa and cheese.  When you are ready to eat them microwave for 2 minutes then add salsa and cheese and microwave an additional 30 seconds.  Let it stand for 1-2 minutes.

My Week...in review

I have had trouble finding time to sit down the last couple of days to write.  There are a lot of things that I want to tell you about so I hope I have time to get it all in before I hear my name being called...again.

First, I want to tell you about the great hotel deal I got for our JBQ (Junior Bible Quiz) team.  We are headed to Districts in Murfreesboro, TN on March 20.  We needed 4 rooms but we have learned not to stay at the hotel that everyone else is staying at.  An entire state full of JBQ kids K-6th grade make for a very loud hotel.  Anyway, I started doing my research to find a hotel that was (1) nice, (2) no exterior doors, (3) indoor pool, (4) free, hot breakfast.  I finally decided on the Fairfield Inn in Smyrna.  I called to see if I could get a deal on 4 rooms and they said it would be $110 per night.  I checked online through Marriot (the parent company) and got a rate for $89 + a price guarantee.  They guarantee to match any lower price found online PLUS reduce the price by 25%!  So, I booked all 4 rooms at $89 then I filed the paperwork showing that I found an online rate for their hotel for $80 per night.  They quickly approved my claim and advised that our rooms were now $60 each.  They also had a deal where if you pay with a VISA you get a $15 gift card back per room....so...the bottom line.... We are getting 4 - $110 rooms for $45 each! yea!

I also got some great deals yesterday at Walgreens and CVS.  I purchased 5 12-packs of Pepsi, 2 Tostitos, 1 Starbucks Frappuccino and 1 2-liter Pepsi for $2.33!  Yes, that is two dollars and thirty-three cents! I also received a $10 register reward on top of that!

CVS has their Hellmann's Mayo BOGO.  I got 4 and used 4 coupons for $.50 off.  Then I used $4.50 in CVS rewards.  The final price was $6.43 for 4.  I saved $18.48.  If you are a Mayo person you know that Hellmann's is the BEST!

Well, I got most of what I had to say in and now I am being paged to the other end of the house.  I have a pot of turkey vegetable soup on cooking that needs to be stirred too.  I hope to have the menu for next week posted tomorrow.  Let me know if you are starting your family menus or beginning to use coupons a little more.

My deals + Cooking Adventures

I made my weekly trip to Kroger this morning.  They have their buy 10 items and get $5 off sale still going.  Here are some deals I got:
Hunt's tomatoes $.50 - $.45/3 coupon= $.30 each
Hormel Chili $.70 - $.55/2 coupon = $.25 each
Ritz Crackers $1.99 - $1/1 coupon = $.99 each
Quaker Granola Bars $1.99 - $1/2 coupon = $1.50 each
Honey Bunches of Oats (one of our fav's) $2.19 for family size.
Quilted Northern $5.99 - $1/1 = $4.99
The total for the day $30.17  SAVINGS $26.94

I'm headed to Walgreen's and CVS on the way to church tonight.  CVS has Hellmann's Mayo BOGO and I have lots of $.50/1 coupons.  If anyone needs a coupon let me know.  They expire 2/7 so better get them quick!

Walgreens has their Pepsi products and chip sale again.  If you spend $20 you get $10 back in register rewards.  I have a $10 RR to spend so I'm going to get 5/$15 Pepsi, 3/$6 chips for $8.45.  I will then get another $10 RR so I actually make $1.55 on this deal.

I am going to do a second transaction at Walgreens.  They have Nyquil on sale for $5.  If you buy $20 you get $10 RR.  I have 4 coupons for $2 off each one.  I will end up spending $2 for 4 bottles of Nyquil. 

Now, on to cooking adventures!  My weekly menu has been a little off because my 21 lb. turkey took a lot longer to thaw than I thought it would!  It finally thawed yesterday so I began preparing to bake.  I always use a browning bag to cook mine in and this turkey barely fit in the bag!  The next challenge was getting him into the roasting pan! We finally poked and prodded until he fit and into the oven he went.  He was beautiful when he came out!  We had turkey, green beans and glazed carrots for dinner.  (BTW, the glazed carrots were awesome!!  I will put the recipe at the bottom of the page.)  I froze one side of the breast and in a separate bag I froze about 3 cups of chopped meat.  I sent my husband a turkey sandwich for his lunch today and the boys and I had turkey salad sandwiches.  I still have about 4-5 cups of turkey in the fridge.  I am thinking of making turkey chili and saving the turkey soup for later. Anyway, we will get a lot of use out of this turkey!!

Sunday I decided to make the whole wheat waffles to put in the freezer.  I got the batter mixed up and the waffle iron heating and poured the first batch in.  I waited 5 minutes and opened it up and..... everything was stuck!!  The waffles split right down the middle and half stuck to the top and half stuck to the bottom and no matter what I did it would NOT come off!  I ended up throwing away the whole waffle iron (which was pretty old anyway!) and I made pancakes instead.  I froze the pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet and then transferred them to a zip top bag.  I had one for breakfast this morning with a fried egg on top.  Delicious!

Glazed Carrots

1-2 lbs. carrots, sliced
1 T. honey
1/2 t. salt
2 T. butter

Barely cover carrots with water in a saucepan.  Add salt and honey.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer.  Simmer until carrots are tender.  Once tender, raise heat and cook out water.  Watch carefully so they don't burn.  when the water is cooked out, add butter and serve.

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