Saturday, January 12, 2008

Welcome 1-9-08 through 1-15-08

Welcome!!
I hope everyone is finding some good deals to begin the new year with more money in your pocket.

Initially, the coupon inserts last week looked good, but not awesome. Believe me there are ways to make them awesome. I bought extra papers and am now glad I did so. (The Peter Pan peanut butter coupon for 1.00 off means free peanut butter at Walmart and at Harris Teeter this week. )

Being that SuperBowl time of year, be on the lookout for the beer rebates on the store displays. They are sometimes hard to see, hard to find because they get snatched up quickly, are worth big money, and are limited to one per household. For the most part, Food Lion has been the best place to find rebates for beer offers. I am not sure why but I will go in there once in a while and just look for the rebates I know are out there. Here are a brief list of the ones I know exist right now:

1. Coors SuperBowl send 20, get 10 back on chips, meat, condiments, soda and party items.... This one is easy to find on the big Coors displays. Looks like a phamplet and the rebate is on the back page. I have seen it at Lowes Foods, Harris Teeter and Food Lion.

2. Miller 10% back on your grocery order. The minimum grocery purchase must be 30.00 and then you submit the receipt and get back 10%. I submitted a receipt that included diapers and wipes! They will not allow smokes, electronics, PX. There is a household max of 20.00 per household, so I have submitted several receipts in separate envelopes to see what happens. I found these only at Lowes Foods.

#3. Miller "Pick up Miller Lite & Your Party Essentials" rebate. This is a single sheet with 3 separate rebates on it. The first one is spend 10.00 on pizza and get 5.00 back. I have submitted receipts for Papa Johns before where I did a BOGO Entertainment coupon for 2 large pizzas and then got the double play of the rebate back and the total for 2 delivery pizzas came out to 6.something! So they will take delivery receipts. Good date night rebate. The second rebate is spend 10.00 on a rotisserie chicken and get 5.00 back. The third is spend 10.00 on deli platters and get 5.00 back. Good if you are having a party for the superbowl or having to take something somewhere, you might as well save some money! You can separate and do all 3. They expire 2/5/08. I found these only at the Harris Teeter on the corner of Friendly Ave and Guilford College Rd on a Miller beer display in front of the meat counter and they were at the very bottom of the display and VERY hard to see initially.

#4. Budweiser "save 15.00 on deli items or pizza" so spend 15.00, get back 15.00. You can compile several receipts. I have not found this coupon anywhere around here but am searching. I did trade someone on the internet for 1 and think it will show up in Food Lion since it does not expire until 2/3/08. The categories are so broad that anyone will be able to use it if we can only find it in the stores.

#5. Budweiser "save 15.00 on chips, tortillas, salsa, cooking oil, MEATS, CHEESES, marinades, and all canned or bottled VEGS or sauces" so spend 15.00 and get 15.00 back. Again, you can submit several receipts. This one includes almost everything in the grocery store!! This one again exp 2-3-08. I have not been able to find anywhere. I did trade for one on the internet but imagine they will eventually show up in a Food Lion around here by the end of the month.

#6. Miller has one coming out that is spend 50 (in several receipts) and get 25.00 back. This one will include meats and just about everything in the grocery store. I am on the hunt for it and think if it is distributed around here, it will most likely be in a Food Lion.

Whenever you submit a receipt, make copies of your submission. I make copies of my forms and grocery receipts. It has come in handy when I have had problems being paid and helps me keep track of what I have done. I also have a tiny journal where I log in every rebate with the date I sent it off and the amount I expect back and when I receive the checks I go in and redate receipt and check it off. It helps because I am still waiting on some from JULY and know which ones I need to follow back up on with a call to the 1-800 line. Just a thought.

This is a great time of year to start tracking your spending and savings and see how you grow by the end of the year. I hope everyone can find one piece of information that they can directly tie to their grocery situation. I hope to one day to include CVS but due to the time involved, I can't right now. That is one goal I have for the year.

Genna

Meals for 1-9-08 through 1-15-08

Some of these recipes this week are very easy "dump into the crock pot" kinds. I specifically looked for easy crock recipes that used what was on sale because I personally am still adjusting to getting back on my routine and am having major time management issues. I don't think I am alone. This is a hard time of year with school, sick kids, sick mommies and dads, and the last thing I want to do is stand over the stove with a 10 step recipe! Hope this doesn't offend those of you who like to really cook.

BBQ chicken or ribs
Crock Mac N Cheese
Rump Roast
Spicy Cheesy Chicken Bake
Chicken Tetrazzini
Decadent Penanut Butter Pie
Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins
Strawberry Sour Cream Bread


BBQ Chicken or Ribs:
1 bottle Bulls Eye bbq sauce
1-2 lbs chicken leg quarters or
1 pkg ribs
Preheat to 350. I think everyone knows how to oven BBQ but ....Bake until chicken juices run clear. For me it seems to be about 45 minutes to an hour. Bake ribs until they are no longer pink- about an hour. I am going to serve with salad, rolls, and mac n cheese.

Crock Mac N Cheese:
3-4 cups cooked macaroni
Sauce: 2 cups evaporated milk
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp minced onion (can use dry seasoning)
1 egg beaten
2 cup cubed cheese (cheddar or processed but I use 2 cups of shredded)
2 tbsp butter
Put all sauce ingredients into the crock pot and stir. Cook on high 1 hour, stir occassionally. Add the macaroni and then cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.

Rump Roast:
4 lb rump roast
2 tbsp oil
1 onion chopped (approx 1 cup)
1 tsp instant chix or beef bouillon granules
1 tsp italian seasoning
2 tsp minced garlic
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 foil bag (there are coupons for these)
Brown roast in 2 tbsp oil. In a separate pan, saute the onions and garlic. Add the remaining ingredients and cook. Put the roast in the foil bag and pour the contents over the meat. Wrap and cook at 325 for 2 1/2 hours. (or a second option would be to put everything in the crock pot uncooked and cook on low for 5 hours.) I will serve with mashed potatoes, peas and bread.

Spicy Cheesy Chicken Bake:
1 can (15 oz) Veg All Hot n Spicy mixed vegs with liquid
1 can (10.75) cream of celery soup ( I have used chicken)
1 can (10 oz) chunk chicken, drained (2-5 oz cans from sales)
3 cups of crutons (herb flavored)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat to 350. In a bowl, stir together mixed vegs with liquid, soup, chicken, and crutons. Spoon into a 1 quart casserole dish. Bake, covered,for 25-30 mintes or until mixture bubbles. Top with cheese. Bake uncovered 5 minutes more. I serve on top of plain rice. It looks ugly but tastes good to me. I have jazzed it up at times by adding crushed red pepper and adding 1 can of spicy chili beans with their juices.

Chicken Tetrazzini:
3 cups diced cooked chicken (I just boil some breasts and save the broth for recipe)
2 cups chix broth (use the broth and add some granules to make it stronger)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup white wine or milk
1/2 cup silvered almonds (can get BOGO Emerald at Lowes and smash yourself)
2 4 oz cans sliced mushrooms, drained
10 oz can cream mushroom soup
parmesan cheese
spaghetti noodles, cooked
Put everything except parm cheese and spag into crock pot. Cook on low for 7 hours. Serve over buttered spaghetti and sprinkle with parm cheese. I will add some steamed vegs and some of that free garlic bread from triples.

Decadent Peanut Butter Pie:
** I wish I could show you what this looks like because it is incredible**
Pie: 1 prepared chocolate cookie pie crust
1 cup creamy peanut butter
8 oz cream cheese at room temp
1/2 cup sugar
4 1/2 cups cool whip topping, divided
1 jar (11.75 oz) Smuckers hot fudge topping, divided (there are .35/1 coupons)
Drizzle: 2 tbsp hot fudge topping
2 tbsp peanut butter
In a med bowl, beat together peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar. Gently fold in 3 cups of the whipped topping. Spoon mixture into prepared pie shell. Using spatula, smooth mixture to edges of pie. Reserve 2 tbsp of the hot fudge topping and place remainder into micro-safe bowl and micro for 1 minute and stir. Spread hot fudge topping over the pir to cover peanut butter layer. Refrigerate until serving time. Just before serving, spread remaining whipped topping (1-1 1/2 cups) over the hot fudge layer, being careful not to mix the two layers. Place reserved 2 tbsp hot fudge in a small baggie and knead for a few seconds. Cut a tiny hole in corner of bag and drizzle over pie. Repeat with 2 tbsp peanut butter, making a cris-cross pattern.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins:
**this is from the new cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld about hiding vegs in reg food so that your family eats vegs**
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup carrot puree (can make or use baby food jars)
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
2 tbsp trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 large egg white
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup low-sugar strawberry, blueberry or grape preserves
Preheat to 350. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups. In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter, carrot puree, sugar and margarine with a wooden spoon until well combined. Stir in the yogurt and egg white. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until just combined, but do not overmix- there should be some lumps in the batter. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and drop a spoonful of preserves on top of each. Bake until the tops of the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center, 20 to 25 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool Store in airtight container at room temp up to 2 days or freeze up to 1 month.

Strawberry Sour Cream Bread:
2 1/3 cups Bisquick or other baking mix
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 veg oil
1 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup washed, hulled and chopped fresh strawberries or chopped frozen unsweetened berries, partially thawed
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (BOGO Emerald at Lowes)
Preheat to 350. Spray a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray and dust lightly with flour. Combine baking mix, sugar, sour crea, oil, cinnamon, eggs and vanilla. Beat 50 strokes by hand. Fold in strawberries and nuts. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool loaf for 5 to 10 minutes on wire rack before removing from pan. When cool, wrap in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator.
In the past, when the bread starts getting old and dry, I will slice about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick and dip in egg/milk batter and make french toast out of it. Not friendly with my weight watchers points, which is why I might be on weight watchers to begin with, but...... very yummy french toast.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Harris Teeter Deals 1-9-08 through 1-15-08

In my experiences, the week after triples is not usually a great deal week at Teeter. I almost wonder if they are trying to get the store back in order the following week and really just need us to shop elsewhere for the week! Anyways.... there are some sales and deals to be had:

** I noticed that the meat is not ringing up half price if you get i pkg of the BOGO- I think you might have to buy 2 packs and get the prices as close together and the lesser of the 2 will be free** I need to ask Customer Service for clarification and then I will update this accordingly**

Chicken leg quarters.69lb BOGO
whole boneless pork tenderloin $5.99lb BOGO
chuck roast 3.99lb BOGO
round roast 3.99lb BOGO
rump roast 4.29lb BOGO
london broil 4.99lb BOGO
Hormel Butt Roast 1.79 lb
Driscoll strawberries 1lb 4.99 BOGO- 1.00/1 target coupon= 1.50ea
celery bunch 1.59- 1.00/1 target coupon= .59
Peter Pan PB 1.99 BOGO- 1.00/1= FREE
Pop Secret popcorn 2.59 BOGO- .40/1 or 1.00/1 IP= .50ea or .30
Bulls Eye BBQ sauce .94
Kraft organic salad dressing 1.44- .75/2= .69 ea
New York Texas Toast crutons 1.59 BOGO- .55 peelie or .40/1= .25 ea or FREE
Old El Paso salsa 1.64- .55/1 IP= .54
Old El Paso taco toppers sauces .94
Valley Fresh can chicken 2/3- .65/2= .85 ea
Muir Glen organic soup 2/4- .75= .50
Kraft mac n cheese .60 ea
Hungry Jack pancake mix 2/3- .55/1= .40
Nabisco 100 calorie bars 2/5- .75/1= 1.00
carprisun 10pk 3.19 BOGO= 1.60
HT shredded cheese 3.19 BOGO= 1.60 ea
OM bologna 2.00 (beef) 1.50 (chicken & pork)
Scotties tissues 3/3.99- .50/3= 1.00 ea
scrubbing bubbles 3.59 BOGO- .75/1 in 1-13 paper= .30
Harris Teeter ice cream 4.99 BOGO
Birds Eye Viola 4.99 BOGO- 1.00/1 IP= 1.50 ea
Steamfresh vegs 2/5 BOGO (1.25)- .35/1= .55
Barber chicken cordon bleu 4.89 BOGO- 1.00/1= 1.45 ea


deals:

#1: go to www.afullcup.com and go to the Target coupons and print out copies of the 1.00 off 1 lb Driscoll strawberries, which are on sale 4.99 BOGO. Use these coupons to get some cheap off-season fruit.

#2: go to www.afullcup.com and go to the Food Lion coupons and print out several copies of the 2.00 off Oreo cookies. They are not on sale at Teeter, but the regular price is 3.69 so even at regular price, they are a good deal by me at a now 1.69 a package. I am holding out and hoping that they will go on sale for BOGO sometime before the coupon expires on the 22nd of Jan. If they do go on sale BOGO either at Teeter or Lowes in the next 2 weeks they will be free with these coupons! I have several yum recipes for when this happens. But there is a second or double play for these Oreos. On some of the nabisco cookies there are peelie coupons for buy 1 nabisco cookie and get 1.00 off a gallon of milk.

Lowes Foods Deal 1-9-08 through 1-15-08

Dole bag salads 2/5- 1.00/1 target coupon= 1.50
pork ribs (family pack) 1.99 lb
Valley Fresh can chunk chicken meat 2/3- .65/2= .85 ea
Spaghettios 5/3- .40/2= .20 ea
Chef Boyardee micro bowls 5/5- 1.00/2= .50 ea
Chef Boyardee cans 10/10.00- .35/3= .76 ea
Hunts can spaghetti sauce 5/5
Hamburger Helper 4/5 circular coupon- .75/3 mfg= .75 box
Lowes brand mac n cheese .79 BOGO= .40
Lowes brand tomatoes (diced, crushed) 5/3= .60ea
Hunts Fire Roasted tomatoes 5/5- .25/1= .50ea
Muir Glen (organic brand) tomatoes 3/3.99 - .75/1= FREE
Wishbone dressing 2/4- .60/1= .80 ea
Progresso soups 4/5 store circular coupon- .50/2 mfg= .75 ea
Dole fruit cups, parfaits 2/4- .75/1= .50 ea
Smuckers Squeeze grape jelly 2/3- .35/1= .80
Smuckers Squeeze strawberry jelly 2/4- .35/1= 1.30
Smuckers grape jam in jar 2.19 BOGO- .35/1= .40 ea (great deal)
Snyders of Hanover multigrain chips 2/6- .75/1= 1.50 ea
Emerald nuts BOGO canisters or 2/4 bags with circular coupon
Freschetta pizza 3/9.99- 2.00 winetags found on 'Alice White' bottles= 1.33 ea
Uncrustables 2/4- .55/1= .90ea
SuperPretzel 2/5- .65/1= 1.20 ea
Lowes Foods brand ice cream 3.99 BOGO
Kraft Live Active cheese sticks 2/4 circular coupon- 1.00/1= 1.00 ea
Yoplait kids yogurt 2/4 circular coupon- 1.00/2 mfg= 1.50 ea
Egglands Best eggs 2.29- .35/1= 1.59 doz
Hungry Jack pancake mix 1.79- .55/1= .69
Quaker instant oatmeal 2/4- .70/1= .60 box (AWESOME)
Quaker Quick Oats 2/3 -.60/1= .30 (good staple to have on hand)
Captain Chrunch cereal 2/4- .50/1= 1.00 box
General Mills Curves cereal 2/4- .75/1= .50 box (AWESOME)
General Mills Curves granola bars 2/5- .50/1= 1.50
GM Fiber One granola bars circular coupon 2/4- .40/1 mfg= 1.20 ea
GM Nature Valley granola bars circular coupon2/4- .75/2 mfg= 1.25 ea
Swissmiss hot cocoa .99- .50/1 (coupon works on reg)= FREE
Purex detergent 2/6- 1.00/1= 2.00
Lowes brand bread .19 loaf if you redeem 600 greenpoints



deals:

#1: This week with the circular there were two mini pages of store coupons. Save these, they might make some good deals in upcoming weeks. From past experience, most of the these items will go on special and have parallel manufacturers coupons that you will be able to stack with these store coupons. Lowes is great. They will allow you to use one of these coupons with a mfg coupon at the same time. I even picked up a second set at the front of the store.

#2: New York frozen garlic bread has a peelie on front that you can peel off. It is for .55 off any New York product. You can then take that coupon to Teeter if you are going there and buy the crutons, that are already 1.59 BOGO and get 1 bag for .80-.55/1= .24 if the coupon does not double and if it doubles you will have .30 in overage.

#3: Be on the lookout for the 2.00 off a Freschetta pizza hangtags on bottles of wine. I found 2 hangtags on Alice White bottles of wine. Now the 3/9.99 pizza will be 3.33-2.00= 1.33. I found a rebate by Miller that when you spend 10.00 on pizza you get 5.00 back. I am on the hunt for 2 more winetags and then I will buy 4 to be safe and submit my receipt for the rebate. So the final deal will look like this:
4 pizzas @ 3.33 ea= 13.32
- (4) 2.00/1 coupons
= 5.32 oop (out of pocket)
submit 5.00 rebate
final cost .32 + tax for 4 pizzas

#4: From 1-2-08 until 1-15-08 Lowes is having a promotion that if you purchase 4 Kelloggs cereals, you will get a free gallon of milk. Of course, they are not going to have any Kelloggs on "sale" this week to help out the deal but if you go to www.coupons.com you will be able to print up 2 coupons for 1.00 off one box of Rice Krispies. That is the only Kelloggs coupon I have in my box. When the Sunday paper comes out I will look for another Kelloggs cereal coupon and then do the math and decide whether or not this will be a good deal for my family. For me, I will add up what one gallon of milk costs at Lowes, add up all the cereal prices minus coupons I have and have found and decide what I am really paying. I generally always buy my milk at Sam's Club for about 3.25 and do not like to spend more than 1.25 per box of cereal (x4) and will use this number (8.25) to see if Lowes is lower
and a better deal.

#5: This week it is advertised that if you buy 7 Quaker products you will get an instant $3.00 off your order. This is a great deal. They are SPECIFIC about what items they will consider as the "7" including: Captain Chrunch cereal, Life cereal, Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Quaker Chewy granola bars, and Aunt Jemima syrup. Here are several scenarios:
A. Buy 7 Instant Oatmeals, sale 2/4= 14.00
Use 7 mfg .70/1 coupons= 9.80 off
instant savings of 3.00 off
total 1.20 for 7 boxes of oatmeal, approx .17 a box

B. Buy 7 boxes of Captain Chrunch 2/4= 14.00
Use 7 mfg .50/1 coupons= 7.00
instant savings of 3.00 off
total 4.00 for 7 boxes of cereal, approx .57 a box

C. do a combo of cereal, oatmeal and could add the granola bars- but I am staying away from the granola bars because I do not have any coupons for them right now.

I realize not everyone will have 7 coupons for the items so just figure out with what you have and see if it is at an amount where you feel like it is a good deal for your grocery budget at this time. It also never hurts to see if anyone (you feel comfortable asking) has coupons for these items they are not using.

#6: Lowes accepts competitors coupons and thanks to Becky we found out that includes CVS coupons you can get at www.afullcup.com which can add into more deals. Each time I go into Lowes to shop I first go to the CSM (customer service mgr) desk and ask if they will accept the coupon I have ($5 off 15 or $4 off 20) and they say yes. I just wanted to make sure my ground is covered. Make sure you give them that coupon first when you check out and then give the cashier your mfg coupon. I learned this the hard way after the mfg coupons took my 30.00 order to 2 something and then they would not use the 2 off 10.00 coupon I had. I was ok with it because how can you complain when your order is 2 dollars but made mental note to self to use that coupon first the next time which worked out fine later in the week when I bought some more chicken and the deli select lunchmeat.

#7: If you make the Chicken Tetrazzini recipe, you will need noodles which there is a coupon for 1.00 off 2 of Muellers Whole Grain pasta which might be close to BOGO prices.

#8: go to www.afullcup.com and go to the Food Lion coupons. Print off several of the 2.00 off Oreo cookies. They are not on sale, but at regular price they are a good deal. On several of the Nabisco cookies are peelies for 1.00 off when you buy one package and a gallon of milk. Combine both coupons for what is called a double play: 2 levels of savings. Now that might become a good deal for you if you like Oreos. I am hoping that they go on BOGO next week and then you have a triple play or 3 levels of savings.

Food Lion Deals 1-9-08 through 1-15-08

Smithfield Country Style Pork Ribs 1.49lb
General Mills Lucky Charms 3.32 BOGO- .75/2= 1.29 ea
Fresh roasting chicken .99lb
Pears .99lb
Campbells Soup At Hand 10/10- 1.00/3= .67 ea (just get as many as you can cover with coupons)
Healthy Choice soup cans 10/10- .45/2 or .75/3= .85 ea or .75 ea
Keebler chocolate chip cookies 3.49 BOGO - 1 IP ea= .75 ea
(good for last weeks dessert)
Armour frozen meatballs 2/4- 1.25/2= 1.38 ea

Remember to look around the beer displays in Food Lion for the beer rebates. In case you have forrgotten, we live in a state that the alcohol vendors cannot require you to purchase their products to participate in their rebate offers. I have generally had the best luck in finding rebates at Food Lion compared to Lowes and Harris Teeter. That being said, I generally find better food deals at Harris Teeter and Lowes than Food Lion.