Grocery Deals and Meals

Welcome

2008-04-16T08:11:00.002-04:00

Hello all! I am still here and plan to come back in about 3 more weeks. I just wanted to let you know that I have not given up and am interested in posting deals and meals. A couple of reasons I took some time off were for a surgery and to complete my taxes (agh!). I also got very miffed when I found some of my information cut and pasted on different boards. I do not mind anyone sharing my blog with someone they know but when it was cut and pasted for another site I was steamed. That was the day I decided to take a break. I figured if I did not put anything out there- there would be nothing to steal/borrow/whatever they want to call it and I would not have to worry about it. Just wanted you guys to know what was going on with me.
Genna

welcome 3-5-08

2008-03-05T08:15:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone! I am needing to regroup and am needing a break. I am going to take a blogging break for several weeks. Happy shopping. Genna

Welcome 2-27-08 thru 3-4-08

2008-02-27T16:56:00.004-05:00

Welcome!! I hope everyone is doing well and are starting to feel their savings in the checkbook. Rumor is that there is going to be 3 inserts this upcoming Sunday so it might be a good coupon week. Hopefully the coupons we do get will make for great deals next week because I have mixed feelings about this week after last week's run on cheap veggies at Teeter!

I am going to be updating the individual grocery stores tomorrow (2-29-08) after I have done walk throughs- that is usually when I spot some good deals. I wonder if they intentionally have great unadvertised deals to see who the cherry pickers (couponers) are. Anyways, from what is on sale in the circulars there are plenty of things we can make for dinners. I did go overboard with the recipes this week but I had a ton more and that was what I could narrow it down to- I had a hard time making decisions about food this week!! Oh well....

There are a few Friday only deals you need to know about:

1. McDonalds: Free McSkillet Burrito with Medium or Large Drink Purchase. No coupon needed. Rumor is that to get your lowest oop (out of pocket) you should opt for the medium coffee.

2. Ronzoni Pasta: We recently got a mfg coupon for 1.00 off a box. There is a one day promotion with them that if you purchase one Ronzoni Healthy Harvest on Friday Feb 29, 2008 you will mail your original register tape and the official form (from the internet) by March 15 and will be reimbursed.This is a money maker since you will have the 1.00 coupon to use. Find the official form that you will need at
http://www.healthyharvestpasta.com/leap_rebate.htm

Remember the Flowers Thrift store in Jamestown for cheap bread that usually retails for over 2.39 a loaf. I am still eating my bread and it is very soft still and if I had gotten it at Aldi at the same time, it would be a cruton loaf by now. A much better deal.

There are several new sites that have coupons:
www.redplum.com
www.homesolutionsnews.com
www.franksredhot.com
wwwlfrenchsfoods.com
www.bettycrocker.com
www.pillsbury.com
www.unilever.com

There is also a deal for eating out that might be worth checking into. I saw in the coupon inserts this past week that O'Charleys has a special on Mondays and Tuesdays: 2 for 20.00: 2 dinners (Chicken O'Tenders, Cedar-planked Tilapia, Chili Cheese Nacho Burger, Cajun Chicken Pasta, Fried Shrimp Dinner) + 2 drinks + rolls. From what I remember it is O'Charleys that also has a deal for children. It used to be that with every adult meal you got 2 free childrens' meals. I am wondering if they will honor that with this deal. The whole family could eat for 20.00 and have leftovers I am sure.

Feel free to email me with any questions and forward to any of your friends you think might need it.
Genna

Meals 2-27-08 thru 3-4-08

2008-02-27T16:55:00.008-05:00

I hope everyone stocked up their vegetables last week. You can see that I tried to find vegetable based recipes this week to give some variety and flair to those boxed vegs!

Chicken Cacciatore
Pierogi Chicken Supper
Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Fish Cakes
One-Pot Spinach and Tomato Primavera Pasta
Calzones
Easy Vegetable Rice Medley
Green Beans with Tomatoes and Feta
Baked Spinach
Vegetable Medley
Maple Raisin Carrots
Garlic Green Beans
Broccoli Au Gratin
Fresh Herb Bean Spread
Cowboy Caviar
Black Bean Soup
Peanut Butter Eggs

Chicken Cacciatore:
1 1/4 lbs boneless chicken thighs (about 6 pieces)
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 pkg (8 oz) portobello mushrooms, diced (I will use button ones from HT sale)
1 can (14.5 oz) Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes.
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in deep skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken thighs and cook, not turning them until well-browned, about 4 minutes. Flip and brown other side for 3 minutes. Transfer to plate. Add onion and mushrooms, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in tomatoes. Add chicken to pan and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer over med heat 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
**Serve the cacciatore over slices of polenta, mashed potatoes, or egg noodles-whatever you have handy and top with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Pierogi Chicken Supper:
1 pkg (16 oz) frozen pierogies
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch strips
1/2 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Cook pierogies according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, saute chicken and onion in butter until chicken juices run clear; remove and keep warm. Drain pierogies; add to skillet. Cook over med heat until lightly browned. Return chicken mixture to the pan. Stir in salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and remove from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls:
***This looks harder than it really is and it is really good
1 10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach
8 lasagna noodles
1 large onion
1 med green pepper
nonstick cooking spray
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 16oz can tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 beaten egg
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Cook spinach and lasagna noodles separately according to the package directions. Drain and set aside. For the sauce, chop onion and green pepper. Spray a cold large saucepan with nonsticke spray coating; heat over medium heat. Add onion, green pepper, mushrooms and garlic. Cook till vegetables are tender. Cut up tomatoes and crush basil. Stir undrained tomatoes, basil, tomato sauce, sugar, and 1/4 tsp pepper into the vegetables. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered 5 minutes or till slightly thickened. Meanwhile, for filling, in a bowl stir together spinach, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, egg and nutmeg. Spread a scant 1/2 cup spinach mixture on each noodle. Roll up each noodle, jelly-roll style, beginning at a short end. Spoon 1 cup of sauce mixture into a 12 x 7 inch baking dish. Place rolls, seam side down, in dish. Spoon on remaining sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 2 to 24 hours.
Remove plasitc wrap and replace with foil. Cover and bake 40 to 45 minutes at 375.

Fish Cakes:
1 pkg stove top mix (flavor up to you)
1/3 cup mayo
2 cans (6 oz ea) tuna, drained and flaked
2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
1 cup shreded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded carrots
Mix together stuffing mix with 3/4 cup water, mayo, tuna, sweet pickles, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup carrots. Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Heat a large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on med heat. Shape 1/3 cupfuls of the stuffing mixture into patties; add to skillet in batches. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown on both sides, turning over carefully. Should make about 12 cakes, serving is 2 cakes.

One-Pot Spinach and Tomato Primavera Pasta:
2 cups uncooked bite size pasta
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup baby spinach (or reg torn to smaller size)
1 cup cherry tomato halves
1/4 cup Kraft Special Collection Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan
1 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided
salt and pepper
Cook pasta as directed on package; drain. Toss hot pasta with tomato, spinach, cherry tomatoes, 1/4 cup dressing and 3/4 cup feta. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon evenly onto 4 plates and sprinkle with additional 1 tbsp cheese.

Calzones:
Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough
mozzarella cheese- amount up to you
pizza/spaghetti sauce
your favorite pizza toppings: mushrooms, pepperoni, green peppers, onions, olives, etc...
Lay out pizza dough on greased cookie sheet. Put sauce on half of it, cheese and your favorited toppings. Fold it in half and use fork to close and seal the sides. Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes or golden.

Easy Vegetable Rice Medley:
1 tbsp canola oil
1 cup chopped onions (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup chopped carrots (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup chopped celery (about 1 stalk)
1/2 cup chopped red peppers
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1 1/2 cups Minute white rice, uncooked
1 cup frozen peas
Heat oil in nonstick skillet. Add onions, carrots, celery and peppers; cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add broth; bring to a boil. Stir rice and peas. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. (4 svgs @ 1 1/2 cup each, ea serving 4 Weight Watchers pts.)
***substitute: Try 3 cups of frozen borccoli florets or frozen mixed vegetables and add when you would have added the peas.

Green Beans with Tomatoes and Feta:
2 boxes frozen green beans with almonds
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (14.5) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, if desired
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Cook beans as directed on boxes, reserving almonds; drain. Meanwhile in a 10-inch skillet, heat oil over med heat. Cook onion and garlic in oil 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is crisp-tender. Stir in tomatoes, oregano and red pepper flakes. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and most of the liquid has evaporated. Spoon drained beans onto serving platter, to with tomato mixture. Sprinkel with cheese and reserved almonds. (8 servings, 2 Weight Watchers pt ea serving)

Baked Spinach:
1/2 cup butter
8 oz cream cheese
2 pkg frozen spinach
1 pkg onion soup mix
Preheat to 300. Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add 2 pkgs of spinach. Break up and stir. Add cream cheese and onion soup mix. Stir well. Place in a casserole dish and bake for 45 minutes.

Vegetable Medley:
2 (10 oz) pkg frozen veg (broc, cauli, carrots) cut, (if the mixture contains water chestnuts that's fine)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 oz sour crea
6 oz shredded med cheddar cheese
1/8 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp minced onion
1/8 tsp dill seed
1/4 tsp paprika
dash of garlic, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 can fried onion rings
Preheat to 350. Defrost vegs and drain. In a saucepan over med heat, mix soup, sour cream, 2/3 of the shredded cheese and spices until well blended and cheese is melted. Place drained vegs in casserole dish. (It helps in cleaning later to spray a little nonstick spray in the bottom and sides.) Pour soup mixture evenly over top. Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Take out of oven and sprinkle remaining cheese and onion rings. Return and bake 4 to 5 minutes, or until onion rings are lightly browned.

Maple Raisin Carrots:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
3 cups frozen sliced carrots
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar and syrup. Cook, uncovered, over med heat for 3-5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in carrots and raisins. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook 3-5 minutes longer or until carrots are tender.

Garlic Green Beans:
1- 1/2 lbs fresh green beans (*** I am using 24 oz of frozen and undercooking them so that they are sill crisp- this will work)
2 tbsp olive oil or canola oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
In a 15 x 10-inch baking pan, toss green beans, oil, garlic and Italian seasoning until beans are well coated. Bake, uncovered, at 45o for 12-15 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. (1/2 cup is 1.5 Weight Watchers pt)

Broccoli Au Gratin:
1 pkg (16 oz) frozen chopped broccoli
1 can (10.75) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup crushed butter-flavored crackers
Cook broccoli according to pkg directions; drain. Stir in the soup and cheese. Transfer to a greased 1 1/2 qt baking dish; sprinkle with the cracker crumbs. Bake, uncovered at 350 for 15020 minutes or until heated through.

Fresh Herb Bean Spread:
3 cloves garlic
2 cans (15.8 oz ea) Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh basil, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme (I used dry and reduced to 1- 1.5 tsp)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
With motor running, drop garlic cloves into a food processor. Add northern beans, lime juice and olive oil and puree until smooth. Add basil, thyme, salt and pepper and pulse until incorporated and herbs are coarsely chopped. Serve chilled with breadsticks, flatbread, crostini or fresh vegetables. This is awesome but it is strong on the breath so make your hubby eat it at the same time and you will be fine!

Cowboy Caviar:
2 cans seasoned black beans (completely rinsed and drained)
1 can regular Rotel tomatoes
1 pkg frozen shoepeg corn (15 oz)
1 can mexican blend chopped tomatoes (15 oz)
1 8 oz Zesty Italian dressing.
Mix all ingredients and chill overnight. This is great with tortilla chips.
**Add in black-eyed peas or cilantro to jazz it up even more.

Black Bean Soup:
1 tbsp veg oil
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/4 tsp ground cumin
2 cans (19 oz) black beans
1 can (14.5 oz) vegetable broth
1 tbsp lime juice
sour cream and cilantro.
In a large saucepan, heat oil over med-high heat. Add carrot, onion, garlic and cumin. Saute unil lightly softened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in black beans, with liquid, and broth. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to med-low, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes. Puree soup in blender in small batches. Return to saucepan to reheat, and stir in lime juice. Divide among bowls and top with sour cream and cilantro, if desired. (It is ugly but very good) (6 one cup servings= 3 Weight Watchers pts each serving)

Peanut Butter Eggs:
6 tbsp butter, softened
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup marshmallow creme
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
3/4 lb milk chocolate candy coating, chopped
2 tsp shortening
Colored sprinkles, optional.
In a small mixing bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter and marsmallow creme until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Drop by level tablespoonfuls onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet; form into egg shapes. Freeze for 10 minutes. In a microwave, melt candy coating and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip eggs into candy coating; allow excess to drip off. Return to baking sheet; immediately decorate with sprinkles if desired. Let stand until set. Store in an airgight container. Yield: about 1 1/2 dozen.
This would be a good recipe to hold onto for Easter.

Harris Teeter Deals 2-27-08 thru 3-4-08

2008-02-27T16:54:00.005-05:00

Harris Teeter basic coupon policy: they will double up to .99 face value coupons, 20 per order, will take 2 IP (internet printable) per order, BOGO items will ring up half price and you used to be able to you 2 coupons for BOGO deals but in recent weeks I was having trouble with this-- I suggest splitting orders and separate every BOGO deal of one per order so that you can use your coupons if you are getting identical products- I have found that if you get 2 different flavors of the BOGO deals then 2 coupons will go through without problems or beeping, if something is out of stock-get a raincheck because theirs are good forever, they will honor competitors' coupons (but I highly reccommend that you clear them through the CSM prior to shopping since some Teeters are giving people grief over them), they are great for marking down meats and breads with their own in-house coupons and you can then stack a mfg coupon on top of the store coupon, you need a Vic card and if you register it with their home page on the internet you will be eligible for weekly in-house deals that will come of automatically without any coupons. I love Harris Teeter- several times a year they will have triple coupons and you can use 20 per day with a face value up to .99.

Strawberries 4.99 BOGO
Blueberries 3.99 BOGO (I don't think this is good)
Whole Boston Butt Pork Roast .99 lb
chicken leg quarters .39 lb
Harris Teeter boneless chicken thighs 1.99 lb
Harris Teeter 2.5 lb bag boneless chicken 9.99 BOGO= 2.00 lb
EZ Peel White shrimp 4.99 lb (sold in 2 lb bags for 9.98)
Mission Burrito Flour Tortillas 1.99-1.00/1= .99
Hormel Black Label Sliced Bacon 5.49 BOGO- 1.00/2= get 2, 2.25 ea
Harris Teeter sand or old fashioned breads .79 loaf (good)
Peter Pan PB 10/10- 1.00/1= FREE ** this coup exp 2-29
Starkist solid white tuna 10/10- buy 2, get 1 free q= get 3, .66 ea
Starkist chunk light tuna 5/3.00= .60 ea
Valley Fresh chunk chicken 10/10- .65/2= get 2, .35 ea
***get several for next week's recipe
Wishbone salad dressing 16 oz 10/10=- 1.00/2= get 2, .50 ea
*** IP for .75/2 at www.unileverexclusives.com and you can print 2xs= .25 ea
Kraft shells & cheese 10/10- 2.00/3= get 3, .33 ea
***get several for next week's recipes
Muir Glen tomatoes reg 1.99- .75/1= .49 ea
***not on sale but many of recipes call for tomatoes and these are the cheapest I found this week
Kellogg's Special K cereal 4.59 BOGO- .70/1= get 1, .90
Kellogg's Special K cereal w/berries 4.69 BOGO- .70/= .95
Kellogg's Raisin Bran cereal 4.59 BOGO= 2.30
Post cereal Raisin Bran 3.49 BOGO- 1.00/2= get 2, 1.25 ea
Celest Pizza 10/10= 1.00, see deal #3
Palermo's Pizza 2/8- 1.00/1 IP= 3.00
***I went to Palermo's official website and registered and coupon was emailed to me
***deal #4 also
Birds Eye Steamfresh select vegs 1.89 BOGO- 1.00/3= get 3, .61 ea
All detergent 3.99- .50/1= 2.99
Palmolive dish liquid 25 oz 3.49 BOGO- .25/1=get 1, 1.25
Glass Plus 2.79 BOGO- .50/1= get 1, .40
Hefty Plates 1.94- .50/1= .94
Hefty plastic cups 2.19 BOGO- .50/1= get 1, .10
YourHome Trash bags 4.59- 4.99 BOGO= 2.30 to 2.50
Huggies Mega diapers 11.99- 2.00/1= 9.99 (pretty good)

Deals:

#1: Register your E-Vic card at www.harristeeter.com and you will automatically receive any or all of the following deals:
1.50 off Harris Teeter shredded 8 oz cheeses, reg price 2.99
1.50 off any variety Harris Teeter batteries
1.50 off Yourhome plastic cups
1.50 off Harris Teeter Naturals cookies
***choc chip on sale for 2.49
***oatmeal raisin on sale for 2.49
***animal cookies on sale for 2.79
These deals are once per registered card and you can only get each individual deal once during this week. The 1.50 will come off without you having to do anything.

#2: Kraft Shells & Cheese is on sale 10/10. There is a booklet at Food Lion apparently that has a coupon for 2.00 off 3 kraft products. I am on the search for the booklet and will update when I find it.

#3: There is a current beer rebate for pizza. It is from Icehouse and you will be reimbursed 4.00 for any 4.00 spent on pizza. This would be good for these little pizzas and you would score 4 free pizzas. It expires 3-31-08. Other pizzas will go on sale by the expiration date but it is a gamble since the only coupon I have right now is for Freschetta for 1.00 off and they are usually at best 3.33 so you would have to buy 2 and still pay out of pocket after the rebate. With this rebate you would get 4 free pizzas in the end with tax only being the out of pocket. I tend to go with free rather than waiting if I only have one coupon as in this case. I am cheap- that sounds bad- correct: I am a bargain hunter.

#4: You could do the Icehouse rebate for this one also but only get 1 pizza for the after rebate freebie.

#5: Catalina deal: Buy Hamburger Helper (or chicken, or tuna helper) between 2/29 and 3/32:
Buy 3, get a catalina for 1.50 off your next meat or chicken purchase
Buy 4, get a catalina for 2.00 off your next meat or chicken purchase
Buy 5, get a catalina for 2.50 off your next meat or chicken purchase
All Helper items must be purchased in one order.
Be on the lookout for the Hamburger Helper stuff to go on sale and combine with mfg coupons that are out and I am sure more are to come out.

#6: On the Sargento shredded cheese bags are green peelie coupons for .50/1 Pillsbury pizza crusts. These are on sale this week at Lowes Foods for 2.45 BOGO which will make them .22 each and you can stock up for pizza and calzones!

#7: Bird's Eye deal: Between 2-27-08 and 4-1-08 spend $30.00 on Bird's Eye, Michaels Angelo's, or Pepperidge Farm frozen products and receive a catalina coupon for $5.00 off your next purchase. These items do not have to be on same receipt so you have the whole month to cumulate towards the 30 and you can buy combinations from the different brands. Sometimes when they offer these deals, the items will rotate being on sale with mfg coupons. The original prices are what add up towards the 30 so do not hesitate about using mfg coupons. Just make sure you use the same Vic card (don't get yours mixed up with your husbands if you have different numbers is what I am saying).

Lowes Foods Deals 2-27-08 thru 3-4-08

2008-02-27T16:53:00.011-05:00

Lowes Foods basic coupon policy: they will double coupons whose face value is .99 and under. They will honor competitor's coupons but I have had trouble with the Lowes on the corner of Piedmont Pkwy and Guilford College staying true to this new policy so I generally shop at the other Lowes on New Garden and Old Oak Ridge Rd. You need their greencard to get the sale prices. Occassionally- several times a year- they will have their triples and will triple mfg coupons. When I catch wind of a triple, I will try to warn you because the more organized you are, the more you can get for your money. They will accept IP (internet printables) and it depends on the cashier as to how many. Their formal policy is 2 per order but I have had cashiers who let me use more than 5 in one order. Their BOGO (buy one get one free) will ring up half price and they will let you use a coupon for each item in the BOGO deal. They changed their policy within the last six months-they used to have minimums before coupons would double. They are slowly becoming my favorite store because they are becoming more coupon friendly than Harris Teeter.

Friday only deals:
frozen turkey breast .99 lb
Tide detergent 3.99- .50/1= 2.99
Kraft American singles 12 oz 2.49 BOGO= 1.24
Cottonelle bath tissue 4.99
Dole iceberg bag salad .89- 1.00/2= .39

Week long:
Broccoli bunches 1.99- 1.00 Target IP= .99
Honey Nut Cheerios 3.69 BOGO- .75/2= get 2, 1.10 ea
Lowes Brand corn flakes 2/3= 1.50
GM cereals: Lucky charms, Trix, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Wheaties, 2/4
***Trix 2/4- .55/1 IP= .90 (coupons.com)
Kelloggs cereals: Frosted Mini Wheats, unfrosted, Choc Peanut Corn Pops, Honey Smacks, Cocoa Krispies 2/4
***Frosted Mini Wheats 2/4- .70/1= .60
Honey Bunches of Oats 2/5- 2.00 IP= .50
Kraft salad dressings 2.69 BOGO= 1.34 ea
Green Giant can vegs 5/3= .60 (the lowest for cans I have seen in a long time)
Smuckers strawberry jam 2/5- .35/1= 1.80
Lowes Brand canned beans (black, northern) 2/1= .50
Pillsbury pizza dough 2.45 BOGO- .50/1= .22
***if you are out of reg coupons, peelies are on Sargento shredded cheeses at Teeter
Mrs T's Pierogies 2/4- 1.00/1= 1.00
Pictsweet Deluxe steamers 5/5= 1.00
Green Giant box vegs 5/5= 1.00 there are coupons if you still have any left from last week's sale at Teeter for .50/2= get 2, .50 ea
Lowes Brand ice cream 3.99 BOGO= 2.00
Breyers ice cream 2/6- .55/1= 1.90
Breyers select Light ice cream bars 2.99- .55/1= 1.89
Purex detergent 2.99- 1.00/1 (I already used mine so I am not sure when they expire)= 1.99

Remember the 4 week coupons that were on the Lowes circular at the beginning of Feb?? If you still have these, there are a few good deals: q=coupon
Scrubbing Bubbles q 2/5- .75/1= 1.00
Wisk detergent q 3.89- 1.50/2= get 2, 3.14 ea (not really a good deal considering Tide deal on Friday)
Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner q 1.99- .50/1= .99

Deals:

#1: Catalina deal: Buy any Hanburger Helper (or chicken or tuna) between 2-29-08 and 3-23-08:
Buy 3, get 1.50 off your next meat or chicken purchase
Buy 4, get 2.00 off your next neat or chicken purchase
Buy 5, get 2.50 off your next meat or chicken purchase
All Helper items must be purchased in one order.

#2: Use the Dole bagged salad coupons for 1.00/2 from Food Lion FRIDAY at Lowes. They are having a one day sale where the Dole salad will be .89 and with this coupon, they will be .39. Good deal.

#3: Use the Food Lion IP coupon for 3.00 off 16 oz Kraft American cheese singles (reg price 3.29) and 2 other participating Kraft brands (capri sun, kool-aid jammers, mac and cheese 5 pk, oscar meyer lunchables, nilla wafers, cheese nips, pebbles cereal and singles 16 oz cheese).

#4: Look at the inside front flap of your circular- there are many good deals there: the eggs, the bread, the blueberries, the Barilla pasta. They can scan your Lowes card at the front and you will know what deals you can "afford".

#5: A second catalina deal: During the period of 2-29-08 through 3-23-08 if you purchase Kool-Aid (I think the they mean the big tubs of it not the skimpy little packs), Crystal Light, Country Time and Tang:
Buy 3, get 2.00 off your next order
Buy 4, get 3.00 off your next order
Buy 5, get 4.00 off your next order
All have to be purchased in one order to get the cat.

#6; There are still handtags on the Tobasco sauces and the Heinz 57's that would make them free.

Food Lion Deals 2-27-08 thru 3-4-08

2008-02-27T16:53:00.009-05:00

Welcome! 2-20-08 thru 2-26-08

2008-02-21T22:37:00.003-05:00

Welcome!!! To anyone who is new and wondering what this is..... I am Genna and this blog is about couponing, deal finding, deal buying and making a meal out of those deals. Our sales start on Wednesdays and my goal is to post by Friday nights what is on sale at my favorite grocery stores (Harris Teeter #1 and Lowes #2) and match recipes to the sale items. I am hoping that this will help someone save some money on their grocery bill and loosen up some money and ultimately lessen some stress. I have been doing this for over 10 years and have saved a ton and paid cash for lots of stuff that would have otherwise landed on a credit card or gone without.

This has been a trying week. Harris Teeter is inconsistent in their acceptance of competitor's coupons, especially the internet printable ones. I would strongly reccommend that if you are planning on using a competitor IP coupon that you "clear" it with the CSM (customer service manager) on duty prior to shopping. It all depends who is working whether or not they will take the coupon. I am specifically talking about the 2.00 off Produce coupon from Food Lion this week. This coupon makes for some great deals with the 5/5 sale at Teeter. I have had several CSMs take the coupon and several that would not- and at the same location too! Crazy. I asked corporate about it a month ago and they were semi-evasive and it must be a store by store, manager by manager policy. Who knows..... just clear your coupon first so that you don't waste your time.

Just a FYI about coupons that state "do not double" or "do not triple": On each coupon is a barcode/UPC code. On the left, outside of the actual barcode, is a tiny number. Usually the number is a 5 or a 9. If the number is a 5 the coupon will double or triple regardless of what is stated/printed on it. If the number is a 9, the coupon will NOT double or triple.

The Santa Fe salsa taste guarantee that I told you about last week is on sale 2.25 BOGO at Food Lion so it might be a deal if you purchase 2 and submit. I am hoping that they reimburse for the regular price which would give you 2 free jars of salsa when it is all said and done.

There are 2 new rebate forms. The first is for 4.00 on pizza by Icehouse. I found this form at the Food Lion on the corner of Penny Rd and Wendover Ave. The second one I just heard about and it is 10 back on a 20 purchase of seafood. I think this one was found at the Lowes on Old Oak Ridge Rd.

I usually do no shop at Kmart but noticed that they had a coupon on their flyer for .99 dozen eggs. That is a good price considering the eggs at Teeter are 2.69 a dozen? and the eggs at Sams Club were 2.63 for an 18 pack.

Be sure to check out the deal for the frozen vegetables at Harris Teeter. I explained it on the Harris Teeter page. Feel free to email me with any questions, justgenna@triad.rr.com

Happy shopping,
Genna

Meals 2-20-08 thru 2-26-08

2008-02-21T22:35:00.006-05:00

I am still working on this- have a ton more to add--Genna

Zesty Chicken and Vegetable Medley
Shrimp in Green Mayonnaise
Upside-Down Pizza
Veggie Beef Bundles
Foil-Pack Chicken & Mushroom Dinner
Shrimp & Broccoli Bake
Saucy Pork Chops
Mushroom Soup
Tangy Broccoli Salad
Garlic Spinach
Warm Spinach & Bacon Salad
Garlic Potato Tapa
Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

Zesty Chicken and Vegetable Medley:
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb)
1 tbsp oil
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 red onion, chopped
2 cups broccoli florets
1/4 cup Italian shredded cheese
Cook chicken in hot oil in large covered skillet on med-high heat 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Stir in 1/4 cup Italian dressing, broth, red onion and Italian seasoning until well blended. Bring to simmer; cook an additional 3 minutes. Add broccoli florets and 1/4 cup Italian cheese; stir to combine. Cook 2 to 4 minutes or until vegs are tender. I will serve with the Garlic Potato Tapa and another veg and probably bread.

Shrimp in Green Mayonnaise:
1/2 cup Miracle Whip dressing or a real mayonnaise
1/4 cup parsley, minced
2 tsp capers, finely chopped
1/4 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 lb medium shrimp (31-40) cooked, peeled and deveined
Mix dressing or mayo, parsley, capers and oregano in medium bowl. Add shrimp to bowl and gently stir until completely mixed. Refrigerate until ready to serve. I will serve with some of the cheap frozen vegs.

Upside-Down Pizza:
1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jar (14 oz) spaghetti sauce
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp veg oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat to 400. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over med heat until the meat is no longer pink; drain. Add spaghetti sauce. Cover and simmer until heated through. Pour into a greased 13 x 9-in baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese.
In a blender or food processor, combine the milk, eggs, oil, flour and salt; cover and process until smooth. Pour over the cheese. Bake, uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. I will serve with the Tangy Broccoli Salad.

Veggie Beef Bundles:
2 cups julienned uncooked potatoes (thin sliced)
1 lb lean ground beef
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/4 cup water
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 pkg (9 oz) frozen cut green beans, thawed
Preheat to 375. Coat four pieces of heavy duty foil (about 12 inch square) with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1/2 cup potatoes on each square. Shae beef into four patties; place over the potatoes. Combine soup mix and water; spoon half over patties. Top with mushrooms, green beans and remaining soup mixture. Fold foil around meat and veg and tightly seal edges up. Place on a baking sheet (I use the bottom of the broiler pan set). Bake for 25-30 minutes or until meat is no longer pind and the potatoes are tender. I will serve with some of the cheap frozen vegs and salad.

Foil-Pack Chicken & Mushroom Dinner:
1 can (10.75) condensed cream of mushrrom soup
1 3/4 cups water, divided
1 pkg Stove Top stuffing mix for chicken
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1.5 lbs)
4 slices thin sliced smoked ham, chopped
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
Preheat to 400. Mix soup and 1/4 cup of the water; set aside. Combine stuffing mix and remaining 1 1/2 cups water; spoon evely onto center of each of six large sheets of heavy-duty foil (I spray ea with nonstick cooking spray). Top each with one chicken breast. Cover evenly with the ham, mushrooms, peas and soup mixture. Bring up foil sides. Double-fold top and both ends to seal each packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Place packets in single layer on 15 x 10-in baking pan. (I use the bottom of the broiler pan set) Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (170 degrees). Remove packets from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Place one packet on each dinner plate and cut a slit in foil with sharp knife to release steam before opening. I will serve with rice and the Garlic Spinach.

Shrimp & Broccoli Bake:
1 lb shrimp, peeled
1 bunch broccoli florets
1/3 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp parsley
1/4 cup onion, chopped fine
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
3/4 cup mayo
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1/2 lb grated mozzarella cheese
Preheat to 350. Combine all the ingredients and bake in a casserole dish for 30 minutes.

Saucy Pork Chops:
1 tbsp veg oil
4 bone-in pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cream of onion soup
1/4 cup water
Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over med-high heat. Add the pork chops and cook until the chops are well browned on both sides. Stir the soup and water into the skillet. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the chops are cooked through but slightly pink in the center. I will serve with lots of the cheap vegs and some of the cheap biscuits.

Mushroom Soup:
1 lb mushrooms
1/4 cup butter
10 oz Campbell's double strength beef broth or veg broth
1/3 cup red wine
1/2 cup heavy cream per serving
Wash, trim, and thick slice the mushrooms, then simmer (very low) with 1/2 stick of butter for a half hour or so until the liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup. (It is amazing how much water is in a mushroom). Then add a can of broth and about 3 glugs (1/3 cup) of a nice dry inexpensive red wine such as Sutter Home Cabernet Sauvignon. the alcohol will leave very quickly. Salt to taste. This is the part that I put into the refrigerator. Then, to serve, I place about a cup of the mushroom soup and about 1/2 cup heavy cream into a bowl and heat until warm in the micro. It is thick, creamy and very good. I eat alone with bread and butter.

Tangy Broccoli Salad:
3/4 cup light mayo (miracle whip recommended but I used what I had)
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp vinegar
1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets (about 6 cups)
6 slices bacon, crisply cooked drained and crumbled (I also used diced ham)
1 small red onion
Mix dressing, sugar and vinegar in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients; mix lightly. Cover. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Garlic Spinach:
bag of fresh spinach
1 garlic clove sliced or diced
1-2 tbsp of oil
This is super simple. Heat oil in med pan. Add the garlic and saute a minute or so. Add the spinach and saute until wilted.

Warm Spinach & Bacon Salad:
1/3 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette salad dressing (I will use something similar that I already have on hand)
6 cups packed torn fresh spinach leaves
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion rings
2 tbsp real bacon pieces/bits
Micro dressing on high for 30 to 50 seconds or until hot. Pour over combined spinach, mushrooms and onion in a large bowl; toss to coat. Sprinkle with bacon. Makes 4 servings, each serving 1 Weight Watcher point

Garlic Potato Tapa:
1 tbsp Grey Poupon Dijon mustard (I will use French's Spicy Brown)
1/3 cup Miracle Whip or Light Mayo
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-in pieces, cooked and cooled
1/4 cup green onions, finely chopped
Mix mustard, dressing, garlic and pepper in large bowl. Stir in potatoes and onions. Mix lightly. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms:
1 lb medium fresh mushrooms, cleaned
1/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing (or reg)
1/2 cup hot Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled (look for the meats that the butcher marks down because I have been seeing alot of Italian sausage for CHEAP)
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
Remove stems from mushrooms. Brush mushrooms with dressing and place on broiler pan. Broil for 5 minutes. Press sausage evely into mushroom caps; using about 1/2 tsp sausage in each cap. Sprinkle evely with cheese. Broil an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve hot.
To easily crumble sausage, cut off the tip and squeeze meat out and into frying pan.

Harris Teeter Deals 2-20-08 thru 2-26-08

2008-02-21T21:12:00.005-05:00

Harris Teeter basic coupon policy: they will double up to .99 face value coupons, 20 per order, will take 2 IP (internet printable) per order, BOGO items will ring up half price and you used to be able to you 2 coupons for BOGO deals but in recent weeks I was having trouble with this-- I suggest splitting orders and separate every BOGO deal of one per order so that you can use your coupons if you are getting identical products- I have found that if you get 2 different flavors of the BOGO deals then 2 coupons will go through without problems or beeping, if something is out of stock-get a raincheck because theirs are good forever, they will honor competitors' coupons (but I highly reccommend that you clear them through the CSM prior to shopping since some Teeters are giving people grief over them), they are great for marking down meats and breads with their own in-house coupons and you can then stack a mfg coupon on top of the store coupon, you need a Vic card and if you register it with their home page on the internet you will be eligible for weekly in-house deals that will come of automatically without any coupons. I love Harris Teeter- several times a year they will have triple coupons and you can use 20 per day with a face value up to .99.

To me- this is an awesome week at Teeter for stocking up cheap.

London Broil or top round roast 4.99 lb BOGO= 2.50 lb
Broccoli bunches 2.49 BOGO - 1.00/1 Target IP= get 1, .25
EZ Peel shrimp 2 lb bag buy 1 get 2 free for 17.99
***if I am doing the math right that is 6 lbs for 3.00 a lb and there are seveal seafood rebates floating around that would make these free after submitting.
Cantloupes 3.99 BOGO= 2.00
Mushrooms 8 oz whole or sliced 5/5
3 lb bag of yellow onions 5/5
5 lb bag of white potatoes 5/5
2 lb bag of carrots 5/5
16 oz bag salad 5/5
10 oz bag of fresh spinach 5/5
Harris Teeter ice cream buy 1, get 2 free @4.99= 1.66 ea
***great deal if you missed out on the Breyers 2 weeks ago or ate it all
Green Giant frozen box vegs buy 1, get 2 free @2.00= .67 ea*** see Deal #2
Green Giant bag broccoli cuts 2.49 BOGO- .50/1= .25
***there is a coupon for .50/1 that looks like it is for the bigger bag but it worked on this one- I got 7 bags so I know it works.
Totino's pizza rolls 10/10- .40/1 or .55/1 IP= .20 or FREE
***IP from www.coupons.com
Gortons Salmon Fillets 3.99 BOGO- .50/1= 1.00
Gortons Salmon Fillets 4.19 BOGO- .50/1= 1.10
South Beach Diet frozen pizzas 2/5- 1.00/2= 2.00 ea
Pillsbury Grands biscuits 5 ct 1.39 BOGO- .50/2 IP= get 2 diff flav like buttermilk and homestyle= .39/2 or .20 ea
***IP from www.coupons.com
Pillsbury Golden Layer Biscuits 1.19 BOGO= .60
Pillsbury Breadsticks, Pizza 2.49 BOGO- .50/1 or .50/2= .25 or .75
Pillsbury Cinnamon rolls 1.59 BOGO- .30/1= .20 ea
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls 1.59 BOGO- .25/1= .30 ea
Zatarans rice 4/5- .75/2= get 2, .50 ea
Minute Rice 1.69- .40/1= .89
Dreamfields Pasta 2/4- 1.00/2= get 2, 1.50 ea
Ronzoni pasta 3/5- 1.00/1= .66
Hunts can spaghetti sauces 10/10= 1.00
Ragu pasta sauce 2/3= 1.50
Old El Paso big stuffer shells 2/2- .55/2 peelie= .45 ea
Old El Paso refried beans 2/2- .55/2 peelie= .45 ea
Furmanos tomatoes 28 oz 3/4- 1.00/3= get 3, 1.00 ea
Wolfgang Puck soups 2.69 BOGO= 1.35 ea
Progresso soups 2.39 BOGO- .25/1= .70
Dole jar fruit 2/4- .55/1= .90
Pillsbury vanilla frosting (only flav on sale) .99- .40/2= get 2, .59
Zesta crackers 2.99 BOGO- 1.00 Food Lion IP= .50
Purex detergent 5.19 BOGO- 1.00/1= 1.60

Deals:

#1: There are Food Lion coupons at www.afullcup.com for 2.00 off 5.00 Produce or Bakery purchase. I have had conflicting experiences with these coupons. Ask the CSM (customer service manager) if they will accept them prior to shopping so that you don't waste your time. I have had luck using them at the Harris Teeter on Skeet Club- their staff seems to be the nicest and the most customer service orientated around.
I have gotten different combinations of the 5/5 vegs and broccoli several times.

#2: This is the deal of the century for me! I can't stress how good this deal is really. First the vegs are b1g2 (buy 1 get 2 free). Second there are mfg coupons out there for .50/2 which means 1.00 off 2 because Teeter doubles. There are coupons on www.pillsbury.com and www.bettycrocker.com for 1.00 off 3--either site will print 2 copies but not both since they are from the same company. I think there are still some on www.coupons.com too. If you have enough of the mfg coupons you will get into a situation of an overage! Third when you buy 6 boxes in one order a catalina (red register coupon) comes out AFTER you have paid for 3.00 OYNO (off your next order). In the land of couponing, this is called a triple play. BUT it gets better. You can now start what is called a chain. A chain means that you can do the deal over and over and over and basically stockpile a bunch of something. The Catalina part of the deal will last through the 24th (Sunday) so I hope someone reads this and understands it and profits from it. Here is some of my scenarios in case you are a visual person.

I had 3 mfg coupons for the .50/2. I started my chain like this:
6 boxes of vegs (get all 6 different flavors so that there are 6 different barcodes and the coupons will not beep) I got corn, lima beans, broccoli, sugar snap, mixed medley, peas
Subtotal: 4.00
I also got the 5/5 fresh vegs: 2 mushrooms, onions, potatoes and spinach.
New Subtotal: 9.00
I used: 3 mfg coupons .50/2
I used the Food Lion coupon for 2.00 off 5.00
New Subtotal: 4.00 = tax
paid and out spit a catalina for 3.00 OYNO (off my next order)

Second order:
6 different boxes of vegs= 4.00
1 gallon of milk= 3.79
Subtotal= 7.79
I used 3 mfg coupons for .50/2
I used the 3.00 catalina
Total with tax 1.88
out spit another 3.00 catalina

Repeat

Even if you do not have any coupons, this is still the deal of the century. Once you pay for the first transaction, each order with 6 boxes will generate the catalina. You would then pay for 6 boxes 4.00- the 3.00 catalina and your total would be 1.00 = tax for that means 6 boxes of vegs for .17 each. You can roll this deal over and over and that becomes a chain. I plan to do this deal several times. Incredible. That is how you eat for cheap!

#3: Use the .55/2 peelie for Old El Paso and the peelie for buy 2 OEP products and get a free taco seasoning packet all in one transaction. I got 2 refried beans and a taco seasoning for .90 + tax. Pretty good. I found both peelies at Food Lion and Lowes and the peelie for .55/2 at Teeter itself.

#4: If you have registered your card with Harris Teeter online, you are eligible to receive $3.00 off YourHome brand Papertowels 8 or 15 pack through 2/26/08. I am not sure of the regular price but would consider it a good deal if the math makes each roll less than .50.

#5: I noticed several bottles of Tobasco sauce with .50/1 peelies on them. They are on sale for 2/5 so that might be a good deal for you if you use Tobasco sauce.

#6: Noticed an unadvertised deal with Healthy Choice soups. If you purchase 3 soups in one transaction (2.49 ea-not on sale but there are coupons out there) then you will be able to get one of their frozen Panini sandwiches for free (3.29 value).

#7: 2-22-08 I just realized another deal. There is a Food Lion coupon on www.afullcup.com for 1.00 off Zesta crackers. If you buy them at Teeter they are BOGO at 2.99= 1.50 ea. Buy one and use one coupon and they will be .50 a box. The coupon clearly states "1 print" so do not try to use 2 in one transaction or else they will tell you no because since it is a competitor's coupon the CSM will have to override it anyway and will halt you at that point.

Lowes Foods Deals 2-20-08 thru 2-26-08

2008-02-21T14:34:00.007-05:00

Lowes Foods basic coupon policy: they will double coupons whose face value is .99 and under. They will honor competitor's coupons but I have had trouble with the Lowes on the corner of Piedmont Pkwy and Guilford College staying true to this new policy so I generally shop at the other Lowes on New Garden and Old Oak Ridge Rd. You need their greencard to get the sale prices. Occassionally- several times a year- they will have their triples and will triple mfg coupons. When I catch wind of a triple, I will try to warn you because the more organized you are, the more you can get for your money. They will accept IP (internet printables) and it depends on the cashier as to how many. Their formal policy is 2 per order but I have had cashiers who let me use more than 5 in one order. Their BOGO (buy one get one free) will ring up half price and they will let you use a coupon for each item in the BOGO deal. They changed their policy within the last six months-they used to have minimums before coupons would double. They are slowly becoming my favorite store because they are becoming more coupon friendly than Harris Teeter.

Boneless center cut pork chops 4.99lb BOGO= 2.49 lb
Boneless top round london broil 4.99lb BOGO= 2.49 lb
Dole bag salads 2.99 BOGO- 1.00/1= get 2, 1.00 ea
4 ct Pillsbury biscuits 1.00 BOGO= .99 ea
***I am not sure if any of the Pillsbury coupons will work for these
Hunts can spaghetti sauce 5/5= 1.00
Stove Top Italian Roast 1.29 Closeout flavor
Dole fruit cups 2/4- .75/1 or 1.00/3= .50 or get 3, 1.33 ea
Chock full o Nuts coffee reg 2/5- .75/1= 1.00
Chock coffee decalf 3.79- .75/1= 2.29
JFG coffee reg 2.59- .60/1= 1.39
Betty Crocker warm delights 1.79- .50/1 or .50/2= .79 or 1.29
Post HoneyComb cereal 3.49 BOGO- 1.00/2= get 2, 1.25 ea
Kellogg Wild Animal cereal 2/4- .70/1= .60
Post Honey Bunches of Oats choc 2/5- 2.00 IP= .50
***This IP from www.onespoonful.com
Betty Crocker fruit shapes 2.75 BOGO- .50/2= get 2, .88 ea
*** this coupon from Blinkie at Food Lion, barcode starts with a 5
Fiber One granola bars 2/5- .40/1= 1.70
Kellogg's Poptarts 3/4.98 (1.66)- .50/1 Target IP= 1.16
Hungry Jack (little box) pancake mix 1.89- .55/1= .79
Pepsi selected 2 liters 1.59 BOGO= .79 ea
Steamfresh frozen vegs 2/3- .35/1= .80
PictSweet frozen vegs 1.95 BOGO= .97
***Teeter is the place to get frozen vegs this week***
Viola veg meals 3.99- 1.00/1 IP= 2.99
***IP from www.couponbug.com or www.coupons.com
Eggo frozen waffles 2/4- 1.00/2 Target IP= get 2, 1.50 ea
Pet ice cream 4.99 BOGO= 2.50
Arm & Hammer toothpaste 1.99, 2.79, 3.19- 1.00 IP= .99, 1.79, 2.19
***IP from www.coupons.com
Colgate kids toothpaste 2.55- .50/1= 1.55

Deals:

#1: If you were able to get some of the tearpad coupons for Dole bagged salad then this would be the week to use them at Lowes. The coupon is good for 1.00 off 2 bags which are on sale 2.99 BOGO. With the coupon, the price will now be 1.00 per bag. Good time to eat some salad!

#2: This is a good week to use the Food Lion 2 off 5 in Produce and Bakery coupons. You could use these coupons for the Dole salad, the discounted bananas if you don't use the other IP coupons.

#3: Remember that there are coupons for Target on www.afullcup.com for .50 off 2 lbs of bananas and 1.00 off broccoli.

#4: If you have 1200 points on your greencard, you can get a loaf of bread for .19

#5: I happened to go into Walmart (UGH) this past week for yogurt and saw some pink peelies on the Fiber One granola boxes for buy 3 Fiber One products and get one free. If you like these bars (they are good) and are in Walmart, grab some peelies to make the deal sweeter.

#6: There still is the deal of buying 4 General Mills cereals in one transaction and get a free gallon of milk. There are several GM cereal coupons at www.coupons.com and www.couponbug.com like Reese .55, Trix .55, Cheerio .75 and remember that these will all double. Do the math and see what kind of scenario you can get everything the cheapest and still get the free gallon of milk.

Food Lions Deals 2-20-08 thru 2-26-08

2008-02-20T22:11:00.007-05:00

Food Lion basic coupon policy: face value only, accepts internet printable coupons, BOGO items will ring up half price and they have no issues with using coupons on each of the BOGO items, you need the MVP card to get their sale prices. They have their own store internet coupons that can be either found by registering your MVP card at the Food Lion homepage and they will weekly email them to you or you can go to www.afullcup.com and print up your own. Food Lion is not my favorite grocery store but I will go in there for the loss leaders and to look for beer rebate forms which they are the best at having in stock in the Greensboro area.

Pork Chops value pack 1.99 lb
Doritos 3.49 BOGO= 1.75 ea
Santa Fe salsa 2.25 BOGO= 1.13 ea
Ronzoni pastas 1.49- 1.00/1= .49
Muellers whole pasta 4/5- 1.00/2= get 2, .75 ea
Ragu 2lb 10oz (=2 reg jars) 2.00 ** this is a good deal
Ham Helper 10/10- .75/3= get 3, .75 ea
Pillsbury Frosting 5/5- .40/2= get 2, .80 ea
Pillsbury Cakes 2/3 or 5/5- .40/2= get 2, 1.30 or .80
***these Pillsbury are not a great deal but if you need them they are better than the store brand prices
Kelloggs Frosted Flakes 3.00 BOGO= 1.50
General Mills Trix 2.80 BOGO- .55/1= .85
*** IP from www.coupons.com
GM Reese' PB cereal 3.47 BOGO- .55/1= 1.19
*** IP from www.coupons.com
Post kids cereals 2/4- 1.00/2= 1.50
Keebler Sandies cookies 3.89 BOGO= 1.95
Chips Ahoy cookies 3.29 BOGO= 1.65
Food Lion can vegs 2/1= .50
Minute Maid Enhanced juices 2.99
Hillshire Deli meats 3/6- 1.00/1= 1.00
Breyer select flavors closeout 2.67- .55/1= 2.12
*** Flavors: Root Beer, Carb Smart Rocky Road, No Sugar PB Tracks, regular Caramel Pretzel

Deals:

#1: Look out for tearpads in front of the Dole bagged salads in the produce area. They are for 1.00 off 2 bags and you can use them at Lowes and coupon friendly Harris Teeters.

#2: I found a hangtag on bottles of Wishbone Spritzers for .55 off produce whe you buy Wishbone Spritzers. The barcode begins with a 5 so remember that this will double to 1.10 off. Hold on to it for when the Spritzers go on sale again because the coupon is good until 12-21-08.

#3: Be on the lookout for a beer rebate. This one is for 4.00 back on the purchase of pizza compliments of Icehouse beer. I found this one on a pad at the Food Lion at the corner of Wendover and Penny Rd in the Palladium Shopping Center.

#4: Look for peelies on the boxes of Old El Paso tacos and dinners. It is good for a free package of seasoning when you buy 2 OEP products. You can use this in conjunction with the other curren peelie of .55/2 for a double play deal.

#5: There are blinkie coupons in front of the Betty Crocker fruit snacks for .50/2-- this coupon's barcode begins with a 5 so it will double at HT and Lowes.

#6: There is a satisfaction guarantee for the Minute Maid Enhanced Juices.
go to http://www.minutemaid.com/help/en/LoveItOrItsFree.jsp

#7: Be on the lookout for a tearpad for a free loaf of Sara Lee Bread when you buy 2 Hillshire Deli Select packages.

#8: Remember that the Santa Fe salsas have a taste guarantee and it is good for each flavor. They are on sale BOGO so I plan to buy 2 and submit and hope that they reimburse for the original price of 2.25.

Welcome 2-13-08 through 2-19-08

2008-02-14T19:48:00.010-05:00

Welcome!! I think we might have some more new people looking this week! I hope that you find this blog easy to understand and that you will find it helpful in your grocery planning, shopping, meal planning and that it will ultimately help you get your grocery bill/budget lower. I have been couponing for a long time and found that I have always saved money but it became more significant of a savings when I started meal planning in advance based on what was on sale and what I had coupons for.

I decided to add a brief explanation on the three stores' pages about their coupon policies. Things are always changing so I thought it might be helpful to keep this on each page and update accordingly. This week- or month- it seems that Harris Teeter is changing its coupon policies. Harris Teeter has been my favorite grocery store for 10 years because they were coupon friendly and had great sales. Lately, I have had more savings at Lowes Foods.

In the past, I have always gotten my bread at Aldi. When I first started shopping there, the bread was .49 a loaf and now it is up to .69? I have not been impressed with the quality lately. I decided to go to the Flowers outlet in Jamestown this week to check it out. GO GO GO. Not beautiful but let me tell you I am never going to Aldi again for bread. I got loaves of Natures Own for .69 a loaf. It was so soft and fresh I ate 4 slices when I got home. I priced the same loaf at Teeter and it was 2.39!! I got the double fiber which meant that I could eat more for my weight watchers points. They had all sorts of bread and they were all CHEAP. I can't say enough. It is right on Main Street in Jamestown.

If anyone who lives in Greensboro still does not get a Sunday paper, let me know if you want a cheap subscription and I can help you get one. If you live outside of Greensboro, Walmart will sell the Sunday edition for .75 but if you live in GSO I can get it cheaper than that.

If anyone has a question, email me at justgenna@triad.rr.com and I will try to help. If you see a deal, let me know too. One day, I hope to get CVS on here too but right now I don't have the time. CVS is awesome (I have gotten thousands of free stuff and I mean THOUSANDS) but it can be very time consuming to put together deals.
Genna

Meals 2-13-08 through 2-19-08

2008-02-14T19:48:00.008-05:00

Lasagna
Pasta with Shrimp, Tomatoes and Corn
Broiled Chicken with Corn-Pinapple Salsa
Easy Broccoli Cottage Bake
Easy Bacon Pie
Beef-and-Rice-Stuffed Peppers
Tasty 2-Step Chicken
Chili Salmon
Asparagus and Simple Hollandaise Sauce
Roasted Broccoli wih Garlic
Parsleyed Noodles
Peanut Butter Oat Bites

Lasagna: don't be scared, this is SOOOOO easy
1 container (15 oz) part skim Ricotta cheese
2 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 lb ground beef (I use turkey) browned, drained
1 cup water
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
Preheat to 350. Mix ricotta cheese, 1 1/4 cups of the mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, parsley and egg until well blended; set aside. Pour spaghetti sauce into meat in skillet. Pout water into empty sauce jar; cover and shake well. Pour into skillet; stir until well mixed (This will yield about 5 cups sauce) Place 1 cup of meat sauce on bottom of 13 x 9- inch baking dish. (This way the noodles will not stick to the pan) Layer 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup meat sauce. Repeat layers 2 more times. Top with remaining 3 noodles and sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Cover tightly with greased aluminum foil. Bake 45 minutes or until cooked through. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until bubbling. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting for easier serving. I am serving with garlic bread and the garlic broccoli (see below recipe).

Pasta with Shrimp, Tomatoes and Corn:
8 oz bow-tie pasta
1/2 lb green beans, cut into 1 1/2-inch long pieces (I will use 1 bag of the Steamfresh green beans that are on sale)
1 lb med shrimp, peeled and deveined (just steam them until pink and shell)
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (7 oz) can corn drained (another bag of Steamfresh but corn this time)
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
Prepare pasta according to pkg directions and drain (save about 1 cup of the water). Add green beans to pasta. Mix shrimp, tomatoes and corn in a pan. Add oil; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer (med to med-low heat), then cover and set aside. Toss pasta and beans with shrimp mixture; if pasta looks dry, add reserved water in 1/4 cup increments until desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper. (I plan to steam my shrimp with Old Bay seasoning)

Broiled Chicken with Corn-Pinapple Salsa:
6 medium (4 oz ea) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 can (15.25 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple in its own juice, drained
1/2 cup chopped green and/or red sweet pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
pepper to taste
Rinse chicken; pat dry. Season with pepper. Place on unheated rack of broiler pan. Broil 4 inches from het for 10-12 minutes or until no pink remains; turn once. Meanwhile, stir together corn, pineapple, sweet pepper, cliantro and jalapeno in medium bowl. Serve with chicken. Garnish with additional cilantro and jalapeno peppers if desired. You can substitute 6 medium (4 oz ea) salmon fillets for the chicken.

Easy Broccoli Cottage Bake:
1 container (16 oz) Low Fat cottage cheese
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, well drained
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 jar (7 oz) roasted red peppers, well drained, chopped (make your own)
4 eggs, beaten
3 tbsp each parmesan grated topping and plain dry bread crumbs
Preheat to 350. Mix all ingredients until well blended. Pour into a 9-inch pie plate sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 45 minutes or until center is set. Let stand 10 minutes before cuting into slices to serve. I will probably serve with the Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce.

Easy Bacon Pie:
12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded swiss cheese (I like cheddar better)
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup Bisquick
1 cup milk
1/8 tsp pepper
2 eggs
Preheat to 400. Grease pie plate/pan. Sprinkle bacon, cheese and onion into pie pan. Stir remaining ingredients together and pour into pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until center is set. I will serve with a salad and a veg.

Beef-and-Rice-Stuffed Peppers:
6 medium bell peppers, tops removed and reserved, and seeds removed
1 tbsp olice oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz lean ground beef or turkey
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup cooked brown rice, or white
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
Preheat to 375. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add peppers and pepper tops and cook until tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove peppers from water and invert to drain fully. Make filling: Warm olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add carrot, celery and garlic and continue cooking until vegetables are just softened, 4 minutes longer. Add beef, salt and pepper and cook, breaking up large chunks, until meat is no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Add tomatoes and rice and cook 5 minutes longer. Stir in 3/4 cup cheese. Fill peppers with meat mixture, dividing evenly. Sprinkle mixture with remaining cheese and top with pepper lid. Bake until cheese is melted and peppers are heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Tasty 2-Step Chicken:
1 tbsp veg oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over med-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until it's well browned on both sides. Remove the chicken and set aside. Pour off any fat. Stir the soup and water into the skillet. Heat to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. I will serve with the Parsleyed Noodles and the Roasted Broccoli with Garlic

Chili Salmon: this is not on sale but a certain friend wants some fish recipes on here!
2 6 to 8 oz slamon fillets
1/4 cup finley chopped pistachios
1/3 cup chili sauce
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp chili powder
1 finely chopped scallion
1 tsp hot sauce
Season each fillet with salt and pepper. Blend the pistachios, chili sauce, minced garli, chili powder, scallion and hot sauce together. Spoon the chili mixture on top of the salmon. Bake on parchment lined tray at 325 for 15 minutes.

Asparagus and Hollandaise Sauce:
1 to 2 lbs asparagus
1/2 cup light mayo (recipe from Kraft so they reccomend Kraft Light)
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
Steam asaparagus until desired tenderness and set aside. Cover to keep warm. I like mine soft soft.
Mix all ingredients in saucepan. Cook on low heat 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring constantly. Serve over hot steamed fresh asparagus. Can also serve over hot sugar snap peas or broccoli. Can garnish with fresh parsley or finely chopped red peppers.

Roasted Broccoli with Garlic:
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb broccoli florets
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts
Preheat to 425. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add garlic and cover; set aside off heat. Place broccoli in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread broccoli out in a single layer on 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Roast, stirring often, until softened and lightly browned on edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, place pine nuts in a large skillet. Toast over med heat, stirring and tossing often, until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool. Transfer broccoli to a large bowl and pour on butter and garlic mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with pine nuts just before serving.

Parsleyed Noodles:
1 (12 oz) pkg med or wide egg noodles
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper
bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add noodles; bring back to a boil and cook, stirring often, until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Melt butter in a small saucepan over med-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and remove from heat. Drain noodles, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Return noodles to pot and stir in butter-onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper. If noodles appear dry, add reserved cooking liquid 1 tbsp at a time. Serve hot.

Peanut Butter Oat Bites:
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 cup quick oats
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup finely chopped lightly salted dry-roasted peanuts
Melt butter in a med saucepan over med heat. Remove pan from heat and stir in peanut butter, confectioners' sugar, honey and vanilla. Stir in Rice Krispies and oats and allow mixture to cool. Stir in raisins and chocolate chips. Form mixture into 1-inch balls, then roll each ball in chopped peanuts, pressing to coat. Store in refrigerator.

Harris Teeter Deals 2-13-08 thru 2-19-08

2008-02-14T19:47:00.013-05:00

Lowes Foods Deals 2-13-08 thru 2-19-08

2008-02-14T19:47:00.012-05:00

Lowes Foods basic coupon policy: they will double coupons whose face value is .99 and under. They will honor competitor's coupons but I have had trouble with the Lowes on the corner of Piedmont Pkwy and Guilford College staying true to this new policy. You need their greencard to get the sale prices. Occassionally- several times a year- they will have their triples and will triple mfg coupons. When I catch wind of a triple, I will try to warn you because the more organized you are, the more you can get for your money. They will accept IP (internet printables) and it depends on the cashier as to how many. Their formal policy is 2 per order but I have had cashiers who let me use more than 5 in one order. Their BOGO (buy one get one free) will ring up half price and they will let you use a coupon for each item in the BOGO deal. They changed their policy within the last six months-they used to have minimums before coupons would double. They are slowly becoming my favorite store because they are becoming more coupon friendly than Harris Teeter.

boneless skinless chicken breast 1.99 lb
fresh asparagus 1.49 lb
Hunts ketchup 2/3= 1.50
Hunts spaghetti sauce 5/5
Hunts diced tomatoes 5/5- .25/1= .50
Progresso soup 2.35 BOGO (1.17)- .25/1= .67 or
.50/2= .67 or .55/2(IP) = .63
***IP from www.coupons.com
Lowes Brand refried beans 3/1.98= .66 ea
Chips Ahoy cookies 3.49 BOGO= 1.74
Swiss Miss cocoa 5/5- .50/1= free
Chock full o Nuts coffee 2.79- .75/1= 1.29
JFG coffee 2.59- .60/1= 1.39
JFG decalf coffee 3.79- .60/1= 2.59
Poptarts 3/4.98- .50/1 or .50/1 Target IP= .66 or 1.16
***IP from www.afullcup.com
GM cereals 2/5- 1.00/2= 2.00 *specific flavors
Coffee-mate liquid creamer 2/4- 1.00/1 (IP)= 1.00
***IP from www.coffee-mate.com
Polly-O Ricotta cheese 4.39
Lowes Brand cottage cheese 1.89
Lowes Foods frozen pizza dough 1.49
***This item is new to me, I found it by the seafood/meats in a tiny cooler
Steak-Umms 3.99 BOGO= 1.99
Eggo sticks 2/4- 1.00/2 Target IP= 1.50 ea
Lowes brand frozen pizzas 5/10 **these are pretty good, like Red Baron
Charmin bath tissue 5.99- .25/1= 5.49
Lowes Brand bath tissue 2.69 BOGO= 1.34 4pk
Scoop Away litter 20lb 6.99, cheaper than Walmart's 7.49
Kotex products 2/5- 2.00/1 IP= .50
Top Care toothbrushes .99 BOGO= .50 ea

Deals:

#1: Use the Food Lion 2.00 off 5.00 coupon in produce when you buy your asparagus, bag salad, bananas. You can also use the Target coupon (also found on www.afullcup.com) for .50 off 2 lbs of bananas. You might even be able to get free bananas if you use the Target coupon for the ripe bagged bananas.

#2: Be on the lookout for "Manager's Specials" in the meat section. I was at the Lowes on Old Oak Ridge Rd and they had like 100 package of those tiny cocktail smokies on sale for 1.00 a package. The regular price was 3.99. I got two packs and tossed them into the freezer for later use.

#3: There is a catalina (the red coupon that prints at the register) deal. Green Giant is the product that is triggering the catalina coupon. When you purchase 3 boxed Green Giant frozen vegetables, you will get a coupon for 1.00 OYNO (off your next order). If you buy 4, you get a $2.00 OYNO. If you buy 5, you get a $3.00 OYNO. These are great deal makers. Purchase the vegs with mfg coupons and then a double play is saving on your next order. You CAN immediately use on a second order than has another round of boxed vegs and you will generate another catalina coupon. This is called a chain. I will do this as long as I have mfg coupons for the vegs. The best scenario was to have gotten a raincheck for the vegs 2 weeks ago when they were on sale 10 for $10 but who knew that this was coming. This deal is good until 2/24.

#4: Another catalina deal: Kraft salad dressing. Again, buy 3 bottles in one transaction and get a catalina coupon for 1.00 OYNO. Buy 4, get a $2.00 coupon. Buy 5, and get $3.00 coupon. I know there are some mfg Kraft coupons out there but you have to decide if the deal is good for you.

#5: Buy 4 boxes of any General Mills cereals and you get an instant free gallon of milk. To maximize the deal, I would buy 2 boxes of Trix that are on sale for 2/5. I would use 2 IP coupons for .55/1, so each box would end up costing 1.40 each. I got the Trix coupons from www.coupons.com. I would then buy 2 boxes of any of the other GM cereals that were on sale 2/5 and use a .75/2 coupon, making them 1.75 a box. So final cost would be 6.30 for 4 boxes of cereal and one gallon of milk. Pretty good.

#6: There is a green TMF hangtag on specially marked bottles of Heinz 57 w/Lea & Perrins. This hangtag is what you fill out and send in and they will send you a full refund. To make the deal sweeter, use a mfg coupon when you initially buy the bottle and you will end up making money off the deal! I cannot find a mfg for this but I am sure there is one from the past couple of months- I don't eat this stuff so I am sure I just tossed it.

#7: I spotted more of the tobasco sauces with the free coupons on them.

#8: Remember that Lowes accepts competitor's coupons, including their IP ones (MINUS the Lowes at Piedmont Pkwy) and that you can use the 2.00 off 5.00 Produce and Bakery coupons from Food Lion.

Food Lion Deals 2-13-08 thru 2-19-08

2008-02-14T19:46:00.006-05:00

Food Lion basic coupon policy: face value only, accepts internet printable coupons, BOGO items will ring up half price and they have no issues with using coupons on each of the BOGO items, you need the MVP card to get their sale prices. They have their own store internet coupons that can be either found by registering your MVP card at the Food Lion homepage and they will weekly email them to you or you can go to www.afullcup.com and print up your own. Food Lion is not my favorite grocery store but I will go in there for the loss leaders and to look for beer rebate forms which they are the best at having in stock in the Greensboro area.

Food Lion brand nuggets 3.99
Contessa Shrimp 6.99 BOGO- 1.50/2= get 2, 2.75 ea
Pepsi 12 packs 5.39 BOGO
Captain Crunch cereal 3.19 BOGO (1.60)- .50/1= 1.10 ea
Hunts Ketchup 2.19 BOGO= 1.10
Del Monte Pineapple 1.00 BOGO= .50
Campbells Chix Noodle/Tom soups .59- .40/2 or .40/4= .39 or .49 ea
***This is about as cheap as they get unless there is a triples sale
General Mills Lucky Charms 3+ BOGO- 1.00/2= 1.20 approx ea
***I can't remember their price but this is a good deal if less than 1.50 a box
General Mills Cookie Crisp 3.92 BOGO- 1.00/2= 1.46 ea
Post cereals 2/4- 1.00/2= 1.50
Quaker granola bars 2.72 BOGO- 1.00/2= get 2, .86 ea
Nabisco Cheese Nips 1.99 BOGO= .99 ea
***I consider this awesome because they are about 1.5x bigger box than Goldfish and my kids like just the same
Quilted Northeren Bath Tissue 4.59 BOGO= 2.30
Purex Detergent 4.99 BOGO= 2.50
***I think there are 1.00/1 out there but I used mine already
Lysol Wipes 3.13 BOGO- 1.00/2= 1.07 ea

Deals:

#1: Buy 2 of the Lysol Disinfecting Wipes. Send off for the $5.00 rebate when you buy 2 Lysol products and have a receipt for a visit to the Pediatrician. If you participated in this last year, you can again. They must be offering this deal every cold and flu season. If you have no idea what rebate I am talking about, go to the Lysol website www.lysol.com and you will be able to print up the official rebate form to submit. Good deal if you have sickly kids like me and are constantly at your doctor's office.

#2: Food Lion carries a brand of salsa that I can find nowhere else: Spike Santa Fe Salsa. There is a satisfaction guarantee that it is the "World's Best Tasting Salsa". You can send it in for EACH flavor. You will receive the price back if you send in the label, register receipt and your reason for dissatisfaction. I have sent in for these offers before because I liked the product but thought the price was too high or did not like the fact that they never put out coupons for the product. If you don't agree with their motto send it in. I am going to try several of the flavors and tell them what I think.

#3: The weekly Food Lion coupons that were emailed to me had a 2.00 off a Bakery purchase and a 2.00 off a 5.00 Produce purchase. These could be great deal makers if you can time it right to get the reduced bread.

Welcome 2-6-08 through 2-12-08

2008-02-06T11:14:00.001-05:00

Welcome!! I hope everyone is surviving this weather better than we are. I have rotated the crud through each of my three kids and now am back at the originator who appears to be headed for round two. I think I officially have "it" too. Good thing I stocked up on some Delsym at Harris Teeter when I noticed it in their clearance bin this past week. That would be my tip of the week. From store to store I am noticing that everyone is doing some sort of inventory spring cleaning. CVS is and will be marking down shampoos in the coming weeks. They marked down their Bonne Bell lip glosses and I got several for .62. At Teeter, they were marking down several "seasonal" items and I found 3 bottles of Delsym for 3.06 (reg price 8.99) and had the mfg coupons for 2.00 off. Michaels put their Christmas stuff on clearance for 90% off this week and I found there to be alot of stuff they considered Christmas. Kohls had racks and racks of clothes for 80% off. Just take a look around where your regular shopping takes you and see if you notice the store clearing out "stuff".

At the grocery stores I did not notice very much on sale. This might be a down week. They happen from time to time and can last one week or even two. These are the weeks that I take advantage of my stockpiled groceries and use up what I got on a good deal weeks before and rely less on what is on sale. The recipes I have posted for this week are a combination of things you might have on hand from previous sales and what is on sale this week. Several people have asked me about my pantry. I keep it well stocked. I tell my husband when he gripes about how many boxes of Cheerios I have on hand that there is a method to my madness. If I find a good deal I do not buy just one, I buy as many as I can get for that good deal price even though I might not immediately need it/them. Sales cycle and some are more frequently and some are more rare. They call it stockpiling. Once you have a good base of the things you use all the time then you will only buy it when it is a good deal and never pay full price again for that item. It aggrivates my husband to the hilt to have 10 boxes of Cheerios but he loves that I get everything so cheap and free up money.

If you have not sent in your rebates, check their postmark required dates and get them out. Make sure you make copies just in case...... I had one of these this past week where I was shorted about 9.00 and called to follow up and they asked me to send the receipt. I told them they had it and I could sent a copy of it since they could not "find" it. Happens from time to time, so make copies. I also date them so I can remember when I sent them out.

Have a good week and email if you have any questions.
justgenna@triad.rr.com
Genna

Meals 2-6-08 through 2-12-08

2008-02-06T11:13:00.000-05:00

Mexican Manicotti
Herb Roasted Chicken
Hearty Chicken and Noodle Casserole
Bubble-Up Pizza
Poached Salmon with Caper Sauce
Torta Italiano
Grands! Monkey Bread
Frozen Ice Cream Delight

Mexican Manicotti:
Plan ahead....start the night before
1 lb lean ground beef (I use turkey)
1 can (16 oz) refried beans
2 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 pkg (8 oz) manicotti shells
2 1/2 cups water
1 jar (16 0z) picante sauce
2 cups (16 oz) sour cream
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Monterey Jack or Mexican-blend cheese
1/4 cup sliced green onions
Sliced ripe black olives, optional
In a bowl, combine the uncooked beef, beans, chili powder and oregano. Spoon into uncooked mnicotti shells; arrange in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. (I have put into ziploc bags and cut the corner out and squeezed into the uncooked shells). Combine water and picante sauce; pour over shells. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Uncover; spoon sour cream over the top. Sprinkle with the cheese, onions and olives if desired. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted. I serve with corn and spanish rice.

Herb Roasted Chicken:
1 chicken (about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 lbs)
4 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Preheat to 450. Cut the chicken in half. Arrange chicken, skin side up, in a roasting pan. Combine butter, lemon juice, oregano, rosemary, sage, salt and black pepper in a small bowl and mix well. Brush the chicken wthe the butter mixture. Roast until juices run clear, about 20 minutes. Broil 6 inches from heat for additional 3 minutes. For added flavor, toss sliced onions and mushrooms in a little olive oil and roast alongside the chicken. I will serve with salad, rolls, mashed potatoes and probably a green vegetable. This is one I will do on the weekend!

Hearty Chicken and Noodle Casserole:
1 can (10.75 oz) cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen mixed vegs
2 cups cubed cooked chicken (I just boil real quick)
2 cups medium eggs noodles, cooked and drained
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat to 400. Stir soup, milk, black pepper, grated Parmesan cheese, vegs, chicken and noodles in a 1 1/2 qt casserole dish. Bake for 25 minutes or until hot. Stir. Top with cheddar cheese. I will serve with more vegs.

Bubble-Up Pizza:
3 pkgs (7.5 oz ea) buttermilk biscuits, quartered
1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
3 cups (12 oz) shredded mozarella cheese
1 garlic clove, pressed
Optional toppings: onion, ham, mushrooms, olives, peppers, bacon, (I have used Feta)
Preheat to 375. Quarter biscuits into a bowl. Stir in 1 cup of sauce and 2 cups of cheese. Press garlic clove with a garlic press and add to biscuit mixture. If desired, add optional ingredients and mix to combine. Spread mixture into 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Pour remaining sauce and cheese over top. Bake 30-35 minutes or until sides are golden brown.

Poached Salmon with Caper Sauce:**** this recipe by request for a fish recipe
4 4-ounce fresh or frozen salmon steaks or other fish steaks cut 3/4 inch thick.
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
dash pepper
4 lemon slices
2 tbsp water
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp drained capers
2 cups shredded zucchini
Thaw fish, if frozen. Rinse the fish and pat dry with paper towels. In a 10-inch skillet combine chicken broth, wine and pepper. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Place fish in skillet, place lemon slices atop fish. Cover and simmer for 8 to 12 minutes or till fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove fish and lemon, keep fish warm. Discard lemon. Gently boil broth mixture, uncovered, till reduced to 3/4 cup (about 2 minutes) Stir together water and cornstarch, stir into broth mixture. Stir in capers. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Divide zucchini among four plates, arrange salmon on zucchini and spoon sauce over salmon.

Torta Italiano:
2 cups reduced fat bisquick (can use reg)
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 lb ground turkey
1 large garlic clove, pressed
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 oz grated fresh parmesan cheese (2 tbsp)
Preheat to 350. Lightly spray either a springform pan or a cake pan with veg oil/nonstick spray. In a mixing bowl, combine bisquick mix and milk. Roll dough evely over flat bottom of pan (I just spread it the best I can). Chop onion. Cook turkey, onion, and pressed garlic over med heat 8-10 minutes or until turkey is no longer pink; drain. Sprinkle with seasonings. Stir in tomato sauce. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes. Spread turkey mixture over dough. Top evenly with spinach. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top. Bake 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes. If using a springform pan, run a knife around the inside collar before removing. Cut into 8 wedges. (FYI ea wedge is 5 WW points)

Grands! Monkey Bread:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cans (16.3 oz ea) pillsbury Grands Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
Heat to 350. Lightly grease 12 cup fluted tube pan (bundt). Mix sugar and cinnamon in large plastic ziploc bag. Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan. Mix brown sugar and butter' pour over biscuit pieces. Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve.

Frozen Ice Cream Delight: Still have Oreos???
2 1/2 cups Oreos, crumbled and divided
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 gallon chocolate, coffee or vanilla ice cream, softened
1 1/2 cups salted peanuts
1 carton (8 oz) frozen cool whip, thawed
CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla extract
Combien 2 cups cookie crumbs with butter and sugar. Press into the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Freeze for 15 minutes. Spread ice cream over crumbs; freeze until firm, about 3 hours. Meanwhile, combine first four sauce ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla; allow to cool to room temperature. Spoon sauce over ice cream; sprinkle with nuts. Freeze until firm. Spread whipped topping over nuts and sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs. Freeze at least 3 hours before serving. Can be stored in freezer for up to a week.

Harris Teeter Deals 2-6-08 through 2-12-08

2008-02-06T11:12:00.002-05:00

Grapes .99lb
Whole chicken fryers .49lb
Ferrero Rocher 12pk candy 2/5- .75/1= 1.00
*** great for teachers' valentines and q exps 2-11-08
Texas Toast crutons .94- .40/1= .14
Uncle Bens rice 4/5
McCormick seasoning mixes .99 BOGO- .25/2= get 2, .25 ea
Hormel can ham 3/4- .35/1= .63
Campbells spaghettios 5/5- .40/2= get 2, .60 ea
No Yolks egg noodles 2/3- .50/1= .50
Muellers whole grain pasta 3/3- 1.00/2= get 2, .50 ea
Campbells Select soup 3/4-.40/2= get 2, .94 ea
Campbells classic micro bowls 3/4- .50/2= get 2, .84 ea
Progressive micro bowls 2.59 BOGO- .50/2= get 2, .80 ea
Campbells chix noodle/tomato 5/5- .40/2= get 2, .60 ea
Emerald Trail mix 10/10- .50/1= FREE
Kashi oatmeal 2.49- 2.00 IP= .49
Mrs Butterworth syrup 3.69 BOGO= 1.85
Nutri Grain bars 2/5- .75/1= 1.00
Dannon yogurts 10/5.00-1.00/10= get 10, .40 ea
Dial soap 8pk 3.88- .30/1= 3.28 (.41 a bar)
***cheaper at Lowes with store and mfg coupons .30 bar
Harris Teeter tissues 5/5
Birds Eye box frozen vegs 2/4 BOGO= 1.00 ea
Birds Eye bag frozen vegs 2/5 BOGO= 1.25 ea

Deals:

#1: Go to www.Unclebens.com and register and you will be able to print off coupons. They update pretty frequently and it is enough to keep me getting free rice anytime I need rice for a recipe. You might be able to use them to get the Country Inn rice that is on sale 4/5 for free. I am not sure what is on there this week or what will be available. Worth checking out.

#2: Keep your eyes out for the winetags. I found one for 2.00 off flowers or chocolate and got this huge planted flower that had been reduced from 32.50 to 3.75 and paid 1.75!! They were on some wine called "Dog House" but they are free to use regardless if you purchase alcohol. Remember we live in a dry state where the alcohol distributers are legally not allowed make you purchase their product to participate in their coupons for other products and rebate submissions.

#3: Check out the produce and bread clearances, I have found a few great deals there this past week like more bread for .49 a loaf, 2 red peppers for 1.00, bananas for .19 lb.....

Lowes Foods Deals 2-6-08 through 2-12-08

2008-02-06T11:12:00.001-05:00

Chicken boneless breast or tenders 1.79lb
*** sold in 2.5 lb bags
Kraft salad dressing 2/4- .75/2= get 2, 1.25 ea
Kraft BBQ .79- 50/2 peelie= get 2, .29 ea
Texas Pete sauce .99- bottle coupon= FREE
Motts applesauce 6pk 2/4- .55/2= get 2, 1.45 ea
Hunts can spaghetti sauce 5/5= 1.00 ea
No Yolks egg noodles 1.44- ..50/1= .44
Campbells classic soup 10/10- .40/2= get 2, .60 ea
Campbells Spaghettios 10/10- .40/2= get 2, .60 ea
Wolf Chili 2/3- .50/1= .50
Pace salsa 4/6 (1.50)- .75 Target q= .75
JFG coffee, reg 2.59- .60/1= 1.39
JFG decalf 3.49- .60/1= 2.29
Splenda sticks 2.39- .75/1= .89
Betty Crocker cake mix 1.65 BOGO =.82 ea
Betty Crocker cookie mix 3/4.98 (1.66)- .60/1 IP= .46
Nutri Grain bars 2/5- .75/1= 1.00
Quaker instant oatmeal 2/4- .60/1= .80
Reese cereal 2/5- .55/1 IP= 1.40
Rice Krispies w/Strawberries 2.45- 1.00/1 IP= 1.45
Egglands eggs 2.39- .35/1= 1.69
Lowes Brand cottage cheese 1.89
Jose Ole Taquitos 3.99- .75/1= 2.50
Barber stuffed chicken breasts 4.99 BOGO (2.50)- 1.00/1= 1.50
El Monterey frozen burritos 10pk 2/6- 1.00/1= 2.00
***good for the recipe 2 weeks ago
Viola meals 3.99- 1.00/1 IP= 2.99
Lowes Brand frozen vegs 4/5= 1.25 ea
Edy's ice cream 5.55 BOGO= 2.77 ea
Scrubbing Bubbles 2/5 store coup- .75/1= 1.00
Dial soap 3 pk 2/3 store coup- .30/1= .90

Deals:

#1: There is a rebate for 3.00 on a 6.00 purchase of organges by Leinenkugel Brewing. I found this rebate form at the Lowes on Old Oak Ridge Rd in the Cardinal area of Greensboro. Hold on to it or use it this week at Food Lions, it does not expire until June 2008.

#2: Hold on to the 4-week coupons that came on the 2-6-08 circular. You can use both a store coupon and a mfg coupon together on one product. Chances are, many of these items will have coupons coming out if not already and it might be a good time to stock up your cleaning closet since many are cleaning products.

#3: There is a peelie on some of the larger bottles of Kraft BBQ sauces for .50/2. Use that peelie on two of the smaller bottles and you will get them for .29 each.

#4: There are still bottles of Texas Pete sauce in Lowes that have the coupon for a free bottle on them.

#5: There is a coupon on the Target coupon generator at www.afullcup.com for .50 off 2 lbs of bananas. This could be turned into a GREAT deal if you are lucky and find the ripe bananas in the bags for .19 lb. You can go back and make the Banana Bread French Toast from last weeks' recipes for REALLY cheap with these. Just a thought.

And a FYI... I am personally still having problems getting the Lowes on the corner of Guilford College and Piedmont Parkway to accept my internet competitors' coupons. I would suggest either going to the one in the Cardinal area or New Garden if you plan to use alot of Target/Food Lion coupons.

*** Most of the IPs here are from www.coupons.com

Food Lion Deals 2-6-08 through 2-12-08

2008-02-06T11:11:00.000-05:00

4lb bag of Navel oranges 3.99 BOGO= 2.00
3 lb bag Gala apples 1.99
Tilapia Fillets 2.99 lb
Smithfield boneless pork loin 50% off,
***there was recently a mfg coupon for 1.00 off
Post kid cereals 2.80 BOGO- 1.00/2= get 2, .90 ea
GM cereals, buy 4 get 6.00 off
Pillsbury cake mix 5/5- .40/2= get 2, .80 ea
Kraft chunk/shredded cheeses 2/4- .75/2= get 2, 1.63 ea
Pillsbury Grands biscuits 5/5- .50/3= get 3, .83 ea

Deals:

#1: If you find the rebate for 3.00 back on a purchase of 6.00 in oranges, this would be a good week to buy 2 bags of oranges, circling the original prices, and submit. Remember to make copies for your own records before mailing.

#2: Coke 2 liter deals. Buy 3 and they will ring up for .99 ea, total 2.97. Buy 4 and they will ring up for .89 ea, total 3.56. Buy 5 and they will ring up for .79, total 3.95.

#3: General Mills. Buy any 4 boxes and you will get an automatic $6.00 off. Do this in conjuction with mfg coupons and you can get some cheap cereal. Currently there are coupons for .75/2 from red blinkie machines in most stores, insert coupons for .75 off Crunch Cheerios, .75 off Curves, 1.00/2 all GM cereal and IP coupons from www.coupons.com for .75 off Yogurt Cheerios. Do the math and I would recommend doing the deal if the boxes come out to 1.50 or less a box after all the coupons and instant savings.

Welcome 1-30-08 through 2-5-08

2008-01-31T19:54:00.000-05:00

Welcome!! I know there are some new folks checking us out so make sure you go back and look at previous weeks to get an idea if what I am sharing on this blog. I am basically condensing the sales and deals I find each week, matching coupons from recent weeks' inserts and coordinating meals out of the sales and deals. This blog is meant to help you make sense of what is on sale, how to match your coupons and make meals for you family in hopes of getting your grocery bill down and loosening up your money. I have been doing this for myself so about 10 years and have been tracking my "numbers" for 9.5 years and know that couponing does pay for the work you put into it. My grocery budget for a family of five is 150.00 a month and I am usually under that. I do eat meat and name brands almost 100% of the time. I hardly ever step foot in Walmart and as you will see I love Harris Teeter.

I hope everyone is having a good week. I am struggling this week with sick kids and what comes with sick kids: mommy sleep deprivation, irritable kids and cabin fever. Those oreos that were such a good deal 2 weeks ago are not such a great deal when they are projectile puked almost in your face at midnight on a school night. I have to laugh because they did not get me but almost got me. Anyways, I did get to do a walk through at my favorite Harris Teeter to find the unadvertised deals. I did not get to walk through Lowes or Food Lion so I know I am missing some deals. If you find them, email me and I will update accordingly. Hopefully over the weekend I can get out and shop and spot them but in the meantime-- if you see a deal let me know and I will pass it along.

update 2-3-08: I got the crud, have a fever and am near collaspe exhaustion and am not doing Lowes this week.

Keep in mind that if you have not sent in your rebates, some are expiring this and need to be postmarked by certain dates. Don't miss out on getting money back. I have before and it was because my desk was so cluttered and disorganized and I was so mad at myself. Anyways, make copies and send them out.

If you have any questions, email me justgenna@triad.rr.com
Genna

Meals 1-30-08 through 2-5-08

2008-01-31T12:44:00.000-05:00

I apologize in advance for this week's menu ideas. I am having a sleep deprived, sick kids, many doctor trips kind of week. I am putting out my comfort food recipes. They do match the sales and coupons but they are not glamorous (like anything I put on here is) and they are EASY, FAST, and CHEAP. I also am making a ham in the crock pot and plan to get some rotisserie chickens with my coupon/rebate deal that I put on here last week.

Meatball Subs
Brushetta 'n Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Taco Bake
Taco Casserole
Baked Turkey, Cheddar and Bacon Sandwich
Banana Bread French Toast
Mini Oreo Cupcakes

Meatball Subs:
1.5 to 2 lbs ground turkey or beef
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I like Italian)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 jar spaghetti sauce
french bread or sub rolls
mozzarella cheese
Get out your crock pot. Spread a thin layer of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom on crock pot. In a separate bowl, mix together the meat, breadcrumbs and eggs. Mix well. I use a soup spoon and scoop out enough meat to make 2 inch balls. I roll the meat into a tight ball- make sure you roll them long enough so that they will stay together when they are cooking. Place them into the crock pot. Once you have the first layer, I spread a thin layer of the sauce over them so that they will not stick to the second layer of meatballs I am going to put in. Repeat. Once you have the last layer of the meatballs in the crock pot, pour the remaining sauce over the meatballs. Cover and cook on low setting for 5-6 hours. I then slice open my french bread, put several meatballs and sauce and sprinkle some mozzarella on top and broil until the cheese is melted. (Sometimes I cut the meatballs in half when I am low on WW points). I rarely serve anything with these because they are FILLING! Warning: if you use ground beef instead of ground turkey, there will be alot of grease so I have to use a soup ladel and drain out the grease before I stir it in the crock pot for the first time. I do not have this problem with the turkey.

Brushetta 'n Cheese Stuffed Chicken:
1 can (14.4) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I use dry unless it is cheap)
1 pkg (6 oz) stuffing mix for chicken
8 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/3 cup Roasted Red Pepper Italian dressing (I use flat Italian!)
Preheat to 350. To prepare stuffing, combine tomatoes and their liquid, 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, basil and dry stuffing mix, stirring until just moistened. Put 2 chicken breast halves in a large freezer weight ziploc bag. Pound the chicken with the side of a heavy can, rolling pin or meat mallet until chicken is 1/4-inch thick. Repeat process in the same bag with remaining chicken, 2 at a time. Place pounded chicken breast, smooth side down, on a cutting board. Spread with 1/8 of the stuffing mixture. Roll the chicken breast, starting at the narrow end, as tightly as possible around stuffing moxture. Place in 13 x 9 inch baking dish with seam sides down, as this allows the chicken to hold together nicely. (I have had to use toothpicks in cris cross patterns before when my chicken breasts were smaller). Pour dressing evenly over chicken and bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup of cheese and bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through (170). This is great with salad and green beans.

Taco Bake:
1 lb ground beef (I like turkey)
1 pkg Soft Taco Dinner
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Preheat to 350. Cook meat with taco seasoning mix following package directions. Spray 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line dish with 3 of the tortillas (they will slightly overlap and it is ok); sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese. Spoon half of the seasoned meat over cheese; repeat all layers. Top with remaining 4 tortills, taco sauce and shredded cheese. I serve with corn and the taquitos that were on sale this past week at Lowes.

Taco Casserole:
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup (8 oz botle) Thick taco sauce
3/4 cup water
1 can (4oz) diced green chiles
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 pkg (12) white or yellow taco shells, broken, divided
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mild cheddar cheese, divided
Garnish options: chopped tomatoes, sliced green onions, sour cream
Preheat to 375. Grease 11 x 7-inch baking dish. Cook beef and onion until beef is browned, drain. Stir in taco sauce, water, chiles and seasoning mix. Cook over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Layer half of broken shells on bottom of prepared baking dish. Cover with half of meat mixture; sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. I plan to serve with salad.

Baked Turkey, Cheddar and Bacon Sandwich:
2 cups Bisquick mix
1 cup milk
1 egg
4 oz thinly sliced turkey breast
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (6 oz)
5 slices cooked bacon
Preheat to 400. Spray square baking dish, 8 x 8-inch with cooking spray. Stir Bisquick mix, milk and egg until blended. Spread half of the batter in baking dish. Top with turkey, 1 cup of the cheese and the bacon. Spread the remaining batter over bacon. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until golden brown and center is set. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake about 3 minutes or unitl cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting. This is great with any soup you have.

Banana Bread French Toast:
1 1/3 cup mashed bananas (@ 2 lg)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
3 tbsp veg oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2 2/3 cups Bisquick
optional: 1/2 cup nuts or choc chips
Preheat to 350. Grease a 9 x 5-inch bread pan. Stir bananas, sugar, milk, oil, vanilla and eggs together. stir in Bisquick and optional nuts. Pour into pan. Bake 50-60 minutes.
I let my bread get alittle dried out before making this recipe. You can make in the beginning of the week and let sit out for a day and then make into french toast. I cut about 1 inch slices and quick dip (soak too long and it will be a mush mess- I literally mean a quick dip to make sure it is absorbed and then out!) in an egg/touch of milk batter and then fry in a nonstick pan until golden. Add a little syrup and it is great. I have also wanted to add chocolate chips to the banana bread batter and then cook it and then make french toast out of that but was worried I might be on sugar overload with that. If anyone tries that email me and let me know if it is good. :)

Mini Oreo Surprise Cupcakes:
1 pkg (2 layer size) chocolate cake mix
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 egg
2 tbsp sugar
48 mini oreo bite size cookies
1 1/2 cups thawed cool whip
Preheat to 350. Prepare cake batter in large mixing bowl as directed on package; set aside. Whisk cream cheese, egg and sugar in small mixing bowl until well blended. Scoop cake batter, using 1/4 cup dry measuring cup, into each of 24 paper or foil-lined medium muffin cups, filing each cup about half full. Spoon 1/2 tbsp of cream cheese mixture ove batter in each muffin cup. Top with 1 cookie. Cover evenly with remaining cake batter. Bake 19 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Top cupcakes with whipped topping and remaining cookies just before serving.

Harris Teeter Deals 1-30-08 through 2-5-08

2008-01-31T12:43:00.000-05:00

** Remember that Teeter doubles up to .99 face value, takes 2 internet printable, will honor competitor's coupons (except at Adams Farm) and you can find some coupons on www.afullcup.com

Harris Teeter dog/burger buns .89
EZ Peel Shrimp 21-30 count 4.99 but sold in 2 lbs for 9.98
1 lb strawberries 4.99 BOGO= 2.49
Red Baron Pizza 5.89 BOGO (2.95)- 1.00/2= 2.45 ea, get 2
*****These were on sale cheaper at Lowes for 5.49 BOGO
Sister Schuberts frozen rolls 3.99 BOGO (2.00)- .50/1= 1.00
Foster Nuggets 9.99 BOGO= 5.00
Totinos pizza bites 10/10- .40/1= .20
Harris Teeter sliced cheese 2.99 BOGO= 1.50
Breakstone Sour Cream 3/4- .55/1= .23
Deans dips 2/3- .55/1= .40
Heluva dips 1.99 BOGO (1.00)-.50/1= FREE
Egglands eggs lg 2.99- .50/1 or .35/1= 1.99 or 2.29
***this is not great egg $ but I did not have time to go to Sams
International Delight liq creamer Toffee flavor 3/5= 1.66
***Marshmallow flavor 2.29 BOGO= 1.15
Land O Lakes butter 1.99 BOGO= 1.00
Hebrew National Hotdogs 5.29 BOGO=2.65
Healthy Ones lunchmeat 2/3- 1.00/1 or .55/1= .50 or .40
Armour hotdogs
***beef 2/4- .50/1 IP (internet printable)= 1.00
***meat 2/3- .50/1 IP = .50
Bob Evans deli sides 2/5 (2.50)- .35/1= 1.80
Kraft BBQ sauce 1.39 BOGO= .70
Texas Pete .79- hangtag on bottle= FREE see #3
Texas Toast crutons .94- .40/1= .14
Pace Salsa 4/6 (1.50)- .75/1 Target coupon= .75
Old El Paso taco shells 2/2- .55/2 peelie on box= get2, .45 ea
Old El Paso dinners 2/4- .55/2= get 2, 1.45 ea
Old El Paso seasoning .79- .55/2 peelie from box= get 2, .24 ea
Old El Paso refried beans 1.00- .55/2= get 2, .45 ea
Barilla manicotti shells 1.24
***get for next week's recipe of Mexican Manicotti
Muellers whole grain pastas 3/3- 1.00/2= get 2, .66 ea
McCormick dry seasoning packets .99 BOGO- .25/2= get 2, .25 ea
Progresso bread crumbs 2/3= 1.50 good for meatball recipe
Chex Mix 2.59 BOGO (1.30)- .50/1= .30 ea
Orville Redenbacher Popcorn 2.59 BOGO- 1.00/2 = .80
Lays Chips 3.49 BOGO= 1.75
Quaker Quick Grits .69 ** were 1.19
Kelloggs cereal (select flavors) 3.79-3.89 BOGO= 1.90 or 1.95
Kashi granola bars 2.99- 2.00/1 IP= .99
Kashi crackers 2.69- 2.00/1 IP= .69
Kashi cookies 2.69- 2.00/1 IP= .69
***I got these IP from www.coupons.com
Ritz crackers 3.79 BOGO (1.90)- .55/2= 1.35, get 2
Chips Ahoy 3.79 BOGO= 1.90
Scotties tissues 10/10- .50/3= get 3, .66 ea

Deals:

#1: Register your Harris Teeter online at www.HarrisTeeter.com and you will receive e-vic specials. These specials change weekly, are limited to one per card and come off your receipt automatically when you purchase the indicated item(s). Sometimes these specials are great and you can get free or really cheap stuff. Sometimes they are not worth anything. This week there are several:
Receive 1.50 off Harris Teeter Brand Cereal
Receive 1.50 off Harris Teeter Brand Instant Oatmeal
Receive 1.50 off Harris Teeter Your Home Brand Alum Foil 50ft or larger
Receive 1.50 off 16 oz Harris Teeter Organic Salsa
I got a box of their Rice Crispies for .87!

#2: Michelob rebate: Spend 15.00 in fresh/frozen seafood and get 10.00 back. Free or cheap shrimp with the sale. You really only have to buy one bag because the regular price is over 25.99 but is on sale for 9.99- make sure when you send in your receipt that you circle the regular price. The beer companies, in my experience, do not care what you paid after sales and coupons and only seem to care about the regular price of the item in regards to hitting or meeting that rebate minimum. I found this rebate at several Food Lions on the beer displays.

#3: There are specially marked bottles of Texas Pete hot sauces that have a hangtag on the neck of the bottle. This is not a mail in rebate but a coupon to get that bottle free right then. I noticed them the first time last week but they were still there this week. This is a good deal. I got the garlic one and it tastes very similar to the Franks Hot Sauce.

#4: Check out the bakery prices on breads. They are always marking down their french bread and rolls. This would be good if you are planning on making the meatball subs. I got 2 loaves of french breat for .99, 1 loaf of multigrain french bread for .49, a package of 4 large sub rolls for .69. They were super fresh.

#5: Several weeks ago I posted about the coupon at Food Lion that was for free soda when you bought 2 boxes of Orville Popcorn- this is the week to use it.

Lowes Foods Deals 1-30-08 through 2-5-08

2008-01-31T12:42:00.000-05:00

I am not able to do Lowes this week due to sick kids and now am sick myself.

Food Lion Deals 1-30-08 through 2-5-08

2008-01-31T12:28:00.000-05:00

Ground Chuck 1.89 lb -1.00 if you get 10.00 worth
Lays Chips 3.49 BOGO = 1.74 ea
GM Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal 3.26 BOGO- 1.00/2= 1.13 ea, get 2
Breyers Ice Cream 5.29 BOGO= 2.65 (FL coupon expired)
Cool Whip 1.00

Deals:

#1: There is a coupon for 1.00 off 10.00 in butcher brand beef. The coupon is found in the Taste NFL Recipe Book and is on the back inside page. I found it on the Pepsi Display in the middle of the freezer food isle. The display is also in some center isles near chip displays.

#2: Watch out for the butcher marking down meats. I was right behind him this week around 9:30 ish and got half price 80/20 ground beef for 1.15 and 1.30 a lb and then used my 1.00 off 10.00 coupon. I bought the family packs he was marking down and came home and separated in one pound sections and saran wrapped and then put in ziploc frezer bags and threw into the deep freezer.

Welcome 1-23-08 through 1-29-08

2008-01-21T10:26:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!!! Last week's coupon inserts were not a "Wow" for me and I did not buy extra papers but I feel like this is a GREAT deal week. It seems that every grocery store has some great loss leaders. A loss leader is a item that they feature in their sales insert that is usually sold at cost or at a loss to get you, the customer, into the store. They are banking that they will get you into the store and you will buy more stuff that is on sale or regular price and they will make up their initial loss with more profit. I think that concept is wonderful but I stick to my list and don't venture out on impulse buys and they don't make much money on me. Eventually those impulse items will go on sale and I will have a coupon and eventually get the item. One thing I would pass on to you is to never go grocery shopping hungry or they will make some money off you because it is harder to walk away from something you "need" if you are starving.

Hope everyone stocked up on Oreos last week and now are having fun figuring out what kinds of things we can make with them! If you have any good recipes, please forward to me because I would love them. I am trying to follow my Weight Watchers points but figure if I make everything low fat except for the oreos themselves, I might be able to actually eat some of them! ha ha ha

This is an awesome week to stock up the freezer with ice cream. Food Lion has Breyers on sale for 5.29 BOGO, which equates to 2.65 a half gallon. There is also a Food Lion IP (internet printable) coupon for 2.00 off one Breyers. That makes it .65! I almost fell over and was trying to figure out how many I can fit into my deep freezer alongside all the ground turkey I have! I go through alot of ice cream. I bought 32 half gallons once this summer and they have been long gone! Seriously. The only hitch is that you can only use one coupon each visit.

I usually never shop at Kmart for groceries but their insert this week caught my eye. There are some deals there if you are near.
oranges 4 lb bag 2 for $3.00
ground beef .99lb, sold in 5 lb
milk 2.99 gallon (about 1.00 less then EVERYONE ELSE)
mac n cheese box 4 for 1.00 (great to donate)
Kmart does NOT take other store's coupons and does NOT take any internet coupons (even the kmart ones!)

There are several new wine hangtags for 2.00 off shrimp, 1.00 off scallops, 2.00 off Flowers and/or Chocolates and 2.00 off chicken. There are TMF (try me free) on specially marked Texas Petes. There are rebates for the Kraft Active cheese and the Dannon Activia yogurt- try googling 'Dannon Activia challenge rebate". Another satisfaction guarrantee with Santa Fe salsa (I have only found at Food Lion) at www.SantaFePackingCompany.com and a rebate for 5.00 when you buy 2 Lysol products and have a pediatrician's appt.

And.... Great Clips is having some sale on haircuts. 6.99!! I am sending my husband to get his done. Me.... I just got it back into a ponytail with about 8 lbs of hairspray so this is one deal I am sitting out but...... good to pass along. I have no idea when it will end.

Because I tell you all this, don't feel like you have to do all this, find all this, buy everything on sale, be a couponing guru. I certainly don't do every deal, don't do every rebate or chase every freebie. I try to stockup on what I can eat (ice cream!! this week), what my family will eat, and do the rebates that will get me money back on what I have to buy already- like meats and pizza. Do what works for you and your time and ditch the rest. I just try to put all I know out there so that you might find one little tidbit that you can use to help you save some money.

Email me at justgenna@triad.rr.com if you have any questions or stumble upon any deals!
Genna

Meals for 1-23-08 through 1-29-08

2008-01-21T10:25:00.000-05:00

Foil-Pack Taco Chicken
Country Salisbury Steak
Rosemary-Dijon Pork Chops & Oven Potatoes Dinner
Southwest Stuffed Burgers
Wet Burritos
Roasted Tomato Quesadillas
Beef Stew
Double Chocolate Mocha Trifle
Cookies & Cream Freeze
Frozen Chocolate Souffles

Foil-Pack Taco Chicken:
4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts halves (1 lb)
4 tsp taco seasoning mix
1/2 lb red potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup chunky salsa
3/4 cup mexican style shredded cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
Preheat to 400. Sprinkle chicken with seasoning mix. Place 1/2 cup of the potatoes on center of each of 4 large sheets of non-stick sparyed heavy-duty foil (I like that Reynolds non-stick one and there are some .75/1 coups out there). Top evenly with chicken, salsa and cheese. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top at both ends to seal each packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Place in 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (165 degrees). Remove packets from oven. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening. Serve with sour cream. I will serve with salad, rice, corn and refried beans.

Country Salisbury Steak:
1 1/2 lb lean ground beef (I use turkey)
1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top stuffing mix for chicken
1 1/2 cups water, divided
3/4 cup chopped onions
1 pkg (8 oz) fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup original BBQ sauce
Preheat to 375. Mix meat, stuffing mix, 1 1/4 cup of the water and the onions until well blended. Shape into six 1/2-inch thick oval patties. Place on 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan. Bake 25 minutes or until cooked through (160 degrees). Meanwhile, spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add mushrooms; cook on med-high heat 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add BBQ sauce and remaining 1/4 cup water. Reduce heat to low, simmer 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce is heated through. Serve over the patties. I plan to serve with green beans, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes.

Rosemary-Dijon Pork Chops & Oven Potatoes Dinner:
1 lb potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup Italian dressing
4 bone-in pork chops, 1/2 inch thick (total about 1 1/2 lbs)
4 tsp dijon mustard (I will use spicy Frenchs-there is a IP coupon)
1/2 cup Shake N Bake original pork seasoned coating mix
1/4 tsp dried rosemary leaves, crushed
Preheat to 375. Toss potatoes with dressing in micro bowl. Micro on high for 7 minutes, stirring after 4 minutes. Spread the chops with mustard. Measure 1/2 cup coating mix; place in shallow dish along with the rosemary. Coat both sides of chops with the coating mixture. Place in center of foil-lined 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan. Arrange potatoes around chops. Bake 30 minutes or until chops are cooked through (160 degrees) and potatoes are tender. I plan to serve with fruit and steamed vegs.

Southwest Stuffed Burgers:
1 1/2 lb ground turkey or beef
1/4 cup light mayo, divided
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1/2 cup colby & monterey jack cheese crumbles (I'll use shredded)
1/4 cup salsa, divided
6 lettuce leaves
6 slices tomato
6 buns
If you do not have an indoor grill- you can either broil or bake the burgers. I plan to wrap the burgers in foil packets, put on a baking pan, and bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes.... and then follow the directions from that point....

Grill directions: If you have an indoor grill, Foreman, grill cook top.......Preheat greased grill to med-high heat. Mix meat, 3 tbsp of the mayo and the seasoning mix, and shape into 12 thin patties. Combine cheese and 2 tbsp of the salsa, spoon over 6 of the paties. Cover each with one of the remaining patties; pinch edges together to seal. Grill 7 min on each side or until cooked through (160). Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 tbsp salsa and remaining 1 tbsp mayo. Place lettuce, tomatoes, and burgers on bottom halves of buns and top with salsa mixture. Cover with tops of buns.

Wet Burritos:
12 frozen burritos (you can use 10 from one bag set)
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can tomato soup
1 can mushroom soup
8 oz mexican style shredded cheese
Preheat to 350. Place the burritos in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish or cake pan. Mix the endhilada sauce, tomato soup, mushroom soup together and pour over the burritos. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and sprinkle cheese over the top. Put bake in oven until the cheese is bubbly. Serve with sour cream. I plan to serve with salad and taquitos.

Roasted Tomato Quesadillas:
1 can (14.5 oz) Fire Roasted tomatoes, drained
2/3 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
2/3 cup drained, rinsed canned black beans
1/3 cup chopped white onion
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I will probably use dried but less than 2 tbsp)
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 tsp lime juice
8 oz shredded monterey jack cheese (about 2 cups)
6 flour tortillas (8 inch)
Break up large pieces of tomato in large bowl with spoon. Stir in corn, beans, onion, cilantro, garlic salt, red pepper and lime juice to make salsa mixture. Spread about 1/3 cup cheese over half of each tortilla. Spoon 1/4 cup salsa mixture over cheese. Fold each tortilla in half over filling. Heat large nonstick skillet over med heat. Brown quesadilla, 3 minutes on each side until cheese melts. Cut into wedges. Serve with remaining salsa mixture if desired. I plan to serve with soup- probably chicken noodle.

Beef Stew:
4 or 5 med baking potatoes, washed and cut into big chunks
1 bag of carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch pieces
1 lb stew beef
1 pouch Lipton (or store brand) onion dry soup mix
1 can tomato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can (empty soup) red cooking wine
1 can water
Place the potatoes, carrots, and meat into the crock pot. Add the dry soup mix, tomato soup, mushroom soup, wine, and water over top of the meat. Make sure the meat is all covered. Slow cook on low for 5-6 hours. In the last few minutes I add a bag of frozen peas to the stew and when they are warmed I serve. I always serve with lots of crusy rolls (sourdough are my favorite and don't forget to check the Bakery in Teeter for reduced bread).

Double Chocolate Mocha Trifle:
1 pkg (18.25 oz) brownie mix (plus ingredients for brownies)
1 3/4 cup cold milk
2 pkgs (3.4 oz each) white chocolate instant pudding
1/4 cup warm water
4 tsps instant coffee granules
2 cups thawed whipped topping, Cool Whip
12 Oreos, coarsely chopped
Prepare and bake brownie mix according to cake-like pkg directions. Cool completely. In a bowl, whisk pudding mix into milk until mixture thickens. Dissolve coffee granules into warm water, add pudding to mixture, mixing well. Fold in whipped topping. Cut brownies into 1 inch cubes. Chop oreos. Layer 1/3 brownie cubes onto bottom of serving bowl. Top with 1/3 of the pudding, pressing lightly and 1/3 of the oreos. Repeat layers 2 more times. Chill 30 minutes.
*Variations- 3 Heath or Skor Bars (1.5 oz ea)

Cookies & Cream Freeze:
4 squares Semi-sweet baking chocolate
14 Oreo cookies, divided
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tub Cool Whip, thawed
Melt chocolate as directed on pkg, set aside until ready to use. Line 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Arrange 8 of the cookies evenly on bottom of pan. Crumble remaining 6 cookies; set saide. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in med bowl with electric mixer on med speed until well blended. Stir in whipped topping. Remove about 1 1/2 cups of the cream cheese mixture, place in med bowl. Stir in melted chocolate. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture over cookies in pan; sprinkle with crumbled cookies. Gently press cookies into cream cheese mixture with back of spoon; top with chocolate mixture. Cover. Freeze 3 hours or until firm. Peel off foil; let stand at room temperature to soften slightly before cutting to serve.

Frozen Chocolate Souffles:
3 cups milk
1 pkg (8 serving size) or 2 pkg (4 oz ea) chocolate flavor instant pudding & pie filling
2 cups thawed Cool Whip
16 Oreo cookies, chopped (about 2 cups)
8 marschino cherries
Pour milk into med bowl. Add dry pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spoon 2 tbsp of the chopped cookies into each of eight 8 to 9 oz paper drinking cups. Cover evenly with half of the pudding mixture. Repeat layers. Cover with foil. Freeze 5 hours or until firm. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving. Let stand at room temp to soften slightly. Peel away paper to unmold onto dessert plates. Top each with a cherry. Store leftovers in freezer.

Harris Teeter Deals 1-23-08 through 1-29-08

2008-01-21T10:14:00.000-05:00

Teeter boneless chicken bags 2.5lb 9.99 BOGO= 5.00 ea,2.00 lb
Ground chuck 2 lb pkgs 9.99 BOGO= 2.50 lb
green seedless grapes 1.49lb
DiGiorno pizza 3.99- 1.00/1= 2.99
Red Baron pizza 5.89 BOGO (2.95)- 1.00/2= get 2, 2.45 ea
Barber Stuffed Chicken Breasts 3/10- 1.00/1= 2.33
Totinos pizza rolls 3.99 BOGO- .40/1= 1.20
Grands Biscuits 1.85 BOGO- .50/3= get 3, .59 ea
Yo yoplait yogurts 2.49- 1.00/1= 1.49
Orville Redenbachers micro popcorn 2.59 BOGO =1.30
Chex Mix 2.59 BOGO (1.30)- .50/1= .30
Emerald Trail Mix 10/10 (1.00)- 1.00/1= FREE
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish 1.99 BOGO= 1.00 ea
Texas Pete .79- hangtag coupon= FREE
Tobasco sauce 10/10- .75/1 blinkie= .25
French's yellow mustard 1.19- .50 IP= .19
French's Spicy Brown mustard 1.19- .50/1= .19
Wishbone dressing 1.89 BOGO= .95
Pace Picante sauce 1.50- .75/1 Target IP= .75
Old El Paso peelie on taco box .55/2,
****use on seasoning .99x2- .55/2= .44 ea
Bush's Black Beans 5/3 (quesadilla recipe)
Muir Glen can tomatoes 2/3- .75/1= FREE
Muellers whole grain noodles 3/3- 1.00/2= get 2, .66 ea
Motts Scooby Doo applesauce .94 - .55/2= buy two and .39 each
** these are being discontinued and are hit or miss to find.
Campbells chunky soup 2.59 BOGO- .50/2= get 2 & 1.59 or .80 ea
McCormick seasoning (taco) packets .99 BOGO= .50 ea
Post Honey Bunches of Oats cereal 3.49 BOGO (1.74)- 2.00/1 IP= FREE
** IP found at www.onespoonful.com
Life Chocolate cereal 2.04- 1.00 IP= 1.04
Nabisco 100 calorie bars 2/5- .75/1= 1.00
Hungry Jack pancake mix 2/3- .55/1= .40
Scotties tissues 10/10- .50/3= get 3, .66 box
Angel soft TP, 9 mega rolls, 12 double or 24 reg
2/10- .50/1= 4.00
Lysol Toilet cleaner 2/4- .50/1= 1.00
Lysol All Purpose spray 2/5- .50/1= 1.50
Lysol Sanitizing Wipes 2/5- 1.00/2= get 2 & 2.00 ea
Lysol Antibacterial Kitchen spray 2/4- .50/1= 1.00
Glass Plus 2.79 BOGO (1.40)- .50/1= .40

Remember that Teeter is only allowing two internet printables per person per day as opposed to per order as they used to allow.

Deals:

#1: all Target and Food Lion IPs (internet printable) can be found at www.afullcup.com

#2: Noticed several new wine hangtags this week. There is one on the Greg Newman wine for 2.00 off of deli chicken. This can be turned into a double or triple play. First, get the winetag. Buy a rotisserie chicken and get 2.00 off. The roasters are 4.99 on Sunday or 6.99 any other day of the week. Buy 2 for the Miller rebate in which you spend 10.00 in chicken and get 5.00 back. To be safe, I am purchasing 2 of the 6.99 ones. The winetags now make the chickens 6.99 x 2 - (2) 2.00= 9.98 plus tax. The Miller rebate will allow photocopied receipts, so make a photocopy and submit for 5.00 back. Now use the original receipt to submit for the Red Strip chicken rebate of spend 5.01 and get 5.00 back. So now your oop (out of pocket) of 9.98 plus tax is generating two rebates of 5.00 each. So essentially when it is all said and done= 2 FREE CHICKENS.

#3: There is a TMF (try me free) hangtag on specially marked bottles of Texas Pete hot sauce. I got one for the Garlic Hot Sauce and it tasted like Franks Hot Sauce for comparison. Anyways, this is not a rebate form but a coupon you can use right then.

#4: There is a rebate from Lysol where you buy 2 lysol products and send in receipt for them, the lysol form from the internet and the receipt from one pediatrician's appointment and you will receive $5.00 back. Google "lysol pediatrician rebate" and you might find a link to the form site. Or go to the official Lysol homepage and look for links. You can participate in this even if you did this rebate last year too.

Lowes Foods Deals 1-23-08 through 1-29-08

2008-01-21T10:13:00.002-05:00

Dole gold pineapple 3.99- 1.00/1 Target IP coupon= 2.99
Russet potatoes 5 lb bag 2.99
3 lb bag yellow onions 2/4= 2.00 ea
Dole classic iceberg bag salad 10/10- 1.00/1 Target IP= FREE
baby carrots 10/10 (good for stew recipe)
button mushrooms 10/10 (good for salisbury recipe)
Perdue thighs and drumsticks .69 lb
Totinos pizza rolls 10/10- .40/1= .20
Green Giant box vegs 10/10- .25/1 or .50/2= .50 a box
Lowes brand bag vegs 10/10
Jose Ole taquitos 3.99- .75/1= 2.49
El Monterey bag of 10 buritos 3.49- 1.00/2= get 2 and 2.99 ea
Ore-Ida fries/tots 4/10
Pepperidge Farms frozen garlic bread 1.79- .40/1= .99
Grands biscuits 10/10- .50/3= get 3= .66 each
Breakstone sour cream 16 oz 1.69- .55/1= .59
Sargentos shredded cheese 2.99 BOGO (1.50)- .50/1= .50
or - .40/1= .70
or -1.00/2= get 2= 1.99/2 or .99 ea
Lowes brand 20 oz ketchip 10/10
Lowes brand spicy mustard 10/10 (pork chop recipe)
McCormick seasoning (taco) packets .99 BOGO= .50 ea
Texas Pete .99- TMF coupn on neck= FREE
Wishbone salad spritzers 2/4- .75/1= .50
Smuckers grape jelly/jam 2.19 BOGO (1.09)- .35/1= .40
Smuckers squeeze jelly 2/3- .35/1= .80
Dole fruit cups 2/4- .75/1 =.50
Uncle Bens Country Inn rices .99- .75 IP= FREE
Lowes brand refried beans .79
Pace Picante sauce 1.50- .75/1 Target IP= .75
Swiss Miss flavored hot chocolates 1.19- .50/1- .19 box
**** the Swiss Miss coupon will not work on the Regular cocoa that is .99
JFG coffee 2.59- .60/1= 1.39
Eight o'clock coffee 3.99 (was 5.99)
Quaker Simply Harvest instant oatmeal 2/4- .70/1= .60
Quaker instant oatmeal 2/4- .70/1= .60
Quaker instant oats 2/3- .60/1= .30
Quaker Captain Crunch 2/4- .50/1= 1.00
Quaker granola bars 2/4
Nutri Grain bars 2/5- .75/1= 1.00
Kelloggs poptarts 8 ct 1.69- .50 Target IP= 1.09
Dial 3 bar pack 10/10- .30/1= .40
Mr Clean wipes 2/5- .50/1= 1.50

Deals:

#1: The Kraft Active Cheese sticks are on sale 2/5. The instore coupon from 2 weeks ago has a coupon that now makes the cheese 2/4. You can use 1.oo coupons that will make the packages 1.00 each. You can also go to www.prevention.com and print up a coupon for 2.00 off this cheese. I was able to print two of them. You can stack a maufacturer's coupon on top of a Lowes Foods coupon at Lowes so the cheese was completely FREE. I just paid tax.

#2: The Target IP (internet printable) coupons can be found at www.afullcup.com
Remember that Lowes will only allow 2 IP coupons per order and usually the Food Lion and Target ones have to be manually entered with the front end supervisors' approval.

#3: On specially marked bottles of Texas Pete there are coupons around the necks for Try Me Free or TMF. The coupons initially looked like a rebate to me so I just bought the bottle to mail off my receipt but the bagger said to look and see if it was a coupon so I had to head to the customer service counter and get a refund for the missed coupon.

#4: Quaker deal: This deal is still in play and I was unaware until today that it is still good. But you buy 7 Quaker items and you will get off an instant 3.00. You can use coupons on your 7 items individually and the 3.00 will still come off. Remember that if you have like coupons for the same item that the computer at Lowes will not double after the 4th like coupon so you are going to have the figure out different scenarios with different Quaker items to maximize your savings. Here is an example that I am going to purchase:
4 instant oats, I have 4 coupons, 4x1.50(2/3 sale)-4x.60/1=6-4.80= 1.20
1 instant oatmeal 2/4- .70/1= .60
2 simple harvest 2/4- .70/1= 4- 2x.60/1= 1.60
grand total 3.40- instant savings of 3.00= .40 total for all 7 items

Food Lion Deals 1-23-08 through 1-29-08

2008-01-21T10:13:00.001-05:00

Stew Beef 2.79 lb
Pork chops 1.99 lb
Food Lion Raw Shrimp 16 oz 7.99 BOGO= 3.99
on Fridays take 1.00 off any Rotisserie chicken in deli
Russet Potatoes 5 lb bag 2.99
Red Baron pizza 5.39 BOGO- 1.00/2= 4.39 or 2.20 ea
Poppers appetizer 1.49 (a closeout)- 1.00/2= get 2.=.99 ea
Healthy Choice Steamers 3.39 BOGO- 1.00/4= get 4 and = 1.45 ea
Breyers ice cream 5.29 BOGO (2.65)- 2.00= .65 AWESOME but can only use one coupon per visit
Hamburger Helper 10/10- .75/3= 2.25 for 3= .75 ea
Manwich Sauce 10/10
Chef Boyardee pasta & micro bowls 10/10- .35/3= .88 ea
Cheerios/Trix/ Resses cereal BOGO (can't remember prices but around 3) so - 1.00/2= good deal if 1.50 or less a box after coupon
Angel Soft 4 pack 10/10
Scott paper towels 3 pk 3.41 BOGO - 1.00 (good for "4 rolls or more")= 2.41 for 6 rolls= .40 a roll
Purex detergent 2/5 (2.50)- 1.00/1= 1.50

Deals:

#1: The Breyers ice cream is 5.29 and on sale BOGO. It will ring up half price of 2.65. Go to www.afullcup.com and under the coupon generator for Food Lion you can print several copies of the 2.00 off Breyers. I bought one on 1-23-08 and paid .65!! Incredible. You can only use one coupon per visit but what a deal! Their lowfat ice cream is awesome and very point friendly if you are counting points like me.

Welcome 1/16/08 through 1/22/08

2008-01-17T14:37:00.001-05:00

Welcome!! I hope that as the month ends everyone is starting to feel like they are saving some money and that grocery budgets are improving and loosening so that what you save can be applied to other areas that are tight. Start tracking your spending and savings so you feel that this hard work is benefitting you and you will feel empowered. Believe me.

I feel like I have lots of information to pass on to you this week.

I think I have said before that things can literally change overnight in the world of coupons, sometimes for the better and sometimes for more frustrating experiences. This week I would describe it as changes for the latter. Seems that Harris Teeter is changing their stance on coupons. I usually do not complain and like to live my life flying below the radar and hate confrontation so I was so frustrated with Harris Teeter that I contacted their corporate office to complain and seek clarification. They were vague and referred me to the store manager because apparently each manager has some discretion about what they will accept as a coupon. First, they do not accept expired coupons and said that they would fire any associate found to be taking them. Second, they said that they would honor competitors coupons but each manager could decide not to (like the CVS ones). Third, they said that their policy on using 2 coupons for BOGO is that they will accept only one coupon because the second item is free (even though they ring up half price). But if you buy just one, then it is going to ring up half price and you can use one coupon. My interpretation is that you need to separate the BOGO items into 2 orders and split up your coupons accordingly to be able to use both without the cashier giving you grief. Fourth, they said that you can use coupons on that BOGO item and they would be addressing the Adams Farm store that said you cannont use any coupons. on any BOGO items. So my overall take is that Harris Teeter is still my favorite store but I am going to have to plan my trips better there and become more strategic in separating my BOGO items so that they don't freak out and everytime I plan to use a CVS coupon I will head to the CSM counter to clear it before I begin shopping.

There are more rebates out there I have learned about since last week:

1. Red Stripe Beer: spend 5.01 on Deli Fried Chicken or Rotisserie Chicken and get 5.00 back. I found this one at the Food Lion on Main Street in Jamestown. It expires 2-9-08.

2. Michelob: spend 15.00 on seafood (shrimp, salmon, all fish, all crab, scallops) and get 10.00 back. This one I found at several Food Lions and will be good to use in conjuction with a BOGO sale. It expires 3-31-08.

3. Miller: spend 10.00 on party supplies (paper plates, cups, utensils, etc) and get 5.00 back. I found this one at several Food Lions and it is good until 2-5-08. This one is a good one. I had to buy some paper plates and napkins and easily the "etc" could generously be applied to other items.

4. Pepsi/Frito Lay $15.00 rebate. They have a list of things to buy and you will get back either 15.00 in pepsi/frito lay coupons or a credit for 15.00 at the NFLshop.com. This can be used with the current sales of BOGO Doritos and the CVS deal of spending 20.00 on pepsi and getting 10.00 in ECBs. There are many conbinations you can put together to get the deal. I am not doing this one since I still have about 30 12 packs from an earlier deal and if I buy chips, I will eat them and am trying to lose weight.

5. Go to LiveActiveFoods.com and research for the LiveActive 2 week guarantee and you can submit for free cheese.

Remember to check out the wine isles for hangtags. I found several this week for: 1.00 off shrimp, 2.00 off chocolate or flowers, 2.00 off Freschetta pizza, and 2.00 off pasta and or sauce.

If anyone is still not getting a Sunday paper and wants to, contact me if you live in Greensboro and I can help you get a cheap rate. If you don't want to do that, Walmart will sell the Sunday edition for .75 but remember a few things: that sometimes the coupons will vary from subscription issues to newstand issues, figure out your gas in going each Sunday to Walmart, and the subscription rate is a way lot cheaper than .75 an issue. Just a thought if you are on the fence about this whole couponing thing.

If anyone has any questions or finds a great deal, email me at justgenna@triad.rr.com

Have fun!!! Genna

ps the internet sites that I have used this week for coupons are:
www.afullcup.com
www.unclebens.com
www.coupons.com

Meals 1/16/08 through 1/22/08

2008-01-17T14:12:00.001-05:00

Italian-Style Turkey Meat Loaf
Layered Enchilada Bake
Chili
Baked Spaghetti
Italian Pork Chops
Quick Cheeseburger and Vegetable Bake
Peanut Butter Waffle Toast
Spinach and Chicken Skillet
Cookies & Cream Fudge
Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cake
Dirt Cake

Italian-Style Turkey Meal Loaf: Thanks Becky!!
2 lbs ground turkey
1 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1/2 cup ketchup
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cloves of garlis, minced
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups pasta sauce
Heat the oven to 350. Spray a large pan and set it aside. Combine all ingredients except the pasta sauce in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix the ingredients lightly to evely distribute them and then knead the mixture well. (If the goo factor gets to you use forks to mix-- I did!) Transfer the mixture to your baking pan, shaping it into a loaf about 12 inches long and 5 inches wide. Bake it for 40 minutes, then remove it from the oven and spread a cup of pasta sauce over the top. Keep baking the meat loaf until it is cooked through, about 35 minutes more. Allow the loaf to sit in the pan for 15 minutes before slicing it. Serve it with more pasta sauce, if desired. I plan to serve with mashed potatoes or the betty crocker potatoes from last month's sale, salad, applesauce and rolls.

Layered Enchilada Bake:
1 lb lean ground beef (I use turkey)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups thick salsa
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup italian dressing (zesty if you have it)
2 tbsp taco seasoning mix (I keep an extra pouch for recipes like this)
6 flour tortillas (8 inch)
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg mexican style shredded cheese
Line a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of dish; set aside. Brown meat with onions in large skillet on med-high heat; drain. Add slasa, beans, dressing and taco seasoning mix; mix well. Arrange 3 of the tortillas in single layer on bottom of prepared baking dish; cover with layers of half each of the meat mixture, sour cream and cheese. Repeat all layers. Cover with foil. Preheat to 400 and bake, covered for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes or until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting to serve. You can top with chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce and chopped cilantro. I will serve with homemade mexican rice (add a can of diced tomatoes to the rice when cooking) and refried beans.

Chili:
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 can of diced tomatoes ( I like to use 2)
2 cans of tomato soup
1 large onion, chopped
1 can of kidney beans, drained/rinsed (sometimes I do 2)
1-2 tsp chili powder
dash of salt and pepper
Brown meat, drain off grease. Add onions and cook til tender. Add other ingredients and cook til thickened, stirring often. I just eat it but my husband requires biscuits, rolls, crackers.....

Baked Spaghetti:
8 oz spaghetti
1 tbsp butter or margarine
1 (24 oz) carton of fat-free cottage cheese
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
3 cups red pasta sauce (meat flavor or cheese)
4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
Heat to 400. Cook spaghetti according to the directions, omitting oil. Drain pasta and mix with butter to coat it. Meanwhile, coat a 9 x 13 inch bakig dish with cooking spray. Arrange cooked spaghetti in an even layer in dish. Spread cottage cheese over spaghetti. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Heat pasta sauce until bubbly. Spoon sauce over cheeses. Top with mozzarella cheese and remaining parmesan cheese. Cover with nonstick foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake 15 more minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. I will serve with more of the free garlic bread from triples, italian green beans, peaches for the kids, and another veg.

Italian Pork Chops:
4 pork loin chops, 1/2 inch thick or about 1 1/2 lbs
1/2 cup bisquick mix
1/3 cup Italian dressing
1/2 cup garlic-herb dry bread crumbs
2 tbsp veg oil
Coat pork chops with bisquick mix. Dip coated pork into dressing, then coat with bread crumbs. Heat oil in 12 inch nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Cook pork in oil about 5 minutes or until golden brown; reduce heat to low. Carefully turn pork. Cook 10 to 15 minutes longer or until pork is slightly pink when cut near bone. Serve immediately. I will probably serve with rice and vegs or a Lipton pasta sides dish.

Ouick Cheeseburger and Vegetable Bake:
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (or turkey)
1 1/4 cups chopped onions (about 2 large)
1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 1/4 cups frozen mixed vegs
1/2 cup milk
2 1/3 cups bisquick
2/3 cup water
1 1/3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Heat to 375. Generously spray bottom and sides of jelly roll pan (it looks like a cookie sheet with a slight side so you can have a crust), 15.5 x 10.5 x 1 inch, with cooking spray. Cook beef and onions in 12 inch skillet over med heat, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is brown. Drain. Stir in soup, vegs and milk. Stir bisquick mix and water until moistened. Spread evenly in pan. Spread beef mixture over batter. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered 35 minutes. I will serve with chips.

Peanut Butter Waffle Toast:
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup bisquick mix
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
6 to 8 slices bread
6 to 8 tbsp minature semisweet chocoalte chips
powdered sugar, if desired
Heat waffle iron, grease wih vegetable oil if necessary or spray with cooking spray before heating. Stir milk, bisquick mix, peanut butter, granulated sugar, vanilla and egg until well blended. Carefully dip bread into batter on both sides. (if coating seems too thick, add milk, 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency is reached.) Place in waffle iron; close lid. Bake about 2 minutes or until steaming stops and "toast" is golden. Carefully remove waffle toast. Sprinkle each waffle toast with 1 tbsp chocolate chips and powdered sugar. Breakfast for dinner. Serve wih eggs or sausage.

Spinach and Chicken Skillet:
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves ( 1 3/4 lb)
1 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth
1 med onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 bag (10 oz) washed fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Spray 12 nonstick skillet with cooking spray, heat over med heat. Cook chicken in skillet 2 minutes on each side; reduce heat to med-low. Stir in milk, broth and onion. Cook about 5 minutes, turning chicken occasionally until onion is tender. Stir in spinach. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach is completely wilted and juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Remove chicken from skillet, keep warm. Increase heat to med. Cook spinach mixture about 3 minutes or until liquid has almost evaporated. Stir in salt, pepper and nutmeg. Serve chicken on spinach.
***note- I routinely find fresh spinach on sale at Lowes for .99- look for the produce special sale sticker- it is red and will be on the front of the prepackaged spinach.

These desserts are for all of you cashing in on the Oreo deal.....

Cookies & Cream Fudge:
3 cups granulate sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
2/3 cup (5 fl. oz can) evaporated milk
2 cups (12 oz) nestle toll house white morsels
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme
1/2 cup finely crushed Oreos
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup crumbled Oreos
Line 9 inch square baking pan with foil. Combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk in medium, heavy duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in morsels, marshmallow creme, finely crushed cookies and vanilla extract. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle crumbled cookies on top. Gently swirl cookies into fudge using a knife without touching bottom of pan. Refrigerated for 1 hour or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into 48 pieces.

Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cookie Cake:
1 pkg (2 layer size) devils food chocolate cake mix
4 squares Baker's semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cut up
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups thawed Cool Whip
12 Oreos, coarsely crushed
Preheat to 350. Prepare and bake cake mix as directed on package in two 9-inch round baking pans. Cool 5 minutes and remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Microwave chocolate and butter in small micro bowl on high for 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 minutes. Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping and crushed cookies. Place 1 cale layer, top-side down, on serving plate. Spread top of layer evely with cream cheese mixture. Cover with remaining cake layer, top-side up. Spoon chocolate galze over top of cake. Let stand until set. Store in refrigerator.

Dirt Cake:
14 oz Oreo cookie, crushed and pressed into 9 x 13 pan/dish
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1 large pkg vanilla instant pudding
1 cup confectionery sugar
3 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 lg Cool Whip
Beat cream cheese and sugar together, adding pudding, milk, salt and vanilla. Beat until thick. Do 2 layers of: 1. Oreo 2. mixtue 3. cool whip
Let chill.

Harris Teeter Deals 1/16/08 through 1/22/08

2008-01-17T14:10:00.000-05:00

Remember that the Adams Farm location is no longer accepting 2 coupons for BOGO items and the Customer Service Manager is also giving people a hard time when they use a competitor's coupon for items. The cashiers told me that she is actually quite mean and has chewed out several customers and the staff. I am going to stop shopping there altogether and opt for less abrasive management that is at every other location in High Point and Greensboro. I did contact the corporate office about this location but they probably won't do anything unless they get a ton of complaints. I'll get off my box now.....

To be safe, separate your BOGO items into 2 orders if you have 2 coupons

Boston Butt Pork Roast .99 lb
EZ Peel shrimp 31-40 ct 9.98
Fresh Food Market sliced meats/cheeses 3.99 BOGO= 2.00 ea
green bell peppers .99
check out the bakery for reduced breads/rolls/desserts
Entenmans muffins 3.99 BOGO
Pretzel Crisps (by deli) 1.99- .35/1 IP coupons.com =1.29
Doritos 3.49 BOGO= 1.75 ea
Uncle Bens whole grain rice 32 oz 2.49 BOGO (1.25)- .75/1 IP (unclebens.com)=.26 overage
Bush's kidney beans 5/3= cheaper than Teeter brand for chili recipe
Muir Glen organic tomatoes 2/3- .75/1= FREE
NoYolks 2/3- .50/1= .50
Muellers whole grain pasta 1.00/2 coupon, can't remember price for whole grain
Ole El Paso tacos have .55/2 peelie on box, use on:
Old El Paso seasoning .99x2- .55/2= .88 or .44 ea
Old El Paso refried beans 1.19x2- .55/2= 1.28 or .64 ea
Dole fruit cups 2/4- .75/1= .50 ea
White House Straw-Banana-Applesauce 1.54- .35/1 =.84
Motts Scooby Doo applesauce .94
Emerald Trail mix 10/10- 1.00/1 = FREE
Progresso Soup 3/4 (1.33) - .25/1=.83 ea
Hungry Jack pancake mix 2/3- .55/1= .40
Post Honey Bunches of Oats cereal 3.49- 2.00 IP coupons.com= 1.49
Quaker Oats 2/3- .60/1= .30
Quaker instant oatmeal 2/4- .70/1= .60
Captain Crunch 2/5- .50/1= 1.50
Cheerios Honey Nut 2/5- Lowes coupon= 1.99 box
Quaker Squares cereal 2/6- .50/1= 2.00
Curves cereal 3/6- .75/1= 1.50
Curves granola bars 3/7 (2.33)- .50/1= 1.33
Nature Valley granola bars 3/7 (2.33)- .75/2= 1.58 ea
Fiber One granola bars 3/7 (2.33)- .48/1= 1.53
Yoplait yogurt 10/5- 1.00/10 Lowes coupon= 10/4= .40 ea
Breyers ice cream 5.59 BOGO (2.80)- 2.00 Food Lion IP= .80
Super Pretzels 2/5 - .65/1= 1.20
Steamfresh 2/5 BOGO (1.25)- .35/1= .55
Steamfresh Broccoli or green beans 1.89 BOGO- .35/1= .25
Totino's Pizza Rolls 3.99 BOGO- .40/1= 1.20
Healthy Choice meals 3.79 BOGO= 1.90
Ritz crackers 2/5- 1.00 Food Lion IP= 1.50

Deals:
#1: Remember that Teeter will accept competitor's coupons, including the 4 week coupons that came out with the Lowes Foods circular last week. Yoplait yogurt deal: Lowes coupons had a 1.00 off 10. Use this with the sale of 10 for 5.00. Now you will get 10 for 4.00.

#2: Quaker deal: Buy 7 participating products and get an instant $3.00 off. You can use coupons to make this deal sweeter but there have been reports that the coupons will not double. I think I have figured out a way to have them double, or at least 6 of the double. You give the cashier 6 of the 7 quaker products and have her scan them and your coupons and the rest of your order. The system should double them at the end like usual. The 7th should be the last item you let her put through the system. The system will recognize and take off the 3.00 of instant savings from the promotion and then give her that coupon for the 7th. It will not double so make sure you use the best ones with the original 6. I hope this makes sense. I know it sounds ridculous but it might allow for doubling of the 6 quaker coupons.

Lowes Foods Deals 1/15/08 through 1/22/08

2008-01-17T14:08:00.000-05:00

Ground Turkey 2.29lb BOGO (1.14lb) AWESOME AM STOCKING UP THE DEEP FREEZER
Ground Beef 1.69 lb
Boneless center cut pork chops 4.99lb BOGO= 2.49 lb
Perdue boneless chicken 40% off= worth looking at
Kraft Select cheese slices 2/5- .75/1= 1.00
Kraft Live Active cheese 2/5- store coupon2/4- 1.00/1 mfg= 1.00 pack
Breakstone cottage cheese 24 oz 2.79 (best price for the recipe this week)
Lowes Brand cottage chesse 12 oz 1.89
Lowes Brand ice cream 3.99 BOGO= 1.99 ea
Wishbone salad dressing 2/4- .60/1= .80
Smuckers grape jelly or jam 2.19 BOGO (1.09) -.35/1= .39 ea
Dole fruit cups and parfaits 2/4- .75/1 (works on both)= .50
Oreo minis 2.09- 2.00 Food Lion IP= .09 bag
Goldfish 5/5= 1.00 ea
Orville Redenbacher micro popcorn 2/3- .40/1= .70 ea
Muir Glen organic tomatoes 3/3.99- .75/1= .17 overage on ea- worked for me as of 1/18
Hunts diced tomatoes 5/5- .25/1= .50
Swiss Miss cocoa .99 -- the .50/1 won't work on this one, will BEEP!
Swiss Miss cocoa, Flavors: French Vanilla, Dark Sensations, Caramel Creme, and Mocha Cap will are on sale 1.19 and .50/1 will work so they are .20 each

Deals:
#1: remember that you can stack a manufacturer's coupon on top of the Lowes coupons that came out two weeks ao with the ciruclar. So for instance the Kraft Live Active which is normally 3.75 a pack you can get for 1.00. There is also a rebate out their on the web (try looking at the Kraft homepage www.LiveActiveFoods.com or google 'kraft live active rebate' and you buy 2, send in receipt, upcs and they will rebate you back full amount.

Food Lion Deals 1-16-08 through 1-22-08

2008-01-17T13:57:00.000-05:00

Boneless Chuck Roast 1.99 lb- 1.00 if you get one that is over 10.00, see #3 below
Armour Meatballs 2/4- 1.25/2= 1.38 ea
Budding Deli cuts 16 oz 2.99- 1.00 peelie on bag= 1.99
HealthyOnes sliced lunchmeat 3/4 (1.66)- 1.00/1= .67
Gwaltney Bolony 1.19
Weight Watchers frozen 50% off, ranges from 1.19 to 1.69
Ragu Pasta sauce .99- 1.00/3= .67 ea
Campbells micro soup bowls 10/10-1.00/2= .50 ea
Peter Pan peanut butter 2.09 BOGO (1.05 ea)-1.00/1= .05 ea
Goldfish crackers 10/10= 1.00
Oreo cookies 2/5- 2.00/1 IP= .50 (AWESOME DEAL)
Oreo minis 2/4- 2.00/1 IP= FREE
Blue Bird 100 cal muffins/cupcakes 2/5- 1.00 pad on display= 1.50
Food Lions chips 2.19 ea -1.00/2 IP= 1.69 ea
Doritos 3.49 BOGO= 1.75 ea
Captain Crunch 3.19 BOGO- .50/1= 1.10 ea
Food Lion Crispy Rice cereal 2.39 -1.00 IP= 1.39

Deals:
#1: go to www.afullcup.com and print up several of the 2.00 off Oreos. You can only use one per purchase at Food Lion but this is an incredible deal. Remember that the other grocery stores are advertising that they too will accept competitors coupons so happy Oreos!!

#2: Be on the lookout for the rebate forms in Food Lion. They usually, in my experience, have the best ones out there. I found several different ones for Miller this week.

#3: Be on the lookout for coupons for 1.00 off Butcher Brand meat with a min 10.00 order. I found this coupon in the middle of the freezer isle on a phamplet that said "Recipe Book Taste NFL".

#4: The IP's (internet printables) for the crispy cereal and the Food Lion chips should found on www.afullcup.com under the Food Lion category on the coupon menu.

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

2008-01-12T00:05:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-12T00:00:00.000-05:00

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.

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

2008-01-11T22:47:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-11T20:50:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-11T20:33:00.000-05:00

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.

Welcome to grocery deals and meals 1-2-08

2008-01-02T21:54:00.000-05:00

Welcome!!! This is an exciting week because the next three days are triple coupons at Harris Teeter! You will notice immediately that there is not much information for the other grocery stores this week... Teeter will be the place to shop this week except for the few items I noted at Lowes and Food Lion that directly tie back to a recipe for this week.

Don't worry that your coupon box might be thinned out because it seemed like everything "good" expired 12-31-07..... there are deals to be had and there are ways to make meals out of those deals. I hope everyone is getting organized in their coupons.... I am slowly digging out all my expireds and my bedroom looks like my box exploded and the coupons are all over the floor as I type this. Oh well.....If you haven't started saving your receipts, start and keep them separated by month even if it means just stuffing them into a ziploc baggie. If you want to feel awesome for all this effort, keep track of how much you are saving and spending. I track my spending month by month and use these figures to set a grocery budget at the beginning of the year. Last year my goal (we are a family of 5) was to have my groceries for $250.00 or less a month. This year my goal is $150.00 a month in groceries since the last six months have been less than $150.00. Believe me each coupon adds up and after 9.5 years I have broken $29,000 in coupon savings. It is possible and you don't have to eat Ramen noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner to do it.... that is unless you love them and that is ok too.

Remember that January is historically the best month for inserts. Just heard that there will be 5 inserts this upcoming weekend. They have tended to be fatter, have more rebates, and the face values of the coupons higher. If you do not get the Sunday paper, you need to start subscribing instead of buying at the store! If you live in Greensboro, I am able to get you a Sunday only subscription cheap.... just email me at justgenna@triad.rr.com

Genna

Meals for 1-2-08 through 1-8-08

2008-01-02T21:53:00.001-05:00

Crunchy Onion Chicken
Paprika Chicken with Sour Cream Gravy
Bruschetta & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Seafood Tomato Alfredo
Ham & Cheddar in a Loaf
Salsa Style Green Chile Chicken Bisque
Cheddar Broccoli Bake
Layered Cookie Cream Cake
Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream Cake

Crunchy Onion Chicken:
1 1/3 cups French's French Fried Onions
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb)
1 egg, beaten
Preheat to 400. Place French Fried Onions into a plastic bag and lightly crush with hands or rolling pin. Dip chicken into egg, then coat with onion pieces. Place chicken on baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes or until no longer pink in center.
I serve with vegs (some from last sale) and mashed potatoes and/or bread/rolls.

Paprika Chicken with Sour Cream Gravy:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp each garlic powder, ground balck pepper and ground red pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 tbsp butter
1 can (10.75 oz) Cream of Chicken soup
2 medium green onion, sliced (about 1/4 cup)
1 container (8 oz) sour cream
Mix the flour, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper and red pepper on a plate. Coat the chicken with the flour mixture. Heat the butter in a 10 inch skillet over med-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until it's well browned on both sides. Remove the chicken and set aside. Stir the soup and green onions into the skillet. Heat to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the sour cream. I serve with rice and the broccoli bake.

Bruschetta & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts:
*** this recipe serves 8 so just divide everything in half for 4****
1 can (14.5 oz) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I have used dried but less than 1/4 cup)
1 pkg (6 oz) stuffing mix for chicken
8 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2 lb)
1/3 cup Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parm Dressing (I used flat Italian)
Preheat to 350. To prepare stuffing, combine tomatoes and their liquid, 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, basil and dry stuffing mix, stirring until just moistened. Put 2 chicken breast halves in a large, freezer ziploc bag. Pound the chicken with the side of a heavy can, rolling pin or meat mallet until the chicken is 1/4 inch thick. Repeat process in the same bag with remaining chicken breasts, 2 at a time. Place pounded chicken breast, smooth side down, on a cutting board. Spread with 1/8 of the stuffing mixture. Roll chicken breast, starting at the narrow end, as tightly as possible around stuffing mixture. Place in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with seam side down, as this allows the chicken to hold together nicely. I have had to use toothpicks at times to secure. Pour dressing evenly over chicken and bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese and bake 5 min longer or until cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through (internal temp of 170). I have served with salad and rolls.

Seafood Tomato Alfredo:
1 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 can (10.75 oz) cream of mushroom soup with roasted garlic (can use flat mushroom)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup diced canned tomatoes
1 pound fresh fish fillets (flounder, haddock or hailbut) cut into 2-inch pieces
OR
1 pound shrimp, steamed and peeled
Hot cooked linguine
If you are using shrimp, steam them until pink and pull the shell off, set the aside. Heat butter in a 10 inch skillet over med heat. Add the onion and cook until it is tender. Stir the soup, milk and tomatoes into the skillet. Heat to a boil. Add the fish or shrimp to the skillet and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. If using shrimp, cook until heated through. Serve over the linguine.

Ham & Cheese in a Loaf:
1 lb frozen pizza dough or bread dough, thawed (I use the refrigerated pillsbury pizza dough that I get on sale)
1 pkg (approx 9 oz) ham sandwich meat
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Miracle Whip dressing
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
Preheat to 350. Place dough on a lightly foured surface; flatten slightly with hands and then roll into a 12 x 8 inch rectangle with a rolling pin. (I have to actually measure it with a tape measure because I am not a neat person) Top dough evenly with ham, overlapping slices slightly and leaving a 1/2 inch border around all sides. Mix cheddar cheese and dressing and spread evenly over ham. Moisten edges of dough with water. Starting at one of the long sides of dough, fold one third of he dough over the filling, then repeat with the other long side of dough. Frimly pinch ends of dough together to seal. I will take the end of a fork and press, making sure not to puncture through the dough. Place seam side down, on lightly greased baking sheet. Cut 3 diagonal slits in top of dough using kitchen scissors or sharp knife. Brush evenly with egg; sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes before cutting into 6 slices. Serve with the chicken bisque.

Salsa Style Green Chile Chicken Bisque:
4 tbsp butter
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 (28 oz or 2 14 oz cans) can petite diced tomatoes with green chiles-don't drain
1 (8oz) can creamed corn
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
Optional Garnish: 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
In a large saucepan over med heat, melt butter. Saute onion for 4 min. Add flour, stirring constantly for 2 min. Add cream, salt, pepper, tomatoes, corn, chicken and worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat to med low, simmer for 15 min, stirring occassionally. Serve warm. Garnish with divided fresh cilantro.
**If your can tomatoes does not have the green chiles, just add a 4 oz can of diced green chiles that you can find in the mexican section. Serve with the ham loaf.

Cheddar Broccoli Bake:
1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 cup milk
dash ground black pepper
4 cups cooked broccoli cuts
1 can (2.8 oz) french fried onion (1 1/3 cups)
Preheat to 350. Stir the soup, milk, black pepper, broccoli and 2/3 cup of the onions in a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes or until hot. Uncover and stir the broccoli mixture. Sprinkle the remaining onions over the broccoli mixture. Bake for 5 minutes more or until the onions are golden.

Layered Cookie Cream Cake:
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cup cool whip
1 pkg (4 serving size) chocolate instant pudding
3/4 to 1 tsp ground cinnamon
20 chocolate chip cookies (I am using the Nestle I got cheap at triples and baking them prior to making this)
Pour milk into med bowl. Add the pkg of instant pudding and cinnamon and beat with wire whisk 2 min or until well blended. Gently stir in cool whip. Spread about 2 tsp pudding mixture onto each cookie. Begin stacking cookies together, standing on edge on serving platter to make a log. Frost with remaining pudding mixture. Refrigerate overnight. Cut diagonally to serve.

Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream Cake:
1/2 cup fudge ice cream topping, warmed
1 tub (8 oz) cool whip, thawed, divided
1 pkg (4 serving) chocolate instant pudding
8 oreo cookies
12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches
Pour the warmed fudge topping into a med bowl. Stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping with a wire whisk until it is well blended. Add in the dry puddding mix, stir 2 min or until well blended. If the consistency of fudge topping mixture is too thick to spread easily, stir in 1/4 cup milk. Chop the oreo cookies roughly into chunks. They don't all have to be the same size. Stir into the pudding mixture. Arrange 4 of the ice cream sandwiches. side by side on a 24 x 12 inch piece of foil; top with half of the pudding mixture. Repeat the layers. Top the pudding mixture with the remaining 4 ice cream sanwhiches. The layers create a neat striped effect when sliced. Frost the top and sides with the remaining whipped topping. It doesn't have to look perfect. Bring up the foil sides. Double fold top and ends to loosely seal the packet. Freeze at least 4 hours before serving. Let stand at room temperature to soften slightly before serving. Store leftover dessert in the freezer.

Harris Teeter deals 1-2-08 through 1-8-08

2008-01-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

The internet printables can be found at these sites:
www.coupons.com
www.BettyCrocker.com
Pillsbury.com
www.afullcup.com

IP = Internet Printable coupon

EZ Peel White Shrimp 51-60 ct (sold in 2 lb bags) 2.99 lb
Broccoli bunches 2.49 BOGO -1.00 IP target coupon = .25 ea
Jif PB $1.99 - .55/1 = .34
Skippy PB $2.49 - .60/1 = .69
Pop Secret Popcorn $2.59 - .60 IP = .79
Orville popcorn $2.59 - .40 = $1.39
Orville smart pop (can't remember which flavor) 1.94- .40=.74
Poppycock $2.19 - .50/1 = .69
No Yolks Potatoes $1.69 - .50/1 = .19
Betty Crocker Potatoes $1.79 - .40 IP = .59
Uncle Ben’s Long Grain Rice $1.89 - .75 IP = FREE
Minute rice cups 1.50-.40/1= .30
Ragu Pasta Sauce $1.66 - .50/2 = .92
Chef Boyardee Pizza Kit 3.59-.75/1 =1.34
Wish-bone Spritzer Salad dressing $2.50 - .60/1= .70
Mt Olive Relish $1.50 - .50/1 = FREE
Franks Hot sauce 1.29- .50/1= FREE
Heinz cocktail sauce 1.79- .35/1= .74
Mrs. Dash $2.79 - .75/1 = .54
French’s French Fried Onions $1.99 - .50/1 = .49
Furmanos Tomatoes 14.5 oz crushed tomatoes .99- .75/3= .25 ea- have to buy 3
Lipton Recipe Secrets 3.18/2 -.75/1=.93
Spaghettios .60 sale - .40/2 = FREE
Campbell’s Select soups $2 - .50/2 = $1.25 each
Chef Boyardee ravioli micro cup $1.75 - .35/2 = $1.24
El Paso seasoning .99 - .55 IP= FREE
El Paso refried beans 1.19 - .55 IP= FREE
El Paso enchilada sauce 1.49- .55 IP= FREE
Campbells Select Gold $2 - .75/2 = .88
Healthy Choice micro cup soup $2 - .42/2 blinkie = $1.33
Betty Crocker Cookie Mix $1.99 - .60 IP = .19
Betty Crocker Frosting $1.79 - .55 IP = .14
Pillsbury Frosting $1.69 - .35/1 = .64
Betty Crocker Brownies $1.89 - .40/1 = .69
Baker’s Joy Spray $2.49 - .75/1 = .24
Eagle Brand Condensed Milk 2.49-.55/1=.84
Swiss Miss hot chocolate 1.69- .45 IP= .34
Lipton Tea Bags 16 count .99 - .50/1 = FREE
Sunny D 100% juice $3.59 - .75/1 = $1.34
CoffeeMate 1.49-.50/1=FREE
Jfg coffee 2.49- .60/1= .69
White House Applesauce 6-pack $1.66 sale - .35/1 = .61
White House Applesauce jar $1.50 - .35/1 = .45
Athenos Hummus $2.69 - .75/1 = .44
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls 8 count $2.29 - .60 IP = .49
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls 4 count 1.59 - .60 IP= FREE
Nestle cookie dough 3.69 BOGO- .50/1 from penguin board= .30 ea
Heluva Good Dip $1.99 - .50/1 = .49
Breakstone’s Sour Cream 8 oz $1.29 - .35/1 = .24
Trix Yogurt $3 - .50/1 = $1.50
Yoplait Kids Yogurt $3 - .50/1 = $1.50
Fleischmann's Margarine 1.75-.55/1=.10
Pepperidge Farm Frozen Bread $2.19 - .75/1 = FREE
Rhodes frozen dinner rolls 1.89 -.50/1= .39
Pillsbury Grand Bisquits Frozen $3.59 - .75/1 = $1.34
New York frozen bread $2.99 - .40/1 = 1.79
Super Pretzels 2.85-.65/1 =.90
Harris Teeter Ice Cream sandwiches BOGO can't remember the price
Kleenex tissue 2.15 BOGO - .40/3= get 3 and .68 ea
Reynolds Plastic Wrap $3.19 - .60/1 = $1.39
Reynolds Alum Non-stick foil 3.99- .75/1= 1.74
Reynolds Parchment Paper $3.69 - .75/1 = $1.44
Reynolds Cut-rite wax paper $1.69 - .75/1 = FREE

Remember that Harris Teeter's policy is to accept only 2 or 3 IP coupons per order. To be on the safe side, I would reccomend only using two per order. You can have a card and your husband can have a different card. Should I notice any additional good deals once I go shopping, I will add them to the list.

Lowes Foods deals 1-2-08 through 1-8-08

2008-01-02T21:10:00.000-05:00

boneless skinless chicken breasts (sole in 2.5 lb bag) 7.99 BOGO= 1.60 lb
Cheerios 3.69 BOGO- 1.00/2= 1.35 ea
Hillshire Farms Deli Select 2.50 BOGO= 1.25 ea

Food Lion deals 1-2-08 through 1-8-08

2008-01-02T21:09:00.000-05:00

boneless chicken breasts 1.79 lb
Cheerios 3.25-3.45 BOGO- 1.00/1 or .75/2= 1.13-1.23 or 1.25-1.35 ea
Food Lion brand Raisin Bran 4/6= 1.50 ea
Ole White Corn Tortillas 2/5= 2.50 (cheaper than Sam's where I have been buying them to substitute for bread since less weight watchers points)

Welcome 12-18-07 thru 12-24-07

2007-12-21T15:13:00.000-05:00

Welcome to deals and mealts 12-18-07 through 12-24-07!!

Time to clean out your coupon systems and get rid of all expired coupons! Look at all deodorants, shampoos, soaps, razors, toothpaste coupons and any that are for 1.00 off and do not say "excludes trial sizes" can be used on the trial size ones at Target and Walmart. This is something I have just recently started doing. I am stocked to the ceiling in these items in the full sizes but before I toss out 1.00 coupons I have started checking out the travel sizes at Walmart and Target and trying to match coupons to products. They are FREE after the 1.00 and I put together bags to donate with them. Just another way to bless someone who is less fortunate and when it is just tax you are paying it is just your time in pulling the coupons and standing for a few moments in the travel isle.

Several things to note. First, since this is a holiday weekend, I do not anticipate any inserts in Sunday's paper. Second, since Christmas is on Tuesday I do not anticipate there to be any grocery circulars in Wednesday's paper. If I am remembering correctly, the grocery stores will either just continue the current sale items or not really have anything on special for the week. Either way we all will probably be up to our eyeballs in leftovers and not interested in doing much shopping or meal planning the day after Christmas. But get ready..... January is historically the BEST month for inserts. They will be thick and hearty if they hold true to years past. If anyone did not get the Sunday only subscription and live in Greensboro, let me know and I can still get you one. This would be the perfect time of year before the January inserts come out.

There are some deals out there to be had this week. If anyone has a need for diapers and wipes there is a deal going on that is awesome. Go to www.afullcup.com and check out the Target coupons. There is a coupon for 3.00 off 2 Huggies items. Target has the soft pack of Huggies wipes for $1.48 each which means FREE wipes when you buy 2 and use the $3.00 coupon. If you need diapers, Target will allow you to stack a Target coupon and a manufacturer's coupon together. I bought 2 packs of diapers and used (1) 3.00 off and (2) 1.00 mfg coupons. The regular price of jumbo(?) pack of diapers was 9.99 so 2 packs cost 7.49 each. I bought 2 packs of diapers, 9 packs of wipes, 3 bottles of baby wash, and a pack of washcloths (1.49) and paid a total of 17.86. Pretty good. I love Target.... just not the Target on Bridford Parkway because they do not like their own coupons and will refuse to take them! Crazy.

Just wanted to put this out there too. Grab a coupon and look at the bar code on the bottom and look at the top next to the expiration date box. Sometimes coupons will say "do not double" or "do not triple". Look again at the bottom bar code. On the far left outside of the bars is a tiny number. It will be a 5 or a 9. If it is a 5, the coupon will double. If the number is a 9, the coupon will not double. Same system will hold true during triple coupons when they roll around again. Figured I would pass that on because for the longest time I would get ready to buy something and see the "do not double" and tell myself that I was not willing to pay that extra amount and was only willing to spend what the product would have cost with the coupon being doubled. Saw this information on another site and it has held true for me everytime.

Another thought, as the end of the years approaches and we all start our resolutions, think about keeping track of your grocery spending and savings. I have been doing this for years but at the end of the year it is awesome to be able to turn to my husband and tell him I saved him thousands this past year and have "proof"! It might be a cool thing to do especially if you have just gotten started in couponing and am curious if this really worth the effort and madness and by the end of next year, you will shout YES!!!!

Have a Merry Christmas,
Genna

Meals for 12-19-07 thru 12-24-07

2007-12-20T22:00:00.000-05:00

Meals for this week, 12-19-07 thru 12-24-07:
Stuffed shells
Chicken in Creamy Pan Sauce
Impossible Cheeseburger Pie
Tasty 2 step Chicken Bake
Quick Chicken and Dumplings
Easy Bacon Pie
Rice Stuffed Peppers
No Cream Creamy Broccoli Soup
Easy Cheesy Cauliflower

Stuffed Shells:
1 box (12 oz) jumbo shells
1 jar Marinara (or spag) sauce
2 eggs
2 containers (15 or ea) Ricotta cheese or the one big one from last week's sale
4 cups (16 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 tbsp dried parsley
Preheat to 350. Cook shells according to package directions and drain. Spray the bottom of a 15 x 10 in or 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread 2 cups of the marinara sauce in baking dish. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in ricotta, 3 cups of the mozzarella, 1 cup of the parmesan and the parsley. Fill each cooked shell with ricotta mixture. Arrange the filled shells in baking dish. Top with remaining marinara sauce, mozzarella and parmesan. Bake covered with foil until bubbly, about 60 min. Uncover and continue cooking until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. I would serve with salad and steamed broccoli and bread.

Chicken in Creamy Pan Sauce:
4 small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb)
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp oil
3/4 cup fat-free chicken broth
4 oz (1/2 of 8 oz pkg) cream cheese, cubed
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Place the chicken inside a resealable plastic bag, along with the flour and seal bag. Shake to even coat chicken. Set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet on med heat. Add the chicken and cook 5 to 6 min on each side or until it is cooked through. Remove chicken, reserving drippings in the skillet. Cover chicken to keep warm. Add broth to skillet and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up all those browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the cream cheese and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until cream cheese is melted and the sauce starts to thicken, stirring constantly with a wire wisk. Return chicken to the skillet and turn over to coat both sides with the creamy sauce. Cook 2 min or until the chicken is heated through. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. You can sprinkle with parsley and can top with quartered cherry tomatoes before drizzling with the sauce.
I would serve with rice or a pasta sides dish and vegs.

Impossible Cheeseburger Pie:
1 lb ground beef (I have used turkey)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup bisquick
1 cup milk
2 eggs
Heat to 400. Grease 9 inch pie plate. Cook ground beef and onion until beef is brown and drain. Stir in salt. Spread in pie plate, sprinkle with cheese. Stir remaining ingredients until blended. Pour into pie plate. Bake about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. I serve with a salad and soup.

Tasty 2-step Chicken Bake:
4 boneless chicken breast halves
1 can (10 3/4 oz) can of cream of mushroom soup
preheat to 400. Place chicken in a 2 quart shallow baking dish. Spread soup evenly over chicken. Cover. Bake for 25 minute or until chicken is done. I would serve with rice and vegs.

Quick Chicken and Dumplings:
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
1 cup cut up cooked chicken
1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 cup biaquick
1/3 cup milk
paprika
Heat 1 1/2 cups milk, peas, carrots, chicken, and soup to boiling. Stir bisquick and 1/3 cup milk until soft dough forms. Drop dough by 8 spoonfuls onto chicken mixture. Sprinkle with paprika. Cook uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes. Cover and then cook 10 minutes longer.

Easy Bacon Pie:
12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded swiss cheese (I hate swiss and used cheddar or sharp)
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup bisquick
1 cup milk
1/8 tsp pepper
2 eggs
Preheat to 400. Grease 9 inch pie plate. Sprinkle bacon, cheese and onion. Stir remaining ingredients together and pour into plate. Bake 35-40 minutes. I would serve with simple soup like chicken noodle or tomato and salad.

Rice-Stuffed Peppers:
8.8 oz pouch microwavable brown rice (I use white)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
2 tsp basil
4 red peppers (or green)
1/2 cup veg broth
grated parmesan cheese
Preheat to 400. Prepare an 8,8 oz pouch of microwaveable brown rice according to package instructions. Saute 2 chopped medium onions in a skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil for about 7 minutes. Add a 14 oz can diced tomatoes and simmer about 10 minutes. Stir in cooked rice and 2 tsp dried basil. Slice 4 red bell peppers in half lengthwise; remove seeds and ribbing but leave stems intact. Spoon rice mixture into pepper halves and arrange in a large baking dish. Pour 1/2 cup hot vegetable broth around pappers and bake 30 minutes or until peppers are tender. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and serve with mixed greens.

No Cream Creamy Broccoli Soup:
1 cup chopped carrots (about 2 medium)
1 cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks)
3/4 cup chopped onions (about 1 med)
3 tbsp oil
2 cans (14.4 ea) fat-free chicken broth
1/2 tsp pepper
4 1/2 cups broccoli florets (about 2 small bunches)
1/2 cup white rice, uncooked
2 cups milk
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Cook and stir carrots, celery, and onions in hot oil in a large saucepan on med-high heat 5 minutes. Add broth and pepper and stir. Bring to boil. Stir in broccoli and rice. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until vegs are tender, stirring frequently. Add soup, in batches, to blender or food processor; cover. Blend until pureed. Return soup puree to saucepan. Add milk and cheese; cook until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Easy Cheesy Cauliflower:
1 head cauliflower
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup mayo
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Cut cauliflower into 8 to 12 large pieces, discarding core. Place in microwaveable casserole dish. Add water, cover. Microwave on high 10 minutes and drain. Return cauliflower to casserole dish. Mix mayo and mustard. Spread over cauliflower and sprinkle with cheese. Microwave on high 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Organization of coupons

2007-12-20T21:42:00.000-05:00

Organizing your coupons:

Upfront, organizing your coupons might be a very time consuming task but in the end organization will pay off. If you have your coupons organized somehow they will be easier to find, easier to weed out the expired and will ultimately save you money. I know there are several ways to organize coupons according to experts. The first system is called the binder method. You will need a large binder and lots of the plastic pages with slots that baseball cards go in. In each section you will put like coupons and arrange your pages in the binder by category. Many times the binder will fit in the front of the grocery card and make for easy flipping in the store. The reason I do not have a binder is that I almost always have a child in the front seat of the grocery cart and the binder would end up laying destroyed on the floor of Harris Teeter and I know that it would not work for me. The second method is having a box and having it organized in categories and having the coupons within their proper section. I use this method and am in the lengthy process of organizing each section so that all identical coupons are paperclipped together. I have just crammed my coupons in their sections for years and am tired of having to pull out a jumbled crumpled mess to find that "one" coupon in the stack. I am hoping that this will make filing faster in the end too each week with the new inserts. A third method is to file the inserts by week in a file and then cutting specific coupons when you find those items for sale. The immediate negative for me about filing is that I drag my coupons everywhere in case I see an unadvertised sale (which are usually my biggest deals) and having them in files would lead me on a wild goose chase trying to remember which week a coupon came out. The last method is having your coupons pulled and in a pocket organizer. Again, that will only work if you know exactly what you are planning to buy and do not anticipate finding any unadvertised deals.

When I first started couponing I would put stacks in plastic baggies- frozen, dey, cereal, etc.... but one day a bag fell and poof! the coupons were allover the place and disorganized. I then went to an organized shoebox which I used for years without any problems. Then one day my third child picked up the box and dropped it on the floor at Harris Teeter and I almost fainted and then cried as I crammed them all back into the box and called the shopping trip quits. I now use a box with a snap lock lid. I had one cashier (a teenage boy) actually charge me $5.74 for the thing and it was full of coupons and junk. I had to go back the next day and get a refund on my own coupon box. Sometimes the box and I look ridiculous but I would not trade that thing for the world.

These are the categories that I have in my box (in order):

1. medicine
2. pet
3. cold-cheese
4. cold-meat
5. cold all other
6. frozen-meat
7. frozen-dessert
8. frozen all other
9. dry-coffee
10. dry-bread/cereal/breakfast
11. dry-dinner mixes (rice/pasta)
12. dry-snacks and misc dry
13. bottles/cans
14. shampoo/conditioner
15. soaps (razors,deodorant,lotion included but I need to re-organize)
16. toilet/facial tissue (remaining papers-plates/towels, napkins)
17. laundry
18. multi-purpose cleaners
19. dish cleaning
20. diapers/wipes
21. baby stuff
22. drinks
23. feminine hygiene
24. misc- everything else! air fresheners, plastic wrap, alum foil, trash
bags and junk

Coupon Terms

2007-12-20T21:41:00.001-05:00

Here is a list of coupon terms you might see:

B1G1 or BoGo
catalina- manufacturer coupons that print out from a little machine at the register, triggered by what you buy
OYNO- on your next order
blinkie- red smartsource machine with a little red blinking light on the machine. The coupons that come out of them are called blinkies.
peelie- coupon found attached to a product- you have to peel it off
hangtag- a coupon that is hanging around the bottle neck of wine- you do not have to buy the wine to use the coupon
c/o- cents off coupon or cash off coupon
cpns
crtc- cash register tape
FAR- free after rebate
TMF- try me free
loss leader- what a store sells-usually on the circular front page- to intice or lure you into the store in the first place. These are usually sold close to or at a loss. Goal to get you in and get you to buy more there.
doubles
triples
GDA/HDA- good deal alert/hot deal alert
YMMV- Your mileage may vary, a generic term for “it worked for me, may not work for you”

Harris Teeter deals 12-18-07 thru 12-24-07

2007-12-20T21:40:00.001-05:00

Harris Teeter deals this week:

** note that some of the Teeters are now taking recently expired coupons***

Minute rice 2/3- .40/1= .70 ea
Mt Olive relish 1.49 BOGO (.75)- .50/1= FREE (donate if you don't want)
Furmano's can tomatoes 28 oz 3/4 (1.33)-.75/3=.83 ea
Kraft salad dressing 2.79 BOGO( 1.40)-.75/2=.65 ea
Ole El Paso taco shells 1.59-.55/2 peelie on box= 1.04 box
Newmans salsa and spag sauces 2/4-.50/1= 1.00 ea
Campbells gravy 4/2-.25/4 or .50/4= .38 or .25 ea
Bistro Deluxe pasta mixes 2/5-.75/1=1.00 ea
Campbells cream soups 4/3- .25/4= .67 ea
Betty Crocker cookie mix 2/3- .50/1= .50 ea
Betty Crocker cake mix 1.69 BOGO= .85
Betty Crocker icing 1.39- .50/1= .39
Ghirardelli brownie mix 2/4- 1.00/1= 1.00 ea
Eagle condensed milk 1.99- .55/1= .89
Ritz Toasted 2/5 -.75/1 peelie= 1.00 ea peelie is found on the Golden Harvest bags
Dawn dish liquid 1.49- .50/1= .49
Joy dish liquid 1.59- .30/1= .99
Mr. Clean wipes 2.24- .50/1= 1.24
Bam cleaner 1.99- ,75/1= .24 bottle
Lysol 2.14 -1.00/1= 1.14
Glass Plus cleaner 2/4- .50/1= 1.00
Orville Redenbacher Smart Pop 1.94- .40/1= 1.14 and don't forget to use the coupon for the free soda if you have one- I found mine at Food Lion last week
Jolly Time popcorn 2.39 BOGO (1.20)- .50/2= .70 ea
Chex Mix- Apple Cinnamon flavor closeout 1.84- .50/1= .84 ea
Pictweet Steamers 1.99 BOGO- 1.00/2 from penguin board= .50 ea
Steamfreah vegs 1.89 BOGO- 2.00/4= .45 ea
Sara Lee pies 5.59 BOGO - 1.00/1= 1.80 ea
Sister Shubert rolls 3.99 BOGO- .50/1= 1.00 ea
Smuckers Uncrustable sandwiches 2/4- .50/1= 1.00
International Delight 32 oz coffee creamer 2/5- .55/1= 1.40 ea
Daisy sour cream 1.25- .50/1= .25
Kraft shredded cheeses 2/4 - 1.00/2 from penguin board= 1.50 ea
Bob Evans side dishes (cold section) 2/5 - .35/1= 1.80 ea
Harris Teeter brand 2 liter sodas .69 ea
Pampers mega packs 9.99- 1.50 or 2.00= 8.49 or 7.99 great deal

Make sure you check the frozen food area for the penguin board. This board has a ton of coupons that make for really good deals.

Lowes Foods deals 12-18-07 thru 12-24-07

2007-12-20T21:39:00.000-05:00

Lowes Foods deals this week:

boneless chicken breast 1.99 lb
Plumrose bacon 3.99 BOGO
Oscar Meyer balogna 1.99 BOGO
Lowes brand vanilla wafers 1.49 BOGO
Rotel can tomatoes 5/5- .30/1=.40 ea
Kraft grated Parmesan cheese 2.79-.55/1= 1.69
Minute Rice still 2/3-.40/1=.70
Betty Crocker microwaveable packs of mashed potatoes 5/5-.35/1=.30
Campbells can gravy 5/3-.25/4 or .50/4=1.90/4 or 1.40/4=.48 ea or .35 ea
Swanson broth 5/3-.40/4=.40 ea
Campbells cream soups 4/3 (.75 ea) -.25/4=.63 ea
French's fried onions 2.79-.50/1= 1.79 good deal
Nabisco crackers 2/4- .55/2=1.45 ea
Skippy PB 1.99- .75/1= .49
Armour vienna sausages 2/1.00-1.00/2= FREE (I got 8 to donate for free)
Thai Kitchen spring onion soup .89-.50/1= FREE (again to donate)
Hunts can spaghetti sauce 5/5= 1.00 ea
Barilla pasta shells 4/5= 1.25 ea
Betty Crocker cookie mix pouch 3/4.98 (1.66 ea)-.50/1=.66 ea
Betty Crocker cake mix 1.65 BOGO (.83)
Betty Crocker icing 1.29- .50/1=.29 ea
Northwoods syrup 1.79- .75/1 handtag= .29 ea
Lowes brand cheerios and corn flakes 2/5 BOGO= 1.25 ea
Kelloggs Rice Crispies, Frosted Flakes 1.95 ea
Renuzit subtle effects spray 2/3- .75/1= FREE
Lowes Brand ice cream 4.99 BOGO (2.50)- tastes like breyers
Lowes Brand frozen pie crusts .99 ea
Green Giant frozen box vegs 1.79 BOGO- .50/1 or .25/1= Free with .10 overage or .40
Birds Eye Steamfresh bag vegs 5/5-2.00/4=.50 ea
Birds Eye chopped broccoli 4/3-1.00/2=.50/2 or .25 ea
Pillsbury frozen dinner rolls or biscuits 2.79- .50/1 or .75/1= 1.79 or 1.29
Mrs T pierogies 2/4- 1.00/1 from penguin board= 1.00 ea
Philadelphia cream cheese .99- 1.00/2 from penguin board= .49 ea

Remember to be on the lookout for beer rebate forms (Coors, Miller and Foster's) and for the hangtags on wine bottles. Remember that you do not have to purchase any alcohol in North Carolina to be eligible to submit for their rebates or to use their coupons. I noticed several good wine hangtags this week at Lowes for 2.00 off produce, 2.00 off bread, something off floral to name a few.

Food Lion deals 12-18-07 thru 12-24-07

2007-12-20T21:38:00.000-05:00

Food Lion deals this week:

Food Lion Cooked Shrimp 14.99 BOGO= each will ring up full price and then next line will take off half
1 lb bag of carrots .99
Green Giant can vegs 4/2 (.50 ea)
Emerald Cashew or Mixed nuts 3.99 BOGO (1.98 ea)- 1.00/1= .98 ea
Philadelphia cream cheese .99- 1.00/2 from penguin board=.44 ea
Heluva Good Dip 4/5 (1.25 ea)-.50/1= .75 ea

There night be some unadvertised deals in store but I have not done a walk-thru. Food Lion is usually the best place to find the rebate forms by the beer companies so if you do go there make sure to look around their displays carefully.

Welcome to grocery deals and meals 12-15-07

2007-12-15T20:42:00.000-05:00

Welcome everyone!!! Things are starting to look good for deals in the grocery store.

If this is your first time here this is my goal: to help you cut your finances by teaching you how to match store sales with coupons to make deals and how to turn those deals into realistic and easy meals. I have been doing this for over 10 years and feel like I have it down pat enough to share to others. I have saved over $28,000 since I got married in 1998 and my monthly grocery budget has gone from $250.00 to $200.00 to the current $150.00. I have 3 kids. Yes we do eat meat and yes I do eat name brands all the time! Included in this monthly budget is all hygiene items and cleaning supplies too. The only thing that I do include in my grocery budget is diapers and wipes. That being said you probably think I am either crazy or super uptight organized. I am neither- just a super strategic shopper and meal planner. I do make mistakes, I lose coupons, I sometimes pay too much and I sometimes walk right past a deal and not even see it. Couponing is an ever changing hobby or whatever you would call it and I am always learning something new. (sometimes I call it survival in the world of $3.00++ a gallon of gas).

I don't know if it is me, but I saw more ways to save money in the grocery store this week than normal. Who-when-what you must be thinking.

There are several rebates that I found that are going to match up with things that are currently on sale. First, at Lowes Foods, Food Lion and at Harris Teeter there are phamplets by Coors (beer). They don't look like a "regular" rebate so you have to look at them to see the rebate that is on the last page of the phamplet. The phamplet says "Super Bowl Party Guide" on the front and has a picture of a group of people watching tv. When you buy $20.00 worth of "Tostitos chips/dips/meat/soup/chili/condiments/or soda" you will get a rebate of $10.00. That is great. You can send in more than one receipt so you will have have to buy 20.00 at once or even at the same store. Save all your receipts and you will save yourself 10.00 that you can put back into your grocery budget. The items are so varied there is no way you can't refuse to do this one. I would suggest that you always make copies of any rebate/receipts you send it and date it so that you remember when you sent it in. If you have problems finding the official phamplet, go to http://www.checkmyrebate.com/ and look under the Coors rebate lists and see if they have put up this Superbowl one yet and then print off the eligibility page and list you NAZ (name-address-zip), add your DOB and SIGN IT and send it off.

Second, there is another rebate for seafood. This one I only found in Food Lion! This one is through Fosters (aka Miller Brewing Co). You buy $13.98 of seafood and get $6.99 back. I will describe on the Teeter page who to make this FREE.

Keep your eyes open. I found a hangtag on a wine bottle at Harris Teeter for a $5.00 rebate on Pointsettias and on another bottle a tag for 1.00 off floral. You could double dip and use the 1.00 off when you initially purchase the pointsettias and then send in and receive the $5.00 rebate. I know the big ones are more than 6.00 but some of the smaller ones I have seen for right around 5.00 so that would be FREE. Take it and give it to a teacher or the school office or the librarian/art teacher/ whomever and make just a random act of niceness for free. Just a thought.

I did a walk through in Food Lion for the first time in months and was shocked. I had written that store off because they do not double my coupons and most of the time I don't find "good deals there". But.... surprise surprise they had both rebates and several unadvertised sales that were great deals (refer to the Food Lion page). Guess I will add them to my weekly walk through....

Genna

Meals for 12-12-07 through 12-18-07

2007-12-13T16:08:00.000-05:00

Now that you have bought the sale items and have saved a ton of money now comes the questions of what to do with everything and how do I make meals out of this stuff??!!

Here are a list of recipes you can use from this week's and last week's good deals.

Wild Rice Soup
French Chicken/Broccoli Casserole
Shrimp Stir Fry with Egg Drop Soup
Quiche Lorraine
Egg Casserole
Easy Lasagna
Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

Wild Rice Soup:
1 cup uncooked wild rice
3 cups boiling water
2 strips smoked bacon
1/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup sliced carrots
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
2 cans (10.75 oz ea) cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
2 soup cans milk
1 can (4 oz) mushrooms, undrained
1 tsp seasoned salt
pepper to taste

Combine rice and boiling water in a large saucepan; simmer, covered 50-60 minutes. Drain off excess liquid, set aside. In a skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Remove bacon; crumble and set aside. Drain all but 1 tbsp drippings; saute onion, celery and carrots. In a large skillet, combine milk, mushrooms, seasoned salt, pepper, crumbled bacon, sauteed vegs and wild rice. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Serve with quiche??

French Chicken/Broccoli Casserole:
1 lb fresh broccoli, sliced in spears and steamed OR 3 pkgs (10 oz ea) frozen spears, thawed
3 to 4 cups cooked chicken, cut into large pieces
Sauce:
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 cup water
1/3 cup chicken broth or white wine
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups milk
1 jar (2 oz) diced pimiento
1 pkg (8 oz) sharp cheddar cheese

In a greased 13 x 9-in baking dish, layer the broccoli spears and chicken pieces alternately. Set aside. In a saucepan over med heat, combine melted butter, dissolved cornstarch, broth, seasonings, milk and pimientos. Cook until thickened. Add cheese; stir until melted. Pour warm sauce over top of chicken and broccoli layers. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes or until bubbly.
I would serve mine with bread or rice, salad, vegs.

Shrimp Stir Fry with Egg Drop Soup:
from this weeks' paper!!
2 cups regular or instant rice
1 lb shrimp
1 lb frozen stir-fry vegs such as snow peas, onions and carrots
1/2 cup stir fry sauce (you can get the vegs and sauce combo in a bag together in frozen)
4 cups chicken broth
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Bring water to boil for rice. Bring chicken broth to boil for soup. Add rice to water and cook according to package directions.
Meanwhile, thaw shrimp (if frozen) under cold dripping faucet. Peel. Thaw vegs in micro.
Heat 2 tbsp veg oil in large skillet or wok set over med-high heat. When oil is hot, add shrimp and stir-fry about 1 or 2 minutes or until shrimp is pink and cooked through. Remove from skillet.
Add vegs to skillet and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through. Return shrimp to skillet and stir in sauce until shrimp and vegs are coated. (or in my case just dump the bag of saucy vegs to skillet and proceed) Remove from heat and cover.
For soup, increase heat of chicken broth to a rolling boil and slowly drizzle in beaten egg. The agitation of the water will creat egg noodles. Season with freshly cracked pepper.
Top rice with shrimp mixture and serve with soup.

Quiche Lorraine:
6-8 pieces Bacon
8 in pie shell
3 large eggs
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 salt
pinch each of butter and nutmeg
1 or 2 tsp butter

Preheat to 375. Slice bacon into 1/4 inch pieces and brown lightly and drain. Spread in bottom of pastry shell. Beat eggs, cream and seasonings and pour into shell. Cut butter into bits and distribute over crea. Bake on upper shelf of oven 25-30 minutes- until quiche has puffed and browned.

Egg Casserole:
8 slices of bread, crust cut off and chopped cruton size
3/4 lb (12 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 large eggs
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp dry mustard
1 1/4 cup milk
1 lb sausage (uncooked)

Layer bread, meat,& cheese in 2 layers in baking dish. Beat eggs til light and fluffy- add salt, mustard, milk and pour over top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake 1 hour at 350.

Easy Lasagna:
1 lb ground beef
2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 container part skim Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Preheat oven to 350. Brown meat in large skillet on med-high heat.
Meanwhile, mix 1 1/4 cups of the mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, the parsley and egg until well blended; set aside.
Drain meat, return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Pour water into empty sauce jar; cover and shake well. Add to skillet; stir until well blended. Adding water to the sauce helps cook traditional noodles while baking so you don't have to cook them beforehand. This saves you 15-20 minutes.
Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce onto the bottom of 13 x 9 in baking dish; top with a layer of 3 uncooked lasagna noodles. Noodles will expand to fit the dish during baking.
Spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup of the meat sauce over noodles. Repeat layers two more times. Top with remaining 3 noodles and the remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Cover tightly with greased foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil; continue baking 15 min or until heated through. Let stand 15 min before cutting to serve.
I would serve with salad, garlic bread, and probably broccoli.

Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars:
3/4 cup butter or margarine softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp baking cocoa
1/2 cups chopped nuts; optional
4 cups mini marshmallows
TOPPING:
1 1/3 cups (8 oz) chocolate chips
3 tbsp butter or marg
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups crisp rice cereal

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until fluffy. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa; add to creamed mixture. Stir in nuts if desired. Spread in a greased 13 x 9 in baking dish. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes. Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over cake; return to oven for 2-3 minutes. Using a knife dipped in wter, spread the melted marshmallows evenly over cake. Cool. For topping, combine chocolate chips,butter and peanut butter in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and well blended. Remove from heat, stir in cereal. Spread over bars. Chill.

Harris Teeter deals 12-12-07 through 12-18-07

2007-12-13T16:05:00.001-05:00

This week's E-Vic offer is save $1.50 off Kellogg’s 17.9oz. Crispix,12oz. Rice Krispies, or 18oz. Unfrosted Mini Wheats. Offer good until Dec 18th. Do this in combination with the recent Sunday coupons for 1.00 off 1 box and it could be a GREAT deal.

REMINDER: You must be signed up for eVIC to get this deal. Sign up here: CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR EVIC I would highly recommend signing up because the weekly offers are sometimes awesome.

Plumrose bacon 4.99 BOGO= 2.50 ea (Lowes cheaper)
cooked shrimp 50% off= 32 oz for 10.99** see below for how I am going to do my rebate
Johnsonville sausage 3.99 BOGO -1.00/2= 1.50 ea
DeliSelect lunch meat 2/5 BOGO= 1.25 ea
Sargento shredded cheeses 2/4-1.00/2=1.50 ea
International coffee creamer 2/5-.55/1=1.40 ea
Polly-O Ricotta Cheese 2/6=3.00 ea (I plan to buy like 4 and freeze for future lasagnas- they hardly EVER EVER go on sale and it has been years since I have seen coupons for it)
Country crock butter 1.85 BOGO-.60/2 (from penguin board)=.33 ea
Nestle refrigerated brownies 3.59 BOGO-.50/1(fom penguin board)=.80 ea
Minute rice 2/3-.40/1=.70ea
HT spaghetti pastas 2/2 BOGO
HT Lasagna noodles 3/3 Good Deal
Folgers coffee bricks 2/4-.50/1=1.00 ea
Kelloggs Special K cereal 3.59 BOGO-1.00/1=.80 a box
Krusteaz pancake mix 2/4-.50/1=1.00
Duncan Hines cake mix 1.70 BOGO (.90)-.75/1 off mix and frosting= .69 for both together
Duncan Hines frosting 1.29
McCormick dry mixes 1.39 BOGO- .25/2=.45 ea
Ritz crackers 3.69 BOGO= .55/1=1.30 ea
Keebler Townhouse crackers 3.79 BOGO-.50/1=.90ea
Green Giant box frozen vegs 1.89 BOGO-.25/1=.45 or .50/2=.45 ea
Birds Eye frozen vegs 2/5 BOGO (1.25)-1.00/2=.75 ea
Pictsweet frozen vegs 1.99 BOGO, 3.19 BOGO, 3.69 BOGO- there might be a coupon on penguin board for 1.00/1- can't remember but do remember that the stir-fry bag is 3.69 BOGO that you can use 1 for the recipe which is good.

Deal: Fosters rebate- you will need the official form that I found at Food Lion but look at Teeter around the seafood section or any beer displays that you see Foster's. It states that you need to purchase 13.98 to get back 6.99. The way the Teeter receipts print up is that the 50% shrimp will ring up full price and then the next line or at the bottom will print a second line that takes off half. In my experience with this type of rebate is that they do not care what the sale price makes it cost in the end. In my experience, they care about the original/pre-sale price so I circle that line and send it in. Who knows? but it has worked for me.

Lowes Foods deals 12-12-07 through 12-18-07

2007-12-13T16:02:00.000-05:00

bunch broccoli 2.49 BOGO- 1.00 target coupon from www.afullcup.com = .24 ea
cauliflower head 2.99 BOGO- 1.00 target coupon from fullcup = .49 ea
Plumrose sliced bacon 3.99 BOGO= 2.00 ea (better than Teeter's sale price)
boneless skinless chicken 1.99 lb
Sargento shredded cheeses 2/4-1.00/2 (from penguin board)-1.50 ea<
Lowes brand vanilla wafers 1.49 BOGO= .75 ea (they taste good so good deal)
Lowes pimientos 4 oz 1.35, 2 oz .75 or .79
VanCamps pork and beans 5/3-.50/5=.40ea
McCormick dry gravy mixes 5/4-.25/3=.60 ea
Armour chili 5/5-1.00/2=.50 ea
Minute Rice 2/3-.40/1=.70 ea (repeat sale)
Kraft Parmesan cheese 2.79-.55/1= 1.69 GOOD DEAL
Swanson broth 5/3-.25/4=.48 ea (ok deal but I have not seen much better lately)
Bisquick 40 oz 2.50-1.00/1=1.50 this deal is better than the 20 oz box for 1.oo b/c coup for 40oz
Borden eagle brand condensed milk 1.99-.55/1=.89 ea (good to get for Christmas baking)
Northwoods syrup (again) 1.79-.75/1-.29
Lowes brand cheerios 2/5 BOGO =1.25 ea
Lowes brand corn flakes 2/5 BOGO=1.25 ea
Lowes brand tp 2.69 BOGO
Glass Plus cleaner 1.99-.50/1=.99 ( I love this stuff better than windex)
Mrs T Pierogies 2/4-1.00/1 (from penguin board)=1.00
Edy's ice cream 5.29 BOGO= 2.64 ea ( I am holding out for coupons, don't like to spend more than 1.50 for Edy's or Breyers)
Pet Ritz frozen pie crusts 2/3-.50/2=1.00 ea

Food Lion deals 12-12-07 through 12-18-07

2007-12-13T15:53:00.000-05:00

Food Lion 12-12-07 through 12-18-07:

Refer to the Food Lion page for their coupon policy information.

Cheerios & General Mills cereal BOGO - 1.00/2=
Pillsbury Toaster Struedel/Scrambles 2.50 BOGO-.50/1= .75 ea ok deal
Pepperridge Farms garlic toast 2.99 BOGO-.75/1= .75 ea

Unadvertised deals I found walking around!

There are several things I noted when I did a walk through of Food Lion. First was that there were several new rebate forms that must have just been put out. First one was by Coors in which you spend 20.00 in salty snacks/meat/soda/soup,condiments and get 10.00 back. This one is WONDERFUL because you could literally grab any ole receipt within the time frame eligible and send it in. If you cannot find it check http://www.checkmyrebate.com/ and it might be listed under any superbowl promotion. The actual phamplet has the title "Super Bowl Party Guide" on the front. The second rebate I found was by Foster's for 6.99 back on a 13.98 seafood purchase. This one too is wonderful if you use it when you buy your 50% off or BOGO shrimp at Teeter this week for the stir-fry recipe. The third coupon I found on a pad near the micro popcorn was for a free 2 liter when you buy 2 boxes of Orville Redenbacher popcorn. Grab it and save it because I know that it will go on BOGO for the smaller box and you will be able to combine it with future coupons for free popcorn and then free soda.

I noticed several other items dirt cheap that were not advertised:

Kellogg's Shrek cereal .99
Kellogg's Cinnamon Toast cereal .99
Kellogg's Eggo cereal .99
Kelloggs Choco/Vanilla cereal .99 and you can use the recent 1.00/1 to get it FREE
Kellogg's yogo fruit snacks .99 there is some coupon out there but mine got tossed
Kellogg's Backyardigans fruit snacks .99

CVS pharmacy store

2007-12-12T20:34:00.000-05:00

CVS deals

CVS is a wonderful wonderful place to shop! Their ExtraCare Bucks program has allowed me to get tons of free stuff. I get tubes of toothpaste, deodorants, soap, soda, snacks, medicines..... FREE all the time. To maximize your savings at CVS you must learn the art of rolling your ECBs from product to product in combination with CVS store and manufacture's coupons. The easiest place to download CVS coupons is at http://www.afullcup.com/. You must get a CVS red card and they will allow one card per family member. That means that your husband can have a separate card too which allows you to save twice as much or get twice as much for free.

If you are just starting out, you will need to make an upfront out of pocket purchase to start generating your ECBs and then from there you will be able to purchase more products that will continue generating more ECBs.

For example:

The hypothetical sale/deal would be "Buy 1 tube of Crest toothpaste and earn $2.00 ECB, limit 5 per card". What this means is that you will buy a tube for 2.99, use a mfg coupon for a hypothetical 1.00 off and pay 1.99 plus tax. That will be your oop=out of pocket cost. You will now have 2.00 to roll over to a new transaction. You can now turn around and buy another tube for 2.99-1.00 mfg-2.00 ECB and pay tax. This is a simple explanation but this is the idea of "rolling" that will help you figure out deals and ways to maximize ECBs and earn more in the same move.

CVS will also allow you to stack a CVS coupon with a mfg coupon.

For example; you have a CVS coupon for 2.00 off Johnson & Johnson's baby product and have a mfg coupon for .35 off J&J baby powder. That means on a 2.99 bottle of powder you can take off the 2.00 CVS coupon and .35 mfg coupon and pay .65! This can sometimes be tricky though. Generally, the computer system does not have a problem with stacking but it does have a problem if you have more coupons that items. I can usually count on being able to use one more coupon than items, meaning if I have 5 items I will be able to use 6 coupons (I am including ECBs that I use for oop in this number). In my experience, it has always benefitted me to figure out my transactions at home and get my coupons clipped together before going to the store. That way I know in advance whether or not I will have more coupons than products and will know if I need to buy a "filler" item like a candy bar to make sure the system will accept all my coupons.

My plan is to let you see each week my CVS transactions to see what I got for free, the scenario on how I got it for free or for little oop, and to see how I have rolled those ExtraCare Bucks into larger amounts so that I can get additional items for free. CVS is a learning process, I am not an expert and I have and will make tons and tons of mistakes but hopefully we can figure this out together and loosen up our budgets.

Genna

Welcome to Genna's grocery deals and meals 12-12-07!

2007-12-08T15:12:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone. I hope you enjoy this new format for my weekly grocery coupon deals and meals. As everyone knows, the grocery sales run from Wednesday mornings up until Tuesday at midnight. I hope this will help everyone save more money in their grocery store. I have been shopping with coupons for over 10 years, have save thousands upon thousands. As of last month, I have saved over $28,000 with my techniques of sale,coupons and recipe matching. I now feel like I need to pass on to you what I am doing so that it can benefit you too. My goal is to save you money too by identifying good sales, matching coupons to sales and generating recipes that will help you use your grocery deals into meals. My goal will be to post a new weekly deal/meal post by Friday nights. I will update as needed after Sunday coupon inserts come out or I find new deals. Things change all the time in "couponland" and I will do my best to pass on any information I find that will help you save more money. Please share my site with anyone you feel it will help.

I want to post a disclaimer that sometimes when a deal is really good it might be a case of "here today gone tomorrow". If a grocery store realizes that the deal is too good or they are actually paying you to purchase something, they can and will just pull it. On the same note, if you figure out a deal that makes something free or overage and it is not something your family would eat, Please Donate it to the local pantry. If everyone would do that it would make a world of difference in a whole lot of places.

Genna

Kmart Comments - November 2007, Greensboro, NC

2007-12-08T13:03:00.000-05:00

All stores around here run their sales Wed am through Tues pm/up to midnight. This is what I have experienced in my shopping at Kmart. Your experiences may be different.

Kmart
I only get the loss leaders on the front page of their ad if it is worth the trip there.

Walmart/Sam's Club Comments/Policies - November 2007, Greensboro, NC

2007-12-08T13:00:00.000-05:00

All stores around here run their sales Wed am through Tues pm/up to midnight. This is what I have experienced in my shopping at Walmart and Sam's Club. Your experiences may be different.

Walmart/Sam's Club
I only get there what they do not make coupons for like milk, lettuce, cheap flour/corn tortillas, eggs, produce, cheap yogurt(Walmart), liquid coffee creamers(walmart) -altough there have been alot more liquid creamer coupons this year and I can usually stock up when it is close to free. Walmart does not take internet coupons. Sams takes no coupons. If I have no coupons for frozen vegs, I will get mine here for .77-1.00 a bag of their brand.

Target Comments/Policies - November 2007, Greensboro, NC

2007-12-08T12:58:00.000-05:00

All stores around here run their sales Wed am through Tues pm/up to midnight. This is what I have experienced in my shopping at Target. Your experiences may be different.

Target
They sell groceries and sometimes they have good deals. Always check the end caps. You can get coupons on afullcup and then stack with a mfg coupon. Stacking means using 2 coupons (store and manufacture’s) on one product. The Target on Bridford is horrible with their own internet coupons….so do not take them there.

Food Lion Comments - November 2007, Greensboro, NC

2007-12-08T12:56:00.000-05:00

All stores around here run their sales Wed am through Tues pm/up to midnight. This is what I have experienced in my shopping at Food Lion. Your experiences may be different.

Food Lion

I only get loss leaders and great specials like the free puddings and bogo granola bars.

Aldi Comments - November 2007, Greensboro, NC

2007-12-08T12:54:00.000-05:00

All stores around here run their sales Wed am through Tues pm/up to midnight. This is what I have experienced in my shopping at Aldi. Your experiences may be different.

Aldi-
Small store, cash only, need 25 cents to get the cart out, good prices on bread, choc chips, can vegs, Kernersville location a lot cleaner and nicer than High Point Road store. Recently learned that the Kernersville location is taking debit cards!

Lowes Foods Comments/Policies - November 2007, Greensboro, NC

2007-12-08T12:48:00.000-05:00

All stores around here run their sales Wed am through Tues pm/up to midnight. This is what I have experienced in my shopping at Lowes Foods. Your experiences may be different.

Lowes Foods
They changed their coupon policy- store card, doubles up to face value of .99, 20 max, 2-3 internets per order, accepts other store coupons but questionable about doubling but the location on the corner of Guilford College Rd and Piedmont Pkwy stopped taking the target internet coupons, will accept 2 coupons for bogo items, will do overages if the coupon exceeds the greenpoints sale price, seems to be falling into a pattern of doing triples a week or two after Teeter each time, you can get a definite heads up on hotcouponworld - got about 1 and half weeks notice this past time.

Harris Teeter Comments/Policies - November 2007, Greensboro, NC

2007-12-08T11:55:00.000-05:00

All stores around here run their sales Wed am through Tues pm/up to midnight. This is what I have experienced in my shopping at Harris Teeter. Your experiences may be different.

Harris Teeter-
need store card, coupon policy doubles face value .99, 20 max., 2 internet printable coupons per order, will allow 2 coupons for bogo items, will do overages if the coupon exceeds the vic price, will triple several times per year with no set pattern but seems to me to be once in the late spring/early summer, sometimes the Aug tax free weekend and once in the fall- you can get a heads up on the web site hotcouponworld under the Harris Teeter forum, has recently begun accepting other store’s coupons (like the kind you can get off fullcup) but it is yet to be determined if they will double those so plan that they won’t , a cashier told me several weeks ago that they are now accepting recently expired coupons-I have no idea if it up to each location/mgr but I have used several expired coupons since then- I read that the stores have up to 60 days to send them into the coupon clearing houses for redemption so use your own discretion- just figured I would pass it on since lots of coupons expired 11-30-07

Deals and Meals for 11-28-07 thru 12-4-07

2007-12-08T10:20:00.000-05:00

Harris Teeter deals for 11-28-07 thru 12-4-07: remember they double up to .99 so I am only putting the face value of coupon in below.

Viva big roll -2/$3-75c/1=free
Ziploc containers-bogo-75c/1=less than 50 each
Split chicken breast (has bone in) .88lb STOCK UP GREAT PRICE
e-z peel shrimp 21-30 count bogo at $25.98 so I bag is 12.99- there is a Bud
rebate out there if you can find it or have it for 10.00 back on the
purchase of 10 in seafood, buy one bag and your total cost is 2.99 which
might be a cheap treat
hunts can tomatoes 10/10-.25/1=.50 ea
rothbury crutons 1.29 bogo
heinz 57 with lea perrins 3.99 has TMF (try me free) tag around neck of
bottle, use 1.00 coupon and you just made money off it
peelie on the Hidden Valley organic salad dressing for 1.00 off produce but
I am not sure you have to buy the dressing to use the peelie-worth a look
Bruce’s yams .79 were 1.19
Skippy 2lb8oz huge tub 5.49 bogo-.75/2 or .60/1=3.99/2 or 1.55 ea
Ronzoni pasta 3/4- 1.00=.33 a box
No yolks egg noodles 2/3-50 coupon=.50 a bag
Ragu pasta sauce 3/5 aka 1.66 ea-.25/1=1.16 ea
Ham/tuna/chicken helpers 1.79- 50/1 or 50/2=.79 or 1.29 (hold out for bogo)
Ramen noodles super 6 pack 1.19 bogo (cheap to donate)
Ht brand of cream soups 5/3 aka .60 a can, includes chix noodle and tom, I
can almost promise that the campbells will go on sale again before
Christmas and they will be closer to .35 a can with coupons so only
get if you have to have because .60 is still good
krusteaz pancakes, muffin mixes,cake, cookie bars 2/4-.55/1=.90
kelloggs yogos snacks 2/4
quaker grits 2.5lb-the huge bag- 1.29-50 c=.29 (awesome)
8ct rice krispies treats box 2/4-1.00=1.00 box
Capri suns 3.19 bogo
Kelloggs cereal straws 2/4-1.00/1=1.00
Post organic grape nuts 1.94 (was 3.79)
Cheerios-all kinds- 2/5-1.00/2 or 1.00/1=2.00 or 1.50 ea
Betty crocker dry cookie mix 2/3-.50/1=.50 ea STOCK UP FOR CHRISTMAS
Bisquick 2.49-75/1=1.00 a box GOOD DEAL
Gold medal flour 1.99 bogo there is a deal/coupon buy flour and karo and
get.75 off aka 1.50 so here is my math 1 flour .99 + 1 karo 2.29=3.28 –
karo coupon of .35 (.70) and – coupon for flour/karo 1.50= 1.08 for both
GOOD DEAL
Karo syrup 2.29-.35=1.59
Mahatmas rice 2/1-.60/2=FREE
Fast fixins chicken nugget bag (near the sand meat at some teeters) 8.99 bag
There is a peelie for 5 off with mail in rebate. Join their website and
they will mail you coupons and if you will collect upcs they will send
you coupons for free bags. I initially thought they were too expensive
but after they sent me 1.00 coupons and then Lowes will put them on
bogo sales sometimes they were like 5.99 bogo-2 1.00 coupons they
became 2.00 a bag and a good deal… something to think about.
Green giant selected frozen vegs 2/5-.50/1=1.50 ea insert & www.coupons.com
Viola frozen veg meals 4.99 bogo
Coles frozen garlic bread 1.79,2.89 bogo- I can’t find my coupon for this
Pepperidge farm has frozen garlic bread .75/1-should be dirt cheap after cpn
Always do a walk by the fresh breads from the bakery. I get French bread all the time for .29 a loaf because they mark it down. I get bags of rolls to make subs for less than 1.00. If you think the bread is slightly hard, make cheap French toast out of it or that pampered chef recipe where the toast soaks overnight. Cheap eats. Let me know if anyone needs the Pamp Chef recipe scanned and emailed to them.
Cheer detergent 2.99-.35/1

Lowes deals for 11-28-07 thru 12-4-07, remember they double up to .99, I am only putting in the face value of the coupon and remember that the Lowes on Guilford and Piedmont Pkwy corner does not take target internet coupons

**Saw a rebate form at the Lowes on Guilford and Piedmont Pkwy by Miller- you send in one receipt from shopping-min 30.00 purchase and you will get back 10% of how much you spent- you can use the rebate at any store so it might be a good one to hold on and save for a Sam’s shopping trip where you have tons of stuff in your cart- there are some exclusions=tobacco,liquor, pharmacy, electronics, appliances and gift cards but is says nothing about diapers! It was located on a display in front of the ice cream.

Large white eggs 1.39 doz (cheaper than sam’s this week!)
J.L. Kraft Specialty Gourmet Hot cheese dip or spreadable bogo-.75/1=FREE
Borden cheese slices 1.69-.55/1=.59 ea 12oz pk
Ground beef 1.69lb Cheapest in town so far I could find
Perdue boneless chicken 1.79 lb STOCK UP YOUR FREEZER
Gwaltney hotdogs 4/5, cheese 3/3.99 a so-so deal because there are no coupons
Keebler crackers 3.29 bogo-50/1=.65 a box ** Get for Christmas casseroles, parties, and I have a cute cookie recipe I will pass along
Comet rice .99 small box-.55=FREE
Rotel tomatoes 5/5-.30=.40 a can (Good for Chili and casseroles)
Lowes can tomatoes .99 bogo
Wishbone salad dressing 2/4-.60/1=.80 ea
Hungry jack potatoes pouch .99-.30=.39 & mash box 2/3-.30=.90 box
Stove top 2/3-.50 target coupon=1.00 box
Lowes brand BBQ sauce .89
Jack Daniels BBQ sauce 1.99- hangtag on bottle 1.00=.99 bottle
No yolks egg noodles 1.49-50/1=.49 a bag
Barilla pasta (spag,thin,fet,lin,ang hair) 5/4=.80 box
Manicotti,las,shells 4/5 (I would suggest manicotti- I have a recipe for
Mexican manicotti I will pass along)
Lipton new Sides (vegs in them) 2/3-.75=FREE
Lipton reg noodles and rice packets 5/5-60/2=.40 ea
Lowes brand cream soups 5/3 ok if you need them right now but I anticipate
Campbells going back on sale for Christmas and they’ll be closer to .35
Chex 2/5-1.00/2=2.00 ea
Post Honeycomb 3.29 bogo
Quaker Oatmeal to Go bars 2/5-1.00/1=1.50 box (so-so)
Quaker Sweet & Salty gran bars 2/5-.75/1= 1.00 a box
All gummies, Kellogg and betty crocker 2/4-.50/1=1.00 box
Northwoods syrup (it is good) 1.89-.75 hangtag on bottle=.39 a bottle GREAT
Hungry jack pancake mix 2/3-.55/1=.40 a box
Martha white muffins 4/3-1.00/3 or 1.00/4=1.25 for 3 or 4 @.50 ea
Krusteaz muffins, bars, cake 2/4-.55/1=.90 ea
Jfg coffee 2/5-.60/1=1.30 a brick
Duncan hines cake .99—there is a coupon for .75 off 1 cake and 1 icing so
If it works right, get 1 cake for .99 and 1 icing for 1.79 approx
And use the .75 aka 1.50 off and =approx 1.28 for both
Pictsweet bag vegs 4/5
If you spend 1200 points you can get sandwich bread for .19
Angel soft toilet paper 2.95 bogo-1.00/1=1.95 2 pks

Deal of the week: go to http://www.checkmyrebate.com/ and go under the “coors” rebates, find the rebate for when you purchase a 20.00 gift card you get a 10.00 rebate. Buy a grocery card for either Lowes or Teeter. Save your receipt. Print out the coors rebate details page. Put your name,address, date of birth (they want to make sure you are over 21) and SIGN IT and date it. Make copy for your own records. Send off. Use the 20 gift card on your groceries. A Double play it is called because you are getting 20 worth of groceries for 10 and you will get more than that because you are using coupons on top of that. It would be a triple play if you could buy something else you have a rebate for like the Bud seafood offer or the nugget rebate because then you are getting more money back than the original 10 from the gift card purchase. That is how you can turn a 20.00 cart of groceries into a 5.00 or free deal. Did I lose anyone? Sometimes my math gets me lost and I have to figure out my deals several times to get the best scenario.

Good coupons from http://www.afullcup.com/ are listed by store below.

Target ones: remember don’t use at Bridford location
75 off 10oz kelloggs cereal
75 off kraft cheese
75 off daisy sour cream
50 off stove top

Food Lion ones:
Save 1.00 on produce with 6 campbells products
Free avocado
2 off 5 on produce
2 off 5 in bakery (some are saying that the deli comes under bakery and they are getting 2 off 5 when they buy deli meat)

Possible meals from this week’s deals (I am simple, have picky kids and my meals are simple right now given that I am like the only one who eats them so sorry if I offend the good cooks out there……..)

Baked ziti or spaghetti
Easy chicken parmesan
Garlic shrimp and pasta
Crock pot BBQ chicken
Breakfast for dinner-pancakes or waffles
Chili
Potato Soup
Layered Enchilada Bake

Baked ziti or penne pasta:
I take one box of pasta and dump it into a 9x13 baking dish. I dumped one jar of pasta sauce (I like the cheese ones) into the dish. I then completely fill the sauce jar with water and then dump that into the dish too. Stir everything to make even consistency. Cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 30 min. Uncover and stir to make sure the noodles are tender. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese or Italian pkg cheese on top and cook another 5 min approx or until cheese is melted. Serve with salad and the garlic bread.

Easy Parmesan Chicken:
1 jar spag sauce
6 Tbsp grated parm cheese
6 small boneless breasts (1.5 lbs)
1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
Preheat to 375. Pour sauce into 9x13 baking dish. Stir in 4 Tbsp (=1/4 cup) parm cheese. Add chicken, turning over to coat both sides. Cover with foil. Bake 30 min . Uncover. Top with mozzarella cheese and remaining 2 Tbsp of parm cheese and continue baking 5 min or until the cheese is melted. Serve over/with noodles (my kids won’t eat the chix) the garlic bread, or bread made from Teeter cheap bakery bread, vegs, and or salad.

Garlic Shrimp and pasta:
Boil or steam the shrimp until pink. Shell. Lightly sautee in crushed or minced garlic and butter and serve over linguine or fettuccine noodles.
I would serve with broc spears?

Crock pot BBQ chicken:
Boil 1-2 lbs chick breasts (either the bone in or boneless). I am going to boil the ones with bones and save the broth water to make rice with so I am kinda tricking my kids with the rice that has something nutritional in it if you can call broth that. Back to meal. Pull the meat from the bone and shred or just shred your breast. Dump into the crock pot with a bottle of BBQ sauce. Slow cook for 5-6 hours. Serve on rolls (I like the big teeter ones). Serve with beans or fries or cole slaw, or fruit or applesauce.

Breakfast for dinner:
I like to eat pancakes on Friday nights or on the weekend mornings. Can’t beat a dinner that costs under 1.00 if you get pancake mix and syrup at Lowes!!

Chili (this is my hodge podge recipe—there are others out there like it on http://www.allrecipes.com/)
Brown a 1-2lb of ground beef and drain off grease. (I use more like 1.5-2 because hubbie is a meat and potatoes kind of guy and he wants spoons of meat and not spoons of beans.) Dump into crock pot . Add 2 cans tomato soup, 1 or 2 cans of rinsed kidney beans, 1 can of chili beans ( I do not rinse these), 2 cans of rotel chili tomatoes and water until at consistency you like your chili. Taste. Add red pepper or chili powder to your desired heat. I have thrown in a can of corn to give texture. I have put more cans of tomato soup in too when it looked too “little”. You can do this on the stove top but I would bring to boil, turn down and let simmer until the beans were good and tender. Serve with grilled cheese or hoagies.

Potato Soup from Vicky Hey:
Good to use with all the betty crocker box mash potatoes you might have gotten on sale the week before Thanksgiving at either Teeter or Lowes.
One box of Betty Crocker mashed potatoes
¾ cup of broth
1 Tbsp of butter or margarine
1Tbsp of all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon of salt
Dash pepper
1 cup milk or light cream
Make 2 pouches (2 pouches in 1 box) of mashed potatoes as listed on box. In a med saucepan melt butter. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir till slightly thickened and bubbly. Cook 1 minute more. Stir in potato mixture and ¾ cup broth. Cook and stir till heated through. If necessary, stir in additional milk to make of desired consistency. Season to taste. You can add bacon or ham, shredded cheddar and green onions to put on top of soup

Layered Enchilada Bake:
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups thick salsa
1 can black beans, rinsed/drained
¼ cup Italian dressing (zesty if have it already but plain is fine)
2 Tbsp taco seasoning mix (from the pouch)
6 flour tortillas 8 inch
1 cup sour cream
1 8 oz pkg of Mexican shredded cheese
Line 9x13 baking dish with foil with ends extending over sides of dish. Set aside. Brown meat with onions in skillet on med-hi heat. Drain grease. Add salsa, beans, dressing, and taco seasoning mix and mix well. Arrange 3 tortillas in a single layer on bottom of prepared baking dish. Cover with layers of half each of meat mixture, sour cream and cheese. Repeat all layers. Cover with foil. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting to serve. Serve with refried beans, salad, Spanish rice made with chicken broth or white rice and a can of rotel thrown in to make homemade Spanish rice.
There are insert coupons for 1.00 /2 ortega products- taco mix, salsa, refried beans or there are 1.00/ 2 old el paso products from- you might be able to find them also on http://www.coupons.com/

Deals and Meals for 11-14-07 thru 11-20-07

2007-12-08T09:18:00.000-05:00

**Note all stores sales run from Wed am (6 or 7) and end at midnight of Tuesday

Harris Teeter deals for 11-14-07 thru 11-20-07: will take Target too and other Internet Printable (IP) but only 2 or 3 per order ( I have been told both numbers so ???)
They will double face value up to .99

**Teeter seems to be changing some of their coupon policies lately. I have been told 3 of the same coupons per order. I have been told one coupon for BOGO which is not correct because their BOGO rings up at half price not full price and .00 for the second. One suggestion is to have 2 orders in your cart and separate the BOGO and coupons. I have done this many times and they don’t care. Most of the time the cashier could care less what you buy and how much but once in a while I run into a cashier with their own rules.

Harris Teeter brand bread .89 for sandwich- cheaper than walmart
Folgers BOGO 3.29 (1.65) and there are .50/1=.65 bag, There are .25/1=1.15 bag
Birds Eye frozen Steamfresh veg bags BOGO 2.50 (1.25) there are 1.00/1=.25
There are .35/1=.55
Sara Lee pies BOGO (I can’t remember price) there is 1.00/2 I will probably get some apples for the holidays if they come out to 3.00 or less each
Sister Schubert rolls BOGO 3-something I think – there are .50/1 so they should come out to 1-something individually which is GREAT
I can’t believe it is butter BOGO (can’t remember price) & there is .40/1= good deal only if less than .50
Daisy sour cream 3/$5=1.66 use target .75 off and =.92
Philadelphia cream cheese .99/1 there are .20/2=.79 each
Pillsbury crescent rolls 2/$3 (1.50) there are .40/1=.70 ea
Betty Crocker specialty potatoes BOGO 1.79 (.90) there are .35/1=.20 a box (I will STOCK up for every coupon I find) There are IP .40/1= .10 a box
Campbells cream soups 4/$3 (.75 ea) there are .40/2=.35 each STOCK UP
Campbells Select soups 8/$10 (1.25 ea) there are .50/2=.75 ea, There are .40/2=.85 ea
Swanson broth 5/$3 (.60 ea) there are .25/4=.47 can (I will hold out for closer to .25 a can)
Cheez-Its BOGO they are 1.00/2 I will get if they come out to 1.20 a box or less
Pop-Secret popcorn BOGO 2.29 ea (I think) (1.15 ea) there are .40/1=.35 a box

Lowes deals for 11-14-07 thru 11-20-07: remember they double up to .99 face value

Go to http://www.afullcup.com/ and print off Target coupons for:
.50 off banana 2lbs+
$1 off fresh vegs (broc,cauliflower,celery)
.50 off Stove Top
.75 off Daisy sour cream
THE STORE ON CORNER OF PIEDMONT PKWY AND GUILFORD COLLEGE WILL NOT TAKE TARGET COUPONS

Celery BOGO 1.79 (will ring up half at .89)- use the Target $1 off fresh veg = FREE
Sweet potatoes .39 lb- good deal- comps out for the overage from the free celery to = food lion sale price
Green Giant frozen boxed vegs BOGO 1.70 (will ring up half at .90) there are .50/1 aka 1.00 off 1= .10 overage
.25/1 aka .50/1= .40 a box
.50/2 aka 1.00/2=.40 a box
Birds Eye frozen bag Steamfresh vegs BOGO 2.50 (1.25 each) there are .35/1 aka .70/1=.55 bag, There are 1.00/1 for singles but will work= .25 bag
Barber Foods chicken cordon bleu frozen BOGO 4.65 (2.33 each) there are 1.00/1=1.33
Kraft Shredded cheeses 8 oz BOGO 3.19 (1.60 ea) there are blinkies for 1.00/3 (you can just buy 3)=1.26 each
Philadelphia cream cheese 8 oz .99 each there are .20/2=.79 each (good deal cheaper than walmart generic)
Daisy sour cream 3 for 4.98 there are .75 from full cup = 1.66-.75=.91
** note other people can get Lowes to double the target coupons but I usually plan for the worst and if they do then it is a surprise
Coffee-Mate liquid creamer 16 oz 2/$4 (2.00) there are .50/1=1.00 a bottle
Rotel can tomatoes 5/$5 (1.00 ea) there are .30/1=.40 a can (I usually get one for every coupon I can get my hands on)
Knorr Lipton sides 5/$5 (1.00 ea) there are .60/2 =.40 a bag
there were some .75/1= .50 overage but I can’t remember if it was limited to new ones with vegs
Campbells cream soups 4/$3 (.75 ea) there are .40/2=.35 a can (I STOCKED up like mad for casseroles) awesome deal
Swanson broth 5/$3 (.60 ea) there are .25/4=.47 each (good but can get better I like closer to .25 a can)
French’s fried onions 6oz 2.99 there is .50/1 so 1.99 and it is 3xs the size of the smaller can so that is like 3 cans for .66 each=good
Quaker Grits 2/$3 (1.50 ea) there are .50/1=.50 a box
Kellogg cereals 1.00 off automatically there are some coupons out there for 1.00 /1, 1.00/2, B2G1 peelies (buy 2 get 1 free) on the front of boxes in some stores- I found them on frosted flakes ** judgement call on how much you will spend on cereal** my genna rule is not to spend more than 1.25 on any box of cereal ever.
Quaker sweet & salty granola bars 2/$5 (2.50) there are .75/1=1.00 a box
Orville Redenbacher popcorn 2/$4 (2.00) there are 1.00/1=1.00 a box (so so deal in my opinion and I would hold out for the BOGO)
Duncan Hines cake mix BOGO 1.75 (.88 ea) there is .75/1 box of cake and 1 icing so the deal is get 1 box of cake and 1 icing which is about 1.59 if I remember right so .88+1.59=2.47-1.5 cpn=.97 for both not bad

Food Lion deals for 11-14-07 thru 11-20-07:
Sweet potatoes .29 lb—a good deal but I would not go out of my way

Kmart deals for 11-14-07 thru 11-20-07:
Eggs .99 dozen- good deal/cheaper than sam’s by about .50 a dozen
Green Giant vegs 3 cans for 1.00- no coupon/ it has been about a year since anyone beat this deal with a 4/$1, limit 6 and break your orders into 6 , I did 4 consecutive orders of 6 with no problem
Tyson skinless/boneless chicken 1.87 lb- Great deal. Stock up your freezer if you can because this is a good price, there are coupons for $2 off, $1 off and .55 off out there from recent Sun papers. I got 4 packs and had 3 $2 and 1 $1 and it made it more like 1.50 lb.

Possible meals from deals:

Crunchy Onion Chicken
Rippled Coffee Cake
Corn Casserole
Tasty 2 Step Chicken
One Dish Chicken Bake
Paprick Chicken with Sour Cream Gravy
Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake
Herbed Tomatoes, Chicken and Rice
Simple Hollandaise Sauce

Crunchy Onion Chicken
1 1/3 cup French’s Original or Cheddar French Fried Onions
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves(about 1 lb)
1 egg, beaten

1. Place onions into plastic bag. Lightly crush with hands or with rolling pin.
2. Dip chicken into egg; then coat with onion pieces. Place chicken on baking sheet.
3. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until no longer pink in center.
Makes 4 servings.
Cooking tip:
1 cup onions = 1 cup of breadcrumbs, for any recipe!

Rippled Coffee Cake
Prep: 10 min, Bake: 30 min.
1 package (18.25 ounces) yellow cake mix
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
4 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup pecked brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
ICING:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a mixing bowl, combine dry cake mix, sour cream, eggs, and oil; beat well. Spread half of the batter into a greased 13inx9inx2in baking pan. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over batter. Carefully spread remaining batter on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Combine icing ingredients and drizzle over warm cake. Yield: 16-20 servings.

Corn Casserole
Great complement to your turkey dinner
1 stick margarine
1 can creamed corn
1 can whole kernel corn
2 t. sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup sour cream
1 package Jiffy corn muffin mix
1-8 oz. package mozzarella cheese

Original recipe yields 6-8 servings
Serving day instructions
This dish is best when made on the day it is to be served. Melt margarine in 2-quart casserole dish. Stir in all ingredients except half the package of mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. During the last 15 minutes, add rest of cheese over top. Bake until cheese is melted.

Tasty 2-Step Chicken
PREP/COOK: 20 MIN
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 can (103/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom
Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/2 cup water

1. Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until it's well browned on both sides. Remove the chicken and set aside. Pour off any fat.
2. Stir the soup and water into the skillet. Heat to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Makes 4 servings

One-Dish Chicken Bake
Prep: 10 min. Total: 45 min
1 (6 oz.) pkg. Stove Top Stuffing Mix
1 ½ cups hot water
¼ cup butter
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I !/2 Ib.)
I pkg. (10 oz.) mixed vegetables
I can (10 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup Breakstone's or Knudsen Sour Cream or milk

preheat oven to 375°F.
mix stuffing mix, water and butter and set aside
place chicken breasts in 3 x 9-in. baking dish. Add vegetables. Mix soup and sour cream; pour over chicken.Top with stuffing
bake for 35 min. or until chicken is cooked through. Makes 6 servings.

Paprika Chicken with Sour Cream Gravy
1/2 cup ail-purpose flour
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon each garlic powder, ground black pepper and
ground red pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 tablespoons butter
1 can (10.75 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken
Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
2 medium green onions, sliced (about 1/4 cup)1 container (8 ounces) sour cream

1. Mix the flour, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper and red pepperon a piate. Coat the chicken with the flour mixture.
2. Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until it’s well browned on both sides.Remove the chicken and set aside.
3. Stir the soup and green onions into the skillet. Heat to a boil. Returnthe chicken to the skillet and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the sour cream.
Makes 4 servings

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake
1 can (10.75 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream
of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1 1/3 cups water
¾ cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
4 to 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 ounces)

1. Stir the soup, water, rice, onion powder and black pepper in a 12x8x2-inch shallow baking dish. Top with the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with additional pepper. Cover the dish with foil.
2. Bake at 375°F. for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
PREP: 5 MINUTES BAKE: 45 MINUTES
Tip: Stir 2 cups of fresh, canned or frozen vegetables into the soup mixture before topping with chicken.
3. Uncover and sprinkle the cheese over the chicken.
Makes 6 servings

Herbed Tomatoes, Chicken and Rice
This low calorie, low fat meal provides two servings of veggies.
Prep: 5 min. Total: 30 min,
1/4 cup Kraft. Light Done Right/ Italian Reduced Fat Dressing
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about I Ib.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
I can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup water
2 cups Minute Brown Rice, uncooked
I cup Kraft 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat MozzareKa Cheese
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped cifantro

Heat dressing in large skillet on medium heat Add chicken and garlic; cover. Cook 5 min. on each side or until chicken is browned. Remove from skillet; set aside.
add canned tomatoes and water to skillet Stir in rice; bring to boil. Reduce heat to tow; simmer, uncovered, 10 min. Return chicken to skillet. Sprinkle with cheese; cover.
cook on low heat 5 min. Top with tomato and cilantro. Makes 4 servings.
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Simple Hollandaise Sauce
Prep: 5 min. i Total: 10 min.
1/2 cup Kraft Mayo Light Mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt 1 tsp. yellow mustard
1 tsp. lemon juice

mix all ingredients in saucepan.
cook on low heat 5 min. or until heated through, stirring constantly.
serve over hot steamed fresh asparagus, sugar snap peas or broccoli.
Makes 1 cup or 8 servings, 2 Tbsp. each.
jazz it up: Serve sauce over vegetables as directed, then garnish with chopped fresh parsley or finely chopped red peppers.

Deals and meals for 12-05-07 thru 12-11-07

2007-12-06T20:36:00.000-05:00

Harris Teeter deals for 12-5-07 thru 12-11-07: remember they double up to .99

** Note that if they are out of something, get a raincheck- they are good forever at Teeter and note that several Teeter are accepting recently expired coupons

**Note in the frozen foods section there is a cutout penguin that has tearpad coupons- there are several good ones to get like the Kraft cheese, superpretzel, Sara Lee pie/cheesecakes, International Delight liq coffee creamer, Picsweet vegs

Broccoli 2.49 BOGO-
Cauliflower 2.99 BOGO
Red or White onions .99 lb
note the fresh breads for mark down loaves, rolls
Chuck roast 3.99 lb BOGO- have to buy 2 pkgs, not ringing up at half price
Chuck steak 4.49 lb BOGO- have to buy 2 pkgs, not ringing up at half price
Harris Teeter shredded cheese 2.99 BOGO
Nestle ready to bake cookies 3.59 BOGO .50/1 penquin tearpad coupon=.80 each
Skippy 18 oz. 2.29 BOGO-.60/1= FREE with .06 overage
Skippy is a good money maker if you still have 75c/1 coupons= FREE with .36 overage
PopSecret 4.59 BOGO(2.30) -.40/1=1.50 box, Deal can get better on smaller pkgs
Mt. Olive dill relish reg. 1.99 BOGO–.50/1= FREE
Arnold bread is 3.59 BOGO (1.80) - .75/1=.30 loaf
Mahatma rice mixes – long grain saffron yellow seasonings – 50c = FREE after 50c/2
Minute white rice 2/3-.40/1=.70 box
Lipton rice or pasta sides 5/5-.60/2-.40 ea
Rothbury crutons 1.29 BOGO
Ortega refried beans 5/5-1.00/2=.50 ea
Muellers spaghetti 5/4 (.80 ea)-.55 whole grain=FREE
Ronzoni Smart Taste 3/4 (1.33)-1.00/1=.33 box
Ragu sauce 3/5 (1.66 ea)-
Hunts Fire Roasted tomatoes 5/5-.25/1=.50 ea
Progresso soups 2.39 BOGO (1.20)-.25/1=.70 ea
Chex cereals 3/7 (2.33 ea)-1.00/2=1.83 box, buy in 2' for coupon, ok deal
Kellogg's Frosted Flakes & Raisin Bran 3.69 & 3.49 BOGO-
Life cereal Vanilla Yogurt Crunch, Choc Oat Crunch 2.04 (was 4.19)-1.00/2=1.54 box
Ghirardelli Brownie mix 2/4-.50/1=1.00 box
Jose Ole Sizzling Chix Fajitas 7.75 BOGO(3.88 ea)-1.00/1=2.88
Marcel toilet paper 1.69 BOGO
Charmin 24 roll pack 4.97-.25/1=4.47 (was almost 10.00)
Arm & Hammer dryer sheets 100 ct 3.69 BOGO
Harris Teeter dryer sheets 80 ct 2.99 BOGO

This week's e-vic offer-Save $3.00 off HT Traders Salsa 16oz #.60-3.00=.69 jar - Any Variety & this will automatically come off when purchased- there is no coupon and it is only good for one jar.

Deal: use the $2.00 off $5.00 in produce from Food Lion to make produce cheaper

Lowes Foods deals for 12-05-07 thru 12-11-07: remember they double up to .99

** note that if Lowes is out of something and you get a raincheck, it will be good for 30 days only

** note that the same Penguin board is in the frozen foods section as Harris Teeter

California navel oranges 4lb bag 4.99 BOGO (2.49 ea)
Dole bag salad 2.99 BOGO (1.49) -.50/1=.49 ea
grape tomatoes pint 3.49 BOGO (1.74 ea)
mushrooms 8 oz 2/4-
baking potatoes .69 lb
always check for their bagged ripe bananas at .29 lb- sometimes they are yellow and great
bone-in pork chops 2.99 lb
Contessa shrimp 4.49 BOGO-1.50/2=1.50 bag, 6.99 BOGO- 1.50/1=2.75 ea
split chicken breast w/bone .99 lb
Ken's 16 oz salad dressing 2.75 BOGO(1.38 ea)-
Lowes black olives 1.19
Reese brand black olives .99
Lowes green olives 1.50
Swanson broth 5/3-.25/1=.10
Campbells chunky/select soups 2/3-.50/4 or .40/2=4/5.00 or 2/2.20
Minute white rice 2/3-.40/1=.70
Success whole grain rice 5/5-1.00/2=.50 ea
Uncle Ben's .99- go to uncle ben's website and get IP for .75/1=FREE
Post cereal (honeycomb3.29,bran 3.15,bunches of oats 3.25) BOGO
Kelloggs fruit snacks 2/4-.50/1=1.00 box
Norhtwoods pancake syrup 1.79-.75/1 hangtag= .29 bottle
Lowes marshmallows 1.19 BOGO (.60 ea) GREAT DEAL for Christmas casseroles
Lowes Foods bath tissue 2.69 BOGO
Country Crock butter tub 1.29-.65/2 penguin board coupon=buy 2 and 1.28 or .64 ea
JL Kraft spreadable cheeses 2.99 BOGO-.75/1=FREE
Pet ice cream 4.99 BOGO (2.49 ea)- it tastes good- I buy it when have a
coupon
Sara Lee simple sweets pies 2/4-.75/1=.50 ea or penguin board 1.00/1=1.00 ea
Lays potato chips 3.49 BOGO

They pulled the Sara Lee deal that provided overage. I still think that it is a deal at .50 or 1.00 a pie depending on what coupon you have.

Food Lion deals 12-5-07 thru 12-11-07: remember they do not double:

Whole Fryers .69 lb
Whole fryers cut up .89 lb
mushrooms 8 oz 1.49
red seedless grapes 1.99 lb
Doritos 3.49 BOGO
Quaker granola bars 2/4-1.00/2 or .75/1=1.00 or 1.25 box

Possible meals from deals:

Crock roast with potatoes
Mexican Roast Chicken with Salsa
Pan seared pork chops
Saucy Parmesan Chicken
Chicken pot pie
Mexican Manicotti (from last week's sale of ground beef)
French toast

Crock roast with potatoes:

This recipe I totally wing it but we love it. Take your crock pot out. Wash, peel, cut into thick slices or wedges about 1 pound of potatoes and put in bottom of crock pot. Cut 2 med onions into wedges and put over potatoes. You can add other vegs like carrots or celery too but I usually get stuck eating these at our picky house so......Place 1-1.5 lb roast into crock pot. I dump cans of diced tomatoes on top of roast and low cook for approx 6 hours. Add salt and pepper. I have also added galic powder if my diced tomatoes were italian. I serve in bowls with biscuits or rolls and a salad and sliced mushrooms that have been sauteed in butter. I have used leftovers to make a fake french dip or pulled sandwiches the next day.

Mexican Roast Chicken with Salsa:
1 (5 or 6 lb) chicken to roast
2 tsp chili powder (the cheapest place to get spices is Walmar-sorry)
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic salt
3/4 cup each sliced black ripe pitted olives and pimento-stuffed manzanilla olives
1 (11 oz) jar chunky salsa
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat chickent with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan (although I did not have one the first time I made this and it was fine in a large pan). Roast 1hour 45 min to 2 hours or until internal temp of breast is 170 degrees. Meanwhile, combine olives, salsa and cilantro and refrigerate until ready to use. Reserve 2/3 cup olive salsa for later. Remove chicken from oven and transfer to a carving board. Tent with foil; let stand 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Serve chicken with salsa. I have also served with refried beans, salad, mexican rice and for the kid flour tortillas with melted cheese.

Pan seared pork chops:
4 boneless pork chops ( I used bone-in and just watched my initial cooking time for doneness)
1 clove garlic, cut in half
1/2 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp plus 2 tsp butter, divided
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 sprigs thyme (my cheap self used dried thyme and it was fine as a "dash")
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Pat any excess moisture from the surface of the pork chop. Rub both sides of the chops with the cut garlic. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablesppon butter and oil in a large, heavy skillet ove med-high heat. Add the pork chops and sear 3 to 4 minutes per side unti browned (It took me longer with bone-in and just watch to make sure not raw still). Remove pork shops to a plate and cover to keep them warm. Pour off excess fat. Add the chicken broth, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the thye and the crushed garlic clove. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 2 minutes. Add the chops back to the pan and cook 1 to 2 minutes to finish cooking. Remove the chops from the skillet. Remove the garlic and thyme (if used sprigs). Add the remianing 2 tsp butter, tilting the pan and swirling the butter until the sauce is slightly thickened. Spoon the sauce over the chops. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. Total time should be around 30 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes (from 2 weeks ago sales) or rice, steamed vegs or cheesy cauliflower....

Easy Cheesy Cauliflower:
1 head cauliflower
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup mayo
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cut cauliflower into 8 to 12 large pieces, discarding core. Place in microwaveable dish. Add water and cover. Micro on high for 10 min, drain. Return cauliflower to casserole dish. Mix mayo and mustard and spread over cauliflower. Sprinkle with cheese. Micro on high 1 to 2 min or until cheese is melted.

Saucy Parmesan Chicken:
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb)
1/4 cup Italian or Zesty Italian dressing
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Place all ingredients in a large freezer zip-loc bag. Seal and turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with remaining ingredients. Lay flat so chicken does not overlap. Refrigerate 30 minutes to marinate. Preheat to 425. Remove chicken from marinate, discard bag and marinade. Arrange on foil covered baking sheet and bake 20 minutes or until cooked through. Can serve alone or with noodles. Serve with any veg or bread.

Chickent Pot Pie:
2 burrito-sized flour tortillas
1 10oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 cups cooked chicken (leftovers)
1 16 oz pkg frozen vegs for soup, thawed and drained
1 4iz can chopped mild green chilies
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oven to 375. Line the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate with 1 warmed tortilla. Warm a tortilla-roll them in a damp paper towel and micro on high for about 20 seconds. In a large bowl, mix soup, chicken, and vegs, chilies and cilantro. Spoon into lined pie plate. Top with the other warmed tortilla. Coat with cooking spray. Cover with foil and bake 25 more minutes or until top is golden and filling is hot. Cut into 6 wedges and serve immed. I would serve with refried beans and salad.

Mexican Manicotti
1 lb lean ground beef
1 can 16 oz refried beans
2.5 tsp chilli powder
1.5 tsp dried oregano
1 pkg 8 oz manicotti shells
2.5 cups water
1 jar 16 oz picante sauce
2 cups 16 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Mexican blend cheese
1/4 cup sliced green onions
Sliced ripe olives, optional

In a bowl, combine the uncooked beef, beans, chili powder and oregano. Spoon into uncooked manicotti shells; arrange into a greased 13 x 9 in. baking dish. Combine water and picante sauce, pour over shells. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Uncover, spoon sour crean over the top. Sprinkle with the cheese, onions, and olives if desired. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted.

French Toast
1 loaf french bread
6 eggs
1.5 cups milk
4 tbsp granulated sugar, divided
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
Ground cinnamon (optional)

Spray 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Cut bread into 1 inch slices and arrange closely in a single layer in dish. In a bowl, beat eggs and whisk in milk, 3 tbsp sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour over the bread. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat to 400. Sprinkle bread with cinnamon if desired. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Peanut Butter Popcorn Bars:
10 cups popped popcorn
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place popcorn in a large bowl; set aside. In a saucepan over med heat, bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla, mix well. Pour over popcorn and mix until well coated. Press into a buttered 13 x 9-in pan. Cool slightly before cutting.

Mint Thins:
1 pkg (8 squares) Baker's semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1 sleeve Ritz or Keebler crackers (35 crackers)
1 peppermint candy can (6 in) crushed

Micro choc in small bowl as directed on pkg. Stir until completely melted. Blend in extract. Dip crackers in melted choc, completely coating the crackers. Carefully scrape off excess choc. Place on wax paper-covered baking sheets and sprinkle with crushed candy. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until choc is firm.

Can try with peanut butter instead of peppermint by omitting the extract and spreading a thin layer of PB on and then dipping in choc.