My Albertson's Hobby: Part 2 & 3

My first trip to Albertson's this week is here.

My second and third transactions (in one trip...I actually had the car so I went for broke!)are pictured below. I spent right at $15 (total for both transactions)out of pocket after sales and coupons and got back $15 in catalinas. So now that the catalinas are "rolling" I am basically getting things for free or close to it every time (if I have coupons for most items.)




I was happy about these transactions because I got a lot of really useful things such as green giant veggies (2 big bags and 7 or so small boxes) which will last us through a good part of the month. The soup is great for snacks for me...filling and relatively low-cal for a pregnant girl who doesn't need extra pounds:) I am planning another transaction or two today, and that will probably do me in. I'll have our meal plan for the month up in the next few days incorporating our goodies from Albertson's as well if you're interested:)

This week's hobby: shopping at Albertson's

My newest cheap and useful hobby: Alberson's catalina deal. My favorite self-check cashier, who initially was slightly gruff, has started getting into couponing too! I saw him cutting out internet printables on his down time, which is awesome! The only thing better than a cashier who is supportive of couponing is one who is doing it themselves!

If I can get our laptop hooked up to our printer I will be going back to Albertson's again for several more rounds until I can hibernate for the winter. Next up: meal planning a la' Betty Crocker and Albertson's freebies/cheapies--without eating a diet of all processed foods:)

Here is round #1, just to keep you on the edge of your seats, I have another coming in a later post! For this transaction I used several of my highest dollar coupons to minimize up-front out of pocket costs. I spent $13.-- and received a catalina for my next purchase for $15 off! Not to mention my receipt had a free frenchbread coupon on it, so that will be shown in my next picture coming soon!

Although I don't particular like eating a lot of processed, convenience foods, I have already seen them come in handy when extra busy or entertaining. We are really hoping to entertain more in the near future since life won't ever be less busy than it is now...and having a cookie mix or a box of quick muffins can be a lifesaver if I have to choose between making dessert or cleaning the house!!!

Fall Colors in Waxhaw, NC

Our little apartment, with a little mouser in front.
In the field near our apartment, fall colors on display in the background

Not sure about this uneven ground....

Pretty girl in purple in front of pretty purple flowers:)

Mom and M, in front of Crystal Lake, with was neither crystallic nor a lake:)
Daddy and M in front of way we think would be better named "Mud Pond" :)

Safeway NW Deals for the Week of Nov. 5th, 2008

Safeway is finally doing a fun promo. This one mimics last year's Home for the Holiday's promo and is spend $40 on participating products receive $10 off your next order, spend $25, get $5.

Participating Products (from Hot Coupon World!):

Nestlé Baking Morsels 11 to 12-oz. Selected varieties 2 for $5
Bisquick Baking Mix 40-oz. Regular or Reduced Fat. 2 for $5
Progresso 100% Natural Broth 32-oz. Selected varieties. 2 for $4
Gold Medal Flour 5-lb. All Purpose or Unbleached. 2 for $3
Betty Crocker Specialty Potatoes 4.5 to 7.2-oz. Selected varieties. 4 for $5
Land O Lakes Spreadable Butter 15-oz. With Canola Oil. 2 for $7
Pam Cooking Spray 5 to 6-oz. $2.49
Hershey's Baking Cocoa 8-oz. Selected varieties. $2.49
Betty Crocker Muffin Mix 15.2 to 18.25-oz. 2 for $4
Supreme Betty Crocker Brownie Mix 19.5 to 22.5-oz. Selected varieties. 2 for $4
Wesson Cooking Oil 48-oz. Selected varieties. 3.99
12-Pack Pepsi 12-oz. bottles. Selected varieties. $4.99
Glad Storage or Freezer Bags 15 to 25-ct. 2 for $5
Early California Black Pitted Ripe Olives 5.75 to 6-oz. Selected varieties. 4 for $5
Reddi Wip Whipped Cream Aerosol 7-oz. Selected varieties. 2 for $5
Nestlé Cookie Dough 16 to 16.5-oz. Refrigerated. Selected varieties. 2 for $6
C&H Brown or Powdered Sugar 2-lb. Bag. 2 for $3
Betty Crocker Cake Mix 18 to 19.5-oz. Selected varieties. 89¢

I haven't seen any great scenarios out there, but I did notice some Nestle blinkies at Albertson's, so I assume they are elsewhere as well. They were for Nestle morsels, $1/2.

Some good deals (no coupon needed):

Rancher's Reserve Beef London Broil 50% off

Pears 10/$10

Grapes 10/$10

Broccoli Crowns $0.99/lb

48 Hour Sale

Florida's Natural or Safeway 100% OJ 2/$4

Quaker Oatmeal $1.57 (several coupons out for this!)

Safeway Select Icecream $2.49

And just for fun, here is my trip to Safeway last week, which was a fairly good one:



The Activa yogurt was free after sales, markdowns and coupons, cottage cheese was $0.50 each, cake mixes were $0.59 each, sugar was $1.65 after coupon/sale, Progresso Soup was $0.50 each after coupon/sale, chicken was $1.69/lb (I think that's right), whole wheat organic pasta was marked down to $1.09 for 1 lb boxes, a cookie mix was $0.75, broccoli was $0.99/lb, whole wheat flour was $2.99 each and the bag of potatoes was less than $2.00 I believe. All in all I spent about $27 for all of the above!

Waste Not: stale grains

This post is also part of Frugal Fridays at Biblical Womanhood!

Wasting food is a huge money drain. Most of us do it unintentionally once in awhile. In our quest to continue to lower our food bills while striving to improve our diet in quality, nutrition and taste, wasting food is not an option. Since the bulk of our breads, rolls and muffins are homemade, they get stale quickly. If I don't plan as well as I should I end up with dry cornbread, stale whole wheat bread slices, or crumbly muffins. Here are some ways I have found success in re-purposing these otherwise unusable grains into something with a new life!

Waffles: this morning I added the last piece of stale coffeecake, crumbled up into our whole grain waffles. I couldn't tell the difference, but it stretched the batter further!

Casseroles, Meatloaf, Meatballs etc.: for the casseroles you can use crumbled bread, cornbread etc. for a topping or stir it in with the other ingredients. Meatloaf and meatball recipes typically call for some sort of bread, so this is a simple substitution.


Muffins: Same as for waffles, just watch to make sure you lose a little of the flour called for so the muffins stay moist.

Soups/Stews: adding chunks of bread or cornbread stretches these inexpensive meals even further! Last night we added some chips that weren't super fresh to our chili, but bread would've been good as well.

How do you re-use stale grains?

The Perfect Hide-out

This week our little mouse is missing her "perfect hide-out" from our stay in NC. We cleared out the cleaners and other dangerous stuff from underneath the sink so she could play without danger. There was a handy bar that she could pull to shut the door when she was inside. Funny girl, even in the dark cupboard with the door shut she wasn't scared. I'd often find her in there with the door shut, chatting away to herself.

Going in...

Coming back out...

That was fun!

Menu Plan for the Week of Nov. 3rd, 2008

We are getting back into the swing of things and adjusting back to our time zone this week! Our trip to North Carolina went well, and I will tell you all more in another post as I get caught up! Here is what's on the menu this week:

Breakfasts: Waffles,eggs, Yogurt, fruit

Lunches: Leftovers

Snacks: fruit, crackers, cottage cheese, yogurt, homemade granola

Dinners:

Monday: Chili and Cornbread with Salad (make extra for Wed.)

Tuesday: Homemade Mac & Cheese w/ peas

Wednesday: Baked Potato Bar with toppings: chili (from Monday), sharp cheddar, sour cream, broccoli and butter

Thursday: Mexican Tortilla Casserole or Chicken Sopa

Friday: Braided Pizza and various raw veggies & dip

Saturday: Greek Spaghetti with homemade garlic bread

Sunday: Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Visit Laura at Orgjunkie for more menu plan inspiration!