Grocery Store Couponing Strategy

 

As opposed to my CVS couponing - I do things a tad different here.  I get two grocery store circulars and one I need to pull up online. I just check really quick for meat and produce since typically you aren't going to get coupons for this stuff.  I'm pretty good at knowing what my "buy price" for meat is and I'm learning about produce (I hate fruits and vegetables, but I'm REALLY trying) So I make myself a quick small list.  For example this week - Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts & thighs were on sale for $1.99/lb at Stop & Shop,  so I wanted to make sure I had that. Shaws had baby carrots and grape tomatoes on sale for $1.00/each and I wanted to make sure I had that. Also I like to comb through and get a general idea of the sales or if there are coupons or gas point incentives. I make my notes, but I don't spend a ton of time on it because the coupon match up is primarily done online.

              

             

Before I do any match ups I log on to Mygrocerydeals.com and I take my short list and I add browse the deals for those items on my list and I add them to my grocery list.  Then I start browsing the deals for this week's coupons.  Again, the sales and the current week's coupons typically have a good match up rate, so I don't bother putting anything in the binder till I've done this part.  I just stack the coupons I'll use to the side and the ones I won't use I'll put in another pile for filing.

I typically only place items on my shopping list that are sale + coupon.  By searching for the brand name you will pull up if all the stores have that item on sale.  For example: Newman's Own Frozen Pizza was on sale at Shaws as a BOGO and Stop & Shop had it on sale for 2/$10.00.  Having a $1.00 off one, I put shaws on my shopping list so I could see the per unit price when I got there, I would up getting 2 of the pizzas for 6.99 as opposed to 2 for $9.00.  Being about to comparitively shop and maximize savings is why I go straight to the website, as well as being able to build and print a grocery list.

I keep my stash organized by category and then I try to keep like brands together.  This cuts down on the browsing time.  I also take advantage of this time to toss expired coupons. I keep all my coupons in a three ring binder with plastic baseball card pages.  I love my binder - it's just so much easier to see all my coupons. 

Eventually I have a list.  Also on mygrocerydeals.com you can add items to your list that you just know you need to get.  I am running low on Coffeemate - which simply can't happen.  Since I didn't see any on sale I just added it in this section.

I file away this weeks unused coupons and then the coupons I intend to use I separate the coupons by store and paperclip together for the shopping trip.  I don't typically go Sundays anymore.  I like to be able to take my time and my schedule allows me to go during the week. 

All of this gives me the ability to just stock up and make a meal plan from my pantry, fridge & freezer.  Occasionally I'll need to get some additional items during the week, but I like to put myself in a good position to have as much stuff on hand for meals and especially for snacks.  If I don't have stuff on hand to put a meal together quickly - it's a sure bet I'll call for pizza - which adds up and it's particularly healthy.  

What are your couponing strategies?

Coupon Match Ups 3.25.11

I've been under the weather the last couple of weeks, generally feeling run down so my apologies for not posting.


We're coming up on a couple weeks till Easter - so the coupons have savings on baking and things related to bigger meals.  In addition there was a toy coupon insert this week. I always say grab up the toys now for early birthday gifts, donations, holidays or maybe if you don't have kids so you have something when they come to visit!


This weeks inserts: Smartsource & Red Plum


As usual, my match ups are Stop & Shop, Shaws (or Stahhh Mahket), Roche Bros, CVS &Walgreens


Red Plum:


I Can't Believe it's not Butter - $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop sale 2/$5.00 matchup 2/$4.00
Hellmann's Products - $1.00 off 3 - Shaws sale $2.49/each matchup 3/$6.47
Hillshire Farms Rope Smoked Sausage - $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop  3/$10.00 -matchup 2/$5.67*




Smartsource:


Yoplait Greek Yogurt - $1.50 off 5- Shaws sale 10/$7.00 matchup 5/$2.00
Dulce de Leche Cheerios - $1.00 off Stop & Shop sale 2/$6.00 match up 1/$2.00**
Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes - $1.00 off 2 Stop & Shop sale 2/$5.00 matchup 2/$4.00
Betty Crocker Cake Mix & Frosting $1.00 off when you buy both Stop & Shop Sale 4/$5.00 Cake mix & 3/$5.00 frosting - matchup both for $2.92
Healthy Choice Meals - $1.00 off 2 Stop & Shop sale 4/$10.00 matchup 2/$4.00
Nestle Toll House Refrigerated Cookie Dough $1.00 off Stop & Shop sale 2/$5.00 matchup 1/$1.50
Kraft Miracle Whip - $1.00 off 2 Stop & Shop sale $2.99/each matchup 2/$4.98
Stove Top Stuffing Mix - $1.00 off 3 Stop & Shop sale 3/$5.00 matchup 3/$4.00
Cool Whip - $1.00 off 4 Shaws sale 2/$5.00 matchup 4/$9.00
Johnsonville Chicken Sausage $1.00 off  Stop & Shop sale BOGO ($4.99) matchup 2/$3.99***
Johnsonville Chicken or Pork Sausage $1.00 off Stop & Shop sale (chicken only)matchup 2/$3.99**
Pepperidge Farm Frozen Bread $1.00 off 2 Stop & Shop sale 2/$4.00 matchup 2/$3.00


* Hillshire Farms Rope Smoked Sausage - you can do better, typically this is priced $4.69 and goes on sale as BOGO, so you can use this coupon (frequently printed) and get 2/$3.69.  
**Please note the Cheerios sale is on selected varieties only, so this deal might not work out if this new items isn't offered as part of the sale
***Stack both coupons, they are both valid for chicken sausage and you can use 2 coupons on a BOGO.

Cider Braised Pork Roast

Cider Braised Pork Roast Ingredients

So a few weeks back I got a great deal on Bone in Pork Shoulder and had a bunch of apple cider leftover from holiday cooking and baking.  Cider Braised Pork Shoulder sounded like it would be delightful.  I was excited to try it.  It went all day in the crockpot giving off great aroma, but it didn't really measure up.  I can't lie, I didn't love carving it and anything with bones and skin is not so much for me.

So this time I took advantage of a boneless pork loin roast on sale when we were at the Hilltop and tried again.  Let's see how this attempt came out.


Cider Braised Pork Roast

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 1/2- 4 lb boneless pork loin roast
• 3 1/2 cups apple cider (divided)
• 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage (divided)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder (divided)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne (divided)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1/2 apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 peeled garlic cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon cold butter
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix 1 1/2 cups apple cider, water, 1 teaspoon each of ground sage & garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne.  Place pork in brine overnight and refrigerate .  This will fit in a gallon freezer bag.

Briney Goodness 

Remove pork from brine and discard brining liquid.  Pat pork roast dry and tie with kitchen twine at one inch intervals.  Season pork with salt & pepper.  

I need to work on my tying skills

Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in saute pan till shimmering.  Sear pork on all sides to create dark crust. 

Mmm Crusty

Place pork roast in slow cooker.

Into the slow cooker

Heat remaining oil in saute pan and add shallots and celery to saute pan.  Cook for about two minutes.  Add remaining ground sage, garlic powder, cayenne, ground cinnamon and ground cloves.  Deglaze pan with apple cider vinegar and cook until vinegar has evaporated.  

Developing Flavors

Transfer mixture to slow cooker.  Pour remaining apple cider into crock pot. Place bay leaf, peeled garlic clove & cinnamon stick into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.  Halfway through cooking, give the roast a turn as the braising liquid is only about halfway up the pork.

Apple Cider Braise

Remove pork roast from slow cooker to a carving board and tent with foil.

Almost Finished Pork

 Strain braising liquid into sauce pan over high heat (skim excess fat as possible)  and reduce to about 25%and remove from heat.  Off heat whisk in Dijon mustard until combined and whisk in cold butter to finish the sauce.

This sauce is very flavorful and concentrated - a lot goes along way

Slice pork and serve with sauce.  

Pork Deliciousness

Happy Hubs/Sous Chef

Pack up four lunches for later in the week

The results are in, this was fantastic.  Really very delicious.  The brine really made the difference in this attempt.  I am in sweet love with this recipe and next time boneless pork loin roasts are at my buy price (2.99/lb) I will be making this again and likely for company!   I do recommend doing something easier for a side.  I did the buttermilk mashed potatoes which I highly recommend and will have to share in the future.  Just finishing the sauce, taking care of potatoes and sautéing green beans proved to be a little too much right before serving.  But then again, I'm not a professional chef.

Coupon Match Ups 2/5

Sorry for not posting these last week - I had a VERY lazy Sunday last week.  Happy Super Bowl Sunday folks!  Today is a pretty busy day as we have a Super Bowl get together at a friends house and the all important hockey match up in our house: Bruins vs Caps.  Our goal is to make a meal plan out of what we have on hand as the grocery store will likely be a little crazy today.

Three Inserts this week Smartsource, Red Plum & General Mills

As usual, my match ups are Stop & Shop, Shaws (or Stahhh Mahket), Roche Bros, CVS & Walgreens

General Mills

General Mills Cereal $1.00 off 3 - Shaws has this on sale 2/$4.00 - So it would 3/$6.00

Betty Crocker Fruit Roll Ups Asst Fruit Snack - $1.00 off 3 - Shaws has these on sale 2/$4.00 - So it would be 3/$5.00

Pillsbury Toaster Strudel $1.00 off 3 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 2/$4.00 - so it would be 3/$5.00

Fiber One Bars $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop has these on sale $2.69 - 2/$4.38

Progresso Soup $1.00 off 4 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 3/$4.00 - so it would be 4/$4.34

Campbell's Select Harvest Soups $1.00 off 4 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 4/$5.00 - so it would be 4/$4.00

YoCrunch Multipacks $1.00 off  - Roche Bros has these on sale 2/$5.00 - so it would be $1.50 each

YoCrunch Multipacks $1.00 off 2 - Roche Bros has these on sale 2/$5.00 - so it would be 2/$4.00 (I'll hold this one for a 2/$4.00 sale if you can wait)

Quaker Chewy Granola Bars $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 2/$5.00 - so it would be 2/$4.00

Folgers $1.00 off 2 - Roche Bros has this on sale $3.69 - so it would be 2/$6.38


Not a ton of great coupons today (in my opinion)  but hopefully in the last couple weeks you were able to take advantage of the flyers and get some good coupons to use for your Super Bowl Snacks.

Meal Prep Day 1/22/2012

We got up pretty early and decided to go grocery shopping without the coupons.  It's typically against my system and beliefs but the idea was that the grocery store would be crazy with a 3PM Pats game and we had the Caps on at 12:30 and I would be keeping an eye on my Bruins playing at the same time as the Pats.

We did pretty well with some coupons but we did need to buy a decent amount of fresh items that weren't on sale for this week's meals.  I did get $120.46 worth of groceries for $88.73.  I used 12.15 in coupons this week too.  I realized when I got home I missed $3.00 worth too!

First thing on the prep list was to get that Cider Braised Pork into the crock-pot.

You can't appreciate how delightful a smell this was all day

While putting the pork together, I had to chop up some celery for the recipe.  I just broke down the entire package and put together some snack sized containers of celery sticks that will be eaten this week, since the are already cut up

Try to break down as many ingredients for future use when opening a package of anything

I put together an awesome ginger rice, which I need to tweak and share the recipe!  

I packed up some cereal for the week so we can grab and go in the mornings we have cereal.

2 of 3 days cereal packed, so there's no confusing pouring while sleepy

I had to make a Marinara sauce for the lasagna, turned out really delightful

Mixed up a great marinara sauce with mostly on hand items 

For my last trick I assembled the Butternut Squash Lasagna so that it can just go straight into the oven Monday night.

Butternut Squash Lasagna - I can't wait to put this in the oven!

I was in the kitchen longer than usual today, but I didn't have Hubs on KP duty for most of the day, so I had to do my own dishes!  He's really good at keeping ahead of them so I can just move on with the prep.

All in all, a good day - Pats are headed to the Super Bowl, we had a wonderful dinner and Hubs is finishing the rest of the dishes now.

Coupon Match Ups 1/22/2011

A little time, a little clipping saves some serious money!

I'm going to try to do this every week - but it just depends on travel and time allowed.

This is a great week to start looking for food for the Super Bowl.  A lot of soda deals, snacks & apps are on sale now and there will be more next week for sure.  Same thing with coupons too.  So keep in mind that you can get some great deals now and it's never too early to get a bargain on shelf stable items and frozen items!

There were were 2 inserts in the local paper this week - Smart Source & Red Plum.  Also I'll do my matches for Stop & Shop, Shaws (or as I like to call it Stahh Mahket), Roche Bros, CVS &; Walgreens.

Again - this is something you can do ahead of time.  The coupons are posted online on Sunday Coupon Preview and you can do some matching by using grocery flyer sites.  I use My Grocery Deals and it works great.  Again you can do this fairly quick and easy - I try to do it on my lunch break at work.

Red Plum:

Uncle Ben's Rice $1.00 off 4 - Stop & Shop has this on sale 3/$5.00 - Sale + Coupon 4/$5.67

Special K Cereal Bars, Fruit Crisps and/or Granola Bars $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 2/$6.00 - which would bring them to 2/$5.00
Newman's Own Salsas $1.00 off 2 - Shaws has this on sale 2/$4.00 - Sale + Coupon 2/$3.00
Newman's Own Salad Dressing $1.00 off 2 - Shaws has this on sale 2/$4.00 - Sale + Coupon 2/$3.00

Clips these for later:

Super Pretzel $.50 off 1
M&M's, Snickers Minis, Twix Minis, or Dove Promises $1.50 off 2

Smart Source:

Cheerios $1.00 off 2 - Shaws has this on sale for $1.88/each - Sale + Coupon 2/$3.76
Yoplait Greek Yogurt $1.50  off 5  - Shaws has these on sale 10/$10.00 - Sale + Coupon 5/$3.50
Hunt's Canned Tomatoes $1.00 off 4 - Roche Bros has these on sale $1.00 each - Sale + Coupon 4/$3.00
Oscar Mayer Lunchables $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 4/$5.00 - Sale + Coupon 2/$2.25
Hershey's Drops $1.00 off 2 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 3/$10.00 - Sale + Coupon 2/$5.66
Pepsi $2.00 off 2 multipack bottles or 8pk mini cans - Stop & Shop has the bottles 4/$11.00 - Sale + Coupon 2/$3.50
Cain's Mayonaise $1.00 off 1 - Stop & Shop has this on sale $2.99 - Sale + Coupon $1.99
Mt Olive Pickles or Relish  $1.00 off 1 - Stop & Shop has these on sale 2/$4.00 - Sale + Coupon $1.00


Clip these for later
Pace Salsa $1.00 off 2 - you might need Salsa for the Super Bowl - though the Newmans own is a great price
Swanson Chicken $1.00 off 2 - Make some Buffalo Chicken dip for the Super Bowl
Sargento Shredded Cheese $1.00 off 2 - Again Buffalo Chicken dip and this often goes on sale 2/$5.00 or 2/$6.00
Tyson Any'tizers snacks $1.00 off 1 - Again easy apps for the Super Bowl
Tazo $1.00 off - if you like Tazo tea, then you know it's a bit pricy
Lays $1.00 off Lays Dip when you buy Lays Chips - Again Super Bowl
Johnsonville - $1.00 of 2 packages of any Johnsonville Sausage - Again Superbowl
Heluva Good! - $1.00 of 2 Sour Cream Dips
Franks Red Hot Sauce -$1.00 of 2  -Again Buffalo Chicken Dip

On side note:
There are coupons for:
$5.00 off Electronic Catch Phrase or Taboo
$5.00 off Pictionary
$3.00 off Jenga

It's NEVER too early to start Christmas/Birthday shopping I picked up a couple of games early in the year and was able to supplement a gift for my friends son and make a donation for Toys for Tots

Weekday Breakfast Strategy

There is a definite pattern to our breakfasts.  We typically just try to get right out the door Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Monday sucks so it's best to just dive on in.  Wednesday and Fridays are typically post hockey mornings.  So I have no desire to do anything but sleep in a couple minutes and throw my cereal in my lunch bag and grab my travel mug of coffee.  In an effort to get in a little more fruit and dairy we are trying to mix up the smoothie recipes.  Some have been good, some have been just "eh" So I figure I'll try to share one a week with you folks, two if I have two new good ones.

When we are off track it's Dunkin Donuts for us in the morning.  Which isn't the healthiest option and tends to add up with both of us hitting the drive through every morning at least $4.00 each.  So we are making an effort to make coffee every morning and have some together while we watch the morning news and take some with us for our commutes.  Sometimes we don't get to have the coffee together, but we always bring it with us.

2.5 Lbs of Coffee, stored in pantry - kept in kitchen canister

Coffee is tough, the price just keeps rising.  I like my Dunkin Donuts coffee, so I typically pick it up when Dunks is having sales at the holidays (4/$19.99) or if I have a coupon for the smaller bags - I'll match it up with sales at the local grocery stores (Stop and Shop, Shaws or Roche Bros)  I don't have a Market Basket near me, but I do have one near my work so one of my buddies will give me the heads up on good sale prices for dry goods, because I will definitely use my lunch to swing by and save money on coffee!  And you know where else has good prices on Dunkin Donuts coffee - Target.  No really, its true.  Again, I typically only buy the 12-16 oz bags when I have a coupon to match with a sale - and they usually match up within a week or two of the coupon being published.  But if that all fails, I buy my coffee in 2.5 lb bags at BJ's - it's been around $19.99, so it's a bit of a savings from the typical regular price of $7.99/lb.  You can't put a price on the sanity coffee brings you, but you can put a price on coffee.

$2.50 a box is the maximum to pay for a box of cereal

Cereal is something I'm always trying to keep on the shelf.  I typically will not buy cereal for more that $2.50 a box.  There are always sales in the grocery flyer and it typically coincidences with the coupons for the week.

For Example:
This past week at Stop and Shop there was a General Mills sale.  I wasn't able to make the grocery store this week but I sent Hubs for a few items because I couldn't miss out on this sale.

Buy 4 General Mills Cereals, get $4.00 off at register AND a coupon for up to $4.50 off a gallon of milk at a future visit.  I told Hubs not to pay more than average $3.50 a box regular price.

So we got:

Cheerios $3.49
Honey Nut Cheerios $3.29
Honey Nut Chex $3.69
Cinnamon Burst Cheerios $3.29
Less $4.00 savings
Less $4.50 off Milk
Total: $5.26
Average of $1.32 a box - plus I'll have free milk!

About milk, this is one of the items I typically buy at BJ's.  If we are running low I'll just ask Hubs to pick some up on the way home from work as he passes BJ's on the way home.  I can't be trusted in BJ's - if I go in for milk, I'll get that and a small fridge or something. Milk is under $2.50 a gallon at BJs and most milk at the grocery store is $3.50 or more a gallon.  I don't even stop to look it's way in the grocery store anymore.

There's always deals to be had on cereal my friends, just keep your eye out and stock up when you can!
When we do our meal prep, I do try to pour out the six servings of cereal out in containers, so it's just one last thing to do in the morning.  Pouring out the six servings takes less than 2 minutes, but doing it at 6 AM just gives us an excuse not to do it.

Frozen Fruit - wait for sales and stock up! Great for smoothies

32 oz tubs of yogurt - six cents an ounce better than individual cups from 8-10 cents an ounce!

I typically buy frozen fruit when it's 3/$5.00 a bag at the grocery store, sometimes there's coupons, but what I find a lot of times for my in store scanner is that it's included in those instant coupons too.  So I wind up with a decent variety. We try to keep fat free yogurt on hand as well.  I typically will by a 32 oz container of the store brand for $1.99.  It's about six cents an oz!  When individual cups are on sale you might get them at 50-60 cent a piece for 6oz portions.  Plain and Vanilla are great to have on hand for smoothies or on their own with some granola or whatever might tickle your fancy.

So when you start thinking about meal planning - start with breakfast - it's the most important meal of the day!

Shredded Chicken Filling

So part of the strategy for my meal prep day is to utilize the slow cooker, slow roast in the oven or make a big batch of something that can kind of just go in the kitchen for a bit while I do all the other stuff that I do for the week and then after I'm done cleaning up - just like that I have a meal!  Well in theory that's what happens.

Also - I have a friend that I often refer to as a crockpot pusher (strangely - I saw her refer to herself as one on the old facebook the other day) she's always telling everyone how great the crock-pot is.  I always saw the appeal in theory.  Hubs and I both work long days and have long commutes.  This friend of mine has two kids in the mix too, so I can see why she loves the darn thing.  However I don't know if I'm just a crock-pot reject but I always seemed to feel like every-time I used it it was a big fat pile of crock-pot fail.  The recipes I found were full of processed and convenience foods or foods I didn't like.  Being a giant fan of America's Test Kitchen I anxiously awaited their crock pot book: Slow Cooker Revolution. Does it have more steps than the standard crock pot book?  Yes, but you know what? I've not had a bad thing out of it.  I can't say that about most of the crock pot books I've looked through or used.  So with that I give this ATK book a hearty thumbs up!  

In this book there is section called Enchiladas, Tacos & More.  Starts off with very basic filling recipes for chicken, pork and beef.  Then it gives all kinds of applications to use said fillings in.  So we figured since it was boneless skinless chicken (breasts & thighs!) that this would be a great week to try this out and help us to wean off my latest obsession Chipotle 

Printable Recipe

Yields: 8 servings 

Ingredients

• 1 onion minced (or 1 cup frozen chopped onions)
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 jalapeno chili, stemmed, seeded, & minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
• 11/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Microwave onion, chili powder, oil, jalapeno, garlic, coriander and cumin in a bowl, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened (about five minutes)

Transfer to slow cooker.

Stir tomato sauce and sugar into slow cooker.  Season chicken with salt & pepper, add to slow cooker and coat evenly with the sauce mixture.  

 Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4-6 hours on low.

Transfer chicken to large bowl, let cool slightly, then shred chicken with two forks. 

 Cover bowl to keep warm. Let braising liquid settle for five minutes and skim the fat with a large spoon.

Toss shredded chicken with 1 cup of braising liquid, add more liquid as needed to keep chicken moist and flavorful.  Stir in lime juice and season with salt & pepper to taste.

This was great.  We immediately used it in burritos that night and used some in burrito bowl fashion for lunches for the week.

We even served it up take out style!

Burrito "Bowls" for lunch

And still 3 cups of chicken left to go into my freezer for meals to be planned later!

Meal Prep Day 01.02.2012

We made our monthly - ish trip to BJ's this morning only to realize we forgot the list.  I live for lists, I can't believe we forgot the list.  Anyway, since most of the stuff we pick up at BJ's is more for stocking up, no big deal.  We we went there, picked up some items, stopped at home and picked up the list and threw some stuff in the fridge.

I had picked up my main item of fancy at the grocery store the night before - chicken.  When boneless skinless chicken breast is on sale I stock up, but it's like once in a blue moon that boneless skinless thighs are on sale the same week.  So I got a little of both, which worked out great because I put them to good use in a shredded chicken filling that I'll share with you fine folks later in the week.

When we got home, we started lunch and prep for the week so we could park it on the couch for a little hockey (what else do we do?)

My strategy will likely be to roast a larger piece of meat for a multi purpose meals throughout the week on prep day or use the crockpot.  This week, I used the crockpot to make a shredded chicken filling for burritos for dinner on Monday

Prep plan:

1. Roast Spaghetti Squash

2. Get Chicken Filling going in Crockpot

3. Brown Chicken Sausage & make sauce

4. Eat Lunch

5. Make Cilantro Lime Rice

6. Wash & Prep Salad with Chicken

7. Sit Down and Watch Hockey.

All this took less than two hours and I have three lunches in the fridge, lunch in me and dinner going for tonight, which will yield a lunch for the week too and leftovers for the freezer.

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

So usually when boneless skinless chicken breast is on sale for $1.99, I jump at it.  $1.99/lb is the price for packages of 3 lbs or more.  Again it's just the two of us, so it's a great opportunity to stock up.  When we were looking through our freezer to see what we had on hand, I realized we were low on chicken.  We had NONE!  That's not a situation I like to be in.  Chicken cooks up quickly and is versatile and it's a lean protein.   I always buy at least 1 package at that price....this week I bought three.
It's worth noting that this is never a price I would get at BJ's and I just need to stock up when it's on sale at Stop & Shop

What was I thinking?

I was thinking - you can't beat that price and there's room in my freezer.

The first thing I did when I got these home was to get out my freezer bags and my kitchen sharpie marker.  But I'm from the Boston Area...so you can just imagine how I say "SHAHPEE" Also my trusty kitchen scale.  I love this thing and use it often, but moreso on days I stock up on meat.

I had nearly 10lbs of chicken.

I diced 1.5 lbs for the dinner I was making in the crockpot on Sunday.
I diced 1.5 lbs and marinated it for Tuesday's dinner
I cut up 2 lbs into 8 portions of chicken breast and bagged them in portions of 4 each (great for grilling, marinating or baking)
I sliced up 1 lb into small strips for an appetizer I intend to make soon
I sliced up 1 lb into 4 cutlets (great for chicken parmesan or any breaded cutlet)
I diced the remaining 3 lbs and bagged them in 3 1lb portions (great for simmer sauce meals or casseroles)

It looked a little something like this:

And for $21.66 and about 30 minute with a knife, cutting board, my freezer bags, sharpie marker & my trusty kitchen scale....I have 18 meals worth of chicken portioned out along with portion for a fun app next time I have friends over.

Totally worth it.

Saturday Shopping 10/1

So this week, not bad 36% savings

My sale list:

Sorrento Ricotta Cheese 2/$6.00
Baby Peeled Carrots 3/$5.00

Ricotta Cheese - with winter coming, it'll be more lasagnas or skillet pasta dishes
Baby Peeled Carrots - I will eat these as a snack, obviously healthier than any cookies or other snacks I bring along to work

My meal plan list:
Boneless Skinless Chicken $1.99/lb
Fat Free Plain Yogurt 2/$3.00
Limes 2/$1.50 (not on sale)
Bananas .47 (not on sale)
White Bread .99
Fiber One Hamburger Rolls $3.29 (.50 in store self scan savings)
Tomato Sauce .30
Chickpeas .67
5 lb Russet Potatoes $3.99(not on sale)
2 lb Yellow Onion $2.49 (should have been free, missed that at checkout)
Spinach (10oz) $1.99 (not on sale)
Cilantro $2.49 (not on sale)
Sweet Onion $1.49/lb

Bigger list, with more produce, which is harder to get on sale

Just while I was in the neighborhood items (all on sale or on sale paired with coupon)
Al Fresco Chicken Sausage $3.99
Ghirdelli Chocolate Chips $2.99
Nestle Dark Chocolate Chips 2/$5.00 ($1.00 off 2)
Bumblee Bee Tuna .80
Center Cut Bacon 3/$10.00
Del Monte Superfruit Cups 10/$10.00

Chicken Sausage - love this stuff, its great to cook into pasta for a quick meal
Ghirdelli Chocolate Chips - I don't skimp on ingredients for baking, so if I see that these are on sale I pick some up.
Nestle Dark Chocolate Chips - picked up 2 bags, these are new and I have another coupon and they're on sale through the holidays, so I will likely be getting more after I try them out
Tuna - Hubs enjoys tunafish, I hate it and I require to be out of the house when it's made (I know, makes me sound high maintenance, but I really hate it) since I'll be traveling soon, it'll be good for him to have around
Bacon - I normally buy turkey bacon and typically at BJ's since it's usually below the regular price at the grocery store and typically I find a coupon for it.  However I'm looking for the good stuff for an appetizer I'm making soon, so I picked this up on sale and into the freezer it goes
Del Monte Superfruit Cups - again in an effort to eat healthier, we decided to give these a try since the price was good a BJ's but it was a better deal at the grocery store.

All and all, not bad, but I'm still impressed at how much I had on hand for my list.  Also I had a $1.00 off my grocery bill from a checkout coupon (don't leave those behind) And always take the credit for the reusable bag!

October Trip to BJ's

So typically I try to make a trip to BJ's at the beginning of the month, so I can straddle the previous month coupon book and the current month.  Just helps to maximize the savings.  Sometimes anyway, this month I did notice a man double fisting his coupon books as well, so I'm guessing I'm not crazy.

We pay $40.00 a year for our BJ's membership, it's totally worth it for us, because we know what we're buying there and what's a better deal somewhere else.

So typically once a month we go and pick up items we use on a regular basis.

Some items of note this month

3 pk of Swanson's Chicken Broth (boxes) $6.99 - $2.00 off BJ's coupon - brings it down to about $1.67/box.  I usually try to get chicken broth in the box (easier to use & store in fridge) and typically pay about $2.00, if I can get it lower I stock up.  Unfortunately I haven't seen it lower - but with the holidays coming, there should be good coupons.

Frozen Tilapia Filets  $10.99 - I don't eat fish, but Hubs enjoys it and with me going out of town for the weekend, it's a perfect time for him to get his fish on and it's something he can prepare easily and it's frozen individually, we figured we'd give this a shot.

Skim Milk $2.75 - Gas isn't the only thing that's gotten more expensive by the gallon.  We always pick up a gallon of milk at BJ's, it's much cheaper than the grocery store and then typically the rest of the month we pick up half gallons to get us through with coupons & sale match ups

Pork Tenderloin $2.99/lb - This is my buy price if it's on sale at the grocery store, but it rarely has been lately for that price, so I typically just pick up a couple and they go straight to the freezer.

Meal Plan Week Ending 10.08.10

The plan for this week is full of awesome.  I'll be out of the house Monday to have my picture taken with the Stanley Cup. Wednesday we have friends coming over to watch hockey related stuff on TV to celebrate the beginning of hockey season.  Thursday is the Bruins home opener and they play Saturday.  Hubs is home alone Monday and Saturday but is coming with me on Thursday night.  So as I typically do when hockey starts, I try to prep to have some stuff made or easy to make for Hubs on the nights I leave him home alone for hockey.

This week's meal plan & ingredient list

Sunday:
Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes (leftovers) & Turkey Bacon
Lunch: Turkey Burgers & Sweet Potato Fries
Dinner: Chinese Lemon Chicken over Oriental Style Rice & Broccoli

Monday:
Breakfast: Antioxidant Smoothie
Lunch: Chinese Lemon Chicken over Oriental Style Rice & Broccoli
Dinner: Tequila Lime Turkey Chili

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes
Lunch: Spaghetti & Meatballs
Dinner: Garlic Parmesan Chicken & Noodles

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Cran Raspberry Smoothie
Lunch: Garlic Parmesan Chicken & Noodles
Dinner: Spaghetti & Meatballs

Thursday:
Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes
Lunch: Out
Dinner: Out

Friday:
Breakfast: Cran Raspberry Smoothie
Lunch: Chinese Lemon Chicken over Oriental Style Rice & Broccoli
Dinner: Hamburgers & Sweet Potato Fries

Saturday:
Breakfast: Bacon & Eggs
Lunch: Cilantro Lime Chickpea Salad & Baked Brown Rice
Dinner: Tequila Lime Turkey Chili

Sunday: I do a lot of planning & meal prep for the week, so a lot of times a crock-pot dinner is the way to go, I had planned to make this a LONG time ago and had bought frozen lemonade concentrate in anticipation of making it, so when I tripped over this recipe again I decided it was time. Chicken was at my buy price ($1.99/lb) , so chicken makes two appearances this week!

Monday: Out for the evening, Hubs love chili and this can sit in the crock-pot all day and be used for another game later in the week

Tuesday: I found a recipe online that used a rotisserie chicken in it, but I thought I could do better, so we'll see what it comes out like.

Wednesday: We're having company and keeping it simple but also tying in to a line in the movie I'm looking forward to watching Slap Shot

Thursday: We are off work and out all day, meeting up with other Bruins fans for lunch and enjoying the end of the summer long celebration

Friday: We are off, anticipating sleeping in and relaxing!

Saturday: Hockey game for me, Hubs will be on his own for dinner, but he's looking forward to having some more of that chili.

End of week update: I was less than impressed with most of the meals I tried new recipes for this week, so there won't be a lot of sharing of recipes from this past week, not till I go back to the drawing board.  We also wound up off plan on Friday because we just wanted to enjoy a lazy day after a late night celebrating the raising of the Stanley Cup Champion banner.  :)

Meal Plan Week Ending 10.01.2011

The plan for the week was to keep it fairly simple. My sister was coming for a visit from NYC for the weekend and this work week with end of month and end of quarter is always a challenge for the two of us.

I will work to get a printable version up and running on this thing

Sunday:

Breakfast: Out

Lunch: Balsamic Soy Hamburgers

Dinner: Beef Tacos with Mexican Rice

Monday:

Breakfast: Antioxidant Smoothie

Lunch: Penne with Chicken Sausage & Vodka Sauce (leftovers)

Dinner: Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Mixed Green Salad

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Cereal & Coffee

Lunch: Pulled Pork & Mixed Green Salad

Dinner: Baked Ziti in Marinara Sauce with Chicken Sausage

Wednesday

Breakfast: Vitamin C Smoothie

Lunch: Baked Ziti in Marinara Sauce with Chicken Sausage

Dinner: Chicken in Masala Simmer Sauce over Basmati Rice

Thursday

Breakfast: Cereal & Coffee

Lunch: Chicken in Masala Simmer Sauce over Basmati Rice

Dinner: Pulled Pork Pizza

Friday

Breakfast: Chocolate Protein Smoothie

Lunch: Baked Ziti in Marinara Sauce with Chicken Sausage

Dinner: Turkey Burgers & Sweet Potato Fries

Saturday

Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes

Lunch: Out

Dinner: Spicy Honey Pork Tenderloin, Baked Brown Rice & Roasted Broccoli

So some very simple pull together meals here.

Sunday, I pulled out some ground beef to make burgers and since I freeze typically by the pound, we had burgers for lunch and tacos for dinner, so there would be no waste.

Monday, I had bought 7.5 lb Boneless Pork Loin roast at my buy price of $1.99/lb a few weeks back. I had cut it down into a few crockpot sized roasts (about 2.5lbs) so I put some homemade BBQ rub on the roast and let it sit in the fridge on Sunday night, Monday morning threw it in the crockpot with some BBQ sauce and we had BBQ Pulled Pork, which would be dinner, one lunch and it would reappear later in the week in pizza form

Tuesday, I found that I had large mostly full bottle of marinara sauce we had bought at BJS and weren't in love with, I always have pasta on hand and I had amassed several flavors/brands of chicken sausage in the freezer. My buy price for chicken sausage is typically $3.99/pkg, but recently I matched up a couple of $1.00 off each coupons with a 2/$7.00 sale on the new Johnsonville chicken sausage. So we gave the Italian three cheese a shot and topped this little make ahead meal with some remaining shredded parmesan cheese. I actually put this together on Sunday and put it right in the fridge in a covered pyrex baking dish. Threw it in the oven at 350 while I did the lunch dishes and we changed into loungewear for the evening.

Wednesday, despite the fact that the Trader Joe's simmer sauces haven't ever been on sale that I've ever notices (that's pretty much the only item I get at Trader Joes) I like to keep them on hand. I always buy boneless skinless chicken when it's at my buy price of $1.99/lb. I typically trim the breasts down and freeze in 1lb portions, but I always dice 1-1.5 lbs and freeze for use later. This works great. Brown up some chicken, dump in some sauce and let it simmer. I typically pair it up with microwavable rice. This meal is something my husband can put together easy and works great for end of month when I'm usually not sure what time I'll be home, I call him from the road and he whips this up and we are in business.

Thursday, hey pulled pork...just so we don't get too sick of you, let's have you in pizza form. I picked up some frozen pizza dough for use of leftover (taco meat, sausage) to put in a pizza or calzone. I have some jarred pizza sauce in the cabinet, but since canned tomatoes are always on hand, pizza sauce is never far away.

Friday, we typically do something quick on Fridays especially on payday so we can eat and go over the bills and budgeting for the next couple weeks as well as put together the following week's meal plan...burgers, homemade pizzas are perfect for these nights. I typically pick up ground turkey at BJ's during our monthly trip, and I freeze it in 1lb portions. Since, that will leave some leftovers, it sure you'll see the other 1/2 lb in use on sunday in some form.

Saturday, we'll be out doing errands (likely BJs, Target & general deal seeking for the current home project) so we'll plan to go out to lunch together, when we get home we'll take the time to cook together. My husband is trying to sharpen his cooking skills and putting together a nicer meal for us to eat will be nice after what will be a busy busy week. I typically pick up pork tenderloin at BJ's because their everyday price (around $2.99/lb) can't typically be beat. That's not something that goes on sale often and when it does, it's around $2.99/lb. I pick it up at BJ's during our monthly trip and then it's in the freezer.

Not a bad plan for what is typically a pretty hectic week in our house, but we're set up for success. The best part is, I had most of the items needed on hand, so I only had to pick up 8 items at the grocery store, of which 6 were on sale and one I matched up with a coupon and stocked up.

Have a great week!

End of week update: We got a last minute invite to go out with our friends that I sit with at the Bruins to  head over to Weymouth to have dinner at Fore River Grille, which recently was opened by one of the guys that worked at our pre-game hang out (The Fours)  Since they have Shipyard Pumpkin on tap and my favorite Red Sox manager had been fired/let go...we figured, let's head out and have lunch at home prior to running errands on Saturday.  Good food, good beer, great company, seriously how can you go wrong?  You can't.  Easy decision.