OH MY GOODNESS!
That is all I can say about this post.
Let me begin with some background for you.
My husband works on a tugboat with 3 other men. They work 7 days and nights, then they are home for 7 days and nights. The men live together and work together on the boat, sharing meals as well.
The company provides these men with grocery money every week. The crew sends two men out to buy groceries for their boat for the week. They do not have to buy cleaning supplies or paper products, as these are also furnished by the company, and they bring their own toiletries from home.
Last week, they were a man short on grocery day and my husband asked if I would accompany him on the shopping trip.
You must remember that when I shop, I go to at least 3 stores and buy the sale goods there and we work meals around those items. You can imagine how hard it was for me to plan shopping at ONE STORE!
We started out with a list made by the crew for what they wanted for the week. It was separated by department, which made the process much simpler.
What shocked me was what we had to get! Each person has specific things they want, like Sprite Zero and Ritz crackers with Cream Cheese and Hot Pockets. But the hardest part for me is that they BUY NAME BRAND EVERYTHING, AND THEY DO NOT USE COUPONS AND THEY BUY WHAT THEY WANT NO MATTER THE PRICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was breaking out in hives when my husband put Pop Secret popcorn in the buggy....$6.99 for 10 bags. It did not matter that other brands were on sale, it had to be Pop Secret. Store brand soda was on sale for $1.99 a 12 pack, would that work? NOPE! Had to be Sprite Zero at nearly $6 a 12 pack.
I am not saying that this is all bad, they work a very hard and demanding job, often in bad conditions. I can see the point of getting what foods you like as a reward. But seriously, do you know how much money these guys get to spend on food every week?
$350
YIKES! I don't spend that in a month, including cleaning supplies, paper products, health and beauty items and pet stuff!
I will need medication if I have to do that again!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Southern Living Magazine
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Snapfish
Have you guys tried Snapfish photo services? I saw an ad that offered 50 free prints when you registered. I signed up and although I had to pay a couple of dollars for shipping, I saw that when I checked out they also offered me a FREE 8x10 print. I [placed my order, and in just a couple of days my prints arrived. Now I was thinking, with service so cheap and so quick, these must be of inferior quality right?
WRONG!
The prints were crisp and bright, the finish was a brilliant gloss and all in all I was THRILLED with my prints!
My Publix coupon book had a coupon inside for new and existing Publix photo center user, which I discovered is through Snapfish so I used the Publix coupon and got 35 free prints again, delivered to my home in 3 days. How awesome is this? Just visit here to get your free prints.
The following coupon code will get you discounts and freebies. Just enter it at checkout.
PUBLIXFALL09= 35 free prints
But beware! The Publix website shows that they are offering a "deal" of 75 prints for $9.99, or 100 prints for $12.99. This breaks down to 12-13 cents per print, when Snapfish's usual price is only 9 cents per print.
I also found another website that details the policies and rates Snapfish against other photo sites. Click here for details and more coupon codes!!!!
WRONG!
The prints were crisp and bright, the finish was a brilliant gloss and all in all I was THRILLED with my prints!
My Publix coupon book had a coupon inside for new and existing Publix photo center user, which I discovered is through Snapfish so I used the Publix coupon and got 35 free prints again, delivered to my home in 3 days. How awesome is this? Just visit here to get your free prints.
The following coupon code will get you discounts and freebies. Just enter it at checkout.
PUBLIXFALL09= 35 free prints
But beware! The Publix website shows that they are offering a "deal" of 75 prints for $9.99, or 100 prints for $12.99. This breaks down to 12-13 cents per print, when Snapfish's usual price is only 9 cents per print.
I also found another website that details the policies and rates Snapfish against other photo sites. Click here for details and more coupon codes!!!!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Meat for my Freezer
I lucked up again yesterday and found bone-in chicken breasts on sale at Kroger for 99 cents a pound. We got 12 pounds of chicken.
Kroger also sells a value pack of frozen ground turkey. It contains 4 one pound chubs and costs $6.99.
When we got home, I left two of the chubs of ground turkey as they were and put them in the freezer for a recipe I am doing next week. The remaining two chubs I thawed and then browned with some onion in it. I found that by following a suggestion I found over at Moneywise Mom's, preparing the meat this way saves so much time! Plus, it is ready for a quick meal when you need it. Just open a ziploc bag and dump the cooked meat into a pan with a jar of spaghetti sauce or season it up and use for tacos, or dump it in for Hamburger Helper. Half of the work is done ahead of time, so it is great for busy nights!
Then my husband and I tackled the chicken. First, we removed the skin from three chicken breasts and laid them in my crockpot. I dumped on a can of Rotel tomatoes with cilantro and lime juice and set it to cook on low for 6 hours. (Money wise Mom used regular Rotel, but that is too spicy for us so we use this milder version which is FABULOUS!) Next, we pulled off the big part of each remaining breast and put the bones and tiny scrap pieces of chicken, along with the tender strip that remains attached to the bone, in a large pot with some onion and garlic. I cut up enough of the chicken breasts for chicken soft tacos last night, then put the remaining (now boneless and skinless) chicken breasts into 2 ziploc bags.
After the chicken was done boiling, I drained off the broth and put it into 3 plastic freezer containers. When the meat was cool enough to handle, I picked it from the bones. There was enough to make one recipe's worth of diced cooked chicken, while I use in my chicken casserole, and then what was left I divided among my three freezer cups for chicken and noodles or chicken and dumplings or chicken soup.
Once the crockpot chicken was done, I removed and shredded the meat with two forks and placed it into two ziploc bags for chicken tacos or enchiladas.
All together, I spent about $15.50 on the meat that I used. What I got out of that was:
1 meal of chicken tacos last night
2 meals of chicken tacos or enchiladas in freezer
3 meals of chicken with broth for soup, dumplings, etc.
2 bags of thick chicken breasts for grilling
1 bag of diced cooked chicken for chicken and rice
3 bags of cooked ground turkey for spaghetti or whatever
That is 12 meals worth, at roughly $1.29 per meal, not including any leftovers we may have :)
I found the ideas to prepare the chicken and ground meat over at Money wise Moms, along with many links to great recipes. Click here to check it out! Just look under her blog archives under "cooking ahead".
Kroger also sells a value pack of frozen ground turkey. It contains 4 one pound chubs and costs $6.99.
When we got home, I left two of the chubs of ground turkey as they were and put them in the freezer for a recipe I am doing next week. The remaining two chubs I thawed and then browned with some onion in it. I found that by following a suggestion I found over at Moneywise Mom's, preparing the meat this way saves so much time! Plus, it is ready for a quick meal when you need it. Just open a ziploc bag and dump the cooked meat into a pan with a jar of spaghetti sauce or season it up and use for tacos, or dump it in for Hamburger Helper. Half of the work is done ahead of time, so it is great for busy nights!
Then my husband and I tackled the chicken. First, we removed the skin from three chicken breasts and laid them in my crockpot. I dumped on a can of Rotel tomatoes with cilantro and lime juice and set it to cook on low for 6 hours. (Money wise Mom used regular Rotel, but that is too spicy for us so we use this milder version which is FABULOUS!) Next, we pulled off the big part of each remaining breast and put the bones and tiny scrap pieces of chicken, along with the tender strip that remains attached to the bone, in a large pot with some onion and garlic. I cut up enough of the chicken breasts for chicken soft tacos last night, then put the remaining (now boneless and skinless) chicken breasts into 2 ziploc bags.
After the chicken was done boiling, I drained off the broth and put it into 3 plastic freezer containers. When the meat was cool enough to handle, I picked it from the bones. There was enough to make one recipe's worth of diced cooked chicken, while I use in my chicken casserole, and then what was left I divided among my three freezer cups for chicken and noodles or chicken and dumplings or chicken soup.
Once the crockpot chicken was done, I removed and shredded the meat with two forks and placed it into two ziploc bags for chicken tacos or enchiladas.
All together, I spent about $15.50 on the meat that I used. What I got out of that was:
1 meal of chicken tacos last night
2 meals of chicken tacos or enchiladas in freezer
3 meals of chicken with broth for soup, dumplings, etc.
2 bags of thick chicken breasts for grilling
1 bag of diced cooked chicken for chicken and rice
3 bags of cooked ground turkey for spaghetti or whatever
That is 12 meals worth, at roughly $1.29 per meal, not including any leftovers we may have :)
I found the ideas to prepare the chicken and ground meat over at Money wise Moms, along with many links to great recipes. Click here to check it out! Just look under her blog archives under "cooking ahead".
Monday, August 10, 2009
As a special promotion, the Schwan's frozen food company is offering $10 in free food to the first 500,000 people who shop on their website. There are a couple of restrictions, such as they have to deliver to your area already and you can't have ordered in something like 14 week, and you pay the taxes. I just placed my order for a gallon of their rich chocolate ice cream, delivered to my door in a few days, and it is costing me 5 cents!!!!!
So what are you waiting for? It's free food people! GO SHOP NOW!!!!!!!!!!
Click this link and enjoy!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
I'm back!
I have been sooooo out of it lately. Seems that with summertime here I have not been doing much big shopping, just enough here and there to get us through. I have not even been clipping coupons, can you believe it? I have been LAZY and it is showing!
I went to Food Lion yesterday because they had split chicken breasts on sale for 87 cents a pound, and I picked up a few things while I was there. I spent almost $70 and got barely anything!!!!!!!!!! They did have some good deals though, like the chicken and they also had picnic hams for 69 cents a pound. I got one that will fit in my oval crockpot and it ran about $5.00. I like cooking the hams in the crockpot because you can avoid heating up the house with the oven for for 2 hours! Plus, the ham turns out tender and juicy and it makes plenty of good broth which I save for seasoning. I chill the broth, then skim off all the fat that rises to the top and discard it. Then I warm the broth up so I can pour it into ice cube trays and I freeze it. When they are solid I pop them out and store them in a Ziploc bag. One cube seasons a can of green beans wonderfully, and 2-3 make frozen butter beans or peas taste soooo good! This way I always have seasoning broth on hand and the cube size works well.
I got my newspaper today so I will be clipping away this afternoon. My daughter is having a sleepover so I will have something to do to keep me occupied while I am locked away in my bedroom preserving my sanity!
I went to Food Lion yesterday because they had split chicken breasts on sale for 87 cents a pound, and I picked up a few things while I was there. I spent almost $70 and got barely anything!!!!!!!!!! They did have some good deals though, like the chicken and they also had picnic hams for 69 cents a pound. I got one that will fit in my oval crockpot and it ran about $5.00. I like cooking the hams in the crockpot because you can avoid heating up the house with the oven for for 2 hours! Plus, the ham turns out tender and juicy and it makes plenty of good broth which I save for seasoning. I chill the broth, then skim off all the fat that rises to the top and discard it. Then I warm the broth up so I can pour it into ice cube trays and I freeze it. When they are solid I pop them out and store them in a Ziploc bag. One cube seasons a can of green beans wonderfully, and 2-3 make frozen butter beans or peas taste soooo good! This way I always have seasoning broth on hand and the cube size works well.
I got my newspaper today so I will be clipping away this afternoon. My daughter is having a sleepover so I will have something to do to keep me occupied while I am locked away in my bedroom preserving my sanity!
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