Saving Myself Silly: April 2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

Want Free Extra Bucks? Become a CVS Advisor

CVS has made a consumer panel called the CVS Advisor Panel. They send out email survey invitations and reward you with Extra Bucks. I have been a member of it for about a year, and I've received about 4-5 surveys from them. The survey will ask a few questions at the beginning to see if you qualify, and I have only qualified for one of the shorter surveys they have sent. For that survey, I was awarded $5 Extra Bucks. Some of the longer ones, that I did not get to complete, would have awarded $10-$15 Extra Bucks. But, the best part is that even if you do not qualify to complete the survey, you will always get awarded $1-$2 Extra Bucks just for trying. I just received an invitation in my email, and did not qualify for it after answering only two questions that took me about 10 seconds, and I was able to print out a coupon for $2 Extra Bucks which is valid for a whole month. I love this program, and I wish more stores would do this. If you would like to register, click here.

Sunday Coupon Preview

This Sunday you can expect three coupon inserts in your newspaper: a Redplum, a Smartsource, and a P&G. Take a look at what to expect in them here.

Free Kindle Book Downloads

Wounded Healer

Scent

There are, as always, many classic literature books available for free, and there are also several Star Wars books available for free at the moment as well, if you are a fan of that. A good place to search for free titles is in the Kindle Bestsellers list (because free always sells well) and also under the Movers and Shakers list. Let me know what you find.

V8 Fusion Printable Coupon

Click here to print a coupon for $1 off any V-8 Fusion 6-pack or 46oz bottle. Its a bricks coupon, so hit the back button and print it twice.

These are delicious juices and I can usually find them on sale for $2.50, so after coupon they are just $1.50. I'll keep an eye out for a good deal and let you know, since we just finished our last bottle of it and my daughter told me this morning that we needed to buy more of the strawberry banana flavor.

Thanks Coupon Geek

Thursday, April 29, 2010

And Here's One for the Kitties...

Click here to print a coupon for $1 off any three cups of Meox Mix Market Select wet cat food.

Kibble N Bits Coupon

If you have a dog, then you might like this coupon for $1 off one package of Kibbles N Bits dog food. Its a bricks coupon so print twice if you need two bags.

Free Photo Book Every Month from Hotprints.com

When you register an account at HotPrints.com, each month you will receive a credit for one completely free photo book. Even the shipping is free. You can even link up with facebook and use your facebook photos. They are very easy to make. I just ordered my second one (I know, I know, waiting until the last minute). They are free because the center page of the book that you receive will be a tear out page of advertisements (it pops right out, and leaves not trace that it was ever there). No other advertisements will be on your pictures, unless you count the address printed across the back cover.

These are not the hard cover, really nice photo books with the thick glossy paper. However, it is still nice (especially for the price) and I was surprised at how many pictures they held. And, if you are like me and take pictures all the time, but never print any of them, then this is a nice and easy way to have a few of your favorites as a keepsake. The site also lets you specify someone else to receive them, so they can be sent as gifts. You can also make them ahead of time and save them under your account for later. Extra books each month cost only $3.99 with free shipping, and will contain no ads. They will send you an email reminder at the begining of each month saying that its a new month and you have a new free photo book credit. I think they have a really nice service. Can't wait to get my new one. It is full of pictures from Christmas (I know its nearly May) on a nice red background. They have many themes to choose from and it shipped really quickly.

So, if you would like to check it out, click here before the month is over so you don't miss out on an extra free book like I did. =( Enjoy!

Del Monte Fruit Chillers Coupon

There is a new printable coupon available here for $1 off any Del Monte Fruit Chillers. It is valid for both the cups and the new tubes. It is a bricks coupon so hit the back button and print it twice. I will hang on to this and see if I can find a sale.

Free Sample of Bounty for Sam's Club Members

If you are a member of Sam's Club, you can go here and request a free sample of Bounty paper towels. Membership number is required, so have you Sam's Card ready.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Month is Almost Over So...

Here are a few things you need to do:

Head over to Coupons.com and see if there are any more coupons you want to print. They usually reset on the 1st, and there is no guarantee that this month's coupons will still be available next month.
Check out your Swagbucks and see if you have enough to redeem a gift. Gift cards (I don't know about other stuff) are sent out on the 17th and the 30-31st of each month, so if you have enough make sure you redeem it by then. I am sooooo close.
If you activated any e-coupons from Upromise, make sure you use any you planned on using before the month is out. Not sure what I'm talking about? Click here.
Check those coupon expiration dates. There are a ton of P & G ones expiring on the 30th, so use them now if you planned to, but do NOT go buy a bunch of stuff you don't need just because the coupon is expiring. This is a bad trap to fall into, and it can be tempting. Let it go. There will be another coupon.

What else do you always make sure to do when the month is about to end?

My CVS Trip

Huggies Wipe            $2.50
Oral B Advantage      $2.99
Oral B Advantage      $2.99
Colgate Pro Clinical   $3.99
Schick Quattro          $8.99
Used $2.00 off Huggies Wipes CVS coupon AND $0.75 Manufacturer Coupon
Used $2.00/1 Oral B Advantage
Used BOGO Free Oral B Advantage
Used $1/1 Colgate Pro Clinical
Used $4/1 Schick Quattro
Also used $6.50 extra bucks from previous transactions

Paid $2.40 out of pocket and received $8 total extra bucks ($4 from razor, $1 from each toothbrush, $2 from toothpaste)

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

El Rancho Deals 4/28-5/4

El Rancho is having a big sale for Cinco de Mayo:

Bone In Split Chicken Breasts $0.57/lb (no limit)
Marinated Beef Skirt Steak $2.49/lb (no limit)
Center Cut Pork Ribs $0.57/lb (no limit)
40oz Mazola Corn, Vegetable, Canola Oil $1.00 (limit 1 w/ $10 purchase)
18 count large eggs $0.88 each (limit 1 w/ $10 purchase)
24 pk Niagra bottled water $1.00 each (limit 1 w/ $10 purchase)
Ataulfo Mangos 7 for $1
Small Avocados 7 for $1
Poblano Peppers $0.88/lb
Cilantro 5 bunches for $1
Key Limes 40 for $1
Bosc Pears 5 for $1
Golden Apples 5 for $1

Aldi Deals 4/28-5/4

Here is what Aldi has advertised for this week:

Large Ripe Avocados $0.39/each
Roma Tomatos $0.89/pack
Pineapple $0.99/each
Lettuce $0.59/each
Strawberries $0.99/lb.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Another Free Sample Site

StartSampling.com is one of the first free sample sites I knew about. I have been requesting samples from this site since I was in college, and they always come. There are alot to choose from, but in the past there was a daily limit of how many you could request. I do not know if this is still the case, so let me know if you run into this problem.

Here are a few of the samples they have available now:

Loreal Ever Pure
Dove shampoo/conditioner
Dove Men Care
Nescafe Taster's Choice
John Freida Hare Care
Members Mark and Parents Choice Infant Formula
Tide
Special K
Plackers Grind No More
Purex 3 in 1
Crest White Strips
Prilosec
Head and Shoulders
Several Pet Related Samples

I have requested most, if not all of these, and have gotten many of them already. Start requesting yours today. The sooner you do, the sooner you will start getting these little surprises in the mail. Often free samples come with high value coupons, also.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

CVS Deals 4/25-5/1

There are quite a few deals available at CVS this week. Here are a few of my favorites:

Schick Hydro $8.97 get $6.00 extra bucks wyb 1 (limit 1)
Schick Quattro $8.99 get $4.00 extra bucks wyb 1 (limit 1)

Use $4.00/1 coupon from today's newpaper

Colgate Pro Clinical $3.99 get $2.00 extra bucks wyb 1 (limit 2)

Use $1.00/1 from the 4/11 Smartsource

Pampers $8.49 get $1.00 extra bucks wyb 1 (limit 1)

Use $1.50/1 from 4/04 P&G insert (also many found in packages)

Oral B Advantage Toothbrush $2.99 get $1.00 extra bucks wyb 1 (limit 2)

Purchase 2
Use $2.00/1 from 4/04 P&G AND
Use BOGO free from 3/07 P&G
Final Price $0.99 for 2, and receive $2 extra bucks

Non-Extra Bucks Deal:

Huggies and Pampers wipes $2.50

Scan your card at the scanner when you go in, and you may get a $2/1 Huggies wipes CVS Store coupon. Using only this would make them $0.50
Also use the $0.75/1 Huggies wipes from the Huggies mailer to make these better than free or the $0.50/1 Huggies wipes from the 4/18 SS to get them for free.

New Coupon for Yoplait Greek Yogurt = $0.10 each at Kroger

Click here to print a coupon for $0.45/1 Yoplait Greek Yogurt. These are on sale for $1 at Kroger this week, and this coupon will double, so you will be able to get them for just $0.10! It is a bricks coupon, so hit the back button and print it twice.

I recieved this coupon in an email from General Mills Pssst. If you register with this website, from time to time you will be the first to hear about new products from general mills. You will get occasional emails offereing printable coupons for these products for you to try and share with your friends. You may also occasionally receive postal mail from them containing coupons for FREE products for yourself and high value coupons to share. I highly reccommend registering =)

Coupon Insert of Target STORE coupons

Look closely for this insert in your Sunday newpaper. It is full of Target store coupons, which target allows to be stacked with manufacturer coupons. That means you can use these AND manufacturer coupons for extra savings. I found this in the Dallas Morning News, and Target coupons are very variable by region, so let me know if you found one of these in your area.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

My Apologies

I just wanted to let whoever may be reading this know that yes, I am still here. I have had a pretty hectic past few days complete with my computer acting up. I am pretty sure it is going out, since it is moving REALLY slowly. So, if I suddenly go MIA, that's propbably why.

I hope to be back to posting more frequently tonight or tomorrow, but if anybody has any good deals that they know about, or have gotten some great savings at the grocery store, please let me know about it. I would love to share in your successes, too.

Sunday Coupon Preview

There is a website, SundayCouponPreview.com, where you can see what coupons to expect in the paper each Sunday. This is useful in deciding if you would like to purchase a copy of the Sunday paper (or 4?). This week there should be two inserts, one RedPlum and one SmartSource.

There were a lot of coupons listed for this week. One in particular jumped out at me. It was $1 off a carefree product. Depending on any resctirctions on the coupon, this could score some free pantiliners at Kroger this week.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

White Cloud Toilet Paper Coupons

Click here to print a coupon for $1 off White Cloud Green Earth tissue or $2 off any White Cloud 24-roll pack or 2 12-roll packs. Is it true that this brand is only found at Wal-Mart? I know I've bought it there before but nowhere else.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Huge Cereal Sale at Albertson's

In this week's Albertson's ad, I noticed a great deal on several varieties of cereal. Albertson's is notorious for advertising prices as being "with in-store manufacturer coupon" meaning that's the lowest price you are going to get it for. I have scoured this ad looking for the catch, and I didnt see one. Sale price is $1.49/box. Limit 10 boxes. The varieties included are Cheerios (Regular and Multigrain), Chex (Cinnamon, Honey Nut, and Chocolate), Kix, Cocoa Puffs, and Total. I have coupons for several of these that came with free sample boxes. I also told you about a coupon for $1/1 box of Kix. In general, cereal coupons abound, so if your family eats any of these kinds or you just want to try them, this may be the deal for you.

My Kroger Trip and a Few Good Deals This Week

I went to Kroger with my sniffly, sneezing kids today. When I heard they were having a 10 for $10 sale I was pretty excited, but when I got the ad yesterday I saw that it was for mostly store brand stuff. No coupons for that =( Still there were a few things that I did not want to pass up, and a few things that I desperately needed. Here is what I came home with:

Shelf Price: $32.21

Sale Price: $24.98

After Coupons: $8.63

Total Savings: 73%

Deals I got:

Yoplait Greek Yogurt $1 use $0.30 off 1 cup coupon printable or from the 3/28 SS insert. Will triple to take off $0.90 total. Bottom line: $0.10/cup.
Country Crock $1 use $0.40/1 printable that I told you about here (doubles, so deduct $0.80 cents=$0.20/tub). Also, I used two $0.30/1 from the 3/07 RP that tripled, so those were only $0.10.
Purex Detergent on sale $2.50. I used the $0.35/1 that came in this past Sunday's paper, which tripled to deduct $1.05 so I paid $1.45 for the bottle.
The Snuggle was not advertised on sale, but it was $3.89 for 80 sheets. I used the $3/1 from the 3/28 RP insert to get it for just $0.89.

A few things to note:

The only 10 for $10 items I bought were the Yoplait Greek yogurt and the Country Crock butter. Notice I only got 9 items total. You do not need to buy in multiples of 10 to take advantage of these sales. Each individual item will ring up for $1.
I had *heard* that there was a catalina deal where you would get back a $1.50 off your next purchase coupon if you bought $10 worth of Yoplait yogurt. Maybe only certain varieties of the Yoplait work for this deal, but I got no $1.50 coupon. It's ok, I was going to buy yogurt anyway, and I had coupons for it all. =) PLUS**Even though I used a paper coupon for the large tub of yogurt, my Cellfire e-coupon still came off. I had heard that they stopped doing this at Kroger. Perhaps this varies by region??
I went into the store with a $3 off catalina coupon that was about to expire from buying Betty Crocker Potatoes a few weeks ago, so that lowered my out of pocket expense a little bit.
To save on stuff I NEED when the brand name items are not on sale, or I do not have coupons, I will usually grab the store brand of the item I need. You can see I got Kroger brand bread, aluminum foil, and decaf iced tea.

Please let me know if there are any other great Kroger deals that you see for this week.

More Mailbox Goodies

Here's a few things that have come in the mail in the past two days. The two samples were requested from Walmart.com. Sadly, no coupons came with them. The other was a random coupon mailing from CVS. It is a store coupon for $1 off any bag of Halls cough drops. I should be able to stack this with a manufacturer coupon, also. If you are not already, register an account at CVS.com and make sure they have your mailing address. You may get goodies like this, too. In the past I have gotten CVS store coupons for LINDOR CHOCOLATE, as well as save $X off any $XX purchase type of thing. They do not come often, but they are always welcome.

See if you qualify for USPS samples

Sample Showcase is a new program through the USPS. If you qualify, it says that you will be shipped a box full of various samples to try out in May. There was a very short (like three questions) screener survey, and it said that I qualified. I so can't wait to get this. Click here to take the survey and see if you qualify. Let me know if you do!

Thanks, ForTheMamas

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

More Free Kindle Books Available

Rooms

This one was compared to House by Ted Dekker, which I own but haven't read. It is Christian fiction.

The First Drop of Rain

Poetry about staying open to God.

Living Organized

Couldn't we all use this one?

The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity

I'm interested to see what this one is about.

I have only listed some free one's I've noticed that I have not seen free in the past. Also, there are well over 100,000 free titles for Kindle applications. Many of the classics are free for Kindle. If you do not have a Kindle, that ok! You can still read these books for free by downloading one of these free applications for your PC, Blackberry, iPhone, or Mac.

I post these free e-books because I love to read, and I love variety in what I read (and books are expensive)! What are are you reading right now, or what have you read lately?

New e-Coupons Available at Cellfire

New e-coupons are available this morning at Cellfire.com. These will vary depending on the stores in your area. For me there were a handful for Kroger, but alot for Tom Thumb.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Free Sample of Aveeno Hair Care

Click here to request one of three samples available from Aveeno's new Active Naturals line of hair care products. The sample will be a shampoo and conditioner of your choice, and the website said that it would come with a coupon.

My Help

As I was sorting and organizing my coupons today, I had a bit of extra help going through my sale ads.

I guess its a good thing I had pretty much already decided to skip the drug stores this week.

New Site with Many Printable Coupons

I had previously registered to recieve emails from this company,and today I got one of their newsletters in my inbox. It was addressed from French's, but there are different tabs at the top for coupons of all different categories, and there are alot to choose from.

Click here to see all the coupons available.

In the Mail

It's been a slow mail week, but I've gotten a couple free magazines, a coupon for $3 off Mylanta, and a sample of Bounce dryer sheets in my mail box in the past few days.

What did you get?

New Coupon Booklet Available at Tom Thumb

I found this coupon booklet sitting by the front sale display when I was in Tom Thumb the other day. It seems to be in conjunction with Earth Day and advertises a few recycling measures that these companies are doing. It contains only three coupons, but they are manufacturers coupons, which means that can be used anywhere, and the coupons are pretty good ones, so if you are there be on the lookout. It includes:

$1 off any Kraft Mayonaise or Miracle Whip 22oz or larger
$2 off any Yuban or Maxwell House Coffee 30oz or larger !!!!!
$2 off any 2 Crystal Light On the Go drink mixes.

Note: They expire on May 15, 2010.

Garden Update

There has not been much change in the garden. The peas plants (closest in the picture) have grown the most. They are going to be vines, so I need to put up a trellis for them to climb. I had some bean plants sprouting, but noticed this morning that it looked like the leaves had been eaten by a bug. I hope it didnt not kill the whole plant. =( Also, we've had a little bit of cooler weather and rain. I know the rain is good for them, but I hope the lower temperatures don't hurt them.

Kids Eat Free At IHOP

You guys may already know about this, but I just saw a commercial last night saying that for the whole month of April (I know its almost over), kids eat free at IHOP from 4pm-10pm. That's a pretty great deal. =)

Sunday, April 18, 2010

A Little Bit of Freezer Cooking: Provencal Pork

I was pleasantly surprised at all the freezer meals I had a while back when I took inventory of my freezer. But, I had the big box full of uncooked pork in there, and no prepared pork meals in my freezer. On Thursday I picked up a bag of red potatoes at Aldi, and since then I have been contemplating what to do with them. Then, I remembered one of my favorite pork meals needed red potatoes. It also needed onions, which I had on hand, and stewed tomatoes, which I had stocked up on last month when I got them for $0.25 a can at Kroger. Here is the recipe for Provencal Pork:

Ingredients: (for one family dinner---I tripled the recipe)

1/4 cup butter, divided

2 lbs boneless pork chops, cut into 1/2 inch thick strips

2 medium onions, sliced

1 15oz can stewed tomatoes

1 1/2 lbs potatoes (I used red, but I've made it with russet before)

season to taste

parsley to garnish (my husband also decided to sprinkle it with some grated parmesan)

My husband enjoys knives--especially when he just sharpened them, and I dislike touching raw meat, so he was more than happy to do the slicing for me. First he cut up all the meat. Then the onions and potatoes.

First, you cook the meat down in half of the butter. I add some seasoning at this step also, and some of it cooks into the meat and some stays behind in the juice. Then remove the meat from the pot, leaving the juice behind. Cook down the onions in the juice until they begin getting tender. Then add the stewed tomatoes, and any more seasonings you like. I added salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Heat to boiling, and then let it cook for 5 minutes.

Next, its time to assemble. Place the pork on bottom. Add the onion and sauce mixture on top of that. Then place a layer of potatoes on top of that. Sprinkle the parsley on top. Wrap in in foil. If you want to eat it then, bake for one hour at 350*.

That is the finished product of what we ate for dinner. I made two more pans, using foil square cake pans. These sell in three packs for around $1 each, and are the perfect size for our family, but that may change when my baby starts eating the same food we eat. Find a size that works for you. Here are the extras:

These I wrapped in foil and then placed them inside a gallon freezer bag. In the bag I placed an index card that said what it was, the date, and instructions for preparing it. Once it is thawed, the bake time is the same.

Doubling and tripling simple recipes is a great way to get started placing some meals in your freezer to have for more hectic days. I spent no extra time in the kitchen, and dirtied no more dishes, but now there are two nights when I can just throw one of these in the oven (You can bake them from frozen if you forget to thaw them. I've done this and I put in on for about two hours at 300*). These types of meals (made in the disposable trays) also come in super handy if you would like to share a meal with some one who is sick or has had a baby, which is a frequent occurence at our church =) Having meals ready has let me share more, when I might not have found time to make an extra meal with two small children of my own.

Oh, and by the way, this may not seem like a very kid friendly dish but my three year old LOVED it.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Tom Thumb Trip #2

2 Betty Crocker Warm Delights

2 Quaker True Delights Instant Oatmeal

8 Nature Valley Granola Bars

Shelf Price: $35.88

Sale Price: $19.98

Total After Coupons: $7.78

Note: The Warm Delights were not part of the buy 5 save $5 sale, but I had expiring coupons and e-coupons that made one free and one 20cents. =) Love those.

New Keebler Coupon

Click here to print a coupons for $1 off any one package of Keebler Sandies cookies. Its a bricks coupon so hit your back button and print it twice.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Printable Scott Coupons

Go here to print two coupons from Scott Naturals. These include:

$1 off any one Scott Naturals Paper Product
$0.50 off any one Scott Naturals Flushable Moist Wipes

New E-Coupons Available

I noticed some new e-coupons available to load onto your shoppers card at Shortcuts.com. Head over there and check what is available for you.

*Note: The limit is 75 of their coupons that you can have loaded up at once. I have too many, so I was not able to load any more up. It said I must go redeem some (or wait until some expire). So, make sure you click the ones you really want first.

On a side note, my husband wanted to make a cake for a co-worker's birthday, so he stopped at Tom Thumb on his way home from work the other night and bought some cake mix and frosting. When he got home I happened to look at his receipt, and I noticed that 3 e-coupons deducted from his total. I was so excited. My coupons were used and I didnt even set foot in the store. =)

New Nature Valley Printable Coupon

I was doing a search to see if there were any more Nature Valley Granola Bar coupons to be had, and look what I found right on the Nature Valley website: $1 off any two boxes. This comes out to $0.50 cents off per box which is a better deal than the $0.40 off coupons that come in the coupon inserts.

This is a bricks coupon so hit the back button and print it twice. =)

Check Your Coupons

I was just noticing that I had quite a few of my coupons that were expiring this weekend, so check yours out and use what you need while you can. =)

Mega SwagBucks Friday

Fridays are Mega Swag Bucks days! You have a chance to win higher than normal amounts of SwagBucks when you perform searches on Fridays. If you do not already have a Swagbucks account, you can sign up here. New members get 30 free swagbucks to get you started.

Dont' know what it is? It is a site that gives you chances to win points (called swagbucks) win you search through their site. If you download their toolbaf it is much easier to remember to use it to do your searches. 450 swagbucks will get you a $5 Amazon gift certificate. I just got one today! You can request a prize anytime, but gift certificate codes are sent out on the 15-17 of each month and on the last day of the month. Lately I have been averaging one $5 Amazon code each cycle, or $10 per month just by doing what I would normally be doing anyway--performing web searches.

The more you search the more chances you have to win!

My Tom Thumb Trip (Finally)

These five items were advertised as part of the Buy 5 save $5 sale at the very bottom of the first page of this weeks Tom Thumb ad. The regular shelf price of these items should have been a ridiculous $18.45. The sale price before coupons was only $8. After coupons, I paid only $1.83!!

I went to the store not knowing if the Quaker True Delights were part of the sale, but I was delighted to find that they were because I had been dying to try them (I love oatmeal as a late night snack, and these new flavors, Hazlenut Latte and Wild Blueberry Muffin, sound really good), and I had 2 $1off 1 box of True Delights coupons that I had printed here, and then when I was looking for where I printed it from, I found another one here and was able to print 2 more. That makes the oatmeal $0.50/box, so I'm going to grab some more when I go back for my Nature Valley Granola Bars. I also had $1 off 2 Cheerios that I found on coupons.com (I apparently had an e-coupon for cheerios loaded on my card also for another $1 off-had totally forgotten about that, so that was a nice surprise), and then I had a coupon for $2 off the Raisin Bran that you can get here when you sign up for their newsletter. I think they email it to you. That was on sale for $2, so the coupon made it free. =)

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Tom Thumb Deal, but not My Trip Yet =(

Well either the photo-uploader is having major issues tonight, or my computer is (quite likely...I fear it is slowly departing). So I have not been able to get my picture of my Tom Thumb trip uploaded, but I wanted to tell you about something I noticed in the store while I was shopping, but did not have the coupons with me.

At the bottom of the ad this week on the front page, there is a buy 5 items and save $5 deal, which is what I went to take advantage of. Well, it was not advertised that the Nature Valley Granola Bars were part of this deal, but in the store I saw signs that they were. They are $1.50 each when you buy 5 of them. I have not pulled my coupons out yet, but I KNOW that there are always .40/1 coupons. Tom Thumb will double the first like coupon, so that will make for $0.80 off the first box, or $0.70 cents for that one. The rest are redeemed at face value, so $1.10 each for the rest if you have 5 of those (hope I do!). But even better is that there are e-coupons for these too at cellfire.com and shortcuts.com. Those will work along with the paper coupons at Tom Thumb (sadly I hear this is no longer the case at Kroger *sniff*) But that will give you even extra savings if you have those loaded on your card. Those will vary by region and by person (if you've loaded them or used any yet).

We love these things, so I am definately gathering up my coupons and going back for this. We just finished up the last box from the last time they were on sale like this at Tom Thumb (I think I got 7 boxes), and I was hoping they would be on again soon. I was sad to not see them featured in the ad, but I am so excited to find that they are on sale. The ad lasts until Tuesday.

My Really Big Shopping Trip Today

Since I started this blog, I haven't posted very many shopping trips that I've done. Maybe that's because the sales haven't been very good recently. Or maybe it's because my husband (he's a teacher by day) has been subbing every single night at evening school, and I haven't felt like dragging the kids out with me. Whatever the reason, I realized that I simply must go shopping today. I had looked at all of the sale ads trying to decide what to get here and what to get there, but finally I decided that I would just grab whatever I could find at Aldi and call it a day.

There were ALOT of things that I needed, so I knew I was going to spend alot of money today, but sometimes these things just cannot be helped. My cats need to eat after all, and trash bags and laundry detergent and toilet paper are pretty important items. In the past, I have always had to do one of these large stock up trips on pay day (which is around the 27th of each month) so to begin with I'm proud that we've been able to put it off so long this month. Also, I usually have over a page on my shopping list, and end up spending well over $100 even buying mostly store brand items at Wal-Mart. This time I only had about 3/4 of a page, but some were pretty costly items. I knew if I went in Walmart it would take a really long time, and I didnt feeling trekking through there with two kids in tow, so I ran in Aldi assuming I would still be missing a few things on my list, but they would have to wait until later.

I was really surprised though. I was able to find everything I needed and then some. I really hope my cats like their cat food, because I certainly wasn't making a special trip just to go get Purina. =) Here is everything I came home with. In all I paid $81.66 for all of this. Not incredible, but not too bad I think.

*Note: While I was writing this, I looked at my receipt and noticed that I had been charged for two boxes of trash bags when I only bought one. I cannot find a phone number for the store either on the receipt or online (strange) to call and ask about this, so I guess I will have to go down to the store one day. I'll let you know what happens with that.

Also, I did make one more quick trip today when my husband came home briefly. It was pretty impressive, and I will post that a little bit later.

Do It Yourself Frozen Mini Pancakes

I will admit that I am not a big cooker of breakfast. I am very much a pour it in a bowl or pop it in the toaster/microwave type person. My daughter is absolutely fine with this. Except for the past two days she kept going on and on about pancakes. She loves mini pancakes. I used to buy the frozen ones in a box because it was simple, but those things cost A LOT of money for just a few pancakes. For the price you pay for one box of those that has maybe a couple dozen in it, you could buy a whole box of pancake mix. But, then you have the whole hassle of actually cooking them and dirtying up the mixing bowls and griddle, etc.

Well, I'm not quite sure when the idea came to me. I believe it was long before I started freezer cooking my dinners. I noticed the package of pancake mix had directions for larger batches of pancakes printed near the bottom.

I thought, if they can sell pancakes frozen, why can't I freeze my own pancakes? So I decided to give it a shot, and it worked really well. So, I thought I would share this with you guys. I will make up the largest batch. I could even go larger if I wanted to double the ingredients listed, but the one using 3 cups of mix lasts us quite a while. I mix up the batter in a large mixing bowl.

Then I pour them out in small circles onto the pre-heated griddle. You can do this on the stove too, it will just take a little bit longer.

There is the messy picture, because of course the neat looking one wouldn't upload =P. It takes a few batches like this on the griddle. As I take them off, I pile them up on a plate or something and let them cool off while we eat some fresh ones.

Once they are cool (but don't let them sit out too long), I place them in a large freezer bag, date it and pop it in the freezer. Now when my daughter asks for pancakes, I can pop a few into the microwave. =) Saves me time and money, so I definately love that!

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)