News from Mel

I have bittersweet news to share...

My(Mel's) family is relocating to the west coast for one year! I've mentioned before that my husband travels a lot.  He has been gone for 2 trips, up to 2 weeks, each month, for most of the past 18 months.  So we're excited to have more time together as a family.

We'll get to experience corporate apartment life, a warmer climate, and many adventures for sure! So though we're excited, we're sad to say "see you soon" to our friends & family. 



We have friends we're excited to spend time with out there, and they've already introduced us to my new favorite bakery, Sprinkles.

I was so inspired by the salted caramel cupcakes there that I've got some baking, using this recipe, right now.  Mmmmm.  I'll let you know how they turn out!

Recipe Swap: Meal for a New Mom!

I(Mel) was incredibly blessed with meals when my son arrived 3 years ago, and it's been fun for us to bless other families with meals as they welcome little ones into the world.  I rotate around a short list of meals that are easy to make and offer variety, but this is one of my favorites.

Crock Pot Chicken Barbecue

Potato rolls

Pasta salad (I make my dressing from scratch and don't use olives)

Steamed veggies, usually corn & peas

Fruit salad, whatever is in season

Dessert, usually gingersnaps or chocolate chip cookies

What meals do you like to take to new moms or shut-ins? Leave us a comment!

Life as Mom is hosting a Recipe Swap this week with a theme of "Meals to Deliver to a New Mom."  Head on over for more ideas!

Recipe: Slow Cooker Sunday Chicken

I(Mel) recently found the cookbook that came with my slow cooker.  I haven't seen it in years, so I was thrilled to try out a recipe that sounded delicious, "Sunday Chicken."  It didn't disappoint.  I conveniently made it on Sunday, and it was simple-to-prepare comfort food at its finest.

I don't have any pictures to share since it got devoured.  Mostly by me.  But suffice it to say that you can't beat this 3-ingredient recipe.

Sunday Chicken *from the GE Slow Cooker Recipe Book

3 1/2 pounds chicken, cut up(I used about 1 and 1/2 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breasts, frozen)
1 10-oz. can condensed cream of celery soup (I used cream of chicken because it was in the pantry)
1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth (I used Chardonnay and loved the flavor)
Paprika, salt and pepper (I omitted these)

Rinse chicken in cold water.  Pat dry.  Sprinkle chicken with seasonings.  Combine soup and wine.  Place half of chicken in crock and pour half of soup mixture over chicken.  Repeat layers.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours OR high for 4 hours.

Notes:

• I used a lot less chicken and liked the fact that there was lots of gravy to spread over veggies and rice.

• I put the chicken into the crock straight out the freezer in a big clump, then separated the pieces about 2 hours later.  

• From frozen chicken to completely cooked and tender, this recipe took only 3.5 hours on the HIGH setting.

• During the last hour, I steamed some peas and cooked some rice on the stovetop.  All 3 of us liked it, then I enjoyed the leftovers.  Mmmm.  Can't wait to make Sunday Chicken again.

Head on over to Life as Mom for more comfort food recipes!

Bananas $0.10/ea. at Target this Week!

One other thing I noticed at Target - the bananas are $0.10/ea. (retail: $0.19/ea.!) A 7-8 ct. bunch of bananas would cost me somewhere around $1.50-$2 at Giant, but at Target this week they're under $1! I snagged a couple of extra bunches, because I'm planning on slicing and freezing them ripe so that I can have chunks of frozen bananas to throw in smoothies. Or, you know, make 1-ingredient banana soft serve. Yum!

5 Reasons to Visit Giant This Week, 08/27-09/02

September is upon us!! I love September - my favorite month of the year. Cooler weather, autumn produce, warming spices - I am definitely an autumn girl.

1. Eastern Apples, $0.88/lb. (Save at least $0.11/lb.)
   This is rock-bottom for fresh apples this time of year - it rarely drops below $0.99/lb., even in the fall. Consider applesauce made in your own kitchen! Here's a recipe that does not use sugar.
   
2. New York Strip Steak, $4.99/lb. (Save $5/lb.)
   
3. SUPER G Chicken Drumsticks or Thighs or SUPER G Whole Chicken, $0.99/lb. (Save at least $0.50/lb.) This is a stock-up price on these as the price is rarely lower!
   
4. Kellogg's Cereal, select varieties, 4/$6 (Must buy 4)
   See 08/01 and 08/08 RP inserts for coupons - likely $1/3 to apply best
   Final price: $1.17/box
   
5. Pepperidge Farm Cookies, Crackers, Breads, 33% off
   $0.75/1 Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Chunk or Soft Baked Cookies, 08/01
   $0.60/1 Pepperidge Farm Deli Thin Flat Rolls, 06/27 SS
   $1/1 Pepperidge Farm Baked Naturals Snack Crackers
   Final price: Varies, but pretty good deals when combo'ed with 33% off!
   

Other reasons to visit Giant this week:

Fresh Pork Tenderloin, $3.99/lb. (Save at least $2/lb.)

Country Style Pork Ribs, $1.69/lb. (Save at least $1.30/lb.)

Nathan's Beef Franks, BOGO

Medium Raw Gulf Shrimp, wild caught, $5.99/lb.

Orchard Perfect Ripe Avocados, 10/$10

All Purpose Potatoes 5 lb. Bag, $1.88 (Save at least $0.91)

Giant Grape Tomatoes, $1.88/pint (Save at least $0.91)

Orchard Perfect Peaches or Nectarines, $0.99/lb. (Save at least $1/lb.)

Goya Beans, 15.5 oz. cans, all varieties, 3/$2 ($0.66/ea.)

Smart Ones Classic Favorites or Desserts, 8/$10 (Must buy 8)
$2/8, $4/10,
Final price: Varies

Crisco Vegetable Oil, $5.99

Lay's Potato Chips, BOGO

Gatorade, $0.88 (Save at least $0.37)

Coke 12-pack, must buy 4, 4/$10

Deer Park Spring Water 24-Pack, 3/$10 (Must buy 3)

Bounty Paper Towels, $9.99 (Save at least $3.50)
$1/1, 08/01 P&G
Final price: $8.99 (Compare with retail of $13.49)

***

This post is part of BeCentsAble's Grocery Gathering

What other Giant coupon matchups and deals did you spot for the coming week? Did we make any deal-calculating hiccups? Post a comment to let us know!

5 Reasons to Giant This Week, 08/06-08/12

Unfortunately my husband has been sick this week, so this post is going to be abbreviated.

1. Orchard Perfect Peaches or Nectarines, $0.99/lb. This is rock-bottom price on these! Buy some for fresh eating, and if you're inclined, freeze some in chunks for smoothies. I like to cut a nectarine in little pieces, microwave with a bit of butter, ground nutmeg, and ground ginger for 1 minute. Decadence, fast!
   
   
2. Pick your own Sweet White Corn, 12/$1.99. This is also rock-bottom on fresh ears of corn. Long live summer produce deals, am I right?
   
   
3. Center Cut Pork Loin Chops, $1.99/lb. This is half price! I think actually made these in the slow cooker since I am not very good at pan-cooking cuts of pork without drying them out.
   
   
4. Giant Butter, $1.99/lb. You know, for the corn. Or the nectarines.
   
   
5. Coke products, 4/$10 (one must be Coke Zero)
   
   This post is part of BeCentsAble's Grocery Gathering
   
   What other Giant coupon matchups and deals did you spot for the coming week? Did we make any deal-calculating hiccups? Post a comment to let us know!
   

Menu Plan/Eat from the Pantry in June

So, my stockpile in the basement has become redonkulous. I was organizing it earlier last week while the baby scooted around in her walker. (The three-year-old was reigning from her pile o'toys on the other side of the room.)

I concluded that I need to plan a mostly-eat-from-the-pantry-month again - and with the influx of fresh summer produce, I'm thinking that June's edition may be easier than January's edition.

Basically, my goal is to buy only fresh produce, dairy, eggs, etc. while maximizing my pantry's nonperishable offerings - which involves a LOT of the following, most stockpiled on some kind of discount and/or coupons:

• Brown rice (Minute and plain'ol' Mahatma)
  
• Annie's Mac'n'Cheese
• Canned pumpkin
• Canned coconut milk
• Molasses
• Chocolate chips ( bought @ $0.64/bag, yea, baby!)
  
• Teff flour
• Brown rice flour
• Arrowroot starch
  
• Peanut butter
• Shortening
• Shredded unsweetened coconut
• Mini marshmallows
• Kix and other cereals
  
• Yakisoba, acquired free after doubled coupons (I mostly use the noodles for a basis for other soups)
• Heart Healthy Bisquick
• Rolled oats
  

To top it off, we are spending much of the week in the presence of family who've flown in to visit, so between my mother-in-law (who is local) and sister-in-law (who flew in), there are several meals that I (yay!) won't have to plan or shop.

I'm kind of glad to have the menu mostly out of my hands for the week, because that gives me another 7 days to contemplate how I'm going to make use of this rather eclectic mix of stockpiled pantry staples through the end of June. Necessity is the mother of invention, am I right? (And boy, if you have recipes to suggest based on the above ingredients, please send'em or link'em my way via commenting on this post! I could sure use the inspiration.)

Here's a very general idea of how the week could proceed menu-wise. Between my mother-in-law's schnitzel and my sister-in-law's eggrolls, I could easily weigh a few more pounds by Saturday.

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Oatmeal with raisins, milk
Lunch - Annie's Macaroni and Cheese, salad
Dinner - A homemade German feast of schnitzel, mushroom gravy, sauerkraut, etc., courtesy of my mother-in-law. I'll provide the German chocolate cake, based on this recipe, which should also use this never-before-tried but highly-rated coconut pecan frosting.

Wednesday:
Breakfast - At IKEA, perhaps (doesn't get much cheaper to feed a crowd with $0.99 plates of eggs, home fries, and bacon!)
Lunch - $0.99-crust Trader Joe's pizzas with the extended family, Pioneer Woman Style
Dinner - Planned by my mother-in-law, so I'm not sure (?)

Thursday:
Breakfast - Banana bread, milk
Lunch - Unsure; planned by my in-laws after a family trip to the portrait studio
Dinner - By my sister-in-law, ergo bound to involve delicious Asian fare

Friday:
Breakfast - Blueberry pancakes, milk
Lunch - Leftovers?
Dinner - My nephew's birthday dinner party, hosted by my mother-in-law

Frugal Fridays: Breakfast Burritos!

It's time for the blog carnival Frugal Fridays - when we blog about the small habits and other tidbits we include in our comings and goings to save money on a regular basis.

About every other month I sign up to take snacks to our adult Sunday School class. People like to eat hearty breakfast food, and I've found a way to make breakfast for a crowd without breaking the bank... breakfast burritos!

Since I buy large amounts of eggs at a time from Costco, I can make 24 burritos for $6-8 depending on what I throw into the scrambled eggs. The price is right, and I like that I can make these the night before we'll eat them, stow them in the fridge, then warm them just before eating the next day. The burritos also freeze well in foil. I usually make a few extras so I can have an "on the go" breakfast to throw in the toaster oven for 10-12 minutes.

Mel's Breakfast Burritos

1 lb. sausage, browned (I use my homemade turkey sausage)

18 eggs, scrambled

Salt & pepper

1 and 1/2 to 2 cups salsa

2 cans black beans

2 cups shredded Mexican or cheddar cheese

24 small flour tortillas, warmed

Roll of foil, cut into pieces to wrap burritos individually

Cook sausage in saucepan and drain juices. Set aside. In same pan, scramble eggs, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Add salsa and black beans to eggs. Stir until evenly combined.

Turn off heat and set up an assembly line: tortillas on the left, then cheese, then egg/salsa/bean mixture. Assemble one burrito at a time, starting with cheese, then wrap it tightly in foil.

Warm burritos at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, 35-40 minutes if stored overnight in fridge.

Redemption Unlimited is for entertainment purposes only. Mel and A. are not a financial advisers and no information found on this site should be construed as financial advice.

Menu Plan Monday - Roasted Wasabi Asparagus!

With my daytimes being so intense/unpredictable lately due to a very hungry/cuddly baby, I'm trying to devise a menu based on non-specific baking/cooking times, or items able to be mostly preassembled the night before.

But: Asparagus is cheap ($1.69/lb.) at Giant this week! Anybody who's been following this blog for a while knows what an asparagus fanatic I (A.) am. Truly, my family's less-maniacal (yet amicable) feelings for it is the only reason I don't serve it every lunch and dinner while it's in season. :) In honor of Spring 2010 Asparagus Season, I've included my roasted wasabi asparagus recipe below.

Other Giant sale items making it into this week's menu plan: $1.66/lb. strawberries and Cracker Barrel cheese.

Monday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with raisins, milk - had thawed some chocolate chip pumpkin bread yesterday, so that was breakfast with banana!
Lunch: Spinach salad with papaya, cheddar, avocado, ranch
Dinner: Baked potatoes with toppings, wasabi asparagus

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Maple sausage, microwave "fried" eggs, milk
Lunch: Banana peanut butter smoothies, Trader Joe's Jaipur Vegetables
Dinner: Spinach salad with (made ahead) antipasto salad: couponed Hormel pepperoni, mozzarella, tomatoes, balsamic vinaigrette

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Mango crumble (made ahead with couponed Dole frozen mango chunks), milk
Lunch: Spinach omelettes, sliced apples
Dinner: Garlic ginger shrimp and broccoli

Thursday:
Breakfast: Strawberries (on sale at Giant) and bananas, slices of Cracker Barrel cheese (also on sale at Giant), milk
Lunch: Tuna salad (made ahead) on spinach salad with tomatoes
Dinner: Crock pot chicken with carrots, leeks

Friday:
Breakfast: Crustless quiche (made ahead), banana, milk
Lunch: Miso (broth made ahead) with spring onions, tofu, and brown rice
Dinner: BLT shrimp salad, strawberries

***

Roasted Wasabi Asparagus:

In a 1 gallon zip bag, mix:
Generous amounts of: Wasabi paste
(Wasabi paste is sold in Asian section of your grocery store, Target, or WalMart, or Asian grocery stores - 1 tbsp. gives a vague taste, 2 tbsps. a bit of kick, 3 tbsps. considerable heat, 4 tbsps.+ = five-alarm-clear-your-sinuses)
Non-flavored oil (extra light virgin olive oil, safflower oil, etc.)

Small amounts of:
Ground ginger
Salt
Pepper
Sugar (if you like your heat bolstered with a bit of sweet)

The ratios here depend on your desired effect, but you should end up with a generous amount of marinade, a thinned out green paste. Cut 1-2 lbs. asparagus stalks into thirds, and then place pieces into gallon bag of marinade. Shake well to coat evenly. Place on foil-lined sheet and put in oven or toaster oven at 450 F for 13 minutes (this is for tender-crisp just barely blistered on the outside texture).

Frugal Fridays: Chai concentrate recipe

I recently stumbled across a new chai concentrate recipe. A. posted her version here, but I never happen to have cardamom pods lying around. A., however, seems to! I was glad to see a recipe that included ingredients in my pantry.

I only have regular Tetley tea in the house. Though I didn't try the chai with black tea, I still liked it, especially with one of my delicious birthday cupcakes that just happened to be chai flavored!

The downside of this recipe is that it makes a huge amount of chai concentrate. Since I only drink it about once a week, I'm looking for a creative way to use up the rest. Does anyone have a recipe for muffins or cake that uses chai concentrate? If so, do tell!

5 Reasons to Visit Giant This Week: 03/05-03/11

Top Five Reasons to Visit Giant This Week:

1. Point Cut Corned Beef Brisket, $1.49/lb. (Save at least $1.50/lb.)
   I couldn't resist. :)
   
   
2. Nature's Promise deals!
   
   Nature's Promise Deal: Save $3 off your next order when you purchase $15 worth of Nature's Promise products in one transaction.
   
   I'm going to love this deal, as we already spend about $12/week in Nature's Promise milk, anyway. Basically throw a ~$3 item on top of that and count as a freebie!
   
   See details below for pricing on Nature's Promise products.
   
   
3. FREEBIE with $25 purchase! Coupon: FREE King David 5 lb. Matzos or Aviv Matzos 5 lb. Package with a $25 purchase and in-ad coupon. When I pick up this freebie, I'm planning on making this delicious-looking 5-star "Matzo Toffee" recipe, or maybe this 5-star Matzo Apple Kugel recipe, or maybe both, perhaps for Easter!
   
   Note: I'm going to try to combo the matzo coupon with the Nature's Promise deal. Check out my proposed scenario here.
   
   
4. Free veggies! Birds Eye Vegetables, 10/$10
   $0.50/1, 02/07 SS, or $0.35/1, 02/28 SS
   If you have a $0.50/1, FREE!
   
   
5. Prego Pasta Sauce, 2/$4
   Heart Smart Sauces, $1/1, $0.50/2, 02/07 SS
   Final price, if coupon applies: As low as $1
   

Other Reasons to Visit Giant This Week:

Straight Cut Corned Beef, $2.99/lb. (Save at least $2/lb.)

Porterhouse or T-Bone Steak, $4.99 (Save at least $5/lb.)

Fresh Pork Spare Ribs, $1.99/lb. (Save $2/lb.)

SUPER G Chicken, $0.99/lb.
Drumsticks or Thighs, or Whole Chicken

Hebrew National Beef Franks, BOGO

Snow Crab Clusters, $4.99/lb. (Save at least $4/lb.)

Louis Kemp Crab Delights, BOGO

Gorton's Seafood, entire line, 33% off
Coupons here
$1/1 Grilled Shrimp or Grilled Item, 02/07, or $0.50/1, 01/03
$1/2, 01/24 SS
$0.40/1, 02/21 SS

Green Cabbage, $0.29/lb. (Save at least $0.30/lb.)

All Purpose Potatoes, 5 lb. Bag, 2/$4 (Save at least $0.99/each)

Guaranteed Value 4-Pack Tomatoes, 2/$3

Fresh Strawberries, 1 lb., 2/$4 (This is approaching summertime prices, so go for it!)

Jumbo Cantaloupe Melons, 2/$5

Dole Salad Blends, 2/$5

Tribe 8 oz. Hummus, $2.99 (Save $1)

DiGiorno Shredded Cheese, BOGO

Dannon Yoghurt, 20/$10
$1/10, 02/21 SS
Final price: $0.40/cup

Giant Cheese Board Cheese, 2/$4

Giant Shredded Cheese, 2/$4

Breyers Ice Cream, 2/$6

Haagen-Dazs, 2/$7

Pillsbury Toaster Strudel, 2/$4
$1/1
$0.55/2, 01/03 GM, or 02/07 GM, or coupons.com
Lowest final price: $1

Newman's Own Thin & Crispy Pizza, 2/$10
Coupons
$1/1, 01/24 RP
Final price: $4

Del Monte Fruit, 4/$5
$1/5, 02/07 RP
Final price: 5/$5.25, or $1.05 each

Giant Parboiled Rice, 10 lb. bag, $4.99

Goya Beans, 3/$2 ($0.66/each)

Post or Kellogg's Cereal, 3/$5
Pebbles, Froot Loops, Corn Pops, Rice Krispies, Cocoa Krispies, Apple Jacks
I couldn't find any coupons for this - anybody else?

Pepperidge Farm Cookies and Crackers, 33% off
$1/1 Baked Naturals Snack Crackers
$1/1 Baked Naturals, 01/17 RP2
$1/2 or $0.50/1 Cookies, 02/21 SS

Stacy's Pita Chips, 2/$5

Martin's Potato Bread, $1.69

Nature's Own, Honey Wheat Bread, $1.99

Bounty Paper Towels, $9.99
$0.25/1, 02/07 P&G
Final price: $9.49

Listed Real Deals, good over multiple weeks

Classico Pasta Sauce, 2/$5, $1/2
Tostitos Salsa, 2/$5
Ben & Jerry's Pints, 2/$6
Edy's Fruit Bars, 2/$7
Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Drinks, 2/$5, $1/2 Grapefruit Juice or Drinks, 02/14 RP
Frito Lay Family Size Snacks, $3.99
V8 V-Fusion, 2/$6, $1/1, $1/1
Giant Singles, $2.99
Blue Diamond Almonds, 2/$5, $1/2 (01/17 SS)
Pop-Secret Microwave Popcorn, 5/$10, $0.50/2, 01/31 SS, or 02/21 RP
Giant Instant Oatmeal, 2/$4
Thomas' Bagel Thins, Mini Bagels, or Round Bagels, 2/$5, $1/1 March All You
Nature Valley Chewy or Crunchy Granola Bars, $2.88, $0.70/2, 02/07 GM
Crystal Light, $2.99, $2/2, 01/03 SS2
Kleenex Facial Tissue, 10/$10, $0.50/3, 02/28 SS or coupons.com
All 2X Liquid Detergent, $3.99, $0.40/1 when you register

Save $0.10 per gallon of gas for every 100 points earned! Participating items include Birds Eye Frozen Vegetables, Ore-Ida Potatoes, Giant Vegetables, Fries, Frozen Vegetables.

Nature's Promise Deal: Save $3 off your next order when you purchase $15 worth of Nature's Promise products in one transaction.

Last year about this time there was a Nature's Promise deal structured similarly to this one, and I was able to roll the coupon by going to the customer service; otherwise the checkout automatically does it "after coupon", so you'll probably need to spend $18 on Nature's Promise (or perhaps just $18 transaction total including $15 worth of Nature's Promise) to get your $3 Catalina to print out if last year's deal is any indicator.

Nature's Promise Organic Celery Hearts, 2/$5

Nature's Promise Organic Romaine Hearts, 2/$5

Nature's Promise Organic Broccoli, $1.79/lb.

Nature's Promise Organic Cauliflower, $3.49

Nature's Promise Boneless Chicken Breast, $3.99/lb.

Nature's Promise Eye Round Roast, $4.99/lb.

Nature's Promise Beef Hot Dogs (no nitrates or nitrites, uncured), $3.99/1 lb. package

Nature's Promise Bacon (no nitrates or nitrites, uncured), 12 oz., $3.99

Nature's Promise Tea, 10/$10

Nature's Promise Honey Roasted Snack Bars, 10/$10

Nature's Promise Organic 100% Juice Box, $2.69

Nature's Promise Thin Crust Pizza, $4.49

Nature's Promise Organic Syrup (raspberry or blueberry), save $0.50

Nature's Promise Organic Mango Slices, $4.99

Nature's Promsie Organic Fish-Shaped Crackers, $2.79

Nature's Promise Pretzels, $1.99

Nature's Promise Black Cherry Juice, $3.29

Nature's Promise Soymilk, 2/$3

Nature's Promise Soyburgers, $2.99/10 oz. package

Nature's Promise Organic Macaroni and Cheddar Cheese, 3/$4

Nature's Promise Baked Whole Wheat Crackers (Triscuit-style), $1.79

Nature's Promise White Cheddar Puffs, Save $0.50

Nature's Promise Veggie Chips or Sticks, $2.99

Nature's Promise Kettle Chips, 2/$5

Nature's Promise Organic Pasta Sauce, 2/$5

Nature's Promise Breads, 2/$5

***
Passover Deals

Coupon: FREE King David 5 lb. Matzos or Aviv Matzos 5 lb. Package with a $25 purchase and in-ad coupon. When I pick up this freebie, I'm planning on making this delicious-looking 5-star "Matzo Toffee" recipe, or maybe this 5-star Matzo Apple Kugel recipe, or maybe both, perhaps for Easter!

Coupon: $2.99 with a $25 purchase and in-ad coupon - Manischewitz or Streit's Matzos 5 lb. packages

Kedem Grape Juice, 2/$5

Streit's Egg Matzos, $2.99

Streit's Whole Wheat Matzos, $2.99

Mrs. Adler's Gefilte Fish, $2.99

Yehuda Matzo Cake Meal, 14-16 oz. package, $2.99

Streit's Macarooms, 2/$5

Osem Cucumbers in Brine, 5/$5

Streit's Potato Pancake Mix, 2/$3

Gold's Borscht, 2/$3

Ungar's Blintzes, $3.99

Season Solid White Tuna, 2/$5

Savion Crispy-O's Cereal, $2.99

Manischewtiz TamTam, 2/$5

Dr. Brown's Soda 1 Liter, 10/$10

Kedem Apple Juice, 2/$3

Joyva Ring Jells or Marshmallow Twists, $2.99

Savion Fruit Slices, 2/$4

Rokeach Glass Candle, 2/$1

Empire Kosher Fresh 8 Piece Cut Up Chicken, $2.99/lb.

Empire Kosher Fresh Whole Chicken, $2.79/lb.

Empire Kosher Frozen Turkey, $1.99/lb.

***
2/$10 Specials in Prepared Foods:

Chicken Friday - Giant Rotisserie Chicken

Barbeque Saturday - Butcher's Prime Fully Cooked Pork BBQ Spare Ribs

Pizza Sunday - Uno Deep Dish Pizza

***
10/$10 Sale

Barilla Pasta
Chicken of the Sea
Solid White Tuna
Progresso Vegetable Classics Soup, $1/4, 02/07 GM, or 02/21 SS
Utz Potato Chips
Celeste Pizza for One
Giant White Bread
Nesquik Flavored Milk
Ken's Salad Dressing
Banquet Brown 'N Serve Links or Patties
Orchard Perfect Ripe Avocados
Theater Box Candy
Giant Tomatoes
Gatorade, $1/2 G2, 01/10 RP
Deer Park Water
Green Giant Canned Vegetables (Green beans, corn, peas)
Campbell's Condensed Cream Soups, excludes 98% and Fat Free, $0.30/4, 02/28 SS, $0.25/3, 01/10 SS, $0.40/4, 01/03 SS

***

Seafood/Prescription Deal:

FREE Fresh Boneless Atlantic Salmon Fillets, Farm Raised, Up to 2 lbs. (Excludes Big Buys) for new customers with new prescriptions, or existing customers with transferred prescriptions.

***
Beauty Deals
Many of these item listed on this page (ex. the Fructis hair care deal) can be had more cheaply at CVS, other drugstores, or Wal-Mart and other big box stores. Nevertheless I'll list a couple here.

Covergirl Mascara or Nail Polish, 25% off

L'Oreal Double Extend Mascara, save $2, or L'Oreal Eye Shadow, Save $1
$1/1 mascara

***
Weekly Meal Deal

Buy one Hormel Fully Cooked Entree, all varieties, 17 oz. packages ($1.50/1, 02/07 SS, or $1/1), and get a FREE Country Crock Side Dish, all varieties, 20 oz.-24 oz. Maybe $0.40/1?

***

This post is part of BeCentsAble's Grocery Gathering

What other Giant coupon matchups and deals did you spot for the coming week? Did we make any deal-calculating hiccups? Post a comment to let us know!

Corned Beef Season at Giant

Last year, I made an unexpected discovery: my family, and my extended family in the area, and many of our local friends...all love corned beef. I learned how to make it for the first time last year, and made it several times after that with the few corned beef roasts that I had frozen from Giant's St. Patrick's Day sale. I've just gotten my first glance at the front page of the Giant ad (matchups to come a bit later), but it looks like this week, and probably a week or two to come, the corned beef is $1.49/lb. (Cabbage is $0.29/lb., and potatoes are $2 for a 5 lb. bag, too.)

This year, I'm gunning to store many more in my freezer (I have a chest freezer in our garage where much of our frozen meat is stored). After all, I have few dishes which have had such a high payoff of results when compared with effort invested - since I cook corned beef with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots in my crock pot, it couldn't get much easier. Time to clear out freezer-burned items and devote a corner of my chest freezer in honor of St. Patrick's Day! See some highly rated corned beef recipes here.

Are you going to freeze the cheap corned beef? Any tips or recipes to share? I've found that a bottle of beer (I've used Heineken with great results) added to the crockpot mix adds a certain something.

Snow Ice Cream

C'mon... you know you want it!!

Snow Ice Cream

(I added decaf instant coffee and brandy extract to my recipe....*drool*)

Did you try a snow ice cream recipe this weekend? How did it turn out? :)
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Birthday Cake Round-up: Thomas the Tank Engine Cake

My son has fallen head over heels for Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas, Thomas' friends, Sir Topham Hat, Harold the Helicopter, we're all over you here in our house! I think he dreams of Thomas, because he wakes up talking about him.


To celebrate my son's birthday last year I made the simplest Thomas cake I could conceive. I was tempted to make this cake but quickly gave up on that idea once I realized how many days it would take. And his birthday is in December, mind you?! As if there's not enough on my literal plate.



At any rate, I really enjoy decorating sugar cookies. In keeping with LifeAsMom's Birthday Cake Round-up, here is my version of a Thomas cake! My favorite chocolate cake recipe is the Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake. I use 3 9" layer cake pans because this recipe makes a lot of cake batter. For the frosting I used the delectable Wilton Chocolate Buttercream Icing recipe. Instead of milk I used half & half, which gave the frosting a deeper dimension.





And a few more photos so you can see the table setup with a LILLABO figure 8 wooden track set from IKEA.

Happy birthday to the sweetest boy!

Cookbook Review: Make it Fast, Cook it Slow

I've been dying to get my hands on Stephanie O'Dea's new cookbook, "Make it Fast, Cook it Slow." She rose to fame with her "A Year of Crockpotting" blog and I still follow her posts happily.

I liketo cook, but I don't like to have a lot of cookbooks. I find it confusing to remember which book harbors which recipe, and it's just easier to search for or save recipes on my computer. So I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to cookbooks. Rather than purchase them, I'll borrow one or sign one out of the library. When I found out our library had "Make it Fast, Cook it Slow," I quickly placed a hold on it. I wanted to see how it was formatted before buying it, and I've decided that I'd love to have it in my kitchen after seeing it and holding it in my hands. I like the format, and the publisher still printed some of Stephanie's pithy comments.

Last week I tried out the Taco Soup recipe in the cookbook when making a meal to take to a friend. I was pleased with the results. I omitted the ranch dressing packet from the recipe, used black beans instead of kidney beans, and used 2 tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning. Yummy! I will definitely make this one again for my own family.

Frugal Fridays: Eat from the Pantry and Taco Seasoning!

Over at Life as Mom, Jessica has challenged bloggers to write about what we're doing to stretch our dollars a little further.

Both A. and I are committed to cooking and baking as much food as possible for our families. During Eat from the Pantry month, we've ramped up our efforts more than ever. I've learned some things about myself this month, and I'll share more about that later, but I now know that eating from the pantry will be something we do every month.


Out of necessity earlier this week, I looked up a taco seasoning recipe because I was out of the Ortega packets I usually have in our pantry. I usually get those packets for under $.75 when Shoppers does triple coupons, but those days seem to be few & far between anymore. I was pleasantly surprised with how well this seasoning recipe tasted. I like that I can control the amounts of heat and sodium, making it family friendly for us. I quickly made a second round of the seasoning after using it and stored it in a small plastic container in my spice cupboard. I used it again in a tortilla chicken soup I took to a friend yesterday, and we still have more for later!

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it. I originally found the recipe here but adjusted the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes because the amounts were way too much for our family.

Mel's Taco Seasoning
Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients with a fork. For a finer consistency process seasoning in a food processor. Store in an airtight container.

Eat from the Pantry Challenge - Invented Recipe - "Coconut Curry Veggie Bowl"

This - today's pantry-assembled lunch - was surprisingly good. I will be making it again in the future for sure. Turmeric is a known cancer-preventer!

Coconut Curry Veggie Bowl

Into a medium pot, on med-high heat:

1 14 oz. can coconut milk (I may substitute "lite" coconut milk in the future)
2 chicken boullion cubes (could be veggie boullion to make this vegan)
Heaping teaspoon curry powder
Heaping teaspoon turmeric
Dash onion powder
Dash garlic powder
1 cup uncooked quinoa (could substitute rice of any kind, but it may require a bit longer on the stove if so)
1/3 c. dried cranberries
Short drizzle agave syrup (or 1 heaping teaspoon sugar)

Heat the above for 10 minutes or so, to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add:

1 c. frozen veggies (I did a frozen mixed: carrots, green beans, peas, corn)

Cook another 5 minutes, still stirring occasionally, and then turn off heat.

Dish into bowls and top with toasted chopped walnuts. (To toast walnuts, put in chopped walnuts in toaster oven at 450 for 5 minutes while the other stuff cooks...)

Yum!

Eating from the Pantry - Feeding Company on the Fly

My inlaws came by - and stayed for dinner last night. My older daughter just basks in their adoration and special attention.

My husband and I threw together a "from the pantry" dinner for company on the fly for the occasion. Here's how it broke down:

Dinner:

Chicken drumsticks (from the freezer), baked with honey, sesame oil, garlic powder, and ginger powder
Steamed frozen asparagus, dressed with spray Caesar vinaigrette
Steamed frozen edamame pods
Fresh baby carrots (pretty much a staple at our house)

And for dessert:

Thawed/warmed slices of sour cream loafs (sour cream muffin mix in mini loaf form), from last November's Baking Day - much like fluffier pound cake
with
Mixed Berry sauce (frozen berries, splash of juice, white sugar brought to boil in saucepan)
and
Whipped cream (a carton of heavy cream soon-to-be-past-its prime from the fridge) with drops of vanilla extract, brandy extract, and a dash of ginger powder

My inlaws raved on the dished-out dessert (which I really should have photo'ed for the blog). It was without question the most creative element of my "Eating-from-the-Pantry-With-Company" meal. It shows how you can transform a humble Baking Day frozen item into a warm gourmet-looking dessert with steaming hot berry sauce and melting-on-top whipped cream.

Also, I'm beginning to be convinced that having a small carton of heavy cream on hand at all times (like eggs and milk) could be worthwhile for the convenience and taste factor (much more luxurious than even Reddi-Wip). Regular heavy cream is generally cheaper than aerosol whipped creams, and it has a pretty long shelf life, so unless there are aerosol whipped cream coupons/sales available, doing the 30 seconds of work with an electric mixer to whip the heavy cream into soft peaks is worth it, and company will testify as much!

Meal-Planning Day - January 2010 Eating from the Pantry Challenge

If you're going to eat from the pantry more in January 2010, consider today a chance to plan.

Here are some ways I'm planning:

1. Inventory your resources. I was astonished by the amount of staples that we have upon a quick survey! I drew up a list of what I have so that a rough menu-planning sketch for the month will include these items heavily. Try to cluster like items together so that you can envision meal elements. Some like-item categories are:

• Starches: rice, pasta, lentils, other cookable grains, etc.
• Baking elements: Flours, sugars, molasses, honey, evaporated milk, nuts, dried fruits, Bisquick, baking mixes, etc.
• Breakfast foods: Cereal, oatmeal, granola bars, etc.
• Condiments: Marinades, dressings, sauces, peanut butter, jellies, etc.
• Vegetables: Canned, frozen, dried.
• Fruit: Canned, frozen, dried. (remember that for fruits or veggies fresh produce purchases will also come into play...)
• Meats and proteins: Canned tuna, canned chicken, frozen poultry and meats, beef jerky, peanut butter, nuts, eggs.

2. Do a rough monthly menu-plan sketch. This is not written in stone, but it will help to keep you from unnecessarily buying extra groceries from desperation. Throw together a fruit, a starch, a veggie, or a veggie, a protein, a condiment, etc. Cluster varied meal elements, and feel free to add items like, "Fresh fruit" or "Fresh veggie" as a general placeholder for what you'll find on sale during the month as you do your minimal grocery shopping. If you're up for getting creative already, make elemental recipe notes like, "Shredded cheese + brown rice + chicken chunks = casserole". If you like, use the ingredient search on allrecipes.com or recipezaar.com to throw a couple of ingredients together and see what suggested recipes result.

3. Do a final-buy of anything you need on 12/31. I'll be picking up fresh avocados and mangoes at Giant while they're cheap (Thursday's the last day for the sale prices on those), and maybe some poultry or meat since our frozen meat stash was semi-raided in December after our baby's arrival.
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Eating from the Pantry Challenge - Planned for January 2009

My husband and I (A.) recently reviewed the month of December for our bills - which, incidentally, were way lower than usual. It would appear that nothing puts a damper on casual runs to Target, Giant, and other locales like having a newborn at home!

Soon after our monthly bill review, frugality blogger Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom posted her Eating from the Pantry challenge for the month of January. The timing for the concept was impeccable. Crystal notes: "We're attempting to avoid grocery shopping as much as possible and will be blogging what we're feeding our families, creative recipes we're concocting, and how we're pulling this whole thing off."

While I'm not planning on precisely following Crystal's parameters set for herself and the Paine family, I'm already in a scenario where my husband is doing nearly all of the grocery shopping from my written lists and a few assigned coupons - and I'm home, dreaming up ways to use my stockpile. Like Crystal, we're going to focus what minimized grocery shopping we do on procuring lots of fresh produce and dairy, with little-to-no processed foods bought. (Bonus - that also de facto reduces coupon-finding and -clipping for the month.) So, doing the challenge is not a huge leap of faith - it's more like rendering what we're already doing in this life season in official blog format. I have a feeling that this is going to involve a LOT of casseroles, pasta dishes, and fruit smoothies.

I'll be posting ways that we are trying to stretch our pantry and fridge/freezer contents over the coming weeks, and at the end of January do a bit of summing up of what I've learned, money saved, recipes invented, my husband's perspective, etc. Follow my Eating from the Pantry Challenge blog posts by clicking our "Eating from the Pantry" label...and follow other bloggers who are doing the challenge by seeing Crystal's Mr. Linky list at her introductory post here.

Are you going to be trying the Eating from the Pantry Challenge? What strategies are you planning?
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