Menu Plan Monday - Anybody Out There With Indian Cooking Tips?

I tend to keep a large stash of Trader Joe's Jaipur Vegetables in my pantry to indulge my cravings for:

a) a quick veggie-based lunch that both my three-year-old and I will eat (we split a $2.20 package between the two of us, usually), and
b) Indian spices (my husband and my entire extended family are decidedly not fans of Indian food, so making large dishes with Indian spices has the potential to be wasteful in our household)

I've also seen packet versions of Jaipur veggies on Amazon, but I am lately pondering if there might be a crockpot type version of Jaipur vegetables out there so that I might try making it from scratch. I figured that if I could nail it and maybe freeze servings, the seasonings, potatoes, carrots, beans, etc. might enable me to enjoy the dish for cheaper than $2.20/lunch. It would be a great "freezer day" project for me as I could add chopped veggies to the crock pot to simmer whenever - ideal with a nursing baby around.

Do we have any readers out there with talents in the Indian culinary arts that might be able to point me in the right direction or offer tips?

Monday
Breakfast - Nectarines, cheese, milk
Lunch - Leftovers from this weekend - veggie/meat kabobs and/or brats
Dinner - Quiche, cubed papaya

Tuesday
Breakfast - Yoghurt with honey
Lunch - Peanut butter with apple slices, cheese
Dinner - Turkey chili, loosely based on this, cornbread (I have a lot of frozen ground turkey to use up!)

Wednesday
Breakfast - Microwave-fried eggs, bananas, milk
Lunch - Leftover chili and cornbread
Dinner - Baked frozen chicken legs, salads

Thursday
Breakfast - Blueberries, yoghurt, milk
Lunch - Trader Joe's Jaipur vegetables, peaches
Dinner - Frozen pizza, salads

Friday
Breakfast - Chocolate chip bacon pancakes (yes, you read that right!)
Lunch - Tuna salad, crackers, strawberries
Dinner - Pasta carbonara, made with the frozen ground turkey and stockpiled couponed-for-free pasta

Giant Triplers?

I saw a Giant ad with triplers today, but it was on the same page as some specials for one particular Giant location. Can any readers/bloggers reading clue me in with a comment as to whether your Giant ad also featured tripler coupons? (Some get the Giant ad in the Washington Post as early as today.)

If there are indeed triplers in the circulars for more than a couple of stores, I'll try to take the time to also include tripler highlights in the Giant matchups for this week.

Thanks!

Blogger Gagged on Comments

Unfortunately it looks as though Blogger gagged on a couple of comments that were posted in relation to the Shopper's double and triple coupons. (I got a couple of cra-hazy looking error messages upon hitting "publish" on them.) I've tried to resurrect them with no success, so if those who commented feel inclined to resubmit, please be our guest! I just didn't want anybody to think that we were leaving them out of the Shopper's fun. :)

P&G Catalina Deal at Giant Even Better than Advertised!

WOW! The P&G Catalina deal is even better than advertised in this week's Giant ad. Gina of Moneywise Moms left us a great comment alerting us to the sweetness of the Catalina deal - Thanks so much, Gina!

Apparently the $30 minimum to get the $10 Catalina is good for shelf prices, not the sale prices, so you can get $30 in retail prices to get the Catalina, saving even more. Check out this week's Giant deals (including P&G Catalina product matchups) here!
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5 Reasons to Visit Giant This Week, 12/04-12/10

Cheap-ish cereal at Giant this week, if you're needing some!

Five Reasons to Visit Giant This Week:

1. General Mills, Kellogg's or Quaker Cereal, $1.88/box
   Trix, Kellogg's Raisin Bran, Corn Pops, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops, Rice Krispies, Quaker Life Cereal, Cap'n Crunch Cereal
   $1/2 General Mills Cereals, Coupons.com AND Betty Crocker website AND Pillsbury website, final price: $1.38/box
   $1.50/2 Kellogg's Raisin Bran, final price $1.13/box
   $1/3 Raisin Bran, 11/08 RP
   $1/2 Kellogg's Froot Loops, Corn Pops, Apple Jacks or Frosted Flakes cereal, 11/08 RP, final price: $1.38/box
   $1/1 Kellogg's Crispix, All-Bran, Rice Krispies or Corn Flakes cereal , 11/08 RP, final price $0.88/box Reader Kate let us know that this Rice Krispies coupon was for a 10 oz.+ box, and the sale item is for a 9 oz. box. Thanks again, Kate!
   
   
2. Dannon Yoghurt, 20/$10
   $1/10, 09/13 insert, 10/25 SS, 11/15 SS
   Final price: $0.40/cup
   
   
3. Wish-Bone Salad Dressing, 2/$5
   $0.75/1 printable
   Final price: $1
   
   
4. Reach Dental Floss, Waxed, Mint, Unwaxed, or Clean Burst, $0.99
   $1/1, 04/26 RP, 06/21 SS, 10/18 RP
   Final price: FREE!
   
   
5. Birds Eye Boxed Vegetables, 10/$10
   $0.50/1, 11/08 SS, probably applies
   Final price: FREE

Here are other Giant coupon matchups, sales, and deals that we spotted for the week of December 4 through December 10.

Porterhouse or T-Bone Steak, $4.99/lb.

SUPER G Homestyle Roasting Chicken, $0.99/lb.

Sweet Sweedless Clementines, 5 lb. box, $4.77, limit 2

Bunched Broccoli or Broccoli Crowns, $0.99/lb.

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

Stouffer's Entrees, 5/$10

10/$10 Sale
Pepsi 2-Liters
Progresso Vegetable Classics Soup - coupons vary regionally - ($1/4, 10/25 SS) ($0.50/2, 11/08 SS, 11/15 GM, 10/25 SS)
Barilla Pasta
Glaceau Vitamin Water
Furmano's Tomatoes
Celeste Pizza for One
Oscar Mayer Basic or Jr. Lunchables
Giant White Bread

Second Page

SUPER G Drumsticks or Thighs, $0.99/lb.

Oscar Mayer Fully Cooked Bacon, 2/$6
$0.75/1, 11/15 SS
Final price: $1.50/each

Nature's Promise Boneless Chicken Breast, $4.99/lb.

Nature's Promise Boneless Beef Chuck Steak, $3.99/lb.

Third Page

Minute Maid Orange Juice and Simply Lemonade and Simply Limade, or Gold Peak Iced Tea, 2/$4

Cabot Bar Cheese, 2/$5
$1/3, 08/02 SS
Final price: $2.17/each

Giant Fancy Shredded Cheese, 2/$4

Nature's Promise Instant Oeatmeal, 2/$5

Blue Diamond Nut Thins, 2/$5

Toiletries and Health

Nature's Bounty Vitamins, BOGO
$2/1 and $1/1, 11/01 SS
Use two coupons since you are getting two bottles!

Met-Rx Protein Plus Bars, 2/$4
BOGO coupon, 09/20 insert ("other")
Final price: $1/each

Catalina deal: Buy $10 worth of Garnier products in one transaction and receive a coupon at checkout for $3 off your next order.

Fructis Hair Care, $2.99
$0.75/1, 11/08 RP
Final price: $1.49

Nutrisse Hair Color, $6.99
$2/1, 11/08 RP
Final price: $4.99

Nutritioniste Skin Care, $2 off retail
$1/1, 10/11 RP
$2.50/1, 11/08 RP
$1/1, 09/13 insert ("other")

Deal idea: Buy 4 Garnier hair products, use four $0.75/1 coupons, spend $6, get $3 back. Net: 4 for $3, or $0.75/bottle

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This post is part of BeCentsAble's Grocery Gathering

What other Giant coupon matchups and deals did you spot for the coming week? Post a comment to let us know!

Reader Comment - $2 Catalinas for every $20 Spent on Kraft Dairy?

Ooooo we just got a hot comment from reader Lynn, as follows:

I got a Cat today telling me about a Kraft cheese/dairy promotion at Giant for a $2 OYNO Cat every time you spend $20.

1. Buy any Kraft cheese or dairy product using your card now through 5/8/10 (yes, a 6 MONTH promo!!)

2. Earn a $2 grocery coupon every time you spend $20 on Kraft cheese or dairy products (purchases can be made over multiple shopping trips)

3. Save by redeeming your grocery coupon on your next shopping trip.

Lynn, THANKS so much for taking the time to type out these details! This could turn out to be a very sweet deal indeed.

Has anybody else gotten this Catalina deal? If it's truly a "multiple shopping trip" Catalina, then it must be tied to your BonusCard, so be sure to use your Giant BonusCard when you shop! I am wondering if the cream cheese deal going on this week (which, even without the Catalina deal, would bring the price from $2/block down to $0.58/block, potentially) would count toward this Catalina...?
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Filling Your Pantry for Back to School with This Week's Cheap Cereal and Snacks

We've got you covered on some morning foods this week - just look at all the Kellogg's cereals and Pop-Tarts which range from potentially FREE up to $0.50/each this week at Giant. Besides the 08/02 insert which had the Kellogg's coupons, there are also Kellogg's coupon pamphlets that have been spotted at Giant and WalMart. Thanks, Nicole, for the WalMart Tip!

As for during and after school, Gina's covering snack sales at Safeway and other affiliates this week. She will kick-start you on some sales/coupon matchups that will make your lunchbox additions that much cheaper, so be sure to check out her post before the deals are gone.
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Giant Matchups for Reported Tripler Coupons for MD-Area Giants

Reader Trisha posted a comment letting us know that her MD-area Giant had 5 tripler coupons which could be used to triple any 5 coupons valued $0.99 and under. Sweet! How we wish we could get our mitts on those. :)

We posted some potential matchups for triplers under her comment; if you've found other tripler deals feel free to add them to this comments page so that others can profit from your shared wisdom and experience. :)

I mean...$0.35 jugs of Ocean Spray Pomegranate juices? $0.25 six-packs of yoghurt? Definitely worth perusing if your ad has those tripler coupons.

Thanks for sharing, Trisha!! :)
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Kraft Fuel For School Deals and Moneymaker

We got a great comment from reader Lisa. She said:

"Have you read about the Kellogg's Fuel for School [link inserted by us] rebate? Kellogg's has posted the rebate form online this year. If you purchase ten Kellogg's items in one transaction -- other items are also included -- you can get $10 back. So after coupons and rebate, ten boxes of Kellogg's cereal free.

Target also has a great deal right now you can conbine with this rebate. You get a $5 Target gift card for buying 5 Keebler cookies. You can print coupons online for Keebler fudge shop cookies, $1 off. There is also a $0.55 off Keebler cookies coupon. The cookies at my store are $2.54 each, so, $24.50 for ten. Less coupons - my coupons totaled $9.10 (8 @ $1, 2 @ $0.55, I used four computers), pay $15.40. Get back $10 in Target gift cards. Send in for Kellogg's rebate for $10 back. You end up getting back more than you paid, including the Target gift cards.

You have to purchase all ten items in one transaction, and you have to send in the upc codes from all the packages. "

Lisa, thank you so much for keeping us all abreast of this potential moneymaker. :) On a very related note, Money Saving Mom posted a list today of Target/Kellogg's Fuel for School scenarios that you might find helpful while researching this. Feel free to post a comment with your experiences and victories using this deal!

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$5/$15 Giant and Stop and Shop Coupon Links REDEEMED!

Many, many thanks to Kristy and Gina for providing info on how to get to the current Giant $5/$15 meat coupon. Savings REDEEMED, oh yea!!

(and good luck Kristy with getting your little ones healthy again...oy...been there for sure)

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Notes on Today's Trip to Giant - Blueberries = FREEBIE Ziplocs? And a cool self-checkout lesson!

A tip of the hat to reader Anna today, whose savings comment spurred me to get my coupons together and get our booties out the door for a trip to Giant of our own! Click the pic to see more details. Everything was on sale and/or couponed except the organic milk, which is a splurge staple in our house, and the local papers with coupon inserts inside, which at $0.25 each are a sound investment. :)

As Anna pointed out in her field report, the delicious Sabra hummus was very cheap indeed, at two tubs for $1.29 after two printables and the BOGO price. See the rest of this week's deals and coupon matchups here.

You know that crackly noise that metal detectors make when they sense metal? After couponing a while, you develop something similar that propels you to undercover tearpads, peelies, and other "stealth" coupons. I was picking up the already-quite-cheap $1.25/pint blueberries, when I saw that some pints had a stealth peelie (crackle! crackle! crackle!) for $0.75 off any Ziploc Brand Containers. Since I was getting blueberries anyway, I made sure that all pints in my cart had this peelie.

When I got home, I did a happy dance upon discovering that this is a "starting-with-5" coupon, meaning it will double or triple. Even if I just doubled it, I'd be already $0.25 to the good on those blueberries, but I'm thinking of hitting up Bloom's triple coupons this coming weekend to see if these peelies will get me any free Ziploc containers once they triple to $2.25 each...woo hoo! One caveat: When I peeled it off, it took some of the opposite sheet's colors with it, making it sort of blotchy (see closeup pic above by clicking for a zoom view), so if you get these peelies, take'em off slowly and carefully.

Though Anna had no problem with the BOGO Oscar Mayer sale working with the Oscar Mayer coupon, my Giant's checkout system refused to play ball (though ironically, it did accept the BOGO SoBe printable with its BOGO sale - go figure). The very nice lady who was helping me explained that sometimes the BOGO sales and freebie coupons work, and sometimes they don't - and she is supposed to go with whatever the computer decides. Hm... I'm thinking if I reaaallly wanted those hot dogs, I could have gone to customer service, but being ready to hit the road with my tot, I just asked her to void the hot dogs from the transaction (I'll probably get a free pack with the freebie coupon some other time).

The lady at checkout had also showed me a fun new trick - a variation on one I already knew. When you're having trouble getting something to scan at self checkout, you can hit "Keypad" in the center of the right hand side of the screen, and simply key in the item number on the bar code (including the lonely single digits each to the left and the right of the main ten digit number) - and hit "Enter". This one I already knew, but my Internet-printed coupons weren't scanning, and this is when she told me that I could do the same thing with the coupon bar codes, and she showed me. She came back several coupons later to check on me - and they were going through, no problem. Cool! You learn something new every day. (She still had to enter the freebie coupons since those require a cashier to enter the value of the freebies in question with their authorized card.)
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My Panera Rewards Card - testing in NOVA locations now! FREE PASTRY OR SWEET or even FREE LUNCH for registering!

Last night we had a rare treat - dinner out with family - at Panera!

My father-in-law and my husband came back to the table with our food - and an even more intriguing prospect - Panera rewards cards, called My Panera cards. [Cue my Scooby-Doo, perked ears "Meh???"] You may rightly wonder - didn't they already have cash-loadable debit-type cards for use at Panera? Yes, but these new rewards cards are like grocery store rewards cards in that there is a tangible customer benefit to getting one and using it: freebies, birthday treats, and other special offers added to your account on a routine basis! The cards have a standard credit-card-sized card and a detachable keyring card with a hole punched in it.

I registered our family's card this morning to a delightful surprise: a FREE sweet or pastry awaited in our card's balance. I'll be saving this for a special occasion...you know...as in one where I can actually savor the sweet, maybe with a cup of coffee that I finish before it gets cold. If you have a Northern Virginia girlfriend to catch up with, it would be a great idea for you both to get a card and register online - so you can meet in person at Panera for free My Panera pastries and a ~$1.30 cup of coffee (free refills!). I ask you: How does catching up with a girlfriend get much cheaper? Edit: a posted comment from Suzy (thank you!!) let us know that her freebie was a free "you pick two" meal. Wow!! Looks like your freebies can vary, but either way free food is free food, oh yea!

These My Panera cards are currently being test-marketed in Northern Virginia locations, including the following My Panera participating locations:

Alexandria (Edsall/Vincent Gate Terrace)
Alexandria (Hechinger Commons)
Alexandria (Kingstowne Center)
Alexandria (Richmond Hwy/Route 1)
Arlington (Wilson Blvd.)
Ashburn (Greenway Corporate Dr.)
Centreville (Union Mill Rd.)
Dumfries (Furtuna Center Plaza)
Fairfax (Chain Bridge Rd.)
Fairfax (Lee Hwy)
Fairfax (West Ox Rd.)
Falls Church (Baileys Crossroads)
Falls Church (Strawberry Ln.)
Falls Church (West Broad St.)
Fredericksburg, VA (Carl D. Silver Pkwy)
Gainesville (Atlas Walk Way)
Herndon (Elden St.)
Herndon (Woodland Crossing Dr.)
Lansdowne (Promenade Dr.)
Leesburg (Ft. Evans Rd.)
Manassas (Liberia Ave.)
Manassas (Sudley Rd.)
McLean (Tysons Corner Center)
Reston (Discovery St.)
South Riding (Riding Plaza)
Spotsylvania (Jefferson Davis Hwy)
Stafford (Stafford Marketplace)
Vienna (Tysons Corner/Leesburg Pike)
Woodbridge (Merchants Plaza)
Woodbridge (Prince William Pkwy)

Get your card at these locations by asking the cashiers (they are currently only available in-store), and then go to the My Panera website to register your card and get your free pastry or sweet loaded up! For maximum rewards, scan your My Panera card every time you go to your local Panera location.

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Giant Printables/Dollar Doublers Question

Reader Jen alerted us in a comment to some more fine print on those Giant doubler coupons (thanks for bringing this up, Jen!). The fine print appears not on the doubler coupons themselves, but on the Giant ad flap under the doubler coupons, at the very bottom. Jen asked:

"Does anyone know if printables will work with the doublers? The fine print at the bottom of the strip of coupons says "Offer applies to manufacturers' coupons clipped from magazines and/or newspapers" which seems to imply it's NOT applicable to Internet coupons - which would take out my free Frosted Flakes at the very least!"

Arrrrrrgh. This is the kind of fine print which spurs me try to acquire as many newspaper inserts (as cheaply) as possible for my coupon collection; I'm just getting tired of having to justify Internet printables as perfectly legit coupons, and stores seem to increasingly specify newspaper-only coupons. You don't need to spend $1.50 per Sunday paper, either. Find your cheaper local papers in gas stations and grocery stores - which often publish weekly and are around $0.50/each, depending on the publication. Bonus: you'll keep smaller newspapers afloat in this economy. :)

Nevertheless, if you're feeling bold, you could ask your Giant manager if they accept the printables with the doublers. We are curious to hear feedback from readers on their experiences redeeming printables these with the doublers!
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Click here to see an actual May 1 transaction - and Mr. Linky links to other blogs' Dollar Doubler strategies/transactions!

Did you know....? Our Shopper's Master April Double/Triple Coupon Matchup List has grown!

We have gotten a ton of feedback on Shopper's Food Warehouse deals spotted by our intrepid readers. What fun! Thank you all for your contributions. This means that the Master April Double/Triple Coupon Matchup List has grown!

And: there's a Mr. Linky at the end of the master matchups post now, so you can add the link to your blog's Shopper's adventures post for this doubles/triples round should you so desire. No doubt folks would love to see what deals you wrassled up. :)

Remember: participating stores are doing the double/triple coupon promo through Wednesday 04/22, so you still have about 3 days to do a run.
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More Cheap or FREE reasons to hit Shopper's Double Coupons (April) before the deal ends today!

*Ahem.*

We are getting some fabulous reader and fellow-frugality-blogger feedback on folks' trips to Shopper's Food Warehouse. The deals just keep comin' and comin'!

We always try to post any new deals that come our way (esp. those in the comments) back to the master April Shopper's Food Warehouse double coupon matchups shopping list. Check it out and plan your Sunday 4/5 trip (no more doubling after Sunday), if only to snag some freebies!

Here's just a sampling of what's come our way in the last 48 hours, to tempt you:

• Sharon at UnfinishedMom saved 64%, bringing ~$90 worth of groceries down to $32. Woo hoo! Go, girl!
  
  
• Laura at Blessings in Bargains alerted us to the presence of $1 peelie stickers on packages of Pop-Tarts, priced at $2...so...FREE! Awesome! Thanks, Laura! Even if you don't eat Pop-Tarts, consider picking these no-brainer-freebies up for donation, something Blessings in Bargains advocates, too. Click here to get started in locating your local food banks!
  
  
• Reader Anna alerted us to some (as Posh would say): may-jah steals, many from this weekend's inserts. Thanks so much, Anna, for the heads-up!
  
  Oikos Greek-style yogurt 5.3 oz. cups, $2 - $1 coupon in today's paper
  insert=FREE
  
  Daisy Sour Cream 8 oz. 3/$4 - .60 coupon from today's insert = 0.13
  
  Thai Kitchen Instant Rice Noodle Soup from $.89 to .95 - .50 coupon from insert several weeks ago = FREE
  
  and Johnsonville breakfast sausage patties were just .79 with today's coupon.
  

• And finally, from reader Amber (thanks, Amber!):
  
  I haven't seen anyone mention Bumblebee. They didn't actually *have* the things in my store, but a Bumblebee coupon (an old one - maybe early February - I'm sorry I don't remember) has "Prime Filets" $1/1. They were priced at $2 at my store, which would have made them free, had they been in stock.