Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Shopping with the Ninja

Today I managed to make it out of the house alone- no small feat! I took full advantage of the time- and made it to several stores to cherry pick the deals for the week!

At Big Y: Buy One, Get Two Free fish sticks- $4.65 for three boxes of 12

At Price Chopper: Diet Coke, 2L bottles, 99¢ each. Bought 4

At Stop and Shop: Only went in here to look for Kraft cheese coupons- but bought reusable grocery bags for 50¢ each, markdown grape tomatoes for $1.17, and Dawn Direct Foam refill for $3.02

At Shaws: 12 boxes of Crystal Light On-the-Go sticks, 2 packages frozen veggies, 2 deep dish pie crusts, a package of frozen bagels, 2 packs of trail mix, 2 reduced breads, 4 boxes of honey nut cheerios, 5lbs of bananas, one filter for life bottle with 9 on-the-go sticks, 4 packages cheese, 3 oscar meyer sandwich packs, and several other items. This was done over several orders at several stores. Total cash spent at Shaws? $16.34 I also have $22 in Catalina coupons to use next time!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Where to buy....

I'm starting a new series about my favorite places to buy certain items at a great, everyday low price. Got a question? Leave a comment!



1. Shower Curtains- $1 at Dollar Tree

2. Flour- $1.79 at Price Rite

3. Food Storage containers- 5 pack nesting set, sizes from 2 gallons down to about 2 cups- $8 at Family Dollar

4. Contact Paper- $1 at Dollar Tree

5. Applesauce- $1.82 for 50 oz at Walmart

CVS This week- March 1-7

Ok, so I'm late posting, but I figured I'd get it out there!


Free after ECBs:

Carnation Instant Breakfast 10pk- $4.99, Limit 1
blinkie coupons found in several local grocery stores, or 75¢ off in January All You magazine
found in nutritional supplements aisle

Act Total Care Trial Size, 99¢, Limit 2

Slimquick Energy Shot 2pk, $4.99, Limit 1


Also, be on the lookout for Essence of Beauty gift sets and robes. These have been ringing up at 90% off and many stores don't have signage advertizing it!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Chicken Pot Pie

My recipe for Chicken Pot Pie is VERY forgiving, and very flexible. I view cooking as a method rather than as recipes.


Chicken Pot Pie
Serves 4

1.5 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 bag frozen veggies
2-3Tbsp butter
2-3Tbsp flour
Onion- either 1 small fresh or a couple Tbsp of dried
1 tsp poultry seasoning or to taste
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk

"Crust" of choice- We like stuffing, biscuit dough (if using canned biscuits, flatten them), pie crust. Really, your imagination is your guide.

Start veggies thawing first- I just use the steam in bag veggies because I won't have to dirty a dish.

Melt butter in large skillet, then whisk in flour. Let the flour cook out, then add the chicken broth and milk. Whisk well, and bring to boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste (you may not need salt at all, depending on what kind of broth you used).

Add in the chicken and the veggies and allow to heat through. Pour into casserole dish or pie plate, then top with crust (sprinkle top with thyme if you want!). Bake based on the topper- stuffing would be premade, so it just needs to warm up. If using biscuits, 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes or until biscuit tops are golden.

Deals around town this week and our menu plan

I did something unusual for me yesterday- I hit 4 stores and grabbed *just* the deals. Usually, I only go out for a smoking deal, or for a big stockup shop. However, lately my stockpile is looking mighty fine, so I don't really have to go to the store for much more than milk and bananas.

Here's the deals I picked up on this week.

At Big Y: Cantalopes- 99¢ each. Also hit up the clearance racks and grabbed 3 Isis pumps for $5 each!

At Shaws: $2 for a bag of granny smith apples.
$2.99 per lb of scallops, with a free container of bread crumbs wyb 2lbs.

At Price Chopper: 88¢ per pound for whole chicken.
99¢ for Coke 2L

What am I doing with this stuff?

Tonight I'll roast the chicken, and we'll have chicken with gravy, mashed potatoes, and vegetables for dinner.

Tuesday we'll use up the leftover veggies in an omelet that I'll split with Abby.
Dinner will be my Chicken Pot pie

Wednesday is Crockpot day- Pulled pork sandwiches on homemade bread, BBQ beans, and veggies.

Thursday- Soup and Sandwiches- Soup will be "semi-homemade" in that I'm using canned Gumbo as my base and adding a can of tomatoes and a cup of rice to two cans of soup. Sandwiches will be grilled homemade bread with pepper jack and cheddar.

Friday- Baked Scallops for me (it is Lent!) and baked chicken for Paul.


Breakfasts will be: Pumpkin muffins, Cinnamon rolls, fruit, and cereal.