Feeding my Family

February 17, 2011 by Tracy

Thursday mornings are my low point of the week. I just battle getting up and going. Since I know this time is difficult for me, I do not plan activities or appointments on Thursdays instead I try to stay at home. If nothing else gets accomplished on Thursday morning, my 12-month old gets to nap in her crib.

Having a morning at home really helps to get some basic cleaning done. I spent a little less than an hour this morning picking up the downstairs, vacuuming the floor, cleaning up the breakfast dishes, and preparing for dinner tonight. By having my dinner planned, I am bypassing the 4 o’clock anxiety I get when I have no idea what to make for dinner. I work hard to keep my menu planning up-to-date, but life does happen. There are days when I hit that wall of “what do I do for dinner?” That’s when I turn to my stockpile and put together a meal to feed my family.

What’s a stockpile? Well, come back on Thursdays as I share my food tips including menu planning, grocery shopping, couponing, stockpiling, recipes, and more.

Grocery Store Sales Dates

February 24, 2011 by Tracy

One way to save money on your grocery budget is to shop the sales at your local grocery store(s). I typically shop at 2 to 3 stores; although some weeks I shop at all 3, other weeks 1 or 2, and busy weeks possibly none.

The key is to know your stores’ sales dates. Some stores run their sales Sunday to Saturday, others Wednesday to Tuesday, and I’ve also seen Thursday to Wednesday. In my area of the southeast, the grocery stores run their weekly sales Wednesday to Tuesday with additional 3-day sales, running concurrently with the weekly sales, Sunday through Tuesday.

Since I know my stores’ sales schedule, I know that shopping Monday or Tuesday is my best option. By shopping on these two days, I can take advantage of all the store sales and have all the coupons from the Sunday paper to help lower my out-of-pocket costs.

A great day for me at the grocery store is viewing my receipt to find that I saved more than I spent. I will continue to share how I strive to feed my family of 5 without breaking the bank.

My Savings on Vegetables and Mentos

March 3, 2011 by Tracy

After sharing last week about Knowing your Grocery Store’s Sales Dates, I followed my usual pattern and hit the stores on Tuesday morning. In my area, our sales run from Wednesday to Tuesday, so I was shopping on the last day of the sale. The following deals are no longer available in my area, but I want to share how I scored lots of vegetables for my family without breaking the bank.

Yesterday when I went shopping, here is what I had in my PUBLIX envelope:

GROCERY LIST:
- 8 Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers Vegetables 11-12oz. at $2.39 on sale Buy One Get One Free (BOGOF), so $1.19 each.
- 3 Mentos at 50₵
- 1 Huggies Diapers, 48-96ct. at $19.99

COUPONS:
- 4 printable – 50₵ off 2 bags of Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers Vegetables
- 3 – 50₵ off any one Mentos products from the Smart Source insert in the 2/6/11 newspaper
- 1 – $3.00 off Huggies diapers (Publix coupon from weekly ad)
- 1 – $3.50 off Huggies manufacturer coupon

*NOTE ABOUT COUPONS: At Publix, you can use one store coupon and one manufacturer coupon per item. Also, Publix doubles coupons up to 50₵.

At the store with my children, I stopped by the bakery for the kids’ free cookies. (They like the treat, and I enjoy some quiet while they’re eating them.) Then I discovered that our Publix was out of Huggies diapers. Not a big deal, I made a note on my grocery list. Then to the frozen foods section where I chose 4 bags of corn, 2 bags of broccoli, and 2 bags of snow peas. Then up to the checkout lanes to find the Mentos. After procuring my items, I checked out with my coupons.

4 bags of vegetables – $1.20 each
4 bags of vegetables – $1.19 each
3 Mentos – 50₵ each

SUBTOTAL: 11.06

Minus 4 – 50₵ vegetable coupons that doubled = $4.00
Minus 3 – 50₵ Mentos coupons that doubled = $3.00 (Yeah, I made $1.50 by purchasing these items with coupons.)

TOTAL: $4.06

After paying my $4.06, I went to customer service where I received a rain check for the Huggies diapers. So, to recap, I spent $4.06 and saved $17.39 with sales prices and coupons resulting in a savings of 81%.

There are so many deals to be had. One of the keys to saving big is knowing how to match coupons with store sales. It took me some time to distinguish a good sale from a great store sale. During the great store sale, I try to stock up and use all the coupons I have for that product. It takes time and lots of trial and error. Even in my mistakes, I always know I am saving money. I’m here to keep on saving with you!

Using the Sales to Create a Grocery List

March 10, 2011 by Tracy

Last week I shared how I saved 81% on vegetables and Mentos at Publix. This scenario was possible because I knew where to find the grocery store ad, the coupons, and the prices. Now I will share my secrets on how I create my grocery list. For this example, I chose to make out a PUBLIX list. I probably start where you start by:

Scanning the sales flyer from the Tuesday and Sunday newspapers. Sometimes these flyers have store or manufacturer coupons within.

Visiting www.southernsavers.com. I love Jenny Martin’s website. If you live in the southeast, Jenny covers all the major grocery and drugstore deals. She posts each deal and lists the coupons available with those deals.
- When I go to her home page, I hover over “Publix” under the grocery store deals bar.
- Then a drop-down list shows “Weekly Ad.”
- I double-click on that post title.
- Then click on the top post title – Weekly Ad.
- Now the entire sales flyer loads in a list-format.
- To the left side of each item is a box. If I am considering purchasing that item, then I click the box. If not, then I proceed to the next item until I reach the end of the list.
- At the end of the post, I can click “Create list.” I also choose to show coupon matchups. The list is then created in another document.
- You can also add items to your list. Then print your list.

With my list in hand, I then begin looking through my coupon files for any matchups. I rarely find all the coupons Jenny lists on her site, but I find many of them.

I then make the decision of how many I need to purchase of each item. I write these numbers next to the items on my grocery list.

All my coupons are then placed in an envelope with PUBLIX written on the outside. Now I have my grocery list and all coupons to be used in one place. I find that shopping with this system keeps me organized and makes checking out very simple.

Then I go shopping.

This list covers the basics of how I create my shopping lists based on what the store has on sale for the week. I will continue to share how I save while keeping my family fed.

Bone-in Split Chicken Breasts

March 17, 2011 by Tracy

A little over two years ago I learned about bone-in split chicken breasts from reading a blog post by Erin Chase.

Before reading her explanation I had seen this cut of chicken on sale, but I really did not have any recipes or ideas of how to use it. Since I had no clue, I bypassed the great sale.

Today I hope to let you in on a secret that saves our family lots of money on chicken.

For the most part, I cook and bake only boneless chicken breasts and tenderloins. But on sale chicken breasts can still be over $2.00 per pound – OUCH!

Chicken Sale Price

Without a sale, bone-in split chicken breasts run about $2.50 per pound, but you are still paying for the bone. But with a sale – a great sale, I find bone-in split chicken breast (or split chicken breast with ribs) on sale for $.99 per pound. At this great price, I stock up!

In fact, three weeks ago I purchased 7 lbs. of split chicken breast with ribs, which was two packages, at Bi-Lo at $.99 per pound for a total of $6.95. I then brought the chicken home and cut it. The result was 6 boneless chicken breasts, 6 tenderloins, and 8 cups of chicken broth!

Chicken Purchase and Preparation

Do you want to know how you can snag this deal as well? Let me share how you can do the same:

1. Look in your grocery store sales ad and wait for split chicken breast to go on sale for $.99 per pound. If you live near a Bi-Lo, you can snag this sale Friday – Sunday, March 18-20, per the weekly advertisement.

2. Purchase what you need to last you about 6 weeks. Since sales usually run in cycles about every 6 weeks, I stock up on items when they are at their rock bottom price to last me until the next sale. In this case, the chicken sale repeated in 3 weeks. I will still be going to Bi-Lo this weekend to stock up!

3. Read this post by Erin Chase at the $5 Dinner Mom. Erin walks you through skinning and cutting the chicken. I love the picture explanations!

4. After watching Erin take the chicken and remove the breast and tenderloin from the bone, go try it! Erin does a great job in her post, but she is a pro at cutting the chicken. I am not! I have learned along the way, so I will include what has worked for me.

Tracy’s Tips from Erin’s instructions:

The first few times I tried to cut the chicken, I tore up the tenderloin. I could not find it because I did not cut the breast all the way to the bone. After the third or fourth try, the chicken was cut differently in the package. The butcher was really kind, and I found the tenderloin very easily in that batch of chicken. I have not had any more problems finding the tenderloin since that batch.

If you only get the chicken breasts, then you still got a great deal! I just chalked up my mistakes to needing some more practice. My practice has paid off! But I did not start out well. I tell you this to encourage you if the tenderloin does not surface.

I have found it easier to use a knife to start getting the chicken away from the bone. Then I use my hands to pry the chicken away. This system has worked for me since I do not end up cutting the tenderloin which is tucked up under the breast against the bone. If you are squeamish about handling raw chicken, then this tip might not work for you.

When I make my chicken broth in the crock pot, I cook it all night, and then let it cool during the day. I then measure out 2 cups at a time, and freeze it in GLAD containers.

How about you? Are you ready to save some money? This process used to take me quite some time – about an hour from start to finish.

Having perfected my system, I can accomplish cutting and freezing the cuts in about 30 minutes. Is this time well spent? It is for me. I try to work on the chicken after dinner or while dinner is cooking.

This little bit of time saves me so much money. I hope you find the savings worth your effort as well!

Question: What is your favorite chicken breast or tenderloin recipe?