More coming soon...

I am so sorry I have not been keeping up on this!  Between Thanksgiving, kids being home from school, coupon-ing, and shopping I have had little time to devote to this.  BUT, I have come up with a weekly menu plan for this week (finally) and have some sweet shopping trips to share with you all soon (like how I have saved $161 today alone and have gotten all the groceries for the week that I need plus a ton of other stuff to stock up on)!  I am going to try to get to all of this tomorrow.  No promises, though, because I have also been seriously neglecting my house, also, and need to show it some love!  :) 

CRAZY shopping trip on the day before Thanksgiving!

So, today I decided to do my very first ever super coupon shopping trip.  Of  course I planned this last night and was planning on going when Connor was in school in the morning, so it would have just been Charlie (my 4 month old) and myself.  Well, school was canceled, so I braved the grocery stores, the day before Thanksgiving (yet another nutty idea of mine) with all three of my boys.  I had planned on going to Costco, Fred Meyer, Office Depot, Safeway, Albertsons, Winco, and Walgreens.

We started out by going to Costco because my ink for my printer was almost out and they refill the ink for less than it would cost to buy new ink.  It was $43.36 to refill them versus $97.98 to buy new ones (well, that is two black and all the color and I only refilled one black and all the color).  So definitely saved some money there!!

After we dropped off the ink to be refilled we made our way "across town" to Office Depot.  I had gotten a coupon from them for 25% off postage on your first package and I had a package to mail to my brother.  So, we went in there with the package and all my boys, waited in line, got to the counter and were informed that they do not ship to APO's.  It definitely would have been nice to have a sign out or even small print on the coupon....yeah....so back to the car with the package.

Then we went to Fred Meyers.  They had Aquafresh toothpaste on sale for $1.99 and I had some Manufactures Coupons for $1/1, so this was a great deal.  They also had Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup 2/$1 and I had some Manufactures Coupons for $1/4, another great deal (especially since we go through TONS of this!).  So I got all of my stuff, went up to the register and forgot to split the order in half (I got two newspapers last Sunday, so I had two sets of coupons from the stores).  There was a limit to the store coupon of 3 toothpastes and 6 soups per transaction.  Ooooops.  I am still learning!  So, the total came out to a few dollars more than it was supposed to.  Of course, I couldn't do that.  I asked if they could void the transaction and start over.  They could not.  Off to the customer service line I went (the huge customer service line may I add, with 3 kids).  Anyway....something happened when they tried re-ringing it and I ended up getting 5 Aquafresh toothpastes (reg. $3.19/each) and 8 Cream of Mushroom soups (reg. $0.79/each) for $4.80.  This is the total!  So, I saved $17.47!  Of course, we were there A LOT longer than I had hoped we would be, but oh well.  Apparently I don't value my time much!!  It would have broken down like this if they would have rung it up correctly:

5 Aquafresh Toothpaste (on sale for $1.99 with $1/1 coupons)  $4.95-$0.99 each
8 Cream of Mushroom soups (on sale 2/$1 with $1/4 coupons) $2.00-$0.25 each

After Fred Meyers, we headed to Safeway.  This was going to be my big shopping "bill."  I did learn a few valuable lessons here, too.  I need to read the small print more (example-the Chex was on sale for $1.99 if I bought 3, but I only bought 2, so in the end I ended up spending the same on 2 as I would have on 3) and look better at what is actually on sale (I thought it was Puff Pastry which I had a good coupon for, but it was actually pie shells, which I didn't have a great coupon for).  Maybe it was because I was putting all of this together at 1:00 last night that I missed a couple of things or miscalculated, but it was a bit more than I had hoped for.  Here is what I got at Safeway:

5/12 packs of Pepsi/Diet Pepsi (buy 2, get 3 free)  $14.58-about $2.92 each
2 boxes of Chex ($2.99 each with a $1/2 coupon)  $4.98-$2.49 each
Eggs-Large Dozen ($1.99 with a FREE coupon)  FREE
Eating Right Dinner Entree ($2 with a FREE coupon)  FREE
2 Kraft Cream Cheese ($1.29 store coupon each with a $1/2 coupon)  $1.58-$0.79 each
2 (32 oz) Coffeemate Creamers ($1.99 store coupon each with $0.50/1)  $2.98-$1.49 each
Frozen Puff Pastry ($4.49 with $1/1 coupon)  $3.49
Dairy Glen Milk  $1.99
Bananas  $1.60
Fresh Express Salad  ($0.98 with a FREE coupon)  FREE
16.92 lb Turkey (reg. $21.83, with a $25 purchase only $0.29/lb)  $4.91

TOTAL after taxes $37.35 with a savings of $57.93!

I thought for some reason that the total would only be around $30, but I did end up paying more for a couple of things like I said above.

After Safeway, we went to Albertson's to use our doublers.  These were in the Sunday paper as well, so I ended up having 6 doublers.  Again, a lesson learned, you can only use 3 doublers in a single transaction.  So, the poor cashier had to re-ring all my stuff after we realized this.  He was very nice about it, though, so that was great.  I did feel sorry for all these people in line behind me, though.  :(  I have become "one of THOSE" people!  So, here is what I got at Albertson's (VERY proud of this shopping trip!):

2 Sierra Mists (on sale for $1.25 and I had two $1/1 coupons)  $0.50-$0.25 each
Ziplock medium square containers (on sale for $2.50, had a $1/1 coupon+doubler)  $0.50
8 Green Giant canned veggies (on sale for $0.47 each, 2-$1/4 coupon+2 doublers)  FREE
2 Kraft Shredded Cheese (on sale 2/$4, $1/1 coupon+doubler)  $2.00-$1.00 each
2 Pillbury Grands Biscuits (on sale $1.67, $1/2+doubler)  $1.34-$0.67 each
2 Kraft Cream Cheese (on sale for $1.25, $1/2+doubler)  $0.50-$0.25 each

TOTAL after taxes $4.77 with a savings of $37.23!

After Albertsons we decided to brave going to WINCO.  I don't think it really slowed down since the grand opening (well at least a week after it opened).  It was still PACKED!  Luckily this trip was SUPER straight-forward, since everything I was getting here was FREE.  Here it is:

Eggs-Large dozen (reg. $1.24)  FREE
Bar S Bacon (reg. $1.98)  FREE
Minute Maid Orange Juice (reg. $2.48)  FREE
Pop Tarts (reg. $1.48)  FREE
Franz English Muffins (reg. $0.58)  FREE

TOTAL after taxes FREE with a savings of $7.76

After Winco, we went to Walgreens.  Here is another place I should have read the small print (or at least know how much 6 oz. is).  I had two sets of coupons.  One coupon in the set was for $0.99 Nabisco crackers/cookies (6 oz) and another for what I thought was $3 Aleve, which was actually $3 OFF Aleve.  Then I had Manufactures Coupons for $1/2 Nabisco crackers and 2-$1/1 Aleve.  Once I got there, I realized that the Manufactures Coupon for the Nabisco crackers was for full sized boxes, so I couldn't use it.  I still ended up getting 6-6 oz boxes of Oreos for my husband and two boxes of Aleve.  I actually had learned by this point that the store coupons had to be used in two transactions, so there wasn't a huge ordeal this time and it all went super smoothly!  It broke down and totalled like this:

6-6 oz boxes of Oreos (on sale for $0.99 with store coupon)  $5.94-$0.99 each
2 Aleve (50-count) (reg $6.79 with $3 store coupon and $1/1 coupons)  $5.58-$2.79 each

TOTAL after taxes $12.16 with a savings of $11.06

Then we went back to Costco to get the ink and to Okie's Barber Shop to get the boys' hair cut ($7 each there and they do a great job on boys' hair!).  It did take us a few hours, but I know that next time it won't take as long because 1. I have learned some valuable "couponing" lessons, 2. I will not have all my boys with me next time, 3. I won't go the day before Thanksgiving, and 4. I won't go when the roads are crazy like they are today!  :)

Here is a total of money spent vs. saved (I don't have my ink in this total because, like I mentioned before, it isn't accurate since the black was only filled once vs. sold in packs of two):

MONEY SPENT  $59.08     MONEY SAVED:  $131.45!!!

FREE FOOD at Winco with mailer!!

I got a mailer from WinCo foods today (the Lacey, WA store) and there are coupons for a free 12 oz thing of bacon, 64 oz Minute Maid orange juice, a dozen large eggs, english muffins and a box of Kellogg's pop tarts!  NO PURCHASE NECESSARY!!  So, be checking your mail and don't throw away the "junk mail'!

Save some money this holiday season!!!

If you are an online shopper, like I am (HELLO, I have 3 kids!  MUCH easier to shop from home!!), this is a GREAT way for you to earn some extra money on your purchases.  It is through a program/website called Ebates.  What you do is every time you are going to buy something online, you go there and see if the store is an "ebate" store.  If it is, ebates.com will LIST all the deals your store is currently running as well as any coupon codes for any items (free shipping, percentage off, etc.).  It is pretty sweet because they kind of do the work for you.  And if that isn't enough, they also give you a percentage of your purchase back!!!  You can even earn up to 10% at some of the stores (like Kodak Gallery--I used this one tonight!)!!  They can do this because the stores pay them a fee when we click their site and shop, so they give back some of that fee to us.  It only works, though, if you sign up (TOTALLY FREE) and go to the store from the ebates site.  There is a whole page explaining how it all works much better than I can.  Follow these steps to see and it will explain it all:
   
1.  Click on this link to get to ebates
2. Click on the FAQs tab at the bottom of the home page
3.  On the right of the FAQs page there is a link to "How to join and use ebates."

Another great thing is you actually get $5 in your "cash back" just for joining up!  I only wish I would have know about this sooner!  I would have been using it MUCH more!!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Serves 4

4 cups elbow macaroni, cooked, drained and rinsed in cold water
2 cups frozen peas
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup green onions
2 cans (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of celery soup
2 cans tuna
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup milk
1/2teaspoon pepper

1.  Combine the macaroni, peas, cheese and green onions in a large bowl.  Divide in two.  Put one half in a 2-1/2 quart casserole dish and the other half in a gallon freezer bag.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the cream of celery soup, tuna, mayonnaise, milk and pepper. Pour half over each of the macaroni mixtures and mix well.

3.  Bake the casserole at 350°F for 30-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  Seal, label and double bag the casserole in the freezer bag for up to three months.  Freeze flat for easy storage.

TO USE FROZEN CASSEROLE:  Defrost in refrigerator.  Transfer into a 2-1/2 quart casserole dish.  Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Recipe from Heather Akiyama

Whew! Chicken all done!!

So I am FINALLY done prepping and freezing all of that chicken!  The chicken breasts came whole, so I had to trim them down (skin, etc.) which is why it ended up taking so long!  All in all, I think I spent about 10 hours cutting and cooking and shredding and making marinades, etc.  My son actually helped A LOT with the marinades and made most of them which was a huge godsend!  Funny little side note-I had ordered some new Kitchen Aid knives from Rue La La a week or so ago (they ended up being $17.65 SHIPPED for a block set of 4 prep knives-regularly $89.99!) and they came in the mail half an hour after I had finished cutting all the chicken.  Go figure!  :)  Anyway, this is exactly what I did with all of my 60 pounds of chicken:

About 7-1/2 pounds was trimmed and cut in thirds and frozen in freezer bags plain with 1-1/2 pounds in each.
About 20 pounds of it was cubed and cooked and frozen in freezer bags by the pound.
About 6 pounds of it was boiled and shredded and frozen in freezer bags by the pound.
And about 13-1/2 pounds was trimmed and cut up into various cuts (cubed, chunks, breast halves) and marinaded in freezer bags with 1-1/2 pounds in each.

These are the marinades I ended up using (you can find the recipes in "What to do with 40 pounds of chicken-Part 2":

Sweet and Sour Chicken Marinade
Refreshing Lemon and Herb Marinade
"Make Ahead" Chicken Marinade
Tandoori Chicken Marinade
Honey Orange Chicken Marinade
Greek Chicken Marinade
Balsamic Chicken Marinade

And these store bought marinades:

Soy Vey Island Teriyaki
World Harbors Island Mango















I know that all that only adds up to about 47 pounds.  I think I accidentally gave the woman I split a box with a little bit more than 20 pounds (I was under the assumption that each bag in the 40 pound box had 10 pounds in it, so I gave her two bags. This was not the case, and so I think I actually gave her around 23 pounds, oh well!) and the skin/veins, etc., weighed a bit, especially since I wasn't being super anal about getting ALL the meat off of the skin.

I have not eaten any of the chicken yet, so I am hoping it is good.  I am probably going to make some of it soon, though, so I will keep you posted!  :)

Review of All-American Chili

I am not really a huge fan of homemade chili, so I guess my opinion of this chili doesn't really count.  :)  I thought it was okay.  Good as far as chili recipes go, but I really would rather stick with the Nalley Turkey Chili.  I did have to put a package of chili seasoning mix into the chili instead of the chili powder, cumin and oregano because I didn't have as much chili powder as I thought I did (oops). 

This recipe was really easy and quick to prepare, though, so that was great.  It does take a while in the slow cooker, but that is okay with me!  So, I will probably make this recipe again just because it was so easy and it wasn't BAD, I just prefer other meals.