Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!

This week we have family visiting and we are taking a bunch of day trips.  I'm not making a meal plan, since I don't know when or where we will be eating this week.  I'll just hit the farmer stand and defrost some frozen meat if we're having dinner at home.We'll probably spend more than I'd like but this week is all about family and making memories.

Double Take Deals

I've never used Double Take Deals before.  They have a deal for my favorite you pick fruit place so I decided to give them a try. They also have deal for a farm stand that we go past when we visit my family(bought one of those as well).  These deals are like Restaurant.com deals(you buy the certificate in advance, you print them, than you can redeem them, and the store verifies and redeems them, but they do expire).  L the preschooler and I went cherry picking we got 2.5 pounds of cherries for $.44 plus one of our $10 certificate(I paid $10 for 2 $10 certificates).

Corn Slaw

 I saw Rachel Ray make a similar recipe and I thought this would make fantasy husband happy.   He grew up in a family that loves mayo based salads, but I don't really like them.  So I took her recipe and made it my own.  Remember you can take out any ingredient you don't like and make it your own. Enjoy!






Ingredients
Corn(I use 1 ear per person, add extra if you want leftovers)
1 large sweet onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
Half a pint of grape tomatoes
1 tablespoon Olive Oil

First I boil the ears of corn in water for about 10 minutes, I normally pull them when it starts to smell yummy.  When they are done I pour out the hot water and pour in cold water.

While the corn is boiling I add the oil and the chopped up onions to a saute pan, saute on medium heat.  When the onions get translucent I add the chopped green peppers.  Cook them till the peppers get soft.  While the corn and onions are cooking we cut the tomatoes in half(this is L the preschooler's job, she loves cutting them with a small plastic knife).
After the corn is touchable put the bottom of the corn in a bowl and cut down the sides so you have corn kernels.  They will probably come off in big chunks.  Add everything into a big bowl, mix(try to break up any big chunks of corn) and serve warm.

Farmer's Market

Stopped at my local farmer's stand.
Got 2 zucchini, 2 peppers, 3 sweet onions, 1 quart of potatoes and some cherries for $7.44.  I love getting cheap local produce.

Meal Plan

Breakfast and Lunch are the same as last week.
Dinner
Monday --- Turkey Burgers with corn slaw
Tuesday --- Fanasty Husband's choice(Meatloaf with house potatoes)
Wednesday --- Spaghetti and Meatballs with zucchini
Thursday --- Chicken Thighs with peppers and onions
Friday --- Clebrating Fanasty Husband's new job dinner out(his choice)
Saturday --- (I'm thinking)Chicken Breasts Grilled with corn slaw

Shopping List Free Items in Bold

Giant

Kielbasa

Whole Chicken

Potatoes

Peppers

Redner’s

Peaches

Watermelon

McCain Sweet Potato Fries($1 coupon in the last page of the ad)

Walgreen’s

Eggs(In-Ad coupon for $.99 a dozen)

Rite Aid(I don’t normally shop here but for free Zantac I will)

Zantac(Use $2 Video Value coupon and $5 coupon Fanasty Husband was mailed along with a sample)

CVS

Hershey Bliss Chocolate ($1 off 1 coupon from 5/1 paper)

LA Looks Hair Gel ($1 off 1 coupon 5/15 paper)

Target Clearance on Girls Jeans

I went to Target yesterday to buy cat food(Purina One is on sale and when you buy 2 big bags you get a $5 gift card, plus $2 off coupon 5/22 paper but it expires today).  I always check out the clearance on girls clothes when I'm at Target.  I found girls jeans are on clearance for $2.48(75% off).

Meal Plan 6/20/11 thru 6/25/11

Breakfast --- Home-made Egg McMuffins, Eggs, English Muffins and assorted items from the stockpile

Lunch --- Homemade Lunchables(aka crackers, cheese and folded up turkey), leftovers, hot dogs(from last week) and assorted items from the stockpile

Snack --- Peaches, Bananas, Yogurt(from 2 weeks ago), watermelon,  

Dinner

Monday --- Kielbasa with Peppers over rice(stockpile)

Tuesday --- Roasted whole chicken with roasted potatoes and carrots

Wednesday --- Chicken from Tuesday over pasta in a cream sauce with frozen veggies

Thursday ---  Breakfast for Dinner Omelets(peppers, onions, cheese) and English Muffins

Friday --- Mom’s night off Fantasy Husband will grilled Turkey burgers and veggies or we’ll get a cheap dinner out

Saturday --- I’m thinking sautéed turkey in a cream sauce or whatever I can find discounted at Weis

Giant Hershey Park Deal

I have to admit this deal had me stressed.  First off there were new coupons in today's paper.  Than I got to the store and some things weren't tagged with the Hershey Park sticker(yet they are pictured in the ad).  Other things are tagged yet not mentioned in the ad, and a bunch of items are already out of stock.  So I was standing in the dairy section making sure I got to $75.  Luckily I hit my mark and didn't need to bother customer service.
So I got everything pictured and 2 Hershey Park tickets for $50.12. 

Week wrap up

What I bought Friday, cost me $8.79, the only cheap chicken I could find was chicken wings which I didn't buy.
So I've spent $43.57 for the week.  I'm going to carry the $16.43 in to next week since I'm going to need it.   I also got a raincheck for Zyrtec.

Looking A Head Giant --- Free Hershey Park Ticket

Looks like I'll be busting my budget next week, I'll be happy if I can get 2 tickets for around $50.  So for around $80 we can take our little family to Hershey Park and we'll end up with $75 worth of Kraft/Pepsi products.  If you want additional tickets Giant sells discount tickets $42.95 for an Adult ticket, and $30.95 for a Junior/Senior(3-8, 55+) ticket.

Free 8x10 Photo Collage at Walgreen's

Free 8x10 Photo Collage use code 1FREEBIE at checkout thru 6/18, chose in-store pickup so you don't have to pay shipping.

Giant/Martins/Stop & Shop Hallmark Deal (two week long deal)

I mentioned that I was buying Hallmark Cards this week and it's a crazy good deal so I want you to be able to get in on it as well.

You get $5 off instantly when you buy 3 cards($.99 cards are excluded but the $1.49 cards are included).  The deal is buy 3 $1.49 cards --- $4.47(Giant PA gives a 10% discount on cards so it's $4.02) they will be free if you only buy cards, or they will take $5 off if you buy something else.  This is a good deal since you can use your savings on anything you want even milk which doesn't normally get discounted, but you will pay tax on your cards($.24 for me).  If you want more expensive cards you can get 1 nicer card and 2 $1.49 cards, the $1.99 cards would be free this way(you'll have a zero balance which my cashier didn't know what to do with).
There are two types of $1.49 cards at Giant PA(not sure what the sister stores have). 

Graduation Money Card Holders 

Saturday's Funny Mom Cards(these are only found in the newer bigger Giants that have two half rows of cards).

How am I doing so far!

Okay so I finished most of my shopping(I'll go back for more milk, and the two items I forgot plus I'll see if I can find any cheap chicken since my store will mark down meat when it's close to it sell by date that I can freeze for 6 months).

So this is what I've spent so far.
CVS --- $2.11 (1 Razor, 1 Aspirin)
Walgreens --- $2.46 (2 Aspirins, 2 Blistex, 3 candy bars(this is because Walgreen's registers require 1 item for each coupon used, since I paid with Register Rewards and Man. Coupons)
Giant --- $10.77 (1.7 lbs Bananas, 2 lbs Baby Carrots, 1.27 lbs Red Peppers, Turkey Kielbasa, 2 pints of blueberries, and 18 Hallmark Cards)
Weis --- $19.44 (6 boxes Pasta, 1 lbs Strawberries, 4.3 lbs Chicken Thighs, 3 lbs Ground Turkey, 2 packages Jennie-O Hot Dogs, 1 gallon of Milk, 8 Hamburger Rolls)
Total --- $34.78
Next week I'll take a picture.

Meal Plan for the Week(6/12/11 thru 6/6/18/11)

One of my biggest tips for saving money is to make a meal plan for the week so you don’t buy extra food.   In the summer I also recommend checking the weather since I wouldn’t want to roast a chicken in 90 degree heat.

My Meal Plan

Breakfast --- Cereals(from the stockpile), Eggs(bought 2 weeks ago at Weis), and English Muffins

Lunch --- Hot Dogs, leftovers, and various stockpile items

Snacks --- Peaches(bought last week at Giant), Bananas, Yogurt(bought last week at Giant), Blueberries and Strawberries

Dinner

Sunday --- Dinner with my Mom

Monday --- Roasted Chicken Thighs with roasted veggies

Tuesday --- Sheppard’s Pie(potatoes and peas from the stock pile)

Wednesday --- Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries and Asparagus Soup(soup from the stockpile)

Thursday --- Kielbasa with peppers and onions over pasta

Friday --- Father’s Day Dinner Out Restaurant.com Gift Certificate(Fantasy Husband’s favorite steak place I’m not including this in our $60 a week)

Saturday --- Shrimp(if I can afford it, chicken thighs if I can’t) over Rice Pilaf with peppers and onions(Rice and Onions from the stockpile)

Shopping List Week of June 12th

Freebies listed in Bold

Weis

Chicken Thighs(Bigger Packs so I’ll freeze half)

Ronzoni Garden Delights Pasta($1 off coupons 5/15 paper, making this free)

English Muffins

Hamburger Rolls

Weis Tea bags

Jennie-O Turkey Franks

Ground Turkey

Milk

Bananas

Baby Carrots

Giant

Blueberries

Strawberries

Kielbasa

Red Peppers

Halmark Cards ($1.49 cards would be free after $5 discount when you buy 3 cards)

Walgreens

Bayer Advanced Aspirin($2 off coupon in 6/12 paper, and $1.50 off coupon can be found in many stores)

Blister RPM for Men

Wal-Fex 24 Hour Allergy Relief 5 ct.

CVS

Bayer Advanced Aspirin($2 off coupon in 6/12 paper, and $1.50 off coupon can be found in many stores)

Motrin PM 20ct($1 off coupon in 6/12 paper)

Schick Hydro Razor ($4 off coupon in 6/12 paper)

Zyrtec 24 hr tablets 5ct. ($4 off coupon in 4/10 paper)