Freebie Find - Three Bagels from Brueggers

Print this coupon, stop into Brueggers this Thursday, February 9th, and score yourself three FREE bagels. This doesn't include toppings, but I plan to take mine to go. They would be a nice addition to the freezer for easy breakfasts.

Meal Plan Monday

It seems like we just can't settle into a normal dinner routine at our house. Between Alex's work schedule and vacation, everything has been thrown off, and this week is no exception.

With the hubs working nights...again (didn't that just happen???)...we'll be eating early dinners so we can have at least a little family togetherness before he heads out to the hospital. I'd really rather not spend my afternoons, the only awake time we'll be seeing Alex for the next week, cooking meals, so I'm planning a menu of quick and/or easy meals.

I started by surveying the cabinets and fridge, trying to build off of what we already have in house. It looks like we're well stocked, and my grocery shopping will be mostly for produce and perishables like milk and eggs. Yay, for easy shopping!

My Weekly Menu

Spaghetti with Homemade Meat Sauce
I made sauce last week and froze it in meal sized portions. Most of the ingredients I used were either free or inexpensive, bought during sales. Making your own sauce is a very cost effective alternative to buying jars (think about it - you will get 3-5 meals from one pot). I also prefer the taste, and I LOVE knowing exactly which ingredients went into it.

Each time I make sauce, I use my own in my head recipe. It's altered a bit each time, but here's a rough idea:
Saute 1/2-1 diced onion and crushed or minced garlic.
Add 1 pound ground beef, brown, and drain of fat.
Add:
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 14 oz can tomato sauce
1-2 small cans tomato paste
Spices to taste:
basil
oregano
salt
cayenne pepper
garlic powder
sugar
1-2 bay leaves
Cover and simmer at least 45 minutes.

Tilapia with Black Beans and Veggies
Last week, I bought a 2 pound bag of tilapia at Aldi for less than $6.00. The bag contains twelve fillets, which means we'll get about three meals out of it - $2.00 per meal/$1.00 per serving - not a bad price in my opinion.

I picked this meal for this week because it will take just minutes to prepare. I'll pan fry the tilapia and saute the veggies. I envision whipping up some type of sauce that involves lime and cilantro. We'll see. If I'm feeling lazy, I'll just throw on some cajun seasoning and call it a day.


Teriyaki Chicken with Brown Rice and Broccoli
This is a meal found on Pinterest, that I always plan to make, and it just never happens. It's a crock pot dinner, which should be a perfect fit for the busy week. I like that this recipe uses ingredients that are usually in stock in our kitchen. I might adjust the recipe a bit to add a little spice in with the sweet. I'm also thinking that brown sugar might taste better than white.

I bought the broccoli at Aldi for $0.89/lb and the brown rice for $0.25 at Harris Teeter (Minute Rice Steamers). The chicken was also an inexpensive buy. I picked it up a few weeks ago when it was a Manager's Special at Kroger.

Ratatouille with a fresh baguette
I found this recipe on an i pad recipe app. I'm hoping to work a few vegetarian meals into our weekly routine, and I already have some of the veggies needed to make the dish, but I'll need to pick up eggplant and mushrooms. I know that mushrooms are on sale at Aldi for less than $1/pack until.

Falafel Wraps (in whole wheat tortillas) 
I found the falafel recipe on the same app mentioned above. I have everything in the house to make it (will be my first time trying to make falafel). I'm not sure which toppings I want to use - go the traditional route and make tzatziki sauce, or make due with what's in the house and just add toppings like cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocado.

Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken
I'm making this one up as I go. The plan, as it sits in my mind right now, involves diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and assorted spices, cooked in the slow cooker with chicken breasts, then served with pasta. We'll see.


Reader Response: What's for dinner at your house this week? Share your meal ideas by leaving a comment, or provide a link to your meal plan.

Shopping Trip Successes

How did your shopping go this week? Did you get some freebies at Michael's using the $5 coupon? Did you score any good grocery deals?

It was a pretty good shopping week for me. I spent $30 between Harris Teeter and Kroger on $125 worth of groceries. I also made my first trip to the Durham Aldi, spending $14 on meat and produce.

I scored $5 worth of FREE notepads and cards from Michael's, and I spent just $7 on a clearance sweater at LOFT, down from $50!

Share your shopping success stories by leaving a comment or sharing a link so others can view your shopping trip!

To link up, give your post a title, or "name," then insert a url that connects to your blog post or website.

I look forward to reading about and seeing your success stories!

Freebie Find - $5 OFF $5 Purchase at Michael's

Those of you who follow on this blog Facebook (if you don't, why the heck not?), might have seen my update about the $5 OFF $5 Purchase Michael's coupon. This coupon is valid today and tomorrow. You are allowed one coupon per person, per day.

I printed the coupon off for myself and headed to Michael's this afternoon. I'm not much of a crafter, but I can always find $5.00 worth of something to buy at that store. I hit the dollar section and found some really cute note pads and cards, all $1 each. I picked up five, headed to the check out, then walked away paying absolutely nothing - not even sales tax!

The cashier looked dumb founded, and said to me, "You just shopped for free! That puts a smile on my face!" It puts one on mine too! :)

Aldi? "Al"does

Quite a while back, I posted about the opening of an Aldi store in Southwest Durham (you can read about it here). From what I can figure, the store opened in December, but I just made my first visit yesterday.

Couponing websites typically skip sharing weekly Aldi deals, as the chain doesn't allow manufacturer coupons, which is due to the fact that most of their merchandise is store brand, rather than national brands. Within the past few weeks, though, I've noticed that one major coupon site has begrudgingly added Aldi deals. Under the deals, this site lists stores that beat Aldi's prices, almost as a, "See, I told you that you'll spend less using coupons than shopping Aldi!"

While it's true that you can definitely beat many Aldi prices by shopping other stores that allow coupons, I really do feel that Aldi has it's place in a savvy shopper's shopping routine.

For example...

Produce
Aldi's fresh produce selection is meager when compared to large chain stores, but the produce they do sell is of good quality and at rock bottom prices. Each week, a number of produce items are featured, with prices that I have not seen matched by other retailers. For example, this week, I was able to buy a pint of cherry tomatoes for $0.69, as well as a pound of broccoli for $0.89. Cherry tomatoes were over $3.00 a pint at Kroger this week, and broccoli was selling for nearly $2.00/lb. I was also able to buy avocados for $0.49 each, while they were on sale for $1.00 at Kroger and $2.50 at Harris Teeter.

Need it Now Items
Sometimes, you just can't wait for a good coupon to come along before you buy an item. When you need something ASAP, and you don't have the right coupons, Aldi's prices often beat other retailers. For example, I bought a can of Harris Teeter store brand black beans this week for $0.77 (didn't have any coupons for black beans). Aldi store brand black beans were $0.55/can.

Items that Rarely Have Coupons
Some products/companies just don't put out coupons. For example, I really like Stacy's Pita Chips, but they're usually over $4.00 a bag, and I almost never find coupons for them. At Aldi, I was able to buy a generic form of Stacy's for just over $1.00 a bag. I also noticed that Aldi's prices for milk and eggs this week had both Harris Teeter and Kroger beat.


So, while it's definitely possible to cut spending by using coupons, I don't suggest writing Aldi off completely. Approach shopping there with an open mind, realizing that it won't be your only shopping stop if  spending the least amount of money possible is your goal. Know that you can coupon shop elsewhere but score some great Aldi deals to round out your grocery shopping and fill in those couponless gaps.

The Best Things in Life

Our family vacation in Sanibel, Florida was amazing. The weather was perfect, above normal temps, the company was great, the sun shining, and the drinks cold. I'll let pictures do the rest of the talking. :)

Harris Teeter and Kroger Savings

This week's shopping trip was a big success, thanks to a few great store promos and a $20 Harris Teeter credit, thanks to a prescription transfer deal that's available until the beginning of April.

Between Harris Teeter and Kroger, I spent just $31 for the items pictured, worth ~ $125 (sorry, the hubs threw away my receipts), a savings of about 75%.

Harris Teeter was a running a promotion (ended Tuesday, sorry) where you received an instant $5 savings when you bought $15 worth of Unilever food products. There were some great Unilever coupons in Sunday's paper, and there were also many e-vic coupons to stack. After the $5 savings, I actually MADE money buying the Unilever products.

In working this deal, though, I purchased a few items we definitely won't eat, like the Lipton Soup, Knorr Sides, and likely the Ragu, but these items, being freebies and non-perishables, seemed like perfect food bank donations!

Harris Teeter Unilever Deal:

2 I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Tubs - BOGO $1.79 each x 2 = $3.58

- two $0.60/1 coupons x 2 (doubled) (1/29 insert)

- $0.60 e-vic coupon
= $0.58 for two

2 Knorr Sides - $1.00 each x 2 = $2.00

- $0.50/2 coupon x 2 (1/29 insert)

-$0.50/2 e-vic coupon

= $0.50 for two

2 Wishbone Salad Dressings - $2.00 each x 2 = $4.00

- two $0.70/1 coupons x 2 (1/29 insert)

- $1.00/2 e-vic coupon
= $0.20 for two

2 Lipton Tea Bags - $1.35 x 2 = $2.70

- two $0.40/1 coupons x 2 

- $0.40 e-vic coupon
= $0.70 for two

2 Lipton Soups - $1.79 each x 2 = $3.58

-  two $0.50/1 coupons x 2 (1/29 insert)

- $0.75 e-vic coupon
= $0.78 for two

3 Ragu Pasta Sauces - $1.39 each x 3 = $4.17

- $1.25/3 coupon (1/29 insert)

- $1.00 e-vic coupon
= $1.92

- $5.00 instant savings = - $0.38 A MONEY MAKER!


I also shopped the Kroger Mega Event, where you receive an instant $5 savings when you purchase any ten participating items. I bought six cans of Hunt's tomatoes, using three $0.40/2 printable coupons, making them just $0.19 per can after coupon and instant savings. I also bought two bottles of Chi Chi's Salsa, (never had it before, really disliked it - second bottle will go in the donation bag), one pack of Chi Chi's Tortillas, and one Kraft Easy Mac (why can't I give up the Mac 'n Cheese???). I spent about $3.00 for all ten items.

Overall, not too bad. :)

Share your shopping trip successes by leaving a comment or 

linking up!