Freezer Cooking Day Plan

I know I mention this before, twice already (once when I posted my menu plan and again when I told you all about my head start) but I'm excited! I did participate last month, but it was my first real attempt at massive freezer cooking in one day kind and I was slightly disorganized. This is what I hope to have done by the end of the day:

• Meatloaf x2 : I freeze mine uncooked and then pop directly in the oven
• Crockpot Refried Beans x2 : enough for dinner and 2 batches for freezing
• Pumpkin Bread x 2 : should make 4 loaves- one for now, 3 for the freezer
• Meatballs: 2 dozen, to be cooked, then frozen
• Almond Poppyseed muffins : I'm testing out a new recipe so will only be making a single batch today
• Turkey Pot Pie soup x2 : All to be frozen, this will be enough for 4 meals

...and this is what my plan of action looks like:

• Chop veggies (everything except the potatoes for the soup). will set aside onions for dinner and meatloaf. Carrots and celery for pot pie soup.
• Get Crockpot Refried Beans assembled and cooking in the crockpot
• Assemble Meatloaf and Meatballs
• Pop the meatballs into the oven and the meatloaf into the freezer
• Clean up break
• Flash freeze cooked meatballs
• Start Pumpkin Bread (and measure dry ingredients for poppyseed muffins while I have everything out)
• Put pumpkin bread in the oven
• Chop potatoes
• Start Turkey Pot Pie soup
• Strain and mash beans (while soup boils)- freeze some, leave the rest in the crockpot to serve with dinner
• Divide Meatballs into 2 freezer bags
• Cool & Freeze Turkey Pot Pie Soup
• Another cleaning break- may need to start dishwasher!
• Start poppyseed muffins, while those are baking I'll do the rest of my dinner prep (taco night: shred lettuce & cheese, drain olives, get everything together in the fridge so it can all come out quickly)
• Freeze Poppyseed muffins

The toddler is a HUGE help in the kitchen (he's great at stirring, sorting, distracting baby, and taste testing) but I'll probably need quite a few breaks. I am feeling kind of ambitious but I think my plan for tomorrow is also realistic- it'll be nice to have 8 full meals and a variety of baked goods/odds&ends at the end of the day. With the 2 batches of Albondigas already done and the spare batch of stew I'll be making later this week, it'll be at least 11 meals I won't have to cook in December!

BOGO eggs coupon: 12/2/09 *gone*

These were all gone within 2 minutes this morning, sorry!

Were you able to get in on the BOGO dozen eggs coupon I posted about in October? Well, I just got an email saying they'll be offering them again Wednesday December 2, at 9 a.m. CST (or 7 am PST!). This time the coupons will be available for the first 10,000 people pledging to “Eat good. Do good everyday”. I LOVE this, especially since it's just in time for all of your holiday baking! To pledge, simply visit GoodEggProject.com on December 2nd- the earlier, the better!

Albondigas: a recipe

We are having a bit of a crazy day over here (my 9 month old is really on the move today, and I'm pretty sure the end result will be a heart attack and a half for me!) but I have managed to get a head start on baking day. We're making Albondigas (a Mexican meatball soup- my mom's recipe) for dinner tonight but will also be freezing some (this makes a huge batch- enough to split into at least 3 meals for my family of 3.5). Here's the toddler with some of our prep work, keep on reading for the recipe:

(He's happy because I let him sneak some cabbage!)

Albondigas:

• Meatballs (I use 1 lb of hamburger, 1 egg, 1 small onion, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, 3/4 cup cooked rice, and then eyeball: garlic salt, oregano, and basil)*
• Head of Cabbage, chopped
• 1 Turnip, chopped
• 3 Large Potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 4 Large Carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup barley, washed & cooked
• 1 Medium Onion, chopped

You'll need to start a large pot of water boiling (fill 1/2 the pot with water) and then add the ingredients listed above (except for the meatballs). After boiling for 30 minutes or so you can add Broccoli or Cauliflower if you want (I skipped this part today but it is yummy!). Next, you'll need to add the meatballs and the following:

• Beef Stock or Beef Bouillon cubes (3-4)
• Garlic Powder
• Salt & Pepper
• Oregano
• Basil.

At which point you'll put the lid on your pot and let everything simmer for another 30 minutes or until all veggies are soft. Serve it hot. You can freeze this easily, but the cabbage will break down so you may need to add water or broth when reheating (the cabbage will make the soup a little bit thicker, I really like it this way).

*To make this healthier (or to accommodate veggie friends/family) the meatballs can be cooked separately and then added to the soup. Another option for helping to make this healthier is to make it a day in advance, store in the fridge, and then skim the fat off the top before reheating. I like the flavor meatballs add so I usually cook them in the soup.

Free Frappe @ Western WA McDonalds

McDonald's is currently offering a coupon good for a FREE small Mocha or Caramel Frappe at any Western Washington location. You can get yours right here. There's a limit of one per person per visit and it does state valid only at participating locations (I probably wouldn't try the McDonald's in Walmart for this). I think this might be a nice treat for yourself while you're out running around (starting or finishing your holiday shopping).

Thank you Christy over at The Bargain Jargon for reminding me about this deal!

Sephora: $5 Philosophy stocking stuffer

Update: This was a hot one, looks like it's out of stock already!!

Sephora has this cute little Philosophy gift set for only $5 and you can get free shipping with code SHIP4FREE. You can order as many of these sets as you'd like- I imagine they'd make great stocking stuffers! The set includes:

• 0.5 oz Kiss Me Lip Balm
• 2 oz Amazing Grace Buffing Wash
• 2 oz Inner Grace Shampoo, Bath, & Shower Gel

From what I'm hearing you also get to pick 3 free samples with any order, what fun! Thanks SD!

bebe.com: $10 off and free shipping

bebe.com is currently offering $10 off your purchase of $10.01 (or more) plus free shipping with code: SURPRISE. The code is actually good through December 11th but they're offering FREE shipping today (for Cyber Monday) only, so I wouldn't wait on this one!

I didn't see anything that works out to be FREE since the code does not work on $10 items, but you can find $12 perfume ($2 after code) and $16 bras (they'd be only $6). The site is a bit slow at the moment (I imagine it's getting slammed) but a little bit of patience may pay off for you! Thanks SD!

Overstock.com: cute waffle maker!

Overstock.com currently has this Kalorik Heart-shaped Waffle Maker priced at only $17.99 (usually over $50) and because it's Cyber Monday- it ships for free! This would be one super cute gift that won't break the bank.

For more of Overstock's Cyber Monday deals, click here!

Victoria's Secret

With everyone else excited about Victoria's Secret 3 for $30 sweater deal, I thought I'd better share the scoop with my readers too! This deal is good through Wednesday, but if you order today you should also get a Secret Rewards Card worth at least $10 (but also maybe up to $500) to use in December! Not only do you get a good deal on sweaters, you can also snag a free scarf (it's soft and super long) and an additional 20% off (that'll help cut down the shipping costs). Click here to see which sweaters qualify then add your FREE scarf. Just be sure to click the box that says "Special Offer Code" while checking out. Here's the codes you'll need to enter (there's only one box, so you enter codes one at a time and in this order):

• scarf09
• 3for30
• vssave20

That will bring your total for 3 sweaters and a scarf for right around $33! Are you planning to buy something besides sweaters? Here are a few other codes that might help cut your costs (Just remember you can only use 3 codes per order!):

• LOTION5 - $5 lotion when you purchase select perfumes (x 12/21)
• BEAUTY09 - $10 off $35 beauty purchase (x 12/24)
• PJGIFT- free slippers with select sleepwear purchase (x 12/8)*
• FA919837 - free fragrance gift set with select sleepwear purchase (x 12/21)*
• PDOG09 - Free PINK Dog with any non-clearance PINK purchase
• ITEM30 - 30% off any single item (x 12/2)
• FA919801 - Free Standard Shipping on Orders $50+ (exp 12/17)

You may need to play around with the order of codes to get the best deal, but hopefully this will help you get the best deal possible! Also, if you've recently received a catalog from VS you may want to check it to see if you were lucky enough to get a $10 gift certificate with it. Happy Shopping! Thanks SD!

*you can only select one gift with purchase of sleepwear, so you'll need to choose between slippers and a perfume sampler. I'm unsure about whether either code can be used with PINK loungewear/sleepwear, it might just be PJ's from the main part of the site.

A ton of Cyber Monday deals

Here are a few of the Cyber Monday deals I'm seeing so far (I will be updating my blog with more throughout the day). These deals are only good through today, so get ready to start your shopping!

• 20% off and FREE shipping at Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Piper Lime, and Athleta using code: MONDAY
• Amazon has a ton of limited time only Cyber Monday deals, see what's available now with this link. The hot items go fast!
• New York & Co has 50% off everything store wide and you can get FREE shipping with code: 2845
• American Eagle has FREE shipping and a game you can play to get 20% off everything.
• Gymboree has 20% off and FREE shipping, no code needed and online prices already show the disount.
• Crazy8 (Gymboree partner store) has 20% off and free shipping (no code needed), plus an extra $10 off $50 purchase with code: C8THANKS
• Reebok has 40% off almost everything and FREE shipping when you use code: CYBER40
• Perry Ellis has 50% off, FREE Shipping, and a FREE Eco-bag on everything except fragrances with code: CYBER50
• 40% off everything and FREE shipping at The Limited, no code needed. Everything is marked 40% off on the site already, they also have a FREE ruffle scarf with $50 pre-tax purchase. (code 132 saves you $15 off a $50 purchase)
• Philosophy has FREE shipping on everything, no code required, and a free gift with purchases over $75.
• Origins has FREE shipping as well as $10 off a $25 purchase with code: TenOff09

As always with online shopping, don't forget to go through your favorite cash back/rewards site. For some great online shopping safety tips, visit PugetSoundPrudence!

Menu Planning & Baking Day

It's not Monday yet, but I finished my menu plan for the week, this is what we'll be eating:

Sunday: Stuffed Manicotti (from the freezer, we made 2 batches the last time I made this) and Cesar salad
Monday: Albondigas (my recipe for this is huge so I'll be freezing quite a bit for later)
Tuesday: Tacos and crockpot refried beans (it's also BAKING DAY!)
Wednesday: Spaghetti
Thursday: Pot Roast
Friday: something with Tilapia, I haven't settled on a recipe yet
Saturday: Beef Stew (using leftover Pot Roast, will freeze half)

Then, I had to run to the store for supplies. Fred Meyer was close to where we went for lunch today so I stopped by there and spent $12.59 on these items:

Right Now, I'm trying to finalize my plans for Baking Day (hosted on twitter and facebook by Crystal Paine of MoneySavingMom and FishMama of Life As Mom). I played along last time and it was lots of fun sharing recipes and tips with everyone on twitter- even better was the ability to just pull things out of the freezer as we needed them! I'm going to try to post along with the day on my blog here as well, so be sure to stop by on Tuesday December 1st and see what I'm up to! FishMama has a couple of good posts up on how to shop for freezer cooking and what you can and can't freeze. My current plan for #OAMC (the twitter hashtag this time, it stands for Once A Month Cooking) includes:

• Crockpot Refried Beans (will have some for dinner and freeze the rest)
• Pumpkin Bread (6 loaves)
• Turkey Pot Pie Soup (a double batch, will make 4 meals- it's a modified version of this)
• Meatloaf (2 loaves)
• Meat balls
• Poppy Seed Muffins

Photo Card Reminder!

Just wanted to remind you all that the 50 free photocards deal at SeeHere.com ends tomorrow so you still have a little bit of time to order your cards. I was impressed with how quickly they came (they shipped the same day I placed my order) and the quality was good.

Due to the large amount of orders they received, they are charging a shipping fee now of $3.19 but that's still quite a deal compared to the cost of greeting cards. For more information on this deal visit Freebies4Mom.

Restaurant.com: Feed it Forward

Another freebie this morning! This time it's FREE $10 gift certificates from Restaurant.com and you can send out up to 30 a day everyday until Christmas. These are not like regular gift certificates because they usually require a $25 purchase (or something similar- be sure to read all the fine print!), but it's a great way to cut down on your eating out expenses. So, send a few out to your thrifty friends (and maybe your significant other so you can try it out yourself).

Questions about how it works or what restaurants are participating? Visit Restaurant.com to find out. Then head on over to their Feed it Forward site and send out a few.

Sanpfish: $10 credit for new members

Snapfish is offering a FREE $10 credit for new members right now, in addition to 30 free prints. The credit is only good for 5 days so once you sign up you'll need to use that quickly but I don't imagine that'll be a challenge with Christmas just around the corner. Go here to sign up! I don't know how long this deal will last, so hurry!

For The Mommas shows you how to use that $10 credit to put together a photo flip book for only $1.99 shipped. I also spotted that mugs and ornaments start right around $9.99- which would leave you only paying shipping.

Papa John's Car + Pizza

Looking for stocking stuffer or white elephant gift? Papa Johns is currently selling die cast cars for $4.99 each ($1 of which goes straight to Toys for Tots). Each package also contains a coupon good for 1 medium cheese pizza (carryout only). I don't know how much shipping is, but that's a pretty decent deal for pizza! Thanks A Thrifty Mom!

Safeway: Hamburger & a few other things

$12.77 out of pocket (and $15 in catalinas and $12.23 the gift card),

$32.51 saved ($15 of which was catalinas)

(and 2 gallons of milk, not pictured)

This was, by no means, a great shopping trip but I'm going to share it anyways because I am still learning and still have to buy things the regular way sometimes. The hamburger meat was on sale at a good price ($1.59/lb) and I had planned to buy more but there were only 2 packs out this morning and the baby was getting grumpy so we were in a hurry. We needed everything else pictured and will probably need to head back out sometime for more produce and milk (once I figure my menu plan for next week).

I hate that I keep paying so much for toilet paper and really need to work harder to look for deals on it. I paid $9.99 for 24 double rolls, which works out to be $0.42/double roll or $0.31 per"roll". It does get to be confusing with all the single roll, double roll, and triple roll information but this just gives me a new coupon goal! I'll keep you all posted on my progress, but if you have any suggestions or tips about what a good price is, please let me know!

I'm back!

I took a few days off to relax with family- or not relax, because relaxing is not something you do a ton of with a toddler and a baby (who's trying to crawl and stand) around.

You may have guessed by the lack of posts, but I am not a huge Black Friday shopper. I rarely shop Black Friday, and if I do I go later in the evening to snag things on sale that I wanted to buy anyways. I'm all about Cyber Monday when they have good sales, so as I hear about awesome online deals you can bet I'll be sharing them with you!

I did want to mention a few good deals, in summary, that are going on now. Follow the links below to see what I don't think you should miss out on!

• FREE 20 pack Duracell Batteries @ Staples! Thanks MoneySavingMom!
• Puget Sound Prudence has a list of some great Amazon toy deals!
• Get the scoop on free Santa photos at Walmart from Coupon $avvy in Cowlitz County (I haven't checked with our Walmart, but they did participate last year and I heard it was packed, so get there early!)
• Visit Fistful of Coupons to get a $1 Cuties coupon (fruit coupons don't come around often!) and find out where to buy them!

Weekly Spending Review

I mentioned before, but with a fully stocked pantry we've been eating from the stockpile quite a bit lately. It's been so nice not to have to run out for groceries! We did the same last week and didn't hardly spend much at all, and this week was even better. Want to see how I did? You can click each photo for more details, but here's what I purchased:

Safeway: $3.26 spent, $38.44 saved

Albertsons: $1.89 spent, $19.22 saved
Safeway: $15.06 on a gift card, $26.00 saved

Target: $8.56 spent, $6.95 saved

I also made a trip to RiteAid using my Fall Gift of Savings check and spent less than $0.25 on 3 bags of M&M's and some very cute edible snowflakes. Plus one more Safeway trip for 2 gallons of milk and a bag of salad that cost about $6 on the gift card. I don't know my savings from either of those trips so I'm not adding them to my totals. Ready to see my grand totals?

I spent $13.96 out-of-pocket

I saved over $90.61

and I have $20 in catalinas for Safeway!

I would call this one super awesome week! I do need to get back to the bargain hunting full time as I'm down to 2lbs of beef in the freezer and will be needing more toilet paper soon. Luckily, ground beef should be on sale next week at Safeway(80% Lean ground beef $1.49lb or 85% lean at 1.99lb (extreme value pack))- what a perfect way to use all my catalinas!

FREE (not)butter for you

Do you want to start buying FREE butter too? Here are all the links you need to start printing your ICBINB coupons:

• Link 1: 5 prints
• Link 2: 5 prints
• Link 3: 5 prints

Now, I haven't used a ton of IP's at Safeway at once especially all for the same item (I have been using these IP's mixed with regular coupons, my mom used 6 printables at once successfully). You can show them the unique codes to prove that they're legit but it might be easier to split them into smaller groups (in twos!). You could also run into cashiers who might say no, because according Safeway's policy they don't have to take IP's worth more than 50% of the item's price and $1 is just a smidge over half of $1.99- I don't think that's likely, but you never really know. Whatever you do, remember that you get one $2 catalina for every 2 butters you buy! These butters are also free at Albertsons and Fred Meyers as well, and you can use the catalinas earned to buy more butters (provided you have a filler item each time). For more info on how these are free, read my original post about it.

I hope that explained everything well, but if you have questions- please leave me a comment and I'll respond as quickly as I can!

More butter @ Safeway

$3.26 spent, $38.44 saved (92%)

...and $15 in catalinas earned!

I can't resist free butter, and I was completely out of brown sugar, so another Safeway run was clearly needed! I bought 10 sticks of butter using ten $1 coupons, and 4 bags C&H sugar using four $.35 coupons. I used $12 in catalinas from this transaction to bring my total down to $3.26 and got back $15 in catalinas (five $2 cats for the butter, and one $5 cat for spending $25 on the HFTH promo). I could have brought the total down to $0.26 by swapping out a $2 cat for the $5 cat I had earned last time but since the expiration date on the ICBINB cats was less than 1 week away, I decided it was best to use that up now. The actual "net cost" of items pictured above is $0.26- not bad at all!

One quick Albies run

I had a few catalinas about to expire so I figured I better make a quick trip to Albertsons and pick up a few things I needed. I didn't buy any papers on Sunday and didn't see any doublers in store so this was a very basic trip.

$1.89 spent, $19.22 saved

I used the in-ad coupon to make the Cream Cheese $0.88 each, and added a $1 box of Jell-O so that I could use a $1.25 off three kraft baking items coupon (found in a free booklet at Safeway, it made each box of cream cheese $0.76ish instead). Pumpkin was on sale for $0.97 a can, olives were $0.87, sugar $2.79, and milk $2.39 a gallon (yikes!). Milk tends to be a better deal at Safeway, but I needed to use those catalinas and the baby has been cranky all day so one store was much easier than two!

Amazon: MP3 deal

Amazon is running Black Friday deals all week, including over 500 MP3 albums available for only $5! Even better, they're offering a FREE $3 credit today that you can use to purchase any of those $5 albums for only $2. Now that's a bargain! To see what albums you can download for only $5, swing on over to Amazon. Just be sure to stop here first and claim your $3 credit.

Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday

Nothing super exciting going on over here, we still have leftovers from our Early Thanksgiving and lots of plans elsewhere (including a photoshoot with 'the cousins' that should be fun, or else just very interesting). Still, here it is:

Monday: Cheesy tortellini with red sauce, garden salad
Tuesday: Tostadas
Wednesday: was planning on BLT's but maybe we'll do pizza instead
Thursday: Thanksgiving
Friday: Either BLT's or pizza depending on what we had Wednesday
Saturday:
Sunday: Turkey Stir fry with rice

Almost everything can and will be made with food I have stockpiled, which makes things easy on me. I do have some catalinas I need to spend at Albies by tomorrow, so I better look around and see what I need!

Back to blogging

Both kiddos are sound asleep, my coupon binder has been caught up, and early Thanksgiving was a success! Even the boys thought so (please be kind about the crazed look on baby's face. His brother spun him a little bit and it was very exciting):
One of my favorite things? Several bags full of turkey currently resting in the freezer (and quite a few leftovers in the fridge). I'm eyeballing Safeway's Leftover Lounge right now for ideas on repurposing the things I've got. The Garlic Turkey Enchiladas looks interesting. Back to coupons and deal hunting we go, are you anxious to see what's been going on? Well, I've got some great links for you all!

• We're getting Albertson's doublers tomorrow! Woohoo! For a list of freebies and cheapies, visit Frugal Living NW. I'll be sure to let you all know if I spot anything great as well.
• A lot of great printable coupons have been released, including one for berries! Visit Thrifty Northwest Mom to see what you should be printing.
• Looking for Walgreens deals? Visit Fistful of Coupons!
• If you're planning to do any holiday shopping at Amazon, consider signing up for a free trial of Amazon Prime. Free 2 day shipping is amazing and Frugal Living NW has the scoop on how you can try it out.
• Cost Plus World Market will have some great coupons in tomorrow's paper, both a $20 off $50 purchase and a $5 off $20 purchase.

That's about it! Unless you want to leave me a comment with your favorite way to use Thanksgiving leftovers, I've got tons of turkey and wouldn't mind a few new ideas!

Safeway trip: ICBIMMBSB!

That's "I can't believe I made money buying stick butter!" for those of you who might have been wondering. Remember how I told you about FREE I can't believe it's not butter (good at Fred Meyer's, Albies, and Safeway)? Well, at Safeway it works out even better than free!

Spent: $15.06 on a gift card, saved $26.00, got back $17 in catalinas

The cashier was a little bit confused because, as he said, "it looks like you made money there" and I did! I would have done better if I had bought one more stick of butter but this was a quick trip and I wasn't thinking clearly. You might be wondering how I did this? The ICBINB sticks count for Safeway's Home For The Holidays promo (spend $25, get $5 back). I needed bread, but if you do just the butter, it works out like this:

13 butters @ $1.99 each = $25.87
used 13 $1 coupons
pay $12.87, get back six $2 catalinas and one $5 catalina

that's a $4.13 moneymaker! If I had added one more butter and used one more coupon, it would have been a $5.14 moneymaker, but I suppose I can't complain about making money on something I'd buy anyways! The only thing you need to watch is those ICBINB catalinas expire one week after they're issued- not the standard 2 week expiration date.

P.S. If you're a local, there's still plenty at the Safeway on Callow but I can't say the same for either of the other two locations in the area.

My Thanksgiving & a recipe!

I didn't post much today and won't be around tomorrow as we're having an early Thanksgiving at my house. Today was actually a pretty cool day- the toddler and I made Monster Cookies. Growing up, my family always made these right around Christmas and only then- there were so many ingredients you had to buy specifically for these cookies that they get to be kind of expensive to make. This year, thanks to coupons and a smarter approach to shopping, I was able to make these cookies for significantly less. Even better, the only thing I needed to go out and buy for them was the M&M's and I used my Fall Gift of Savings check from Rite Aid to pay for them! We had so much fun making them and I'm looking forward to making them more often this year. The toddler thinks they are delicious, and I'm inclined to agree.

Monster Cookies (makes 6 dozen or so)

• 9 cups of Oatmeal (the quick-cooking kind)
• 6 eggs
• 3 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 stick butter
• 2 cups Chunky Peanut Butter (or one small jar)
• 2 cups Brown Sugar
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1/2 lb. M&M's
• 1/2 bag (or more) Chocolate Chips

You will need to use your hands to mix this, and a gigantic bowl- it's super fun for kids! Mix everything besides the candy and chocolates until well combined, and then mix those in. Use a spoon to form rounded balls (I like to press mine a little- makes them flatter and drier, but you can leave them as balls on the cookie sheet). Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy!

(the baby did not eat or make cookies, he's just cute!)

Safeway: cheap/free Windex

Windex is on sale "Buy one Get one Free" this week, and I'm hearing that the price drops to $1.99 a bottle when you buy 3 or more. Here's the scoop on how to make the best of this deal!

Buy 4 bottles of Windex @ $3.98

Use two $1 printable coupons

Use two $.55 peelies (It's up to the store as to whether or not they'll allow this)

Pay only $1.98 (or $0.88) for 4 bottles

You can also submit receipt for the $5 SC Johnson rebate (limit of 3 rebates per household). Even without the rebate, your cost per bottle ranges from $0.22-$0.40. Add the rebate and you've got a nice little money maker on something almost everyone uses. Much like the free Scrubbing Bubbles deal last week, odds are this won't last long so don't wait!

Food Bank Challenge: my donation

I went ahead and pulled a few things from my pantry to round out my donation for MoneyWise Mom's Food Bank Challenge. Here's what I was able to pull together for a total cost of: $10.03 (that includes a 10lb. bag of potatoes, not pictured).

I spent $4.52 on the 8 cans of green beans and 8 cans cream on chicken/mushroom soup at Target earlier this week. From my stockpile, I added 6 cans chicken noodle/tomato soup (cost: $0.30), 5lb. bag of flour (cost: $0.50), 2 cans ravioli (cost $0.50), 2 bottles Safeway apple juice (cost $1.76), 2 bottles Motts apple juice ($1.50).

I had so much fun trying to figure out a $10 donation, I plan to shop for one more (and grab more canned goods from Target, hopefully!). Are you participating in this challenge? You should be!!

Pudding deal @ Albies

Albertsons is currently running a promo on Jello pudding- when you buy 4 boxes, you get a graham cracker crust for FREE. If you still have the $1 off 2 Jello coupons from the Safeway Breast Cancer booklet (the one that had that amazing $1 Planter nut coupon) you can snag a pretty good deal. Buy 2 packs of pudding @ $1 each and a pie crust for only $1!!

I haven't heard anything about doublers over the weekend, but IF we were to get them this deal would be free. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Here are the details according to the sign at Albies:

Free Nabisco pie crust (Nilla, Oreo or Honey Maid, up to $1.50) wyb 4 pkgs Jello pudding or gelatin, 4-8 serving size 10/28/09 - 12/1/09.

A Quick Target Trip

$8.56 spent, $6.95 saved

We were nearly out of diapers for the littler one (he's too chubby for his cloth dipes right now and still a bit too small to fit into enough of his brother's cloth yet) so we ran to Target to pick some up. I used a $3 coupon (from a home mailer) to make the diapers $5.99. The potatoes were only $0.44 after coupon (my mom needed one more box for her thanksgiving basket) and the cans of soup were $0.34 each after my $0.30 off 2 coupons (an insert q from a while ago).

If you were planning on heading out to our local Target for any of the deals I mentioned earlier, be prepared to get rainchecks instead (still worth the trip, if you ask me). There was only one other box of BC potatoes and a few cans of cooking soups (with the other soups), no stuffing mixes, and no cranberry sauce. However there were tons of Del Monte veggies left on an endcap- and that's an awesome deal!

I can't believe it's FREE butter!

...okay, I can but only because I've been couponing for a bit and I believe in free!

I Can''t Believe it's Not Butter sticks are on sale at Fred Meyer's this week for $1.98 a box. You can use this $1 printable coupon (currently able to print 5!) or the $1 coupon from last weekends inserts to pay only $0.98 a box. When you purchase 2 for $1.96, you'll receive a $2 catalina good on your next purchase at Fred Meyers. Hooray! Free (not?) butter just in time for loads of baking! The catalina is also working at Safeway, where the butter sticks are on sale for $1.99 a box (and they count as part of the spend $25 get $5 Home For The Holidays promo) which still works out to be free butter!

Just remember that the catalina only prints for the stick butter, not tubs!

Grocery store highlights this week

Here are a few of my favorite (and the best) prices at the grocery stores this week with links to more in-depth posts on the various deals. I'm including turkey prices as well so you can compare in case you're still looking for the best deal on your bird!

Albertsons:

• Turkey: $0.37 for those less than 16lbs. and $0.27/lb for 16lbs.+ with $25 purchase. Otherwise, it's $1.29/lb.
• 10lb. bag potatoes $0.95 (limit 2)
• Libby's Pumpkin 15 oz. $0.97
• Princella Sweet Potatoes, canned $0.97
• Del Monte Veggies $0.47, use the $1 off 8 from last weekend to make them $0.35/can
• Philadelphia cream cheese, 80z bars $0.88 with in-ad coupon (limit 2)
• Alb. 16 oz. Sour Cream $0.97
• To see more deals & matchups, visit Jane over at All Together Beautiful or The Krazy Coupon Lady!

QFC:

• Turkey: $0.29/lb for 16lb+, $ $0.49/lb for under 16lbs with $25 minimum purchase- not including turkey price. Otherwise it's $1.20/lb.
• Ferrero Premium Chocolate gift boxes are 50% off and I've seen coupons in-store, might be a good deal.
• Fresh Asparagus $1.88/lb

Safeway:

• Turkey: $0.27/lb on 16lb+ or $0.37/lb for under 16lbs with $25 purchase. Otherwise it's $0.99/lb for the Safeway turkey.
• FREE sunkist soda, on sale 3/$1 and use the $1 off two 2liters from last weekend
• milk $1.99 when you buy 2
• For more matchups, visit Christy over at The Bargain Jargon!
• Note: the Scrubbing bubbles deal I posted last week is officially over, hope you were able to get in on time!

Weekly spending review

Okay folks, here it is. All of my shopping this week in one giant post. If you remember back about a month ago, I mentioned want to try to stay within a budget amount each week now that I've really got a stockpile going. My current spending limit per week is $50 but I'm trying to nudge it down to $40 a week. I did make one other Safeway trip for some produce and refried beans, but spent less than $10 on a gift card. Here is what I spent and where I spent it (you can click on the photos to get to the original post with details):

Albertsons: -$1.65 spent, $34.97 saved

Target: $4.52 spent, $10ish saved (for the Foodbank Challenge)

Target: $3.16 spent, $6.58 saved

QFC: $12.99 spent, $14.40 saved

Safeway: 16.97 spent (on a GC), $26.37 saved

That brings my total out-of-pocket spending to a mere $19.62, and my total saved to $92.32! For those of you who are new(er) to my blog- don't worry we're not eating cheese & scrubbing bubble sandwiches over here. Over the last few months- I've worked on building up a decent stockpile of food items (by buying multiples of items when they were at their lowest prices) and am currently reaping the benefits of not having to do much shopping at all. I love it!

A few mall coupons

There are a lot of great printable store coupons out right now, so I'm going to list a few in the area for those of you who might be preparing to start your holiday shopping. I hope it helps you find a great deal on something you'd be buying anyways!

Macy's $10 off a $25 purchase (valid 11/18 only until 1pm)

JCPenny $10 off a $25 purchase (valid 11/18-11/23)

Aeropostale 30% off your purchase (valid 11/9-11/22, excludes clearance)

Gap 25% off entire purchase (valid 11/11-1/30/10)

Shopping: Target & Albertsons

Target: $4.52 spent, over $10 saved

I didn't have the Target coupon for Del Monte veggies when I went, but I still feel pretty good about this trip. This is for my part of the foodbank challange, I'll update you when I find out where to spend my remaining $5.46! To see more of the Target deals I like this week and how to do them, visit this post. (Please ignore my kitchen mess, the toddler and I were in the midst of prepping stuffed manicotti).

Albertsons: -$1.65, saved $34.97

Let me just say that I've never actually been paid in cash for any grocery trip so that was pretty cool. I did use a $5 catalina to pay, so it wasn't like I actually made money doing this- but I'm happy with the end results either way. Tonight is the very last night for the buy one Sara Lee pie at $6.39 get one pie and two Breyer's ice creams for free, so if you want to get in on this deal- run to your store now!

(over already) NASCAR: $15 off $15 with free shipping

EDIT: this deal is dead, the code no longer works. sorry!

Right now you can use code NASCAR15 to get $15 off your purchase of $15 or more at the NASCAR.com Superstore, plus most items come with free shipping. I don't know any NASCAR fans, but I imagine this is a great way to knock someone off your Christmas list!

The book pictured above is only $15.99, or $0.99 after the code with free shipping! There are a lot of other items priced right at $15.99 (tshirts, bubble racers, and calendars) so hop on over and check it out. It even works on items in their outlet (clearance) section!

New Cellfire coupons are up!

New Cellfire coupons are up, so hurry on over and load your shoppers card today! A lot of them are repeats but there are some new Purina coupons. Don't forget about the other ecoupon sites either. Swing by Shortcuts and P&G eSaver to make sure your loyalty card is fully loaded with coupons!

Free ornament update:

I just wanted to let you all know what I've been hearing about the free ornaments and calendars from SeeHere. It turns out this freebie was not meant for the public but only a few who were ordering photos from them at mall appearances. I honestly did not know they weren't meant for everyone (unlike the free photo card deal they released earlier this month that is a valid freebie for everyone) and I want to apologize for any inconvenience it may have cause any of you. They have suspended all orders and this is the email people are receiving:

Recently, you used a promotional code for a free photo ornament, 12-month photo calendar and/or (25) 4×8 photo cards. These promotional codes were only valid with a purchase of a Santa photo package that is currently being offered in select malls across the country.
Unfortunately, the free product promotional codes were posted on various websites and are now being redeemed without a Santa Photo Package purchase. All orders for these free photo products have been placed on hold and will now be completed with validation of purchase.
If you purchased a Santa Photo Package, please contact us by phone, email or mail and we will be happy to assist you in completing your free photo gift order.
Please contact us within the next ten business days or your order will be cancelled. Thank you.

Target Deals this week

I don't usually post coupon deals at Target, but there are just so many awesome Thanksgiving related food bargains I'd be silly not to take advantage of them (and pass them along to you, or course!). Here are some of my favorite, to see more- head on over to MoneySavingMom!

Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom & Chicken Soups-$0.49
Buy 4 and use $1 off 4 coupon here
Total: $0.25 each (when you buy 4)

Betty Crocker Boxed Au Gratin Potatoes-$0.79
Use $0.40 coupon here or $.35 coupon from this past weekend
Total: $0.39-$0.44 each

Triscuits $2.50
Use $1.00 Target Coupon HERE and $1.00 coupon from 11/8
Total: $.50

McCormick Cinnamon or Chili Power $.99
use $1.00/1 from 10/18
Total: FREE

Rayovac Batteries-$1 (in the Dollar Spot)
Use $1 coupon in 10/18 SmartSource insert
Total: FREE

Del Monte Canned Vegetables-$0.45
Use $1 off 8 from this past weekend
Stack with $1 off 6 Target coupon here
Total: $0.28 each (when you buy 8 using both coupons)

Gold Medal Flour-5 lbs $2.00
Use $0.50 Gold Medal Flour printable
Total: $1.50

Swanson Chicken Broth - $0.49
Use $0.35 off 4 Swanson Broth Can from 11/8 inserts
Total: $0.40 each (when you buy 4)

Carnation Evaporated Milk - $0.99
Use $0.50 off 2 Carnation Evaporated Milk Cans printable
Total: $0.74 each (when you buy 2)

French’s Fried Onions - $2.75
Use $0.50 French’s French Fried Onions, from 11/8 inserts
or $.50 French's printable (you can only print one!)
Total: $2.25 each

These prices are so great you might want to consider picking up a few extras for the Foodbank Challange!

Safeway & Star 101.5

Safeway and Star 101.5 have teamed up for an awesome giveaway! Entering is super easy to do so there's no reason to pass on this. The next time you're at Safeway, be sure to snap a quick photo of yourself next to one of those little yellow tags (you know, the ones all over the place showing you the new everyday low prices?). Between now and November 29th, you can log onto Star1015.com and share your photo!

They'll select 4 lucky winners, and each one will receive a $1000 gift card to Safeway- that's a ton of groceries!!! There's no purchase necessary to enter, and you can find more details about it here: http://www.star1015.com/contestsevents. Good luck!!

Chadwicks: $15 off $15

Right now at Chadwicks, you can use coupon code CH15OFF to take $15 off a purchase of $15 or more- including clearance items! Shipping is a little bit steep (it starts at $6.99) but you might find a great deal. The skirt pictured above is on clearance for $16.99, making it only $1.99 after the code- that's down from $39.99! Clicking this link will take you to items that are priced $20 or less.

Thanks to The Coupon Project!

Foodbank Challange

Moneywise Moms is currently hosting a $10 Foodbank Challenge, and I love the idea! I thought some of you might like to play along too. You can swing by her original post to read the rules and to share what you were able to buy for donation purposes with only $10. She's even offering a prize for 5 participants who share their shopping before November 29th!

Are you a local who wants to participate but aren't sure where to donate? Lots of food barrels are cropping up in stores and most (if not all) churches will take your food donations. I like to donate to St. Vincents, they're located off Callow Avenue in Bremerton (not the thrift store area, but the smaller office back behind the annex). You can also bring any non-perishables to the Kitsap Food Bank (located in Silverdale near the High School). Current high-need items include: peanut Butter, chili, soups, sugar, and canned tuna.

Get a Wii, Wii Fit Plus and $50 Amazon Giftcard for $290

Were you planning to buy a Wii and Wii Fit this Christmas? Then I'd jump on this deal today! Amazon has kicked off their Countdown to Black Friday with this great bundle. You can purchase the Nintendo Wii, Wii Fit Plus (w/ balance board), and get a $50 Amazon gift card for only $289.98 shipped! The gift card is a standard Amazon gift card that will be shipped to you, and could even be used to finish your holiday shopping. Just remember that this deal is only available today.

Want it faster? For The Mommas has the scoop on signing up for a free 1 month trial of Amazon Prime (that's free 2 day shipping!). I'm currently on a 3 month trial and I LOVE it!

Walgreens and Rite Aid 11/15-11/21

Here are a few of my favorite (and any super awesome or FREE) deals at the drug stores this week. I don't know that there's much I'll do, but maybe some of these freebies are perfect for you!

Walgreens:

• Ricola Mixes Berry Cough Drops (19-count) are $1 with $1 RR*
• Aussie Hair Care produts are $2.99 with $2 RR (pair with a $1 coupon from this month's P&G insert to make it FREE)
• Robitussin DM To Go (2-pack) are $2.49 with $2.50 RR
• Almay Pure Blends Foundation are $9.99 with $10 RR
• To see more deals for this week, visit MoneySavingMom (keep in mind Skippy is a better deal at Albies when you pair the store coupon with the manufacturer coupon- until Tuesday anyways).

*New to Walgreens and not sure what RR means? MoneySavingMom has a great Walgreens101 post here that you should read. Have a specific question or just confused about this weeks deals? Feel free to email me or leave me a comment- I'm happy to help!

RiteAid:

• You can find a $5 off a $25 purchase coupon at coupons.com
• Then you'll want to visit For The Mommas to read up on how to get FREE Crest Extra White w/ Scope Toothpaste, Kotex, Almay, GE Energy Smart Light Bulbs, plus a few other neat deals.

Note: Most (if not all) Rite Aid freebies make use of their SCR (Single Check Rebate program). It's super easy to use, but it does take longer to get your money back because you can only "cash out" once per month. It's best to wait until the end of the month to claim your rebate check because you never know what awesome deals are around the corner. Once you get your "check" in the mail, you can use it in store just like cash!

Deal is no good!

Wow- it's another freebie from SeeHere. This time it's free ornaments (your choice of red or white) and free shipping!

As I just found out this deal was not meant for the public (but only those who had their photos taken by SeeHere in a mall with a santa) I have deleted all the info. Sorry about that!

Free photo cards in time for Christmas!

Freebies4Mom has a really amazing offer on her site that works to get you 50 FREE photocards (plus FREE shipping to go with it) just in time for you to make some holiday cards! I just put my Christmas cards together and ordered them (it was entirely free, I didn't pay a single penny!) and was thrilled to see how easy the site was to use. They do come with the envelopes you need as well, I don't think customized holiday cards get any easier than this.

Even cooler, they don't have to be 50 of the same card (but you do need to order a total of 50 cards for this to work) so if you've got multiple card ideas, go ahead and use them! You have until November 30th to use the promo card so hurry up! For more information, click the photo at the top of this post. Thank you very much Freebies4Mom!!!

$1.99 Smoked Salmon & $0.50 instant oatmeal at Safeway

Safeway has their Waterfront Bistro brand Hot Smoked Salmon (4 oz.) on sale this week for $3.99 (see page 2 of the weekly ad). They also have these informational brochures with $2 coupons in the Seafood department:

These coupons require a $9.99+ purchase (grocery total, not Waterfront Bistro total) so they can be used on the 4oz Salmon. This is a great way to get some cheap Smoked Salmon! You can only use one of these per transaction.

Today and tomorrow only, Quaker instant oatmeal will be on sale for $1.50 a box. There are green $1 peelies out there that'll make this $0.50 a box after coupon! If you find them, leave them on the box because they are impossible to peel without damage to the barcode- let your cashier worry about it when you're checking out. Don't forget to pick up some FREE Scrubbing Bubbles cleaner while you're there!

My shopping today: Target, QFC, and Safeway (oh my!)

Yes, it's a lot of stores but we had to go to Target anyways to buy ink for the printer and QFC was on the way to Safeway so we stopped quickly so I could run in to the store. This completes most of the shopping I'll need to do for the next two weeks (the exception being more milk & produce- and any amazing deals that pop up, of course!). Here's what I bought while running around today (with a grand total of $20.58 out-of-pocket):

Target: $3.16 spent (or $.64 each), $6.58 saved

Stove Top Stuffing in on price cut for $0.79 a box (a $1 cheaper than Safeway!) and I used a "Buy 4 get the 5th FREE" tearpad coupon I found last week at QFC. The cashier was excited, so I gave him a spare coupon. I also picked up some $1 Cars socks for the toddler's Christmas stocking and a pair of warmer pants for the baby (at $9.99- eek! but they are cute and will match almost everything until he can fit the next size up).

If you're in the area, they had tons of girls clothing on clearance. Shelves of OshKosh jeans in all sizes and lots of pajamas in 2T. Most things were only 30% but there was so much I'm sure you'll be able to find some at 50% soon-ish.

QFC: $12.99 spent, $14.40 saved

No super amazing deals, but here's the breakdown in case you are curious:

• Barilla $1.99 and BOGO works out to $1 a box
• 2 lb. Tillamook Cheddar $3.99 (through tomorrow only)
• Ricotta $2.99
• Vicks Baby Vapor Rub on clearance for $2.89 (both boys have coughs right now and I thought this might help. I don't have much of a medicine stockpile- besides infant Tylenol & Motrin. I suppose I should work on that!)
• Farmland Bacon $1.88 (through Sunday only) used a $1 Fresh Pork coupon to make this $0.88. Neither of us were sure it'd work so she only let me buy 1 package like this.

Safeway: $16.97 spent (on a GC), $26.37 saved (62%)

Here's what I bought at Safeway:

• 2 bags Tostitos @ $1.69 each (through tomorrow, was hoping to find the rumored "Buy two get free salsa peelies", but no luck)
• A&W Rootbeer and Canada Dry Ginger Ale $.88 each
• 2 Gallons Milk $3.98
• 4 Scrubbing Bubbles FREE (read about that here!)
• Bread $1.19
• Tilapia (1/2 lb) $0.94 (after 50% markdown)
• Broccoli $1.07
• Bananas $0.99
• Apples $1.06
• Jalapeno $0.12
• 1 lb. Baby Carrots $1.99