My Triple Coupon Trip With The List

Took my second trip to Harris Teeter today and I was surprised that there was actually good stuff there! Every time they have a big coupon week I never know what's gonna be left by the time I arrive.

Surprisingly they were only out of Crisco oil which (thankfully) was not a triple coupon deal which means I could get a rain check and go back at any time and get the same deal.

Here's what I got:



I spent: $41.40
And saved: $88.69

My best deals:

Mazola Cooking Spray (and we were just about out - love when that happens!)
- regular price: $2.99/each
- sale price: buy 1 get 1 free
- used 4 $0.50 off coupons from S 10/4
- final price: FREE!!

9-Lives Dry Cat Food
- regular price: $4.99/each
- sale price: buy 1 get 1 free
- used 4 $0.75 off coupons from RP 10/25
- final price: $0.25/each

Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice Mix
- regular price: $2.39
- sale price: not on sale
- used 1 $0.75 off coupon from RP 11/8 (had more coupons but there was only 1 box left!)
- final price: $0.14

For more great deals check out: The Grocery Game

Triple Coupon Week at Harris Teeter

Finally! Feels like forever since HT did triple coupon or super doubler - I'm excited that they are tripling coupons this week from 7 AM today (Nov. 4th) to midnight next Tuesday (Nov. 10th).

Yes, I've already been :)

Here's what I got:



I spent: $40.32
And saved: $56.41

I had a few things to pick up besides what was on sale: honey and lightbulbs so my spending was a little high - that and Chex was $2.00 a box after sale and coupon but I love Chex so I bought it anyway :)

Best deals:

Campbell's Cream of Chicken/Mushroom soup
- original price: 2/$3.00
- sale price: buy 1 get 1 free ($0.75/each)
- used 3 $0.25/3 coupons from 9/20 S and 10/11 S which tripled to $0.75 off 3
- final price: $0.50 each (I bought 9 cans!)

Smithfield Premium Sliced Bacon
- original price: $4.99/each
- sale price 2/$6.00
- used 6 $0.55/1 coupons from 10/25 S which tripled to $1.65 off
- final price: $1.35/each

For more deals check out the Coupon Mom - the rest of the items purchased I used a coupon but not one that tripled.

Menu Planning Monday: Pampered Chef Style

This week's menu plan comes from Denise at Goosey Lucy, Turkey Lurkey & Chicken Little. Denise has quite a large brood. Besides her trio she has three other children and some of those kids are going to have kids! Wow!

Denise also sells Pampered Chef. You can see her personal website for PC HERE.

Denise has passed along some of her favorite recipes for this week's menu plan and I'm including the recipe for one of the meals which Denise says is her absolute favorite :)

Monday - Loaded Baked Potato Chowder
Tuesday - Zesty Ravioli Skillet
Wednesday - South of the Border Meat Loaf
Thursday - Ham and Cheese Calzone
Friday - Leftover night

Loaded Baked Potato Chowder

3 large baking potatoes(about 2 1/2 lbs.)
3 1/2 cups milk, divided
4oz cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. butter
2-3 green onions with tops
4oz sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Optional toppings: chopped cooked bacon, sour cream, broccoli florets

Slice potatoes in half lengthwise; place in deep covered baker. Pour 1/2 cup milk over potatoes. Microwave, covered, on high 11 minutes. Remove baker and move center potatoes to outer edge. Cover and microwave on high 8-11 min. or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Remove from microwave. Coarsely mash potatoes with mix n' chop.

Meanwhile, whisk cream cheese until smooth in batter bowl. Slowly add remaining 3 cups milk, whisking until smooth. Add cream cheese mixture and butter to baker. Microwave, covered, on high 3-5 minutes or until mixture is hot. Slice green onions chef's knife.

Carefully remove baker from microwave. Grate cheese over chowder using rotary grater; add green onions, salt and pepper and mix using small mix 'n scraper until cheese is melted. Serve with toppings if desired.

Yield: 6 servings(8 cups)

Sounds super yummy - thanks Denise!

Grocery Game Recap

Many of you already know how to coupon and where to get your coupons from and what all the abbreviations mean but there may be a few who don't so I thought I'd cover the basics.

1. I don't re-invent the wheel - I have 5 kids and not enough time so I let the Grocery Game do it for me. Click here to be taken to her website.

2. Using the Grocery Game I sign in and get the list of deals at my chosen store. I am currently signed up for Harris Teeter and CVS - these are the stores that work best for me.

3. When my list comes up I proceed to "gray-out" all the items I don't want by clicking on them. I just scan down the list to see what I do want and click on all the items around it that I don't.

4. When I have finished going down the list I press print - the list will print only the items that I actually want to find coupon match-ups for.

5. I take my list to my coupon folder that is currently jammed full of coupons I have been collecting from all newspapers I receive and from friends.

- PG means Proctor and Gamble
- RP means Red Plum
- S means Smartsource

- there may be more than 1 of them in any given paper and there may be none depending on the week

6. Usually I check my list for my "hot" or "favorite" items meaning what we use the most or ones that are such a great deal I want to stock up on them. I find the stack of coupons with the corresponding date and begin scanning. There are times when my coupon does not match hers. Sometimes it's better, sometimes not.

7. I clip out all the coupons that she tells me to that match with items I wish to purchase.

8. I take my list and my coupons to the store and shop.

It really is that easy. It doesn't take a lot of time once you get used to it but the beginning may be slow and if you don't have a lot of copies of coupons you may have more trouble stocking up. If you're just beginning to get multiple copies of coupons I'd suggest buying 3 copies of the Sunday paper. For me the Washington Post seems to always have all the coupons I need so I try to get multiple copies of it when I can.

I've been using the Grocery Game every week since the beginning of the year and I can't believe it's already November!

Here's what I got tonight:



I spent: $87.24
And saved: $85.68 (at least I did also earn back $2.50 for buying 4 boxes of fruit snacks - that makes it an even 50% off!)

I spent a little more than I wanted - somehow I added wrong. It happens I guess :) A little over budget because of it. My new budget is $75 a week. And it's only that high because I want to earn the $50 in gift cards for Christmas. Plus, it's not like I'm not going to use the groceries :)

Referrals

Did you know you can get the Grocery Game for free?

For starters when you sign up you get the first 4 weeks free just to try it out!

After that you're charged per store every 8 weeks - $10 for the first store and $5 for each additional one. Clearly the benefits outweight the cost but if you could get it free wouldn't that be better?

You can earn 12 weeks free for every 3 friends that sign up. Now it can't just be the trial off - they have to actually sign up but once your friends start saving money they're going to want to sign up too.

All you need to do to get credit is be sure your friends put your e-mail in the referral section on the site. It can be added at any time. In fact if you have signed up because of the blog I'd be thrilled if you used my name as a referral. My e-mail address is: dorindanelson@comcast.net - thanks!

Remember, the Grocery Game is so easy! I sent my husband back to pick up some more juice for me on Monday. Here's what he got:



He spent: $14.99
And saved: $36.32

Not bad! My husband's smart but he's not as into this coupon thing as I am but he too enjoyed saving so much money :)

Menu Planning Monday

Do you love menu planning? I actually do! For the most part anyway :) Some weeks I have an idea of what I want and then it's fun to find recipes. I enjoy making new things and plenty of old favorites.

I was asked recently about weekly menu planning by a friend who never does. She asked me "what if you're not in the mood for what you've planned that night?" It's totally understandable and pretty much why I don't monthly plan because I can bet by the end of the month we'll be eating all my least favorite meals that sounded good at the beginning of the month!

So, instead I plan by the week and even though I post here what we're having which night it doesn't always work out that way. If I don't feel like something one night I can shuffle it to another night - no big deal. And since I only plan by the week there's less chance of the meals I don't like.

My meal plan for the week:

Monday - Enchilada Bake with Rice

Tuesday - VELVEETA Cheesy Pasta Casserole

Wednesday - Slow Cooker Cheesy Ravioli Casserole with Garlic Bread

Thursday - Slow Cooker North Woods Wild Rice Soupwith Beer Bread from Tastefully Simple (yum!)

Friday - Gram's Chicken Pot Pie Updated

Saturday - Crustless Bacon and Cheese Quiche - this will be more brunch then dinner - for the rest of the weekend we'll be eating leftovers - after all there will be plenty!

If you haven't tried meal planning yet give it a shot! It sure makes the weeks easier to know in advance what you're going to have. All the above recipes have links to the actual recipes if you want to try a few for yourself.

Also, I've added the link to www.orgjunkie.com on the side of the blog so you can find hundreds more recipes every week.

A Full Cart For Cheap

I love the weeks when I fill my cart up and still don't spend a lot. To walk out of the grocery store with all the groceries my family will need for the week (and often beyond) - including breakfast, lunch and dinner and not exceed $100.

Here's what I got:



I spent: $94.92
And saved: $159.52

Best Deals:

Welch's Grape Juice
- regular price: 2/$5.00
- sale price: 2/$4.00
- used 5 $0.75 off 1 coupons from S 9/13
- final price each: $0.50

Hot Pockets Breakfast Sandwiches
- regular price: $3.00 each (3/$9.00)
- sale price: $2.00 each (5/$10.00)
- used 5 $0.75 off 1 coupons from RP 9/27
- final price each: $0.50

For more great deals check out: The Grocery Game